Pressureless all-solid-state sodium-ion battery consisting of sodium iron pyrophosphate glass-ceramic cathode and β″-alumina solid electrolyte composite

In recent years, the expansion of demand for lithium ion batteries has resulted in soaring prices of the constituent resources. From the viewpoint of safety, studies on all-solid-state batteries are actively being carried out. In this study, we succeeded in driving all-solid-state batteries derived from nontoxic oxide glasses at room temperature without requiring scarce resources such as lithium and cobalt. The main structure of the ceramic batteries with a simple structure in which Na₂FeP₂O₇ crystallized glass and β″-alumina solid solution are joined by pressureless cofiring at 550°C. During the crystallization of Na₂O-Fe₂O₃-P₂O₅ glass, fusion with the β″-alumina solid solution is achieved. Reversible charge and discharge of 80 mAh/g were achieved at room temperature. It is not necessary to apply pressure during cell preparation or the use of the batteries. Furthermore, the strong junction at the cathode and electrolyte interface does not peel off during charge and discharge over a long period of 623 cycles. Ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed partial Fe⁴⁺ induction and a reversible charge and discharge reaction even after overcharging to 9 V. It was demonstrated that Na₂FeP₂O₇ is very stable against overcharging to 9 V.     

Dimeric C34 Derivatives Linked through Disulfide Bridges as New HIV-1 Fusion Inhibitors

C34, a 34-mer fragment peptide, is contained in the HIV-1 envelope protein gp41. A dimeric derivative of C34 linked through a disulfide bridge at its C terminus was synthesized and found to display potent anti-HIV activity, comparable with that of a previously reported PEGylated dimer of C34REG. The reduction in the size of the linker moiety for dimerization was thus successful, and this result might shed some light on the mechanism of the suppression of six-helix bundle formation by these C34 dimeric derivatives. Addition of a Gly-Cys(CH₂CONH₂)-Gly-Gly motif at the N-terminal position of a C34 monomeric derivative significantly increased the anti-HIV-1 activity. This moiety functions as a new pharmacophore, and this might provide a useful insight into the design of potent HIV-1 fusion inhibitors.     

Study of the Antioxidative Properties of Several Amino Acid-Type Surfactants and their Synergistic Effect in Mixed Micelle

Cysteine and methionine, two sulfur-containing amino acids (AA), were introduced in their surfactant forms as potential antioxidants. The antioxidative (AOX) properties of lauroyl methionine (C12-Met) and lauroyl cysteine (C12-Cys) was investigated by means of the oxygen radical absorbance capacity assay. Both the surfactants exhibited excellent AOX behavior at the premicellar state and micellar medium. The AOX behavior was found to be comparable for both the surfactants at their premicellar states. However, in micellar medium, C12-Met showed better AOX property than C12-Cys. The AOX power of the surfactants was compared with other previously developed AA-type surfactants. The order of the AOX power was found to be: C12-tryptophan > C12-tyrosine ≈ C12-methionine ≈ C12-cysteine > C12-histidine at the premicellar state and C12-tryptophan > C12-tyrosine > C12-methionine > C12-cysteine > C12-histidine at the micellar state. C12-Cys displayed lower AOX property in micellar medium due to its dimer formation tendency. Based on the HPLC and UPLC-Q-TOF-MS analysis, the dimer formation of C12-Cys was found to be accelerated due to the micellar environment and results into negative synergistic effect on other aromatic AA-type surfactants. However, the presence of C12-His in the micellar solution of C12-Cys resulted no synergistic effect due to stronger H-bonding between the surfactants and resulting less dimer formation.     

Current Control Method of Achieving Wide‐Range Power Driving for Linear Synchronous Motor with Half‐Wave‐Rectified Self‐Excitation

In a previous paper, we proposed a novel linear synchronous motor with half‐wave‐rectified self‐excitation. A long‐stator‐type linear synchronous motor was built and its performance was verified by experiments. This paper presents a new current control method for the linear synchronous motor in order to achieve a wide range of speeds and high‐power operations. First, we propose a current control method for high‐thrust operation in the constant‐thrust region. This operation is realized by using the reluctance thrust resulting from the saliency of the linear synchronous motor. We also propose a control method that maximizes the ratio of the thrust to the voltage; this method can be used to expand the operating range. Wide‐range‐speed operation can be achieved by applying this new control method along with field‐weakening control. The thrust and operating characteristics of the proposed control methods are estimated by performing experiments and coupled electric and magnetic analysis.     

