Performance optimization of the neutron-sensitive image intensifier used in neutron imaging

As a non-destructive testing technology,neutron imaging plays an important role in various fields,including material science,nuclear engineering,and fundamental science.An imaging detector with a neutron-sensitive image intensifier has been developed and demonstrated to achieve good spatial resolution and timing resolution.However,the influence of the working voltage on the performance of the neutron-sensitive imaging intensifier has not been studied.To optimize the performance of the neutron-sensitive image intensifier at different voltages,experiments have been performed at the China Spallation Neutron Source(CSNS)neutron beamline.The change in the light yield and imaging quality with different voltages has been acquired.It is shown that the image quality benefits from the high gain of the microchannel plate(MCP)and the high accelerating electric field between the MCP and the screen.Increasing the accelerating electric field is more effective than increasing the gain of MCPs for the improvement of the imaging quality.Increasing the total gain of the MCP stack can be realized more effectively by improving the gain of the standard MCP than that of the n MCP.These results offer a development direction for image intensifiers in the future.

Neoadjuvant-intensified treatment for rectal cancer:Time to change?

AIM:To investigate whether neoadjuvant-intensified radiochemotherapy improved overall and disease-free survival in patients with locally advanced rectal cancer.METHODS:Between January 2007 and December 2011,80 patients with histologically confirmed rectal adenocarcinoma were enrolled.Tumors were clinically classified as either T3 or T4 and by the N stage based on the presence or absence of positive regional lymph nodes.Patients received intensified combined modality treatment,consisting of neoadjuvant radiation therapy(50.4-54.0 Gy) and infusional chemotherapy(oxaliplatin 50 mg/m 2) on the first day of each week,plus five daily continuous infusions of fluorouracil(200 mg/m 2 per die) from the first day of radiation therapy until radiotherapy completion.Patients received five or six cycles of oxaliplatin based on performance status,clinical lymph node involvement,and potential risk of a non-sphincter-conserving surgical procedure.Surgery was planned 7 to 9 wk after the end of radiochemotherapy treatment;adjuvant chemotherapy treatment was left to the oncologist's discretion and was recommended in patients with positive lymph nodes.After treatment,all patients were monitored every three months for the first year and every six months for the subsequent years.RESULTS:Of the 80 patients enrolled,75 patients completed the programmed neoadjuvant radiochemotherapy treatment.All patients received the radiotherapy prescribed total dose;five patients suspended chemotherapy indefinitely because of chemotherapyrelated toxicity.At least five cycles of oxaliplatin were administered to 73 patients.Treatment was well tolerated with high compliance and a good level of toxicity.Most of the acute toxic effects observed were classified as grades 1-2.Proctitis grade 2 was the most common symptom(63.75%) and the earliest manifestation of acute toxicity.Acute toxicity grades 3-4 was reported in 30% of patients and grade 3 or 4 diarrhoea reported in just three patients(3.75%).Seventy-seven patients underwent surgery;low anterior resection was performed in 52 patients,Miles' surgery in 11 patients and total mesorectal excision in nine patients.Fifty patients showed tumor downsizing ≥ 50% pathological downstaging in 88.00% of tumors.Out of 75 patients surviving surgery,67 patients(89.33%) had some form of downstaging after preoperative treatment.A pathological complete response was achieved in 23.75% of patients and a nearly pathologic complete response(stage ypT1ypN0) in six patients.An involvement of the radial margin was never present.During surgery,intra-abdominal metastases were found in only one patient(1.25%).Initially,45 patients required an abdominoperineal resection due to a tumor distal margin ≤ 5 cm from the anal verge.Of these patients,only seven of them underwent Miles' surgery and sphincter preservation was guaranteed in 84.50% of patients in this subgroup.Fourteen patients received postoperative chemotherapy.In the full analysis of enrolled cohort,eight of the 80 patients died,with seven deaths related to rectal cancer and one to unrelated causes.Local recurrences were observed in seven patients(8.75%) and distant metastases in 17 cases(21.25%).The fiveyear rate of overall survival rate was 90.91%.Using a median follow-up time of 28.5 mo,the cumulative incidence of local recurrences was 8.75%,and the overall survival and disease-free survival rates were 90.00% and 70.00%,respectively.CONCLUSION:The results of this study suggest oxaliplatin chemotherapy has a beneficial effect on overall survival,likely due to an increase in local tumor control.

Advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater by intensified zero-valent iron process(IZVI) combined with anaerobic filter and biological aerated filter(AF/BAF)

Experiments were conducted to investigate the behavior of the sequential system of intensified zero-valent iron process(IZVI) and anaerobic filter and biological aerated filter(AF/BAF) reactors for advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater. Particular attention was paid to the performance of the integrated system for the removal of chemical oxygen demand(COD), ammonia nitrogen(NH3-N) and total nitrogen(TN). The average removal efficiencies of COD, NH3-N and TN were 76.28%, 96.76% and 59.97%, with the average effluent mass concentrations of 56, 0.53 and 18.83 mg/L, respectively, reaching the first grade of the national discharge standard. Moreover, the results of gas chromatography/mass spectrum(GC/MS) and gel permeation chromatography(GPC) analysis demonstrated that the refractory organic compounds with high relative molecular mass were partly removed in IZVI process by the function of oxidation-reduction, flocculation and adsorption which could also enhance the biodegradability of the system effluent. The removal efficiencies of NH3-N and TN were achieved mainly in the subsequent AF/BAF reactors by nitrification and denitrification. Overall, the results obtained show that the application of IZVI in combination with AF/BAF is a promising technology for advanced treatment of biologically pretreated coking wastewater.

Removal of disinfection by-products formation potential by biologically intensified process

The removal of disinfection by-products formation potential(DBPFP) in artificially intensified biological activated carbon(IBAC) process which is developed on the basis of traditional ozone granular activated carbon was evaluated. By IBAC removals of 31% and 68% for THMFP and HAAFP were obtained respectively. Under identical conditions, the removals of the same substances were 4% and 32% respectively only by the granular activated carbon(GAC) process. Compared with GAC, the high removal rates of the two formed potential substances were due to the increasing of bioactivity of the media and the synergistic capabilities of biological degradation cooperating with activated carbon adsorption of organic compounds. A clear linear correlation(R 2=0.9562 and R 2=0.9007) between DOC HAAFP removal rate and Empty Bed Contact Time(EBCT) of IBAC process was observed, while that between THMFP removal rate and EBCT of GAC was R 2=0.9782. In addition certain linear correlations between THMFP, HAAFP and UV 254 (R 2=0.855 and R 2=0.7702) were found for the treated water. For IBAC process there are also more advantages such as long backwashing cycle time, low backwashing intensity and prolonging activated carbon lifetime and so on.

Obstructive Effects of Ultrasonic Microbubble Intensifier on CHG-5 Cell with Survivin Antisense Oligonucleotides Transfection

Objective： To study the effects on human glioma cell line CHG-5 by ultrasonic microbubble intensifier with survivin antisense oligonucleotides （ASODN） transfection. Methods： Antisense oligonucleotides targeting survivin mRNA was designed and synthesized. Four regimen groups were designed, group A： survivin antisense oligonucleotides transfected with ultrasonic microbubble intensifier combined with ultrasound irradiation, group B： survivin antisense oligonucleotides transfected with lipofectamine combined with ultrasound irradiation, group C： survivin antisense oligonucelotides with lipofectamine transfection, group D： blank control. The expression changes of surviving protein were measured by immunohistochemical staining and Western blotting, and MTT assay was used to measure the changes of proliferation. Results： Survivin protein expression in group A was decreased significantly in human glioma cell line CHG-5 than other groups（P〈0.05）, and the proliferating rate of CHG-5 in group A was also significantly inhibited（P〈0.05）. Conclusion： Ultrasonic microbubble intensifier transfection combined with ultrasound irradiation is a promising method in gene transfection effectively and noninvasively.

Intensifying digestion of diaspore and separation of alumina and silica

It was found that there lies a linear relationship among the thermodynamic data of complicate inorganic compounds with similar components. A method for estimating the thermodynamic data of complicate compound and a thermodynamic database involving alumina production were developed. It was found that the alumina digestion rate of activated diasporic bauxite by means of heat field increased much due to the structure aberration, i.e, from perfect structure to unstable corundum. The results from thermodynamic calculation and experiments showed that it was feasible for desilication at atmospheric pressure, and the effects on equilibrium concentration of SiO 2 included temperature, mole ratio of Na 2O/Al 2O 3 ( α k), caustic and Na + concentration. The technology of desilication of green liquor at atmosphere and separation of alumina and silica in aluminate solution with high concentration were established. The reaction activity of compounds containing silica and the converting law among compounds were studied, and the prototype technology of desilication products by hydrotreatment was also developed.

