DABCO-Intercalated α-Zirconium Phosphate as a Latent Thermal Catalyst in the Reaction of Urethane Synthesis.

The mixture of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) and butanol (BuOH) with the intercalation compound of 1,4-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane (DABCO) with α-zirconium phosphate (α-ZrP) has been evaluated as a latent thermal catalyst at varying temperatures.

Edible liquid marbles stabilized with millimeter-sized spherical particles.

Liquid marbles (LMs) are millimeter-sized liquid droplets in a gaseous phase coated with solid particles. The LM technology allows liquid droplets to be treated as solid particles. As an LM stabilizer, edible particles are of particular interest, especially for applications in the food industry.

Creation of catalytic activity-improved hyperthermophilic PQQ-dependent aldose sugar dehydrogenase and its efficient use for high performance electro-device.

PQQ-dependent aldose sugar dehydrogenase (PQQ-ASD) from the hyperthermophilic archaeon Pyrobaculum aerophilum (PaeASD) has great potential as an element for durable bioelectrodevices owing to its exceptional stability against high temperatures and across a broad pH spectrum. However, its application is constrained by low electric current output of the enzyme-immobilized electrodes, which is attributable to its low catalytic activity. A directed evolutionary approach was performed on PaeASD to improve enzyme activity, resulting in the identification of a PaeASD s24 mutant containing six amino acid substitutions, which exhibited a 16-fold higher specific activity than that of wild type.

Spatiotemporal functions of leukemia inhibitory factor in embryo attachment and implantation chamber formation.

Embryo implantation is crucial for successful pregnancy, requiring appropriate uterine responses to implantation-competent blastocysts. Molecular communication at the maternal-fetal junction governs this process. Leukemia inhibitory factor (Lif) plays a pivotal role in implantation across species.

Pickering Emulsions Stabilized with Millimeter-Sized Polymer Plates.

Hexagonal polymer plates of (sub)millimeter size that were uniform in shape and size were used as a stabilizer for emulsions, and the correlations of plate size, oil polarity, and plate dispersing media before emulsification with the formability, type, and droplet shape of emulsions were studied. The formability of the emulsions was improved by decreasing the plate size. The lower the oil polarity was, the more preferably O/W-type emulsions were formed, and as the oil polarity increased, the formability of W/O-type emulsions increased, whereas too high of an oil polarity resulted in no emulsion formation or macrophase separation of the oil dispersion of the plates and water.

Unveiling Baryon Charge Carriers through Charge Stopping in Isobar Collisions.

Utilizing a comprehensive (3+1)D relativistic hydrodynamic framework with multiple conserved charge currents and charge-dependent lattice-QCD-based equation of state, we study the baryon and electric charge number deposition at midrapidity in isobar Ru+Ru and Zr+Zr collisions at the center of mass energy sqrt[s_{NN}]=200  GeV. Comparing our predictions with upcoming experimental data from the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider will shed light on the existence of baryon junctions.

Dermal macrophages control tactile perception under physiological conditions via NGF signaling.

We demonstrated previously that sorting nexin 25 (SNX25) in nerve-associated macrophages plays critical roles in pain sensation by regulating tissue NGF content under both physiological and neuropathic conditions. In the present study, we apply the SNX25-NGF paradigm to tactile perception by showing that Snx25 mice or macrophage-specific Snx25 conditional knock-out (mcKO) mice had weaker responses to tactile stimuli in normal conditions. Snx25 mcKO mice responded poorly to transcutaneous electrical stimuli at a frequency of 5 Hz (C fiber responses), but normally to stimuli at a frequency of 250 Hz (Aδ fiber responses) or of 2000 Hz (Aβ fiber responses).

Skeletal Isomerization of Ergosterol-5,8-Peroxide Leading to the Discovery of Unprecedented Ergostanes and Collective Syntheses of 5,6-Epoxysterols and (+)-Sarocladione.

