Total ionizing dose effect modeling method for CMOS digital-integrated circuit

Simulating the total ionizing dose(TID)of an electrical system using transistor-level models can be difficult and expensive,particularly for digital-integrated circuits(ICs).In this study,a method for modeling TID effects in complementary metaloxide semiconductor(CMOS)digital ICs based on the input/output buffer information specification(IBIS)was proposed.The digital IC was first divided into three parts based on its internal structure:the input buffer,output buffer,and functional area.Each of these three parts was separately modeled.Using the IBIS model,the transistor V-I characteristic curves of the buffers were processed,and the physical parameters were extracted and modeled using VHDL-AMS.In the functional area,logic functions were modeled in VHDL according to the data sheet.A golden digital IC model was developed by combining the input buffer,output buffer,and functional area models.Furthermore,the golden ratio was reconstructed based on TID experimental data,enabling the assessment of TID effects on the threshold voltage,carrier mobility,and time series of the digital IC.TID experiments were conducted using a CMOS non-inverting multiplexer,NC7SZ157,and the results were compared with the simulation results,which showed that the relative errors were less than 2%at each dose point.This confirms the practicality and accuracy of the proposed modeling method.The TID effect model for digital ICs developed using this modeling technique includes both the logical function of the IC and changes in electrical properties and functional degradation impacted by TID,which has potential applications in the design of radiation-hardening tolerance in digital ICs.

Three dimensional phase-field simulation for non-isothermal binary alloy solidification: Comparison with LKT theory

Using the advanced algorithm combining parallel computing,adaptive mesh re-griding and multigrid methods,quantitative 3D phase-field simulations of non-isothermal solidification of binary alloy were carried out.The 3D phase-field simulation results were compared with the analytical LKT(Lipton,Kurz and Trivedi)theory.For comparison,the simulation and analytical results for 2D cases were also given.The 3D phase-field simulation results support the transport portion of the LKT theory.However,the tip radius and tip velocity predicted by the simulations are not in good agreement with the LKT theory over the whole range of undercooling.The stability parameter calculated from phase-field simulations varies significantly with the Peclet number,indicating that the stability criterion,which assumes that the stability parameter is constant,is invalid.

Spectral CT imaging as a new quantitative tool? Assessment of perfusion defects of pulmonary parenchyma in patients with lung cancer

Objective： This study investigated the capability of dual-energy spectral computed tomography （CT） to quantitatively evaluate lung perfusion defects that are induced by central lung cancer. Methods： Thirty-two patients with central lung cancer underwent CT angiography using spectral imaging. A univariate general linear model was conducted to analyze the variance of iodine concentration/CT value with three factors of lung fields. A paired t-test was used to compare iodine concentrations and CT values between the distal end of lung cancer and the corresponding area in the contralateral normal lung. Results： Iodine concentrations increased progressively in the far, intermediate and near ground sides in the normal lung fields at 0.60±0.28, 0.93±0.27 and 1.25±0.38 mg/mL, respectively （P〈0.001）. The same trend was observed for the CT values [-（840.64±49.08）, -（812.66±50.85） and -（760.83±89.17） HU, P〈0.001]. The iodine concentration （0.70±0.42 mg/mL） of the lung field in the distal end of lung cancer was significantly lower than the corresponding area in the contralateral normal lung （1.19±0.62 mg/mL） （t=-7.23, P〈0.001）. However, the CT value of lung field in the distal end of lung cancer was significantly higher than the corresponding area in the contralateral normal lung [-（765.29±93.34） HU vs. -（800.07±76.18） HU, t=3.564, P=0.001]. Conclusions： Spectral CT imaging based on the spectral differentiation of iodine is feasible and can quantitatively evaluate pulmonary perfusion and identify perfusion defects that are induced by central lung cancer. Spectral CT seems to be a promising technique for the simultaneous evaluation of both morphological and functional lung information.

Current perspectives on pancreatic serous cystic neoplasms:Diagnosis, management and beyond

Pancreatic cystic neoplasms have been increasingly recognized recently. Comprising about 16% of all resected pancreatic cystic neoplasms, serous cystic neoplasms are uncommon benign lesions that are usually asymptomatic and found incidentally. Despite overall low risk of malignancy, these pancreatic cysts still generate anxiety, leading to intensive medical investigations with considerable financial cost to health care systems. This review discusses the general background of serous cystic neoplasms, including epidemiology and clinical characteristics, and provides an updated overview of diagnostic approaches based on clinical features, relevant imaging studies and new findings that are being discovered pertaining to diagnostic evaluation. We also concisely discuss and propose management strategies for better quality of life.

