Effect of polyethyleneimine-fatty acid complex type dispersant structure on the overall processing chain of Si3N4 ceramics using multicomponent non-aqueous slurries

The effect of fatty acid structure of polyethyleneimine (PEI)-fatty acid complex, which was designed as a polymer dispersant for multi-component non-aqueous slurries, on the overall processing chain of Si₃N₄ ceramics involving slurry stabilization, spray drying, compaction, and liquid sintering was investigated using PEI-oleic acid (PEI-OA) and PEI-isostearic (PEI-ISA) complexes. Si₃N₄-Y₂O₃-Al₂O₃-AlN-TiO₂/toluene slurries were selected as a real model for Si₃N₄-based multicomponent slurries. It was observed that both PEI-OA and PEI-ISA can stabilize Si₃N₄-Y₂O₃-Al₂O₃-AlN-TiO₂/toluene slurries; however, the PEI-ISA system tended to have slightly higher slurry viscosity, which was suspected to be due to the interactions between protruded PEI segments among short ISA chains. The spray-dried granules from PEI-ISA-stabilized slurry were observed to have filled structures with higher surface roughness whereas those prepared from PEI-OA-stabilized slurry were observed to have hollow-structured granules. The granules prepared from PEI-OA slurry had improved flow and compaction properties with higher relative density of green compacts compared with those prepared from PEI-ISA-stabilized slurry, whereas the relative density and microstructural homogeneity of S₃N₄ ceramics sintered at 1600?°C for 2?h were observed to be higher for the PEI-ISA system. It is suspected that PEI-OA effectively improved the dispersion stability of multicomponent slurries and flow/compaction properties of granules; however, the inhomogeneous microstructures of green compacts induced by the hollow-structured granules had an adverse effect on the sintering of Si₃N₄ ceramics.     

Prolonged Aftereffect of Visuomotor Adaptation to Gradually Distorted Reality Displayed on a See-Through Head-Mounted Device

Growing evidence suggests that the gradual transformation of visuomotor association drives a distinct learning process from abrupt transformation in humans. In the current study, we developed a novel omnidirectional visuomotor transformation paradigm to study details of such difference in more realistic environment than conventional experimental systems. Participants were asked to perform a repetitive three-dimensional (3D) arm-reaching task to a target on a front touch panel, wearing a video see-through head-mounted device that displayed a rotating view of surrounding images. In the abrupt condition, the images were rotated by 20°; in the gradual condition, the rotation was increased in a stepwise-manner from 0° to 20°. In both conditions, pointing errors were decreased after adaptation. Further, although the aftereffect of adaptation was not different between conditions, the speed of decay of the aftereffect, which was quantified by an exponential fit, was slower in the gradual condition, suggesting longer-lasting aftereffects for the gradual shift.     

Room-temperature densification of MgO bulk ceramics with dispersed nitride phosphor particles

Wave conversion materials with high thermal conductivity are necessary for high-power semiconductor lighting. Ceramics have higher thermal conductivity than existing matrices such as resin or glass in which phosphor particles are dispersed. However, the high densification of ceramics generally requires high-temperature sintering, which degrades and alters the phosphor particles. In this study, we aimed to achieve the high densification of MgO ceramics at room temperature. Applying high hydrostatic pressure with water addition improved the sample packing ratio and promoted the formation of Mg(OH)₂. As a result, the relative density was ≥95%. Additionally, various nitride phosphor particles (CaAlSiN₃:Eu²⁺, β-SiAlON:Eu²⁺, and α-SiAlON:Eu²⁺) were dispersed in the MgO matrix at room temperature without degrading the luminescence property. The thermal conductivity of the obtained sample was about 8 W m^?1K^?1, 40 times higher than that of the epoxy matrix.     

Energy state of InGaAs quantum dots on SiO2-patterned vicinal substrate

The optical properties of In_0.8Ga_0.2As self-assembled quantum dots (SAQDs) grown on GaAs wire structures formed by utilizing SiO₂-patterned exact and 5°-off (001) GaAs substrates have been studied with micro-photoluminescence (μ-PL). Single PL peak was occurred for In_0.8Ga_0.2As SAQDs grown on SiO₂-patterned exact (001) GaAs, whereas double PL peaks were showed for SAQDs grown on 5°-off (001) GaAs substrates as the width of the opening windows increased. The power-dependent μ-PL spectra show that the first and second peaks of these double peaks were originated from the well-defined ground and excited state, respectively. These results demonstrated that In_0.8Ga_0.2As SAQDs selectively grown by utilizing SiO₂-patterned 5°-off (001) GaAs substrates have well-defined zero-dimensional quantum states.     

