Real-time and observation of structural evolution of giant block copolymer thin film under solvent vapor annealing by atomic force microscopy.

An instrumentation technique for real-time, and real space observation of microphase separation was proposed for ultra-high molecular weight block copolymer thin films (1010 kg mol, domain spacing of 180 nm) under high solvent vapor swelling conditions. This is made possible by a combination of a homebuilt chamber which is capable of supplying sufficient amount of vapor, and force-distance curve measurements which gives real-time swollen film thickness and allow active feedback for controlling the degree of swelling. We succeeded in monitoring the domain coarsening of perpendicular lamellar structures in polystyrene--poly(methyl methacrylate) thin films for eight hours tapping mode imaging.

meso-Diketopyripentaphyrin and Diketopyrihexaphyrin as Macrocyclic Tripyrrinone Ligands for Ni Ions.

We report expanded porphyrins with pyridine rings and two neighboring carbonyl groups, which allow Ni ions to coordinate to the tripyrrinone-type NNNO coordination structure with Ni-O bonds. The selectivity of tripyrrinone is superior to other pyrrolic or pyridinic cavities of expanded porphyrins. Introduction of α-carbonyl pyridine next to the tripyrrolic conjugated structure is a powerful strategy for regioselective metalation of flexible expanded porphyrinoids.

Photooxidation Reactions of Cyclometalated Palladium(II) and Platinum(II) Complexes.

New C,N,S-cyclometalated palladium(II) and platinum(II) complexes have been synthesized and their structural, electrochemical, and photochemical properties examined. The blue color of these complexes in solution changed to yellow under visible-light irradiation. By measurement of the absorption spectra for quantifying changes in color, isosbestic points for each complex clearly indicated the presence of only two species responsible for the change of color.

A silver-manganese dual co-catalyst for selective reduction of carbon dioxide into carbon monoxide over a potassium hexatitanate photocatalyst with water.

A Ag-Mn dual co-catalyst deposited on a K2Ti6O13 photocatalyst significantly enhances the photocatalytic CO2 reduction into CO with an extremely high selectivity of 98% by using H2O as an electron donor, owing to the properties of Ag and MnOx species for promoting CO and O2 formation, respectively.

Effects of the gravity direction in the environment and the visual polarity and body direction on the perception of object motion.

To process the motion of objects, humans need to consider information about up-down direction as obtained through various cues such as the gravity direction in the environment, visual polarity, and body direction. This study investigates the effects of up-down direction, as obtained from these cues on motion perception, with a focus on acceleration perception. We presented the participants with moving objects that had various acceleration speeds and measured the physical acceleration to be perceived as constant velocity.

Isotopic evidence for seasonality of microbial internal nitrogen cycles in a temperate forested catchment with heavy snowfall.

The Hokuriku district of central Japan receives high levels of precipitation during winter, largely in the form of snow. This study aimed to elucidate the internal nitrogen dynamics in this temperate forested region with heavy snowfall using the triple oxygen and nitrogen isotopic compositions of NO. The isotopic compositions of NO in atmospheric depositions (P and Tf), with terrestrial components of the soil layer (A0, S25, S55, and S90), ground water (G), and output (St) were measured from 2015 to 2016 in a forested catchment located in the southern area of the Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.

Paddlewheel-type diruthenium(iii,iii) tetrakis(2-aminopyridinate) complexes with NIR absorption features: combined experimental and theoretical study.

The reactions of [Ru(OCCH)Cl] with 2-aminopyridine (Hamp) and 2-amino-4-methylpyridine (Hammp) afforded two novel Ru complexes, [Ru(amp)Cl] (1) and [Ru(ammp)Cl] (2), respectively. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses revealed that 1 and 2 adopted typical paddlewheel-type structures, where the Ru units are coordinated with four aminopyridinate ligands with a cis-2:2 arrangement at the equatorial positions and two chloride ligands at the axial positions. The stabilities of 1 and 2 were supported by unrestricted density functional theory (uDFT) calculations.

Identifying the origin of nitrous oxide dissolved in deep ocean by concentration and isotopocule analyses.

Nitrous oxide (NO) contributes to global warming and stratospheric ozone depletion. Although its major sources are regarded as bacterial or archaeal nitrification and denitrification in soil and water, the origins of ubiquitous marine NO maximum at depths of 100-800 m and NO dissolved in deeper seawater have not been identified. We examined NO production processes in the middle and deep sea by analyzing vertical profiles of NO concentration and isotopocule ratios, abundance ratios of molecules substituted with rare stable isotopes N or O to common molecules NNO, in the Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, and Southern oceans.

Adult attachment style and lateral preferences in physical proximity.

