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Purpose: Provision of accurate temperature measurement is an essential element to ensure a precise control in greenhouse environment. This study was organized to compare the effects of six solar radiation shields with different shapes for temperature measurement and find the most appropriate shield for greenhouse environment. Methods: A fan-aspirated radiation shield was designed and manufactured. Using the fan-aspirated radiation shield and five other shapes i.e., the cup shape, horizontal pipe, vertical pipe, parallel boards and commercial shields, temperature measurement was conducted over the lawn surface as well as greenhouse indoor environment. The measurement height varied at 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 m from the floor. Results: The measured temperatures by the fan-aspirated radiation shield were 1.30-1.49℃ lower than the values recorded by other different-shaped shields at 1.5 m of measurement height. As the measurement height decreases, observed differences between measured temperatures of the fan-aspirated radiation shield and other shields demonstrate a declining trend. However, at low measurement heights, the radiation emitted from the bottom surface would be the source of error in temperature measurement. Conclusions: The fan-aspirated radiation shield is a required tool for exact measurement of air temperature in greenhouse temperature control.

Nopp140 is a highly phosphorylated protein that resides in the nucleolus of mammalian cell and is involved in the biogenesis of the nucleolus. It interacts with a variety of proteins related to the synthesis and assembly of the ribosome. It also can bind to a ubiquitous protein kinase CK2 that mediates cell growth and prevents apoptosis. We found that Nopp140 is an intrinsically unfolded protein (IUP) lacking stable secondary structures over its entire sequence of 709 residues. We discovered that mitoxantrone, an anticancer agent, was able to enhance the interaction between Nopp140 and CK2 and maintain suppressed activity of CK2. Surface plasma resonance studies on different domains of Nopp140 show that the C-terminal region of Nopp140 is responsible for binding with mitoxantrone. Our results present an interesting example where a small chemical compound binds to an intrinsically unfolded protein (IUP) and enhances protein-protein interactions.

When the Z-type variant of human α(1)-antitrypsin was overexpressed in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, proteomics analysis identified YLR301w as one of the up-regulated proteins. YLR301w is a 27.5 kDa protein with no sequence homology to any known protein and has been reported to interact with Sec72 and Hrr25. The crystal structure of S. cerevisiae YLR301w has been determined at 2.3 Å resolution, revealing a novel β-structure. It consists of an N-terminal ten-stranded β-barrel with two short α-helices connected by a 23-residue linker to a seven-stranded half-barrel with two short helices at the C-terminus. The N-terminal barrel has a highly conserved hydrophobic channel that can bind hydrophobic molecules such as PEG. It forms a homodimer both in the crystal and in solution. YLR301w binds Sec72 with a K(d) of 6.2 µM, but the biological significance of this binding requires further investigation.

Purpose: Utilizing air thermal energy during over-heated time in the greenhouse is a necessary component to save greenhouse heating costs for nighttime. However, there is no practical way to implement the related principles. Methods: In this study, a heating and cooling system which utilizes the surplus air thermal energy in a greenhouse was developed. Available air thermal energy and heating load for this experimental glasshouse were estimated based on temperature conditions of the plant growth and weather data. Results: Estimated values were 400 MJ/day for maximum surplus air thermal energy and 340 MJ/day for maximum heating energy which were target values of the design as well. The system consists of a heat pump, fan-coil units and heat storage tanks which are divided into low and high temperature tanks. Moreover, a new control logic was developed for surplus air thermal energy utilization. Conclusions: This paper explains the details of conceptual design process of the system. Results of test operations showed that the developed system performed the recovery and supply of the thermal energy according to design purposes.

We have developed a high performance liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer of ultra-thin single wall carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and a conjugated block copolymer nanocomposite that is solution-processible for conventional twisted nematic (TN) LC cells. The alignment layer is based on the non-destructive solution dispersion of nanotubes with a poly(styrene-b- paraphenylene) (PS-b-PPP) copolymer and subsequent spin coating, followed by conventional rubbing without a post-annealing process. Topographically grooved nanocomposite films with two dimensionally (2D) networked SWNTs embedded in a block copolymer matrix were created using a rubbing process in which bundles of SWNTs on the composite surface were effectively removed. The LCs were well aligned with a stable pre-tilt angle of approximately 2° on our extremely transparent nanocomposite, which gave rise to superfast switching of the TN LC molecules that was approximately 3.8 ms, or four times faster than that on a commercial polyimide layer. Furthermore, the TN LCD cells containing our SWNT nanocomposite alignment layers exhibited low power operation at an effective switching voltage amplitude of approximately 1.3 V without capacitance hysteresis.

