Guided modes of a width-reduced photonic-crystal slab line-defect waveguide with asymmetric cladding

The authors fabricated GaAs-based width-reduced photonic-crystal (PC) slab line-defect waveguides with asymmetric cladding, characterized optically by broadband transmission spectral results. These waveguides were vertically sandwiched between air and oxide claddings. Transmission peaks originating from the guided mode located within the bandgap were observed, thereby showing the presence of a bandgap effect for the transverse-electric (TE)-like guided mode even with the coexistence of a fundamental transverse-magnetic (TM)-like mode. Propagation loss spectra were derived from transmission spectra for both TE and TM polarization inputs. Comparing the obtained spectra to band diagrams, the authors detected a mini-stopband effect in the transmission spectra arising from a folding of the fundamental TM-like mode at the Brillouin zone boundary. The coupling coefficient was then estimated to be /spl sim/0.01 [a/sup -1/] (with a being a lattice constant). Dips in spectral intensity were also observed and were attributed to TE-TM mode conversion based on a comparison to the band diagram.     

An Assay Method for Determining the Total Lipid Content of Fish Meat Using a 2-Thiobarbituric Acid Reaction

A method for the determination of the total lipid content in fish meat was established using a 2-thiobarbituric acid (TBA) reaction, which had previously been used for the determination of lipid peroxides in animal tissues. In this method, an unspecific peroxidation of fish oils was created by omitting the addition of antioxidant to the reaction mixture during the TBA reaction, because fish meat is more sensitive to the TBA reaction due to its higher concentration of polyunsaturated fatty acids, especially docosahexaenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid, which can easily react artificially with TBA in the absence of an antioxidant in the assay system. As for a practical application of this method, we tried to optimize the assay procedures in the sampling, reaction, and detection steps of this method, and finally proposed a new standard procedure recommended for determining the total lipid content of fish using a TBA reaction. In order to confirm the accuracy of the new procedure, comparative evaluations for the lipid contents of commercially available fish, i.e., chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) and saury (Cololabis saira) were made between the conventional procedure and the recommended TBA method. The lipid contents obtained by the two methods coincided well with high correlation. This method is relevant for total lipid content analysis of fish meat under restricted laboratory conditions.     

Preparation of long-chain polyynes of C24H2 and C26H2 by liquid-phase laser ablation in decalin

The longest-chain polyyne that has ever been synthesized is C₂₄H₂ by Estmond et al. [1] using the complicated acetylene coupling method. On the other hand, in simple liquid-phase laser ablation method, we have recently obtained the longest-chain polyyne of C₂₂H₂. In the present study, we report the synthesis of long-chain polyynes of C₂₄H₂ and C₂₆H₂ from graphite pellets in solvent of decalin by liquid-phase laser ablation. It is believed that the termination reaction on both ends of these polyyne molecules hardly occurs in decalin with relatively less number of hydrogen atoms and these long-chain polyynes could be synthesized.     

Effect of initial notch orientation on fracture toughness in fail-safe steel

A 0.4C–2Si–1Cr–1Mo steel bar with an ultrafine-elongated grain (UFEG) structures was produced by multi-pass warm caliber rolling. The test sample was machined from the rolled bar with 0°, 45°, and 90° rotation along the rolling direction, and a static three-point bending test was conducted at ambient temperature. The toughness anisotropy on the steel with UFEG structures were studied, including the crack propagation on the basis of the microstructural features. The strength and toughness decreased with an increase in the rotation angle along the rolling direction. The toughness decreased drastically, compared to the strength. The notch orientation dependence on toughness is due to differences in the spatial distribution of weak sites such as {100} cleavage planes and boundaries of elongated grains. For the toughness design in ultrafine-grained materials, it is essential to understand the spatial distribution of these weak sites as well as the grain size.     

