The Mucus Binding Factor Is Not Necessary for Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus CRL1505 to Exert Its Immunomodulatory Activities in Local and Distal Mucosal Sites

Both viable and non-viable orally administered Lacticaseibacillus rhamnosus CRL1505 modulate immunity in local (intestine) and distal (respiratory) mucosal sites. So, intestinal adhesion and colonization are not necessary for this probiotic strain to exert its immunomodulatory effects. In this work, a mucus-binding factor knockout CRL1505 strain (ΔmbfCRL1505) was obtained and the lack of binding ability to both intestinal epithelial cells and mucin was demonstrated in vitro. In addition, two sets of in vivo experiments in 6-week-old Balb/c mice were performed to evaluate ΔmbfCRL1505 immunomodulatory activities. (A) Orally administered ΔmbfCRL1505 prior to intraperitoneal injection of the Toll-like receptor 3 (TLR3) agonist poly(I:C) significantly reduced intraepithelial lymphocytes (CD3⁺NK1.1⁺CD8αα⁺) and pro-inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-15) in the intestinal mucosa. (B) Orally administered ΔmbfCRL1505 prior to nasal stimulation with poly(I:C) significantly decreased the levels of the biochemical markers of lung tissue damage. In addition, reduced recruitment of neutrophils and levels of pro-inflammatory mediators (TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-8) as well as increased IFN-β and IFN-γ in the respiratory mucosa were observed in ΔmbfCRL1505-treated mice when compared to untreated control mice. The immunological changes induced by the ΔmbfCRL1505 strain were not different from those observed for the wild-type CRL1505 strain. Although it is generally accepted that the expression of adhesion factors is necessary for immunobiotics to induce their beneficial effects, it was demonstrated here that the mbf protein is not required for L. rhamnosus CRL1505 to exert its immunomodulatory activities in local and distal mucosal sites. These results are a step forward towards understanding the mechanisms involved in the immunomodulatory capabilities of L. rhamnosus CRL1505.     

Selective formation of CH3OH in the photocatalytic reduction of CO2 with H2O on titanium oxides highly dispersed within zeolites and mesoporous molecular sieves

Highly dispersed titanium oxide catalysts have been prepared within zeolite cavities as well as in the zeolite framework and utilized as photocatalysts for the reduction of CO₂ with H₂O to produce CH₄ and CH₃OH at 328 K. In situ photoluminescence, ESR, diffuse reflectance absorption and XAFS investigations indicate that the titanium oxide species are highly dispersed within the zeolite cavities and framework and exist in tetrahedral coordination. The charge transfer excited state of the highly dispersed titanium oxide species play a significant role in the reduction of CO₂ with H₂O with a high selectivity for the formation of CH₃OH, while the catalysts involving the aggregated octahedrally coordinated titanium oxide species show a high selectivity to produce CH₄, being similar to reactions on the powdered TiO₂ catalysts. Ti-mesoporous molecular sieves exhibit high photocatalytic reactivity for the formation of CH₃OH, its reactivity being much higher than the powdered TiO₂ catalysts. The addition of Pt onto the highly dispersed titanium oxide catalysts promotes the charge separation which leads to an increase in the formation of CH₄ in place of CH₃OH formation.     

Shear properties of metal-free wooden load-bearing walls using plywood jointed with a combination of adhesive tape and wood dowels

In this study, the potential of wood-only (metal-free) load-bearing walls was proposed and tested based on the idea of using the same type of material throughout wherever possible while improving basic properties such as strength, sound insulation, and heat insulation. Specifically, a technique was tested of combining pressure sensitive adhesive tape and wood dowels in place of nails for load-bearing structures with panel reinforcement represented by wood-frame construction. For this paper, its strength was evaluated by conducting in-plane shear tests, which revealed that the initial rigidity and maximum load of the proposed test specimens were greater than that of specimens using nails for jointing. However, the shear load factor, which is calculated based on some strength parameters and which forms the foundation of housing strength design, was slightly lower than that of the nail-jointed specimen. This was because there was a large decline in post-collapse resistance and a lower calculated absorbed energy caused by brittleness. The early detachment of panels was also revealed as a problem in the tests.     

Superconductivities of Quasi-One-Dimensional and Quasi-Two-Dimensional Tight-Binding Electrons in Magnetic Field

The superconductivity of the tight binding electrons in a magnetic field is studied. We can treat both cases of quasi-one-dimension and quasi-two-dimension in the same manner. We study a various kind of anisotropic superconductivity with line nodes of the energy gap by taking attractive interaction between electrons in nearest sites along each axis. The magnetic field dependence of the transition temperature is calculated for a various pairing symmetry of superconductivity. When a magnetic field is applied in the conducting plane, the transition temperature is shown to increase as the magnetic field increases. In the strong magnetic field the eigenstates approach to those in the absence of hopping between planes, resulting in no orbital frustration.     

