Comparison between NRZ and RZ signal formats for in-line amplifiertransmission in the zero-dispersion regime

Nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) and return-to-zero (RZ) signal formats are experimentally and numerically compared for single-channel long-distance transmission in an in-line amplifier system with dispersion management providing average zero dispersion and local nonzero dispersion at an interval equal to the in-line amplifier spacing. Among a 20-ps RZ signal, a 40-ps RZ signal, and an NRZ signal transmitted in 10 Gb/s straight-line experiments, the last signal achieves the longest transmission distance of 6000 km while the others are limited to 4400 km. Numerical simulations explain these results well and show that, along with linear amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) accumulation, signal waveform distortion due to the combined effect of higher order group-velocity dispersion (GVD) and self-phase modulation (SPM) dominates the performance. Nonlinear optical noise enhancement is not obvious because of the fiber dispersion arrangement. Signals with large pulse widths are less affected by the combined effect, while small-width signals yield superior initial signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as determined by optical noise. A detailed simulation indicates that a pulse width of about 60 ps is optimum for long distance transmission under the fiber dispersion arranged in this paper     

Cardiac graft intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and interleukin-1 expression mediate primary isograft failure and induction of ICAM-1 in organs remote from the site of transplantation

During the first few hours after heart transplantation, the occurrence of graft failure is unpredictable and devastating. An explosive cascade of inflammatory events within the reperfused graft vasculature is likely to be mediated, at least in part, by the local expression of the leukocyte adhesion receptor intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1, CD54). Furthermore, although proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) are known to autoinduce their own (and ICAM-1) expression in vitro, there are no data to identify their functional in vivo cross talk in the setting of isograft transplantation. To determine the role of ICAM-1 in primary graft failure, we used an isogeneic vascularized model of heterotopic cardiac transplantation. ICAM-1 mRNA and protein increased in grafts during the early posttransplant period and were predominantly localized in the endothelium. The functional significance of this was established using donor hearts obtained from either ICAM-1-deficient (ICAM-1 -/-) or control (ICAM-1 +/+) mice. ICAM-1 +/+ grafts exhibited increased neutrophil infiltration, reduced left ventricular compliance, and poorer survival than did ICAM-1 -/- grafts. Increased ICAM-1 expression was not limited to ICAM-1 +/+ grafts but also occurred in unmanipulated recipient organs located remote from the site of surgery (but only after transplantation of ICAM-1 +/+, not ICAM-1 -/-, cardiac grafts). This expression of ICAM-1 in remote organs appeared to be triggered by IL-1alpha released from the graft, because (1) in situ hybridization revealed increased IL-1 mRNA within cells of the reperfused graft, including myocytes and endothelial cells; (2) ICAM-1 expression in remote organs coincided with a significant increase in serum levels of IL-1alpha after transplantation of ICAM-1 +/+ grafts; both remote organ ICAM-1 expression and IL-1alpha levels were blunted by implantation of ICAM-1 -/- grafts; and (3) remote organ ICAM-1 expression and neutrophil infiltration and IL-1 levels could be blocked by the administration of an IL-1 receptor antagonist. These data demonstrate an apparent positive-feedback loop in which local ICAM-1 and IL-1 expression leads to a mutual amplification of each other's expression within the reperfused graft, promulgating inflammatory events that are likely to be an important cause of primary cardiac graft failure. Because IL-1 receptor blockade reduces the IL-1-mediated autoinduction of IL-1, reduces the expression of ICAM-1 in both the graft and remote organs, and improves graft survival, it may provide a new and effective strategy to prevent the occurrence of primary cardiac graft failure.     

54/spl times/42.7 Gbit/s L- and U-band WDM signal transmission experiments with in-line hybrid optical amplifiers

54/spl times/42.7 Gbit/s L and U-band WDM signal transmission has been experimentally demonstrated. In-line hybrid optical amplifiers consisting of L-band EDFAs and U-band distributed Raman amplifiers enable 2.2 Tbit/s WDM signals to be transmitted over three spans of 75 km DSF.     

