Pregnancy by Assisted Reproductive Technology Is Associated with Shorter Telomere Length in Neonates

Telomere length (TL) influences the development of lifestyle-related diseases, and neonatal TL may influence their prevalence. Various factors have been reported to affect neonatal TL. Although the fetus is exposed to multiple conditions in utero, the main factors affecting the shortening of neonatal TL are still not known. In this study, we sought to identify factors that influence fetal TL. A total of 578 mother-newborn pairs were included for TL analysis. TL was measured in genomic DNA extracted from cord blood samples using quantitative PCR. The clinical factors examined at enrollment included the following intrauterine environmental factors: maternal age, assisted reproductive technology (ART) used, body mass index (BMI), gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), maternal stress, smoking, alcohol consumption, preterm delivery, small-for-gestational-age, neonatal sex, and placental weight. Univariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to verify the relationship between neonatal TL and these clinical factors. The median neonatal TL to single-copy gene ratio was 1.0. Pregnancy with ART was among the 11 factors associated with shorter neonatal TL. From multiple regression analysis, we determined that neonatal TL was significantly shorter for pregnancies in the ART group than in the other groups. We conclude that pregnancy with ART is associated with shorter neonatal TL.     

Perpendicular oriented cylinders via directional coalescence of spheres embedded in block copolymer films induced by solvent annealing

Polystyrene-b-poly(methyl acrylate) (PS-b-PMA) block copolymer with PS volume fraction of 25.2 vol% was synthesized by atom transfer radical polymerization. Non-pretreated silicon wafers were used as the substrates to prepare perpendicular oriented PS cylinders in PMA matrix via solvent annealing which could induce the transformation of spheres to vertically oriented and hexagonally packed cylinders. The spherical microdomains were formed after the evaporation of solvents from the solutions of the block copolymer in selective solvents mixed from methanol, acetone and dichloromethane. The thickness of films could be as thick as 1000 nm, which were much thicker than usual cases and the cylinders came from the directional coalescence of the spheres, thus any pre-treatments of the substrates were not required for perpendicular orientation. The structures were characterized by small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), transmission electron microscope (TEM), atom force microscopy (AFM) and grazing incidence small angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS).     

Synthesis of 4‐Aryl‐2‐Quinolones via Copper‐Catalyzed Hydroarylation of (o‐Aminophenyl)propiolates with Arylboronates

4‐Aryl‐2(1H)‐quinolones were efficiently synthesized via copper‐catalyzed hydroarylation of (o‐aminophenyl)propiolates with arylboronic acid neopentyl glycol esters. The substrate propiolates were prepared from the corresponding silylalkynes with carbon dioxide by Kondo’s carboxylation method using N,N‐dimethylformamide as a solvent. Hydroarylation was performed in the presence of 3 mol% copper(II) acetate in methanol at 28 °C for 12 h and subsequent deprotection using trifluoromethanesulfonic acid (3.0 equiv.) at 65 °C for 2 h in the same pot to afford the desired 4‐aryl‐2(1H)‐quinolones in 39–89% yields.

     

Augmented reality-based block piling game with superimposed collapse prediction

Understanding what cannot be seen is difficult. Physical behavior can be explained on the basis of physical theories even if the behavior cannot be observed. Explanation of what is physically happening in the real world would become easy, however, if annotations were superimposed on the real objects. Herein, the authors demonstrate how an understanding of a physical event can be facilitated by overlapping a real-world situation with a simulation that predicts a future state. This idea is demonstrated in a game application in which a player stacks blocks into a pile until it collapses. In general, it is easy to estimate whether a block on the edge of a table will fall or not. However, it is more difficult to predict whether a stack of many blocks will collapse, and in what manner the stack will collapse. Even though previous research has demonstrated that the problem of how two-dimensionally stacked blocks collapse can be reduced to solving a sequence of convex quadratic programs, algorithms for convex quadratic programs require massive computational resources. Hence, the authors developed a fast and new algorithm based on a linear program. The proposed algorithm realizes real-time simulation based on physics that superimposes predicted collapse. The block that is predicted to fall is superimposed on the real block with a lit background projection. The system was evaluated in an experiment, and superimposed augmented reality annotation was observed to be efficient. The system was also demonstrated in game contests and received positive feedback and comments.     

