Fabrication of nanograined silicon by high-pressure torsion

This paper describes fabrication of Si nanograins through allotropic phase transformation by concurrent application of high pressure and intense straining using high-pressure torsion (HPT). Single-crystalline Si(100) wafers were processed by HPT under a pressure of 24 GPa at room temperature. X-ray diffraction and Raman analysis revealed that the HPT-processed samples were composed of metastable Si-III and Si-XII phases and amorphous phases in addition to the original diamond-cubic Si-I phase. It was found that nanograins formed because the Si-I diamond phase had transformed to high-pressure phases (Si-II, Si-XI, and Si-V) having metallic nature, and it then became easier to generate a high density of dislocations to form grain boundaries. The high-pressure phases were further transformed to the Si-XII and Si-III phases via the Si-II phase upon unloading and they existed as metastable phases at ambient pressure. Subsequent annealing at 873 K gave rise to reverse transformation to Si-I but with nanograin sizes. Although no appreciable photoluminescence (PL) peak was observed from the HPT-processed sample, a broad PL peak centered around 600 nm was detected from the annealed sample due to quantum confinement in the Si-I nanograins.     

Donor–acceptor-structured 1,4-diazatriphenylene derivatives exhibiting thermally activated delayed fluorescence: design and synthesis,photophysical properties and OLED characteristics

A new series of luminescent 1,4-diazatriphenylene (ATP) derivatives with various peripheral donor units, including phenoxazine, 9,9-dimethylacridane and 3-(diphenylamino)carbazole, is synthesized and characterized as thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) emitters. The influence of the donor substituents on the electronic and photophysical properties of the materials is investigated by theoretical calculations and experimental spectroscopic measurements. These ATP-based molecules with donor–acceptor–donor (D–A–D) structures can reduce the singlet–triplet energy gap (0.04–0.26 eV) upon chemical modification of the ATP core, and thus exhibit obvious TADF characteristics in solution and doped thin films. As a demonstration of the potential of these materials, organic light-emitting diodes containing the D–A–D-structured ATP derivatives as emitters are fabricated and tested. External electroluminescence quantum efficiencies above 12% and 8% for green- and sky-blue-emitting devices, respectively, are achieved.     

Preparation of Alumina Fiber-Reinforced Aluminum by Squeeze Casting and Their Machinability

Alumina fiber-reinforced aluminum alloy composites were prepared by squeeze casting, and the effect of the reinforcement on the machinability of the alloy was investigated. Two kinds of short alumina fibers, which have the same fiber size but different hardness, were used. Preform in which the fibers were in a random arrangement was formed with SiO₂ binder, and then was infiltrated with the alloy melt to prepare the composite. The fiber–matrix interfacial bond via the binder is sufficient and no reaction product was detected. The cutting force of the alloy was reduced by the fiber-reinforcement. The lower the hardness of the fiber in the composite, the lower the cutting force of the composite. The roughness of the machined surface was drastically decreased by the reinforcement. Observation of the chip formed on the machined surface indicated that the fiber suppressed the formation of the built-up-edge, and this fact would lead to the reduction in the surface roughness by the reinforcement. The chips were shortened by the reinforcement. The difference in hardness of the alumina fiber hardly affected the roughness and the chip morphology. The hardness of the fiber has a strong effect to decrease the tool life.     

Influence of different feeding systems on the growth performance and muscle development of Japanese Black steers

This study investigated the growth performance and gene expression for muscle development between grass hay-fed (GH) and concentrate-fed (CT) steers. Daily gain and energy intake during the fattening period of the GH group were lower than those of the CT group. Analysis of C/EBPα, PPARγ2, myosin heavy chain (MHC), and myostatin gene expressions was performed by real-time PCR. Expressions of C/EBPα and myostatin in semitendinosus and longissimus lumborum (LL) muscles were higher in the CT group than in the GH group at the end of fattening. In LL muscle, MHC expression at the end of fattening was greater in the GH group than in the CT group. These results suggest that regulation of adipogenesis and myogenesis by the expression of genes involved in muscle development might have occurred in the skeletal muscle of the GH group by the feeding of grass hay and/or because of the low energy intakes.     

