Effect of Zn, Ni and Fe Impurities on Bi2Sr1.6La0.4CuO6+��

We measured the change of T _c with the doping of the magnetic and nonmagnetic impurity in Bi₂Sr_1.6La_0.4CuO_6+?? (Bi2201). The reduction of T _c is about 20% in samples with Zn (1.1%), Ni (1.0%), and Fe (1.2%), and a slight difference was observed among these samples. We also observed the resonance peak at the Zn-impurity site by scanning tunneling spectroscopy at 4.2 K. The observed resonance peak showed the four-fold symmetry, and appeared at approximately ?1.5 meV.     

Development of low cost production technologies for polycrystalline silicon solar cells

To develop a technology of forming grooves for low cost cell production, a multi-blade wheel grinding method was investigated. The process time of groove formation on the surface of 10 × 10 cm² polycrystalline silicon substrate was reduced to 30 s by a newly developed high-speed groove formation machine. Simultaneous formation of junction and anti-reflection coating by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) technique was also investigated. For electrodes formation process, single firing method for both side electrodes made possible to simplify the firing process and to speed up from a conventional speed of 400 mm/min to 5000 mm/min.     

Characteristics on micro-biofabrication by patterning with electrostatically injected droplet

Micro biofabrication technologies have been developing aiming to fabricate 3D artificial organs, 3D scaffolds, and complex tissue structures. We are now developing a new inkjet bio-printing method via electrostatic phenomenon. The merits of the new method are of high resolution, and of ability to eject highly viscous liquid and media. In this paper, we attempted to apply the proposed method for precision printing cells and biomaterials. Living cells and scaffolds have successfully been printed and the biochemical characteristics have been investigated. A 3D cell structure which had a cavity to create blood vessels has also successfully fabricated by this method.     

Functional and Structural Insights into Human PPARα/δ/γ Subtype Selectivity of Bezafibrate,Fenofibric Acid,and Pemafibrate

Among the agonists against three peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) subtypes, those against PPARα (fibrates) and PPARγ (glitazones) are currently used to treat dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes, respectively, whereas PPARδ agonists are expected to be the next-generation metabolic disease drug. In addition, some dual/pan PPAR agonists are currently being investigated via clinical trials as one of the first curative drugs against nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). Because PPARα/δ/γ share considerable amino acid identity and three-dimensional structures, especially in ligand-binding domains (LBDs), clinically approved fibrates, such as bezafibrate, fenofibric acid, and pemafibrate, could also act on PPARδ/γ when used as anti-NAFLD drugs. Therefore, this study examined their PPARα/δ/γ selectivity using three independent assays—a dual luciferase-based GAL4 transactivation assay for COS-7 cells, time-resolved fluorescence resonance energy transfer-based coactivator recruitment assay, and circular dichroism spectroscopy-based thermostability assay. Although the efficacy and efficiency highly varied between agonists, assay types, and PPAR subtypes, the three fibrates, except fenofibric acid that did not affect PPARδ-mediated transactivation and coactivator recruitment, activated all PPAR subtypes in those assays. Furthermore, we aimed to obtain cocrystal structures of PPARδ/γ-LBD and the three fibrates via X-ray diffraction and versatile crystallization methods, which we recently used to obtain 34 structures of PPARα-LBD cocrystallized with 17 ligands, including the fibrates. We herein reveal five novel high-resolution structures of PPARδ/γ–bezafibrate, PPARγ–fenofibric acid, and PPARδ/γ–pemafibrate, thereby providing the molecular basis for their application beyond dyslipidemia treatment.     

Eudragit Coating of Chitosan-Prednisolone Conjugate Microspheres and In Vitro Evaluation of Coated Microspheres

Chitosan-prednisolone conjugate microspheres (Ch-SP-MS) were prepared, and Eudragit coating was applied in order to efficiently deliver the microspheres and drug to the intestinal disease sites. The Eudragit L100-coated microspheres (Ch-SP-MS/EuL100) were examined for particle characteristics and the release of drug and Ch-SP-MS in different pH media at 37°C. Ch‐SP-MS were spherical, with a mean size of 4.5 μm and prednisolone content of 3.3% (w/w). Ch-SP-MS/EuL100 were fairly spherical, with a mean size of 22. 5 μm and drug content of 0.32% (w/w). At pH 1.2, the release extent was less than 5% even at 48 h, and Eudragit coating tended to suppress the release. In contrast, at pH 6.8 and 7.4, Ch-SP-MS/EuL100 tended to show somewhat faster drug release than Ch-SP-MS. Ch-SP-MS/EuL100 displayed a release extent of 23 and 27% at pH 6.8 and 7.4, respectively. Ch-SP-MS aggregated at pH 1.2, but almost kept their initial size and shape at pH 6.8 and 7.4. Ch-SP-MS/EuL100 almost maintained their original shape and size at pH 1.2, and gradually released Ch-SP-MS at pH 6.8 and 7.4 due to dissolution of the Eudragit layer. Eudragit coating is suggested to be useful to efficiently deliver Ch-SP-MS to the intestinal disease sites.     

