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One of the major causes of oocyte quality deterioration, chromosome segregation abnormalities manifest mainly during meiosis I, which occurs before and during ovulation. However, currently, there is a technical limitation in the introduction of mRNA into premature oocytes without impairing embryonic developmental ability. In this study, we established a low-invasive electroporation (EP) method to introduce mRNA into pre-ovulatory, germinal vesicle (GV) mouse oocytes in an easier manner than the traditional microinjection method. The EP method with an optimized impedance value resulted in the efficient introduction of mRNAs encoding enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) into the GV oocytes surrounded by cumulus cells at a survival rate of 95.0%. Furthermore, the introduction of histone H2B-EGFP mRNA into the GV oocytes labeled most of the oocytes without affecting the blastocyst development rate, indicating the feasibility of the visualization of oocyte chromosomal dynamics that enable us to assay chromosomal integrity in oocyte maturation and cell count in embryonic development. The establishment of this EP method offers extensive assays to select pre-implantation embryos and enables the surveying of essential factors for mammalian oocyte quality determination.The establishment of an electroporation method that ensures high survival and developmental rates breaks technical barriers to intervene premature oocytes, offering a future availability in preimplantation embryo treatment and assessment.Graphical Abstract

Y-doped Hf–Zr–O (Y-HZO) films have been prepared by chemical solution deposition. It is shown that good ferroelectric property can be obtained for the Y-HZO film with a Y concentration of 3.2% after 800 °C crystallization annealing at a reduced pressure of 50 Pa. It is also demonstrated that the reduced pressure pre-annealing at temperatures as low as 400 °C is effective to obtain good ferroelectric properties, regardless of the crystallization annealing ambient. This is presumably because the pre-annealing under reduced pressure promotes the formation of nuclei in the orthorhombic phase.

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to develop an optimum design method for roof shapes satisfying both aesthetic sensibility (beauty) and economic evaluation by using the genetic algorithm (GA). The object is the roof of a gymnasium, and the target roof shape is asymmetrical. The roof shapes were evaluated on the basis of the satisfaction degrees of both economic evaluation and beauty. The economic evaluation used stress evaluation values that were obtained by the finite element method analysis. The KANSEI (equal to aesthetic sensibility) evaluation values were calculated from the learned results of the questionnaire by a neural network. Each satisfaction degree is calculated by membership functions. The synthetic satisfaction degree is calculated by fuzzy theory by using both the stress satisfaction degree and the KANSEI satisfaction degree. The roof shape, which has the highest synthetic degree of satisfaction, is created by the GA. A beautiful shape, which was not created only by the stress evaluation, was created by also considering the beauty evaluation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

AbstractSecond harmonic generation (SHG) by guided phase matching using anomalous dispersion of poled polymer is investigated in waveguide structure. The second harmonic TM0guided mode can be generated from the fundamental TM0guided mode and then the second harmonic power was higher than any other phase matchable mode because the overlap integral between the fundamental and the second harmonic waves is the largest in theoretical analysis. Near UV SHG (370nm) was observed from the fundamental wavelength of Ti-sapphire laser (740nm).

The meal distribution of proteins throughout the day is usually skewed. However, its physiological implications and the effects of better protein distribution on muscle volume are largely unknown. Here, using the two-meals-per-day feeding model, we find that protein intake at the early active phase promotes overloading-induced muscle hypertrophy, in a manner dependent on the local muscle clock. Mice fed branched-chain amino acid (BCAA)-supplemented diets at the early active phase demonstrate skeletal muscle hypertrophy. However, distribution-dependent effects are not observed in ClockΔ19or muscle-specific Bmal1knockout mice. Additionally, we examined the relationship between the distribution of proteins in meals and muscle functions, such as skeletal muscle index and grip strength in humans. Higher muscle functions were observed in subjects who ingested dietary proteins mainly at breakfast than at dinner. These data suggest that protein intake at breakfast may be better for the maintenance of skeletal muscle mass.

A simple tapered directional coupler with a five-layered structure is employed for mode conversion between a single-order and higher-order modes. We investigate coupling from higher-order modes to a single-order field theoretically and experimentally. As a result, we confirm that the first two modes in the tapered waveguide are coupled with a single-order mode in another waveguide by computer simulation using the beam propagation method. Furthermore, we fabricated the actual device and observed the streak patterns of the first three modes.

