When fear is near: threat imminence elicits prefrontal-periaqueductal gray shifts in humans.

Humans, like other animals, alter their behavior depending on whether a threat is close or distant. We investigated spatial imminence of threat by developing an active avoidance paradigm in which volunteers were pursued through a maze by a virtual predator endowed with an ability to chase, capture, and inflict pain. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we found that as the virtual predator grew closer, brain activity shifted from the ventromedial prefrontal cortex to the periaqueductal gray. This shift showed maximal expression when a high degree of pain was anticipated. Moreover, imminence-driven periaqueductal gray activity correlated with increased subjective degree of dread and decreased confidence of escape. Our findings cast light on the neural dynamics of threat anticipation and have implications for the neurobiology of human anxiety-related disorders.

武汉东湖透明薄皮溞的捕食效率

本文在室内模拟自然水温研究了东湖透明薄皮溞(Leptodora Kindti)对优势枝角类短尾秀体溞(Diaphanosoma brachyurum)和微型裸腹溞(Moina micrura)的捕食效率。实验结果表明,在17℃和21℃时透明薄皮溞对短尾秀体溞的捕食率系数(predation rate coefficient)或称滤过率(clearance rate)分别为15.9和18.2mL predator~(-1)day~(-1)。17℃时透明薄皮溞对微型裸腹溞的捕食率系数为30.1mL preda

Plasmonic nanofocusing of light in an integrated silicon photonics platform.

The capability to focus electromagnetic energy at the nanoscale plays an important role in nanoscinece and nanotechnology. It allows enhancing light matter interactions at the nanoscale with applications related to nonlinear optics, light emission and light detection. It may also be used for enhancing resolution in microscopy, lithography and optical storage systems. Hereby we propose and experimentally demonstrate the nanoscale focusing of surface plasmons by constructing an integrated plasmonic/photonic on chip nanofocusing device in silicon platform. The device was tested directly by measuring the optical intensity along it using a near-field microscope. We found an order of magnitude enhancement of the intensity at the tip's apex. The spot size is estimated to be 50 nm. The demonstrated device may be used as a building block for "lab on a chip" systems and for enhancing light matter interactions at the apex of the tip.

Plasmonic nanotips for on-chip nanoscale confinement of light

We demonstrate the on-chip nanoscale focusing of surface plasmons in metallic nanotip coupled to the silicon waveguide. Strong field enhancement is observed at the apex of the tip. Enhancing light matter interactions is discussed. © 2012 OSA.

Plasmonic nanotips for on-chip focusing of light

We investigate numerically and experimentally the on-chip nanoscale focusing of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in metallic nanotip coupled to the silicon waveguide. Strong field enhancement is observed at the apex of the tip. © 2011 IEEE.

Plasmonic nanotips for on-chip nanoscale confinement of light

We demonstrate the on-chip nanoscale focusing of surface plasmons in metallic nanotip coupled to the silicon waveguide. Strong field enhancement is observed at the apex of the tip. Enhancing light matter interactions is discussed. © 2011 Optical Society of America.

Vertical distribution and migration of planktonic rotifers in Xiangxi Bay of the three Gorges Reservoir, China

We investigated diel vertical migrations (DVM) and distributions of rotifers in summer, 2004 and spring, 2005, in Xiangxi Bay of the Three Gorges Reservoir, China. Water temperature, pH, conductivity, and phytoplankton were closely related to rotifer vertical distribution, while dissolved oxygen had no relationship with the vertical distribution of rotifers. The species composition and population density of rotifers changed significantly between seasons. However, rotifer vertical distributions in both seasons were similar. They aggregated at specific depths in the water column. All the rotifer species inhabited the surface layers (0.5-5 m). Generally, the rotifers did not display DVM except for Polyarthra vulgaris (in summer), which performed reverse migration. The reason that rotifers did not perform DVM may be explained by the low abundance of competitors and predators and the high density of food resources at the surface strata.

