Improved Photobleaching for (1,10-phenanthroline)tris[4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-thienyl)-1,3-butanedionato]europium(III) Particle Embedded in Sol-Gel Derived Glass Film

In this research, we investigated improved photobleaching characteristics of (1,10-phenanthroline)tris[4,4,4-trifluoro-1-(2-thienyl)-1,3-butanedionato]europium(III) by forming nano-particles embedded into a sol-gel derived silica glass film by a conventional sol-gel process. The relative photoluminescence intensities after the UV irradiation for 90 min were 88, 76, and 67% for nano-particles in the sol-gel derived glass film, powders in the sol-gel derived glass film, and raw powders, respectively. This result indicates that the phtobleaching of this Eu-complex can improved by forming nano-partcile structures by a reprecipitation method and embedding in the sol-gel derived silica glass.     

Preparation and properties of isotactic and syndiotactic poly(methyl methacrylate)s,uniform with respect to molecular weight

Highly isotactic (it-) and highly syndiotactic (st-) poly(methyl methacrylate)s (PMMAs) uniform with respect to molecular weight (stereoregular, uniform PMMAs) were isolated up to the 100mer from it- and st-PMMAs by supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) and characterized by NMR and mass spectroscopies. Glass transition temperatures (Tg's) of the uniform it- and st-PMMAs were higher than those of the corresponding PMMAs with MWD and with similar molecular weight on average. The Tg values of the uniform it-and st-PMMAs series obeyed the relationship, Tg = Tg∞ - K/M, where M and Tg∞ denote molecular weight and Tg at infinite M, respectively. The reciprocal melting points (1/Tm) of uniform it-PMMA (degree of polymerization, DP = 28–44), obtained from methanol solutions by evaporating the solvent, increased linearly with increasing 1/DP. Extrapolation of the linear relation to 1/DP = 0 gave the Tm of it-PMMA with infinite DP; Tm∞ = 171.1°C. Thermal degradation behavior was studied by thermogravimetry and by SFC analysis of degradation products. In gel-permeation chromatography (GPC) measurements, the it-50mer eluted faster than the st-50mer. Calibration curves for it- and st-PMMAs could be obtained using series of the uniform PMMAs. The instrumental spreading factor determined using it-25mer, it-50mer, st-25mer and st-50mer for our GPC chromatograph was 0.070 ml when the volume of the sample solution was 0.003ml. GPC analysis of a mixture of the it- and st-50mers in tetrahydrofuran indicated formation of a stereocomplex in the solution, and was found quite useful to elucidate the minimum sequence length required for complex formation.     

Single-shot polarization-imaging digital holography based on simultaneous phase-shifting interferometry

We propose single-shot digital holography which is capable of simultaneously capturing both the information of multiple phase-shifted holograms and the distribution of the polarization. In this technique, a single image sensor records both the information required for phase-shifting interferometry and that of the polarization states of objects using an array of polarizers. The essence of the technique is the capability of imaging the distribution of the polarization of three-dimensional objects with a single-shot exposure by using the space-division multiplexing of holograms. The validity of the proposed technique was confirmed by the preliminary experiments.     

Inverted micelle formation of cell-penetrating peptide studied by coarse-grained simulation: importance of attractive force between cell-penetrating peptides and lipid head group

Arginine-rich peptide and Antennapedia are cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs) which have the ability to permeate plasma membrane. Deformation of the plasma membrane with CPPs is the key to understand permeation mechanism. We investigate the dynamics of CPP and the lipid bilayer membrane by coarse-grained simulation. We found that the peptide makes inverted micelle in the lipid bilayer membrane, when the attractive potential between the peptide and lipid heads is strong. The inverted micelle is formed to minimize potential energy of the peptide. For vesicle membrane, the peptide moves from the outer vesicle to the inner vesicle through the membrane. The translocation of the peptide suggests inverted micelle model as a possible mechanism of CPPs.     

Global solution branches for a nonlocal Allen–Cahn equation

We consider the Neumann problem of a 1D stationary Allen–Cahn equation with nonlocal term. Our previous paper [4] obtained a local branch of asymmetric solutions which bifurcates from a point on the branch of odd-symmetric solutions. This paper derives the global behavior of the branch of asymmetric solutions, and moreover, determines the set of all solutions to the nonlocal Allen–Cahn equation. Our proof is based on a level set analysis for an integral map associated with the nonlocal term.