Interdiffusion behavior of Hg in HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown on Cd0.96Zn0.04 Te (211)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy

Double-crystal x-ray rocking curve (DCRC) and secondary-ion mass-spectroscopy (SIMS) measurements have been performed to investigate the effect of rapid thermal annealing on the interdiffusion behavior of Hg in HgTe/CdTe superlattices grown on Cd_0.96Zn_0.04Te (211)B substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. The sharp satellite peaks of the DCRC measurements on a 100-period HgTe/CdTe (100Å/100Å) superlattice show a periodic arrangement of the superlattice with high-quality interfaces. The negative direction of the entropy change obtained from the diffusion coefficients as a function of the reciprocal of the temperature after RTA indicates that the Hg diffusion for the annealed HgTe/CdTe superlattice is caused by an interstitial mechanism. The Cd and the Hg concentration profiles near the annealed HgTe/CdTe superlattice interfaces, as measured by SIMS, show a nonlinear behavior for Hg, originating from the interstitial diffusion mechanism of the Hg composition. These results indicate that a nonlinear interdiffusion behavior is dominant for HgTe/CdTe superlattices annealed at 190°C and that the rectangular shape of HgTe/CdTe superlattices may change to a parabolic shape because of the intermixing of Hg and Cd due to the thermal treatment.     

Performance of GaAs-AlGaAs V-grooved inner stripe quantum-well wirelasers with different current blocking configurations

GaAs-AlGaAs V-grooved inner stripe (VIS) quantum-well wire (QWW) lasers grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition with different current blocking configurations, n-blocking on p-substrate (VIPS), p-n-p-n blocking on n-substrate (VI(PN)_nS) and p-blocking on n-substrate (VINS) have been fabricated and characterized. The VIPS QWW lasers show the most stable characteristics with effective current confinement: one of the lasers shows fundamental transverse mode, lasing up to 5 mW/facet, typical threshold current of 39.9 mA at 818.5 mm, an external differential quantum efficiency of 24%/facet, and characteristic temperature of 92 K. The current tuning rate was almost linear at 0.031 mm/mA, and the temperature tuning rate was measured to be 0.14 nm/°C. Comparison of the light output versus current characteristics of the lasers with different current blocking configurations is presented here     

Apoptotic Effects of Anthocyanins from Vitis coignetiae Pulliat Are Enhanced by Augmented Enhancer of the Rudimentary Homolog (ERH) in Human Gastric Carcinoma MKN28 Cells

Evidence suggests that augmented expression of a certain gene can influence the efficacy of targeted and conventional chemotherapies. Here, we tested whether the high expression of enhancer of the rudimentary homolog (ERH), which serves as a prognostic factor in some cancers, can influence the efficacy of anthocyanins isolated from fruits of Vitis coignetiae Pulliat, Meoru in Korea (AIMs) on human gastric cancer cells. The anticancer efficacy of AIMs was augmented in ERH-transfected MKN28 cells (E-MKN28 cells). Molecularly, ERH augmented AIM-induced caspase-dependent apoptosis by activating caspase-3 and -9. The ERH-augmented apoptotic effect was related to mitochondrial depolarization and inhibition of antiapoptotic proteins, XIAP, and Bcl-2. In addition, reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation was augmented in AIMs-treated E-MKN28 cells compared to AIMs-treated naïve MKN28 cells. In conclusion, ERH augmented AIM-induced caspase-dependent mitochondrial-related apoptosis in MKN28 cells. A decrease in expression of Bcl-2 and subsequent excessive ROS generation would be the mechanism for ERH-augmented mitochondrial-related apoptosis in AIMs-treated MKN28 cells. A decrease in expression of XIAP would be another mechanism for ERH-augmented caspase-dependent apoptosis in AIMs-treated MKN28 cells.     

A numerical reconstruction method in inverse elastic scattering

In this paper a new numerical method for the shape reconstruction of obstacles in elastic scattering is proposed. Initially, the direct scattering problem for a rigid body and the mathematical setting for the corresponding inverse one are presented. Inverse uniqueness issues for the general case of mixed boundary conditions on the boundary of our obstacle, which are valid for a rigid body as well are established. The inversion algorithm based on the factorization method is presented into a suitable form and a new numerical scheme for the reconstruction of the shape of the scatterer, using far-field measurements, is given. In particular, an efficient Tikhonov parameter choice technique, called Improved Maximum Product Criterion (IMPC) and its linchpin within the framework of the factorization method is exploited. Our regularization parameter is computed via a fast iterative algorithm which requires no a priori knowledge of the noise level in the far-field data. Finally, the effectiveness of IMPC is illustrated with various numerical examples involving a kite, an acorn, and a peanut-shaped object.     

