Thermal characterization of gallium arsenic nitride epilayer on gallium arsenide substrate using pulsed photothermal reflectance technique

Thermal conductivity of gallium arsenic nitride (GaAsN) epilayer on gallium arsenide (GaAs) substrate prepared by molecular beam epitaxy technique was measured using pulsed photothermal reflectance technique. Three-layer model incorporated thermal boundary resistance was applied to extract the thermal properties from the sample's photothermal response. Within the thickness ranging from 20 to 80 nm, no thickness dependent relationship with thermal conductivity of GaAsN epilayer was found, and the average thermal conductivity is approximately 27 W/mK at room temperature. The thermal boundary resistance at the Au/GaAsN interface is in the order of 10⁻⁸ m²K/W.     

Structural and electrochemical properties of vanadium oxide thin films grown by d.c. and r.f. reactive sputtering at room temperature

Vanadium oxide thin films were grown at room temperature by direct current and radio-frequency reactive sputtering systems to compare the structural and electrochemical properties. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry and Fourier transform infrared measurements reveal that the composition of the as-deposited films consists of the V₂O₅ phase regardless of the deposition methods. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction measurements show that the crystallinity of the as-deposited V₂O₅ films is different depending on the deposition method. Films deposited by direct current reactive sputtering were amorphous, whereas films deposited by radio-frequency reactive sputtering were crystalline. Scanning electron microscopy measurements show that the V₂O₅ films grown by radio-frequency reactive sputtering had a large grain size but the films grown by direct current reactive sputtering were amorphous. Charge–discharge measurements taken at room temperature with a constant current clearly indicate that the films grown by direct current sputtering demonstrated typical amorphous behavior, whereas the V₂O₅ films grown by radio-frequency sputtering demonstrated the discharge behavior of crystalline V₂O₅. The origin of the structural and electrochemical properties of film grown by radio-frequency reactive sputtering is a self-bias effect. The self-bias effect induces ion bombardment during the growth of vanadium oxide thin film. These results suggest that direct current reactive sputtering is more desirable for growing amorphous V₂O₅ thin film than radio-frequency reactive sputtering.     

Shear horizontal wave transduction in plates by magnetostrictive gratings

Shear horizontal waves are very useful in nondestructive evaluation applications because of their non-dispersive property. The objective of this research is to investigate frequency-tuned shear horizontal wave transduction in plates by using magnetostrictive nickel gratings. Since wireless energy conversion between magnetic energy and acoustic energy in magnetostrictive material can take place, the generation and measurement of waves by the magnetostrictive principle have recently received much attention. In this work, a grating-type magnetostrictive transducer was considered for SH wave transduction; waves can be effectively tuned at desired frequencies by changing grating size and distance. The present experiments showed that the bias field strength and grating width should be selected appropriately to avoid generating unwanted wave modes such as the S0-Lamb wave modes. It is also confirmed from experiments that the grating distance controls the center (or tuning) frequency of the grating transducer.     

Procedural Synthesis using Vortex Particle Method for Fluid Simulation

We propose a fast and effective technique to improve sub‐grid visual details of the grid based fluid simulation. Our method procedurally synthesizes the flow fields coming from the incompressible Navier‐Stokes solver and the vorticity fields generated by vortex particle method for sub‐grid turbulence. We are able to efficiently animate smoke which is highly turbulent and swirling with small scale details. Since this technique does not solve the linear system in high‐resolution grids, it can perform fluid simulation more rapidly. We can easily estimate the influence of turbulent and swirling effect to the fluid flow.     

Advances in Soft Materials for Sustainable Electronics

In the current shift from conventional fossil-fuel-based materials to renewable energy,ecofriendly mate-rials have attracted extensive research interest due to ...     

A Fully-Human Antibody Specifically Targeting a Membrane-Bound Fragment of CADM1 Potentiates the T Cell-Mediated Death of Human Small-Cell Lung Cancer Cells

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is the most aggressive form of lung cancer and the leading cause of global cancer-related mortality. Despite the earlier identification of membrane-proximal cleavage of cell adhesion molecule 1 (CADM1) in cancers, the role of the membrane-bound fragment of CAMD1 (MF-CADM1) is yet to be clearly identified. In this study, we first isolated MF-CADM1-specific fully human single-chain variable fragments (scFvs) from the human synthetic scFv antibody library using the phage display technology. Following the selected scFv conversion to human immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) scFv-Fc antibodies (K103.1–4), multiple characterization studies, including antibody cross-species reactivity, purity, production yield, and binding affinity, were verified. Finally, via intensive in vitro efficacy and toxicity evaluation studies, we identified K103.3 as a lead antibody that potently promotes the death of human SCLC cell lines, including NCI-H69, NCI-H146, and NCI-H187, by activated Jurkat T cells without severe endothelial toxicity. Taken together, these findings suggest that antibody-based targeting of MF-CADM1 may be an effective strategy to potentiate T cell-mediated SCLC death, and MF-CADM1 may be a novel potential therapeutic target in SCLC for antibody therapy.     

