Properties of a-Si : H : F deposited in SiF4/SiH4/Ar Gas mixtures by a glow-discharge technique

Films of silicon-hydrogen-fluorine alloys (a-Si : H : F) were prepared by capacitive coupling rf glow discharge in an SiF₄/SiH₄/Ar gas mixture. Up to 4% fluorine can be incorporated in films prepared with a gas mixture of SiF₄/(SiF₄ + SiH₄) = 0.72. The hydrogen concentration decreases as fluorine concentration increases but there is still more hydrogen than fluorine in films with the highest density of fluorine, which is in sharp contrast to the best films produced by the Madan and co-workers. Both dark conductivity and photoconductivity decrease as fluorine increases, though improvement of doping efficiency was observed in films with moderate concentrations of fluorine. The influence of hydrogen is more important than the influence of fluorine in the present silicon-hydrogen-fluorine alloys.     

Atomic force microscopy study on microstructural changes by 'training' in Fe-Mn-Si-based shape memory alloys

Microstructural changes after several cycles of the thermomechanical treatment consisting of a small deformation by stress-induced martensitic transformation (fcc to hcp) and subsequent reversion to austenite by heating (referred to as 'training') have been studied by atomic force microscopy in Fe-Mn-Si based shape memory alloys. Well-trained samples contain a uniform distribution of thin martensite plates of the same variant, the widths of which decrease with increasing number of the training cycles, and their distribution becomes more uniform. Such microstructural development by training originates mainly from extremely thin plates (about 1 nm thick) of hcp phase that are still retained together with stacking faults in the austenite even after heating far above the reverse transformation temperature. In the reverse transformation on heating, a martensite plate that looks as though it is apparently one plate is, in fact, split into very thin plates, which indicates that the plate actually consists of extremely thin martensite plates and these thin plates are reverse-transformed one after another by reverse movement of the Shockley partial dislocations at their tips. This mode of reverse transformation ensures a perfect shape memory effect.     

Shear‐Enhanced Nucleation of Isotactic Polypropylene in Limited Space

The nucleation rate was measured by directly counting the number of nuclei, which were developed while an isotactic polypropylene melt was flowing under shear in a thin film. The nucleation rate was enhanced with an increased rate of shear, e.g., by a factor of 10 larger at the rate of shear of 14 s^?1 compared with the quiescent state, at 134°C. The ratio of the shear‐enhanced nucleation rate to the nucleation rate in the quiescent state was larger at a higher temperature of crystallization, i.e., about 10 times at 134°C to 590 times at 140°C. The increase of the nucleation rate under shear flow was explained by a reduction of the lateral and end (fold) surface free energies; the product σ _s ² σ _e decreased to 3.2×10^?7 for the sheared melt, from 6.0×10^?7 (J m^?2)³ for the isotropic state. The free energy reduction was caused by transition of the nucleus formation mode from three‐dimensional folded chain nuclei to two‐dimensional bundle nuclei, in which chains lie down on the glass substrate, aligning parallel to the flow direction.     

Soft electron (low energy electron) processing of foods for microbial control

“Soft-electron” is a new term we have created referring to electrons with energies of 300 kV or lower. Homogenous irradiation of surfaces with soft electrons can decontaminate dry food ingredients such as gains, pulses, spices, dehydrated vegetables and tealeaves without detrimental effects. Treatment of soybeans with electrons of acceleration voltages at 170 kV reduced their microbial count to an undetectable level. Pre-treatment of soybeans with soft electrons enabled the extension of soymilk without sterilization process at a high temperature (120°C). The gelatinized property of soymilk from soft electron-treated beans was better than that of high-temperature sterilized soymilks. These results indicate that soft-electron sterilization improved the quality of soybeans for the processing of soymilk and Tofu(soymilk curd).     

Small molecule-based laser inactivation of inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor

BACKGROUND: Chromophore-assisted laser inactivation (CALI) is a powerful method for the study of in situ protein function in cellular processes. By using CALI, it is possible to abrogate the function of a target protein with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. However, CALI has some limitations, which restrict wider biological application, owing mainly to the use of antibody for target recognition. To circumvent the limitations, we have developed small molecule-based CALI (smCALI). RESULTS: The inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate receptor (IP3R) was selected as the target protein and a malachite green-conjugated IP3 analog, MGIP3, was used as a small-molecular probe. We examined the effect of MGIP3-based CALI on Ca2+ release via IP3R using permeabilized smooth muscle cells. When the cells were treated with MGIP3 followed by laser irradiation, the IP3-induced Ca2+ release rate was decreased in a concentration- and irradiation time-dependent manner. The effect was specific for IP3R, because the Ca2+ uptake function of the co-localized sarco/endoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase was not affected. CONCLUSIONS: IP3R was specifically inactivated by smCALI using MGIP3. The efficiency of inactivation was calculated to be substantially greater than that of antibody-based CALI. The efficient and specific inactivation of IP3R would allow us to obtain an insight into spatiotemporal roles of IP3R in various cell functions. Our results may be considered to be a first step for a wider application of smCALI as a useful method to study spatiotemporal protein functions.     

