Clinical usefulness of transpapillary removal of common bile duct stones by frequency doubled double pulse Nd:YAG laser

AIM: To study the efficacy and the safety of laser lithotripsy without direct visual control by using a balloon catheter in patients with bile duct stones that could not be extracted by standard technique. METHODS: The seventeen patients (7 male and 10 female; mean age 67.8 years) with difficult common bile duct (CBD) stones were not amenable for conventional endoscopic maneuvers such as sphincterotomy and mechanical lithotripsy were included in this study. Laser wavelengths of 532 nm and 1064 nm as a double pulse were applied with pulse energy of 120 mJ. The laser fiber was advanced under fluoroscopic control through the ERCP balloon catheter. Laser lithotripsy was continued until the fragment size seemed to be less than 10 mm. Endoscopic extraction of the stones and fragments was performed with the use of the Dormia basket and balloon catheter. RESULTS: Bile duct clearance was achieved in 15 of 17 patients (88%). The mean number of treatment sessions was 1.7 ± 0.6. Endoscopic stone removal could not be achieved in 2 patients (7%). Adverse effects were noted in three patients (hemobilia, pancreatitis, and cholangitis). CONCLUSION: The Frequency Doubled Double Pulse Nd:YAG (FREDDY) laser may be an effective and safe technique in treatment of difficult bile duct stones.

Analysis of Enhanced Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy with Double Femtosecond Laser Pulses

In this paper, an experimental study of collinear geometry double-pulse femtosecond LIBS was performed on a Ni sample in ambient air in an effort to clarify the contributing processes responsible for the signal enhancement observed in comparison with the single-pulse case. Doublepulse LIBS spectra show a very clear enhancement when an optimum inter-pulse delay was used. The influences of the inter-pulse delay between two pulses on the LIBS signal intensity, electron temperature and density were investigated. It is most remarkable that the evolutions of signal enhancement and electron temperature versus the inter-pulse delay showed the same behavior and revealed two main regimes of interaction. These results provide additional insight into the possible emission enhancement mechanisms in the double pulse configuration.

Intelligent process expert database of double pulse MIG welding of AI-Si alloy

Based on double pulse welding process characteristics, expert database structure and work flow are designed. Further, multiple outstanding specifications of 1.0 ram-diameter wire are obtained through a large number of experiments. By making non-linear regression analysis on these groups of standards, the relationship between average welding current and other pulse parameters can be found out. Polynomial regression equation is set up for further realization of＂ parameter estimation function of the expert database. Finally, the preliminary developed expert database is tested. The result indicates that the unified adjusting and parameters estimation of the expert database leads to stable welding process and good weld appearance.

Linear Track Estimation Using Double Pulse Sources for Near-Field Underwater Moving Target

The double pulse sources （DPS） method is presented for linear track estimation in this work. In the field of noise identification of underwater moving target, the Doppler will distort the frequency and amplitude of the radiated noise. To eliminate this, the track estimation is necessary. In the DPS method, we first estimate bearings of two sinusoidal pulse sources installed in the moving target through baseline positioning method. Meanwhile, the emitted and recorded time of each pulse are also acquired. Then the linear track parameters will be achieved based on the geometry pattern with the help of double sources spacing. The simulated results confirm that the DPS improves the performance of the previous double source spacing method. The simulated experiments were carried out using a moving battery car to further evaluate its performance. When the target is 40-60m away, the experiment results show that biases of track azimuth and abeam distance of DPS are under 0.6° and 3.4m, respectively. And the average deviation of estimated velocity is around 0.25m/s.

Micro-impulse and plasma plume produced by irradiating aluminum target with nanosecond laser pulses in double-pulse scheme

