Comparison of discharge characteristics and methylene blue degradation through a direct-current excited plasma jet with air and oxygen used as working gases

Through using a direct-current driven plasma jet operated underwater,degradation of methylene blue(MB)is investigated with air and oxygen used as working gases.With a low power voltage,a plasma plume extends from the needle electrode,which is purple in air.It turns pink after it bridges the two electrodes.During the process,oxygen plasma remains white.Discharge operates in a pulsed mode or a continuous one,which depends on the magnitude of power voltage.For the pulsed mode,oxygen discharge has a shorter plume and a higher pulse frequency than air discharge under the same power voltage.For the same current of the continuous mode,both power and gap voltages of oxygen discharge are higher than those of air discharge.Moreover,MB degradation efficiency increases with increasing power voltage or initial concentration of MB solution.Compared with air discharge,oxygen discharge has a higher degradation efficiency with the same power voltage and treatment time.The pulsed oxygen discharge with power voltage of about 6.5 k V has the highest efficiency in degrading MB dye,reaching approximately 85.8%after 10 min treatment.As a comparison,after 10 min treatment in air discharge,the highest degradation efficiency is 63.7%,which appears in the continuous mode at a power voltage of 10.6 kV.Besides,optical spectra from the discharges are also compared for the two types of working gases.

A Ka-band Solid-state Transmitter Cloud Radar and Data Merging Algorithm for Its Measurements

This study concerns a Ka-band solid-state transmitter cloud radar, made in China, which can operate in three different work modes, with different pulse widths, and coherent and incoherent integration numbers, to meet the requirements for cloud remote sensing over the Tibetan Plateau. Specifically, the design of the three operational modes of the radar（i.e., boundary mode M1, cirrus mode M2, and precipitation mode M3） is introduced. Also, a cloud radar data merging algorithm for the three modes is proposed. Using one month＇s continuous measurements during summertime at Naqu on the Tibetan Plateau,we analyzed the consistency between the cloud radar measurements of the three modes. The number of occurrences of radar detections of hydrometeors and the percentage contributions of the different modes＇ data to the merged data were estimated.The performance of the merging algorithm was evaluated. The results indicated that the minimum detectable reflectivity for each mode was consistent with theoretical results. Merged data provided measurements with a minimum reflectivity of -35 dBZ at the height of 5 km, and obtained information above the height of 0.2 km. Measurements of radial velocity by the three operational modes agreed very well, and systematic errors in measurements of reflectivity were less than 2 dB. However,large discrepancies existed in the measurements of the linear depolarization ratio taken from the different operational modes.The percentage of radar detections of hydrometeors in mid- and high-level clouds increased by 60% through application of pulse compression techniques. In conclusion, the merged data are appropriate for cloud and precipitation studies over the Tibetan Plateau.

Laser diode end-pumped Nd:YVO_4 regenerative amplifier for picosecond pulses

A diode dual-end-pumped Nd：YVO4 regenerative amplifier is reported. The influence of the cavity stability on the performance of the regenerative amplifier is studied. The experimental results match well with the analysis at high pump power. The mode locking seed pulses with 15 ps pulse width and 10 nJ single pulse energy at 86 MHz are amplified up to 4.7 mJ at 1 kHz, corresponding to the maximum amplification about 0.5 x 106, by our regenerative amplifier. And an average power of 4.7 W is obtained at the repetition rate from 1 kHz to 10 kHz.

Electrochemical Study of Cadmium (Ⅱ) Complexation with Cysteine

The complexation of Cd with cysteine has been investigated at pH ~9, and in constant ionic medium 0.59 M NaNO3 and borate buffer. Reduction signals of the hydrated Cd2+ and Cd-cysteinate complex were resolved on the potential scale during amperometric titration of 2 × 10-6 M Cd2+ with cysteine and cysteine with Cd2+, in a differential pulse (DP) mode on HMDE. The 1:1 molar ratio of Cd2+ to cysteine, and cysteine to Cd2+, was defined for Cd-cysteinate complex formed under the defined conditions. The appearance of the prepeak on the Cd-cysteinate reduction signal is showed, as the result of cysteine adsorption in reduced form. From the mass balance equations, the stoichiometric stability constants of Cd-cysteinate complex were calculated. Under various experimental conditions, comparable log K values were obtained. The grand average log K = 7.83 M-1 refers to 0.59 M ionic strength and 23℃.

Alzheimer's disease with depressive symptoms: Clinical effect of intermittent theta burst stimulation repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation

BACKGROUND Alzheimer's disease(AD),characterized by the ongoing deterioration of neural function,often presents alongside depressive features and greatly affects the quality of life of individuals living with the condition.Although several treatment methods exist,their efficacy is limited.In recent years,repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS)utilizing the theta burst stimulation(TBS)mode,specifically the intermittent TBS(iTBS),has demonstrated promising therapeutic potential in the management of neuropsychiatric disorders.AIM To examine the therapeutic efficacy of iTBS mode of rTMS for treating depressive symptoms in patients with AD.METHODS This retrospective study enrolled 105 individuals diagnosed with AD with depressive symptoms at Huzhou Third Municipal Hospital,affiliated with Huzhou University,between January 2020 and December 2023.Participants received standard pharmacological interventions and were categorized into control(n=53)and observation(n=52)groups based on treatment protocols.The observation group received iTBS mode of rTMS,while the control group received pseudo-stimulation.A comparative analysis evaluated psychological well-being,adverse events,and therapeutic at initiation of hospitalization(T0)and 15 days post-treatment(T1).RESULTS At T1,both groups exhibited a marked reduction in self-rating depression scale and Hamilton depression scale scores compared to T0.Furthermore,the observa-tion group showed a more pronounced decrease than the control group.By T1,the Mini-mental state examination scores for both groups had increased markedly from their initial T0 assessments.Importantly,the increase was particularly more substantial in the observation group than in the control group.Fourteen patients in the control group had ineffective treatment effects,while five patients in the observation group experienced the same.Additionally,the observation group experienced a substantially reduced incidence of ineffective treatment as compared to the control group(both P<0.05);there were no recorded serious adverse events in either group.CONCLUSION The iTBS model of rTMS effectively treated AD with depression,improving depressive symptoms and cognitive function in patients without serious adverse reactions,warranting clinical consideration.

Sharp photonic Crystal Defect Modes and Their Response to Ultrashort Optical Pulses

Single photonic crystal defects based on an air-bridge structure were fabricated. We obtained sharp defect modes with quality factors higher than 600 and observed their response to ultrashort optical pulses by utilizing two-photon absorption.

Traveling-wave parametric amplifiere-induced qubit dephasing:analysis and mitigation

The mitigation of dephasing poses a significant challenge toimproving the performance of error-prone superconducting quantum computing systems.Here,the dephasing of a transmon qubit ina dispersive readout regime was investigated by adopting aJosephson traveling-wave parametric amplifier as the preamplifier.Our findings reveal that the potent pump leakage from the preamplifier may lead to severe dephasing.This could be attributed to amixture of measurement-induced dephasing,ac Stark effect,andheating.It is showed that pulse-mode readout is a promising measurement scheme to mitigate qubit dephasing while minimizing theneed for bulky circulators.Our work provides key insights intomitigating decoherence from microwave-pumped preamplifiers,which will be critical for advancing large-scale quantum computers.