Insulation effect of air cavity in sand mold using 3D printing technology

The insulation effect of the air cavity surrounding the riser in a 3D printed sand mold was studied. The influence of the air cavity on heat flux was theoretically analyzed. The results demonstrated that the heat flux of the air cavity in the 3D printed sand mold was significantly less than that of resin-bonded sand. The insulation effect of the air cavity in sand molds for a cylinder casting and a stress-frame casting were simulated using software COMSOL. The results illustrated that the air cavity could be used to insulate the riser and it was more suitable for a lower melting point metal casting. An air cavity with 10-15 mm width and 5-10 mm away from the riser can significantly prolong the solidification of the riser by over 10%. Meanwhile, the sand mold for the stressframe was made by 3D printing technology and poured with aluminum alloy A356 melt. The experiment results showed that the presence of the air cavity led to a 12.5% increase of the solidification time of its riser.

Sporamin suppresses growth of xenografted colorectal carcinoma in athymic BALB/c mice by inhibiting liver β-catenin and vascular endothelial growth factor expression

BACKGROUND Colorectal cancer(CRC)is the third most common malignancy of the digestive tract and the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality in China.Sporamin,a Kunitz-type trypsin inhibitor isolated from sweet potato,is a potential anti-cancer agent with activities against a number of malignant tumor cells in vitro.The liver secretes a myriad of endocrine factors that may facilitate the growth and transformation of tumors in the development of CRC.AIM To investigate the effects of sporamin on liver morphology and biomarkers of xenografted CRC in the liver of athymic BALB/c mice.METHODS Twenty-seven male BALB/c nude mice were randomly divided into control,vehicle,and sporamin groups.Mice in the latter two groups were intraperitoneally xenografted with LoVo colorectal carcinoma cells and intragastrically infused with saline or sporamin(0.5 g/kg body weight/d),respectively,for 3 wk.Hematoxylin and eosin(HE)staining of the sections was performed to observe morphological changes in hepatic tissue and real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR(qPCR)and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay(ELISA)were used to measure the expression ofβ-catenin and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF)in the liver.RESULTS Sporamin significantly reduced the number and weight of tumor nodules formed in the abdominal cavity.Compared with the vehicle group,the mean tumor weight(±SD)in the sporamin group was significantly reduced(0.44±0.10 g vs 0.26±0.15 g)and the total number of tumors decreased from 93 to 55.HE staining showed that enlargement of the nucleus and synthesis of proteins within hepatocytes,as well as infiltration of inflammatory cells into the liver,were attenuated by sporamin.Immunohistochemical staining and ELISA showed that the concentrations ofβ-catenin and VEGF in the liver were significantly reduced by sporamin.Compared with the vehicle group,the expression ofβ-catenin measured in integrated optical density units per area was reduced in the sporamin group(47.29±9.10 vs 26.14±1.72;P=0.003).Expression of VEGF was also reduced after sporamin intervention from 20.78±2.06 in the vehicle group to 15.80±1.09 in the sporamin group(P=0.021).Compared with the vehicle group,the concentration ofβ-catenin decreased from 134.42±22.04 pg/mL to 109.07±9.65 pg/mL after sporamin intervention(P=0.00002).qPCR indicated that compared to the vehicle group,relative mRNA expression ofβ-catenin and VEGF in the liver of mice in the sporamin-treated group was significantly reduced to 71%±1%(P=0.000001)and 23%±7%(P=0.00002),respectively,of the vehicle group levels.CONCLUSION Sporamin down-regulates the expression and secretion ofβ-catenin and VEGF in the liver,which subsequently inhibits the transcription of downstream genes involved in cancer progression and angiogenesis.

