Removal of dibutyl phthalate by a staged, vertical-flow constructed wetland

Two sets of small scale systems of staged, vertical-flow constructed wetlands (VFCW) were operated in a greenhouse to study the purification of dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in admeasured water. Each system consisted of two chambers in which water flowed downward in chamber I and then upward in chamber 2. The systems were intermittently fed with wastewater under a hydraulic load of 420 mm(.)d(-1). The measured influent concentrations of DBP in the experimental system were 9.84 mg(.)l(-1), while the other system was used as a control and received no DBP. Effluent concentrations of the treated system averaged 5.82 mug(.)l(-1) and were far below the Chinese DBP discharge standard of less than or equal to0.2 mg(.)l(-1). These results indicate the potential purification capacity of this new kind of constructed wetland in removing DBP from a polluted water body.

The vertical microdistribution of cyanobacteria and green algae within desert crusts and the development of the algal crusts

Substantial amounts of algal crusts were collected from five different desert experimental sites aged 42, 34, 17, 8 and 4 years, respectively, at Shapotou ( China) and analyzed at a 0.1 mm microscale of depth. It was found that the vertical distribution of cyanobacteria and microalgae in the crusts was distinctly laminated into an inorganic-layer (ca. 0.00 - 0.02 mm, with few algae), an algae-dense-layer ( ca. 0.02 - 1.0 mm) and an algae-sparse-layer ( ca. 1.0 - 5.0 mm). It was interesting to note that in all crusts Scytonema javanicum Born et Flah ( or Nostoc sp., cyanobacterium), Desmococcus olivaceus (Pers ex Ach., green alga) Laundon and Microcoleus vaginatus Gom. ( cyanobacterium) dominated at the depth of 0.02 - 0.05, 0.05 - 0.1 and 0.1 - 1.0 mm, respectively, from the surface. Phormidium tenue Gom. ( or Lyngbya cryptovaginatus Schk., cyanobacterium) and Navicula cryptocephala Kutz.( or Hantzschia amphioxys (Ehr.) Grun. and N. cryptocephala together, diatom) dominated at the depth of 1.0 - 3.0 and 3.5 - 4.0 mm, respectively, of the crusts from the 42 and 34 year old sites. It was apparent that in more developed crusts there were more green algae and the niches of Nostoc sp., Chlorella vulgaris Beij., M. vaginatus, N. cryptocephala and fungi were nearer to the surface. If lichens and mosses accounted for less than 41.5% of the crust surface, algal biovolume was bigger when the crust was older, but the opposite was true when the cryptogams other than algae covered more than 70%. In addition to detailed species composition and biovolume, analyses of soil physicochemical properties, micromorphologies and mineral components were also performed. It was found that the concentration of organic matter and nutrients, electric conductivity, silt, clay, secondary minerals were higher and there were more micro-beddings in the older crusts than the less developed ones. Possible mechanisms for the algal vertical microdistribtion at different stages and the impact of soil topography on crust development are discussed. It is concluded that biomethods ( such as fine species distribution and biovolume) were more precise than mineralogical approaches in judging algal crust development and thus could be a better means to measure the potentiality of algal crusts in desert amelioration.

Vertical variations in kinetics of alkaline phosphatase and P species in sediments of a shallow Chinese eutrophic lake (Lake Donghu)

The vertical distribution of the variables relevant to P forms in sediments were studied in a shallow Chinese freshwater lake (Lake Donghu) in 1997, 1998, 1999 and 2000, to assess the contribution of enzyme to P availability in sediment cores. Sediment P was fractionationd into iron-bound P, calcium-bound P, acid soluble organic P (ASOP) and hot NaOH extractable residual organic P. The former two species made the largest contribution to the sediment P pool. All P species exhibited significantly higher concentrations in different depths at Station I, compared with those found at Station II, except for ASOP. Coupled with these lower ASOP concentrations, the V-max data of alkaline phosphatase, measured on the same samples, were significantly higher at station I. Taken together, ASOP were probably important in supplying the enzymatic substrate (Phosphatase Hydrolyzable Phosphorus, PHP) into interstitial water. Dissolved orthophosphate and PHP concentrations were highly heterogeneous , but peaked in subsurface, paralleled by higher V-max and lower K-m values of alkaline phosphatase, throughout the sediment core. Sediment in the eutrophic lake is not only enriched in available P (iron-bound P), or stores residual P, but also tends to release PHP, thereby inducing the production of alkaline phosphatase and releasing o-P into water column by enzymatic hydrolysis. The latter process may also occur in relatively deep sediment layers.

PURIFICATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF A KINASE SPECIFIC FOR THE SERINE-RICH AND ARGININE-RICH PRE-MESSENGER-RNA SPLICING FACTORS

Members of the SR family of pre-mRNA splicing factors are phosphoproteins that share a phosphoepitope specifically recognized by monoclonal antibody (mAb) 104. Recent studies have indicated that phosphorylation may regulate the activity and the intracellular localization of these splicing factors. Here, we report the purification and kinetic properties of SR protein kinase 1 (SRPK1), a kinase specific for SR family members. We demonstrate that the kinase specifically recognizes the SR domain, which contains serine/arginine repeats. Previous studies have shown that dephosphorylated SR proteins did not react with mAb 104 and migrated faster in SDS gels than SR proteins from mammalian cells. We show that SRPK1 restores both mobility and mAB 104 reactivity to a SR protein SF2/ASF (splicing factor 2/alternative splicing factor) produced in bacteria, suggesting that SRPK1 is responsible for the generation of the mAb 104-specific phosphoepitope in vivo. Finally, we have correlated the effects of mutagenesis in the SR domain of SF2/ASF on splicing with those on phosphorylation of the protein by SRPK1, suggesting that phosphorylation of SR proteins is required for splicing.

A Single-Fundamental-Mode Photonic Crystal Vertical Cavity Surface Emitting Laser

Single-fundamental-mode photonic crystal (PhC) vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) are produced and their single-fundamental-mode performances are investigated and demonstrated. A two-dimensional PhC with single-point-defect structure is fabricated using UV photolithography and inductive coupled plasma reactive ion etching on the surface of the VCSEL's top distributed Bragg-reflector. The PhC VCSEL maintains single-fundamental-mode operating with output power 1.7 mW and threshold current 2.5 mA. The full width half maximum of the lasing spectrum is less than 0.1 nm, the far field divergence angle is less than 10 degrees and the side mode suppression ratio is over 35 dB. The device characteristics are analyzed based on the effective index model of the photonic crystal fiber. The experimental results agree well with the theoretical expectation.

Small-Signal Equivalent-Circuit Model and Characterization of 1.55-mu m Buried Tunnel Junction Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers

The work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant 60536010, Grant 60606019, Grant 60777029, and Grant 60820106004, and in part by the National Basic Research Program of China under Grant 2006CB604902, Grant 2006CB302806, and Grant 2006dfa11880.

Low threshold lasing of GaN-based vertical cavity surface emitting lasers with an asymmetric coupled quantum well active region

We have fabricated and characterized GaN-based vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) with a unique active region structure, in which three sets of InGaN asymmetric coupled quantum wells are placed in a half-wavelength (0.5 lambda) length. Lasing action was achieved under optical pumping at room temperature with a threshold pumping energy density of about 6.5 mJ/cm(2). The laser emitted a blue light at 449.5 nm with a narrow linewidth below 0.1 nm and had a high spontaneous emission factor of about 3.0x10(-2). The results indicate that this active region structure is useful in reducing the process difficulties and improving the threshold characteristics of GaN-based VCSELs.

Blue-green optically pumped GaN-based vertical cavity surface emitting laser

Blue-green GaN-based vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) were fabricated with two dielectric Ta2O5/SiO2 distributed Bragg reflectors. Lasing action was observed at a wavelength of 498.8 nm at room temperature under optical pumping. Threshold energy density and emission linewidth were 189 mJ/cm(2) and 0.15 nm, respectively. The result demonstrates that blue-green VCSELs can be realised using III-nitride semiconductors.

