SAPT:a synchrotron-based proton therapy facility in Shanghai

Because of its excellent dose distribution,proton therapy is becoming increasingly popular in the medical application of cancer treatment.A synchrotron-based proton therapy facility was designed and constructed in Shanghai.The synchrotron,beam delivery system,and other technical systems were commissioned and reached their expected performances.After a clinical trial of 47 patients was finished,the proton therapy facility obtained a registration certificate from the National Medical Products Administration.The characteristics of the accelerator and treatment systems are described in this article.

Engineering Fronts in 2018

1.Introduction Engineering science and technology is an important driving force in changing the world,and engineering frontiers(here referred to as“engineering fronts”)are important guidelines for future directions in the development of engineering science and technology.Grasping trends in global engineering science and technology and quickly adapting to new directions in the current scientific and technological revolution have become strategic choices for countries all over the world.Since 2017,the Chinese Academy of Engineering has organized the Engineering Fronts research project,together with Clarivate Analytics and Higher Education Press,with the hope of bringing together the expert knowledge of global engineering and technology talents,assessing global frontiers in engineering research and development,and developing strategic opportunities to provide a reference for active responses to global challenges and sustainable development.

Correlation of nephroblastoma overexpressed gene (NOV) mRNA levels with cell growth- and migration-related gene expression in osteosarcoma tissue

Objective:To study the correlation of nephroblastoma overexpressed gene (NOV) mRNA levels with cell growth- and migration-related gene expression in osteosarcoma tissue. Methods: A total of 78 patients with osteosarcoma undergoing surgical treatment in our hospital between May 2012 and May 2016 were selected, and the osteosarcoma tissue and paracancerous tissue were collected. Fluorescence quantitative PCR method was used to detect the mRNA expression of NOV as well as pro-proliferation/anti-proliferation genes and invasion genes, and the Pearson test was used to further assess the correlation of NOV mRNA expression with the osteosarcoma cell growth and migration activity.Results: NOV mRNA expression in osteosarcoma tissue was significantly lower than that in paracancerous tissue, FoxM1, STIM1 and Orai1 mRNA expression were significantly higher than those in paracancerous tissue, anti-proliferation genes RanBP9, Tap73, Caspase-3, PTEN and P53 mRNA expression were significantly lower than those in paracancerous tissue, and invasion genes EFEMP1, Notch1, Id1 and Src mRNA expression were significantly higher than those in paracancerous tissue. Pearson test showed that the NOV mRNA expression in osteosarcoma tissue was negatively correlated with pro-proliferation genes FoxM1, STIM1 and Orai1 mRNA expression, positively correlated with anti-proliferation genes RanBP9, Tap73, Caspase-3, PTEN and P53 mRNA expression, and negatively correlated with invasion genes EFEMP1, Notch1, Id1 and Src mRNA expression.Conclusion: NOV expression is relatively low in osteosarcoma tissue, and NOV mRNA expression is negatively correlated with tumor cell proliferation and invasion activity.

Gradient nanostructured tungsten and the thermal shock response

In fusion reactor or spallation neutron source environment,damage of tungsten components begins at the surface.To enhance the surface toughness,strength,and hardness of tungsten,a nano-to-micro sc ale lamellar gradient surface layer(thickness up to~50μm)was produced on as-rolled pure tungsten using a dry-sliding surface treatment.The dry-sliding temperature and time were established by observing the grain-size evolution from room temperature to 750℃and the coefficient of friction on the surface layer after sliding from 10 to 50 min.The grains changed into a slender fibrous structure at 250℃,which is higher than the ductile-brittle transition temperature but lower than the dynamic recrystallization temperature(750℃).The coefficient of friction of the surface layer decreased with sliding time and stabilized at approximately 50 min,indicating near-s aturation of the surface refinement.After repetitive thermal loads of 10,20,and 30 MW·m^(-2)on the gradient modified layer,it exhibited mainly recrystallization and grain growth.The proportion of low-angle grain boundaries(<10°)reached50.6,42.2,and 17.3%,respectively,and the hardness decreased to 602,582,and 488HV.A heat load of 30 MW·m^(-2)was the threshold for the fast grain growth.Compared with unmodified tungsten,the recrystallization and grain growth are relatively slow.Besides,the gradient layer could suppress the formation of pits and protrusions in the as-rolled tungsten sample.

