Mass transfer in polycrystalline ytterbium monosilicate under oxygen potential gradients at high temperatures

Mass transfer in polycrystalline Yb₂SiO₅ wafers with precise composition control was evaluated and analyzed by oxygen permeation experiments at high temperatures using an oxygen tracer. Oxygen permeation proceeded due to mutual grain boundary diffusion of oxide ions and Yb ions without synergistic effects such as acceleration or suppression. The oxygen shielding properties of Yb₂SiO₅ were compared with those of the other line compounds such as Yb₂Si₂O₇ and Al₂O₃ based on the determined mass transfer parameters. It was found that the more preferentially an oxide ion diffuses in the grain boundary compared to the interior of the grain, the greater the effect of suppressing the movement of the oxide ion by applying an oxygen potential gradient becomes.     

Direct Injection of CRISPR/Cas9-Related mRNA into Cytoplasm of Parthenogenetically Activated Porcine Oocytes Causes Frequent Mosaicism for Indel Mutations

Some reports demonstrated successful genome editing in pigs by one-step zygote microinjection of mRNA of CRISPR/Cas9-related components. Given the relatively long gestation periods and the high cost of housing, the establishment of a single blastocyst-based assay for rapid optimization of the above system is required. As a proof-of-concept, we attempted to disrupt a gene (GGTA1) encoding the α-1,3-galactosyltransferase that synthesizes the α-Gal epitope using parthenogenetically activated porcine oocytes. The lack of α-Gal epitope expression can be monitored by staining with fluorescently labeled isolectin BS-I-B₄ (IB4), which binds specifically to the α-Gal epitope. When oocytes were injected with guide RNA specific to GGTA1 together with enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) and human Cas9 mRNAs, 65% (24/37) of the developing blastocysts exhibited green fluorescence, although almost all (96%, 23/24) showed a mosaic fluorescent pattern. Staining with IB4 revealed that the green fluorescent area often had a reduced binding activity to IB4. Of the 16 samples tested, six (five fluorescent and one non-fluorescent blastocysts) had indel mutations, suggesting a correlation between EGFP expression and mutation induction. Furthermore, it is suggested that zygote microinjection of mRNAs might lead to the production of piglets with cells harboring various mutation types.     

Detection of Multiple Blockages in Parallelized Microreactors

In a plant consisting of parallelized microreactors (MRs), the product quality is lowered because of a lack of flow uniformity among them when blockage occurs. It is not practical to install sensors in every MR from the viewpoint of cost when detecting the blocked MRs. In the previous study, the multiple blockage detection (MBD) method using a small number of sensors was proposed, but its performance became low when the number of sensors decreased. Here, the conventional algorithm for MBD is improved by considering the process behavior on blockage occurrence, and the effectiveness of the improved algorithm is demonstrated through a numerical case study. The effects of flow distributor types and sensor types on the MBD performance are numerically investigated.     

The World robot summit disaster robotics category – achievements of the 2018 preliminary competition

The World Robot Summit is a robot Olympics and aims to be held in a different country every four years from 2020. The concept of the Plant Disaster Prevention challenge is daily inspections, checks, and emergency response in industrial plants, and in this competition, robots must carry out these types of missions in a mock-up plant. The concept of the Tunnel Disaster Response and Recovery challenge is emergency response to tunnel disasters, and is a simulation competition whereby teams compete to show their ability to deal with disasters, by collecting information and removing debris. The Standard Disaster Robotics challenge assesses, in the form of a contest, the standard performance levels of a robot that are necessary for disaster prevention and emergency response. The World Robot Summit Preliminary Competition was held at Tokyo Big Sight in October 2018, and 36 teams participated in the Disaster Robotics Category. UGVs and UAVs contended the merits of new technology for solving complex problems, using core technologies such as mobility, sensing, recognition, performing operations, human interface, autonomous intelligence etc., as well as system integration and implementation of strategies for completing missions, gaining high-level results.     

Graded evolution of anisotropic microstructure during sintering from crystal-oriented powder compact

Anisotropic sintering, including shrinkage and grain growth, was examined for c-axis-oriented (Sr,Ca)₂NaNb₅O₁₅ (SCNN) ceramics, which were prepared by colloidal processing under a magnetic field. In the c-axis-oriented SCNN powder compact, shrinkage and grain growth along the c-axis were higher than those along the a-axis. The anisotropic microstructural development was clearly associated with anisotropic sintering shrinkage. X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, and energy back scattering diffraction showed that the grain growth of oriented particles by including random grains contribute to the development of the oriented microstructure. Finally, the highly crystal-oriented SCNN ceramics with a densified microstructure were obtained through anisotropic sintering. These results clearly showed the potential to develop a well-defined anisotropic microstructure during sintering by designing and controlling the particle packing structure in a powder compact.     

