Controlling the Intrinsic Josephson Junction Number in a Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+δ\mathbf{Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}} Mesa

In fabricating $\mathrm{Bi_2Sr_2CaCu_2O_{8+\delta}}$ intrinsic Josephson junctions in 4-terminal mesa structures, we modify the conventional fabrication process by markedly reducing the etching rates of argon ion milling. As a result, the junction number in a stack can be controlled quite satisfactorily as long as we carefully adjust those factors such as the etching time and the thickness of the evaporated layers. The error in the junction number is within $\pm 1$. By additional ion etching if necessary, we can controllably decrease the junction number to a rather small value, and even a single intrinsic Josephson junction can be produced.Comment: to bu published in Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 43(7A) 200

The diverse roles of cytokinins in regulating leaf development

Leaves provide energy for plants, and consequently for animals, through photosynthesis. Despite their important functions, plant leaf developmental processes and their underlying mechanisms have not been well characterized. Here, we provide a holistic description of leaf developmental processes that is centered on cytokinins and their signaling functions. Cytokinins maintain the growth potential (pluripotency) of shoot apical meristems, which provide stem cells for the generation of leaf primordia during the initial stage of leaf formation; cytokinins and auxins, as well as their interaction, determine the phyllotaxis pattern. The activities of cytokinins in various regions of the leaf, especially at the margins, collectively determine the final leaf morphology (e.g., simple or compound). The area of a leaf is generally determined by the number and size of the cells in the leaf. Cytokinins promote cell division and increase cell expansion during the proliferation and expansion stages of leaf cell development, respectively. During leaf senescence, cytokinins reduce sugar accumulation, increase chlorophyll synthesis, and prolong the leaf photosynthetic period. We also briefly describe the roles of other hormones, including auxin and ethylene, during the whole leaf developmental process. In this study, we review the regulatory roles of cytokinins in various leaf developmental stages, with a focus on cytokinin metabolism and signal transduction processes, in order to shed light on the molecular mechanisms underlying leaf development

Level Up Eco-Friendly Hotel Stay: Guest Power Up and Save Energy with Gamification

Executive Summary Hotel businesses endeavor to achieve successful green practices for long-lasting business success. The key issue is to promote consumers’ willingness to participate in such practices. Despite increased environmental awareness among today’s consumers, a relatively large percentage of consumers hesitate to actively engage with green practices because they are unwilling to sacrifice their comforts and convenience for their paid experience. This report introduces a gamification approach to hotels’ green practices through an investigation of how game components motivate guests’ energy-saving participation. This report finds that the energy-saving game can improve hotel guests’ willingness to save energy and even revisit the hotel. This paper offers fruitful suggestions on using gamification to encourage guests’ energy-saving and revisit behaviors

Possible open-charmed pentaquark molecule Ωc(3188)\Omega_c(3188) --- the DΞD \Xi bound state --- in the Bethe-Salpeter formalism

We study the $S$-wave $D\Xi$ bound state in the Bethe-Salpeter formalism in the ladder and instantaneous approximations. With the kernel generated by the hadronic effective Lagrangian, two open-charmed bound states, which quantum numbers are $I=0$, $J^P=(\frac{1}{2})^-$ and $I=1$, $J^P=(\frac{1}{2})^-$, respectively, are predicted as new candidates of hadronic pentaquark molecules in our formalism. If existing, they could contribute to the broad 3188 eV structure near the five new narrow $\Omega_c$ states observed recently by the LHCb Collaboration.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures, accepted by Eur. Phys. J.

Determination of Stray Inductance of Low-Inductive Laminated Planar Multiport Busbars Using Vector Synthesis Method

Laminated busbars connect capacitors with switching power modules, and they are designed to have low stray inductance to minimize electromagnetic interference. Attempts to accurately measure the stray inductance of these busbars have not been successful. The challenge lies with the capacitors, as they excite the busbar producing their individual stray inductances. These individual stray inductances cannot be arithmetically averaged to establish the total stray inductance that applies when all the capacitors excite the busbar at the same time. It is also not possible to measure the stray inductance by simultaneous excitation of each capacitor port using impedance analyzers. This paper presents a solution to the above dilemma. A vector synthesis method is proposed, whereby the individual stray inductance from each capacitor port is measured using an impedance analyzer. Each stray inductance is then mapped into an xyz frame with a distinct direction. This mapping exercise allows the data to be vectored. The total stray inductance is then the sum of all the vectors. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated on a busbar designed for H-bridge inverters by comparing the simulation and practical results. The absolute error of the total stray inductance between the simulation and the proposed method is 0.48 nH. The proposed method improves the accuracy by 14.9% compared to the conventional technique in measuring stray inductances

_In vivo_ photoacoustic molecular imaging with simultaneous multiple selective targeting using antibody-conjugated gold nanorods

The use of gold nanorods for photoacoustic molecular imaging in vivo with simultaneous multiple selective targeting is reported. The extravasation of multiple molecular probes is demonstrated, and used to probe molecular information of cancer cells. This technique allows molecular profiles representing tumor characteristics to be obtained and a heterogeneous population of cancer cells in a lesion to be determined. The results also show that the image contrast can be enhanced by using a mixture of different molecular probes. In this study, HER2, EGFR, and CXCR4 were chosen as the primary target molecules for examining two types of cancer cells, OECM1 and Cal27. OECM1 cells overexpressed HER2 but exhibited a low expression of EGFR, while Cal27 cells showed the opposite expression profile. Single and double targeting resulted in signal enhancements of up to 3 dB and up to 5 dB, respectively, and hence has potential in improving cancer diagnoses