In this study, the kinetic properties of wild-type and C117D mutant H. influenzae MurA (Hi MurA), which catalyzes the first reaction in the biosynthetic pathway of the cell wall, were characterized. Purified recombinant Hi MurA was active at pH values ranging from pH 5.5 to pH 10, and its (UNAG), (PEP), and values were measured to be 31 , 24 , and 210 , respectively. Hi MurA activity was effectively inhibited by fosfomycin with an value of 60 . Hi MurA contains a cysteine residue (C117) at the loop region near the PEP binding, whereas MurA from fosfomycin resistant Mycobaterium tuberculosis or Chlamydia trachomatis contain an aspartate residue instead of the cysteine at the corresponding site. Aspartate substitution of Cys117 in Hi MurA shifted its optimum pH from 7.8 to 6.0. In addition, the values for UNAG and PEP were increased to 160 and 150 , respectively, and the value was significantly reduced to 41 . Furthermore, the C117D mutant form of Hi MurA was not inhibited by 1 mM fosfomycin. These results indicate that the Cys117 of Hi MurA is the binding site of fosfomycin and plays an important role in the fast turnover of the catalytic reaction.

We analyzed frequency-domain characteristics of a femtosecond laser whose carrier-envelope phase (CEP) was stabilized by the direct locking method (DLM). To evaluate the CEP-stabilized laser with zero carrier-envelope-offset frequency (f ceo), as imposed by DLM, a self-referencing f-to-2f interferometer with a shifted frequency comb by an acousto-optic modulator was employed in an out-of-loop. The measurement of the square root of triangle variance confirmed that DLM is a phase-locking method. The tight locking was verified from a narrow bandwidth of f ceo, measured using the out-of-loop interferometer, and from a small frequency jitter measured with a frequency counter referenced to a Rb-clock. The femtosecond laser with CEP stabilized by DLM is, thus, well suited for applications in the frequency domain as well as in the time domain.

This paper presents a novel green laser sequential lateral solidification G-SLS process for AMOLED applications. G-SLS utilizes a high frequency pulsed green laser and 2D mask patterns to manipulate the microstructure of crystallize Si films. Mask patterns have been optimized to obtain uniform microstructure of the crystallized Si films at the overlap region. Thin film transistors based on G-SLS processed Si films have mobility of 150.72 cm2/V-sec and a sub-threshold swing of 0.20V/dec. 14″ qFHD AMOLEDs have been fabricated using the G-SLS process. The advantages and issues of G-SLS technology will be further discussed.

For the first time, photo sensors employing p-type Si and IGZO semiconductor (P-I-OS) have been fabricated with a sensor dimension of W/L = 1600/5. The IGZO layer was deposited using DC sputtering and replaces the conventional n+-doped cathode electrode. The P-I-OS photo sensor is more sensitive to light with shorter wavelengths, and high to low photo-current dynamic range is almost constant from −15V to −2.5V of anode bias. The P-I-OS photo sensor exhibits dynamic range of 53.3 dB under −5V of anode bias and 10,000 lx of illuminated light intensity

Vertical alignment (VA) of a liquid crystal display (LCD) device with a stable pretilt angle has been achieved on ion-bombarded silicon nitride (SiN x) surfaces. The surface energy variation of the SiN x surface with the bonding conversion achieved via ion beam bombardment makes it possible to control the liquid crystal (LC) pretilt angle. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that the vertical orientation of the LC molecules occurs on the SiO 2 surface and that this orientation is directionally transformed upon ion bombardment of SiN x thin films. Moreover, the upgraded electro-optical characteristics of VA-LCDs showed potential for high-performance LCD applications on modified SiN x surfaces.

Biomolecules specific to explosives can be exploited as chemical sensors. Peptides specific to immobilized dinitrotoluene (DNT) were identified using a phage display library. A derivative of DNT that contained an extended amine group, 4-(2,4-dinitrophenyl)butan-1-amine, was synthesized and immobilized using a self-assembled monolayer surface on gold. Filamentous M13 phages displaying random sequences of 12-mer peptides specific to the immobilized DNT-derivate were isolated from the M13 phage library by biopanning. A common peptide sequence was identified from the isolated phages and the synthesized peptides showed selective binding to DNT. When the peptide was immobilized on a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) chip, it showed a binding signal to DNT, while toluene barely showed significant binding to the QCM chip. These results demonstrate that peptides screened by biopanning against immobilized DNT can be useful for quick and accurate detection of DNT.

This paper describes polymeric nanostructures with dynamically tunable wetting properties. Centimeter-scale areas of monolithic nanoridges can be generated by strain relief of thermoplastic polyolefin films with fluoropolymer skin layers. Changing the amount of strain results in polyolefin ridges with aspect ratios greater than four with controlled feature densities. Surface chemistry and topography are demonstrated to be able to be tailored by SF6 -plasma etching to access multiple wetting states: Wenzel, Cassie-Baxter, and Cassie-impregnating states. Reversible transitions among the wetting states can be realized in a programmable manner by cyclic stretching and reshrinking the patterned substrates without delamination and cracking.

