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.

Photophysical and (photo)electrochemical properties of a coumarin dye.

Abstract: A new coumarin dye, cyano-{5,5-dimethyl-3-[2-(1,1,6,6-tetramethyl-10-oxo-2,3,5,6-tetrahydro-1H,4H,10H-11-oxa-3a-aza-benzo[de]anthracen-9-yl)vinyl]cyclohex-2-enylidene}-acetic acid (NKX-2753), was prepared and characterized with respect to photophysical and electrochemical properties. It was employed as a dye sensitizer in dye-sensitized solar cells and showed efficient photon-to-electron conversion properties. The photocurrent action spectrum exhibited a broad feature with a maximum incident photon-to-electron conversion efficiency (IPCE) of 84% at 540 nm, which is comparable to that for the famous red dye RuL2(NCS)2 (known as N3), where L stands for 2,2‘-bipyridyl-4,4‘-dicarboxylic acid. The sandwich-type solar cell with NKX-2753, under illumination of full sun (AM1.5, 100 mW cm-2), produced 16.1 mA cm-2 of short-circuit photocurrent, 0.60 V of open-circuit photovoltage, and 0.69 of fill factor, corresponding to 6.7% of overall energy conversion efficiency using 0.1 M LiI, 0.05 M I2, 0.1 M guanidinium th...

Integrated three-dimensional microelectromechanical devices from processable carbon nanotube wafers

Abstract: In order to be useful as microelectromechanical devices, carbon nanotubes with well-controlled properties and orientations should be made at high density and be placed at predefined locations. We address this challenge by hierarchically assembling carbon nanotubes into closely packed and highly aligned three-dimensional wafer films from which a wide range of complex and three-dimensional nanotube structures were lithographically fabricated. These include carbon nanotube islands on substrates, suspended sheets and beams, and three-dimensional cantilevers, all of which exist as single cohesive units with useful mechanical and electrical properties. Every fabrication step is both parallel and scalable, which makes it easy to further integrate these structures into functional three-dimensional nanodevice systems. Our approach opens up new ways to make economical and scalable devices with unprecedented structural complexity and functionality.

Conversion of Lignin with Supercritical Water−Phenol Mixtures

Abstract: The decomposition of lignin was examined in supercritical water with and without phenol at 673 K. In the absence of phenol, the yield of tetrahydrofuran (THF)-insoluble (TIS) products decreased and the molecular weight distribution of THF-soluble (TS) products shifted toward lower molecular weights as the water density increased. The increase in water density enhanced the lignin conversion. In the presence of phenol, the yield of TIS products was lower and the molecular weight distribution of TS products shifted toward lower molecular weights than those in the absence of phenol. Some alkylphenols were obtained only in the presence of phenols, because of the reaction of phenol with the decomposition products. These results show that the reaction of phenol with reactive sites occurred in supercritical water and suppressed cross-linking reactions among reactive sites of large fragments. This promoted the decomposition of lignin to lower-molecular-weight compounds.

Long-read sequencing identifies GGC repeat expansions in NOTCH2NLC associated with neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease.

Abstract: Neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease (NIID) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that is characterized by eosinophilic hyaline intranuclear inclusions in neuronal and somatic cells. The wide range of clinical manifestations in NIID makes ante-mortem diagnosis difficult1–8, but skin biopsy enables its ante-mortem diagnosis9–12. The average onset age is 59.7 years among approximately 140 NIID cases consisting of mostly sporadic and several familial cases. By linkage mapping of a large NIID family with several affected members (Family 1), we identified a 58.1 Mb linked region at 1p22.1–q21.3 with a maximum logarithm of the odds score of 4.21. By long-read sequencing, we identified a GGC repeat expansion in the 5′ region of NOTCH2NLC (Notch 2 N-terminal like C) in all affected family members. Furthermore, we found similar expansions in 8 unrelated families with NIID and 40 sporadic NIID cases. We observed abnormal anti-sense transcripts in fibroblasts specifically from patients but not unaffected individuals. This work shows that repeat expansion in human-specific NOTCH2NLC, a gene that evolved by segmental duplication, causes a human disease. Long-read sequencing identifies a GGC repeat expansion in NOTCH2NLC that is associated with neuronal intranuclear inclusion disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disorder. The expansion results in abnormal anti-sense transcripts that could contribute to disease pathogenesis.