Anti-obesity effects of the stem bark of Japanese horse chestnut (Aesculus turbinate) in 3T3-L1 preadipocytes

The inhibitory effects of lipid accumulation on ethanol extract from stem bark of Japanese horse chestnut (JHC) were evaluated. Exposure to JHC extract (10–100 μg/mL) for a 72 h incubation period did not alter cell viability compared to the untreated control. JHC extract, with concentrations of 25, 50, and 100 μg/mL, inhibited lipid accumulation in 3T3-L1 adipocytes in a dose dependent manner. The expression of PPARγ and C/EBPα, important adpogenic key markers was significantly reduced when JHC extract was added to cells for 8 days compared with the untreated control group. These results suggest that JHC extract might be a potential therapeutic agent as a natural anti-obesity material.     

Polyacrylonitrile‐carbon Nanotube‐polyacrylonitrile: A Versatile Robust Platform for Flexible Multifunctional Electronic Devices in Medical Applications

Flexible multifunctional electronic devices are of high interest for a wide range of applications including thermal therapy and respiratory devices in medical treatment, safety equipment, and structural health monitoring systems. This paper reports a scalable and efficient strategy of manufacturing a polyacrylonitrile‐carbon nanotube‐polyacrylonitrile (PAN‐CNT‐PAN) robust flexible platform for multifunctional electronic devices including flexible heaters, temperature sensors, and flexible thermal flow sensors. The key advantages of this platform include low cost, porosity, mechanical robustness, and electrical stability under mechanical bending, enabling the development of fast‐response flexible heaters with a response time of ≈1.5 s and relaxation time of ≈1.7 s. The temperature‐sensing functionality is also investigated with a range of temperature coefficient of resistances from ?650 to ?900 ppm K^?1. A flexible hot‐film sensing concept is successfully demonstrated using PAN‐CNT‐PAN with a high sensitivity of 340 mV (m s^?1)^?1. The sensitivity enhancement of 50% W^?1 is also observed with increasing supply power. The low cost, porosity, versatile, and robust properties of the proposed platform will enable the development of multifunctional electronic devices for numerous applications such as flexible thermal management, temperature stabilization in industrial processing, temperature sensing, and flexible/wearable devices for human healthcare applications.     

Directivity analysis of ultrasonic waves on surface defects using a visualization method

Ultrasonic testing uses the directivity of the ultrasonic wave, which propagates in one direction. The directivity is expressed as the relationship between the propagation direction and its sound pressure. The directivity of an ultrasonic wave is related to the choice of probe arrangement, testing sensitivity and scanning pitch, and correct measurement of defect size and location. This paper investigated the directivity of ultrasonic waves, which are scattered from a slit defect located in simulated butt weld joint using a visualization method. When the defect size was smaller than the wavelengths, clear directivity in the reflected wave was observed. When the ratio of defect size to wavelength is greater than 1.5, measured directivities almost agree with the theoretical directivity. The directivity of shear waves scattered from the slit defect varied according to probe direction (Far defect, Near defect). The angle of reflection wave became similar to angle of incidence as the height of excess metal in welded joint increased.     

Evaluation of Three-Dimensional Bioprinted Human Cartilage Powder Combined with Micronized Subcutaneous Adipose Tissues for the Repair of Osteochondral Defects in Beagle Dogs

Cartilage lesions are difficult to repair due to low vascular distribution and may progress into osteoarthritis. Despite numerous attempts in the past, there is no proven method to regenerate hyaline cartilage. The purpose of this study was to investigate the ability to use a 3D printed biomatrix to repair a critical size femoral chondral defect using a canine weight-bearing model. The biomatrix was comprised of human costal-derived cartilage powder, micronized adipose tissue, and fibrin glue. Bilateral femoral condyle defects were treated on 12 mature beagles staged 12 weeks apart. Four groups, one control and three experimental, were used. Animals were euthanized at 32 weeks to collect samples. Significant differences between control and experimental groups were found in both regeneration pattern and tissue composition. In results, we observed that the experimental group with the treatment with cartilage powder and adipose tissue alleviated the inflammatory response. Moreover, it was found that the MOCART score was higher, and cartilage repair was more organized than in the other groups, suggesting that a combination of cartilage powder and adipose tissue has the potential to repair cartilage with a similarity to normal cartilage. Microscopically, there was a well-defined cartilage-like structure in which the mid junction below the surface layer was surrounded by a matrix composed of collagen type I, II, and proteoglycans. MRI examination revealed significant reduction of the inflammation level and progression of a cartilage-like growth in the experimental group. This canine study suggests a promising new surgical treatment for cartilage lesions.     