A fiber-phase-noise compensating system was constructed for a 1.4 GHz reference frequency transferred through a 13-km-long fiber spool. The transfer instability was dependent on the temperature variation of the compensating system. With the room temperature variation stabilized within 0.3℃, the transfer instability was 4.6×10

Sum frequency generation was utilized to obtain a yellow laser with the wavelength of 578.4 nm for a probe laser of an Yb lattice clock. The output of an Nd:YAG laser with wavelength of 1319 nm and that of an Yb-fiber laser with wavelength of 1030 nm were passed through a waveguided periodically-poled lithium niobate (WG-PPLN) for sum frequency generation. It is required that the probe laser has a linewidth of the order of 1 Hz to fully resolve the Yb lattice clock transition. Thus, the linewidth of the probe laser was reduced by stabilizing the frequency to a super-cavity. This was made of ULE with a low thermal expansion coefficient, and was mounted on an active vibration-isolation table at the optimal point for the reduced sensitivity to vibration. Also, this was installed in a vacuum chamber, and the temperature was stabilized to 1 mK level. This system was installed in an acoustic enclosure to block acoustic noise. The finesse of the super-cavity was measured to be 380 000 from the photon life time of the cavity.

The aligned liquid crystals (LCs) display on SiNx thin films using ion-beam (IB) irradiation was studied with controllability of pretilt angle depending on incident energies of the IB. The LCs alignment property for the SiNx thin films were observed to verify the practical application potential. A good LCs alignment of vertical alignment LCs cells on SiNx thin film surfaces irradiated with incident IB energy of 1800eV was achieved. The atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of LCs on SiNx thin film surfaces irradiated with IB energy was used for the surface analysis.

We studied liquid crystal (LCs) alignment effects on homogeneous polyimide (PI) surfaces induced by polarised UV (PUV) exposure and rubbing in different directions. We found that the LC orientation is not affected by PUV exposure times of less than 90 min after rubbing, and that PUV exposure times over 90 min after rubbing resulted in LC orientations that were more closely aligned with the direction of PUV exposure than the direction of rubbing. Short-term PUV exposure affects the variation of the pretilt angle of the PI and LC. In addition, as PUV exposure time increases, it can convert the LC alignment direction from the rubbing direction to the PUV direction.

The weighted mean is widely used in combining data sets of experimental measurements with a weight proportional to the value of the data number divided by the sample variance in a conventional method. However, this standard procedure is not appropriate for obtaining the weighted mean frequency of a phase-stabilized signal with white phase noise, since the data are autocorrelated. The autocorrelation is obtained in the case of white phase noise and a new weighting method is proposed. Using this, the uncertainty associated with the weighted mean frequency of a phase-stabilized signal with white phase noise is given. The effect of counter dead-time is also discussed.

This study was carried out to screen and identify the chitinase and chitosanase producing microorganisms from the feces of calves medicated DFM sincluding chitin in order to do the immune fortification of Korean Native calves. Ten isolates were grown in the medium containing chitin and chitosan that had more than 10 5 cfu/g in feces. Among these 10 strains, 2 strains (HANDI 110 and HANDI 309) had the chitinase activities and 2 strains (HANWOO and HANYOO) had the chitosanase activities in calves' feces. They showed no reaction in hemolysis tests by utilizing chitin and chitosan. The results from morphological, physicochemical and genetical identification indicated the HANDI 110 as a strain of Escherichia fergusonii, HANDI 309 was identified as a strain of Acinetobacter parvus, HANWOO was identified as a strain of Comamonas koreensis, and HANYOO as a strain of Chryseobacterium indologenes.

We investigated the electrical properties of polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin film transistors (TFTs) employing field-enhanced solid phase crystallization (FESPC). An n+ amorphous silicon (n+ a-Si) layer was deposited to improve the contact resistance between the active Si and source/drain (S/D) metal instead of ion doping. By using C–V measurement method, we could explain the diffused phosphorous ions (P+ ions) on the channel surface caused a negatively shifted threshold voltage (VTH) of −7.81 V at a drain bias of 0.1 V, and stretched out a subthreshold swing (S) of 1.698 V/dec. This process was almost compatible with the widely used hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) TFT fabrication process and also offers a better uniformity when compared to the conventional laser-crystallized poly-Si TFT process because of non-laser crystallization.

