Showing papers by "Mitsubishi published in 2014"
TL;DR: Comparison of PIPCP with the regiorandom counterpart PIPC-RA illustrates that the higher level of molecular order translates to higher power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) when incorporated into bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells.
Abstract: The regioregular narrow band gap (Eg ∼1.5 eV) conjugated polymer PIPCP was designed and synthesized. PIPCP contains a backbone comprised of CPDT-PT-IDT-PT repeat units (CPDT = cyclopentadithiophene, PT = pyridyl[2,1,3]thiadiazole, IDT = indacenodithiophene) and strictly organized PT orientations, such that the pyridyl N-atoms point toward the CPDT fragment. Comparison of PIPCP with the regiorandom counterpart PIPC-RA illustrates that the higher level of molecular order translates to higher power conversion efficiencies (PCEs) when incorporated into bulk heterojunction (BHJ) organic solar cells. Examination of thin films via absorption spectroscopy and grazing incidence wide-angle X-ray diffraction (GIWAXS) experiments provides evidence of higher order within thin films obtained by spin coating. Most significantly, we find that PIPCP:PC61BM blends yield devices with an open circuit voltage (Voc) of 0.86 V, while maintaining a PCE of ∼6%. Comparison against a wide range of analogous narrow band gap conjugat...
213 citations
TL;DR: There is the first evidence that presepsin measurements may have useful prognostic information for patients with severe sepsis or septic shock, and it showed better prognostic accuracy than PCT in the range of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (area under the curve (AUC)).
Abstract: Introduction: Sepsis, a leading cause of death in critically ill patients, is the result of complex interactions between the infecting microorganisms and the host responses that influence clinical outcomes. We evaluated the prognostic value of presepsin (sCD14-ST), a novel biomarker of bacterial infection, and compared it with procalcitonin (PCT). Methods: This is a retrospective, case–control study of a multicenter, randomized clinical trial enrolling patients with severe sepsis or septic shock in ICUs in Italy. We selected 50 survivors and 50 non-survivors at ICU discharge, matched for age, sex and time from sepsis diagnosis to enrollment. Plasma samples were collected 1, 2 and 7 days after enrollment to assay presepsin and PCT. Outcome was assessed 28 and 90 days after enrollment. Results: Early presepsin (day 1) was higher in decedents (2,269 pg/ml, median (Q1 to Q3), 1,171 to 4,300 pg/ml) than in survivors (1,184 pg/ml (median, 875 to 2,113); P= 0.002), whereas PCT was not different (18.5 μg/L (median 3.4 to 45.2) and 10.8 μg/L (2.7 to 41.9); P= 0.31). The evolution of presepsin levels over time was significantly different in survivors compared to decedents (P for time-survival interaction = 0.03), whereas PCT decreased similarly in the two groups (P = 0.13). Presepsin was the only variable independently associated with ICU and 28-day mortality in Cox models adjusted for clinical characteristics. It showed better prognostic accuracy than PCT in the range of Sequential Organ Failure Assessment score (area under the curve (AUC) from 0.64 to 0.75 vs. AUC 0.53 to 0.65). Conclusions: In this multicenter clinical trial, we provide the first evidence that presepsin measurements may have useful prognostic information for patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. These preliminary findings suggest that presepsin may be of clinical importance for early risk stratification.
187 citations
TL;DR: The evidence is provided that the miR2118-dependent and the DCL4-dependent pathways are both required for biogenesis of 21-nt phasiRNAs associated with germline-specific MEL1 AGO in rice, and over 700 lincRNAs are key factors for induction of this biogenesis during reproductive-specific stages.
Abstract: Small RNAs that interact with Argonaute (AGO) proteins play central roles in RNA-mediated silencing. MEIOSIS ARRESTED AT LEPTOTENE1 (MEL1), a rice AGO, has specific functions in the development of pre-meiotic germ cells and the progression of meiosis. Here, we show that MEL1, which is located mostly in the cytoplasm of germ cells, associates preferentially with 21-nucleotide phased small interfering RNAs (phasiRNAs) that bear a 5'-terminal cytosine. Most phasiRNAs are derived from 1171 intergenic clusters distributed on all rice chromosomes. From these clusters, over 700 large intergenic, non-coding RNAs (lincRNAs) that contain the consensus sequence complementary to miR2118 are transcribed specifically in inflorescences, and cleaved within the miR2118 site. Cleaved lincRNAs are processed via DICER-LIKE4 (DCL4) protein, resulting in production of phasiRNAs. This study provides the evidence that the miR2118-dependent and the DCL4-dependent pathways are both required for biogenesis of 21-nt phasiRNAs associated with germline-specific MEL1 AGO in rice, and over 700 lincRNAs are key factors for induction of this biogenesis during reproductive-specific stages.
