Incoherent-only joint-transform correlator

An incoherent-only optical and electronic digital joint-transform correlator is proposed. A technique for the removal of extraneous signals inherent in the incoherent-only joint-transform correlator is also presented. A computer simulation and experimental results confirm the performance of the proposed incoherent-only joint-transform correlator.     

Revolving Vernier Mechanism Controls Size of Linear Homomultimer

A new kind of the Vernier mechanism that is able to control the size of linear assembly of DNA origami nanostructures is proposed. The mechanism is realized by mechanical design of DNA origami, which consists of a hollow cylinder and a rotatable shaft in it connected through the same scaffold. This nanostructure stacks with each other by the shape complementarity at its top and bottom surfaces of the cylinder, while the number of stacking is limited by twisting angle of the shaft. Experiments have shown that the size distribution of multimeric assembly of the origami depends on the twisting angle of the shaft; the average lengths of the multimer are decamer, hexamer, and tetramer for 0°, 10°, and 20° twist, respectively. In summary, it is possible to affect the number of polymerization by adjusting the precise shape and movability of a molecular structure.     

Prediction of Human Behavior in Human--Robot Interaction Using Psychological Scales for Anxiety and Negative Attitudes Toward Robots

When people interact with communication robots in daily life, their attitudes and emotions toward the robots affect their behavior. From the perspective of robotics design, we need to investigate the influences of these attitudes and emotions on human-robot interaction. This paper reports our empirical study on the relationships between people's attitudes and emotions, and their behavior toward a robot. In particular, we focused on negative attitudes, anxiety, and communication avoidance behavior, which have important implications for robotics design. For this purpose, we used two psychological scales that we had developed: negative attitudes toward robots scale (NARS) and robot anxiety scale (RAS). In the experiment, subjects and a humanoid robot are engaged in simple interactions including scenes of meeting, greeting, self-disclosure, and physical contact. Experimental results indicated that there is a relationship between negative attitudes and emotions, and communication avoidance behavior. A gender effect was also suggested.     

Growth and structure of heteroepitaxial thin films of homologous compounds RAO3(MO)m by reactive solid-phase epitaxy: Applicability to a variety of materials and epitaxial template layers

A reactive solid-phase epitaxy (R-SPE) method combines deposition of a thick amorphous or polycrystalline layer with a desired chemical composition and post-deposition solid-phase epitaxial growth. The solid-phase epitaxial growth is invoked by thermal annealing with an assistance of a sacrificial layer working as an epitaxial template. Thereby it enables us to grow high-quality epitaxial films of complex oxides whose epitaxial films are not grown by conventional high-temperature growth techniques. It was reported that 2-nm-thick ZnO layers worked as template for growing InGaO₃(ZnO)_m (m = integer) epitaxial films. The present study extended the R-SPE technique to growth of various complex oxides with chemical compositions of RAO₃(MO)_m and to use of various epitaxial template layers. We found that mono oxide epitaxial layers such as In₂O₃ and Ga₂O₃ work as template layers as well. Alternatively, a ZnO epitaxial layer is also applicable to ZnO-free compounds. The films obtained were grown heteroepitaxially on YSZ(111) and single-crystalline when the fabrication conditions are optimized.     

A 63-mW H.264/MPEG-4 audio/visual codec LSI with module-wise dynamic Voltage/frequency scaling

A single-chip H.264 and MPEG-4 audio-visual LSI for mobile applications including terrestrial digital broadcasting system (ISDB-T / DVB-H) with a module-wise, dynamic voltage/frequency scaling architecture is presented for the first time. This LSI can keep operating even during the voltage/frequency transition, so there is no performance overhead. It is realized through a dynamic deskewing system and an on-chip voltage regulator with slew rate control. By the combination with traditional low power techniques such as embedded DRAM and clock gating, it consumes only 63 mW in decoding QVGA H.264 video at 15 frames/sec and MPEG-4 AAC LC audio simultaneously.     

Intracellular recovery of gold by microbial reduction of AuCl4 ions using the anaerobic bacterium Shewanella algae

Microbial reduction and intracellular precipitation of gold was achieved at 25 °C and pH 7 by using the mesophilic anaerobic bacterium Shewanella algae with H₂ as the electron donor. The reductive precipitation of gold by S. algae was a fast process: 0.1–1 mol/m³ AuCl₄⁻ ions were completely reduced to insoluble gold within 30 min. The biogenic precipitates were crystalline gold nanoparticles of 10–20 nm present in the periplasmic space. The reducing power of S. algae at 3.2 × 10¹⁵ cells/m³ and 25 °C was comparable to that of aqueous citric acid solution (chemical reductant) at 20 mol/m³ and 50 °C. The intracellular recovery of gold is potentially attractive as an environmentally friendly alternative to conventional methods.     

Preparation of ferroelectric Ba(Ti/sub 0.85/Sn/sub 0.15/)O/sub 3/ thin films by metal-organic decomposition

Ferroelectric Ba(Ti/sub 0.85/Sn/sub 0.15/)O/sub 3/ (BTS/sub 15/) thin film is newly prepared on the Pt/Ti/SiO/sub 2//Si substrate by metal-organic decomposition. The firing condition is determined by thermogravimetric and differential thermal analysis. The BTS/sub 15/ thin film with a flat surface and uniform thickness is obtained by spin coating in N/sub 2/ atmosphere that avoids moisture. The BTS/sub 15/ film has a perovskite phase and a preferential [110] texture. It is also found that the crystalline structure is cubic at 24/spl deg/C with a lattice constant of 4.01 /spl Aring/, and a grain size of about 30 nm was estimated by Scherrer equation and SEM image. From P-E hysteresis loop at 20/spl deg/C, the polarization at E=0 and the electric field at P=0 are found to be 1.07 /spl mu/C/cm/sup 2/ and 24.0 kV/cm, respectively. It is observed that the dielectric constant decreases monotonously from about 830 to 630 with increasing temperature ranging from 20/spl deg/C to 50/spl deg/C. Finally, it is found that the BTS/sub 15/ thin film shows a sufficient ferroelectricity and is an attractive material for functional ferroelectric devices, such as thermal-type infrared sensors.     

Impact of compression,physical aging,and freezing rate on the crystallization characteristics of an amorphous sugar matrix

Amorphous matrices made up of sugar molecules, are frequently used in food and pharmaceutical industries. A drawback to their use is that they are susceptible to collapse, as a result of water uptake and an increase in temperature and subsequently crystallize. Herein, the crystallization characteristics of amorphous sugar (sucrose and α-lactose) preparations were analyzed, with the purpose of obtaining knowledge that could lead to the prediction of how long the amorphous state is retained under various conditions. The impact of compression, physical aging and freezing rate on the induction period (t_ind) for crystallization were examined. Freeze-dried sugar samples were compressed at 74 or 443 MPa (5 min) and then rehumidified at specified RHs. Some freeze-dried sucrose samples were physically aged, and alternatively freeze-drying was conducted under different conditions. The isothermal crystallization of the prepared samples at different temperatures (T), the glass transition and the crystallization temperature (T_cry) were measured, using differential scanning calorimetry. The compression markedly decreased the t_ind, while significantly lowered the hygroscopicity. Physical aging and slower-freezing also shortened the t_ind. The t_ind was found to be correlated exclusively with (T_cry–T), regardless of rehumidification, compression, sugar type, physical aging and freezing rate in the freeze-drying process.