Hard X-ray and hot electron environment in vacuum hohlraums at NIF

Time resolved hard x-ray images (hv $>$ 9 keV) and time integrated hard x-ray spectra (hv $=$ 18-150 keV) from vacuum hohlraums irradiated with four 351 nm wavelength NIF laser beams are presented as a function of hohlraum size and laser power and duration. The hard x-ray images and spectra provide insight into the time evolution of the hohlraum plasma filling and the production of hot electrons. The fraction of laser energy detected as hot electrons (f$_{\rm hot})$ shows correlation with both laser intensity and with an analytic plasma filling model

Treatment of Boerhaave’s syndrome

Boerhaave's syndrome is the spontaneous transmural rupture of the esophagus. A high degree of clinical suspicion is a prerequisite for its prompt diagnosis, and early therapeutic intervention reduces its associated morbidity and mortality. Factors that influence the outcome are location and extent of perforation and the timing of medical or surgical treatment. Boerhaave's syndrome is the most lethal perforation of the gastrointestinal tract. Delay in intervention relates directly to increased mortality. Despite advances in surgical techniques and endoscopic therapies, this disorder still has high morbidity and mortality rates. The outcome of patients with this disorder is dependent upon the prompt and accurate diagnosis. Initial stabilization of the patient with intravenous fluids and antibiotics is of key importance, with subsequent decisive therapy initiated using either a conservative medical or endoscopic or surgical approach. Boerhaave's syndrome often occurs in otherwise-relatively healthy patients. This postemetic perforation of the esophagus can result in a devastating injury that usually is exacerbated by delayed diagnosis. This article will focus on its clinical presentations and review its potentially applicable therapies

Physiotherapy exercises and back pain: a blinded review.

OBJECTIVE--To determine the quality of randomised controlled trials of exercise therapy for back pain. DESIGN--Computer aided search of published papers and blinded assessment of the methods of studies. SUBJECTS--23 randomised controlled trials, of which 16 studied exercise therapy given by physiotherapists to individual patients with back pain. Other conservative treatments could be included. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES--Score for quality of methods (based on four main categories: study population, interventions, measurement of effect, and data presentation and analysis) and main conclusion of author(s) with regard to exercise therapy. RESULTS--Only four studies scored more than 50 points (maximum 100), indicating that most were of poor quality. Six studies found that exercise was better than reference treatments and 10 reported it to be no better or worse than the reference treatment. Those reporting positive results tended to have higher methods scores (4/6 positive v 4/10 negative scored greater than or equal to 42). CONCLUSIONS--No conclusion can be drawn about whether exercise therapy is better than other conservative treatments for back pain or whether a specific type of exercise is more effective. Further trials are needed in which greater attention is paid to methods of study

Medicinal Plants: A Potential Source of Compounds for Targeting Cell Division

Modern medicinal plant drug discovery has provided pharmacologically active compounds targeted against a multitude of conditions and diseases, such as infection, inflammation, and cancer. To date, natural products from medicinal plants remain a solid niche as a source from which cancer therapies can be derived. Among other properties, one favorable characteristic of an anticancer drug is its ability to block the uncontrollable process of cell division, as cancer cells are notorious for their abnormal cell division. There are numerous other documented works on the potential anticancer activity of drugs derived from medicinal plants, and their effects on cell division are an attractive and growing therapeutic target. Despite this, there remains a vast number of unidentified natural products that are potentially promising sources for medical applications. This mini review aims to revise the current knowledge of the effects of natural plant products on cell division

Laser coupling to reduced-scale targets at NIF Early Light

Deposition of maximum laser energy into a small, high-Z enclosure in a short laser pulse creates a hot environment. Such targets were recently included in an experimental campaign using the first four of the 192 beams of the National Ignition Facility [J. A. Paisner, E. M. Campbell, and W. J. Hogan, Fusion Technology 26, 755 (1994)], under construction at the University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. These targets demonstrate good laser coupling, reaching a radiation temperature of 340 eV. In addition, the Raman backscatter spectrum contains features consistent with Brillouin backscatter of Raman forward scatter [A. B. Langdon and D. E. Hinkel, Physical Review Letters 89, 015003 (2002)]. Also, NIF Early Light diagnostics indicate that 20% of the direct backscatter from these reduced-scale targets is in the polarization orthogonal to that of the incident light

X-ray flux and X-ray burnthrough experiments on reduced-scale targets at the NIF and OMEGA lasers

An experimental campaign to maximize radiation drive in small-scale hohlraums has been carried out at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at the Lawerence Livermore National Laboratory (Livermore, CA, USA) and at the OMEGA laser at the Laboratory for Laser Energetics (Rochester, NY, USA). The small-scale hohlraums, laser energy, laser pulse, and diagnostics were similar at both facilities but the geometries were very different. The NIF experiments used on-axis laser beams whereas the OMEGA experiments used 19 beams in three beam cones. In the cases when the lasers coupled well and produced similar radiation drive, images of x-ray burnthrough and laser deposition indicate the pattern of plasma filling is very different