Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) or laser induced plasma spectroscopy (LIPS) technique has been applied to investigate plasma characterization of pure copper in air. The fundamental wavelength of Q-switched Nd:YAG laser beam was focused on the copper target with intensity of about 6.6 × 108 W/cm2 to generate the plasma. The laser intensity was optimized to avoid air breakdown on the target surface. The generated Cu plasma plume was monitored with CCD camera and the emission is analyzed with an Ophir WaveStar spectrometer. The plasma temperature is calculated as 10100 K while plasma density is 5.4 × 1017 cm-3. The CCD observed image of the constructed plasma plume showed that it is oblate shape rather than expected spherical nature. The observed results revealed the spatial distribution of the generated plasma plume expansion towards the laser beam that depends on the plasma properties. The observed ablation profile with the number of laser pulses is also studied. © 2014, National Institute of Optoelectronics. All right reserved.

SummaryCongenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe congenital anomaly that is often accompanied by other anomalies. Although the role of genetics in the pathogenesis of CDH has been established, only a small number of disease-associated genes have been identified. To further investigate the genetics of CDH, we analyzed de novo coding variants in 827 proband-parent trios and confirmed an overall significant enrichment of damaging de novo variants, especially in constrained genes. We identified LONP1 (lon peptidase 1, mitochondrial) and ALYREF (Aly/REF export factor) as candidate CDH-associated genes on the basis of de novo variants at a false discovery rate below 0.05. We also performed ultra-rare variant association analyses in 748 affected individuals and 11,220 ancestry-matched population control individuals and identified LONP1 as a risk gene contributing to CDH through both de novo and ultra-rare inherited largely heterozygous variants clustered in the core of the domains and segregating with CDH in affected familial individuals. Approximately 3% of our CDH cohort who are heterozygous with ultra-rare predicted damaging variants in LONP1 have a range of clinical phenotypes, including other anomalies in some individuals and higher mortality and requirement for extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. Mice with lung epithelium-specific deletion of Lonp1 die immediately after birth, most likely because of the observed severe reduction of lung growth, a known contributor to the high mortality in humans. Our findings of both de novo and inherited rare variants in the same gene may have implications in the design and analysis for other genetic studies of congenital anomalies.

Summary Congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH) is a severe congenital anomaly often accompanied by other structural anomalies and/or neurobehavioral manifestations. Rare de novo protein-coding variants and copy-number variations contribute to CDH in the population. However, most individuals with CDH remain genetically undiagnosed. Here, we perform integrated de novo and common-variant analyses using 1,469 CDH individuals, including 1,064 child-parent trios and 6,133 ancestry-matched, unaffected controls for the genome-wide association study. We identify candidate CDH variants in 15 genes, including eight novel genes, through deleterious de novo variants. We further identify two genomic loci contributing to CDH risk through common variants with similar effect sizes among Europeans and Latinx. Both loci are in putative transcriptional regulatory regions of developmental patterning genes. Estimated heritability in common variants is ∼19%. Strikingly, there is no significant difference in estimated polygenic risk scores between isolated and complex CDH or between individuals harboring deleterious de novo variants and individuals without these variants. The data support a polygenic model as part of the CDH genetic architecture.

The "loopless antenna" is an interventional MRI detector consisting of a tuned coaxial cable and an extended inner conductor or "whip". A limitation is the poor sensitivity afforded at, and immediately proximal to, its distal end, which is exacerbated by the extended whip length when the whip is uniformly insulated. It is shown here that tapered insulation dramatically improves the distal sensitivity of the loopless antenna by pushing the current sensitivity toward the tip. The absolute signal-to-noise ratio is numerically computed by the electromagnetic method-of-moments for three resonant 3-T antennae with no insulation, uniform insulation, and with linearly tapered insulation. The analysis shows that tapered insulation provides an approximately 400% increase in signal-to-noise ratio in trans-axial planes 1 cm from the tip and a 16-fold increase in the sensitive area as compared to an equivalent, uniformly insulated antenna. These findings are directly confirmed by phantom experiments and by MRI of an aorta specimen. The results demonstrate that numerical electromagnetic signal-to-noise ratio analysis can accurately predict the loopless detector's signal-to-noise ratio and play a central role in optimizing its design. The manifold improvement in distal signal-to-noise ratio afforded by redistributing the insulation should improve the loopless antenna's utility for interventional MRI.