Production of Lacto-N-biose I Using Crude Extracts of Bifidobacterial Cells

Lacto-N-biose I (LNB) is supposed to represent the bifidus factor in human milk oligosaccharides, and can be practically produced from sucrose and GlcNAc using four bifidobacterial enzymes, 1,3-β-galactosyl-N-acetylhexosamine phosphorylase, sucrose phosphorylase, UDP-glucose-hexose 1-phosphate uridylyltransferase, and UDP-glucose 4-epimerase, recombinantly produced by Escherichia coli. Here the production of LNB by the same enzymatic method without using genetically modified enzymes to consider the use of LNB for a food ingredient was reported. All four enzymes were produced as the intracellular enzymes of Bifidobacterium strains. The mixture of the crude extracts contained all four enzymes, with other enzymes interfering with the LNB production, namely, phosphoglucomutase, fructose 6-phosphate phosphoketolase, and glycogen phosphorylase. The first two interfering enzymes were selectively inactivated by heat treatment at 47 °C for 1 h in the presence of pancreatin, and glycogen phosphorylase was disabled by hydrolyzing its possible acceptor molecules using glucoamylase. Finally, 91 % of GlcNAc was converted into LNB in the 100-mL reaction mixture containing 300 mM GlcNAc.     

Seven-year temporal variation of Caesium-137 discharge inventory from the port of Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant: continuous monthly estimation of Caesium-137 discharge in the period from April 2011 to June 2018

ABSTRACT

After direct discharges of highly contaminated water of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (1 F) from April to May 2011, Kanda suggested that relatively small amounts of run-off of radionuclides from the 1 F port into the Fukushima coastal region subsequently continued by his estimation method. However, the estimation period was limited to up to September 2012. Therefore, this paper estimatesthe discharge inventory up to June 2018. In the missing period, the Japanese government and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings have continued efforts to stop the discharge, and consequently, the radionuclide concentration in seawater inside the 1 F port has gradually diminished. We show the monthly discharge inventory of ¹³⁷Cs up to June 2018 by two methods, i.e., Kanda method partially improved by the authors and a more sophisticated method using Voronoi tessellation reflecting the increase in the number of monitoring points inside the 1 F port. The results show that the former always yields overestimated results compared with the latter, but the ratio of the former to the latter is less than one order of magnitude. Using these results, we evaluate the impact of the discharge inventory from the 1 F port into the coastal area and radiation dose upon fish ingestion.     

Evaluating the chemical stability of metal oxides in SO3 and applications of SiO2-based membranes to O2/SO3 separation

The decomposition of sulfur trioxide to produce sulfur dioxide and oxygen using a catalytic membrane reactor is technology that promises to improve the economic viability of the thermochemical water-splitting Iodine-Sulfur (IS) process for large-scale CO₂-free hydrogen production. The chemical stability of membrane materials under SO₃, however, is a significant challenge for this strategy. In this study, microporous membranes with a layered structure that consisted of a membrane support prepared from α-Al₂O₃, an intermediate layer prepared from silica-zirconia, and a top layer prepared from bis (triethoxysilyl)ethane-derived organosilica sols, were examined for stability under SO₃ and for use in SO₃/O₂ separation. An α-Al₂O₃ support that features SiO₂–ZrO₂ intermediate layers with large pore sizes and a high Si/Zr molar ratio showed excellent resistance to SO₃, which was confirmed by N₂ adsorption, Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). These membranes also demonstrated a negligible change in gas permeance before and after SO₃ exposure. Subsequently, in binary-component gas separation at 550°C, microporous organosilica-derived membranes achieved an O₂/SO₃ selectivity of 10 (much higher than the Knudsen selectivity of 1.6) while maintaining a high O₂ permeance of 2.5 × 10⁻⁸ mol m^–2 s^–1 Pa^–1.     

A polycide gate electrode with a conductive diffusion barrierformed with ECR nitrogen plasma for dual gate CMOS

A simple diffusion barrier technology for polycide gate electrodes is presented. An extremely thin silicon nitride layer is formed by poly Si surface nitridation with ECR nitrogen plasma of only nitrogen gas and without substrate heating. The silicon nitride layer acts as an excellent barrier to impurity diffusion from polysilicon to silicide. It was found that barrier formation with ECR nitrogen plasma results in no fatal degradation in the MOS interface characteristics. This technology is very effective for making dual polycide gates inexpensively due to its simplicity and a good affinity with conventional ULSI fabrication processes