Alignment and efficiency-monitoring method of high-power fiber-to-fiber coupling

High-power fiber-to-fiber coupling is extensively used in fiber laser applications,and its performance is determined by coupling efficiency.We demonstrate a novel method for alignment and monitoring efficiency by detecting backscattering power at the fiber end cap.The relationship between alignment error and backscattering power is determined by simulations and experiments.Through this method,a state-of-the-art kW-level fiberto-fiber optic switch is developed(transmission efficiency>97%).It performs well for longer than 60 min.To the best of our knowledge,it is the first time to establish the mathematical model based on this method.Our results can provide guidance in high-power fiber-to-fiber coupling.     

Three-ligand Co-assembled 2D Au(I)-Thiolate Nanosheets

Two-dimensional (2D) Au(I)-thiolate assemblies are a special type of material that can balance high structural stability and rich surface functionality, which shows promising prospects in both fundamental research and applications. Co-assembly of multiple ligands is a facile way to further enrich the surface properties and functions, and expand their application potentials. In this work, taking 3-mercaptopropionic acid (MPA), cysteine (Cys) and 1-thioglycerol (TGO) as example ligands, we studied in detail the possibility to co-assemble them into one nanosheet. Although the three ligands have significantly different controllability and pathways when self-assembling individually with Au(I), they can still be effectively co-assembled by reacting with HAuCl₄ together to obtain three-ligand nanosheets with good colloidal stability. The key points for successful co-assembly are also revealed by comparing single- and three-ligand self-assembly processes, laying a solid foundation for co-assembly of even more ligands. The easy but powerful strategy for 2D materials with closely-packed and multiple tunable surface functional groups addresses the surface engineering problem for 2D materials and paves the way for their wider applications in sensing and biomaterials.     

Mechanically strong and stiff supramolecular polymers enabled by fiber reinforced long-chain alkane matrix

Fiber-reinforced-concrete (FRC) mechanism refers short discrete fibers that are uniformly distributed and randomly oriented, which offers an effective way to improve the mechanical performance of concrete. In the design of supramolecular polymers, an analogous concept of FRC appears to have been considered very rarely-although fibrous structure has been frequently observed/generated during the supramolecular polymerization. In this work, we apply the alkane thermosets, octadecane (C₁₈H₃₈) and tetracosane (C₂₄H₅₀), taking the role of “concrete”, and the low-molecular-weight monomer with long alkyl chains as the essential “fiber” component, to fabricate the “fiber reinforced supramolecular polymer”. Very much like FRC mechanism in material science, the resulting fiber reinforced supramolecular polymer thus exhibit unusually high mechanical strength and stiffness, which is unprecedented in the conventional supramolecular strategy.     

Construction of Charring-Functional Polyheptanazine towards Improvements in Flame Retardants of Polyurethane

Nitrogen-containing flame retardants have been extensively applied due to their low toxicity and smoke-suppression properties; however, their poor charring ability restricts their applications. Herein, a representative nitrogen-containing flame retardant, polyheptanazine, was investigated. Two novel, cost-effective phosphorus-doped polyheptazine (PCN) and cobalt-anchored PCN (Co@PCN) flame retardants were synthesized via a thermal condensation method. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results indicated effective doping of P into triazine. Then, flame-retardant particles were introduced into thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) using a melt-blending approach. The introduction of 3 wt% PCN and Co@PCN could remarkably suppress peak heat release rate (pHRR) (48.5% and 40.0%), peak smoke production rate (pSPR) (25.5% and 21.8%), and increasing residues (10.18 wt%→17.04 wt% and 14.08 wt%). Improvements in charring stability and flame retardancy were ascribed to the formation of P–N bonds and P=N bonds in triazine rings, which promoted the retention of P in the condensed phase, which produced additional high-quality residues.     

IVDAS: an interactive visual design and analysis system for image data symmetry detection of CNN models

Journal of Visualization - Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) have achieved breakthrough performance in image recognition and classification. However, it is still a challenge for CNNs to classify...     

Prediction of allergic reaction risk of Shenmai injection based on real-world evidence coupled with UPLC–Q-TOF-MS

The allergic reaction (AR) of Chinese herbal injection (CHI) has become one of the most noticeable focuses of public health in China. However, it still remains a considerable controversy as to whether low-molecular-weight components in CHI have potential sensitization. In this study, the relationship between AR and low-molecular-weight component profile of Shenmai injection was explored by an interdisciplinary technology integrating real-world evidence and ultra-performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (UPLC–Q-TOF-MS). The AR information of hospitalized patients was obtained by comprehensively analyzing real-world evidence from January 2015 to June 2019 at two Chinese hospitals. The UPLC–Q-TOF-MS was exploited to systematically investigate the low-molecular-weight component profile with 50–1500 m/z mass range, and 3725 MS1 peaks were detected. The optimized partial least squares discriminant analysis model was established to map the influence of low-molecular-weight components on AR. The results of this study showed that high levels of organic acids administered intravenously might be a potential risk factor for inducing AR. By using this method, Shenmai injection with high AR risk could be recognized precisely with 100% accuracy before clinical use.     

Remarkable durability of the antibacterial function achieved via a coordination effect of Cu(II) ion and chitosan grafted on cotton fibers

Cellulose - We report here a simple and effective method applying a combination of chitosan (Cs) and Cu(II) ion to fabricate antibacterial cotton fabric with a remarkable durability against...     

Spatial mode compensation technique using progressive phase conjugation

Optical Review - We propose a spatial mode compensation method using progressive phase conjugation (PPC) to establish a dynamic control technology for mode distribution in multi-mode fiber (MMF)....     

Apportionment of wind from water erosion on the hillslopes of China Northern Loess Hilly Area,by the fallout 137Cs technique

Journal of Radioanalytical and Nuclear Chemistry - Differences in the net soil loss and apportionment of wind from water erosion on hillslopes were analyzed and evaluated quantitatively through...