Identification of factors that accelerate hydrogen production by Clostridium butyricum RAK25832 using casamino acids as a nitrogen source

The ability of Clostridium butyricum RAK25832 to use casamino acids as a nitrogen source was investigated. Strain RAK25832 showed the capacity to utilize different types of carbon sources. With glucose as a carbon source (10 g/L), the preferred final concentration of casamino acids was 26.67 g/L, with a cumulative hydrogen production, production rate, and yield of 2505 mL H₂/L, 160 mL/h, and 1.81 mol H₂/mol glucose, respectively. Eighteen metal elements were screened to identify the most important metals for biohydrogen production, and four elements were optimized. The optimal medium composition was MgCl₂·6H₂O (0.1 g/L), K₂HPO₄·3H₂O (6.67 g/L), NaHCO₃ (2.6 g/L), and FeCl₂·4H₂O (0.002 g/L). Vitamin supplementation of the medium showed no significant effect on hydrogen production. Under the optimized conditions, cumulative hydrogen production reached 3074 mL H₂/L. This is the first study to demonstrate the use of casamino acids as a nitrogen source by C. butyricum.     

ISHIGAKI Retrieval System Using 3D Shape Matching and Combinatorial Optimization

International Journal of Computer Vision - In April 2016, a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 7.3 struck Kumamoto region, Japan, causing major devastation. One of the structures that were...     

Phragmites australis: a novel biosorbent for the removal of heavy metals from aqueous solution

Reed (Phragmites australis), a commonly used macrophyte in the wetlands constructed for water purification, was investigated as a new biosorbent for the removal of Cu(2+), Cd(2+), Ni(2+), Pb(2+) and Zn(2+) from aqueous solution. The metal adsorption capacity of reed biomass was improved significantly by water-wash, base- and acid-treatment. The maximum sorption of NaOH-pretreated reed biomass was observed near neutral pH for Cu(2+), Cd(2+), Ni(2+) and Zn(2+), while that for Pb(2+) was from an acidic range of pH 4.0 or higher. The maximum metal adsorption capacity on a molar basis assumed by Langmuir model was in the order of Cu(2+)>Ni(2+)>Cd(2+)>Zn(2+)>Pb(2+). Reed biosorbent showed a very high adsorption affinity value, which helps predict its high ability to adsorb heavy metals at low concentration. Desorption of heavy metals and regeneration of the biosorbent was attained simultaneously by acid elution. Even after three cycles of adsorption-elution, the adsorption capacity was regained completely and the desorption efficiency of metal was maintained at around 90%.     

Dummy humanoid robot simulating several trunk postures and abdominal shapes – Report of element technologies

Development of clothing in consideration of the shape and body function of a person with spinal cord injury is an important task. Then, a dummy robot with a deformation mechanism was developed in this study for evaluating the comfortable level of clothings. Specifically, a trunk joint mechanism and an abdominal mechanism that can realize various deformations of the abdominal area and various trunk poses were developed. The trunk joint mechanism was implemented in order to simulate the seated posture of persons with spinal cord injury. The abdominal deformation mechanism was implemented using linear actuators and rotating servomotors in order to simulate abdominal obesity of persons with spinal cord injury. Further, a tactile sensor system was developed for measuring the clothing pressure on the abdominal area and evaluating the comfort or discomfort of clothing.     

Effect of annealing on photovoltaic properties and microstructure of conventional and inverted organic solar cells using active bilayer based on liquid‐crystal semiconducting polymer and fullerene

Conventional and inverted organic solar cells of poly[9,9‐dioctyl‐fluorene‐co‐bithiophene] (F8T2) as liquid‐crystal semiconducting polymer and fullerene as electron acceptor were fabricated and characterized. An effect of thermal treatment of the films on annealing condition near glass transition was investigated for tuning optimization and improving the photovoltaic and optical properties. Annealing treatment below the glass transition improved the photovoltaic performance and carrier diffusion in crystal growth of active layer. The X‐ray diffraction patterns indicate a crystalline structure with molecular order of F8T2 in crystal index, 100 as a layer distance between sheets of F8T2 chains. The photovoltaic properties were based on molecular interactions with molecular ordering in active layer at crystal state. As the photovoltaic mechanisms, the F8T2 thin film as p‐type semiconducting polymer worked for electron‐donor layer to support light‐induced generation, carrier diffusion and charge transfer near interface in active layer. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.