PET fiber fabrics modified with bioactive titanium oxide for bone substitutes

A rectangular specimen of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) was soaked in a titania solution composed of titanium isopropoxide, water, ethanol and nitric acid at 25 °C for 1 h. An amorphous titanium oxide was formed uniformly on the surface of PET specimen, but did not form an apatite on its surface in a simulated body fluid (SBF) within 3 d. The PET plate formed with the amorphous titanium oxide was subsequently soaked in water or HCl solutions with different concentrations at 80 °C for different periods of time. The titanium oxide on PET was transformed into nano-sized anatase by the water treatment and into nano-sized brookite by 0.10 M HCl treatment at 80 °C for 8 d. The former did not form the apatite on its surface in SBF within 3 d, whereas the latter formed the apatite uniformly on its surface. Adhesive strength of the titanium oxide and apatite layers to PET plate was increased by pre-treatment of PET with 2 wt% NaOH solution at 40 °C for 2 h. A two-dimensional fabric of PET fibers 24 μm in diameter was subjected to the NaOH pre-treatment at 40 °C, titania solution treatment at 25 °C and subsequent 0.10 M HCl treatment at 80 °C. Thus treated PET fabric formed the apatite uniformly on surfaces of individual fibers constituting the fabric in SBF within 3 d. Two or three dimensional PET fabrics modified with the nano-sized brookite on surfaces of the individual fibers constituting the fabric by the present method are believed to be useful as flexible bone substitutes, since they could be integrated with living bone through the apatite formed on their constituent fibers.     

Epitaxial growth of WOx nanorod array on W(001)

Nanorods of substoichiometric tungsten oxide (WO_x) were grown on W(001) substrates. Two methods for the growth of nanorods were used: oxidation of the substrate under appropriate conditions and the deposition of tungsten oxide from a tungsten foil heated in the presence of oxygen. The grown nanorods were observed using a scanning electron microscope and an atomic force microscope. The diameters of the nanorods were 5–20 nm. The nanorods were slightly inclined from the directions parallel or normal to the surface. The inclination of nanorods was explained in terms of the epitaxial relationship between WO₃ crystals and the W(001) substrate. The WO₃ crystals formed at the initial stage of growth act as the nuclei of WO_x nanorods. We observed selective enhancement of the growth in a certain epitaxial direction depending on the method of growth, and an array of WO_x nanorods was produced on the W(001) substrate.     

A multimedia service composition scheme for ubiquitous networks

It is a challenging task to develop a high quality and secure multimedia service for mobile terminals used in the ubiquitous computing environment. One of the issues is the resource limitation of mobile terminals. In this paper, we presented a multimedia service composition scheme for sharing computer and communication resources by using plural terminals to compensate for this resource limitation. The proposed scheme is based on user authentication, service access control, and the multi-agent-based adaptive Quality-of-Service (QoS) control framework that we developed. We also proposed a novel access mode control based on the trustworthiness of users and extension of the multi-agent-based adaptive QoS control framework to plural users. Focusing on the home network as a typical ubiquitous network, we implemented a prototype testbed system and showed experimental results for the multimedia service composition.     

Determination of mercury levels in biological samples using the incomplete cubane-type sulfur-bridged nitrilotriacetato molybdenum complex by a spectrophotometer

Spectrophotometric determination of mercury levels in biological samples was investigated using incomplete cubane-type sulfur-bridged molybdenum complex, K2[Mo3S4(Hnta)3] 9H2O, ("NTA" complex; H3nta = nitrilotri acetic acid). The urine or organs of mice, which were either exposed to metallic mercury vapor or injected intraperitoneally with mercuric ion, were decomposed from four to twelve hours with a mixed solution of potassium permanganate and sulfuric acid. After the pretreatment, mercury in the urine and organs of mice was captured by the "NTA" complex. Absorbance of the resultant solution in the urine or organs of mice was also measured by a spectrophotometer under conditions similar to that of the exhalation.     

