Photochemical reduction of CO₂ using TiO₂: effects of organic adsorbates on TiO₂ and deposition of Pd onto TiO₂

Reduction of CO(2) using semiconductors as photocatalysts has recently attracted a great deal of attention again. The effects of organic adsorbates on semiconductors on the photocatalytic products are noteworthy. On untreated TiO(2) (P-25) particles a considerable number of organic molecules such as acetic acid were adsorbed. Although irradiation of an aqueous suspension of this TiO(2) resulted in the formation of a significant amount of CH(4) as a major product, it was strongly suggested that its formation mainly proceeded via the photo-Kolbe reaction of acetic acid. Using TiO(2) treated by calcination and washing procedures for removal of the organic adsorbates, CO was photocatalytically generated as a major product, along with a very small amount of CH(4), from an aqueous suspension under a CO(2) atmosphere. In contrast, by using Pd (>0.5 wt %) deposited on TiO(2) (Pd-TiO(2)) on which organic adsorbates were not detected, CH(4) was the main product, but CO formation was drastically reduced compared with that on the pretreated TiO(2). Experimental data, including isotope labeling, indicated that CO(2) and CO(3)(2-) are the main carbon sources of the CH(4) formation, which proceeds on the Pd site of Pd-TiO(2). Prolonged irradiation caused deactivation of the photocatalysis of Pd-TiO(2) because of the partial oxidation of the deposited Pd to PdO.     

Serial Changes of Serum Growth Factor Levels and Liver Regeneration after Partial Hepatectomy in Healthy Humans

This study aimed to investigate the associations of the serial changes of serum levels of various growth factors with liver regeneration after hepatectomy in healthy liver donors. Sixteen healthy liver donors who underwent conventional liver resection were included. Serum levels of various growth factors before hepatectomy and on postoperative day (POD) 1, 3, 5 and 7 were measured. Liver volume data calculated by multi-detector computed tomography using workstation. The ratio of remnant liver volume on POD 0 to liver volume before the operation was 51% ± 20%. The ratio of liver volume on POD 14 to liver volume on POD 0 were inversely correlated with remnant liver volume on POD 0 (r = −0.91). The ratio of liver volume on POD 14 to liver volume on POD 0 were significantly correlated with serum hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) levels on POD 1 (r = 0.54), serum leptin levels on POD 1 (r = 0.54), and serum macrophage colony-stimulating factor (M-CSF) levels on POD 5 (r = 0.76) and POD 7 (r = 0.80). These results suggest that early-phase elevation of serum levels of HGF, leptin and M-CSF may be associated with the acceleration of liver regeneration after hepatectomy in humans.     

Structure formation and properties of corundum ceramics based on metastable aluminium oxide doped with stabilized zirconium dioxide

The work presents a successful example of the use of YSZ binary systems for production of composite ceramic materials based on θ-Al₂O₃ with improved physical and mechanical characteristics which was previously considered an unpromising material. It was first obtained result of extreme nature of dependence of physical and mechanical properties of Al₂O₃+YSZ on the concentration of YSZ (ZrO₂–3mol% of Y₂O₃) additive. The sintering temperature was decreased on 250 °C (from 1800 to 1550 °C). The phase composition of powders and the structure of ceramics of the Al₂O₃ + YSZ system were investigated depending on the amount of YSZ dopant, the structure-properties relationship was established. It is shown that maximum of physical and mechanical characteristics achieved at YSZ concentration equal to 10% wt.     

Understanding NFC-Net: a deep learning approach to word-level handwritten Indic script recognition

Neural Computing and Applications - This paper presents a deep learning architecture modified for resource-constrained environments, called Non-Fully-Connected Network or NFC-Net, based on...     

