Effects on spontaneous emission on dynamic characteristics of semiconductor lasers

Dynamic characteristics of semiconductor lasers are calculated with single-mode rate equations, taking into account spontaneous emission factor β and bias current     

Enrichment of surfactant from its aqueous solution using ultrasonic atomization

Dilute aqueous solutions of dodecyl-benzenesulfonic acid sodium salt (DBS-Na) and polyoxyethylenenonylphenyl ethers (PONPEs) were ultrasonically atomized. The surfactants were concentrated in collected mist droplets. The enrichment ratio increased with decreasing surfactant concentration. Depending on the surfactant’s molecular weight and affinity to water, different enrichment ratio was observed in the range of low feed concentrations. For anionic surfactant, DBS-Na, the enrichment ratio was significantly improved by KCl addition and a peak appeared on the plot of the ratio against KCl concentration. Addition of NaCl or CaCl₂ · 2H₂O to the surfactant solution also enhanced the enrichment ratio; however, the effect was relatively small. Such behaviors of the ratio were interpreted as enhanced interfacial adsorption of the surfactant and a lack of supply of surfactant monomers from liquid bulk because of slow breaking of surfactant micelles. Time required for collecting an amount of mist was also observed. Among the three salt systems, the time for KCl system was twice as long as others. This fact suggested that the formation of smaller droplets in KCl system.     

Visualization of shock-wave formation processes during shock reflection at obstacles with multiple steps

According to standard textbooks on compressible fluid dynamics, a shock wave is formed by an accumulation of compression waves. However, the process by which an accumulated compression wave grows into a shock wave has never been visualized. In the present paper, the authors tried to visualize this process using a model wedge with multiple steps. This model is useful for generating a series of compression waves and can simulate a compression process that occurs in a shock tube. By estimating the triple-point trajectory angle, we demonstrated visually that an accumulated compression wave grows into a shock wave. Further reflection experiments over a rough-surface wedge confirmed the tendency for the triple point trajectory angle to reach the asymptotic value _s in the end.This work was first presented at the Symposium on Shock Waves, Japan 2002     

Invariant of the hypergeometric group associated to the quantum cohomology of the projective space

We present a simple method to calculate the Stokes matrix for the quantum cohomology of the projective spaces CP^k−1 in terms of certain hypergeometric group. We present also an algebraic variety whose fibre integrals are solutions to the given hypergeometric equation.     

Oxygen triggering reversible modulation of Vibrio fischeri strain Y1 bioluminescence in vivo

Yellow-emitting Vibrio fischeri Y1 modulates its bioluminescence (BL) depending on the dissolved O2 concentration. On supplying O2 to the cells under anaerobiosis, the cells begin to emit striking yellow BL peaking around 535 nm. The enhanced yellow emission reverts reversibly to the original level after O2 is consumed. Moreover, the reversible rise and fall of the yellow emission occurs repeatedly in accord with the repeating cycles of aeration on and off. This indicates that an increase in the cellular amount of yellow fluorescent protein (YFP) is not an immediate cause of the yellow emission enhancement. One suggested explanation is that the activity of YFP originating from its highly fluorescent property is altered by redox interaction with the respiratory components, including the soluble cytochrome c. Under the O2-limited conditions, the cellular YFP molecules, in part, seem to lose the fluorescent property possibly because of being reduced via redox interaction with some respiratory components in reduced form. On stimulating aerobic respiration with O2 supply, the reduced YFP seems to retrieve its fluorescent property via oxidation possibly with both O2, diffused across the cell membrane, and ferricytochrome c, generated during the respiratory turnover. The suggested redox interactions seem primarily to cause the reversible BL modulation.     

Clove oil prevents glycyrrhizin gel formation in aqueous solution

One persistent problem with using therapeutic concentrations of glycyrrhizin (GZ) is that, at these high concentrations, it forms a gel in an aqueous solution. We previously solved this problem by dissolving GZ in a highly concentrated phosphate buffer. Unfortunately, the resulting GZ solution has a hyperosmotic pressure that renders it unsuitable for use in patients. The aim of this study was to prepare a highly concentrated GZ solution having an osmotic pressure ratio of 1 and a pH of 7.4. By adding small amounts of oil and using a 100 mM phosphate buffer, we achieved an emulsified GZ solution that is stable at room temperature and has a physiological osmotic pressure and pH. When clove oil was used as an emulsifier, the gel formation temperature of GZ solution decreased appreciably compared to that of GZ solution without clove oil. Using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), we examined the detailed characteristics of GZ gels prepared from solutions with or without clove oil. SEM of cross sections of GZ gels revealed an irregular structure in gels prepared with clove oil, indicating that clove oil prevented the formation of the intermolecular GZ networks typically characterized by gels derived from pure GZ solutions.     

Development of a novel analytical method for determination of chondroitin sulfate using an in-capillary enzyme reaction

A novel analytical method for determination of total amount of chondroitin sulfate (CS) based on its conversion to desulfated chondro-disaccharide via an enzyme-catalyzed reaction, was developed. Using the in-capillary enzyme reaction, the method was also applied to the successful construction of an on-line analytical system. Within this system, electrophoretic migration was used to mix zones containing the enzyme mixture (chondroitinase ABC, chondro-4-sulfatase, chondro-6-sulfatase and 2-o-sulfatase) and the substrate (CS). The reaction was then allowed to proceed in the presence of a weak electric field and, finally, the product (desulfated chondro-disaccharide) of enzyme reaction migrated to the detector under the influence of an applied electric field. A polyvinyl alcohol-coated capillary was used to reduce protein adsorption. Desulfated chondro-disaccharide was successfully migrated toward the anode in 10 mM Tris-acetate buffer (pH 7.0) under reversed polarity and detected at 232 nm. The established method was validated and demonstrated to be applicable in the determination of total amount of CS in a commercial ophthalmic solution. No interference from the formulation excipients was observed. Good linearity was obtained, with correlation coefficients above 0.999. Recoveries and precisions ranged from 100.0 to 100.5%, and from 0.2 to 0.6% of the relative standard deviation, respectively. Good agreement was obtained between the established method and traditional photometric method based on carbazole reaction. In this study, application of the method to disaccharide compositional analysis was also performed.