Efficient passively Q-switched Yb:LuAG microchip laser

An efficient passively Q-switched Yb:LuAG microchip laser with Cr4+:YAG as saturable absorber was demonstrated for the first time to our knowledge. Slope efficiencies of 40% and 28% were measured for the initial transmission of Cr4+:YAG, T(0)=95% and 90%, respectively. Laser pulses with a pulse energy of 19 microJ and a pulse width of 610 ps at the repetition rate of 12.8 kHz were achieved for T(0)=90%; the corresponding peak power of over 31 kW was obtained. The lasers oscillated at two or three longitudinal modes owing to the broad emission spectra of Yb:LuAG and mode selection by Cr4+:YAG thin plate acting as an intracavity etalon.     

Entropy loss and risk of improved estimators for the generalized variance and precision

Let the distributions of X(p×r) and S(p×p) be N(, I _r) and W _p(n, ) respectively and let them be independent. The risk of the improved estimator for || or {ei329-1} based on X and S under entropy loss (=d/|| –log(d/||)–1 or d||–log(d||)–1) is evaluated in terms of incomplete beta function of matrix argument and its derivative. Numerical comparison for the reduction of risk over the best affine equivariant estimator is given.Dedicated to Professor Yukihiro Kodama on his 60th birthday.     

Unexpected phenyl group rearrangement of Thiele’s hydrocarbon derivative under polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon synthesis

An unexpected ketone was obtained in the synthesis of tetrabenzo[a,d,j,m]coronene having tert-butyl groups from Thiele’s hydrocarbon derivative. The structure of the product was confirmed by not only spectroscopic but also diffraction studies. This product was formed by the rearrangement reaction of one phenyl group and this reaction could be analogous to the pinacol-pinacolone rearrangement.     

De-tert-butylation of poly(N-tert-butyl-N-n-propylacrylamide): Stereochemical analysis at the triad level

The stereochemical analysis of polymers derived from N,N-disubstituted acrylamides is usually difficult. The diad tacticity can be determined from the ¹H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) signals of the main-chain methylene groups. However, the splitting because of the configurational sequences is poor, even in ¹³C NMR, which does not allow determination of the tacticity at the triad level. In contrast, the stereochemical analysis of polymers derived from N-monosubstituted acrylamides is easily conducted and the triad tacticity can be determined from the ¹³C signals of the main-chain methine groups. Thus, stereochemical analysis of N,N-disubstituted polymers should be able to be conducted if the polymers are transformed into N-monosubstituted polymers with retention of the configurational sequence. Poly(N-tert-butyl-N-n-propylacrylamide) was radically prepared, and de-tert-butylation was conducted by treatment with scandium triflate in a mixed solvent of CH₃CN and 1,4-dioxane at 50, 80, and 110°C. ¹H NMR analysis of the resulting polymers indicated quantitative conversion after 72 hr, regardless of the temperature. ¹³C NMR analysis of the transformed polymers confirmed that the configurational sequences were retained during the reaction. Thus, the triad stereochemical analysis of N,N-disubstituted polymers was successfully conducted by de-tert-butylation as a polymer reaction, followed by ¹³C NMR analysis of the transformed polymers.     

Simulation on near-field light on recording medium generated by semiconductor ring resonator with metal nano-antenna for heat-assisted magnetic recording

Optical Review - Heat-assisted magnetic recording (HAMR) is a promising technology for achieving more than 10 Tbit/inch2 recording density. A near-field transducer (NFT), which forms a small light...     

Weakened constraints from b-->sgamma on supersymmetry flavor mixing due to next-to-leading-order corrections

We examine the process B-->X(s)gamma in minimal supersymmetry (SUSY) with general squark flavor mix-ings. We include all relevant next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD corrections and dominant NLO SUSY effects from the gluino. We find that gluino-squark corrections to down-type quark masses induce large NLO corrections to the dominant Wilson coefficients whose size is often similar to those at LO, es-pecially at large tan(beta. For micro>0, destructive interference and suppression by the renormalization group running lead to a "focusing effect" of reducing the size of gluino corrections to the branching ratio, and also of reducing the LO sensitivity to flavor mixings among squarks. Constraints from B(B-->X(s)gamma) on the SUSY-breaking scale can become significantly weakened relative to the minimal flavor violation case, even, at large tan(beta, for small flavor mixings. The case of micro<0 also becomes allowed.     

