Stable and High-Power Calcium-Ion Batteries Enabled by Calcium Intercalation into Graphite

Calcium-ion batteries (CIBs) are considered to be promising next-generation energy storage systems because of the natural abundance of calcium and the multivalent calcium ions with low redox potential close to that of lithium. However, the practical realization of high-energy and high-power CIBs is elusive owing to the lack of suitable electrodes and the sluggish diffusion of calcium ions in most intercalation hosts. Herein, it is demonstrated that calcium-ion intercalation can be remarkably fast and reversible in natural graphite, constituting the first step toward the realization of high-power calcium electrodes. It is shown that a graphite electrode exhibits an exceptionally high rate capability up to 2 A g(-1), delivering approximate to 75% of the specific capacity at 50 mA g(-1) with full calcium intercalation in graphite corresponding to approximate to 97 mAh g(-1). Moreover, the capacity stably maintains over 200 cycles without notable cycle degradation. It is found that the calcium ions are intercalated into graphite galleries with a staging process. The intercalation mechanisms of the "calciated" graphite are elucidated using a suite of techniques including synchrotron in situ X-ray diffraction, nuclear magnetic resonance, and first-principles calculations. The versatile intercalation chemistry of graphite observed here is expected to spur the development of high-power CIBs.

A novel small molecule, CU05-1189, targeting the pleckstrin homology domain of PDK1 suppresses VEGF-mediated angiogenesis and tumor growth by blocking the Akt signaling pathway

Inhibition of angiogenesis is considered a promising therapeutic approach for cancer treatment. Our previous genetic research showed that the use of a cell-penetrating peptide to inhibit the pleckstrin homology (PH) domain of 3-phosphoinositide-dependent kinase 1 (PDK1) was a viable approach to suppress pathological angiogenesis. Herein, we synthesized and characterized a novel small molecule, CU05-1189, based on our prior study and present evidence for the first time that this compound possesses antiangiogenic properties both in vitro and in vivo. The computational analysis showed that CU05-1189 can interact with the PH domain of PDK1, and it significantly inhibited vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced proliferation, migration, invasion, and tube formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells without apparent toxicity. Western blot analysis revealed that the Akt signaling pathway was specifically inhibited by CU05-1189 upon VEGF stimulation, without affecting other VEGF receptor 2 downstream molecules or cytosolic substrates of PDK1, by preventing translocation of PDK1 to the plasma membrane. We also found that CU05-1189 suppressed VEGF-mediated vascular network formation in a Matrigel plug assay. More importantly, CU05-1189 had a good pharmacokinetic profile with a bioavailability of 68%. These results led to the oral administration of CU05-1189, which resulted in reduced tumor microvessel density and growth in a xenograft mouse model. Taken together, our data suggest that CU05-1189 may have great potential and be a promising lead as a novel antiangiogenic agent for cancer treatment

Original Article

99 cases were operated while we could not use antibiotics. The author traced X-ray photos on paper and measured areas of the peeled cavities with a planimeter. Results were as follows. 1) 66 cases had increasing stage and the rates were more than 30 %. 2) Cases with good developments showed larger original areas (50〜100cm^2) and smaller increasing rates (less than 30 %). 3) Also their X-ray photos showed coinciding or almost coinciding lines of the apices of lungs and the bases of cavities, but we had to take precautions against suppuration when they showed a horizontal line several days after operation. 4) Most of too high degree of adhesion or thickning of pleura did not show good results. When we found a cord which we must manage with some procedures by pneumolysis we must attend to suppuration too. 5)We ought to resect 4th or 5th rib more than 20 cm and 5th or 4th several cm supplementary. 6) As a method of constriction we commend the INVAGI.NATION method. 7) The author noticed in a considerable number of cases that the areas of cavities increased again after they kept long balanced stages

Atherosclerosis V, Proceeding of the Fifth International Symposium, A.M. Gotto, L.C. Smith, B. Allen, Spring Verlag, 1979(BOOK REVIEW)

Antiviral effect of micafungin on three strains of human rhinoviruses. H1HeLa cells were infected with human rhinovirus type 14 (A), 21 (B), or 71 (C) (100 CCID50) and immediately treated with indicated concentrations of micafungin. Three days after compound treatment antiviral activity was determined by the reduction of cytopathic effect using MTT assay. Cell viability of DMSO-treated cells was set to 0 % and that of uninfected cells was set to 100 %. (TIF 100 kb

The Effect of Binocular Disparities on the Space Distortion

When one pair of dots is located in an object, the perceived space between those two dots is larger than the space of two dots which have same interval and are placed out of object. This is space distortion. Two experiments were performed to investigate the effect of binocular disparities on space distortion. The depth plane of surrounding object (in experiment 1) and of two pairs of dots (in experiment 2) was manipulated. The results showed that when objects or dots were perceived on a different depth plane from an original depth plane, the strength of space distortion was reduced. These results imply that space distortion is more related to early visual processing than attention

