Generation of optimized wavelength-tunable optical pulse from an uncooled gain-switched Fabry-Perot semiconductor laser using optical amplifier as external light injection

We present a novel system design that can generate the optimized wavelength-tunable optical pulse streams from an uncooled gain-switched Fabry-Perot semiconductor laser using an optical amplifier as external light source. The timing jitter of gain-switched laser has been reduced from about 3 ps to 600 fs and the pulse width has been optimized by using our system. The stability of the system was also experimentally investigated. Our results show that an uncooled gain-switched FP laser system can feasibly produce the stable optical pulse trains with pulse width of 18 ps at the repetition frequency of 5 GHz during 7 h continuous working. We respectively proved the system feasibility under 1 GHz, 2.5 GHz and 5 GHz operation. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Thrust generation and wake structure of wiggling hydrofoil

Marine animals and micro-machines often use wiggling motion to generate thrust. The wiggling motion can be modeled by a progressive wave where its wavelength describes the flexibility of wiggling animals. In the present study, an immersed boundary method is used to simulate the flows around the wiggling hydrofoil NACA 65-010 at low Reynolds numbers. One can find from the numerical simulations that the thrust generation is largely determined by the wavelength. The thrust coefficients decrease with the increasing wavelength while the propulsive efficiency reaches a maximum at a certain wavelength due to the viscous effects. The thrust generation is associated with two different flow patterns in the wake: the well-known reversed Karman vortex streets and the vortex dipoles. Both are jet-type flows where the thrust coefficients associated with the reversed Karman vortex streets are larger than the ones associated with the vortex diploes.

Characteristic rainfall for warning of debris flows

A characteristic rainfall is introduced to overcome the difficulties encountered in determining a critical rainfall value for triggering debris flow. The characteristic value is defined as the rainfall at which debris-flow occurrence probability shows a rapid increase, and can be used as a warning rainfall threshold for debris flows. Investigation of recorded debris flows and 24-hour rainfall data at Jiangjia basin, Yunnan Province, in southwestern China, demonstrates the existence of such a characteristic rainfall. It was found that the characteristic rainfall corresponds to the daily rainfall of 90% cumulative probability by analyzing the basin's daily rainfall histogram. The result provides a simple and useful method for estimating a debris-flow warning rainfall threshold from the daily rainfall distribution. It was applied to estimate the debris-flow warning rainfall threshold for the Subaohe basin, a watershed in the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake zone with many physical characteristics similar to those of the Jiangjia basin.

Adsorbed silica in stalagmite carbonate and its relationship to past rainfall

IEECAS SKLLQG

delta C-13 variation of C-3 and C-4 plants across an Asian monsoon rainfall gradient in arid northwestern China

IEECAS SKLLQG

Isolated sub-30-as pulse generation of an He+ ion by an intense few-cycle chirped laser and its high-order harmonic pulses

We present an efficient method to generate a ultrashort attosecond (as) pulse when a model He+ ion is exposed to the combination of an intense few-cycle chirped laser pulse and its 27th harmonics. By solving the time-dependent Schroumldinger equation, we found that high-order harmonic generation (HHG) from He+ ion is enhanced by seven orders of magnitude due to the presence of the harmonic pulse. After optimizing the chirp of the fundamental pulse, we show that the cut-off energy of the generated harmonics is extended effectively to I-p+25.5U(p). As a result, an isolated 26-as pulse with a bandwidth of 170.5 eV can be obtained directly from the supercontinuum around the cut-off of HHG. To better understand the physical origin of HHG enhancement and attosecond pulse emission, we perform semiclassical simulations and analyze the time-frequency characteristics of attosecond pulse.

NADPH oxidase-mediated generation of reactive oxygen species: A new mechanism for X-ray-induced HeLa cell death

Oxidative damage is an important mechanism in X-ray-induced cell death. Radiolysis of water molecules is a source of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that contribute to X-ray-induced cell death. In this study, we showed by ROS detection and a cell survival assay that NADPH oxidase has a very important role in X-ray-induced cell death. Under X-ray irradiation, the upregulation of the expression of NADPH oxidase membrane Subunit gp91(phox) was dose-dependent. Meanwhile, the cytoplasmic subunit p47(phox) was translocated to the cell membrane and localized with p22(phox) and gp91(phox) to form reactive NADPH oxidase. Our data Suggest, for the first time, that NADPH oxidase-mediated generation of ROS is an important contributor to X-ray-induced cell death. This suggests a new target for combined gene transfer and radiotherapy.

High-order harmonic generation and multi-photon ionization of Na-2 in laser fields

In this paper high-order harmonic generation (HHG) spectra and the ionization probabilities of various charge states of small cluster Na-2 in the multiphoton regimes are calculated by using time-dependent local density approximation (TDLDA) for one-colour (1064 nm) and two-colour (1064 nm and 532 nm) ultrashort (25 fs) laser pulses. HHG spectra of Na2 have not the large extent of plateaus due to pronounced collective effects of electron dynamics. In addition, the two-colour laser field can result in the breaking of the symmetry and generation of the even order harmonic such as the second order harmonic. The results of ionization probabilities show that a two-colour laser field can increase the ionization probability of higher charge state.