Raman scattering studies of (GaP)n/(InP)n (n = 1, 1.7, 2) short‐period superlattice structures

We report Raman scattering from (GaP)_n/(InP)_n (n = 1, 1.7, 2) short‐period superlattice (SPS) structures to study the effect of lateral composition modulation (LCM) on the behavior of optical phonons. Cross‐sectional transmission electron microscope images revealed that LCM was formed with complex pattern in the n = 1.7 and n = 2 samples grown at 490 °C. Interestingly, both the InP‐ and the GaP‐like longitudinal optical (LO) phonon energies increased systematically as the number of monolayers was increased from n = 1 to n = 2. A significant broadening of the phonon line shapes was also observed for the n = 1.7 and n = 2 samples. In contrast, for samples grown at 425 °C, both the increase of the LO phonon energies and the broadening of the phonon line shapes were observed only when n = 1.7. Our results demonstrate that the optical phonons in the (GaP)_n/(InP)_n SPS structures are significantly affected in the occurrence of LCM related to the growth temperature and the number of monolayers.Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Blue and infrared cathodoluminescence induced by carbon-irradiation in SrTiO3 single crystal

We show that blue-CL can be induced in SrTiO₃ single crystal at room temperature by irradiating it with 60 KeV carbon ion (C⁻) beam. An infrared CL-emission is induced simultaneously. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurement exhibits an 200 nm thick surface layer formed by the C⁻ irradiation. We show that the emitting region can be patterned into any desired shape by fabricating the STO surface using Pt-based micro-lithography technique.     

Polymer waveguide with integrated reflector mirrors for an inter-chip link system

A polymer waveguide with integrated reflector mirrors is presented for an inter-chip link system. The cost-effective and repeatable technology for the integration of a polymer multimode waveguide and out-of-plane 45° reflector mirrors was developed for optical coupling between the light-sources and the light-detectors. This method enabled us to fabricate the waveguides and 45° reflector mirrors using a one-shot embossing process for inexpensive mass production. The optical inter-chip link system consisted of a metal optical bench, a module printed circuit board (PCB), a driver/receiver IC, a vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL)/photo-detector (PD) array, and an optical waveguide composed of integrated reflector mirrors. The presented data transfer measurements of the optical inter-chip link system are shown to be successful at a data rate of 5 Gb/s.     

Relaxation properties of some segmented polyurethane-CaCO3 composites. A Dielectric study

Dielectric relaxation in three segmented polyurethane-CaCO₃ composites was investigated between ?70°C and +150°C in the 300 Hz to 100 kHz frequency range. Two of the polymers contained a polyacetal-polyether soft segment, whereas the soft component of the third polymer was polypropylene oxide. The hard segments consisted of 4,4′-diphenyl methane diisocyanate in two cases and toluene-2,4-diisocyanate in the third case. In parallel studies two calorimetric relaxations, designated α and α′, were observed for each sample and were determined to be glass transitions of the soft and hard segments, respectively. In general, the transition temperatures decrease with increasing filler content. High frequency, low temperature permittivities increase while low frequency, high temperature AC conductivities generally decrease with increasing filler content. The shift in the transition temperatures can be explained using the adsorption theory of filler-polymer interactions and the densities of the samples. The interfacial polarization mechanism becomes important only above the α′ transition temperature and below 1 kHz.     

Kaon cloud and baryon magnetic moments

The kaon cloud correction to the magnetic moments of the octet baryons that arises when chiral SU(2) × SU(2) symmetry is enlarged to SU(3) × SU(3) is calculated in the chiral bag model. The effect is considerably smaller than the pion cloud effect provided the bag radius is R ? 1 fm. We discuss the implications of this result on our ongoing attempt to incorporate chiral symmetry into the bag model of the nucleon and on the scale sizes associated with (nearly) massless quarks and massive quarks.     

