Chemical fingerprinting at the atomic level with scanning tunneling spectroscopy

Scanning tunneling spectroscopy (STS) based on scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) makes it possible to map the local electronic density of states for clean surfaces and for those with adsorbates. We have developed a protocol that allows us to obtain the spectral fingerprints of halogen atoms on Si(0 0 1), and we use those fingerprints to distinguish between adatom species for surfaces with Cl and Br mixed adsorbates. The key to the process is the energy distribution of the antibonding states that depend on the halogen species.     

Stochastic thermoelastic problem of a functionally graded plate under random temperature load

This study attempts to derive the statistics of temperature and thermal stress in functionally graded material (FGM) plates exposed to random external temperatures. The thermomechanical properties of the FGM plates are assumed to vary arbitrarily only in the plate thickness direction. The external temperatures are expressed as random functions with respect to time. The transient temperature field in the FGM plate is determined by solving a nonhomogeneous heat conduction problem for a multilayered plate with linear nonhomogeneous thermal conductivity and different homogeneous heat capacity in each layer. The autocorrelations and power spectrum densities (PSDs) of temperature and thermal stress are derived analytically. These statistics for FGM plates composed of partially stabilised zirconia (PSZ) and austenitic stainless steel (SUS304) are computed under the condition that the fluctuation in the external temperature can be considered as white noise or a stationary Markov process.     

Polarization of recoil neutrons from single-pion photoproduction off protons in the resonance region

The polarization of the recoil neutrons from the reaction γp→π⁺n was measured at a c.m. angle of 105° for incident photon energies between 675 and 1125 MeV. A scattered π⁺ meson and a recoil neutron were detected in coincidence with a magnetic spectrometer and a neutron polarimeter system using liquid hydrogen. Results are compared with recent phenomenological analyses and the other existing data measured by the double polarization measurement technique.     

A simple and efficient synthesis of 2-alkylazulenes

The annulation method based on 2H-cyclohepta[b]furan-2-ones was applied for the synthesis of 2-alkylazulenes; 2-R-azulene (R = Et, i-Pr, n-Pr, i-Bu). Tropolone p-toluenesulfonate was used as a starting compound. By the two step synthesis, 1-carboxylic-3-cyanoazulene derivatives were obtained. Treatment of 1-carboxylic-3-cyanoazulene derivatives with aq H₂SO₄ resulted in decarboxylation and elimination of cyano group to give 2-alkylazulenes in good yields.     

Application of three-dimensional magnetic resonance image registration for monitoring hip joint diseases

The purpose of this study was to estimate the accuracy of a method in which three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance (MR) volume registration is used for monitoring hip joint disease. Data were analyzed using a normalized cross-correlation (NCC) algorithm involving a user-selected 3D box including the proximal femur. Most of the femoral head was not included in the 3D box because it can become deformed during the course of disease. The accuracy of registration around the femoral head was evaluated using five phantoms and clinical MR data of 17 patients with hip joint disease. In the phantom experiment, registration accuracy was evaluated using four fiducial markers attached to the femoral head. In the experiment using clinical data, registration accuracy was evaluated using a landmark in the femoral head. The registration accuracy in the phantom and clinical experiment was 0.43+/-0.18 mm (S.D.) and 1.12+/-0.46 mm (S.D.), respectively. The former is a value less than half the minimum dimension of a voxel (1.25 x 1.25 x 1.0 mm). Although the latter is slightly larger than the minimum dimension of a voxel, actual errors would be smaller because of the uncertainty in landmark localization. In conclusion, the present method based on an NCC algorithm can be used to accurately register serial MR images of the femoral heads with an error on the order of a voxel. We believe that this method is sufficiently accurate for monitoring hip joint diseases.     

Differential cross sections of proton Compton scattering in the energy range between 450 and 950 MeV

The differential cross sections of the proton Compton scattering around the second resonance have been measured at a c.m. angle of 90° for incident photon energies between 450 MeV and 950 MeV in steps of 50 MeV, and at an angle of 60° for energies between 600 MeV and 800 MeV. The results show that the peak of the 2nd resonance agrees with that of the pion photoproduction process. We also calculated the proton Compton scattering based on unitarity and fixed-t dispersion relations. The calculation describes well the data of the cross section and the recoil proton polarization.