New high-resolution positive and negative photoresist method for ?/4-shifted DFB lasers

High-resolution positive and negative photoresists were used to fabricate ?/4-phase-shifted corrugations by holographic exposure. To avoid mixing these photoresists, cyclised polyisoprene was used as a midlayer. The shape and depth of the corrugations on the positive and negative photoresist regions were almost the same. Single-mode operation at the Bragg wavelength was confirmed in lasers with the corrugation.     

A Novel Artificially Humanized Anti-Cripto-1 Antibody Suppressing Cancer Cell Growth

Cripto-1 is a member of the EGF-CFC/FRL1/Cryptic family and is involved in embryonic development and carcinogenesis. We designed a novel anti-Cripto-1 artificial antibody and assessed the recognition to the antigen and the potential to suppress the growth of cancer stem cells. First, single chain antibody clones were isolated by bio-panning with the affinity to recombinant Cripto-1 protein from our original phage-display library. Then, the variable regions of heavy chain VH and light chain VL in each clone were fused to constant regions of heavy chain CH and light chain CL regions respectively. These fused genes were expressed in ExpiCHO-S cells to produce artificial humanized antibodies against Cripto-1. After evaluation of the expression levels, one clone was selected and the anti-Cripto-1 antibody was produced and purified. The purified antibody showed affinity to recombinant Cripto-1 at 1.1 pmol and immunoreactivity to cancer tissues and cell lines. The antibody was available to detect the immunoreactivity in tissue microarrays of malignant tumors as well as in Cripto-1 overexpressing cells. Simultaneously, the antibody exhibited the potential to suppress the growth of human colon cancer derived GEO cells overexpressing Cripto-1 with IC₅₀ at approximately 110 nM. The artificially humanized antibody is proposed to be a good candidate to target cancer cells overexpressing Cripto-1.     

Room-temperature lasing operation of GaInNAs-GaAssingle-quantum-well laser diodes

We have succeeded in demonstrating continuous-wave (CW) operation of GaInNAs-GaAs single-quantum-well (SQW) laser diodes at room temperature (RT). The threshold current density was about 1.4 kA/cm², and the operating wavelength was approximately 1.18 μm for a broad-stripe geometry. Evenly spaced multiple longitudinal modes were clearly observed in the lasing spectrum. The full-angle-half-power far-field beam divergence measured parallel and perpendicular to the junction plane was 4.5° and 45°, respectively. A high characteristic temperature (T₀) of 126 K under CW operation and a small wavelength shift per ambient temperature change of 0.48 nm/°C under pulsed operation were obtained. These experimental results indicate the applicability of GaInNAs to long-wavelength laser diodes with excellent high-temperature performance     

TANGENTIAL VELOCITY CHANGE WITH TIME OF POLYACRYLAMIDE SOLUTION IN A CONCENTRIC ANNULUS

Tangential velocity change with time of polyacrylamide solution, which had not only viscosity but also elasticity, in a concentric annulus after step motion of the inner cylinder was measured by using a LDV method. By adapting a conception of a second order lag control system which had a feedback connection, an equation for estimating the velocity change with time was presented. Each parameter in the equation was determined based on the experimental results, and the relationships between each parameter and viscosity or elasticity of the solutions was made clear. By using this equation, the tangential velocity change with time of a viscoelastic liquid in the annulus can be estimated when the viscosity and elasticity of the liquid and the rotational speed of the inner cylinder are given. Additionally, it was confirmed that the equation was applicable to the case of polyethyleneoxide solution, which had different ranges of the viscosity and elasticity from those of the test solutions described above.     

Production of d-glucose from pseudo paper sludge with hydrothermal treatment

To convert cellulosic organics contained in industrial paper sludge into glucose, reaction of pseudo paper sludge composed of cellulose and inorganic compounds (calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), talc (Mg₃(Si₄O₁₀)(OH)₂), kaolin (Al₂(Si₂O₅)(OH)₄)) under hydrothermal conditions was studied. Significant amounts of glucose (ca. 23%) could be produced from cellulose in the absence of CaCO₃ for reaction in water at 523 K and 12 min reaction time. On the other hand, in the presence of CaCO3, most glucose decomposed over all conditions, whereas the addition of talc and kaolin to the mixtures increased the glucose yield to about 30%. For the case of chemical recycle of paper sludge with hydrothermal treatment to obtain d-glucose, it can be concluded that it is preferable to separate the calcium carbonate from the paper sludge before hydrothermal treatment.     

Complex-coupled λ/4-shifted DFB lasers with a flat FMresponse from 10 kHz to 17 GHz

Semiconductor lasers with a flat FM response are required for coherent FSK transmission systems. A complex-coupled λ/4-shifted DFB laser is described that gives a flat FM response from 10 kHz to I7 GHz at 15 mW, achieved by using the self-suppressing mechanism of the spatial hole-burning effect     

Optimisation techniques for minimising saw teeth deflection and lumber thickness variation

Lumber size control is an essential element in maximising yield and productivity because a small reduction in rough green target size could lead to substantial savings in wood fibre. One of the key components of rough green target size is sawing variation. In this study, the optimum side clearance of band saw teeth leading to a minimum saw teeth deflection and minimum lumber thickness variation of stellite-tipped and swage-set saws when processing Triplochiton scleroxylon a tropical hardwood were examined. It was observed that the accuracy of kerf width was best with stellite-tipped saws. However, Analysis of variance (ANOVA) at 5% level of significance indicates that there was no significant difference between the accuracy of kerf width of stellite-tipped saws and swage-set saws. It also was observed that at 5% level of significance, the mean kerf width of stellite-tipped saws, which was 4.2 mm, was significantly greater than the mean kerf width of 3.06 mm of the swage-set saws. Sawing variation as indicated by standard deviation of lumber thickness was best for the swage-set saws. A quadratic relationship between sawing variation and side clearance of stellite-tipped saws was established. As the side clearance of the saw increases, the sawing variation decreases until it reaches a minimum value and thereafter, further increase in side clearance of the saw teeth results in an increase in sawing variation. It was observed that an optimum side clearance of 0.69 mm under a saw blade thickness of 1.3 mm was required to produce on the average, a minimum value of 0.42 mm for within-board standard deviation, and 0.59 mm for the total standard deviation. An error margin of less than 1% was achieved when the experimental results for the optimum side clearance was compared with a theoretical assertion.