Bidirectional repeaterless transmission of 8 x 10 GE over 210 km of standard single mode fibre

Experimental results on error-free bidirectional transmission of 8times10 Gigabit Ethernet channels over 210 km of standard single mode fibre are presented here. Inexpensive XENPAKs transceivers, conventional unidirectional 1530-1560 nm (C-band) erbium-doped fibre amplifiers and fibre Bragg grating dispersion compensating modules have been used. The results are very promising, especially for operators of national research and educational networks     

"Current issues relating to psychosocial job strain and cardiovascular disease research": Correction to Theorell and Karasek (1996).

Reports an error in "Current issues relating to psychosocial job strain and cardiovascular disease research" by T?res Theorell and Robert A. Karasek (Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 1996[Jan], Vol 1[1], 9-26). On p. 12, in the caption to Figure 2, the copyright statement is missing. The caption should have read "The environment, the worker, and illness: Dynamic associations linking environmental strain and learning to evolution of personality. From Healthy Work: Stress, Productivity, and the Reconstruction of Working Life (p. 99), by R. A. Karasek and T. Theorell, 1990, New York: Basic Books. Copyright 1990 by Basic Books. Used with permission." (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 1996-04477-002.) Examines recent reviews of cardiovascular (CV) job strain (JS) research by P. L. Schnall and P. A. Landsbergis (1994) and T. S. Kristensen (see record 1995-39109-001), which conclude that JS as defined by the demand-control model (the combination of contributions of low job decision latitudes and high psychological job demands) is confirmed as a risk factor for CV mortality in a large majority of studies. Lack of social support at work appears to increase this risk. Several still-unresolved issues are discussed in light of recent research. Methodological issues related to the use of occupational & career aggregate estimates, use of standard scales for job analysis, and recall bias in issues of self-reporting are examined. Confounding factors and differential strengths of associations by subgroups in JS-CV disease analyses with respect to social class, gender, and working hours are addressed. A review of results of monitoring JS-blood pressure associations and associated methodological issues is provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Covariation between workplace physical and psychosocial stressors: evidence and implications for occupational health research and prevention.

There is increasing interest in distinguishing the effects of physical and psychosocial workplace stressors on the aetiology of work-related musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). Modest associations have been found between psychosocial stressors and MSD, such as intensive load, monotonous work and low job control. Interpretation of these results has been limited by likely covariation between physical and psychosocial stressors. This investigation examined exposure covariation among blue- and white-collar workers employed in a mass production manufacturing environment (N = 410). Physical stressors were assessed from questionnaire and accelerometry. Psychosocial stressors were assessed from questionnaire. Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were computed. An exploratory factor analysis procedure identified possible common factors linking specific physical and psychosocial stressors. Moderate to high correlations between some physical and psychosocial stressors showed evidence of covariation both across and within groups. Covariation was strongest among blue-collar production and low-status office workers. Factor analysis results showed considerable shared variance between some physical and psychosocial stressors, such as repetition and job control, suggesting that these disparate stressors manifest from common work organization factors that govern the structure of work. While recognizing the conceptual differences between physical and psychosocial stressors, these results call attention to the strong empirical relationships that can exist between some stressors in the workplace setting. To guard against ambiguous study findings that can occur when exposures are mixed, it is critical that future epidemiologic studies include information about the degree of association between task-level stressors. Future research on work organization determinants of task-level stressors, and their coincident occurrence in jobs with greater specialization, may provide promising new insights into the nature of risk for MSD and effective prevention strategies.     

Chromatic dispersion measurement using a multiwavelength frequency-shifted feedback fiber laser

In this paper, we present the realization of a fiber laser source emitting simultaneously over 17 wavelengths spread over the whole C-band. An acoustooptic frequency shifter is placed in the laser ring cavity to suppress the cross-gain saturation effects of the erbium-doped fiber. The emitted wavelengths are fixed by a set of fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs). A power uniformity reaching 6 dB is achieved by inscribing the FBGs while monitoring the laser output. We demonstrate the reliability of this laser as a source for characterization of optical components and networks by the measurement of optical fiber chromatic dispersion. The measurement is performed over the whole telecommunication C-band (1530-1560 nm) using the time-of-flight method. We perform the measurement on three different fibers with different levels of dispersion, namely a standard fiber, a nonzero dispersion shifted fiber, and a dispersion compensating fiber. The results are compared with measurements obtained using a standard network analyzer. The agreement between the two methods is better than /spl plusmn/1%, thus proving the suitability of the developed laser source for this application.     

