Transparent Patternable Large-Area Graphene p-n Junctions by Photoinduced Electron Doping.

We present a novel approach to achieve n-type doping in graphene and create graphene p-n junctions through a photoinduced electron doping method using photobase generators (PBGs). The unique properties of PBGs allow us to spatially and temporally control the doping process via light activation. The selective irradiation of specific regions on the graphene film enables switching their doping from p- to n-type, as confirmed by changes in the electromotive force and Seebeck and Hall coefficients.

High-Performance Isotropic Thermo-Electrochemical Cells Using Agar-Gelled Ferricyanide/Ferrocyanide/Guanidinium.

An isotropic thermo-electrochemical cell is introduced with a high Seebeck coefficient ( ) of 3.3 mV K that uses a ferricyanide/ferrocyanide/guanidinium-based agar-gelated electrolyte. A power density of about 20 µW cm is achieved at a temperature difference of about 10 K, regardless of whether the heat source is on the top or bottom section of the cell.

Bicyclic-ring base doping induces n-type conduction in carbon nanotubes with outstanding thermal stability in air.

The preparation of air and thermally stable n-type carbon nanotubes is desirable for their further implementation in electronic and energy devices that rely on both p- and n-type material. Here, a series of guanidine and amidine bases with bicyclic-ring structures are used as n-doping reagents. Aided by their rigid alkyl functionality and stable conjugate acid structure, these organic superbases can easily reduce carbon nanotubes.

Design and synthesis of proton-dopable organic semiconductors.

This paper shows how protonated 3,4-ethylene dioxythiophene moieties can be used as an end group to make organic conductors. An organic semiconductor 2,5-bis(5-(2,3-dihydrothieno[3,4-][1,4]dioxin-5-yl)-3-dodecylthiophen-2-yl)thieno[3,2-]thiophene is designed and synthesized. This molecule could be doped by protonic acid in both solution and solid-state, resulting in a broad absorption in the near-infrared range corresponding to polaron and bipolaron absorption.

Thermoelectrochemical Cells Based on Ferricyanide/Ferrocyanide/Guanidinium: Application and Challenges.

Ferricyanide/ferrocyanide/guanidinium-based thermoelectrochemical cells have been investigated under different loading conditions in this work. Compared with ferricyanide/ferrocyanide-based devices, the device with guanidinium-added electrolytes shows higher power and energy densities. We observed that the enhanced performance is not due to the ionic Seebeck effect of guanidinium but because of the configuration entropy change resulting from the selective binding of Gdm to Fe(CN).

Control of anisotropic conduction of carbon nanotube sheets and their use as planar-type thermoelectric conversion materials.

The large anisotropic thermal conduction of a carbon nanotube (CNT) sheet that originates from the in-plane orientation of one-dimensional CNTs is disadvantageous for thermoelectric conversion using the Seebeck effect since the temperature gradient is difficult to maintain in the current flow direction. To control the orientation of the CNTs, polymer particles are introduced as orientation aligners upon sheet formation by vacuum filtration. The thermal conductivities in the in-plane direction decrease as the number of polymer particles in the sheet increases, while that in the through-plane direction increases.

Outstanding Electrode-Dependent Seebeck Coefficients in Ionic Hydrogels for Thermally Chargeable Supercapacitor near Room Temperature.

Thermoelectric power generation from waste heat is an important component of future sustainable development. Ion-conducting materials are promising candidates because of their high Seebeck coefficients. This study demonstrates that ionic hydrogels based on imidazolium chloride salts exhibit outstanding Seebeck coefficients of up to 10 mV K.

Reversible Protonic Doping in Poly(3,4-Ethylenedioxythiophene).

In this study, poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), a benchmark-conducting polymer, was doped by protons. The doping and de-doping processes, using protonic acid and a base, were fully reversible. We predicted possible doping sites along the polymer chain using density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Fabrication of Hexagonal Microlens Arrays on Single-Crystal Silicon Using the Tool-Servo Driven Segment Turning Method.

Single-crystal silicon microlens arrays are increasingly required in advanced infrared optics. In this study, the authors attempted to fabricate hexagonal microlens arrays, which offer high optical efficiency, on a single-crystal silicon wafer using diamond turning. A tool-servo driven segment turning method was proposed to reduce the dynamic error of the machine tool induced by lenslet edges during lens array cutting.

Willingness to Work and the Working Environment of Japanese Dental Hygienists.

Japanese dental hygienists' employment rate is low. The environment factors and daily job contents that contribute to willingness to work of Japanese dental hygienists and their structures were investigated. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using a self-administered postal questionnaire distributed for one thousand and twenty-three members of Japan Dental Hygienist Association registered in Iwate prefecture affiliation.

Narrowing in face and speech perception in infancy: Developmental change in the relations between domains.

Although prior research has established that perceptual narrowing reflects the influence of experience on the development of face and speech processing, it is unclear whether narrowing in the two domains is related. A within-participant design (N = 72) was used to investigate discrimination of own- and other-race faces and native and non-native speech sounds in 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month-old infants. For face and speech discrimination, whereas 3-month-olds discriminated own-race faces and native speech sounds as well as other-race faces and non-native speech sounds, older infants discriminated only own-race faces and native speech sounds.

Humidity control in a closed system utilizing conducting polymers.

In this study, we demonstrate that conducting polymers could be ideal materials for continuously managing humidity in a wide range of enclosed spaces. We demonstrate a simple battery-driven humidity control unit to manage the humidity in a closed environment and studied humidity-responsive nanocapsules using Zn-coordinated lipid nanovesicles. This study not only promises new applications for conducting polymers but also provides an easy approach for fabricating chambers with a controlled environment, which are often used by physicists, chemists, and biologists.