The Effects of Novelty and Familiarity on Beauty Perception

In order to investigate how novelty and familiarity affect beauty perception, fractal images were presented five times over 14 weeks. Fractal images are unfamiliar to people, hence used in this study to control their previous experience. a total of 800 fractal images were divided into five groups (160 images X 5 group), and three groups of images were presented to participants each time for five times. The results showed that while beauty perception is decreased until the third exposure, it is increased from third to fifth exposure. These results suggest that a certain level of repeated exposure is necessary for subjects to become familiar, which in turn affect beauty perception

Evaluation of the Long-Term Reliability of Open-Tube Diffused Planar InGaAs/InP Avalanche Photodiodes under a Hybrid of Thermal and Electrical Stresses

The long-term reliability of open-tube diffused planar InGaAs/InP APDs was investigated via accelerated life testing in this study. For the proposed life testing scheme, both thermal and electrical stresses were applied simultaneously to reduce the testing periods while maintaining statistical significance. Additionally, the Eyring model was used to extrapolate the activation energy. To determine the optimum life testing conditions, high-temperature storage tests, preliminary accelerated life tests, and main accelerated life tests were conducted. From the test results, the mean-time-to-failure was utilized to verify the suitability of the Eyring model. The proposed testing scheme, which utilizes a hybrid of accelerated stress factors, allows us to estimate the device reliability within an acceptable testing period, minimizing the time to market

Effect of deep eutectic solvent mixtures on lipase activity and stability

DESs (deep eutectic solvents) have many potential applications as cosolvents or anhydrous reaction media for biocatalytic reactions, owing to their non-volatility, non-flammability, non-toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability, and low cost. In this work, choline chloride ([Ch]Cl)-based DESs and DES mixtures containing two hydrogen bond donors were used as cosolvents to enhance the activity and stability of Candida rugosa lipase in aqueous reactions. The activity of lipase in an aqueous solution of [Ch]Cl:urea:glycerol was 155% higher than that in buffer. The half-life time of lipase at 40 degrees C in an aqueous solution of [Ch]Cl:glycerol was enhanced by 9.2 times. The lipase showed the highest acid stability and base stability in the aqueous solutions of [Ch]Cl:glycerol:thiourea and [Ch]Cl:ethylene glycol:formamide, respectively. In general, glycerol-containing DES mixtures were very useful in enhancing the activity and stability of lipase, while formamide-containing DES mixtures could not efficiently enhance the activity and stability of lipase. To understand the effect of DES mixtures on the activity and stability of lipase in aqueous solution, four solvatochromic parameters of DES mixtures were determined. When the solvatochromic parameters of DES mixtures were correlated with the stability of lipase in aqueous solutions of DES mixtures, it was found that thermal stability and storage stability of lipase were associated with the hydrogen bond acidity of DES mixtures. Acid stability and base stability of lipase were correlated with polarity based on Reichardt's dye and the dipolarity/polarizability of DES mixtures, respectively.clos

Application of cellulose/lignin hydrogel beads as novel supports for immobilizing lipase

Lignocellulose-based hydrogels may have many potential applications in biomedical and biotechnological fields owing to their attractive properties including low cost, biodegradability, and biocompatibility. In this study, cellulose/lignin composite hydrogel beads were prepared by co-dissolution of cellulose and lignin in 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate and then reconstitution with distilled water. Lipase from Candida rugosa was immobilized on various cellulose/lignin hydrogel beads. The results showed that lipase immobilized on cellulose/lignin beads showed higher activity and stability than those of lipase immobilized on pure cellulose beads. The activity and stability of immobilized lipase increased with the increase in the lignin content in the cellulose/lignin beads. The activity, protein loading, and specific activity of lipase immobilized on the optimal cellulose/lignin beads were 2.6, 2.2, and 1.2 times higher than those of lipase immobilized on cellulose beads, respectively. The effect of lignin on the activity of lipase immobilized on cellulose/lignin beads was statistically well predicted. The residual activity of lipase immobilized on the optimal cellulose/lignin beads after incubation for 12 h at 40 degrees C was 3.2 and 1.9 times higher than that of free lipase and lipase immobilized on cellulose beads, respectively. Interestingly, the half-life time of lipase immobilized on cellulose/lignin beads at pH 3.0 was 24 and 3 times higher than that of free lipase and that of lipase immobilized on cellulose beads, respectively. These results show that cellulose/lignin hydrogels may offer many potential applications in the biocatalytic, biomedical, and bioelectronic fields owing to their high biocompatibility, biodegradability, and controllable properties.clos