Protein refolding in nanostructured reversed micelles including a molecular chaperone

Reversed micelles including the molecular chaperone GroEL were applied to the protein refolding of denatured RNase A. The molecular chaperone was successfully functionalized in the water pools of the reversed micelles sharing a structural size of 15-25 nm. The refolding yield of RNase A in the reversed-micelle/GroEL system was much greater than that of spontaneous renaturation. The refolding yield mediated by GroEL in the reversed micelles was strongly dependent on the presence of ATP or Mg2+, suggesting that the GroEL hosted in the reversed micelles was biologically active in the micelles. Under the optimum conditions, this novel refolding technique could completely renature the denatured RNase A in 1 h.     

Growth and characterization of n-type polycrystalline silicon ingots

n-type polycrystalline silicon ingots were grown by directional solidification, and the grown ingots were sliced to wafers. The wafers were subjected to phosphorus gettering and hydrogen passivation. The minority carrier lifetimes of wafers before and after the processes were measured. The average lifetimes of the wafers after both the processes were improved by a factor of 2–3 times compared to those of as-grown wafers. The wafers were etched with a Secco solution to detect crystallographic defects. The effect of phosphorus gettering in the region where many etch-pits were observed is lower than that in the other region. On the contrary, the effect of hydrogen passivation in the region where many etch-pits were observed is higher than that in the other region.     

Rapid multiplex single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping based on single base extension reactions and color-coded beads

A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) typing method using color-coded beads is promising because it is easy to use and inexpensive. However, the present protocols are not suitable for clinical and diagnostic applications because they need centrifugation for bead-washing. Here, we developed a simplified protocol without a bead-washing procedure that enables SNP typing of PCR amplified fragments in only 30 min.     

AC response analysis of C-V curves and quantitative analysis of conductance curves in Al2O3/InP interfaces

The ac signal response of majority carriers has been systematically investigated for Al₂O₃/InP metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) interfaces using C-V and the conductance methods. It was revealed by the conductance curve fitting that both slow trap and interface trap responses contribute to a conductance curve at the Al₂O₃/InP interfaces in the depletion bias condition, and that the contribution of slow trap response and large surface potential fluctuation make it difficult to obtain a clear conductance peak. It was found that the conductance curves in high frequency region can be represented by the surface potential fluctuation model. This means that the analysis through the conductance curve fitting is effective in characterizing III-V MIS interfaces.     

Non-contact measurement of respiratory cycles using a microphone array

Previously proposed methods of respiration measurement have relied on thermistors or strain gauges, which must contact the body throughout the measurement, causing potential discomfort. Here, we develop a non-contact system that measures respiratory cycles by detecting the exhalation sounds using an array of microphones. Several respiratory-sound signals were recorded by the microphone array, and the respiratory signal was separated from the raw measurement data by the independent component analysis method. Respiratory analysis by the proposed method was compared with that of the previously validated thermistor method. Similar measurements were obtained by both methods, confirming that the proposed method eases the discomfort of users without compromising the measurement performance.