National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

About: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology is a government organization based out in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Catalysis & Thin film. The organization has 22114 authors who have published 65856 publications receiving 1669827 citations. The organization is also known as: Sangyō Gijutsu Sōgō Kenkyū-sho.

Imaging active topological defects in carbon nanotubes

Abstract: A single-walled carbon nanotube (SWNT) is a wrapped single graphene layer, and its plastic deformation should require active topological defects--non-hexagonal carbon rings that can migrate along the nanotube wall. Although in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM) has been used to examine the deformation of SWNTs, these studies deal only with diameter changes and no atomistic mechanism has been elucidated experimentally. Theory predicts that some topological defects can form through the Stone-Wales transformation in SWNTs under tension at 2,000 K, and could act as a dislocation core. We demonstrate here, by means of high-resolution (HR)-TEM with atomic sensitivity, the first direct imaging of pentagon-heptagon pair defects found in an SWNT that was heated at 2,273 K. Moreover, our in situ HR-TEM observation reveals an accumulation of topological defects near the kink of a deformed nanotube. This result suggests that dislocation motions or active topological defects are indeed responsible for the plastic deformation of SWNTs.

Bellilinea caldifistulae gen. nov., sp. nov. and Longilinea arvoryzae gen. nov., sp. nov., strictly anaerobic, filamentous bacteria of the phylum Chloroflexi isolated from methanogenic propionate-degrading consortia.

Abstract: Thermophilic (strain GOMI-1T) and mesophilic (strain KOME-1T) strains were isolated from two different cultures of propionate-degrading consortia obtained from thermophilic digester sludge and rice paddy soil, respectively. The two strains were non-spore-forming, non-motile and Gram-negative. Both strains were obligately anaerobic micro-organisms, showing multicellular filamentous morphotypes more than 100 μm in length. The cell width for strain GOMI-1T was 0.2–0.4 μm and that of strain KOME-1T was 0.4–0.6 μm. Strain GOMI-1T could grow at 45–65 °C with a pH range of 6.0–7.5 (optimum growth at 55 °C, pH 7.0). The temperature range for growth of strain KOME-1T was 30–40 °C and the pH range was pH 5.0–8.5 (optimum growth around 37 °C, pH 7.0). Yeast extract was required for growth of both strains. Strain GOMI-1T was able to grow with a number of carbohydrates in the presence of yeast extract. In yeast extract-containing medium, strain KOME-1T could utilize proteins and a limited range of sugars for growth. The G+C contents of the DNA of strains GOMI-1T and KOME-1T were respectively 54.7 and 57.6 mol%. Major fatty acids of strain GOMI-1T were C16 : 0, C14 : 0 and iso-C15 : 0, whereas those of strain KOME-1T were iso-C15 : 0, anteiso-C15 : 0 and C14 : 0. Based on comparative analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences of strains GOMI-1T and KOME-1T, the strains were placed in different phylogenetic positions in the class Anaerolineae of the bacterial phylum Chloroflexi. Their phenotypic and genetic traits strongly supported the conclusion that the strains should be described as two independent taxa in the class Anaerolineae. Hence, we propose the names Bellilinea caldifistulae gen. nov., sp. nov., and Longilinea arvoryzae gen. nov., sp. nov., for strains GOMI-1T and KOME-1T. The type strains of Bellilinea caldifistulae and Longilinea arvoryzae are respectively GOMI-1T (=JCM 13669T =DSM 17877T) and KOME-1T (=JCM 13670T =KTCC 5380T).

Cerebral hierarchies: predictive processing, precision and the pulvinar

Abstract: This paper considers neuronal architectures from a computational perspective and asks what aspects of neuroanatomy and neurophysiology can be disclosed by the nature of neuronal computations? In particular, we extend current formulations of the brain as an organ of inference—based upon hierarchical predictive coding—and consider how these inferences are orchestrated. In other words, what would the brain require to dynamically coordinate and contextualize its message passing to optimize its computational goals? The answer that emerges rests on the delicate (modulatory) gain control of neuronal populations that select and coordinate (prediction error) signals that ascend cortical hierarchies. This is important because it speaks to a hierarchical anatomy of extrinsic (between region) connections that form two distinct classes, namely a class of driving (first-order) connections that are concerned with encoding the content of neuronal representations and a class of modulatory (second-order) connections that establish context—in the form of the salience or precision ascribed to content. We explore the implications of this distinction from a formal perspective (using simulations of feature–ground segregation) and consider the neurobiological substrates of the ensuing precision-engineered dynamics, with a special focus on the pulvinar and attention.

High-efficiency dye-sensitized solar cell based on a nitrogen-doped nanostructured titania electrode.

Abstract: A highly efficient dye-sensitized solar cell (DSC) was fabricated using a nanocrystalline nitrogen-doped titania electrode. The properties of the nitrogen-doped titania powder, film, and solar cell were investigated. The substitution of oxygen sites with nitrogen atoms in the titania structure was confirmed by X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS). The UV-vis spectrum of the nitrogen-doped powder and film showed a visible light absorption in the wavelength range from 400 to 535 nm. An enhancement of the incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) in the range of 380-520 nm and 550-750 nm was observed. An 8% overall conversion efficiency has been achieved. The results of the stability test indicated that the solar cell fabricated by the nitrogen-doped titania exhibited great stability.

Clean transfer of graphene for isolation and suspension.

Abstract: Fabrication of large-area clean graphene sheets is the first step toward the development of high-performance applications in surface chemistry and biotechnology as well as in high-mobility electronics. Here we demonstrate the clean transfer of graphene grown by chemical vapor deposition on Cu foil, with surface cleanness defined by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) in combination with Raman scattering on the same position of suspended graphene sheets. For clean graphene, the Raman spectra exhibit distinctive features that can explicitly discriminate from that of graphene covered with a thin layer of amorphous carbon such as residual poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). By applying this technique to graphene sheets with various degrees of surface cleanness, we show that the quantitative characterization of the thickness of surface contaminants is possible based on multiple reflections and interference of light in samples.