A photoswitchable CENP-E inhibitor with single blue-green light to control chromosome positioning in mitotic cells.

Reversibly photoswitchable chemical tools have aided in the development of novel approaches in the biomedical field. The visible region of light should be ideal for the biological application of this approach because of its low phototoxicity and deep penetration depth compared to ultraviolet light. Herein, we report a photoswitchable centromere-associated protein E (CENP-E) inhibitor, which is controllable with low-energy blue-green light (around 500 nm) illumination.

Numerical Simulation of the Advantages of the Figure-Eight Flapping Motion of an Insect on Aerodynamics under Low Reynolds Number Conditions.

In proceeding with the advanced development of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which are small flying machines, understanding the flight of insects is important because UAVs that use flight are attracting attention. The figure-eight trajectory of the wing tips is often observed in the flight of insects. In this study, we investigated the more efficient figure-eight motion patterns in generating lift during the hovering motion and the relationship between figure-eight motion and Reynolds number.

Three-Dimensional Numerical Study of Hydrodynamic Interactions between Pectoral Fins and the Body of Aquatic Organisms.

Fish swimming has attracted attention as a locomotion system with excellent propulsive efficiency. They swim by moving their body, fins, and other organs simultaneously, which developed during evolution. Among their many organs, the pectoral fin plays a crucial role in swimming, such as forward-backward movement and change of direction.

Icilin, a cool/cold-inducing agent, alleviates lipopolysaccharide-induced septic sickness responses in mice.

Sepsis is a significant global public health challenge, resulting in millions of human deaths annually. Transient receptor potential melastatin 8 (TRPM8), a non-selective ion channel, is the primary cold sensor in humans; however, its effects on endotoxin-induced inflammation remain unclear. We previously reported that TRPM8 knockout mice exhibited more severe physiological and behavioral endotoxemia responses upon a high-dose injection with lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

Porous supramolecular gels produced by reversible self-gelation of ruthenium-based metal-organic polyhedra.

Supramolecular gels based on metal-organic polyhedra (MOPs) represent a versatile platform to access processable soft materials with controlled porosity. Herein, we report a self-gelation approach that allows the reversible assembly of a novel Ru-based MOP in the form of colloidal gels. The presence of cationic mixed-valence [Ru(COO)] paddlewheel units allows for modification of the MOP charge acid/base treatment, and therefore, its solubility.

UV ozone treatment for oxidization of spiro-OMeTAD hole transport layer.

For practical application of perovskite photovoltaic devices, it is vital to choose an appropriate carrier extraction material with high mobility, high conductivity, and appropriate molecular energy levels. One of the most frequently used hole transport materials, spiro-OMeTAD, is known to show an improvement in its electrical properties after the oxidation reaction. However, this oxidation reaction is generally accomplished by simple atmospheric exposure, often taking one or more nights under atmospheric conditions, and thus the development of a rapid oxidation strategy without the degradation of device performance is strongly required.

Revealing hydrogen spillover pathways in reducible metal oxides.

Hydrogen spillover, the migration of dissociated hydrogen atoms from noble metals to their support materials, is a ubiquitous phenomenon and is widely utilized in heterogeneous catalysis and hydrogen storage materials. However, in-depth understanding of the migration of spilled hydrogen over different types of supports is still lacking. Herein, hydrogen spillover in typical reducible metal oxides, such as TiO, CeO, and WO, was elucidated by combining systematic characterization methods involving various techniques, kinetic analysis, and density functional theory calculations.

Effects of organic components in cuttlebone on the morphological and mechanical properties of peroxide cross-linked cuttlebone/natural rubber composites.

The clarification of the role of organic components in cuttlebone particles on the morphological and mechanical properties in terms of the strain-induced crystallization (SIC) of peroxide cross-linked cuttlebone/natural rubber (NR) composites was revealed for the first time in this study. The organic components in cuttlebone particles affected the increased bound rubber layers and the decreased rubber chain orientation due to the formation of interfacial interactions (filler-to-filler and/or filler-to-rubber interactions). During SIC, the presence of organic components in cuttlebone particles did not significantly affect the crystallinity index and crystallite size in cuttlebone/NR composites.

Preferential solvation of -methyl BODIPYs with pyridine -hydrogen-bonds.

This study explored unexpected -hydrogen bond interactions between -methyl BODIPYs and pyridine or acridine. NMR spectral evidence indicated that the -methyl group and BF core of BODIPYs formed C-H⋯N and C-H⋯F-B -hydrogen bonds with pyridine, respectively. The weak binding strength was attributed to the preferential solvation of pyridine in the vicinity of -methyl BODIPYs in cyclohexane.

