Simultaneous Edge‐on to Face‐on Reorientation and 1D Alignment of Small π‐Conjugated Molecules Using Room‐Temperature Mechanical Rubbing

In this study, room‐temperature mechanical rubbing is used to control the 3D orientation of small π‐conjugated molecular systems in solution‐processed polycrystalline thin films without using any alignment substrate. High absorption dichroic ratio and significant anisotropy in charge carrier mobilities (up to 130) measured in transistor configuration are obtained in rubbed organic films based on the ambipolar quinoidal quaterthiophene (QQT(CN)4). Moreover, a solvent vapor annealing treatment of the rubbed film is found to improve the optical and charge transport anisotropy due to an increased crystallinity. X‐ray diffraction and atomic force microscopy measurements demonstrate that rubbing does not only lead to an excellent 1D orientation of the QQT(CN)4 molecules over large areas but also modifies the orientation of the crystals, moving molecules from an edge‐on to a face‐on configuration. The reasons why a mechanical alignment technique can be used at room temperature for such a polycrystalline film are rationalized, by the plastic characteristics of the QQT(CN)4 layer and the role of the flexible alkyl side chains in the molecular packing. This nearly complete conversion from edge‐on to face‐on orientation by mechanical treatment in polycrystalline small‐molecule‐based thin films opens perspectives in terms of fundamental research and practical applications in organic optoelectronics.     

Ferroelectric neuron circuits with adaptive-learning function

A neon circuit which consists of nonvolatile metal-ferroelectric-semiconductor field effect transistors (MFSFETs) and a uni-junction transistor (UJT) has been proposed. In the proposed circuit MFSFETs act as analog memories to store the synaptic weights which can be changed by the adaptive-learning process during the operations. In this paper, we first simulate the operation of the ferroelectric neuron circuit using a circuit simulator, SPICE. It is shown that the output frequency of the proposed neuron circuit can be changed after it processes a certain number of input pulses. Then, we report the fabrication of UJTs and UJT pulse oscillation circuits using silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates. It is found that the output frequency increases with decreasing the charging time of the capacitor in the circuit and that the operation at higher frequencies is possible for integrated UJT oscillation circuits. Finally, we demonstrate the memory and learning properties of n-channel ferroelectric-gate FETs using (Pb,La)(Zr,Ti)O₃ (PLZT) films. It is shown that the drain current of the PLZT/SrTiO₃/Si FETs can be controlled by a “write” pulse before the measurements.     

Background and prospects of the Community Health Act

Japan was defeated in World War II and almost all of the nation was demoralized by the destruction and damage to much of the nation. The medical and health care system during and before World War II needed to be reformed radically and fundamentally since almost all medical and health institutes were destroyed. On the other hand, many health personnel came back from overseas after the war. Japanese modern medicine had developed on the basis of German medicine; however, many aspects of American medicine, including public health and democracy, were rapidly introduced following the end of World War II. The American type of health center was established and many laws concerning medical and health care were enacted in 1947-1948. One of them was "The Health Center Law." The National Health Insurance Act was enacted in 1958 and the total population has been covered by health insurance plans since 1961. Many physicians quit the health centers and they have worked as clinicians under the National Health Insurance scheme, because health centers were introduced before adequate education and research existed in the field of public health. On the other hand, the health insurance scheme was in its golden age during the high economic growth period of the 1960s. Japan has succeeded in all forms of modern technology and economy for the past 30 years and is now one of the top nations in the field of medical and health care, such as the numbers of clinics and hospitals and beds, the frequency of consulting with a doctor, length of hospital stay, examinee rates in mass health examinations in the community and workplace and so on. Health conditions have changed drastically from the 1950s to the present. Therefore, health centers do not fit current health needs. For example, mortality from tuberculosis, acute infections diseases and also stomach and uterus cancers and apoplexy have decreased rapidly while mortality from chronic diseases, especially lung, breast and rectal cancers, and myocardial infarction have increased gradually. Changes of life style resulting from rapid economic growth are suspected to be important causes of the change in the prevalence of these diseases. Mass health examination was important and effective as a preventive measure against tuberculosis, especially as a means of early detection and early treatment. However, it is not now effective against chronic diseases. The screening examination has resulted in identifying many patients suspected of being ill. Every examiner must be able to distinguish pathologic findings from physiologic changes of aging. Every patient must, therefore, understand his/her individuality and evaluate the result of his/her efforts to improve life style by receiving a health examination. Accordingly, the aim of health examination has changed from early detection to health support for the examinee. During the decades when life expectancy was less than 50 years of age, it was not necessary for people to plan for retirement. Moreover, there was little burden on younger generations to provide care for the aged people because there were few old people more than 70 years of age and the birth rate was high. Nowadays, elderly people face many years of life after retirement and there are too many aged people in relation to the number of younger persons. As for medical care services, many new medical needs have emerged in recent years, including "quality of life," "palliative medicine in terminal care," "establishment of a primary care system" and "comprehensive care connecting health and medical care with welfare" etc. Improved living standards resulting from economic growth, called the "economic miracle" internationally, have helped to bring about a rapid and wide range of change in daily lifestyle, such as eating habits, working conditions and environment. The Ministry of Health and Welfare has made every effort to revise the laws in relation to health and medical care systems, in order to adjust to recent     

