Colloidal gold submonolayer-coated thin-film glass plates for waveguide-coupled surface plasmon resonance sensors

A novel optical sensor based on spectroscopic measurement of the plasmon absorption of a colloidal gold submonolayer immobilized upon a planar waveguide has been developed for label-free detection of biomolecular interactions at the sensor's surface. We fabricated the sensor by locally modifying a 50-microm-thick glass plate with hemoglobin (Hb) and then self-assembling gold colloids from the aqueous solution onto the Hb-modified area of the glass plate. Polychromatic light from a xenon-arc lamp was launched into the thin-film glass plate by use of a broadband fiber-coupling method. With the use of a CCD detector to monitor the light beam emitted from an end face of the glass plate, the plasmon absorption spectrum of the colloidal gold submonolayer was determined to depend on the polarization states of the guided light and to change with the refractive index of the medium in contact with the colloids. In addition to simplicity of fabrication and the ease of use, the sensor yields a larger absorbance sensitivity than the normal transmission measurement.     

Observation of New Longitudinal and Transverse Josephson Plasma Modes in the Parallel Magnetic Fields: Underdoped YBCO

Josephson plasma reflectivity edge in YBa₂Cu₃O_6.6 (T _c=59 K) was measured in parallel magnetic fields HCuO₂ up to 7 T. Upon application of the field, the Josephson plasma edge splits to two reflectivity edges, forming a new peak at finite frequency. Optical conductivity obtained by Kramers–Kronig analysis indicates that a new transverse Josephson plasma mode appears under parallel fields. We propose that the new mode originates from the modulation of the insulating layers with and without Josephson vortices, as has been suggested by free-energy calculations of Josephson vortices with moderate densities.     

Detection of characteristic signals from as-doped (<1 at.%) regions of silicon by transmission electron microscopy and convergent-beam electron diffraction

Characteristic signals were detected from As-doped (< 1 at.%) regions of silicon by dark-field transmission electron microscopy and convergent-beam electron diffraction. A slight intensity increase was observed in 220 dark-field images, which may be explained by an increase of scattering amplitude due to the As doping. The doped region showed a much higher intensity in 004 dark-field images. The characteristic high intensity was observed for specimens with As concentrations of about 0.09-0.8 at.%. Convergent-beam electron diffraction patterns obtained from the As-doped region showed a characteristic rocking curve for 004 reflection. These characteristics should originate from incoherent elastically scattered electrons due to a static lattice distortion around the doped As atoms. The observed characteristics in dark-field images and rocking curves of the 004 reflection should be a good probe not only for investigating the concentration of doped atoms in Si lattice, but also for the amount of impurity and/or point defects in other crystalline materials.     

Chemicofunctional membrane for integrated chemical processes on a microchip

Here we report a design and synthesis of a chemically functional polymer membrane by an interfacial polycondensation reaction and multilayer flow inside a microchannel. Single and parallel dual-membrane structures are successfully prepared by using organic/aqueous two-layer flow and organic/aqueous/organic three-layer flow inside the microchannel followed by an interfacial polycondensation reaction. By using the inner-channel membrane, permeation of ammonia species through the inner-channel membrane is successfully achieved. Furthermore, horseradish peroxidase is immobilized on one side of the membrane surface to integrate the chemical transform function onto the inner-channel membrane. Here substrate permeation through the membrane and subsequent chemical transformation at the membrane surface are realized. The polymer membrane prepared inside the microchannel has an important role in ensuring stable contact of different phases such as gas/liquid or liquid/ liquid and the permeation of chemical species through the membrane. Furthermore, membrane surface modification chemistry allows chemical transformation of permeated chemical species. These methods are expected to lead to development of complicated and sophisticated chemical systems involving membrane permeation and chemical reactions.     

Grazing exit electron probe microanalysis of submicrometer inclusions in metallic materials

Grazing exit electron probe microanalysis (GE-EPMA) is a new method of EPMA in which characteristic X-rays emitted from only near-surface regions of a specimen are detected at extremely low exit angles near 0 degrees (the grazing exit condition). This technique requires the analytical objects exist on a flat surface. Therefore, the GE-EPMA analysis has been used only for the analysis of particles or a thin film on a flat substrate so that there were only few applications for practical analysis. As a new application, we have carried out GE-EPMA analysis of approximately 0.2-microm inclusions on stainless steel, which appeared to be a projection on the specimen surface with chemical etching. The GE-EPMA quantitative results were in excellent agreement with those of inclusions that were extracted from the stainless steel and analyzed by EPMA with conventional exit condition (30 degrees). This method could be, therefore, applied to the analysis of the submicrometer inclusion in a wide variety of metallic materials if the inclusion appears to be a projection with chemical etching treatment.     

