Emerging transparent conducting oxides material: 2-dimensional plasmonic Zn doped CuGaO2 nanoplates for Q-switched fiber laser.

A passively Q-switched Er3+ doped fiber laser has been realized by using Zn doped hexagonal CuGaO2 (CGZO) nanoplates (NPs) as a saturable absorber (SA) for the first time. The CGZO NPs SA film exhibits strong saturable absorption property, meanwhile with a small nonsaturable loss of 5.179%, and the modulation depth is up to 40.821%. A stable passively Q-switched laser, which was centered at 1559.75 nm, was achieved, and the threshold was as low as 42 mW. With an increase of the pump power from 42mW to 361mW, the pulse duration decreases from 36 µs to 1.71 µs, and the maximum output power of 12.1 mW is achieved. Particularly, the optical-optical conversion efficiency of the Q-Switched laser based on CGZO NPs reached 3.76%. Due to whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) resonance in CGZO NPs, the nonlinear optical response of CGZO NPs has been enhancement. These findings demonstrate that CGZO NPs are promising SA for fabricating high-efficiency and low-threshold pulse lasers.

Assessment of source and health risk of metal(loid)s in indoor/outdoor dust of university dormitory in Lanzhou City, China.

The pollution of metal(loid)s from indoor and outdoor dust is of great concern because of its impact on human health. The concentrations of nine metal(loid)s (Mn, Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, Hg, and As) were investigated in indoor and outdoor dust samples of university dormitories in winter and summer seasons in Lanzhou City, China. This study revealed the variations of metal(loid) concentrations in dust samples with the seasonal scale and floor heights. The results showed that the concentrations of some metal(loid)s (Cu, Cd, Ni, Pb, and As) in dust samples collected in winter were higher than those of the dust samples collected in summer. The Hg in indoor dust was mainly derived from building materials and indoor human activities. Additionally, the concentrations of some metal(loid)s (Hg, Mn, As, Cu, Cd) in dust samples varied with the height of the floors from ground level. The concentrations of Hg in dust samples collected on upper floors (9-16th floors) were higher than those collected on down floors (1-8th floors), while Mn and As were the opposite of that. Cu and Cd concentrations increased as the floor height increased. Our results demonstrated that the adults and the children (particularly the children) endured potential health risks due to exposure to metal(loid)s from both indoor and outdoor dust in the studied area.

Cross-cultural validation of the educational needs assessment tool into Chinese for use in severe knee osteoarthritis.

BACKGROUND: Patient education is an integral part of the management of osteoarthritis. The educational needs assessment tool (ENAT) was developed in the UK to help direct needs-based patient education in rheumatic diseases. AIM: The aim of the study was to adapt and validate the ENAT into Chinese, for use in severe knee osteoarthritis (KOA). METHODS: This cross-cultural validation study took two phases: 1) adaptation of the ENAT into Chinese (CENAT) and 2) validation of the CENAT. The Construct validity was determined using factor analysis and criterion-related validity by comparing data from CENAT with data from different self-efficacy scales: patient-physician interactions scale (PEPPI-10), self-efficacy for rehabilitation outcome scale (SER), and the self-efficacy for exercise scale (SEE). RESULTS: The sample comprised 196 patients, with mean age 63.6±8.7 years, disease duration was11.5 years, and 57.1% were female. The CENAT was found to have high internal consistency. The CENAT had weak correlations with the Chinese versions of PEPPI r=0.40, SER r=0.40, and SEE r=0.39. There were no correlations with age r=-0.03 or disease duration r=-0.11. CONCLUSION: The ENAT translated well into Chinese and has evidence of validity in KOA. Future studies will further inform its usefulness in clinics, community, and online settings.

[Infrared spectroscopic study of Changbaishan diatomite].

Changbaishan diatomite was treated under the conditions of temperature from 100 to 1330 degrees C, and examined by infrared spectroscopy applying the KBr-technique. In the range from 250 to 1500 cm(-1), the spectra of the samples at 100 to 1100 degrees C show the same three characteristic broad bands at 1100, 801 and 471 cm(-1), which are similar to amorphous silica. Besides the above three broad bands, the spectra of 1200 and 1330 degrees C treated samples exhibit three new bands at 618, 386 and 301 cm(-1), which indicate that the diatornite transforms into cristobalite. While all of the eleven samples show an asymmetric broad band at 3440 cm(-1) in the range from 3000 to 4000 cm(-1), the spectrum of 500 degrees C treated sample begins to exhibit a 3745 cm(-1) band assigning to isolated Si-OH group stretching vibration. The 3745 cm(-1) band shows the highest intensity at 900 degrees C, and disappears at 1200 degrees C. According to the absorbance of the 3745 cm(-1) band of different temperature treated samples, the H2O content in the form of Si-OH group was calculated semi-quantitatively, which indicates that the Si-OH group exists at the internal structure defects in addition to existing at the surface. The transform mechanism of diatomite into cristobalite was also discussed.