Production of large‐diameter uniform plasmas and control of electron temperature

In order to produce large‐diameter uniform plasmas, we have proposed two plasma sources: a plane electron‐cyclotron‐resonance (ECR) slotted antenna (PESA) source for ECR plasma production and a modified magnetron‐type (MMT) radio frequency (RF) source for RF plasma production. The PESA has magnet rings behind the slotted antenna to provide the magnetic field for the ECR. The MMT RF source provides high‐density uniform plasmas with the help of the LC resonance of auxiliary electrode placed parallel to the substrate. Both plasma sources produce large‐diameter uniform plasmas exceeding 30 cm in diameter. We have proposed a grid method for electron temperature control. By applying a negative dc voltage to the grid which separates a plasma‐processing region from a plasma production region, the electron temperature is decreased by one order of magnitude in the processing region. The same effect is obtained by changing the mesh size of a floating grid. The change of a slit between two grids also causes variation of the electron temperature. These techniques are quite effective for chemical reaction control in processing plasmas. © 1999 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 130(1): 1–7, 2000     

Preparation of organic semiconductive thin films by laser ablation: Control of structure and electric properties by selecting wavelength,fluence, and substrate temperature

Amorphous organic semiconductive thin films with electric conductivities ranging between 10⁻⁵ and 10¹ Scm⁻¹ are prepared on several temperature-controlled substrates by excimer laser ablation (ELA) of 3, 4, 9, 10-perylenetetracarboxylic dianhydride (PTCDA) with 193 nm (ArF), 248 nm (KrF) and 308 nm (XeCl) beams. The structure, electric conductivity, and carrier species of the prepared films depend strongly on the ablation wavelength, fluence, and substrate temperature. Thermoelectromotive force measurements demonstrate conversion of carrier species from n-type to p-type with increasing fluence of a 308-nm beam from 0.2 to 4.0 Jcm⁻²pulse⁻¹. A film prepared on a substrate at 300 °C by ELA with a 308-nm beam partially contains a polyperinaphthalene (PPN) structure with electric conductivity of 10⁻² to 10⁻¹ Scm⁻¹. © 1998 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 125(2): 19–26, 1998     

Use of spatial phase difference method to detect microwaves associated with stator coil partial discharge in a generator

This paper presents a new system for detecting electromagnetic waves emitted from partial discharges (PD) due to material defects in high-voltage electric machinery and apparatus. PD is a symptom and/or a direct cause of the deterioration of insulation systems used in high-voltage stator coils. This system can detect PD by using the spatial phase information of the microwaves emitted from PD, which are voltage pulses of very short duration. We describe the properties of this system which is composed of two double-ridge-guide-horn antennas, two preamplifiers, a gigahertz interference receiver (GHz-2ch-down-converter) of original design, two A/D (analog to digital) converters, and a personal computer. We experimentally show that this system can be used for detection of the microwaves emitted by PD occurring in the stator coil. The result of this work is the development of a new noncontact PD detection system for generators, which can be operated by station personnel. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 121(2): 16–26, 1997     

Global Loss of Core 1-Derived O-Glycans in Mice Leads to High Mortality Due to Acute Kidney Failure and Gastric Ulcers

The core 1 structure is the major constituent of mucin-type O-glycans, which are added via glycosylation—a posttranslational modification present on membrane-bound and secretory proteins. Core 1 β1,3-galactosyltransferase (C1galt1), an enzyme that synthesizes the core 1 structure, requires Cosmc, a C1galt1-specific molecular chaperone, for its enzymatic activity. Since Cosmc-knockout mice exhibit embryonic lethality, the biological role of core 1-derived O-glycans in the adult stage is not fully understood. We generated ubiquitous and inducible CAGCre-ER^TM/Cosmc-knockout (iCAG-Cos) mice to investigate the physiological function of core 1-derived O-glycans. The iCAG-Cos mice exhibited a global loss of core 1-derived O-glycans, high mortality, and showed a drastic reduction in weights of the thymus, adipose tissue, and pancreas 10 days after Cosmc deletion. They also exhibited leukocytopenia, thrombocytopenia, severe acute pancreatitis, and atrophy of white and brown adipose tissue, as well as spontaneous gastric ulcers and severe renal dysfunction, which were considered the causes underlying the high mortality of the iCAG-Cos mice. Serological analysis indicated the iCAG-Cos mice have lower blood glucose and total blood protein levels and higher triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein, and total cholesterol levels than the controls. These data demonstrate the importance of core 1-derived O-glycans for homeostatic maintenance in adult mice.     

