SOLVABILITY OF FORWARD-BACKWARD SDES AND THE NODAL SET OF HAMILTON-JACOBI-BELLMAN EQUATIONS

The solvability of a class of forward-backward stochastic differential equations (SDEs for short) over an arbitrarily prescribed time duration is studied. The authors design a stochastic relaxed control problem, with both drift and difftusion all being controlled, so that the solvability problem is converted to a problem of finding the nodal set of the viscosity solution to a certain Hamilton-Jacobi-Bellman equation. This method overcomes the fatal difficulty encountered in the traditional contraction mapping approach to the existence theorem of such SDEs.     

Isolation and Structure Elucidation of Nortriterpenoids from Schisandra rubriflora

Seven new highly oxygenated nortriterpenoids, rubriflorins D–J ( 1 – 7 ), were isolated from the leaves and stems of Schisandra rubriflora, and their structures were elucidated on the basis of extensive analysis of spectroscopic data. These new compounds feature the opening of ring A compared with related known nortriterpenoids isolated from the genus Schisandra and showed weak activity against HIV‐1.     

Experimental verification of drop/impact simulation for a cellular phone

Conducting drop tests to investigate impact behavior and identify failure mechanisms of small-size electronic products is generally expensive and time-consuming. Nevertheless, strict drop/impact performance criteria for hand-held electronic products such as cellular phones play a decisive role in the design because they must withstand unexpected shocks. The design of product durability on impact has heavily relied on the designer's intuition and experience. In this study, a reliable drop/impact simulation for a cellular phone is carried out using the explicit code LS-DYNA. Subsequently globallocal experimental verification is accomplished by means of high-speed photography and impact response measurement. Using this methodology, we predict potential damage locations in a cellular phone and compare them with real statistical data. It is envisaged that development of a reliable methodology of drop/impact simulation will provide us with a powerful and efficient vehicle for improvement of the design quality and reduction of the product development cycle.     

Synthesis and nuclear magnetic resonance analysis of starch‐g‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) copolymers

A new biodegradable starch graft copolymer, starch‐g‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one), was synthesized through the ring‐opening graft polymerization of 1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one onto a starch backbone. The grafting reactions were conducted with various 1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one/starch feed ratios to obtain starch‐g‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) copolymers with various poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) graft structures. The microstructure of starch‐g‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) was characterized in detail with one‐ and two‐dimensional NMR spectroscopy. The effect of the feed composition on the resulting microstructure of starch‐g‐poly(1,4‐dioxan‐2‐one) was investigated. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 3417–3422, 2004     

Fixed Point Theorems for New Classes of Multimaps

A closed multimap T : X ? X having the KKM property has a fixed point whenever X is a compact convex set satisfying a certain topological condition. Our new result properly generalizes a known one due to W. K. Kim [4].     

Numerical methods for computations of nonequilibrium hypersonic flow around bodies

In this paper we present numerical methods for computations of nonequilibrium hypersonic flow of air around bodies including chemical reaction effects and present numerical result of the flow over concave corners. We developed implicit finite difference method to overcome numerical difficulties associated with the lack of resolution behind the shock and near the body. Using our method we were able to find details of the flow properties near the shock and body and were able to continue the computation of the flow for a long distance from the corner of the body.     

In situ transmission electron microscopy study of the nucleation and grain growth of Ge2Sb2Te5 thin films

The nucleation and grain growth of the Ge₂Sb₂Te₅ (GST) thin films were studied using high voltage electron microscope operated at 1250 kV. As a result, we have found that 2 nm-sized nucleus forms as a cluster which atoms are arranged regularly at the stage of nucleation prior to the formation of grains having crystal structure. The high-resolution transmission electron microscopy study and fast-Fourier transformations revealed that coexistence of face-centered-cubic (FCC) and hexagonal structure occurs, and formation of twin defect is found in the hexagonal structure during the grain growth as the annealing temperature is increased. GST grain having the hexagonal structure grow from the surface, and the growth proceeded perpendicular to the [0 0 0 1], namely the path parallel to the (0 0 0 1) plane. Consequently, grain growth to a large-scale result in a lengthened shape.     

Study of interactions of various ionic species with solvents toward the design of receptors

In earlier studies, the interactions of isolated ionic species with various solvents were investigated using ab initio calculations. The ionic species investigated included cations (proton, hydronium, ammonium, and metal cations) and anions (single electron, hydroxide, and halide anions). However in the present study, we investigate the interactions of these ionic species with the solvent in the presence of other competing ionic species. We also elaborate on how the information obtained from these extensive studies have been employed in designing and synthesizing various kinds of novel ionophores and receptors.