Influences of the separation distance,ship speed and channel dimension on ship maneuverability in a confined waterway

Ship maneuvering in the confined inland waterway is investigated using the system-based method, where a nonlinear transient hydrodynamic model is adopted and confinement models are implemented to account for the influence of the channel bank and bottom. The maneuvering model is validated using the turning circle test, and the confinement model is validated using the experimental data. The separation distance, ship speed, and channel width are then varied to investigate their influences on ship maneuverability. With smaller separation distances and higher speeds near the bank, the ship's trajectory deviates more from the original course and the bow is repelled with a larger yaw angle, which increase the difficulty of maneuvering. Smaller channel widths induce higher advancing resistances on the ship. The minimum distance to the bank are extracted and studied. It is suggested to navigate the ship in the middle of the channel and with a reasonable speed in the restricted waterway.     

Effects of Two Natural Bisbenzylisoquinolines,Curine and Guattegaumerine,Extracted from Isolona hexaloba on Rhodamine Efflux by Abcb1b from Rat Glycocholic-Acid-Resistant Hepatocarcinoma Cells

To develop new therapeutic molecules, it is essential to understand the biological effects and targets of clinically relevant compounds. In this article, we describe the extraction and characterization of two alkaloids from the roots of Isolona hexaloba—curine and guattegaumerine. The effect of these alkaloids on the multidrug efflux pump ABCB1 (MDR1/P-Glycoprotein) and their antiproliferative properties were studied. Compared to verapamil, a widely used inhibitor of P-gp, curine and guattegaumerine were found to be weak inhibitors of MDR1/P-Glycoprotein. The highest inhibition of efflux produced by verapamil disappeared in the presence of curine or guattegaumerine as competitors, and the most pronounced effect was achieved with curine. Altogether, this work has provided new insights into the biological effects of these alkaloids on the rat Mdr1b P-gp efflux mechanism and would be beneficial in the design of potent P-gp inhibitors.     

Packaged hybrid soliton pulse source results 70 terabit.km/secsoliton transmission

A packaged hybrid soliton pulse source is used in a soliton transmission experiment employing sliding-frequency guiding filters. The source shows excellent stability and very clean tuning characteristics. Control of the operating frequency and wavelength are described. Error free transmission at 10 GBit/s is achieved over a distance of 27000 km     

Improved drawing conditions for very low loss 1.55-μm dispersion-shifted fiber

Fiber drawing conditions (temperature, speed, tension) have been investigated to reach very low losses (0.20 dB/km at 1.55 μm) with MCVD triangular core-profile preforms. Such dispersion-shifted fibers exhibit good mechanical, splicing, cabling, and ageing properties.     

High quality factor nitride-based optical cavities: microdisks with embedded GaN/Al(Ga)N quantum dots

We compare the quality factor values of the whispering gallery modes of microdisks (μ-disks) incorporating GaN quantum dots (QDs) grown on AlN and AlGaN barriers by performing room temperature photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy. The PL measurements show a large number of high Q factor resonant modes on the whole spectrum, which allows us to identify the different radial mode families and to compare them with simulations. We report a considerable improvement of the Q factor, which reflects the etching quality and the relatively low cavity loss by inserting QDs into the cavity. GaN/AlN QDs-based μ-disks show very high Q values (Q>7000) whereas the Q factor is only up to 2000 in μ-disks embedding QDs grown on the AlGaN barrier layer. We attribute this difference to the lower absorption below bandgap for AlN barrier layers at the energies of our experimental investigation.     

Long-wavelength InGaAsP/InP distributed feedback lasersincorporating gain-coupled mechanism

Successful operation of long-wavelength InGaAsP low-threshold-current gain-coupled DFB lasers was demonstrated by using an InGaAsP quaternary grating that absorbs the DFB (distributed feedback) emission. The amount of gain (loss)-coupling is controlled by the composition (bandgap) and thickness of the grating quaternary and the InP-spacer layer between the grating and the active layer. With optimally designed lasers, CW (continuous-wave) threshold currents were 10-15 mA (250-μm cavity, as-cleaved), slope efficiency was ~0.4 mW/mA (both facets) and SMSR (side-mode suppression ratio) was as high as 52 dB. The laser operated in the same DFB mode with SMSR staying ~50 dB throughout the entire current range. At 100°C, the CW threshold current stayed low, ~50 mA, and SMSR was ~40 dB. Results also indicate that the presence of gain-coupling removes the degeneracy in lasing wavelength