Finishing of AT-cut quartz crystal wafer with nanometric thickness uniformity by pulse-modulated atmospheric pressure plasma etching

Quartz resonator is a very important device to generate a clock frequency for information and telecommunication system. Improvement of the productivity of the quartz resonator is always required because a huge amount of the resonator is demanded for installing to various electronic devices. Resonance frequency of the quartz resonator is decided by the thickness of the quartz crystal wafer. Therefore, it is necessary to uniform the thickness distribution of the wafer with nanometric level. We have proposed the improvement technique of the thickness distribution of the quartz crystal wafer by numerically controlled correction using atmospheric pressure plasma which is non-contact and chemical removal technique. Heating effects of the quartz wafer in the removal rate and the correction accuracy were investigated. The heating of the substrate and compensate of the scanning speed of the worktable according to the variation of the surface temperature enabled an increase of 50% in the etching rate and 10-nanometric-level accuracy in the correction of the thickness distribution of the quartz wafer, respectively.     

A quadruple-scanning-probe force microscope for electrical property measurements of microscopic materials

Four-terminal electrical measurement is realized on a microscopic structure in air, without a lithographic process, using a home-built quadruple-scanning-probe force microscope (QSPFM). The QSPFM has four probes whose positions are individually controlled by obtaining images of a sample in the manner of atomic force microscopy (AFM), and uses the probes as contacting electrodes for electrical measurements. A specially arranged tuning fork probe (TFP) is used as a self-detection force sensor to operate each probe in a frequency modulation AFM mode, resulting in simultaneous imaging of the same microscopic feature on an insulator using the four TFPs. Four-terminal electrical measurement is then demonstrated in air by placing each probe electrode in contact with a graphene flake exfoliated on a silicon dioxide film, and the sheet resistance of the flake is measured by the van der Pauw method. The present work shows that the QSPFM has the potential to measure the intrinsic electrical properties of a wide range of microscopic materials in situ without electrode fabrication.     

Magnetite nanoparticles with high heating efficiencies for application in the hyperthermia of cancer

Magnetic hyperthermia is a safe method for cancer therapy. A gap-type alternating current magnetic field (100 kHz, 100–300 Oe) is expected to be clinically applicable for magnetic hyperthermia. In this study, magnetite nanoparticles (MNPs) varying in size from 8 to 413 nm were synthesized using a chemical coprecipitation and an oxidation precipitation method to find the optimum particle size that shows a high heating efficiency in an applied magnetic field. The particles' in vitro heating efficiency in an agar phantom at an MNP concentration of 58 mg Fe/ml was measured in an applied magnetic field. In a magnetic field of 120 Oe, the temperature increase (ΔT) of the agar phantom within 30 s was 9.3 °C for MNPs with a size of 8 nm, but was less for the other samples, while in a magnetic field of 300 Oe, ΔT = 55 °C for MNPs with a size of 24 nm, and ΔT = 25 °C for MNPs with a size of 8 nm. The excellent heating efficiency of MNPs with a size of 24 nm in a magnetic field of 300 Oe may be due to a combination of the effects of both relaxation and hysteresis losses of the magnetic particles. It is believed that MNPs with a size of 8–24 nm will be useful for the in situ hyperthermia treatment of cancer.     

Enhancing the Humidity Sensitivity of Ga2O3/SnO2 Core/Shell Microribbon by Applying Mechanical Strain and Its Application as a Flexible Strain Sensor

The humidity sensitivity of a single β‐Ga₂O₃/amorphous SnO₂ core/shell microribbon on a flexible substrate is enhanced by the application of tensile strain and increases linearly with the strain. The strain‐induced enhancement originates from the increase in the effective surface area where water molecules are adsorbed. This strain dependence of humidity sensitivity can be used to monitor the external strain. The strain sensing of the microribbon device under various amounts of mechanical loading shows excellent reliability and reproducibility with a gauge factor of ?41. The flexible device has high potential to detect both humidity and strain at room temperature. These findings and the mechanism involved are expected to pave the way for new flexible strain and multifunctional sensors.