A nanoscale understanding of the adhesion of polybutylene terephthalate on aluminum

The adhesion strength of polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) on aluminum was investigated using density functional theory-based total energy calculations. Aluminum atom was connected to a PBT monomer at different orientations and total energies were calculated in order to determine the most stable orientation. The energy differences showed that the Al oriented at 180° with the ester group of the monomer bonded strongly. Using this orientation, the PBT monomer-adhesion on aluminum surface and the aluminum atom adhesion on PBT bulk were also investigated.     

Holographic vibration measurements of rough surfaces using a LCSLM

This paper describes measurements of a vibrating object with rough surface by the time-averaged method of holography using a newly designed optically addressed liquid crystal spatial light modulator with a resolution of 102 lp/mm and a diffraction efficiency of 16%. An object vibrating faster than several tens of Hz could be visualized. The pattern obtained by the method provides the locus of vibrating nodes. The advantage of this method is that a high contrast pattern of a vibrating object can be imaged in near-real-time, although the sensitivity of vibration is decreased.     

Development of highly potent chiral discrimination methods that solve the problems of the diastereomer method

The development of highly potent chiral discrimination methods that solve the problems of the diastereomer method, in which it is impossible to discriminate the diastereomers having chiral centers separated by more than four bonds, is described. On the basis of the results obtained, a new hypothesis, Induced Chiral Fields that the achiral reversed phase can provide chiral fields depending on the structures of the eluents, is proposed to explain the significant results of separation of the diastereomers derived from newly developed chiral and fluorescent labeling reagents and optical isomers by reversed-phase HPLC, which was hitherto impossible.     

Polymorphism of 4-Fluorophenylpyruvic Acid Studied by X-Ray Crystallography and Vibrational Spectroscopy

Two polymorphic forms (I and II) of 4-fluorophenylpyruvic acid (F-PPA) were obtained by crystallization from different solvents, showing a melting point at 163.2 and 171.0 °C. Crystal structures of polymorphs I and II were determined by X-ray crystallography. IR and Raman spectra of the two polymorphs were measured and the spectral characteristics were compared with those of phenylpyruvic acid. the two polymorphs show similar molecular and crystal structures to each other, except for the molecular geometries of the enol and the carboxylic acid moieties. Distinct IR spectral differences which result from the crystal field splitting were observed between the two polymorphs.     

Use of multi-coil parallel-gap resonators for co-registration EPR/NMR imaging

This article reports experimental investigations on the use of RF resonators for continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance (cw-EPR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) imaging. We developed a composite resonator system with multi-coil parallel-gap resonators for co-registration EPR/NMR imaging. The resonance frequencies of each resonator were 21.8MHz for NMR and 670MHz for EPR. A smaller resonator (22mm in diameter) for use in EPR was placed coaxially in a larger resonator (40mm in diameter) for use in NMR. RF magnetic fields in the composite resonator system were visualized by measuring a homogeneous 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-piperidinooxy (4-hydroxy-TEMPO) solution in a test tube. A phantom of five tubes containing distilled water and 4-hydroxy-TEMPO solution was also measured to demonstrate the potential usefulness of this composite resonator system in biomedical science. An image of unpaired electrons was obtained for 4-hydroxy-TEMPO in three tubes, and was successfully mapped on the proton image for five tubes. Technical problems in the implementation of a composite resonator system are discussed with regard to co-registration EPR/NMR imaging for animal experiments.     

Electrical control of the direction of spin accumulation

We are able to continuously change the direction of polarization of spin accumulation in a nonmagnetic metal by varying the currents injected by two ferromagnetic spin injectors. From measurements made at a distance from the injection area, we find a cosvarphi variation of the spin signal. This confirms that the angle of polarization of the nonlocal spin polarization with respect to the magnetization of the fixed spin detector is continuously varied as we change the injection currents. We give an explanation for the origin of this simple cosvarphi variation of the spin signal.     

Frequency-dependent changes in absolute hearing threshold caused by perception of a previous sound

This study investigated effects of a previous sound presentation at the absolute threshold of hearing. Changes in threshold were measured when a pure tone at 60 dB SPL preceded a test tone in the contra- or ipsilateral ear. When the previous and test sounds both had the same frequency of 500 Hz, threshold decreased approximately 2 dB in the contralateral ear, and increased slightly in the ipsilateral ear. On the other hand, when the frequency of the previous sound differed from that of the test sound, the threshold was decreased slightly in the ipsilateral ear.     

Temperature dependence of thermal property for lead nitrate crystal

Thermal property was measured in a lead nitrate crystal, Pb(NO₃)₂, at temperatures from 90 to 340 K by use of ac calorimetry technique. The heat capacity derived from the measurements showed temperature dependence with thermal hysteresis, in the temperature region from 240 to 300 K. The anomaly of the heat capacity was found in the vicinity of 275.22 K. The broad temperature variation in the heat capacity was observed in the region from 235 to 260 K.     

Magnetically-driven heat transport device using a binary temperature-sensitive magnetic fluid

The magnetic body force in boiling two-phase temperature-sensitive magnetic fluid (TSMF) flow is known to effectively increase the driving force of magnetic fluid in a non-uniform magnetic field. Based on this mechanism, in the present study, a binary TSMF, which is a mixture of the TSMF and a low-boiling-saturation-temperature organic solution, is proposed to be used in a heat transport device to enhance its circulation. In order to see its performance in the heat transport device, the pressure difference at different heated temperatures, magnetic fields and inclination angles of the heating section are investigated experimentally and theoretically. Results showed that the driving force increases remarkably due to more gas phase appearing in the test fluid and the magnetization of it decreasing. At low magnetic field the driving force is enhanced greatly when the inclination angle is close to 60°, while at high magnetic field the driving force is remarkably enhanced due to the effect of the magnetic force in the inclination angle range from 0° to 30° and 60° to 90°.