Effect of dietary cyanobacteria on growth and accumulation of microcystins in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus)

A 12-week growth trial was conducted in a flow-through system to investigate the chronic toxic effect of dietary intake of cyanobacteria on growth, feed utilization and microcystins accumulation in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus L.) (initial body weight: 5.6 g). Six isonitrogenous and isocaloric diets were formulated to include different contents of cyanobacteria with the dietary microcystins increasing from 0 to 5460.06 ng/g diet. The results showed that dietary intake of cyanobacteria could increase the growth of tilapia while there are no impacts on feed conversion efficiency or mortality. Feeding rate was higher for the diets containing highest cyanobacteria. Microcystins were mostly accumulated in fish liver. The relationship between microcystins contents in muscle, liver, spleen and dietary intake could be described by quadratic equations. Microcystins content in the muscle of Nile tilapia in present study exceeded the upper limit of the tolerable daily intake (TDI) of microcystins suggested by the WHO (0.04 mu g/kg body weight/d). It is suggested that Nile tilapia fed on toxic cyanobacteria is not suitable for human food. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Choice of calibration equations in calibrating microwave test fixtures

The error theory of linear equation system has been applied to the calibration procedure of microwave network analyser in this article. A new explanation for the choice of the linear calibration equations is proposed and a general principle for choosing calibration equations is presented. The method can also be used to predict the occurrence of the problem of frequency limitation at some periodic frequencies. This principle is employed to the thru-short-delay (TSD) method and the solution using the chosen equations gives the most accurate results. A good agreement between the theory and the experiment has been obtained.

Direct observation of coherent spin transfer processes in an InGaAs/GaAs quantum well via two-color time-resolved Kerr rotation measurements

A two-color time-resolved Kerr rotation spectroscopy system was built, with a femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser and a photonic crystal fiber, to study coherent spin transfer processes in an InGaAs/GaAs quantum well sample. The femtosecond Ti:sapphire laser plays two roles: besides providing a pump beam with a tunable wavelength, it also excites the photonic crystal fiber to generate supercontinuum light ranging from 500 nm to 1600 nm, from which a probe beam with a desirable wavelength is selected with a suitable interference filter. With such a system, we studied spin transfer processes between two semiconductors of different gaps in an InGaAs/GaAs quantum well sample. We found that electron spins generated in the GaAs barrier were transferred coherently into the InGaAs quantum well. A model based on rate equations and Bloch-Torrey equations is used to describe the coherent spin transfer processes quantitatively. With this model, we obtain an effective electron spin accumulation time of 21 ps in the InGaAs quantum well.

Optical bistability in InP/GaInAsP equilateral-triangle-resonator microlasers

Optical bistability is reported in InP/GaInAsP equilateral-triangle-resonator (ETR) microlasers, which are fabricated by planar technology. For a 30 mu m side ETR microlaser with a 2-mu m-wide output waveguide connected to one of the vertices of the ETR, hysteresis loops are observed for the output power versus the injection current from 215 to 235 K. The laser output spectra are measured in the upper and lower states of the hysteresis loop, which show strong mode competition among transverse modes. The hysteresis loops are demonstrated by two-mode rate equations with asymmetric cross gain saturation and different output efficiencies. (C) 2009 Optical Society of America

Stability of GaAs photocathodes under different intensities of illumination

The photocurrent curves of reflection-mode GaAs photocathodes as a function of time, when were illuminated by white light with an intensity of 0, 33 and 100 Ix, respectively, were measured using a multi-information measurement system. The calculated lifetimes of cathodes are 320, 160 and 75 min, respectively, showing that the stability of cathodes degraded with the increase of light intensity. The lifetime of cathode, illuminated by white light with an intensity of 100 Ix, while no photocurrent was being drawn during the illumination, was 100 min. Through comparison, we found that the influence of illumination on cathodes stability is greater than that of photocurrent. The quantum-yield curves of cathodes as a functions of time, when illuminated by white light with an intensity of 33 Ix, were measured also. The measured results show that the shape of the yield curves changes with increasing illumination time due to the faster quantum-yield degradation rate of low energy photons. Based on the revised quantum-efficiency equations for the reflection-mode cathodes, the variation of yield curves are analyzed to be due to the intervalley diffusion of photoelectrons and the evolution of the surface potential barrier profile of the photocathodes during degradation process.

Dynamics of quantum dissipation systems interacting with fermion and boson grand canonical bath ensembles: Hierarchical equations of motion approach

A hierarchical equations of motion formalism for a quantum dissipation system in a grand canonical bath ensemble surrounding is constructed on the basis of the calculus-on-path-integral algorithm, together with the parametrization of arbitrary non-Markovian bath that satisfies fluctuation-dissipation theorem. The influence functionals for both the fermion or boson bath interaction are found to be of the same path integral expression as the canonical bath, assuming they all satisfy the Gaussian statistics. However, the equation of motion formalism is different due to the fluctuation-dissipation theories that are distinct and used explicitly. The implications of the present work to quantum transport through molecular wires and electron transfer in complex molecular systems are discussed. (c) 2007 American Institute of Physics.