Camptothecin (CPT) is a naturally occurring alkaloid that shows promise in antitumor activity in vitro against various tumor cell lines. Its potential clinical uses, however, are hindered by a lack of reaction selectivity and poor water solubility. Presented herein is a novel polyrotaxane (PR)-based delivery system that could potentially lead to a highly effective yet less toxic CPT therapy. The approach involves the synthesis of the PR-CPT conjugates via hydrolyzable linkages. To enhance the therapeutic efficacy of CPT, a cell-penetrating peptide, LMWP, is linked to the conjugate to allow specific, intratumoral delivery of CPT. To avoid nonselective uptake of the conjugates by normal tissues following administration, the cell-penetrating function of LMWP on the conjugates is masked by heparin binding. This system was designed such that after accumulation at the tumor via the enhanced permeability and retention (EPR) effect, protamine can be subsequently administered to unmask heparin inhibition on LMWP, permitting intracellular uptake of the LMWP-PR-CPT conjugates. Once inside the tumor, CPT molecules are detached from the PR chain by hydrolysis, yielding a sustained concentration of CPT within tumor cells. In this paper, we demonstrated the in vitro feasibility of this delivery system. The LMWP-PR-CPT conjugates yielded a sevenfold increase in the overall CPT solubility, as well as a sustained release of CPT over a period of more than 7 days. Intracellular uptake of these conjugates by A2780 human ovarian cancer cells and regulation of such uptake by heparin and protamine were tested by MTT assay and confocal/flow cytometric methods, respectively.

A new method for fabricating large-area well-aligned ZnMgO nanowire arrays, using radio frequency (RF) magnetron co-sputtering, is reported. ZnO nanowire arrays, prepared by metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD), were used as seed layers for ZnMgO nanowires. For the fabrication of ZnMgO nanowires, RF powers and sputtering pressure were varied to control the supersaturation condition and the kinetic energies of the sputtered materials. Vertically aligned ZnMgO nanowires with [0 0 0 1] preferred orientation were obtained at a working pressure of 20 × 10−3 Torr, RF power of 50 W and 15 W for ZnO and Mg targets, respectively. Crystallinity of the nanostructures were improved with rapid thermal annealing (RTA) at 900 °C. Furthermore, the blue shift in the near-band-edge emission of RTA-treated ZnMgO nanowires was observed during photoluminescence study.

We have synthesized new human body motions from existing motion data, by dividing the body of an animated character into several parts, such as upper and lower body, and partitioning the motion of the character into corresponding partial motions. By combining different partial motions, we can generate new motion sequences. We select the most natural-looking combinations by analyzing the similarity of partial motions, using techniques such as motion segmentation, dimensionality reduction, and clustering. These new combinations can dramatically increase the size of a motion database, allowing more score in selecting motions to meet constraints, such as collision avoidance. We verify the naturalness and physical plausibility of the new motions using an SVM learning model and by analysis of static and dynamic balance.

We fabricate a low noise erbium-doped fiber ring laser that can be continuously tuned over 102 nm by insertion of the fiber Fabry–Perot tunable filter (FFP-TF) in the ring cavity with a novel cavity structure and the optimal gain medium length. As an application of this fiber ring laser, we performed the absorption spectroscopy of acetylene (13C2H2) and hydrogen cyanide (H13C14N) and measure the absorption spectra of more than 50 transition lines of these gases with an excellent signal to noise ratio (SNR). The pressure broadening coefficients of four acetylene transition lines are obtained using this fiber ring laser and an external cavity laser diode.

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is a potent chemoattractant for leukocytes and considered to be an inflammatory mediator. Human BLT2 (hBLT2) is a low-affinity G-protein coupled receptor for LTB4 and mediates pertussis toxin-sensitive chemotactic cell movement. Here, we dissected the interaction between hBLT2 and G-protein alpha subunits using GST fusion proteins containing intracellular regions of hBLT2 and various Gα protein including Gα i1, Gα i2, Gα i3, Gα s1, Gα o1, and Gα z. Among the tested Gα subunits, Gα i3 showed the highest binding to the third intracellular loop region of hBLT2 with a dissociation constant (KD) of 5.0 × 10?6 M. These results suggest that Gα i3 has the highest affinity to hBLT2, and the third intracellular loop region of hBLT2 is the major component for the interaction with Gα i3.

A new low power consumption amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) TFT level shifter is designed and verified by SPICE simulation. The a-Si:H TFT level shifter employing cascade inverters successfully shifts low voltage (5 V) to high voltage (23 V) by employing a bootstrapping method. Proposed a-Si:H TFT level shifter has considerably reduced the power consumption by 50% compared with the conventional one (8.03 mW) due to connection of clock pulse on the diode connected node and bootstrapping method. The proposed level shifter may be suitable for mobile display applications.