Phenomenological sizes of confinement regions in baryons

Standard order of magnitude estimates from QCD indicate that the radius of the quarkgluon core in the nucléon is Λ _QCD ^?1 ?1 fm. However, in work with the chiral bag model, we have found that the effective confinement size for low energy reactions can be as small as ～ 1/2 fm or smaller. This shrinking of the effective confinement size has been attributed to the pressure of the pion cloud surrounding the quark core. The concept of confinement size is evidently subtle in light-quark systems, due to the chiral vacuum structure. This is indicated by the “Cheshire Cat” phenomenon, in which physical observables tend to be insensitive to the bag radiusR. In four dimensions, no exact Cheshire Cat principle has yet been established but it is likely to involve infinitely many mesons. We suggest that when strange quarks are present, a qualitative change occurs in the Cheshire Cat picture; in particular, we propose that strangeness provides an obstruction to this picture. We present a phenomenological indication that when strange quarks are present, the bag radiusR is frozen at a value substantially larger than 0.5 fm by as much as a factor of two. Roughly speaking, the Cheshire Cat picture emerges from a near cancellation between repulsive quark kinetic and attractive pion-cloud energies in the case of the nucleon. In theΛ andΣ particles, however, replacement of one up or down quark by a strange quark removes ～ 1/N_c of the attraction from the coupling of the quarks to the pion cloud. This upsets the balance needed for the Cheshire Cat phenomenon and makes larger strange baryons more favorable energetically than the 0.5 fm ones appropriate for pureu- andd-systems. Since the above argument is crude, we appeal strongly to phenomenology. We find that magnetic moments of strange baryons favor a bag radius R?1.1 fm. We find that the excited states of theΛ-hyperons favor similarly large bag radii. Somewhat less convincingly, we argue that — due to perturbative effects — the bag radius appropriate to the Δ(1232) lies intermediate between that of the nucleon and of the strange baryons.     

Efficient methods for isolating five phytochemicals from Gentiana macrophylla using high‐performance countercurrent chromatography

Efficient high‐performance countercurrent chromatography methods were developed to isolate five typical compounds from the extracts of Gentiana macrophylla. n‐Butanol‐soluble extract of G. macrophylla contained three hydrophilic iridoids, loganic acid ( 1 ), swertiamarin ( 2 ) and gentiopicroside ( 3 ), and a chromene derivative, macrophylloside D ( 4 ) which were successfully isolated by flow rate gradient (1.5 mL/min in 0–60 min, 5.0 mL/min in 60–120 min), and consecutive flow rate gradient HPCCC using n‐butanol/0.1% aqueous trifluoroacetic acid (1:1, v/v, normal phase mode) system. The yields of 1 – 4 were 22, 16, 122, and 6 mg, respectively, with purities over 97% in a flow rate gradient high‐performance countercurrent chromatography, and consecutive flow rate gradient high‐performance countercurrent chromatography gave 1 , 2 , 3 (54, 41, 348 mg, respectively, purities over 97%) and 4 (13 mg, purity at 95%) from 750 mg of sample. The main compound in methylene chloride soluble extract, 2‐methoxyanofinic acid, was successfully separated by n‐hexane/ethyl acetate/methanol/water (4:6:4:6, v/v/v/v, flow‐rate: 4 mL/min, reversed phase mode) condition. The structures of five isolates were elucidated by ¹H, ¹³C NMR and ESI‐Q‐TOF‐MS spectroscopic data which were compared with previously reported values.     

16S rRNA gene-based metagenomic analysis reveals differences in bacteria-derived extracellular vesicles in the urine of pregnant and non-pregnant women

Recent evidence has indicated that bacteria-derived extracellular vesicles (EVs) are important for host–microbe communication. The aims of the present study were to evaluate whether bacteria-derived EVs are excreted via the urinary tract and to compare the composition of bacteria-derived EVs in the urine of pregnant and non-pregnant women. Seventy-three non-pregnant and seventy-four pregnant women were enrolled from Dankook University and Ewha Womans University hospitals. DNA was extracted from urine EVs after EV isolation using the differential centrifugation method. 16S ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequencing was performed using high-throughput 454 pyrosequencing after amplification of the V1–V3 region of the 16S rDNA. The composition of 13 taxa differed significantly between the pregnant and non-pregnant women. At the genus level, Bacillus spp. EVs were more significantly enriched in the urine of the pregnant women than in that of the non-pregnant women (45.61% vs 0.12%, respectively). However, Pseudomonas spp. EVs were more dominant in non-pregnant women than in pregnant women (13.2% vs 4.09%, respectively). Regarding the compositional difference between pregnant women with normal and preterm delivery, EVs derived from Ureaplasma spp. and the family Veillonellaceae (including Megasphaera spp.) were more abundant in the urine of preterm-delivered women than in that of women with normal deliveries. Taken together, these data showed that Bacillus spp. EVs predominate in the urine of pregnant women, whereas Pseudomonas spp. EVs predominate in the urine of non-pregnant women; this suggests that Bacillus spp. EVs might have an important role in the maintenance of pregnancy.     

Regioselective Deoxygenation of the Cyclic Thionocarbonates of 2,3-Dihydroxy Esters with Magnesium in Methanol

Deoxygenation of the cyclic thionocarbonates of 2,3-dihydroxy esters was mediated with magnesium in methanol, which provided a facile method for the synthesis of α-hydroxy esters