A Rat’s Image Using Multichannel Phase Array RF Coil Specifically Designed for Animals: Focused on a Pulse Sequence and Mediator Variable

The study focuses on finding the pulse sequences depicting a rat’s tumor when the size of the field of view was reduced, using coils specifically designed for rats, and obtaining an optimized image of a rat by transforming the parameters, according to each pulse sequence. The manufactured coil is 8-channel phased array coils, and the type is a receive-only coil. The diameter of the coil is 80 mm, and the length is 150 mm. The overlapped distance among each channel was 8 mm, and the lab rats used in the experiment were the commonly used Sprague–Dawley rats. The study used three types of pulse sequences, which are the diffusion weight imaging (DWI), three-dimensional dual echo steady state (3-D DESS), and three-dimensional volumetric interpolated breath-hold (3-D VIBE). Along with the DWI results, pulse sequences of 3-D DESS and 3-D VIBE enabled to distinguish the tumors from that of normal tissues in the brain by optimizing a mediator variable and to illustrate the whole body imaging of a rat.     

Structural and functional stabilities of artificially designed DNA ultra-thin films grown by silica Assistance

We report the structural and functional stabilities of artificially synthesized DNA ultra-thin films. Fully covered DNA ultra-thin films on a silica substrate were fabricated by the silica-assisted growth method and those samples were then incubated in various chemicals and physical conditions. The DNA ultra-thin films showed high maintainability under those harsh conditions and these results would aid to facilitate the use of artificial DNA ultra-thin films in advanced research areas such as biophotonics and bioelectronics.     

采用金属有机骨架材料M(HBTC)(4,4'-bipy)·3DMF(M=Ni,Co,Zn)催化CO_2与环氧丙烷的环加成反应（英文）

采用溶剂热法合成了三种M(HBTC)(4,4’-bipy)·3DMF(M=Ni,Co,Zn,HBTC=1,3,5-均苯三甲酸,4,4’-bipy=4,4′-联吡啶)结构的支柱层金属有机骨架材料(MOFs).首次采用溶剂热和微波法合成了Zn(HBTC)(4,4’-bipy)·3DMF,并采用多种物理化学方法对其进行了表征.M(HBTC)(4,4’-bipy)·3DMF中包含有M2+离子的蜂窝网格层和BTC单元,BTC单元与4,4’-联吡啶柱进一步交联形成三维多孔骨架材料.在采用烷基铵卤化物作为助催化剂和无溶剂的条件下,所有MOFs材料均对催化固定CO_2与环氧化合物环加成制备环状碳酸酯反应表现出非常好的协同催化性能,其催化活性高低顺序为:ZnCoNi,这可通过酸-碱双功能特性进行解释.采用微波法合成的Zn(HBTC)(4,4’-bipy)·3DMF材料表现出与常规催化剂相似的物理化学性质和催化性能.考察了不同制备参数的影响和材料的重复使用性能,并提出了该反应的可能机理     

Performance Improvement of Acid Pretreated 3D-printing Composite for the Heavy Metal Ions Analysis

The performance enhancement of 3D-printed electrode comprised of polylactic acid (PLA) and graphite (Gr) doped with graphene oxide (GO) was studied to detect five heavy metal ions in trace level. The pretreatment of PLA/Gr/GO electrode with potential cycling in H₂SO₄ solution achieved the most sensitive response. The characteristics of the composite electrodes were verified using XPS, FE-SEM, EDXS, Raman, and impedance spectroscopy. The experimental variables affecting the response current were optimized with respect to pH, deposition time, ratio of PLA/Gr/GO, and supporting electrolytes. The pretreated 3D-PLA/Gr/GO electrode showed a wide dynamic range from 0.5 ppb to 1.0 ppm with low detection limits of 0.039–0.13 ppb. The reliability of the PLA/Gr/GO electrode was evaluated by analyzing the reference samples of European Reference Materials.     

