High-harmonic generation by resonant plasmon field enhancement

High-harmonic generation by focusing a femtosecond laser onto a gas is a well-known method of producing coherent extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) light. This nonlinear conversion process requires high pulse intensities, greater than 10(13) W cm(-2), which are not directly attainable using only the output power of a femtosecond oscillator. Chirped-pulse amplification enables the pulse intensity to exceed this threshold by incorporating several regenerative and/or multi-pass amplifier cavities in tandem. Intracavity pulse amplification (designed not to reduce the pulse repetition rate) also requires a long cavity. Here we demonstrate a method of high-harmonic generation that requires no extra cavities. This is achieved by exploiting the local field enhancement induced by resonant plasmons within a metallic nanostructure consisting of bow-tie-shaped gold elements on a sapphire substrate. In our experiment, the output beam emitted from a modest femtosecond oscillator (100-kW peak power, 1.3-nJ pulse energy and 10-fs pulse duration) is directly focused onto the nanostructure with a pulse intensity of only 10(11) W cm(-2). The enhancement factor exceeds 20 dB, which is sufficient to produce EUV wavelengths down to 47 nm by injection with an argon gas jet. The method could form the basis for constructing laptop-sized EUV light sources for advanced lithography and high-resolution imaging applications.     

内蒙古锡林浩特白音敖包1838年以来树轮降水记录

相关函数分析表明, 生长季当年4 ~ 7月上旬的降水总量对内蒙古锡林浩特白音敖包地区的红皮云杉(Picea Koraiensis)宽度的形成具有显著的制约作用, 在此基础上, 设计转换方程, 对这一地区过去160余年以来4 ~ 7月上旬的降水总量进行模拟重建, 重建序列的解释方差达到49.3%(调整自由度后为45.7%, N = 31, r = 0.702, F=13.608, p < 0.0001). 重建序列表现出3个降水较多时期: 1869~1875, 1886 ~ 1921和1943 ~ 1968年; 4个降水较少时期: 1851~1868, 1876~1885, 1922~1943和1969~1999年. 降水较多的1886~1921和1943~1968年以及降水较少的1922~1943年时期与祁连山地区的湿期和干期几乎同时出现, 而1922~1943年的干期和1943~1968年的湿期, 与我国西北、华北和长江流域20世纪20年代的升温少雨和40年代以后的降温多雨非常吻合. 计算表明, 重建序列与旱涝等级序列显著相关(r = -0.234, p < 0.007, N ₁ = 143). 子波分析表明, 1838 ~ 1920年期间, 白音敖包地区4 ~ 7月上旬的降水主要存在22年的周期, 1920 ~ 1952年主要表现为11年的周期. 1953年之后, 周期成分比较复杂, 未检测到信度达95%的周期成分. 1920年代该地区4~7月上旬降水由多向少出现快速转变, 1950年代以后降水持续减少. 20世纪90年代后期, 降水增加的趋势十分明显.     

成组叶片振动特性的三维数值模拟及实验研究

采用三维8节点非协调单元，建立了成组叶片振动特性计算的三维有限元模型。该模型考虑到成组叶片位移约束的周期对称性，引入了斜边界条件和斜坐标系统来处理成组或整圈叶片的约束条件，从而可以准确地计算出三维复杂形状叶片组在动、静状态下的固有频率和振型。利用该方法对实例进行了计算，同时又在高速动平衡实验室进行了实验验证。计算结果和实验结果对比表明，用该方法计算的叶片振动特性精度较高，为计算复杂几何形状叶片组的振动特性提供了一种有效的手段。     

Mechanical, deformation and fracture behaviors of bulk metallic glass composites reinforced by spherical B2 particles

Ti_(45)Cu_(40)Ni_7Zr_5Sn_(2.5)Si_(0.5) alloys were prepared under various cooling rate conditions during solidification.The alloys exhibited different volume fractions of B2 particles with 0～40 vol%in an amorphous matrix.Monolithic bulk metallic glass of 1 mm diameter showed no macroscopic plasticity and exhibited the typical vein patterns in a maximum shear stress plane on the fracture surface.However,a bulk metallic glass composite containing the B2 particles revealed obvious plasticity(～5.6%)with a remarkable work-hardening behavior that resulted from a stress-induced martensitic transformation of the B2 particles.Moreover,the composite displayed the complicated fracture morphologies containing of three types of fracture features.Through detailed investigations on the microstructural evolution,mechanical,deformation and fracture characteristics,the influence of B2 particle on overall behavior of the TiCu-based bulk metallic glass composites was elucidated.     

