Loss stability assurance against hydrogen for submarine opticalfiber cable

Hydrogen generation resulting from electrochemical reactions between cable metals and condensed water or moisture permeated through the cable jacket was studied. It was found that hydrogen generation increases exponentially as time elapses and tends to saturation after about one month. Partial pressure distribution along the cable of hydrogen generated in the immersed range of a damaged cable was analyzed by means of the diffusion equation and the optical loss increase was estimated. It was shown that a water-blocking resin effectively prevents water penetration and hydrogen diffusion along the cable     

Constrained nonlinear method for estimating component spectra from multicomponent mixtures

A method is described for estimating the spectra of pure components from the spectra of unknown mixtures with various relative concentrations. This method is based on principal component analysis and a constrained nonlinear optimization technique and is applicable to qualitative analysis of mixtures of more than three components. The method gives two curves as the estimate of a component spectrum: one consists of the set of the maxima and the other consists of the set of the minima for all sampling points subject to a priori information. Experimental results of the estimation of the infrared absorption spectra of xylene-isomer mixtures are shown; the noise problem with this method is also discussed.     

The effectiveness of chlorine residuals in inactivation of bacteria and viruses introduced by post-treatment contamination

The protection afforded the water consumer by the maintenance of a free or combined chlorine residual in water distribution systems was evaluated in a laboratory system provided with a simulated cross connection. Tap water, adjusted to the appropriate pH, temperature and chlorine residual, was challenged with varying levels of autoclaved sewage seeded with Shigella sonnei, Salmonella typhimurium, a coliform (IMVIC⁺⁺⁻⁻), poliovirus 1 and f2 bacterial virus. Comparative survivals of these microorganisms were evaluated over 2 h periods. As expected, microbial inactivation was increased by lower pH, higher temperature, higher initial chlorine concentration and lower sewage concentration. An initial free chlorine residual was more effective than an equivalent initial combined chlorine residual. Generally, S. sonnei, S. typhimurium and the coliform organism were inactivated at the same rate but poliovirus 1 was more resistant and f2 was the most resistant. At pH 8, with an initial free chlorine residual of 0.7 mg 1⁻¹, and added sewage levels of up to 1% by vol, 3 logs or greater bacterial inactivation was obtained within 60 min. Viral inactivation under these conditions was less than 2 logs.     

Three-dimensional coherent transfer function for reflection confocal microscopy in the presence of refractive-index mismatch

The three-dimensional (3-D) coherent transfer function for reflection confocal microscopy of high-numerical-aperture objectives is derived and calculated in the presence of refractive-index mismatch when a laser beam is focused into a medium of refractive index different from its immersion medium. This aberrated coherent transfer function is then used to estimate the readout efficiency of 3-D data bits recorded in a thick medium. It is shown that the readout efficiency of confocal microscopy for 3-D bit data storage is decreased with the focal depth of an objective in a recording medium. However, a high readout efficiency can be maintained if the tube length of a reading objective is linearly altered to compensate for the spherical aberration caused by the refractive-index mismatch.     

Two- and three-dimensional micro/nanostructure patterning of CdS-polymer nanocomposites with a laser interference technique and in situ synthesis

Two-?and three-dimensional (2D and 3D) micro/nanostructures of CdS-polymer nanocomposites have been successfully patterned, combining photopolymerization via a laser four-beam interference technique with in situ synthesis of CdS nanoparticles in the patterned polymer matrix. The morphology and optical properties of CdS nanoparticles in polymer matrices have been confirmed using TEM, XRD, FTIR, UV-vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. Laser irradiation time and film thickness are certified to be the key factors for the control of the micro/nanostructures. With thickening film, the fabricated microstructures of CdS-polymer nanocomposites were dramatically changed from 2D rods to 3D networks which were composed of nanofibres, nanometre-scale walls and micrometre-scale rods. These kinds of 2D and 3D micro/nanostructures could be expected as potential applications in the development of nanotechnology, such as nanomedical systems, micro-fluidic chips, nanoreactors and micro/nanopurification or separation systems.     

Desulfurizing Ability of the CaOsatd.-CaCl2-CaF2 Slags

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - Desulfurizing ability of the CaO-CaCl2-CaF2 slags saturated with CaO has been investigated from the viewpoint of the sulfide capacity and CaO...     

Oxidation of sulfhydryl groups by monochloramine

In recent years there has been an increased used of monochloramine (NH₂Cl) for water disinfection because of its low trihalomethane formation potential. Monochloramine is also the predominant disinfectant upon chlorination of wastewater effluents. In an effort to more clearly understand the disinfectant's mode of action in inactivating microorganisms, a study was undertaken to evaluate the compound's reactions with sulfhydryl (−SH) groups. The extent of oxidation of these groups was dependent upon the molar ratio of −SH to NH₂Cl. When this ratio was >2:1, the reaction was reversible and ceased at disulfide formation. However, at a ratio of < 2:1, the reaction proceeded irreversibly beyond the disulfide; this reaction continued in the presence of a monochloramine residual. Not all −SH groups in Escherichia coli B were available for reaction. Masking of these groups within bacterial proteins prevented their complete oxidation at monochloramine doses as high as 100 mg 1⁻¹. The extent to which sulfhydryls are oxidized in bacteria may play an important role in further research on microbial reactivation.     

Methods for the characterization of deformable membrane mirrors

We demonstrate two methods for the characterization of deformable membrane mirrors and the training of adaptive optics systems that employ these mirrors. Neither method employs a wave-front sensor. In one case, aberrations produced by a wave-front generator are corrected by the deformable mirror by use of a rapidly converging iterative algorithm based on orthogonal deformation modes of the mirror. In the other case, a simple interferometer is used with fringe analysis and phase-unwrapping algorithms. We discuss how the choice of singular values can be used to control the pseudoinversion of the control matrix.