Peptide-Conjugated Phosphorodiamidate Morpholino Oligomers for In Situ Live-Cell Molecular Imaging of Dengue Virus Replication

Current methods to detect and monitor pathogens in biological systems are largely limited by the tradeoffs between spatial context and temporal detail. A new generation of molecular tracking that provides both information simultaneously involves in situ detection coupled with non-invasive imaging. An example is antisense imaging that uses antisense oligonucleotide probes complementary to a target nucleotide sequence. In this study, we explored the potential of repurposing antisense oligonucleotides initially developed as antiviral therapeutics as molecular probes for imaging of viral infections in vitro and in vivo. We employed nuclease-resistant phosphorodiamidate synthetic oligonucleotides conjugated with cell-penetrating peptides (i.e., PPMOs) previously established as antivirals for dengue virus serotype-2 (DENV2). As proof of concept, and before further development for preclinical testing, we evaluated its validity as in situ molecular imaging probe for tracking cellular DENV2 infection using live-cell fluorescence imaging. Although the PPMO was designed to specifically target the DENV2 genome, it was unsuitable as in situ molecular imaging probe. This study details our evaluation of the PPMOs to assess specific and sensitive molecular imaging of DENV2 infection and tells a cautionary tale for those exploring antisense oligonucleotides as probes for non-invasive imaging and monitoring of pathogen infections in experimental animal models.     

Experimental determination and thermodynamic calculation of the phase equilibria in the Cu-In-Sn system

The phase equilibria of the Cu-In-Sn system were investigated by means of the diffusion couple method, differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and metallography. The isothermal sections at 110–900 C, as well as vertical sections at 10wt.%Cu–70wt.%Cu were determined. It was found that there are large solubilities of In in the ε(Cu₃Sn), δ(Cu₄₁Sn₁₁), and η phases in the Cu-Sn system, and large solubilities of Sn in the γ, η, and δ(Cu₇In₃) phases in the Cu-In system. The η phase was found to continuously form from the Cu-In side to the Cu-Sn side, and a ternary compound (Cu₂In₃Sn) was found to exist at 110 C. Thermodynamic assessment of the Cu-In-Sn system was also carried out based on experimental data of activity and phase equilibria using the CALPHAD method, in which the Gibbs energies of the liquid, fcc and bcc phases are described by the subregular solution model and that of compounds, including two ternary compounds, are represented by the sublattice model. The thermodynamic parameters for describing the phase equilibria were optimized, and agreement between the calculated and experimental results was obtained.     

Toughening of aromatic diamine-cured epoxy resins by poly(butylene phthalate)s and the related copolyesters

Aromatic polyesters, prepared by the reaction of aromatic dicarboxylic acids and 1,4-butanediol, were used to improve the toughness of bisphenol-A diglycidyl ether epoxy resin cured with p,p′-diaminodiphenyl sulfone. These polyesters contained poly(butylene phthalate)s (PBP), poly(butylene phthalate-co-butylene isophthalate)s, poly(butylene phthalate-co-butylene terephthalate)s, and poly(butylene phthalate-co-butylene 2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylate)s. All aromatic polyesters used in this study were soluble in the epoxy resin without solvents and were found to be effective as modifiers for toughening the cured epoxy resin. For example, the inclusion of 20 wt % PBP (MW 16,300) led to a 120% increase in the fracture toughness (K_IC) of the cured resin with no loss of mechanical and thermal properties. The toughening mechanism was discussed in terms of the morphological and dynamic viscoelastic behaviors of the modified epoxy resin system. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

On the approximation of protein threading

In this paper, we study the protein threading problem, which was proposed for predicting a folded 3D protein structure from an amino acid sequence. Since this problem was already proved to be NP-hard, we study polynomial time approximation algorithms. We show several hardness results for the approximation, which includes a MAX SNP-hardness result. We also show approximation algorithms for a special case and a general case, where a graph representing interactions between amino acid residues is restricted to be planar in a special case. For this special case, we obtain a constant approximation ratio.     

Origin of size distributions in ZnSe self-organized quantum dots grown on ZnS layers

Main factors which determine the size, the standard deviations which show the degree of the size fluctuations for the average dot height and diameter, and density in ZnSe self-organized quantum dots (QDs) grown on ZnS layers were studied. By lowering the growth temperature the QDs average size and its standard deviation decreased and the density increased due to the slower surface migration. With the application of the scaling theory, it was revealed that the normalized size distributions were uniquely determined by the nucleation process although the apparent standard deviations of the QD sizes were dependent on the growth temperature. The influence of surface roughness of the underneath layer on the formation of the relations of the dot height and diameter was also examined. It was shown that the fluctuation of the surface potential contributes significantly to the apparent standard deviations of ZnSe self-organized QDs sizes.     

Determination of Positions of Zeolitic Calcium Atoms and Water Molecules in Hydrothermally Formed Aluminum-Substiqtuted Tobermorite-1.1nm Using Synchrotron Radiation Powder Diffraction Data

The crystal structure of hydrothermally formed Al-substituted tobermorite-1.1nm (Ca_4.9Si_5.5Al_0.5O_16.3(OH)_0.7·5H₂O) has been analyzed using synchrotron radiation powder diffraction data. Crystallographic positions of a zeolitic Ca atom and three water molecules in the channel of the framework were determined by the Monte Carlo method and subsequent Rietveld refinement. The Ca atom splits into two sites at a distance of 0.161 nm apart, and it is coordinated with the three water molecules and the three oxygen atoms belonging to the framework. Al atoms preferably substitute a part of the Si atoms at the "bridging SiO₄" tetrahedra rather than at those of the "chain middle group SiO₄" tetrahedra.