Raman Spectroscopy of Laser‐Shocked Nitrobenzene

A technique for in situ Raman spectroscopy of laser‐shocked nitrobenzene was developed. Raman spectra of shocked nitrobenzene are obtained up to ∼3.5 GPa, and peak shifts at particular frequencies are observed. The shifts are plotted as a function of density and compared with the data under isothermal compression. Both data provide the same results. This indicates that the numbers of peak shifts of nitrobenzene depend solely on material density.     

Characterization of an Exo-Maltotetraose-forming Amylase of Pseudomonas stutzeri and Application in p-Nitrophenyl β-D-Galactosyl-α-Maltooligosaccharides Production

Some kinetic characteristics and hydrolytic action patterns on various β-D -galactosyl-maltooligosaccharides (Gal-Gn), ranging in size from D.P. (degree of polymerization) 5 to 8, of an exo-maltotetraose-forming amylase of Pseudomonas stutzeri (G4-amylase) were examined to produce a few p-nitrophenyl β-D -galactosyl-α-maltooligosaccharides (Gal-GnP, n = 4,5). The relative hydrolytic reaction rates for larger Gal-Gn by the enzyme were larger than those for smaller saccharides tough the values for unmodified linear maltooligosachharides were almost same. Michaelis constants (Km) for hydrolysis of Gal-G4, Gal-G5, Gal-G6 and Gal-G7 by the enzyme were 1.3, 1.9, 1.3 and 1.3mM, and apparent molecular activities (ko) for these saccharides were 5.9, 38, 91 and 126s⁻¹, respectively. The values of ko/Km for them were remarkably smaller than those for unmodified linear maltooligosaccharides. The G4-amylase cleaved 2 points of the α-1,4-glucosidic linkage in β-1,4-Gal-G4 to give β-1,4-Gal-G2 and -Gal-G3 in the molar ratio of 3:1, whereas the enzyme attacked 3 points of the linkage in β-1,4-Gal-G5, -Gal-G6 and -Gal-G7 to form β-1,4-Gal-G2,-Gal-G3 and Gal-G4 in the molar ratios of 2:5:1, 1:3:6 and 1:3:6, in the early stage of the reaction, respectively. On the other hand, the enzyme showed no action on β-1,6-Gal-G4 and formed β-1,6-Gal-G4 solely from β-1,6-Gal-G5, and β-1,6-Gal-G4 and -Gal-G5 were from β-1,6-Gal-G6 and -Gal-G7 in the ratios of 8:1 and 2:1, respectively. The enzyme also catalyzed the transfer action to produce Gal-G3P, Gal-G4P and Gal-G5P, of which the formation ratio was coincided well with the hydrolytic action pattern on each Gal-Gn, from Gal-Gn tested as a donor and p-nitrophenyl α-glucoside (GP) as an acceptor in an aqueous solution containing 40% (v/v) methanol. By using this novel reaction, Gal-G5P is now producing on an industrial scale to apply as a substrate for the assay of human α-amylase.     

SIR Weighting Combining Diversity Using Matched Filter for Personal Communication Systems

We propose a novel SIR weighting postdetection combining diversity scheme with a new accurate SIR estimation method. The SIR is estimated and used as the weighting factor to compensate severe cochannel interference, one of the most important issues for PCS in terms of frequency utilization. Theimprovement offered by the proposal depends on SIR estimation accuracy.The SIR is, in this paper, estimated by a matched filter where theauto-correlation between received signal and unique word is calculated. Computer simulationsconfirm that the SIR of each diversity branch can be estimated easily andaccuratelyby the proposed SIR estimation method. The proposed diversity scheme achievesaperformance very close to that of ideal SINR weighting diversity underRayleighfading with severe cochannel interference. When average SIR = 10 dB and thenumber of branches(L)=4, the proposed diversity scheme lowers the requiredE_b/N₀ by 5 dB at BER = 1×10^-3compared to conventional maximal ratio combining diversity. This paper alsopresentsthe unique word length required to realize adequate performance, i.e.,robustnessagainst high-pitch Rayleigh fading.     

Three-dimensional expression of adhesion molecules on the superficial synovial intima of LPS-induced arthritis of the mouse knee analyzed by immuno-SEM

Three-dimensional microlocalization of adhesion molecules, i.e. ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule), VCAM-1 (vascular adhesion molecule), LFA-1 (lymphocyte function-associated antigen), Mac-1 (macrophage differentiation antigen) and VLA-4 (very late activation antigen), expressed on type-A synoviocyte (macrophage-like cell) and type-B synoviocyte (fibroblast-like cell), were detected by immuno-scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to investigate the immunoreactive microenvironment of the superficial synovial intima in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced arthritis of the mouse knee. Type-B synoviocytes extended rich slender processes from the periphery and constructed a cytoplasmic network, to which ICAM-1 was restricted. VCAM-1 was expressed only in the LPS-stimulated group and was relatively limited to the microvilli of type-B synoviocytes. Type-A synoviocytes were located randomly among the network with a smoother surface and expressed Mac-1 and LFA-1, which were counter-receptors for ICAM-1, and VLA-4 for VCAM-1 on the microvilli or lamellipodia. Three-dimensional microlocalization of adhesion molecules suggests that the network constructed by cytoplasmic processes and microvilli of type-B synoviocytes forms the pathway for the migration or the foothold for the fixation of type-A synoviocytes and takes part in forming an immunoreactive environment in the articular cavity.     

