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A mathematical model for American put option and European options with uncertainty is presented and the randomness and fuzziness are evaluated by both probabilistic expectation and fuzzy expectation defined by a possibility measure from the viewpoint of fuzzy expectation, taking account of decision-maker's subjective judgement. Two models in American options with uncertainty, the case with an expiration date and the perpetual option case, are dealt with under a reasonable assumption. Prices of European call/put options with uncertainty are given and their valuation and properties are discussed under a reasonable assumption. The buyer's/writer's (seller's) rational range of optimal expected price in the options are presented and the meaning and properties of the optimal expected prices are discussed. The hedging strategies are also considered for marketability of the European options for portfolio selection.

An optimal stopping problem is discussed in a continuous-time process defined by fuzzy random variables. Fuzzy random variables are evaluated by both probabilistic expectation and fuzzy expectation defined by a possibility measure. An optimality equation and an optimal stopping time are given for the process. A numerical example is also given to apply it to a financial model.

A nickel-catalyzed heteroannulation has been developed where o-haloanilines react with alkynes to afford 2,3-disubstituted indoles. IPr (1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene) was found ...

Background Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is an autoimmune and inflammatory disorder of joints, which characterized with periarticular bone resorption. Recently cross-disciplinary field osteoimmunology was established because of reciprocal interactions between the immune and skeletal systems. To date, it is well known that inflammatory cytokines such as IL-6 and TNF stimulate bone resorption directly or through RANKL pathway. Recently semaphorins are thought to be new players in osteoimmunology. Sema4D that is produced by osteoclasts inhibits osteoblastgenesis and Sema3A that is produced by osteoblasts inhibits osteoclastgenesis. We previously reported Sema4D activate not only B cells, but also macrophage/monocytes, and induce proinflammatory cytokine production. These findings suggest that Sema4D plays an important role in the pathogenesis of RA and become a promising therapeutic target of RA. Objectives To investigate the role of Sema4D in RA patients. Methods The soluble Sema4D levels in sera and synovial fluid from patients with RA and osteoarthritis (OA) were measured by ELISA. Synovial fluid cells and peripheral blood cells from patients with RA were analyzed by flow cytometry. Sema4D expression of synovium were also observed by histological and immunohistochemical methods. Results Serum levels of soluble Sema4D were increased in RA in comparison to healthy individuals (11.1±8.5 ng/ml and 5.7±2.7 ng/ml, respectively; p Conclusions Soluble Sema4D was shown to be elevated in RA and is derived from T cells and monocytes in peripheral blood and synovial fluid by shedding from cell surface. Increased soluble Sema4D may play an important role in immune activation and bone resorpotion in RA. Disclosure of Interest None declared DOI 10.1136/annrheumdis-2014-eular.3513

The nanolevel molecular structure of a bulk heterojunction (BHJ) with a donor (D) polymer and acceptor (A) fullerene derivative is indispensable for true comprehension of highly efficient organic photovoltaic devices. Here, we performed scanning transmission X-ray microscopy of a poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene-co-bithiophene) (F8T2)/[6,6]-phenyl C71-butyric acid methyl ester (PC71BM) blend film with periodic nanostructure. The spatially resolved carbon K-edge absorption spectra revealed that the nanostructure consists of two types of domains with considerable molecular mixing. The fullerene mass fraction is 71 ± 1 and 33 ± 2 wt % for the PC71BM- and F8T2-rich domains, respectively.