Effect of epistasis on the evolution of the quasi-species model

Epistasis is a phenomenon of non-additive interactions between genes in determining phenotypes. We investigate how epistasis affects the evolution of the quasi-species model by using the parallel mutation-selection (ParaMuSe) quasi-species evolution model. From the stochastic simulation of the ParaMuSe model, we find that there is a transition between the quasi-species with negative magnetization and the quasi-species with positive magnetization, depending on the peak value of each fitness region. The critical peak value for the transition is found to be larger than the equalpeak case so that even with a higher peak in the positive epistatic region, the quasi-species can be formed in the negative epistatic region. We analyze simulation results by using the coherent state representation for the ParaMuSe model and find that negative epistasis is favored to positive epistasis in forming more diverse quasi-species.

     

Switchable wavelength generation by injection-locked fiber laser based on GS-RSOAs

This paper proposes a switchable wavelength fiber laser (SWFL) based on an arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) and a gain-saturated reflective semiconductor optical amplifier (RSOA). The SWFL was experimentally implemented in the C- and L-bands. In order to achieve narrow-linewidth oscillation, the SWFL was driven by bidirectional injection-locked RSOAs. The RSOA was operated in the gain-saturated region, using gain compression properties to obtain uniform power over a wide bandwidth. Based on this configuration, we obtained 40 C-band international telecommunication unit (ITU) wavelengths with 100-GHz channel spacing. The SWFL displayed a narrow 3-dB bandwidth (<0.06 nm), a high and uniform peak power (P _max > 0.22 dB, ΔP _max < 0.26 dB), and a high and uniform side mode suppression ratio (SMSR > 66 dB, ΔSMSR < 1 dB). The peak-power and wavelength stabilities were ±0.24 dB and ±0.01 nm, respectively, at room temperature over a 1 h period.     

Effect of irradiation on the cryogenic mechanical characteristics of polyurethane foam

The present study investigated thermal and mechanical characteristics of irradiated polyurethane foams (PUFs) according to the irradiation does under various temperature conditions, including low/cryogenic temperatures. Fourier transform infrared analysis was performed to obtain information on the PUF molecular structure. In addition, Macro- and microstructural investigations were carried out to determine the relationship between thermal and mechanical characteristics and irradiation dose. The test results were quantitatively presented, and it was found that the irradiated PUF has potential for application in industrial structures.     

High-performance aromatic polyimide fibers. 6. Structure and morphology changes in compressed BPDA-DMB fibers

A high-performance aromatic polyimide fiber has been spun from a high molecular weight polyimide synthesized from 3,3′,4,4′-biphenyltetracarboxylic dianhydride (BPDA) and 2,2′-dimethyl-4,4′-diaminobiphenyl (DMB). The fiber exhibits not only excellent tensile properties and high temperature resistance but also a high compressive strength of 655 MPa. Morphological observations of BPDA-DMB fibers indicate that the fiber shows a skin-core structure and microfibrillar textures. A banded texture can also be found with a spacing of about 2μm, which may be introduced by the liquid crystalline behavior that appears during processing. Compressed BPDADMB fibers form kink and microkink bands over different size scales. The detailed formation mechanism of these banded textures is discussed. The structure parameter changes during compression-including crystal unit cell parameters, apparent crystallinity, crystal and overall orientation, and apparent crystallite sizes-are monitored. It is found that after restretching, the crystal and overall orientation is almost fully recovered while the apparent crystallinity is not recoverable. The structural changes during compression are critically associated with the loss of macroscopic mechanical property in the fibers.     

Alkoxide-Promoted Selective Hydroboration of N-Heteroarenes: Pivotal Roles of in situ Generated BH3 in the Dearomatization Process

While numerous organo(metallic)catalyst systems were documented for dearomative hydroboration of N-aromatics, alkoxide base catalysts have not been disclosed thus far. Described herein is the first example of alkoxide-catalyzed hydroboration of N-heteroaromatics including pyridines, providing a broad range of reduced N-heterocycles with high efficiency and selectivity. Mechanistic studies revealed an unprecedented counterintuitive dearomatization pathway, in which 1) pyridine-BH₃ adducts undergo a hydride attack by alkoxyborohydrides, 2) in situ generated BH₃ serves as a catalytic promoter, and 3) 1,4-dihydropyridyl borohydride is in a predominant resting state.