Surface texturing of CVD diamond assisted by ultrashort laser pulses

Diamond is a wide bandgap semiconductor with excellent physical properties which allow it to operate under extreme conditions. However, the technological use of diamond was mostly conceived for the fabrication of ultraviolet, ionizing radiation and nuclear detectors, of electron emitters, and of power electronic devices. The use of nanosecond pulse excimer lasers enabled the microstructuring of diamond surfaces, and refined techniques such as controlled ablation through graphitization and etching by two-photon surface excitation are being exploited for the nanostructuring of diamond. On the other hand, ultrashort pulse lasers paved the way for a more accurate diamond microstructuring, due to reduced thermal effects, as well as an effective surface nanostructuring, based on the formation of periodic structures at the nanoscale. It resulted in drastic modifications of the optical and electronic properties of diamond, of which “black diamond” films are an example for future high-temperature solar cells as well as for advanced optoelectronic platforms. Although experiments on diamond nanostructuring started almost 20 years ago, real applications are only today under implementation

PENERAPAN MODEL PEMBELAJARAN TEAM QUIZ DALAM MENINGKATKAN KEAKTIFAN DAN HASIL BELAJAR IPA TENTANG PERUBAHAN KENAMPAKAN BUMI DAN BENDA LANGIT PADA SISWA KELAS IV SD NEGERI 4 BUMIREJO TAHUN AJARAN 2017/2018

ABSTRAK Sinta Hirama. PENERAPAN MODEL PEMBELAJARAN TEAM QUIZ DALAM MENINGKATKAN KEAKTIFAN DAN HASIL BELAJAR IPA TENTANG PERUBAHAN KENAMPAKAN BUMI DAN BENDA LANGIT PADA SISWA KELAS IV SD NEGERI 4 BUMIREJO TAHUN AJARAN 2017/2018. Skripsi, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan, Universitas Sebelas Maret Surakarta, Juli, 2018. Tujuan Penelitian ini, yaitu: (1) mendeskripsikan langkah-langkah penerapan model pembelajaran Team Quiz (2) meningkatkan keaktifan dan hasil belajar IPA melalui penerapan model Team Quiz, (3) mendeskripsikan kendala dan solusi pada penerapan model Team Quiz dalam peningkatan keaktifan dan hasil belajar IPA tentang perubahan kenampakan bumi pada siswa kelas IV SDN 4 Bumirejo tahun ajaran 2017/2018. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian tindakan kelas kolaboratif yang dilaksanakan dalam tiga siklus. Setiap pertemuan terdiri dari empat tahapan, yaitu: perencanaan, pelaksanaan, pengamatan, dan refleksi. Subjek penelitian ini adalah guru dan siswa kelas IV SD Negeri 4 Bumirejo tahun ajaran 2017/2018 yang berjumlah 24 siswa. Sumber data dalam penelitian ini adalah guru dan siswa. Teknik pengumpulan data menggunakan tes, observasi, dan pedoman wawancara. Validitas data menggunakan triangulasi teknik dan sumber. Analisis data meliputi reduksi data, penyajian data, dan kesimpulan. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukan bahwa: (1) langkah-langkah penerapan model Team Quiz, yaitu: (a) menentukan topik; (b) membentuk kelompok belajar; (c) menjelaskan materi; (d) memfasilitasi pelaksanaan kuis; (e) menyimpulkan hasil tanya jawab dan diskusi; (2) penerapan model Team Quiz dapat meningkatkan keaktifan dan hasil belajar IPA tentang perubahan kenampakan bumi, dibuktikan dengan peningkatan tingkat keaktifan dan ketuntasan hasil belajar siswa pada siklus I-III, yaitu (a) keaktifan 47,91%, 85,41%, dan 91,67%; (b) hasil belajar 64,58%, 85,42%, dan 91,67%; (3) kendala penerapan model Team Quiz yaitu: (a) belum semua siswa terlibat aktif dalam kegiatan diskusi; (b) terdapat kelompok yang membuat pertanyaan kurang sesuai dengan materi yang diberikan; (c) siswa kurang memperhatikan guru saat menjelaskan materi pembelajaran maupun petunjuk pengisian LKS; (d) siswa belum aktif bertanya, menjawab, berpendapat, dan menyimpulkan materi; dan (e) siswa yang menjawab pertanyaan dari kelompok lain cenderung tidak berganti karena kurangnya motivasi pada siswa tertentu sehingga hanya mengandalkan teman dan bersikap acuh. Kesimpulan dari hasil penelitian ini adalah penerapan model Team Quiz dapat meningkatkan keaktifan dan hasil belajar IPA tentang perubahan kenampakan bumi pada siswa kelas IV SDN 4 Bumirejo tahun ajaran 2017/2018. Kata kunci: Team Quiz, keaktifan, IP

Japanese Naval Preparations for World War II

In general, the strategic outlook of the Imperial Japanese Navy was from its beginning decisively shaped by limits on its armament

A Real-Time PCR-Based Diagnostic Test for Organisms in Respiratory Tract Infection

Respiratory tract infection, especially pneumonia, is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Although rapid and accurate identification of the pathogens and the corresponding treatment, which is based on the microbiological results, is required in the healthcare setting, the current clinical tests lack high sensitivity and flexibility. As of yet, a comprehensive approach has not been able to work these issues out. Meanwhile, the development of molecular techniques enables the detection of organisms from respiratory specimens speedily as well as precisely and aids the settlement of such issues. With our novel approach that employs relative quantification, we successfully set the cutoff value to discriminate the causative pathogen from colonizing commensal organisms by real-time PCR. In this way, a diagnostic system for respiratory pathogens was devised and validated through clinical sample testing. In this chapter, a real-time PCR-based test capable of differentiating causative pathogens in respiratory specimens is described, and also its principle and the utility of this approach are illustrated

Efficient Algorithm for Binary Quadratic Problem by Column Generation and Quantum Annealing

We propose an efficient algorithm that combines column generation and quantum annealing to solve binary quadratic problems. Binary quadratic problems are difficult to solve because they are NP-hard. An attempt to solve binary quadratic problems efficiently by column generation has been studied, but it demands successively solving quadratic unconstrained binary optimization problems. We solve the bottleneck by using quantum annealing or simulated annealing. Our results demonstrate a good approximate solution obtained in 2.7 to 1000 times shorter computational time to use column generation and quantum annealing to solve binary quadratic problems than the existing fast solver.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, 1 Tabl

Synthesis of 13C-labelled, bicyclic mimetics of natural enediynes

Using a versatile synthesis with 13CH3PPh3I and CH313CO2Et as 13C sources, the first examples of nine membered chromophores, which have been differentially labelled with 13C in their carbocyclic enediyne cores, are described

Efectividad del abordaje laparoscópico (TAPP) respecto a la plastia tipo Lichtenstein en la morbilidad postoperatoria de la reparación inguinal en el Hospital II-2 Tarapoto

Se realizará un estudio para determinar si el abordaje laparoscópico (TAAP) tiene mayor efectividad que la plastia tipo Lichtenstein en la morbilidad postoperatoria de la reparación inguinal en pacientes del Hospital II-2 Tarapoto; se aplicara el diseño de cohortes retrospectivo, analítico, longitudinal; sobre un grupo de pacientes hospitalizados por cirugía de emergencia o ambulatoria con diagnóstico de hernia inguinal que fueron evaluados en el servicio de Cirugía General del Hospital II-2 de Tarapoto periodo 2018 a 2021; se incluirán a 84 pacientes expuestos a abordaje laparoscópico y 84 expuestos a plastia tipo Lichtenstein. Se empleará una prueba estadística Chi cuadrado y se clasificará una relación significativa si se encuentra una probabilidad de error inferior al 5% (p < 0.05). Se obtendrá el riesgo relativo, la reducción de riesgo absoluta y la reducción del riesgo atribuible; así mismo, el cálculo del intervalo de confianza al 95%.Tesi

Analysis of Receptor Binding by the Channel-forming Toxin Aerolysin Using Surface Plasmon Resonance