Mode coupling and vertical radiation loss for whispering-gallery modes in 3-D microcavities

The characteristics of whispering-gallery modes (WGMs) in 3-D cylindrical, square, and triangular microcavities with vertical optical confinement of semiconductors are numerically investigated by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique. For a microcylinder with a vertical refractive index 3.17/3.4/3.17 and a center layer thickness 0.2 mu m, Q-factors of transverse electric (TE) WGMs around wavelength 1550 nm are smaller than 10(3), as the radius R < 4 mu m and reach the orders of 10(4) and 10(6) as R = 5 and 6 mu m, respectively. However, the Q-factor of transverse magnetic (TM) WGMs at wavelength 1.659 mu m reaches 7.5 x 10(5) as R = 1 mu m. The mode coupling between the WGMs and vertical radiation modes in the cladding layer results in vertical radiation loss for the WGMs. In the microcylinder, the mode wavelength of TM WGM is larger than the cutoff wavelength of the vertical radiation mode with the same mode numbers, so TM WGMs cannot couple with the vertical radiation mode and have high Q-factor. In contrast, TE WGMs can couple with the corresponding vertical radiation mode in the 3-D microcylinder as R < 5 mu m. However, the mode wavelength of the TE WGM approaches (is larger than) the cutoff wavelength of the corresponding radiation modes at R = 5 mu m (6 mu m), so TE WGMs have high Q-factors in such microcylinders too. The results show that a critical lateral size is required for obtaining high, Q-factor TE WGMs in the 3-D microcylinder. For 3-D square and triangular microcavities, we also find that the Q-factor of TM WGM is larger than that of TE WGM.

Influence of fused interface on the optical and thermal characteristics of vertical cavity lasers

From the effective absorption coefficient of bonded interface and the relationship of interface to reflectivity at cavity mode for double bonded vertical cavity laser, it can be seen that bonded interfaces should be positioned at the null of standing wave distribution, and the thickness of interface should be less than 20 nm. Using the finite elements method, the temperature contour map of laser can be calculated. Results showed that the influence of thin interface to thermal characteristics of VCSELS is slight, while thick interface will lead to temperature increase of active region. SEM images demonstrate that hydrophobic bonding is suitable for the fabrication of the device, while hydrophilic bonding interface is unfavorable to optical and thermal properties of devices with interface thickness larger than 40 nm.

Reduced divergence angle of photonic crystal vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser

The reduced divergence angle of the photonic crystal vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (PC-VCSEL) was investigated in both theory and experiment. The photonic crystal waveguide possessed the weakly guiding waveguide characteristic, which accounted for the reduction of the divergence angle. The three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain method was used to simulate the designed PC-VCSEL, and a calculated divergence angle of 5.2 degrees was obtained. The measured divergence angles of our fabricated PC-VCSEL were between 5.1 degrees and 5.5 degrees over the entire drive current range, consistent with the numerical results. This is the lowest divergence angle of the fabricated PC-VCSEL ever reported.

Fabrication and modulation characteristics of 1.3 mu m p-doped InAs quantum dot vertical cavity surface emitting lasers

We present the fabrication of 1.3 mu m waveband p-doped InAs quantum dot (QD) vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) with an extremely simple process. The continuous-wave saturated output power of 1.1 mW with a lasing wavelength of 1280 nm is obtained at room temperature. The high-speed modulation characteristics of p-doped QD VCSELs of two different oxide aperture sizes are investigated and compared. The maximum 3 dB modulation bandwidth of 2.5 GHz can be achieved at a bias current of 7 mA for a p-doped QD VCSEL with an oxide aperture size of 10 mu m in the small signal frequency response measurements. The crucial factors for the 3 dB bandwidth limitation are discussed according to the parameters' extraction from frequency response.