Growth and spectroscopic characteristics of Yb : LPS single crystal

For the first time, a high optical quality Yb3+-doped lutetium pyrosilicate laser crystal Lu2Si2O7 (LPS) was grown by the Czochralski (Cz) method. The segregation coefficient of ytterbium ion in Yb:LPS crystal detected by the inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometer (TCP-AES) method is equal to 0.847. X-ray powder diffraction result confirms the C2/m phase monoclinic space group of the grown crystal and the peaks corresponding to different phases were indexed. The absorption and fluorescence spectra, as well as fluorescence decay lifetime of Yb3+ ion in LPS have been investigated. The absorption and fluorescence cross-sections of the transitions F-2(7/2) <-> F-2(5/2) of Yb3+ ion in LPS crystal have been determined. The advantages of the Yb:LPS crystal including high crystal quality, quasi-four-level laser operating scheme, high absorption cross-sections (1.33 x 10(-2) cm(2)) and particularly broad emission bandwidth (similar to 62 nm) indicated that the Yb:LPS crystal seemed to be a promising candidate used as compact, efficient thin chip lasers when LD is pumped at 940 and 980 nm due to its low-symmetry monoclinic structure and single crystallographic site. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

光栅位移测量系统的误差自修正方法研究

文中介绍的误差自修正方法是通过光栅位移测量系统中单片机对光栅传感器的多个零位信号进行计数,并根据测量值和系统设定值得到的误差函数自动进行误差修正。实验结果表明,该方法对光栅位移测量系统的误差既可自动进行有效的修正,又可提高系统的测量精度。

Scalable quantum memory in the ultrastrong coupling regime

Circuit quantum electrodynamics, consisting of superconducting artificial atoms coupled to on-chip resonators, represents a prime candidate to implement the scalable quantum computing architecture because of the presence of good tunability and controllability. Furthermore, recent advances have pushed the technology towards the ultrastrong coupling regime of light-matter interaction, where the qubit-resonator coupling strength reaches a considerable fraction of the resonator frequency. Here, we propose a qubit-resonator system operating in that regime, as a quantum memory device and study the storage and retrieval of quantum information in and from the Z(2) parity-protected quantum memory, within experimentally feasible schemes. We are also convinced that our proposal might pave a way to realize a scalable quantum random-access memory due to its fast storage and readout performances.

Arquitetura de uma rede de interconexão com memória compartilhada baseada na topologia crossbar

Multi-Processor System-on-Chip (MPSoC) possui vários processadores, em um único chip. Várias aplicações podem ser executadas de maneira paralela ou uma aplicação paralelizável pode ser particionada e alocada em cada processador, a fim de acelerar a sua execução. Um problema em MPSoCs é a comunicação entre os processadores, necessária para a execução destas aplicações. Neste trabalho, propomos uma arquitetura de rede de interconexão baseada na topologia crossbar, com memória compartilhada. Esta arquitetura é parametrizável, possuindo N processadores e N módulos de memórias. A troca de informação entre os processadores é feita via memória compartilhada. Neste tipo de implementação cada processador executa a sua aplicação em seu próprio módulo de memória. Através da rede, todos os processadores têm completo acesso a seus módulos de memória simultaneamente, permitindo que cada aplicação seja executada concorrentemente. Além disso, um processador pode acessar outros módulos de memória, sempre que necessite obter dados gerados por outro processador. A arquitetura proposta é modelada em VHDL e seu desempenho é analisado através da execução paralela de uma aplicação, em comparação à sua respectiva execução sequencial. A aplicação escolhida consiste na otimização de funções objetivo através do método de Otimização por Enxame de Partículas (Particle Swarm Optimization - PSO). Neste método, um enxame de partículas é distribuído igualmente entre os processadores da rede e, ao final de cada interação, um processador acessa o módulo de memória de outro processador, a fim de obter a melhor posição encontrada pelo enxame alocado neste. A comunicação entre processadores é baseada em três estratégias: anel, vizinhança e broadcast. Essa aplicação foi escolhida por ser computacionalmente intensiva e, dessa forma, uma forte candidata a paralelização.

