Polymers from 1,2-Disubstituted Ethylenic Monomers. V. Radical Polymerization of Dimethyl Maleate in the Presence or Absence of Isomerization Catalyst

Although dimethyl maleate (DMM) did not give any homopolymer with a radical initiator, it was polymerized in the presence of some amines via a monomer-isomerization radical polymerization mechanism, i.e., DMM isomerized to dimethyl fumarate (DMF) which then homopolymerized. For this polymerization, some primary or secondary aliphatic amines served as isomerization catalysts, and morpholine showed the most efficient activity. The activation energies for the monomer-isomerization radical polymerization of DMM with di-tert-butyl peroxide in the presence of morpholine and for the isomerization from DMM to DMF with morpholine were 95.9 and 23.0 kJ/mol, respectively. Morpholine was also observed to act as a retarder in radical polymerization of DMF. Moreover, the relationships between rates or copolymer compositions and the feed monomer compositions in the copolymerization of DMM with styrene in the presence of morpholine were found to become close to those of DMF with styrene, although both relationships were different in the absence of morpholine.     

Novel synthesis of 1α,25-dihydroxy-19-norvitamin D from 25-hydroxyvitamin D

19-Norvitamin D analogs 3a and 3b were synthesized from 25-hydroxyvitamin D, obtained via a bioconversion method. The synthetic route features a highly regio- and stereoselective hydroboration reaction to afford 25-hydroxy-3,5-cyclopropyl-vitamin D derivatives 12 having olefin at the C1-10-position.     

LSI-based amperometric sensor for bio-imaging and multi-point biosensing

We have developed an LSI-based amperometric sensor called "Bio-LSI" with 400 measurement points as a platform for electrochemical bio-imaging and multi-point biosensing. The system is comprised of a 10.4 mm × 10.4 mm CMOS sensor chip with 20 × 20 unit cells, an external circuit box, a control unit for data acquisition, and a DC power box. Each unit cell of the chip contains an operational amplifier with a switched-capacitor type I-V converter for in-pixel signal amplification. We successfully realized a wide dynamic range from ±1 pA to ±100 nA with a well-organized circuit design and operating software. In particular, in-pixel signal amplification and an original program to control the signal read-out contribute to the lower detection limit and wide detection range of Bio-LSI. The spacial resolution is 250 μm and the temporal resolution is 18-125 ms/400 points, which depends on the desired current detection range. The coefficient of variance of the current for 400 points is within 5%. We also demonstrated the real-time imaging of a biological molecule using Bio-LSI. The LSI coated with an Os-HRP film was successfully applied to the monitoring of the changes of hydrogen peroxide concentration in a flow. The Os-HRP-coated LSI was spotted with glucose oxidase and used for bioelectrochemical imaging of the glucose oxidase (GOx)-catalyzed oxidation of glucose. Bio-LSI is a promising platform for a wide range of analytical fields, including diagnostics, environmental measurements and basic biochemistry.     

Three-Body ΛNN → nNN Nonmesonic Weak Decay Process of Λ Hypernuclei

The fundamental motivation to study the non-mesonic weak decay (NMWD) of Λ hypernuclei is that it provides the unique channel for the information of the baryon–baryon weak interaction in SU3 _f group. The relative strength of the two main channels of NMWD whose decay processes are the Λp → np and Λn → nn has been the long standing puzzle during last several decades. The puzzling status has been settled down recently with the Γ _n / Γ _p value converging to ${\sim 0.5}$ . The large experimental values of Γ _n / Γ _p of the previous measurements turned out to be due to the surprisingly large contribution of the competing three-body NMWD, ΛNN → nNN process. This paper discusses about the first measurement of the branching ratio of the three-body NMWD process and the renormalized intra-nuclear cascade method adopted to disentangle the contribution of the three-body process out of those due to final state interaction. And the prospects of the more accurate measurement of the three-body process also are presented.     

High-quality generation of a multispot pattern using a spatial light modulator with adaptive feedback

We propose and demonstrate high-quality generation of a uniform multispot pattern (MSP) by using a spatial light modulator with adaptive feedback. The method iteratively updates a computer generated hologram (CGH) using correction coefficients to improve the intensity distribution of the generated MSP in the optical system. Thanks to a simple method of determining the correction coefficients, the computational cost for optimizing the CGH is low, while maintaining high uniformity of the generated MSP. We demonstrate the generation of a 28×28 square-aligned MSP with high uniformity. Additionally, the proposed method could generate an MSP with a gradually varying intensity profile, as well as a uniform MSP consisting of more than 1000 spots arranged in an arbitrary pattern.     

An electric field screen prevents captured insects from escaping by depriving bioelectricity generated through insect movements

An insulated conductor wire (ICW) paralleled with an earthed net was used to observe movements by vinegar flies in relation to their electricity release. ICW was negatively charged to create a positive charge on the net. At particular voltages, flies were attracted to ICW. This attraction was triggered by the deprivation of the insect negative charge with the net. Eventually the insects became net positive and were drawn to the ICW negative charge. The attracted insects generated bioelectricity through skeletal muscular movements. However, the electricity produced was depleted by the net without neutralizing their positive charge in the insect body.     

Pressure dependence of laser oscillation and superfluorescent emission from an optically pumped CF4 laser

Experiments on pressure dependence of a CF₄ laser have been carried out to elucidate dynamic characteristics of CF₄ molecules pumped by CO₂ lasers. The results are followed by a model calculation which characterizes collisional quenching of the energy levels related to the stimulated emission. The enhancement of the laser output induced by buffer-gas addition, which was found under specific conditions, is discussed in relation to the competition between laser and superfluorescent emissions.