Theoretical study of loss compensation in long-range dielectric loaded surface plasmon polariton waveguides

In this paper, a theoretical study of loss compensation in long-range dielectric loaded surface plasmon waveguides (LR-DLSPPs) is presented. Although extendable to other gain materials, rare-earth doped double tungstates are used as gain material in this work. Two different structures are studied and the effect of the different waveguide geometrical parameters on the material gain required to fully compensate the propagation losses are reported. The simulations were performed at 1.55 micrometer wavelength. A material gain as low as 12.5 dB/cm was determined as sufficient to obtain complete loss compensation in one of the proposed waveguide structures supporting sub-micron lateral mode dimension

New Simplified Algorithm for the Multiple Rotating Frame Approach in Computational Fluid Dynamics

This paper deals with rotating effects simulation of steady flows in turbomachinery. To take into account the rotating nature of the flow, the frozen rotor approach is one of the widely used approaches. This technique, known in a more general context as a multiple rotating frame (MRF), consists on building axisymmetric interfaces around the rotating parts and solves for the flow in different frames (static and rotating). This paper aimed to revisit this technique and propose a new algorithm referred to it by a virtual multiple rotating frame (VMRF). The goal is to replace the geometrical interfaces (part of the computer-aided design (CAD)) that separate the rotating parts replaced by the virtual ones created at the solver level by a simple user input of few point locations and/or parameters of basic shapes. The new algorithm renders the MRF method easy to implement, especially for edge-based numerical schemes, and very simple to use. Moreover, it allows avoiding any remeshing (required by the MRF approach) when one needs to change the interface position, shape, or simply remove or add a new one, which frequently happened in practice. Consequently, the new algorithm sensibly reduces the overall computations cost of a simulation. This work is an extension of a first version published in an ASME conference, and the main new contributions are the detailed description of the new algorithm in the context of cell-vertex finite volume method and the validation of the method for viscous flows and the three-dimensional (3D) case which is of significant importance to the method to be attractive for real and industrial applications.BCAM-BALTOGAR CFD Platform for Turbomachinery Simulation and Design (BFA/DFB - 6/12/TK/2012/00020

Heterogeneous integration of KY(WO4)2-on-glass : a bonding study

Rare-earth ion doped potassium yttrium double tungstate, RE: KY(WO4)(2), is a promising candidate for small, power-efficient, on-chip lasers and amplifiers. There are two major bottlenecks that complicate the realization of such devices. Firstly, the anisotropic thermal expansion coefficient of KY(WO4)(2) makes it challenging to integrate the crystal on glass substrates. Secondly, the crystal layer has to be, for example, < 1 mu m to obtain single mode, high refractive index contrast waveguides operating at 1550 nm. In this work, different adhesives and bonding techniques in combination with several types of glass substrates are investigated. An optimal bonding process will enable further processing towards the manufacturing of integrated active optical KY(WO4)(2) devices. (C) 2019 Optical Society of America under the terms of the OSA Open Access Publishing Agreemen

Hydrodynamic description for ballistic annihilation systems

The problem of the validity of a hydrodynamic description for a system in which there are no collisional invariants is addressed. Hydrodynamic equations have been derived and successfully tested against simulation data for a system where particles annihilate with a probability p, or collide elastically otherwise. The response of the system to a linear perturbation is analyzed as well

Correlation and regression analysis between residual gradation and uncorrected visual acuity one year after refractive surgery with LASIK, FS-LASIK, PRK, PRK Xtra techniques and the implantation of ICL® posterior chamber phakic lens in myopic correction

Purpose To analyze the influence of the final spherical equivalent (SE) in LogMAR uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA) one year after refractive surgery. We analysed refractive results, their predictability and efficacy, and the safety results of the different methods as secondary outcomes. Setting Refractive Surgery Unit of the Institut Català de Retina (ICR) in Barcelona, Spain. Design Retrospective, analytical observational study. Methods Retrospective and observational study of 654 eyes of 327 patients who underwent refractive surgery to treat their myopia or myopic astigmatism using LASIK, FS-LASIK, PRK, PRK Xtra or ICL-type lens implantation surgery were included. Results The correlation between the SE in absolute value was statistically significant in all techniques utilized, reaching higher values in the FS-LASIK and LASIK techniques, 0.774 and0.706 respectively, and lesser values in PRK (0.480) and PRK Xtra (0.482). A significant adjustment via a univariate linear regression model could be implemented in all techniques, albeit the R2 coefficient of determination values were higher than those for the FS-LASIK (0.599) and LASIK (0.494) techniques. Conclusions There is a positive correlation between post-surgical SE value and post-operative LogMAR UDVA. These regression models can be adjusted to predict the final UDVA according to the final SE. The techniques that are most influenced by the final SE in terms of their visual results are FS-LASIK and LASIK