The effects of maturation on early and late phases of phrenic neurogram during eupnea

In this paper, we investigate the effects of maturation on the early and late phases of the phrenic neurogram. We have used the matching pursuit (MP) method to examine the effects of maturation on breathing patterns in both time and frequency domains. The MP was chosen since the wavelet transform method may not represent signals whose Fourier transforms have a narrow high-frequency support. The phrenic neurogram was recorded from 25 piglets (3-35 days) during eupnea (normal breathing) at three postnatal age groups: young (3-7 days (n = 9)), (middle) 10-21 days (n = 6), and old (29-35 days (n = 10)). The energy percentage of atoms representing the nonperiodic neural activities (NPNAs) significantly decreased from young age to middle age groups (p<0.01) and from young age to old age groups (p<0.01), and from middle age to old age groups (p<0.055) in the early phase (the first half) of the phrenic neurogram, but these changes were not statistically significant in the late phase (the second half) of the phrenic neurogram as maturation proceeded. However, the energy percentage of atoms representing the periodic neural activities (PNAs) decreased with maturation, but these changes were not statistically significant in the early phase of the phrenic neurogram. The energy percentage of (PNAs) increased in the late phase of the phrenic neurogram as maturation proceeded although these changes were only significant between young and old age groups (p<0.01). These results suggest that the significant decrease of the NPNAs in the early phase and the increase in the late phase of the phrenic neurogram could be a sign of maturation in piglets.     

A 120-mm2 64-Mb NAND flash memory achieving 180 ns/Byteeffective program speed

Emerging application areas of mass storage flash memories require low cost, high density flash memories with enhanced device performance. This paper describes a 64 Mb NAND flash memory having improved read and program performances. A 40 MB/s read throughput is achieved by improving the page sensing time and employing the full-chip burst read capability. A 2-μs random access time is obtained by using a precharged capacitive decoupling sensing scheme with a staggered row decoder scheme. The full-chip burst read capability is realized by introducing a new array architecture. A narrow incremental step pulse programming scheme achieves a 5 MB/s program throughput corresponding to 180 ns/Byte effective program speed. The chip has been fabricated using a 0.4-μm single-metal CMOS process resulting in a die size of 120 mm² and an effective cell size of 1.1 μm²     

A low-resistance self-aligned T-shaped gate for high-performancesub-0.1-μm CMOS

This paper describes the high performance of T-shaped-gate CMOS devices with effective channel lengths in the sub-0.1-μm region. These devices were fabricated by using selective W growth, which allows low-resistance gates smaller than 0.1 μm to be made without requiring fine lithography alignment. We used counter-doping to scale down the threshold voltage while still maintaining acceptable short-channel effects. This approach allowed us to make ring oscillators with a gate-delay time as short as 21 ps at 2 V with a gate length of 0.15 μm. Furthermore, we experimentally show that the high circuit speed of a sub-0.1-μm gate length CMOS device is mainly due to the PMOS device performance, especially in terms of its drivability     

A promising application for broadband ISDN: Hypermedia teleconference

The optimum BISDN teleconference service for business, called hypermedia teleconference, is designed based on research into typical business activities and ATM, the most promising BISDN architecture. Service characteristics are determined by analysing the daily work practices of a large set of businessmen. It is shown that communication tasks occupy 44 per cent of the working day. The analysis further shows that some 60 per cent of all communication tasks could be performed through an advanced digital teleconference service. Hypermedia teleconference is designed to satisfy the needs of business through personal communication terminals and ATM public networks. The terminals effectively allocate the BISDN's high-speed transmission capability between a number of subchannels that realize distributed multipoint connection links and multimedia paths. The terminals use a new variable-bit-rate ATM codec created to realize high quality video. Users can easily create full featured teleconferences without a centralized connection facility. Terminals allow the synergistic combination of video, voice, telewriting, telepointing and document transmission services.     

Boiling heat transfer of HFO-1234yf flowing in a smooth small-diameter horizontal tube

The flow boiling heat transfer coefficient of the low-GWP (global warming potential) refrigerant HFO-1234yf inside a smooth small-diameter horizontal tube (inner diameter: 2 mm) was experimentally investigated. The local heat transfer coefficient was measured at heat fluxes of 6-24 kW m⁻², mass fluxes of 100-400 kg m⁻² s⁻¹, an evaporating temperature of 288.15 K, and an inlet vapor quality of 0-0.25. The results show that the effect of heat flux on the heat transfer was large at low vapor quality, while the effect of mass flux was large at high vapor quality. The heat transfer coefficient of HFO-1234yf was almost the same as that of R-134a. The heat transfer coefficients calculated based on correlations with Saitoh et al. agreed well with the measured values compared to other correlations. The measured pressure drop agreed well with that predicted by the Lockhart-Martinelli correlation.