Study on detection for the defects of XLPE cable lines

This paper reports the results of a basic study of testing methods to replace the DC after laying test that is presently most frequently used as an after laying test for XLPE power cable lines. Chosen as the alternative waveforms for DC voltage were damped oscillating wave (OSW) and very-low-frequency wave (VLF) voltages. Experiments were conducted on the ability to detect various types of line defects under these voltages. It was found that these alternative waveforms are promising as after laying test voltage waveforms to replace DC and that greater defect detection ability can be achieved by combining them when conducting tests     

An Efficient Sound and Data Steganography Based Secure Authentication System

The prodigious advancements in contemporary technologies have also brought in the situation of unprecedented cyber-attacks. Further, the pin-based security system is an inadequate mechanism for handling such a scenario. The reason is that hackers use multiple strategies for evading security systems and thereby gaining access to private data. This research proposes to deploy diverse approaches for authenticating and securing a connection amongst two devices/gadgets via sound, thereby disregarding the pins’ manual verification. Further, the results demonstrate that the proposed approaches outperform conventional pin-based authentication or QR authentication approaches. Firstly, a random signal is encrypted, and then it is transformed into a wave file, after which it gets transmitted in a short burst via the device’s speakers. Subsequently, the other device/gadget captures these audio bursts through its microphone and decrypts the audio signal for getting the essential data for pairing. Besides, this model requires two devices/gadgets with speakers and a microphone, and no extra hardware such as a camera, for reading the QR code is required. The first module is tested with real-time data and generates high scores for the widely accepted accuracy metrics, including precision, Recall, F1 score, entropy, and mutual information (MI). Additionally, this work also proposes a module helps in a secured transmission of sensitive data by encrypting it over images and other files. This steganographic module includes two-stage encryption with two different encryption algorithms to transmit data by embedding inside a file. Several encryption algorithms and their combinations are taken for this system to compare the resultant file size. Both these systems engender high accuracies and provide secure connectivity, leading to a sustainable communication ecosystem.     

Origin, control, and application of supramolecular chirogenesis in bisporphyrin-based systems

The rationalization of various aspects of the mechanism of chirality induction in supramolecular assemblies based upon the complexes formed between an ethane-linked bisoctaethylporphyrin and chiral ligands is described. The influence of various controlling factors such as bonding strength, host-guest steric interactions, equilibria and thermodynamic parameters, temperature and solvent effects, role of the center metal ion, stoichiometry, and phase transition on the chirality induction processes have been investigated, and the results and implications are discussed. As a result of such detailed understanding, it is possible to employ this bisporphyrin system as an effective chirality sensor for the determination of absolute configuration.     

Modeling And Solving An Engine Intake Manifold With Turbo Charger For Predictive Control

In this paper, we build the intake manifold model of an engine with a turbo charger and develop a high speed calculation algorithm for model‐based predictive control in real time. The model is built according to the analysis of its thermodynamic and hydrodynamic characteristics and the sampled experiment data. The model equations are presented as a set of differential equations with condition selection (bifurcation) on the right hand side. The switching surface is divided into two parts, sliding and crossing. The sliding mode on the switching surface is analyzed in detail, and a calculation algorithm is proposed to remove illegal crossing caused by the numerical errors on this surface. Also, the control formula and the condition guiding the bifurcation between these two parts are demonstrated. Using this method, we can solve this model over the entire region of input throttle angles, the stability is greatly increased, and the calculation time is greatly reduced for real time control systems.     

斜入射液晶空间光调制器的特性

用读出光斜入射到液晶空间光调制器(LC-SLM)的读出面,是一种有效的提高空间光调制器(SLM)读出效率的方法。测量了读出光以不同角度入射到液晶空间光调制器的读出面上时,相位调制深度与写入光强的关系、衍射效率与二值光栅对比度的关系。得到随着入射角度的增加,最大相位调制深度减小,而衍射效率变化并不明显。在45°时有最大相位调制深度2.0936π和35.4%的正一级衍射效率。