Instability of traveling waves in an optical waveguide

Instability of traveling IR waves within a waveguide structure is discussed. A practical model of a traveling wave amplifier of a solid state is proposed, utilizing an optical waveguide. The mechanism of instability is interpreted in terms of an interaction between a plasmon wave and a circuit one under a constraining boundary condition. Properties of the traveling amplification and related problems are discussed, with appropriately suggested semiconductor materials and device designs. The features of the amplifier are a simple structure, a low DC biasing power dissipation for room-temperature operation, unidirectionality, and a wide wavelength range from IR or submillimeter order, suited to various applications.     

Ruthenium-catalyzed hydrophosphinylative cyclization of 1,6-diynes. Stereoselective synthesis of exocyclic 1,3-dienylphosphine oxides

The first catalytic synthesis of exocyclic 1,3-dienylphosphine oxides was achieved by the ruthenium-catalyzed selective hydrophosphinylative cyclization of 1,6-diynes. A plausible mechanism involving a ruthenacyclopentatriene intermediate is proposed on the basis of the DFT calculations of model ruthenium complexes.     

Superconducting fullerene nanowhiskers

We synthesized superconducting fullerene nanowhiskers (C(60)NWs) by potassium (K) intercalation. They showed large superconducting volume fractions, as high as 80%. The superconducting transition temperature at 17 K was independent of the K content (x) in the range between 1.6 and 6.0 in K-doped C(60) nanowhiskers (K(x)C(60)NWs), while the superconducting volume fractions changed with x. The highest shielding fraction of a full shielding volume was observed in the material of K(3.3)C(60)NW by heating at 200 °C. On the other hand, that of a K-doped fullerene (K-C(60)) crystal was less than 1%. We report the superconducting behaviors of our newly synthesized K(x)C(60)NWs in comparison to those of K(x)C(60) crystals, which show superconductivity at 19 K in K(3)C(60). The lattice structures are also discussed, based on the x-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses.     

Blockade of inflammatory responses by a small-molecule inhibitor of the Rac activator DOCK2

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Highlights? CPYPP binds to DOCK2 DHR-2 domain and inhibits its catalytic activity ? CPYPP inhibits DOCK2-mediated Rac activation in cells ? The structural features of CPYPP required for its inhibitory effect were revealed ? CPYPP inhibits lymphocyte migration and activation in vitro and in vivo     

Energy decomposition analysis in solution based on the fragment molecular orbital method

We develop the pair interaction energy decomposition analysis (PIEDA) in solution by combining the fragment molecular orbital (FMO) method with the polarizable continuum model (PCM). The solvent screening of the electrostatic interaction and the desolvation penalty in complex formation are described by this approach from ab initio calculations of fragments and their pairs. The applications to the complex of solvated sodium and chlorine ions, as well as to lysine and aspartic acid, show how the analysis helps reveal the physical picture. The PIEDA/PCM method is also applied to a small protein chignolin (PDB: 1UAO), and the solvent screening of the pair interactions is discussed.     

Dimeric liquid crystals with 5-(4-alkoxybenzoyloxy)tropone or 4-(4-alkoxybenzoyloxy)phenyl cores: evaluation of the tilt angles of the cores, spacers, and side chains

Two types of symmetric dimers with 5-(4-alkoxybenzoyloxy)tropone cores or with 4-(4-alkoxybenzoyloxy)phenyl cores were synthesized to evaluate the effect of the core structure and the length of the spacer on the mesomorphic properties. The former had smectic C phases whereas the latter had smectic C and F phases. Both types of dimer showed a remarkable odd-even effect on varying the spacer on the mesomorphic properties. Comparison of the thermal stability between them demonstrated that benzenoid twins are more stable than troponoid ones. The layer spacings of the smectic C phases were measured to determine the tilt angles of the core part, the spacer, and the side chains on changing the length of the spacer and the side chains. Troponoid dimers had a larger tilt angle of the core part of the smectic C phase than benzenoid twins, which lowered the thermal stability of the troponoid. Entropy changes of the smectic C phase to the isotropic liquid showed a contrast between troponoids and benzenoids. The former had smaller values and odd-even effects than the latter, which indicated that the former troponoids had a limited number of conformers in mesophases.     

Double Shrinkage Estimators in the GMANOVA Model

In the GMANOVA model or equivalent growth curve model, shrinkage effects on the MLE (maximum likelihood estimator) are considered under an invariant risk matrix. We first study the fundamental structure of the problem through which we decompose the estimation problem into some conditional problems and then demonstrate some classes of double shrinkage minimax estimators which uniformly dominate the MLE in the matrix risk.     

Teurilene and thyrsiferyl 23-acetate, meso and remarkably cytotoxic compounds from the marine red alga laurencia obtusa (hudson) lamouroux

Two new cyclic ethers consisting of squalene carbon skeleton have been isolated from the red alga L. obtusa. The absolute stereostructure of teurilene ($\text{1}$) was elucidated by x-ray crystallographic method, and the structure of thyrsiferyl 23-acetate ($\text{2}$) was established from the spectral and chemical evidence.