Efficient construction of the kedarcidin chromophore ansamacrolide

[Structure: see text] The streamlined assembly of the ansamacrolide framework of the kedarcidin chromophore via an efficient atropselective Sonogashira coupling step is described. To this end, two newly improved practical syntheses of the cyclopentene and diyne fragments have been developed, which feature 0.2 mol % catalytic loadings for an RCM step and i-PrMgCl/CH2I2 as a new entry to gem-disubstituted epoxides from ketones, both being applicable to 49-g scales.     

Design of Long-Wavelength Vertical-Cavity Surface-Emitting Lasers with Resonant Optical Pumping

An optically pumped long-wavelength vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser (VCSEL) with resonant optical pumping has been proposed. The proposed structure enables the dual-resonance of pump light (1300 nm band) and output light (1550 nm band) at the same time. It is shown that high pumping efficiency of ∼99% can be obtained by adjusting the top mirror reflectivity and the cavity length. This dual-resonance VCSEL (DR-VCSEL) may have great advantages of high efficiency pumping, low power consumption and can be fabricated by using conventional VCSEL fabrication techniques with reasonable fabrication tolerances.     

Ferroelectric switching characteristics of 73/27 copolymer of vinylidene fluoride and trifluoroethylene

Ferroelectric polarization-reversal switching of vinylidene fluoride—trifluoroethylene copolymer with 73 mol % of vinylidene fluoride is investigated under a variety of conditions in an attempt to derive detailed information on the polarization reversal of the polymer. The electric-field dependence of switching time t_s obeys an exponential law. The temporal change of switching current density J is presented in the form J/(P_s ? P) versus time (P is the polarization, and P_s is its saturation value), which is free of the depolarization-field effect and discriminates in a straightforward manner between acceleration and deceleration of switching. Effects of the annealing of samples upon t_s are observed together with changes in the degree of crystallinity. Effects of space charge distribution upon t_s are investigated by applying two successive pulses, positive and negative, with varied intervals t_w between the two. The dynamics of space charge redistribution is elucidated from the t_w dependence of the t_s of the second pulse. The temperature dependence of t_s indicates that the switching becomes critically fast as the phase-transition temperature is approached.     

On the 4D effective theory in warped compactifications with fluxes and branes

We present a systematic way to derive the four-dimensional effective theories for warped compactifications with fluxes and branes in the ten-dimensional type IIB supergravity. The ten-dimensional equations of motion are solved using the gradient expansion method and the effective four-dimensional equations of motions are derived by imposing the consistency condition that the total derivative terms with respect to the six-dimensional internal coordinates vanish when integrated over the internal manifold. By solving the effective four-dimensional equations, we can find the gravitational backreaction to the warped geometry due to the dynamics of moduli fields, branes and fluxes.     

Effects of capacitive coupling on the escape rate in intrinsic Josephson junction stacks

We formulate a macroscopic quantum theory that can describe the macroscopic quantum tunneling (MQT) in intrinsic Josephson junctions (IJJs). The capacitively coupled IJJ model is quantized in terms of the canonical quantization method. The multi-junction effect for the MQT to the first resistive branch is clarified. It is shown that the escape rate is greatly enhanced by the capacitive coupling between junctions.     

Photoluminescence characterization of GaxIn1−xAs (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.32) strained quantum wells grown on InP by chemical beam epitaxy

We have investigated some characteristics of Ga_xIn_1−xAs/InP (x = 0, 0.2, 0.32) strained materials by growing multi-quantum wells with various well widths from 3 to 60 Å by chemical beam epitaxy. Growth conditions such as valve sequences and growth interruptions were optimised to have single-peaked photoluminescence spectra for all strained samples. Measured room temperature emission wavelengths were compared with theoretically estimated values. Photoluminescence linewidths were around 16 meV for most samples at 77 K, but broadened for well widths of less than 20 Å. Photoluminescence intensity also peaked at well width of 20 Å for all compositions. Performances of optical devices may be closely related to this “critical thickness” determined probably by the growth system limitation.     

An enzymatically activated fluorescence probe for targeted tumor imaging

Beta-galactosidase is a widely used reporter enzyme, but although several substrates are available for in vitro detection, its application for in vivo optical imaging remains a challenge. To obtain a probe suitable for in vivo use, we modified our previously developed activatable fluorescence probe, TG-betaGal (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2005, 127, 4888-4894), on the basis of photochemical and photophysical experiments. The new probe, AM-TG-betaGal, provides a dramatic fluorescence enhancement upon reaction with beta-galactosidase, and further hydrolysis of the ester moiety by ubiquitous intracellular esterases affords a hydrophilic product that is well retained within the cells without loss of fluorescence. We used a mouse tumor model to assess the practical utility of AM-TG-betaGal, after confirming that tumors in the model could be labeled with an avidin-beta-galactosidase conjugate. This conjugate was administered to the mice in vivo, followed by AM-TG-betaGal, and subsequent ex vivo fluorescence imaging clearly visualized intraperitoneal tumors as small as 200 microm. This strategy has potential clinical application, for example, in video-assisted laparoscopic tumor resection.     

Analytic solutions in nonlinear massive gravity

We study spherically symmetric solutions in a covariant massive gravity model, which is a candidate for a ghost-free nonlinear completion of the Fierz-Pauli theory. There is a branch of solutions that exhibits the Vainshtein mechanism, recovering general relativity below a Vainshtein radius given by (r(g)m(2))(1/3), where m is the graviton mass and r(g) is the Schwarzschild radius of a matter source. Another branch of exact solutions exists, corresponding to de Sitter-Schwarzschild spacetimes where the curvature scale of de Sitter space is proportional to the mass squared of the graviton.