Optimization of efficiency-loss figure of merit in carrier-depletion silicon Mach-Zehnder optical modulator.

In this paper we study the optimization of interleaved Mach-Zehnder silicon carrier depletion electro-optic modulator. Following the simulation results we demonstrate a phase shifter with the lowest figure of merit (modulation efficiency multiplied by the loss per unit length) 6.7 V-dB. This result was achieved by reducing the junction width to 200 nm along the phase-shifter and optimizing the doping levels of the PN junction for operation in nearly fully depleted mode. The demonstrated low FOM is the result of both low V(π)L of ~0.78 Vcm (at reverse bias of 1V), and low free carrier loss (~6.6 dB/cm for zero bias). Our simulation results indicate that additional improvement in performance may be achieved by further reducing the junction width followed by increasing the doping levels.

Silicon-metal waveguide as a high efficiency Schottky detector for telecom wavelengths

We demonstrate an integrated on-chip compact and high efficiency Schottky detector for telecom wavelengths based on silicon metal waveguide. Detection is based on the internal photoemission process. Theory and experimental results are discussed. © 2012 OSA.

Silicon-metal waveguide as a high efficiency schottky detector for telecom wavelengths

We demonstrate an integrated on-chip compact and high efficiency Schottky detector for telecom wavelengths based on silicon metal waveguide. Detection is based on the internal photoemission process. Theory and experimental results are discussed. © 2012 Optical Society of America.

Switch mode constant current LED Driver with high efficiency, high precision and wide dimming ratio

A high efficiency hard switching constant current LED driver is presented with high overall efficiency, high current precision, high LED efficacy, flicker-free and wide constant current dimming ratio. The high stable lighting source provides the best solution for office light, reading light and LCD backlight. © 2013 IEEE.

Hybrid cytomegalovirus-U6 promoter-based plasmid vectors improve efficiency of RNA interference in zebrafish

Short hairpin RNA (shRNA) directed by RNA polymerase III (Pol III) or Pol II promoter was shown to be capable of silencing gene expression, which should permit analyses of gene functions or as a potential therapeutic tool. However, the inhibitory effect of shRNA remains problematic in fish. We demonstrated that silencing efficiency by shRNA produced from the hybrid construct composed of the CMV enhancer or entire CMV promoter placed immediately upstream of a U6 promoter. When tested the exogenous gene, silencing of an enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) target gene was 89.18 +/- 5.06% for CMVE-U6 promoter group and 88.26 +/- 6.46% for CMV-U6 promoter group. To test the hybrid promoters driving shRNA efficiency against an endogenous gene, we used shRNA against no tail (NTL) gene. When vectorized in the zebrafish, the hybrid constructs strongly repressed NTL gene expression. The NTL phenotype occupied 52.09 +/- 3.06% and 51.56 +/- 3.68% for CMVE-U6 promoter and CMV-U6 promoter groups, respectively. The NTL gene expression reduced 82.17 +/- 2.96% for CMVE-U6 promoter group and 83.06 +/- 2.38% for CMV-U6 promoter group. We concluded that the CMV enhancer or entire CMV promoter locating upstream of the U6-promoter could significantly improve inhibitory effect induced by the shRNA for both exogenous and endogenous genes compared with the CMV promoter or U6 promoter alone. In contrast, the two hybrid promoter constructs had similar effects on driving shRNA.

Carrierless amplitude and phase modulation for low-cost,high-spectral-efficiency optical datacommunication links

Carrierless amplitude and phase modulation for next-generation datacommunication links is considered for the first time. Low-cost implementation of a high-spectral-efficiency 10 Gb/s channel is demonstrated as a route to links at 40 Gb/s and beyond. © 2010 Optical Society of America.

Gigabit/s modulation of twin-electrode high-brightness tapered laser with high modulation efficiency

Simultaneous high modulation speed and high modulation efficiency operation of a two-electrode tapered laser is reported. 1Gb/s direct data modulation is achieved with 68mA applied current swing for a 0.95W output optical modulation amplitude. © 2009 Optical Society of America.

Effects of micronutrients on biological treatment efficiency of textile wastewater

Micronutrients play a very important role in biological processes for wastewater treatment. Many industrial wastewaters lack in nutrients (macronutrients and micronutrients) required for microbial growth, and this is one of the main problems at many activated sludge plants treating industrial wastewater. The microbial community structure is one of the important factors controlling the pollutant-degrading capacity of biological wastewater treatment system. In this study, the concentrations of micronutrients of the textile wastewater discharged from a textile plant were determined, and the effects of micronutrients on treatment efficiency and microorganism community structure of the biological treatment system were studied. The results showed that the optimal concentrations of magnesium, molybdenum, zinc, thiamine and niacin in the textile wastewater were 5.0, 2.0, 1.0, 1.0 and 1.0mg/L, respectively. The COD removal rates when magnesium, molybdenum, zinc, thiamine and niacin were added individually to the wastewater in their optimal concentrations were 1.8, 1.4, 1.3, 1.6 and 2.2 times of that of the control, respectively. The improving effects of combinations of zinc and thiamine, zinc and niacin, thiamine and niacin were better than single micronutrient. The diversity of quinones (DQ) changed significantly after the micronutrient was added into the wastewater treatment system. This indicated that there was probably a feasibility of optimizing the biological treatment performances and microorganism community structure of textile wastewater treatment system through micronutrient supplement.

