Efficient characterizations of multiphoton states with an ultra-thin optical device.

Metasurface enables the generation and manipulation of multiphoton entanglement with flat optics, providing a more efficient platform for large-scale photonic quantum information processing. Here, we show that a single metasurface optical device would allow more efficient characterizations of multiphoton entangled states, such as shadow tomography, which generally requires fast and complicated control of optical setups to perform information-complete measurements, a demanding task using conventional optics. The compact and stable device here allows implementations of general positive operator valued measures with a reduced sample complexity and significantly alleviates the experimental complexity to implement shadow tomography.

Recognizing the variation of DNA-P during and after the algal bloom in lake Hulun.

Eutrophication has spread from shallow lakes in temperature zones to lakes in cold regions as a result of a continuous warm climate and human activities. Little proof for the importance of dissolved organic phosphorus (DOP) in contributing to phosphorus cycling and algae growth has been generated for aquatic ecosystems, particularly in cold eutrophic lakes. In this study, a comprehensive in situ study was conducted in overlying water, suspended particulate matter, and sediment during and after algal bloom (in July and September, respectively) in Lake Hulun.

Response of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and microbial community to submerged macrophytes restoration in lakes: A review.

Microorganisms play a crucial role in the biogeochemical processes of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM), and the properties of DOM also significantly influence changes in microbial community characteristics. This interdependent relationship is vital for the flow of matter and energy within aquatic ecosystems. The presence, growth state, and community characteristics of submerged macrophytes determine the susceptibility of lakes to eutrophication, and restoring a healthy submerged macrophyte community is an effective way to address this issue.

Improved P NMR analysis of phosphorus in highly mineralized lake water using a modified pretreatment procedure with H resin.

P Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (P NMR) is an important analytical tool for identifying and quantifying phosphorus-based compounds in aquatic environments. However, the precipitation method typically used for analyzing phosphorus species via P NMR has limited application. To expand the scope of the method and apply it to highly mineralized rivers and lakes worldwide, we present an optimization technique that employs H resin to assist phosphorus (P) enrichment in highly mineralized lake water.

Experimental demonstration of optical trapping and manipulation with multifunctional metasurface.

Chip-scale optical tweezers, which are usually implemented in a planar format without using bulky diffractive optical elements, are recognized as a promising candidate to be integrated with a lab-on-a-chip system. However, traditional chip-scale optical tweezers are often static and allow for only one type of manipulation functionality since the geometrical parameters of the tweezers are fixed. Herein, we introduce a new, to the best of our knowledge, class of on-chip optical tweezers for diverse types of manipulation of micro-particles.

Compact 2D serpentine optical phased array.

We present a two-dimensional (2D) Si photonics optical phased array (OPA) using a serpentine design which eliminates the long directional couplers used in many 2D OPA designs. It significantly reduces the distance between the antenna benefitting far-field sidelobe reduction while maintaining high optical power use efficiency.

Tailoring PTV expansion to improve the dosimetry of post modified radical mastectomy intensity-modulated radiotherapy for left-sided breast cancer patients by using 4D CT combined with cone beam CT.

Purpose: Our study aimed to improve the dosimetry of post modified radical mastectomy intensity-modulated radiotherapy (PMRM-IMRT) for left-sided breast cancer patients by tailoring and minimizing PTV expansion three-dimensionally utilizing 4D CT combined with on-board cone beam CT (CBCT).

Methods: We enrolled a total of 10 consecutive left-sided breast cancer patients to undergo PMRM-IMRT. We measured the intra-fractional CTV displacement attributed to respiratory movement by defining 9 points on the left chest wall and quantifying their displacement by using the 4D CT, and measured the inter-fractional CTV displacement resulting from the integrated effect of respiratory movement, thoracic deformation and set up errors by using CBCT.

Preparation of biochar as a coating material for biochar-coated urea.

Biochar was used as a coating material for slow release urea. However, influence of biochar performance on preparing biochar-coated urea (BCU) and nitrogen release characteristics is rarely reported. In this study, total of 24 biochars were prepared and characterized from six biomass residues (rice straw, chicken manure, vinasse, Phyllostachys pubescens, Arundo donax and sugarcane bagasse) at four pyrolysis temperatures (400-700 °C).

