Si-film growth using liquid phase epitaxy method and its application to thin-film crystalline Si solar cell

We have developed a new apparatus for the growth of liquid-phase epitaxy (LPE)-Si films on 5 in Si wafers. We have obtained high growth rates of 0.1–1.0 μm/min and minority-carrier lifetime of average value of 10 μs over the whole of wafer, whereas the thickness uniformity was degraded when rotating the wafers in the solvent. We also demonstrated to growth of LPE-Si films on porous Si layers and to separate the Si films from the porous layers. A 9.5% cell was obtained using a LPE-Si film after separation.     

Japan's use of underground space in urban development and redevelopment

Nationwide, Japan has investigated the current state of underground space use for district in which urban redevelopment has been completed, as well as land utilization under buildings in ward sections of Tokyo. These investigations have shown that promotion of effective use of underground space is essential to integrating the surface and subsurface in order to create a community that provides good amenities and enhances safety in urban areas. To fully achieve this goal, it will be important to develop projects in close cooperation with planners, users and administrators.     

A data-driven passing interaction model for embodied basketball agents

Human beings have an ability to transition smoothly between individual and collaborative activities and to recognize these types of activity in other humans. Our long-term goal is to devise an agent which can function intelligently in an environment with frequent switching between individual and collaborative tasks. A basketball scenario is such an environment, however there currently do not exist suitable interactive agents for this domain. In this paper we take a step towards intelligent basketball agents by contributing a data-driven generalized model of passing interactions. We first collect data on human-human interaction in virtual basketball to discover patterns of behavior surrounding passing interactions. Through these patterns we produce a model of rotation behavior before and after passes are executed. We then implement this model into an actual basketball agent and then conduct an experiment with a human-agent team. Results show that the agent using the model can at least communicate better than a task-competent agent with limited communication, with participants rating the agent as being able to recognize and express its intention. In addition we analyze passing interactions using Herbert Clark’s joint activity theory and propose that the concepts, while completely theoretical, should be considered as a basis for agent design.     

Relative Termination via Dependency Pairs

A term rewrite system is terminating when no infinite reduction sequences are possible. Relative termination generalizes termination by permitting infinite reductions as long as some distinguished rules are not applied infinitely many times. Relative termination is thus a fundamental notion that has been used in a number of different contexts, like analyzing the confluence of rewrite systems or the termination of narrowing. In this work, we introduce a novel technique to prove relative termination by reducing it to dependency pair problems. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first significant contribution to Problem #106 of the RTA List of Open Problems. We first present a general approach that is then instantiated to provide a concrete technique for proving relative termination. The practical significance of our method is illustrated by means of an experimental evaluation.     

Phosphatidylethanol inhibits phosphatidylinositol-phospholipase C activity in a competitive manner with phosphatidylinositol-4,5-bisphosphate

An obvious difficulty of the study of binding of volatile anesthetics to proteins is to prevent loss of the ligand during the procedure. A novel NMR tube was designed that consists of concentric double cylinders which slide each other under sealed condition. A gas space is left in the tube to measure the free anesthetic concentration in the gas phase, which is in equilibrium with the solution. The enthalpy change of anesthetic transfer from water to BSA, deltaH(w-->r) was -40 kJ x mol(-1). The Gibbs free energy deltaG(w-->r) was -14.0 kJ x mol(-1) at 283 K (K(D) = 2.6 mM) and increased to -11.6 kJ x mol(-1) at 310 K (K(D) = 10.9 mM). The maximum binding site (Bmax) was 19.3 at 10 degrees C and increased to 34.5 at 37 degrees C. The entropy change, deltaS(w-->r) was -92 J x mol(-1) x K(-1) and was almost constant in the temperature range 10 approximately 37 degrees C. Contrary to the general consensus that hydrophobic interaction is entropy-driven, the binding of halothane to BSA was enthalpy-driven, compensating the opposing effect of deltaS with negative deltaH at the biologically meaningful temperature range. Possible cause of the negative deltaS relating to the conformational change of BSA is discussed.     

