Electron-transfer polymers. XXXIX. Redox polymers based on duroquinonyl glycol

Redox polyurethanes, polyesters, and alternate copolyurethanes and copolycarbonates from two kinds of benzoquinonyl glycol were prepared based on 2-(duroquinonyl)-propan-1,3-diol. The oxidized polymer is stable. When the fully reduced polymer in solution is exposed to air the durohydroquinonyl residues are oxidized to the quinone form while the less substituted hydroquinonyl glycol residues remain stable in the reduced form. There is thus prepared polymer with oxidized and reduced groups alternating along the chain.     

An approach to normalization of coarticulation effects for vowels in connected speech

A method is proposed to reduce the ambiguity of vowels in connected speech by normalizing the coarticulation effects. The method is applied to vowels in phonetic environments where great ambiguity would be likely to occur, taking as their features the first and second formant trajectories. The separability between vowel clusters is found to be greatly improved for the vowel samples. In addition, distribution of the vowels on a feature plane characterized by this method seems to reflect their perceptual nature when presented to listeners without isolation from their phonetic environments. The results suggest that the method proposed here is useful for automatic speech recognition and help infer some possible mechanisms underlying dynamic aspects of human speech recognition.     

Possible one-dimensional 3He quantum fluid formed in nanopores

Heat capacity measurements have been made down to 5 mK for 3He fluid films adsorbed in one-dimensional (1D) nanometer-scale pores, 28 A in diameter, preplated with 4He of 1.47 atomic layers. At low 3He density, the heat capacity shows a density-dependent, Schottky-like peak near 150 mK asymptoting to the value corresponding to a 2D Boltzmann gas at high temperatures. The peak behavior is attributed to the crossover from a 2D gas to a 1D state at low temperatures. The degenerate state of the 1D 3He fluid is indicated by a predominantly linear temperature dependence below about 30 mK.     

New fabrication method for anisotropic gratings formed in photocrosslinkable polymer liquid crystals

We present a new fabrication method, called two-step ultraviolet exposure, to prepare anisotropic gratings in photocrosslinkable polymer liquid crystal films. Using the controllability of the reorientation direction of mesogenic molecules, anisotropic phase gratings, in which the mesogenic molecules were periodically modulated in orthogonal directions, were prepared by the use of one grating photomask. The resultant gratings diffract the light and convert the polarization states at the same time, and have applications as diffraction optical devices. PACS 42.65.Hw; 42.70.Df; 42.70.Nq; 78.20.-e; 78.40.Me     

Reliability of mean transit time obtained using perfusion-weighted MR imaging; comparison with positron emission tomography

The purpose of this project was to assess the reliability of the cerebral mean transit time (MTT) obtained using perfusion-weighted MR imaging by comparing it with the MTT obtained when performing positron emission tomography (PET). Ten patients with chronic occlusive cerebrovascular disease were investigated. They had either unilateral internal carotid artery occlusion or middle cerebral artery occlusion. The regions-of-interest were placed in non-infarcted areas within the territory of the middle cerebral artery on the affected side. Control regions-of-interest were placed in mirrored regions of the contralateral side. Linear regression analyses were performed using the parameters of the MTT obtained with perfusion-weighted MR imaging and the MTT, cerebral blood flow, vascular reactivity, and oxygen extraction fraction obtained with PET. The respective MTTs of the affected and non-affected sides obtained with perfusion-weighted MR imaging versus those with PET were 7.3 +/- 2.2 s and 6.0 +/- 1.2 s versus 8.2 +/- 3.0 s and 6.4 +/- 1.7 s. The MTT obtained using perfusion-weighted MR imaging and PET demonstrated statistically significant correlation (r = 0.87, p < 0.0001). The MTT obtained with perfusion-weighted MR imaging correlated statistically with cerebral blood flow (r = -0.74, p < 0.001), vascular reactivity (r = -0.73, p < 0.001) and oxygen extraction fraction (r = 0.61, p < 0.01). Similarly, the MTT obtained using PET statistically correlated with cerebral blood flow (r = -0.78, p < 0.0001), vascular reactivity (r = -0.51, p < 0.05) and oxygen extraction fraction (r = 0.68, p < 0.01). The reliability of the MTT obtained using perfusion-weighted MR imaging appears to be approximately equal to that obtained with positron emission tomography.     

Competing orders and disorder-induced insulator to metal transition in manganites

Effects of disorder on the two competing phases, i.e., the ferromagnetic metal and the commensurate charge/lattice ordered insulator, are studied by Monte Carlo simulation. The disorder suppresses the charge/lattice ordering more strongly than the ferromagnetic order, driving the commensurate insulator to the ferromagnetic metal near the phase boundary in the pure case. Above the ferromagnetic transition temperature, on the contrary, the disorder makes the system more insulating, which might cause an enhanced colossal magnetoresistance as observed in the half-doped or Cr-substituted manganites. No indication of the percolation or the cluster formation is found, and there remains the charge/lattice fluctuations instead which are enhanced toward the transition temperature.     

Spectral study on the molecular orientation of a tetracationic porphyrin dye on the surface of layered silicates

Tetracationic porphyrin dyes TMPyP and ZnPyP were intercalated into hydrophobized layered silicate films of three smectites. The smectites represented the layered silicate specimens of high (Fluorohectorite, Corning; FHT), medium (Kunipia F montmorillonite; KF) and low layer charge (Laponite, Laporte; LAP). The molecular orientations of the dye cations were studied by means of linearly-polarized ultraviolet-visible (UV-VIS) spectroscopy. The spectral analysis and consequent calculations of tilting angles of the transition moments at the wavelengths of Soret band transitions were in the range of 25°-35°. The determined angles indicated molecular orientation of the dye cations being almost parallel to the surface of the silicates. Slightly higher values (above 35°), determined for a FHT film, indicated either a slightly tilted orientation of the dye cations or the change of molecular comformation after the intercalation of the dye. Presented at 5-th International Conference Solid State Surfaces and Interfaces, November 19–24, 2006, Smolenice Castle, Slovakia     

Electric conductance of metal nanowires at mechanically controllable break junctions under electrochemical potential control

We have developed the mechanically controllable break junction setup with an electrochemical cell (EC-MCBJ) to measure the electric conductance of metal nanowires under electrochemical potential control. The electric conductance of Au nanowires was investigated in 0.1 M Na₂SO₄ solution using EC-MCBJ. The conductance of the Au nanowires was quantized in units of G₀ (=2e²/h), showing clear features in the conductance histogram. The atomic contact with a specific conductance value was kept for >5 s, indicating the relatively high stability of the present EC-MCBJ system.