The micro-impulse generated by ablating an aluminum target in double-pulse laser bursts with different interpulse delays was investigated using a torsion pendulum.The plasma plume was simultaneously visualized using high-speed photography to analyze the coupling mechanism of the ablation impulse.The experiment was carried out using a pulsed laser with a pulse width of 8 ns and a wavelength of 1064 nm.The experimental results show that an impulse with an interpulse delay of 60 ns is roughly 60%higher than that with no delay between the two pulses,when the energy of both laser pulses is 50 m J.Therefore,double-pulse schemes could enhance the ablation impulse under certain conditions.This is because the ablation of the first laser pulse changes the optical properties of the aluminum target surface,increasing the absorptivity.However,the ablation impulse is reduced with a time delay of 20 ns when the energy of both laser pulses is100 mJ or 150 mJ.It can be concluded that the plasma produced by ablating the aluminum with the first pulse shields the second laser pulse.To summarize,the experimental results show that different delay times in a double-pulse scheme have a significant effect on the ablation impulse.The study provides a reference for the optimization of the parameters when laser ablation propulsion with a double-pulse scheme is applied in the fields of space debris removal,laser ablation thrusters,and so on.

Spatio-temporal evaluation of Zr plasma parameters in a single-beam-splitting double-pulse laser-induced plasma

The plasma shielding effect is one of the major weaknesses of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(LIBS)as it causes non-linearity in signal strength.Although LIBS is typically carried out in constant laser energy,this non-linearity causes a reduction in sensitivity.In this work,we systematically examine laser-induced plasma,formed by two different excitation source modes,i.e.single pulse(SP)-excitation and single-beam-splitting double-pulse(SBS-DP)-excitation over Zr-2.5%Nb alloy.The two most important plasma parameters influencing the emission line intensity,plasma temperature(Te)and electron density(Ne)were studied and compared for both modes of laser excitation.Comparison of the results conclusively demonstrates that due to the splitting of the laser energy in the SBS-DP mode,the plasma shielding effect is significantly reduced.The reduced plasma shielding translates to an increased laser–sample coupling under SBS-DP mode.Temporal imaging of the total intensity of the laser-induced plasma in both excitation modes was also studied.The study shows how the plasma shielding effect can be reduced to improve the analytical quality of the LIBS methodology.

Generation and storage of double slow light pulses in a solid

We experimentally study the generation and storage of double slow light pulses in a pr^3＋：Y2SiO5 crystal. Under electromagnetically induced transparency, a single signal pulse is stored in the spin coherence of the crystal. By simultaneously switching on two control fields to recall the stored information, the spin coherence is converted into two slow light pulses with distinct frequencies. Furthermore, the storage and controlled retrieval of double slow light pulses are obtained by manipulating the control fields. This study of double slow light pulses may have practical applications in information processing and all-optical networks.

Atomic Processes in Emission Characteristics of a Lithium Plasma Plume Formed by Double-Pulse Laser Ablation

High resolution spectral analysis of lithium plasma formed by single and double laser ablation has been undertaken to understand the plume-laser interaction, especially at the early stages of the plasma plume. In order to identify different atomic processes in evolving plasma, time resolved spectral emission studies at different inter-pulse delays have been performed for ionic and neutral lithium lines emitting from different levels. Along with the enhancement in emission intensity, a large line broadening and spectral shift, especially in the case of excited state transition Li I 610.3 nm have been observed in the presence of the second pulse. This broadening and shift gradually decrease with increasing time delay. Another interesting feature is the appearance of a multi-component structure in the ionic line at 548.4 nm and these components change conversely into a single structure at the later stages of the plasma. The multi-component structures are correlated with the presence of different velocity （temperature） distributions in non-LTE conditions. Atomic analyses by computing photon emissivity coefficients with an ADAS code have been used to identify the above processes.

A theoretical study of the signal enhancement mechanism of coaxial DP-LIBS

In the field of dual-pulse laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy(DP-LIBS)research,the pursuit of methods for determining pulse intervals and other parameters quickly and conveniently in order to achieve optimal spectral signal enhancement is paramount.To aid researchers in identification of optimal signal enhancement conditions and more accurate interpretation of the underlying signal enhancement mechanisms,theoretical simulations of the spatiotemporal processes of coaxial DP-LIBS-induced plasma have been established in this work.Using a model based on laser ablation and two-dimensional axisymmetric fluid dynamics,plasma evolutions during aluminum–magnesium alloy laser ablation under single-pulse and coaxial dualpulse excitations have been simulated.The influences of factors,such as delay time,laser fluence,plasma temperature,and particle number density,on the DP-LIBS spectral signals are investigated.Under pulse intervals ranging from 50 to 1500 ns,the time evolutions of spectral line intensity,dual-pulse emission enhancement relative to the single-pulse results,laser irradiance,spatial distribution of plasma temperature and species number density,as well as laser irradiance shielded by plasma have been obtained.The study indicates that the main reason behind the radiation signal enhancement in coaxial DP-LIBS-induced plasma is attributed to the increased species number density and plasma temperature caused by the second laser,and it is inferred that the shielding effect of the plasma mainly occurs in the boundary layer of the stagnation point flow over the target surface.This research provides a theoretical basis for experimental research,parameter optimization,and signal enhancement tracing in DP-LIBS.