Aerolysin is a channel-forming bacterial toxin that binds to glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI) anchors on host cell-surface structures. The nature of the receptors and the location of the receptor-binding sites on the toxin molecule were investigated using surface plasmon resonance. Aerolysin bound to the GPI-anchored proteins Thy-1, variant surface glycoprotein, and contactin with similar rate constants and affinities. Enzymatic removal of N-linked sugars from Thy-1 did not affect toxin binding, indicating that these sugars are not involved in the high affinity interaction with aerolysin. Aerolysin is a bilobal protein, and both lobes were shown to be required for optimal binding. The large lobe by itself bound Thy-1 with an affinity that was at least 10-fold weaker than that of the whole toxin, whereas the small lobe bound the GPI-anchored protein at least 1000-fold more weakly than the intact toxin. Mutation analyses provided further evidence that both lobes were involved in GPI anchor binding, with certain single amino acid substitutions in either domain leading to reductions in affinity of as much as 100-fold. A variant with single amino acid substitutions in both lobes of the protein was completely unable to bind the receptor. The membrane protein glycophorin, which is heavily glycosylated but not GPI-anchored, bound weakly to immobilized proaerolysin, suggesting that interactions with cell-surface carbohydrate structures other than GPI anchors may partially mediate toxin binding to host cells

Characterization of recombinant rat cathepsin B and nonglycosylated mutants expressed in yeast. New insights into the pH dependence of cathepsin B-catalyzed hydrolyses.

The cysteine proteinase rat cathepsin B was expressed in yeast in an active form and was found to be heterogeneously glycosylated at the consensus sequence for N-linked oligosaccharide substitution. Purified enzyme fractions containing the highest levels of glycosylation were shown to have reduced activity. A glycosylation minus mutant constructed by site-directed mutagenesis (by changing the Ser to Ala in the consensus sequence) was still secreted by the yeast and was shown to be functionally identical with purified rat liver cathepsin B. Recombinant cathepsin B was used to further characterize the pH dependence of cathepsin B-catalyzed hydrolyses using 7-amido-4-methylcoumarin (AMC) and p-nitroaniline (pNA) substrates with arginine as the P1, and either arginine or phenylalanine as the P2 residue. The AMC and pNA groups give insights into the leaving group binding site (P') of cathepsin B. These studies show for the first time that at least seven dissociable groups are involved in substrate binding and hydrolysis in cathepsin B activity. Two of these groups, with pKa values of 6.9 and 7.7 in the recombinant enzyme, are in the leaving group binding site and are most likely His110 and His111. The same groups in rat liver cathepsin B have higher pKa values than in recombinant cathepsin B, but have identical function in the two enzymes. Two other groups are probably the active site Cys29 and His199 with pKa values of 3.6 and 8.6, respectively. A group with a pKa of 5.1 interacts with substrates containing Arg at P2, and the group is most likely Glu245. The remaining two groups, one with a pKa of about 4.9 and the other about 5.3, are most likely carboxyl residues possibly interacting with Arg at P1 in the substrate. The possible candidates on the basis of the x-ray structure are Asp22, Asp69, Glu171, and Glu122, all found within a 13 A radius from the active site thiol of Cys29

Total synthesis and biomimetic studies of nine-membered enediynes

The kedarcidin and C1027 chromophores are formidable targets of total synthesis. During our 20-year study of these nine-membered enediyne chromophores, several powerful, yet chemoselective methods have been developed: stereoselective epoxyalkyne formation, atropselective Pd/Cu-Sonogashira coupling, 2-deoxy-α-glycosylation, CeX3-mediated enediyne cyclisation, and SmI2-based reductive olefination. Besides their total syntheses, application of these methods to the biomimetic study of the putative enediyne-precursors of the cyanosporasides, sporolides, and fijiolides will be presented. In particular, we disclose biomimetic evidence of a p-benzyne diradical species reacting in either a radical mode (hydrogen abstraction) or ionic mode (chloride attack) at the same sterically exposed site, leading to either monochlorinated cyanosporaside A/F or cyanosporaside B–E, respectively. The ionic monochlorination of the cycloaromatized p-benzyne of the C1027 enediyne core to generate the fijiolide aglycon framework will also be presented