bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Plasma focus ion beam-scaling laws
Authors: Saw S. H.
Published: August 2014

Measurements on plasma focus ion beams include various advanced techniques producing a variety of data which has yet to produce benchmark numbers. Recent numerical experiments using an extended version of the Lee Code has produced reference numbers and scaling trends for number and energy fluence of deuteron beams as functions of stored energy E0. At the pinch exit the ion number fluence (ions m-2) and energy fluence (J m-2) computed as 2.4-7.8×1020 and 2.2-33×106 respectively were found to be independent of E0 from 0.4 – 486 kJ. This work was extended to the ion beams for various gases. The results show that, for a given plasma focus, the fluence, flux, ion number and ion current decrease from the lightest to the heaviest gas except for trend-breaking higher values for Ar fluence and flux. The energy fluence, energy flux, power flow and damage factors are relatively constant from H 2 to N 2 but increase for Ne , Ar , Kr and Xe due to radiative cooling and collapse effects. This paper reviews this work and in a concluding section attempts to put the accumulating large amounts of data into the form of a scaling law of beam energy Ebeam versus storage energy E0 taking the form for deuteron as: [Formula: see text]; where Ebeam is in J and E0 is in kJ. It is hoped that the establishment of such scaling laws places on a firm footing the reference quantitative ideas for plasma focus ion beams.
Diagnostics of plasma-biological surface interactions in low pressure and atmospheric pressure plasmas
Authors: Ishikawa Kenji , Hori Masaru
Published: August 2014

Mechanisms of plasma-surface interaction are required to understand in order to control the reactions precisely. Recent progress in atmospheric pressure plasma provides to apply as a tool of sterilization of contaminated foodstuffs. To use the plasma with safety and optimization, the real time in situ detection of free radicals - in particular dangling bonds by using the electron-spin-resonance (ESR) technique has been developed because the free radical plays important roles for dominantly biological reactions. First, the kinetic analysis of free radicals on biological specimens such as fungal spores of Penicillium digitatum interacted with atomic oxygen generated plasma electric discharge. We have obtained information that the in situ real time ESR signal from the spores was observed and assignable to semiquinone radical with a g-value of around 2.004 and a line width of approximately 5G. The decay of the signal was correlated with a link to the inactivation of the fungal spore. Second, we have studied to detect chemical modification of edible meat after the irradiation. Using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (MALDI-TOF-MS) and ESR, signals give qualification results for chemical changes on edible liver meat. The in situ real-time measurements have proven to be a useful method to elucidate plasma-induced surface reactions on biological specimens.
Effect of neutral gas heating in argon radio frequency inductively coupled plasma
Authors: Chin O. H. , Jayapalan K. K. , Wong C. S.
Published: August 2014

Heating of neutral gas in inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is known to result in neutral gas depletion. In this work, this effect is considered in the simulation of the magnetic field distribution of a 13.56 MHz planar coil ICP. Measured electron temperatures and densities at argon pressures of 0.03, 0.07 and 0.2 mbar were used in the simulation whilst neutral gas temperatures were heuristically fitted. The simulated results showed reasonable agreement with the measured magnetic field profile.
Optimization of neon soft X-ray emission from 200 J plasma focus device for application in soft X-ray lithography
Authors: Kalaiselvi S. M. P. , Tan T. L. , Talebitaher A. , Lee P. , Rawat R. S.
Published: August 2014

The Fast Miniature Plasma Focus (FMPF) device is basically made up of coaxial electrodes with centrally placed anode and six cathode rods surrounding them concentrically. They are enclosed in a vacuum chamber, filled with low pressure operating gas. However, in our experiments, these cathode rods were removed to investigate the influence of them on neon soft X-ray (SXR) and hard X-ray (HXR) emission from the device. On removal of cathode rods, the cathode base plate serves as cathode and the plasma sheath is formed between the anode and the base plate of cathode. Neon was used as the operating gas for our experiments and the FMPF device used is of 235 J energy capacities. The experimental results showed that the FMPF device was able to focus better and the SXR emission efficiency was five times higher without cathode rods than with cathode rods. On the contrary, HXR emission did not vary with and without cathode rods. This observed phenomenon was further cross-checked through imaging of plasma dynamics, with and without cathode rods. FMPF device consists of 4 Pseudo Spark Gap (PSG) switches, which need to operate synchronously to deliver high voltage from capacitors to the anode. It was also seen that, the presence or absence of cathode rods also influence the synchronous operation of PSG switches. It also implies that this is one definite way to optimize the SXR emission from the FMPF device. This study reveals an important finding that, cathode rods play a vital role in the formation of plasma sheath with consequential influence on the radiation emission from plasma focus devices. Enhancement of the X-ray emission from this device is definitely a stepping stone in the realization of this device for industrial applications such as X-ray lithography for semiconductor industries.
Gold planar wire array radiation sources at university scale generators and their applications
Authors: Shlyaptseva V. V. , Kantsyrev V. L. , Safronova A. S. , Esaulov A. A. , Shrestha I. , Weller M. E. , Osborne G. C. , Keim S. F.
Published: August 2014

