Fibre raman amplifier properties for applications to long-distance optical communications

This paper reviews recent theoretical and experimental studies on optical amplification by stimulated Raman scattering (Raman amplification) in single-mode optical fibres, and discusses its possible applications to long-distance optical communications. The fibre Raman amplifier can be used as an in-line optical amplifier in both repeaterless and non-regenerative all-optical repeater configurations. In the former application, signal transmission of over 400 km has been predicted theoretically, although high-power pump sources are considered to be required. In the latter configuration, in which optical fibre losses are compensated for by Raman gains, it has been shown that extremely long-distance transmission over more than 1000 km is feasible in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, where the distance achievable is mainly limited by the accumulation of Raman noise. Recent experimental demonstrations including bit-error rate measurements on the Raman amplified signal, and laser-diode pumped amplification, etc., are also reviewed. The results confirm the effectiveness of fibre Raman amplifiers in future long-haul systems.     

One step synthesis of 2-substituted 3-tri-(or di-)fluoromethyl-2-propenals in an ionic liquid

Investigation of one step synthesis of 2-substituted 3-tri-(or di-)fluoromethyl-2-propenals has been carried out using versatile aldehydes, tri- or di-fluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal in the presence of diethylaminotrimethylsilane (DEATMS) in an ionic liquid, and it was demonstrated that this route enabled us to successfully construct 2-substituted 3-tri-(or di-)fluoromethyl-2-propenals with the high level selectivity of geometric isomers.     

Interfacial adsorption state of protonated lipophilic porphyrins in a liquid-liquid system by using reflection spectrometry.

Analysis by reflection spectrometry was performed to clarify the interfacial adsorption of protonated lipophilic tetraphenylporphyrin derivatives in a dodecane-aqueous sulfuric acid system, and to confirm the utility of partial reflection spectroscopy. Interfacial adsorption was not observed for porphyrins substituted at the 2,6 positions of meso-phenyl groups, suggesting that the substituents prevent porphyrins from forming aggregates by steric hindrance. Polymorphous J-aggregates of acid dications were produced by tetra-p-tolylporphyrin with a saturated interfacial molecular density of 1.0 x 10(-10) mol cm(-2), which could yield 48 degrees as a mean tilting angle of the pyrrole ring plane from the interface normal. Partial-reflection spectrometry can provide sensitive detection and molecular orientation analysis of interfacial adsorbates.     

Fabrication and transport properties of multiwall carbon nanotube crossroads

A multiwall carbon nanotube crossroads has been fabricated by a manipulation technique using a glass microcapillary, and the low temperature transport properties investigated. The two-terminal conductance of an individual tube shows Tomonaga–Luttinger liquid behavior G∝T^α at high temperature and dI/dV ∝V ^α at low temperature. However, no evidence of such a power-law behavior is obtained in the four-terminal conductance at the junction, where the conductance shows an almost metallic behavior ‘corrected’ by weak localization. Weak localization would essentially appear in electron states at the junctions of MWNTs.     

Acoustic characteristics of Ni–Nb–Zr–H glassy alloys by ultrasonic shear waves

The propagation characteristics of shear horizontally polarized (SH) waves passing through (Ni₄₂Nb₂₈Zr₃₀)_100–x H_x (x = 0–15.2) glassy alloys were investigated as a function of hydrogen content. With an increase in hydrogen content, the propagation time and main frequency of the receiving waves show increase and decrease, respectively, indicating expan‐ sion in average atomic distance which comes from solution of hydrogen. In sharp contrast to crystalline alloys, the decrease in damping ratio and the delay in phase with increasing hydrogen suggest a strong settlement of hydrogen into four‐coordination sites surrounded tetrahedrally by four Zr atoms and the resulting increase in dynamic elasticity, respectively. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Local structure analysis of smoky and colorless topaz using single crystal Al NMR

The angular dependence of the ²⁷Al NMR spectrum was measured for single crystals of smoky and colorless topaz, Al₂SiO₄(F,OH)₂. Smoky topaz was obtained by irradiating high energy neutrons to colorless topaz. The quadrupole coupling constant e²Qq/h and the asymmetry parameter η were obtained from the analysis of the angular dependences of quadrupole splitting of the ²⁷Al NMR spectrum. The local structures around the aluminum atoms in smoky and colorless topaz were discussed from the magnitude and the direction of the electric field gradient. The directions of principal axes of the EFG tensor of ²⁷Al were close to the directions of Al-O and Al-F bonds. The difference in the bond lengths between Al(1)-F(1) and Al(1)-F(2) was found to affect the x and y components of the EFG tensor.     