Effect of natural iron fertilization on carbon sequestration in the Southern Ocean

The availability of iron limits primary productivity and the associated uptake of carbon over large areas of the ocean. Iron thus plays an important role in the carbon cycle, and changes in its supply to the surface ocean may have had a significant effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations over glacial-interglacial cycles. To date, the role of iron in carbon cycling has largely been assessed using short-term iron-addition experiments. It is difficult, however, to reliably assess the magnitude of carbon export to the ocean interior using such methods, and the short observational periods preclude extrapolation of the results to longer timescales. Here we report observations of a phytoplankton bloom induced by natural iron fertilization--an approach that offers the opportunity to overcome some of the limitations of short-term experiments. We found that a large phytoplankton bloom over the Kerguelen plateau in the Southern Ocean was sustained by the supply of iron and major nutrients to surface waters from iron-rich deep water below. The efficiency of fertilization, defined as the ratio of the carbon export to the amount of iron supplied, was at least ten times higher than previous estimates from short-term blooms induced by iron-addition experiments. This result sheds new light on the effect of long-term fertilization by iron and macronutrients on carbon sequestration, suggesting that changes in iron supply from below--as invoked in some palaeoclimatic and future climate change scenarios--may have a more significant effect on atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations than previously thought.     

Generation of single optical plasmons in metallic nanowires coupled to quantum dots

Control over the interaction between single photons and individual optical emitters is an outstanding problem in quantum science and engineering. It is of interest for ultimate control over light quanta, as well as for potential applications such as efficient photon collection, single-photon switching and transistors, and long-range optical coupling of quantum bits. Recently, substantial advances have been made towards these goals, based on modifying photon fields around an emitter using high-finesse optical cavities. Here we demonstrate a cavity-free, broadband approach for engineering photon-emitter interactions via subwavelength confinement of optical fields near metallic nanostructures. When a single CdSe quantum dot is optically excited in close proximity to a silver nanowire, emission from the quantum dot couples directly to guided surface plasmons in the nanowire, causing the wire's ends to light up. Non-classical photon correlations between the emission from the quantum dot and the ends of the nanowire demonstrate that the latter stems from the generation of single, quantized plasmons. Results from a large number of devices show that efficient coupling is accompanied by more than 2.5-fold enhancement of the quantum dot spontaneous emission, in good agreement with theoretical predictions.     

Development of a hybrid scaffold and a bioreactor for cartilage regeneration

We developed a hybrid scaffold and a bioreactor for cartilage regeneration. The hybrid scaffold was developed as combination of two components： a biodegradable framework and hydrogel-containing chondrocytes. We performed the MTT cell proliferation assay to compare the proliferation and viability of chondrocytes on three types of scaffolds： an aiginate gel, the hybrid scaffold, and an alginate sponge. Cells were encapsulated in 2% agarose gel. The bioreactor consisted of a circulation system and a compression system. We performed dynamic cell culture on these agarose gels in the bioreactor for 3 days.     

Design of child＇ s safety management system based on ontology using context information of home network

This paper presents a system to alert of dangerous a child situation of a child by applying context information collected from a home network to ontology that is capable of inference. Radio frequency Identification （RFID） and sensors were used for the configuration of a home network, to obtain the raw data to convert into context information. To express the ontology, web ontology language （OWL） was used to provide the inference of context information. Then, simple object access protocol （SOAP） messages were used to notify of the dangerous situations that a child may be involved in via mobile devices. The proposed system consists of Context Manager, Service Manager, and Notification Manager. The child＇s safety management system can proactively detect the context data of a child on the basis of context awareness. In the experiment, the Jena 2.0 by ontology reasoner and the OSGi（Open Service Gateway initiative） Gateway developed using open source software Knopflerfish 1.3.3 were used to implement the service frame work.     

Protein O-GlcNAcylation regulates Drosophila growth through the insulin signaling pathway

Modification of nuclear and cytosolic proteins by O-linked N-acetylglucosamine (O-GlcNAcylation) is ubiquitous in cells. The in vivo function of the protein O-GlcNAcylation, however, is not well understood. Here, we manipulated the cellular O-GlcNAcylation level in Drosophila and found that it promotes developmental growth by enhancing insulin signaling. This increase in growth is due mainly to cell growth and not to cell proliferation. Our data suggest that the increase in the insulin signaling activity is mediated, at least in part, through O-GlcNAcylation of Akt. These results indicate that O-GlcNAcylation is one of the crucial mechanisms involved in control of insulin signaling during Drosophila development.