178 citations
04 Jun 2014
TL;DR: This paper provides a tutorial overview of reference governors and command governors, which are add-on control schemes for reference supervision and constraint enforcement in closed-loop feedback control systems.
Abstract: This paper provides a tutorial overview of reference governors and command governors, which are add-on control schemes for reference supervision and constraint enforcement in closed-loop feedback control systems. The main approaches to the development of such schemes for linear and nonlinear systems are described. The treatment of unmeasured disturbances and parametric uncertainties is addressed. Generalizations to extended command governors, feedforward reference governors, reduced order reference governors, parameter governors, networked reference governors, decentralized reference governors, and virtual state governors are summarized. Examples of applications of these techniques to automotive systems are given. A comprehensive list of references is included. Comments comparing reference and command governor approaches with Model Predictive Control and input shaping, and on future directions in reference and command governor research are included.
145 citations
04 May 2014
TL;DR: Full recurrent connections are added to certain hidden layer of a conventional feedforward DNN and allow the model to capture the temporal dependency in deep representations to achieve state-of-the-art performance without front-end preprocessing, speaker adaptive training or multiple decoding passes.
Abstract: In this work, we propose recurrent deep neural networks (DNNs) for robust automatic speech recognition (ASR). Full recurrent connections are added to certain hidden layer of a conventional feedforward DNN and allow the model to capture the temporal dependency in deep representations. A new backpropagation through time (BPTT) algorithm is introduced to make the minibatch stochastic gradient descent (SGD) on the proposed recurrent DNNs more efficient and effective. We evaluate the proposed recurrent DNN architecture under the hybrid setup on both the 2
nd
CHiME challenge (track 2) and Aurora-4 tasks. Experimental results on the CHiME challenge data show that the proposed system can obtain consistent 7% relative WER improvements over the DNN systems, achieving state-of-the-art performance without front-end preprocessing, speaker adaptive training or multiple decoding passes. For the experiments on Aurora-4, the proposed system achieves 4% relative WER improvement over a strong DNN baseline system.
140 citations
TL;DR: The degradation ability of microorganisms against various polyesters might be useful for the treatment and recycling of biodegradable wastes or bioremediation of the polyester-contaminated environments.
Abstract: Biodegradable plastics (BPs) have attracted much attention since more than a decade because they can easily be degraded by microorganisms in the environment. The development of aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters has combined excellent mechanical properties with biodegradability and an ideal replacement for the conventional nondegradable thermoplastics. The microorganisms degrading these polyesters are widely distributed in various environments. Although various aliphatic, aromatic, and aliphatic-aromatic co-polyester-degrading microorganisms and their enzymes have been studied and characterized, there are still many groups of microorganisms and enzymes with varying properties awaiting various applications. In this review, we have reported some new microorganisms and their enzymes which could degrade various aliphatic, aromatic, as well as aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters like poly(butylene succinate) (PBS), poly(butylene succinate)-co-(butylene adipate) (PBSA), poly(e-caprolactone) (PCL), poly(ethylene succinate) (PES), poly(L-lactic acid) (PLA), poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) and poly(3-hydoxybutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalterate) (PHB/PHBV), poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT), poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate (PBAT), poly(butylene succinate-co-terephthalate) (PBST), and poly(butylene succinate/terephthalate/isophthalate)-co-(lactate) (PBSTIL). The mechanism of degradation of aliphatic as well as aliphatic-aromatic co-polyesters has also been discussed. The degradation ability of microorganisms against various polyesters might be useful for the treatment and recycling of biodegradable wastes or bioremediation of the polyester-contaminated environments.
127 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a LiBH4 electrolyte was used for stable battery operation of a bulk-type all-solid-state lithium-sulfur battery with high energy density.
