High-temperature formation phases and crystal structure of hot-pressed thermoelectric compounds with chalcopyrite-type structure

In this study, we introduced the temperaturedependent formation phases and crystallographic parameters of hot-pressed silver gallium telluride AgGaTe_2 and copper gallium telluride CuGaTe_2 with chalcopyrite structure from 300 to 800 K. These two compounds are potential thermoelectric materials in the intermediate temperature range; however, the temperature-dependent formation phases and crystallographic parameters of hotpressed samples have not yet been analyzed in detail. The crystal structure analysis based on synchrotron X-ray diffraction(SXRD) measurements clarifies that impurity phases such as Te and Ag_2 Te in the AgGaTe_2 matrix and Te and CuTe in the CuGaTe_2 matrix appear at some temperature regions above 300 K. The existence of such impurity phases could be correlated with the increases of the electrical resistivity and Seebeck coefficient of the samples after multiple measurement cycles of the temperature-dependent transport properties from 300 to 800 K.The tetragonal lattice parameters a and c, tetragonal lattice volume, thermal expansion coefficients, tetragonal distortion, anion displacement parameter, and isotropic displacement parameter of the hot-pressed AgGaTe_2 and CuGaTe_2 were also analyzed. These crystallographic parameters are expected to substantially affect the thermoelectric properties of AgGaTe_2 and CuGaTe_2. Our results provide prospect of the long-term high-temperature stability and clues of the detailed analysis on the transport properties of hot-pressed AgGaTe_2 and CuGaTe_2, which should aid their development for thermoelectric applications.     

Liposome‐Based in Vitro Evolution of Aminoacyl‐tRNA Synthetase for Enhanced Pyrrolysine Derivative Incorporation

Methanosarcina species pyrrolysyl‐tRNA synthetase (PylRS) attaches Pyl to its cognate amber suppressor tRNA. The introduction of two mutations (Y384F and Y306A) into PylRS was previously shown to generate a mutant, designated LysZ‐RS, that was able to attach N‐benzyloxycarbonyl‐L ‐lysine (LysZ) to its cognate tRNA. Despite the potential of LysZ derivatives, further LysZ‐RS engineering has not been performed; consequently, we aimed to generate LysZ‐RS mutants with improved LysZ incorporation activity through in vitro directed evolution. Using a liposome‐based in vitro compartmentalization (IVC) approach, we screened a randomly mutagenized gene library of LysZ‐RS and obtained a mutant that showed increased LysZ incorporation activity both in vitro and in vivo. The ease and high flexibility of liposome‐based IVC should enable the evolution of not only LysZ‐RS that can attach various LysZ derivatives but also of other enzymes involved in protein translation.     

Evidence for Altered Phosphoinositide Signaling-Associated Molecules in the Postmortem Prefrontal Cortex of Patients with Schizophrenia

Phosphoinositides (PIs) play important roles in the structure and function of the brain. Associations between PIs and the pathophysiology of schizophrenia have been studied. However, the significance of the PI metabolic pathway in the pathology of schizophrenia is unknown. We examined the expression of PI signaling-associated proteins in the postmortem brain of schizophrenia patients. Protein expression levels of phosphatidylinositol 4-phosphate 5-kinase type-1 gamma (PIP5K1C), phosphatidylinositol 4-kinase alpha (PIK4CA, also known as PIK4A), phosphatase and tensin homolog deleted from chromosome 10 (PTEN), protein kinase B (Akt), and glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK3β) were measured using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and multiplex fluorescent bead-based immunoassays of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of postmortem samples from 23 schizophrenia patients and 47 normal controls. We also examined the association between PIK4CA expression and its genetic variants in the same brain samples. PIK4CA expression was lower, whereas Akt expression was higher, in the PFC of schizophrenia patients than in that of controls; PIP5K1C, PTEN, and GSK3β expression was not different. No single-nucleotide polymorphism significantly affected protein expression. We identified molecules involved in the pathology of schizophrenia via this lipid metabolic pathway. These results suggest that PIK4CA is involved in the mechanism underlying the pathogenesis of schizophrenia and is a potential novel therapeutic target.     

RAST: finding related documents based on triplet similarity

With the increasing amount of information available in recent years, searching for the desired content is becoming a challenging task. In this work, a tool for searching abstracts submitted to scientific conferences is introduced. It not only searches abstracts by the given keyword(s) but also displays abstracts related to a single or multiple selection. It also displays highly relevant abstracts together with possible keywords to help users refine their search. Analysis of the conditional similarity algorithm proposed here has shown that it does provide better output compared to ordinary cosine similarity, as well as the list of possible keywords reflects results of latent topic analysis. An interface for storing and sorting selected abstracts for future review and/or printing is also provided.     

Application of a thin intermediate cathode layer prepared by inkjet printing for SOFCs

The application of an inkjet printing process for fabricating solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) cathodes was investigated. Stably-dispersed LSCF–GDC inks were prepared by ball milling, and the composition was easily controlled by the preparation process. Fabrication of an LSCF–GDC layer was successfully carried out by depositing dots and the thickness was easily controlled by repeating printing process. A planar SOFC single cell with a double-layered cathode (comprised of a paste painted cathode layer and an inkjet printed interlayer) achieved a maximum power density of 0.71 W/cm² at 600 °C. This is the preliminary work for fabricating the cathode layer of a SOFC single cell via inkjet printing.     