Attachment scale is constructed from two components (anxiety and avoidance) effectively treated as providing salient measures in previous studies. Recent studies have suggested associations between sensitivities to physical warmth and anxiety scores of attachment scale. Some researchers also suggest that the degree of one's comfort with physical proximity depends on attachment styles, attributing differences to the number of oxytocin (a neuropeptide released by physical touch) receptors.

Rational Design of a Composite Electrode to Realize a High-Performance All-Solid-State Battery.

A potential solid electrolyte for realizing all-solid-state battery (ASB) technology has been discovered in the form of Li GeP S (LGPS), a lithium superionic conductor with a high ionic conductivity (≈12 mS cm ). Unfortunately, the achievable Li conductivity of LGPS is limited in a sheet-type composite electrode owing to the porosity of this electrode structure. For the practical implementation of LGPS, it is crucial to control the pore structures of the composite electrode, as well as the interfaces between the active materials and solid- electrolyte particles.

BaScHO: H Conductive Layered Oxyhydride with H Site Selectivity.

Hydride (H) conduction is a new frontier related to hydrogen transport in solids. Here, a new H conductive oxyhydride BaScHO was successfully synthesized using a high-pressure technique. Powder X-ray and neutron diffraction experiments investigated the fact that BaScHO adopts a KNiF-type structure with H ions preferentially occupying the apical sites, as supported by theoretical calculations.

Apparent speed of motion concomitant with action alters with delay.

Multiple studies have shown action to affect perception of motion. The speed intended in the generation of a motion by action affects the apparent speed of the motion. However, it was unclear whether action with no intention of speed affects the apparent speed of a motion.

Image quantification technology of the heterochromatin and euchromatin region for differential diagnosis in the lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia.

Background: Lobular endocervical glandular hyperplasia (LEGH) was first described by Nucci et al. in 1999 and is believed to be a precancerous lesion of minimal deviation adenocarcinoma and gastric-type adenocarcinoma in the uterine cervix. LEGH lesions do not always exhibit apparent cellular and structural atypia, so are difficult to distinguish from normal endocervical cells (EC cells) with cytological examination.

Coordination-Induced Spin-State Switching of an Aminyl-Radical-Bridged Nickel(II) Porphyrin Dimer between Doublet and Sextet States.

A bis(Ni -porphyrinyl)aminyl radical with meso-C F groups was prepared as a spin-delocalized stable aminyl radical with a doublet spin state. Upon addition of pyridine, both Ni centers became hexacoordinated by accepting two axial pyridines, which triggered a spin-state change of the Ni centers from diamagnetic (S=0) to paramagnetic (S=1). The resulting high-spin Ni centers interact with the aminyl radical ferromagnetically to give rise to an overall sextet state (S=5/2).

Concave-shaped transparent electrode to simultaneously monitor electrical activity from multiple sites within the optical sampling area of the intact rat cerebral cortex.

We have developed a concave-shaped transparent electrode unit that enables the placement of several electrodes within the optical sampling area on the spherical surface of the rat brain. This concave-shaped transparent electrode unit consists of an insulator base (a plano-concave lens) and a gallium-doped zinc oxide film that is a transparent conductor coating the base. Most of the unit is wrapped in an insulator film made of silicon dioxide, and the few areas left unwrapped act as electrodes.

Microfluidic High-Migratory Cell Collector Suppressing Artifacts Caused by Microstructures.

The small number of high-migratory cancer cells in a cell population make studies on high-migratory cancer cells difficult. For the development of migration assays for such cancer cells, several microfluidic devices have been developed. However, they measure migration that is influenced by microstructures and they collect not only high-migratory cells, but also surrounding cells.

Synthesis, Characterization, Absorption Properties, and Electronic Structures of Paddlewheel-Type Dirhodium(II) Tetra-μ-(-naphthoate) Complexes: An Experimental and Theoretical Study.

The reactions of [Rh₂(O₂CCH₃)₄(OH₂)₂] with -naphthalenecarboxylic acids ( = 1: 1-HNC, = 2: 2-HNC) afford the dirhodium tetra-μ-(-naphthoate) complexes [Rh₂(1-NC)₄] () and [Rh₂(2-NC)₄] (), respectively. Single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses of [1(OCMe₂)₂] and [2(OCMe₂)₂], which were obtained by recrystallization from acetone (OCMe₂) solutions of and , reveal that the dirhodium cores are coordinated by four equatorially bridging naphthoate ligands and two axial OCMe₂ ligands. Density functional theory (DFT) calculation confirmed that (i) the single Rh⁻Rh bond is formed between the two Rh ions and (ii) the electronic structures between two Rh ions in and are best described as π⁴δ²σ²δ*²π*⁴ and δ²π⁴σ²δ*²π*⁴, respectively.