Fused monochromatic imaging acquired by single source dual energy CT in hepatocellular carcinoma during arterial phase: an initial experience

Objective： To explore whether single and fused monochromatic images can improve liver tumor detection and delineation by single source dual energy CT （ssDECT） in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma （HCC） during arterial phase. Methods： Fifty-seven patients with HCC who underwent ssDECT scanning at Beijing Cancer Hospital were enrolled retrospectively. Twenty-one sets of monochromatic images from 40 to 140 keV were reconstructed at 5 keV intervals in arterial phase. The optimal contrast-noise ratio （CNR） monochromatic images of the liver tumor and the lowest-noise monochromatic images were selected for image fusion. We evaluated the image quality of the optimal-CNR monochromatic images, the lowest-noise monochromatic images and the fused monochromatic images, respectively. The evaluation indicators included the spatial resolution of the anatomical structure, the noise level, the contrast and CNR of the tumor. Results： In arterial phase, the anatomical structure of the liver can be displayed most clearly in the 65-keV monochromatic images, with the lowest image noise. The optimal-CNR monochromatic images of HCC tumor were 50-keV monochromatic images in which the internal structural features of the liver tumors were displayed most clearly and meticulously. For tumor detection, the fused monochromatic images and the 50-keV monochromatic images had similar performances, and were more sensitive than 65-keV monochromatic images. Conclusions： We achieved good arterial phase images by fusing the optimal-CNR monochromatic images of the HCC tumor and the lowest-noise monochromatic images. The fused images displayed liver tumors and anatomical structures more clearly, which is potentially helpful for identifying more and smaller HCC tumors.

Estrogen Receptor α and β Expressions in Hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary Axis in Rats Exposed Lactationally to Soy Isoflavones and Bisphenol A

Objectives This paper aims to investigate the uterotrophic activities of lactational exposure to combination of soy isoflavones （SIF） and bisphenol A （BPA） and to examine estrogen receptor α （ERα） and estrogen receptor β （ERβ） expressions in hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary axis and uterus.Methods Maternal rats that were breeding about 8 litters were randomly divided into four groups with seven dams in each group.Dams in different treatment groups received corn oil （control）,150 mg/kg BW of SIF,150 mg/kg BW of BPA or combination of 150 mg/kg BW of SIF and 150 mg/kg BW of BPA,respectively,from postnatal day 5 to 11 （PND5-11） by gavage.On PND12 and PND70,10 female litters were killed and hypothalamus,pituitary,ovary and uterus were collected.ERα and ERβ expressions in these organs were detected with Western blotting assay.And vaginal opening time and estrus cycle were examined in animals fed for PND70.Results On PND12,the relative uterine weight of rats treated with ISF or BPA or their combination was significantly higher than that of untreated rats （P〈0.05）.But the relative uterine weight of rats in the co-exposure group was slightly lower than that in the group only exposed to SIF or BPA.On PND 70,however,the relative uterine weight in each treatment group was not statistically different from that in the control group （P〈0.05）.Vaginal opening time and estrus cycle in groups treated with SIF or BPA or their combination were similar to those in the control group （P〈0.05）.Exposure to SIF or BPA or their combination could up-regulate or down-regulate ERα and ERβ expressions in hypothalamus,pituitary,ovary and uterus on PND12 and PND70.These regulation patterns for ERα and ERβ were different in different organs at different time points.Conclusion Lactational exposure to ISF or BPA or their combination could induce uterotrophic responses in neonate rats,which disappeared in later life.But these data fail to suggest a possibility for synergic actions between SIF and BPA.It was also demonstrated that the uterotrophic effects of SIF and BPA exposure might,at least,involve modification of ERα or ERβ expressions in the hypothalamus-pituitary-ovary axis.

Balloon-assisted endoscopic submucosal dissection for treating small intestinal lipomas:Report of two cases

BACKGROUND Most small intestinal lipomas are treated surgically,and some require repeated surgeries for multiple lipomas.However,application of endoscopic submucosal dissection(ESD)technology in the deep small intestine is rarely reported owing to the special anatomical structure of the small intestine,medical equipment limitations,and the lack of relevant experience among endoscopists.CASE SUMMARY Two patients with small intestinal lipomas treated at the Air Force Medical Center from November 2015 to September 2019 were selected to undergo balloonassisted ESD to treat the lipomas and explore the technical feasibility and safety of ESD for treating small intestinal lipomas.The two patients successfully underwent balloon-assisted ESD to treat four small intestinal lipomas,with a complete resection rate of 100%(4/4),without intraoperative or postoperative bleeding,perforation,or other complications.After 3-6 mo of postoperative follow-up,the clinical symptoms caused by the lipomas were significantly relieved or disappeared after treatment.CONCLUSION Balloon-assisted ESD is a safe and reliable new method for treating deep intestinal lipomas and shows good clinical feasibility.

