Three-dimensional visualization of columnar vortices in rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection

Journal of Visualization -  To enrich the three-dimensional experimental details of vortex structures in rotating Rayleigh–Bénard convection, we established a technique...     

Total Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of the Antibiotic Lysocin E and Its Enantiomeric,Epimeric, and N‐Demethylated Analogues

Lysocin E, a macrocyclic peptide, exhibits potent antibacterial activity against methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) through a novel mechanism. The first total synthesis of lysocin E was achieved by applying a full solid‐phase strategy. The developed approach also provides rapid access to the enantiomeric, epimeric, and N‐demethylated analogues of lysocin E. Significantly, the antibacterial activity of the unnatural enantiomer was comparable to that of the natural isomer, suggesting the absence of chiral recognition in its mode of action.     

Postprocessing algorithm for particle-tracking velocimetry based on ellipsoidal equations

 Accurate postprocessing methods are required in order to analyze the detailed flow structures from the scattered data of particle-tracking velocimetry (PTV). In particular, vorticity distributions and stream functions are not reasonably obtained by conventional methods. This paper proposes a new postprocessing algorithm based on ellipsoidal differential equations; this method utilizes data as discrete boundary conditions. The results obtained by the proposed algorithm fully satisfy the equation of continuity and simultaneously correspond well with the raw data. The performance of the algorithm is examined by applying it to two-dimensional vortex flows and isotropic turbulent flows. The results reveal that the present algorithm has the highest accuracy among several conventional methods for detecting vorticity and streamlines. Received: 29 January 2001 / Accepted: 7 August 2001     

Stereoscopic story visualization in literary works demonstrated by Shakespeare’s plays

Abstract  

A stereoscopic method of identifying story patterns in literary works is newly developed. The pattern is extracted from textual information by the detection of thematically assigned keywords, and depicted as visual imageries. The applicability of the method is demonstrated in several of Shakespeare’s plays. The complex scenario patterns in Shakespeare’s tragedies are successfully captured with applying the method for two different themes in each play. As the result, the organization of story accompanying multiple themes in a single play has been obtained as a pair of visual imageries, i.e. stereoscopic story visualization. This approach, in combination with a quadrant analysis of the plots, allows us in interpretation further complexity of human psychology in the characters and scene-by-scene transitions in each play.     

Copper‐Catalyzed CH Bond Direct Chalcogenation of Aromatic Compounds Leading to Diaryl Sulfides,Selenides, and Diselenides by Using Elemental Sulfur and Selenium as Chalcogen Sources Under Oxidative Conditions

The reactions of aromatic compounds and elemental chalcogens catalyzed by a copper salt with molecular oxygen as an oxidant were carried out. The reaction of 3‐substituted imidazo[1,5‐a]pyridines and elemental sulfur in the presence of CuTC (copper(I) thiophenecarboxylate) gave the corresponding bisimidazopyridyl sulfides in good to quantitative yields. The reaction proceeded even under aerobic oxidation conditions. The use of a polar solvent was crucial for the reaction, and DMSO (dimethyl sulfoxide) in particular stimulated the reaction. The reaction could be applied to common aromatic compounds, such as N‐methyl indole and dialkyl anilines. The reaction of indole proceeded at the nucleophilic C3 position rather than at the acidic C2 position. In addition, the reaction of dialkyl anilines proceeded with an ortho, para orientation. The reactions of imidazopyridines and elemental selenium under similar conditions gave the corresponding bisimidazopyridyl diselenides along with bisimidazopyridyl monoselenides. The resulting diselenides were readily converted to the corresponding monoselenides with unreacted imidazopyridines under the same conditions. The reaction could be applied to the copolymerization of bifunctional bisimidazopyridines and elemental sulfur to give oligomeric copolymers in quantitative yield.     

Monte carlo simulations for blue-phase structure in liquid crystals

Blue-phase liquid crystals form three-dimensional structures in a self-organizing manner and are similar to living tissue structures such as the teeth of mice and collagen tissues. This study presents numerical results regarding the conditions under which blue-phase liquid crystals occur. The Monte Carlo simulations are performed by employing an improved Lennard–Jones potential that considers anisotropy and chirality. The conditions for the formation of the blue phase, which vary with respect to the chirality, are examined first. The relationship between the anisotropic parameters and the chiral parameter for the formation of the blue phase is discussed. Identical blue-phase structures are obtained, even when the cell size and molecular number are varied drastically. This discussion is useful for considering the scale-up problem, which is almost always a difficult issue for molecular-scale simulations.     

Story visualization of literary works

With the rapid advance in information technology, the applicability of computers has moved from the scientific field towards simulating human intelligence. We are already familiar with using computers to produce music and art and for language translation. A further use is in understanding traditional man-made products; best exemplified by literary works. In this study, we focus on enabling a computer to visualize the meaning of stories. Four world-famous plays by William Shakespeare have been chosen to demonstrate how the visualization scheme works in grasping the meaning of the stories. The scheme employs primitive keyword detection and ellipsoidal differential equations to create a visual imagery of the story. This methodology ensures uniqueness in the visualization of an individual work. In addition, color palettes obtained from pictures relevant to each story are used to enrich the consistency between the visual sense and the meaning of the story.     

Thiophene-fused phospholo[3,2-b]phospholes and their dichalcogenides: Synthesis and structure–photophysical properties relationships

The PCl₃-promoted intramolecular cascade cyclization produced a series of thiophene-fused phospholo[3,2-b]phosphole derivatives, including non-oxidized 2, dioxides 3, and disulfides 4. These derivatives exhibit significantly red-shifted absorptions and fluorescences compared with their benzene-fused analogues. Among the thiophene-fused series, the non-oxidized 2 has the highest fluorescence quantum yield of 0.95. This trend is in contrast to that observed for the benzene analogues, in which a dioxide derivative shows the most intense fluorescence.