Side‐chain crystallization behavior of graft copolymers consisting of amorphous main chain and crystalline side chains: Poly(methyl methacrylate)‐graft‐poly(ethylene glycol) and poly(methyl acrylate)‐graft‐poly(ethylene glycol)

Graft copolymers consisting of amorphous main chain, poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), or poly(methyl acrylate) (PMAc), and crystalline side chains, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), have been prepared by copolymerization of PEG macromonomers with methyl methacrylate or methyl acrylate (MMAx or MACx, respectively). Because of the compatibility of PMMA/PEG and PMAc/PEG, from small‐angle X‐ray scattering results, the main and side chains in graft copolymers were suggested to be homogeneous in the molten state. Differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) cooling scans revealed that PEG side chains for graft copolymers with large PEG fractions were crystallized when the sample was cooled, with a cooling rate of 10 °C/min. The spherulite pattern observed by a polarized optical microscope suggested the growth of PEG crystalline lamellae. Crystallization of PEG in MMAx was more restrained than in MACx. From these results, we have concluded that the crystallization behavior of the grafted side chains is strongly influenced by the glass transition of a homogeneously molten sample as well as dilution of the crystallizable chains. Domain spacings for isothermally crystallized graft copolymers were described by interdigitating chain packing in crystalline–amorphous lamellar structure. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 43: 79–86, 2005     

Excitonic effects in diluted magnetic semiconductor nanostructures

Excitonic properties and the dynamics are reported in quantum dots (QDs) and quantum wells (QW) of diluted magnetic semiconductors. Transient spectroscopies of photoluminescence and nonlinear-optical absorption and emission have been made on these quantum nanostructures. The Cd_1−x Mn_xSe QDs show the excitonic magnetic polaron effect with an increased binding energy. The quantum wells of the Cd_1−x Mn_xTe/ZnTe system display fast energy and dephasing relaxations of the free and localized excitons as well as the tunneling process of carriers and excitons in the QWs depending on the barrier widths. The observed dynamics and the enhanced excitonic effects are the inherent properties of the diluted magnetic nanostructures. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 40, 846–848 (May 1998) Published in English in the original Russian journal. Reproduced here with stylistic changes by the Translation Editor.     

Novel Propagation Analysis of Coupled Waveguides by Coupled Mode Expansion and Segmentation

To optimize the coupling efficiency between the busline waveguide and the ring resonator in a vertically coupled microring resonator, we developed a new method using local normal modes and the segmentation along the propagation axis.     

Fluorescence Correlation Spectroscopy (FCS) Analysis of Human Red Blood Cell System

Recent studies have revealed the importance of the lipid micro domain for signal transduction in cell membrane. To analyze the biophysical properties of the lipid micro domain at the single molecule level, we measured the diffusion of fluorescence probe in human red blood cell (RBC) membrane using fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS). The value of diffusion constant of octadecyl rhodamine B chloride (R18), D = 4.7 × 10⁻⁹cm²/s, is close to that of phospholipid molecules in membrane. This indicates that the probed RBC with R18 could be a convenient model for analyzing membrane property under natural conditions. Using this model, we investigated how amyloid beta peptide (A-beta) interacts with plasma membrane. This paper demonstrates that A-beta was inserted into the phospholipid bilayer of the RBC membrane and predicts the existence of the micro domain, lipid raft, on this membrane by the heterologous insertion of A-beta.     

On the sum formula for the -analogue of non-strict multiple zeta values

In this article, the -analogues of the linear relations of non-strict multiple zeta values called ``the sum formula' and ``the cyclic sum formula' are established.

     

Single-shot spatial-coherence measurement of 13 nm high-order harmonic beam by a Young's double-slit measurement

The interference pattern produced by a single 13 nm high-order harmonic pulse is captured by an extreme-ultraviolet CCD camera. A beam divergence of 0.35 mrad and a high fringe visibility of 0.96 are obtained with an optimal phase-matching condition for the 13 nm harmonics. The spatial coherence length of the 13 nm harmonics selected by Mo/Si multilayer mirrors is larger than the beam diameter. This result shows that the 13 nm harmonic beam is useful for applications in interferometry, time-resolved studies of ultrafast dynamics.     

Ultrasound induced formation of paraffin emulsion droplets as template for the preparation of porous zirconia

The paraffin particles were prepared by quenching process after sonicating the solution of paraffin and water at 80 °C. The resultant paraffin particles were then used as template for the preparation of macroporous zirconia materials. For this, zirconium normal butoxide (ZNB) modified with triethanolamine (TEA) was first hydrolyzed by water containing the dispersed paraffin particles with the surfactant, Sodium di(2-ethylhexyl) sulfosuccinate. This resulted in the formation of a slurry consisting of hydrolyzed sol and paraffin particles. After centrifugation, a cake packed with hydrated sol and paraffin particles were obtained which was then subjected to heat treatment. The sample obtained after heat treatment contained finely dispersed pores in the size range from 40 nm to 2 μm. Moreover, using the present approach it has also been observed that, change in pore size of zirconia wall is possible with a change in size of the paraffin particles. Thus, the present approach is a novel way of producing porous materials as the particle size of the template could be changed and templates become hard when they were molded as compared to the conventional methods in which there is no change in phase for the templates under 100 °C.