Indium–gallium–zinc oxide (IGZO) nanoparticles that can act as an oxide semiconductor were successfully synthesized using a coprecipitation method via the hydrolysis of urea in aqueous media containing ethylene glycol. The resulting IGZO precursor nanoparticles contain crystalline indium hydroxide and zinc–gallium carbonate. Sintering the precursor nanoparticles at temperatures higher than 300 °C provides amorphous IGZO nanoparticles, while poly-crystalline IGZO nanoparticles are obtained at temperatures above 700 °C. Poly-crystalline IGZO ink was prepared using the IGZO nanoparticles for the fabrication of a thin film transistor (TFT). Annealing at temperatures higher than 400 °C for 30 min gives the desired TFT switching properties due to the removal of the organic fraction contained in the ink.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of uterine cancer screening by analyzing the accuracy of cervical and endometrial cytodiagnoses as screening methods. STUDY DESIGN: During the year of April 1, 1991-March 31, 1992, 186,161 and 5,697 women underwent cervical and endometrial cytodiagnoses, respectively, and their cytodiagnostic results were computer registered at the Miyagi Cancer Society. By comparison of these examinees with 753 cancer patients who were registered at the regional cancer registry between 1991 and 1993, 133 individuals who were assumed to be identical between the two systems were selected, and of these cases, 83 patients, including test-positive cases, were found within one year. The sensitivity and specificity of each screening method were investigated. RESULTS: Regarding examinees diagnosed as having cancer by the same month in the following year after diagnosis on screening as false negative, the sensitivity, specificity and false negative rates of cervical cytodiagnosis were 94.7%, 98.9% and 5.3%, respectively, and those of endometrial cytodiagnosis were 83.3%, 96.7% and 16.7%, respectively. CONCLUSION: In comparison with the accuracy of cancer examinations for other organs performed by the health care administration, the accuracy of cervical and endometrial cytodiagnoses was sufficient to designate them screening methods.

The films of dodecyl chain-linked C60 via ortho, meta and para positions on a phenyl group (o-C12, m-C12 and p-C12) were prepared by casting the carbon disulfide solutions on the amorphous carbon coated silicon substrates. Out-of-plane and in-plane structures of these cast films were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXD) methods, respectively. As a result of XRD measurement, it was revealed that all the cast films take multilayer structures and the period of the layer structure of the o-C12 film (32.5 A) is much larger than that of the m-C12 (23.2 A) or the p-C12 (23.3 A) film. By GIXD measurement, it was found that C60 moieties form two-dimensional arrangement of the square lattice (a=10.1 A,γ=90°) and pack densely in all the cast films.

Concerning with the topics of fuzzy decision processes, a brief survey on ordering of fuzzy numbers on ℝ is presented and an extension to that of fuzzy sets(numbers) on ℝ n are considered. This extension is a pseudo order ≼ K defined by a non-empty closed convex cone K and characterized by the projection into its dual cone K +. Especially a structure of the lattice is presented on the class of pyramid-type fuzzy sets. Moreover, we study the convergence of a sequence of fuzzy sets on ℝ n which is monotone w.r.t. the order ≼ K . Our study is carried out by restricting the class of fuzzy sets into the subclass in which the order ≼ K becomes a partial order so that a monotone convergence theorem is proved. This restricted subclass of fuzzy sets is created and characterized in the concept of a determining class. These results are applied to obtain the limit theorem for a sequence of fuzzy sets defined by the dynamic fuzzy system with a monotone fuzzy relation. Several figures are illustrated to comprehend our results.

Introduction of branched alkyl chains at the terminal positions of sexithiophene drastically improves the solubility of the compound, while still maintaining satisfactory charge carrier mobility. F...

The power-conversion-efficiency (PCE) limit was simulated for a planar vanadyl phthalocyanine (VOPc)/C60 heterojunction model device. On the basis of the transfer matrix method and exciton diffusion analysis, short-circuit current density (J sc) was simulated as a function of exciton diffusion length (L d). The model device was simulated to be operated in a wide wavelength range (300–950 nm). A large J sc up to 30 mA/cm2 was obtained at an L d of approximately 10 µm. On the basis of the estimated V oc values of 0.8–1.0 V, the PCE limit of the model device was calculated to be in the range of 17–22%, which is close to the reported results of thermodynamic analysis.

A fundamental difference between inorganic photovoltaic (IPV) and organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells is that charges are generated at the interface in OPV cells, while free charges can be generated in the bulk in IPV cells. In OPV cells, charge generation involves intrinsic energy losses to dissociate excitons at the interface between the donor and acceptor. By taking into account the energy losses, we show the theoretical limits of the power conversion efficiency set by radiative recombination of the carriers on the basis of the detailed balance relation between radiation from the cell and black-body radiation.

A new species of Bucklandia is described based on a permineralized fossil trunk that was obtained from sediments of Upper Cretaceous age from Hokkaido, Japan. The quality of preservation is exquisite, and anatomical and morphological features are preserved at the cellular level. The specimen is clearly bennettitalean because of the cycadeoidean-type arrangement of vascular bundles in the petiole. However, this specimen is unique among previously described progymnosperms and gymnosperms in possessing a unilacunar five-trace type of nodal structure. The fossil thus contributes to a more complete understanding of the variation of nodal structure in bennettitalean trunks.