Various configurations of planar wires arrays (PWA) made from wires in a broad range of atomic numbers up to 74 (W) have been extensively tested on Zebra generator at the University of Nevada, Reno. In this work, we present the results of our experiments with PWA made of the wires with an even higher atomic number, specifically 79 ( Au ). Two different configurations (single and double PWAs) are considered. The diagnostic set included: x-ray detectors, laser shadowgraphy, time-gated and time-integrated x-ray pinhole cameras, time-integrated spatially resolved and time-gated spatially integrated x-ray spectrometers, and a bolometer. The total x-ray yield was measured along and perpendicular to the load plane and reached the highest value measured on Zebra so far for the single PWA (perpendicular to the plane, 32 kJ). Theoretical tools included non-LTE kinetic and wire ablation dynamic models. The full set of data using aforementioned diagnostics is analyzed and specific implosion and radiative characteristics of Au PWAs. The application of gold PWAs in compact hohlraum configurations on Zebra is highlighted. VisRad (Prism Computational Sciences), a 3-D view factor code, is used to simulate the multi-dimensional radiation environment with a special emphasis on radiation temperature calculations and uniformity at the re-emission target surface.
Numerical experimentation on focusing time and neutron yield in GN1 plasma focus machine
Authors: Singh Arwinder , Lee Sing , Saw Sor Heoh
Published: August 2014

In this paper, we have shown how we have fitted Lee's six phase model code to analyze the current waveform of the GN1 plasma focus machine working in deuterium gas. The Lee's 6-phase model codes was later configured to work between 0.5 to 6 Torr and the results of both focusing time and neutron yield was than compared with the published experimental results.

The final results indicate that Lee's code, gives realistic plasma dynamics and focus properties together with a realistic neutron yield for GN1 plasma focus, without the need of any adjustable parameters, needing only to fit the computed current trace to a measured current trace.
Current and voltage monitors on a pulsed-power accelerator “Gamma-1”
Authors: Zavyalov N. V. , Gordeev V. S. , Grishin A. V. , Puchagin S. Yu. , Strabykin K. V. , Kalashnikov D. A. , Mansurov D. O. , Moiseevskikh M. A. , Majornikova V. L. , Kozachek A. V. , Mikhailov E. S. , Kalashnikov D. A. , Kozachek A.V.
Published: August 2014

There is presented a system of registering electric parameters of high-current pulsed electron accelerator “Gamma-1” its output electric power being 1.5 TW. The accelerator system of registration makes it possible to register in a single time scale the voltage pulses with the amplitude up to 3 MV, current pulses with the amplitude up to 1 MA and duration from several nanoseconds to a microsecond. Into the system of registration there are included two-step resistive voltage dividers, capacitive voltage divider, Rogowski coils, sectionalized Rogowski coils, B-dots, shunts, transmission line, attenuators, oscilloscopes, program system. The program system is aimed at reading, transmitting and processing information from oscilloscopes on the archival computer and provides interaction with database of current and voltage sensors, cables and filters. For each registration session the system also forms a map of experiment where system configuration and experiment parameters are presented.
A 1 MV triggered gas-filled gap
Authors: Balakin V. A. , Glushkov S. L. , Myskov G. A. , Putevskoi S.A. , Moiseevskikh M. A.
Published: August 2014

A gas trigatron type gap for a 36-channel ring switch of a five-cascade water-insulated double step forming line with output impedance of 2.9 Ohm “Gamma-1” high-current electron accelerator is described in this paper. At discharge operating voltage of 1 MV its overall dimensions are: height ~ 160 mm, diameter ~ 240 mm. When operated with a mixture of insulating gas and nitrogen in proportion 40%SF6+60%N2 at 17 MPa pressure, the trigger delay is (16 ± 2) ns, with a self-break safety margin of not less than 1.5. The gap electrode surfaces are made of tungsten alloy. When operating as a part of the double step forming line switch, the average energy, switched through a single gap, is 3.3 kJ, and the current is 95 kA.
Calculations and experimental investigation of pulse transmission system in the typical module of the facility “Gamma”
Authors: Zavyalov N. V. , Punin V. T. , Gordeev V. S. , Grishin A. V. , Nazarenko S. T. , Balakin V. A. , Glushkov S. L. , Demanov V. A. , Kozachek A. V. , Pavlov V. S. , Puchagin S. Yu. , Strabykin K. V. , Moiseevskikh M. A. , Kalashnikov D. A. , Spirin D. P. , Mansurov D. O.
Published: August 2014

For the last few years in INRP RFNC-VNIIEF the works on development of a multi-module «Gamma» facility have been conducted. An important part of each module is a pulse transmission system (PTS), providing transportation of a high-volt electromagnetic pulse (~2.3 MV, ~60 ns) to a diode load, positioned at an angle of ~80° to the axis of a module's forming system. Basic PTS units: a water-insulated transmission line (WTL), having a bended section, a vacuum insulator stack and a magnetically-insulated transmission line (MITL). At the first stage an experimental sample of PTS with diameter 0.65 m was studied. Performed studies allowed a conclusion that the given experimental PTS sample did not possess enough electric strength, what was a reason for electric breakdowns in the bended section of WTL. Reasons for breakdown occurrence were analyzed; conclusions were made on the necessity for increasing PTS diameter. As a result a PTS version with diameter ~1 m was developed. This paper presents results of the experimental studies as a part of the facility module. Totally 200 shots of the module were performed with given PTS at different charge voltage of its forming lines. Reliable and steady operation of all PTS units, as well as correspondence between output module parameters and their calculated values were proved. When using PTS, without MITL in the module diode load, with impedance ~3 Ohm the pulses with power 1.5 TW and total electron energy in a pulse ~80 kJ were obtained. When using PTS with cylindrical MITL of 1.6 m length, the pulse power was ~1.4 TW.
The role of Helium plasma in improving the sensitivity of Hydrogen detection in laser induced plasma spectroscopy
Authors: Madjid Syahrun Nur , Kurniawan Koo Hendrik , Kagawa Kiichiro
Published: August 2014

