Development of Pure Silica CHA Membranes for CO Separation.

Thin pure-silica chabazite (Si-CHA) membranes have been synthesized by using a secondary growth method on a porous silica substrate. A CO permeance of 2.62 × 10 mol m s Pa with a CO/CH permeance ratio of 62 was obtained through a Si-CHA membrane crystallized for 8 h using a parent gel of HO/SiO ratio of 4.

A bright future for engineering piezoelectric 2D crystals.

The piezoelectric effect, mechanical-to-electrical and electrical-to-mechanical energy conversion, is highly beneficial for functional and responsive electronic devices. To fully exploit this property, miniaturization of piezoelectric materials is the subject of intense research. Indeed, select atomically thin 2D materials strongly exhibit the piezoelectric effect.

Discrete responses of erythrocytes, platelets, and von Willebrand factor to shear.

Despite decades of technological advancements in blood-contacting medical devices, complications related to shear flow-induced blood trauma are still frequently observed in clinic. Blood trauma includes haemolysis, platelet activation, and degradation of High Molecular Weight von Willebrand Factor (HMW vWF) multimers, all of which are dependent on the exposure time and magnitude of shear stress. Specifically, accumulating evidence supports that when blood is exposed to shear stresses above a certain threshold, blood trauma ensues; however, it remains unclear how various constituents of blood are affected by discrete shears experimentally.

Synthesis of Dense MgB Superconductor via In Situ and Ex Situ Spark Plasma Sintering Method.

In this study, high-density magnesium diboride (MgB) bulk superconductors were synthesized by spark plasma sintering (SPS) under pressure to improve the field dependence of the critical current density (-) in MgB bulk superconductors. We investigated the relationship between sintering conditions (temperature and time) and - using two methods, ex situ (sintering MgB synthesized powder) and in situ (reaction sintering of Mg and B powder), respectively. As a result, we found that higher density with suppressed particle growth and suppression of the formation of coarse particles of MgB and MgO were found to be effective in improving the - characteristics.

Erythrocyte morphological symmetry analysis to detect sublethal trauma in shear flow.

The viscoelastic properties of red blood cells (RBC) facilitate flexible shape change in response to extrinsic forces. Their viscoelasticity is intrinsically linked to physical properties of the cytosol, cytoskeleton, and membrane-all of which are highly sensitive to supraphysiological shear exposure. Given the need to minimise blood trauma within artificial organs, we observed RBC in supraphysiological shear through direct visualisation to gain understanding of processes leading to blood damage.

Muscle Damage Indicated by Maximal Voluntary Contraction Strength Changes From Immediately to 1 Day After Eccentric Exercise of the Knee Extensors.

The present study examined if the magnitude of changes in indirect muscle damage markers could be predicted by maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) torque changes from immediately to 1 day after eccentric exercise. Twenty-eight young men performed 100 maximal isokinetic (60°/s) eccentric contractions of the knee extensors. MVIC torque, potentiated doublet torque, voluntary activation (VA) during MVIC, shear modulus of rectus femoris (RF), vastus medialis and lateralis, and muscle soreness of these muscles were measured before, immediately after, and 1-3 days post-exercise.

A DIY Fabrication Approach of Stretchable Sensors Using Carbon Nano Tube Powder for Wearable Device.

Soft robotics and wearable devices are promising technologies due to their flexibility. As human-soft robot interaction technologies advance, the interest in stretchable sensor devices has increased. Currently, the main challenge in developing stretchable sensors is preparing high-quality sensors a simple and cost-effective method.

Tocotrienols reach the brain and play roles in the attenuation of body weight gain and improvement of cognitive function in high-fat diet-treated mice.

Obesity induces severe disorders such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular events, and the number of people with obesity is increasing all over the world. Furthermore, it is possible that obesity increases the risk of cognitive dysfunction via the acceleration of oxidative damage. Tocotrienols, which are part of the vitamin E family, have antioxidant and anti-obesity effects.

Coco Peat as Agricultural Waste Sorbent for Sustainable Diesel-Filter System.

Oil spill incidents are hazardous and have prolonged damage to the marine environment. Management and spill clean-up procedures are practical and rapid, with several shortcomings. Coco peat (CP) and coco fibre (CF) are refined from coconut waste, and their abundance makes them desirable for diesel spillage treatment.

Synthesis and Characterization of Al- and SnO-Doped ZnO Thermoelectric Thin Films.

The effect of SnO addition (0, 1, 2, 4 wt.%) on thermoelectric properties of -axis oriented Al-doped ZnO thin films (AZO) fabricated by pulsed laser deposition on silica and AlO substrates was investigated. The best thermoelectric performance was obtained on the AZO + 2% SnO thin film grown on silica, with a power factor () of 211.

Mathematical Modelling of Canola Oil Biodegradation and Optimisation of Biosurfactant Production by an Antarctic Bacterial Consortium Using Response Surface Methodology.

An Antarctic soil bacterial consortium (reference BS14) was confirmed to biodegrade canola oil, and kinetic studies on this biodegradation were carried out. The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of BS14 to produce biosurfactants during the biodegradation of canola oil. Secondary mathematical equations were chosen for kinetic analyses (Monod, Haldane, Teissier-Edwards, Aiba and Yano models).

Naturally occurring UBIAD1 mutations differentially affect menaquinone biosynthesis and vitamin K-dependent carboxylation.

