Structural and electronic properties of a new molecular conductor, α-(BEDT-TTF)2CsCd(SCN)4

Structural and electronic properties of a new BEDT-TTF based radical cation salt, α-(BEDT-TTF)₂CsCd(SCN)₄, are presented. In the measurements of the electrical resistivity and the magnetic susceptibility, this new α-type salt shows metallic behavior down to low temperature. Measurements of the resistivity under in-plane c-axial strain reveal a newly observed insulating phase, suggesting that α-(BEDT-TTF)₂CsCd(SCN)₄ is placed near an insulating phase which might have close relationships with a superconducting phase realized in α-type salts.     

Changes in enzymatic and membrane-adsorbing activities of sphingomyelinase from Bacillus cereus by modification with a polyethylene glycol derivative.

Sphingomyelinase (SMPLC) from Bacillus cereus was modified with a polyethylene glycol (PEG) derivative, methoxypolyethylene glycol-succinimidyl succinate (ss-PEG). The molecular weight of the ss-PEG-modified SMPLC was calculated to be approx. 150 kDa by gel-filtration whereas that of the native enzyme, was 25 kDa. By this modification, the enzyme increased its thermostability and retained its hydrolytic activity toward 2-(N-hexadecanoylamino)-4-nitrophenylphosphocholine (HNP) and sphingomyelin (SM) in the mixed micelles with the surfactants such as Triton X-100 and sodium deoxycholate (SDC). However, the activity toward liposomal SM was significantly decreased, and all the enzyme activities toward bovine erythrocytes, including membraneous SM-hydrolyzing and hemolytic activities as well as the enzyme adsorption onto the erythrocyte membranes, were completely lost.     

Palladium‐catalyzed three‐component coupling polycondensation of aromatic diiodide,aromatic bis(boronic acid propanediol ester), and norbornadiene: A new route for poly(p‐phenylene vinylene)

A novel synthetic method for soluble precursor polymers of poly(p‐phenylene vinylene) (PPV) derivatives by the palladium‐catalyzed three‐component coupling polycondensation of aromatic diiodides, aromatic bis(boronic acid) derivatives, and norbornadiene is described. For example, the polymerization of 1,4‐diiodo‐2,5‐dioctyloxybenzene, benzene‐1,4‐bis(boronic acid propanediol ester), and norbornadiene at 100 °C for 3 days provided a polymer consisting of the three monomer units in a 97% yield (number‐average molecular weight = 3100, weight‐average molecular weight/number‐average molecular weight = 1.37). A derivative of PPV was produced smoothly by the retro Diels–Alder reaction of the polymer both in a dodecyloxybenzene solution and in a film at 200 °C in vacuo. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 43: 3403–3410, 2005     

Single-shot digital holography separating the real and imaginary parts of a signal beam in the rhombic region of the Fourier plane

Optical Review - We propose a new single-shot digital holography that measures the complex amplitude high precisely using a single image sensor. In this technology, a signal beam passes through a...     

Non-synchronous oscillations in four-dimensional nonlinear semelparous Leslie matrix models

In a certain class of semelparous Leslie matrix models, either a positive equilibrium is stable and an invariant set on the boundary of the nonnegative cone is unstable or vice versa generically if the model dimension is two or three. This dynamic dichotomy is expected to be failed in the four-dimensional case. Our study focuses on a semelparous Leslie matrix model with specific nonlinearities and rigorously proves that the dynamic dichotomy does not hold in the four-dimensional case. This result is derived by showing that the four-dimensional semelparous Leslie matrix model can be uniformly persistent with respect to the boundary of the nonnegative cone even if there exists an unstable positive equilibrium. In such a situation, there are no missing age-classes but population oscillation occurs.     

Regulation of cellular responses to macroporous inorganic films prepared by the inverse-opal method

Regenerative medicine for repairing damaged body tissues has recently become critically important. Cell culture scaffolds are required for the control of cell attachment, proliferation, and differentiation in in vitro cell cultures. A new strategy to control cell adhesion, morphology, and proliferation was developed by culturing mouse osteoblast-like MC3T3-E1 cells on novel cell culture scaffolds fabricated using ordered nanometer-sized pores (100, 300, 500, and 1000 nm). Results of this study indicate that after 72 h of incubation, the number of cells cultured on a silica film with a pore size of 1000 nm was similar to or slightly lower than that cultured on a non-porous control silica film. Films with 100-500 nm pore sizes, however, resulted in the cell growth inhibition. Morphology of the cultured cells revealed increased elongation and the formation of actin stress fibers was virtually absent on macroporous silica films with 100-500 nm pore size. Vinculin molecules expressed in cells cultured on the non-porous silica films showed many clear focal adhesions, whereas focal contacts were insufficiently formed in cells cultured on macroporous films. The influence of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and alumina scaffolds on the behavior of MC3T3-E1 cells was also evaluated. The proliferation rate of MC3T3-E1 cells cultured on HAp films with 1000 nm pore size was increased to approximately 20% above than that obtained of cells cultured on non-porous HAp films. These results demonstrate that the pore size and constituents of films play a role in controlling the morphology and proliferation rate of MC3T3-E1 cells.     

Chromophores of the green fluorescent protein studied in the gas phase

Absorption of gas-phase biomolecules has been studied at the heavy-ion storage ring ELISA. Here we discuss the absorption characteristics of the chromophores of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP). The gas-phase absorption maximum of the deprotonated chromophore (anion form) is at 479 nm. This is almost identical to one of the two absorption maxima of the protein, being at 477 nm, which is ascribed to a deprotonated chromophore in the protein. The protonated chromophore (cation form) has a maximum at 406 nm in the gas phase. We compare the gas-phase results with absorption profiles of GFP and chromophores in liquids, and argue that the absorption characteristics of GFP are mainly ascribed to intrinsic chemical properties of the chromophore. Evidently, the special β-can structure of GFP provides shielding of the chromophore from the surroundings without significantly changing the electronic structure of the chromophore through interactions with amino acid side chains. Received 28 December 2001 Published online 13 September 2002