Activation cross sections for reactions induced by 14 MeV neutrons on natural copper

The cross sections for the^(63)Cu(n,a)^(60(m+g))Co,^(65)Cu(n,2 n)^(64)Cu, and ^(65)Cu(n,p)^(65)Ni reactions have been studied in the neutron energy range of 13.5–14.8 MeV using the activation technique. The neutron beams were produced via the^3 H(d,n)~4 He reaction. The neutron energies of different directions in the measurements were determined beforehand by the method of cross section ratios for the^(90)Zr(n,2 n)^(89 m+g)Zr and ^(93)Nb(n,2 n)^(92 m)Nb reactions. The results in the present work were discussed and compared with measurement results found in the literatures.

Correlation of serum HMGB1 and sTLT-1 contents with oxidative stress response and endothelial injury in patients with ischemic stroke

Objective: To study the correlation of serum HMGB1 and sTLT-1 contents with oxidative stress response and endothelial injury in patients with ischemic stroke. Methods: The patients who were diagnosed with ischemic stroke in Zhouzhi County People's Hospital between February 2015 and March 2017 were selected as the stroke group of the study, and healthy subjects who received physical examination during the same period were selected as the control group of the study. Serum was collected to determine the contents of HMGB1, sTLT-1, oxidative stress reaction molecules and endothelial injury molecules. Results: Serum HMGB1, sTLT-1, vWF, vWF-cp, sTM, ET-1, D-D, 8-OHdG, LPO and NOS contents of stroke group were significantly higher than those of control group while T-SOD and GSH-Px contents were significantly lower than those of control group;serum T-SOD and GSH-Px contents of stroke patients with high HMBG-1 content were significantly lower than those of stroke patients with low HMBG-1 content while 8-OHdG, LPO and NOS contents were significantly higher than those of stroke patients with low HMBG-1 content;serum vWF, vWF-cp, sTM, ET-1 and D-D contents of stroke patients with high sTLT-1 content were significantly higher than those of stroke patients with low sTLT-1 content. Conclusion: The abnormally elevated HMGB1 and sTLT-1 in serum of patients with ischemic stroke can induce oxidative stress response and aggravate endothelial injury.

fast neutron absorption spectroscopy;laser plasma accelerator;photo-nuclear neutrons;single neutron count

Fast neutron absorption spectroscopy is widely used in the study of nuclear structure and element analysis. However,due to the traditional neutron source pulse duration being of the order of nanoseconds, it is difficult to obtain a high-resolution absorption spectrum. Thus, we present a method of ultrahigh energy-resolution absorption spectroscopy via a high repetition rate, picosecond duration pulsed neutron source driven by a terawatt laser. The technology of single neutron count is used, which results in easily distinguishing the width of approximately 20 keV at 2 MeV and an asymmetric shape of the neutron absorption peak. The absorption spectroscopy based on a laser neutron source has one order of magnitude higher energy-resolution power than the state-of-the-art traditional neutron sources, which could be of benefit for precisely measuring nuclear structure data.

PuzzleNet:Boundary-Aware Feature Matching for Non-Overlapping 3D Point Clouds Assembly

We address the 3D shape assembly of multiple geometric pieces without overlaps, a scenario often encountered in 3D shape design, field archeology, and robotics. Existing methods depend on strong assumptions on the number of shape pieces and coherent geometry or semantics of shape pieces. Despite raising attention to 3D registration with complex or low overlapping patterns, few methods consider shape assembly with rare overlaps. To address this problem, we present a novel framework inspired by solving puzzles, named PuzzleNet, which conducts multi-task learning by leveraging both 3D alignment and boundary information. Specifically, we design an end-to-end neural network based on a point cloud transformer with two-way branches for estimating rigid transformation and predicting boundaries simultaneously. The framework is then naturally extended to reassemble multiple pieces into a full shape by using an iterative greedy approach based on the distance between each pair of candidate-matched pieces. To train and evaluate PuzzleNet, we construct two datasets, named ModelPuzzle and DublinPuzzle, based on a real-world urban scan dataset (DublinCity) and a synthetic CAD dataset (ModelNet40) respectively. Experiments demonstrate our effectiveness in solving 3D shape assembly for multiple pieces with arbitrary geometry and inconsistent semantics. Our method surpasses state-of-the-art algorithms by more than 10 times in rotation metrics and four times in translation metrics.