We evaluated leaf C isotope discrimination as affected by salinity among three Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis L.) cultivars that differ in their salt tolerance. ?Moonlight?, ?NorthStar?, and ?P-105? Kentucky bluegrass (KBG) were grown in solution culture and exposed to salinity levels of 2.0, 5.0, 8.0, 11.0, and 14.0 dS m?1 for 12 wk. All cultivars exhibited increased leaf firing with increasing salinity. However, Moonlight and NorthStar exhibited less leaf firing than P105 at all salinity levels. The salinity levels that caused 25% shoot growth reduction were 4.9 dS m?1 for NorthStar and Moonlight and 4.1 dS m?1 for P105, indicating that Moonlight and NorthStar have better salinity tolerance than P105. When salinity level was in the range of 2.0 to 8.0 dS m?1, Moonlight produced 1.9-fold more root mass than NorthStar, and NorthStar exhibited 3.9-fold more root mass than P105. When salinity exceeded 8.0 dS m?1, NorthStar had similar root mass as Moonlight, and both showed greater root mass than P105. Cultivar P105 had a higher C isotope discrimination (?) than Moonlight and NorthStar under nonsaline conditions (<2 dS m?1) but a lower ? than Moonlight and NorthStar at 11.0 dS m?1 salinity. The great reduction in ? of P105 as salinity increased suggests that salinity induced a greater degree of stomatal resistance that provided less opportunity for discrimination against the heavier isotope. Carbon isotope discrimination may serve as a useful selection criterion in breeding efforts to develop salt tolerant KBG.

Crop straw is an abundant renewable resource whose usage is limited due to its high cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents. Here, Trichoderma viride, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and Musca domestica were used to transform crop straws, and we investigated their impact on housefly rearing performance and optimized their utilization. The weights of cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin in fermented crop straw diets significantly decreased after bioconversion by M. domestica larvae. The highest bioconversion rate was recorded in corn straw diet (16.19%), followed by wheat straw diet (10.31%) and wheat bran diet (8.97%). Similarly, high larval weight (yield) and pupation rate and fecundity and fertility rate were recorded in fermented crop straw diets composed of corn straw and wheat bran in 1:1 proportions. These results indicated that fermenting crop straw with T. viride and S. cerevisiae represented an efficient strategy that enhanced crop straw bioconversion and improved the rearing capacity of the housefly larvae. The resulting larvae could further be used as proteinaceous feed in poultry and aquaculture industries. Graphical abstract.

Temperature strongly impacts the rates of physiological and biochemical processes, which in turn can determine the survival and population size of insects. At low temperatures performance is limited, however, cold tolerance and performance at low temperature can be improved after short- or long-term acclimation in many insect species. To understand mechanisms underlying acclimation, we sequenced and compared the transcriptome of the blowfly Chrysomya megacephala under rapid cold hardening (RCH) and long-term cold acclimation (LCA) conditions. The RCH response was dominated by genes related to immune response, spliceosome, and protein processing in endoplasmic reticulum with up-regulation during recovery from RCH. In contrast, LCA was associated with genes related to carbohydrate metabolism and cytoskeleton branching and stabilizing. Meanwhile, mRNA levels of genes related to glycerophospholipid metabolism, and some heat shock proteins (Hsps) were collectively up-regulated by both RCH and LCA. There were more genes and pathway adjustments associated with LCA than RCH. Overall, the transcriptome data provide basic information of molecular mechanisms underpinning the RCH and LCA response. The partly independent molecular responses to RCH and LCA suggest that several avenues for manipulating cold performance exist and RCH might be more effective as it only triggers fewer genes and affects the general metabolisms less. These observations provide some appropriate methods to improve cold tolerance of C. megacephala, and hold promise for developing an extended use of mass-reared C. megacephala with better cold performance as a pollinator of crops at low temperatures.