Thermal effect of holmium laser lithotripsy under ureteroscopy

To the Editor: Ureteral calculus is a common urological disease. In recent years, one of the main treatment methods is ureteroscopy with holmium laser lithotripsy. However, with the extensive application of holmium laser lithotripsy, the increasing incidence of postoperative ureteral stricture or even occlusion has attracted the attention of clinicians to its etiology. The issue of the intraoperative holmium laser thermal effect has also gradually gained attention. The holmium laser is a long-wavelength pulsed laser, which crushes calculi by an optomechanical/photoacoustic mechanism as well as a photothermal mechanism, and it is mainly based on the photothermal mechanism.[1] Currently, multiple in vitro studies worldwide have confirmed that the holmium laser did increase the water temperature in the working area. However, these studies only simulated the lithotripsy process of the holmium laser in vitro, which did not completely reflect the thermal effect of the holmium laser during an actual operation. Accordingly, this study monitored the temperature changes of the lavage fluid in the operative field during the actual holmium laser lithotripsy process under an ureteroscope, with the aim of providing more information for the etiology study of ureteral stricture after ureteroscopy with holmium laser lithotripsy.

Polythiophene-block-poly(phenyl isocyanide) Copolymers: One-pot Synthesis, Properties and Applications

Conjugated block copolymers have gained increasing interests in recent years. Development of a novel method for facile synthesis of conjugated block copolymers with desired structures and functions is greatly desired. In this mini review, we summarized the recent advances in one-pot synthesis of conjugated block copolymers containing π-conjugated polythiophene and helical polyisocyanide segments by using a nickel（Ⅱ） complex as single catalyst. The sequential living polymerization of the two monomers proceeded in a controlled manner, affording expected block copolymers in high yields with controlled molecular weights（Mns） and narrow molecular weight distributions（Mw/Mns）. By using this method, a family of block copolymers with expected structure and tunable compositions can be facilely prepared. Introducing functional groups onto the pendant, these block copolymers can exhibit interesting self-assembly property, tunable light emission and multi-responsiveness.

Joint multifractal analysis based on wavelet leaders

Mutually interacting components form complex systems and these components usually have long- range cross-correlated outputs. Using wavelet leaders, we propose a method for characterizing the joint multifractal nature of these long-range cross correlations; we call this method joint multifractal analysis based on wavelet leaders （MF-X-WL）. We test the validity of tile MF-X-WL method by performing extensive numerical experiments on dual binomial measures with multifractal cross correlations and bivariate fractional Brownian motions （bFBMs） with monofractal cross correlations. Both experiments indicate that MF-X-WL is capable of detecting cross correlations in synthetic data with acceptable estimating errors. We also apply the MF-X-WL method to pairs of series from financial markets （returns and volatilities） and online worlds （online numbers of different genders and different societies） and determine intriguing joint multifractal behavior.

Synthesis and properties of poly(3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate)/chitin nanocrystals composite scaffolds for tissue engineering

Poly（3-hydroxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate）（PHBV）/chitin nanocrystals（CNC） composite scaffolds were synthesized by the salt leaching and thermally induced phase separation（TIPS） technique.The scaffolds have porous structures with macro-pores（100-300 μm in diameters） and micro-pores（10μm）.The surface characteristics of the scaffolds were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy（XPS） and static water contact angle measurement,and the mechanical properties were investigated by a compression test.Human adipose-derived stem cells（hADSCs） were seeded onto the PHBV/CNC scaffolds and in vitro cell culture results showed that the composite scaffolds enhanced the hADSCs adhesion,which implies that the material may have potential application in tissue engineering.

Hem-o-lok： A Nonignorable Cause of Severe Renal Calculus with Intrapelvic Migration

To the Editor： A 71 -year-old male was admitted to Department of Urology, The 3^nd Xiangya Hospital, Central South University on June 26, 2014, because of lateral distending pain in the left back in recent 3 months. The patient＇s past medical history included retroperitoneoscopic left pelvilithotomy at 6 years ago.