The Fabrication and Characterization of Single‐Component Polymeric White‐Light‐Emitting Diodes

By using Ni⁰‐mediated polymerization, we have systematically synthesized a series of fluorene‐based copolymers composed of blue‐, green‐, and red‐light‐emitting comonomers with a view to producing polymers with white‐light emission. 2,7‐Dibromo‐9,9‐dihexylfluorene, {4‐(2‐[2,5‐dibromo‐4‐{2‐(4‐diphenylamino‐phenyl)‐vinyl}‐phenyl]‐vinyl)‐phenyl}‐diphenylamine (DTPA), and 2‐{2‐(2‐[4‐{bis(4‐bromo‐phenyl)amino}‐phenyl]‐vinyl)‐6‐tert‐butyl‐pyran‐4‐ylidene}‐malononitrile (TPDCM) were used as the blue‐, green‐, and red‐light‐emitting comonomers, respectively. It was found that the emission spectra of the resulting copolymers could easily be tuned by varying their DTPA and TPDCM content. Thus with the appropriate red/green/blue (RGB) unit ratio, we were able to obtain white‐light emission from these copolymers. A white‐light‐emitting diode using the polyfluorene copolymer containing 3 % green‐emitting DTPA and 2 % red‐emitting TPDCM (PG3R2) with a structure of indium tin oxide/poly(3,4‐ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid)/PG3R2/Ca/Al was found to exhibit a maximum brightness of 820 cd m^–2 at 11 V with Commission Internationale de L'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.33,0.35), which are close to the standard CIE coordinates for white‐light emission (0.33,0.33).     

Pioneering e-supply chain integration in semiconductor industry: a case study

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is the largest semiconductor foundry in the world. Advanced Semiconductor Engineering Inc. (ASE) is the world’s leader in semiconductor assembly and testing. From 1998 to 2004, the two companies completed electronic integration of 11 key business processes through the Internet. The result is a seamless interface between TSMC, ASE and their joint customers. They can now obtain accurate, timely information on their product status and respond appropriately when needed. While the direct economic benefits are estimated to be around US$ 10 million through productivity increase over a total investment of about US$ 2 million, the indirect benefits of this initiative could be on the order of US $100 million if the joint customers’ benefits are considered. In collaboration with the RosettaNet organization, TSMC and ASE leveraged their pioneering experiences to define three data exchange standards which can then be widely adopted in the semiconductor industry. This case study is a demonstration of how two leading companies in their respective fields can join forces to make a difference in creating value for the entire semiconductor industry, which in turn benefits society at large. With the momentum continuing to build and the sphere of influence continuing to expand, it is anticipated that TSMC, ASE and the entire sector will upgrade their competitiveness in terms of cost, quality, responsiveness and customer orientation.     

Construction of a prediction model for the structural stability of a surface grinder using backpropagation neural network

Learning and prediction capability of the backpropagation neural network (BPNN) have been used to build the prediction model for the structural stability of a surface grinder. The Lagrange energy method is applied to derive the dynamic equation of the lumped parameter model of the surface grinder. The major factors influencing the structural stability of the system can be determined after the ratio of kinetic energy of the sub-structure and the ratio of potential energy of the sub-structure interface are obtained. An orthogonal rotatable central composite design is adopted to dispose the treatment combinations of the major factors. The BPNN model is constructed by the treatment combinations of the training patterns and verified by the treatment combinations of the test patterns. In this paper, a 3-layer BPNN model with a 10-neuron hidden layer which converged after 4,072 learning cycles is selected to predict the structural stability of a surface grinder within the planned ranges. The percentage residuals of both training patterns and test patterns are all within 3.41%, thus the prediction accuracy of the BPNN model is excellent so that the engineering demands are well satisfied.     

New multifunction filter using an inverting CCII and a voltagefollower

A new multifunction filter using minimum components is presented. This filter which possesses single input and four outputs can simultaneously generate second-order highpass, bandpass, and lowpass filtering functions at individual output terminals. The filter has the following merits; it uses only two grounded capacitors which makes it suitable for integrated circuit implementation, no matching condition is required, offering multifunction outputs and has low passive and active sensitivities. Experimental results agree very well with the theoretical result     

Recommendations for the prevention of coronary artery disease in Asians: a scientific statement of the International College of Nutrition

