Synthesis of Super-Microporous Aluminosilicate Having Excellent Water Vapor Adsorption Property as an Adsorbent for an Adsorption Heat-Pump

The synthesis of super-microporous aluminosilicate with a pore diameter of 14.6 Å has been achieved, by means of synthesis under specified conditions with a skeletal material comprising TMOS and a small quantity of sodium aluminate, and a conventional alkyl-trimethylammonium halide (C₁₀TMABr) as a template. This super-microporous aluminosilicate has an adsorption capacity of 0.2 ml/g at a relative water vapor pressure of 0.2, and thus is promising as an adsorbent for an adsorption heat-pump.     

Downregulation of miR-122-5p Activates Glycolysis via PKM2 in Kupffer Cells of Rat and Mouse Models of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has pathological characteristics similar to those of alcoholic hepatitis, despite the absence of a drinking history. The greatest threat associated with NASH is its progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The pathophysiology of NASH is not fully understood to date. In this study, we investigated the pathophysiology of NASH from the perspective of glycolysis and the Warburg effect, with a particular focus on microRNA regulation in liver-specific macrophages, also known as Kupffer cells. We established NASH rat and mouse models and evaluated various parameters including the liver-to-body weight ratio, blood indexes, and histopathology. A quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis of the NASH rat model livers revealed the activation of glycolysis. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry results indicated that the expression of pyruvate kinase muscle 2 (PKM2), a rate-limiting enzyme of glycolysis, was upregulated in the liver tissues of both NASH models. Moreover, increases in PKM2 and p-PKM2 were observed in the early phase of NASH. These observations were partially induced by the downregulation of microRNA122-5p (miR-122-5p) and occurred particularly in the Kupffer cells. Our results suggest that the activation of glycolysis in Kupffer cells during NASH was partially induced by the upregulation of PKM2 via miR-122-5p suppression.     

Influence of interstripe gain on crosscoupled-mode operation intwin-stripe lasers

Cross-coupled-mode operation in a twin-stripe laser is analyzed with particular concern for interstripe gain. When the interstripe gain of a twin-stripe laser is high, cross-coupled-mode operation is obtained with a cavity longer than the coupling length of the twin-stripe waveguide. The far-field pattern is single peaked and deflected to the low carrier density side. These characteristics are in contrast to those of the previous model without interstripe gain     

Theoretical analysis of squeezed-light generation bysecond-harmonic generation

Theoretical analysis of squeezed light generation by phasematched SHG, applicable generally to various SHG configurations and appropriate for mutual comparison, is presented. The analysis is based on analytical solutions of the linearized differential equations in space coordinate and the input-output equations for the amplitude fluctuations, and calculations of squeezing spectra using the covariance matrixes. Formulations describing the squeezing characteristics in terms of the device parameters are derived. Typical numerical results are also given to illustrate the features of traveling-wave SHG, singly-resonant SHG, and doubly-resonant SHG configurations including cases where propagation losses are involved. The results, which are consistent with those in previous work, provide many insights for design and application of SHG devices for squeezed-light generation     

A 286 mm2 256 Mb DRAM with ×32 both-ends DQ

This paper describes a 256 Mb DRAM chip architecture which provides up to ×32 wide organization. In order to minimize the die size, three new techniques: an exchangeable hierarchical data line structure, an irregular sense amp layout, and a split address bus with local redrive scheme in the both-ends DQ were introduced. A chip has been developed based on the architecture with 0.25 μm CMOS technology. The chip measures 13.25 mm×21.55 mm, which is the smallest 256 Mb DRAM ever reported. A row address strobe (RAS) access time of 26 ns was obtained under 2.8 V power supply and 85°C. In addition, a 100 MHz×32 page mode operation, namely 400 M byte/s data rate, in the standard extended data output (EDO) cycle has been successfully demonstrated     

S/N and error rate performance in AlGaAs semiconductor laser preamplifier and linear repeater systems

The applications of AlGaAs semiconductor laser preamplifier and linear repeaters in single mode optical fiber transmission systems were studied through the baseband signal-to-noise ratio and bit error rate performance measurement. Experiments were carried out with the Fabry-Perot cavity laser amplifiers whose characteristics are improved by reducing the input mirror reflectivity to 6 percent. The use of a preamplifier improves the minimum detectable power by 7.4 dB over the Si-APD direct detection level when the received signal is amplified by 30 dB before photodetection. The use of two linear repeaters increases the regenerative repeater gain by 37 dB. These experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical predictions based on the photon statistic master equation analysis.     