Modeling, Simulation and Control of Pulsed DE-GMA Welding Process for Joining of Aluminum to Steel

Joining of aluminum to steel has attracted significant attention from the welding research community,automotive and rail transportation industries.Many current welding methods have been developed and applied,however,they can not precisely control the heat input to work-piece,they are high costs,low efficiency and consist lots of complex welding devices,and the generated intermetallic compound layer in weld bead interface is thicker.A novel pulsed double electrode gas metal arc welding（Pulsed DE-GMAW）method is developed.To achieve a stable welding process for joining of aluminum to steel,a mathematical model of coupled arc is established,and a new control scheme that uses the average feedback arc voltage of main loop to adjust the wire feed speed to control coupled arc length is proposed and developed.Then,the impulse control simulation of coupled arc length,wire feed speed and wire extension is conducted to demonstrate the mathematical model and predict the stability of welding process by changing the distance of contact tip to work-piece（CTWD）.To prove the proposed PSO based PID control scheme’s feasibility,the rapid prototyping experimental system is setup and the bead-on-plate control experiments are conducted to join aluminum to steel.The impulse control simulation shows that the established model can accurately represent the variation of coupled arc length,wire feed speed and the average main arc voltage when the welding process is disturbed,and the developed controller has a faster response and adjustment,only runs about 0.1 s.The captured electric signals show the main arc voltage gradually closes to the supposed arc voltage by adjusting the wire feed speed in 0.8 s.The obtained typical current waveform demonstrates that the main current can be reduced by controlling the bypass current under maintaining a relative large total current.The control experiment proves the accuracy of proposed model and feasibility of new control scheme further.The beautiful and smooth weld beads are also obtained by this method.Pulsed DE-GMAW can thus be considered as an alternative method for low cost,high efficiency joining of aluminum to steel.

Effects of polyaniline on electrochemical properties of composite inert anodes used in zinc electrowinning

In order to search for a suitable anode material used in zinc electrowinning in place of Pb-Ag alloy,Al/Pb-PANI（polyaniline）-WC（tungsten carbide） composite inert anodes were prepared on aluminum alloy substrate by double pulse electrodeposition（DPE） of PANI and WC particles with Pb2＋ from an original plating bath.Thereafter,anodic polarization curves,cyclic voltammetry curves and Tafel polarization curves for the composite inert anodes obtained under different PANI concentrations in the original plating bath were measured,and the microstructural features were also investigated by scanning electron microscopy（SEM）.The results show that Al/Pb-PANI-WC composite inert anode obtained under PANI concentration of 20 g/L in the original plating bath possesses uniform microstructures and composition distributions,higher electrocatalytic activity,better reversibility of electrode reaction and corrosion resistance in a synthetic zinc electrowinning electrolyte of 50 g/L Zn2＋,150 g/L H2SO4 at 35 °C.Compared with Pb-1%Ag alloy,the overpotential of oxygen evolutions for the composite inert anode are decreased by 185 mV and 166 mV,respectively,under 500 A/m2 and 1000 A/m2.

