We have propsed MgO/AZO bi-layer transparent conducting oxide (TCO) for thin film solar cells. From XRD analysis, it was observed that the full width at half maximum of AZO decreased when it was grown on MgO precursor. The Hall mobility of MgO/AZO bi-layer was 17.5cm2/Vs, whereas that of AZO was 20.8cm2/Vs. These indicated that the crystallinity of AZO decreased by employing MgO precursor. However, the haze (=total diffusive transmittance/total transmittance) characteristics of highly crystalline AZO was significantly improved by MgO precursor. The average haze in the visible region increased from 14.3 to 48.2%, and that in the NIR region increased from 6.3 to 18.9%. The reflectance of microcrystalline silicon solar cell was decreased and external quantum efficiency was significantly improved by applying MgO/AZO bi-layer TCO. The efficiency of microcrystalline silicon solar cell with MgO/AZO bi-layer front TCO was 6.66%, whereas the efficiency of one with AZO single TCO was 5.19%.

Cocoa polyphenols have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. TNF-α is a pro-inflammatory cytokine that has a vital role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases such as cancer and psoriasis. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression is associated with tumorigenesis, CVD, rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. We tested whether cocoa polyphenol extract (CPE) inhibited TNF-α-induced VEGF expression in promotion-sensitive JB6 mouse epidermal cells. CPE significantly inhibited TNF-α-induced up-regulation of VEGF via reducing TNF-α-induced activation of the nuclear transcription factors activator protein-1 (AP-1) and NF-κB, which are key regulators of VEGF expression. CPE also inhibited TNF-α-induced phosphorylation of protein kinase B (Akt) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase. CPE blocked activation of their downstream kinases, p70 kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase and p90 kDa ribosomal protein S6 kinase. CPE suppressed phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) activity via binding PI3K directly. CPE did not affect TNF-α-induced phosphorylation of mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase-1 (MEK1) but suppressed TNF-α-induced MEK1 activity. Collectively, these results indicate that CPE reduced TNF-α-induced up-regulation of VEGF by directly inhibiting PI3K and MEK1 activities, which may contribute to its chemopreventive potential.

We evaluated the effects of the two main kiwifruit cultivars (gold kiwifruit (GOK) and green kiwifruit (GRK)) and their active phenolic compound, quercetin, on H2O2-induced inhibition of gap-junction intercellular communication (GJIC) in WB-F344 rat liver epithelial cells. We found that both GOK and GRK protect WB-F344 cells from H2O2-induced inhibition of GJIC. The extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2)–connexin 43 (Cx43) signalling pathway is crucial for the regulation of GJIC, and both GOK and GRK blocked the H2O2-induced phosphorylation of Cx43 and ERK1/2 in WB-F344 cells. Quercetin alone attenuated the H2O2-mediated ERK1/2–Cx43 signalling pathway and consequently reversed H2O2-mediated inhibition of GJIC in WB-F344 cells. A free radical-scavenging assay using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl showed that the scavenging activity of quercetin was higher than that of a synthetic antioxidant, butylated hydroxytoluene, per mol, suggesting that the chemopreventive effect of quercetin on H2O2-mediated inhibition of ERK1/2–Cx43 signalling and GJIC may be mediated through its free radical-scavenging activity. Since the carcinogenicity of reactive oxygen species such as H2O2 is attributable to the inhibition of GJIC, GOK, GRK and quercetin may have chemopreventive potential by preventing the inhibition of GJIC.

A monodisperse spherical Y2O3:Eu3+ phosphor was prepared by a homogeneous precipitation method. The mean size of the phosphor particles (MSPP) was successfully controlled by changing the volume ratio of normal alcohol (RA) (propanol) in the solvents mixed between deionized water and normal propanol. When the RA was increased from 0 to 0.7, the MSPP decreased while maintaining a high yield of >95%. Although the prepared phosphor samples were fired at the same temperature, the thermal energy was delivered more efficiently into the inner side of the phosphor particles with the decrease of the MSPP. Therefore, the crystallinity and also the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of the phosphor increased with the decrease in the MSPP. In addition, because the numbers of Eu3+ ions located near the particle surfaces increased with the decrease of particle size, the ratio of PL intensity caused by the 5D0–7F2 transition to that caused by 5D0–7F1 transition increased from 10.8 to 12.7 with the decrease in MSPP.

