Studies on Temperature and Strain Sensitivities of a Few-mode Critical Wavelength Fiber Optic Sensor

This paper studied the relationship between the temperature/strain wavelength sensitivity of a fiber optic in-line Mach-Zehnder Interferometer (MZI) sensor and the wavelength separation of the measured wavelength to the critical wavelength (CWL) in a CWL-existed interference spectrum formed by interference between LP01 and LP02 modes. The in-line MZI fiber optic sensor has been constructed by splicing a section of specially designed few-mode fiber (FMF), which support LP01 and LP02 modes propagating in the fiber, between two pieces of single mode fiber. The propagation constant difference, Δβ, between the LP01 and LP02 modes, changes non-monotonously with wavelength and reaches a maximum at the CWL. As a result, in sensor operation, peaks on the different sides of the CWL then shift in opposite directions, and the associated temperature/strain sensitivities increase significantly when the measured wavelength points become close to the CWL, from both sides of the CWL. A theoretical analysis carried out has predicted that with this specified FMF sensor approach, the temperature/strain wavelength sensitivities are governed by the wavelength difference between the measured wavelength and the CWL. This conclusion was seen to agree well with the experimental results obtained. Combining the wavelength shifts of the peaks and the CWL in the transmission spectrum of the SFS structure, this study has shown that this approach forms the basis of effective designs of high sensitivity sensors for multi-parameter detection and offering a large measurement range to satisfy the requirements needed for better industrial measurements

On the rooted Tutte polynomial

The Tutte polynomial is a generalization of the chromatic polynomial of graph colorings. Here we present an extension called the rooted Tutte polynomial, which is defined on a graph where one or more vertices are colored with prescribed colors. We establish a number of results pertaining to the rooted Tutte polynomial, including a duality relation in the case that all roots reside around a single face of a planar graph. The connection with the Potts model is also reviewed.Comment: plain latex, 14 pages, 2 figs., to appear in Annales de l'Institut Fourier (1999

Electrospinning of poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) nanofibres encapsulated with Ag nanoparticles for skin wound healing

Copyright © 2011 Chao Xu et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Skin wound healing is an urgent problem in clinics and military activities. Although significant advances have been made in its treatment, there are several challenges associated with traditional methods, for example, limited donor skin tissue for transplantation and inflammation during long-term healing time. To address these challenges, in this study we present a method to fabricate Poly(ethylene-co-vinyl alcohol) (EVOH) nanofibres encapsulated with Ag nanoparticle using electrospinning technique. The fibres were fabricated with controlled diameters (59nm-3m) by regulating three main parameters, that is, EVOH solution concentration, the electric voltage, and the distance between the injection needle tip (high-voltage point) and the fibre collector. Ag was added to the nanofibres to offer long-term anti-inflammation effect by slow release of Ag nanoparticles through gradual degradation of EVOH nanofibre. The method developed here could lead to new dressing materials for treatment of skin wounds. © 2011 Chao Xu et al.The work was partially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (nos. 10825210, 10872157, and 31050110125) and the National 111 Project of China (no. B06024)

Bulk Rotational Symmetry Breaking in Kondo Insulator SmB6

Kondo insulator samarium hexaboride (SmB6) has been intensely studied in recent years as a potential candidate of a strongly correlated topological insulator. One of the most exciting phenomena observed in SmB6 is the clear quantum oscillations appearing in magnetic torque at a low temperature despite the insulating behavior in resistance. These quantum oscillations show multiple frequencies and varied effective masses. The origin of quantum oscillation is, however, still under debate with evidence of both two-dimensional Fermi surfaces and three-dimensional Fermi surfaces. Here, we carry out angle-resolved torque magnetometry measurements in a magnetic field up to 45 T and a temperature range down to 40 mK. With the magnetic field rotated in the (010) plane, the quantum oscillation frequency of the strongest oscillation branch shows a four-fold rotational symmetry. However, in the angular dependence of the amplitude of the same branch, this four-fold symmetry is broken and, instead, a twofold symmetry shows up, which is consistent with the prediction of a two-dimensional Lifshitz-Kosevich model. No deviation of Lifshitz-Kosevich behavior is observed down to 40 mK. Our results suggest the existence of multiple light-mass surface states in SmB6, with their mobility significantly depending on the surface disorder level.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figure

A probabilistic model checking approach to analysing reliability, availability, and maintainability of a single satellite system

Satellites now form a core component for space based systems such as GPS and GLONAS which provide location and timing information for a variety of uses. Such satellites are designed to operate in-orbit and have lifetimes of 10 years or more. Reliability, availability and maintainability (RAM) analysis of these systems has been indispensable in the design phase of satellites in order to achieve minimum failures or to increase mean time between failures (MTBF) and thus to plan maintainability strategies, optimise reliability and maximise availability. In this paper, we present formal modelling of a single satellite and logical specification of its reliability, availability and maintainability properties. The probabilistic model checker PRISM has been used to perform automated quantitative analyses of these properties

Closed-form Absorption Probability of Certain D=5 and D=4 Black Holes and Leading-Order Cross-Section of Generic Extremal p-branes

We obtain the closed-form absorption probabilities for minimally-coupled massless scalars propagating in the background of D=5 single-charge and D=4 two-charge black holes. These are the only two examples of extremal black holes with non-vanishing absorption probabilities that can be solved in closed form for arbitrary incident frequencies. In both cases, the absorption probability vanishes when the frequency is below a certain threshold, and we discuss the connection between this phenomenon and the behaviour of geodesics in these black hole backgrounds. We also obtain leading-order absorption cross-sections for generic extremal p-branes, and show that the expression for the cross-section as a function of frequency coincides with the leading-order dependence of the entropy on the temperature in the corresponding near-extremal p-branes.Comment: Latex (3 times), 20 page

Antrodia cinnamomea reduces obesity and modulates the gut microbiota in high-fat diet-fed mice.

BackgroundObesity is associated with gut microbiota dysbiosis, disrupted intestinal barrier and chronic inflammation. Given the high and increasing prevalence of obesity worldwide, anti-obesity treatments that are safe, effective and widely available would be beneficial. We examined whether the medicinal mushroom Antrodia cinnamomea may reduce obesity in mice fed with a high-fat diet (HFD).MethodsMale C57BL/6J mice were fed a HFD for 8 weeks to induce obesity and chronic inflammation. The mice were treated with a water extract of A. cinnamomea (WEAC), and body weight, fat accumulation, inflammation markers, insulin sensitivity and the gut microbiota were monitored.ResultsAfter 8 weeks, the mean body weight of HFD-fed mice was 39.8±1.2 g compared with 35.8±1.3 g for the HFD+1% WEAC group, corresponding to a reduction of 4 g or 10% of body weight (P<0.0001). WEAC supplementation reduced fat accumulation and serum triglycerides in a statistically significant manner in HFD-fed mice. WEAC also reversed the effects of HFD on inflammation markers (interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α), insulin resistance and adipokine production (leptin and adiponectin). Notably, WEAC increased the expression of intestinal tight junctions (zonula occludens-1 and occludin) and antimicrobial proteins (Reg3g and lysozyme C) in the small intestine, leading to reduced blood endotoxemia. Finally, WEAC modulated the composition of the gut microbiota, reducing the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio and increasing the level of Akkermansia muciniphila and other bacterial species associated with anti-inflammatory properties.ConclusionsSupplementation with A. cinnamomea produces anti-obesogenic, anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effects in HFD-fed mice by maintaining intestinal integrity and modulating the gut microbiota