Survival of Fragmented BO Units in Highly Modified Rare-Earth-Rich Borate Glasses.

Highly modified LaO-YO-BO ternary glasses were fabricated by using a levitation technique. The thermal and structural properties of (50 - )LaO-YO-50BO glasses and (60 - )LaO-YO-40BO glasses were investigated. Raman scattering spectra indicated that B atoms mainly formed isolated planar BO triangles similar to those of crystalline LaBO.

Ab Initio Molecular Dynamics Study of Trivalent Rare Earth Rich Borate Glasses: Structural Insights and Formation Mechanisms.

In this work, trivalent rare earth (RE)-rich borate glasses (30 LaO-70 BO, 50 LaO-50 BO, 60 LaO-40 BO, and 50 YO-50 BO) were modeled using ab initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) simulations through the melt-quenching route. It was found that the AIMD-derived structures reproduced the experimental structure factors and B solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance data. Isolated borate units (monomers, dimers, and trimers) terminated with nonbridging oxygen were found in the structures.

Crystal-Like Atomic Arrangement and Optical Properties of 25LaO-75MoO Binary Glasses Composed of Isolated MoO.

Transparent and brown LaO-MoO binary glasses were prepared in bulk form using a levitation technique. The glass-forming range was limited, with the primary composition being approximately 25 mol % LaO. The 25LaO-75MoO glass exhibited a clear crystallization at 546 °C, while determining its glass transition temperature was difficult.

Siliceous zeolite-derived topology of amorphous silica.

The topology of amorphous materials can be affected by mechanical forces during compression or milling, which can induce material densification. Here, we show that densified amorphous silica (SiO) fabricated by cold compression of siliceous zeolite (SZ) is permanently densified, unlike densified glassy SiO (GS) fabricated by cold compression although the X-ray diffraction data and density of the former are identical to those of the latter. Moreover, the topology of the densified amorphous SiO fabricated from SZ retains that of crystalline SZ, whereas the densified GS relaxes to pristine GS after thermal annealing.

Genetic background of anti-Xg producers in Japanese blood donors.

Background And Objectives: The Xg blood group is composed of two antigens, Xg (XG1) and CD99 (XG2 and MIC2). The XG and CD99 are homologous genes located on pseudoautosomal region 1 of the X and Y chromosomes. The expressions of Xg and CD99 are co-regulated by a single nucleotide polymorphism (rs311103) in the GATA-1 binding region.

Densification in transparent SiO glasses prepared by spark plasma sintering.

Recently, spark plasma sintering (SPS) has become an attractive method for the preparation of solid-state ceramics. As SPS is a pressure-assisted low-temperature process, it is important to examine the effects of temperature and pressure on the structural properties of the prepared samples. In the present study, we examined the correlation between the preparation conditions and the physical and structural properties of SiO glasses prepared by SPS.

Frequencies of glycophorin variants and alloantibodies against Hil and MINY antigens in Japanese.

Background And Objectives: Antigens of the MNS blood group system are expressed on the red blood cell (RBC) membrane on glycophorin A (GPA) and glycophorin B (GPB) or on hybrid molecules of GPA and GPB. This study investigated the distribution of glycophorin variants and alloantibodies against Hil and MINY among Japanese individuals.

Methods: Mi(a+) or Hil+ RBCs were screened using an automated blood grouping machine (PK7300) with monoclonal anti-Mi or polyclonal anti-Hil.

Revealing Spatial Distribution of Al-Coordinated Species in a Phase-Separated Aluminosilicate Glass by STEM-EELS.

Structure determination of glass remains an important issue in glass science. The electron microscope with its high spatial resolution and versatile functions has been widely applied to observe phase separation and structural heterogeneity in glass. While elemental analysis such as energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) may provide local compositional information with nanometer-scale resolution, structural information in a glass network cannot be directly obtained.

Influence of modifier cations on the local environment of aluminum in LaO-AlO and YO-AlO binary glasses.

The local environment of aluminum in xLaO-(100 -x)AlO (LA) and yYO-(100 -y)AlO (YA) glasses is investigated using Al MAS NMR and Raman scattering spectroscopy in the glass forming range, i.e., 27 ≤x≤ 50 and 26 ≤y≤ 37.

Structural Origin of Additional Infrared Transparency and Enhanced Glass-Forming Ability in Rare-Earth-Rich Borate Glasses without B-O Networks.

RO-BO binary glasses (R denotes rare-earth elements or Y) were fabricated in a very wide composition region using a levitation technique. The maximum RO content of light rare-earth compounds reached 63 mol % and decreased with a decrease in the ionic radius of R. The thermal, optical, vibrational, and structural properties were investigated, particularly for 50RO-50BO glasses.

Principal Vibration Modes of the LaO-GaO Binary Glass Originated from Diverse Coordination Environments of Oxygen Atoms.

LaO-GaO binary glass exhibits unusual optical properties owing to its high oxygen polarizability and low vibration energy. These optical properties include high refractive indices and a wide transmittance range. In this study, we performed classical molecular dynamics simulations on LaO-GaO glass synthesized by an aerodynamic levitation technique.

