Black phosphorus integrated tilted fiber grating for ultrasensitive heavy metal sensing

We propose an integrated black phosphorus (BP)-tilted fiber grating (TFG) configuration as an enhanced light-matter interaction platform for heavy metal chemical sensing. We synthesized BP nanosheets by using a liquid-phase exfoliation method and developed an in-situ layer-by-layer (i-LbL) technique for BP nanosheets deposition. These approaches secured high-quality BP coating on specific fiber cylindrical surface with strong adhesion as well as a prospective thickness control. By taking advantage of i-LbL deposition, the unique optical tunable features including coating thickness-dependent polarization and polarization- selective coupling have been experimentally observed. Furthermore, the BP-TFG was exploited as the first BP-fiber optic chemical sensor for heavy metal Pb2+ ions detection, demonstrating significant performance of ultrahigh sensitivity up to 0.5 × 10−3 dB/ppb, much lower limit of detection down to 0.25 ppb, and extremely wide concentration range from 0.1 ppb to 1.5 × 107 ppb. We believe that this BP-fiber optic architecture opens the path as an optical platform for superior chemical sensing and biomedical applications

Quantum State Reconstruction of Many Body System Based on Complete Set of Quantum Correlations Reduced by Symmetry

We propose and study a universal approach for the reconstruction of quantum states of many body systems from symmetry analysis. The concept of minimal complete set of quantum correlation functions (MCSQCF) is introduced to describe the state reconstruction. As an experimentally feasible physical object, the MCSQCF is mathematically defined through the minimal complete subspace of observables determined by the symmetry of quantum states under consideration. An example with broken symmetry is analyzed in detail to illustrate the idea.Comment: 10 pages, n figures, Revte

Simulation of reference crop evapotransiration in a plastic solar green house using a simplified energy balance approach

Proceedings of International conference on Agricultural and Biological Sciences (ABS 2015) held in Beijing, China on July 25-27, 2015With larger planting areas being used in greenhouses, evaluating crop evapotranspiration in a greenhouse has garnered greater attention. Currently, calculating the reference crop evapotranspiration for a greenhouse crop through using the Penman-Monteith formula recommended by FAO is difficult because the wind speed in a greenhouse is approximate zero. In order to calculate reference crop evapotranspiration in a greenhouse by the Penman-Monteith modified formula, a simplified model for calculating reference crop evapotranspiration in a greenhouse was proposed based on the energy balance equation, which was the correlative function between reference crop evapotranspiration and radiation and temperature. The model's parameters were obtained through meteorological data taken from the inside of a greenhouse in 2011. Then, the model was validated by using meteorological data within the greenhouse in 2012, and the fitted value of the model agreed with the calculated value of the formulas with a determination coefficient (R2) of 0.9554. This model is an easy means of calculating the reference crop evapotranspiration in a greenhouse because less meteorological factors are needed. Furthermore, the model provides a theoretical basis for crop irrigation in greenhouses

Electronic structure and dynamics of optically excited single-wall carbon nanotubes

We have studied the electronic structure and charge-carrier dynamics of individual single-wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and nanotube ropes using optical and electron-spectroscopic techniques. The electronic structure of semiconducting SWNTs in the band-gap region is analyzed using near-infrared absorption spectroscopy. A semi-empirical expression for $E_{11}^{\rm S}$ transition energies, based on tight-binding calculations is found to give striking agreement with experimental data. Time-resolved PL from dispersed SWNT-micelles shows a decay with a time constant of about 15 ps. Using time-resolved photoemission we also find that the electron-phonon ({\it e-ph}) coupling in metallic tubes is characterized by a very small {\it e-ph} mass-enhancement of 0.0004. Ultrafast electron-electron scattering of photo-excited carriers in nanotube ropes is finally found to lead to internal thermalization of the electronic system within about 200 fs.Comment: 10 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Applied Physics