Stability Orders of Acetaminophen and Theophylline Co-crystals Determined by Co-crystal Former Exchange Reactions and Their Correlation With In Silico and Thermal Parameters.

The aim of this study was to determine the thermodynamic stability order of co-crystals using co-crystal former exchange reactions and to validate 2 in silico parameters for predicting co-crystal formation. Co-crystal former exchange reactions were performed using acetaminophen (AC) co-crystals of oxalic acid (OX), maleic acid (MA), and theophylline (TH). The addition of TH to an AC-MA co-crystal (AC-MA) afforded AC-TH, suggesting that AC-TH was more stable than AC-MA.

Electrical transport and thermoelectric properties of boron carbide nanowires.

The electrical transport and thermoelectric property of boron carbide nanowires synthesized by a carbothermal method are reported. It is demonstrated that the nanowires achieve a higher Seebeck coefficient and power factor than those of the bulk samples. The conduction mechanism of the nanowires at low temperatures below 300 K is different from that of the sintered-polycrystalline and single-crystal bulk samples.

Total arch replacement in a patient with a tracheostoma through a reverse L-shaped partial sternotomy.

A conventional median sternotomy in a patient with a tracheostoma is susceptible to postoperative mediastinitis or graft infection after total arch replacement (TAR). An optimal surgical procedure has still not been established to circumvent these complications in such patients. We report a successful case of a 74-year-old man with a tracheostoma who received TAR through a reverse L-shaped partial sternotomy.

Two-stage surgery to repair a dissecting abdominal aortic aneurysm in a severely obese patient: Open bifurcated graft replacement after laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy.

With the increasing prevalence of severe obesity worldwide, surgical treatment for severely obese patients is becoming more popular. Bariatric surgery has occasionally been performed as a precursor to major operations for serious diseases to make these difficult surgeries safer for severely obese patients. We present the case of a severely obese patient with a dissected abdominal aortic aneurysm and left iliac artery aneurysm.

Photoinduced Dedoping of Conducting Polymers: An Approach to Precise Control of the Carrier Concentration and Understanding Transport Properties.

Exploring the various applications of conjugated polymers requires systematic studies of their physical properties as a function of the doping density, which, consequently, calls for precise control of their doping density. In this study, we report a novel solid-state photoinduced charge-transfer reaction that dedopes highly conductive polyelectrolyte complexes such as poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)/poly(styrenesulfonate). Varying the UV-irradiation time of this material allows the carrier density inside the film to be precisely controlled over more than 3 orders of magnitude.

Strategy for thoracic endovascular aortic repair based on collateral circulation to the artery of Adamkiewicz.

Purpose: Spinal cord ischemia (SCI) is a serious complication of thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR). The purpose of this study was to establish if preoperative identification of the artery of Adamkiewicz (AKA) can help prevent post-TEVAR SCI.

Methods: Of 74 post-TEVAR patients, 51 had the critical segmental artery (CSA) to the AKA pre-identified to help the surgeon deploy stent grafts.

Disruption of diapause induction by TALEN-based gene mutagenesis in relation to a unique neuropeptide signaling pathway in Bombyx.

The insect neuropeptide family FXPRLa, which carries the Phe-Xaa-Pro-Arg-Leu-NH2 sequence at the C-terminus, is involved in many physiological processes. Although ligand-receptor interactions in FXPRLa signaling have been examined using in vitro assays, the correlation between these interactions and in vivo physiological function is unclear. Diapause in the silkworm, Bombyx mori, is thought to be elicited by diapause hormone (DH, an FXPRLa) signaling, which consists of interactions between DH and DH receptor (DHR).

Identification and physicochemical characterization of caffeine-citric acid co-crystal polymorphs.

The purpose of the present study was to identify a new caffeine-citric acid co-crystal (CA-CI) polymorph and characterize three CA-CI polymorphs. The stability order among the three CA-CI polymorphs was also determined. One new and two known CA-CI polymorphs were prepared by the liquid-assisted grinding method or the slurry methods.

Stability order of caffeine co-crystals determined by co-crystal former exchange reaction and its application for the validation of in silico models.

The purpose of the present study was to determine the thermodynamic stability orders of co-crystals by co-crystal former (CCF) exchange reactions. Caffeine (CA) was employed as a model drug. The CCF exchange reaction was performed by liquid-assisted grinding using ethanol.

Recent Progress on PEDOT-Based Thermoelectric Materials.

The thermoelectric properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-based materials have attracted attention recently because of their remarkable electrical conductivity, power factor, and figure of merit. In this review, we summarize recent efforts toward improving the thermoelectric properties of PEDOT-based materials. We also discuss thermoelectric measurement techniques and several unsolved problems with the PEDOT system such as the effect of water absorption from the air and the anisotropic thermoelectric properties.

Experimental Studies on the Anisotropic Thermoelectric Properties of Conducting Polymer Films.

We reported general methods for studying the thermoelectric properties of a polymer film in both the in-plane and through-plane directions. The bench-mark PEDOT/PSS films have highly anisotropic carrier transport properties and thermal conductivity. The anisotropic carrier transport properties can be explained by the lamellar structure of the PEDOT/PSS films where the PEDOT nanocrystals could be isolated by the insulating PSS in the through-plane direction.

Spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma presenting as paraplegia after cardiac surgery.

An 86-year-old woman was scheduled to undergo aortic valve replacement and coronary artery bypass graft. On postoperative day 3, she developed sudden-onset neck pain followed by weakness in the right arm. Her symptoms worsened with time, and she developed paraplegia.