Non-destructive evaluation of carcass and ham traits and meat quality assessment applied to early and late immunocastrated Iberian pigs

Castration is a common practice in Iberian pigs due to their advanced age and high weight at slaughter. Immunocastration (IC) is an alternative to surgical castration that influences carcass and cut fatness. These traits need to be evaluated in vivo and postmortem. The aims of the present work were (a) to determine the relationship between ham composition measured with computed tomography (CT) and in vivo ultrasound (US) and carcass fat thickness measurements, (b) to apply these technologies to early (EIP) and late (LIP) immunocastrated Iberian pigs in order to evaluate carcass fatness and ham tissue composition and (c) to assess meat quality on these animals and to find the relationships between meat quality traits (namely, intramuscular fat (IMF)) and fat depot thicknesses. For this purpose, 20 purebred Iberian pigs were immunocastrated with three doses of Improvac (R), at either 4.5, 5.5 and 9 or 11, 12 and 14 months of age (EIP or LIP; respectively; n = 10 each) and slaughtered at 17 months of age. Fat depots were evaluated in vivo by US, in carcass with a ruler and in hams by CT. Carcass and cut yields, loin meat quality and loin acceptability by consumers were determined. Also, IMF was determined in the loin and three muscles of the ham. Carcass weight was 14.9 kg heavier in EIP vs LIP, and loin backfat thickness (US- and ruler-measured) was also greater in EIP. Similarly, CT-evaluated ham bone and fat contents were greater and smaller for EIP vs LIP, respectively. Loin and ham IMF were also greater in EIP, but the other meat quality parameters were similar. The acceptability of meat by consumers was high and it did not differ between IC protocols. Correlations between several fat depots measured with the different technologies were high. In conclusion, all these technologies allowed fat depot measurements, which were highly correlated despite being obtained at different anatomical locations. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of The Animal Consortium

Single-layer active-passive Al₂O₃ photonic integration platform

Amorphous Al2O3 is an attractive platform for integrated photonics, providing active and passive functionalities. We have developed an integration procedure to create active and passive regions at the same level on one wafer. This fabrication process reduces the number of fabrication steps compared to vertical integration of two materials. The main advantage is that all structures are defined within a single photolithography and etching step and are therefore automatically aligned. As a proof of principle, we demonstrated the luminescence of an active ring resonator with passive bus waveguide

Minivideos tutorials to reinforce the learning of basic concepts for an Automatic Control course

[EN] This work proposes an initiative to introduce and promote the use of screencasts as a supporting tool for learning basic concepts of automatic control in technical University Degrees. The contents developed are available in the Youtube canal named “Automatica”, grouped by conceptual blocks. This material has been shared with the students of the University of Malaga through the Virtual Campus of 13 subjects given by the Department of Systems Engineering and Automation during the academic courses 2017/2018 and 2018/2019. The results derived from opinion surveys taken by the students show the good acceptance of this type of material. On the other hand, the cross-referring data between the effective reproduction time and the students’ qualifications in knowledge tests designed ad-hoc reveal a direct relation between the time employed by the students watching the screencasts and an improvement in their academic performance.[ES] En este trabajo se presenta una iniciativa encaminada a introducir y fomentar el uso de los videotutoriales como herramienta de apoyo para el aprendizaje de los conceptos básicos del control automático en titulaciones universitarias técnicas. Los contenidos desarrollados, disponibles en el canal de YouTube denominado “Automática”, se han agrupado de acuerdo a los principales bloques conceptuales de la materia y han sido puestos a disposición del alumnado en el espacio del campus virtual de la Universidad de Málaga (UMA) asociado a 13 asignaturas impartidas por el Dpto. de Ingeniería de Sistemas y Automática de la UMA en los cursos académicos 2017/2018 y 2018/2019. Los resultados obtenidos a través de encuestas de opinión cumplimentadas por los estudiantes muestran la buena acogida de los mismos. Por otro lado, el cruce de los datos de uso (entendido como tiempo efectivo de reproducción) recogidos durante este periodo y las calificaciones obtenidas a través de pruebas de conocimiento diseñadas ad-hoc revelan la existencia de una relación entre el empleo del material desarrollado y la mejora del rendimiento académico de los estudiantes.Este trabajo ha sido financiado a través del Plan de Innovación Educativa de la Universidad de Málaga (convocatoria 2017/2019) bajo la referencia PIE17-090.Arevalo, V.; Vicente-Del-Rey, J.; Garcia-Morales, I.; Rivas-Blanco, I. (2020). Minivídeos tutoriales como apoyo al aprendizaje de conceptos básicos para un curso de Fundamentos de Control Automático. Revista Iberoamericana de Automática e Informática industrial. 17(2):107-115. https://doi.org/10.4995/riai.2020.12156OJS10711517