In inertial confinement fusion experiments that involve short-laser pulses such as fast ignition (FI), diagnosis of neutrons is usually very challenging because high-intensity γ rays generated by short-laser pulses would mask the much weaker neutron signal. In this paper, fast-response scintillators with low afterglow and gated microchannel plate photomultiplier tubes are combined to build neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) spectrometers for such experiments. Direct-drive implosion experiments of deuterium-gas-filled capsules were performed at the Shenguang-II Upgrade (SG-II-UP) laser facility to study the compressed fuel areal density (〈ρR〉) and evaluate the performance of such nTOF diagnostics. Two newly developed quenched liquid scintillator detectors and a gated ultrafast plastic scintillator detector were used to measure the secondary DT neutrons and primary DD neutrons, respectively. The secondary neutron signals were clearly discriminated from the γ rays from (n, γ) reactions, and the compressed fuel areal density obtained with the yield-ratio method agrees well with the simulations. Additionally, a small scintillator decay tail and a clear DD neutron signal were observed in an integrated FI experiment as a result of the low afterglow of the oxygen-quenched liquid scintillator.

The chemical abundances of the metal-poor stars in the stellar stream provide important information for setting constraints on models of neutron-capture processes. The study of these stars could gives us a better understanding of the r-process nucleosynthesis and chemical composition of the early Galaxy. Using the updated main r-process and weak r-process patterns, we fit abundances in the stellar stream stars. The weak r-process component coefficients are almost constant for the sample stars, including r-rich stars, which means that both the weak r-process and Fe are produced as primary elements from Type II supernovae and their yields have nearly a constant mass fraction. The difference between the stream stars and r-rich stars is obvious. For the stream stars, the fact that the increased trend in the main r-process component coefficients as metallicity increases means a gradual increase in the production of main r-process elements relative to iron. This behaviour implies that the masses of progenitors for the main r-process are smaller than those of the weak r-process. Furthermore, we find that the metal-poor stream star HD 237846 is a weak r-process star.

Gongyi is the birthplace and one of the most famous production areas of white porcelain in China. In this study, white porcelain samples from the Northern Wei to Tang Dynasties excavated from Baihe and Huangye kiln sites were analyzed to investigate microstructure and its physicochemical basis. The result demonstrates that the formation of an interaction layer of Anorthite crystals and the accompanied phase-separation structure at glaze-body boundary is a common character of microstructure. And there is little probability for crystal precipitation within the glaze layer.

The Fengxi site is near the Feng River in Shaanxi Province, China. Feng City was the capital of the vassal state of Zhou, and the Zhou people lived in this area until the end of the Western Zhou. Serial samples of charcoal, bone, and charred millet were collected from the site and dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). A sequence model with 6 phases of the Western Zhou dynasty was constructed and the 14C ages were calibrated with OxCal v 3.9. The results showed that the site was used from 1170–1070 BC until 825–755 BC, and the Conquest of Shang by King Wu most probably occurred during 1060–1000 BC.

Tianma-Qucun is the biggest site of Western Zhou Dynasty discovered in Shanxi Province, China. It has been recognized as the early capital of Jin, a vassal state of Western Zhou. The territories were granted to the first Marquis of Jin with the title in the early days of Western Zhou. Bone sample series from the site were radiocarbon-dated by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and calibrated with the Oxford calibration program OxCal 3.5. Bayesian analysis of the calibrated ages shows that the earliest residents of the Western Zhou came to Tianma-Qucun area in 1020–940 BC and the lower boundary of the Western Zhou is 796–754 BC, which corresponds well to the historical record 770 BC.

It has been known for almost a decade and a half that in trypanosomes all mRNAs are trans-spliced by addition to the 5′ end of the spliced leader (SL) sequence. During the same time period the conviction developed that classical cis-splicing introns are not present in the trypanosome genome and that the trypanosome gene arrangement is highly compact with small intergenic regions separating one gene from the next. We have now discovered that these tenets are no longer true. Poly(A) polymerase (PAP) genes in Trypanosoma brucei and Trypanosoma cruzi are split by intervening sequences of 653 and 302 nt, respectively. The intervening sequences occur at identical positions in both organisms and obey the GT/AG rule of cis-splicing introns. PAP mRNAs are trans-spliced at the very 5′ end as well as internally at the 3′ splice site of the intervening sequence. Interestingly, 11 nucleotide positions past the actual 5′ splice site are conserved between the T. brucei and T. cruzi introns. Point mutations in these conserved positions, as well as in the AG dinucleotide of the 3′ splice site, abolish intron removal in vivo. Our results, together with the recent discovery of cis-splicing introns in Euglena gracilis, suggest that both trans- and cis-splicing are ancient acquisitions of the eukaryotic cell.

The chemical composition (body and glaze) of over thirty Yaozhou porcelain fragments are determined by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis. Statistical analysis of these results combined with data already published indicate that the full evolution process of Yaozhou porcelain can be divided into four stages. Each stage exhibits a characteristic composition determined by the raw materials and batch composition used to produce the porcelain bodies and glazes. Almost all of Yaozhou celadon and white ware glazes belong predominantly to the CaO-type glaze (or lime glaze), but the glazes of the Song Dynasty (A.D. 960–1280) and later periods have higher K2O content and less CaO than the earlier periods.

The chemical compositions and firing temperatures of seventy-four stamped pottery and proto-porcelain fragments which were excavated from Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Henan and Fujian were studied. Their chemical compositions, together with a database of more than 600 pottery and porcelain bodies and 100 protoporcelain and porcelain glazes previously investigated, were processed and evaluated by correspondence analysis. Their firing temperatures and those of more than 200 pottery and porcelain samples were compared as well. The results of this investigation yield a more objective and comprehensive view of the process of technological evolution of ancient Chinese pottery and porcelain than heretofore possible. The place of stamped pottery and proto-porcelain in the evolution process is better understood, and the differences between the patterns of continuity and change in the north and the south of China is further discussed in this paper.