Analysis of Metabolites in Allantoic Fluid of Chicken Embryo by 900 MHz NMR Spectroscopy

900 MHz ¹H NMR (nuclear magnetic resonance) spectroscopy was used to analyze metabolites in allantoic fluid of the chicken embryo in the 9th incubation day without any chemical or physical sample separation. The result showed that superhigh spectral dispersion and sensitivity at 900 MHz are useful in directly analyzing a complex mixture, particularly in resolving the overlapped NMR resonances. In this study, we had assigned 61 metabolites and 26 chemical fragments in the allantoic fluid. The relative concentrations of the major metabolites were also measured. Among the assigned metabolites, some were detected by NMR in chicken embryo allantoic fluids for the first time. The biological functions of these compounds were briefly discussed. Authors' address: Maili Liu, State Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance and Atomic and Molecular Physics, Wuhan Institute of Physics and Mathematics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430071, People's Republic of China     

Generation of red light at 660 nm by frequency doubling a Nd:YAG laser with periodically-poled stoichiometric LiTaO<Subscript>3</Subscript>

High power red light was generated from a periodically-poled stoichiometric LiTaO₃ (PPSLT) by single-pass frequency doubling of a diode-side-pumped, Q-switched Nd:YAG laser at 1319 nm. An average power of 2.4 W of the 660 nm red light was obtained at the fundamental power of ∼5.4 W with the conversion efficiency up to 44.4% and with low fluctuation down to 2%. The high efficiency and stability at the red output indicate that it is a practical method to construct a reliable compact red laser. PACS 42.70.Mp; 42.79.Nv; 42.55.Xi     

Structure and mechanical properties of Al/AlN multilayer with different AlN layer thickness

Nanometer scale Al/AlN multilayers have been prepared by dc magnetron sputtering technique with a columnar target. A set of Al/AlN multilayers with the Al layer thickness of 2.9 nm and the AlN layer thickness variation from 1.13 to 6.81 nm were determined. Low angle X-ray diffraction (LAXRD) was used to analyze the layered structure of multilayers. The phase structure of the coatings was investigated with grazing angle XRD (GAXRD). Mechanical properties of these multilayers were thoroughly studied using a nanoindentation and ball-on-disk micro-tribometer. It was found that the multilayer hardness and reduced modulus showed no strong dependence on the AlN layer thickness. Al2.9 nm/AlN1.13 nm multilayer had more excellent tribological properties than single layers and other proportion multilayers with a lowest friction coefficient of 0.15. And the tribological properties of all the multilayers are superior to the AlN single layer.     

Study on anti-emission materials for non-emitting grid applications in microwave power tubes

Hafnium and platinum were deposited onto molybdenum grids by ion-beam assisted deposition method. Electron-emission characteristics from molybdenum grids with Hf and Pt films, which were contaminated by active electron-emission substances (Ba, BaO) of the cathode, were measured using analogous diode method. The surfaces of grids were analyzed by X-ray diffraction. The results revealed that the reaction between BaO and Hf formed BaHfO₃ compound, which greatly reduced the accumulation of BaO on the surface and accordingly decreased grid emission. In contrast, Ba were formed by the decomposition of BaO on the surface of Pt film under high temperature and re-evaporated from its surface, which reduced the active electron-emission substances on the surface of the grid and effectively restrained grid emission. Their mechanisms for grid-emission suppression are discussed and a good method to develop new grid-coating materials is suggested.     

Preparation and characterization of ZnO nanorods from NaOH solutions with assisted electrical field

ZnO naorods on ZnO-coated seed substrates were fabricated by solution chemical method from Zn(NO₃)₂/NaOH under assisted electrical field. The working mechanism of electrical field was analyzed and the factors affecting the rod growth such as potential, precursor concentration and growth temperature were elucidated. The structural and optical properties are characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD, HRTEM and UV-vis. The results indicated that the nanorods have wurtzite structure without electrical field and are primarily of zincite structure under electrical field; when the electrical field is 1.1-1.3 V, not only the elevation of ion diffusion and adsorption lower the crystallite/solution interfacial energy and then the crystal nucleation barrier by increasing charge intensity, but also the production of H⁺ through oxidation of OH⁻ increases properly the degree of solution supersaturation near the substrate, and thus lowers the activation energy. Both the two processes do favor to rod growth. With increasing precursor concentration in this system, the average diameter and length of ZnO nanorods increase, leading to decreasing of optical transmittance. The maximum rod growth rate at given concentration of Zn²⁺ occurs at a specific temperature.     

Interference of circularly polarized light: contrast and application in fabrication of three-dimensional periodic microstructures

The contrast of interference pattern formed by two circularly polarized waves and by a linearly polarized wave and a circularly polarized one is discussed. The results are compared with that by two linear beams. It shows that the use of circular light in holographic fabrication of three-dimensional periodic microstructures may remove the necessity of beam ratio and polarization optimization needed in the interference of three linear noncoplanar beams and improve the uniform contrast of resultant pattern simultaneously.     

Optical spectroscopy of Yb/Er codoped NaY(WO4)2 crystal

Erbium and ytterbium codoped double tungstates NaY(WO₄)₂ crystals were prepared by using Czochralski (CZ) pulling method. The absorption spectra in the region 290-2000 nm have been recorded at room temperature. The Judd-Ofelt theory was applied to the measured values of absorption line strengths to evaluate the spontaneous emission probabilities and stimulated emission cross sections of Er³⁺ ions in NaY(WO₄)₂ crystals. Intensive green and red lights were measured when the sample were pumped by a 974 nm laser diode (LD), especially, the intensities of green upconversion luminescence are very strong. The mechanism of energy transfer from Yb³⁺ to Er³⁺ ions was analyzed. Energy transfer and nonradiative relaxation played an important role in the upconversion process. Photoexcited luminescence experiments are also fulfilled to help analyzing the transit processes of the energy levels.     

Multipartite Entanglement Preparation and Quantum Communication with Atomic Ensembles

We propose an experimentally feasible scheme to generate Greenberger-Horne-Zeilinger type of maximal entanglement among three atomic ensembles, and show one of the applications, controlled secure direct communication. The scheme involves laser manipulation of atomic ensembles, quarter- and half-wave plates, beam splitters, polarizing beam splitters and single-photon detectors, which are within the reach of current experimental technology.     

Solutions in Sobolev spaces of vector refinement equations with a general dilation matrix

In this paper, we present a necessary and sufficient condition for the existence of solutions in a Sobolev space W_p^k(ℝ^s) (1≤p≤∞) to a vector refinement equation with a general dilation matrix. The criterion is constructive and can be implemented. Rate of convergence of vector cascade algorithms in a Sobolev space W_p^k(ℝ^s) will be investigated. When the dilation matrix is isotropic, a characterization will be given for the L_p (1≤p≤∞) critical smoothness exponent of a refinable function vector without the assumption of stability on the refinable function vector. As a consequence, we show that if a compactly supported function vector φ∈L_p(ℝ^s) (φ∈C(ℝ^s) when p=∞) satisfies a refinement equation with a finitely supported matrix mask, then all the components of φ must belong to a Lipschitz space Lip(ν,L_p(ℝ^s)) for some ν>0. This paper generalizes the results in R.Q. Jia, K.S. Lau and D.X. Zhou (J. Fourier Anal. Appl. 7 (2001) 143–167) in the univariate setting to the multivariate setting. Dedicated to Professor Charles A. Micchelli on the occasion of his 60th birthday Mathematics subject classifications (2000) 42C20, 41A25, 39B12. Research was supported in part by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC Canada) under Grant G121210654.