Abstract: Stable battery operation of a bulk-type all-solid-state lithium-sulfur battery was demonstrated by using a LiBH4 electrolyte. The electrochemical activity of insulating elemental sulfur as the positive electrode was enhanced by the mutual dispersion of elemental sulfur and carbon in the composite powders. Subsequently, a tight interface between the sulfur-carbon composite and the LiBH4 powders was manifested only by cold-pressing owing to the highly deformable nature of the LiBH4 electrolyte. The high reducing ability of LiBH4 allows using the use of a Li negative electrode that enhances the energy density. The results demonstrate the interface modification of insulating sulfur and the architecture of an all-solid-state Li-S battery configuration with high energy density.
106 citations
TL;DR: A novel graph construction for the graph associated with the data is presented and it is shown that this construction induces a matroid--a combinatorial structure that generalizes the concept of linear independence in vector spaces.
Abstract: We propose a new objective function for clustering. This objective function consists of two components: the entropy rate of a random walk on a graph and a balancing term. The entropy rate favors formation of compact and homogeneous clusters, while the balancing function encourages clusters with similar sizes and penalizes larger clusters that aggressively group samples. We present a novel graph construction for the graph associated with the data and show that this construction induces a matroid--a combinatorial structure that generalizes the concept of linear independence in vector spaces. The clustering result is given by the graph topology that maximizes the objective function under the matroid constraint. By exploiting the submodular and monotonic properties of the objective function, we develop an efficient greedy algorithm. Furthermore, we prove an approximation bound of 1/2 for the optimality of the greedy solution. We validate the proposed algorithm on various benchmarks and show its competitive performances with respect to popular clustering algorithms. We further apply it for the task of superpixel segmentation. Experiments on the Berkeley segmentation data set reveal its superior performances over the state-of-the-art superpixel segmentation algorithms in all the standard evaluation metrics.
106 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the photoluminescence behavior of white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on the blue (Ga,In)N LED was explored in oxides with the olivine structure, whereby two distorted octahedral doping sites exist.
Abstract: Yellow-emitting phosphors activated by Ce3+ are key components of white light-emitting diodes (LEDs) based on the blue (Ga,In)N LED In these phosphors, the electronic environment around Ce3+ determines its photoluminescence wavelengths Placing Ce3+ in octahedral sites in oxides can potentially lead to yellow or orange phosphors that can compete with the important commercial phosphor, Y3Al5O12:Ce However, there are very few examples of such materials In this article, we explore the photoluminescent behavior of Ce3+ in oxides with the olivine structure, whereby two distorted octahedral doping sites exist We demonstrate that the promising new yellow phosphor γ-Ca2SiO4:Ce requires a second dopant, Al3+, to avoid the formation of the undesired β polymorph Our results indicate that the yellow emission is indirectly caused by the complex polymorphism of Ca2SiO4, particularly the low temperature formation of the γ-phase The dramatic shift in emission from yellow to light-blue when this phosphor is heated t
102 citations
TL;DR: It is reported that a rice KNOX gene Oryza sativa homeobox1 (OSH1) represses the brassinosteroid (BR) phytohormone pathway through activation of BR catabolism genes.
Abstract: In flowering plants, knotted1-like homeobox (KNOX) transcription factors play crucial roles in establishment and maintenance of the shoot apical meristem (SAM), from which aerial organs such as leaves, stems, and flowers initiate. We report that a rice (Oryza sativa) KNOX gene Oryza sativa homeobox1 (OSH1) represses the brassinosteroid (BR) phytohormone pathway through activation of BR catabolism genes. Inducible overexpression of OSH1 caused BR insensitivity, whereas loss of function showed a BR-overproduction phenotype. Genome-wide identification of loci bound and regulated by OSH1 revealed hormonal and transcriptional regulation as the major function of OSH1. Among these targets, BR catabolism genes CYP734A2, CYP734A4, and CYP734A6 were rapidly upregulated by OSH1 induction. Furthermore, RNA interference knockdown plants of CYP734A genes arrested growth of the SAM and mimicked some osh1 phenotypes. Thus, we suggest that local control of BR levels by KNOX genes is a key regulatory step in SAM function.
