Surface structures of rutile TiO2 (011)

Surface structures of rutile TiO(2) (011) are determined by a combination of noncontact atomic force microscopy (NC-AFM), scanning tunneling microscopy (STM), and density functional calculations. The surface exhibits rowlike (n x 1) structures running along the [01] direction. Microfaceting missing-row structural models can explain the experimental results very well. Calculated images for NC-AFM and STM are in good agreement with the experimental results. A decrease of the density of dangling bonds stabilizes the surface energy, which results in the microfaceting missing-row reconstructions.     

An on-chip cardiomyocyte cell network assay for stable drug screening regarding community effect of cell network size

We investigate the effect of haloperidol on a four-cell and nine-cell cardiomyocyte network on an agarose microchamber array chip to evaluate a cell-based model for drug screening. Using a network of cardiomyocytes whose beating intervals were stable and relatively uniform (they only fluctuated 10% from the mean beating interval), we easily observed the effect of haloperidol on the cell network beating interval 5 min after administering it. We also observed the beating interval returned to its original state 10 min after the haloperidol was washed out of the chip. Although the four-cell network showed the unstable recovery of its beating rhythm after washout of haloperidol, the nine-cell network recovered completely to the stable original beating rhythm even after a second administration of haloperidol. The results indicate the importance of the community size in cell networks used in the stable cell-based screening model. Moreover, they indicate the advantage of using direct cell-based measurements in which the amount of drug administered and the time course over which it is administered are strictly controlled for evaluating the quantitative chemical effects of drugs on cells.     

First investigation at elevated pressures to confirm the exact nature of the gated electron-transfer systems: volume profiles of the gated reduction reaction and nongated reverse oxidation reaction involving a [Cu(dmp)2(solvent)]2+/[Cu(dmp)2]+ couple (dmp = 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline)

Redox reactions involving the [Cu(dmp)2]2+/+ couple (dmp = 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline) in acetonitrile were examined at elevated pressures up to 200 MPa. Activation volumes were determined as -8.8 and -6.3 cm3 mol-1 for the reduction cross-reaction by [Co(bipy)3]2+ (bipy = 2,2'-bipyridine) and for the oxidation cross-reaction by [Ni(tacn)2]3+ (tacn = 1,4,7-triazacyclononane), respectively. The activation volume for the hypothetical gated mode of the self-exchange reaction estimated from the reduction cross-reaction was -13.9 cm3 mol-1, indicating extensive electrostrictive rearrangement of solvent molecules around the CuII complex during the change in the coordination geometry before the electron-transfer step. On the other hand, the activation volume for the self-exchange reaction estimated from the oxidation cross-reaction was -2.7 +/- 1.5 cm3 mol-1. Although this value was within the range that can be interpreted by the concept of the ordinary concerted process, from theoretical considerations it was concluded that the reverse (oxidation) cross-reaction of the gated reduction reaction of the [Cu(dmp)2(CH3CN)]2+/[Cu(dmp)2]+ couple proceeds through the product excited state while the direct self-exchange reaction between [Cu(dmp)2(CH3CN)]2+ and [Cu(dmp)2]+ proceeds through an ordinary concerted process.     

Molecular Design of d-Luciferin-Based Bioluminescence and 1,2-Dioxetane-Based Chemiluminescence Substrates for Altered Output Wavelength and Detecting Various Molecules

Optical imaging including fluorescence and luminescence is the most popular method for the in vivo imaging in mice. Luminescence imaging is considered to be superior to fluorescence imaging due to the lack of both autofluorescence and the scattering of excitation light. To date, various luciferin analogs and bioluminescence probes have been developed for deep tissue and molecular imaging. Recently, chemiluminescence probes have been developed based on a 1,2-dioxetane scaffold. In this review, the accumulated findings of numerous studies and the design strategies of bioluminescence and chemiluminescence imaging reagents are summarized.     

Preparation of fluoroalkyl end-capped vinyltrimethoxysilane oligomeric silica/poly(tetrafluoroethylene) nanocomposites possessing a superoleophilic/superhydrophobic characteristic: application to the separation of oil and water

Journal of Sol-Gel Science and Technology - Fluoroalkyl end-capped vinyltrimethoxysilane oligomer [R F-(CH2CHSi(OMe)3) n -R F; R F?=?CF(CF3)OC3F7, n?=?2, 3: R F-(VM) n -R F...     

A robust Lagrangian-DNN method for a class of quadratic optimization problems

The Lagrangian-doubly nonnegative (DNN) relaxation has recently been shown to provide effective lower bounds for a large class of nonconvex quadratic optimization problems (QAPs) using the bisection method combined with first-order methods by Kim et al. (Math Program 156:161–187, 2016). While the bisection method has demonstrated the computational efficiency, determining the validity of a computed lower bound for the QOP depends on a prescribed parameter \(\epsilon > 0\). To improve the performance of the bisection method for the Lagrangian-DNN relaxation, we propose a new technique that guarantees the validity of the computed lower bound at each iteration of the bisection method for any choice of \(\epsilon > 0\). It also accelerates the bisection method. Moreover, we present a method to retrieve a primal-dual pair of optimal solutions of the Lagrangian-DNN relaxation using the primal-dual interior-point method. As a result, the method provides a better lower bound and substantially increases the robustness as well as the effectiveness of the bisection method. Computational results on binary QOPs, multiple knapsack problems, maximal stable set problems, and quadratic assignment problems illustrate the robustness of the proposed method. In particular, a tight bound for QAPs with size \(n=50\) could be obtained.     

Organic field-effect transistors based on heterocyclic co-oligomers containing a pyrazine ring

New oligomers containing a pyrazine unit have been prepared: the bithienyl derivatives afforded p-type FET devices whereas the trifluoromethylphenyl derivatives showed n-type FET behavior.