Role of Metabolism in Bone Development and Homeostasis

Carbohydrates, fats, and proteins are the underlying energy sources for animals and are catabolized through specific biochemical cascades involving numerous enzymes. The catabolites and metabolites in these metabolic pathways are crucial for many cellular functions; therefore, an imbalance and/or dysregulation of these pathways causes cellular dysfunction, resulting in various metabolic diseases. Bone, a highly mineralized organ that serves as a skeleton of the body, undergoes continuous active turnover, which is required for the maintenance of healthy bony components through the deposition and resorption of bone matrix and minerals. This highly coordinated event is regulated throughout life by bone cells such as osteoblasts, osteoclasts, and osteocytes, and requires synchronized activities from different metabolic pathways. Here, we aim to provide a comprehensive review of the cellular metabolism involved in bone development and homeostasis, as revealed by mouse genetic studies.     

Effect of wet-jet milling on the c-axis orientation of hydroxyapatite ceramics fabricated using a strong magnetic field

Controlling the crystal orientation of hydroxyapatite, an inorganic material that is a major component of human hard tissues is important to fabricate better artificial bones and artificial tooth roots. To obtain highly oriented hydroxyapatite ceramics under a strong magnetic field, a good dispersion of the raw materials in the slurry must be obtained. This study investigates the effect of wet-jet milling of a slurry on the orientation of hydroxyapatite ceramics fabricated using a strong magnetic field. Although the prolonged ball milling with ZrO₂ balls of the raw powder fractures the primary particles of hydroxyapatite, wet-jet milling is used to successfully pulverize agglomerated hydroxyapatite raw powder without changing the morphology of the primary particles. Evidently, ceramics with a highly oriented c-axis of hydroxyapatite are obtained by molding the wet-jet milled slurry in a strong rotating magnetic field. They exhibit anisotropy in fracture toughness, and the fracture toughness calculated from the crack length perpendicular to the rotating axis is higher than that calculated from the crack length parallel to it. Furthermore, these values are higher than those of randomly oriented hydroxyapatite ceramics, which may be owing to the crystal orientation dependence of the fracture toughness of the hydroxyapatite grains and grain boundaries.     

Potential bile acid metabolites. 24. An efficient synthesis of carboxyl-linked glucosides and their chemical properties

A facile and efficient synthesis of the carboxyl-linked glucosides of bile acids is described. Direct esterification of unprotected bile acids with 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-benzyl-d-glucopyranose in pyridine in the presence of 2-chloro-1,3,5-trinitrobenzene as a coupling agent afforded a mixture of the α- and β-anomers (ca. 1∶3) of the 1-O-acyl-d-glucoside benzyl ethers of bile acids, which was separated effectively on a C₁₈ reversedphase chromatography column (isolated yields of α- and β-anomers are 4–9% and 12–19%, respectively). Subsequent hydrogenolysis of the α- and β-acyl glucoside benzyl ethers on a 10% Pd−C catalyst in acetic acid/methanol/EtOAc (1∶2∶2, by vol) at 35°C under atmospheric pressure gave the corresponding free esters in good yields (79–89%). Chemical specificities such as facile hydrolysis and transesterification of the acyl glucosides in various solvents were also discussed.     

EPR study of hydrogen-related defects in boron-doped p-type CVD homoepitaxial diamond films

Boron-doped p-type single crystalline chemical vapor deposition (CVD) homoepitaxial diamond films were investigated by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Carbon dangling bond defects, which were accompanied by a nearby hydrogen atom, were observed in boron-doped p-type CVD diamond films on a IIa substrate similar to those observed in undoped diamond. This result suggested that the energy level position of the defects is located below the Fermi energy of boron-doped diamond, at around 0.3 eV above the valence-band top. The reason why the Fermi energy could be changed by the incorporation of boron atoms at low density (10¹⁶–10¹⁷/cm³) in the film in spite of the existence of the large defect density of EPR centers (10¹⁸/cm³) is thought to be that the singly occupied electron states of defects are located near the band edge. As for the thermal annealing effect of the defects, it was revealed that the concentration of the defects and the mobility of the p-type film did not change after annealing up to 1200 °C which is much higher than the temperature of boron–hydrogen pair dissociation.