Direct reaction analyses of heavy-ion induced reactions leading to discrete states

Analyses of heavy-ion induced reactions leading to discrete final states are reviewed, based largely on works performed jointly by groups at Austin and Saclay, to which the present authors belong. The tool used is the direct reaction theory, including the DWBA, CCBA and CRC methods. Improvements recently made in the formalism of these methods are also reviewed briefly.     

Inflammatory imaging with ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide

The purpose of this study was to investigate the usefulness and feasibility of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) (USPIO-enhanced MRI) for imaging inflammatory tissues. First, we investigated the relationship between the apparent transverse relaxation rate (R2*) and the concentration of USPIO by phantom studies and measured the apparent transverse relaxivity (r2*) of USPIO. Second, we performed animal experiments using a total of 30 mice. The mice were divided into five groups [A (n=6), B (n=6), C (n=6), sham control (n=6), and control (n=6)]. The mice in Groups A, B, C and control were subcutaneously injected with 0.1 ml of turpentine oil on Day 0, while those in the sham control group were subcutaneously injected with 0.1 ml of saline. The mice in Groups A, B, C and sham control were intraperitoneally injected with 200 μmol Fe per kilogram body weight of USPIO (28 nm in diameter) immediately after the first MRI study on Days 3, 5, 7 and 7, respectively, and those in the control group were not injected with USPIO. The second and third MRI studies were performed at 24 and 48 h after USPIO administration, respectively. The maps of R2* were generated from the apparent transverse relaxation time (T2*)-weighted images with six different echo times. The phantom studies showed that there was a linear relationship between R2* and the concentration of USPIO (r=0.99) and the r2* value of USPIO was 105.7 mM⁻¹ s⁻¹. There was a significant increase of R2* in inflammatory tissues in Group C at 24 h after USPIO administration compared with the precontrast R2* value. Our results suggest that USPIO-enhanced MRI combined with R2* measurement is useful for detecting inflammatory tissues.     

Vicious random walkers and a discretization of Gaussian random matrix ensembles

The vicious random walker problem on a one-dimensional lattice is considered. Many walkers take simultaneous steps on the lattice and the configurations in which two of them arrive at the same site are prohibited. It is known that the probability distribution of N walkers after M steps can be written in a determinant form. Using an integration technique borrowed from the theory of random matrices, we show that arbitrary kth order correlation functions of the walkers can be expressed as quaternion determinants whose elements are compactly expressed in terms of symmetric Hahn polynomials.     

Multiple electron injection dynamics in linearly-linked two dye co-sensitized nanocrystalline metal oxide electrodes for dye-sensitized solar cells

Understanding the electron transfer dynamics at the interface between dye sensitizer and semiconductor nanoparticle is very important for both a fundamental study and development of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs), which are a potential candidate for next generation solar cells. In this study, we have characterized the ultrafast photoexcited electron dynamics in a newly produced linearly-linked two dye co-sensitized solar cell using both a transient absorption (TA) and an improved transient grating (TG) technique, in which tin(IV) 2,11,20,29-tetra-tert-butyl-2,3-naphthalocyanine (NcSn) and cis-diisothiocyanato-bis(2,2'-bipyridyl-4,4'-dicarboxylato)ruthenium(II) bis(tetrabutylammonium) (N719) are molecularly and linearly linked and are bonded to the surface of a nanocrystalline tin dioxide (SnO(2)) electrode by a metal-O-metal linkage (i.e. SnO(2)-NcSn-N719). By comparing the TA and TG kinetics of NcSn, N719, and hybrid NcSn-N719 molecules adsorbed onto both of the SnO(2) and zirconium dioxide (ZrO(2)) nanocrystalline films, the forward and backward electron transfer dynamics in SnO(2)-NcSn-N719 were clarified. We found that there are two pathways for electron injection from the linearly-linked two dye molecules (NcSn-N719) to SnO(2). The first is a stepwise electron injection, in which photoexcited electrons first transfer from N719 to NcSn with a transfer time of 0.95 ps and then transfer from NcSn to the conduction band (CB) of SnO(2) with two timescales of 1.6 ps and 4.2 ps. The second is direct photoexcited electron transfer from N719 to the CB of SnO(2) with a timescale of 20-30 ps. On the other hand, back electron transfer from SnO(2) to NcSn is on a timescale of about 2 ns, which is about three orders of magnitude slower compared to the forward electron transfer from NcSn to SnO(2). The back electron transfer from NcSn to N719 is on a timescale of about 40 ps, which is about one order slower compared to the forward electron transfer from N719 to NcSn. These results demonstrate that photoexcited electrons can be effectively injected into SnO(2) from both of the N719 and NcSn dyes.     

