Life-cycle analysis of environmental loads from household septic systems in Japan focusing on effluent water discharge.

Various types of small-scale wastewater treatment systems are widely used in rural areas, and life-cycle assessment (LCA) should be performed to evaluate their environmental performance. In this study, septic systems were first classified into five categories based on their wastewater treatment performance. Effluent samples from actual systems were collected, and their water qualities were determined.

Reversible electric-field-induced phase transition in Ca-modified NaNbO perovskites for energy storage applications.

Sodium niobate (NaNbO) is a potential material for lead-free dielectric ceramic capacitors for energy storage applications because of its antipolar ordering. In principle, a reversible phase transition between antiferroelectric (AFE) and ferroelectric (FE) phases can be induced by an application of electric field (E) and provides a large recoverable energy density. However, an irreversible phase transition from the AFE to the FE phase usually takes place and an AFE-derived polarization feature, a double polarization (P)-E hysteresis loop, does not appear.

Origin of Ferroelectricity in BiFeO-Based Solid Solutions.

We investigate the origin of ferroelectricity in the BiFeO-LaFeO system in rhombohedral 3 and tetragonal 4 symmetries by ab initio density functional theory calculations and compare their electronic features with paraelectric orthorhombic symmetry. We show that a coherent accommodation of stereo-active lone pair electrons of Bi is the detrimental factor of ferroelectricity. A Bloch function arising from an indirect Bi_6-Fe_3 hybridization mediated through O_2 is the primary origin of spontaneous polarization () in the rhombohedral system.

Cloning of the cycloisomaltotetraose-forming enzymes using whole genome sequence analyses of Agreia sp. D1110 and Microbacterium trichothecenolyticum D2006.

We performed whole genome sequence analyses of Agreia sp. D1110 and Microbacterium trichothecenolyticum D2006 that secrete enzymes to produce cyclo-{→6)-α-d-Glcp-(1→6)-α-d-Glcp-(1→6)-α-d-Glcp-(1→6)-α-d-Glcp-(1→} (CI4) from dextran. Full-length amino acid sequences of CI4-forming enzymes were identified by matching known N-terminal amino acid sequences with products of the draft genome.

Polarization and Dielectric Properties of BiFeO-BaTiO Superlattice-Structured Ferroelectric Films.

Superlattice-structured epitaxial thin films composed of Mn(5%)-doped BiFeO and BaTiO with a total thickness of 600 perovskite (ABO) unit cells were grown on single-crystal SrTiO substrates by pulsed laser deposition, and their polarization and dielectric properties were investigated. When the layers of Mn-BiFeO and BaTiO have over 25 ABO unit cells (), the superlattice can be regarded as a simple series connection of their individual capacitors. The superlattices with an of 5 or less behave as a unified ferroelectric, where the BaTiO and Mn-BiFeO layers are structurally and electronically coupled.

Genomic Selection for F Hybrid Breeding in Strawberry ( × ).

Cultivated strawberry is the most widely consumed fruit crop in the world, and therefore, many breeding programs are underway to improve its agronomic traits such as fruit quality. Strawberry cultivars were vegetatively propagated through runners and carried a high risk of infection with viruses and insects. To solve this problem, the development of F hybrid seeds has been proposed as an alternative breeding strategy in strawberry.

Nanoscale structural analysis of Pb(MgNb)O.

The determination of local atomic structure at nanoscale for inhomogeneous systems is challenging. The local arrangement of atoms needs to be studied to understand the local or short-range order structures for disordered materials with a lack of long-range order periodicity. Pair distribution function (PDF) analysis is a technique, that is used to study the short-range order structure of materials: this technique is based on the evaluation of local atomic arrangement using synchrotron and neutron sources.

Successive redox-mediated visible-light ferrophotovoltaics.

Titanium oxide materials have multiple functions such as photocatalytic and photovoltaic effects. Ferroelectrics provide access to light energy conversion that delivers above-bandgap voltages arising from spatial inversion symmetry breaking, whereas their wide bandgap leads to poor absorption of visible light. Bandgap narrowing offers a potential solution, but this material modification suppresses spontaneous polarization and, hence, sacrifices photovoltages.

Uncovering ferroelectric polarization in tetragonal (BiK)TiO-(BiNa)TiO single crystals.

We report the robust ferroelectric properties of (1 - x)(BiNa)TiO-x(BiK)TiO (x = 33%) single crystals grown by a top-seeded solution growth process under a high oxygen-pressure (0.9 MPa) atmosphere. The sample exhibit a large remanent polarization of 48 μC/cm and a sizeable piezoelectric strain constant of 460 pm/V.

A valve powered by earthworm muscle with both electrical and 100% chemical control.