High frame-rate tracking of multiple color-patterned objects

In this study, we develop a high frame-rate vision system that can execute color histogram-based tracking of multiple color-patterned objects in a 512 × 512 image at 2,000 fps by implementing an expanded cell-based labeling algorithm as the hardware logic. In the hardware implementation of the expanded cell-based labeling algorithm, the 16-bin hue-based color histograms of 1,024 color-patterned objects in an image can be extracted simultaneously by dividing the image into 8 × 8 cells concurrently, after calculating the 0th, 1st, and 2nd moment features to obtain the positions, areas, and orientation angles of multiple objects. We verified the effectiveness of our developed tracking system by performing several experiments using multiple color-patterned objects, which were always tracked even when they moved rapidly with occlusions in the camera views.     

Cyclic motion design and analysis for a passive object manipulation using an active plate

We propose a novel scheme for manipulating a passive object using an active plate. In previous studies, cyclic manipulations that transport objects on a plate, position control of an object on a plate, and juggling have been realized. In most manipulations using plates, object motions in the direction of the gravitational force are not considered. The objective of this study is to control an object’s orientation with respect to the gravitational force direction using an active plate for realizing hitherto unrealized object motion. In this context, a tumble doll, which is a planar rigid sphere, is defined as the object. Motions of the object and active plate are designed to be cyclic. A state vector composed of the object’s angle and angular velocity is defined, and the cyclic motion is expressed as a nonlinear discrete system. Fixed points of the state vector are searched for in the designed cyclic motion. A stability analysis around the fixed points is conducted using a Poincaré map. As a result, the fixed points are shown to be asymptotically stable. Finally, experimental results are used to verify that the object’s angle can be manipulated with the designed cyclic motion using the plate.     

Mechanism of copper(II) adsorption by polyvinyl polyacrylate

The mechanism of copper adsorption by polyvinyl polyacrylate (PVPA) was examined using ESR and magnetic measurements. The copper adsorption by PVPA obeyed Langmuir adsorption isotherm with the maximum adsorption amounts of 4.17 mmol g^?1 adsorbent, being larger than those of uranium adsorption. Though copper in the solution was completely adsorbed by the resin above pH 4, the ESR intensity was remained low level and only increased above pH 8. The ESR spectrum of Cu(II) ion in PVPA are axial type with tetragonally distorted octahedral symmetry, having parameters of g_⊥ = 2.361, g_? = 2.057, |A_⊥| = 14.0 m cm^?1 (pH 5), and g_⊥ = 2.329, g_? = 2.058, |A_⊥| = 16.2 m cm^?1, |A_?| = 2.7 m cm^?1 (pH 9). The absorption peaks originated from Cu(II)–Cu(II) dimer was also observed (pH 5). The paramagnetic susceptibility of PVPA adsorbed Cu(II) ion at pH 5 explained by the dimer model with |J| = 220 K. These results suggested that most of copper was adsorbed and formed dimer in PVPA, being similar to that in Cu(II)‐acetate monohydrate. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 102:5372–5377, 2006     

