Crocin promotes non-rapid eye movement sleep in mice

Crocus sativus L. (saffron) has been traditionally used for the treatment of insomnia and other diseases of the nervous systems. Two carotenoid pigments, crocin and crocetin, are the major components responsible for the various pharmacological activities of C. sativus L. In this study, we examined the sleep-promoting activity of crocin and crocetin by monitoring the locomotor activity and electroencephalogram after administration of these components to mice. Crocin (30 and 100 mg/kg) increased the total time of non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) sleep by 60 and 170%, respectively, during a 4-h period from 20:00 to 24:00 after its intraperitoneal administration at a lights-off time of 20:00. Crocetin (100 mg/kg) also increased the total time of non-REM sleep by 50% after the administration. These compounds did not change the amount of REM sleep or show any adverse effects, such as rebound insomnia, after the induction of sleep.     

Simple,Selective, and Rapid Quantification of 1-Deoxynojirimycin in Mulberry Leaf Products by High-Performance Anion-Exchange Chromatography with Pulsed Amperometric Detection

ABSTRACT: 1-Deoxynojirimycin (DNJ) occurs in mulberry and other plants and is a highly potent glycosidase inhibitor reported to suppress blood glucose levels, thus preventing diabetes. Derivatization is required for quantification of DNJ upon use of spectral detection methods. Because of this difficulty, the DNJ contents of mulberry-based food products are rarely stated, even if DNJ is their active component. A simple, selective, and rapid method of high-performance anion-exchange chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (HPAEC-PAD) to quantify DNJ in mulberry-based food products was developed. Stability testing of DNJ under heat treatment was also performed. A water extract of mulberry tea sample was subjected to HPAEC-PAD in a CarboPac MA1 column with a sodium hydroxide gradient. DNJ was clearly separated at a retention time of 7.26 min without interference and was selectively detected in the water extract. The detection limit was 5 ng. Heat stability studies suggested that DNJ was heat stable. HPAEC-PAD was not subject to interference, was highly selective for DNJ, and was superior to other high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) techniques in terms of sample preparation, resolution, and sensitivity. The method allowed simple, selective, and rapid analysis of DNJ in food matrices and might be useful for development of mulberry-based food products. Heat treatment could be an option for sterilizing mulberry-based products.     

Proposal of the concept of splice-type arrester for foam core sandwich panels

A new type of crack arrester concept, named the splice-type crack arrester, was invented and applied to a core–core splice in a foam core sandwich panel in order to suppress interfacial crack growth. An analytical evaluation of this crack arrester including parametric studies was carried out. It was confirmed by finite element (FE) analysis that interfacial crack propagation was suppressed by a decrease in the energy release rate at the crack tip under constant loading owing to the splice-type crack arrester as the crack tip approached the edge of the arrester. Through this study, it was revealed that the leading edge of the splice-type crack arrester, its shape and material, have strong effects on the crack suppression capability.     

Reduction of a NiO thin film deposited by PLD on a single crystal YSZ (111) substrate

The NiO/YSZ interface prepared by depositing NiO on a single crystal YSZ (111) substrate has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. As deposited, a very thin nickel layer ascribing to the nonstoichiometry at the very beginning growth of NiO and an amorphous silica phase resulting from silicon segregation were present at the interface. The orientational relationship of NiO (1[`1] 1) (1\overline{1} 1) //Ni (1[`1] 1) (1\overline{1} 1) //YSZ (1[`1] 1) (1\overline{1} 1) with NiO [110]//Ni [110]//YSZ [110] was observed. The microstructural and chemical changes at the NiO/YSZ interface after being heated in vacuum and hydrogen indicated different reduction mechanisms. In vacuum, the reaction \textNiO ? \textNi + 1/ 2 \text O ₂ ( \textg ) {\text{NiO}} \to {\text{Ni}} + 1/ 2 {\text{ O}}_{ 2} \left( {\text{g}} \right) was prevailing at the interface between NiO and pre-existing Ni, which led to the thickening of nickel layer. In hydrogen, the reduction initiated on the NiO surface was dominant, following the chemical equation H₂ + O_O (NiO) → H₂O (g) + V_O ^.. (NiO) + 2e (Ni).     

The relationship between solid-state fluorescence intensity and molecular packing of coumarin dyes

The solid-state fluorescence intensity of coumarin dyes depends on the substituents present at the 4- and 7-positions. 7-(Diethylamino)coumarins showed higher solid-state fluorescence quantum yield (Φ_f(ss) = 0.29–0.40) than 7-aminocoumarins (0.01). In the case of julolydyl coumarins, a 4-methyltetramethyljulolydyl derivative also displayed high Φ_f(ss) (0.34), this being greater than that observed for both 4-(perfluoroalkyl)tetramethyljulolydyl (0.09 and 0.10) and 4-methyljulolydyl derivatives (0.01). X-ray crystallographic analysis suggested that coumarin dyes bearing network hydrogen bonds and/or π–π stacking show weak solid-state fluorescence whereas coumarin dyes having isolated monomer- and dimer-type stacking show intense fluorescence. 4-(Perfluoroalkyl)tetramethyljulolydyl derivatives displayed medium fluorescence intensity owing to isolated monomer-type packing with little intermolecular interactions operating between adjacent molecules.     

Photovoltaics Based on Hybridization of Effective Dye‐Sensitized Titanium Oxide and Hole‐Conductive Polymer P3HT

Here, the fabrication of quasi‐solid‐state TiO₂/dye/poly(3‐hexylthiophene) (P3HT) solar cells is reported, in which the dyes with oleophilic thienyl groups were employed and ionic liquid (IL), 1‐ethyl‐3‐methylimidazolium (EMIm) containing lithium bis(trifluromethanesulfone)amide (Li‐TFSI) and 4‐tert‐butylpyridine (t‐BP) are assembled with dyed TiO₂ surfaces. One of the devices gave a high conversion efficiency of up to 2.70% under 1 sun illumination. The excellent performance is ascribed to successful molecular self‐organization at interface of the dye molecules and P3HT, and to the efficient charge separation and diffusion acquired by introduction of the IL coupled with Li‐TFSI and t‐BP.     

Development of a stage-scanning system for high-resolution confocal STEM

A stage-scanning system is composed of a specially designed transmission electron microscopy specimen holder equipped with a piezo-driven specimen stage, power supplier and control software. This system enables the specimen to be scanned three-dimensionally, and therefore confocal scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) can be performed with a fixed electron-optics configuration. It is demonstrated that stage-scanning confocal STEM images can be obtained with the lateral atomic resolution and the specimen can be moved three-dimensionally with high precision.