A treatise on the stress-fields produced by moving dislocations

The stresses produced by a continuous distribution of moving dislocations are discussed. It is assumed that the material is elastic, homogeneous and isotropic. In the first part, the basic equations governing the stress-functions and stresses are given. These equations take the same form as those given by Kröner for the stress-field produced by stationary dislocations, except that the d'Alembertian operator appears in place of the Laplacian. In the next part, the stress-functions are obtained from the special solution of the basic equation. The stresses due to uniformly moving dislocation-aggregates, as well as those to finite straight dislocations, are calculated as special cases.     

Photoresponsive peptide and polypeptide systems: Part 9. Synthesis and reversible photochromism of azo aromatic poly(L-α,ω-diaminobutyric acid)

Poly(L-α,ω-diaminobutyric acid) having azo aromatic side chains was synthesized by the water-soluble carbodiimide procedure. The photoresponsive properties of the polypeptide poly[N⁷-p-(phenylazo)benzoyl-L -α,ω-diaminobutyric acid] (PPABLDBA) due to the trans (about 71%, under visible light) cis (under ultraviolet light) photoisomerization of the azo aromatic moieties in the side chains were investigated by absorption and circular dichroism spectroscopy in hexafluoro-2-propanol (HFIP). The starting slightly turbid solution of trans-PPABLDBA becomes clear on irradiation at 360 nm, accompanied by photoconversion of the conformer of the azo moieties to cis. The backbone conformation of PPABLDBA in HFIP is right-handed helical (helical content, about 60%) when the azo moieties are trans (71%), while the conformation is random coil when cis. The backbone conformational transition of PPABLDBA from helical to coil is mostly reversible under the influence of light.     

The air-gap formation process at the casting-mold interface and the heat transfer mechanism through the gap

The formation process of the air gap at the casting-mold interface and the heat transfer mechanism through the gap were investigated by measuring the displacement of, and the temperature in casting and mold for cylindrical and flat castings of aluminum alloys. The thickness of the air gap was measured as the difference between the location of the casting surface and that of the mold inner surface. For cylindrical castings, the mold began to move outward immediately after pouring, while the casting stayed until solidification progressed to a great extent. For flat castings, the mold began to move greatly toward the casting pushing the casting immediately after pouring and moved reversely after a maximum appeared. It was possible to calculate the displacement of the mold by thermal expansion. It was found that when the thickness of the air gap was not large, the heat through the gap was transferred mainly by heat conduction.     

Chronic amitriptyline exposure reduces 5-HT3 receptor-mediated cyclic GMP formation in NG 108-15 cells

In the present study, we investigated the effects of chronic in vitro administration of amitriptyline, a tricyclic antidepressant, on cyclic GMP formation stimulated by 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in the neuroblastoma x glioma hybrid cell line, NG 108-15, 5-HT (0.01-100 microM)-stimulated cyclic GMP formation was concentration-dependent and was sensitive to ICS 205-930, a 5-HT3 receptor antagonist. Exposure of NG 108-15 cells to 5 microM amitriptyline for 3 days significantly reduced 5-HT-stimulated cyclic GMP formation. Acute treatment with amitriptyline had no effect on 5-HT-stimulated cyclic GMP formation. The reduction by chronic amitriptyline exposure of 10 microM 5-HT-stimulated cyclic GMP formation was concentration-dependent over the concentration range examined (0.5 to 10 microM). The IC50 of amitriptyline was 1.9 microM. In contrast, amitriptyline exposure, even at a concentration of 8 microM, failed to modify cyclic GMP formation stimulated by bradykinin, sodium nitroprusside, or atrial natriuretic peptide. Increases in intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) evoked by 10 microM 5-HT were attenuated in amitriptyline-exposed cells, while 100 nM bradykinin-induced [Ca2+]i increases were not affected. In addition, chronic exposure to 5 microM amitriptyline caused a decrease in affinity (Kd) of [3H]zacopride specific binding to 5-HT3 recognition sites. The Bmax for the labelled ligand remained unchanged. These results suggest that chronic amitriptyline exposure reduces 5-HT-stimulated cyclic GMP formation and [Ca2+]i increases, and this may reflect the functional changes of 5-HT3 receptors.