Orientational relationship among main and side chains of a polyimide alignment layer, liquid crystals monolayer and bulk pretilt angle

We have determined the orientational distribution of cyano-substituted side chains of a rubbed polyimide film, and a liquid crystal monolayer adsorbed on the film, by means of optical second harmonic generation. With the orientational distribution of a main chain that was measured in a previous study by means of near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy, we have obtained the correlation of all the orientational distributions contributing to the alignment of LC molecules, i.e. pretilt angle. We find that the side chain plays a role in increasing the pretilt angle, but in the case of rubbing strength dependence, the main chain has stronger correlation with the pretilt angle than has the side chain.     

Antimutagenic activity of ent-kaurane diterpenoids from the aerial parts of Isodon japonicus

From the methanolic extract of the aerial parts of Isodon japonicus, two new ent-kaurane diterpenes, isodonterpenes I and II, were isolated together with 10 known diterpenes. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of chemical and physicochemical evidence. The absolute configuration of isodonterpene I was elucidated by Cu-Kα X-ray crystallographic analysis. Antimutagenic activities of the major diterpenes were evaluated by the Ames test. This study represents the first evaluation of the antimutagenic activities of ent-kaurane diterpenes.     

Asymmetric cross-benzoin condensation promoted by a chiral triazolium precatalyst bearing a pyridine moiety

Cross-benzoin condensation catalyzed by NHC, prepared from chiral triazolium salts bearing a pyridine ring, afforded α-hydroxy ketones with reasonable chemical yields and enantioselectivities. A wide range of aliphatic and aromatic aldehydes were successfully used in the reaction.     

Ring polymers in melts and solutions: scaling and crossover

We propose a simple mean-field theory for the structure of ring polymer melts. By combining the notion of topological volume fraction and a classical van der Waals theory of fluids, we take into account many-body effects of topological origin in dense systems. We predict that although the compact statistics with the Flory exponent ν=1/3 is realized for very long chains, most practical cases fall into the crossover regime with the apparent exponent ν?2/5 during which the system evolves toward a topological dense-packed limit.     

Spin-torque ferromagnetic resonance induced by the spin Hall effect

We demonstrate that the spin Hall effect in a thin film with strong spin-orbit scattering can excite magnetic precession in an adjacent ferromagnetic film. The flow of alternating current through a Pt/NiFe bilayer generates an oscillating transverse spin current in the Pt, and the resultant transfer of spin angular momentum to the NiFe induces ferromagnetic resonance dynamics. The Oersted field from the current also generates a ferromagnetic resonance signal but with a different symmetry. The ratio of these two signals allows a quantitative determination of the spin current and the spin Hall angle.     

Effective synthesis of diiodinated picene and dibenzo[a,h]anthracene by AuCl-catalyzed double cyclization

6,13-Diiododibenzo[a,h]anthracene and 5,8-diiodopicene were synthesized by AuCl-catalyzed double cyclization. The highly selective reaction yielded a new class of peri-halogenated fused aromatics.     

A study on the role of gelatin in methacrylic-acid-based gel dosimeters

In radiotherapy treatment, polymer gel dosimetry can be used for verifying three-dimensional (3D) dose distributions. Gelatin is generally used as a gelling agent in the dosimeters. In this paper, another role of gelatin in a methacrylic-acid-based gel dosimeter (MAGAT) is investigated. Temperature increases due to exothermic polymerization in the irradiated gel are measured directly. Dose–R₂ responses are also obtained using MRI. It is shown that no appreciable increases in either temperature or R₂ are observed in MAGAT dosimeters made without gelatin, and that significant temperature and R₂ increases are observed when very low gelatin concentrations are used. These results indicate that gelatin is an important enabler for radiation-induced free-radical polymerization in methacrylic-acid-based gels. When gelatin is replaced by amino acids, changes in temperature are observed, along with small changes in R₂. The resulting dosimeter solutions remain transparent because the polymer does not precipitate as it does in regular MAGAT dosimeters containing gelatin. When the amino acids are replaced by acids without amino groups, no temperature or R₂ changes are observed, indicating that no polymer forms. These results show that amino groups (and possibly other functional groups) on the gelatin catalyze the radiation-induced free-radical polymerization that occurs in MAGAT dosimeters.