A new approach to target development for laboratory astrophysics experiments at high-power laser facilities is presented. With the dawn of high-power lasers, laboratory astrophysics has emerged as a field, bringing insight into physical processes in astrophysical objects, such as the formation of stars. An important factor for success in these experiments is targetry. To date, targets have mainly relied on expensive and challenging microfabrication methods. The design presented incorporates replaceable machined parts that assemble into a structure that defines the experimental geometry. This can make targets cheaper and faster to manufacture, while maintaining robustness and reproducibility. The platform is intended for experiments on plasma flows, but it is flexible and may be adapted to the constraints of other experimental setups. Examples of targets used in experimental campaigns are shown, including a design for insertion in a high magnetic field coil. Experimental results are included, demonstrating the performance of the targets.

We present an experimental study of Rayleigh–Bénard convection using liquid metal alloy gallium-indium-tin as the working fluid with a Prandtl number of $Pr=0.029$. The flow state and the heat transport were measured in a Rayleigh number range of $1.2\times 10^{4} \le Ra \le 1.3\times 10^{7}$. The temperature fluctuation at the cell centre is used as a proxy for the flow state. It is found that, as $Ra$ increases from the lower end of the parameter range, the flow evolves from a convection state to an oscillation state, a chaotic state and finally a turbulent state for $Ra>10^5$. The study suggests that the large-scale circulation in the turbulent state is a residual of the cell structure near the onset of convection, which is in contrast with the case of $Pr\sim 1$, where the cell structure is transiently replaced by high order flow modes before the emergence of the large-scale circulation in the turbulent state. The evolution of the flow state is also reflected by the heat transport characterised by the Nusselt number $Nu$ and the probability density function (p.d.f.) of the temperature fluctuation at the cell centre. It is found that the effective local heat transport scaling exponent $\gamma$, i.e. $Nu\sim Ra^{\gamma }$, changes continuously from $\gamma =0.49$ at $Ra\sim 10^4$ to $\gamma =0.25$ for $Ra>10^6$. Meanwhile, the p.d.f. at the cell centre gradually evolves from a Gaussian-like shape before the transition to turbulence to an exponential-like shape in the turbulent state. For $Ra>10^6$, the flow shows self-similar behaviour, which is revealed by the universal shape of the p.d.f. of the temperature fluctuation at the cell centre and a $Nu=0.19Ra^{0.25}$ scaling for the heat transport.

Both prosthetic and robotic research communities have tended to focus on hand/gripper development. However, the wrist unit could enable higher mobility of the end effector and thus more efficient and dexterous manipulation. The current state of the art in both prosthetic and robotic wrists is reviewed systematically, mainly concerning their kinematic structures and resultant capabilities. Further, by considering the biomechanical advantages of the human wrist, an evaluation including the mobility, stability, output capability, load capacity and flexibility of the current artificial wrists is conducted. With the pentagonal capability radar charts, the major limitations and challenges in the current development of artificial wrists are derived. This paper hence provides some useful insights for better robotic wrist design and development.

Nutritional Risk Screening index is a standard tool to assess nutritional risk, but epidemiological data are scarce on controlling nutritional status (CONUT) as a prognostic marker in acute haemorrhagic stroke (AHS). We aimed to explore whether the CONUT may predict a 3-month functional outcome in AHS. In total, 349 Chinese patients with incident AHS were consecutively recruited, and their malnutrition risks were determined using a high CONUT score of ≥ 2. The cohort patients were divided into high-CONUT (≥ 2) and low-CONUT (< 2) groups, and primary outcomes were a poor functional prognosis defined as the modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of ≥ 3 at post-discharge for 3 months. Odds ratios (OR) with 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for the poor functional prognosis at post-discharge were estimated by using a logistic analysis with additional adjustments for unbalanced variables between the high-CONUT and low-CONUT groups. A total of 328 patients (60·38 ± 12·83 years; 66·77 % male) completed the mRS assessment at post-discharge for 3 months, with 172 patients at malnutrition risk at admission and 104 patients with a poor prognosis. The levels of total cholesterol and total lymphocyte counts were significantly lower in high-CONUT patients than low-CONUT patients (P = 0·012 and < 0·001, respectively). At 3-month post discharge, there was a greater risk for the poor outcome in the high-CONUT compared with the low-CONUT patients at admission (OR: 2·32, 95 % CI: 1·28, 4·17). High-CONUT scores independently predict a 3-month poor prognosis in AHS, which helps to identify those who need additional nutritional managements.