Effects of iron on growth, pigment content, photosystem II efficiency, and siderophores production of Microcystis aeruginosa and Microcystis wesenbergii

Changes in growth, photosynthetic pigments, and photosystem II (PS II) photochemical efficiency as well as production of siderophores of Microcystis aeruginosa and Microcystis wesenbergii were determined in this experiment. Results showed growths of M. aeruginosa and M. wesenbergii, measured by means of optical density at 665 nm, were severely inhibited under an iron-limited condition, whereas they thrived under an iron-replete condition. The contents of chlorophyll-a, carotenoid, phycocyanin, and allophycocyanin under an iron-limited condition were lower than those under an iron-replete condition, and they all reached maximal contents on day 4 under the iron-limited condition. PS II photochemical efficiencies (maximal PS II quantum yield), saturating light levels (I-k ) and maximal electron transport rates (ETRmax) of M. aeruginosa and M. wesenbergii declined sharply under the iron-limited condition. The PS II photochemical efficiency and ETRmax of M. aeruginosa rose , whereas in the strain of M. wesenbergii, they declined gradually under the iron-replete condition. In addition, I-k of M. aeruginosa and M. wesenbergii under the iron-replete condition did not change obviously. Siderophore production of M. aeruginosa was higher than that of M. wesenbergii under the iron-limited condition. It was concluded that M. aeruginosa requires higher iron concentration for physiological and biochemical processes compared with M. wesenbergii, but its tolerance against too high a concentration of iron is weaker than M. wesenbergii.

APSK coded modulation schemes for nonlinear satellite channels with high power and spectral efficiency

A new class of 16-ary Amplitude Phase Shift Keying (APSK) coded modulations deemed double-ring PSK modulations best suited for (satellite) nonlinear channels is proposed. Constellation parameters optimization has been based on geometric and information-theoretic considerations. Furthermore, pre- and post-compensation techniques to reduce the nonlinearity impact have been examined. Digital timing clock and carrier phase have been derived and analyzed for a Turbo coded version of the same new modulation scheme. Finally, the performance of state-of the art Turbo coded modulation for this new 16-ary digital modulation has been investigated and compared to the known TCM schemes. It is shown that for the same coding scheme, double-ring APSK modulation outperforms classical 16-QAM and 16-PSK over a typical satellite nonlinear channel due to its intrinsic robustness against the High Power Amplifier (HPA) nonlinear characteristics. The new modulation is shown to be power- and spectrally-efficient, with interesting applications to satellite communications. © 2002 by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc.

Effects of solar ultraviolet radiation on the photochemical efficiency, photosynthetic pigments and biomass production of Spirulina platensis

Effects of solar ultraviolet radiation (UVR) on Spirulina platensis were studied by investigating its photochemical efficiency, photosynthetic pigments and biomass production while exposed to full spectrum solar radiation or depleted of UVR for understanding how and to what extent UVR influences its photosynthetic physiology and production. It was found that UVR brought about an extra inhibition of photochemical efficiency by 26%-30%. The greatest inhibition of photochemical efficiency in S. platensis was observed at noontime, and then recovered to some extent in late afternoon no matter which treatment they were exposed to. The contents of chlorophyll a, phycocyanin and carotenoids increased during initial stage of the exposure, but decreased with elongated exposure. UVR decreased the biomass yield by about 6%. It indicated that filtering out UVR of solar radiation would raise the productivity of S. platensis, which is an important factor that should be considered in the production.

Root zone microbial populations, urease activities, and purification efficiency for a constructed wetland

In order to investigate the effects of microorganisms and their urease activities in macrophytic root zones on pollutant removal, four small-scale plots (SSPs) of vertical/reverse-vertical flow wetlands were set up to determine: a) the relationship between the abundance of microorganisms in the root zones and water purification efficiency; and b) the relationship between urease activities in the root zones and pollutant removal in a constructed wetland system. Total numbers of the microbial population (bacteria, fungi, and actinomyces) along with urease activities in the macrophytic root zones were determined. In addition, the relationships between microbial populations and urease activities as well as the wastewater purification efficiencies of total phosphorus (TP), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN), biochemical oxygen demand in 5 days (BOD5), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were also analyzed. The results showed that there was a highly significant positive correlation (r = 0.9772, P < 0.01) between the number of bacteria in the root zones and BOD5 removal efficiency and a significant negative correlation (r = -0.9092, P < 0.05) between the number of fungi and the removal efficiency of TKN. Meanwhile, there was a significant positive correlation (r = 0.8830, P < 0.05) between urease activities in the root zones and the removal efficiency of TKN. Thus, during wastewater treatment in a constructed wetland system, microorganism and urease activities in the root zones were very important factors.

Effects of cadmium on chlorophyll content, photochemical efficiency, and photosynthetic intensity of Canna indica Linn.