Theoretical studies on the charge trap mechanism of MONOS type memories – Relationship between atomistic information and program/erase actions

We have investigated atomistic structural changes of two types of defects (N vacancies and O substitutional defects) in a SiN layer in MONOS type memories during program/erase actions. N vacancy type defects reveal reversible structural change, whereas O substitutional defects are expected to reveal irreversible structural changes, indicating that detailed atomistic structure is crucial for clarifying the characteristics of MONOS type memory operation.     

Phase diagram of borate-PVA system: Sol-gel transition and demixtion

Summary We study the formation of reversible gels induced by addition of borax in aqueous poly(vinylalcohol). Under suitable conditions, sol, gel or demixed phase is observed. We present a qualitative interpretation of the the number of inter-polymer complexes which is governed by the complexation equilibrium.     

Improvement in high temperature stability of Pd coating on Nb by Nb2C intermediate layer

Niobium subcarbide (Nb₂C) was chosen as a material for non-porous intermediate layer to improve the high temperature durability of Pd–Nb composite membranes for hydrogen separation. A layer of Nb₂C was prepared between Nb substrate and thin Pd films (100 nm), and the stability of Pd coating at elevated temperatures (573–773 K) was examined by hydrogen absorption experiments. Hydrogen permeability through the Nb₂C layer appeared to be sufficiently high, and no noticeable deterioration was observed in hydrogen absorption rate under as-prepared conditions. The degradation in coating effect of Pd at elevated temperatures was substantially mitigated by Nb₂C layer. Such improved durability was ascribed to retardation of open porosity development by Nb₂C caused as a consequence of impeded interdiffusion between Pd and Nb.     

Fabrication of ZnO films consisting of densely accumulated mesoporous nanosheets and their dye-sensitized solar cell performance

Nanocrystalline and mesoporous ZnO films approximately 4 μm in thickness were fabricated through a simple chemical deposition of Zn₄CO₃(OH)₆·H₂O in an aqueous solution of zinc nitrate and urea and subsequent pyrolysis at a low temperature of 300 °C. Microscopic observation of the films revealed that they were composed of mesoporous nanosheets accumulating with submicrometer-order spacing between them on conducting glass substrates. Adsorption of N-719 dye onto the ZnO surface, for application to dye-sensitized solar cells, led to dye-loading of 1.1 × 10^− 7 mol/cm² in spite of the relatively small thickness. The resultant ZnO/N-719 photoanode exhibited a short-circuit photocurrent density of 13.8 mA/cm², which is of the highest level ever reported for ZnO. An overall light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 3.3% was achieved under 1 sun AM1.5 illumination without any optimization in view of the other cell components.     

Fabrication of damascene Cu wirings using solid acidic catalyst

The copper damascene process is one of the most promising technologies for fabricating Cu wirings for electronic devices such as LSIs. In this research, the fabrication of damascene Cu wirings was conducted using solid acidic catalyst. When a Cu-plated wafer, whose oxide is a basic oxide is dipped into a mixture of oxidizing solution and acidic solution, surface atoms are ionized and etched off into the solution. However, because conventional nonelectrolytic etching does not have a reference surface, it is difficult to utilize for planarization. Therefore, a new nonelectrolytic machining method using a cation-exchange fabric instead of an acidic solution was developed. To be more precise, the planarization of a Cu-plated wafer was carried out by rubbing with the cation-exchange fabric in ozone water. Basically, this method exploits chemical reactions so that the physical properties of the workpiece surface are not deteriorated. Furthermore, this method uses no chemicals except for ozone water, which easily dissociates into water and oxygen molecules; thus, this method is a low-cost, environmentally friendly process. In this paper, as a preliminary experiment, the nonelectrolytic etching of a Cu sample using solutions of O₃ and CO₂ was carried out to inspect the dependence of the etching rate on [O₃] and [H⁺]. The results indicate that the etching rate increased as [O₃] and [H⁺] increased. When [H⁺] was high relative to [O₃], a smooth etch-pit-free surface was achieved. Next, nonelectrolytic etching using a cation-exchange fabric was carried out, and properties similar to those in the case of etching using solutions were obtained. Finally, damascene Cu wirings were fabricated using ozone water and a cation-exchange catalyst.     

Repeated temperature modulation epitaxy for p-type doping and light-emitting diode based on ZnO.

Since the successful demonstration of a blue light-emitting diode (LED), potential materials for making short-wavelength LEDs and diode lasers have been attracting increasing interest as the demands for display, illumination and information storage grow. Zinc oxide has substantial advantages including large exciton binding energy, as demonstrated by efficient excitonic lasing on optical excitation. Several groups have postulated the use of p-type ZnO doped with nitrogen, arsenic or phosphorus, and even p-n junctions. However, the choice of dopant and growth technique remains controversial and the reliability of p-type ZnO is still under debate. If ZnO is ever to produce long-lasting and robust devices, the quality of epitaxial layers has to be improved as has been the protocol in other compound semiconductors. Here we report high-quality undoped films with electron mobility exceeding that in the bulk. We have used a new technique to fabricate p-type ZnO reproducibly. Violet electroluminescence from homostructural p-i-n junctions is demonstrated at room-temperature.