The provenance and tectonic setting of the Lower–Middle Triassic clastic sediments from the Napo basin, South China, have been examined here using detrital modes, whole-rock geochemistry and detrital zircon U–Pb ages. Field investigations indicate that these sediments consist of fan delta, slope and turbidity fan facies with dominantly southward palaeocurrent directions. Detrital modes and geochemical characteristics of the clastic rocks indicate that they were derived from mixed magmatic arc and Palaeozoic successions in a continental island arc setting, with no significant sediment recycling. The U–Pb age spectra of sandstone detrital zircons from different stratigraphic positions are similar, with one major group (300–230 Ma), two subordinate groups (400–320 Ma and 480–420 Ma, respectively) and two scattered groups (1200–800 Ma and 2000–1700 Ma, respectively). Thus, we consider that the north late Permian – Middle Triassic volcanic rocks and the uplifted Palaeozoic sedimentary/volcanic sequences constituted the predominant sources. The detritus derived from the late Permian Emeishan mafic rocks is subordinate and limited. The pre-Devonian zircons are likely sedimentary-recycled or magmatic-captured instead of directly derived from the early Palaeozoic orogen (e.g. Yunkai massif) and Neoproterozoic Jiangnan orogen because of the topographic barrier of a magmatic arc and carbonate platform. Considering the spatial and temporal distribution characteristics of the volcanic arc and ophiolite, we suggest that the Triassic Napo basin was a fore-arc basin within a continental island arc setting, which developed in response to the northward subduction of the Babu–Cao Bang branch ocean beneath the South China Block.

We report on the design and first results from experiments looking at the formation of radiative shocks on the Shenguang-II (SG-II) laser at the Shanghai Institute of Optics and Fine Mechanics in China. Laser-heating of a two-layer CH/CH–Br foil drives a $\sim 40$ km/s shock inside a gas cell filled with argon at an initial pressure of 1 bar. The use of gas-cell targets with large (several millimetres) lateral and axial extent allows the shock to propagate freely without any wall interactions, and permits a large field of view to image single and colliding counter-propagating shocks with time-resolved, point-projection X-ray backlighting ($\sim 20$ μm source size, 4.3 keV photon energy). Single shocks were imaged up to 100 ns after the onset of the laser drive, allowing to probe the growth of spatial nonuniformities in the shock apex. These results are compared with experiments looking at counter-propagating shocks, showing a symmetric drive that leads to a collision and stagnation from $\sim 40$ ns onward. We present a preliminary comparison with numerical simulations with the radiation hydrodynamics code ARWEN, which provides expected plasma parameters for the design of future experiments in this facility.

The X-ray emissions in the interaction of 3–6 MeV Xe23+ ions into thick solid In target are measured. The projectile-to-target and target Lα/Lβ X-ray production intensity ratios are observed to strongly depend on the projectile energy. The dependence deviates from Coulomb ionization predictions, which implies the important roles of coupling between subshells and the activation of 4fσ rotational couplings for projectile energy larger than 5 MeV.

Fe–6.5 Si–0.05 B alloy was used in the study to investigate the texture evolution and magnetic property of the ferromagnetic crystal under an axial high magnetic field during bulk solidification. Optical microscopy (OM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were applied to analyze the microstructures and texture evolution of the alloy solidified under different magnetic field intensities. The result shows that with an increase in the magnetic field intensity from 0 to 2 T, the texture gradually changes from random orientation to {100} 〈120〉, eventually becoming a mixture of cube and Goss texture. The alloys treated at 1 and 2 T showed magnetic anisotropic behavior, while the alloy treated at 0 T showed magnetic isotropic behavior. The change in magnetic property comes from the evolution of α-Fe crystal orientation. Furthermore, a method for controlling the crystallization process and crystallographic orientation by adjusting the magnetic field intensity was proposed.

In this paper, we review the status of the multifunctional experimental platform at the National Laboratory of High Power Laser and Physics (NLHPLP). The platform, including the SG-II laser facility, SG-II 9th beam, SG-II upgrade (SG-II UP) facility, and SG-II 5 PW facility, is operational and available for interested scientists studying inertial confinement fusion (ICF) and a broad range of high-energy-density physics. These facilities can provide important experimental capabilities by combining different pulse widths of nanosecond, picosecond, and femtosecond scales. In addition, the SG-II UP facility, consisting of a single petawatt system and an eight-beam nanosecond system, is introduced including several laser technologies that have been developed to ensure the performance of the facility. Recent developments of the SG-II 5 PW facility are also presented.