Single-polarization single-mode photonic crystal fibers

A new structure of single-polarization single-mode (SPSM) photonic crystal fiber (PCF) is proposed and analyzed by using a full-vector finite element method with anisotropic perfectly matched layers. From the numerical results it is confirmed that the proposed fiber is low-loss SPSM-PCF within the wavelengths ranging from 1.48 to 1.6 /spl mu/m, where only the slow-axis mode exists and the confinement loss is less than 0.1 dB/km.     

The apolipoprotein E allele epsilon 4 is overrepresented in patients with the Lewy body variant of Alzheimer's disease

We determined apolipoprotein E (ApoE) genotypes in 122 autopsied demented patients. The frequency of the ApoE epsilon 4 allele was 39.6% in Alzheimer's disease (AD), 29.0% in the Lewy body variant of AD (LBV), and 6.25% in diffuse Lewy body disease. For AD and LBV patients, the epsilon 4 frequency was significantly higher than that reported in nondemented controls (10 to 15%). Therefore, LBV and AD share ApoE epsilon 4 as a genetic risk factor, providing further evidence that these conditions overlap.     

Long-term follow-up (8 to 17 years) after thromboexclusion operation for thoracic aortic aneurysms

Forty-eight Russell's viper bite patients (40 males, 8 females), age ranging from 16-76 years were studied. Out of 48 patients, 14 were found to have a prolonged whole blood clotting time test (WBCT) (i.e. incoagulable blood) (Group 1); 23 had a normal WBCT (i.e. clotted blood) (Group II); and 11 patients had a normal WBCT on admission which changed to non-clotting during the clinical course (Group III). Four patients from group I developed hypotension and 2 expired. The serum cortisol concentration (mean +/- SEM) on admission among groups I and II were 639 +/- 45.6 and 424 +/- 33.2 nmol/l respectively. The blood cortisol level in 35 subjects (controls) were 370.7 +/- 17.7 nmol/l (mean +/- SEM). There was a significant rise of blood cortisol in patients with incoagulable blood when compared to controls at the time of admission to the hospital (p < 0.05); but there was no significant difference among those patients with clotted blood. A much higher mean serum cortisol level was observed in 4 patients with hypotension as compared to 10 patients without shock. These patients with hypotension according to our study shown to have a favorable response to steroid therapy and eventually recovered. Whether higher doses of steroid in addition to antiserum confer extra benefit in suppressing nonspecific venom effects on the pituitary and/or adrenal is not known.     

a-Si alloy three-stacked solar cells with high stabilized-efficiency

a-Si alloy three-stacked solar cells have been studied to improve the stabilized efficiency of a-Si: H based solar cells. Based on the analysis by the individual characterization method of the component cells in stacked type cells, the a-Si :H middle cell was replaced with an a-SiGe :H cell. Furthermore, the optical confinement technology was improved to obtain a high-output current with thin i-layer thickness in the a-SiGe :H bottom cell. By this device design, the initial conversion efficiency was improved up to 12.4% and more than a 10% stabilized efficiency was obtained in a-SiC :H/a-SiGe :H/a-SiGe :H three-stacked cells. These cell characteristics were confirmed by measurements at the JQA Organization (the former JMI Institute).     

Large Coulomb blockade oscillations at room temperature in ultranarrow wire channel MOSFETs formed by slight oxidation process

We propose a new fabrication technique of room-temperature operating silicon single-electron transistors (SETs). The devices are in the form of ultranarrow wire channel MOSFETs, where a sub-10-nm channel is formed by wet etching and slight thermal oxidation. Large Coulomb blockade (CB) oscillations whose peak-to-valley current ratio at room temperature is as high as 6.8 are observed in the fabricated ultranarrow wire channel MOSFETs. It is found that larger CB oscillations are obtained in the ultranarrow wire channel SETs than in the point-contact channel SETs. It is considered that the potential fluctuations induced during the channel formation processes give rise to multiple-dot SET structures in the ultranarrow wire channel MOSFETs.