On-chip focusing of light by Metallic Nanotip

We investigate numerically and experimentally the on-chip nanoscale focusing of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in metallic nanotip coupled to the silicon waveguide. Strong field enhancement is observed at the apex of the tip. © 2010 Optical Society of America.

Macrozoobenthos in 2 shallow mesotrophic Chinese lakes with contrasting sources of primary production

Comparative studies on macrozoobenthos were done in 2 shallow mesotrophic lakes in the middle basins of the Yangtze River, China: Lake Biandantang where macrophytes were abundant, and Lake Houhu where macrophytes were scarce Samples were taken monthly at 4 stations in each lake from April 1997 to March 1999, and a total of 67 and 31 tara of macrozoobenthos were recorded in Lake Biandantang and Lake Houhu, respectively. Both annual mean density and biomass of macrozoobenthos were higher in Lake Biandantang than in Lake Houhu: 780 vs 532 indivials/m(2) and 37.1 vs 25.9 g wet mass/m(2), respectively. Abundance of functional feeding groups followed the order: scraper > collector > predator > shredder in Lake Biandantang, and collector > predator > scraper > shredder in Lake Houhu. Only 1 density peak occurred from winter to early spring in Lake Houhu; however, in Lake Biandantang, there were 2 peaks, the winter peak and spring peak. K-dominance curves and Shannon-Wiener, Simpson, and Margelef indices indicated that macrozoobenthos were more diverse in Lake Biandantang than in Lake Houhu Our study suggests that, in shallow lakes, submerged macrophytes are essential for the maintenance of biodiversity of macrozoobenthos mainly because the macrophytes increase habit heterogeneity and availability of suitable food, and may also decrease predation by fish on the macrozoobenthos.

Changes of Leptodora kindti abundance (1957-1996) in a planktivorous fishes-dominated subtropical Chinese lake (Lake Donghu)

The changes of L. kindti density from 1957 to 1996 were studied in a shallow, eutrophic Chinese lake, Lake Donghu. Despite the fact that the fish yield of planktivorous fish (silver carp and bighead carp) has increased steadily, the population density of L. kindti has also increased since 1957 and peaked in 1982/1983, The increase of both fish and L. kindti densities during this period may have benefitted from a considerable increase in the densities of their zooplankton prey. and fish predation on L. kindti might have been minor. As the fish yield increased further, their predation began to suppress most zooplankton prey including L. kindti. The largely increased fish predation on L. kindti is also evidenced by the remarkable decline of their body length after 1984. The density of L. kindti was significantly higher at the pelagic station (II) than at the littoral station (I), although for L. kindti, the littoral zone was significantly more resource profitable than the pelagic zone. The gradient of fish predation (more fish in the littoral zone) is the most likely explanation, since L. kindti is reported to be a preferred prey for many planktivorous fishes. The maximum density of L. kindti was 1.78 ind./I (on Aug. 17, 1984) at Station I and 1.55 ind./I (on Sep. 13, 1985) at Station II, respectively, which are close to those in several other eutrophic lakes.

Changes in the structure of a zooplankton community during a Ceratium (dinoflagellate) bloom in a eutrophic fishless pond