Enlarged endolymphatic duct and sac syndrome: relationship between MR findings and genotype of mutation in Pendred syndrome gene

Pendred syndrome (PDS) is characterized by profound deafness in childhood, positive perchlorate challenge, and goiter. PDS is often associated with enlarged endolymphatic duct and sac (EEDS), and recently, PDS gene mutations have been reported even in those patients with EEDS without classic Pendred syndrome. In a previous report, the number of mutant alleles was correlated with the degree of subclinical thyroid abnormality, but not with hearing loss, in patients with missense mutation H723R. It also has been reported that the hearing loss in EEDS was not correlated with the EEDS volume, cochlear modiolar area, or signal intensity of the endolymphatic sac. We evaluated the correlations between the number of mutant alleles and these parameters in patients with EEDS to investigate the mechanisms underlying this condition. The study group was comprised of 16 Japanese patients with EEDS diagnosed by MR imaging. The H723R mutation was homozygous in six patients and heterozygous in six patients, with no mutation found in four patients. The modiolar area, EEDS volume, and signal intensity ratio (sac signal/cerebrospinal fluid signal) were not significantly correlated with the number of mutant alleles. PDS gene mutations may not be the only cause of EEDS, and the mechanisms underlying EEDS remain unclear.     

Functionalized [3 + 3]cycloalkynes: substituent effect on self-aggregation by nonplanar pi-pi interactions

[reaction: see text] Optically active (M)-2,11-dihydroxy-1,12-dimethylbenzo[c]phenanthrene-5,8-dicarbonitrile was synthesized from (M)-1,12-dimethyl-2,11-dinitrobenzo[c]phenanthrene-5,8-dicarbonitrile by the reduction and hydroxylation of nitro groups. The compound was converted to several oxygen-functionalized [3 + 3]cycloalkynes with -OH, -OSiMe2-t-Bu, -OAc, -OTf, or -ONf groups, which are chiral arylene ethynylene macrocycles containing three helicenes. The aggregation behaviors of these [3 + 3]cycloalkynes were examined in CHCl3, THF, and acetone using 1H NMR, CD, and vapor pressure osmometry (VPO) studies and were compared with that of the parent [3 + 3]cycloalkyne. An increasing strength of aggregation in CHCl3 was observed in the following order of the substituted derivatives: -H > -ONf > -OTf > -OAc > -OSiMe2-t-Bu. In THF the following strength of aggregation was observed: -OTf > -ONf > -OAc > -H > -OSiMe(2)-t-Bu > -OH. The aggregation of the functionalized [3 + 3]cycloalkynes is stronger for the compounds with electron-withdrawing substituents than for those with electron-donating substituents. (M)-1,12-dimethylbenzo[c]phenanthrene-2,5,8,11-tetraol was also synthesized from the same intermediate. This electron-rich helicene was readily oxidized to 5,6-quinone in air, and the quinone was suggested to form a self-charge-transfer complex in solid state.     

alpha-Aminoallylation of aldehydes in aqueous ammonia

alpha-Aminoallylation of aldehydes in aqueous ammonia has been developed; commercial aqueous ammonia was successfully used, and this method does not require anhydrous conditions thus leading to easy and practical operations.     

Direct observation of the disorder of the methyl group of (R)-1,2-diaminopropane ligand in the quasi-1D bromo-bridged Ni(III) complex by STM

Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) has been measured in quasi-one-dimensional (Quasi-ID) bromo-bridged Ni(III) complexes. In the STM image of [Ni(pn)2Br]Br2 (pn = (R)-1,2-diaminopropane), the bright spots are fluctuated zigzags. Such a result indicates that the methyl groups of the pn ligands are not arranged on the right- and left-hand alternatively along the chains, but in the domain structures or fluctuated structures. This is the first direct observation of the disorder of the methyl group of pn ligands in real space.