In the 2015 review paper ‘Petawatt Class Lasers Worldwide’ a comprehensive overview of the current status of high-power facilities of ${>}200~\text{TW}$ was presented. This was largely based on facility specifications, with some description of their uses, for instance in fundamental ultra-high-intensity interactions, secondary source generation, and inertial confinement fusion (ICF). With the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics being awarded to Professors Donna Strickland and Gerard Mourou for the development of the technique of chirped pulse amplification (CPA), which made these lasers possible, we celebrate by providing a comprehensive update of the current status of ultra-high-power lasers and demonstrate how the technology has developed. We are now in the era of multi-petawatt facilities coming online, with 100 PW lasers being proposed and even under construction. In addition to this there is a pull towards development of industrial and multi-disciplinary applications, which demands much higher repetition rates, delivering high-average powers with higher efficiencies and the use of alternative wavelengths: mid-IR facilities. So apart from a comprehensive update of the current global status, we want to look at what technologies are to be deployed to get to these new regimes, and some of the critical issues facing their development.

The thermal expansion behavior of polymer carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposites was investigated, and a micromechanical model was proposed to explain the highly nonlinear dependence of the coefficient of thermal expansion of the nanocomposite with CNT content for the CNT/polyimide nanocomposite. The microscopic analysis of CNT/polyimide matrix showed homogeneous dispersion of bundles composed of CNTs. Therefore, the proposed model to predict the thermal expansion behavior of the nanocomposite considered a random, homogeneous distribution of CNT bundles with a hierarchical arrangement of helical CNTs within the polymeric matrix. The CNT bundle morphology influenced the thermal expansion response of the nanocomposite through (i) bundle volume fraction and (ii) degree of helicity, affecting thermo-mechanical properties of the bundle. The effective, homogenized, properties of CNT bundles were determined by the elasticity based solution of the layered cylinder model. Bundle effective properties were used in the micromechanical model implementing the homogenized strain rule of the mixture expression to predict the thermal expansion behavior of nanocomposite in a wide range of CNT volume contents. The proposed micromechanical analytical model was found to correlate closely with the experimental results for polyimide/CNT nanocomposite films as measured using a digital image correlation method.

The ice cap on Nelson Island in the South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica, was studied between 1985 and 1989. The ice cap has an average thickness of 120 m. it is temperate, exists under the sub-Antarctic maritime climate and almost completely covers the island. Owing to intense percolation of meltwater (and, to some extent, liquid precipitation), the snow-firn layer is in the soaked facies, with a firn-ice transition at a depth of 25-26 m at the summit. A force-balance model suggests that the ice is almost linearly viscous but has a high viscosity. The model further suggests that basal sliding makes a larger contribution to the ice movement than does ice deformation. From 1970 to 1988. the average accumulation rate was 120 kg m−2a−1 at the centre, and between 1985 and 1989 the equilibrium-line elevation averaged 110m a.s.l. Analysis of chemical impurities in the surface snow suggests that the precipitation source is mainly local marine air masses and that human activity has already exerted a detectable influence on the local environment.

The stable-isotope content of precipitation (δD and δ18O) is governed by the successive fractionation processes which occur during the atmospheric water cycle. As a result there is, in polar areas, a well-obeyed and theoretically well-understood linear relationship between the mean istopic content of snow and its mean temperature of formation. This relationship is well documented on a spatial scale but poorly known for a given site on a temporal basis, the main reason being that relatively long-term and sufficiently detailed meteorological data are only available for a few polar sites. The South Pole appears to be a suitable place for such a study because: (i) snow accumulation is high enough (∼20 cm of snow per year), thus reducing the possibility that annual layers will be lost as a result of wind; (ii) seasonal variation in isotope content is still preserved in snow up to 50 years old; (iii) meteorological data are available from the time the station was opened in 1957.

Our previous studies of surface and recently deposited snow at the South Pole were very encouraging in this respect; they have been extended with a two-fold purpose: (i) to test the geographical representativity of the isotope record by comparing results from various cores taken within a 10 km radius of the station. The cores are dated by various techniques, such as stratigraphy, seasonal variation in isotopic content, beta-radioactivity fall-out layers, and detection by solid conductivity measurements of the high “spike” which is thought to correspond to the 1815 Tambora eruption; (ii) to discuss the South Pole isotope record over the last 1000 years as recovered from a 127 m deep ice core.

We present three epochs of VSOP observations of the BL Lac object 2007+777 at 5 GHz. Compared with the ground-based VLBA data, the space baselines with HALCA clearly reveal a more detailed and finer source structure. Mainly based on the quite uniform and circular UV-coverages of the VLBA, and using a new cross-selfcalibration method, we have found evidence for weak structural changes on a timescale of two weeks in the core region of this intraday variable source. The physical causes for these variations are discussed.

Although the current literature offers some preliminary information about seeking feedback from various sources, a variable-centered approach has been adopted in which seeking feedback from supervisors and from subordinates was treated separately. We endeavored to extend this work through model-based cluster analysis, a person-centered approach, to identify distinct feedback source profiles in our sample of 209 front-line manager–supervisor dyads. Additionally, we aimed to explore whether such profiles differed between two feedback motives, perceived instrumental value and perceived image cost, as well as managers’ emotion regulation strategies. Results revealed six feedback source profiles and such profiles are associated not only with their perceived image cost and instrumental value but also with their emotion regulation strategies.

Thermal transport across interfaces is an important issue for microelectronics, photonics, and thermoelectric devices and has been studied both experimentally and theoretically in the past. In this paper, thermal interface resistance (1/G) between aluminum and silicon with nanoscale vacancies was calculated using non-equilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD). Both phonon-phonon coupling and electron-phonon coupling are considered in calculations. The results showed that thermal interface resistance increased largely due to vacancies. The effect of both the size and the type of vacancies is studied and compared. And an obvious difference is found for structures with different type/size vacancies.