Implementação de algoritmos genéticos paralelos em uma arquitetura MPSoC.

Essa dissertação apresenta a implementação de um algoritmo genético paralelo utilizando o modelo de granularidade grossa, também conhecido como modelo das ilhas, para sistemas embutidos multiprocessados. Os sistemas embutidos multiprocessados estão tornando-se cada vez mais complexos, pressionados pela demanda por maior poder computacional requerido pelas aplicações, principalmente de multimídia, Internet e comunicações sem fio, que são executadas nesses sistemas. Algumas das referidas aplicações estão começando a utilizar algoritmos genéticos, que podem ser beneficiados pelas vantagens proporcionadas pelo processamento paralelo disponível em sistemas embutidos multiprocessados. No algoritmo genético paralelo do modelo das ilhas, cada processador do sistema embutido é responsável pela evolução de uma população de forma independente dos demais. A fim de acelerar o processo evolutivo, o operador de migração é executado em intervalos definidos para realizar a migração dos melhores indivíduos entre as ilhas. Diferentes topologias lógicas, tais como anel, vizinhança e broadcast, são analisadas na fase de migração de indivíduos. Resultados experimentais são gerados para a otimização de três funções encontradas na literatura.

The review of recent advances in fish genetics and biotechnology

Great advances have been, and are being made in our knowledge of the genetics and molecular biology (including genomics, proteomics and structural biology). Global molecular profiling technologies such as microassays using DNA or oligonucleotide chip, and protein and lipid chips are being developed. The application of such biotechnological advances are inevitable in aquaculture in the areas of improvement of aquaculture stocks where many molecular markers such as RFLPs, AFLDs and RAPD are now available for genome analysis, finger printing and genetic linkage mapping. Transgenic technology has been developed in a number of fish species and research is being pursed to produce transgenic fish carrying genes that encode antimicrobial peptides such as lysozyme thereby achieving disease resistance in fish. Also it is a short cut to achieving genetic change for fast growth and other desirable traits like early sexual maturity, temperature tolerance and feed conversion efficiency. KEYWORDS: Fish genetics, transgenesis, monoploidy, diploidy, polyploidy,gynogenesis, androgenesis, cryopreservation.

Liquid crystal over silicon device characteristics for holographic projection of high-definition television images.

We discuss some fundamental characteristics of a phase-modulating device suitable to holographically project a monochrome video frame with 1280 x 720 resolution. The phase-modulating device is expected to be a liquid crystal over silicon chip with silicon area similar to that of commercial devices. Its basic characteristics, such as number of pixels, bits per pixel, and pixel dimensions, are optimized in terms of image quality and optical efficiency. Estimates of the image quality are made from the noise levels and contrast, while efficiency is calculated by considering the beam apodization, device dead space, diffraction losses, and the sinc envelope.

Electroosmotic flow analysis of a branched U-turn nanofluidic device.

In this paper, we present the analysis of electroosmotic flow in a branched -turn nanofluidic device, which we developed for detection and sorting of single molecules. The device, where the channel depth is only 150 nm, is designed to optically detect fluorescence from a volume as small as 270 attolitres (al) with a common wide-field fluorescent setup. We use distilled water as the liquid, in which we dilute 110 nm fluorescent beads employed as tracer-particles. Quantitative imaging is used to characterize the pathlines and velocity distribution of the electroosmotic flow in the device. Due to the device's complex geometry, the electroosmotic flow cannot be solved analytically. Therefore we use numerical flow simulation to model our device. Our results show that the deviation between measured and simulated data can be explained by the measured Brownian motion of the tracer-particles, which was not incorporated in the simulation.

Discovering transcriptional modules by Bayesian data integration.

