Chiral Phosphoric Acid-Catalyzed Enantioselective Synthesis of 2,2-Disubstituted 2,3-Dihydro-4-quinolones from Isatins and 2'-Aminoacetophenones.

Herein, we present the enantioselective synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-4-quinolones bearing chiral tetrasubstituted carbons from isatins and 2'-aminoacetophenones. The transformation is mediated by a chiral phosphoric acid catalyst and proceeds via an generated ketimine and subsequent enantioselective intramolecular cyclization. The methodology features a broad scope and functional group tolerance with yields and enantioselectivities of up to 99% and 98% ee.

Photocatalytic Estrogen Degradation by the Composite of Tin Oxide Fine Particles and Graphene-like Carbon Nitride.

This study investigates whether 17β-estradiol (E2), a natural estrogen and one of the endocrine-disrupting chemicals responsible for water pollution, can be oxidatively decomposed under simulated solar light using a composite of tin oxide nanoparticles and graphene-like carbon nitride (g-CN) as a photocatalyst. The composite photocatalyst was prepared by heating a mixture of urea and tin acetate. FT-IR measurements revealed that g-CN possesses structural units similar to g-CN, a well-studied graphite-like carbon nitride.

Diffractometer for element-specific analysis on local structures using a combination of X-ray fluorescence holography and anomalous X-ray scattering.

To tackle disorder in crystals and short- and intermediate-range order in amorphous materials, such as glass, we developed a carry-in diffractometer to utilise X-ray fluorescence holography (XFH) and anomalous X-ray scattering (AXS), facilitating element-specific analyses with atomic resolution using the wavelength tunability of a synchrotron X-ray source. Our diffractometer unifies XFH and AXS configurations to determine the crystal orientation via diffractometry. In particular, XFH was realised even for a crystal with blurred emission lines by a standing wave in a hologram, and high-throughput AXS with sufficient count statistics and energy resolution was achieved using three multi-array detectors with crystal analysers.

First-Principles Study on Formation Mechanism of Six-Coordinated Si in Silicophosphate Glass.

Six-coordinated Si (Si) structures are readily formed in silicophosphate glasses with high PO contents. Although experiments and simulations have provided some information on the local configurations around Si, further research on the formation mechanism of Si at the atomic scale is needed. To investigate the formation mechanism of Si, we performed dynamic and static analyses based on first-principles calculations.

Structural Evolution of Retinal Chromophore in Early Intermediates of Inward and Outward Proton-Pumping Rhodopsins.

Proton-pumping rhodopsins, which consist of seven transmembrane helices and have a retinal chromophore bound to a lysine side chain through a Schiff base linkage, offer valuable insights for developing unidirectional ion transporters. Despite identical overall structures and membrane topologies of outward and inward proton-pumping rhodopsins, these proteins transport protons in opposing directions, suggesting a rational mechanism that enables protons to move in different directions within similar protein structures. In the present study, we clarified the chromophore structures in early intermediates of inward and outward proton-pumping rhodopsins.

Deep Learning for Predicting Acute Exacerbation and Mortality of Interstitial Lung Disease.

Rationale: Some patients with interstitial lung disease (ILD) have a high mortality rate or experience acute exacerbation of ILD (AE-ILD) that results in increased mortality. Early identification of these high-risk patients and accurate prediction of the onset of these important events is important to determine treatment strategies. Although various factors that affect disease behavior among patients with ILD hinder the accurate prediction of these events, the use of longitudinal information may enable better prediction.

Rapamycin administration causes a decrease in muscle contractile function and systemic glucose intolerance concomitant with reduced skeletal muscle Rictor, the mTORC2 component, expression independent of energy intake in young rats.

Emerging evidence suggests the potential of rapamycin, an antibiotic from Streptomyces hygroscopicus that functions as a mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitor, as a mimetic of caloric restriction (CR) for maintaining skeletal muscle health. Several studies showed that rapamycin administration (RAP) reduced appetite and energy intake. However, the physiological and molecular differences between RAP and CR in skeletal muscle are not fully understood.

Stress fiber strain is zero in normal aortic smooth muscle, elevated in hypertensive stretch, and minimal in wall thickening rats.

Hypertension causes aortic wall thickening until the original wall stress is restored. We hypothesized that this regulation involves stress fiber (SF) tension transmission to the nucleus in smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and investigated the strain in the SF direction as a condition required for this transmission. Thoracic aortas from Wistar Kyoto (WKY) and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) were examined.

Luminescence Mechanisms of Quaternary Zn-Ag-In-S Nanocrystals: ZnS:Ag, In or AgInS:Zn?

Highly emissive Zn-Ag-In-S nanocrystals have attracted attention as derivatives of I-III-VI-type nanocrystals without the use of toxic elements. The wide tunability of their luminescence wavelengths is attributed to the controllable bandgap of the solid solution between ZnS and AgInS. However, enhancement of the photoluminescence quantum yield (PL-QY) depending on the chemical composition has not been elucidated.

Taming Prolonged Ionic Drift-Diffusion Dynamics for Brain-Inspired Computation.