Multiscale structural control of linked metal-organic polyhedra gel by aging-induced linkage-reorganization.

Assembly of permanently porous metal-organic polyhedra/cages (MOPs) with bifunctional linkers leads to soft supramolecular networks featuring both porosity and processability. However, the amorphous nature of such soft materials complicates their characterization and thus limits rational structural control. Here we demonstrate that aging is an effective strategy to control the hierarchical network of supramolecular gels, which are assembled from organic ligands as linkers and MOPs as junctions.

A quasi-stable molybdenum sub-oxide with abundant oxygen vacancies that promotes CO hydrogenation to methanol.

Production of methanol from anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO) is a promising chemical process that can alleviate both the environmental burden and the dependence on fossil fuels. In catalytic CO hydrogenation to methanol, reduction of CO to intermediate species is generally considered to be a crucial step. It is of great significance to design and develop advanced heterogeneous catalysts and to engineer the surface structures to promote CO-to-methanol conversion.

Chitosan-Functionalized Recycled Polyethylene Terephthalate Nanofibrous Membrane for Sustainable On-Demand Oil-Water Separation.

The preservation of marine ecosystems is one of the most severe challenges at present. In particular, oil-water separation from oil spills and oily wastewater is important. For this reason, a low-cost, effective, and sustainable polymeric solution is in high demand.

Theoretical Limit of the Color-Change Sensitivity of a Composite Resin Dosimeter Film Based on Spiropyran/BaFCl : Eu/Polystyrene.

The theoretical limit of the color-change sensitivity of a composite resin dosimeter film based on 6-nitro BIPS/BaFCl : Eu/polystyrene under X-ray exposure has been estimated. Each photophysical and photochemical process occurring inside the composite resin dosimeter was quantitatively determined, and the obtained values were used to estimate the theoretical limit of the color-change sensitivity for the composite resin dosimeter. The values obtained were 70.

Effect of fatty acids on the accelerated sulfur vulcanization of rubber by active zinc/carboxylate complexes.

The effect of fatty acids with different aliphatic chain lengths on the accelerated vulcanization reaction of isoprene rubber was investigated through the generation of new intermediates composed of dinuclear bridging bidentate zinc/carboxylate complexes. Using the combination of time-resolved Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and time-resolved zinc K-edge X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy, the essential complex structure of the intermediates formed during the vulcanization reaction of isoprene rubber was determined to be independent of the aliphatic chain length of fatty acids. However, the reactivity of arachidic acid with ZnO was found to be low, which prolonged the induction period and curing time, and slowed down the curing rate in the vulcanization of isoprene rubber.

Ultrathin Silicon Oxide Film-Induced Enhancement of Charge Separation and Transport of Nanostructured Titanium(IV) Oxide Photoelectrode.

The development of nanostructured semiconductor electrodes represented by a mesoporous TiO nanocrystalline (mp-TiO ) film is currently bringing great progresses in photoelectrochemical (PEC) devices for solar-to-electricity and solar-to-chemical conversion. Two serious losses can occur in PEC devices: 1) recombination between the conduction band (CB) electrons and valence band (VB) holes in the bulk and at the surface and 2) back reaction or electron trapping by oxidant in the electrolyte solution during transport to the electron-collecting electrode. Thus, the major challenge in common with the nanostructured semiconductor photoanodes is to achieve efficient charge separation and electron transport.

Modification of dry/wet hybrid fabrication method for preparing a perovskite absorption layer on a PCBM electron transport layer.

The fabrication method of a perovskite absorption layer on a [6,6]-phenyl-C-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM) electron transport layer was investigated for application to perovskite/Si tandem photovoltaic devices. A dry/wet hybrid method that involves thermal evaporation of a PbI precursor followed by spin coating of an organic cation solution was found to be a useful means to form a perovskite layer without destruction of the underlying PCBM layer. To form the perovskite layer densely packed with crystals of large grain size and having smooth surface morphology, the rotational speed of the spin coating and the mixing ratio of organic cations were carefully modified.

Structures and dynamics of carbon-black in suspension probed by static and dynamic ultrasound scattering techniques.

Carbon black (CB) suspension exhibits various structures depending on the properties of solvent and dispersant as well as the preparation process of suspension. In most cases, CB particles do not exist as independent nanoparticles but as aggregates or agglomerates. In order to evaluate the size distribution at different level of hierarchal structure, we carried out static/dynamic ultrasound scattering analysis for the CB suspensions in alcohol and/or water with or without Nafion, a perfluorinated polymer.