HDAC8-Selective Inhibition by PCI-34051 Enhances the Anticancer Effects of ACY-241 in Ovarian Cancer Cells

HDAC6 is overexpressed in ovarian cancer and is known to be correlated with tumorigenesis. Accordingly, ACY-241, a selective HDAC6 inhibitor, is currently under clinical trial and has been tested in combination with various drugs. HDAC8, another member of the HDAC family, has recently gained attention as a novel target for cancer therapy. Here, we evaluated the synergistic anticancer effects of PCI-34051 and ACY-241 in ovarian cancer. Among various ovarian cancer cells, PCI-34051 effectively suppresses cell proliferation in wild-type p53 ovarian cancer cells compared with mutant p53 ovarian cancer cells. In ovarian cancer cells harboring wild-type p53, PCI-34051 in combination with ACY-241 synergistically represses cell proliferation, enhances apoptosis, and suppresses cell migration. The expression of pro-apoptotic proteins is synergistically upregulated, whereas the expressions of anti-apoptotic proteins and metastasis-associated proteins are significantly downregulated in combination treatment. Furthermore, the level of acetyl-p53 at K381 is synergistically upregulated upon combination treatment. Overall, co-inhibition of HDAC6 and HDAC8 through selective inhibitors synergistically suppresses cancer cell proliferation and metastasis in p53 wild-type ovarian cancer cells. These results suggest a novel approach to treating ovarian cancer patients and the therapeutic potential in developing HDAC6/8 dual inhibitors.     

Intratracheal Transplantation of Mesenchymal Stem Cells Attenuates Hyperoxia-Induced Microbial Dysbiosis in the Lungs,Brain, and Gut in Newborn Rats

We attempted to determine whether intratracheal (IT) transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) could simultaneously attenuate hyperoxia-induced lung injuries and microbial dysbiosis of the lungs, brain, and gut in newborn rats. Newborn rats were exposed to hyperoxia (90% oxygen) for 14 days. Human umbilical cord blood-derived MSCs (5 × 10⁵) were transplanted via the IT route on postnatal day (P) five. At P14, the lungs were harvested for histological, biochemical, and microbiome analyses. Bacterial 16S ribosomal RNA genes from the lungs, brain, and large intestine were amplified, pyrosequenced, and analyzed. IT transplantation of MSCs simultaneously attenuated hyperoxia-induced lung inflammation and the ensuing injuries, as well as the dysbiosis of the lungs, brain, and gut. In correlation analyses, lung interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels were significantly positively correlated with the abundance of Proteobacteria in the lungs, brain, and gut, and it was significantly inversely correlated with the abundance of Firmicutes in the gut and lungs and that of Bacteroidetes in the lungs. In conclusion, microbial dysbiosis in the lungs, brain, and gut does not cause but is caused by hyperoxic lung inflammation and ensuing injuries, and IT transplantation of MSCs attenuates dysbiosis in the lungs, brain, and gut, primarily by their anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory effects.     

Downregulation of miR-122-5p Activates Glycolysis via PKM2 in Kupffer Cells of Rat and Mouse Models of Non-Alcoholic Steatohepatitis

Non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has pathological characteristics similar to those of alcoholic hepatitis, despite the absence of a drinking history. The greatest threat associated with NASH is its progression to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The pathophysiology of NASH is not fully understood to date. In this study, we investigated the pathophysiology of NASH from the perspective of glycolysis and the Warburg effect, with a particular focus on microRNA regulation in liver-specific macrophages, also known as Kupffer cells. We established NASH rat and mouse models and evaluated various parameters including the liver-to-body weight ratio, blood indexes, and histopathology. A quantitative phosphoproteomic analysis of the NASH rat model livers revealed the activation of glycolysis. Western blotting and immunohistochemistry results indicated that the expression of pyruvate kinase muscle 2 (PKM2), a rate-limiting enzyme of glycolysis, was upregulated in the liver tissues of both NASH models. Moreover, increases in PKM2 and p-PKM2 were observed in the early phase of NASH. These observations were partially induced by the downregulation of microRNA122-5p (miR-122-5p) and occurred particularly in the Kupffer cells. Our results suggest that the activation of glycolysis in Kupffer cells during NASH was partially induced by the upregulation of PKM2 via miR-122-5p suppression.