Mid-infrared dual-comb generation via the cross-phase modulation effect in a normal-dispersion microcavity.

We numerically demonstrate orthogonally polarized dual-comb generation in a single microcavity with normal dispersion assisted by the cross-phase modulation (XPM) effect. It is found that the XPM effect facilitates the emission of a secondary polarized comb with different temporal properties in a wide existence range covering the blue- to red-detuned regime and thus releases the requirements for delicate control on the detuned region of pump frequency. Also, the energy transfer between two polarization components together with the normal-dispersion property contributes to a more balanced intensity difference and significantly increased conversion efficiency from the pump light into the comb operation.

Impact of third-order dispersion and three-photon absorption on mid-infrared time magnification via four-wave mixing in SiGe waveguides.

We investigate the influence of third-order dispersion of dispersive elements, three-photon absorption and free-carrier effects on mid-infrared time magnification via four-wave mixing (FWM) in ${{\rm Si}_{0.8}}{{\rm Ge}_{0.2}}$SiGe waveguides.

Sulfur controlled cadmium dissolution in pore water of cadmium-contaminated soil as affected by DOC under waterlogging.

Cadmium (Cd) precipitation and dissolution in pore water is associated with dissolved organic carbon (DOC)-induced reduction-oxidation of sulfur (S) under waterlogging and is vital for controlling the bioavailability in paddy soil. A 120-day soil incubation experiment, including application of sulfur (S, 30 mg kg) and wheat straw (W, 1.0%) alone or in combination (W + S) into Cd-contaminated paddy soil under waterlogging, was conducted to investigate the dynamic of dissolved Cd and its relationship with DOC, S, Fe, pH, Eh and pe + pH in soil pore water.

Water-soluble mercury induced by organic amendments affected microbial community assemblage in mercury-polluted paddy soil.

Mercury (Hg) pollution or organic amendments (OA) may individually induce changes in the microbial community of paddy soils. However, little is known regarding the interaction of Hg and OA and the effect of different OA applications on the microbial community assemblage in Hg-polluted paddy soil. A soil incubation experiment was performed by applying three organic amendments (OA), namely a food-waste compost (FC), and its HA and FA, into an Hg-polluted paddy soil to examine the changes in the microbial community and merA/merB gene abundance.

Phosphorus Leaching from Soil Profiles in Agricultural and Forest Lands Measured by a Cascade Extraction Method.

The risk of P leaching from topsoil based on the change-point estimated via a split-line model between Olsen P and leachable P extracted by 0.01 M CaCl has been reported. However, little information is available for the assessment of P leaching from soil profiles.

Organic amendments affect dissolved organic matter composition and mercury dissolution in pore waters of mercury-polluted paddy soil.

Organic amendments (OA) have been applied in many mercury (Hg)-polluted paddy soils to meet increasing food demands with scarce land resources. However, little is known on the effects of different OAs on Hg dissolution and the composition of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in soil pore waters, both of which may be associated with Hg mobility. Consequently, DOM composition and Hg release levels were investigated in soil pore waters after applying food waste compost (FC), fulvic acids (FA) and humic acids (HA) to Hg-polluted paddy soils.

Optimization of pollutant reduction system for controlling agricultural non-point-source pollution based on grey relational analysis combined with analytic hierarchy process.

Many technologies have been developed to control agricultural non-point-source pollution (ANPSP). However, most reduce pollution from only a single source instead of considering an entire region with multiple pollution sources as a control unit. A pollutant reduction system for controlling ANPSP at a regional scale could be built by integrating technologies and the reuse of treated wastewater (TWR) and nutrients (NR) to protect the environment and achieve agricultural sustainability.

Organic Carbon Sequestration in Soil Humic Substances As Affected by Application of Different Nitrogen Fertilizers in a Vegetable-Rotation Cropping System.

Little is known on the effect of application of different nitrogen (N) fertilizers on soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration in soil humic substances (HS). We investigated HS molecular characteristics in an Orthic Acrisol, southwestern China, under 2-year field fertilization of a urea (U), a polymer-coated urea (PCU) and a biochar-coated urea (BCU) using C-CPMAS-NMR spectroscopy. Results showed that N fertilization promoted SOC sequestration into HS and favored alkyl-C and aromatic-C rather than O-alkyl-C and carbonyl-C for humic acids and humin in soil.

