Nanostructured ferritic alloys (NFAs) contain an ultra-high density of 2–4 nm fcc pyrochlore Y2Ti2O7 nano-oxides (NOs) embedded in a bcc Fe-14Cr ferritic matrix. Characterization of helium interactions with NOs and associated Fe-Y2Ti2O7 interfaces is important to the development of structural materials for nuclear fusion and fission applications. A benchmark 14YWT NFA was first annealed to coarsen the NOs, then insoluble helium was implanted at 700 °C to produce a high number density of bubbles. High-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy characterization shows two dominant Fe-Y2Ti2O7 crystallographic orientation relationships (cube-on-edge and cube-on-cube). The smallest NOs (≈ 2 nm) are associated with the smaller bubbles (≈ 1.5 nm), while some of the largest NOs (> 6 nm) have larger, and sometimes multiple, bubbles. NO corner {111} facets are the preferred sites for He bubble nucleation. A refined sequence of events for He trapping and bubble formation is presented. These observations offer new insight on He management in NFAs, and provide a foundation for detailed modeling studies.

The effects of transcription factors on the maintenance and differentiation of human-induced or embryonic pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs/ESCs) have been well studied. However, the importance of posttranscriptional regulatory mechanisms, which cause the quantitative dissociation of mRNA and protein expression, has not been explored in detail. Here, by combining transcriptome and proteome profiling, we identified 228 posttranscriptionally regulated genes with strict upregulation of the protein level in iPSCs/ESCs. Among them, we found 84 genes were vital for the survival of iPSCs and HDFs, including 20 genes that were specifically necessary for iPSC survival. These 20 proteins were upregulated only in iPSCs/ESCs and not in differentiated cells derived from the three germ layers. Although there are still unknown mechanisms that downregulate protein levels in HDFs, these results reveal that posttranscriptionally regulated genes have a crucial role in iPSC survival.