Electrochemical hydrogen discharge of high-strength low alloy steel for high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage tank: Effect of discharging temperature

Hydrogen discharge technique of high-strength low alloy steel for high-pressure gaseous hydrogen storage tank was developed by using an electrochemical technique. The electrochemical hydrogen discharge of high-strength low alloy steel were investigated in a deaerated borate buffer solution (0.3 M H₃BO₃ + 0.074 M N₂B₄O₇, pH = 8.4). By applying a potential of +630 mV_SCE which is higher than the hydrogen equilibrium potentials and lower than the pitting potential, the oxidation reaction of metal (Fe → Fe²⁺ + 2e⁻) is limited and oxidation reaction of the hydrogen (H₂ + 2OH⁻ → 2H₂O + 2e⁻) was induced simultaneously. Thus, the pre-charged hydrogen inside the specimen was eliminated effectively without any damage to the specimen. The electrochemical hydrogen discharge method was performed at 25 °C, 50 °C and 75 °C. The efficiency of hydrogen discharge was accelerated with increasing temperature because the exchange current density of hydrogen is increased with temperature.     

Experimental study on mitigating the cathode flooding at low temperature by adding hydrogen to the cathode reactant gas in PEM fuel cell

Severe flooding can be critical in a fuel cell vehicle operating at a high current density, and in a fuel cell vehicle at the initial stage of start up. It is often difficult to remove the condensed water from the cathode gas diffusion layer (GDL) of the fuel cell because of the surface tension between the water and the GDL. In this research, in order to remove the condensed water from the cathode GDL, a small amount of hydrogen was injected into the cathode reactant gases. The results showed that the hydrogen addition method successfully removed the liquid water from the cathode GDL. Water removal was verified for various hydrogen flow rates and hydrogen addition durations. Furthermore, the dew point temperature of the outlet gas at the cathode was observed to determine the amount of water removed from the cathode GDL. In addition, the water droplet in the cathode gas flow channel was visualized by using a transparent cell. Furthermore, degradation tests are also performed. Considering the degradation test, the hydrogen addition method is expected to be effective in mitigating cathode flooding.     

Simulation of κ-Carbide Precipitation Kinetics in Aged Low-Density Fe–Mn–Al–C Steels and Its Effects on Strengthening

Fe–Al–Mn–C alloy systems are low-density austenite-based steels that show excellent mechanical properties. After aging such steels at adequate temperatures for adequate time, nano-scale precipitates such as κ-carbide form, which have profound effects on the mechanical properties. Therefore, it is important to predict the amount and size of the generated κ-carbide precipitates in order to control the mechanical properties of low-density steels. In this study, the microstructure and mechanical properties of aged low-density austenitic steel were characterized. Thermo-kinetic simulations of the aging process were used to predict the size and phase fraction of κ-carbide after different aging periods, and these results were validated by comparison with experimental data derived from dark-field transmission electron microscopy images. Based on these results, models for precipitation strengthening based on different mechanisms were assessed. The measured increase in the strength of aged specimens was compared with that calculated from the models to determine the exact precipitation strengthening mechanism.     

A dynamic control technique to enhance the flexibility of software artifact reuse in large-scale repository

The Journal of Supercomputing - Reuse is the activity of developing new software systems using software components (or artifacts) that are already proven and reliable. However, traditional...     

Contents-aware partitioning algorithm for parallel high efficiency video coding

Multimedia Tools and Applications - We introduce a new parallelization method for high-efficiency video coding (HEVC), which resolves the shortcomings of the existing tile-based parallel processing...