A single crystal thin film of 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA) for high efficiency phase-matched frequency doubling of a Nd:YAG laser (1.064 μm) was prepared. Experimental conversion efficiency for the phase-matched frequency doubling in a thin film waveguide structure was estimated at ∼0.03% at 0.6-kW input.

AbstractWe examined both photoconductive and electro-optical properties of the monolithic photorefractive polymer. The photoconductive sensitivity of 1.2 × 10−12(S cm−1)/(W cm−2) was obtained under a field strength of 5 × 105V/cm and a wavelength of 534nm. The EO signals linearly increased with the poling electric field.

AbstractThe linear and the nonlinear optical properties of soluble phthalocyanines in the condensed states were investigated by the absorption and the electroabsorption spectra. By a Kramers-Krönig analysis of the electroabsorption spectra, the wavelength of the maximum refractive index changes is located at around 980 nm for the casted polymer film doped with binuclear phthalocyanine.

Poled polymer films containing a nonlinear optical active moiety (cyclobutenedione derivative) as the side chains were prepared and applied to frequency doublings in guided-wave structures. A (p-aminophenyl) cyclobutenedione containing monomer, 1-{4-[N-(2- methacryloyloxyethyl)-N-methyl-aminol-phenyl}-2-methylamino-cyclobutene -3,4-dione [CD1-MA was newly synthesized. For less than 20 wt% concentration, amorphous copolymers of CD1-MA with methyl methacrylate showed the glass transition at around 125°C. The copolymers were crystalline at higher dye concentrations. The d33 value of the poled polymer film with 10 wt% of CD1-MA concentration was estimated as 8.1 pm.V-1 by the Maker fringe method. Second harmonic waves of Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) were observed in three-layer optical waveguides (air / poled polymer / pyrex glass) for the collinear type and the Cerenkov type phase matchings.

Hexadecakis(2, 2, 2-trifluoroethoxy)-substituted vanadyl and zinc phthalocyanines, and hexadecakis(ethoxy)vanadylphthalocyanine, were synthesized and characterized. Their aggregation properties were studied by evaluation of the concentration dependence of absorption spectra. Hexadecakis(2, 2, 2-trifluoroethoxy)-substituted metallophthalocyanines were found to be nonaggregated phthalocyanines even in the condensed state. However, nonfluorinated hexadecakis(ethoxy)vanadylphthalocyanine showed a redshift of the Q band in the solid state. The third-order nonlinear optical properties of these phthalocyanine films were studied by electroabsorption measurement in terms of molecular structure and aggregation. The aggregation effect enhances the macroscopic third-order nonlinearity of metallophthalocyanine. Among nonaggregated hexadecakis(2, 2, 2-trifluoroethoxy)-substituted metallophthalocyanines, zinc phthalocyanine was found to have a larger macroscopic third-order nonlinearity than the vanadyl compound.

Phase-matching properties of a P1 symmetry crystal, (-)-1-1-(4-dimethylaminophenyl)-2-(2-hydropropylamino) cyclobutene-3, 4-dione, are theoretically and experimentally investigated. The nonlinear-optical coefficients dij are calculated by the oriented-gas model and the effective coefficients are estimated to be 243 pm/V and 23 pm/V at a fundamental wavelength of 1064 nm for the type I and the type II phase-matching of the second-harmonic generation, respectively. The experimental results of the type II second-harmonic generation using the largest plane of the as-grown crystal are given.

A multichannel thin-film optical waveguide sensor for determining aqueous biochemical concentration with a high dynamic range of measurement is proposed. The sensitivity dependence of the proposed sensor on interaction length and waveguide thickness is investigated for dye solutions and three different hemoglobin concentration levels of carboxyhemoglobins. The sensitivity is inversely proportional to the waveguide thickness while proportional to the interaction length. As a consequence the variability of the interaction length makes the proposed sensor a flexible tool for concentration measurements. Moreover, an efficient method for determining the absorption coefficient is discussed.

Anisotropic refractive indices of the organic biaxial thin-film crystal, 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA), were determined by the prism coupling method. The experiment was carried out on an anisotropic waveguide of the MNA monocrystal film by an incorporated analysis of the TE and TM waves.

A single crystal thin film of 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA) for high efficiency phase-matched frequency doubling of a Nd:YAG laser (1.064 µm) was prepared. Experimental conversion efficiency for the phasematched frequency doubling in a thin film waveguide structure was estimated at ~0.03% at 0.6-kW input.