Simulating the Intensifying Effect of Phosphors on Imaging Plate with UV photons

It is assumed from the energy level that ultraviolet (UV) photons may have intensifying effect on BaFBr∶Eu 2+. In this paper, effect of UV photons (220～290 nm) on the PSL intensity of X-ray irradiated BaFBr∶Eu 2+ was measured and compared to that on the PSL intensity of 220 nm photons irradiated BaFBr∶Eu 2+. It was found that after the excitation of UV photons the PSL intensity of X-ray irradiated samples decreases least at 250 nm and that of 220 nm photons irradiated samples increases most at 250 nm. When the irradiation sources are X-rays and 220 nm photons the excited electrons are photoelectron and thermal-electrons, respectively, and they have different possibility of being captured by electron traps or combined with luminescent centers. And the peak at 250 nm can be explained with the model of electrons tunneling. It is assumed that the electrons excited by 250 nm have the most possibility of tunneling.

Intensified reactive extraction of 4-hydroxypyridine with di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid in 1-octanol by using tributyl phosphate

The efficient separation of amphoteric organic compounds from dilute solutions is of great importance in the industrial field. In the present work, the reactive extractions of 4-hydroxypyridine(4-HP) with tributyl phosphate(TBP), di(2-ethylhexyl) phosphoric acid(D2EHPA) and TBP + D2EHPA dissolved in 1-octanol were investigated, respectively. The influences of the initial concentrations of TBP, D2EHPA and TBP + D2EHPA on distribution ratio(D) were discussed, as well as the reactive extraction mechanism were proposed. The obvious intensification effect was observed when the mixture of TBP and D2EHPA was used as extractant. The best extraction conditions were found to be of the molar ratio of D2EHPA and TBP at 2:1 and the equilibrium aqueous pH at 3.50-4.50. D values increased with the increase of the total concentration of TBP and D2EHPA in 1-octanol. Especially, the analysis on the extraction mechanisms clearly indicate(i) TBP in 1-octanol shows negligible reactive extraction toward 4-HP,(ii) D2EHPA in 1-octanol exhibits moderate extraction effect by forming 4-HP:D2EHPA(1:1) and 4-HP:2D2EHPA(1:2) type complexes, while(iii) D2EHPA in TBP/1-octanol demonstrates the maximum distribution ratio with the 4-HP:D2EHPA(1:1) type complex domination. The discussion provides new insights on the mechanism and opens a new way for the intensified extraction of amphoteric organic compounds by using the mixture of multiple extractants in the diluent.

PROCESS AND PROPERTIES OF THE MODERN MULTIALKALI PHOTOCATHODE USED IN A CASCADE IMAGE INTENSIFIER

A new processing technology and the properties of multialkali antimonide photocathodesare described.The technique requires an initial antimony layer to be deposited on a fiber-optic window at asuitable temperature.After that.the layer is activated by multialkali and antimonide.Thus.the multialkaliphotocathodes named“The Modern Multialkali Photocathode”are obtained.It has been found that aphotocathode thus processed gives a sensitivity of 200 to 300μA/Im for white light at a color temperature of2854K.This paper shows the variation of photosensitivity during processing of a Modern MultialkaliPhotocathode and the variatioon of spectral sensitivity at different wavelengths.The author discusses theresults.gives a supposition of“photoemission center”,and discusses the role of Cs in multialkaliphotocathodes.

Intensified CCD Image Sensor

Work has been done with extending the useful imaging and detection range of CCD.This was accomplished through direct optical coupling and bonding of i-mage intensifiers to the CCD.It has been shown that the useful range of a CCD may be extended two orders of magnitude using these techniques in coupling a microchannel plate image intensifier to the CCD array.All of these works were done with presently available CCD made by China.

Intensified alkaline leaching pretreatment of refractory gold concentrates at common temperature and pressure

A new process for the hydrometallurgy of refractory gold concentrates was presented. The process comprises grinding leaching, intensified alkaline leaching (IAL), cyanidation and adsorption. In a stirring type pulverizing leaching tower mill, the concentrate is ground to <35.6 μm of 95.5 % while simultaneously leached by NaOH of 12 kg/t, then carried out intensified alkaline leaching for 48 h by NaOH of 108 kg/t in enhanced agitation tanks with the pulp concentration of 40% solids at the environmental temperature of 9.5 ～ 13.5 ℃ and the environmental pressure of 10 5 Pa. The oxidation rate of As is 94.9%, and 47.6% for S. The total consumption of NaOH is only 20% of that theoretically calculated under the conditions of full oxidation at the same oxidation rates of arsenic to arsenate and sulfur to sulfate. The gold leaching rate by NaCN in 24 h is increased from 9.2% before pretreatment to 94.2%. The consumption of NaCN is 7.5 kg/t, which is one times less than that before pretreatment. The extraction cost of gold is about 422 Yuan/t.