96 citations
01 May 2014
TL;DR: A new gait analysis system based on a trunk-mounted acceleration sensor and automatic gait detection algorithm that indicates that gait peaks can be detected with an accuracy of more than 94% and may serve as a practical component in the accelerometry-based assessment of daily gait characteristics.
Abstract: Gait analysis is widely recognized as a promising tool for obtaining objective information on the walking behavior of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients. It is especially useful in clinical practices if gait properties can be captured with minimal instrumentation that does not interfere with the subject's usual behavioral pattern under ambulatory conditions. In this study, we propose a new gait analysis system based on a trunk-mounted acceleration sensor and automatic gait detection algorithm. The algorithm identifies the acceleration signal with high intensity, periodicity, and biphasicity as a possible gait sequence, from which gait peaks due to stride events are extracted by utilizing the cross-correlation and anisotropy properties of the signal. A total of 11 healthy subjects and 12 PD patients were tested to evaluate the performance of the algorithm. The result indicates that gait peaks can be detected with an accuracy of more than 94%. The proposed method may serve as a practical component in the accelerometry-based assessment of daily gait characteristics.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors evaluated the effectiveness of combination therapy consisting of low-dose corticosteroids with weekly methotrexate in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis in whom long-term therapy is required.
Abstract: Objective Our objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of combination therapy consisting of low-dose corticosteroids with weekly methotrexate in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis in whom long-term therapy is required. Combination therapy was selected because long-term standard corticosteroid therapy tends to result in various adverse effects and the steroid-sparing effects of methotrexate have been reported. Methods This study was a small open-label study comparing long-term functional changes between patients who received combination therapy (5-15 mg/day of prednisolone and 6 mg/week of methotrexate) and patients who received corticosteroids alone. The comparative analysis was based on the following therapeutic indexes: ejection fraction (EF), left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVDd) on echocardiography, serum N-terminal fragment pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) and cardiothoracic ratio (CTR) on plain chest radiographs. Patients Seventeen patients with cardiac sarcoidosis were examined in the sarcoidosis clinic. Cardiac sarcoidosis was diagnosed based on the Japanese diagnostic guidelines published in 2006. Results The EF was significantly stabilized in the combination therapy group but not in the corticosteroids alone group at three years after the first treatment. The CTR and NT-proBNP levels were significantly stabilized in the combination therapy group compared with those observed in the corticosteroids alone group at both three and five years after the first treatment. The LVDd values tended to be stable in the combination therapy group compared with those observed in the corticosteroids alone group. The combination therapy was associated with few adverse effects. Conclusion Weekly methotrexate therapy with daily small doses of corticosteroids stabilized the EF, CTR and NT-proBNP levels in the serum without eliciting adverse effects longitudinally.
TL;DR: It is suggested that GO and RGO coatings provide different biological properties to collagen scaffolds, and that RGO-coated scaffolds are more bioactive than GO-coating scaffolds.
Abstract: Background Graphene oxide (GO) is a single layer carbon sheet with a thickness of less than 1 nm. GO has good dispersibility due to surface modifications with numerous functional groups. Reduced graphene oxide (RGO) is produced via the reduction of GO, and has lower dispersibility. We examined the bioactivity of GO and RGO films, and collagen scaffolds coated with GO and RGO. Methods GO and RGO films were fabricated on a culture dish. Some GO films were chemically reduced using either ascorbic acid or sodium hydrosulfite solution, resulting in preparation of RGO films. The biological properties of each film were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy, calcium adsorption tests, and MC3T3-E1 cell seeding. Subsequently, GO- and RGO-coated collagen scaffolds were prepared and characterized by SEM and compression tests. Each scaffold was implanted into subcutaneous tissue on the backs of rats. Measurements of DNA content and cell ingrowth areas of implanted scaffolds were performed 10 days post-surgery. Results The results show that GO and RGO possess different biological properties. Calcium adsorption and alkaline phosphatase activity were strongly enhanced by RGO, suggesting that RGO is effective for osteogenic differentiation. SEM showed that RGO-modified collagen scaffolds have rough, irregular surfaces. The compressive strengths of GO- and RGO-coated scaffolds were approximately 1.7-fold and 2.7-fold greater, respectively, when compared with the non-coated scaffold. Tissue ingrowth rate was 39% in RGO-coated scaffolds, as compared to 20% in the GO-coated scaffold and 16% in the non-coated scaffold. Conclusion In summary, these results suggest that GO and RGO coatings provide different biological properties to collagen scaffolds, and that RGO-coated scaffolds are more bioactive than GO-coated scaffolds.