Management hepatolithiasis with operative choledochoscopic FREDDY laser lithotripsy combined with or without hepatectomy

BACKGROUND: Hepatolithiasis is very common in East Asia. It is benign in nature, but has a high recurrence rate. It is likely to lead to biliary cirrhosis and increase the risk of cholangiocarcinoma. Hence, the treatment of hepatolithiasis is difficult but vital. In this report, we present a novel approach to manage hepatolithiasis using the choledochoscopic Frequency-Doubled Double pulse Nd:YAG (FREDDY) laser lithotripsy combined with or without hepatectomy. METHODS: Between July 2009 and October 2012, 45 patients underwent choledochoscopic FREDDY laser lithotripsy combined with or without hepatectomy (laser lithotripsy group). Fortyeight patients underwent a traditional operation (traditional method group) from January 2009 to June 2009. Comparative analysis was made of demographic and clinical characteristics of the two groups. RESULTS: The final stone clearance rate of the laser lithotripsy group was 93.3%, whereas that of the traditional method group was 85.4% (P=0.22). In the laser lithotripsy group, 2 patients experienced hemobilia and 3 patients had acute cholangitis. In the traditional method group, 3 patients had intraoperative hemorrhage, 1 patient had bile leakage, 6 patients had acute cholangitis, and 1 patient died of liver failure. Moreover, the operative time in the traditional method group was significantly longer than that in the laser lithotripsy group (P=0.01). The mean hospital stay of the patients in the traditional method group was longer than that in the laser lithotripsy group (9.8 vs8.2 days, P=0.17). Recurrent intrahepatic bile duct stones were not found during the follow-up period in the two groups. CONCLUSION: Operative choledochoscopic FREDDY laser lithotripsy combined with or without hepatectomy may be an effective and safe treatment for hepatolithiasis.

Probe into deposition mechanism of double pulse electrodepositing Ni-W-P matrix composite coatings containing CeO_2 and SiO_2 nano-particles

Ni-W-P matrix composite coatings reinforced by CeO2 and SiO2 nano-particles were prepared on common carbon steel surface by double pulse electrodeposition and the deposition mechanism was discussed.The results showed that the composite coatings with amorphous structure were obtained as-deposited.The initial growth behavior had alternatives and the nucleation was inhomogeneous because of obvious composition fluctuation.With the pulse deposition time increasing,some pearlite microstructures of the substrate were covered by some deposits and the composition fluctuation disappeared.Forward pulse currents promoted to form a great number of atomic beams composed of Ni,W and P atoms or CeO2 and SiO2 nano-particles as the core,which inhabited the growth of atomic beams.Reverse pulse currents eliminated concentration polarization and dissolved some surface boss of atomic beams.The solution of W and P atoms within Ni grains and embedding of CeO2 and SiO2 nano-particles within Ni-W-P matrix metal made atomic arrangement disordered.Finally,the atomic beams grew to amorphous small particles.

Pulsatile core-in-cup valsartan tablet formulations:In vitro evaluation

The aim of the present study was to design and evaluate single pulse and floating double pulse valsartan core-in-cup tablets.Core tablets were prepared by direct compression of a homogenous mixture of valsartan,Avicel PH-101,Croscarmellose sodium(CCNa),magnesium stearate&Aerosil.Weight variation,Hardness and Disintegration time were measured for the core tablets.Core-in-cup tablets were formulated using different polymers as a plug layer,including sodium alginate(SA),sodium carboxymethylcellulose(NaCMC)and hydroxypropyl methyl cellulose(HPMC).The floating behavior,water uptake and drug release from the prepared formulations were evaluated.Differential Scanning Calorimetry(DSC)was also performed to detect the possible drug excipient interaction.Stability study of the selected formula was performed at 25
C&60%RH and at 40
C&75%RH for 3 months.Finally,the existence of the selected formula in the stomach after oral administration to human volunteers was verified via x-ray radiography.The results showed that the release lag time of the tablets increased when the quantity of the plug layer increased thus decreasing the drug release.Plug layer polymers showed a lag time with rank order:SA<NaCMC<HPMC.Selected formulations are F5&F6.F5(having SA as the plug polymer)released valsartan after a lag time of 2 h while F6 released the drug in two successive pulses with a reasonable lag time in between due to its floating behavior.Formulations were stable for at least 3 months under standard long-term and accelerated storage conditions.In conclusion,pulsatile single pulse and floating double pulse stable valsartan core-incup tablets were successfully formulated which provided a desirable lag time followed by a rapid drug release.