Fast Multi-Operator Image Resizing and Evaluation

Current multi-operator image resizing methods succeed in generating impressive results by using image similarity measure to guide the resizing process. An optimal operation path is found in the resizing space. However, their slow resizing speed caused by inefficient computation strategy of the bidirectional patch matching becomes a drawback in practical use. In this paper, we present a novel method to address this problem. By combining seam carving with scaling and cropping, our method can realize content-aware image resizing very fast. We define cost functions combing image energy and dominant color descriptor for all the operators to evaluate the damage to both local image content and global visual effect. Therefore our algorithm can automatically find an optimal sequence of operations to resize the image by using dynamic programming or greedy algorithm. We also extend our algorithm to indirect image resizing which can protect the aspect ratio of the dominant object in an image.

Multivariate analysis of factors predicting surgical intervention for hemorrhagic cystitis after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Hemorrhagic cystitis(HC),which is characterized by a congested vasculature and extensive hemorrhage in the bladder lamina propria,is often secondary to chemotherapy,external radiation therapy,allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(Allo-HSCT),and/or opportunistic infection.[1]The incidence of HC after Allo-HSCT has been reported to range between 1.3%and 20%.[2]The severity of HC may vary from bladder irritation symptoms with mild hematuria,which is observed in most cases and is resolved with conservative management,such as adequate hydration and bladder irrigation,to transfusion-dependent hemorrhage and/or a lower urinary tract obstruction post renal failure.Other strategies,including bladder irrigation with intravesical alum,formalin,aminocaproic acid,or prostaglandin and hyperbaric oxygen therapy,have been reported,with the resolution of bleeding in the majority of cases.[3]However,for patients in whom these measures fail and the lower urinary tract becomes obstructed by numerous blood clots,further surgery,including internal iliac angioembolization,cystoscopy with control of bladder hemorrhage and cystectomy,should be considered.[4]

Fast and Error-Bounded Space-Variant Bilateral Filtering

The traditional space-invariant isotropic kernel utilized by a bilateral filter(BF)frequently leads to blurry edges and gradient reversal artifacts due to tlie existence of a large amount of outliers in the local averaging window.However,the efficient and accurate cstiinatioii of space-variant k(4rnels which adapt to image structures,and the fast realization of the corresponding space-variant bilateral filtering are challenging problems.To address these problems,we present a space-variant BF(SVBF).and its linear time and error-bounded acceleration method.First,we accurately estimate spacevariant,anisotropic kernels that vary with image structures in linear time through structure tensor and mininnini spanning tree.Second,we perform SVBF in linear time using two error-bounded approximation methods,namely,low-rank tensor approximation via higher-order singular value decomposition and exponential sum approximation.Tlierefore.the proposed SVBF can efficiently achieve good edge-preserving results.We validate the advantages of the proposed filter in applications including:image denoising,image enhancement,and image focus editing.Experimental results(leinonstrate that our fast and error-bounded SVBF is superior to state-of-the-art methods.

Testing and analysis of the plastic scintillator units for LHAASO-ED

Background A total of 5195 electromagnetic particle detectors(EDs)are used in the 1-square-kilometer extensive air shower array(KM2A),which is a subarray of the Large High Altitude Air Shower Observatory(LHAASO).Purpose As the detection sensitive medium of the EDs,more than 20,000 plastic scintillator units(BC-408),produced by Saint-Gobain,are used in LHAASO.It is important to monitor the light output of the scintillator units among the units.Method To improve the efficiency,a sampling inspection scheme(misjudgment rate of less than 5%)was designed,and a batch test system was developed.Ten units of scintillator units can be measured at a time.The test system selects the single muon events of cosmic rays to measure the light output values of the plastic scintillator units.Results The measurement has an uncertainty of less than 2%.By pretest calibration,the difference between different channels can be eliminated.The calibration was implemented approximately every 3 months,and the test system had been running stably for 28 months.By measuring the ratio of the signals of selected far and near probe events,the changes in the quality of different batches of plastic scintillator units can be demonstrated.Conclusions The test system realized accurate measurement of the light output,and all batches satisfied the requirements of the experiment.