Preparation of composites of liquid‐crystalline matrix of poly(p‐phenylene‐sulfoterephthalamide) and CaCO3 by In situ mineralization

Liquid‐crystalline (LC) hydrogels were obtained from an aqueous solution of poly(p‐phenylene‐sulfoterephthalamide) (PPST) by the addition of calcium ions (Ca²⁺). The critical hydrogel formation ratio of Ca²⁺ to the sulfonic acid group in PPST (^crtR_Ca = [Ca²⁺]/[ ]) depended on the concentration of PPST, and was independent of the molecular weight of PPST. When the LC hydrogel was prepared at a concentration of 0.5 wt % and ^crtR_Ca = 0.6, and was exposed to ammonium carbonate vapor for 96 h, all Ca²⁺ in the LC hydrogel were converted into calcite crystals. The alternate soaking process for the LC hydrogel induced the formation of two mesocrystal morphologies on and in the Ca²⁺ cross‐linked LC hydrogel. Plate‐like calcite mesocrystals grew at the hydrogel/solution interface and cubic mesocrystals were present in the inner space of the hydrogel, thus composites with some ordered structures of LC matrix and CaCO₃ have been prepared through in situ mineralization. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015 , 132, 41455.     

Effect of bleeding treatment and perfusion of yellowtail on lipid oxidation in post-mortem muscle

The present study investigated the effects of bleeding treatment and perfusion of antioxidant compounds on lipid oxidation in ordinary and dark muscles of yellowtail in the early stage of ice storage. The lipid hydroperoxide contents of dark muscles obtained from yellowtails with and without bleeding treatment were higher and increased more rapidly than those of ordinary muscles. There were no significant differences in the rates of change of the lipid hydroperoxide content (up to 48 h), fatty acid composition and metmyoglobin formation between dark muscles with and without bleeding treatment. Physiological saline containing ascorbic acid or 6-hydroxy-2,5,7,8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid (Trolox^®) was perfused into live yellowtail or added to minced dark muscle. Trolox^® significantly (P < 0.01) delayed the accumulation of lipid hydroperoxide in dark muscle compared to ascorbic acid in perfusion experiment. These results indicate that simply removing a portion of the blood from live yellowtail by bleeding is not sufficient to prevent lipid oxidation in the early stage of ice storage. Contrary to this, addition of antioxidants into fish flesh is effective to delay lipid oxidation in post-mortem muscle.     

Evolutionary algorithms approach for integrated bioenergy supply chains optimization

In this paper, we propose an optimization model and solution approach for designing and evaluating integrated system of bioenergy production supply chains, SC, at the local level. Designing SC that simultaneously utilize a set of bio-resources together is a complicated task, considered here. The complication arises from the different nature and sources of bio-resources used in bioenergy production i.e., wet, dry or agriculture, industrial etc. Moreover, the different concerns that decision makers should take into account, to overcome the tradeoff anxieties of the socialists and investors, i.e., social, environmental and economical factors, was considered through the options of multi-criteria optimization. A first part of this research was introduced in earlier research work explaining the general Bioenergy Decision System gBEDS [Ayoub N, Martins R, Wang K, Seki H, Naka Y. Two levels decision system for efficient planning and implementation of bioenergy production. Energy Convers Manage 2007;48:709–23]. In this paper, brief introduction and emphasize on gBEDS are given; the optimization model is presented and followed by a case study on designing a supply chain of nine bio-resources at Iida city in the middle part of Japan.     

Effects of Polyols and Organic Solvents on Thermostability of Lipase

The effects of polyols and organic solvents on the thermostability of lipase were studied. The thermodeactivation process of lipase obeyed a series deactivation model and four kinetic parameters were determined. The rate constant of the first deactivation process was found to be a key one. All the polyols used had a positive effect for stabilization of lipase and the extent of effect increased with polyol concentration and carbon number of polyol. The effect of organic solvents on the thermostability of lipase was investigated by incubating the lipase in the organic solvents before measuring their activities. The behavior of the thermodeactivation depended upon the organic solvents used; increased activity was observed in some solvents. © 1997 SCI     

EFFECT OF Ti CONTENT ON THE MICROSTRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF Si_3n_4/Si_3N_4 JOINT BRAZED USING Cu-Zn-Ti ALLOY

1.IntroductionWiththedevelopmentofaerospace,energyandelectronicindustries,advancedmaterialsarebecomingmoreandmoreimPOrtant.CerdricmaterialshavevariousadVantagessuchashighthermalresistance,corrosionresistanceandwearresistance,whichcansatisfymanyindustryreqUirements.However,becauseOfthehighbrittlenessandPOOrmachiningproperties,cerawhcmaterialsisverydifficulttobeusedasthestructurecomponentswithlargesizeorcomplicatedshapes.Therefore,weldingofceradricmaterialsisoneofthekeytechniqUesfortheirappl…