Photografting of N‐isopropylacrylamide and glycidyl methacrylate binary monomers on polyethylene film: Effect of mixed solvent consisting of water and organic solvent

Photografting (λ > 300 nm) of N‐isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) binary monomers (NIPAAm/GMA) on low‐density polyethylene film (thickness = 30 μm) was investigated at 60°C using mixed solvent consisting of water and an organic solvent such as acetone. Xanthone was used as a photoinitiator by coating it on the film surfaces. A maximum percentage of grafting was observed at a certain concentration of acetone in the mixed solvent, which was commonly observed for both ratios of NIPAAm/GMA, 8/2 and 7/3. Based on the photografting of NIPAAm/GMA on xanthone‐coated film, monomer reactivity ratios of NIPAAm (r₁) and GMA (r₂) were calculated using the Fineman–Ross method. The values were 0.31 ± 0.1 and 4.8 ± 0.2 for the water solvent system, while they were 0.96 ± 0.1 and 4.9 ± 0.1 for the mixed solvent system. NIPAAm/GMA‐grafted films with a homogeneous distribution of grafted chains were formed by photografting using water and mixed solvents. The NIPAAm/GMA‐grafted films exhibited temperature‐responsive characters, whereas the grafted films showed a reversible change in the degree of swelling between 0 and 50°C, respectively. Epoxy groups in the grafted poly(NIPAAm/GMA) chains could be aminated with ethylenediamine in N,N′‐dimethylformamide at 70°C for 3 h. Complexes of the aminated NIPAAm/GMA‐grafted chains with cupric ion exhibited catalytic activity for the decomposition of hydrogen peroxide at 20 to 50°C. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 97: 2469–2475, 2005     

Enhancement of nucleoside phosphorylation activity in an acid phosphatase

Escherichia blattae non-specific acid phosphatase (EB-NSAP)possesses a pyrophosphate-nucleoside phosphotransferase activity,which is C-5'-position selective. Current mutational and structuraldata were used to generate a mutant EB-NSAP for a potentialindustrial application as an effective and economical proteincatalyst in synthesizing nucleotides from nucleosides. First,Gly74 and Ile153 were replaced by Asp and Thr, respectively,since the corresponding replacements in the homologous enzymefrom Morganella morganii reduced the K_m value for inosine andthus increased the productivity of 5'-IMP. We determined thecrystal structure of G74D/I153T, which has a reduced K_m valuefor inosine, as expected. The tertiary structure of G74D/I153Twas virtually identical to that of the wild-type. In addition,neither of the introduced side chains of Asp74 and Thr153 isdirectly involved in the interaction with inosine in a hypotheticalbinding mode of inosine to EB-NSAP, although both residues aresituated near a potential inosine-binding site. These findingssuggested that a slight structural change caused by an aminoacid replacement around the potential inosine-binding site couldsignificantly reduce the K_m value. Prompted by this hypothesis,we designed several mutations and introduced them to G74D/I153T,to decrease the K_m value further. This strategy produced a S72F/G74D/I153Tmutant with a 5.4-fold lower K_m value and a 2.7-fold higherV_max value as compared to the wild-type EB-NSAP.     

Shape optimization of continua using NURBS as basis functions

The present paper introduces a numerical solution to shape optimization problems of domains in which boundary value problems of partial differential equations are defined. In the present paper, the finite element method using NURBS as basis functions in the Galerkin method is applied to solve the boundary value problems and to solve a reshaping problem generated by the H1 gradient method for shape optimization, which has been developed as a general solution to shape optimization problems. Numerical examples of linear elastic continua illustrate that this solution works as well as using the conventional finite element method.