1.0 dB low-loss coupling of laser diode to single-mode fibre using a planoconvex graded-index rod lens

Marked low-loss coupling between a laser diode and a single-mode fibre has been realised, utilising a planoconvex, high-numerical-aperture graded-index rod lens with greatly improved small wavefront aberration.     

Properties of bifunctional phosphonate fibers derived from chloromethylstyrene grafted polyolefin fibers

Bifunctional fibers containing phosphonate and sulfonate were derived from chloromethylstyrene grafted polyolefin fibers (PPPE-g-CMS) by phosphorylation and subsequent sulfonation reactions. It was clarified that phosphorylation of PPPE-g-CMS by Arbusov reaction is more suitable than one by the reaction with PCl₃ in the presence of AlCl₃, because the latter damaged fibers and gave phosphinate groups in addition to phosphonate ones. Then, bifunctional fibers containing phosphonate and sulfonate groups were prepared by sulfonation of monofunctional phosphonate fibers obtained via Arbusov reaction with chlorosulfonic acid. The metal ion selectivity of the bifunctional fibers was governed by both phosphonate and sulfonate groups. In addition, bifunctional fibers gave much more excellent kinetic performances in column-mode uptake of Cu(II) than the monofunctional phosphonate fibers and resin.     

Binary Phase Behavior of 1,3-Dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl-<Emphasis Type="Italic">sn</Emphasis>-glycerol and 1,2-Dioleoyl-3-palmitoyl-<Emphasis Type="Italic">rac</Emphasis>-glycerol

1,3-Dipalmitoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycerol (POP) and 1,2-dioleoyl-3-palmitoyl-rac-glycerol (OOP) are two major molecular species that account for roughly half of the total triacylglycerols in palm oil. The binary phase behavior of a POP/OOP mixture plays an important role in the crystallization of palm oil. We conducted thermodynamic and kinetic studies of OOP and its mixtures with POP using differential scanning calorimetry and X-ray diffraction with a conventional generator and synchrotron radiation. We found that OOP has two polymorphs, α as a metastable form and β′ as the most stable form, and that the two forms are stacked in a triple-chain-length structure. The POP/OOP mixtures exhibited immiscible eutectic natures in both their metastable and their most stable states, in contrast to POP/1,2-dipalmitoyl-3-oleoyl-rac-glycerol and POP/1,3-dioleoyl-2-palmitoyl-sn-glycerol mixtures, in which molecular compounds of a double-chain-length structure were formed. A time-resolved synchrotron radiation X-ray diffraction study undertaken during the cooling and heating processes indicated that the α and β′ forms of the POP and OOP fractions crystallized and melted in separate manners, and that crystallization of the β′ form and the polymorphic transformation from α to β′ of POP and OOP are promoted in the presence of another component. The absence of molecular compound crystals in the binary mixtures of POP/OOP is explained by taking into account the molecular interactions of acyl chain packing, glycerol conformation, and methyl end stacking, among which glycerol conformation appeared to be most influential.     

Modeling of Consumer Choice Behavior as Sequential Decision Process

Behaviormetrika - This study proposes a model of consumer choice behavior as sequential decision process. It is hypothesized that consumers form desirable product model and undesirable one through...     

Control scheme for optimizing the interferometer phase bias in a symmetric-Mach-Zehnder-type all-optical switch

A control scheme for accurately optimizing (and also automatically stabilizing) the interferometer phase bias of symmetric-Mach-Zehnder (SMZ)-type ultrafast all-optical switches is proposed. In this control scheme, weak continuous-wave light is used as supervisory input light and its spectral power ratio at the switch output is used as a bipolar error signal. Our experimental results for 168-Gb/s 16:1 demultiplexing with a hybrid-integrated SMZ switch indicate the feasibility and the sensitivity of this control scheme.     

Structurally Diverse Polyamines: Solid‐Phase Synthesis and Interaction with DNA

A versatile solid‐phase approach based on peptide chemistry was used to construct four classes of structurally diverse polyamines with modified backbones: linear, partially constrained, branched, and cyclic. Their effects on DNA duplex stability and structure were examined. The polyamines showed distinct activities, thus highlighting the importance of polyamine backbone structure. Interestingly, the rank order of polyamine ability for DNA compaction was different to that for their effects on circular dichroism and melting temperature, thus indicating that these polyamines have distinct effects on secondary and higher‐order structures of DNA.