Functional characterization of purified pear protease and its proteolytic activities with casein and myofibrillar proteins

This study was performed to characterize pear protease proteolytic activity and investigate the use of pear protease as a meat tenderizer. Pear protease was purified and stabilized by 5% dextrin during lyophilization (dry) or concentration (liquid). Pear protease was further characterized with respect to pH, thermodynamics, and enzyme kinetics. Pear protease was stable at a pH range of 5-8 with an optimum pH of 6.5. From Arrhenius plots, liquid protease showed higher temperature dependency (23.49 kJ/mol) than dry protease (18.62 kJ/mol) due to its higher activation energy. The kcat/Km, catalytic efficiency of enzyme, was similar with 2.9 and 2.7 µM/min with dry and liquid proteases. Pear protease was evaluated for its proteolytic activities with casein and beef myofibrillar proteins by individually and combination with fig and kiwifruit proteases. These result indicated that pear and kiwifruit proteases could be complementary to be a desirable product for meat tenderization.     

Extrusion process enhances the anti-inflammatory effect of Acanthopanax senticosus leaves

The anti-inflammatory effects of Acanthopanax senticosus leaves (ASL) and the effects of extrusion were evaluated. ASL exhibited in vitro and in vivo antiinflammatory activities in experimental systems. Extrusion increased the effect of ASL. ASL reduced C48/80-induced histamine release from HMC-1 cells as well as in vivo model, suggesting that ASL induces mast cell stabilization and has an anti-histamine activity. The effects of ASL and extruded ASL (ASLE) on pro-inflammatory cytokine production were evaluated. ASL treatment reduced MCP- 1, TNF-α, and IL-1β mRNA expressions and decreased their protein levels in HMC-1 cells. Decreases in serum NO, MDA, and TNF-α levels were observed in acute inflammatory rats, and extrusion increased the effects of ASL in a dose-dependent manner. These data support pharmacological basis of ASL and the effect of extrusion for future treatment of inflammation.     

Introduction to an integrated methodology for development and implementation of enterprise information systems

An integrated methodology for successful development and implementation of enterprise information systems is developed. This paper describes the methodology and defines five components and one repository which can be customized with business scenarios and patterns according to various business environments. Five components consist of information strategy planning, economic justification and measurement, enterprise information system appraisal, package software evaluation, and unified modeling tools. They characterize the methodology through its entire road map. Also, case studies are provided to prove its practical values.     

Performance of Hybrid Laser Diodes Consisting of Silicon Slab and InP/InGaAsP Deep‐Ridge Waveguides

The fundamental transverse mode lasing of a hybrid laser diode is a prerequisite for efficient coupling to a single‐mode silicon waveguide, which is necessary for a wavelength‐division multiplexing silicon interconnection. We investigate the lasing mode profile for a hybrid laser diode consisting of silicon slab and InP/InGaAsP deep ridge waveguides. When the thickness of the top silicon is 220 nm, the fundamental transverse mode is lasing in spite of the wide waveguide width of 3.7µm. The threshold current is 40 mA, and the maximum output power is 5 mW under CW current operation. In the case of a thick top silicon layer (1 µm), the higher modes are lasing. There is no significant difference in the thermal resistance of the two devices.     

Fabrication of V-grooved inner stripe GaAs-AlGaAs quantum-wire lasers

V-grooved inner stripe (VIS) GaAs-AlGaAs quantum-wire (QWR) lasers were successfully fabricated by, combining two-step metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth with a wet-etching technique. In order to achieve low threshold current density and high reliability, a conductive stripe width (W), a thickness (t/sub p-CBL/), and a doping concentration (n/sub p-CBL/) of the p-GaAs current-blocking layer (CBL) were determined to be W=1.2 /spl mu/m, t/sub p-CBL/=2 /spl mu/m, and n/sub p-CBL/=1/spl times/10/sup 18/ cm/sup -3/. The leakage currents passing through the CBL were also estimated using a modified P-SPICE. Thus far, a threshold current of 45 mA and an output power of 4 mW at 51 mA have been achieved under room-temperature pulsed operation for some devices with uncoated facets.