MOTIVATION: We present a method for directly inferring transcriptional modules (TMs) by integrating gene expression and transcription factor binding (ChIP-chip) data. Our model extends a hierarchical Dirichlet process mixture model to allow data fusion on a gene-by-gene basis. This encodes the intuition that co-expression and co-regulation are not necessarily equivalent and hence we do not expect all genes to group similarly in both datasets. In particular, it allows us to identify the subset of genes that share the same structure of transcriptional modules in both datasets. RESULTS: We find that by working on a gene-by-gene basis, our model is able to extract clusters with greater functional coherence than existing methods. By combining gene expression and transcription factor binding (ChIP-chip) data in this way, we are better able to determine the groups of genes that are most likely to represent underlying TMs. AVAILABILITY: If interested in the code for the work presented in this article, please contact the authors. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

水稻转录因子编码基因的表达谱和功能分析

水稻是重要的经济作物，也是单子叶植物分子遗传研究的模式植物。对水稻生长发育中基因的表达调控研究将为其遗传改良提供重要线索。转录因子在植物发育过程中对基因表达调控起关键作用，对其表达谱和功能的研究具有重要的理论和应用价值。 本研究一方面在水稻基因组水平上，利用cDNA芯片技术研究了水稻(中花11)种子发育过程中388个转录相关基因的表达谱;另一方面，在分离转录因子基因的基础上，利用分子生物学和遗传学方法研究了有关基因详细、具体的表达特征和功能。 利用cDNA芯片技术鉴定了123个种子优先表达、属于12类不同表达模式的转录相关基因。首次发现了许多主要在种子发育特定阶段表达的转录相关基因，还发现一些种子优先表达的转录相关基因参与了激素和非生物胁迫信号转导，为阐释水稻种子发育中的转录调节和信号网络的分子基础提供了很多有价值的线索。 在相关基因工作方面，分离了一个MADS-box类转录因子编码基因OsMDP（全长），表达模式析以及初步的功能分析揭示该基因作为一个负调控因子参与了BR控制的水稻叶节弯曲、胚芽鞘伸长、主根伸长等过程的信号转导，为水稻根、叶、胚芽鞘的发育、以及BR信号转导机制的研究提供了线索。 另外，从水稻的cDNA文库中分离并初步研究了三个分属BELL1、KNOX和HD-ZIP亚族的同源盒基因（片段），OsHB1主要和水稻种子发育相联系，OsHB2可能参与激素调节的发育或响应，OsHB3和水稻花药早期发育相关、对花药早期发育的调控研究有一定价值。

二穗短柄草的遗传转化及VER2等基因在水稻中的功能初探

作为模式植物，水稻和拟南芥对于禾本科植物的研究都有其不足，二穗短柄草（Brachypodiumdistachyon）有望成为它们良好的补充。它具有作为一种模式植物所应该具有的各项优点，并且它与温带禾本科植物的亲缘关系比水稻更近。建立其良好转化体系是其成功应用的一环。本论文第一章以建立其农杆菌转化体系为目的，成功的诱导了其胚性愈伤组织，获得了潮霉素抗性愈伤，发现乙酰丁香酮浓度与转化效率的关系，并证明Silwet L-77对提高其转化效率有明显的作用，为进一步完善其转化体系打下了基础。 VER2是由本实验室发现的小麦春化相关基因，并己证明它可能参与春化过程中O-CJlcNAc介导的信号传导。本论文第二章研究了将VER2在水稻中过表达所引起的表型，发现VER2与光有类似的抑制根生长的作用，并且能够互相影响对方的表型，说明二者在水稻内调控根生长的信号途径既有共同的作用，但是又相互制约。进一步的研究有可能会找到水稻根内IAA响应的重要因子。 在第三章中，根据芯片数据克隆了水稻的十个可能与赤霉素、茉莉酸和减数分裂相关的上下调基因，并对其中四个利用过表达和RNAi技术进行了水稻转化，以研究它们在水稻中的功能。其中一个基因过表达的表型与赤霉素缺陷造成矮化和叶色深绿两个特征一致，而RNAi导致植株高度增加、叶色黄绿。而该基因受赤霉素诱导上调的程度在三个芯片杂交结果中最大(log2=2.3275)这一点也为其功能提供了很好的提示，即可能参与了赤霉素信号途径。