A milti-stage decision process with fuzzy transitions, which is termed fuzzy decision process, is discussed from a viewpoint of a dynamic fuzzy system which developed by the authors. In the fuzzy decision process, both state and action are assumed to be fuzzy, the inputs are given by decision/actions and the outputs are described by rewards. The discounted total reward is given by a fuzzy number and is characterized by a unique fixed point of a contraction map. The optimization problem of the discounted total rewards is discussed by a fuzzy expectation generated by a fuzzy goal and t-norms.

We are investigating well-ordered highly crystalline thin films made using organic molecular beam deposition (OMBD) since it is important to control the formation mechanism at the initial growth process. Then, we developed a new in situ technique of energy dispersive grazing incidence X-ray diffraction utilized within an ultrahigh vacuum system. This technique (in situ ED-GID) makes it possible to examine the crystal structure, orientation and morphology of organic thin films during deposition without any damage to the film. In the present review, we examined the growth process of thin films of functional organic dyes, fullerene (C60) and p-sexiphenyl (6P) by using this in situ ED-GID. The crystal strucutre and molecular orientation in epitaxially-grown thin films were confirmed during the initial stages of growth. Also, the morphology of C60 thin films was examined during the deposition. As a result, it was confirmed that the decay curves of X-ray fluorescence indicate different island growth in C60 thin films.

A large number of studies have been done for multiple quantum wells of inorganic semiconductor, because confined electronic system in a thin layer shows various properties essential for optoelectronic application. Since the quantum size effect increases when the electron system approaches lower dimension, fabrication of higher order confined structures has been attempted to advance the properties. On the other hand, there are many substances having one-dimensional structure in the nature. It can be thought that the one-dimensionality is prospective to realize a higher order confined system.

Background Semaphorins are involved in a wide range of biological processes, including neuronal axon guidance, angiogenesis, immune modulation and osteogenesis (1, 2). Semaphorin 3A (Sema3A) suppress osteoclast function and increase osteoblast function (3). Semaphorin 4D (Sema4D), which is expressed by osteoclast, suppress osteoblast function (4). Sema4D and 3A might be key mediators of osteoimmunology in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which have immune activation associated bone destruction. Objectives To determine the pathogenic role of Sema3A and Sema4D in RA, we evaluated the serum level of Sema3A and Sema4D in RA patients. Methods Concentrations of Sema3A and Sema4D in 102 RA patients and 26 normal controls were measured by ELISA (Mybiosource). Results The serum concentrations of Sema4D in RA patients and normal controls were 11.16±8.49 and 5.87±3.10ng/ml respectively (p Image/graph Conclusions Serum concentration of Sema3A and Sema4D were elevated in RA patients. In particular Sema4D showed association with disease activity, RF, and marker of bone metabolism. Semaphorins may play an important role in RA by immune activation, angiogenesis, increasing primary afferent sensory fibers with sympathetic nerve fiber repulsion in synovium, and bone destruction in joints. References Kumanogoh A et al. Immunity. 2000;13:621-31. Takamatsu H et al. Nat Immunol. 2010;11:594-600. Negishi-Koga T et al. Nat Med. 2011;17:1473-80. Hayashi M et al. Nature. 2012;485:69-74. Disclosure of Interest None Declared

The drying process of poly[3-hexylthiophene]:[6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (P3HT:PCBM) was observed by the real-time measurement of grazing-incidence wide-angle X-ray scattering and ultraviolet–visible absorption for various drying rates. A low drying rate led to high PCBM crystallinity and low P3HT crystallinity. On the other hand, a high drying rate led to low PCBM crystallinity and high P3HT crystallinity. These crystallinities directly affected photovoltaic performance. From these findings, we clarified the fundamental process of the formation of bulk heterojunctions and that drying rate control is an effective method for optimizing the morphology and performance.

