Efficient electron transport in 4,4′-bis[N-(1-napthyl)-N-phenyl-amino] biphenyl and the applications in white organic light emitting devices

The electron transport capability of 4,4′-bis[N-(1-napthyl)-N-phenyl-amino] biphenyl (α-NPD) was investigated by fundamental physical measurements named as current–voltage (I–V) electrical property evaluation and displacement current measurement (DCM). In electron-dominated devices, the I–V characteristics of α-NPD were similar as that of (8-hydroxyquinolino) aluminum (Alq₃) owing to their same order of electron mobilities. The interface of Al/LiF and α-NPD was proven to be an Ohmic contact through the evaluation of I–V characteristics at low bias regime (<3 V). And an electron injection barrier, 0.21 eV, at Al/LiF/α-NPD was obtained by extrapolating the temperature dependent I–V curves. The electron transport behavior in α-NPD film was further confirmed by DCM evaluations. Furthermore, an efficient white organic light emission device was successfully fabricated by using α-NPD as hole transport layer and electron transport layer, respectively.     

Cathode properties of metal trifluorides in Li and Na secondary batteries

Fluorine compounds have high discharge voltage due to its highly ionic metal-ligand bonds. In them, perovskite-type metal trifluorides with corner sharing matrix have large bottlenecks of diffusion pathways for intercalants. Iron trifluoride composites (FeF₃-C) prepared by planetary ball milling with carbon showed reversible charge/discharge behavior not only for Li, but also for Na anodes. X-ray diffraction and ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy were applied to characterize the electrochemical properties of FeF₃ vs. Li and Na anodes. The cathode performances of the other commercially available transition metal trifluorides such as MF₃ (M = Ti, V, Mn, Co) have been also investigated.     

Cloning and characterization of a β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (BmFDL) from silkworm Bombyx mori

In insects, β-N-acetylglucosaminidase (GlcNAcase) participates in critical physiological processes such as fertilization, metamorphosis, and glycoconjugate degradation. Insects produce glycoproteins carrying paucimannosidic-type N-glycans, the terminal GlcNAc residue of which is cleaved by a GlcNAc-linkage specific GlcNAcase, also known as the fused lobes (FDL) protein. To obtain information on the structure of GlcNAcases and insight into their contribution to physiological processes, we cloned Bombyx mori FDL (BmFDL) from silkworm larvae. The full-length cDNA (1.9 kb) encoded a protein of 633 amino acids with 42% amino acid sequence identity to Drosophila melanogaster FDL (DmFDL). Recombinant BmFDL cleaved only β-1,2-linked GlcNAc residues from the α-1,3 branch of biantennary N-glycan. This substrate specificity was similar to that of DmFDL. Microsomal FDL activity was inhibited by anti-BmFDL antibodies. Taken together, our results suggest that BmFDL is a N-glycan-processing GlcNAcase in B. mori.     

Hydrogenation and dehydrogenation processes of palladium thin films measured in situ by spectroscopic ellipsometry

The hydrogenation and dehydrogenation switching processes of Pd thin films were analyzed by measuring in situ in real time the variation in ellipsometric Ψ and Δ during hydrogenation and dehydrogenation using spectroscopic ellipsometry. The hydrogenation proceeded from the film surface and a mixture layer of metal and hydride was formed at the surface. With time elapse, the thickness of the mixture layer increased rapidly. After the whole Pd metal layer transformed to the mixture layer, the concentration of hydride in the mixture layer increased. Finally, the concentration reached 1; the whole Pd in the mixture layer was hydrogenated, and the hydrogenation of Pd was complete. On the other hand, the dehydrogenation proceeded in a way completely opposite to the hydrogenation process; the concentration of hydride in the mixture layer decreased, Pd metal layer was formed at the interface between the film and the substrate, and the whole layer returned to Pd metal. The dehydrogenation proceeds much faster than hydrogenation.     

Combined biochemistry and histocytochemistry as a tool to investigate Ecto-ATPase in the cardiac muscle

Ecto-ATPase (ecto-adenosine triphosphatase), a key enzyme of cardiac metabolism, is responsible for modulation of the concentration of extracellular nucleotides in the heart. We present methodology consisting of the combined use of biochemical and histocytochemical techniques to study its properties. Using samples from essentially the same preparation, we applied biochemistry and histocytochemistry to determine biochemical characteristics of ecto-ATPase and an in situ localization of its reactivity. Our results indicated that detected enzyme resists fixation, depends on divalent ions, and hydrolyzes ATP, but not AMP or ADP-beta-S. Reaction product of the enzyme activity was found confined to the extracellular surface of the plasma membrane of cardiac myocytes and endothelial cells due to the corresponding orientation of the enzyme active sites. Experiments using an inhibitor justified specificity of the reaction. When used together with molecular biological and immunocytochemical techniques, the present methodological approach should be capable of yielding important information about the actual ability of ecto-ATPase to operate.     