Synthetic potential of molluscan sulfatases for the library synthesis of regioselectively O-sulfonated D-galacto-sugars

The substrate specificities of three molluscan sulfatases (E.C. 3.1.6.1; snail, abalone, and limpet origins) were investigated with assorted p-nitrophenyl (pNP) di-O-sulfonated beta-D-galactopyranosides and beta-lactosides [3,6-SO(3) Gal (1), 3',6'-SO(3) Lac (2), 4, 6SO(3) Gal (3), 2,6-SO(3) Gal (4), 3,4-SO(3) Gal (5), and 3,6-SO(3) GalNAc (6); Ac, acetyl; Gal, galactose; Lac, lactose] together with mono-O-sulfonated beta-D-galactopyranoside [pNP 3SO(3)-Gal (7)] and tri-O-sulfonated alpha-D-galactopyranoside [2,3,6-SO(3)-alpha-Gal (11)]. Some notable differences between the substrate specificity of the three sulfatases were disclosed; snail sulfatase hydrolyzed the 3O- and 2O-sulfo groups of 1 and 4, respectively, to afford 6SO(3) Gal (9) in high yields, while the abalone enzyme did not act on 4. Only the limpet enzyme could cleave the 3O-sulfo groups of 7 to give pNP beta-galactoside. In contrast, every enzyme could utilize 11 as a good substrate to afford a mixture of 6SO(3)-alpha-Gal (13) and 2,6-SO(3) alpha-Gal (12). None of the enzymes could cleave the O-sulfo groups of 5 and 6, which indicates that a primary 6O-sulfo group tends to promote the enzymatic hydrolysis of O-sulfo groups at the secondary positions.     

Determination of standard gibbs energies of formation of Cr2N and CrN

The standard Gibbs energies of formation of Cr₂N and CrN have been measured by an equilibration technique and by using thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis (TG-DTA) at temperatures ranging from 1232 to 1523 K. The results are expressed as follows:

ZnO nanostructured film deposition using the separated pulsed laser deposition (SPLD) assisted by electric and magnetic drift motion

We have developed the separated pulsed laser deposition (SPLD) technique to prepare high quality ZnO based films exhibiting uniform and droplet-free properties. This SPLD consists of an ablation chamber and a deposition chamber which can be independently evacuated under different ambient gases.The gas species and the pressures in both chambers can be arbitrarily chosen for the specific deposition such as nanostructured films and nanoparticles. The ablation chamber is a stainless steel globe and the deposition chamber is a quartz tube connected to a metallic conic wall with an orifice. We used a KrF excimer laser with λ = 248 nm and 25 ns pulse duration. The different gas conditions in two chambers allow us to realize optimal control of the plasma plume, the gas phase reaction and the film growth by applying the bias voltage between the conic wall and the substrate under the magnetic field. We can expect that at appropriate pressures the electric and magnetic field motion (E × B azimuthal drift velocity) gives significant influences on film growth.We have deposited ZnO thin films at various pressures of ablation chamber (Pab) and deposition chamber (Pd). The deposition conditions used here were laser fluence of 3 J/cm², laser shot number of 30,000, Pab of 0.67-2.67 Pa (O₂ or Ar), Pd of 0.399-2.67 Pa (O₂), and substrate temperature of 400 °C. Particle-free and uniform ZnO films were obtained at Pab of 0.67 Pa (Ar) and Pd of 1.33 Pa (O₂). The ZnO film showed high preferential orientation of (002) plane, optical band gap of 2.7 eV, grain size of 42 nm and surface roughness of 1.2 nm.     

A Test Statistic in Canonical Correlation Analysis for Categorical Variables

In canonical correlation analysis (CCA), it is important to estimate the number of nonzero canonical correlations in the population. One way to estimate the number is to consider the dimensionality testing problem. In CCA for continuous variables, some test statistics for the problem have been derived under the normality assumption. However, there are only a few papers on test statistics in CCA for categorical variables.

In this article, a test statistic in CCA for categorical variables is suggested. The test statistic is derived from the rational used for continuous variables. Some properties of the test statistic are examined through mathematical investigations and numerical simulations.

     

Force estimation via physical properties of air cushion for the control of a human-cooperative robot: basic experiments

For the control of a human-cooperative robot (HCR) using a soft material, we aim to verify, in this study, the usefulness of force estimation via physical properties of an air cushion. First, the physical model of the air cushion was represented by an air cylinder with a piston, which is subject to constraint by nonlinear elasticity. Second, the elastic properties of the air cushion were examined under the assumption that it can be formulated by a function of pneumatic pressure. The force applied to the air cushion was next estimated on the basis of the physical model, and the HCR was successfully controlled according to the estimated force.