A supramolecular hydrogel containing boronic acid-appended receptor for fluorocolorimetric sensing of polyols with a paper platform

A boronic acid-appended fluorescent receptor was incorporated into self-assembled nanofibers containing a hydrophobic FRET-paired dye to develop a gel-based fluorocolorimetric sensor for polyols. We demonstrated that the gel-based sensor is capable of detecting polyols such as catechol and dopamine not only under semi-wet conditions, but also under dry conditions using a paper platform.     

Prototype Demonstration of Discrete Correlation Processor-2 Based on High-Speed Optical Image Steering for Large-Fan-Out Reconfigurable Optical Interconnections

We present a discrete correlation processor-2 (DCP-2), which is an optical processor with reconfigurability of interconnection patterns for large-fan-out optical interconnection systems. To our knowledge, there is no reconfigurable optical processor satisfying the requirements for large fan-outs such as high-speed reconfiguration of interconnection pattern, high optical efficiency, and high contrast ratio, because existing spatial light modulators (SLM#x0027;s) lack at least one of these features. The DCP-2 architecture fulfills the requirements by using a hybrid configuration composed of a high-speed image steerer and a spatial light modulator, which work in a complementary manner to shorten the setup time of the SLM. We constructed two kinds of prototype demonstrators based on this architecture. In the experiment, reconfiguration speed of the DCP-2 prototype with shift-invariant optical interconnections, in which a liquid crystal SLM cooperated with a two-dimensional acousto-optic beam deflector, was about 26,000 times faster than that of the standalone SLM at the cost of 50#x0025; energy loss by the deflector.     

Zinc(II) porphyrins at the air-water interface as studied by polarized total-reflection X-ray absorption fine structure

The polarized total-reflection X-ray absorption fine structure method was applied to characterize zinc porphyrins at the air-water interface. The X-ray absorption near edge structure exhibited a significant difference depending on the polarization of the X-ray. A shoulder peak of the Zn K-edge corresponding to the 1s-4p(z) transition for a square planar metal complex without axial coordination(s) was observed at 9662 eV, which indicates that the axial coordination sites of zinc porphyrin molecules examined are not fully hydrated at the air-water interface. The molecular orientation of zinc porphyrins was determined by analyzing the polarization dependence of the transition peak intensity. The meso-substituted porphyrin derivative 5,10,15,20-tetraphenylporphyrinatozinc(II) (ZnTPP) orients rather parallel to the solution surface. In contrast to ZnTPP, the zinc(II) protoporphyrin IX (ZnPP) with hydrophilic carboxyl groups at one side of the molecule stands up with respect to the solution surface, and the average tilting angle of the porphyrin plane to the surface was evaluated to be between 57 degrees and 43 degrees. In addition, the axial coordination of ZnPP is modified depending on the surface concentration, in which the axial hydration to the zinc center is effectively inhibited in the compressed surface layer.     

Direct calculation of the binding free energies of FKBP ligands

Direct calculations of the absolute free energies of binding for eight ligands to FKBP protein were performed using the Fujitsu BioServer massively parallel computer. Using the latest version of the general assisted model building with energy refinement (AMBER) force field for ligand model parameters and the Bennett acceptance ratio for computing free-energy differences, we obtained an excellent linear fit between the calculated and experimental binding free energies. The rms error from a linear fit is 0.4 kcal/mol for eight ligand complexes. In comparison with a previous study of the binding energies of these same eight ligand complexes, these results suggest that the use of improved model parameters can lead to more predictive binding estimates, and that these estimates can be obtained with significantly less computer time than previously thought. These findings make such direct methods more attractive for use in rational drug design.     

Photonic Implementation of Quantum Computation Algorithm Based on Spatial Coding

Several implementation methods of quantum computation algorithm by conventional computer have been explored for large-scale emulation. Due to the lack of quantum effects, these methods generally require exponential growth of the size of the hardware with increase of the number of qubits. In this paper, the spatial coding, which is an effective digital optical computing technique, is studied as an efficient implementation method of quantum computation algorithms. In the proposed scheme, quantum information is represented by the intensity and the phase of elemental cells. We confirmed correct operation of the quantum teleportation algorithm by computer simulation. We also demonstrated a photonic implementation of some of the quantum gates experimentally.     

Production of (4)(double Lambda)H hypernuclei

An experiment demonstrating the production of double-Lambda hypernuclei in (K(-),K(+)) reactions on (9)Be was carried out at the D6 line in the BNL alternating-gradient synchrotron. The technique was the observation of pions produced in sequential mesonic weak decay, each pion associated with one unit of strangeness change. The results indicate the production of a significant number of the double hypernucleus (4)(double Lambda)H and the twin hypernuclei (4)(Lambda)H and (3)(Lambda)H. The relevant decay chains are discussed and a simple model of the production mechanism is presented. An implication of this experiment is that the existence of an S = -2 dibaryon more than a few MeV below the double Lambda mass is unlikely.