Selective epitaxial growth in silicon on insulator: Planarity and mass flow

Seeded zone-melt recrystallization using a dual electron beam system has been performed on silicon-on-insulator material, which was prepared with single-crystal silicon filling of the seed windows by selective epitaxial growth. The crystal quality has been assessed by a variety of microscopic techniques, and it is shown that single-crystal films 0.5-1.0 μm thick over 1.0 μm of isolating oxide may be prepared by this method. These films have considerably less lateral variation in thickness than standard material, in which the windows are not so filled. The filling method is suitable for both single- and multiple-layer silicon-on-insulator, and gives the advantages of excellent layer uniformity after recrystallization and improved planarity of the whole chip structure. Experiments using various amounts of seed window filling have shown that the lateral variations of silicon film thickness seen in unplanarized material are due to stress relief in the cap oxide when the silicon film is molten, rather than the effect previously postulated in which they were assumed to be due to the contraction of silicon on melting.

Study on fishing gears, species selectivity toward gears and catch composition of BSKB beel, Khulna, Bangladesh

An investigation on the types of fishing gear used and their species selectivity and effects on fishes of BSKB beel in Khulna was conducted from June '95 to January '96. Fishermen were found to follow 6 fishing techniques viz., netting, trapping, angling, spearing, dewatering and hand picking. Among them 23 types of the fishing gear was recorded to be used by the fishermen of which 7, 8, 4 and 4 are nets, traps, hooks and lines, and hand harpoon respectively. A total of 47 species of fish were identified in the catches of different gears used by the fishermen in BSKB beel. Particulars, mode of operation, fishing season and catch composition of different fishing gears were determined. Seine, cast and lift net, traps (charo, arinda and ghuni), and hooks and lines (dhawn and nol broshi) were recorded as nonselective gear considering the fish species caught. However, gill nets (punti, koi and fash jal), clasp nets (bhuti jal), some traps (khadom, tubo), hooks and lines (chip borshi, chasra) and all spears were used as more or less selective gear. With respect to species and its size fash jal, bhuti jal, trap (khadom, ramani), and koach, juti and jhupi among spears were regarded to be more or less large-species-gear. But punti jal, koi jal, trap (koi dughair, charo, tubo, arinda and ghuni), nol borshi and spear (ful-kuchi) were small-species-gear. Among all gears seine net, cast net, lift net, koi dughair and ramani were recorded deleterious for carps especially for stocked fingerlings. For relatively small sized wild fishes koi jal, punti jal and ghuni traps were identified as detrimental gear.

High speed performance of Mach-Zehnder all-optical regenerators using semiconductor optical amplifiers

Interferometric Optical Wavelength Converters (IOWCs) provide wavelength conversion functionality at high bit rates, and give low chip and enhanced extinction ratio compared with Cross-Gain wavelength converters. In paper, a numerical simulation is conducted to assess the noise performance of IOWC and its potential for cascading. The details of the experiment and the results obtained are presented.

A closely integrated digital image capture device for embedded applications

A modular image capture system with close integration to CCD cameras has been developed. The aim is to produce a system capable of integrating CCD sensor, image capture and image processing into a single compact unit. This close integration provides a direct mapping between CCD pixels and digital image pixels. The system has been interfaced to a digital signal processor board for the development and control of image processing tasks. These have included characterization and enhancement of noisy images from an intensified camera and measurement to subpixel resolutions. A highly compact form of the image capture system is in an advanced stage of development. This consists of a single FPGA device and a single VRAM providing a two chip image capturing system capable of being integrated into a CCD camera. A miniature compact PC has been developed using a novel modular interconnection technique, providing a processing unit in a three dimensional format highly suited to integration into a CCD camera unit. Work is under way to interface the compact capture system to the PC using this interconnection technique, combining CCD sensor, image capture and image processing into a single compact unit. ©2005 Copyright SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering.