Evaluation of two-dimensional strain distribution by STEM/NBD

We proposed a strain mapping technique by Nano Beam electron Diffraction (NBD) combined with an energy filter (EF) and a scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) function. The STEM function improves the accuracy of a position where a diffraction pattern is acquired. The EF excludes inelastic scattering and enables novel numerical processing for the appropriate measurement of distances between diffraction disks. Using this technique, strain distributions were measured for two different types of p-MOSFETs, i.e., source/drain regions of each MOSFET is composed of different types of silicide, and the difference of their strain distributions in the channel region was confirmed. The proposed method was able to clarify that the strain distributions are quite different depending on the silicide materials even if the exterior of the MOSFETs was almost identical.     

Quantitative Determination of Neonicotinoid Insecticide Thiamethoxam in Agricultural Samples: a Comparative Verification Between High-Performance Liquid Chromatography and Monoclonal Antibody-Based Immunoassay

This work describes the analytical performance of the newly developed kit-based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam to effectively exploit as a rapid and simple detection system for pesticide residue on the scenes of the agricultural production and distribution. The ELISA represents the satisfactory analytical characteristics (IC₅₀ value, 0.72 ng mL^?1; limit of detection, 0.1 ng mL^?1) to detect thiamethoxam at the maximum residue limits or thereabout in samples. For the ELISA analysis, methanol that showed the lowest influence on the assay performance was selected as the best extractant, and the final concentration in the well could be up to 5 % (v/v) without any negative influence on the ELISA. Dilution of sample extracts with water was effective in eliminating matrix interference. Average recoveries from thiamethoxam-spiked agricultural samples were >88 % using a rapid and simple extraction method with hand shaking for 5 min. Analytical results obtained from the ELISA were comparable to those obtained from the conventional HPLC method. These findings strongly indicate that the proposed kit-based ELISA for determination of thiamethoxam residue in agricultural samples may be routinely employed as a rapid, simple, and quantitative preliminary screening method for the monitoring of safety of agricultural products.     

Temperature dependence of open-circuit voltage in dye-sensitized solar cells

Temperature, T, dependence of open-circuit voltage, V_oc, was investigated in home-assembled and maker-trial dye-sensitized solar cells, which had wide variety in V_oc, i.e. 600–800 mV. A linear decrease of V_oc was observed with increasing T; all these cells had a slope of about ?2.5 mV/°C, irrespective of the V_ocs in the STC. The mechanism of the T dependence of V_oc was discussed with the electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, EIS. Analyses of EIS data with a newly derived model revealed that this dependence is primarily ascribed to a shift of the TiO₂ conduction band.     

Analysis based evaluation for buckling loads of two-way elliptic paraboloidal single layer lattice domes

The present paper proposes an efficient method for evaluating elasto-plastic buckling loads of two-way elliptic paraboloidal lattice domes of single layer under vertical loads. The procedure is composed of the following steps: linear buckling analysis to find the generalized slenderness ratio of the specific member that is the most relevant to their loading capacities; the generalized slenderness ratio is applied to obtain the axial strength for the specific member, based on which elasto-plastic buckling load is evaluated. The comparison of the evaluated buckling loads with those obtained from FEM elasto-plastic buckling analyses proves that the procedure is valid and efficient enough to be applied in design practice. Based on safety factors, given in some recommendations, the allowable column strength is also proposed for proportioning the members of elliptic single layer paraboloidal lattice domes.     

Design, Synthesis, and Catalysis of Bio-inspired Immobilized Metallocomplex Catalyst

Novel immobilized metallocomplex catalyst based on bio-inspired concept has been developed. The allyl functional group in the anionic chelating ligand reacts with thiols to give the linker for immobilization. The immobilization of the chelating ligand onto amorphous silica supports results in the isolated metal-binding sites giving the coordinatively unsaturated metal center. The biomimetic iron complex-immobilized silica exhibits the catalysis for olefin epoxidation with aqueous H₂O₂ at ambient temperature.     

Dietary α-linolenate suppresses endotoxin-induced platelet-activating factor production in rat kidney

In comparison with dietary high-linoleate safflower oil, high α-linolenate perilla oil decreased alkylacyl-and alkenylacyl-glycerophosphocholine (GPC) content in rat kidney by roughly 30 and 25%, respectively. The fatty acid composition was also modified by high α-linolenate oil; arachidonic acid (AA) level in alkylacyl-GPC, a platelet-activating factor (PAF) precursor, decreased by 30% along with concomitant increases in the n-3 fatty acid levels. PAF contents under resting conditions were similarly low in the two dietary groups. Fifteen minutes after endotoxin administration, PAF and lyso-PAF contents increased significantly, and the PAF content in the high α-linolenate group was 60% lower than in the high linoleate group; the lyso-PAF contents also tended to be lower. Lyso-PAF acetyltransferase and CoA-independent transacylase activities in kidney microsomes increased significantly after endotoxin administration, while PAF acetylhydrolase activity in the cytosol was relatively unchanged. The lyso-PAF acetyltransferase and PAF acetylhydrolase activities did not differ between the two dietary groups, but the CoA-independent, transacylase activity was roughly 30% lower in the high α-linolenate group. In agreement with in vitro study, our present study demonstrates that dietary high α-linolenate suppresses PAF production in rat kidney during systemic endotoxemia, and which is mainly due to the decrease in alkylacyl-GPC content, altered fatty acid compositions of the precursor lipids and lower CoA-independent transacylase activity.