Low-threshold optical bistability in field-enhanced nonlinear guided-mode resonance grating nanostructure.

We have numerically studied the optical bistability in guided-mode resonance-assisted nonlinear grating nanostructure. A low-index slot is introduced to significantly improve the confinement of light in nonlinear material. In this way, the proposed novel configuration possesses low-threshold optical switching intensity (∼3  MW/cm), which is about 58 times lower than that of typical nonlinear grating nanostructure without the low-index slot.

Influences of high-order dispersion on temporal and spectral properties of microcavity solitons.

We theoretically and numerically investigate the effects of high-order dispersion (HOD) on microcavity solitons, both in time and frequency domain with an extended normalized Lugiato-Lefever equation (LLE). The observed temporal drift of bright and dark solitons is shown to originate from high-odd-order dispersion, while the sign determines the direction of soliton movement and the amplitude decides the drift speed. HOD can also be introduced to stabilize the breathing bright and dark cavity solitons.

Robust soliton crystals in a thermally controlled microresonator.

We demonstrate robust soliton crystals generation with a fixed frequency pump laser through a thermoelectric-cooler-based thermal-tuning approach in a butterfly-packaged complementary-metal-oxide-semiconductor-compatible microresonator. Varieties of soliton crystal states, exhibiting "palm-like" optical spectra that result from the strong interactions between the dense soliton ensembles and reflect their temporal distribution directly, are experimentally observed by sweeping one cavity resonance across the pump frequency from the blue-detuned side by reducing the operating temperature of the resonator. Benefitting from the tiny intra-cavity energy change, repeatable interconversion between the chaotic modulation instability and stable soliton crystal states can be successfully achieved via simple tuning of the temperature or pump power, showing the easy accessibility and excellent stability of such soliton crystals.

Broadband self-collimating phenomenon in a low-loss hybrid plasmonic photonic crystal.

A 2D planar self-collimating photonic crystal, based on a dielectric square lattice and a hexagonal lattice, is proposed. We demonstrate that the proposed structure can support the propagation of a hybrid surface plasmon polarition (SPP) mode with a loss of -0.017  dB/μm, and the mode size is only 0.

Dual-pump Kerr Micro-cavity Optical Frequency Comb with varying FSR spacing.

In this paper, we demonstrate a novel dual-pump approach to generate robust optical frequency comb with varying free spectral range (FSR) spacing in a CMOS-compatible high-Q micro-ring resonator (MRR). The frequency spacing of the comb can be tuned by an integer number FSR of the MRR freely in our dual-pump scheme. The dual pumps are self-oscillated in the laser cavity loop and their wavelengths can be tuned flexibly by programming the tunable filter embedded in the cavity.

MiR-205 functions as a tumor suppressor via targeting TGF-α in osteosarcoma.

Osteosarcoma (OS) is the most common primary bone cancer, and it is most prevalent in children and young adults. The prognosis of OS remains poor, and survival of OS reached a plateau. The discovery of microRNAs (miRNAs) provides a new possibility for the early diagnosis and treatment of OS.

Giant and tunable electric field enhancement in the terahertz regime.

A novel array of slits design combining the nano-slit grating and dielectric-metal is proposed to obtain giant and tunable electric field enhancement in the terahertz regime. The maximum amplitude of electric field is more than 6000 times larger than that of the incident electric field. It is found that the enhancement depends primarily on the stripe and nano-slits width of grating, as well as the thickness of spacer layer.

Electrically tunable graphene plasmonic quasicrystal metasurfaces for transformation optics.

The past few years have witnessed tremendous achievements of transformation optics applied to metallic plasmonic systems. Due to the poor tunability of metals, however, the ultimate control over surface plasmons remains a challenge. Here we propose a new type of graphene plasmonic (GP) metasurfaces by shaping the dielectrics underneath monolayer graphene into specific photonic crystals.

Graphene plasmonic lens for manipulating energy flow.

Manipulating the energy flow of light is at the heart of modern information and communication technologies. Because photons are uncharged, it is still difficult to effectively control them by electrical means. Here, we propose a graphene plasmonic (GP) lens to efficiently manipulate energy flow by elaborately designing the thickness of the dielectric spacer beneath the graphene sheet.