Motion of an antiviral compound in a rhinovirus capsid under rotational symmetry boundary conditions

A molecular dynamics (MD) simulation of a complex of a rhinovirus protein shell referred to as a "capsid" and an anti-rhinovirus drug, WIN52084s, was performed under the rotational symmetry boundary conditions. For the simulation, the energy parameters of WIN52084s in all-atom approximations were determined by ab initio calculations using a 6-31G* basis set and the two-conformational two-stage restricted electrostatic potential fit method. The motion of WIN52084s and the capsid was focused on in the analysis of the trajectory of the simulation. The root mean square deviations of WIN52084s from the X-ray structure were decomposed to conformational, translational, and rotational components. The translation was further decomposed to radial, longitudinal, and lateral components. The conformation of WIN52084s was rigid, but moving in the pocket. The easiest path of motion for WlN52084s was on the longitudinal line, providing a track for the binding process required of the anti-rhinovirus drug to enter the pocket. The conformation of the pocket was also preserved in the simulation, although the position of the pocket in the capsid fluctuated in the lateral and radial directions.     

Minimal design for human–agent communication

Robots have been envisaged as both workers and partners of humans from the earliest period in their history. Therefore, robots should become artificial entities that can socially interact with human beings in social communities. Recent advances in technology have added various functions to robots. The development of actuators and grippers show us infinite possibilities for factory automation, and robots can now walk and perform very smoothly. All of these functions have been developed as solutions for improving robot movement and performance. However, there are many remaining problems in the communication between robots and humans. Communication robots provide one approach to the realization of embodied interfaces. Furthermore, the unsolved problems of human–robot communication can be clarified by adopting the concept of subtractive methods. In this article, we consider the minimal design of robots from the viewpoint of designing communication. By minimal design, we mean eliminating the nonessential portions and keeping only the most fundamental functions. We expect that the simple and clean nature of minimally designed objects will allow humans to interact with these robots without becoming uninterested too quickly. By exploiting the fact that humans have “a natural dislike for the absence of reasoning,” artificial entities built according to minimal design principles can extract the human drive to relate with others. We propose a method of designing a robot that has “character” and is situated in a social context from the viewpoint of minimal design. This work was presented in part at the 10th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, February 4–6, 2005     

Retention of ions on nonporous charged stationary phases

The interactions between ion-exchange resins and counterions consist of several mechanisms, such as ion-pair formation between active sites and counterions, specific adsorption, solvation changes, and double-layer accumulation. The double-layer accumulation of ions, which is a typical nonstoichiometric mechanism, is an important factor governing overall ion-exchange chromatographic retention when a major part of the stationary-phase surface is in contact with eluent flows. Nonporous stationary phases, where solutes are accessible to the surfaces by convection as well as by diffusion, possibly highlight this nonstoichiometric contribution through the coupling of a flow profile with an electrostatic potential function. The retention of ions on nonporous stationary phases has been interpreted by a model derived on the basis of the Poisson-Boltzmann equation including solvation change terms. Unusual retention behaviors have been confirmed only for anions, and can be explained by the model including the assumption that anions undergo solvation changes in a thin layer (approximately 5 nm thickness) at the vicinity of the stationary phase; the thickness should be a function of eluent flow rates. This strongly suggests that there is a difference in solvation nature between cations and anions. It can be inferred that water molecules interacting with polymer domains of the stationary phase behave like single molecules and cannot form a stable hydration shell around an anion as usually seen in bulk solution.     

Sum-Frequency Generation of Femtosecond Pulses in CsLiB(6)O(10) Down to 175 nm

Using a 150-mum-thick CsLiB(6)O(10) crystal, we produced 100-fs, >200-nJ light pulses tunable between 175 and 180 nm by sum-frequency generation at a 1-kHz repetition rate with an all-solid-state laser system mixing the fourth harmonic of a femtosecond Ti:sapphire regenerative amplifier and the idler pulse from a traveling-wave optical parametric amplifier.     

Detailed differential coefficients of anomalous dispersion terms to derivatives in least-squares refinement for X-ray crystallography

In X-ray crystallographic analysis, correct trial structures are refined by least-squares method. The detailed differential coefficients for the parameters of the calculated structure factor Fc(h) can not be found in any papers, textbooks, nor user's manual of several crystallographic computer systems. We describe, firstly, the basic expression of the structure factors, Fo(h) and Fc(h), anomalous dispersion terms of the structure factor, and then least-squares refining of magnitude of Fo(h) and Fo(h)2 for use in teaching, education and computer programming. Secondly we derive the differential terms of the structure factors, solve the normal equation by diagonal, block and full-matrix approximations, and apply these to the revised computer program LSBF in DS*SYSTEM. Several practical tests are performed for these differentiations.