Phonon thermal conductivity in doped La2CuO4\rm\bf La_2CuO_4: Relevant scattering mechanisms

Results of in-plane and out-of-plane thermal conductivity measurements on $\rm La_{1.8-x}Eu_{0.2}Sr_xCuO_4$ ($0\leq x\leq0.2$) single crystals are presented. The most characteristic features of the temperature dependence are a pronounced phonon peak at low temperatures and a steplike anomaly at $T_{LT}$, i.e., at the transition to the low temperature tetragonal phase (LTT-phase), which gradually decrease with increasing Sr-content. Comparison of these findings with the thermal conductivity of $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ and $\rm La_2NiO_4$ clearly reveals that in $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$ the most effective mechanism for phonon scattering is impurity-scattering (dopants), as well as scattering by soft phonons that are associated with the lattice instability in the low temperature orthorhombic phase (LTO-phase). There is no evidence that stripe correlations play a major role in suppressing the phonon peak in the thermal conductivity of $\rm La_{2-x}Sr_xCuO_4$.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Effects of different probiotics on the gut microbiome and metabolites in the serum and caecum of weaning piglets

The objective of the study was to determine the effects of antibiotics, yeast culture (YC), and Lactobacillus culture (LC) on the gut microbiome and metabolites in the serum and caecum of weaning piglets. Twenty-four weaning piglets were divided into four treatment groups: control, antibiotic (1% chlortetracycline), 1.8% yeast culture (YC), and 1.6% Lactobacillus culture groups (LC). Each group had six replicated pens with one pig per pen. Feed and water were available ad libitum. Dietary supplementation with antibiotics, YC and LC increased the abundance of phylum, Firmicutes, and decreased the abundance of phylum, Proteobacteria. Beneficial bacteria such as Lactobacillus and Megasphaera in YC and LC groups increased, whereas the proportion of Shigella was decreased. Genera Alloprevotella and Lachnospira were biomarkers in the control and antibiotic groups, respectively. Phylum, Bacteroidetes, and genus, Collinsella, were biomarkers in the YC group, and Mitsuokella, Anaerotruncus, Syntrophococcus and Sharpea were biomarkers in the LC group. Dietary supplementation with different probiotics changed the serum and caecum metabolite profiles too. Antibiotic supplementation increased the levels of D-mannose, D-glucose, and hexadecanoic acid in the serum, and the levels of myo-inositol, D-mannose and benzenepropanoic acid in the caecum. LC increased the concentrations of D-mannose, cis-9-hexadecenoic acid and heptadecanoic acid in caecum compared with the control group. YC and LC supplementation in the weaning diet could improve the abundance of beneficial bacteria by changing the concentrations of some metabolites in the serum and caecum. Therefore, dietary supplementation with YC or LC could be used as additives instead of antibiotics in weaning piglets.Keywords: antibiotic; lactobacillus culture; yeast culture; high-throughput sequencing; gas chromatography mass spectrometr

Optimisation and thermo-mechanical analysis of a coated steam dual pipe system for use in advanced ultra-supercritical power plant

Improving the energy efficiency of power plants by increasing steam operating temperature up to 700 °C can be achieved using novel engineering design concepts such as coated steam pipe systems. This paper presents an optimised design for a novel coated dual pipe system to be used in advanced ultra-supercritical power plant. The approach developed in this study uses a combination of an optimisation algorithm and FE simulation, based on the reduction of the hoop stress at top coat/bond coat interface generated by the thermal and mechanical stresses. This allows determination of the optimum dimensions and material properties of the system. A unified viscoplastic model which combines a power flow rule with non-linear anisothermal evolution of isotropic and kinematic hardening has been used for the thermo-mechanical analysis of the coated dual pipe system under the cyclic loading. The results of the optimisation show that the value of the hoop stress at the top coat/bond coat interface is reduced significantly, compared with that in the baseline model. Finally, the potential technical challenges and future works for the proposed steam dual pipe system are discussed