Fiber-optic ring-down spectroscopy using a tunable picosecond gain-switched diode laser

Visible and near-infrared laser light pulses were coupled into two different types of optical fiber cavities. One cavity consisted of a short strand of fiber waveguide that contained two identical fiber Bragg gratings. Another cavity was made using a loop of optical fiber. In either cavity ∼40 ps laser pulses, which were generated using a custom-built gain-switched diode laser, circulated for a large number of round trips. The optical loss of either cavity was determined from the ring-down times. Cavity ring-down spectroscopy was performed on 200 pL volumes of liquid samples that were injected into the cavities using a 100 μm gap in the fiber loop. A detection limit of 20 ppm of methylene blue dye in aqueous solution, corresponding to a minimum absorptivity of εC<6 cm^-1, was realized. PACS 42.62.Fi; 42.81.-i     

Study of Si(0 0 1)4 × 2-Ga structure by scanning tunneling microscopy and ab initio calculation

We have studied Si(0 0 1)-Ga surface structures formed at Ga coverages of slightly above 0.50 monolayer (ML) at 250 °C by scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). 4 × 2-, 5 × 2-, and 6 × 2-Ga structures were observed in a local area on the surface. The 4 × 2-Ga structure consists of three protrusions, as observed in filled- and empty-state STM images. The characters of these structures are clearly different from those of other Si(0 0 1)-Ga structures. We also performed an ab initio calculation of the energetics for several possible models for the 4 × 2-Ga structure, and clarified that the three-orthogonal-Ga-dimer model is the most stable. Also, the results of comparing the simulated STM images and observation images at various bias voltages indicate that this structural model is the most favorable.     

Duality Theorem for a Three-Phase Partition Problem

In some nonlinear diffusive phenomena, the systems have three or more stable states. Sternberg and Zeimer established the existence of minimal solutions for the problem of partitioning a certain domain Ω⊂ℝ² into three subdomains having least interfacial area. Ikota and Yanagida investigated stability and instability for stationary curves with one triple junction and for stationary binary-tree type interfaces. In this paper, we introduce a new concept of separation of three convex sets by a triangle, define a dual problem to the three-phase partition problem, and present a duality theorem. The author thanks Professor F. Giannessi for valuable comments, especially on Gale and Klee-type separation theorems. This research was partially supported by Kyushu University 21st Century COE Program (Development of Dynamic Mathematics with High Functionality) and by the Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science 14340037.     

Complete NMR analysis of oxytocin in phosphate buffer

Complete NMR analysis of oxytocin (OXT) in phosphate buffer was elucidated by one‐dimensional (1D)‐ and two‐dimensional (2D)‐NMR techniques, which involve the assignment of peptide amide NH protons and carbamoyl NH₂ protons. The ¹H? ¹⁵N correlation of seven amide NH protons and three carbamoyl NH₂ protons were also shown by HSQC NMR of OXT without ¹⁵N enrichment. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Functionalized pyrolytic highly oriented graphite polymer film for surface‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry in environmental analysis

The pyrolytic highly oriented graphite polymer film (PGS) was first employed to analyze low‐mass analytes in environmental analysis by surface‐assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry (SALDI‐MS). PGS is a synthetic uniform and highly oriented graphite polymer film with high thermal anisotropic conductivity. We have found that negative ion mode SALDI‐MS using oxidized PGS (PGS‐SALDI‐MS) can be used to detect [M–H]^? ions from perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and other perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids when the PGS surface is modified with the cationic polymer polyethyleneimine (PEI). The signal intensity of PFOA when employing the PEI modification showed a ten‐fold increase over that obtained from desorption/ionization on porous silicon (DIOS). PFOA was quantified using PGS‐SALDI‐MS and the calibration curve showed a wide linear dynamic range of response (20–1000 ppb). The combination of atmospheric pressure ionization and PGS (AP‐PGS‐SALDI) showed greater signal intensity than vacuum PGS‐SALDI for deprotonated PFOA. Several other environmentally important chemicals, including perfluoroalkylsulfonic acid, pentachlorophenol, bisphenol A, 4‐hydroxy‐2‐chlorobiphenyl, and benzo[a]pyrene, were also successfully used to evaluate PGS‐SALDI‐MS. In addition, we found that nonafluoro‐1‐butanesulfonic acid was able to produce protonated peptides in positive ion PGS‐SALDI‐MS, but that perfluoropentanoic acid and trifluoroacetic acid were not. It is suggested that perfluoroalkylsulfonic acids are better protonating agents than perfluoroalkylcarboxylic acids in SALDI‐MS. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Domain growth in systems with multiple-degenerate ground states

We develop a statistical theory of growing domain structures in quenched systems with multiple-degenerate ground states where the order parameter is not conserved. Exact formulas are derived for the non-equilibrium structure functions for growing domains. As concrete examples the theory is applied to the p-state Johnson-Mehl model and the p-state cell model where the structure functions of the growing domains and the volume fraction of the metastable domain are calculated explicitly.