In-situ synchrotron SAXS/WAXD analysis for tracking the change in multiscale structure of wood during macroscopic flexural deformation.

Mechanical properties of wood are governed by its hierarchical organization across multiple length scales. This study hypothesizes that hierarchical structural changes in wood during macroscopic flexural deformation can be detected using in-situ small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) analysis in synchrotron radiation facility. The in-situ SAXS/WAXD experiments were conducted on water-saturated wood of Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi), with the specimen's length aligned along the tangential (T) direction.

CP/MAS NMR studies on binding environment of CHCN in Cu(i) complexes with disilane-bridged bis(methylpyridine) ligands.

CP/MAS NMR spectroscopies have developed as an important tool for studying the structure in the crystalline state. In this work, the structures of representative Cu(i) complexes 1-3 with disilane-bridged bis(methylpyridine) ligands in the crystalline state were investigated by CP/MAS NMR. C CP/MAS NMR confirmed the presence of CHCN in the crystals of 2 and 3, but the environment around CHCN could not be determined.

Fugacity model incorporating computational fluid dynamics for analyzing the behavior of an insecticide sprayed indoors.

Fugacity models are used widely to predict the time-dependent behaviors of chemicals in environments containing several media (, air, sediment, soil, and water). However, these fugacity models work on the assumption that the concentration of a chemical in each medium is uniform, so they cannot describe the spatial distribution of the chemical. We developed a new fugacity model, termed InPestCFD, incorporating computational fluid dynamics to describe both the time-dependent distribution and the spatial distribution of a chemical in a medium.

Projecting an ultra-strongly-coupled system in a non-energy-eigenbasis with a driven nonlinear resonator.

We explore the problem of projecting the ground-state of an ultra-strong-coupled circuit-QED system into a non-energy-eigenstate. As a measurement apparatus we consider a nonlinear driven resonator. We find that the post-measurement state of the nonlinear resonator exhibits a large correlation with the post-measurement state of the ultra-strongly coupled system even when the coupling between measurement device and system is much smaller than the energy scales of the system itself.

High-Pressure Synthesis and Crystal Structure of MoC-Type Tungsten Nitride by Nitridation with Ammonium Chloride.

A novel tungsten nitride, MoC-type WN, was synthesized at 6 GPa and 1200 °C via nitridation of tungsten by ammonium chloride as a nitrogen source. This compound is isostructural with γ'-MoC, which has a hexagonal structure with a space group of 6/ (No. 194).

The where of handovers by humans: Effect of partner characteristics, distance and visual feedback.

Object handovers between humans are common in our daily life but the mechanisms underlying handovers are still largely unclear. A good understanding of these mechanisms is important not only for a better understanding of human social behaviors, but also for the prospect of an automatized society in which machines will need to perform similar objects exchanges with humans. In this paper, we analyzed how humans determine the location of object transfer during handovers- to determine whether they can predict the preferred handover location of a partner, the variation of this prediction in 3D space, and to examine how much of a role vision plays in the whole process.

Size-dependent stability of ultra-small α-/β-phase tin nanocrystals synthesized by microplasma.

Nanocrystals sometimes adopt unusual crystal structure configurations in order to maintain structural stability with increasingly large surface-to-volume ratios. The understanding of these transformations is of great scientific interest and represents an opportunity to achieve beneficial materials properties resulting from different crystal arrangements. Here, the phase transformation from α to β phases of tin (Sn) nanocrystals is investigated in nanocrystals with diameters ranging from 6.

[Analysis of human microbiome using NGS.].

Recently, next generation sequencers(NGS)became prevalent and enable us possible to comprehensively analyze the entire human microbiome community structures including difficult-to-culture microbes. In this review, we introduce the NGS-based analytical methods of human microbiome, called "meta-16S analysis" and "metagenomic analysis", then show several fundamental data basing these analyses. Furthermore, we also introduce the importance of database improvement used for analysis and the DNA preparation method from human samples.

