Two-Nanorod PT Structure with Large Spontaneous Enhancement

Two-mode coupling is very common and basic in optics. Recently, a lot more works are focusing on the optical mode coupling with gain and loss due to its tighter link to actual world. For a couple between one gain and one loss mode, by adjusting the coupling constant, the mode in the spectrum will at first stay then move after the constant passing some critical point. This phase transition can be explained by non-Hermitian PT phase transition theory.However, only few works research the spontaneous emission adjustment based on this procedure. It has a lot of promising utilization in on chip optic systems if we can adjust spontaneous emission. We look more deeply in this mode coupling process using metallic nanorods, find the Exceptional Point, show the phase transition between PT symmetry and PT broken regime, and show the adjustment to quantum dot emission. Our work not only promote the understanding of multi-mode system, but also bring up with a new way to adjust high enhancement of spontaneous emission, tamping the foundation for future on chip nano photonics

Capture of submicrometer particles in a pressurized electrostatic precipitator

<p>This study investigated the influence of gas pressure on the submicrometer particle capture performance of an electrostatic precipitator (ESP). Current-voltage characteristics and particle capture performance of the ESP were studied in air and in simulated flue gas (SFG) under 1, 2, and 3 atm. Using negative corona and air as the feed gas, the penetration of most particles of 40–400 nm in diameter decreased from 8 × 10⁻⁴ − 2 × 10⁻² to 2 × 10⁻⁴ − 1 × 10⁻² as pressure increased from 1 atm to 3 atm at constant current; and increased from 3 × 10⁻⁵ − 1 × 10⁻³ to 2 × 10⁻⁴ − 1 × 10⁻² as pressure was elevated when the voltage was held roughly constant. Similar type of disparity under different pressures was also observed for positive corona and for SFG. Experiments set up to capture fly ash in the ESP showed that with constant current, higher pressure resulted in a higher initial charge fraction of the particles from the furnace, which could facilitate the penetration of fly ash particles. A semiempirical model was developed based on the Deutsch–Anderson equation and experimental data under 1, 2, and 3 atm to calculate the particle penetrations under high pressure. The total charge number on a particle (<i>n'</i>) is calculated by incorporating the effects of current (<i>I</i>) and pressure (<i>P</i>) on relative weights of the diffusion charging number (<i>n</i>_diff) and field charging number (<i>n</i>_field), that is, <i>n' = B</i>₁(<i>I,P</i>)<i>n</i>_diff + <i>B</i>₂(<i>I,P</i>)<i>n</i>_field, where <i>B</i>₁(<i>I,P</i>) and <i>B</i>₂(<i>I,P</i>) are both empirical coefficients dependent on current and pressure. Experimental penetrations under 1.5 and 2.5 atm validated this model over the particle diameter range in 100–400 nm.</p> <p>Copyright © 2016 American Association for Aerosol Research</p

NH₄V₄O₁₀/rGO Heterostructure with Enlarged (001) Plane Spacing for Aqueous Zinc-Ion Batteries with High Zinc Storage and Highly Reversible Zn²⁺ Insertion/Extraction

The scarcity of suitable cathode materials for aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) is primarily attributed to the strong Coulombic force between Zn2+ and host materials. In this regard, the double two-dimensional flake structures of ammonium vanadate nanosheet and reduced graphene oxide (rGO) tend to form a heterogeneous structure, resulting in reduced interaction, improved electrical conductivity, and zinc storage. Consequently, the NH4V4O10/rGO cathode with heterostructures that accomplish high specific capacity and rapid charge transfer kinetics was synthesized via microwave-assisted chemical deposition. Through the formation of a conductive network, the rGO-covered and connected NH4V4O10 nanosheets facilitated fast ion/electron transport kinetics. Furthermore, the interlayer spacing of NH4V4O10 increased by combining rGO, thereby weakening the electrostatic interaction between Zn2+ ions and the NH4V4O10 crystal structure. The NH4V4O10/rGO composite exhibited a high capacity of 551 mAh g–1 at 0.1 A g–1 as well as a long cycle life (capacity retention rate of 130.6% after 2000 cycles) as a cathode for ZIBs. The increase in the layer spacing of NH4V4O10 resulting from the lattice mismatch between rGO and NH4V4O10 was verified by first-principles calculations, which also demonstrated the beneficial role of the NH4V4O10/rGO heterostructure in improving conductivity and zinc storage

DataSheet_1_Prediction of single pulmonary nodule growth by CT radiomics and clinical features — a one-year follow-up study.docx

