Effects of light intensity on growth and content of active components of Uncaria rhynchophyll / 中国中药杂志

The aim of this study was to study the effects of different light intensity on the growth,biomass accumulation and distribution,chlorophyll content and effective components of Uncaria rhynchophylla seedlings,and explore the suitable light intensity conditions for artificial cultivation of U. rhynchophylla seedlings. Three-year-old U. rhynchophylla seedlings were used as experimental materials. Four light intensity levels( 100%,70%-75%,30%-35%,5%-10%) were set up with different layers of black shading net. With the decrease of light intensity,the results showed that the plant height,basal diameter and biomass( root,stem,leaf and hook) of U.rhynchophylla seedlings exhibited the trend of " increase-decrease". Under 70%-75% light intensity,the plant height,basal diameter,biomass( root,stem,leaf,hook) of U. rhynchophylla seedlings were significantly higher than those of other treatments( P< 0. 05);under 5%-10% light intensity,the plant height,basal diameter and biomass( root,hook) of U. rhynchophylla seedlings were significantly lower than those of other treatments( P<0. 05). With the decrease of light intensity,the chlorophyll content of U. rhynchophylla seedlings increased gradually: under 100% light intensity,the chlorophyll content of U. rhynchophylla seedlings were the smallest,while under 100% light intensity,its chlorophyll content was the highest. With the decrease of light intensity,the contents of rhynchophylline and isorhynchophylline in different organs of U. rhynchophylla seedlings varied: under 30%-35% light intensity,the contents of rhynchophylline and isorhynchophylline in hooks and rhynchophylline content in stems were the highest; under 5%-10% light intensity,the contents of rhynchophylline and isorhynchophylline in leaves and stems of U. rhynchophylla were the highest. In conclusion,70%-75% light intensity is suitable for seedling growth and biomass accumulation,and 30%-35% light intensity is suitable for the accumulation of effective components in U. rhynchophylla seedlings.

QED cascade saturation in extreme high fields.

Upcoming ultrahigh power lasers at 10 PW level will make it possible to experimentally explore electron-positron (e-e+) pair cascades and subsequent relativistic e-e+ jets formation, which are supposed to occur in extreme astrophysical environments, such as black holes, pulsars, quasars and gamma-ray bursts. In the latter case it is a long-standing question as to how the relativistic jets are formed and what their temperatures and compositions are. Here we report simulation results of pair cascades in two counter-propagating QED-strong laser fields. A scaling of QED cascade growth with laser intensity is found, showing clear cascade saturation above threshold intensity of ~1024 W/cm2. QED cascade saturation leads to pair plasma cooling and longitudinal compression along the laser axis, resulting in the subsequent formation of relativistic dense e-e+ jets along transverse directions. Such laser-driven QED cascade saturation may open up the opportunity to study energetic astrophysical phenomena in laboratory.

Tunable synchrotron-like radiation from centimeter scale plasma channels.

Synchrotron radiation (SR) sources are immensely useful tools for scientific researches and many practical applications. Currently, the state-of-the-art synchrotrons rely on conventional accelerators, where electrons are accelerated in a straight line and radiate in bending magnets or other insertion devices. However, these facilities are usually large and costly. Here, we study a compact all optical synchrotron-like radiation source based on laser-plasma acceleration either in a straight or a curved plasma channel. With the laser pulse off-axially injected, its centroid oscillates transversely in the plasma channel. This results in a wiggler motion of the whole accelerating structure and the self-trapped electrons behind the laser pulse, leading to strong synchrotron-like radiations with tunable spectra. It is further shown that a palmtop ring-shaped synchrotron is possible with current high power laser technologies. With its potential of high flexibility and tunability, such light sources once realized would find applications in wide areas and make up the shortage of large SR facilities.

Optimal contouring of seminal vesicle for definitive radiotherapy of localized prostate cancer: comparison between EORTC prostate cancer radiotherapy guideline, RTOG0815 protocol and actual anatomy.

BACKGROUND: Intermediate- to-high-risk prostate cancer can locally invade seminal vesicle (SV). It is recommended that anatomic proximal 1-cm to 2-cm SV be included in the clinical target volume (CTV) for definitive radiotherapy based on pathology studies. However, it remains unclear whether the pathology indicated SV extent is included into the CTV defined by current guidelines. The purpose of this study is to compare the volume of proximal SV included in CTV defined by EORTC prostate cancer radiotherapy guideline and RTOG0815 protocol with the actual anatomic volume. METHODS: Radiotherapy planning CT images from 114 patients with intermediate- (36.8%) or high-risk (63.2%) prostate cancer were reconstructed with 1-mm-thick sections. The starting and ending points of SV and the cross sections of SV at 1-cm and 2-cm from the starting point were determined using 3D-view. Maximum (D1H, D2H) and minimum (D1L, D2L) vertical distance from these cross sections to the starting point were measured. Then, CTV of proximal SV defined by actual anatomy, EORTC guideline and RTOG0815 protocol were contoured and compared (paired t test). RESULTS: Median length of D1H, D1L, D2H and D2L was 10.8 mm, 2.1 mm, 17.6 mm and 8.8 mm (95th percentile: 13.5mm, 5.0mm, 21.5mm and 13.5mm, respectively). For intermediate-risk patients, the proximal 1-cm SV CTV defined by EORTC guideline and RTOG0815 protocol inadequately included the anatomic proximal 1-cm SV in 62.3% (71/114) and 71.0% (81/114) cases, respectively. While for high-risk patients, the proximal 2-cm SV CTV defined by EORTC guideline inadequately included the anatomic proximal 2-cm SV in 17.5% (20/114) cases. CONCLUSIONS: SV involvement indicated by pathology studies was not completely included in the CTV defined by current guidelines. Delineation of proximal 1.4 cm and 2.2 cm SV in axial plane may be adequate to include the anatomic proximal 1-cm and 2-cm SV. However, part of SV may be over-contoured.

[Analysis of the clinical information of 1,066 cases undergoing prostate magnetic resonance examination].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the variation of clinical data and referred purpose of prostate magnetic resonance (MR) examination in the past 12 years in Peking University First Hospital. METHODS: One thousand and sixty-six patients underwent prostate MR examination (1,296 exams) from May 1992 to Sept. 2004. The clinical data of the patients were retrospectively analyzed. The number of patients was counted and three groups were classified (diagnosing group, staging group and follow-up group) according to the purpose of prostate MR examination per year. For the diagnosing group, the clinical data of patient's age, symptom, level of serum prostate specific antigen (PSA), and the result of ultrasound or digital rectal examination (DRE) were evaluated. RESULTS: (1)The number of patients increased year by year in the past 12 years, and the majority of the increased patients required differential diagnosis. (2) Diagnosing group: the percentage of patients with the symptom of BPH increased year by year. The average level of serum PSA dropped and the percentage of patients with elevated PSA or with nodules detected by ultrasound or DRE referred for detection of prostate cancer or with the symptom of metastasis decreased. CONCLUSION: With the widespread screening of prostate cancer, more patients of early prostate carcinoma and non-tumoral lesion in prostate gland are examined by MR imaging.