PURPOSE: Two types of glass wool were used to remove leukocytes in semen for evaluation of reactive oxygen species production by spermatozoa in oligozoospermic patients with leukocytospermia. METHODS: Semen samples were prepared using fine-structure glass wool (SpermFertil) and coarse-structure glass wool. In each treatment group, native semen was evaluated for sperm concentration, percentage motility, viability, leukocyte concentration, and production of reactive oxygen species. RESULTS: Electron microscopically, SpermFertil showed a higher number of leukocytes attached to the fibers compared to coarse-structure glass wool. Leukocytes in native semen and after glass wool filtration as determined by peroxidase cytochemistry confirmed this observation. Reactive oxygen species decreased from 45.303 counts/10(7) viable cells in native semen to 15.806 counts/10(7) cells in coarse structure wool and 7.465 counts/10(7) cells in Spermfertil, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Removal of leukocytes from semen of oligozoospermic patients by means of glass wool filtration is a useful method to distinguish production of reactive oxygen species by leukocytes versus sperm cells.     

Metabolism of 6-chloro n-butyl phthalide in rat

6-Chloro n-butyl phthalide (CBP) was orally administered to healthy, male Wistar rats pretreated with or without 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC) by a single dose of 150 mg/kg, and urine samples were collected for 0-24 h. The urine sample was hydrolyzed with beta-glucuronidase, extracted and concentrated for TMS derivatization, and analysed on a GC-MS system for identification of CBP metabolities. Mass spectral analysis suggests that 7 CBP metabolites were present in the urine sample, and similar metabolism patterns were viewed in rats with or without pretreatment with 3-MC. Four main metabolites of CBP in rat urine were identified as alpha-beta oxolate, beta-gamma oxolate, beta-hydroxylate and gamma-hydroxylate, based on their chromatographic and mass spectral properties. Two hydroxylates have been previously identified in CBP metabolism by rat liver microsomes. The other two metabolites with higher polarity were tentatively identified as dihydroxylation products on the n-butyl side chain by the mass spectra of their TMS derivatives. One minor metabolite was found by the isotopic effect of chlorine, but its specific structure was undetermined. The difference between in vivo and in vitro metabolic profiles of CBP is also discussed.     

ID-based non-interactive zero-knowledge proof system based on one-out-of-two non-interactive oblivious transfer

In this paper, we propose an ID-based non-interactive zero-knowledge proof system based on the 1-out-of-2 noninteractive oblivious transfer protocol. This zero-knowledge proof system is secure against a newly discovered cheating attack.     

Replication of O6-methylguanine-containing DNA by repair and replicative DNA polymerases

The biological consequences of O6-methylguanine (m6G) in DNA are well recognized. When template m6G is encountered by DNA polymerases, replication is hindered and trans-lesion replication results in the preferential incorporation of dTMP opposite template m6G. Thus, unrepaired m6G in DNA is both cytotoxic and mutagenic. Yet, cell lines tolerant to m6G in DNA have been isolated, which indicates that some cellular DNA polymerases may replicate m6G-containing DNA with reasonable efficiency. Previous reports suggested that mammalian pol beta could not replicate m6G-containing DNA, but we find that pol beta can catalyze trans-lesion replication; however, the lesion must reside in the optimal context for pol beta activity, single- or short nucleotide gapped substrates. Primed single-stranded DNA templates, with or without template m6G, were poor substrates for pol beta as reported in earlier studies. In contrast, trans-lesion replication by bacteriophage T4 DNA polymerase was observed for primed single-stranded DNA templates. Replication of m6G-containing DNA by T4 DNA polymerase required the gp45 accessory protein that clamps the polymerase to the DNA template. The rate-limiting step in replicating m6G-containing DNAs by both DNA polymerases tested was incorporation of dTMP across from the lesion.     

Electron transfer by domain movement in cytochrome bc1

The cytochrome bc1 is one of the three major respiratory enzyme complexes residing in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Cytochrome bc1 transfers electrons from ubiquinol to cytochrome c and uses the energy thus released to form an electrochemical gradient across the inner membrane. Our X-ray crystal structures of the complex from chicken, cow and rabbit in both the presence and absence of inhibitors of quinone oxidation, reveal two different locations for the extrinsic domain of one component of the enzyme, an iron-sulphur protein. One location is close enough to the supposed quinol oxidation site to allow reduction of the Fe-S protein by ubiquinol. The other site is close enough to cytochrome c1 to allow oxidation of the Fe-S protein by the cytochrome. As neither location will allow both reactions to proceed at a suitable rate, the reaction mechanism must involve movement of the extrinsic domain of the Fe-S component in order to shuttle electrons from ubiquinol to cytochrome c1. Such a mechanism has not previously been observed in redox protein complexes.