GFP expression by intracellular gene delivery of GFP-coding fragments using nanocrystal quantum dots

Gene therapy is an attractive approach to supplement a deficient gene function. Although there has been some success with specific gene delivery using various methods including viral vectors and liposomes, most of these methods have a limited efficiency or also carry a risk for oncogenesis. We herein report that quantum dots (QDs) conjugated with nuclear localizing signal peptides (NLSP) successfully introduced gene-fragments with promoter elements, which promoted the expression of the enhanced green fluorescent protein (eGFP) gene in mammalian cells. The expression of eGFP protein was observed when the QD/gene-construct was added to the culture media. The gene-expression efficiency varied depending on multiple factors around QDs, such as (1) the reading direction of the gene-fragments, (2) the quantity of gene-fragments attached on the surface of the QD-constructs, (3) the surface electronic charges varied according to the structure of the QD/gene-constructs, and (4) the particle size of QD/gene complex varied according to the structure and amounts of gene-fragments. Using this QD/gene-construct system, eGFP protein could be detected 28 days after the gene-introduction whereas the fluorescence of QDs had disappeared. This system therefore provides another method for the intracellular delivery of gene-fragments without using either viral vectors or specific liposomes.     

Fabrication of oriented ZnO nanopillar self-assemblies and their application for photovoltaic devices

Organic photovoltaic devices based on a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) and a fullerene have been studied by inserting oriented zinc oxide nanopillars which were fabricated by a new method at low temperature (343?K). The dependence of the photovoltaic performance on the zinc oxide morphology was investigated, and it is concluded that the oriented zinc oxide nanopillar array plays an important role in collecting photogenerated electrons and acts as a conducting path to the electrode. Insertion of the oriented zinc oxide nanopillars in the photovoltaic cells produced enhanced performance with a power conversion efficiency of 1.22% under AM1.5 illumination.     

X-ray diffraction reciprocal space and pole figure characterization of cubic GaN epitaxial layers grown on (0 0 1) GaAs by molecular beam epitaxy

X-ray diffraction reciprocal space maps and pole figures were used to analyse the cubic GaN epitaxial layers grown on (0 0 1) GaAs by r.f. plasma source MBE; the presence of hexagonal phase in cubic GaN layers was detected by high resolution x-ray analysis and the relationships among various crystal axes of cubic and hexagonal phase GaN were analysed with respect to V/III source-supply ratio. As for the growth conditions of the epitaxial layers, the V/III ratio was found to drastically affect the quality of the layers. High-temperature growth under near-stoichiometric conditions was necessary to obtain high quality epitaxial layers. It was found that inclusion of the hexagonal phase in the cubic GaN layers could be less than 0.4%, though previously reported typical c-GaN epitaxial layers included as much as 10–20% hexagonal phase GaN. On the basis of the measurements and analyses of reciprocal space maps and pole figures, it was revealed that the orientation of crystal axes of the hexagonal phase was unique in the present GaN epitaxial layers and they were different from those of previously reported c-GaN epitaxial layers.     

Study on current–voltage curves of composite bipolar membrane for water and methanol solutions

The current–voltage curves of a composite bipolar membrane (CBM) were experimentally measured by inserting the thin poly(acrylonitrile) (PAN) membrane between cation‐ and anion‐exchange membranes for water and methanol solutions. In each solution system, 0.05 mol/L LiCl was used as the electrolyte. The measured results show that the thin PAN membranes enhanced the water‐ and methanol‐splitting effect. This phenomenon can be explained by the protonation–deprotonation reactions occurring between the functional group of PAN ( CN, cyano) and the water or methanol molecules in the intermediate region of the CBM. The effect of niobium alloy (Nb₃Ga), fullerene (C₆₀) and titanium oxide (TiO₂) existing in the intermediate region of the CBM was also experimentally examined in this study. It was found that the effect of these compounds on water or methanol‐splitting was not obvious. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 75: 1597–1604, 2000     

Earth‐Abundant and Durable Nanoporous Catalyst for Exhaust‐Gas Conversion

Precious metals (Pt and Pd) and rare earth elements (Ce in the form of CeO₂) are typical materials for heterogeneous exhaust‐gas catalysts in automotive systems. However, their limited resources and high market‐driven prices are principal issues in realizing the path toward a more sustainable society. In this regard, herein, a nanoporous NiCuMnO catalyst, which is both abundant and durable, is synthesized by one‐step free dealloying. The catalyst thus developed exhibits catalytic activity and durability for NO reduction and CO oxidation. Microstructure characterization indicates a distinct structural feature: catalytically active Cu/CuO regions are tangled with a stable nanoporous NiMnO network after activation. The results obtained by in situ transmission electron microscopy during NO reduction clearly capture the unique reaction‐induced self‐transformation of the nanostructure. This finding can possibly pave the way for the design of new catalysts for the conversion of exhaust gas based on the element strategy.     

Stabilization of multi-machine power systems by coordinated excitation control of multiple adjustable-speed generator/motors

Since an adjustable-speed generator/motor (ASGM) is excited by ac voltage fed by a quick-response cyclo-converter, rotating speed of the rotor can be constantly changed. The ASGMs installed at some pumped-storage power stations achieve automatic frequency control during nightly demand troughs by changing the pumping power to accord with the rotating speed. It is expected, on the other hand, that under peak generation during the day, the ASGM will be used for enhancement of transient stability because it can generate or absorb active and reactive power independently via the ac excitation voltage control. This paper proposes a novel control method for the excitations systems of ASGM that will improve the transient stability of multi-machine power systems like multiple ASGMs. The controller, which is designed for an energy function, works well for stability enhancement. To gauge it against conventional excitation control of synchronous generators and against constant output power control of ASGMs, the effectiveness of the proposed method is simulated in digital trials. © 1997 Scripta Technica, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 118 (4): 10–19, 1997     

A novel architecture of dynamically reconfigurable fused multiply–adder for digital signal processing

Introduction

Multiply-accumulate operation is the most fundamental operation in digital signal processing for image processing, robotics and automatic control. In this paper, a novel architecture of dynamically reconfigurable fused multiply-adder (FMA) is proposed.

Methods

Dynamic reconfiguration is a method that can change the circuit configuration without stop of operation. The proposed circuit provides the following four calculation modes by dynamic reconfiguration: (1) complex number FMA mode, (2) real number FMA mode, (3) complex number parallel calculation mode, and (4) real number parallel calculation mode.  The data format is single precision floating point format based on IEEE754. The proposed circuit was designed using Verilog-HDL. It was simulated by logic circuit simulator, and implemented on FPGA.

Result

As a result of circuit synthesis, we confirmed the reduction of resource in the proposed circuit. Furthermore, we confirmed proper result for each calculation mode by logic simulation and experiment on FPGA.

Conclusion

The proposed circuit provides the four calculation modes by dynamic reconfiguration. We confirmed the reduction of resource and proper result for each calculation mode.     

Formalization and Analysis of Class Loading in Java

Since Java security relies on the type-safety of the JVM, many formal approaches have been taken in order to prove the soundness of the JVM. This paper presents a new formalization of the JVM and proves its soundness. It is the first model to employ dynamic linking and bytecode verification to analyze the loading constraint scheme of Java2. The key concept required for proving the soundness of the new model is augmented value typing, which is defined from ordinary value typing combined with the loading constraint scheme. In proving the soundness of the model, it is shown that there are some problems inside the current reference implementation of the JVM with respect to our model. We also analyze the findClass scheme, newly introduced in Java2. The same analysis also shows why applets cannot exploit the type-spoofing vulnerability reported by Saraswat, which led to the introduction of the loading constraint scheme.