Formation and Microstructure of Carbon-Containing Oxide Scales by Oxidation of Single Crystals of Zirconium Carbide

The isothermal oxidation of ZrC single crystals with (100) orientation was carried out at temperatures of 500°, 550°, and 600°C at an oxygen pressure of 2.6 kPa for times up to 240 h. A polished cross section of the oxidized crystal was observed by backscattered electron imaging in a scanning electron microscope. Quantitative chemical analysis for Zr, O, and C and their elemental profiles by the linescan method in the ZrC and oxide scale were performed by wavelength dispersive X-ray microanalysis. A thin foil of a crystal oxidized at 600°C was examined by transmission electron microscopy. It was found that the oxide scale was divided into two regions, zones 1 and 2, which contained 14 to 23 and 7 to 10 at. % carbon, respectively. Zone 1 exhibited an almost compact, pore-free matrix of c -ZrO₂. In zone 2, some growth and aggregation of the c -ZrO₂ occurred, producing 5- to 20-nm-sized particles between which carbon should have been present. The thickness of zone 1 increased parabolically up to 240 h at 500°C and probably in an early period at 550° and 600°C, reaching a constant (about 2 (μm), in contrast to the thickness of zone 2, which increased linearly with time.     

Sliding Mode Control For Invertible Systems Based On A Direct Design Of Interactors

The sliding mode tracking control is reviewed and extended so that it can be applicable to general invertible systems. The main advantage of this paper is a direct and numerical stable design of interactors for general invertible systems which is performed by calculating infinite eigenbasis of system matrices.     

Inhibitory guanine-nucleotide-binding-regulatory protein alpha subunits in medaka (Oryzias latipes) oocytes--cDNA cloning and decreased expression of proteins during oocyte maturation

We have previously shown that pertussis-toxin-sensitive inhibitory guanine-nucleotide-binding-regulatory proteins (G proteins) are involved in the signal transduction of steroidal maturation-inducing hormone (MIH) of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) oocytes, 17alpha,20beta-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17alpha,20beta-DP) [Yoshikuni, M. & Nagahama, Y. (1994) Dev. Biol. 166, 615-622]. In this study, we obtained five different cDNA fragments of G protein alpha subunits from medaka (Oryzias latipes) intact ovarian follicles (three subtypes of G(i alpha), G(i alpha a), G(i alpha b) and G(i alpha c); two subtypes of G(s alpha), G(s alpha d), and G(s alpha e)). Using a newly developed extraction method for medaka oocyte RNA, we demonstrated that oocytes expressed both G(i alpha a) and G(i alpha c), but not G(i alpha b). Full-length cDNA clones for G(i alpha a) and G(i alpha c) were then isolated from a medaka ovarian follicle cDNA library. The predicted amino acid sequences of G(i alpha a) and G(i alpha c) exhibited significant similarity with G(i alpha1) and G(i alpha2) of other species, respectively. Both G(i alpha a) and G(i alpha c) possessed a specific Cys residue in the C-terminal region that was the site for ADP-ribosylation by pertussis toxin. G(o alpha), another G protein that is ADP-ribosylated by pertussis toxin, was not detected in oocytes, although it was expressed in brain tissue. Western blot analyses using a specific antibody against G(i alpha1) and G(i alpha2) subunit proteins revealed that in both medaka and rainbow trout G(i alpha) subunit protein (40 kDa) contents were abundant in plasma membranes of postvitellogenic immature oocytes, decreased in mature oocytes, and were absent in ovulated eggs. Furthermore, specific 17alpha,20beta-DP binding to plasma membranes was higher in postvitellogenic immature oocytes than in ovulated eggs. Taken together, these results suggest that G(i alpha a) and/or G(i alpha c) may be involved in the transduction of the signal from 17alpha,20beta-DP receptors during oocyte maturation of fish oocytes.     

Association study of a functional catechol-O-methyltransferase gene polymorphism in Japanese schizophrenics

Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) is an enzyme which inactivates catecholamine neurotransmitters by methylation, and is considered a candidate for involvement in schizophrenia. A functional COMT gene polymorphism influencing the enzyme activities, the high activity (val-108) and the low activity allele (met-108), was recently confirmed. We investigated a genetic association between schizophrenia and the COMT gene polymorphism in 150 Japanese schizophrenics and controls. We detected the low activity met-108 allele more frequently in schizophrenics than in the controls, and found that subjects sharing the met-108 allele (val/met and met/met) are significantly more common in the patients than in the controls. The results suggest that the low activity met-108 allele may be involved in susceptibility for schizophrenia.