Rhodamine B (RB), Rhodamine 6G (R6G), Oxazine 4 perchlorate (O4PC), and 4-Dicyanomethylene-2-methyl-6-(p-dimethylaminostyryl-4H-pyran)-doped graded-index (GI) polymer optical fiber amplifiers (POFA’s) were successfully prepared by novel techniques to prevent degradation of organic dyes and to enhance solubility of the dyes in methyl methacrylate and in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). High-power (620 W) and high-gain (33-dB, 2070 times) amplification was achieved for RB-doped GI POFA’s based on the spectral investigation of dyes in PMMA bulk. It should be noted that amplification in the low-loss region of polymer optical fibers was achieved in the R6G- and O4PC-doped GI POFA.

A polymer optical fiber amplifier (POFA) of the graded-index (GI) type, with gain in the visible region, was successfully prepared for the first time, to our knowledge, with the interfacial-gel polymerization technique. An input signal of 0.85 W at 591 nm was amplified to 420 W (27-dB gain) by injection of 690 W of pump power at 532 nm into a GI POFA with a 0.5-m length. The efficiency of conversion of pump energy to signal amplification was more than 60%.

Poled film of 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA) and poly(methyl methacrylate) is prepared. Poling effects of MNA molecular alignments are observed by reducing the absorption spectrum and increasing the refractive index of the film. Phase-matched second harmonic generation (SHG) is achieved using the mode dispersion relation of the optical waveguide with an estimated SHG conversion efficiency of 7.4 × 10^−3 % in the waveguide.

AbstractGain dynamics such as signal wavelength dependence and pump wavelength dependence for organic dye-doped graded index (GI) polymer optical fiber amplifiers (POFA) are characterized. A Rhodamine B-doped POFA, 1 m in length and 0.3 mm in core diameter, has exhibited more than 20 dB gain at signal wavelengths from 560 nm to 600 nm when optically pumped at 532 nm. The maximum gain of 37 dB was achieved with a Rhodamine B-doped POFA pumped at 550 nm, which was optimum pump wavelength. For an Oxazine 4-doped POFA, signal gain of 20 dB was obtained when pumped at 605 nm. It is shown that pumping at absorption maximum wavelengths optimizes amplifier performance.

Absorption and electroabsorption measurements were performed on the substituted tetrakis tert-butyl metal-free phthalocyanine (H2Pc(t-bu)4) solid solution. The complex third-order nonlinear susceptibilities were determined in poly(methyl methacrylate) films doped with H2Pc(t-bu)4. The real and imaginary parts of χ(3)(-ω;ω,0,0) were -5 × 10-13 and -4 × 10-13 esu, respectively, at 10 wt° doping of H2Pc(t-bu)4. In guest/host system, the aggregation reduced the optical nonlinear susceptibilities rather than optical absorption coefficients.

Phase-matched second-harmonic generation (SHG) is observed in a four-layer 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA) single-crystal film waveguide with grating couplers. The measured input- and output-coupling efficiencies of the grating and the measured propagation loss of the four-layer waveguide are 9.9%, 42.0%, and 15.1 dB/cm, respectively. The phase-matching condition is satisfied between the first fundamental mode and the third second-harmonic mode in the MNA waveguide. The SHG conversion efficiency obtained for this mode. is 7.04 × 10^−2% overall and 1.70% in the waveguide.

Optical second harmonic generation in the form of Cerenkov radiation is investigated using KH2PO4 (KDP) substrate and poled polymer thin film waveguide. The copolymer of MMA and DR1-substituted methacrylate molecules were oriented by corona poling process after spin coating on the KDP substrate. The conversion efficiency strongly depends on the waveguide geometry. The high conversion effficency is obtained by theoritical analysis when the nonlinear optical coefficient direction of a substrate is opposite to that of a waveguiding layer. In experiment, we haveconfirmed that the SH power by Cerenkov type phase matching using KDP crystal as a substrate is larger than that of using pyrex as a substrate.

Changes in the thiamin contents in three types of porcine muscle and porcine liver during growth were investigated. The muscular thiamin content was lower at the newborn stage than at fetal stage, and increased after the weaning period. The liver thiamin content, however, remained unchanged from the fetal stage to 5 months old. The changes in thiamin contents were different between Landrace and Meishan pigs.