Finite Abelian Groups of K3 Surfaces with Smooth Quotient

The quotient space of a K3 surface by a finite group is an Enriques surface or a rational surface if it is smooth. Finite groups where the quotient space are Enriques surfaces are known. In this paper, by analyzing effective divisors on smooth rational surfaces, the author will study finite groups which act faithfully on K3 surfaces such that the quotient space are smooth. In particular, he will completely determine effective divisors on Hirzebruch surfaces such that there is a finite Abelian co...     

Differences in Cartilage Repair between Loading and Unloading Environments in the Rat Knee

We investigated the histopathological and immunohistochemical effects of loading on cartilage repair in rat full-thickness articular cartilage defects. A total of 40 male 9-week-old Wistar rats were studied. Full-thickness articular cartilage defects were created over the capsule at the loading portion in the medial condyle of the femur. Twenty rats were randomly allocated into each of the 2 groups: a loading group and a unloading group. Twenty rats from these 2 groups were later randomly allocated to each of the 2 groups for evaluation at 1 and 2 weeks after surgery. At the end of each period, knee joints were examined histopathologically and immunohistochemically. In both groups at 1 and 2 weeks, the defects were filled with a mixture of granulation tissue and some remnants of hyaline cartilage. The repair tissue was not stained with toluidine blue in both groups. Strong staining of type I collagen was observed in the repair tissue of both groups. The area stained with type I collagen was smaller in the unloading group than in the loading groups, and the stained area was smaller at 2 weeks than at 1 week. In the staining for type II collagen, apparent staining of type II collagen was observed in the repair tissue of both groups at 1 week. At 2 weeks, there was a tendency toward a higher degree of apparent staining in the loading group than in the unloading group. Accordingly, these results indicated that loading and unloading in the early phase of cartilage repair have both merits and demerits.     

Hysteretic behavior of diamagnetic molecular assembly: Magnetic field-induced deformation of tubular self-assemblies composed of amphiphilic molecules

Real-time observation of a morphologies of a multi-component tubular giant vesicle (tGV), which is a self-assembly composed of plural amphiphiles with different packing parameters, was carried out under application of a magnetic field. A tGV, one of the terminals of which was fixed to a bottom of a cell, exhibited the bending deformation under a magnetic field along the perpendicular direction of the long axis. Moreover, the hysteretic behavior in this deformation was observed associated with the increase and decrease of the magnetic fields repeatedly, regardless of the presence or absence of a paramagnetic species. To understand the hysteretic behavior, the molecular cooperative effect, which stabilizes the bending deformation by replacing of the plural kinds of amphiphiles with different packing parameters within a membrane, must be taken into consideration.     

Gravitational waves from sub-lunar-mass primordial black-hole binaries: a new probe of extradimensions

In many brane world models, gravity is largely modified at the electroweak scale approximately 1 TeV. In such models, primordial black holes (PBHs) with a lunar mass M approximately 10(-7)M([circle dot]) might have been produced when the temperature of the Universe was at approximately 1 TeV. If a significant fraction of the dark halo of our galaxy consists of these lunar mass PBHs, a huge number of BH binaries will exist in our neighborhood. Third generation detectors such as EURO can detect gravitational waves from these binaries, and can also determine their chirp mass. With a new detector designed to be sensitive at high frequency bands greater, similar 1 kHz, the existence of extradimensions could be confirmed.     

Confirmation of the structures of kuwanons G and H (albanins F and G) by partial synthesis

Conclusive evidence is presented supporting structures $\text{1}$ and $\text{2}$ for two natural Diels-Alder adducts isolated from mulberry and designated as kuwanon G (albanin F, moracenin B) and Kuwanon H (albanin G, Moracenin A).     

Synthesis of cationic hydride and related complexes of palladium and nickel with tricyclohexylphosphine or triisopropylphosphine

The preparation and characterization of a series of cationic hydride complexes of palladium and nickel of the type [MH(L)(PCy₃)₂]BPh₄ (M = Pd, Ni; L = pyridines, pyrazole, imidazole; Cy = cyclohexyl; Ph = phenyl) from new hydride complexes, trans-MH(NO)₃(PCy₃)₂ are described. Trans-PdH(NO₃)(PCy₃)₂ is prepared conveniently by treatment of Pd(NO₃)₂(PCy₃)₂ (yellow form) with NaBH₄ (yield 93%). The relative stability of the nickel triad hydride complexes is discussed.Preparation of PdHCl(PR₃)₂ (R = Cy or i-Pr = isopropyl) by a new method and their derivatives are also reported.