TL;DR: Isothermal titration calorimetry shows that the change in surface chemistry from unfunctionalized to S-functionalized carbons results in an increased affinity of the polysulfide intermediates for the S-MC materials, which is the likely cause for enhanced cyclability.
Abstract: The Li–S system offers a tantalizing battery for electric vehicles and renewable energy storage due to its high theoretical capacity of 1675 mAh g–1 and its employment of abundant and available materials. One major challenge in this system stems from the formation of soluble polysulfides during the reduction of S8, the active cathode material, during discharge. The ability to deploy this system hinges on the ability to control the behavior of these polysulfides by containing them in the cathode and allowing for further redox. Here, we exploit the high surface areas and good electrical conductivity of mesoporous carbons (MC) to achieve high sulfur utilization while functionalizing the MC with sulfur (S–MC) in order to modify the surface chemistry and attract polysulfides to the carbon material. S–MC materials show enhanced capacity and cyclability trending as a function of sulfur functionality, specifically a 50% enhancement in discharge capacity is observed at high cycles (60–100 cycles). Impedance spectr...
TL;DR: The prevalence of macrolide and fluoroquinolone resistance-associated mutations in Mycoplasma genitalium DNA specimens from men with non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) and their effects on antibiotic treatments in men with M. genitalium-positive NGU appears to be increasing.
Abstract: Objectives We determined the prevalence of macrolide and fluoroquinolone resistance-associated mutations in Mycoplasma genitalium DNA specimens from men with non-gonococcal urethritis (NGU) and analysed their effects on antibiotic treatments of M. genitalium infections. Methods In this retrospective study, we examined antibiotic resistance-associated mutations in the 23S rRNA, gyrA and parC genes of M. genitalium and the association of the mutations with microbiological outcomes of antibiotic treatments in men with M. genitalium-positive NGU. Results No macrolide resistance-associated mutations in the 23S rRNA gene were observed in 27 M. genitalium DNA specimens in 2011 and in 24 in 2012. However, 5 of 17 in 2013 had 23S rRNA mutations. Three of 15 in 2011, 6 of 19 in 2012 and 8 of 17 in 2013 had fluoroquinolone resistance-associated alterations in ParC. Three in 2013 had both the antibiotic resistance-associated alterations coincidentally. In two men with M. genitalium harbouring 23S rRNA mutations, the mycoplasma persisted after treatment with a regimen of 2 g of extended-release azithromycin (AZM-SR) once daily for 1 day. All nine men with mycoplasma harbouring ParC alterations were microbiologically cured with a regimen of 100 mg of sitafloxacin twice daily for 7 days. Conclusions Macrolide- or fluoroquinolone-resistant M. genitalium appears to be increasing, and the increase in fluoroquinolone-resistant mycoplasmas is especially remarkable in Japan. Mycoplasmas harbouring 23S rRNA mutations would be resistant to the AZM-SR regimen, but those harbouring ParC alterations would still be susceptible to the sitafloxacin regimen.
04 May 2014
TL;DR: Results on the 2014 REVERB Challenge development set indicate that the DAE front-end provides complementary performance gains to multi-condition training, feature transformations, and model adaptation.
Abstract: This paper describes our joint efforts to provide robust automatic speech recognition (ASR) for reverberated environments, such as in hands-free human-machine interaction. We investigate blind feature space de-reverberation and deep recurrent de-noising auto-encoders (DAE) in an early fusion scheme. Results on the 2014 REVERB Challenge development set indicate that the DAE front-end provides complementary performance gains to multi-condition training, feature transformations, and model adaptation. The proposed ASR system achieves word error rates of 17.62 % and 36.6 % on simulated and real data, which is a significant improvement over the Challenge baseline (25.16 and 47.2 %).
TL;DR: In this article, a detailed energy transfer mechanism from Ce3+ to Eu2+ in SrSiAl2O3N2 is reported, and the unexpected red shift emission when the compositional variable x is increased from 0 to 0.92 in the Sr0.92-xBaxSiAl 2O 3N2:Ce3+0.04,Eu2+,0.