Highly stable voltage programmed a-Si:H TFT pixel circuit for AMOLED, which employs both Vth-compensation and negative bias annealing, is proposed and fabricated. Experimental results, after 60 hours electrical stress at elevated temperature (60°C) show that the OLED current stability in the proposed pixel is considerably improved compared with a conventional 2-TFT pixel, Vth-compensated pixel, and negative bias annealed pixel, respectively. The proposed pixel can reduce the degradation of a-Si:H TFT by employing negative bias annealing store Vth of a-Si:H TFT so that highly stable and uniform a-Si:H TFT backplane for AMOLED. Our proposed pixel may be suitable for highly stable AMOLED employing the a-Si:H TFT.

We developed an optical pumping magnetometer system for magnetocardiography (MCG). The basic system requirements for measuring MCG are as follows: a 5-muT weak bias field in a magnetically shielded room, a 20-mm cell for spatial resolution, and a 30-Hz bandwidth for heart signals. In order to reduce the environmental magnetic noise, a double-cell gradiometer configuration has been adopted. The measured noise level was ~10 pT/radicHz. By switching current flows through a symmetrical three-axis rectangular Helmholtz coil set, the system is designed to measure three vector components of the magnetic field gradient. We show that this configuration reduces the error in current dipole localization with respect to the usual normal component detection by computer simulation of confidence-region estimation. Based on the simulation, we suggest that the system is applicable for diagnosing myocardial infarction on the anterior wall of a human heart in coronary artery disease

CKII plays a significant role in cell proliferation and cell cycle control. In this report, yeast two-hybrid assay and pull-down assay demonstrate that CKBBP2/CRIF1 associates with the beta subunit of CKII in vitro and in vivo. Recombinant CKBBP2/CRIF1 is phosphorylated in vitro by purified CKII and by CKII inhibitor apigenin-sensitive protein kinase in HEK293 cell extract. Phosphoamino acid analysis and mutational analysis indicate that CKII phosphorylates serine at residue 221 within CKBBP2/CRIF1. Furthermore, serine to alanine mutation at residue 221 abrogates the phosphorylation of CKBBP2/CRIF1 observed in HEK293 cell extract, indicating that CKII is a major kinase that is responsible for phosphorylation of CKBBP2/CRIF1. As compared with the wild-type CKBBP2/CRIF1 or nonphosphorylatable mutant CKBBP2(S221A) (in which the serine-221 is replaced by alanine), overexpression of CKBBP2(S221E) in COS7 cells promotes cell proliferation. Taken together, the present results suggest that CKII may be involved in cell proliferation, at least in part, through the phosphorylation of serine-221 within CKBBP2/CRIF1.

Ballistocardiographs (BCGs), which record the mechanical activity of the heart, have been a subject of interest for several years because of their advantages in providing unobtrusive physiological measurements. BCGs could also be useful for monitoring the biological signals of infants without the need for physical confinement. In this study, we describe a physiological signal monitoring bed based on load cells and assess an algorithm to extract the heart rate and breathing rate from the measured load-cell signals. Four infants participated in a total of 13 experiments. As a reference signal, electrocardiogram and respiration signals were simultaneously measured using a commercial device. The proposed automatic algorithm then selected the optimal sensor from which to estimate the heartbeat and respiration information. The results from the load-cell sensor signals were compared with those of the reference signals, and the heartbeat and respiration information were found to have average performance errors of 2.55% and 2.66%, respectively. The experimental results verify the positive feasibility of BCG-based measurements in infants.

Intercellular bridges are a conserved feature of spermatogenesis in mammalian germ cells and derive from arresting cell abscission at the final stage of cytokinesis. However, it remains to be fully understood how germ cell abscission is arrested in the presence of general cytokinesis components. The TEX14 (testis-expressed gene 14) protein is recruited to the midbody and plays a key role in the inactivation of germ cell abscission. To gain insights into the structural organization of TEX14 at the midbody, we have determined the crystal structures of the EABR [endosomal sorting complex required for transport (ESCRT) and ALIX-binding region] of CEP55 bound to the TEX14 peptide (or its chimeric peptides) and performed functional characterization of the CEP55–TEX14 interaction by multiexperiment analyses. We show that TEX14 interacts with CEP55-EABR via its AxGPPx3Y (Ala793, Gly795, Pro796, Pro797, and Tyr801) and PP (Pro803 and Pro804) sequences, which together form the AxGPPx3YxPP motif. TEX14 competitively binds to CEP55-EABR to prevent the recruitment of ALIX, which is a component of the ESCRT machinery with the AxGPPx3Y motif. We also demonstrate that a high affinity and a low dissociation rate of TEX14 to CEP55, and an increase in the local concentration of TEX14, cooperatively prevent ALIX from recruiting ESCRT complexes to the midbody. The action mechanism of TEX14 suggests a scheme of how to inactivate the abscission of abnormal cells, including cancer cells.

