Development of dedicated STEM with high stability

We developed a dedicated scanning transmission electron microscope with high-stability. The mechanical and electronic stabilities of the microscope were substantially improved, e.g. the specimen drift rate was found to be <0.2 nm min(-1). The Fourier transform of an ADF image showed spots of 0.105 nm at an acceleration voltage of 200 kV without spherical aberration corrector. The stabilized STEM instrument allows us to acquire distortion-free STEM images and high-signal to noise ratio analyses. We have shown the outline of the instrument and preliminary results.     

Inter-laboratory evaluation studies for establishment of notified ELISA methods for allergic substances (peanuts)

Inter-laboratory evaluation studies were conducted for ELISA methods for allergic substances (peanuts). Extracts of biscuit, sauce, chocolate and butter spiked with peanut standard protein at a level of 5-20 ng/mL as sample solutions were analyzed in replicate in 10 laboratories. Coefficients of variation (CVs) of the ELISA methods using a Peanut Protein ELISA Kit (Peanut kit) and a FASTKIT Peanut ELISA kit (Peanut ELISA kit) were mostly below 10%. Mean recoveries of the peanut standard protein from the food extracts were over 40% in the two ELISA methods. Repeatability relative standard deviations of peanut standard protein in four food extracts were in the ranges of 15.2-49.7% and 3.0-28.3% for the Peanut kit and the Peanut ELISA kit, respectively. Reproducibility relative standard deviations of peanut standard protein in four food extracts were 23.5-44.4%, 9.6-28.4% for the Peanut kit and the Peanut ELISA kit, respectively. The detection limits of both ELISA methods were 2-2.5 ng/mL in sample solutions. These results suggested that the notified ELISA methods are reliable and reproducible for the inspection of peanut protein levels in extracts of biscuit, sauce, chocolate and butter.     

Preparation and functional properties of extracts from bee bread

Three extracts, namely hot-water fraction (HWF), water-soluble fraction (WSF), and ethanol-soluble fraction (ESF), were prepared from fresh bee bread imported from Lithuania. The protein and total phenolic contents of these samples were very high. Among them, WSF at 100% concentration showed the highest antioxidative ability and scavenging ability. On the other hand, ESF at 10% concentration possessed the highest ability against 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radicals. Bee bread will apply more and more as health food and medicine due to its functional properties such as antioxidative ability and scavenging activities of reactive oxygen species.     

Frictional properties of diamond-like carbon coated tool in dry intermittent machining of aluminum alloy 5052

In this study, an orthogonal intermittent machining test for aluminum alloy 5052 was conducted under dry conditions. By using cutting forces that were measured during the test, the frictional properties of a tool rake face were evaluated during intermittent machining for two types of diamond-like carbon (DLC)-coated tools and an uncoated carbide tool. DLC films used in the test were composed of tetrahedral amorphous carbon (ta-C) deposited by a filtered arc deposition process and hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C:H) deposited by a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition process. The test results showed that the initial friction coefficients were approximately 0.8 for all tools. However, with increasing machining time, the friction coefficient of only the ta-C-coated tool decreased remarkably to a lower value of 0.3, whereas those of the a-C:H-coated tool and the uncoated carbide tool remained high. An electron probe micro analyzer (EPMA) analysis revealed an area where no aluminum adhered on the ta-C-coated tool rake face after intermittent machining. This area provided low frictional properties during intermittent machining. An X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis showed that the carbon bonding of the DLC film surface in this area had changed from the state before machining.     

“X” means X: Semantics Fodor-style

InPsychosemantics Jerry Fodor offered a list of sufficient conditions for a symbol X to mean something X. The conditions are designed to reduce meaning to purely non-intentional natural relations. They are also designed to solve what Fodor has dubbed the disjunction problem. More recently, inA Theory of Content and Other Essays, Fodor has modified his list of sufficient conditions for naturalized meaning in light of objections to his earlier list. We look at his new set of conditions and give his motivation for them-tracing them to problems in the literature. Then we argue that Fodor's conditions still do not work. They are open to objections of two different varieties: they are too strong and too weak. We develop these objections and indicate why Fodor's new, improved list of conditions still do not work to naturalize meaning.We wish to thank Ray Elugardo, Pat Manfredi, and Donna Summerfield for comments on a draft of this paper, as well as other members of the CMU Mind Group (David Drebushenko, Gary Fuller, and Naomi Reshotko) for helpful discussion and support. A version of this paper was presented at the Southern Society for Philosophy and Psychology in Atlanta, March, 1991, and at the Canadian Society for History and Philosophy of Science in Kingston, Ontario, in May, 1991.     

Semiconductive Single Molecular Bilayers Realized Using Geometrical Frustration

A unique solution‐based technology to manufacture self‐assembled ultrathin organic‐semiconductor layers with ultrauniform single‐molecular‐bilayer thickness over an area as large as wafer scale is developed. A novel concept is adopted in this technique, based upon the idea of geometrical frustration, which can effectively suppress the interlayer stacking (or multilayer crystallization) while maintaining the assembly of the intralayer, which originates from the strong intermolecular interactions between π‐conjugated molecules. For this purpose, a mixed solution of extended π‐conjugated frameworks substituted asymmetrically by alkyl chains of variable lengths (i.e., (πCore)‐C_n's) is utilized for the solution process. A simple blade‐coating with a solution containing two (πCore)‐C_n's with different alkyl chain lengths is effective to provide single molecular bilayers (SMBs) composed of a pair of polar monomolecular layers, which is analogical to the cell membranes of living organisms. It is demonstrated that the chain‐length disorder does not perturb the in‐plane crystalline order, but acts effectively as a geometrical frustration to inhibit multilayer crystallization. The uniformity, stability, and size scale are unprecedented, as produced by other conventional self‐assembly processes. The obtained SMBs also exhibit efficient 2D carrier transport as organic thin‐film transistors. This finding should open a new route to SMB‐based ultrathin superflexible electronics.