Crystallization characteristics of Ni-W-P composite coatings reinforced by CeO_2 and SiO_2 nano-particles

Ni-W-P composite coatings reinforced by Ce O2 and Si O2 nano-particles on the surface of common carbon steels, were prepared by double pulse electrodeposition. The crystallization course was characterized by phase structures, crystallinity, grain sizes and microstructures. The results indicate that as-deposited composite coating is amorphous. Whereas it turns into the crystalline structure with 98.25% crystallinity, and Ni3 P, Ni2 P and Ni5P2 alloy phases precipitate from structures at 400 °C. Thereafter, Ni2 P and Ni5P2 metastable alloy phases turn into Ni3 P stable alloy phase at 500 °C. The crystallization course of the composite coating has finished when being heat-treated at 700 °C. The average sizes of Ni grains increase with the rise of heat treatment temperature from400 °C to 700 °C. Ce O2 and Si O2 nano-particles deposited into Ni-W-P alloys can delay the crystallization course and habit the growth of alloy phases.

Carrier-envelope-phase effect in nonsequential double ionization of Ar atoms by few-cycle laser pulses

A classical ensemble method is used to investigate nonsequential double ionization（NSDI） of Ar atoms irradiated by linearly polarized few-cycle laser pulses. The correlated-electron momentum distribution（CMD） exhibits a strong dependence on the carrier-envelope phase（CEP）. When the pulse duration is four cycles, the CMD shows a cross-like structure, which is consistent with experimental results. The CEP dependence is more notable when the laser pulse duration is decreased to two cycles and a special L-shaped structure appears in CMD. Recollision time of returning electrons greatly depends on CEP, which plays a significant role in accounting for the appearance of this structure.

Critical Transient Processes of Enhancement-mode GaN HEMTs in High-efficiency and High-reliability Applications

Wide-bandgap devices,such as silicon-carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors(MOSFETs)and gallium-nitride high electron mobility transistors(HEMTs),exhibit an excellent figure of merits compared to conventional silicon devices.Challenges of applying such fast switches include accurate extraction and optimization of parasitics especially when 6high-efficiency operation,all of which require the comprehensive understanding of such switch especially its interaction with peripheral circuits.Particularly for the enhancement-mode GaN HEMTs without the intrinsic body diode,when reverse conducting,its high voltage drop causes a high dead-time loss,which has rarely a concern in silicon devices.This paper focuses on 650V/30~60A enhancement-mode GaN HEMTs provided by GaN Systems,analytically models its switching behaviors,summarizes the impact of parasitics and dead time,and applies it in two DC/DC converters.Systematic design rules are generated not only for soft switching but also for hard switching applications.

A proposed approach for detecting terahertz pulses by using double few-cycle laser pulses with opposite carrier envelope phases

Previous research shows that few-cycle laser（FCL） pulses with low energy and without a bias field can be used to coherently detect terahertz（THz） pulses. As we know, it is very difficult to stabilize the carrier envelope phase（CEP） of FCL pulses, i.e., there are some random fluctuations for the CEP. Here we theoretically investigate the influence of such instability on the accuracy of THz detection. Our results show that although there is an optimum CEP for THz detection, the fluctuations of the CEP will lead to terrible thorns on the detected THz waveform. In order to solve this problem, we propose an approach using two few-cycle laser pulses with opposite CEPs, i.e., their CEPs are differed by π.

Insight into multiple-triggering effect in DTSCRs for ESD protection

The diode-triggered silicon-controlled rectifier（DTSCR） is widely used for electrostatic discharge（ESD） protection in advanced CMOS process owing to its advantages, such as design simplification, adjustable trigger/holding voltage, low parasitic capacitance. However, the multiple-triggering effect in the typical DTSCR device may cause undesirable larger overall trigger voltage, which results in a reduced ESD safe margin. In previous research, the major cause is attributed to the higher current level required in the intrinsic SCR. The related discussions indicate that it seems to result from the current division rule between the intrinsic and parasitic SCR formed in the triggering process. In this letter, inserting a large space into the trigger diodes is proposed to get a deeper insight into this issue. The triggering current is observed to be regularly reduced along with the increased space, which confirms that the current division is determined by the parasitic resistance distributed between the intrinsic and parasitic SCR paths. The theoretical analysis is well confirmed by device simulation and transmission line pulse（TLP） test results. The reduced overall trigger voltage is achieved in the modified DTSCR structures due to the comprehensive result of the parasitic resistance vs triggering current, which indicates a minimized multipletriggering effect.