Transmission bandwidth of the two-mode fiber link

The transmission bandwidth of the two-mode fiber link is investigated both experimentally and theoretically. It is shown that the experimental bandwidth as a function of wavelength is accurately predicted by using the individual fiber transfer functions and the mode conversion matrix at a splice. The bandwidth is maximized at the wavelength where the overall group delay time difference between the LP01and LP11modes becomes zero, showing the so-called modal equalization effect. It is experimentally certified that the 3 dB bandwidth over 2 GHz is obtained in the wide two-mode-propagation spectral region around 1.3 μm for 5.2 km long two-mode fiber link for the maximum output power launching condition, due to the relatively large attenuation of the LP11mode after long propagation.     

Hypertonic saline dextran prime reduces increased intracranial pressure during cardiopulmonary bypass in pigs

Children and adults who develop neurologic deficits after cardiac surgery may experience cerebral ischemia during cardiopulmonary bypass. Increased intracranial pressure (ICP) may contribute to cerebral ischemia during bypass. Hypertonic saline dextran (HSD), a hyperosmotic, hyperoncotic resuscitation solution, decreases ICP in trauma resuscitation. We hypothesized that HSD would decrease ICP, reduce brain water, and reduce intravascular fluid requirements during bypass. Twelve swine were divided into two bypass groups: Group 1 (ISO = isotonic) received as prime 1 L of lactated Ringer's solution and 500 mL of 6% hydroxyethyl starch. Group 2 (HSD = hypertonic saline/dextran) received as prime 1 L of lactated Ringer's solution, 500 mL of 6% hydroxyethyl starch, and 1 mL/kg of 24% hypertonic saline/25% dextran. Normothermic bypass was instituted at 100 mL.kg-1.min-1. ICP increased significantly during bypass with ISO prime but not with HSD. Brain water in the cerebrum did not differ between groups but was reduced in the cerebellum to 75.9% +/- 1.4%. We conclude that HSD prevented any significant increase in ICP during normothermic bypass, and substantially improved fluid balance during bypass. In cardiac surgery patients in whom maintaining decreased ICP and reducing isotonic fluid administration is important, HSD may be a useful addition to the bypass prime solution.     

Lasing at three-dimensionally quantum-confined sublevel of self-organized In/sub 0.5/Ga/sub 0.5/As quantum dots by current injection

A laser oscillation from self-organized In/sub 0.5/Ga/sub 0.5/As quantum dots is achieved at 80 K by current injection. Lasing at a three-dimensionally quantum confined sublevel of the In/sub 0.5/Ga/sub 0.5/As quantum dots is clearly demonstrated for the first time by electroluminescence and diamagnetic energy shift measurement. The results predict the possibility of ultra-low threshold current operation of quantum dot lasers.     

Insights about the Absence of Rb Cation from the 3D Perovskite Lattice: Effect on the Structural,Morphological, and Photophysical Properties and Photovoltaic Performance

Efficiencies >20% are obtained from the perovskite solar cells (PSCs) employing Cs⁺ and Rb⁺ based perovskite compositions; therefore, it is important to understand the effect of these inorganic cations specifically Rb⁺ on the properties of perovskite structures. Here the influence of Cs⁺ and Rb⁺ is elucidated on the structural, morphological, and photophysical properties of perovskite structures and the photovoltaic performances of resulting PSCs. Structural, photoluminescence (PL), and external quantum efficiency studies establish the incorporation of Cs⁺ (x < 10%) but amply rule out the possibility of Rb‐incorporation into the MAPbI₃ (MA = CH₃NH₃ ⁺) lattice. Moreover, morphological studies and time‐resolved PL show that both Cs⁺ and Rb⁺ detrimentally affect the surface coverage of MAPbI₃ layers and charge‐carrier dynamics, respectively, by influencing nucleation density and by inducing nonradiative recombination. In addition, differential scanning calorimetry shows that the transition from orthorhombic to tetragonal phase occurring around 160 K requires more thermal energy for the Cs‐containing MAPbI₃ systems compared to the pristine MAPbI₃. Investigation including mixed halide (I/Br) and mixed cation A‐cation based compositions further confirms the absence of Rb⁺ from the 3D‐perovskite lattice. The fundamental insights gained through this work will be of great significance to further understand highly promising perovskite compositions.     

