In-band pumped Er:YAG ceramic laser with 11 W of output power at 1645 nm

We report on a high power polycrystalline Er:YAG ceramic laser in-band pumped by a cladding-pumped Er, Yb fiber laser wavelength locked at 1532 nm with a volume Bragg grating. Using 1.0 at % Er³⁺-doped ceramic as the gain medium and an output coupler of 10% transmission, the laser had a threshold pump power of ∼1.5 W and generated 11 W of continuous-wave output at 1645 nm for 23.3 W of incident pump power at 1532 nm, corresponding to a slope efficiency with respect to incident pump power of 51%.     

Photobleaching on Photonic Crystal Enhanced Fluorescence Surfaces

The effect of resonant fluorescent enhancement from a photonic crystal surface upon the fluorescent photobleaching rate of Cyanine-5 labeled protein has been investigated. We show that the enhanced excitation mechanism for photonic crystal enhanced fluorescence, in which the device surface resonantly couples light from an excitation laser, accelerates photobleaching in proportion to the coupling efficiency of the laser to the photonic crystal. We also show that the enhanced extraction mechanism, in which the photonic crystal directs emitted photons approximately normal to the surface, does not play a role in the rate of photobleaching. We show that the photobleaching rate of dye molecules on the photonic crystal surface is accelerated by 30x compared to an ordinary glass surface, but substantial signal gain is still evident, even after extended periods of continuous illumination at the resonant condition.     

Effects of surfactants on properties of polymer-coated magnetic nanoparticles for drug delivery application

The objective of this research was to compare the effects of two different surfactants on the physicochemical properties of thermo-responsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-acrylamide-allylamine) (PNIPAAm-AAm-AH)-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs). Sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) as a commonly used surfactant in nanoparticle formulation process and Pluronic F127 as an FDA approved material were used as surfactants to synthesize PNIPAAm-AAm-AH-coated MNPs (PMNPs). The properties of PMNPs synthesized using SDS (PMNPs-SDS) and PF127 (PMNPs-PF127) were compared in terms of size, polydispersity, surface charge, drug loading efficiency, drug release profile, biocompatibility, cellular uptake, and ligand conjugation efficiency. These nanoparticles had a stable core–shell structure with about a 100-nm diameter and were superparamagnetic in behavior with no difference in the magnetic properties in both types of nanoparticles. In vitro cell studies showed that PMNPs-PF127 were more cytocompatible and taken up more by prostate cancer cells than that of PMNPs-SDS. Cells internalized with these nanoparticles generated a dark negative contrast in agarose phantoms for magnetic resonance imaging. Furthermore, a higher doxorubicin release at 40 °C was observed from PMNPs-PF127, and the released drugs were pharmacologically active in killing cancer cells. Finally, surfactant type did not affect the conjugation efficiency to the nanoparticles when folic acid was used as a targeting ligand model. These results indicate that PF127 might be a better surfactant to form polymer-coated magnetic nanoparticles for targeted and controlled drug delivery.     

Detection equipment for investigating dp elastic scattering at internal target of nuclotron in the framework of DSS project

A complex of detection equipment based on scintillation detectors for investigating dp elastic scattering at the internal target of the Nuclotron developed in the framework of the Deuteron Spin Structure (DSS) project is presented. The results of optimizing scintillation detectors and the results of test measurements of a deuteron beam of the Nuclotron are given.     

Third order residual distribution schemes for the Navier–Stokes equations

We construct a third order multidimensional upwind residual distribution scheme for the system of the Navier–Stokes equations. The underlying approximation is obtained using standard P² Lagrange finite elements. To discretise the inviscid component of the equations, each element is divided in sub-elements over which we compute a high order residual defined as the integral of the inviscid fluxes on the boundary of the sub-element. The residuals are distributed to the nodes of each sub-element in a multi-dimensional upwind way. To obtain a discretisation of the viscous terms consistent with this multi-dimensional upwind approach, we make use of a Petrov–Galerkin analogy. The analogy allows to find a family of test functions which can be used to obtain a weak approximation of the viscous terms. The performance of this high-order method is tested on flows with high and low Reynolds number.     

Additive coloration of crystals of calcium and cadmium fluorides

The particular features of additive coloration—formation of color centers as a result of annealing in a reducing atmosphere—have been considered for two crystals with fluorite structure, calcium and cadmium fluorides. The significant differences in the processes of coloration of these crystals are related to both the chemical reactions on their surface and the interaction (or absence of such) between the two components diffusing into the crystal bulk: anion vacancies and electrons.     

Exact solutions for network rewiring models

Evolving networks with a constant number of edges may be modelled using a rewiring process. These models are used to describe many real-world processes including the evolution of cultural artifacts such as family names, the evolution of gene variations, and the popularity of strategies in simple econophysics models such as the minority game. The model is closely related to Urn models used for glasses, quantum gravity and wealth distributions. The full mean field equation for the degree distribution is found and its exact solution and generating solution are given.     

90 W average power 100 microJ energy femtosecond fiber chirped-pulse amplification system

We report on an ytterbium-doped fiber based chirped-pulse amplification system delivering 100 microJ pulse energy at a repetition rate of 900 kHz, corresponding to an average power of 90 W. The emitted pulses are as short as 500 fs. To the best of our knowledge, this is the highest average power ever reported for high-energy femtosecond solid-state laser systems.     

Pressure-Sensitive Paint measurement of the flow around a simplified car model

In applying Pressure-Sensitive Paint (PSP) to low-speed flow wind tunnel testing, it is important to minimize any measurement uncertainties. There are various error sources such as camera noise, misalignment of images due to model displacement and temperature distribution over the model. Among these factors, the effects of temperature distribution change during tests on pressure measurement accuracies were studied in the present paper. Pressure and temperature distributions over a simplified car model (1/10 scale Ahmed model) were measured using PSP and Temperature-Sensitive Paint (TSP). Sequential images were acquired at the same intervals over the entire test period, including for the conditions before and after the tunnel run. As a result, it was found that the measurement error caused by temperature distribution over the model could be reduced using a single-point temperature measurement. In addition, by measuring surface temperature distributions on the model using TSP, it was proved that the most accurate pressure measurement could be made by rationing the wind-off image acquired immediately after shutting down the tunnel to the wind-on image acquired immediately before shutting down the tunnel. Using the present measurement technique, complicated pressure fields over the Ahmed model were successfully visualized.