LMNtal as a hierarchical logic programming language

LMNtal (pronounced “elemental”) is a simple language model based on hierarchical graph rewriting that uses logical variables to represent connectivity and membranes to represent hierarchy. LMNtal is an outcome of the attempt to unify constraint-based concurrency and Constraint Handling Rules (CHR), the two notable extensions to concurrent logic programming. LMNtal is intended to be a substrate language of various computational models, especially those addressing concurrency, mobility and multiset rewriting. Although the principal objective of LMNtal was to provide a unifying computational model, it is of interest to equip the formalism with a precise logical interpretation. In this paper, we show that it is possible to give LMNtal a simple logical interpretation based on intuitionistic linear logic and a flattening technique. This enables us to call LMNtal a hierarchical, concurrent linear logic language.     

Detection of CpG Methylation in G-Quadruplex Forming Sequences Using G-Quadruplex Ligands

Genomic DNA methylation is involved in many diseases and is expected to be a specific biomarker for even the pre-symptomatic diagnosis of many diseases. Thus, a rapid and inexpensive detection method is required for disease diagnosis. We have previously reported that cytosine methylation in G-quadruplex (G4)-forming oligonucleotides develops different G4 topologies. In this study, we developed a method for detecting CpG methylation in G4-forming oligonucleotides based on the structural differences between methylated and unmethylated G4 DNAs. The differences in G4 topologies due to CpG methylation can be discriminated by G4 ligands. We performed a binding assay between methylated or unmethylated G4 DNAs and G4 ligands. The binding abilities of fluorescent G4 ligands to BCL-2, HRAS1, HRAS2, VEGF G4-forming sequences were examined by fluorescence-based microtiter plate assay. The differences in fluorescence intensities between methylated and unmethylated G4 DNAs were statistically significant. In addition to fluorescence detection, the binding of G4 ligand to DNA was detected by chemiluminescence. A significant difference was also detected in chemiluminescence intensity between methylated and unmethylated DNA. This is the first study on the detection of CpG methylation in G4 structures, focusing on structural changes using G4 ligands.     

Time‐frequency analysis of a pressure wave caused by impulse tree using wavelet transform

This paper describes results of time‐frequency analysis of a pressure wave caused by impulse tree extension using wavelet transform. Pressure waves were measured by a piezo sensor which was located on the back of the plane electrode when high‐voltage nanosecond pulses were applied to a point electrode in a low‐density polyethylene block. Frequency of the pressure wave from induced charges on the plane electrode was higher than that of the pressure wave from tree. In addition, the frequency of the pressure wave from tree tended to decrease with increasing gap length because of the dispersion of the pressure wave during its propagation. When a large tree extension occurred between a 5‐mm gap, pressure waves of about 10 MHz propagated from the tree tip and a pressure wave of 1 MHz propagated from the tree stem. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 142(1): 1–7, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10097     

Gas absorption into “string-of-beads” liquid flow with chemical reaction: application to carbon dioxide separation

This study examines the performance of “string-of-beads” liquid flow on vertical wires as a novel gas-liquid contact device for gas absorption using a chemically reacting liquid absorbent. The string-of-beads flow is a distinct on-wire liquid-flow pattern consisting of annular thin liquid films sheathing a wire and teardrop-shaped liquid beads alternately aligned on the wire at regular intervals. We have performed experiments of CO₂ absorption by an aqueous monoethanolamine solution in string-of-beads flow on a single wire and have developed an analytic gas-absorption model relevant to the experiments. The model well simulates the CO₂-absorption characteristics observed in the experiments, thereby suggesting the utility of the model in predicting the chemical gas-absorption performance of multiple-wire gas-liquid contactors.