Recent advances in neural network-based computing have enabled human-like information processing in areas such as image classification and voice recognition. However, many neural networks run on conventional computers that operate at GHz clock frequency and consume considerable power compared to biological neural networks, such as human brains, which work with a much slower spiking rate. Although many electronic devices aiming to emulate the energy efficiency of biological neural networks have been explored, achieving long timescales while maintaining scalability remains an important challenge.

Relationships Among Capillary Refill Time, Peripheral Blood Flow Rate, and Fingertip Temperature: Advances in Peripheral Artery Contractility Diagnosis.

Capillary refill time (CRT) is a widely used noninvasive measure of cardiovascular health. Despite its widespread diagnostic utility, it has several limitations, particularly its low sensitivity for certain conditions, because factors such as the contraction and relaxation of distal blood vessels can influence CRT readings. This study was performed to explore the relationships between CRT and distal blood flow.

Deep learning based emulator for predicting voltage behaviour in lithium ion batteries.

This study presents a data-driven battery emulator using long short-term memory deep learning models to predict the charge-discharge behaviour of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). This study aimed to reduce the economic costs and time associated with the fabrication of large-scale automotive prototype batteries by emulating their performance using smaller laboratory-produced batteries. Two types of datasets were targeted: simulation data from the Dualfoil model and experimental data from liquid-based LIBs.

Surface Depth Analysis of Chemical Changes in Random Copolymer Thin Films Composed of Hydrophilic and Hydrophobic Silicon-Based Monomers Induced by Plasma Treatment as Studied by Hard X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy and Neutron Reflectivity Measurements.

In this study, a silicon-based copolymer, poly(tris(trimethylsiloxy)-3-methacryloxypropylsilane)--poly(,-dimethyl acrylamide), thin film was subjected to plasma surface treatment to make its surface hydrophilic (biocompatible). Neutron reflectivity (NR) measurement of the plasma-treated thin film showed a decrease in the film thickness (etching width: ∼20 nm) and an increase in the scattering length density (SLD) near the surface (∼15 nm). The region with a considerably high SLD adsorbed water (DO) from its saturated vapor, indicating its superior surface hydrophilicity.

γ-Secretase Cleaves Bifunctional Fatty Acid-Conjugated Small Molecules with Amide Bonds in Mammalian Cells.

Connecting two small molecules, such as ligands, fluorophores, or lipids, together via a linker with amide bonds is a widely used strategy to generate synthetic bifunctional molecules for various biological and biomedical applications. Such bifunctional molecules have been used in live-cell experiments under the assumption that they should be stable in cells. However, we recently found that a membrane-targeting bifunctional molecule, composed of a lipopeptide and the small-molecule ligand trimethoprim, referred to as mgcTMP, underwent amide-bond cleavage in mammalian cells.

Endothelial-derived nitric oxide impacts vascular smooth muscle cell phenotypes under high wall shear stress condition.

The Phenotypic states of vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs) are essential to understanding vascular pathophysiology. SMCs in vessels generally express a specific set of contractile proteins, but decreased contractile protein expression, indicating a phenotypic shift, is a hallmark of vascular diseases. Recent studies have suggested the relation of abnormally high wall shear stress (WSS) of approximately 20 Pa with the aortic disease pathogenesis.

Selective Inference for Change Point Detection by Recurrent Neural Network.

In this study, we investigate the quantification of the statistical reliability of detected change points (CPs) in time series using a recurrent neural network (RNN). Thanks to its flexibility, RNN holds the potential to effectively identify CPs in time series characterized by complex dynamics. However, there is an increased risk of erroneously detecting random noise fluctuations as CPs.

Multi-step thermal design of microwave vacuum heating to basaltic regolith simulant towards lunar base construction.

Humanned exploration and extended stay on the Moon are the hottest challenges today. We report highly robust materials by microwave heating under high-vacuum conditions (10 Pa) from a basaltic regolith simulant (FJS-1) to ensure the feasibility of lunar infrastructure construction. The violent degassing dynamics were revealed by monitoring vacuum pressure during heating and analyzing the compounds evolved from basaltic silicate compounds: thermal pyrolysis of silicate compounds became more pronounced above 1000 C, leading to a catastrophic deformation accompanied by forming countless pores of several hundred µm sizes.

Maxillary sinus floor augmentation using sponge- and cotton-like graft materials in a rabbit model.

Objectives: Bone graft materials commonly used for maxillary sinus floor augmentation (MSFA), including hydroxyapatite (HAp) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP), are mostly granular and have poor handleability. HAp/collagen composite material (HAp/Col) and β-tricalcium phosphate (β-TCP)/poly(L-lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) have shown promise but their application in MSFA as bone graft materials remains unclear. Here, we investigated the bone-forming behavior of HAp/Col and β-TCP/PLGA in an MSFA rabbit model.

Phosphate overload via the type III Na-dependent Pi transporter represses aortic wall elastic fiber formation.

Objectives: Phosphate (Pi) induces differentiation of arterial smooth muscle cells to the osteoblastic phenotype by inducing the type III Na-dependent Pi transporter Pit-1/solute carrier family member 1. This induction can contribute to arterial calcification, but precisely how Pi stress acts on the vascular wall remains unclear. We investigated the role of extracellular Pi in inducing microstructural changes in the arterial wall.