Consideration of Femtosecond Radiation Generation on NewSUBARU Storage Ring

We studied on realization of short pulse gamma ray and X-ray simultaneously induced by a femtosecond laser on NewSUBARU storage ring. Based on the fact that the transverse dimensions of electron beam are much shorter than the longitudinal one, the laser light is arranged to collide the electron beam at a right angle to generate femtosecond pulse gamma ray, furthermore, the modulated part of the electron bunch gives rise to short pulse X-ray by synchrotron radiation from a downstream bending magnet. The temporal characteristic of the radiation is analyzed in this paper, as well as the performances are estimated.     

Crystallization of bisphenol‐A polycarbonate by a vacuum process

The surface of bisphenol‐A‐polycarbonate (BAPC) showing a stable amorphous state can be crystallized by the “vapor transportation method”. Crystallized BAPC was employed as the novel simple storage medium and bit patterns were recorded on its surface by laser irradiation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Asymptotic expansion formulas for functionals of ε-Markov processes with a mixing property

The ε-Markov process is a general model of stochastic processes which includes nonlinear time series models, diffusion processes with jumps, and many point processes. With a view to applications to the higher-order statistical inference, we will consider a functional of the ε-Markov process admitting a stochastic expansion. Arbitrary order asymptotic expansion of the distribution will be presented under a strong mixing condition. Applying these results, the third order asymptotic expansion of theM-estimator for a general stochastic process will be derived. The Malliavin calculus plays an essential role in this article. We illustrate how to make the Malliavin operator in several concrete examples. We will also show that the thirdorder expansion formula (Sakamoto and Yoshida (1998, ISM Cooperative Research Report, No. 107, 53–60; 1999, unpublished)) of the maximum likelihood estimator for a diffusion process can be obtained as an example of our result.     

Phase Modulation Characteristics Analysis of Optically-Addressed Parallel-Aligned Nematic Liquid Crystal Phase-Only Spatial Light Modulator Combined with a Liquid Crystal Display

An optically addressed parallel-aligned nematic-liquid-crystal spatial light modulator (PAL-SLM) has been studied as a dynamic phase-only light modulation device. The phase modulation characteristics of the PAL-SLM using a liquid crystal display (LCD) as an addressing mask were investigated by analyzing diffraction efficiencies resulting from binary gratings projected from the LCD. A more than 2π phase-only modulation depth was achieved. The highest first-order diffraction efficiency of approximately 38% was also obtained; this is close to the theoretical limit. The experimental results of diffraction efficiencies depending on the phase modulation depth are in good agreement with the simulation for the system operation.     

Chemical synthesis of human adiponectin(19–107) bearing post-translational glycosylation

Human adiponectin(19–107), which consists of the variable region and the collagenous domain bearing post-translational modifications including glycosylation, was chemically synthesized for the first time. A glycoside of 5-hydroxylysine (Hyl) was incorporated using an α-d-glucopyranosyl-(1→2)-β-d-galactopyranosyl/Hyl-Gly building block in a benzyl-protected form by solid-phase peptide synthesis (SPPS). The molecule was assembled from four segments prepared by SPPS via native chemical ligation (NCL) and thioester methods.     

Synthesis of EDOT-containing organic dyes via one-pot,four-component Suzuki–Miyaura coupling and the evaluation of their photovoltaic properties

We have developed a one-pot, four-component Suzuki–Miyaura coupling for the synthesis of thiophene-based donor–π-bridge–acceptor (D–π–A) dyes for dye-sensitized solar cells. Two D–π–A dyes, 19 and 20, retaining 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) beside a cyanoacrylic acid moiety, and one D–π–A dye 21 without EDOT (reference compound) were rapidly synthesized in accordance with the developed procedure. The measurement of the absorption spectra and the electrochemical properties of synthesized dyes, and the photovoltaic properties of solar cells that were prepared using the synthesized dyes 19–21, revealed that the dyes retaining only one EDOT beside a cyanoacrylic acid moiety would exert a high J_sc.     

Differential scanning calorimetry analysis of crystal structure transformation in spray-dried particles consisting of ammonium nitrate,potassium nitrate,and a polymer

Ammonium nitrate (AN) is an affordable oxidant; however, it undergoes crystal structure transformations accompanied by a change in volume at comparatively low temperatures (approx. 30, 80, and 125 °C) and exhibits high hygroscopicity. Both these properties are particularly problematic for the industrial application of AN. In a previous study, we prepared spray-dried particles comprising three components: AN, potassium nitrate (PN) as a phase stabilizer, and a polymer (e.g., polyvinyl alcohol, carboxymethylcellulose salt, and styrene-butadiene latex), which was confirmed to provide effective moisture proofing. In the present study, the crystal transformation behavior of AN/PN/Polymer particles is investigated by observing their thermal behavior by differential scanning calorimetry. The results reveal that phase-stabilized AN can be successfully prepared by the addition of PN. In addition, an intriguing possibility was identified in that carboxymethylcellulose ammonium salt and polyvinyl alcohol, which were both added as polymer components for moisture proofing, also acted as phase stabilizers for AN crystal transformation.     

Cold Denaturation of α‐Synuclein Amyloid Fibrils

Although amyloid fibrils are associated with numerous pathologies, their conformational stability remains largely unclear. Herein, we probe the thermal stability of various amyloid fibrils. α‐Synuclein fibrils cold‐denatured to monomers at 0–20 °C and heat‐denatured at 60–110 °C. Meanwhile, the fibrils of β2‐microglobulin, Alzheimer’s Aβ1‐40/Aβ1‐42 peptides, and insulin exhibited only heat denaturation, although they showed a decrease in stability at low temperature. A comparison of structural parameters with positive enthalpy and heat capacity changes which showed opposite signs to protein folding suggested that the burial of charged residues in fibril cores contributed to the cold denaturation of α‐synuclein fibrils. We propose that although cold‐denaturation is common to both native proteins and misfolded fibrillar states, the main‐chain dominated amyloid structures may explain amyloid‐specific cold denaturation arising from the unfavorable burial of charged side‐chains in fibril cores.