Highly Flexible MoS(2) Thin-Film Transistors with Ion Gel Dielectrics

Molybdenum disulfide (MoS(2)) thin-film transistors were fabricated with ion gel gate dielectrics. These thin-film transistors exhibited excellent band transport with a low threshold voltage (<1 V), high mobility (12.5 cm(2)/(V·s)) and a high on/off current ratio (10(5)). Furthermore, the MoS(2) transistors exhibited remarkably high mechanical flexibility, and no degradation in the electrical characteristics was observed when they were significantly bent to a curvature radius of 0.75 mm. The superior electrical performance and excellent pliability of MoS(2) films make them suitable for use in large-area flexible electronics.     

A decentralized control scheme for orchestrating versatile arm movements in ophiuroid omnidirectional locomotion

Autonomous decentralized control is a key concept for understanding the mechanism underlying the adaptive and versatile behaviour of animals. Although the design methodology of decentralized control based on a dynamical system approach that can impart adaptability by using coupled oscillators has been proposed in previous studies, it cannot reproduce the versatility of animal behaviours comprehensively. Therefore, our objective is to understand behavioural versatility from the perspective of well-coordinated rhythmic and non-rhythmic movements. To this end, we focus on ophiuroids as a simple good model of living organisms that exhibit spontaneous role assignment of rhythmic and non-rhythmic arm movements, and we model such arm movements by using an active rotator model that can describe both oscillatory and excitatory properties. Simulation results show that the spontaneous role assignment of arm movements is successfully realized by using the proposed model, and the simulated locomotion is qualitatively equivalent to the locomotion of real ophiuroids. This fact can potentially facilitate a better understanding of the control mechanism responsible for the orchestration of versatile arm movements in ophiuroid omnidirectional locomotion.     

Gradually contacting punch for improving stretch flangeability of ultra-high strength steel sheets

A gradually contacting punch for improving stretch flangeability of ultra-high strength steel sheets having small ductility was developed. In the gradually contacting punch, tensile stress around the corner edge of the sheet in stretch flanging is decreased by gradually pressing the edge of the sheet with the inclined bottom of the punch. The critical flange heights of bent 980 and 1180 MPa ultra-high strength steel sheets without fracture with the gradually contacting punch increased by 32% and 31%, respectively. In addition, the stroke limit of the press was avoided by 2-stage flanging consisting of peripheral bending and corner bending.     

Effects of D-methionine or L-methionine on root hair of Brassica rapa

We examined the effects of D- or L-amino acids on the stimulation of Brassica rapa roots. When 6.7 microM of D-methionine (D-Met) or L-methionine (L-Met) was applied, root hair numbers increased. L-Met (above concentration of 67.0 microM) caused the tip of roots to spiral. When CoCl2 (ethylene synthesis inhibitor) was added into the medium, L-Met lost its activity but COCl2 did not inhibit the bioactivity of D-Met.     

Detection and visualization method of dynamic state transition for biological spatio-temporal imaging data

In the statistical analysis of functional brain imaging data, regression analysis and cross correlation analysis between time series data on each grid point have been widely used. The results can be graphically represented as an activation map on an anatomical image, but only activation signal, whose temporal pattern resembles the predefined reference function, can be detected. In the present study, we propose a fusion method comprising innovation approach in time series analysis and statistical test. Autoregressive (AR) models were fitted to time series data of each pixel for the range sufficiently before or after the state transition. Then, the remaining time series data were filtered using these AR parameters to obtain its innovation (filter output). The proposed method could extract brain neural activation as a phase transition of dynamics in the system without employing external information such as the reference function. The activation could be detected as temporal transitions of statistical test values. We evaluated this method by applying to optical imaging data obtained from the mammalian brain and the cardiac sino-atrial node (SAN), and demonstrated that our method can precisely detect spatio-temporal activation profiles in the brain or SAN.     

PCE-based fast path control in multi-domain photonic networks

We discuss issues for controlling an optical path in large-scale photonic networks, and introduce an inter-domain path control system based on Path Computation Elements (PCEs). In the system, maximum flow information enables the load balancing of traffic, and Path Key scheme preserve the confidentiality of internal topology information among carrier networks. Based on the experimental results, we show the path setup in the introduced system is significantly faster than the manual path setup among domains in current carriers' networks. For the additional reduction of the path setup time, we propose the domain-wise paralleled signaling method. We also show that decreasing the number of nodes per domain makes path setup faster in the introduced system with deployment of the proposed signaling method.     

Enhanced Development of Azoxymethane-Induced Colonic Preneoplastic Lesions in Hypertensive Rats

Metabolic syndrome is associated with an increased risk of colorectal cancer. This study investigated the impact of hypertension, a component of metabolic syndrome, on azoxymethane (AOM)-induced colorectal carcinogenesis using SHRSP/Izm (SHRSP) non-diabetic/hypertensive rats and SHRSP.Z-Lepr^fa/IzmDmcr (SHRSP-ZF) diabetic/hypertensive rats. Male 6-week-old SHRSP, SHRSP-ZF, and control non-diabetic/normotensive Wister Kyoto/Izm (WKY) rats were given 2 weekly intraperitoneal injections of AOM (20 mg/kg body weight). Two weeks after the last injection of AOM, the SHRSP and SHRSP-ZF rats became hypertensive compared to the control WKY rats. Serum levels of angiotensin-II, the active product of the renin-angiotensin system, were elevated in both SHRSP and SHRSP-ZF rats, but only the SHRSP-ZF rats developed insulin resistance, dyslipidemia, and hyperleptinemia and exhibited an increase in adipose tissue. The development of AOM-induced colonic preneoplastic lesions and aberrant crypts foci, was significantly accelerated in both SHRSP and SHRSP-ZF hypertensive rats, compared to WKY normotensive rats. Furthermore, induction of oxidative stress and exacerbation of inflammation were observed in the colonic mucosa and systemically in SHRSP and SHRSP-ZF rats. Our findings suggest that hypertension plays a role in the early stage of colorectal carcinogenesis by inducing oxidative stress and chronic inflammation, which might be associated with activation of the renin-angiotensin system.