Design of a large dynamic range readout unit for the PSD detector of DAMPE

A large dynamic range is required by the Plastic Scintillator Detector (PSD) of DArk Matter Paricle Explorer (DAMPE), and a double-dynode readout has been developed. To verify this design, a prototype detector module has been constructed and tested with cosmic rays and heavy ion beams. The results match with the estimation and the readout unit could easily cover the required dynamic range

Magnetic Field Enhanced Superconductivity in Epitaxial Thin Film WTe2.

In conventional superconductors an external magnetic field generally suppresses superconductivity. This results from a simple thermodynamic competition of the superconducting and magnetic free energies. In this study, we report the unconventional features in the superconducting epitaxial thin film tungsten telluride (WTe2). Measuring the electrical transport properties of Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) grown WTe2 thin films with a high precision rotation stage, we map the upper critical field Hc2 at different temperatures T. We observe the superconducting transition temperature T c is enhanced by in-plane magnetic fields. The upper critical field Hc2 is observed to establish an unconventional non-monotonic dependence on temperature. We suggest that this unconventional feature is due to the lifting of inversion symmetry, which leads to the enhancement of Hc2 in Ising superconductors

CpG Oligodeoxynucleotides Enhance the Efficacy of Adoptive Cell Transfer Using Tumor Infiltrating Lymphocytes by Modifying the Th1 Polarization and Local Infiltration of Th17 Cells

Adoptive cell transfer immunotherapy using tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) was an important therapeutic strategy against tumors. But the efficacy remains limited and development of new strategies is urgent. Recent evidence suggested that CpG-ODNs might be a potent candidate for tumor immunotherapy. Here we firstly reported that CpG-ODNs could significantly enhance the antitumor efficacy of adoptively transferred TILs in vivo accompanied by enhanced activity capacity and proliferation of CD8+ T cells and CD8+ T cells, as well as a Th1 polarization immune response. Most importantly, we found that CpG-ODNs could significantly elevate the infiltration of Th17 cells in tumor mass, which contributed to anti-tumor efficacy of TILs in vivo. Our findings suggested that CpG ODNs could enhance the anti-tumor efficacy of adoptively transferred TILs through modifying Th1 polarization and local infiltration of Th17 cells, which might provide a clue for developing a new strategy for ACT based on TILs

Social Support and Its Associated Factors among Family Caregivers of Persons with Severe Mental Illness

BackgroundUnderstanding the characteristics of social support of family caregivers of persons with severe mental illness, and identifying the associated factors are the preconditions of developing evidence-based intervention strategies to improve social support for this vulnerable group. Among the limited studies concerned family caregivers of patients with severe mental illness, the majority focused on their own individual factors, leaving patient- and family-level associated factors largely under-investigated.ObjectiveTo explore the social support and associated factors among family caregivers of persons with severe mental illness, providing a theoretical basis for the development of evidence-based strategies to enhance the level of social support in this group.MethodsA cross-sectional design was used. Multistage sampling was used to select three tertiary grade A mental health organizations from three cities located in eastern, central, and western China, respectively (one was extracted from each city) , then from which, family caregivers of persons with severe mental illness who received outpatient services between August 2018 and December 2019 were selected, and their family caregivers (n=1 001) were recruited as participants. A self-administered survey was conducted in the family caregivers using a questionnaire〔consisting of two parts: demographics and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) 〕compiled by our research team to collect their individual and family information and social support status, as well as patients' (the care receivers') information. Multiple linear regression was employed to identify associated factors for the total score and domain scores of SSRS.ResultsThe mean total score of SSRS for the family caregivers was (34.4±9.1) . And the mean score for its three domains, subjective social support, objective social support, and social support utilization was (20.3±6.2) , (7.5±2.8) , (6.6±2.3) , respectively. The type of occupation of the caregivers, and the type of mental diseases and stability of symptoms of patients cared by them, as well as mean household monthly income per person were associated with the total score of SSRS for the family caregivers (P<0.05) . Furthermore, marital status and religious belief of caregivers, as well as their relationship with the patients cared by them also affected the total score of SSRS of the family caregivers (P<0.05) . As for the scores of domains of SSRS, they were found to be influenced by the type of occupation of the caregivers, the type of mental diseases and stability of symptoms of patients cared by them, and mean household monthly income per person (P<0.05) . Besides that, gender, marital status, living area (rural or urban) , and religious belief of caregivers, their relationship with patients cared by them, and the amount of family subsidies also affected the score of subjective social support of family caregivers (P<0.05) ; the amount of family subsidies also affected the objective social support score of family caregivers (P<0.05) ; gender and living area (rural or urban) of caregivers, and the amount of family subsidies also affected the score of social support utilization of family caregivers (P<0.05) .ConclusionFamily caregivers of patients with severe mental illness possessed a low level of social support, had limited access to social support, perceived insufficient support, and used social support rather insufficiently. There were differences in factors associated with their overall social support and domain-specific social support. More attention should be paid to family caregivers who are single, unemployed, have low household monthly income per person, care for patients with schizophrenia or unstable mental symptoms, and provide them with support in accordance with their needs, by which their care burden can be alleviated, and their physical and mental health will be improved eventually

Reliability assesment of distribution systems with distributed generation based on Bayesian networks

Reliability assessment is of primary importance in designing and planning distribution systems that operate in an economical manner with minimal interruption of customer loads. Distributed generation (DG) units are subject to failures as all other generation units, the random behavior of these units must be taken into account in the analysis. In this paper, a new method based on Bayesian Networks is introduced for reliability analysis of distribution systems with distributed generation. The method permits not only computing the reliability indices of a distribution system but also presenting the effect of each component or some components on the system reliability. Thus the shortcomings of traditional reliability assessment methods are overcome. The impacts of DG units, their location, DG unit capacity in each location and their availability, on distribution system reliability are investigated using a study case of distribution including distributed generation