Degradation of PL characteristics in strained layer multi-quantum well structure with atomic ordering structure

Clarification of the degradation mechanism of photoluminescence (PL) charac-teristics of InGaAsP compressively strained layer multi-quantum well (SL-MQW) structures on an InP substrate is studied to realize highly strained SL-MQW lasers with a large number of well layers. An unusual temperature-dependence of the PL peak wavelength is observed in the SL-MQW structure: the shift of the PL peak wavelength is reduced with change in measurement temperature. The degradation of PL characteristics is evaluated by the reduc-tion in the PL shift as well as an increase in PL linewidth and a decrease in PL peak intensity. The extent of the PL degradation increases with an increase in the number of well layers and an increase in strain. In the SL-MQW structure with degraded PL characteristics, the structure of CuPt-type atomic ordering is clearly observed for the first time in each barrier layer by high-resolution transmission electron microscope (HR-TEM) measurements. In the SL-MQW structure, neither dislocation nor three-dimensional nucleation is observed by TEM measurements. By increasing the growth temperature, elimination of the ordering structure as well as improvement in the PL characteristics have been confirmed even in the SL-MQW structure with a large amount of strain and a large number of well layers.     

Heterogeneous zonal distribution of sulfotransferase isoenzymes in rat liver

By employing dual-digitonin-pulse perfusion technique, the cytosolic fractions were prepared from periportal (PP) and perivenous (PV) hepatocytes of male and female rat livers. Sulfotransferase (ST) activities toward 2-naphthol (2NAP) (at pH 5.5 and 7.4), 4-nitrophenol, dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), and cortisol were measured in each fraction. DHEA-ST activity was mainly localized in PP fraction in males, while in females it was slightly higher in PP fraction than in PV samples. In contrast, phenol ST activities were higher in PV fraction in both sexes. With anti-HS-ST and anti-P-ST antisera, the levels of immunoreactive ST polypeptides were compatible with the levels of ST activities except that in female PP fraction the level of immunoreactive P-ST polypeptide was low in spite of comparatively high levels of P-ST activities. Chromatofocusing of PP and PV fractions separated P-ST activities into three major fractions (I-III), which have distinct catalytic and electrochemical properties. Fraction I was localized only in the PP samples in both sexes and revealed ST activities toward 2NAP at pH 5.5 and 7.4, while fraction II was localized in the PP and PV samples in both sexes with 2NAP-ST activity only at pH 7.4. Fraction III which had ST activities at pH 5.5 and 7.4 was present only in the PV samples in female rats, whereas in male rats it was present in both PP and PV samples. With anti-P-ST antiserum, the immunoreactive polypeptide was present in fraction III, but no immunoreactive band was detected in fractions I and II, suggesting the presence of immunochemically and electrochemically different P-ST(s) in these fractions.     

Chain Shuffling: Investigations into the Specificity and Selectivity of Antibody Catalysis

The antibody phage display system has been investigated as a vehicle for the potential altering of a catalytic antibody's specificity and chemical reactivity. Using previously identified catalytic antibodies, heavy and light “chain shuffling” experiments have been conducted. Catalytic activity and specificity requirements in terms of antibody complementarity-determining regions were probed by interchanging heavy and light chain genes between antibodies that catalyze class-similar but different chemical reactions with substrates that are enantiomerically opposed. The results were that antibody-hapten binding specificity was only slightly altered, but catalytic activity was severely compromised.     

Inhibitory long-term potentiation underlies auditory conditioning of goldfish escape behaviour

Long-term potentiation (LTP), the increase in synaptic strength evoked by high-frequency stimulation, is often considered to be a cellular model for learning and memory. The validity of this model depends on the assumptions that physiological stimuli can induce LTP in vivo and that the resulting synaptic modifications correlate with behavioural changes. However, modifiable synapses are generally embedded deep in complex circuits. In contrast, the goldfish Mauthner (M)-cell and its afferent synapses are easily accessible for electrophysiological studies, and firing of this neuron is sufficient to trigger fast escape behaviour in response to sudden stimuli. We have previously shown that tetanic stimulation can induce LTP of the feedforward inhibitory synapses that control the excitability of the M-cell. Here we report that natural sensory stimulation can induce potentiation of this inhibitory connection that resembles the LTP induced by afferent tetanization. Furthermore, comparable acoustic stimulation produced a parallel decrease in the probability of the sound-evoked escape reflex. Thus we demonstrate for the first time, to our knowledge, a behavioural role for the long-term synaptic strengthening of inhibitory synapses.     

Sensorless PM brushless DC motor drives

To control PM brushless DC motors, position and speed sensors are indispensable because the current should be controlled depending on the rotor position. However, these sensors are undesirable from standpoints of size, cost, maintenance, and reliability. There are different ways of approaching this problem, depending on the flux distribution. The paper presents the speed and position sensorless control of PM brushless DC motors with a sinusoidal flux distribution. Two approaches are presented and compared with each other; one is based on the voltage model of the motor and another is based on the current model. The starting procedure is also a very difficult problem under sensorless drives, because the sensorless drive algorithm uses voltage and current for estimation of rotor position, but no information is available before starting. A novel starting method is presented by using a salient-pole machine. Experimental results based on DSP-TMS320C25 controller are shown for comparisons, which demonstrate desired characteristics both in steady-state and starting conditions     

30-1000 MHz field strength standard developed in anechoic chamber

An accurate electric field strength for the frequency range of 30 MHz to 1000 MHz has been developed in a full anechoic chamber with 1-Σ uncertainty less than ±1.9%. Reflection parameters of walls at frequencies below 200 MHz are evaluated experimentally, and the errors due to these waves are compensated in the standard and calibrations of the antennas     

A bio-inspired tracking camera system

We propose a bio-inspired reconfigurable tracking camera system using FPGAs. In the system, a wide-lens camera captures an entire image, while a zoom-lens camera tracks a target in the image and magnifies it. In the current system, a probabilistic neural network (PNN) and mosaic processing are used for the image recognition and preprocessing, respectively. Thanks to the FPGA-based design, not only the PNN and the mosaic processing, but also other recognition and preprocessing algorithms can be implemented onto the system to adapt various images and targets. This work was presented in part at the 11th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, January 23–25, 2006     

Vaporization study on the niobium monoxide and niobium metal systems by mass-spectrometric methods

The vapor pressures over single-phase NbO(s) and two-phase NbO(s) — Nb(s) were measured by the mass-spectrometric method in the temperature range 1948–2301 K. The main vapor species over both systems were observed to be NbO(g) and NbO₂(g). By applying the second and the third law treatments of thermodynamics to the partial vapor pressures of NbO(g) and NbO₂(g), the enthalpies of vaporization were calculated for the following reactions: NbO(inNbO(s)) = NbO(g), NbO₂(inNbO(s)) = NbO₂(g), 2NbO(s) = Nb(s) + NbO₂(g), 2NbO(s) = Nb(s)+NbO(g) + 0(g). The enthalpies of formation and the dissociation energies of NbO(g) and NbO₂(g) obtained from these reactions were in good agreement with the previous results obtained from the vapor pressure measurements on NbO₂(s) by the present authors. The partial pressures of oxygen were calculated as a function of temperature from the partial pressures of NbO₂(g) and NbO(g), from which the partial molar enthalpies and entropies of oxygen in the system of NbO(s) and Nb(s) were determined.