Revolving Vernier Mechanism Controls Size of Linear Homomultimer

A new kind of the Vernier mechanism that is able to control the size of linear assembly of DNA origami nanostructures is proposed. The mechanism is realized by mechanical design of DNA origami, which consists of a hollow cylinder and a rotatable shaft in it connected through the same scaffold. This nanostructure stacks with each other by the shape complementarity at its top and bottom surfaces of the cylinder, while the number of stacking is limited by twisting angle of the shaft. Experiments have shown that the size distribution of multimeric assembly of the origami depends on the twisting angle of the shaft; the average lengths of the multimer are decamer, hexamer, and tetramer for 0°, 10°, and 20° twist, respectively. In summary, it is possible to affect the number of polymerization by adjusting the precise shape and movability of a molecular structure.     

Compositional Dependence of Normal Spectral Emissivity of Molten Cu-Fe Alloy

Metallurgical and Materials Transactions B - Normal spectral emissivity of molten Cu-Fe alloy with different compositions was measured at the wavelength of 807 nm using an electromagnetic...     

Investigation of optimum design for nanoparticle dispersion in centrifugal bead mill using DEM-CFD simulation

A bead mill is commonly used to produce nanomaterials. The design of the bead mill rotor is an important factor in efficient nanomaterial production to avoid re-agglomeration. We investigated the effect of bead-mill rotor shape on the dispersion state using experimental tests and the discrete-element method (DEM) coupled with computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations. Experimental results using TiO₂ in the bead mill showed that the high rotor rotation speed caused TiO₂ particles re-agglomeration, and a sharp particle-size distribution was obtained by dispersion with a mill with a wide gap between the rotor and the chamber. To evaluate the dispersion performance, bead collisions were analyzed using the DEM-CFD simulation. The simulation results indicated that an increase in bead-collision energy lead to damage of the TiO₂ primary particles and re-agglomeration at a high rotation speed. A uniform dispersion was achieved when the frequency of high-energy collision between the particle and wall decreased and a small standard deviation of the collision energy frequency was obtained by the mill with a wide gap. These simulation results correlate with the experimental results. Therefore, this study shows that the DEM-CFD simulation could contribute to an appropriate rotor design for uniform dispersion.     

Adamantyl Substitution Strategy for Realizing Solution‐Processable Thermally Stable Deep‐Blue Thermally Activated Delayed Fluorescence Materials

Highly efficient solution‐processable emitters, especially deep‐blue emitters, are greatly desired to develop low‐cost and low‐energy‐consumption organic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs). A recently developed class of potentially metal‐free emitters, thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF) materials, are promising candidates, but solution‐processable TADF materials with efficient blue emissions are not well investigated. In this study, first the requirements for the design of efficient deep‐blue TADF materials are clarified, on the basis of which, adamantyl‐substituted TADF molecules are developed. The substitution not only endows high solubility and excellent thermal stability but also has a critical impact on the molecular orbitals, by pushing up the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital energy and triplet energy of the molecules. In the application to OLEDs, an external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 22.1% with blue emission having Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) coordinates of (0.15, 0.19) is realized. A much deeper blue emission with CIE (0.15, 0.13) is also achieved, with an EQE of 11.2%. These efficiencies are the best yet among solution‐processed TADF OLEDs of CIE y < 0.20 and y < 0.15, as far as known. This work demonstrates the validity of adamantyl substitution and paves a pathway for straightforward realization of solution‐processable efficient deep‐blue TADF emitters.     

Elucidating the identity and behavior of spermatogenic stem cells in the mouse testis

Spermatogenesis in mice and other mammalians is supported by a robust stem cell system. Stem cells maintain themselves and continue to produce progeny that will differentiate into sperm over a long period. The pioneering studies conducted from the 1950s to the 1970s, which were based largely on extensive morphological analyses, have established the fundamentals of mammalian spermatogenesis and its stem cells. The prevailing so-called A(single) (A(s)) model, which was originally established in 1971, proposes that singly isolated A(s) spermatogonia are in fact the stem cells. In 1994, the first functional stem cell assay was established based on the formation of repopulating colonies after transplantation in germ cell-depleted host testes, which substantially accelerated the understanding of spermatogenic stem cells. However, because testicular tissues are dissociated into single-cell suspension before transplantation, it was impossible to evaluate the A(s) and other classical models solely by this technique. From 2007 onwards, functional assessment of stem cells without destroying the tissue architecture has become feasible by means of pulse-labeling and live-imaging strategies. Results obtained from these experiments have been challenging the classical thought of stem cells, in which stem cells are a limited number of specialized cells undergoing asymmetric division to produce one self-renewing and one differentiating daughter cells. In contrast, the emerging data suggest that an extended and heterogeneous population of cells exhibiting different degrees of self-renewing and differentiating probabilities forms a reversible, flexible, and stochastic stem cell system as a population. These features may lead to establishment of a more universal principle on stem cells that is shared by other systems.