Antimicrobial Activities of LL-37 Fragment Mutant-Poly (Lactic-Co-Glycolic) Acid Conjugate against Staphylococcus aureus,Escherichia coli,and Candida albicans

Various peptides and their derivatives have been reported to exhibit antimicrobial activities. Although these activities have been examined against microorganisms, novel methods have recently emerged for conjugation of the biomaterials to improve their activities. Here, we prepared CKR12-PLGA, in which CKR12 (a mutated fragment of human cathelicidin peptide, LL-37) was conjugated with poly (lactic-co-glycolic) acid (PLGA), and compared the antimicrobial and antifungal activities of the conjugated peptide with those of FK13 (a small fragment of LL-37) and CKR12 alone. The prepared CKR12-PLGA was characterized by dynamic light scattering and measurement of the zeta potential, critical micellar concentration, and antimicrobial activities of the fragments and conjugate. Although CKR12 showed higher antibacterial activities than FK13 against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, the antifungal activity of CKR12 was lower than that of FK13. CKR12-PLGA showed higher antibacterial activities against S. aureus and E. coli and higher antifungal activity against Candida albicans compared to those of FK13. Additionally, CKR12-PLGA showed no hemolytic activity in erythrocytes, and scanning and transmission electron microscopy suggested that CKR12-PLGA killed and disrupted the surface structure of microbial cells. Conjugation of antimicrobial peptide fragment analogues was a successful approach for obtaining increased microbial activity with minimized cytotoxicity.     

Synthesis and properties of Ba3NaRu2O9−δ and Ba3(Na, R)Ru2O9−δ (R=rare earth) crystals

Crystals of Ba₃NaRu₂O_9−δ (δ≈0.5) and Ba₃(Na, R)Ru₂O_9−δ (R=Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu, Gd, Tb, Dy, Ho, Er, Tm and Yb) were grown by an electrochemical method, and their crystallographic, magnetic, and electric properties were studied. All crystals have a hexagonal structure of space group P6₃mmc. Ba₃NaRu₂O_9−δ and Ba₃(Na, R)Ru₂O_9−δ (except Ce) have a negative asymptotic Curie temperature suggesting the existence of an antiferromagnetic order; however, they are paramagnetic at temperatures above 1.7 K. Ba₃NaRu₂O_9−δ has an effective magnetic moment P_eff of 0.91 μ_B, while P_eff of Ba₃(Na, R)Ru₂O_9−δ (except Ce) reflects the large free-ion moment of the rare earth ions. Ba₃(Na, Ce)Ru₂O_9−δ shows peculiar magnetic behavior that differs from the magnetism of other Ba₃(Na, R)Ru₂O_9−δ crystals. The resistivity of all crystals exhibits an activation-type temperature dependence with an activation energy in the range of 0.10.2 eV.     

Driving simulator with double-wishbone suspension using efficient block-triangularized kinematic equations

When modeled with ideal joints, many vehicle suspensions contain closed kinematic chains, or kinematic loops, and are most conveniently modeled using a set of generalized coordinates of cardinality exceeding the degrees-of-freedom of the system. Dependent generalized coordinates add nonlinear algebraic constraint equations to the ordinary differential equations of motion, thereby producing a set of differential-algebraic equations that may be difficult to solve in an efficient yet precise manner. Several methods have been proposed for simulating such systems in real time, including index reduction, model simplification, and constraint stabilization techniques. In this work, the equations of motion for a double-wishbone suspension are formulated symbolically using linear graph theory. The embedding technique is applied to eliminate the Lagrange multipliers from the dynamic equations and obtain one ordinary differential equation for each independent acceleration. Symbolic computation is then used to triangularize a subset of the kinematic constraint equations, thereby producing a recursively solvable system for calculating a subset of the dependent generalized coordinates. Thus, the kinematic equations are reduced to a block-triangular form, which results in a more computationally efficient solution strategy than that obtained by iterating over the original constraint equations. The efficiency of this block-triangular kinematic solution is exploited in the real-time simulation of a vehicle with double-wishbone suspensions on both axles, which is implemented in a hardware- and operator-in-the-loop driving simulator.     