The experimental studies have been performed on the characteristics of laser induced He plasma that give influence to the sensitivity enhancement and the long lifetime of hydrogen emission line. Under He ambient gas, the emission intensity of spectra of hydrogen and oxygen increase with low background emission. In order to confirm the intensity enhancement, spatial intensity distribution of hydrogen and helium was measured along the plasma expansion direction. The result revealed that the maxima come at the far end of the plasma where the available shock wave generated thermal excitation energy should have been significantly reduced. It implies the time-mismatch effect on the shock wave excitation process and the presence of possible contribution of helium metastable excited state in He plasma.
Enhancement mechanism of H- production and suitable configurations for materials processing in a magnetized sheet plasma
Authors: Ramos Henry J. , Villamayor Michelle Marie S. , Mella Aubrey Faith M. , Salamania Janella Mae R. , Villanueva Matthew Bryan P. , Viloan Rommel Paulo B.
Published: August 2014

A magnetized sheet plasma ion source was developed for steady state high density plasma with strong density and high temperature gradients. This feature provides efficient formation of negative hydrogen ( H -) ions over a wide beam extraction area through the electron volume process. A hexapole confinement at the cathode, addition of argon and magnesium seeding led to the increase of H - yield. The device configuration is suitable for plasma based materials processing namely, synthesis of TiN , SiH , SnO 2, and the formation of advanced MAX phase materials Ti2AlC , Ti2CdC and NbAlC .
The effect of dielectric top lids on materials processing in a low frequency inductively coupled plasma (LF-ICP) reactor
Authors: Lim J. W. M. , Chan C. S. , Xu L. , Xu S.
Published: August 2014

The advent of the plasma revolution began in the 1970's with the exploitation of plasma sources for anisotropic etching and processing of materials. In recent years, plasma processing has gained popularity, with research institutions adopting projects in the field and industries implementing dry processing in their production lines. The advantages of utilizing plasma sources would be uniform processing over a large exposed surface area, and the reduction of toxic emissions. This leads to reduced costs borne by manufacturers which could be passed down as consumer savings, and a reduction in negative environmental impacts. Yet, one constraint that plagues the industry would be the control of contaminants in a plasma reactor which becomes evident when reactions are conducted in a clean vacuum environment. In this work, amorphous silicon (a-Si) thin films were grown on glass substrates in a low frequency inductively coupled plasma (LF-ICP) reactor with a top lid made of quartz. Even though the chamber was kept at high vacuum (~10−4 Pa), it was evident through secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) and Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy (FTIR) that oxygen contaminants were present. With the aid of optical emission spectroscopy (OES) the contaminant species were identified. The design of the LF-ICP reactor was then modified to incorporate an Alumina ( Al2O3 ) lid. Results indicate that there were reduced amounts of contaminants present in the reactor, and that an added benefit of increased power transfer to the plasma, improving deposition rate of thin films was realized. The results of this study is conclusive in showing that Al2O3 is a good alternative as a top-lid of an LF-ICP reactor, and offers industries a solution in improving quality and rate of growth of thin films.
Nanofabrication using home-made RF plasma coupled chemical vapour deposition system
Authors: Ong Si Ci , Ilyas Usman , Rawat Rajdeep Singh
Published: August 2014

Zinc oxide, ZnO , a popular semiconductor material with a wide band gap (3.37 eV) and high binding energy of the exciton (60 meV), has numerous applications such as in optoelectronics, chemical/biological sensors, and drug delivery. This project aims to (i) optimize the operating conditions for growth of ZnO nanostructures using the chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, and (ii) investigate the effects of coupling radiofrequency (RF) plasma to the CVD method on the quality of ZnO nanostructures. First, ZnO nanowires were synthesized using a home-made reaction setup on gold-coated and non-coated Si (100) substrates at 950 °C. XRD, SEM, EDX, and PL measurements were used for characterizations and it was found that a deposition duration of 10 minutes produced the most well-defined ZnO nanowires. SEM analysis revealed that the nanowires had diameters ranging from 30-100 mm and lengths ranging from 1-4 µm. In addition, PL analysis showed strong UV emission at 380 nm, making it suitable for UV lasing. Next, RF plasma was introduced for 30 minutes. Both remote and in situ RF plasma produced less satisfactory ZnO nanostructures with poorer crystalline structure, surface morphology, and optical properties due to etching effect of energetic ions produced from plasma. However, a reduction in plasma discharge duration to 10 minutes produced thicker and shorter ZnO nanostructures. Based on experimentation conducted, it is insufficient to conclude that RF plasma cannot aid in producing well-defined ZnO nanostructures. It can be deduced that the etching effect of energetic ions outweighed the increased oxygen radical production in RF plasma nanofabrication.
Experimental investigation on geometrical aspects of micro-plasma deposited tool steel for repair applications
Authors: Jhavar S. , Paul C. P. , Jain N. K.
Published: August 2014