Necessity of two-dimensional visualization of validity in the nanomechanical mapping of atomic force microscopy for sulphur cross-linked rubber.

The importance of the two-dimensional (2D) visualization of validity for nanomechanical mapping in atomic force microscopy (AFM) for sulphur cross-linked rubber is emphasized for accurately interpreting the nanoscale physical properties on the surface of the soft material. The "-factor," evaluated to be the difference between the experimental and theoretical force-deformation curves, was considered to be the reliability index of the AFM analysis for all data points on the sample surface. A small -factor corresponds to high accuracy.

Ring-Opening Polymerization of a New Diester Cyclic Dimer of Mandelic and Glycolic Acid: An Efficient Synthesis Method for Derivatives of Amorphous Polyglycolide with High T.

In this study, poly(mandelate-co-glycolate) (PMG), a modified polyglycolide (PGL), is prepared by ring-opening polymerization (ROP) of L-3-phenyl-1,4-dioxane-2,5-dione (PDD); the cyclic dimer of biobased mandelic acid and glycolic acid. The resulting polymer shows an increased glass transition temperature (T ) due to the incorporation of phenyl groups in the chain. High molecular weight PMG is obtained by bulk ROP at 150 °C, and it exhibits a glassy amorphous state with enhanced thermal properties such as a T being 35 °C higher than conventional PGL.

Dominant formation of disulfidic linkages in the sulfur cross-linking reaction of isoprene rubber by using zinc stearate as an activator.

A linear combination fitting in sulfur K-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (S-XANES) measurements reveals each fraction of monosulfidic, disulfidic and polysulfidic linkages in solvent extracted sulfur cross-linked isoprene rubbers. The sulfidic linkage of a disulfidic type is found for the first time to be dominant when zinc stearate and -(1,3-benzothiazol-2-ylsulfanyl)cyclohexanamine are used as the activator and accelerator, respectively, for the sulfur cross-linking reaction at 140 °C. The presence of the bridging bidentate zinc/stearate complex as an intermediate for the sulfur cross-linking reaction is supposed to induce the generation of abundant disulfidic linkages in the rubber networks.

Serotonergic transmission and gap junctional coupling in proventricular muscle cells in the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana.

The visceral muscle tissues of insects consist of striated muscle cells. The mechanisms responsible for delivering signals to the contractile muscles in the insect digestive tract remain unclear. We found that serotonergic nerves innervate the hemocoel surfaces of foregut and midgut muscles in the American cockroach.

Control of tissue size and development by a regulatory element in the 3'UTR.

Regulation of the Hippo pathway via phosphorylation of Yorkie (Yki), the homolog of human Yes-associated protein 1, is conserved from to humans. Overexpression of a non-phosphorylatable form of Yki induces severe overgrowth in adult fly eyes. Here, we show that mRNA associates with microsomal fractions and forms foci that partially colocalize to processing bodies in the vicinity of endoplasmic reticulum.

Ultrasound attenuation and phase velocity of micrometer-sized particle suspensions with viscous and thermal losses.

The attenuation coefficient and the phase velocity of micrometer-sized polydivinylbenzene particles in water were investigated by ultrasound spectroscopy equipped with 10-30MHz longitudinal wave transducers. While the surrounding liquid could be assumed to be inviscid for large particles with the size comparable to the wavelength of longitudinal ultrasound, the viscous and thermal waves were considered to have important roles with decreasing the particle size because the particle size becomes comparable with those wavelengths. In this study, these contributions were systematically investigated by changing the particle-size.

Investigating the Existence of Bulk Nanobubbles with Ultrasound.

Nanobubbles are expected to dissolve in milliseconds. Experimental evidence of nanobubbles that were stable for days had thus been first received with circumspection. If the large number of experimental confirmations has now made clear that surface nanobubbles could exist, bulk nanobubbles are still subject to debate.

Dynamics of micron-sized particles in dilute and concentrated suspensions probed by dynamic ultrasound scattering techniques.

A novel ultrasound technique called Frequency-Domain Dynamic ultraSound Scattering (FD-DSS) was employed to determine sedimentation velocities and the diameters of microparticles in a highly turbid suspension. The paper describes the importance of the scattering vector q for dynamic scattering experiments using broadband ultrasound pulses because q (or frequency) corresponds to the spatial length scale whereas the pulses involve inevitable uncertainty in the time domain due to the frequency distribution of broadband pulse. The results obtained from Stokes velocity of monodispersed silica and polydivinylbenzene (PDVB) particles were compared to those obtained by a Field Emission Scanning Electron Microscope (FE-SEM).