Future time orientation is essential if an employee is to be motivated to conduct activities that generate long-term rather than immediate gain, and which may involve risk. Given that feedback seeking requires the employee to slow down and seek input, it is surprising that little is known about the relationship between future time orientation and feedback seeking. Drawing upon psychological ownership theory and construal-level theory, we hypothesized a positive influence of future time orientation on feedback seeking from various sources (i.e., supervisors and co-workers). We also hypothesized job-based psychological ownership as a newly identified motive of feedback seeking and employed it to explain how future time orientation exerts influences. Tested with data from a sample of 228 subordinate–supervisor dyads from China, the results revealed that (1) future time orientation was positively related to feedback seeking from supervisors and co-workers and (2) job-based psychology ownership mediated the relationship between future time orientation and feedback seeking.

Mentoring received by protégés has been shown to play an important role in relieving protégés’ job-related stress. However, literature on the relationship between mentoring and job-related stress has yielded mixed and inconclusive results. Our research seeks to reconcile the conflicting implications by examining protégés’ individual traditionality and trust in mentor as moderators on the relationship between mentoring and job-related stress. We tested the hypotheses with data from a sample of 210 protégés from a large company in China. Results of our two-way and three-way interaction effect tests revealed that: (1) traditionality moderated the negative relationship between mentoring and job-related stress in such a way that the relationship was stronger for protégés with higher rather than lower traditionality; (2) the influence that mentoring had on job-related stress was strongest for protégés with both high traditionality and a high level of trust in mentor.

Large electrocaloric (EC) effects in ferroelectric polymers and in ferroelectric ceramics have attracted great attention for new refrigeration development which is more environmental friendly and more efficient and thus could be an alternative to the existing vapor-compression refrigerators which consume large energy and release large amount of green house gas. However in the past, all EC effects investigations have been focused on solid state dielectrics. It is interesting to ask whether a large EC effect can also be realized in dielectric fluids. A dielectric fluid with large EC effect could lead to new design of cooling devices with simpler structures than these based on solid state EC materials, for example, they can be utilized as both the refrigerant and heat exchange fluid. Here we present that a large EC effect can be realized in the liquid crystal (LC) 5CB near it's nematic-isotropic (N-I) phase transition. The LC 5CB possesses a large dielectric anisotropy which can induce large polarization change from the isotropic phase to the nematic phase near the N-I transition. An isothermal entropy change of more than 23 Jkg-1K-1 was observed near 39 oC that is just above the N-I transition.

Nanoclusters of Ag metal in MgO(100) single crystals was formed by implantation of 1.5 MeV silver ions at fluences of 6 x 1016 ion/cm2 and at 1.2 x 1017 ion/cm2, and subsequent annealing at temperatures between 600°C to 1100°C. The formation of the Ag metallic clusters was confirmed using optical absorption spectrophotometry by the absorption band at 430 nm. This is in agreement with the theoretical prediction using Mie's theory, with calculated average nanocluster size about 3 nm. Using ion channeling we confirmed that the orientation of the Ag nanoclusters was in the same direction of the host crystal. Using Z-scan we found the nonlinear refractive index of Ag implanted MgO to be 4.9 x 10-8 esu.

We have successfully developed a Seebeck coefficient Standard Reference Material (SRM™), Bi2Te3, that is essential for interlaboratory data comparison and for instrument calibration. Certification measurements were performed using a differential steady-state technique on 10 samples (15 measurements) randomly selected from a batch of 390 bars. The certified Seebeck coefficient values are provided from 10 to 390 K, and they are further supported by transient measurements. The availability of this SRM will validate measurement results, leading to a better understanding of the structure/property relationships and underlying physics of potential high-efficiency thermoelectric materials.

In order to investigate the dynamics of Septin4 (Sept4) expression and its function in the formation of fibrotic livers in mice infected with Schistosoma japonicum, we constructed the mouse model of S. japonicum egg-induced liver fibrosis for 24 weeks. Immunohistochemical staining, qRT-PCR and Western blot were used to detect the expression of Sept4 and α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA). We found Sept4 localized in the perisinusoidal space where hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) distribute in the periphery of circumoval granulomas and the portal venule. The expression of Sept4 and α-SMA had a similar significant tendency of an up-regulation to a peak at 12 weeks post-infection (p.i.) followed by a down-regulation. At 24 weeks p.i. both were at a low level. These results suggest that Sept4 and α-SMA may interact together in HSCs. Based on this evidence, we hypothesize that Sept4 seems to be involved in the formation of inflammatory granulomata and subsequent liver fibrosis by regulating HSCs activation.

X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, and neutron scattering were used to characterize structure of carbon blacks. Different grades, N990, N774, N299, N134, and N110, untreated, after heat treatment and compressed at 2.5 GPa have been investigated. The average sizes of the crystallites obtained by X-ray diffraction agree with those estimated from Raman spectra. The distribution functions of crystallite sizes were evaluated from X-ray diffraction using the recently developed method. Heat treatment results in increased vertical and lateral sizes of graphitic crystallites. Postproduction pressure treatment has little effect on the average sizes of the crystallites, however, it affects the crystallite size distribution function. The magnitude of strain within the crystallites is affected by applied pressure. The relative concentration of amorphous carbon blacks estimated from Raman spectra decreases with increasing temperature but not with increased pressure. It is suggested that the initial growth is associated with alignment of the existing graphitic planes and later by incorporating aromatic carbon into the crystallites.