Recent advancement in direct material deposition processes found wide applications in rapid prototyping, manufacturing and tooling industry. Micro-plasma deposition is one of the recent developments in this domain. This paper reports the deployment of newly integrated micro-plasma deposition system for the deposition of AISI P-20 tool steel on the AISI P20 tool steel substrate. A number of test tracks for single track deposition were deposited at the various combination of processing parameters. The sets of parameters yielding good deposits were selected to deposit overlap tracks. The geometry of single and overlapped tracks was evaluated to understand the parametric dependence. The study indicates that the aspect ratio of track geometry (ratio of width to height of track) is dependent on the processing parameters and the discharge current is identified as the most dominating parameters (contribution = 44%), followed by scan speed (contribution = 26.68%) and wire feed rate (contribution = 26.98%) with almost same effect. The microscopic study of the deposits indicates that the material deposited at the optimum processing parameters is free from surface and bulk defects. The estimated material properties are found to be at par with conventional processed material. This feasibility study proved that the micro-plasma deposition can be used for the generation of surfaces and multi-featured material deposition. It paved a way for the application of the process in die/mold repairs.
Soot oxidation in a corona plasma-catalytic reactor
Authors: Ranji-Burachaloo H. , Masoomi-Godarzi S. , Khodadadi A. A. , Vesali-Naseh M. , Mortazavi Y.
Published: August 2014

Oxidation of soot by corona plasma was investigated at conditions of exhaust gases from diesel engines, both in the absence and presence of CoO x as a catalyst. The CoO x catalyst nanoparticles were synthesized by a precipitation method. The BET surface area of the catalyst was 50 m2/g, corresponding to 23 nm particles. An aluminum grid was sequentially dip-coated for several times by suspensions of the soot in toluene and/or fine catalyst powder in DI water. The grid was used as the plate of a pin-to-plate corona reactor. Air at 180 °C was passed through the corona reactor to oxidize the soot, oxidation products of which were analyzed by both gas chromatograph and FTIR with a gas cell. Soot oxidation rate linearly increased with an increase of input energy. When the soot was deposited on a layer of the CoO x catalyst, the soot oxidation rate increased up to 2 times. The only product of the plasma (catalytic) oxidation of soot was CO 2 determined by FTIR. O produced in the plasma discharge oxidized the soot and the active surface oxygen enhanced its rate.
Effect of dust charge fluctuations on upper hybrid wave instabilities in magnetized dusty plasma
Authors: Sharma Jyotsna , Gahlot Ajay , Sharma Suresh C. , Jain V. K.
Published: August 2014

The decay instability of an upper hybrid electrostatic wave into an upper hybrid sideband wave and lower hybrid wave is studied in magnetized dusty plasma. A local theory of this process has been developed. The growth rate and mode frequencies of the unstable wave were evaluated based on existing dusty plasma parameters and it is found that the unstable mode frequency and growth rate increases with δ (ion-to-electron density ratio) in the presence and absence of dust charge fluctuations in addition to dust dynamics.
A local theory of effect of beam pre-modulation on gain and efficiency in a surface wave pumped free electron laser
Authors: Sharma Jyotsna , Sharma Suresh C. , Bhasin Anuradha , Jain V. K.
Published: August 2014

A pre-modulated relativistic electron beam (REB) counter propagating to the surface wave in the vacuum region Compton backscatters the surface wave into a high frequency radiation. The surface wave extends into the vacuum region and can be employed as a wiggler for the generation of sub-millimeter waves. The growth rate and gain were evaluated for a typical FEL (Free Electron Laser) parameters and It is found that the growth rate and gain of the surface wave pumped free electron laser increases with the modulation index. Moreover, the growth rate of the FEL (Free electron Laser) instability scales as one-third power of the beam density in the Compton regime.
Spiraling ion beam driven electrostatic ion cyclotron wave instabilities in collisionless dusty plasma
Authors: Sharma Shatendra , Sharma Jyotsna
Published: August 2014

The numerical calculations of the growth rate in long parallel wavelength are made for a spiraling ion beam propagating through a collision less magnetized dusty plasma cylinder that drives electrostatic ion cyclotron waves to instability via cyclotron interaction. It is found that the growth rate of the instability of the electrostatic ion cyclotron waves increase in the long parallel limit with the density ratio of negatively charged dust grains to electrons. The growth rate of the unstable mode has the maximum value for the modes whose Eigen functions peak at the location of the beam and varies as the one-third power of the beam current in both the limits.
An Additive Combinatorics Approach Relating Rank to Communication Complexity
Authors: Ben-Sasson Eli , Lovett Shachar , Ron-Zewi Noga
Published: August 2014

Identifying complexity measures that bound the communication complexity of a {0,1}-valued matrix
M
is one the most fundamental problems in communication complexity. Mehlhorn and Schmidt [1982] were the first to suggest matrix-rank as one such measure. Among other things, they showed log rank F(M) CC(M) rankF2(M), where
CC
(
M
) denotes the (deterministic) communication complexity of the function associated with
M
, and the rank on the left-hand side is over any field
F
and on the right-hand side it is over the two-element field
F
2. For certain matrices
M
, communication complexity equals the right-hand side, and this completely settles the question of “communication complexity vs.
F
2-rank”.