Experimental and theoretical study of dimer-of-dimers-type tetrarhodium(ii) complexes bridged by 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate linkers.

Two dimer-of-dimers-type tetrarhodium complexes, [Rh4(piv)6(BDC)] ([1]; piv = pivalate) and [Rh4(piv)6(F4BDC)] ([2]), in which two paddlewheel-type dirhodium units are linked by 1,4-benzenedicarboxylate (BDC) and 1,4-tetrafluorobenzenedicarboxylate (F4BDC), respectively, have been synthesized and characterized via single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, ESI-MS, 1H NMR, infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and elemental analyses. Crystal structure analyses of [1(THF)4] and [2(THF)4], which are crystallized from THF solutions of [1] and [2], respectively, revealed that dihedral angles (φ) between two -CO2 units and phenyl rings of the BDC linker in [1(THF)4] are almost co-planar (φ = 2.8°), whereas those of the F4BDC linker in [2(THF)4] are largely inclined (φ = 78.

Characterization and application of microalgae hydrochar as a low-cost adsorbent for Cu(II) ion removal from aqueous solutions.

Hydrochar prepared from the hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae is characterized and investigated for copper removal from aqueous solution. Two hydrochars were prepared at 210 °C (HD210) and 250 °C (HD250). The effect of the initial solution pH, the initial Cu(II) concentration, the contact time, and the temperature will be investigated.

Accurate Estimation of In Vivo Inhibition Constants of Inhibitors and Fraction Metabolized of Substrates with Physiologically Based Pharmacokinetic Drug-Drug Interaction Models Incorporating Parent Drugs and Metabolites of Substrates with Cluster Newton Method.

The accurate estimation of "in vivo" inhibition constants ( ) of inhibitors and fraction metabolized ( ) of substrates is highly important for drug-drug interaction (DDI) prediction based on physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) models. We hypothesized that analysis of the pharmacokinetic alterations of substrate metabolites in addition to the parent drug would enable accurate estimation of in vivo and Twenty-four pharmacokinetic DDIs caused by P450 inhibition were analyzed with PBPK models using an emerging parameter estimation method, the cluster Newton method, which enables efficient estimation of a large number of parameters to describe the pharmacokinetics of parent and metabolized drugs. For each DDI, two analyses were conducted (with or without substrate metabolite data), and the parameter estimates were compared with each other.

Accelerated triacylglycerol production without growth inhibition by overexpression of a glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase in the unicellular red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae.

Microalgae accumulate triacylglycerols (TAGs), a promising feedstock for biodiesel production, under unfavorable environmental or stress conditions for their growth. Our previous analyses revealed that only transcripts of CmGPAT1 and CmGPAT2, both encoding glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferase, were increased among fatty acid and TAG synthesis genes under TAG accumulation conditions in the red alga Cyanidioschyzon merolae. In this study, to investigate the role of these proteins in TAG accumulation in C.

Biocompatible, drug-loaded anti-adhesion barrier using visible-light curable furfuryl gelatin derivative.

Recently, many of studies have been attempted to determine how to decrease adhesion. To effectively prevent adhesion, decrease in unnecessary surgical procedures, prevention of contact with other tissue, and drug treatment for inflammation are required. However, current anti-adhesion materials have disadvantages.

In-Plane Growth of Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Films on a Substrate Surface by Bipolar Electropolymerization.

Alternating current (AC) bipolar electropolymerization of 3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene (EDOT) using a gold (Au) wire as a bipolar electrode (BPE) on a substrate surface resulted in gradual growth of the corresponding poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) thin film from the terminals of the Au wire on the substrate. Studies to clarify the polymerization behavior were conducted under various electrolytic conditions, including monomer concentration, applied frequency, monomer structure, and substrate material. This method could be used to draw conducting polymer films on a nonconductive substrate, guided by an applied external electric field, and thus has potential for circuit patterning in organic electronic devices.

Inhibition of GluR Current in Microvilli of Sensory Neurons via Na-Microdomain Coupling Among GluR, HCN Channel, and Na/K Pump.

Glutamatergic dendritic EPSPs evoked in cortical pyramidal neurons are depressed by activation of hyperpolarization-activated cyclic nucleotide-gated (HCN) channels expressed in dendritic spines. This depression has been attributed to shunting effects of HCN current () on input resistance or deactivation. Primary sensory neurons in the rat mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus (MTN) have the somata covered by spine-like microvilli that express HCN channels.