Analysis of gain and noise performance of bidirectionally pumped Pr3+-doped fluoride fibre amplifier configurations with unbalanced pumping

Abstract

This paper presents a numerical study of the performance of asymmetric bidirectionally pumped and reflective-type amplifier configurations in the unsaturated and saturated regions. The dependences of the optimum relative backward pump power on the fibre parameters and on the amplifier's working conditions for each configuration are analysed. This study has been made in the framework of the European Project COST 241: Characterization of Active Fibres for the Photonic Network.     

Coke Formation from Aircraft Engine Oils: Part II—Effects of Oil Formulation and Surface Composition

This is the second of two papers giving the results of a study undertaken to determine how aircraft engine oil degrades to form coke on oil-wetted surfaces. In part 2 the authors address the impacts of additives (which is related to oil types) and surface materials upon the oil coking process.

In Part 1 of this study, the authors showed that simple laboratory tests involving thin films of oil heated for specified timesltemperatures in open glass vials produced polymer and coke similar to the deposits seen on failed face seals taken from the operating aircraft engines and polymers isolated from used engine oils. Antioxidants inhibit and delay the coke producing reactions. After the antioxidant package is depleted to approximately 10 percent of the original level, the ester basestock undergoes accelerated oxidation to form oil-soluble polymers. As the oil spends additional time at elevated temperature, these polymers increase in molecular weight and undergo minor compositional changes becoming insoluble in the oil, producing deposits. If the time that a thin oil layer spends on a hot surface at elevated temperature can be limited so that the antioxidant does not deplete completely, coking can be prevented. This shifts the focus from coke minimization to coke prevention.

The authors results in Part 2 indicate that oil choice—which is largely a choice of antioxidant package—makes a large difference in how long oil can remain on a hot surface without forming polymer/coke deposits. For the oils studied in Part 2, the capabilities of the oils' antioxidant packages to inhibit coke formation varied 15 fold.

Surface material choice has minimal effect upon the rate of antioxidant depletion. However, once the antioxidant in the oil in a thin layer has become ineffective in inhibiting accelerated oxidation (approximately 10 percent of original concentration), the material the oil resides upon strongly effects the rate of the polymer/coke formation processes. Stainless steel speeds the process compared to a glass substrate.     

Cross-gain modulation in Raman fiber amplifier: experimentation and modeling

The effects of channel loss on the performance of Raman fiber amplifiers (RFA) are investigated both experimentally and theoretically. Signals from one distributed-feedback (DFB) laser and an external cavity laser (ECL) were transmitted through counterdirectionally pumped RFAs consisting of 15.6 km of dispersion compensating fiber (DCF). The ECL light was square-wave modulated at 500 Hz. At the output of the RFA, the signal of the modulated channel was eliminated with an optical band pass filter, and power fluctuations of the surviving channel were recorded with a high-speed digital oscilloscope. Power fluctuations as high as 0.45 dB with typical saturated amplifier overshoots were observed. The experimental results were confirmed by a large signal numerical analysis.     

Channel addition-removal response in all-optical gain-clamped lumped Raman fiber amplifier

Application of all-optical gain-clamped (AOGC) lumped Raman fiber amplifier (RFA) for protection of surviving channels in multiwavelength networks is investigated experimentally and theoretically. Channel addition-removal was simulated by transmitting signals of two lasers through a counterdirectionally pumped RFA consisting of 16 km of dispersion compensating fiber. Light of one of the lasers was square-wave modulated at 500 Hz; power fluctuations of the other laser caused by cross-gain modulation of the RFA were monitored at the output of the amplifier with a digital oscilloscope. An all-optical feedback loop was implemented in the form of a ring laser. Theoretical analysis of the AOGC lumped RFA is based on numerical solution of coupled propagation equations for forward and backward-propagating pumps, signals, and spectral components of amplified spontaneous emission powers.