Analysis of human error in nursing care

Analysis of reports about incidental and accidental events in nursing care were made using a reliability engineering method. Unnatural working hours, such as evening duty, night duty falling next to a holiday, two consecutive night-duty shifts, and two consecutive evening-duty shifts were major factors in the occurrence of errors. In a mixed-division ward (a ward containing patients belonging to different divisions), rule-based errors happened more frequently than in a single-division ward. Also, less experienced nursing staffs made errors more frequently than experienced nursing staffs.     

Novel iridium complex and its copolymer with N-vinyl carbazole for electroluminescent devices

A novel iridium complex having the polymerizable functional group as one of the ligands, bis(2-phenylene pyridine) acrylate iridium lr(ppy)2Ac was synthesized as a phosphorescent dopant for electroluminescent (EL) devices. It has a photoluminescence spectrum peak at about 530 nm. EL devices were fabricated by doping lr(ppy)2Ac into host materials, such as BCP (2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthroline) and poly(N-vinyl carbazole) (PVCz). Bright blue-green luminescence of about 12 000 cd/m2 was observed for an EL device having a structure of indium-tin oxide JTO)/1r(ppy)2Ac-doped TPD:PVCz/BCP/Alq3 [tris(8-hdroxyquinoline) aluniinuml/Mg:Ag. Furthermore, the iridium complex was copolymerized with N-vinyl carbazole (VCz) to form a random copolymer with a number average molecular weight of about 1000. An EL device using this hole-transport layer gave bright blue-green emission of more than 6000 cd/m2. These results indicate that lr(ppy)2Ae, especially its copolymer with VCz, can be a promising phosphorescent material for organic EL devices.     

A quantitative framework for analyzing epicardial activation patterns during ventricular fibrillation

We have developed a method for quantifying the complexity of activation patterns observed during ventricular fibrillation (VF) that is based on our previously reported methodology for decomposing epicardial mapping data into a set of isolated wavefronts. One-half second datasets are acquired from a 21 x 24 array of unipolar electrodes (1 mm spacing), and the wavefronts are isolated. A correlation technique is used to compute the similarity between all possible pairs of the isolated wavefronts. From these data, the wavefronts are sorted into clusters, each of which represents a recurring wavefront morphology. We define multiplicity (M) as the number of clusters needed to account for 90% of the total activations in the VF episode. M measures the complexity of the rhythm. In repetitive patterns (e.g., sinus rhythm), M = 1, indicating that the same morphology repeatedly activates the mapped region. Typically, in VF, M > 1, with larger numbers representing more complex, disorganized patterns. As an example, we computed M at 5, 10, 15, and 20 sec after electrical induction of VF in six pigs. M decreased significantly (p < 0.001), suggesting increasing organization during this period.     

Terpendole E and its Derivative Inhibit STLC‐ and GSK‐1‐Resistant Eg5

Terpendole E is first natural product found to inhibit mitotic kinesin Eg5, but its inhibitory mechanism remains to be revealed. Here, we report the effects of terpendole E and 11ketopaspaline (a new natural terpendole E analogue) on the Eg5–microtubule interaction and in several Eg5 mutants. 11‐Ketopaspaline is a shunt product from terpendole E, and it shows potent inhibitory activity against the microtubule‐stimulated ATPase activity of Eg5. Unlike other Eg5 inhibitors, such as S‐trityl‐L ‐cysteine (STLC) and GSK‐1, both terpendole E and 11‐ketopaspaline only partially inhibited Eg5–microtubule interaction. Furthermore, terpendole E and 11‐ketopaspaline inhibited several Eg5 mutants that are resistant to STLC (Eg5^D130A, Eg5^L214A) or GSK‐1 (Eg5^I299F, Eg5^A356T), but with the same extent of inhibition against wild‐type Eg5. Because Eg5^D130A and Eg5^L214A show cross‐resistance to most known Eg5 inhibitors, which bind the L5 loop, these results suggest that terpendole E and its analogues have a different binding site and/or inhibitory mechanism to those for L5 loop‐binding type Eg5 inhibitors.     

A Method to Identify Steady Creep Strain from Indentation Creep Using a New Reference Area of Indentation

For the design of high-density electronic packages, finite element method (FEM) analyses to evaluate strength reliabilities of solder joints should be conducted by employing the material parameters which can precisely reflect the creep properties of solder joints in actual electronic equipment. To obtain accurate results of the structural analyses of the solder joints, a method to evaluate the steady-state creep deformation in situ must be developed. The indentation creep test is an effective method to evaluate the creep properties of the solder joints in situ; however, the creep properties obtained by this method do not give the same results as those obtained by tensile creep tests using bulk specimens. In this paper, the indentation creep test at 1 N loading for 9,000 s duration was experimentally conducted to confirm that the steady-state creep deformation obtained by the indentation creep test did not coincide with that by the tensile creep tests using bulk specimens. To identify the reason, the indentation creep simulation was conducted by FEM analysis. As a result, it was found that the reference area used to obtain the creep strain from the indentation creep test should be modified. A method to obtain the new reference area is proposed from comparisons of experiments with simulations. Finally, this paper shows that the creep properties obtained by the indentation creep test using the new reference area coincided with those obtained by tensile creep tests using bulk specimens.