Skeletal isomerization of ergosterol peroxide, a primary oxidation product of ergosterol, was investigated under thermal and iron(II)-mediated conditions. Thermal isomerization resulted in not only the isolation of the predicted 7-hydroxy-5,6-epoxides but also the discovery of the unprecedented 7/9/5-ring-fused ergostane for the first time. The iron(II)-mediated isomerization proceeded at ambient temperature, resulting in the formation of the expected 5,6-epoxysterols and a ring-opened bicyclic diketone.

Combined Method Comprising Low Burden Physiological Measurements with Dry Electrodes and Machine Learning for Classification of Visually Induced Motion Sickness in Remote-Controlled Excavator.

The construction industry is actively developing remote-controlled excavators to address labor shortages and improve work safety. However, visually induced motion sickness (VIMS) remains a concern in the remote operation of construction machinery. To predict the occurrence and severity of VIMS, we developed a prototype system that acquires multiple physiological signals with different mechanisms under a low burden and detects VIMS from the collected data.

Photoinduced Self-assembly: An Alternative Strategy for the Construction of Coordination Oligomers and Polymers.

Self-assembled oligonuclear and polynuclear complexes have numerous functionalities and potential applications. Generally, such compounds have been constructed by thermal substitution reactions with bridging ligands. Herein, we report bottom-up and photochemical construction of functional coordination oligomers and polymers by photosubstitution-induced self-assembly.

Phosphine-Promoted Synthesis of Naphthoquinones Fused with Cyclopentadienyl Moiety Via Ring Expansion: Synthesis, Reactivity, and Ring Contraction Via [1,5] Sigmatropic Rearrangement.

Phosphine-promoted unprecedented [3 + 2] annulation reactions via ring expansion by using 2-benzylidene-indane-1,3-diones and diynoates for the synthesis of biologically interesting novel naphthoquinones fused with a five-membered ring bearing a phosphorus ylide up to 78% yield are described. Further ring contraction through [1,5] sigmatropic rearrangement to the spiro indan-1,3-diones by CPBA oxidation was revealed and inferred through oxidation, followed by protonation. The relevant structures were confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction.

Stearic Acid as Polymerization Medium, Dopant and Hydrophobizer: Chemical Oxidative Polymerization of Pyrrole.

In recent years, fatty acids have garnered significant attention as a natural phase-change material and a hydrophobizer due to their biocompatibility and biodegradability. In this study, the utilization of fatty acid is proposed as a polymerization medium for the first time. As a specific reaction, chemical oxidative polymerizations of pyrrole is conducted using ferric chloride as an oxidant in a stearic acid medium.

Small-angle X-ray scattering analysis of poly(amic acid) dispersed in a liquid matrix to understand the size control of polyimide nanoparticles.

Poly(amic ‍acid) ‍nanoparticles ‍prepared ‍by ‍‍precipitation ‍polymerization with a dispersant were evaluated by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM). The particle size evaluation of poly(amic acid) nanoparticles in the liquid phase by SAXS was performed to gain insight into the size control of poly(amic acid) nanoparticles, and showed good agreement with visual observation by FE-SEM, explaining the effect of the dispersant in obtaining polyimide nanoparticles with small particle size. This indicates that the particle size is maintained without change during the solvent evaporation process.

Surface potential distribution of resist exposed by electron beam and the non-charging exposure conditions.

In this study, we experimentally analyzed the charging phenomenon when an insulating resist film on a conductive layer formed on bulk glass is irradiated by electron beams. To quantify the charging potential induced, an electrostatic force microscope device was installed in the scanning electron microscope sample chamber, and potential distributions formed under various exposure conditions were obtained. Based on the results obtained, a model for charge accumulation within the sample, explaining positive and negative charging and their transitions, was developed.

Novel three-dimensional live skin-like in vitro composite for bioluminescence reporter gene assay.