Abstract: Novel promising blue MSiAl2O3N2:Ce3+ (M = Sr, Ba) and green BaSiAl2O3N2:Eu2+ oxynitride phosphors with broad band emission for white light-emitting diodes are obtained in this study. The detailed energy transfer mechanism from Ce3+ to Eu2+ in SrSiAl2O3N2 is reported. Moreover, the unexpected red shift emission when the compositional variable x is increased from 0 to 0.92 in the Sr0.92-xBaxSiAl2O3N2:Ce3+0.04,Eu2+0.04 system is well investigated. The decrease in emission energy and the increase in thermal quenching barrier height of x are caused by a dominant chemical pressure compression effect on the activator sites, through which the replacement of Sr2+ (occupied by activators) by larger Ba2+ enhances the covalency of Sr–N/O bonding in spite of unit cell enlargement. The chemical pressure compression effect control for photoluminescence is verified by the ionic-radii equilibrium between 9-coordinate IXSr2+ and (IXCa2+, IXBa2+).
TL;DR: The results suggest that presepsin levels correlated with the severity of sepsis during follow-up in comparison with other conventional sepsi biomarkers.
TL;DR: In this article, the safety design requirements of the advanced loop-type fast reactor, so-called JSFR, are the prevention of severe accidents and the mitigation of severe-accident consequences.
Abstract: As the most promising concept of sodium-cooled fast reactors, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) has selected the advanced loop-type fast reactor, so-called JSFR. The safety design requirements of JSFR for Design Extension Condition (DEC) are the prevention of severe accidents and the mitigation of severe-accident consequences. For the mitigation of severe-accident consequences, in particular, the In-Vessel Retention (IVR) against postulated Core Disruptive Accidents (CDAs) is required. In order to investigate the sufficiency of these safety requirements, a CDA scenario should be constructed, in which the elimination of power excursion and the in-vessel cooling of degraded core materials are evaluated so as to achieve IVR. In the present study, the factors leading to IVR failure were identified by creating phenomenological diagrams, and the effectiveness of design measures against them were evaluated based on experimental data and computer simulations. This is an unprecedented approach to the construct...
TL;DR: Late catch-up phenomenon regarding stent thrombosis and TLR was significantly more pronounced with SES than that with BMS, and this limitation should remain the target for improvements of DES technology.
Abstract: Background—Late adverse events such as very late stent thrombosis (VLST) or late target-lesion revascularization (TLR) after first-generation sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) implantation have not been yet fully characterized at long term in comparison with those after bare-metal stent (BMS) implantation. Methods and Results—Among 13 058 consecutive patients undergoing first percutaneous coronary intervention in the Coronary REvascularization Demonstrating Outcome study-Kyoto registry Cohort-2, 5078 patients were treated with SES only, and 5392 patients were treated with BMS only. During 7-year follow-up, VLST and late TLR beyond 1 year after SES implantation occurred constantly and without attenuation at 0.24% per year and at 2.0% per year, respectively. Cumulative 7-year incidence of VLST was significantly higher in the SES group than that in the BMS group (1.43% versus 0.68%, P<0.0001). However, there was no excess of all-cause death beyond 1 year in the SES group as compared with that in the BMS group (...
TL;DR: The results showed that GO affects both cell proliferation and differentiation, and improves the properties of collagen scaffolds, and scaffolds modified with a suitable concentration of GO are useful as a bioactive material for tissue engineering.
Abstract: Carbon-based nanomaterials are being investigated for biomedical applications Graphene oxide (GO), a monolayer of carbon, holds promise as a tissue engineering substrate due to its unique physicochemical properties The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of a GO coating on cell proliferation and differentiation in vitro We also assessed the bioactivities of collagen scaffolds coated with different concentrations of GO in rats The results showed that GO affects both cell proliferation and differentiation, and improves the properties of collagen scaffolds Subcutaneous implant tests showed that low concentrations of GO scaffold enhances cell in-growth and is highly biodegradable, whereas high concentrations of GO coating resulted in adverse biological effects Consequently, scaffolds modified with a suitable concentration of GO are useful as a bioactive material for tissue engineering
TL;DR: In this paper, the mesoporous graphene-silica composite (m-GS) was used as a supporting material of sulfur for Li-S batteries, and the ordered porous silica structure was synthesized parallel to functionalized graphene sheets (FGSs) through the ternary cooperative assembly of the graphene, silica, and block copolymer precursors.
