Melt viscosity and flow birefringence of polycarbonate

Melt viscosity and flow birefringence of bisphenol A-type polycarbonate were measured and analyzed by the application of rubber-like photoelastic theory. The melt viscosity in the Newtonian flow region increased with the molecular weight to the power of 3.4. In polycarbonate, the shear stress of the Newtonian flow region was to 10⁶ dyn/cm², whereas in PMMA it was at most 3 = 10⁵ dyn/cm². The flow birefringence δn has a linear relation with shear stress S, that is δn = 5.7 × 10^?10 S. The principal polarization difference of flow unit α₁ – α₂ was 1.62 × 10^?23 cm³, which was obtained by the application of the rubber-like elastic theory. In PMMA, it was 3.9 = 10^?25 cm³; about 1/40 of that was polycarbonate. The anisotropy of polarizability of the flow unit of polycarbonate was also about 40 times larger than that of PMMA. So the anisotropy reflected the large flow birefringence of the polycarbonate.     

Interfacial tension of demixed polymer solutions near the critical temperature: polystyrene + methylcyclohexane

Interfacial tension between demixed solutions of polystyrene + methylcyclohexane has been measured near the critical temperature as a function of temperature using polystyrenes with molecular weights 9000 ～ 1.26 × 10⁶. The critical exponent for the interfacial tension was determined to be about 1.30 for the lower molecular weight systems. However, for higher molecular weights the exponent could not be obtained because the system departed from critical behaviour. Magnitudes of the interfacial tension were proportional to about N^?0.44, where N is the polymerization index. Experimental results were compared with the recently-proposed theories and found to be in qualitative agreement. The tricritical theory of polymer solutions was also compared with the experimental results.     

In vitro construction and screening of a Burkholderia cepacia lipase library using single-molecule PCR and cell-free protein synthesis

A mutant library of Burkholderia cepacia lipase KWI-56 was constructed on microplates by a cell-free process and tested with a chromogenic assay. This high-throughput construction system can be used to screen mutant proteins based on their catalytic activity.     

Evaluation of TEM samples of an Mg-Al alloy prepared using FIB milling at the operating voltages of 10 kV and 40 kV

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) samples of an Mg-Al alloy has been prepared using a Ga-focused ion beam (FIB) milling at two different operating voltages of 10 kV and 40 kV to investigate the influence of the FIB energy on the sample quality. The fine structures of the samples have been studied using a high resolution TEM, and the concentration of the implanted Ga was analysed using an energy dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. The result of the TEM observation revealed that point defects were introduced to the sample finally milled at 40 kV but not at 10 kV. However, crystal lattice images and electron diffraction patterns were clearly observed on both the samples. The typical influence of the FIB energy was indicated in the elemental analysis. The relative Ga concentration in the thin sample finally milled at 10 kV was 1.0-2.0 at% that is less than half of 4.0-6.0 at% of the Ga concentration in the sample finally milled at 40 kV. A comparison between the experimental results of the Ga concentration measurement with simulation was also discussed.     

Optical topography: practical problems and new applications

We will briefly review the present status of optical topography and then discuss the method of improving practicality, i.e., the signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio and the spatial resolution in observations of higher-order brain functions. The optimum wavelength pair improved the S/N ratio sixfold for deoxyhemoglobin, and new configurations of light irradiation and detection positions doubled the spatial resolution. We also report on developing application fields of optical topography. This modality will bridge the gap between natural sciences, neuroscience, and pedagogy, and show actual real-time brain activity.     

Efficient frequency doubling of 1-W continuous-wave Ti:sapphire laser with a robust high-finesse external cavity

We demonstrated an intrinsic conversion efficiency of 56% from the input fundamental power to the generated second-harmonic power. The second-harmonic power of 581 mW was obtained from the external cavity with a LiB3O5 crystal through the frequency doubling of a 1.17-W Ti:sapphire laser at 746 nm, when the finesse of the robust external cavity was 260.     

Chemiluminescence detection for a microchip capillary electrophoresis system fabricated in poly(dimethylsiloxane)

Chemiluminescence (CL) detection integrated with a microchip capillary electrophoresis (MCE) system that was fabricated in poly(dimethylsiloxane) was demonstrated for chemical and biochemical analyses. Two model CL systems were involved here: metal ion-catalyzed luminol-peroxide reaction and dansyl species conjugated peroxalate-peroxide reaction. Different strategies based on three chip patterns (cross, cross combining with Y, and cross combining with V) to perform on-line CL detection for MCE were evaluated and compared in terms of sensitivity, reproducibility, and peak symmetry. The chip pattern of cross combining with Y proved to be promising for the luminol-peroxide CL system, while the chip pattern of cross combining with V was preferred for the peroxalate-peroxide system where CL reagent could not be effectively transported by electroosmotic flow. A detection limit down to submicromolar concentrations (midattomole) was achieved with good reproducibility and symmetric peak shape. Successful separation of three metal cations such as Cr(III), Co(II), and Cu(II) and chiral recognition of dansyl phenylalanine enantiomers within 1 min revealed distinct advantages of combining MCE with CL detection for rapid and sensitive analyses.     

Magnetization Curve of Two-Dimensional Anti-ferromagnetic Solid 3He on Graphite

Two-dimensional anti-ferromagnetic solid ³He on graphite, so called 4/7 phase, is a highly frustrated magnetic system and its ground state is considered to be a gapless spin liquid. Then how is the behavior in high magnetic fields? We tried to observe the magnetization curve at around 1 mK in high magnetic fields up to 10 T, using a Faraday-type magnetometer. To eliminate a large background signal from graphite as a substrate and copper as a thermal link, a double gradient coil system is employed to produce opposite field gradients in two regions equidistant from the field center. Preliminary results of the 4/7 phase on graphite show no saturated magnetization even at 1 mK and 10 T, suggesting the existence of magnetization plateau.     

A novel spacer‐free panel structure and glass for FEDs

Abstract— A new design for an FED envelope, composed of box‐shaped front glass, sheet‐like rear glass, and metal members, has been devised. This design structure is effective in reducing tensile stress induced by vacuum at the sealing points. Also, a new glass composition, a new physical tempering method, and a lead‐free hermetic sealing material have been developed. As a result, a novel lightweight spacer‐free panel structure for FEDs has been developed by integrating these new technologies. It will assist in maximizing the essential advantages of FED such as high image quality, high reliability, and low cost.     

A Theory of Minimal 3D Point to 3D Plane Registration and Its Generalization

Registration of 3D data is a key problem in many applications in computer vision, computer graphics and robotics. This paper provides a family of minimal solutions for the 3D-to-3D registration problem in which the 3D data are represented as points and planes. Such scenarios occur frequently when a 3D sensor provides 3D points and our goal is to register them to a 3D object represented by a set of planes. In order to compute the 6 degrees-of-freedom transformation between the sensor and the object, we need at least six points on three or more planes. We systematically investigate and develop pose estimation algorithms for several configurations, including all minimal configurations, that arise from the distribution of points on planes. We also identify the degenerate configurations in such registrations. The underlying algebraic equations used in many registration problems are the same and we show that many 2D-to-3D and 3D-to-3D pose estimation/registration algorithms involving points, lines, and planes can be mapped to the proposed framework. We validate our theory in simulations as well as in three real-world applications: registration of a robotic arm with an object using a contact sensor, registration of planar city models with 3D point clouds obtained using multi-view reconstruction, and registration between depth maps generated by a Kinect sensor.