Here we reopen this question by pointing out that, when
M
has an additional natural combinatorial property---high discrepancy with respect to distributions which are uniform over submatrices---then communication complexity can be sublinear in
F
2-rank. Assuming the Polynomial Freiman-Ruzsa (PFR) conjecture in additive combinatorics, we show that CC(M) O(rank F2(M)/log rank F2(M)) for any matrix
M
which satisfies this combinatorial property.

We also observe that if
M
has low rank over the reals, then it has low rank over
F
2 and it additionally satisfies this combinatorial property. As a corollary, our results also give the first (conditional) sublinear bound on communication complexity in terms of rank over the reals, a result improved later by Lovett [2014].

Our proof is based on the study of the “approximate duality conjecture” which was suggested by Ben-Sasson and Zewi [2011] and studied there in connection to the PFR conjecture. First, we improve the bounds on approximate duality assuming the PFR conjecture. Then, we use the approximate duality conjecture (with improved bounds) to get our upper bound on the communication complexity of low-rank matrices.
Security Analysis of Accountable Anonymity in Dissent
Authors: Syta Ewa , Corrigan-Gibbs Henry , Weng Shu-Chun , Wolinsky David , Ford Bryan , Johnson Aaron
Published: August 2014

Users often wish to communicate anonymously on the Internet, for example, in group discussion or instant messaging forums. Existing solutions are vulnerable to misbehaving users, however, who may abuse their anonymity to disrupt communication. Dining Cryptographers Networks (DC-nets) leave groups vulnerable to denial-of-service and Sybil attacks; mix networks are difficult to protect against traffic analysis; and accountable voting schemes are unsuited to general anonymous messaging.

dissent
is the first general protocol offering provable anonymity and accountability for moderate-size groups, while efficiently handling unbalanced communication demands among users. We present an improved and hardened
dissent
protocol, define its precise security properties, and offer rigorous proofs of these properties. The improved protocol systematically addresses the delicate balance between provably
hiding
the identities of well-behaved users, while provably
revealing
the identities of disruptive users, a challenging task because many forms of misbehavior are inherently undetectable. The new protocol also addresses several nontrivial attacks on the original
dissent
protocol stemming from subtle design flaws.
Gathering Despite Mischief
Authors: Dieudonné Yoann , Pelc Andrzej , Peleg David
Published: August 2014

A team consisting of an unknown number of mobile agents, starting from different nodes of an unknown network, have to meet at the same node. Agents move in synchronous rounds. Each agent has a different label. Up to
f
of the agents are Byzantine. We consider two levels of Byzantine behavior. A strongly Byzantine agent can choose an arbitrary port when it moves and it can convey arbitrary information to other agents, while a weakly Byzantine agent can do the same, except changing its label. What is the minimum number of good agents that guarantees deterministic gathering of all of them, with termination? We solve exactly this Byzantine gathering problem in arbitrary networks for weakly Byzantine agents and give approximate solutions for strongly Byzantine agents, both when the size of the network is known and when it is unknown. It turns out that both the strength versus the weakness of Byzantine behavior and the knowledge of network size significantly impact the results.

For weakly Byzantine agents, we show that any number of good agents permits solving the problem for networks of known size. If the size is unknown, then this minimum number is
f
+2. More precisely, we show a deterministic polynomial algorithm that gathers all good agents in an arbitrary network, provided that there are at least
f
+2 of them. We also provide a matching lower bound: we prove that if the number of good agents is at most
f
+1, then they are not able to gather deterministically with termination in some networks.

For strongly Byzantine agents, we give a lower bound of
f
+1, even when the graph is known: we show that
f
good agents cannot gather deterministically in the presence of
f
Byzantine agents even in a ring of known size. On the positive side, we give deterministic gathering algorithms for at least 2
f
+1 good agents when the size of the network is known and for at least 4
f
+2 good agents when it is unknown.
Cutaneous Manifestation of Metastatic Infantile Choriocarcinoma
Authors: Brooks Timothy , Nolting Laura
Published: August 2014

Infantile choriocarcinoma is a highly malignant rare germ cell tumor that arises from the placenta. Simultaneous intraplacental choriocarcinoma involving both mother and infant is extremely rare. Cutaneous metastasis in infantile choriocarcinoma is even rarer with only a few case reports available. Here we describe a case of a female neonate who presented to the ED with a rapidly growing and bleeding vascular lesion to her right cheek. She was eventually diagnosed by biopsy with metastatic choriocarcinoma. In addition to the cutaneous tumor, she also had metastatic disease in her lungs. Her mother was subsequently found to have choriocarcinoma with metastatic disease to the lungs as well.
Global Dynamics of an HTLV-1 Model with Cell-to-Cell Infection and Mitosis
Authors: Li Sumei , Zhou Yicang
Published: August 2014

A mathematical model of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type 1 in vivo with cell-to-cell infection and mitosis is formulated and studied. The basic reproductive numberR0is derived. It is proved that the dynamics of the model can be determined completely by the magnitude ofR0. The infection-free equilibrium is globally asymptotically stable (unstable) ifR0<1  (R0>1). There exists a chronic infection equilibrium and it is globally asymptotically stable ifR0>1.
The Bee Sting That Was Not: An Unusual Case of Hymenoptera Anaphylaxis Averted in a Patient Treated with Omalizumab for Asthma
Authors: Slaughter Evelyn M. , Boyer Nathan , Bennett Steven
Published: August 2014

