Stabilization of Size-Controlled BaTiO Nanocubes via Precise Solvothermal Crystal Growth and Their Anomalous Surface Compositional Reconstruction.

Crystal growth of barium titanate (BaTiO) using a wet chemical reaction was investigated at various temperatures. BaTiO nanoparticles were obtained at an energy-efficient temperature of 80 °C. However, BaTiO nanocubes with a preferred size and shape could be synthesized using a solvothermal method at 200 °C via a reaction involving titanium tetraisopropoxide [(CH)CHO]Ti for nucleation and fine titanium oxide (TiO) nanoparticles for crystal growth.

Room Temperature Zero Thermal Expansion in a Cubic Cobaltite.

Zero thermal expansion (ZTE) materials are highly desired in modern industries where high-precision processing is necessary. However, ZTE materials in pure form are extremely rare. The most widely used are Invar alloys, where the ZTE is intimately associated with spontaneous magnetic ordering, known as the magnetovolume effect (MVE).

Crystal and Magnetic Structures of LaCoPtO Double Perovskite.

We investigated the crystal structure and magnetic structure in cobaltite-platinate double perovskite of LaCoPtO, employing various techniques of X-ray diffraction, neutron diffraction, and the extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis. It is shown that the crystal symmetry is maintained as 2/ in the temperature range of <500 °C, whereas the lattice constants and the Co-Co distances undergo a continuous structural evolution toward the high-symmetry phases with increasing temperature. The Co-O bonds were overall longer and had a larger degree of structural and thermal disorders than the Pt-O bonds.

Large Magnetovolume Effect Induced by Embedding Ferromagnetic Clusters into Antiferromagnetic Matrix of Cobaltite Perovskite.

Materials that show negative thermal expansion (NTE) have significant industrial merit because they can be used to fabricate composites whose dimensions remain invariant upon heating. In some materials, NTE is concomitant with the spontaneous magnetization due to the magnetovolume effect (MVE). Here the authors report a new class of MVE material; namely, a layered perovskite PrBaCo O (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.

Real-time observations of lithium battery reactions-operando neutron diffraction analysis during practical operation.

Among the energy storage devices for applications in electric vehicles and stationary uses, lithium batteries typically deliver high performance. However, there is still a missing link between the engineering developments for large-scale batteries and the fundamental science of each battery component. Elucidating reaction mechanisms under practical operation is crucial for future battery technology.

Development and applications of a new neutron single-crystal diffractometer based on a two-dimensional large-area curved position-sensitive detector.

A new single-crystal neutron diffractometer based on a large-area curved two-dimensional position-sensitive detector (C-2DPSD) has been developed. The diffractometer commissioning is almost complete, together with development of the measurement methodology and the raw data processing software package, the , and the instrument is now ready to be launched for users. Position decoding of the C-2DPSD is a delay-line readout method with an effective angular range of 110 × 54° in the horizontal and vertical directions, respectively, with a nominal radius of curvature of 530 mm.

Sequence analysis of VP2 gene of canine parvovirus isolated from domestic dogs in Japan in 1999 and 2000.

Seven strains of canine parvovirus (CPV) were isolated from affected dogs in Japan between 1999 and 2000, and their VP2 genes were genetically analyzed. Comparison of the predicted amino acid sequences of VP2 suggested that three field isolates corresponded to CPV type 2a, while the other four to CPV type 2b. The phylogenetic tree constructed from the VP2 genes showed that the newly isolated strains are classified into the cluster consisting of recent Japanese and Taiwanese field isolates, which are distinct from Vietnamese isolates, United States Isolates, or classical CPV type 2.

Cellular defense against H2O2-induced apoptosis via MAP kinase-MKP-1 pathway.

Mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase phosphatase-1 (MKP-1) is an oxidative stress-inducible gene. In this study, we investigated signaling pathways involved in oxidative stress-induced MKP-1 expression and its role in apoptosis of rat mesangial cells. Northern and Western blot analyses showed that H(2)O(2) induced expression of MKP-1 mRNA and protein in a dose-dependent manner, without affecting the stability of the transcript.

Intervention by retinoic acid in oxidative stress-induced apoptosis.

Retinoic acid (RA) has been considered a pro-apoptotic agent, and little is known about its anti-apoptotic potential. In this article, we describe that RA strongly inhibits hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2))-induced apoptosis of mesangial cells by intervention in activator protein 1 (AP-1). Our data showed that: (i) H(2)O(2) induces apoptosis of mesangial cells via the AP-1 pathway; (iii) activation of AP-1 by H(2)O(2) is mediated by the c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)-c-Jun/AP-1 pathway and the extracellular signal-regulated kinase-c-Fos/AP-1 pathway; (iii) RA inhibits H(2)O(2)-induced apoptosis via suppression of c-fos/c-jun expression and JNK activation; and (iv) the anti-apoptotic effect of RA is, at least in part, mediated by induction of mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphatase 1.