Comparison of yield and metabolites according to the types of hilling materials utilized during Glehnia littoralis sprout vegetable cultivation

Food Science and Biotechnology - Various hilling materials (rice hulls, pine sawdust, and perlite) were compared to produce sprout vegetables using beach silvertop (Glehnia littoralis Fr. Schm. ex...     

Progressive NO2 Sensors with Rapid Alarm and Persistent Memory-Type Responses for Wide-Range Sensing Using Antimony Triselenide Nanoflakes

Antimony triselenide (Sb₂Se₃) nanoflake-based nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) sensors exhibit a progressive bifunctional gas-sensing performance, with a rapid alarm for hazardous highly concentrated gases, and an advanced memory-type function for low-concentration (<1 ppm) monitoring repeated under potentially fatal exposure. Rectangular and cuboid shaped Sb₂Se₃ nanoflakes, comprising van der Waals planes with large surface areas and covalent bond planes with small areas, can rapidly detect a wide range of NO₂ gas concentrations from 0.1 to 100 ppm. These Sb₂Se₃ nanoflakes are found to be suitable for physisorption-based gas sensing owing to their anisotropic quasi-2D crystal structure with extremely enlarged van der Waals planes, where they are humidity-insensitive and consequently exhibit an extremely stable baseline current. The Sb₂Se₃ nanoflake sensor exhibits a room-temperature/low-voltage operation, which is noticeable owing to its low energy consumption and rapid response even under a NO₂ gas flow of only 1 ppm. As a result, the Sb₂Se₃ nanoflake sensor is suitable for the development of a rapid alarm system. Furthermore, the persistent gas-sensing conductivity of the sensor with a slow decaying current can enable the development of a progressive memory-type sensor that retains the previous signal under irregular gas injection at low concentrations.     

Stabilization of 6H-Hexagonal SrMnO3 Polymorph by Al2O3 insertion

We demonstrate the structural evolution of polymorphic phases in Al₂O₃-inserted SrMnO₃ ceramics synthesized by solid state reaction. While the 4H-hexagonal phase is predominant in pure SrMnO₃ ceramics, a small amount of 6H-hexagonal polymorph is identified in addition to the primary 4H-hexagonal SrMnO₃ and the secondary hexagonal SrAl₂O₄ phases in the as-sintered ceramics, evidenced by x-ray diffraction and subsequent Rietveld refinement analyses. The existence of the 6H-hexagonal SrMnO₃ phase is corroborated using Raman spectroscopy. The chemical compositions and electronic structures of the Al₂O₃-inserted SrMnO₃ compounds are also examined using energy dispersive spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The first-principles calculations reveal that there is no clear difference between the total energies of 4H- and 6H-hexagonal polymorphs regardless of the presence/absence of Sr and oxygen vacancies. Possible origins are discussed with the estimation of actual strain based on the refined lattice parameter of 6H SrMnO₃.     

Electrocatalytic Reduction of CO2 to Ethylene by Molecular Cu‐Complex Immobilized on Graphitized Mesoporous Carbon

The electrochemical reduction of carbon dioxide (CO₂) to hydrocarbons is a challenging task because of the issues in controlling the efficiency and selectivity of the products. Among the various transition metals, copper has attracted attention as it yields more reduced and C2 products even while using mononuclear copper center as catalysts. In addition, it is found that reversible formation of copper nanoparticle acts as the real catalytically active site for the conversion of CO₂ to reduced products. Here, it is demonstrated that the dinuclear molecular copper complex immobilized over graphitized mesoporous carbon can act as catalysts for the conversion of CO₂ to hydrocarbons (methane and ethylene) up to 60%. Interestingly, high selectivity toward C2 product (40% faradaic efficiency) is achieved by a molecular complex based hybrid material from CO₂ in 0.1 m KCl. In addition, the role of local pH, porous structure, and carbon support in limiting the mass transport to achieve the highly reduced products is demonstrated. Although the spectroscopic analysis of the catalysts exhibits molecular nature of the complex after 2 h bulk electrolysis, morphological study reveals that the newly generated copper cluster is the real active site during the catalytic reactions.     

D-limonene Inhibits Pentylenetetrazole-Induced Seizure via Adenosine A2A Receptor Modulation on GABAergic Neuronal Activity

Background: Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disorder characterized by the recurrence of seizures. One-third of patients with epilepsy may not respond to antiseizure drugs. Purpose: We aimed to examine whether D-limonene, a cyclic monoterpene, exhibited any antiseizure activity in the pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-induced kindling mouse model and in vitro. Methods: PTZ kindling mouse model was established by administering PTZ (30 mg/kg) intraperitoneally to mice once every 48 h. We performed immunoblot blots, immunohistochemistry (IHC), and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis after the behavioral study. Results: An acute injection of PTZ (60 mg/kg) induced seizure in mice, while pretreatment with D-limonene inhibited PTZ-induced seizure. Repeated administration of PTZ (30 mg/kg) increased the seizure score gradually in mice, which was reduced in D-limonene (10 mg/kg)-pretreated group. In addition, D-limonene treatment increased glutamate decarboxylase-67 (GAD-67) expression in the hippocampus. Axonal sprouting of hippocampal neurons after kindling was inhibited by D-limonene pretreatment. Moreover, D-limonene reduced the expression levels of Neuronal PAS Domain Protein 4 (Npas4)-induced by PTZ. Furthermore, the adenosine A2A antagonist {"type":"entrez-protein","attrs":{"text":"SCH58261","term_id":"1052882304","term_text":"SCH58261"}}SCH58261 and ZM241385 inhibited anticonvulsant activity and gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA)ergic neurotransmission-induced by D-limonene. Conclusion: These results suggest that D-limonene exhibits anticonvulsant activity through modulation of adenosine A2A receptors on GABAergic neuronal function.     

A Distribution‐freeCUSUMChart for Monitoring Variability of AutocorrelatedProcesses

We present a distribution‐free tabular cumulative sum chart for monitoring the variability of an autocorrelated process. A quantity known as the asymptotic variance parameter is employed as a measure of the variability, and a distribution‐free tabular cumulative sum chart is applied to variance estimates calculated from batches of nonoverlapping samples. The proposed chart is applicable to a stationary process with a general marginal distribution and a general autocorrelation structure. It also determines control limits analytically without trial‐and‐error simulations. The performance of the proposed chart is tested on stationary processes with both normal and nonnormal marginals with various autocorrelation structures. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.