This paper presents a case of hymenoptera venom anaphylaxis averted by omalizumab, a monoclonal antibody to IgE antibody. This case suggests a novel and unintentional effect of this therapy. Currently omalizumab is only FDA approved for the treatment of moderate-persistent allergic asthma. However case reports, such as ours have illustrated omalizumab’s efficacy in the treatment of a myriad immunologic and allergic diseases. These outcomes have broadened the understanding of omalizumab’s complex mechanism of action.
Subclinical Hearing Loss, Longer Sleep Duration, and Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Japanese General Population
Authors: Nakajima Kei , Kanda Eiichiro , Hosobuchi Ami , Suwa Kaname
Published: August 2014

Hearing loss leads to impaired social functioning and quality of life. Hearing loss is also associated with sleeping disorders and cardiometabolic risk factors. Here, we determined whether subclinical hearing loss is associated with sleep duration and cardiometabolic risk factors in a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of healthy Japanese general population. 48,091 men and women aged 20–79 years who underwent medical checkups were included in a cross-sectional study, and 6,674 were included in an 8-year longitudinal study. The prevalence of audiometrically determined hearing loss (>25 dB) at 4000 and 1000 Hz increased significantly with increasing sleep duration in any age strata. Logistic regression analysis showed that compared with reference sleep duration (6 h) longer sleep duration (≥8 h) was significantly associated with hearing loss, even after adjusting for potential confounding factors. Simultaneously, hearing loss was significantly associated with male sex, diabetes, and no habitual exercise. In the longitudinal study, the risk of longer sleep duration (≥8 h) after 8 years was significantly greater in subjects with hearing loss at 4000 Hz at baseline. In conclusion, current results suggest a potential association of subclinical hearing loss with longer sleep duration and cardiometabolic risk factors in a Japanese general population.
Quantitative Analysis of Isolated Single‐Wall Carbon Nanotubes with Their Molar Absorbance Coefficients
Authors: Kuwahara Shota , Kuwahara Yuki , Shinohara Hisanori
Published: August 2014

The molar absorbance coefficients of metallic, semiconducting, and (6,5) chirality enriched single‐wall carbon nanotubes were evaluated by a spray technique combined with atomic force microscopy. Single‐wall carbon nanotubes with isolated and a single predominant electronic type were obtained by using the density‐gradient ultracentrifugation technique. In the visible region, all coefficients had similar values around 2–5 × 109/mL mol−1 cm−1, independent of their diameter distribution and the electronic types of single‐wall carbon nanotubes, and the εS22/εM11  and εS11/εM11 were estimated to be 1.0 and 4.0, respectively. The coefficient strongly depends on the length of single‐wall carbon nanotubes, independent of their electronic types and chirality.
Bladder Endometriosis and Endocervicosis: Presentation of 2 Cases with Endoscopic Management and Review of Literature
Authors: Fuentes Pastor Javier , Ballestero Diego Roberto , Correas Gómez Miguel Ángel , Torres Díez Eduardo , Fernández Flórez Alejandro , Ballesteros Olmos Gerardo , Gutierrez Baños Jose Luis
Published: August 2014

Urinary tract endometriosis and endocervicosis are an uncommon pathologic finding, with a common embryological origin. We present 2 cases of female patients with bladder mass. The first one was a finding of a nodular formation in the bladder during study of a nonviable foetus and the second was an incidental finding of a neoformation in the fundus of the bladder during the realization of an ultrasound. In both cases, we performed a surgical management with transurethral resection. Histopathological examination revealed a bladder endometrioma in the first case and endocervicosis with associated endometriosis in the second.
Convergence Analysis of Legendre Pseudospectral Scheme for Solving Nonlinear Systems of Volterra Integral Equations
Authors: Tohidi Emran , Navid Samadi O. R. , Shateyi S.
Published: August 2014

We are concerned with the extension of a Legendre spectral method to the numerical solution of nonlinear systems of Volterra integral equations of the second kind. It is proved theoretically that the proposed method converges exponentially provided that the solution is sufficiently smooth. Also, three biological systems which are known as the systems of Lotka-Volterra equations are approximately solved by the presented method. Numerical results confirm the theoretical prediction of the exponential rate of convergence.
Effects ofβ-Adrenoceptor Subtypes on Cardiac Function in Myocardial Infarction Rats Exposed to Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5)
Authors: Gao Yuping , Lv Jiyuan , Lin Yuanyuan , Li Xuewen , Wang Lixia , Yin Yanping , Liu Yan
Published: August 2014

