Process Intensification of Living Cationic Polymerization of Isobutylene by a Flow Reaction System

Increasing the reaction temperature of the living cationic polymerization of isobutylene is crucial for industrial production due to the cost of refrigeration. The reaction temperature increase was achieved with an accelerated reaction rate using a flow reaction system. The polymerization conditions, including the flow reactor design, were based on the results of kinetic studies. Utilizing a milli‐scale flow reactor, polyisobutylene, which has a narrow molecular weight distribution, was obtained within a considerably short residence time at a high temperature. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the value of M_w/M_n correlates with the product of the Reynolds number and the angle of collision.     

Direct Injection of CRISPR/Cas9-Related mRNA into Cytoplasm of Parthenogenetically Activated Porcine Oocytes Causes Frequent Mosaicism for Indel Mutations

Some reports demonstrated successful genome editing in pigs by one-step zygote microinjection of mRNA of CRISPR/Cas9-related components. Given the relatively long gestation periods and the high cost of housing, the establishment of a single blastocyst-based assay for rapid optimization of the above system is required. As a proof-of-concept, we attempted to disrupt a gene (GGTA1) encoding the α-1,3-galactosyltransferase that synthesizes the α-Gal epitope using parthenogenetically activated porcine oocytes. The lack of α-Gal epitope expression can be monitored by staining with fluorescently labeled isolectin BS-I-B₄ (IB4), which binds specifically to the α-Gal epitope. When oocytes were injected with guide RNA specific to GGTA1 together with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and human Cas9 mRNAs, 65% (24/37) of the developing blastocysts exhibited green fluorescence, although almost all (96%, 23/24) showed a mosaic fluorescent pattern. Staining with IB4 revealed that the green fluorescent area often had a reduced binding activity to IB4. Of the 16 samples tested, six (five fluorescent and one non-fluorescent blastocysts) had indel mutations, suggesting a correlation between EGFP expression and mutation induction. Furthermore, it is suggested that zygote microinjection of mRNAs might lead to the production of piglets with cells harboring various mutation types.     

Combustion synthesis of AlN doped with carbon and oxygen

Carbon-and-oxygen-doped AlN specimens were prepared by combustion synthesis using Al, graphite, and AlN. Graphite addition changed the product color from white to blue. By XRD, the lattice constant increased slightly with increasing carbon content. Blue AlN powder was synthesized with a molar ratio of the diluent AlN of 0.2-0.5 with a fixed graphite content of 0.05. At an AlN molar ratio exceeding 0.6, carbon was not successfully incorporated due to the lower reaction temperature. Calcination at 800°C in air removed residual graphite without changing the crystal structure or product color. Oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon analyses revealed that blue AlN powders contained 0.45-0.54 mass% carbon and 1.4-1.6 mass% oxygen, while the undoped AlN contained 0.021 mass% carbon and 0.94 mass% oxygen. The origin of the white-to-blue color change was investigated via reflection measurements. Blue AlN exhibits an absorption peak at 634 nm (1.96 eV). From first-principles electronic structure calculations, the C-doped AlN and carbon-and-oxygen-doped AlN with a 1:1 ratio could be classified as p-type, whereas the O-doped AlN and 1:3 carbon-and-oxygen-doped AlN were n-type. One reason for the absorption peak at 634 nm may be a transition from the conduction band to an upper unoccupied state. These results suggest the possible control of optical and electronic properties of AlN via carbon-and-oxygen doping.     

Single-polarization single-mode photonic crystal fibers

A new structure of single-polarization single-mode (SPSM) photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is proposed and analyzed by using a full-vector finite element method with anisotropic perfectly matched layers. From the numerical results it is confirmed that the proposed fiber is low-loss SPSM-PCF within the wavelengths ranging from 1.48 to 1.6 /spl mu/m, where only the slow-axis mode exists and the confinement loss is less than 0.1 dB/km.     