Use of a Phage-Display Method to Identify Peptides that Bind to a Tin Oxide Nanosheets.

Background: Nanosheets of SnO2 which an n-type semiconductor with a rutile-type crystalline structure are predominantly used as gas sensors. SnO2 nanosheets have a tetragonal crystal structure where growth along the c-axis is suppressed to form a sheet. The major exposed facets of SnO2 nanosheets have {110}, {101} and {211} crystal planes along the a-axis, with the reduced {110} surface having a particularly high surface energy.

Coupling killing to neutralization: combined therapy with ceftriaxone/Pep19-2.5 counteracts sepsis in rabbits.

Sepsis, which is induced by severe bacterial infections, is a major cause of death worldwide, and therapies combating the disease are urgently needed. Because many drugs have failed in clinical trials despite their efficacy in mouse models, the development of reliable animal models of sepsis is in great demand. Several studies have suggested that rabbits reflect sepsis-related symptoms more accurately than mice.

Ultra-small photoluminescent silicon-carbide nanocrystals by atmospheric-pressure plasmas.

Highly size-controllable synthesis of free-standing perfectly crystalline silicon carbide nanocrystals has been achieved for the first time through a plasma-based bottom-up process. This low-cost, scalable, ligand-free atmospheric pressure technique allows fabrication of ultra-small (down to 1.5 nm) nanocrystals with very low level of surface contamination, leading to fundamental insights into optical properties of the nanocrystals.

Supramolecular structure of enterobacterial wild-type lipopolysaccharides (LPS), fractions thereof, and their neutralization by Pep19-2.5.

Lipopolysaccharides (LPS) belong to the strongest immune-modulating compounds known in nature, and are often described as pathogen-associated molecular patterns (PAMPs). In particular, at higher concentrations they are responsible for sepsis and the septic shock syndrome associated with high lethality. Since most data are indicative that LPS aggregates are the bioactive units, their supramolecular structures are considered to be of outmost relevance for deciphering the molecular mechanisms of its bioactivity.

Tip characterization method using multi-feature characterizer for CD-AFM.

In atomic force microscopy (AFM) metrology, the tip is a key source of uncertainty. Images taken with an AFM show a change in feature width and shape that depends on tip geometry. This geometric dilation is more pronounced when measuring features with high aspect ratios, and makes it difficult to obtain absolute dimensions.

The Interplay of Quantum Confinement and Hydrogenation in Amorphous Silicon Quantum Dots.

Hydrogenation in amorphous silicon quantum dots (QDs) has a dramatic impact on the corresponding optical properties and band energy structure, leading to a quantum-confined composite material with unique characteristics. The synthesis of a-Si:H QDs is demonstrated with an atmospheric-pressure plasma process, which allows for accurate control of a highly chemically reactive non-equilibrium environment with temperatures well below the crystallization temperature of Si QDs.

Lipoproteins/peptides are sepsis-inducing toxins from bacteria that can be neutralized by synthetic anti-endotoxin peptides.

Sepsis, a life-threatening syndrome with increasing incidence worldwide, is triggered by an overwhelming inflammation induced by microbial toxins released into the bloodstream during infection. A well-known sepsis-inducing factor is the membrane constituent of Gram-negative bacteria, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), signalling via Toll-like receptor-4. Although sepsis is caused in more than 50% cases by Gram-positive and mycoplasma cells, the causative compounds are still poorly described.

Watching novice action degrades expert motor performance: causation between action production and outcome prediction of observed actions by humans.

Our social skills are critically determined by our ability to understand and appropriately respond to actions performed by others. However despite its obvious importance, the mechanisms enabling action understanding in humans have remained largely unclear. A popular but controversial belief is that parts of the motor system contribute to our ability to understand observed actions.

SPM system for semiconductor device applications.

Recently, scanning probe microscopy (SPM) is widely used for development of semiconductor devices. One of the important functions of SPM is high resolution topography, such as shape of the nanoscale devices and surface roughness of the films. Additionally, SPM can measure the electronic structure of the nanoscale-devices.

