JTEC panel on display technologies in Japan

This report is one in a series of reports that describes research and development efforts in Japan in the area of display technologies. The following are included in this report: flat panel displays (technical findings, liquid crystal display development and production, large flat panel displays (FPD's), electroluminescent displays and plasma panels, infrastructure in Japan's FPD industry, market and projected sales, and new a-Si active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) factory); materials for flat panel displays (liquid crystal materials, and light-emissive display materials); manufacturing and infrastructure of active matrix liquid crystal displays (manufacturing logistics and equipment); passive matrix liquid crystal displays (LCD basics, twisted nematics LCD's, supertwisted nematic LCD's, ferroelectric LCD's, and a comparison of passive matrix LCD technology); active matrix technology (basic active matrix technology, investment environment, amorphous silicon, polysilicon, and commercial products and prototypes); and projection displays (comparison of Japanese and U.S. display research, and technical evaluation of work)

Stat3 Mediates Expression of Autotaxin in Breast Cancer

We determined that signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) is tyrosine phosphorylated in 37% of primary breast tumors and 63% of paired metastatic axillary lymph nodes. Examination of the distribution of tyrosine phosphorylated (pStat3) in primary tumors revealed heterogenous expression within the tumor with the highest levels found in cells on the edge of tumors with relatively lower levels in the central portion of tumors. In order to determine Stat3 target genes that may be involved in migration and metastasis, we identified those genes that were differentially expressed in primary breast cancer samples as a function of pStat3 levels. In addition to known Stat3 transcriptional targets (Twist, Snail, Tenascin-C and IL-8), we identified ENPP2 as a novel Stat3 regulated gene, which encodes autotaxin (ATX), a secreted lysophospholipase which mediates mammary tumorigenesis and cancer cell migration. A positive correlation between nuclear pStat3 and ATX was determined by immunohistochemical analysis of primary breast cancer samples and matched axillary lymph nodes and in several breast cancer derived cell lines. Inhibition of pStat3 or reducing Stat3 expression led to a decrease in ATX levels and cell migration. An association between Stat3 and the ATX promoter, which contains a number of putative Stat3 binding sites, was determined by chromatin immunoprecipitation. These observations suggest that activated Stat3 may regulate the migration of breast cancer cells through the regulation of ATX

Associations between jet lag and cortisol diurnal rhythms after domestic travel.

Objective: Millions of adults in the United States travel abruptly across time zones each year. Nevertheless, the impact of traveling over relatively short distances (across 3 or fewer time zones) on diurnal patterning of typical physiological response patterns has yet to be studied in a large, epidemiological sample. Design: The current research focuses on 764 middle-aged men comparing variations in diurnal cortisol regulation based on number of time zones traveled eastward or westward the day before. Main Outcome Measure: Participants provided samples of salivary cortisol at waking, 30-min postwaking, 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and bedtime. Results: Eastward travel was associated with a steeper salivary cortiso

Angular Discrimination of Light Transmission through Polymer-Dispersed Liquid-Crystal Films

The refractive index of the polymer n p is adjusted relative to the ordinary refractive index of dispersed droplets of nematic liquid crystal n o to regulate the angle of maximum transmission through a film in the presence of an applied field. Maximum transmission occurs at normal incidence when n p ≤n o with the breadth of the angle of view being largest at n p =n o . When np >n o , maximum transmission is peaked at an angle away from normal incidence, the value of the angle depending upon the ratio n p /n o . Angular discriminating filters are therefore possible with these films. The optical response of these materials as a function of applied field is also shown to be dependent on the ratio n p /n o as is the contrast exhibited by information displays. Methods for measuring the scattering cross section of a nematic droplet are also described.</p

Cholesteric Reflective Display - Drive Scheme and Contrast

We studied the electro‐optical response of a bistable cholesteric texture (BCT) display to ac voltage pulses. The material can be driven into states where planar and focal conic textures coexist at zero field and gray scale memory is achieved. According to the properties of the BCT display we designed two drive schemes; one for binary operation and the other for gray scale operation. We made a 320×320 pixel reflective display with a resolution of 80 lines/in. on a passive matrix. Measurement in an integration chamber showed that the display has higher contrast and better viewing angle than a reflective super twisted nematic display.</p