UbiA prenyltransferase domain-containing protein-1 (UBIAD1) is responsible for the biosynthesis of menaquinone-4 (MK-4), a cofactor for extrahepatic carboxylation of vitamin K-dependent (VKD) proteins. Genetic variations of UBIAD1 are mainly associated with Schnyder corneal dystrophy (SCD), a disease characterized by abnormal accumulation of cholesterol in the cornea. Results from in vitro studies demonstrate that SCD-associated UBIAD1 mutations are defective in MK-4 biosynthesis.

Impact of short-term oral dose of cinnamtannin A2, an (-)-epicatechin tetramer, on spatial memory and adult hippocampal neurogenesis in mouse.

Recent epidemiological and intervention studies have suggested that polyphenol-rich plant food consumption reduced the risk of cognitive decline. However, the findings were tentative and by no means definitive. In the present study, we examined the impact of short-term oral administration of cinnamtannin A2 (A2), an (-)-epicatechin tetramer, on adult hippocampal neurogenesis and cognitive function in mice.

Substrate complex structure, active site labeling and catalytic role of the zinc ion in cysteine glycosidase.

β-l-Arabinofuranosidase HypBA1 from Bifidobacterium longum belongs to the glycoside hydrolase family 127. At the active site of HypBA1, a cysteine residue (Cys417) coordinates with a Zn2+ atom and functions as the catalytic nucleophile for the anomer-retaining hydrolytic reaction. In this study, the role of Zn2+ ion and cysteine in catalysis as well as the substrate-bound structure were studied based on biochemical and crystallographic approaches.

Determination of tissue-specific interaction between vitamin C and vitamin E using senescence marker protein-30 knockout mice as a vitamin C synthesis deficiency model.

Vitamin E (-tocopherol; VE) is known to be regenerated from VE radicals by vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid; VC) . However, their interaction in various tissues is still unclear. Therefore, we alternatively examined the interaction of VC and VE by measurement of their concentrations in various tissues of senescence marker protein-30 (SMP30) knockout (KO) mice as a VC synthesis deficiency model.

Demonstration of laser biospeckle method for speedy in vivo evaluation of plant-sound interactions with arugula.

In recent years, it is becoming clearer that plant growth and its yield are affected by sound with certain sounds, such as seedling of corn directing itself toward the sound source and its ability to distinguish stuttering of larvae from other sounds. However, methods investigating the effects of sound on plants either take a long time or are destructive. Here, we propose using laser biospeckle, a non-destructive and non-contact technique, to investigate the activities of an arugula plant for sounds of different frequencies, namely, 0 Hz or control, 100 Hz, 1 kHz, 10 kHz, including rock and classical music.

The four-celled Volvocales green alga Tetrabaena socialis exhibits weak photobehavior and high-photoprotection ability.

Photo-induced behavioral responses (photobehaviors) are crucial to the survival of motile phototrophic organisms in changing light conditions. Volvocine green algae are excellent model organisms for studying the regulatory mechanisms of photobehavior. We recently reported that unicellular Chlamydomonas reinhardtii and multicellular Volvox rousseletii exhibit similar photobehaviors, such as phototactic and photoshock responses, via different ciliary regulations.

()BaCuO and the Roeser-Huber Formula.

We apply the Roeser-Huber formula to the ()Ba2Cu3O7-δ (BCO with = rare earths) high-Tc superconducting material class to calculate the superconducting transition temperature, Tc, using the electronic configuration and the crystallographic data. In a former publication (H. P.

Relationship Between Subjective Ratings of Answers and Behavioral and Autonomic Nervous Activities During Creative Problem-Solving Online Conversation.

Creative problem solving has been important for the advent of new technologies. In this study, we hypothesized that subjective ratings of answers should be useful for evaluating the answer quality in creative problem solving. To test this hypothesis and extract objective indicators of the subjective ratings of answers, we evaluated the relationship between subjective ratings of task performance and behavioral and autonomic nervous activities during a creative problem-solving task performed online conversation.

MCAs in Arabidopsis are Ca-permeable mechanosensitive channels inherently sensitive to membrane tension.

Mechanosensitive (MS) ion channels respond to mechanical stress and convert it into intracellular electric and ionic signals. Five MS channel families have been identified in plants, including the Mid1-Complementing Activity (MCA) channel; however, its activation mechanisms have not been elucidated in detail. We herein demonstrate that the MCA2 channel is a Ca-permeable MS channel that is directly activated by membrane tension.

Sine-square deformation applied to classical Ising models.

Sine-square deformation (SSD) is a treatment proposed in quantum systems, which spatially modifies a Hamiltonian, gradually decreasing the local energy scale from the center of the system toward the edges by a sine-squared envelope function. It is known to serve as a good boundary condition as well as to provide physical quantities reproducing those of the infinite-size systems. We apply the SSD to one- and two-dimensional classical Ising models.

A Setup for Measuring the Centering Error of a Dual-Element Pyroelectric Infrared Sensor Module.

This paper presents an experimental setup to measure the horizontal centering error of a pre-built pyroelectric infrared (PIR) sensor module, in which a dual-element PIR sensor is aligned at the focal point of a single-zone Fresnel Lens. In the setup, the sensor module was placed facing a modulated infrared radiating source and turned over a range of horizontal angles. The position of the optical axis of the sensor module was determined based on the analysis of the output response of the sensor at turned angles.

Investigation on the Power Factor of Skutterudite Sm(FeNi)Sb Thin Films: Effects of Deposition and Annealing Temperature.

Filled skutterudites are currently studied as promising thermoelectric materials due to their high power factor and low thermal conductivity. The latter property, in particular, can be enhanced by adding scattering centers, such as the ones deriving from low dimensionality and the presence of interfaces. This work reports on the synthesis and characterization of thin films belonging to the Sm(FeNi)Sb-filled skutterudite system.