The apolipoprotein E allele epsilon 4 is overrepresented in patients with the Lewy body variant of Alzheimer's disease

We determined apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotypes in 122 autopsied demented patients. The frequency of the ApoE epsilon 4 allele was 39.6% in Alzheimer's disease (AD), 29.0% in the Lewy body variant of AD (LBV), and 6.25% in diffuse Lewy body disease. For AD and LBV patients, the epsilon 4 frequency was significantly higher than that reported in nondemented controls (10 to 15%). Therefore, LBV and AD share ApoE epsilon 4 as a genetic risk factor, providing further evidence that these conditions overlap.     

a-Si alloy three-stacked solar cells with high stabilized-efficiency

a-Si alloy three-stacked solar cells have been studied to improve the stabilized efficiency of a-Si: H based solar cells. Based on the analysis by the individual characterization method of the component cells in stacked type cells, the a-Si :H middle cell was replaced with an a-SiGe :H cell. Furthermore, the optical confinement technology was improved to obtain a high-output current with thin i-layer thickness in the a-SiGe :H bottom cell. By this device design, the initial conversion efficiency was improved up to 12.4% and more than a 10% stabilized efficiency was obtained in a-SiC :H/a-SiGe :H/a-SiGe :H three-stacked cells. These cell characteristics were confirmed by measurements at the JQA Organization (the former JMI Institute).     

Large Coulomb blockade oscillations at room temperature in ultranarrow wire channel MOSFETs formed by slight oxidation process

We propose a new fabrication technique of room-temperature operating silicon single-electron transistors (SETs). The devices are in the form of ultranarrow wire channel MOSFETs, where a sub-10-nm channel is formed by wet etching and slight thermal oxidation. Large Coulomb blockade (CB) oscillations whose peak-to-valley current ratio at room temperature is as high as 6.8 are observed in the fabricated ultranarrow wire channel MOSFETs. It is found that larger CB oscillations are obtained in the ultranarrow wire channel SETs than in the point-contact channel SETs. It is considered that the potential fluctuations induced during the channel formation processes give rise to multiple-dot SET structures in the ultranarrow wire channel MOSFETs.     

A Bayesian propensity score adjustment for latent variable modeling and MCMC algorithm

The estimation of the differences among groups in observational studies is frequently inaccurate owing to a bias caused by differences in the distributions of covariates. In order to estimate the average treatment effects when the treatment variable is binary, Rosenbaum and Rubin [1983. The central role of the propensity score in observational studies for causal effects. Biometrika 70, 41-55] proposed an adjustment method for pre-treatment variables using propensity scores. Imbens [2000. The role of the propensity score in estimating dose-response functions. Biometrika 87, 706-710] extended the propensity score methodology for estimation of average treatment effects with multivalued treatments.However, these studies focused only on estimating the marginal mean structure. In many substantive sciences such as the biological and social sciences, a general estimation method is required to deal with more complex analyses other than regression, such as testing group differences on latent variables. For latent variable models, the EM algorithm or the traditional Monte Carlo methods are necessary. However, in propensity score adjustment, these methods cannot be used because the full distribution is not specified.In this paper, we propose a quasi-Bayesian estimation method for general parametric models that integrate out the distributions of covariates using propensity scores. Although the proposed Bayes estimates are shown to be consistent, they can be calculated by existing Markov chain Monte Carlo methods such as Gibbs sampler. The proposed method is useful to estimate parameters in latent variable models, while the previous methods were unable to provide valid estimates for complex models such as latent variable models.We also illustrated the procedure using the data obtained from the US National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSY1979-2002) for estimating the effect of maternal smoking during pregnancy on the development of the child's cognitive functioning.     

Modulation characteristic of waveguide-type optical frequency combgenerator

We report the modulation characteristics of a waveguide-type optical frequency comb generator (WG-OFCG) with the advantages of compactness, high modulation index and low driving power. The characteristics of the optical frequency comb (OFC) generated when the modulation index exceeds 2π are discussed. The power of the modulation sidebands was measured by the optical heterodyne method with an external-cavity laser as a local oscillator. The dependence of the modulation index of the WG-OFCG on the modulation frequency up to 40 GHz was measured. The generation span of the OFC at the modulation frequency detuned from an integer multiple of the free spectral range (FSR) is discussed     

Diagnosis of childhood BK virus cystitis by electron microscopy and PCR

A case of BK virus cystitis in a 5 year old boy is reported. This patient, who was not immunocompromised, had had acute cystitis for two weeks. Many intracytoplasmic inclusions were observed in urinary sediment smears stained by the Papanicolaou method. Electron microscopic examination showed virus particles, presumed to be human polyomavirus, in the nuclei of the degenerated urothelial cells. A DNA sequence of the BK virus was detected in 200-300 urothelial cells in Papanicolaou stained smears by the polymerase chain reaction. BK virus is an unusual cause of symptomatic cystitis in a healthy child.