S/N performance of an AlGaAs laser preamplifier and a linear repeater system

Baseband signal-to-noise-ratio characteristics in an AlGaAs laser preamplifier and a linear repeater system were studied theoretically and experimentally. The AlGaAs laser preamplifier improved the minimum detectable power by 1.6 dB over the level achieved by direct detection with an Si APD. 37 dB regenerative repeater gain was experimentally obtained in the system with two optical repeaters at 100 Mbit/s data rate.     

Production of eicosapentaenoic acid by a bacterium isolated from mackerel intestines

Optimization of culture conditions for the growth rate, 5,8,11,14,17-cis-Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) content and EPA productivity of a bacterium isolated from Pacific mackerel intestines was investigated by use of a culture medium containing 1.00 wt% peptone and 0.50 wt% yeast extract in an artificial sea water (ASW). Cultivation temperature affected the growth rate and cellular EPA content of the bacterium. The cellular EPA content at 8°C was as great as 16.8 mg/g of dry cells, which was more than two times greater than that at 25°C (7.3 mg/g of dry cells), although the growth rate showed a maximum at 25°C. Both the yield of bacterial cells and the cellular EPA content at 25°C reached maximum values when the pH of the culture medium was nearly 7.0 and when the concentration of ASW was 100% (v/v). Under optimum culture conditions [25°C pH 7.0 and 100% (v/v) ASW], the amount of EPA accumulated in the cellular lipids reached 45.6 mg/L of culture broth after 8 hr.     

Reliability of Liquid Crystal Display

This paper reports the reliability of twisted nematic liquid-crystal display for basic applications such as watches and calculators. We have studied significant stress factors such as voltage, temperature and humidity, and their corresponding failure modes. The main failure mode is LCD misalignment; many different modes appear corresponding to different stress conditions as well as material and process for the LCD. We have analyzed the accelerated test results by Weibull distribution, elucidated accelerating factors, and estimated life time. The life is inversely proportional to 1.78-2.45 power of applied voltage, depending upon misalignment modes. The distribution of life is well expressed by Weibull distribution with shape parameter between 2.5-3.0, and proportional to the square of coefficient of variation of life. We conclude that the acceleration factors could be determined and 99.9% of tested displays will live more than 10 years. The knowledge on reliability of LCD can be now applied to new fields of LCD, such as industrial use, home appliance, and automotive instruments.     

Enhanced Optical Properties and Opaline Self‐Assembly of PPV Encapsulated in Mesoporous Silica Spheres

A new poly(p‐phenylenevinylene) (PPV) composite material has been developed by the incorporation of insoluble PPV polymer chains in the pores of monodisperse mesoporous silica spheres through an ion‐exchange and in situ polymerization method. The polymer distribution within the resultant colloidal particles is characterized by electron microscopy, energy dispersive X‐ray microanalysis, powder X‐ray diffraction, and nitrogen adsorption. It was found that the polymer was selectively incorporated into the mesopores of the silica host and was well distributed throughout the body of the particles. This confinement of the polymer influences the optical properties of the composite; these were examined by UV–vis and fluorescence spectroscopy and time‐correlated single‐photon counting. The results show a material that exhibits an extremely high fluorescence quantum yield (approaching 85%), and an improved resistance to oxidative photobleaching compared to PPV. These enhanced optical properties are further complemented by the overall processability of the colloidal material. In marked contrast to the insolubility of PPV, the material can be processed as a stable colloidal dispersion, and the individual composite spheres can be self‐assembled into opaline films using the vertical deposition method. The bandgap of the opal can be engineered to overlap with the emission band of the polymer, which has significant ramifications for lasing.