High refractive index La-rich lanthanum borate glasses composed of isolated BO units.

LaO-BO binary glasses were prepared by containerless processing using a levitation technique. The bulk glass-forming region in a B-rich composition was extended compared to that using conventional melt-quench techniques. Furthermore, additional glass formation was realized in an La-rich composition.

Fluorescence characterization of heavily Eu-doped lanthanum gallate glass spheres with high quenching concentration.

Highly EuO-doped (up to 30 mol%) LaO-GaO glasses were synthesized by an aerodynamic levitation technique. The red emission associated with D5 level of Euwas most intense at 20 mol% EuO, indicating a small effect of concentration quenching even at high Eu concentration. The fluorescence decay curves indicated that the dominant transition mechanism at high Eu concentration was fast energy migration among the Eu ions, which averaged the environment of the Eu, yielding a nearly single-exponential decay of D5→F7 emission.

Structural analysis of sulfuric acid solutions containing Ti and Mn using x-ray diffraction, x-ray absorption fine structure, and molecular dynamics simulation.

Structural analyses have been performed for sulfuric acid (HSO) aqueous solutions containing Ti and/or Mn. These solutions are used as the positive electrolyte in the Ti-Mn redox flow (RF) battery, in which it had been found that adding Ti in the positive electrolyte is very effective to reduce the MnO precipitation at a high state of charge. X-ray diffraction and x-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) measurements were employed in order to obtain total correlation functions, T(r)'s, and coordination numbers around Mn and Ti in the solutions, respectively.

Low phonon energies and wideband optical windows of LaO-GaO glasses prepared using an aerodynamic levitation technique.

xLaO-(100 - x)GaO binary glasses were synthesized by an aerodynamic levitation technique. The glass-forming region was found to be 20 ≤ x ≤ 57. The refractive indices were greater than 1.

Transparent polycrystalline cubic silicon nitride.

Glasses and single crystals have traditionally been used as optical windows. Recently, there has been a high demand for harder and tougher optical windows that are able to endure severe conditions. Transparent polycrystalline ceramics can fulfill this demand because of their superior mechanical properties.

Crack-resistant Al2O3-SiO2 glasses.

Obtaining "hard" and "crack-resistant" glasses have always been of great important in glass science and glass technology. However, in most commercial glasses both properties are not compatible. In this work, colorless and transparent xAl2O3-(100-x)SiO2 glasses (30 ≤ x ≤ 60) were fabricated by the aerodynamic levitation technique.

High Elastic Moduli of a 54Al2O3-46Ta2O5 Glass Fabricated via Containerless Processing.

Glasses with high elastic moduli have been in demand for many years because the thickness of such glasses can be reduced while maintaining its strength. Moreover, thinner and lighter glasses are desired for the fabrication of windows in buildings and cars, cover glasses for smart-phones and substrates in Thin-Film Transistor (TFT) displays. In this work, we report a 54Al2O3-46Ta2O5 glass fabricated by aerodynamic levitation which possesses one of the highest elastic moduli and hardness for oxide glasses also displaying excellent optical properties.

Expansion of the hexagonal phase-forming region of Lu1-xScxFeO3 by containerless processing.

Hexagonal Lu1-xScxFeO3 (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.8) was directly solidified from an undercooled melt by containerless processing with an aerodynamic levitation furnace. The hexagonal phase-forming region was considerably extended compared to that of the conventional solid-state reaction (x ∼ 0.

Containerless solidification of undercooled SrO-Al2O3 binary melts.

The solidification of the SrO-Al2O3 binary system was investigated under containerless conditions using an aerodynamic levitation furnace. Glass formation was observed in compositions with 35-45 mol% SrO and 55-75 mol% SrO. Cooling curves were obtained at a constant cooling rate in the range of 1-1000 °C s(-1).

Atomic and electronic structures of an extremely fragile liquid.

The structure of high-temperature liquids is an important topic for understanding the fragility of liquids. Here we report the structure of a high-temperature non-glass-forming oxide liquid, ZrO2, at an atomistic and electronic level. The Bhatia-Thornton number-number structure factor of ZrO2 does not show a first sharp diffraction peak.

Topological engineering of glass for modulating chemical state of dopants.

A novel approach to modulating the chemical state of dopants by engineering the topological features of a glass matrix is presented. The method allows selective stabilization of dopants on a wide range of length scales, from dispersed ions to aggregated clusters to nanoparticles, leading to various intriguing optical phenomena, such as great emission enhancement and ultra-broadband optical amplification.

Production of human monoclonal anti-Jk3, recognising an epitope including the Jk(a) /Jk(b) polymorphic site of the Kidd glycoprotein.

Background And Objectives: The Kidd blood group system consists of polymorphic antigens, Jk(a) (JK1) and Jk(b) (JK2), and a high-incidence antigen, Jk3. Anti-Jk3 is often observed in immunised Jk(a-b-) individuals. In this study, we aimed to establish a human hybridoma cell line secreting monoclonal anti-Jk3 (HIRO-294).