Intensify Quality Service:Yingshan, Hubei

Coveringanareaof1,449squarekilometers,YingshanCountyisamountainousarealocatedinthenortheasternpartofcentralChina'sHubeiProvince.In1998,localpopulationtotaled404,493,ofwhom73,287weremarriedwomenofchildbearingage.Householdsnumbered110,000.Overthepastfi...

China and Belarus intensify standardization cooperation

SAMR Vice-Minister and SAC Administrator Tian Shihong met with Tataritsky Valentin BolesLavovich,Chairman of the State Committee for Standardization of the Republic of Belarus (BELST) and Anatolii Khotko,Minister of Agriculture and Food of the Republic of Belarus on April 24.

WORLD MILITARY SITUATION 2016: ANTAGONISM INTENSIFIES BUT CRISES REMAIN CONTROLLABLE

The world military situation in 2016was complex,military strategies of major countries undergoing profound readjustment,contest in emerging fields increasing and a new round of populism cropping up worldwide which resulted in'Black swan events'happening one after another,major-country contest and geopolitical conflicts piling up and local

VoIP Market Intensified,the Government Control Still Won't Be Unlocked In the Near Future

The traditional telecommunications operator of China has entered into a substantive network construction stage of NGN and new VoIP service in 2006. As the increasing understanding and the consideration of cost to VoIP, VoIP has become more acceptable for CIO of large-scale enterprises. Small and medium-scale enterprises are sensitive to communication cost, but influenced by the maturity of VoIP technology and reduction of VoIP equipment price, the market is intensified. All these drive the VoIP equipment entering into the actual purchase stage and promote the stable growth of VoIP equipment scale.

Gas Absorption and Mass Transfer in a Pore-Array Intensified Tube-in-Tube Microchannel

A pore-array intensified tube-in-tube microchannel(PA-TMC),which is characterized by high throughput and low pressure drop,was developed as a gas–liquid contactor.The sulfite oxidation method was used to determine the oxygen efficiency(φ)and volumetric mass transfer coefficient(k_(L)a)of PA-TMC,and the mass transfer amount per unit energy(ε)was calculated by using the pressure drop.The effects of structural and operating parameters were investigated systematically,and the twophase flow behavior was monitored by using a charge-coupled device imaging system.The results indicated that the gas absorption efficiency and mass transfer performance of the PA-TMC were improved with increasing pore number,flow rate,and number of helical coil turns and decreasing pore size,row number,annular size,annular length,and surface tension.Theφ,εand k La of PA-TMC could reach 31.3%,1.73×10^(-4) mol/J,and 7.0 s-1,respectively.The Sherwood number was correlated with the investigated parameters to guide the design of PA-TMC in gas absorption and mass transfer processes.

Cooling effect of convection-intensifying composite embankment with air doors on permafrost

One of the main construction problems in permafrost regions is protecting permafrost thermal stability. Although ventilating ducts and crushed-rock layers were successfully used in railway embankment construction, their effects might not meet large-width expressway requirements. The convection-intensifying composite embankment composed of perforated ventilation ducts and crushed-rock layers was numerically studied to investigate its cooling effects. Adopting a numerical model, the temperature fields for two kinds of composite embankment with and without air doors were analyzed considering air flow and heat transfer characteristics in porous media. The results show that wind velocity in the crushed-rock zone is intensified by the perforated ventilation duct. The underlying permafrost temperature obviously decreases, and the 0 °C isotherm position rises significantly due to composite embankment. The composite embankment with air doors is more effective than that without air doors. Therefore, the new convection-intensifying composite embankment is potentially a highly efficient cooling measure for construction in permafrost regions.

The Advancement in Intensified Smelting Technology of Baosteel Blast Furnace

Baosteel always aims at becoming one of the most profitable enterprises in the world, enjoying international competence, benchmarking with the world advanced level,pursuing innovation sustainable development. Recent years, Baosteel Iron-making Department has caught the opportunity of increasing steel demand; conquering disadvantages such as changeable up-stream market, fuel and raw material’s tight supplies and lower quality, etc. In our department, Major technical problems have been overcome, blast furnace intensified smelting technology improved, the cost of molten iron under control, blast furnace long-life span control technology made breakthrough, and Baosteel’s ironmaking capacity improved further.