Suppression of pulse splitting in two-core optical fibers with Kerr nonlinearity

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Modulation instabilities in two-core optical fibers

Modulation instability (MI) of cw states of a two-core fiber, incorporating the effects of coupling-coefficient dispersion (CCD), is studied by solving a pair of generalized, linearly coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations. CCD refers to the property that the coupling coefficient depends on the optical wavelength, and earlier studies of MI do not account for this physics. CCD does not seriously affect the symmetric/antisymmetric cw, but can drastically modify the MI of the asymmetric state. Generally, new MI frequency bands are produced, and CCD reduces (enhances) the original MI band in the anomalous (normal) dispersion regime. Another remarkable result is the existence of a critical value for the CCD, where the MI gain spectrum undergoes an abrupt change. In the anomalous dispersion regime, a new low-frequency MI band is generated. In the normal dispersion regime, an MI band vanishes, reappears, and then moves up in frequency on crossing this critical value. In both dispersion regimes, the relative magnitude of the low-frequency band and the high-frequency band depends strongly on the total input power.It is possibleto switch the dominantMI frequency between a low frequency and a high frequency by tuning the total input power, providing a promising scheme to manipulate MI-related nonlinear effects in two-core fibers. The MI bands are independent of the third-order dispersion, but can be shifted significantly by self-steepening at a sufficiently high total input power. The evolution of MI from a cw input is also demonstrated with a wave propagation study. © 2011 Optical Society of America.published_or_final_versio

Switching of ultrashort pulses in nonlinear high-birefringence two-core optical fibers

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Breathers and 'black' rogue waves of coupled nonlinear Schrödinger equations with dispersion and nonlinearity of opposite signs

Breathers and rogue waves of special coupled nonlinear Schrödinger systems (the Manakov equations) are studied analytically. These systems model the orthogonal polarization modes in an optical fiber with randomly varying birefringence. Studies earlier in the literature had shown that rogue waves can occur in these Manakov systems with dispersion and nonlinearity of opposite signs, and that the criterion for the existence of rogue waves correlates closely with the onset of modulation instability. In the present work the Hirota bilinear transform is employed to calculate the breathers (pulsating modes), and rogue waves are obtained as a long wave limit of such breathers. In terms of wave profiles, a ‘black’ rogue wave (intensity dropping to zero) and the transition to a four-petal configuration are elucidated analytically. Sufficiently strong modulation instabilities of the background may overwhelm or mask the development of the rogue waves, and such thresholds are correlated to actual physical properties of optical fibers. Numerical simulations on the evolution of breathers are performed to verify the prediction of the analytical formulations.postprin

Modulation instabilities in birefringent two-core optical fibers

Previous studies of the modulation instability (MI) of continuous waves (CWs) in a two-core fibre (TCF) did not consider effects caused by co-propagation of the two polarized modes in a TCF that possesses birefringence, such as cross-phase modulation (XPM), polarization-mode dispersion (PMD) and polarization-dependent coupling (PDC) between the cores. This paper reports an analysis of these effects on the MI by considering a linear-birefringence TCF and a circular-birefringence TCF, which feature different XPM coefficients. The analysis focuses on the MI of the asymmetric CW states in the TCFs, which have no counterparts in single-core fibres. We find that the asymmetric CW state exists when its total power exceeds a threshold (minimum) value, which is sensitive to the value of the XPM coefficient. We consider, in particular, a class of asymmetric CW states that admit analytical solutions. In the anomalous dispersion regime, without taking the PMD and PDC into account, the MI gain spectra of the birefringent TCF, if scaled by the threshold power, are almost identical to those of the zero-birefringence TCF. However, in the normal dispersion regime, the power-scaled MI gain spectra of the birefringent TCFs are distinctly different from their zero-birefringence counterparts, and the difference is particularly significant for the circular-birefringence TCF, which takes a larger XPM coefficient. On the other hand, the PMD and PDC only exert weak effects on the MI gain spectra. We also simulate the nonlinear evolution of the MI of the CW inputs in the TCFs and obtain good agreement with the analytical solutions.postprin

Two Chinese patients with Loeys-Dietz Syndrome due to TGFBR2 mutations

Poster Presentation (Doctor’s Session)This journal issue contain Proceedings of the CongressBACKGROUND: We previously reported 6 patients with Marfan-like phenotype due to transforming growth factor b-receptor 2 (TGFBR2) mutations (Am J Med Genet Part A 149A:1452-1459). Loeys-Dietz syndrome (LDS) is a recently described autosomal dominant connective tissue disorder characterized by facial dysmorphism, cleft palate, aortic dilatation, blood vessel tortuosity and a high risk of aortic dissection. It is caused by mutations in the TGFBR1 and 2 genes. Two of the 6 patients reported in 2009 were re-assessed and confirmed to have phenotypic features of ...postprin

A man with a blistering eruption and tuberculosis.

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Updated clinical recommendations for the use of tibolone in Asian women

Tibolone, which is indicated for the relief of climacteric symptoms and the prevention of osteoporosis in postmenopausal women, has a tissue-specific mode of action different to that of conventional hormone replacement therapy (HRT). A large proportion of Asian postmenopausal women experience symptoms that most frequently include musculoskeletal pain, insomnia, forgetfulness, hot flushes and sexual dysfunction, and there is a need to address their specific requirements. Recent studies show that, in comparison to HRT, tibolone is as effective in alleviating menopausal symptoms and preventing bone loss, has a greater positive effect on sexual dysfunction and is associated with less vaginal bleeding, but it is rarely mentioned in guidelines for menopausal treatment. Levels of awareness amongst women about treatments for menopausal symptoms vary between Asian countries but, even in countries where awareness is high, HRT usage is much lower than in the West. To provide a practical approach to the use of tibolone in Asian postmenopausal women, a panel of experts in the management of menopause from 11 Asia Pacific countries has developed recommendations for its use, based on the evidence from clinical studies published since 2005. However, as much of the clinical data reviewed are from international studies, the recommendations and the treatment algorithm presented here are widely applicable

Respiratory viral infections in exacerbation of chronic airway inflammatory diseases: novel mechanisms and insights from the upper airway epithelium.

Respiratory virus infection is one of the major sources of exacerbation of chronic airway inflammatory diseases. These exacerbations are associated with high morbidity and even mortality worldwide. The current understanding on viral-induced exacerbations is that viral infection increases airway inflammation which aggravates disease symptoms. Recent advances in in vitro air-liquid interface 3D cultures, organoid cultures and the use of novel human and animal challenge models have evoked new understandings as to the mechanisms of viral exacerbations. In this review, we will focus on recent novel findings that elucidate how respiratory viral infections alter the epithelial barrier in the airways, the upper airway microbial environment, epigenetic modifications including miRNA modulation, and other changes in immune responses throughout the upper and lower airways. First, we reviewed the prevalence of different respiratory viral infections in causing exacerbations in chronic airway inflammatory diseases. Subsequently we also summarized how recent models have expanded our appreciation of the mechanisms of viral-induced exacerbations. Further we highlighted the importance of the virome within the airway microbiome environment and its impact on subsequent bacterial infection. This review consolidates the understanding of viral induced exacerbation in chronic airway inflammatory diseases and indicates pathways that may be targeted for more effective management of chronic inflammatory diseases