The structure and function of grassland ecosystems can be altered by a changing climate, including higher temperature and elevated atmospheric CO2 concentration. Previous studies suggest that there is no consistent trend in seed germination and seedling recruitment as affected by these conditions. We collected seeds of two native and two invasive species over 6 years from a field study with elevated CO2 (600 p.p.m.) and temperature (1.5/3.0°C day/night) on the mixed-grass prairie of Wyoming, USA. Seed fill, viability and mass were evaluated and germination tests were conducted under alternating temperatures in growth chambers. Thermal time requirements to reach 50% germination (θ50) and base temperatures (Tb) for germination were determined using thermal time models. Climate change conditions had limited effects on seed fill, viability and mass. The combination of CO2 enrichment and warming increased germination of Bouteloua gracilis. Centaurea diffusa and Linaria dalmatica, two invasive species in this study, had the lowest θ50 and Tb required for germination among all the species studied. Although final germination percentages of these invasive species were not affected by treatments, previous studies reported increased seed production under future climate conditions, indicating that they could be more invasive at the regeneration stage in the future. We conclude that projected future temperature increases will have little effect on seed reproductive traits of native species. In addition, the distribution and abundance of B. gracilis and invasive species may be favoured by global climate change due to enhanced germination or seed production traits caused by elevated parental CO2 and temperature conditions.

In high power laser facility for inertial confinement fusion research, final optics assembly (FOA) plays a critical role in the frequency conversion, beam focusing, color separation, beam sampling and debris shielding. The design and performance of FOA in SG-II Upgrade laser facility are mainly introduced here. Due to the limited space and short focal length, a coaxial aspheric wedged focus lens is designed and applied in the FOA configuration. Then the ghost image analysis, the focus characteristic analysis, the B integral control design and the optomechanical design are carried out in the FOA design phase. In order to ensure the FOA performance, two key technologies are developed including measurement and adjustment technique of the wedged focus lens and the stray light management technique based on ground glass. Experimental results show that the design specifications including laser fluence, frequency conversion efficiency and perforation efficiency of the focus spot have been achieved, which meet the requirements of physical experiments well.

The Shen-Guang II Upgrade (SG-II-U) laser facility consists of eight high-power nanosecond laser beams and one short-pulse picosecond petawatt laser. It is designed for the study of inertial confinement fusion (ICF), especially for conducting fast ignition (FI) research in China and other basic science experiments. To perform FI successfully with hohlraum targets containing a golden cone, the long-pulse beam and cylindrical hohlraum as well as the short-pulse beam and cone target alignment must satisfy tight specifications (30 and $20~\unicode[STIX]{x03BC}\text{m}$ rms for each case). To explore new ICF ignition targets with six laser entrance holes (LEHs), a rotation sensor was adapted to meet the requirements of a three-dimensional target and correct beam alignment. In this paper, the strategy for aligning the nanosecond beam based on target alignment sensor (TAS) is introduced and improved to meet requirements of the picosecond lasers and the new six LEHs hohlraum targets in the SG-II-U facility. The expected performance of the alignment system is presented, and the alignment error is also discussed.

This paper reports the measurement of the energy loss of protons at the energy of 100 keV penetrating a partially ionized hydrogen plasma. The plasma of ne ≈ 1015–16 cm−3; Te ≈ 1–2 eV and lifetime of about 8 µs is created by the hydrogen gas discharge. The experimental results show an increase of a factor of 2.8 in the energy loss, which are in good agreement with the Bethe, Standard Stopping Model, Li–Petrasso and Vlasov models’ predictions within the error limit. The Bethe–Bloch Coulomb logarithm term is found to increase by a factor of 4.0 for free electrons as compared with the situation where bound electrons prevail. The potential application of protons energy loss for diagnosing the electron density in plasma is proposed too.