Altered protein synthesis in rat kidney cells exposed to semiconductor materials

It is thought that the extensive industrial use of arsenic, gallium and indium, which have applications as the materials for III–V semiconductors, will increase human exposure to these compounds in the near future. We have undertaken the development of new biological indicators for assessing exposure to these elements. Element-specific alterations in protein synthesis patterns were expected to occur following exposure to arsenic compounds. We examined alterations in protein synthesis in primary cultures of rat kidney proximal tubule epithelial cells by sodium arsenite, gallium chloride and indium chloride, utilizing two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. After incubation with the chemicals for 20 h, newly synthesized proteins were labeled with [³⁵S]methionine. A protein with a molecular weight (M_r) of 30 000 was markedly induced on exposure to 10 μM arsenite or 300 μM gallium chloride, and synthesis of proteins with M_r values of 85 000, 71 000, 65 000, 51 000, 38 000 and 28 000 were also increased by exposure to arsenite and gallium chloride. No significant changes were observed upon exposure to indium. Some of these increased proteins could be heat-shock proteins.     

Purification and characterization of gamma-enolase from various mammals.

The gamma subunit of enolase (gamma-enolase) was purified from the brain tissues of cow, dog, goat, pig, rabbit, and rat. The purification was achieved in only three steps: ammonium sulfate-precipitation, DE 53 cellulose ion-exchange chromatography, and polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) in a preparative mode. The purification procedure was comparatively more simple than previously reported methods, and the yield of gamma-enolase was sufficient for subsequent structural and immunological analyses. In all mammals, the purified gamma-enolase migrated in sodium dodecyl sulfate-PAGE (SDS-PAGE) with a molecular mass of 46 kilodaltons (kDa), and the immunological cross-reactivity between those gamma-enolases was very strong. The structural homology of these gamma-enolases was examined by peptide mapping using cyanogen bromide cleavage and subsequent two-dimensional electrophoresis. The resulting peptide patterns were highly similar and in cow, dog, and goat, the patterns were almost identical. These results indicate that structural homology, that is, the species non-specificity of gamma-enolase, appears to be very high.     

Approximation of transient temperatures in complex geometries using fractional derivatives

It is shown that time-dependent temperatures in a transient, conductive system can be approximately modeled by a fractional-order differential equation, the order of which depends on the Biot number. This approximation is particularly suitable for complex shapes for which a first-principles approach is too difficult or computationally time-consuming. Analytical solutions of these equations can be written in terms of the Mittag-Leffler function. The approximation is especially useful if a suitable fractional-order controller is to be designed for the system.     

Phenomenon of labyrinth seal with low static pressure difference and large clearance

This paper discusses the straight-through type labyrinth seal. This labyrinth seal is used for axial flow fans, which h ave an outer ring at the blade tip to seal the clearance between the ring tip and the fan shroud, in order to prevent the reverse flow or leakage. These fans are used for the cooling of automobile radiators . In these cases, the labyrinth seal is used in an extremely low static pressure difference and a large clearance . A significant decrease of the leakage rate was reported even when the labyrinth seal rotated in comparatively low speed in this unique condition according to the authors’ former report. However, this phenomen on is differ ent from past research. Further more the cause of th is phenomenon has not been determined. Therefore, the internal flow was depicted with Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) in or der to clarify the ca use of this phenomenon. The results of CFD show that the leakage rate decreases significantly because the carry -over flow is intercepted in the expansion groove. This is the newly discovered phenomenon which occurs under the unique condition of an extremely low differential pressure. It has not been pointed out before as the reason why the rotation decreases the leakage rate.