Biophysical analysis of the interaction of the serum protein human β2GPI with bacterial lipopolysaccharide.

There are several human serum proteins for which no clear role is yet known. Among these is the abundant serum protein beta2-glycoprotein-I (β2GPI), which is known to bind to negatively charged phospholipids as well as to bacterial lipopolysaccharides (LPS), and was therefore proposed to play a role in the immune response. To understand the details of these interactions, a biophysical analysis of the binding of β2GPI to LPS and phosphatidylserine (PS) was performed.

Effect of systemic α1-adrenergic receptor blockade on central blood pressure response during exercise.

The aortic pulse pressure (PP), which consists mainly of the incident wave and the reflected wave, has emerged as an important property of systemic blood vessels underlying the pathophysiology of cardiovascular disease. To determine the role of sympathetic nerve activity on the aortic PP response during dynamic exercise, we evaluated aortic hemodynamics during the right-leg knee-extension (40 and 60 % of maximal voluntary contraction) in six young adults with and without the systemic α1-adrenergic receptor blockade using prazosin (1 mg/20 kg body weight). The use of prazosin attenuated the exercise-induced increase in aortic PP (P < 0.

Conserved and non-conserved residues and their role in the structure and function of p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase.

In order to elucidate the molecular mechanism of the catalytic reaction and enzyme conformation, we substituted 53 conserved residues identified by aligning 92 p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase sequences and 19 non-conserved residues selected from crystallographic studies of Pseudomonas fluorescens NBRC14160 p-hydroxybenzoate hydroxylase with 19 other naturally occurring amino acids, yielding a database of 619 active single mutants. The database contained 365 and 254 active single mutants for 44/53 conserved residues and 19 non-conserved residues, respectively; the data included main activity, sub-activity for NADPH and NADPH reaction specificity. Active mutations were not observed for the G14, Q102, G160, E198, R220, R246, N300, F342 and G387 conserved residues, and only one active mutant was obtained at the G9, G11, G187, D286, Y201, R214 and G295 conserved residues and the S13, E32 and R42 non-conserved residues.

Characterization of mannosylerythritol lipids containing hexadecatetraenoic acid produced from cuttlefish oil by Pseudozyma churashimaensis OK96.

Biosurfactants are surface-active compounds produced by microorganisms. Mannosylerythritol lipids (MEL) are promising biosurfactants produced by Ustilaginomycetes, and their physicochemical and biochemical properties differ depending on the chemical structure of their hydrophilic and/or hydrophobic moieties. To further develop MEL derivatives and expand their potential applications, we focused our attention on the use of cuttlefish oil, which contains polyunsaturated fatty acids (e.

Indoor allergen assessment quantified by a thin-layer electrochemical cell and magnetic beads.

We report the electrochemical determination of mite allergen in real house dust by using a thin layer electrochemical flow cell and magnetic beads. Der p1, which is an allergen from Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, was immunochemically sandwiched between two dispersed monoclonal antibodies; one was modified on the surface of magnetic beads and the other was modified with alkaline phosphatase. After washing the beads, a small volume of p-aminophenol phosphate (p-APP) was added to produce p-aminophenol (p-AP).

Overexpression of the active diacylglycerol acyltransferase variant transforms Saccharomyces cerevisiae into an oleaginous yeast.

Lipid production by Saccharomyces cerevisiae was improved by overexpression of the yeast diacylglycerol acyltransferase Dga1p lacking the N-terminal 29 amino acids (Dga1∆Np), which was previously found to be an active form in the ∆snf2 mutant. Overexpression of Dga1∆Np in the ∆snf2 mutant, however, did not increase lipid content as expected, which prompted us to search for a more suitable strain in which to study the role of Dga1∆Np in lipid accumulation. We found that the overexpression of Dga1∆Np in the ∆dga1 mutant effectively increased the lipid content up to about 45 % in the medium containing 10 % glucose.