Our previous study showed that smoke derived from alfalfa (Medicago sativa) caused different germination responses compared with that from prairie hay (Festuca hallii) and wheat straw (Triticum aestivum), but the mechanism remained unclear. In this study, we used Salad Bowl lettuce (Lactuca sativa) as a quick bioassay to trace the active compounds in each of these three smoke solutions. Column chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were used to separate and identify active fractions. Seeds of four species from Fescue Prairie were primed for 24 h at room temperature in darkness using serial dilutions of separated active fractions, as well as karrikinolide (KAR1). After priming, seeds were dried at room temperature in darkness for 7 days and subsequently incubated at 10/0°C or 25/15°C in 12 h light–12 h dark or 24 h darkness for 49 days. KAR1 was in the smoke made from prairie hay, and wheat straw, but was absent in alfalfa smoke. Priming in KAR1 solutions increased germination of three native species. Priming in highly concentrated KAR1 reduced radicle length of Cirsium arvense, the only non-native species. Even though KAR1 has the potential to enhance regeneration of native species in the Fescue Prairie, KAR1 is not universally present in smoke derived from different plant materials. Unknown compound(s) in smoke derived from legumes remain to be identified.

With the increasing number of laser beams, the main difficulty in arranging beam guiding systems (BGSs) involves determining the corresponding relationships between the output and input ports to realize the identified light path length of all beams. Given the basic constraints of geometric arrangement, a BGS model is established, and a base-line algorithm is proposed to address the difficulty mentioned above. Boundary conditions of target area and target chamber are discussed to increase the number of laser beams, and a maximum value exists for a specific target area. Finally, the compatibility of a cylindrical hohlraum target chamber with a spherical hohlraum is analyzed, and a moveable final optics assembly is proposed to execute the switch between the two different targets.

In the present study, we investigated whether high dietary Ca and exogenous parathyroid hormone 1–34 fragments (PTH 1–34) have synergistic effects on bone formation in adult mice, and explored the related mechanisms. Adult male mice were fed a normal diet, a high-Ca diet, a PTH-treated diet, or a high-Ca diet combined with subcutaneously injected PTH 1–34 (80 μg/kg per d) for 4 weeks. Bone mineral density, trabecular bone volume, osteoblast number, alkaline phosphatase (ALP)- and type I collagen-positive areas, and the expression levels of osteoblastic bone formation-related genes and proteins were increased significantly in mice fed the high-Ca diet, the PTH-treated diet, and, even more dramatically, the high-Ca diet combined with PTH. Osteoclast number and surface and the ratio of receptor activator for nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL):osteoprotegerin (OPG) were decreased in the high-Ca diet treatment group, increased in the PTH treatment group, but not in the combined treatment group. Furthermore, third-passage osteoblasts were treated with high Ca (5 mm), PTH 1–34 (10− 8m) or high Ca combined with PTH 1–34. Osteoblast viability and ALP activity were increased in either the high Ca-treated or PTH-treated cultures and, even more dramatically, in the cultures treated with high Ca plus PTH, with consistent up-regulation of the expression levels of osteoblast proliferation and differentiation-related genes and proteins. These results indicate that dietary Ca and PTH play synergistic roles in promoting osteoblastic bone formation by stimulating osteoblast proliferation and differentiation.

Recent research activities relevant to high energy density physics (HEDP) driven by the heavy ion beam at the Institute of Modern Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences are presented. Radiography of static objects with the fast extracted high energy carbon ion beam from the Cooling Storage Ring is discussed. Investigation of the low energy heavy ion beam and plasma interaction is reported. With HEDP research as one of the main goals, the project HIAF (High Intensity heavy-ion Accelerator Facility), proposed by the Institute of Modern Physics as the 12th five-year-plan of China, is introduced.

The unsteady flow separation of airfoil with a local flexible structure (LFS) is studied numerically in Lagrangian frames in detail, in order to investigate the nature of its high aerodynamic performance. For such aeroelastic system, the characteristic-based split (CBS) scheme combined with arbitrary Lagrangian-Eulerian (ALE) framework is developed firstly for the numerical analysis of unsteady flow, and Galerkin method is used to approach the flexible structure. The local flexible skin of airfoil, which can lead to self-induced oscillations, is considered as unsteady perturbation to the flow. Then, the ensuing high aerodynamic performances and complex unsteady flow separation at low Reynolds number are studied by Lagrangian coherent structures (LCSs). The results show that the LFS has a significant influence on the unsteady flow separation, which is the key point for the lift enhancement. Specifically, the oscillations of the LFS can induce the generations of moving separation and vortex, which can enhance the kinetic energy transport from main flow to the boundary layer. The results could give a deep understand of the dynamics in unsteady flow separation and flow control for the flow over airfoil.