Molecular design and application of luminescent materials composed of group 13 elements with an aggregation-induced emission property

Complexation of π-conjugated ligands by metal or semimetal ions leads to the enhancement of the planarity and rigidity of π-conjugated systems. Boron, especially, has played a central role in the design of luminescent main-group complexes. However, these complexes still suffer the disadvantage of aggregation-caused quenching as well as typical organic fluorophores. It has recently been reported that some types of boron complexes exhibit the aggregation-induced emission (AIE) property. Moreover, AIE behavior from complexes and organometallic compounds composed of the other group 13 elements, such as aluminum and gallium, has emerged in this decade. These observations greatly encourage us to develop advanced functional materials based on the group 13 elements. Indeed, recent research has demonstrated that these classes of materials are potentially versatile scaffolds for constructing chromic luminophores, efficiently emissive π-conjugated polymers and so on. This review mainly describes AIE-active group 13 complexes with four-coordinate structures and their application as photo-functional materials. Proposed mechanisms of the origins of AIE behavior are briefly discussed.     

敦煌出土莲花部八尊曼荼罗

本文分析了法国藏的敦煌画<莲花部八尊曼荼罗>(EO.1131)的诸要素,找出其佛经依据,并推断出其制作年代为吐蕃占领敦煌的前半期.     

Behavior of reinforced concrete structural walls with various opening locations: experiments and macro model

Two experimental tests of three-storied reinforced concrete structural walls having large openings were performed.Based on an original macro model,a multiple modified macro-model was proposed to develop a simple method to design a reinforced concrete structural wall with large openings and various opening locations.The interaction between reinforcement ties and concrete struts formed along the perimeter of openings was neglected in the original model.However,the strut-and-tie node was proposed to take account of such interaction in the proposed model.The predicted behavior of two specimens using such a proposed model was compared with the experimental results.It is shown that the behavior of structural walls with large openings could be modeled well using the proposed model.Moreover,the study indicates that the proposed model is applicable even in cases of multi-story structural walls having large openings and various opening locations.     

Selective cell capture and analysis using shallow antibody-coated microchannels

Demand for analysis of rare cells such as circulating tumor cells in blood at the single molecule level has recently grown. For this purpose, several cell separation methods based on antibody-coated micropillars have been developed (e.g., Nagrath et al., Nature 450, 1235–1239 (2007)). However, it is difficult to ensure capture of targeted cells by these methods because capture depends on the probability of cell-micropillar collisions. We developed a new structure that actively exploits cellular flexibility for more efficient capture of a small number of cells in a target area. The depth of the sandwiching channel was slightly smaller than the diameter of the cells to ensure contact with the channel wall. For cell selection, we used anti-epithelial cell adhesion molecule antibodies, which specifically bind epithelial cells. First, we demonstrated cell capture with human promyelocytic leukemia (HL-60) cells, which are relatively homogeneous in size; in situ single molecule analysis was verified by our rolling circle amplification (RCA) method. Then, we used breast cancer cells (SK-BR-3) in blood, and demonstrated selective capture and cancer marker (HER2) detection by RCA. Cell capture by antibody-coated microchannels was greater than with negative control cells (RPMI-1788 lymphocytes) and non-coated microchannels. This system can be used to analyze small numbers of target cells in large quantities of mixed samples.     

Optimal parameter estimation of ε-filter employing distribution distance

As the filter which can effectively remove the small amplitude noises on digital images, the $\epsilon \mathrm{-}\mathrm{filter}$ has been proposed. In order to effectively use this filter, a smoothing parameter $\epsilon \mathrm{-}\mathrm{filter}$ should be appropriately estimated before applying it. To address this problem, the authors proposed the parameter estimation method based on Hellinger distance (HD). In the method, HD between a residual signal and assumed noise distribution was evaluated, and a parameter $\epsilon$ of the $\epsilon \mathrm{-}\mathrm{filter}$ was estimated by finding the value giving minimum distance. However, the enough discussion on use of HD has not been made.In this paper, it is attempted to utilize not only the HD, but also various distribution distances in the parameter estimation, and their performances and characteristics are compared and analyzed experimentally. Furthermore, the parameter estimation method is extended to be applicable for the vector $\epsilon \mathrm{-}\mathrm{filter}$ for the color images. Consequently, through the experiments, it is shown that L1-norm or maximum norm is appropriate as the distribution distance used in the parameter estimation methods from the view points of the simplicity of the calculation and MSE performance in the filtering.     

Adult attachment, parent emotion, and observed parenting behavior: mediator and moderator models

In a middle-class sample of mothers of 2-year-olds, adult attachment classifications measured in the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) were related to maternal self-reported emotional well-being and observed parenting behavior, and the potential mediating and moderating roles of maternal emotion were tested. Mothers classified as dismissing on the AAI reported significantly lower levels of positive affectivity. Mothers classified as preoccupied reported significantly higher levels of negative affectivity and anxiety. Preoccupied mothers were observed to be significantly higher on angry/intrusive parenting, but this association was not mediated by attachment-related differences in maternal emotion. Maternal emotional well-being did, however, moderate the associations between adult attachment and parenting behavior: Dismissing attachment was significantly associated with lower warmth/responsiveness only among mothers with higher levels of depressive symptoms.     

Limitations of cadence-based walking for assessing bouts of moderate-to vigorous-intensity physical activity under free-living conditions

Abstract

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the relationship between the accumulation of 1000 steps in 10 minutes (1K) and 3000 steps in 30 minutes (3K) with the amount and intensity of daily physical activity. Thirty-three adults (16 males and 17 females, 53 ± 19 years) wore an accelerometer (Lifecorder) for seven consecutive days in order to determine the number of steps and the time spent in physical activity at light intensity (LPA), moderate intensity (MPA), vigorous intensity (VPA) and moderate to vigorous intensity (MVPA). Furthermore, based on the minute-by-minute stepping rate, the number, intensity and duration of walking bouts (1K and 3K) were evaluated. The daily number of steps, LPA, MPA and VPA were significantly higher on the days with 1K or 3K compared with that observed on the days without 1K or 3K (P <0.05). The duration of 1K was not found to be correlated with an MVPA >10 minutes. An MVPA >10 minutes was less than 2 min · day^?1 on the days with 1K or 3K. Therefore, it is doubtful that the concept of cadence is an alternative indicator for the commonly used definition of MVPA. It remains unclear whether participation in 1K and 3K guarantees that an individual will meet the current MVPA guidelines.     

Profile and status of untrained teachers: experiences in basic schools in rural Ghana

Untrained teachers are deployed in basic schools in many developing countries as a measure to address enrolment escalation; minimising the financial burden on the government, much of whose education budget is already a recurrent cost. However, there has been little research into untrained teachers. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this article suggests that in Ghana untrained teachers – who form the majority at basic (primary and junior secondary) school level, especially in rural areas – are themselves heterogeneous, with differing qualifications and affiliations. Moreover, they appear to be unrecognised and unvalued by the authorities. On the other hand, trained head teachers in particular tend to experience powerlessness in the management of their untrained staff. This article therefore examines the complex environment in which teachers work and the important role of the authorities in influencing their working conditions.