The community structure of zooplankton was studied in a eutrophic, fishless Japanese pond. The ecosystem was dominated by a dinoflagellate, Ceratium hirundinella, two filter-feeding cladocerans, Daphnia rosea and Ceriodaphnia reticulata, and an invertebrate predator, the dipteran Chaoborus flavicans. The midsummer zooplankton community showed a large change in species composition (the Daphnia population crashed) when a heavy Ceratium bloom occurred. It is shown that (i) the rapid density decline of D.rosea in mid-May was mainly caused by a shortage of edible phytoplankton, which was facilitated by the rapid increase in C.hirundinella abundance; (ii) the low density of D.rosea in June-July was considered to be mainly caused by the blooming of Ceratium hirundinella (which may inhibit the feeding process of D.rosea), while predation by C.flavicans larvae, the changing temperature, the interspecific competition and the scarcity of edible algae were not judged to be important; (iii) the high summer biomass of the planktonic C.flavicans larvae was maintained by the bloom of C.hirundinella, because >90% of the crop contents of C.flavicans larvae were C.hirundinella during this period. The present study indicates that the large-sized cells or colonies of phytoplankton are not only inedible by most cladocerans, but the selective effect of the blooming of these algae can also influence the composition and dominance of the zooplankton community, especially for the filter-feeding Cladocera, in a similar way as the selective predation by planktivorous fish. The large-sized phytoplankton can also be an important alternative food for ominivorous invertebrate predators such as Chaoborus larvae, and thus may affect the interactions between these predators and their zooplanktonic prey. In this way, such phytoplankton may play a very important role in regulating the dynamics of the aquatic food web, and become a driving force in shaping the community structure of zooplankton.

Mechanism on Effect of Surface Plasmons Coupling with InGaN/GaN Quantum Wells: Enhancement and Suppression of Photoluminescence Intensity

The photoluminescence (PL) intensity enhancement and suppression mechanism on surface plasmons (SPs) coupling with InGaN/GaN quantum wells (QWs) have been systematically studied. The SP-QW coupling behaviors in the areas of GaN cap layer coated with silver thin film were compared at different temperatures and excitation powers. It is found that the internal quantum efficiency (IQE) of the light emitting diodes (LEDs) varies with temperature and excitation power, which in turn results in anomalous emission enhancement and suppression tendency related to SP-QW coupling. The observation is explained by the balance between the extraction efficiency of SPs and the IQE of LEDs

Investigations on V-defects in quaternary AlInGaN epilayers

The characteristics of V-defects in quaternary AlInGaN epilayers and their correlation with fluctuations of the In distribution are investigated. The geometric size of the V-defects is found to depend on the In composition of the alloy. The V-defects are nucleated within the AlInGaN layer and associated with threading dislocations. Line scan cathodoluminescence (CL) shows a redshift of the emission peak and an increase of the half width of the CL spectra as the electron beam approaches the apex of the V-defect. The total redshift decreases with decreasing In mole fraction in the alloy samples. Although the strain reduction may partially contribute to the CL redshift, indium segregation is suggested to be responsible for the V-defect formation and has a main influence on the respective optical properties. (C) 2004 American Institute Of Physics.

Cathodoluminescence and Raman research of V-shape inverted pyramid in HVPE grown GaN film

Thick GaN films with high quality have been grown on (0001) sapphire substrate in a home-made vertical HVPE reactor. Micron-size hexagonal pits with inverted pyramid shape appear on the film surface, which have six triangular {10-11} facets. These I {10-11} facets show strong luminescence emission and are characteristic of doped n-type materials. Broad red emission is suppressed in {10-11} facets and is only found at the flat region out of the pit, which is related with the decreasing defects on {10-11} facets. Low CL emission intensity is observed at the apex of V-shape pits due to the enhanced nonradiative recombination. Raman spectra show that there are higher carrier concentration and low strain in the pit in comparison to the flat region out of the pit. The strain relaxation may be the main mechanism of the V-shape pits formation on the GaN film surface. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of Si overgrowth on the structural and luminescence properties of Ge islands on Si(100)

The effect of Si overgrowth on the structural and luminescence properties of strained Ge layer grown on Si(1 0 0) is studied. Capping Si leads to the dissolution of Ge island apex and reduced island height. The structural changes in island shape, especially in chemical composition during Si overgrowth have a large effect on the PL properties. The integrated PL intensity of Ge layer increases and there are large blue shifts in peak energies after capping Si. The PL spectra from buried Ge layer are consistent with type-II band alignment in SiGe/Si. We show that the PL properties from buried Ge layer may be tailored by modifying the cap layer growth conditions as well as post-growth annealing. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.