The pathophysiological mechanisms of heart failure (HF) stems were mainly from longstanding overactivation of the sympathetic nervous system and renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Recent studies highlighted the potential benefits ofβ1-adrenoceptor (β1-AR) blocker combined withβ2-adrenergic receptor (β2-AR) agonist in patients with HF. Long-term exposure to fine particulate air pollution, such as particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5), has been found associated with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) which is the most common cause of congestive HF. In this study, we have investigated the effect of combined metoprolol and terbutaline on cardiac function in a rat model of AMI exposed to PM2.5. Our results demonstrated that short-term exposure to PM2.5contributes to aggravate cardiac function in rats with myocardial infarction. The combined use ofβ1-AR blocker andβ2-AR agonist is superior toβ1-AR blocker alone for the treatment of AMI rats exposed to PM2.5. The combination ofβ1-AR blocker andβ2-AR agonist may decrease the mortality of patients with myocardial infarction who have been exposed to PM2.5.
Diagnosing Intraoperative Pneumothorax in Patients Undergoing Autologous Breast Reconstruction: A Useful Clinical Sign
Authors: Reekie Thomas , McGill David , Marshall Elizabeth
Published: August 2014

Intraoperative pneumothorax during breast reconstruction can be difficult to diagnose. Even a small pneumothorax can become a tension pneumothorax under positive pressure ventilation. The clinical finding of venous congestion in a pedicled latissimus dorsi flap, which could not be explained by problems with the vessels, preceded other signs of a tension pneumothorax in the case presented here. Given the difficulties of access to the chest by the anaesthetic team during breast procedures, this has the potential to be a useful adjunct in the diagnosis of this potentially serious intraoperative complication.
Adolescent Catatonia Successfully Treated with Lorazepam and Aripiprazole
Authors: Roberto Aaron J. , Pinnaka Subhash , Mohan Abhishek , Yoon Hiejin , Lapidus Kyle A. B.
Published: August 2014

Catatonia is especially concerning in children and adolescents. It leads to significant impairment, including emotional distress, difficulty communicating, and other debilitating symptoms. In this case report, we discuss a patient with no previous history of neuroleptic medication or psychotic symptoms, presenting with first-episode catatonia in the presence of disorganized, psychotic thoughts. We then review the catatonia syndrome, citing examples in the literature supporting its underdiagnosis in children and adolescents, and discuss successful treatment modalities. It is important to diagnose and treat catatonia as efficiently as possible, to limit functional and emotional distress to the patient.
Distributed Binary Quantization of a Noisy Source in Wireless Sensor Networks
Authors: Movaghati Sahar , Ardakani Masoud
Published: August 2014

In distributed (decentralized) estimation in wireless sensor networks, an unknown parameter must be estimated from some noisy measurements collected at different sensors. Due to limited communication resources, these measurements are typically quantized before being sent to a fusion center, where an estimation of the unknown parameter is calculated. In the most stringent condition, each measurement is converted to a single bit. In this study, we propose a distributed quantization scheme which is based on single-bit quantized data from each sensor and achieves high estimation accuracy at the fusion centre. We do this by designing some local binary quantizers which define a multithreshold quantization rule for each sensor. These local binary quantizers are initially designed so that together they mimic the functionality of a multilevel quantizer. Later, their design is improved to include some error-correcting capability, which further improves the estimation accuracy from the sensors’ binary data. The distributed quantization formed by such local binary quantizers along with the proper estimator proposed in this work achieves better performance, compared to the existing distributed binary quantization methods, specially when fewer sensors with low measurement noise are available.
Organic Nanovesicular Cargoes for Sustained Drug Delivery: Synthesis, Vesicle Formation, Controlling “Pearling” States, and Terfenadine Loading/Release Studies
Authors: Botcha Ajay Kumar , Dulla Balakrishna , Reddy E. Ramanjaneya , Chennubhotla Keerthana S. , Kulkarni Pushkar , Chandrasekar Rajadurai , Rajadurai Marina S.
Published: August 2014

“Sustained drug delivery systems” which are designed to accomplish long-lasting therapeutic effect are one of the challenging topics in the area of nanomedicine. We developed an innovative strategy to prepare nontoxic and polymer stabilized organic nanovesicles (diameter: 200 nm) from a novel bolaamphiphile, where two hydrogen bonding acetyl cytosine molecules connected to 4,4′′-positions of the 2,6-bispyrazolylpyridine through two flexible octyne chains. The nanovesicles behave like biological membrane by spontaneously self-assembling into “pearl-like” chains and subsequently forming long nanotubes (diameter: 150 nm), which further develop into various types of network-junctions through self-organization. For drug loading and delivery applications, the nanovesicles were externally protected with biocompatible poly(ethyleneglycol)-2000 to prevent them from fusion and ensuing tube formation. Nontoxic nature of the nanovesicles was demonstrated by zebrafish teratogenicity assay. Biocompatible nanovesicles were loaded with “terfenadine” drug and successfully utilized to transport and release drug in sustained manner (up to 72 h) in zebrafish larvae, which is recognized as an emerging in vivo model system.
miR-375 Suppresses IGF1R Expression and Contributes to Inhibition of Cell Progression in Laryngeal Squamous Cell Carcinoma
Authors: Luo Jie , Wu Jianhui , Li Zenghong , Qin Hao , Wang Bin , Wong Thian-Sze , Yang Weiqiang , Fu Qing-Ling , Lei Wenbin
Published: August 2014