We genetically manipulated HaCaT cells, a spontaneously immortalised normal keratinocyte cell line, to stably express two different coloured luciferase reporter genes, driven by interleukin 8 (IL-8) and ubiquitin-C (UBC) promoters, respectively. Subsequently, we generated a three-dimensional (3D) skin-like in vitro composite (SLIC) utilising these cells, with the objective of monitoring bioluminescence emitted from the SLIC. This SLIC was generated on non-woven silica fibre membranes in differentiation medium.

Assessing the complexation of dissolved organic matter with heavy metals (Cu, Pb) in leachate from an old Japanese landfill site using fluorescence quenching.

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) in landfill leachate impacts the toxicity, bioavailability, and migration of heavy metals. The present study investigated the complexation of heavy metals (Cu and Pb) with DOM from two landfill leachate samples, representing an old landfill site containing incineration residues and incombustible waste. The logarithms of the stability constant (log K) and percentage of complexed fluorophores were calculated using both the Ryan-Weber non-linear model and the modified Stern-Volmer model, yielding good agreement.

Motion and Orientation of Janus Spherical Particles at a Liquid-Air Interface Governed by the Moses Effect.

We investigated the motion of spherical polystyrene/polypyrrole-coated polystyrene Janus particles placed at an air/saline interface and driven by a permanent magnetic field of ca. 0.5 T.

Morphology and Alignment Transition of Hexabenzocoronene (HBC) Mesogen Films by Bar Coating: Effect of Coating Speed.

Films of the discotic liquid crystalline hexabenzocoronene (HBC) derivative, , were prepared on the quartz substrate by the bar-coating method. Depending on the coating speed, regularly spaced stripes or continuous films were observed. In the former case, columns of the HBC derivatives align more along the stripes, which are perpendicular to the coating direction, whereas in the latter case, columns of the HBC derivatives in the film align more along the coating direction.

Preparation of Water-Soluble Polyion Complex (PIC) Micelles with pH-Responsive Carboxybetaine Block.

A dual zwitterionic diblock copolymer (MC) consisting of poly(2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl phosphorylcholine) (PMPC, M) and poly(3-((2-(methacryloyloxy)ethyl) dimethylammonio) propionate) (PCBMA, C) is synthesized via reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerization. A double hydrophilic diblock copolymer (MS) consist of PMPC and anionic poly(3-sulfopropyl methacrylate potassium salt) (PMPS, S) is synthesized via RAFT. The degrees of polymerization of each block are 100.

Effectiveness of a Virtual Reality Open-Air Bath Program in Reducing Loneliness and Improving Brain Function for Dementia Prevention in Older Adults: Protocol for a Prospective Randomized Crossover Study.

Background: Older adults often face loneliness due to chronic illness or loss of close ones, a situation worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Increased loneliness heightens the risk of diseases, especially dementia, necessitating urgent action.

Objective: This study aims to assess the impact of a virtual reality (VR)-based open-air bath program on depression and loneliness in older individuals with subjective cognitive decline/mild cognitive impairment attending the Dementia Medical Center in Kyoto, Japan.

Exploring relationships among landfill leachate parameters through multivariate analysis for monitoring purposes.

Elucidating the properties of landfill leachate and the relationships among leachate parameters is crucial for efforts to determine appropriate landfill leachate monitoring activity and management strategies. This study investigated the physical, chemical and optical parameters of leachate in an old Japanese landfill over a 13-month period. The parameters were explored based on their relationships with the maximum fluorescence () of three components (microbial humic-like C1, terrestrial humic-like C2 and protein-like C3) deconvoluted from excitation-emission matrix fluorescence spectroscopy coupled with parallel factor analysis.

Inline Hot Rolling of Al-5%Mg Strip Cast Using an Unequal Diameter Twin-Roll Caster.

One advantage of twin-roll casting for aluminum alloys is that hot rolling can be omitted, thus shortening the process. The effect of inline hot rolling on the anisotropy of the mechanical properties, especially the elongation, of the roll-cast strip has not been investigated. In a high-speed twin-roll caster, inline hot rolling forms the metal shape before the temperature of the cast strip decreases below the temperature needed for hot rolling.