Comparison of Centralized and Decentralized Systems in Power System Restoration

This paper proposes a multiagent approach to decentralized power system restoration for distribution system networks and presents a comparison of centralized and decentralized systems for power system restoration. Numerous studies have been conducted on power system restoration problems. From the viewpoint of system structures, this research can be divided into two categories: centralized systems and decentralized systems. In this study, we solve a power system restoration problem for a power distribution network by two different methods: mathematical programming (MIP) and the proposed multiagent‐based method (MAS). The proposed multiagent system consists of several distributing substation agents (DSAGs) and load agents (LAGs). An LAG corresponds to the customer load, and a DSAG supplies electricity to the LAG. From the simulation results, it can be seen that the proposed system can reach the right solution by making use of only local information and that the solution quality is better than that of the centralized system (MIP). This means that the proposed multiagent restoration system is a promising approach to larger scale distribution networks.     

Improving the photovoltaic performance of co‐evaporated Cu2ZnSnS4 thin‐film solar cells by incorporation of sodium from NaF layers

We have investigated the influence of sodium (Na) on the properties of co‐evaporated Cu₂ZnSnS₄ (CZTS) layer microstructures and solar cells. The photovoltaic performance and diode properties were improved by incorporating Na from NaF layers into the CZTS layers, while Na had a negligible effect on the microstructural properties of the layer. The best cell fabricated by using an optimal CZTS layer (Cu/(Zn + Sn) = 0.70, Zn/Sn = 1.8) yielded an active area efficiency of 5.23%. The analysis of device properties suggests that charge‐carrier recombination at CZTS/CdS interface is suppressed by intentional Na incorporation from NaF layers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of function-graded proton exchange membrane for PEFC using heavy ion beam irradiation

The graded energy deposition of heavy ion beam irradiation to polymeric materials was utilized to synthesize a novel proton exchange membrane (PEM) with the graded density of sulfonic acid groups toward the thickness direction. Stacked Poly(tetrafluoroethylene-co-hexafluoropropylene) (FEP) films were irradiated by Xe⁵⁴⁺ ion beam with the energy of 6 MeV/u under a vacuum condition. The induced trapped radicals by the irradiation were measured by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. Irradiated films were grafted with styrene monomer and then sulfonated. X-ray photo-electron spectroscopy (XPS) spectra showed that the densities of sulfonic acid groups were controlled for injection “Surface” and transmit “Back” sides of the fabricated PEM. The membrane electrode assembly (MEA) fabricated by the function-graded PEM showed improved fuel cell performance in terms of voltage stability. It was expected that the function-graded PEM could control the graded concentration of sulfonic acid groups in PEM.     

Pressure Rise and Propagation Phenomena Due to Fault Arc in Container with Opened Pipe

This paper describes experimental and analytic studies on pressure rise and propagation phenomena due to high current arcs in a container with opened pipes. The shape of the experimental container was chosen taking into account underground common ducts. First, arcs were ignited in the container with varying diameter D and length L of the opened pipes and at arc currents of 4 kA to 12.5 kA and an arc duration of 0.1 s. Based on measured waveforms, the maximum pressure rise and the pressure oscillation frequency were obtained. It was found that there is a tendency for to increase with decreasing D and increasing L, and that D has a much greater impact on . In addition, the tendencies of with changing D and L can be approximately explained by Helmholtz resonance. Second, a CFD model for the container with opened pipe was developed based on the experimental results, and simulations were performed. The simulation results were found to correspond to the experimental pressure rise.     

The use of indoline dyes in a zinc oxide dye-sensitized solar cell

The effects of the position and the type of carboxyl anchor group in double rhodanine-type indoline dyes on the performance of a zinc oxide dye-sensitized solar cell were examined. The optimum position for the carboxymethyl group was on the inner rhodanine moiety; a carboxymethyl group gave optimum results among carboxymethyl, -ethyl, and -propyl derivatives.