We report the absolute frequency values of all (ten) hyperfine transitions of $5{P}_{3/2}\ensuremath{-}4{D}_{5/2}$ and $5{P}_{3/2}\ensuremath{-}4{D}_{3/2}$ for $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ and $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ atoms via the use of an optical frequency comb by measuring the frequency of a laser diode stabilized onto the line centers of the double-resonance optical pumping spectra. Here we report on the absolute frequencies for the two transitions $[{}^{85}\mathrm{Rb},\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}5{P}_{3/2}({F}^{\ensuremath{'}}=4)\ensuremath{-}4{D}_{5/2}\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}({F}^{\ensuremath{'}\ensuremath{'}}=3,4)]$. Furthermore, the frequency uncertainties are reduced significantly for the other transitions. Moreover, the magnetic dipole and the electric quadrupole hyperfine structure constants of $4{D}_{5/2}$ for $^{87}\mathrm{Rb}$ and $^{85}\mathrm{Rb}$ are determined by using the measured values of the absolute frequency.

International audience; We theoretically and experimentally investigate relevant noise processes arising in optical fiber links, which fundamentally limit their relative stability. We derive the unsuppressed delay noise for three configurations of optical links: two-way method, Sagnac interferometry, and actively compensated link, respectively designed for frequency comparison, rotation sensing, and frequency transfer. We also consider an alternative two-way setup allowing real-time frequency comparison and demonstrate its effectiveness on a proof-of-principle experiment with a 25-km fiber spool. For these three configurations, we analyze the noise arising from uncommon fiber paths in the interferometric ensemble and design optimized interferometers. We demonstrate interferometers with very low temperature sensitivity of respectively -2.2, -0.03 and 1 fs/K. We use one of these optimized interferometers on a long haul compensated fiber link of 540 km. We obtain a relative frequency stability of 3x10^-20 after 10,000 s of integration time.

We analyze both the s- and p-wave collision induced frequency shifts and propose a over-$\pi$ pulse scheme to cancel the shifts in optical lattice clocks interrogated by a Rabi pulse. The collisional frequency shifts are analytically solved as a function of the pulse area and the inhomogeneity of the Rabi frequencies. Experimentally measured collisional frequency shifts in an Yb optical lattice clock are in good agreement with the analytical calculations. Based on our analysis, the over-$\pi$ pulse combined with a small inhomogeneity below 0.1 allows a fractional uncertainty on a level of $10^{-18}$ in both Sr and Yb optical lattice clocks by canceling the collisional frequency shift., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Human nucleolar phosphoprotein p140 (hNopp140) is a nucleolar phosphoprotein that can bind to doxorubicin, an anti-cancer agent. We have examined the interaction between hNopp140 and doxorubicin as well as the folding property of hNopp140. Also, the effects of ATP and phosphorylation on the affinity of hNopp140 to doxorubicin are investigated by affinity dependent co-precipitation and surface plasmon resonance methods. Doxorubicin preferentially binds to un-phosphorylated form of hNopp140 with a KD value of 3.3 x 10(-7) M. Furthermore, doxorubicin reduces the protein kinase CK2-dependent phosphorylation of hNopp140, indicating that doxorubicin may perturb the cellular function of hNopp140 by reducing the protein kinase CK2-dependent phosphorylation of hNopp140. Low contents of the secondary structures of hNopp140 and the fast rate of proteolysis imply that hNopp140 has a high percentage of flexible regions or extended loop structures.

An L-shaped dual-gate device structure, which reduces kink current in polycrystalline silicon thin-film transistors (poly-Si TFTs), has been proposed and fabricated. In the proposed device, the poly-Si TFTs have a lateral grain growth in channels such as TFTs fabricated by sequential lateral solidification (SLS) or CW laser crystallization. The current flow of dual TFTs is strongly affected by grain boundaries showing lateral grain growth. The L-shaped dual gate structure is employed for asymmetry between dual channels. One of the channels is located in a parallel direction of grain growth and the other is located vertically. It is verified by experiment that the proposed L-shaped dual-gate TFT reduced the kink current of poly-Si TFT and showed improved reliability by fixed current flow in the saturation mode.

