Impact ionisation ratio in In0.73Ga0.27As0.57P0.43

A window structure InGaAsP avalanche photodiode (a.p.d.) has been fabricated by using liquid-phase epitaxy on (111B) InP. Multiplication characteristics show that the impact ionisation rate for electrons is larger than that for holes (?>?). The ionisation ratio ?/? was estimated to be 3?4. A low-noise a.p.d. will be realised by a structure with electron-initiated multiplication.     

FASTBUS Cable Segment Extender Based on TTL

A method to drive a FASTBUS cable segment over long distance is described. The signal level transmitted is converted from standard FASTBUS cable segment signal to a TTL differential output; the scheme increases noise immunity. In addition, the receiver has a wide tolerance of common mode range of +/-15 V. By applying a deskewing mechanism in the extender module, we have achieved more than 1010 transactions of FASTBUS without any error with a cable length of 100 m.     

Positive and Negative Regulators of Sclerostin Expression

Sclerostin is secreted from osteocytes, binds to the Wnt co-receptor Lrp5/6, and affects the interaction between Wnt ligands and Lrp5/6, which inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signals and suppresses bone formation. Sclerostin plays an important role in the preservation of bone mass by functioning as a negative regulator of bone formation. A sclerostin deficiency causes sclerosteosis, which is characterized by an excess bone mass with enhanced bone formation in humans and mice. The expression of sclerostin is positively and negatively regulated by many factors, which also govern bone metabolism. Positive and negative regulators of sclerostin expression and their effects are introduced and discussed herein based on recent and previous findings, including our research.     

微细电火花加工用脉冲电源技术的基础研究

在微细电火花加工中，使用RC放电回路容易得到数十至数百纳秒的窄脉宽电流，但RC放电回路由于向电容器充电所需时间而不能得到很高的放电频度，严重影响其加工效率。为此，本研究开发了微细电火花加工用晶体管式脉冲电源，并对其加工特性进行了评价，找出了适合于微细电火花加工的晶体管式脉冲电源。实验结果表明，自振式晶体管脉冲电源因其加工速度慢并不适于微细放电加工。通过开发等脉宽晶体管脉冲电源，可实现脉宽80ns的放电电流，与传统的RC放电回路相比，加工速度可提高2至3倍。     

Physicochemical Properties of Starches from Lotus Rhizomes Harvested in Different Months

We investigated the physicochemical properties of starches extracted from 8 lotus (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.) rhizomes harvested in different months (September 2012 to May 2013). The physicochemical properties of the lotus starches depended on the harvest date. The peak viscosity (PV) in the Rapid Visco-Analyser analysis, and the viscosity at 65 °C (V₆₅) in the rotational viscometer analysis were significantly lower in SEP starch (extracted from the September-harvested sample) than in the other lotus starches. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficients of potassium ion (K) content vs. V₆₅ and of K content vs. PV were 0.905 and 0.714, respectively, indicating that potassium ions are important for expressing the pasting properties of lotus starch. Principal component analysis suggested that the potassium, magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus contents are important for displaying both the pasting and gelatinization properties of the lotus starches. Meanwhile, the cluster analysis revealed that physicochemical properties of the SEP starch were different from those of the starches harvested in other months.     

Secretion of a variant of human single-chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator without an N-glycosylation site in the methylotrophic yeast,Pichia pastoris and characterization of the secreted product

Human single-chain urokinase-type plasminogen activator without an N-glycosylation site (scu-PA-Q³⁰²) was produced in the methylotrophic yeast, Pichia pastoris using the shortened prepeptide sequence of a fungal aspartic proteinase, Mucor pusillus rennin (MPR). The level of urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) immunoreactive material in YPM medium was 0·47 mg/l; however, most of the secreted product had been processed to smaller polypeptides. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of major species was identical to that of the low molecular weight two-chain u-PA. Some approaches to minimizing the proteolysis of scu-PA-Q³⁰² were attempted. Addition of Triton X-100, l-arginine and ammonium phosphate to the YPM medium minimized the proteolysis of scu-PA-Q³⁰² and increased the yield of immunoreactive material to approximately 5 mg/l. Use of proteinase A- or proteinase B-deficient strains of yeast did not reduce the degradation. Co-expression of scu-PA-Q³⁰² and urinary trypsin inhibitor resulted in partial reduction of the major species of proteolysis. Scu-PA-Q³⁰² was purified from the culture supernatant of the improved medium by two successive chromatographies on Phenyl-Sepharose and S-Sepharose. The purified protein had a molecular weight of 47 kDa. It did not contain detectable N-linked oligosaccharides, but contained O-linked oligosaccharides attached to the light chain. N-terminal amino acid sequencing of the purified preparation showed that the shortened prepeptide sequence of MPR was correctly processed by the Pichia yeast. Scu-PA-Q³⁰² closely resembles natural scu-PA with respect to its enzymatic activity against the chromogenic substrate S-2444 and its in vitro fibrinolytic properties.     

Relationship between Spin Gap and Crystal Structure in La-214 Cuprate Superconductor

To investigate the intrinsic nature of spin correlations in La-214 high-T _c cuprate, we performed neutron scattering measurement on La_1.94−x Sr _x Ce_0.06CuO₄ (LSCCO) samples for two different hole concentrations. Since the Ce-doping reduces the hole concentration without changing the bulk lattice distortion, the corrugation of CuO₂ planes in the Sr and Ce co-doped LSCCO system is more relaxed compared with that in La_2−x Sr _x CuO₄ (LSCO) at equivalent hole concentration. In the optimally doped x=0.18 sample, clear spin gap structure was observed, as is the case of the optimally doped LSCO. Therefore, the spin gap structure is insensitive to the lattice distortion. In the underdoped x=0.14 sample, the local spin susceptibility (χ″(ω)) above 2 meV increases with increasing the energy transfer (ω) and reaches an intensity maximum at ∼7 meV, exhibiting a gap-like structure. The observation of gap-like structure in the present underdoped sample is quite different from the energy-independent χ″(ω) reported for underdoped LSCO. The possible origin of difference of spin excitations is discussed from the viewpoint of two-component picture for spin fluctuations.