Novel Er and Ce codoped fluoride fiber amplifier for low-noise and high-efficient operation with 980-nm pumping

We demonstrate the low-noise and high-gain operation of a fluoride Er/sup 3+/ and Ce/sup 3+/ codoped fiber (F-ECDF) amplifier with 980-nm pumping. A 980-nm-pumped F-ECDF with a length of only 45 cm exhibits a noise figure of <4.5 dB in the entire C-band and a small signal gain of >20 dB with a gain ripple of <1 dB without any gain-flattening filter in the 1525-1560-nm range. Excitation spectra for the gain and noise figure of an F-ECDF exhibit flat shapes in the 974-982-nm range. We also demonstrate that the gain coefficient reaches 1.4 dB/mW and the power conversion efficiency is 27.4% at 1532 nm for a 2.25-m-long F-ECDF.     

Numerical analysis of bubble motion with the VOF method

Numerical analyses of a two-dimensional single bubble in a stagnant liquid and in a linear shear flow were conducted in the present study using the volume of fluid method, which is based on the local-instantaneous field equations. It was clarified that this method gives qualitatively appropriate predictions for the effects of the Morton number and the Eotvos number on fluctuating bubble motion in a stagnant liquid. Calculated velocity and pressure distributions indicated that the Karman vortex causes a sinuous movement of the bubble. As for the bubble motion in a linear shear flow, calculated bubbles migrated in a lateral direction. The direction of the lateral migration agreed to available experimental data. It was also confirmed that (i) the direction or the magnitude of the lateral migration is affected by the Eotvos and the Morton numbers, and (ii) the interaction among the internal flow of the bubble, the wake of the bubble and the external shear flow plays an essential role for the lateral migration.     

Configuration of a voltage sag compensator by use of a micro‐SMES and experimental results

A voltage sag compensating using a micro‐SMES is presented. Based on previous works, we have carried out experiments for voltage sag compensation on the laboratory‐built system in order to validate the proposed minimum energy injection voltage sag compensation algorithm. To improve the compensating performance of the system, two‐degree‐of‐freedom voltage control is proposed. In this paper, the circuit configuration and feedback voltage control system of the compensator are described and the experimental results are reported. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 148(2): 84–92, 2004; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10267     

Paracrine effect of human chorionic gonadotropin ectopically produced from papillary thyroid cancer cells on growth and function of FRTL-5 rat thyroid cells

It is well known that human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is sometimes secreted from nontrophoblastic neoplasms. To elucidate the role of ectopic hCG, we investigated the effect of hCG produced from a papillary thyroid cancer cell line (B-CPAP cells) on stimulation and growth promotion of FRTL-5 rat thyroid cells. Ectopic hCG contained in the culture medium of B-CPAP cells was purified using gel filtration and bioassayed for thyrotropic activity in FRTL-5 cells. Addition of ectopic hCG (up to 5.2 x 10(4) IU/L) increased cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation and 3H-thymidine incorporation in FRTL-5 cells dose dependently. These effects were almost as potent as the stimulation induced by standard hCG CR-127. After the absorption of the ectopic hCG by anti-hCG-beta monoclonal antibody, the cAMP accumulation was significantly decreased. Analysis of ectopic hCG isoforms with different isoelectric points indicated the predominance of the acidic hCG isoform with isoelectric point (pI) 3.8-3.2 that is the major isoform of standard hCG. Basic isoforms (pI 5.7-5.3) with higher thyrotropic potency were also detected. These results indicate that the ectopic hCG secreted from papillary thyroid cancer cells possess intrinsic thyroid-stimulating and growth-promoting activity. The ectopic hCG may act as an autocrine-paracrine factor in nontrophoblastic neoplasms.     

Power coupling from laser diodes into single-mode fibres with quadrangular pyramid-shaped hemiellipsoidal ends

A novel fabrication method for hemiellipsoidal microlenses formed on fibre ends is proposed, for efficient coupling from laser diodes into single-mode fibres. The method permits the realisation of microlenses with the required ellipticities to match the fields of lasers and fibres. A very low coupling loss of 2.65 dB has been achieved.     

Recovery of uranium by tannin immobilized on agarose

Tannin, which is a ubiquitous and inexpensive material, was immobilized on agarose gel to produce an excellent adsorbent for uranium recovery from seawater. Optimal conditions for the immobilization of tannin on agarose gel by both the epichlorohydrin and cyanuric chloride coupling procedures were examined in detail. The resulting immobilized tannin has a highly selective ability to adsorb uranium and applicability in both column and batch systems. This adsorbent can recover uranium from natural seawater with high efficiency. The maximum adsorption capacities were 1850 μg uranium g^?1 adsorbent for the tannin immobilized on agarose gel by the epichlorohydrin coupling procedure and 1062 μg g^?1 adsorbent for that produced by the cyanuric chloride coupling procedure.     

Stability of two modes in DFB laser diode under high data rate modulation

Using a DFB-LD with two longitudinal modes in the 1.55 ?m region, the mode stability was examined experimentally. It is found that these modes are very stable under direct modulation at least up to around 300 Mbit/s and there is no power penalty due to mode partition noise in 97 km single-mode-fibre transmission at 280 Mbit/s.     

Mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes with deterioration during pregnancy

We report a 31-year-old woman who developed myopathy and neuropathy during pregnancy. She was diagnosed as having mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS). A T-to-C transition mutation at nucleotide position 3271 was detected in the mitochondrial gene. Her symptoms subsided spontaneously and she delivered a male infant at 38 weeks of gestation. Prior reports on mitochondrial diseases with pregnancy are very rare, probably because of the early onset of the disease. The metabolic changes during pregnancy increase the stress on the mitochondrial function, particularly in patients with impaired mitochondrial function. Therefore pregnancy can aggravate mitochondrial diseases.     

Molecular cloning of an isoform of Doc2 having two C2-like domains

We previously isolated a novel protein having two C2-like domains known to interact with Ca2+ and phospholipid, and named Doc2 (Double C2). Doc2 is predominantly expressed in brain and is implicated in Ca(2+)-dependent neurotransmitter release. We have isolated here an isoform of Doc2 and named the original one Doc2 alpha and the new one Doc2 beta. Doc2 beta alsp has two C2-like domains and is 61% identical to Doc2 alpha at the amino acid level. In contrast to Doc2 alpha, the Doc2 beta mRNA is expressed ubiquitously. These results indicate that there are at least two isoforms of Doc2, and suggest that Doc2 beta is involved in Ca(2+)-dependent intracellular vesicle trafficking in various types of cells.