In tissue engineering and wound-healing applications, dermal substitutes are used to provide fibroblasts with the mechanical support for their growth and then to facilitate the skin formation. In this study, three-dimensional porous poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) 65/35 scaffolds were prepared and then the composites of the scaffolds and human fetal dermal fibroblasts were fabricated as a tissue-engineered dermal substitute. The function and tissue compatibility of the artificial dermal substitute were evaluated at the levels of gene expression (by RT-PCR) and protein expression (total collagen quantities), as well as by histological and immunohistochemical analysis. The PCR products indicated that the mRNA of type-I collagen, mainly secreted by the fibroblasts onto the PLGA scaffolds, was clearly expressed after 4 weeks. The amount of total collagen synthesized from the cells was shown to increase gradually during the initial culture period and slightly decreased afterwards. After 8 weeks of culture, the fibroblasts were well attached and migrated entirely throughout the pores of the PLGA scaffold with normal function. Furthermore, the positively stained type-I collagen was intensively detected throughout the pores. These results suggest that the function and tissue compatibility may be important criteria in evaluating an artificial tissue-engineered skin.

We have observed the nonlinear magneto-optic effect(NMOE) based on atomic coherence in Rb D-line using the Rb vapor cell containing 50 Torr of Ne. The width of the NMOE signal was measured to be 2464 Hz, when the peak-to-peak B-field variation was 1 mGauss. The result of this work may be applied to a high-sensitivity magnetometer.

The HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein transmembrane subunit, gp41, mediates the fusion of viral and target cell membranes. The 2 helical regions in the ectodomain of gp41, the N-helix and the C-helix, form a helical bundle complex that has been suggested as a fusion-active conformation. Previously, an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method had been established to measure the interaction of 2 helical regions of gp41. In this study, the ELISA method was modified to apply high-throughput screening (HTS) of an organic compound library. A few compounds had been identified to prevent the interaction between 2 helical regions of gp41, and they were further shown to inhibit the gp41-mediated viral infection. In addition, they specifically quenched the fluorescence of tryptophan in the N-helix region, indicating that these compounds bound to the N-helix rather than the C-helix of gp41. These results suggested that this assay method targeting gp41 could be used for HTS of HIV fusion inhibitors. (Journal of Biom...

A novel enzyme drug delivery system, Antibody, Targeted, Triggered, Electrically, Modified, Prodrug, Type, Strategy ("ATTEMPTS"), was developed in our laboratory to attenuate the toxicity associated with drug activity at non-targeted tissues. Tissue plasminogen activator is a prime example of an enzyme drug that exhibits systemic toxicity due to its indiscriminate activation of both targeted (i.e., clot-bound) and non-targeted (i.e., systemic) plasminogen. In brief, tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) was modified to contain positive surface charges and then rendered inactive upon electrostatic binding with a negatively charged heparin-antifibrin antibody conjugate. After targeting the complex to the clot site, t-PA activity was restored by administration of protamine, a clinical heparin antidote. Cation-modified t-PA (CM-tPA) was obtained by chemical conjugation of t-PA with a poly(Arg)7Cys peptide using the crosslinker N-succinimidyl 3-2-(pyridlydithio)propionate (SPDP). Anti-fibrin IgG was chemically conjugated with heparin via oxidation of the carbohydrate moiety on its Fc region. Both in vitro characterization and in vivo studies using a rat thrombosis model clearly demonstrated that heparin-IgG conjugate induced inhibition of CM-tPA could be effectively reversed upon addition of protamine. Overall, the ATTEMPTS system was proven to induce clot dissolution without causing t-PA associated systemic toxicity due to the degradation of critical plasma factors by systemic plasmin production.

We report the fabrication of a discretely tunable erbium-doped fiber ring laser with a novel scheme that can select ITU-T grids of 50-GHz spacing in both C and L bands. Wavelength selections of 273 channels are demonstrated with a signal to source spontaneous emission ratio of 60 dB/nm and excellent power flatness over 111-nm bandwidth. This was realized by incorporating both a solid Fabry–Perot interferometer and a fiber Fabry–Perot tunable filter into the ring laser. To our knowledge, our experimental result has the widest tuning range ever reported for a discretely tunable fiber laser with 50-GHz channel spacing that matches the ITU-T grids and is the first equipment that can operate in both C and L bands.

Using the external cavity spectroscopy method, we have observed the saturated absorption spectrum of the P(16) line of the v $_1$ +v $_3$ band of $^{13}C $_2$ H $_2$ $ . The frequency of a laser has been stabilized to the saturated absorption spectrum. The relative contrast of the saturation spectrum is about 7% with respect to the linear absorption and the linewidth is about 1.8 MHz. The frequency fluctuation of the stabilized LD is about $\pm$ 20 KHz for a sampling time of 100 ms.

We developed an a‐Si TFT‐LCD panel with integrated gate driver circuit using a standard 5‐MASK process. To minimize the effect of the a‐Si TFT current and LC's capacitance variation with temperature, we developed a new a‐Si TFT circuit structure and minimized coupling capacitance by changing vertical architecture above gate driver circuit. Integration of gate driver circuit on glass substrate enables single chip and 3‐side free panel structure in a‐Si TFT‐LCD of QVGA (240 × 320) resolution. And using double ASG structure the dead space of TFT‐LCD panel could be further decreased.