BackgroundWith the development of imaging technology, an increasing number of pulmonary nodules have been found. Some pulmonary nodules may gradually grow and develop into lung cancer, while others may remain stable for many years. Accurately predicting the growth of pulmonary nodules in advance is of great clinical significance for early treatment. The purpose of this study was to establish a predictive model using radiomics and to study its value in predicting the growth of pulmonary nodules.Materials and methodsAccording to the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 228 pulmonary nodules in 228 subjects were included in the study. During the one-year follow-up, 69 nodules grew larger, and 159 nodules remained stable. All the nodules were randomly divided into the training group and validation group in a proportion of 7:3. For the training data set, the t test, Chi-square test and Fisher exact test were used to analyze the sex, age and nodule location of the growth group and stable group. Two radiologists independently delineated the ROIs of the nodules to extract the radiomics characteristics using Pyradiomics. After dimension reduction by the LASSO algorithm, logistic regression analysis was performed on age and ten selected radiological features, and a prediction model was established and tested in the validation group. SVM, RF, MLP and AdaBoost models were also established, and the prediction effect was evaluated by ROC analysis.ResultsThere was a significant difference in age between the growth group and the stable group (P 0.05). The interclass correlation coefficients between the two observers were > 0.75. After dimension reduction by the LASSO algorithm, ten radiomic features were selected, including two shape-based features, one gray-level-cooccurence-matrix (GLCM), one first-order feature, one gray-level-run-length-matrix (GLRLM), three gray-level-dependence-matrix (GLDM) and two gray-level-size-zone-matrix (GLSZM). The logistic regression model combining age and radiomics features achieved an AUC of 0.87 and an accuracy of 0.82 in the training group and an AUC of 0.82 and an accuracy of 0.84 in the verification group for the prediction of nodule growth. For nonlinear models, in the training group, the AUCs of the SVM, RF, MLP and boost models were 0.95, 1.0, 1.0 and 1.0, respectively. In the validation group, the AUCs of the SVM, RF, MLP and boost models were 0.81, 0.77, 0.81, and 0.71, respectively.ConclusionsIn this study, we established several machine learning models that can successfully predict the growth of pulmonary nodules within one year. The logistic regression model combining age and imaging parameters has the best accuracy and generalization. This model is very helpful for the early treatment of pulmonary nodules and has important clinical significance.</p

Additional file 2: of Assessment of personal exposure to particulate air pollution: the first result of City Health Outlook (CHO) project

The online application form used to recruit volunteers. (DOCX 270 kb

Liquid–Liquid Phase Transition in Metallic Droplets

We report theoretical evidence of the substrate-induced liquid–liquid phase transition (LLPT) behaviors in a single Al droplet and Ti–Al droplets. The Al droplet can produce an LLPT induced by substrates in part, forming a special three-layer structure. However, the introduction of a Ti droplet can promote the LLPT in an Al droplet. Al and Ti droplets do not coalesce into a homogeneously mixed droplet but produce the ordered liquid films. The substrate-induced LLPT in the Al droplet is characterized by the transition from the disordered to ordered structure. Results indicate that the substrate and the Ti droplet are the driving forces to promote the LLPT. The LLPT of the Ti–Al droplets in the wedge-shaped substrate is also observed, indicating that the confined Ti–Al droplets are more likely to undergo an LLPT

Additional file 1: of Assessment of personal exposure to particulate air pollution: the first result of City Health Outlook (CHO) project

The validation of TE-STR against TSI aerosol monitor in both chamber-controlled environment and outdoor environment. (DOCX 630 kb

Sensing beyond the exceptional point for high detectivity

Exceptional point (EP)-based optical sensors exhibit exceptional sensitivity but poor detectivity due to their acute sensitivity to perturbations such as noise. When the optical budget is limited as in applications on mobile platforms, high detectivity might be equally important as high sensitivity. In such scenarios, off-EP sensing is advantageous where a slight loss in sensitivity can lead to a significant gain in detectivity. Here, we show that a passive parity-time symmetric plasmonic-photonic hybrid shows a peak in its detectivity off EP where the sensitivity is still very high-surpassing the sensitivities of equivalent fully-plasmonic and fully-photonic systems. We demonstrate the high detectivity of off-EP sensing of anti-mouse IgG protein using this plasmonic-photonic hybrid system. We report a sensitivity of 1.2 nm/nM while requiring a minimum optical budget of 1.3 nJ. Thus, non-Hermitian plasmonic-photonic hybrids could be the best class of nanophotonic sensors for real-world applications

Liquid–Liquid Phase Transition in Metallic Droplets

We report theoretical evidence of the substrate-induced liquid–liquid phase transition (LLPT) behaviors in a single Al droplet and Ti–Al droplets. The Al droplet can produce an LLPT induced by substrates in part, forming a special three-layer structure. However, the introduction of a Ti droplet can promote the LLPT in an Al droplet. Al and Ti droplets do not coalesce into a homogeneously mixed droplet but produce the ordered liquid films. The substrate-induced LLPT in the Al droplet is characterized by the transition from the disordered to ordered structure. Results indicate that the substrate and the Ti droplet are the driving forces to promote the LLPT. The LLPT of the Ti–Al droplets in the wedge-shaped substrate is also observed, indicating that the confined Ti–Al droplets are more likely to undergo an LLPT

Topologically Enabled Ultralarge Purcell Enhancement Robust to Photon Scattering

Micro/nanoscale single photon source is a building block of on-chip quantum information devices. Owing to possessing ultrasmall optical mode volume, plasmon structures can provide large Purcell enhancement, however scattering and absorption are two barriers to prevent them from being used in practice. To overcome these barriers, we propose the topological photonic structure containing resonant plasmon nanoantenna, where nanoantenna provides large Purcell enhancement while topological photonic crystal guides all scattering light into its edge state. Through the optical mode design, the rate of single photons emitted into the edge state reaches more than 104{\gamma}0 simultaneously accompanied with an obvious reduction of absorption. This kind of nonscattering large Purcell enhancement will provide new sight for on-chip quantum light sources such as a single photon source and nanolaser