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The application of molecular alignment to conjugated polymers offers a unique approach for constructing organic semiconductor devices. We made polymer thin film field-effect transistors (FET) by friction-transfer technique, based on regioregular poly(3-alkylthiophene) (P3AT). Friction-transferred films of P3AT were found to align approximately all of the polymer main-chains within a 9-13° range along the friction direction. When introduced in FET devices, the mobility anisotropies of 5-20 for current flow parallel and orthogonal to the friction direction has been observed. In addition, when compared with conventional isotropic FET devices of non-aligned P3AT films, they were found to enhance the mobility by a factor of 2-70.

Optical and electric properties of conducting polymers with heteroatoms in main chains have been studied. The strong photoluminescence (PL) with high quantum efficiency and PL lifetime have been clarified, and the spectral narrowing of blue emission in color has been observed by pulse photo-excitation. Intense blue electroluminescence (EL) has also been demonstrated.

Oriented layers of conjugated-polymers. poly(p-phenylene vinylene) and pol(3-dodecylthiophene). were fabricated on titania films by friction transfer method. The polymer chains were aligned along the friction direction in the substrate plane. the photoelectric properties of the polymer/titania were measured under the polarized light. Photocurrent was enhanced under the polarized light with the electric vector parallel to the chain direction than orthogonal-polarized light. This device can be used as a polarized light detector.

We investigated electronic effects of an ultrathin LiF interlayer on device properties of copper(II) perfluorophthalocyanine (F 16 CuPc)-based field effect transistors (FETs) with Al source and drain electrodes. We observed FET operation only for the device with LiF/Al bilayer electrodes. We concluded that an effective electronic contact was formed between Al and F 16 CuPc layer by the presence of the LiF layer, which prevented the F 16 CuPc layer from reacting with Al and n-doped with dissociated Li atoms in the vicinity of the source and drain electrodes.

To improve the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of polymer solar devices, we introduced a highly crystalline nanocrystal titanium oxide layer (nc-TiO2 layer) that was formed by spin-coating a dispersed liquid of precrystallized titanium oxide nanoparticles. The nc-TiO2 layer can be formed more easily and with a higher reproducibility than the TiO x layer formed by a conventional low-temperature sol–gel method. By inserting the nc-TiO2 layer, the PCE was significantly improved from 2.70 to 3.91%. The nc-TiO2 layer enabled a larger decrease in internal resistance than the TiO x layer; thus, the nc-TiO2 layer acts as an effective hole-blocking layer and optical spacer.

We demonstrate phase separation of co-evaporated zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and fullerene (C60) for efficient organic photovoltaic cells. With introducing a poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) film and a crystalline copper iodide film on indium tin oxide, 20-nm-thick ZnPc film adopts a lying-down crystalline geometry with grain sizes of about 50 nm. This surface distributed with strong interaction areas and weak interaction areas enables the selective growth of ZnPc and C60 molecules during following co-evaporation, which not only results in a phase separation but also improve the crystalline growth of C60. This blend film greatly enhances the efficiencies in photocurrent generation and carrier transport, resulting in a high power conversion efficiency of 4.56% under 1 sun.

Zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) thin films are vacuum-evaporated on bare indium-tin-oxide (ITO) coated glass by varying substrate temperature and growth rate. The samples are characterized by atomic force microscopy, x-ray diffraction, and infrared spectroscopy. The temperature does not play a clear role in the crystalline growth of ZnPc possibly due to the significant structural defects on ITO surface, while it strongly influences the surface morphology and molecular alignment. The relationships between growth characteristics and performances of photovoltaics with planar heterojunction are discussed in detail. Increasing temperature or growth rate leads to a rougher surface morphology, which enables more donor/accepter interface area for photocurrent generation. Moreover, at elevated temperature, more molecules adopt standing-up geometry, resulting in a reduction in overall efficiency. The results imply that low-temperature process in order to control the molecular alignment is preferred for efficient organic photovoltaics. By simply increasing the growth rate of ZnPc up to 0.40 Å/s at room temperature, ZnPc/C60 planar heterojunction shows an efficiency of 1.66, compared to 1.24 for the cell when ZnPc is prepared at 0.10 Å/s. © 2012 American Institute of Physics.