We optimized synthesis conditions of blue-emitting CaMgSi2O6:Eu2+ (CMS:Eu2+) with conventional solid-state reaction and successfully determined structure parameters by Rietveld refinement method with neutron powder diffraction data. The final weighted R-factor Rwp was 6.42% and the goodness-of-fit indicator S (= Rwp/Re) was 1.34. The refined lattice parameters of CMS:Eu2+ were a = 9.7472(3) Å, b = 8.9394(2) Å, and c = 5.2484(1) Å. The β angle was 105.87(1)°. The concentration quenching process was observed, and the critical quenching concentration of Eu2+ in CMS:Eu2+ was about 0.01 mol and critical transfer distance was calculated as 12 Å. With the help of the Rietveld refinement and Dexter theory, the critical transfer distance was also calculated as 27 Å. In addition, the dominant multipolar interaction of CMS:Eu2+ was investigated from the relationship between the emission intensity per activator concentration and activator concentration. The dipole–dipole interaction was a dominant energy transfer mechanism of electric multipolar character of CMS:Eu2+.

Hydride-Metalorganic Vapor Phase Epitaxy (H-MOVPE) was used to grow a series of films on c-Al2O3 substrates. Depending on the growth temperature and HCl/TMIn molar ratio, InN deposited as a continuous film or a collection of micro or nanorods, or no InN growth was observed. A chemical equilibrium analysis of the In-N-H-Cl system predicts both InN growth and etching regimes with the nanorod growth observed near the growth-etching transition. All InN rod structures demonstrated well faceted hexagonal structure with a near random orientation of the rods, while the films were polycrystalline.

The Far-ultraviolet IMaging Spectrograph (FIMS) is a small spectrograph optimized for the observations of diffuse hot interstellar medium in far-ultraviolet wavebands (900–1150Å and 1335–1750Å). The instrument is expected to be sensitive to emission line fluxes an order of magnitude fainter than any previous missions. FIMS is currently under development and is scheduled for launch in 2002.

The YSTAR program is a general sky survey looking for variability. The main equipments are three 0.5-m telescopes. These telescopes have fast F/2 optics covering nearly 3.5 square degree field onto a 2K CCD. They also have very fast slew capability, which exceeds 10 degrees per second. These two factors make them most suitable for rapid target acquisition and wide-field surveys of various kinds. Our primary objective is to identify and monitor variable stars down to 18th R-magnitude, and our observing mode allows the same data set to be also useful in identifying asteroids. Our first telescope has just begun regular automated operation, and the second telescope will be installed in South Africa within this year to provide coverage of the southern sky.

TiN films were deposited onto stellite 6B alloy (Co base) by the reactive magnetron sputter ion plating. As the substrate bias increases, TiN film changes from columnar structure to dense structure with great hardness and smooth surface due to densification and resputtering by ion bombardment. The content of oxygen and carbon impurities in the TiN film decreases greatly when the substrate bias is applied. The preferred orientation of the TiN films changes from (200) to (111) with decreasing N2/Ar ratio and from (200) to (111) and then (220) with increasing the substrate bias. The change of the preferred orientation is discussed in terms of surface energy and strain energy which are related to the impurity contents and the ion bombardment damage. The hardness of the TiN film increases with increasing compressive stress generated in the film by virtue of ion bombardment. It becomes as high as up to 3500 kgf/mm2 when an appropriate substrate bias is applied.

A new annealing method, a combination of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) and furnace annealing, has been developed to obtain a high quality poly-Si from a-Si deposited by LPCVD. This method produces a large grain poly-Si with good uniformity, which may result from the growth of relatively defect-free nucleus generated at a high temperature by RTA. Poly-Si thin film transistors fabricated by this new annealing method have higher field effect mobility and better uniformity compared with those by the conventional furnace annealing.