Highly porous poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) hydrogel scaffolds crosslinked with hydrolyzable polyrotaxane for cartilage tissue engineering were prepared by a solvent casting/salt leaching technique. The resultant scaffolds have well interconnected microporous structures ranging from 87 to 90%. Pore sizes ranging from 115.5–220.9 μm appeared to be dependent on the size of the sieved sodium chloride particulates. Moreover, a dense surface skin layer was not found on either side of the scaffold surfaces. Using microscopic Alcian blue staining of the chondrocyte-seeded scaffolds, well adhered cells and newly produced glycosaminoglycans (GAG) were confirmed. Following the initial chondrocyte seeding onto the hydrogel scaffolds, the cell number was significantly increased, reaching 149, 877, and 1228 cells/mg of tissue at 8, 15, and 21 days in culture, respectively. The micrograph shows well adhered and spread chondrocytes in the interior pores and a cartilaginous extracellular matrix with a GAG fraction produced from the chondrocytes. Results suggest that the PEG hydrogel scaffolds crosslinked with the hydrolyzable polyrotaxane are a promising candidate for chondrocyte culture. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Biomed Mater Res 67A: 1087–1092, 2003

We have prepared porous polyrotaxane hydrogels by using the salt leaching technique. Porous hydrogels were found to have a uniform and highly porous structure. The size of pores in each hydrogel was directly proportional to the size of the sodium chloride particle used. Structural uniformity of the hydrogels is useful not only for uniform cell distribution, but also for well-controlled material properties. Uniform pore size and distribution may ensure the diffusion of nutrients throughout of the gel and the removal of metabolic wastes from the system. The results of an erosion study in phosphate-buffered saline showed that the erosion time of porous polyrotaxane hydrogels was controlled by the poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) content in the hydrogels. The erosion time of the porous polyrotaxane hydrogel was observed to be almost the same with the non-porous polyrotaxane hydrogel with the same PEG content. From the erosion study, the erosion time of the polyrotaxane hydrogel may be independent of its morphology. Easy control of the erosion time in the polyrotaxane hydrogels is useful in the preparation of scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Thermodynamic analysis of inclusion complexation between α-cyclodextrin-based molecular tube (MT) and poly(ethylene oxide)-block-poly(tetrahydrofuran)-block-poly(ethylene oxide) triblock copolymer (PEO-b-PTHF-b-PEO) was carried out in terms of isothermal titration calorimetry. As for the titration of MT to PEO in aqueous solution, no strong exothermic peak was observed. On the contrary, strong exothermic peaks were observed for the titration of MT to PEO-b-PTHF-b-PEO in aqueous solution, which is attributable to inclusion complexation between MT and the triblock copolymer. Thermodynamic parameters were obtained for the process of inclusion complexation between MT and PEO-b-PTHF-b-PEO by changing the molecular weight of MT and the temperature. The stoichiometry of inclusion complexation changes in relation to the molecular weight of MT. Interestingly, it was found that MT with a large molecular weight behaves as the host molecule having multibinding sites. Thermodynamic parameters suggested that van der Wa...

We performed the experiment of self-induced transparency in samarium atomic vapor under the condition of high temperature and high density. The sudden onset of the transmission, the maximum pulse delay and the pulse broadening were observed with π pulse. With this result we estimate the dipole moment of the transition line for 152Sm. The peak amplification, the pulse narrowing and the pulse breakup were observed when the pulse area was above 3π. These observations are strong evidences of self-induced transparency. Our result is the observation of self-induced transparency under the highest-temperature, highest-density condition and the first observation of this phenomenon in samarium vapor to our knowledge.

Poly(propylene glycol) (PPG)-grafted dextran was synthesized by conjugating amino-terminated PPG with hydroxyl groups of dextran, and its inclusion complexation property was investigated. The average number of grafted PPG per dextran was changeable in the range of 1.1 to 38.5. The formation of inclusion complexes between the PPG grafts and β-cyclodextrins (β-CDs) and their crystalline structures were characterized by 13 C CP/MAS NMR and X-ray spectroscopies. These hydrogel systems showed a thermall reversible sol-gel transition based on supramolecular assembly and dissociation between host and guest moieties. The results of theological measurements and solgel transition temperature of the hydrogels suggested that the aggregate channel-type crystalline domain was critical to control the transition temperature in terms of initial feed molar ratio of PPG and β-CD and the graft number of PPG constituents. These thermoreversible hydrogel systems showed rapid gelation properties, which may be useful for biomedical application, especially injectable drug deliver systems.