TL;DR: In this paper, the van der Waals correction using the dispersion correction method within the framework of generalized gradient approximation was applied to a number of graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) having a relatively wide range of chemistry.
Abstract: The structures and energetics of a number of graphite intercalation compounds (GICs) having a relatively wide range of chemistry have been investigated by density functional theory calculations with the van der Waals correction using the dispersion correction method within the framework of generalized gradient approximation. The GICs studied included potassium-intercalated graphite (KCn), lithium-intercalated graphite (LiCn), lithium solvated by dimethyl sulfone (DMSO)-intercalated graphite (Li(DMSO)4Cn), lithium solvated by dibuthoxy ethane (DBE)-intercalated graphite (Li(DBE)2Cn), perchlorate (ClO4)-intercalated graphite (ClO4Cn), and hexafluorophosphate (PF6)-intercalated graphite (PF6Cn). Our calculations show reasonable agreement with experimental data for the interlayer distances of the GICs. A correlation between the size of the intercalate and the interlayer distance of the GIC has been observed. Our study has also predicted that all the GICs studied here are energetically stable except for Li(DBE...
TL;DR: By combining fast heating in a tubular reactor with a seed-assisted method, both of which were found to be crucial, this route was completed in one minute, making this route the fastest known for the preparation of the crystalline microporous materials.
TL;DR: In this article, a new phase, Ca6BaP4O17, was found in the CaO-BaO-P2O5 phase diagram and its Eu2+-doped derivative was evaluated as a possible phosphor for solid-state lighting.
Abstract: A new phase, Ca6BaP4O17, was found in the CaO–BaO–P2O5 phase diagram and its Eu2+-doped derivative was evaluated as a possible phosphor for solid-state lighting. Ca6BaP4O17 was prepared by conventional solid-state synthesis and its structure was solved ab initio from high-resolution, synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data. The bandgap of Ca6BaP4O17 was estimated to be 5.79 eV. Under excitation with UV to blue light, Ca6BaP4O17:Eu2+ shows strong yellow emission with the peak position at 553 nm. A white LED, which was fabricated with an InGaN blue chip and Ca6BaP4O17:Eu2+, achieved a luminous efficacy of 31 lm W−1 with a color-rendering index of 78 around the correlated color temperature of 6500 K.
TL;DR: An analytical model is proposed to estimate the synthesized view quality in 3D video, taking into account texture image characteristics, texture image quality, and the rendering process, and decomposes the synthesis distortion into texture-error induced distortion and depth- error induced distortion.
Abstract: We propose an analytical model to estimate the synthesized view quality in 3D video. The model relates errors in the depth images to the synthesis quality, taking into account texture image characteristics, texture image quality, and the rendering process. Especially, we decompose the synthesis distortion into texture-error induced distortion and depth-error induced distortion. We analyze the depth-error induced distortion using an approach combining frequency and spatial domain techniques. Experiment results with video sequences and coding/rendering tools used in MPEG 3DV activities show that our analytical model can accurately estimate the synthesis noise power. Thus, the model can be used to estimate the rendering quality for different system designs.
TL;DR: This mini-review discusses a multi-stage biorefinery concept with the potential to convert waste produced at crop processing operations, such as coffee pulping stations, to valuable biofuels and bioproducts using biochemical and thermochemical conversion technologies.