Intravital dual-colored visualization of colorectal liver metastasis in living mice using two photon laser scanning microscopy

A major challenge of cancer biology is to visualize the dynamics of the metastatic process in secondary organs at high optical resolution in vivo real-time. Here, we presented intravital, dual-colored imaging of liver metastasis formation from a single cancer cell to metastatic colonies in the living liver of living mice using two photon laser scanning microscopy (TPLSM). Red fluorescent protein expressing murine (SL4) or human (HT29) colorectal cancer cell lines were inoculated to the spleen of green fluorescent protein expressing mice. Intravital TPLSM was performed by exteriorizing and fixing the liver lobe of living mice. This was repeated several times for the long-term imaging of the same mouse. Viable cancer cells in the living liver of living mice were visualized intravitally at a magnification of over 600×. Single cancer cells were arrested within hepatic sinusoids 2 h after injection. Platelet aggregation surrounding a cancer cell was observed, indicating a phenomenon of tumor-cell induced platelet aggregation. Cancer cells were extravasated from hepatic sinusoids to the space of Disse. Protrusions of Kupffer cells surrounding a cancer cell were observed, indicating that Kupffer cells appear to phagocytose cancer cells. SL4 cells formed liver metastatic colonies with extensive stromal reaction. Liver metastases by HT29 cells were observed as a cluster of micrometastatic nodules. High-resolution, dual-colored, real-time visualization of cancer metastasis using intravital TLPSM can help to understand spatiotemporal tumor-host interactions during metastatic processes in the living organs of living animals.     

Energy losses at three-way circular drop manholes under surcharged conditions

Energy loss at manholes is of importance in the design of storm sewer networks and in flood-analysis. Some researchers have already investigated the energy loss at three-way manholes under surcharged conditions. However, formulation to calculate the energy loss at manholes, including all variables of structural elements of the pipes and of the manhole has not yet been accomplished. Therefore, more study to formulate the energy loss at three-way drop manholes is needed. In this study, the ratio of the diameter between inflow pipes and an outflow pipe, the ratio of flow rates between those pipes, water depth in a manhole and the drop gaps between those pipes are considered and the energy loss at three-way circular drop manholes is examined. Finally, a modified formula, more accurate than that in the U.S. Federal Highway Administration's 2001 Urban Drainage Design Manual is proposed. The proposed formula takes the influence of the ratio of the diameter between inflow pipes and outflow pipe and drop gaps between those pipes into consideration. The calculated energy loss coefficients in both straight-through and lateral pipes successfully reproduce the measured values.     

Sequestration of Dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and Acrylate from the Green Alga <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ulva</Emphasis> Spp. by the Sea Hare <Emphasis Type="Italic">Aplysia juliana</Emphasis>

Many animals sequester secondary metabolites from their food. In this study, we hypothesized that the sea hare Aplysia juliana sequesters secondary metabolites from green algae. To test this, we performed NMR-based metabolomic analysis on methanol extracts of Ulva spp. and A. juliana. Another sea hare, Bursatella leachii, which mainly feeds on another type of alga, was added to this analysis as an outgroup. Two body parts of the sea hares, skin and digestive glands, were used in the analysis. Principal component analysis (PCA) on the NMR data of these samples detected biomarkers common to Ulva spp. and A. juliana. This result indicates sequestration of secondary metabolites by the herbivore from the plants. The biomarker metabolites were identified as dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) and acrylate, which were concentrated in skin of A. juliana and were released from the skin of live animals when physically stressed. Thus, our NMR-based metabolomic study revealed sequestration of algae-derived secondary metabolites in skin of A. Juliana, and in the discharge of the metabolites under conditions that mimic attack by predators.