Background A humanized anti-interleukin-6 receptor, tocilizumab, has been approved as a biological drug for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis and Castleman's disease. Since dysregulation of IL-6 production also plays a pathologic role in other various autoimmune and allergic diseases, we tested whether tocilizumab might have beneficial effect on refractory autoimmune or allergic diseases to conventional treatment regimens. Methods After informed consent by patients and approval by the Ethics Committee of Osaka University Hospital were obtained, patients were treated with tocilizumab at 8 mg/kg every 4 weeks. Results The diseases for which off-label use of tocililizumab was performed included amyloid A amyloidosis, relapsing polychondritis, systemic sclerosis, HLA-B27 positive spondyloarthritis such as reactive arthritis and psoriatic arthritis, polymyalgia rheumatica and polymyositis. After 3 injections of tocilizumab amyloid fibril deposits in the colon disappeared in a patient with gastrointestinal AA amyloidosis, who was resistant to anti-TNF drugs and disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. In 2 patients with refractory relapsing polychondritis, the continuous tocilizumab treatment for more than 3 years could ameliorate clinical symptoms related to upper and lower airways and stabilize the disease activity. The skin sclerosis of 2 patients with systemic sclerosis became softened with reductions of 52 and 23% in the modified Rodnan total skin score by the tocilizumab treatment. Two administrations of tocilizumab led to the disappearance of joint swelling, pain and complete resolution of symptoms in a patient with refractory reactive arthritis to several therapeutic regimens for 4 years, whereas 2 patients with severe psoriatic arthritis did hardly respond to tocilizumab. In a patient with polymyalgia rheumatica, the tocilizumab treatment caused a reduction of the disease activity score (PMR-AS) from 22.14 to 0.74, indicating remission. Creatine phosphokinase normalized by 2 patients with polymyositis who had been resistant to corticosteroids and immunosuppressive drugs, in association with the disappearance of the high intensity zones in the thigh muscles on MR images. Conclusions These clinical effects of tocilizumab suggest that it may be an optional treatment for refractory autoimmune or allergic diseases although further clinical trails will be essential.

Thin films of (VDF/TrFE) copolymer were prepared by a vacuum deposition method under an electric field. Particularly, the molecular orientation was controlled to obtain the films with uniaxial dipole orientation. Also, to get the films with much higher crystallinity, a newly synthesized VDF telomer, low molecular weight sample of PVDF, was used as a deposition source. Here, the evaluation of the crystal structure and molecular orientation in the vacuum deposited films were conducted by means of a recently developed total reflection X-ray difftactometer and FT-IR. The results revealed that the films form the crystals similar to form II of PVDF and the molecular orientation is normal to the substrate. Moreover, it was revealed that the molecular orientation changes from normal to parallel to the substrate at the substrate temperature below - 30 °C.

An epitaxial growth of paraffin molecules (n-C33H68) vacuum evaporated onto a KCl(001) surface was investigated by the newly developed total reflection x-ray diffractometer. The results revealed that the epitaxially grown crystals arranged their long chain axes parallel to the KCl(001) surface and along the direction of the KC1 crystal. Moreover, the orientational distribution was evaluated from the variations of integrated intensities, revealing that the molecular orientation altered by the interaction between the adsorbed molecules and the single crystal substrate.

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Spectroscopic features of various thiophene/phenylene co-oligomers have been investigated using their thin films with the vertical molecular alignment. A sharpened spectral line clearly shows up in the incident-angle dependent polarised absorption spectra. We seek the origin of this line from the Davydov transition. The magnitude of its splitting is estimated both experimentally and theoretically.

The carrier transport was investigated depending upon the processes of film preparation in regioregular poly(3-alkylthiophene)s (PATs). The relatively non-dispersive characteristics of photocarrier transport were obtained in drop-cast film. In spin-coated film the transient photocurrent was strong dispersive in contrast. The dispersivity was also slightly increased with the alkyl chain length. The X-ray profiles showed the large crystallinity and the absorption spectra showed the red-shift of peaks in drop-cast film. These results indicate that the dispersivity of carrier transport in PATs is strongly affected by the casting processes of PAT film.