The first metalloporphyrin dimer linked by a bridging phenylenedicarbene ligand

In the first bis­[ruthenium(II)–porphyrin]–dicarbene complex, μ‐[1,4‐phenyl­ene­bis(phenyl­methyl­idene‐κC)]bis­[(ethanol‐κO)(5,10,15,20‐tetra‐p‐tolyl­porphyrinato‐κ⁴N)ruthenium(II)] 1,2‐di­chloro­ethane trisolvate, [Ru₂(C₂₀H₁₄)(C₄₈H₃₆N₄)₂(C₂H₆O)₂]·3C₂H₄Cl₂, an inversion center is located at the center of the μ‐phenyl­ene group, leading to a parallel arrangement for the pair of porphyrin ring systems. The bond lengths and angles compare favourably with literature values for ruthenium–porphyrin–monocarbene complexes; the Ru=C(carbene) bond length and the C(phenyl)—C(carbene)—C(phenyl­ene) angle are 1.865 (3) Å and 112.3 (3)°, respectively. The Ru^II ion is displaced out of the C₂₀N₄ porphyrin least‐squares plane (by 0.2373 Å) toward the bridging ligand of the C_i‐symmetry dimer. The porphyrin ring systems of the dimer thus exhibit mildly domed conformations.     

Investigation of Metal Ion Complexation of π-Coordinate Calixarene Derivatives by Electrospray-Ionization Mass Spectrometry

Complexation of π-coordinate calix[4]arene derivatives toward soft metal ions, silver and thallium (I) ions, has been studied by electrospray-ionization mass spectrometry. Competitive metal–ion complexation of three calix[4]arene derivatives demonstrates a significant effect of olefinic substituents and its location on the silver ion complexation, but there was no effect of them on the thallium ion complexation. The stability constants for the metal ion complexes of the calixarene derivatives in methanol have been successfully determined by a mass-spectrometric method using 18-crown-6 as the reference ligand.     

An Adjustable Pure Dispersion Slope Compensating-Module without Center Wavelength Shift Based on Strain-Chirped Fiber Bragg Gratings

We demonstrate an adjustable pure dispersion slope compensating-module based on strain-chirped fiber Bragg gratings.The center wavelength of the module is preserved while the pure dispersion slope is tuned.     

Elastic properties of filled-Skutterudite compounds probed by Mössbauer nuclei

We have carried out Mössbauer spectroscopy and nuclear resonant inelastic scattering to elucidate the lattice dynamics in filled-Skutterudite compounds, especially phosphides. The second-order Doppler shift obeys the Debye model in RFe₄P₁₂. Nuclear quadrupole interaction reveals an unusual temperature dependence in these compounds. An anomaly is observed in ⁵⁷Fe nuclear resonant inelastic scattering of these compounds. The energy where the anomaly observed in SmFe₄P₁₂ agrees with the phonon excitation energy observed by ¹⁴⁹Sm nuclear resonant inelastic scattering. We have also performed the ⁹⁹Ru Mössbauer measurements of SmRu₄P₁₂.     

Rollable ferroelectric liquid crystal devices monostabilized with molecularly aligned polymer walls and networks

This paper describes a flexible monostabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (FLC) device using molecularly aligned polymer walls and networks, which are sequentially formed with a two-step photopolymerization-induced phase separation. When ultraviolet (UV) light was irradiated through a photomask onto a heated nematic phase solution of FLC and monomer, monomer molecules that had flowed into the irradiated areas were photopolymerized, and polymer walls aligned along the rubbing direction of the polyimide alignment layers on plastic film substrates were formed. After uniform UV irradiation without a photomask, polymer networks aligned along the rubbing direction were formed in the FLC. The FLC molecules were monostabilized in the rubbing direction by the strong anchoring of the polymer networks. The device, which was sandwiched between crossed polarizers, exhibited a monostable electro-optic characteristic with a high contrast ratio of over 100:1 and a response time of less than 1 ms. The FLC device exhibited spatially uniform operation even when it was rolled up with a radius of curvature of 1.5 cm.