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small noncoding RNA molecules which are involved in tumorigenesis and development. To investigate their role in primary laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC), miRNA GeneChips were used to screen the differentially expressed miRNA, and then validated by real-time quantitative PCR in LSCC samples, we found that miR-375 was frequently downregulated in primary LSCC tissues. The tumor-suppressive effect of miR-375 was determined by in vitro assays; through gain-of-function studies we demonstrated that miR-375 can inhibit LSCC cell (SNU-48 and SNU-899) proliferation, motility, and invasion, and promote their apoptosis. In addition, bioinformatics tools TargetScan, PicTar, and Miranda were used to investigate the potential target of miR-375; bioinformatics analysis and dual-luciferase reporter assay indicated that IGF1R was a novel direct target of miR-375. Ectopic transfection of miR-375 led to a significant reduction in IGF1R and its downstream signaling molecule AKT at both the mRNA and protein levels in LSCC cells. Our results suggested that downregulation of miR-375 is one of the molecular mechanisms for the development and progression of LSCC by directly targeting IGF1R and affecting its downstream AKT signaling pathways. Furthermore, miR-375 and IGF1R may serve as a novel therapeutic target for LSCC.
Permanence of Diffusive Models for Three Competing Species in Heterogeneous Environments
Authors: Xu Benlong , Ni Zhenzhang
Published: August 2014

We address the question of the long-term coexistence of three competing species whose dynamics are governed by the partial differential equations. We obtain criteria for permanent coexistence in a Lotka-Volterra system modeling the interaction of three competing species in a bounded habitat whose exterior is lethal to each species. It is also proved that if the intercompeting strength is very weak, the system is always permanent, provided that each single one of the three species can survive in the absence of the two other species.
Potential Therapeutic Effects of Meditation for Treating Affective Dysregulation
Authors: Leung Natalie T. Y. , Lo Mandy M. , Lee Tatia M. C.
Published: August 2014

Affective dysregulation is at the root of many psychopathologies, including stress induced disorders, anxiety disorders, and depression. The root of these disorders appears to be an attenuated, top‐down cognitive control from the prefrontal cortices over the maladaptive subcortical emotional processing. A form of mental training, long‐term meditation practice can trigger meditation‐specific neuroplastic changes in the brain regions underlying cognitive control and affective regulation, suggesting that meditation can act as a kind of mental exercise to foster affective regulation and possibly a cost‐effective intervention in mood disorders. Increasing research has suggested that the cultivation of awareness and acceptance along with a nonjudgmental attitude via meditation promotes adaptive affective regulation. This review examined the concepts of affective regulation and meditation and discussed behavioral and neural evidence of the potential clinical application of meditation. Lately, there has been a growing trend toward incorporating the “mindfulness” component into existing psychotherapeutic treatment. Promising results have been observed thus far. Future studies may consider exploring the possibility of integrating the element of “compassion” into current psychotherapeutic approaches.
A Neural Network Controller for Variable‐Speed Variable‐Pitch Wind Energy Conversion Systems Using Generalized Minimum Entropy Criterion
Authors: Ren Mifeng , Zhang Jianhua , Tian Ye , Hou Guolian
Published: August 2014

This paper considers the neural network controller design problem for variable pitch wind energy conversion systems (WECS) with non‐Gaussian wind speed disturbances in the stochastic distribution control framework. The approach here is used to directly model the unknown control law based on a fixed neural network (the number of layers and nodes in a neural network is fixed) without the need to construct a separate model for the WECS. In order to characterize the randomness of the WECS, a generalized minimum entropy criterion is established to train connection weights of the neural network. For the train purpose, both kernel density estimation method and sliding window technique are adopted to estimate the PDF of tracking error and entropies. Due to the unknown process dynamics, the gradient of the objective function in a gradient‐descent‐type algorithm is estimated using an incremental perturbation method. The proposed approach is illustrated on a simulated WECS with non‐Gaussian wind speed.
Joint Two-Dimensional Ambiguity Resolving Based on Space-Time Filtering for MIMO-SAR
Authors: Huang Ping-ping , Li Hua-sheng , Zhang Sheng , Sun Guang-Cai
Published: August 2014

In order to resolve the range and azimuth ambiguity in MIMO-SAR imaging, this paper proposed a joint two-dimensional ambiguity resolving method based on space-time filtering, which according to the ambiguity in different subscene is relative to different nearest echo range, and different azimuth time is relative to different instantaneous incidence angle, to make two-dimensional space-time steering vector for resolving ambiguity of the echo, which also can finish the imaging processing at the same time. Simulation results validate the proposed processing approach for the MIMO-SAR system.
Adverse Events of Massage Therapy in Pain‐Related Conditions: A Systematic Review
Authors: Yin Ping , Gao Ningyang , Wu Junyi , Litscher Gerhard , Xu Shifen
Published: August 2014

Pain‐related massage, important in traditional Eastern medicine, is increasingly used in the Western world. So the widening acceptance demands continual safety assessment. This review is an evaluation of the frequency and severity of adverse events (AEs) reported mainly for pain‐related massage between 2003 and 2013. Relevant all‐languages reports in 6 databases were identified and assessed by two coauthors. During the 11‐year period, 40 reports of 138 AEs were associated with massage. Author, year of publication, country of occurrence, participant related (age, sex) or number of patients affected, the details of manual therapy, and clinician type were extracted. Disc herniation, soft tissue trauma, neurologic compromise, spinal cord injury, dissection of the vertebral arteries, and others were the main complications of massage. Spinal manipulation in massage has repeatedly been associated with serious AEs especially. Clearly, massage therapies are not totally devoid of risks. But the incidence of such events is low.