The effects of cadmium (Cd2+) on growth status, chlorophyll (Chl) content, photochemical efficiency, and photosynthetic intensity were studied on Canna indica Linn. Plant specimens that were produced from a constructed wetland and precultivated hydroponically in 20 L of 1/10 Hoagland solution under greenhouse conditions for I week were exposed to cadmium in concentrations of 0, 0.4, 0.8, 1.6 and 3.2 mg L- Cd2+, respectively. The results show that leaves were injured in the Cd2+ solution by the third day of exposure and the injury became more serious with an increase in the applied heavy metal. Under 3.2 mg L-1 Cd2+ treatment, growth retardation, the decrease of chlorophyll content from 0.70 to 0.43 mg g(-1) FW, and a decrease in Chl a/b ratio from 2.0 to 1.2 were observed. Chl a was more sensitive than Chl b to Cd2+ stress. The decrease was the same with photochemical efficiency. Photosynthetic intensity decreased by 13.3% from 1.5X10(4) mumol m(-2)s(-1) CO2 in control to 1.3x10(4) mumol m(2)s(-1) CO2 in the treatment of 3.2 mg L-1. Because Canna species are used in heavy metal phytoremediation, these results show that C. indica can tolerate 0.4 to 0.8 mg L-1 Cd2+. Therefore, it is a potential species for phytoremediation of cadmium with some limitations only at higher concentrations.

Factors affecting the efficiency of somatic cell nuclear transplantation in the fish embryo

Procedures to improve somatic cell nuclear transplantation in fish were evaluated. We reported effects of nonirradiated recipient eggs, inactivated recipient eggs, different combinations between recipient eggs and donor cells, duration of serum starvation, generation number, and passage number of donor cells on developmental rates of nuclear transplant (NT) embryos. Exposure to 25,000 R of gamma-rays inactivated recipient eggs. Single nucleus of cultured, synchronized somatic cell from gynogenetic bighead carp (Aristichthys nobilis) was transplanted into nonirradiated or genetically inactivated unfertilized egg of gibel carp (Carassius auratus gibelio). There was no significant difference in developmental rate between nonirradiated and inactivated recipient eggs (27.27% vs. 25.71%, respectively). Chromosome count showed that 70.59% of NT embryos contained 48 chromosomes. It showed that most NT embryos came from donor nuclei of bighead carp, which was supported by microsatellite analysis of NT embryos. But 23.53% of NT embryos contained more than 48 chromosomes. It was presumed that those superfluous chromosomes came from nonirradiated recipient eggs. Besides, 5.88% of NT embryos were chimeras. Eggs of blunt-snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) and gibel carp were better recipient eggs than those of loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus) (25% and 18.03% vs. 8.43%). Among different duration of serum starvation, developmental rate of NT embryos from somatic nuclei of three-day serum starvation was the highest, reaching 25.71% compared to 14.14% (control), 20% (five-day), and 21.95% (seven-day). Cultured donor cells of less passage facilitated reprogramming of NT embryos than those of more passage. Recloning might improve the developmental rate of NT embryos from the differentiated donor nuclei. Developmental rate of fourth generation was the highest (54.83%) and the lowest for first generation (14.14%) compared to second generation (38.96%) and third generation (53.01%). (C) 2002 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Characterisation of a pathogenic virus isolated from marine threadfin fish (Eleutheronema tetradactylus) during a disease outbreak

An unknown virus was isolated from massive mortality of cultured threadfin (Eleutheronema tetradactylus) fingerlings. The virus replicated in BF-2 fish cell line and produced a plaque-like cytopathic effect. Electron micrographs revealed non-enveloped, icosahedral particles approximately 70-80 nm in diameter composed of a double capsid layer. Viroplasms and subviral particles approximately 30 run in diameter and complete particles of 70 nm in diameter were also observed in the infected BF-2 tissue culture cells. The virus was resistant upon pH 3 to 11 and ether treatment. It is also stable to heat treatment (3 h at 56 T). Replication was not inhibited by 5-iododeoxyuridine (5-IUdR). Acridine orange stain revealed typical reovirus-like cytoplasmic inclusion bodies. Electrophoresis of purified virus revealed 11 segments of double-stranded RNA and five major structural polypeptides of approximately 136, 132, 71, 41 and 33 kDa. Based on these findings, the virus isolated was identified to belong to the genus Aquareovirus and was designated as threadfin reovirus. This virus differed from a majority of other aquareovirus by its increase in virus infectivity upon exposure to various treatments such as high and low pH, heat (56 degreesC), ether and 5-IUdR. The RNA and virion protein banding pattern of the threadfin reovirus was shown to differ from another Asian isolate, the grass carp hemorrhage reovirus (GCV). Artificial injection of the threadfin reovirus into threadfin fingerlings resulted in complete mortality, whereas sea bass (Lates calcarifer) fingerlings infected via bath route showed severe mortality within a week after exposure. These results indicate that the threadfin virus is another pathogenic Asian aquareovirus isolate that could cross-infect into another marine fish, the sea bass. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.