Coalition and distribution in fuzzy dynamic supply chain systems

In this paper, two models of coalition and income's distribution in FSCS (fuzzy supply chain systems) are proposed based on the fuzzy set theory and fuzzy cooperative game theory. The fuzzy dynamic coalition choice's recursive equations are constructed in terms of sup-t composition of fuzzy relations, where t is a triangular norm. The existence of the fuzzy relations in FSCS is also proved. On the other hand, the approaches to ascertain the fuzzy coalition through the choice's recursive equations and distribute the fuzzy income in FSCS by the fuzzy Shapley values are also given. These models are discussed in two parts: the fuzzy dynamic coalition choice of different units in FSCS; the fuzzy income's distribution model among different participators in the same coalition. Furthermore, numerical examples are given aiming at illustrating these models., and the results show that these models are feasible and validity in FSCS.

A 16-term error model based on linear equations of voltage and current variables

Formulation of a 16-term error model, based on the four-port ABCD-matrix and voltage and current variables, is outlined. Matrices A, B, C, and D are each 2 x 2 submatrices of the complete 4 x 4 error matrix. The corresponding equations are linear in terms of the error parameters, which simplifies the calibration process. The parallelism with the network analyzer calibration procedures and the requirement of five two-port calibration measurements are stressed. Principles for robust choice of equations are presented. While the formulation is suitable for any network analyzer measurement, it is expected to be a useful alternative for the nonlinear y-parameter approach used in intrinsic semiconductor electrical and noise parameter measurements and parasitics' deembedding.

Mechanisms of the sidewall facet evolution in lateral epitaxial overgrowth of GaN by MOCVD

The lateral epitaxial overgrowth of GaN was carried out by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, and the cross section shape of the stripes was characterized by scanning electron microscopy. Inclined {11-2n} facets (n approximate to 1-2.5) were observed in the initial growth, and they changed gradually into the vertical {11-20} sidewalls in accordance with the process of the lateral overgrowth. A model was proposed utilizing diffusion equations and boundary conditions to simulate the concentration of the Ga species constituent throughout the concentration boundary layer. Solutions to these equations are found using the two-dimensional, finite element method. We suggest that the observed evolution of sidewall facets results from the variation of the local V/III ratio during the process of lateral overgrowth induced by the lateral supply of the Ga species from the SiNx mask regions to the growing GaN regions.

Analysis of semiconductor microlasers with an equilateral triangle resonator by rate equations

Semiconductor microlasers with an equilateral triangle resonator (ETR) are analyzed by rate equations with the mode lifetimes calculated by the finite-difference time-domain technique and the Pade approximation. A gain spectrum based on the relation of the gain spectrum and the spontaneous emission spectrum is proposed for considering the mode selection in a wide wavelength span. For an ETR microlaser with the side length of about 5 mum, we find that single fundamental mode operation at about 1.55 mum can be obtained as the side length increases from 4.75 to 5.05 mum. The corresponding wavelength tuning range is 93 nm, and the threshold current is about 0.1 to 0.4 mA.

Correlation of calibration equations for test fixtures

This paper begins from the thru-short-open (TSO) and thru-line-match (TLM) methods to investigate the correlation of the calibration equations of these two methods, The relations among the measurements with the corresponding standards are obtained. It is found that the line standard with zero length can be used instead of ideal open and short, in case that two test fixtures are symmetrical. For asymmetrical fixtures, the measurements with the standards line, open and short are related at certain frequencies, and the matched load can be replaced by the line standards. The relations established are used to test short and match standards and analyze the freqPuency limits of the TSO method, Good agreement between theory and experiment is obtained, It is found that the TSO method becomes very poor when the insertion phase of the thru standard is near n pi/4, and this method has a lower frequency limit. The TLM method is found unsuitable for calibrating asymmetrical fixtures.

Self-consistent analysis of AlSb/InAs high electron mobility transistor structures

The influences of channel layer width, spacer layer width, and delta-doping density on the electron density and its distribution in the AlSb/InAs high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) have been studied based on the self-consistent calculation of the Schrodinger and Poisson equations with both the strain and nonparabolicity effects being taken into account. The results show that, having little influence on the total two dimensional electron gas (2DEG) concentration in the channel, the HEMT's channel layer width has some influence on the electron mobility, with a channel as narrow as 100-130 angstrom being more beneficial. For the AlSb/InAs HEMT with a Te delta-doped layer, the 2DEG concentration as high as 9.1 X 10(12) cm(-2) can be achieved in the channel by enhancing the delta-doping concentration without the occurrence of the parallel conduction. When utilizing a Si delta-doped InAs layer as the electron-supplying layer of the AlSb/InAs HEMT, the effect of the InAs donor layer thickness is studied on the 2DEG concentration. To obtain a higher 2DEG concentration in the channel, it is necessary to use an InAs donor layer as thin as 4 monolayer. To test the validity of our calculation, we have compared our theoretical results (2DEG concentration and its distribution in different sub-bands of the channel) with the experimental ones done by other groups and show that our theoretical calculation is consistent with the experimental results.