Dehydroascorbic acid, the oxidized form of ascorbic acid, is rapidly reduced to ascorbate in living organs (ascorbate recycling). We examined the GSH-dependent dehydroascorbate reductase activity in several tissues of the chicken. The activity was highest in the liver, and second highest in the brain. The activity was localized in the cytosol fraction of the liver. We subsequently examined the dehydroascorbate reduction in separated chiken hepatocytes. The cellular ascorbate concentration was elevated in dehydroascorbate-treated cells. It is thought that hepatocytes incorporated external dehydroascorbate and converted it into ascorbate. These findings suggest that the liver plays an important role in ascorbate recycling by the chicken.

A four-layer 2-methyl-4-nitroaniline (MNA) crystal waveguide device with grating couplers is fabricated. Second-harmonic generation is observed under phase-matching conditions using the mode dispersion curves of the optical waveguide. A second-harmonic generation conversion efficiency in the waveguide of 0.71% is obtained with a grating coupling efficiency of 11.4% and a decoupling efficiency of 43.2%. The MNA single crystal is never damaged mechanically, and it has been kept stable for nine months.

We have developed a gamma-ray detector based on a single-crystal diamond in order to improve the heat and radiation resistances of gamma-ray monitors. We fabricated prototypes with two types of diamond grown by a chemical vapor deposition method. The count rates with temperature and accumulated dose were obtained using a 137Cs gamma-ray source, then the errors at full scale (%FS) were evaluated using a method to reduce the dark count. The prototype-A worked to 643 K within 2.9%FS and to 3.1 MGy within 4.9%FS; on the other hand, the prototype-B worked to 545 K within 3.4%FS and to 5.0 MGy within 0.47%FS. This study demonstrates that the diamond semiconductor was promising for monitoring with enhanced heat and radiation resistances.

3-D ordered macroporous (3DOM) crystalline CsxH3−xPW12O40and (NH4)xH3−xPW12O40were synthesized by a colloidal crystal template method. CsxH3−xPW12O40and (NH4)xH3−xPW12O40were deposited in the voids of templates by a two-step impregnation process and homogeneous precipitation, respectively, and polymer templates were removed by subsequent calcination. 3DOM crystalline CsxH3−xPW12O40exhibits trimodal micro-, meso-, and macroporosity.

Accurate measurements of the electrooptic and piezoelectric coefficients of 2-furyl methacrylic anhydride (FMA) single crystals were performed. The low modulation frequency electrooptic coefficients at the wavelength of 632.8 nm are: r33=7.1±0.4 pm/V and r13=4.5±0.2 pm/V, whereas the inverse piezoelectric coefficients are: d33=8.2±0.4 pm/V and d13=2.2±0.1 pm/V.

Distributed feedback (DFB) oscillation from a thin-film waveguiding evanescent dye laser was observed. Tunable narrow-linewidth oscillations of only the TE0or TM0modes were obtained by using a single-mode glass waveguide with a rectangular Rhodamine-6G activated polyurethane film. The experimental results were in good agreement with the results of the theoretical analysis.

Amplification of high signal gain (36 dB, approximately 4000 times) and high output power (1200 W) was achieved in a Rhodamine B (RB)-doped graded-index (GI) polymer optical fiber amplifier (POFA) based on a prediction in which absorption and emission cross section data were used. The absorption and emission cross section spectra of RB, Rhodamine 6G, and 4-Dicyanmethylene-2-methyl-6-(p-dimethylaminostyryl)-4H-pyran (DCM) in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) bulk were determined. The cross section data enable us to predict gain characteristics of RB, R6G, and DCM-doped GI POFA. The wide spectral coverage in the visible is achievable with the GI POFAs doped with several selected dyes.

A Formula for the voltage dependence of electroluminescence (Sasaki, Karita and Omoto: Japan. J. appl. Phys. 7 (1968) 1038) is modified to include the effect of voltage drop across the whole part of the film as well as the barrier region. The modified formula is shown to explain the saturation of luminescence in higher voltage region observed in evaporated ZnS; Cu, Mn thin films.

Thin film of ZnS; Cu, Mn, Cl prepared by direct vacuum evaporation shows an orange-yellow emission when a negative pulse voltage is impressed on the aluminium electrode. The relation between the impressed voltage Vand the emission intensity Bdeviates evidently from the well-known formula ln B1/?V if the range of the voltage is wide. On the basis of the measured V-Icharacteristics and the observed current waveform, it is apparent that electron avalanche takes place due to collision ionization in the thin film. From this point of view, supposing the model that electron avalanche by collision ionization takes place inside the so-called Schottky barrier of the Al-ZnS contact and these electrons excite Mn luminescent centers, a calculated curve is obtained with a simple model and this agreed very closely with the typical experimental data of the emission characteristics.