Development of bio-microactuators combining microdevices and cellular mechanical functions has been an active research field owing to their desirable properties including high mechanical integrity and biocompatibility. Although various types of devices were reported, the use of as-is natural muscle tissue should be more effective. An earthworm muscle-driven valve has been created.

Ferroelectrics with a controlled oxygen-vacancy distribution by design.

Controlling and manipulating defects in materials provides an extra degree of freedom not only for enhancing physical properties but also for introducing additional functionalities. In ferroelectric oxides, an accumulation of point defects at specific boundaries often deteriorates a polarization-switching capability, but on the one hand, delivers interface-driven phenomena. At present, it remains challenging to control oxygen vacancies at will to achieve a desirable defect structure.

Ferrielectric-mediated morphotropic phase boundaries in Bi-based polar perovskites.

Spontaneous polarization (P) in ferroelectrics has provided the impetus to develop piezoelectric devices such as sensors, actuators and diagnostic imaging transducers. Widely used lead-based perovskites exhibit a composition-driven phase diagram involving a transition region, known as a morphotropic phase boundary, where the ferroelectric structure changes dramatically and the piezoelectric activity is maximal. In some perovskites, ferroic polarization coexists with nonpolar rotations of octahedra, suggesting an unprecedented phase diagram.

Development of a strictly regulated xylose-induced expression system in Streptomyces.

Background: Genetic tools including constitutive and inducible promoters have been developed over the last few decades for strain engineering in Streptomyces. Inducible promoters are useful for controlling gene expression, however only a limited number are applicable to Streptomyces. The aim of this study is to develop a controllable protein expression system based on an inducible promoter using sugar inducer, which has not yet been widely applied in Streptomyces.

Comparison of Neutralizing Antibody Titers against Japanese Encephalitis Virus Genotype V Strain with Those against Genotype I and III Strains in the Sera of Japanese Encephalitis Patients in Japan in 2016.

Japanese encephalitis (JE) is an acute viral disease caused by the Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV). JEV strains are classified into 5 genotypes (I-V). JEV genotype V strains have never been detected in Japan to date, but they were recently detected in South Korea.

Comparison of the paralogous transcription factors AraR and XlnR in Aspergillus oryzae.

The paralogous transcription factors AraR and XlnR in Aspergillus regulate genes that are involved in degradation of cellulose and hemicellulose and catabolism of pentose. AraR and XlnR target the same genes for pentose catabolism but target different genes encoding enzymes for polysaccharide degradation. To uncover the relationship between these paralogous transcription factors, we examined their contribution to regulation of the PCP genes and compared their preferred recognition sequences.

Gap-state engineering of visible-light-active ferroelectrics for photovoltaic applications.

Photoferroelectrics offer unique opportunities to explore light energy conversion based on their polarization-driven carrier separation and above-bandgap voltages. The problem associated with the wide bandgap of ferroelectric oxides, i.e.

Polarization twist in perovskite ferrielectrics.

Because the functions of polar materials are governed primarily by their polarization response to external stimuli, the majority of studies have focused on controlling polar lattice distortions. In some perovskite oxides, polar distortions coexist with nonpolar tilts and rotations of oxygen octahedra. The interplay between nonpolar and polar instabilities appears to play a crucial role, raising the question of how to design materials by exploiting their coupling.

Threonine-408 Regulates the Stability of Human Pregnane X Receptor through Its Phosphorylation and the CHIP/Chaperone-Autophagy Pathway.

The human pregnane X receptor (hPXR) is a xenobiotic-sensing nuclear receptor that transcriptionally regulates drug metabolism-related genes. The aim of the present study was to elucidate the mechanism by which hPXR is regulated through threonine-408. A phosphomimetic mutation at threonine-408 (T408D) reduced the transcriptional activity of hPXR and its protein stability in HepG2 and SW480 cells in vitro and mouse livers in vivo.

Giant photovoltaic effect of ferroelectric domain walls in perovskite single crystals.

The photovoltaic (PV) effect in polar materials offers great potential for light-energy conversion that generates a voltage beyond the bandgap limit of present semiconductor-based solar cells. Ferroelectrics have received renewed attention because of the ability to deliver a high voltage in the presence of ferroelastic domain walls (DWs). In recent years, there has been considerable debate over the impact of the DWs on the PV effects, owing to lack of information on the bulk PV tensor of host ferroelectrics.

PE859, a novel tau aggregation inhibitor, reduces aggregated tau and prevents onset and progression of neural dysfunction in vivo.

In tauopathies, a neural microtubule-associated protein tau (MAPT) is abnormally aggregated and forms neurofibrillary tangle. Therefore, inhibition of the tau aggregation is one of the key approaches for the treatment of these diseases. Here, we have identified a novel tau aggregation inhibitor, PE859.