Structure and reaction mechanism of binary Ni-Al oxides as materials for lithium-ion battery anodes.

A nanometer sized solid solution of NiO and AlO was synthesized by calcination of Ni-Al layered double hydroxides (LDHs). The crystal structure of the obtained compound was determined by XRD and XAFS analyses: Ni and Al ions are located at the metal ion site of the rock salt structure and a certain amount of cation vacancies are also introduced for charge compensation. The electrochemical properties of the Ni-Al binary metal oxide as an anode material for lithium ion batteries were examined by the constant current charge-discharge test.

Isolation and genomic characterization of a novel orthoreovirus from a brown-eared bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis) in Japan.

Five species, Mammalian orthoreovirus, Avian orthoreovirus (ARV), Nelson Bay orthoreovirus (NBV), Baboon orthoreovirus and Reptilian orthoreovirus, have been identified in the genus Orthoreovirus. Their genomes each consist of 10 dsRNA segments. A novel orthoreovirus was isolated from the haemorrhagic intestine of a dead brown-eared bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis) in Japan.

Genomic reassortants of pandemic A (H1N1) 2009 virus and endemic porcine H1 and H3 viruses in swine in Japan.

From 2010 to 2013 in Japan, we isolated 11 swine influenza viruses (SIVs) from pigs showing respiratory symptoms. Sequence and phylogenetic analyses showed that 6 H1N1 viruses originated from the pandemic (H1N1) 2009 (pdm 09) virus and the other 5 viruses were reassortants between SIVs and pdm 09 viruses, representing 4 genotypes. Two H1N2 viruses contained H1 and N2 genes originated from Japanese H1N2 SIV together with internal genes of pdm 09 viruses.