Abstract: The environmental impact of agricultural waste from the processing of food and feed crops is an increasing concern worldwide. Concerted efforts are underway to develop sustainable practices for the disposal of residues from the processing of such crops as coffee, sugarcane, or corn. Coffee is crucial to the economies of many countries because its cultivation, processing, trading, and marketing provide employment for millions of people. In coffee-producing countries, improved technology for treatment of the significant amounts of coffee waste is critical to prevent ecological damage. This mini-review discusses a multi-stage biorefinery concept with the potential to convert waste produced at crop processing operations, such as coffee pulping stations, to valuable biofuels and bioproducts using biochemical and thermochemical conversion technologies. The initial bioconversion stage uses a mutant Kluyveromyces marxianus yeast strain to produce bioethanol from sugars. The resulting sugar-depleted solids (mostly protein) can be used in a second stage by the oleaginous yeast Yarrowia lipolytica to produce bio-based ammonia for fertilizer and are further degraded by Y. lipolytica proteases to peptides and free amino acids for animal feed. The lignocellulosic fraction can be ground and treated to release sugars for fermentation in a third stage by a recombinant cellulosic Saccharomyces cerevisiae, which can also be engineered to express valuable peptide products. The residual protein and lignin solids can be jet cooked and passed to a fourth-stage fermenter where Rhodotorula glutinis converts methane into isoprenoid intermediates. The residues can be combined and transferred into pyrocracking and hydroformylation reactions to convert ammonia, protein, isoprenes, lignins, and oils into renewable gas. Any remaining waste can be thermoconverted to biochar as a humus soil enhancer. The integration of multiple technologies for treatment of coffee waste has the potential to contribute to economic and environmental sustainability.
TL;DR: OAC was underused and its intensity was mostly suboptimal in real-world patients with atrial fibrillation undergoing PCI, which lead to inadequate stroke prevention.
Abstract: The prevalence, intensity, safety, and efficacy of oral anticoagulation (OAC) in addition to dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) in "real-world" patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) have not yet been fully evaluated. In the Coronary REvascularization Demonstrating Outcome Study in Kyoto registry cohort-2, a total of 1,057 patients with AF (8.3%) were identified among 12,716 patients undergoing first PCI. Cumulative 5-year incidence of stroke was higher in patients with AF than in no-AF patients (12.8% vs 5.8%, p <0.0001). Although most patients with AF had CHADS2 score ≥2 (75.2%), only 506 patients (47.9%) received OAC with warfarin at hospital discharge. Cumulative 5-year incidence of stroke in the OAC group was not different from that in the no-OAC group (13.8% vs 11.8%, p = 0.49). Time in therapeutic range (TTR) was only 52.6% with an international normalized ratio of 1.6 to 2.6, and only 154 of 409 patients (37.7%) with international normalized ratio data had TTR ≥65%. Cumulative 5-year incidence of stroke in patients with TTR ≥65% was markedly lower than that in patients with TTR <65% (6.9% vs 15.1%, p = 0.01). In a 4-month landmark analysis in the OAC group, there was a trend for higher cumulative incidences of stroke and major bleeding in the on-DAPT (n = 286) than in the off-DAPT (n = 173) groups (15.1% vs 6.7%, p = 0.052 and 14.7% vs 8.7%, p = 0.10, respectively). In conclusion, OAC was underused and its intensity was mostly suboptimal in real-world patients with AF undergoing PCI, which lead to inadequate stroke prevention. Long-term DAPT in patients receiving OAC did not reduce stroke incidence.
TL;DR: The genetic basis of Japanese Dent disease was nearly identical to those of Dent disease in other countries, and hypercalciuria was detected in only 51%, rickets in 2% and nephrocalcinosis in 35%.
Abstract: Dent disease is an X-linked disorder characterized by low-molecular-weight (LMW) proteinuria, hypercalciuria, nephrocalcinosis, urolithiasis and renal dysfunction. Dent disease is caused by mutations in at least two genes, i.e. CLCN5 and OCRL1, and its genetic background and phenotypes are common among European countries and the USA. However, only few studies on Dent disease in Japan, which was originally called 'low-molecular-weight proteinuric disease', have been reported thus far. In this study, we analysed genetic background and clinical phenotype and laboratory data of 86 unrelated Japanese Dent disease patients. The results demonstrated that the genetic basis of Japanese Dent disease was nearly identical to those of Dent disease in other countries. Of 86 unrelated Japanese Dent patients, 61 possessed mutations in CLCN5 (Dent-1), of which 27 were novel mutations; 11 showed mutations in OCRL1 (Dent-2), six of which were novel, and the remaining 14 patients showed no mutations in CLCN5 or OCRL1 (Dent-NI). Despite the similarity in genetic background, hypercalciuria was detected in only 51%, rickets in 2% and nephrocalcinosis in 35%. Although the patients were relatively young, six patients (8%) showed apparent renal dysfunction. Japanese Dent disease has a wider clinical spectrum than Dent disease in Europe and the USA.