Monocular viewing prolongs reversal interval of perceptual rival figure

The authors examined whether the perceptual reversal rate changes under monocular versus binocular viewing conditions. Our results suggest that the perceptual reversal interval increases during monocular viewing. The ratio of the reversal rate (1/interval) for the two viewing conditions (binocular/monocular) was 1.28 over a wide range of pattern luminance levels. The quoted ratio was 1.40 when the luminance was high. Such a ratio parallels the value of a well-known binocular summation index $(\sqrt 2 )$ , which was derived from the signal detection theory. The binocular summation index shows that the strength of an input signal is enhanced by binocular viewing. However, how the binocular summation shortens the perceptual reversal interval is unclear. This issue can be resolved if the perceptual reversal is derived by integrating the strength of an unconscious image signal. Thus, we discussed the mechanism of perceptual switch by associating two classical, well-studied phenomena, binocular summation and perceptual switch.     

Highly efficient broadband near-infrared luminescence in Ni-doped glass ceramics films containing cordierite nanocrystals

We report on highly efficient broadband near-infrared photoluminescence (PL) in Ni²⁺-doped glass ceramics (GCs) films fabricated by annealing Si/Ni²⁺-doped glass superlattices (SNGS). Over two orders of magnitude enhancement of PL can be achieved in comparison with that from the annealed glass film. The PL lifetime of the annealed SNGS is several milliseconds, which is much longer than those of bulk GCs. The strong PL enhancement results from the formation of high-quality cordierite nanocrystals because the Si layers act as Si source for the crystal growth. This technique can be extended to fabricate other types of high-quality GCs films.     

Diffuse reflectance FT-IR spectroscopic study of interactions of alpha-Al2O3/molten alkali nitrate coexisting systems

The diffuse reflectance spectra of alpha-Al(2)O(3)/molten MNO(3) (M=K(+), Li(+)) coexisting systems have been measured for the investigation of the physicochemical properties of molten nitrate at the interface of aluminum oxide. In the region of overtone and combination modes from 3000 to 1700 cm(-1), the absorption band nu(3)+nu(4) decreases with increasing specific surface area of alpha-Al(2)O(3) powder for the potassium mixtures. Gaussian resolution of nu(3)+nu(4) also exhibits changes in band positions of components with the variation in the alumina specific surface area and the nitrate melt content. The second-order derivative of the spectra in the region from 1700 to 950 cm(-1) shows a set of peaks at 1645, 1554-1516, and 1452 cm(-1) characteristic of a coordinated nitrate ion. The peak at 1337 cm(-1) suggests a possible formation of nitrite species. The maxima of nu(3)+nu(4), nu(1)+nu(2), and nu(1)+nu(4) shift toward lower frequencies with increasing temperature above the nitrate melting point. This information shows that the intramolecular bonds of NO(3)(-) are affected. These perturbations are attributed to the effect of the solid phase interacting with the liquid phase. The interaction between solid and liquid phases affects the geometry of the ionic species and, therefore, influences the electrical properties of nitrate ions.     

Two triterpenoid saponins from Neonauclea sessilifolia

From the dried roots of Neonauclea sessilifolia (Rubiaceae), two new triterpenoid saponins, 3-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->2)-beta-D-quinovopyranosyl quinovic acid (1) and 3-O-alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->4)-beta-D-quinovopyranosyl pyrocincholic acid 28-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-(1-->6)-beta-D-glucopyranosyl ester (2), were isolated, together with five known saponins. The structures of the new saponins were determined by spectroscopic and chemical means.     

Hydrogen desorption mechanism in a Li-N-H system by means of the isotopic exchange technique

The hydrogen desorption mechanism in the reaction from LiH + LiNH2 to Li2NH + H2 was examined by thermal desorption mass spectrometry, thermogravimetric analysis, and Fourier transform IR analyses for the products replaced by LiD or LiND2 for LiH or LiNH2, respectively. The results obtained indicate that the hydrogen desorption reaction proceeds through the following two-step elementary reactions mediated by ammonia: 2LiNH2 --> Li2NH + NH3 and LiH + NH3 --> LiNH2 + H2, where hydrogen molecules are randomly formed from four equivalent hydrogen atoms in a hypothetical LiNH4 produced by the reaction between LiH and NH3 according to the laws of probability.     

Sugar-pendant diamines

A set of 1,3-propanediamine derivatives connected to carbohydrates (5) has been prepared in four steps from peracetylated sugar and 1,3-dibromo-2-propanol in 60-73% yields. D-Glucose, D-mannose, D-galactose, D-xylose, D-ribose, and maltose are utilized as sugar molecules in this work. The diamine moiety was connected to the C1 carbon of the glycopyranose ring via an O-glycoside bond. All of the anomeric configurations and sugar puckering conformations, except in the D-maltose derivative, were determined by X-ray crystallography of the diazido or dibromo precursors. While glycosidation of peracetylated galactopyranose with 1,3-dibromo-2-propanol in the presence of boron trifluoride afforded both anomers, the neighboring group participation of the 2-acetoxy group yielded a single anomer for the other substrates. This method has been used to synthesize a library of sugar-pendant diamines including an OH-protected derivative (6), and an N,N'-diisopropyl-substituted derivative (7). A similar series of reactions using 2,3-dibromo-1-propanol gave ethylenediamine-type derivatives (11), and bis(bromomethyl)bis(hydroxymethyl)methane (12) gave bisglucose-pendant derivatives (16).     

A siloxane polymer lightwave circuit on ceramic substrate applicable to ultrafast optoelectronic multi-chip-modules

Technique for integrating optical waveguide circuits on electrical circuits is developed toward the application to opto-electronic multi-chip modules (O/E-MCM), which enables one to handle ultrafast lightwave pulses and electrical signals on a common circuit board. We use ceramic material as the substrate of O/E-MCM having a multi-layer structure. A siloxane polymer is utilized to form low loss optical waveguides on ceramic substrates by low temperature processes. The waveguide has shown high transparency around 1310 nm. The group velocity dispersion has been measured and shown to become almost zero at wavelength of 1310 nm and about 0.4 fs/cm nm at 1550 nm. An optical circuit has been formed on simple electrical circuit consisting of a thermometer film resistance layer. A Mach–Zehnder interferometer optical switch exhibiting the waveguide extinction ratio of 30 dB, control power of 5 mW, and switching speed of 6 ms has been demonstrated. Thermal management characteristics also have been demonstrated successfully. This single-mode optical waveguide can thus be formed readily on ceramic substrates involving electrical circuit layers; this result confirms its applicability to O/E-MCM.     

Angular cutting for log-hyponormal operators

We define an angular section for a log-hyponormal operator on a Hilbert space, cut by an arc on the unit circle, and establish various spectral properties for it, which correspond to the properties of an angular section for ap-hyponormal opertor.Dedicated to Professor Norio Shimakura on the occasion of his sixtieth birthdayThis research was supported by Grant-in-Aid Research 1 No. 12640187.