Performance of Steel Frame with Linkage System under Earthquake Excitation

Authors have already proposed a linkage system with rotational friction dampers that can be expected to dissipate seismic energy rather than the main frame. In this paper, the relationship between the rotational angle of the linkage system and inter-story drift angle of a structure was investigated. Consequently, a three-bay twelve-story steel frame with linkage system was analyzed by a numerical simulation program based on a theory of non-linear dynamic analysis. The distribution of slipping moment of friction damper along with the height of the main structure was discussed. Meanwhile, optimal slipping moment range was suggested according to analysis results

Electronic structure of pristine and K-doped solid picene: Non-rigid-band change and its implication for electron-intramolecular-vibration interaction

We use photoemission spectroscopy to study electronic structures of pristine and K-doped solid picene. The valence band spectrum of pristine picene consists of three main features with no state at the Fermi level (EF), while that of K-doped picene has three structures similar to those of pristine picene with new states near EF, consistent with the semiconductor-metal transition. The K-induced change cannot be explained with a simple rigid-band model of pristine picene, but can be interpreted by molecular orbital calculations considering electron-intramolecular-vibration interaction. Excellent agreement of the K-doped spectrum with the calculations points to importance of electron-intramolecular-vibration interaction in K-doped picene.Comment: This article is accepted by Physical Review

Optimization of an Electron Transport Layer to Enhance the Power Conversion Efficiency of Flexible Inverted Organic Solar Cells

The photovoltaic (PV) performance of flexible inverted organic solar cells (IOSCs) with an active layer consisting of a blend of poly(3-hexylthiophene) and [6, 6]-phenyl C61-butlyric acid methyl ester was investigated by varying the thicknesses of ZnO seed layers and introducing ZnO nanorods (NRs). A ZnO seed layer or ZnO NRs grown on the seed layer were used as an electron transport layer and pathway to optimize PV performance. ZnO seed layers were deposited using spin coating at 3,000 rpm for 30 s onto indium tin oxide (ITO)-coated polyethersulphone (PES) substrates. The ZnO NRs were grown using an aqueous solution method at a low temperature (90°C). The optimized device with ZnO NRs exhibited a threefold increase in PV performance compared with that of a device consisting of a ZnO seed layer without ZnO NRs. Flexible IOSCs fabricated using ZnO NRs with improved PV performance may pave the way for the development of PV devices with larger interface areas for effective exciton dissociation and continuous carrier transport paths

Non-invasive assessment of corneal crosslinking changes using polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography

Collagen crosslinking (CXL) has shown promising results in the prevention of the progression of keratoconus and corneal ectasia. However, techniques for in vivo and in situ assessment of the treatment are limited. In this study, ex vivo porcine eyes were treated with a chemical CXL agent (glutaraldehyde), during which polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) recordings were acquired simultaneously to assess the sensitivity of the technique to assess changes in the cornea. The results obtained in this study suggest that PS-OCT may be a suitable technique to measure CXL changes in situ and to assess the local changes in the treated region of the cornea

Molecular cloning and the complete nucleotide sequence of cDNA to mRNA for S-100 protein of rat brain.

The complete nucleotide sequence of mRNA for beta-subunit of rat brain S-100 protein was determined from recombinant cDNA clones. The sequence was composed of 1488 bp which included the 276 bp of the complete coding region, the 120 bp of the 5'-noncoding region and the 1092 bp of the 3'-noncoding region containing two polyadenylation signals. In addition, the poly(A) tail was also found. The amino acid sequence deduced from the nucleotide sequence was homologous to the amino acid sequence of bovine S-100 beta subunit except 4 residues showing species differences. From the viewpoint of evolutionary implications, the homology between the nucleotide sequence of S-100 and those of rat intestinal Ca-binding protein (ICaBP) and calmodulin (CaM) was examined. A dot-blot hybridization of poly(A) RNA from the developing rat brains using a labeled cDNA showed a rapid increase in S-100 mRNA at 10-20 postnatal days. The presence of S-100 mRNA in C-6 glioma cells is also described

Organometallic half-sandwich iridium anticancer complexes

The low-spin 5d6 IrIII organometallic half-sandwich complexes [(η5-Cpx)Ir(XY)Cl]0/+, Cpx = Cp*, tetramethyl(phenyl)cyclopentadienyl (Cpxph), or tetramethyl(biphenyl)cyclopentadienyl (Cpxbiph), XY = 1,10-phenanthroline (4−6), 2,2′-bipyridine (7−9), ethylenediamine (10 and 11), or picolinate (12−14), hydrolyze rapidly. Complexes with N,N-chelating ligands readily form adducts with 9-ethylguanine but not 9-ethyladenine; picolinate complexes bind to both purines. Cytotoxic potency toward A2780 human ovarian cancer cells increases with phenyl substitution on Cp*: Cpxbiph > Cpxph > Cp*; Cpxbiph complexes 6 and 9 have submicromolar activity. Guanine residues are preferential binding sites for 4−6 on plasmid DNA. Hydrophobicity (log P), cell and nucleus accumulation of Ir correlate with cytotoxicity, 6 > 5 > 4; they distribute similarly within cells. The ability to displace DNA intercalator ethidium bromide from DNA correlates with cytotoxicity and viscosity of Ir−DNA adducts. The hydrophobicity and intercalative ability of Cpxph and Cpxbiph make a major contribution to the anticancer potency of their IrIII complexes