Novel small-molecule organic photovoltaic cell structures with pentacene and fullerene multilayers are reported. Pentacene is an attractive material for photovoltaic cells, but it tends to crystallize with molecular orientation during vacuum deposition. Therefore, thus far, it has been difficult to fabricate a bulk-heterojunction active layer with fullerenes by coevaporation, despite the demand for pentacene/fullerene bilayer heterojunction cells owing to their good photovoltaic performance. Here, instead of preparing an active layer by coevaporation, we prepare a pentacene and fullerene multilayer-heterojunction active layer by alternating evaporation. It was found that multilayer cells show superior photovoltaic performance to bilayer cells owing to the improvements in their exciton dissociation efficiency and charge carrier transport properties.

Recently, the power conversion efficiency (PCE) of organic photovoltaic (OPV) cells has been improved through increased photocurrent density. To further increase PCE, open circuit voltage (Voc) should also be increased. Here, we report tandem OPV cells based on low-molecular-weight semiconductors evaporated in vacuum. The tandem system produced a high Voc that is proportional to the number of tandem OPV cells. We obtained a Voc of 2.07 V using a quadruple cell, which was fourfold that of a single cell.

The structural properties of a bulk heterojunction of poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and 6,6-phenyl-C61 butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) was investigated using synchrotron X-ray diffraction and atomic force microscope techniques. The growth of anisotropic crystals of P3HT components in the bulk heterojunction was observed. The π–π stacking structure between the facing thiophene rings of P3HT was disturbed by the introduction of PCBM, whereas the side chain crystallization along the a-axis of P3HT occurred smoothly. We discuss a possible mechanism of the anisotropic crystallization on the basis of the configuration of P3HT. The importance of controlling the π–π stacking and phase separation of the composed materials on the performance of the bulk heterojunction cell is suggested.

The long-term performance stability of organic solar cells (OSCs), as well as their high power conversion efficiency, is necessary for their practical use. For polymer-based OSCs, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) is conventionally introduced as a buffer layer. However, there is concern that PEDOT:PSS, which is highly hygroscopic and acidic, accelerates the degradation of OSCs by oxidizing certain components of the OSCs. In this study, we compared the stabilities of three types of cell containing different buffer layers (PEDOT:PSS, molybdenum oxide, and no buffer layer). The OSC with the PEDOT:PSS layer was degraded very rapidly, while the other OSCs were degraded slowly. In addition, we observed that the oxidation of the aluminum electrode occurred at the aluminum/photovoltaic layer interface. These results suggest that PEDOT:PSS accelerates the oxidation of the aluminum electrodes of OSCs and reduces their efficiency. We conclude that the introduction of the PEDOT:PSS layer, despite producing a high "initial" efficiency, is not the best strategy to improve the OSC stability.

Slide-coating method is relatively a new thin-film fabrication method using the shear force between two substrates. We have fabricated poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) thin-films by this method. The organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) based on thus fabricated P3HT films exhibit good performance in field-effect mobility. Ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) absorption spectra, X-ray diffraction patterns and polarizing microscopy show an in-plane anisotropic structure of the film. The good OFET performance would be assigned to such structure of the films. This thin-film fabrication method was revealed to be an effective method to fabricate a well-ordered structure of P3HT films and their OFETs.

The molecular orientation in thin evaporated films were investigated for the newly synthesized organic material which has a large dipole moment parallel to molecular long axis. Results of X‐ray diffraction measurements revealed that this molecule forms the layer structure normal to the substrate. Further, the drastic changes in the x‐ray diffraction pattern were observed during a heating process at the temperature (80°C) where the phase transition to a liquid crystal phase (smetic A) takes place. Moreover, we elucidated molecular structures in crystalline phase and smectic A by employing x‐ray diffraction and the other measurements.

Heat capacities of halogen-bridged one-dimensional binuclear metal complexes (so-called MMX chain) having alkyl groups, Ni 2 (RCS 2 ) 4 I (R = Et and n -Pr), were measured by adiabatic and relaxation calorimetry. For each complex, a small broad thermal anomaly due to a spin-Peierls transition was observed around 40 K. For Ni 2 ( n -PrCS 2 ) 4 I, a first-order phase transition was observed at 205.6 K. The enthalpy and entropy of transition were estimated to be about 4.05 kJ mol -1 and 19.7 J K -1 mol -1 , respectively. The magnitude of thermal anomaly shows that the effect of molecular dynamics of ligand on the electronic state in one-dimensional chain is small for Ni complexes having localized electrons in comparison with Pt complexes.