67 research outputs found
Two-dimensional atomic-scale ultrathin lateral heterostructures
Ultrathin lateral heterostructures of monolayer MoS2 and WS2 have
successfully been realized with the metal-organic chemical vapor deposition
method. Atomic-resolution HAADF-STEM observations have revealed that the
junction widths of lateral heterostructures range from several nanometers to
single-atom thickness, the thinnest heterojunction in theory. The interfaces
are atomically flat with minimal mixing between MoS2 and WS2, originating from
rapid and abrupt switching of the source supply. Due to one-dimensional
interfaces and broken rotational symmetry, the resulting ultrathin lateral
heterostructures, 1~2 mixed-dimensional structures, can show emergent
optical/electronic properties. The MOCVD growth developed in this work allows
us to access various ultrathin lateral heterostructures, leading to future
exploration of their emergent properties absent in each component alone
Trans-omics Impact of Thymoproteasome in Cortical Thymic Epithelial Cells
The thymic function to produce self-protective and self-tolerant T cells is chiefly mediated by cortical thymic epithelial cells (cTECs) and medullary TECs (mTECs). Recent studies including single-cell transcriptomic analyses have highlighted a rich diversity in functional mTEC subpopulations. Because of their limited cellularity, however, the biochemical characterization of TECs, including the proteomic profiling of cTECs and mTECs, has remained unestablished. Utilizing genetically modified mice that carry enlarged but functional thymuses, here we show a combination of proteomic and transcriptomic profiles for cTECs and mTECs, which identified signature molecules that characterize a developmental and functional contrast between cTECs and mTECs. Our results reveal a highly specific impact of the thymoproteasome on proteasome subunit composition in cTECs and provide an integrated trans-omics platform for further exploration of thymus biology
The ASTRO-H X-ray Observatory
The joint JAXA/NASA ASTRO-H mission is the sixth in a series of highly
successful X-ray missions initiated by the Institute of Space and Astronautical
Science (ISAS). ASTRO-H will investigate the physics of the high-energy
universe via a suite of four instruments, covering a very wide energy range,
from 0.3 keV to 600 keV. These instruments include a high-resolution,
high-throughput spectrometer sensitive over 0.3-2 keV with high spectral
resolution of Delta E < 7 eV, enabled by a micro-calorimeter array located in
the focal plane of thin-foil X-ray optics; hard X-ray imaging spectrometers
covering 5-80 keV, located in the focal plane of multilayer-coated, focusing
hard X-ray mirrors; a wide-field imaging spectrometer sensitive over 0.4-12
keV, with an X-ray CCD camera in the focal plane of a soft X-ray telescope; and
a non-focusing Compton-camera type soft gamma-ray detector, sensitive in the
40-600 keV band. The simultaneous broad bandpass, coupled with high spectral
resolution, will enable the pursuit of a wide variety of important science
themes.Comment: 22 pages, 17 figures, Proceedings of the SPIE Astronomical
Instrumentation "Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2012: Ultraviolet to
Gamma Ray
Hitomi (ASTRO-H) X-ray Astronomy Satellite
The Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission is the sixth Japanese x-ray astronomy satellite developed by a large international collaboration, including Japan, USA, Canada, and Europe. The mission aimed to provide the highest energy resolution ever achieved at E > 2 keV, using a microcalorimeter instrument, and to cover a wide energy range spanning four decades in energy from soft x-rays to gamma rays. After a successful launch on February 17, 2016, the spacecraft lost its function on March 26, 2016, but the commissioning phase for about a month provided valuable information on the onboard instruments and the spacecraft system, including astrophysical results obtained from first light observations. The paper describes the Hitomi (ASTRO-H) mission, its capabilities, the initial operation, and the instruments/spacecraft performances confirmed during the commissioning operations for about a month
The impact of immediate breast reconstruction on the time to delivery of adjuvant therapy: the iBRA-2 study
Background:
Immediate breast reconstruction (IBR) is routinely offered to improve quality-of-life for women requiring mastectomy, but there are concerns that more complex surgery may delay adjuvant oncological treatments and compromise long-term outcomes. High-quality evidence is lacking. The iBRA-2 study aimed to investigate the impact of IBR on time to adjuvant therapy.
Methods:
Consecutive women undergoing mastectomy ± IBR for breast cancer July–December, 2016 were included. Patient demographics, operative, oncological and complication data were collected. Time from last definitive cancer surgery to first adjuvant treatment for patients undergoing mastectomy ± IBR were compared and risk factors associated with delays explored.
Results:
A total of 2540 patients were recruited from 76 centres; 1008 (39.7%) underwent IBR (implant-only [n = 675, 26.6%]; pedicled flaps [n = 105,4.1%] and free-flaps [n = 228, 8.9%]). Complications requiring re-admission or re-operation were significantly more common in patients undergoing IBR than those receiving mastectomy. Adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy was required by 1235 (48.6%) patients. No clinically significant differences were seen in time to adjuvant therapy between patient groups but major complications irrespective of surgery received were significantly associated with treatment delays.
Conclusions:
IBR does not result in clinically significant delays to adjuvant therapy, but post-operative complications are associated with treatment delays. Strategies to minimise complications, including careful patient selection, are required to improve outcomes for patients
Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density
Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data
Recovery of Platinum Group Metals from Spent Automotive Catalysts Using Lithium Salts and Hydrochloric Acid
The recovery of platinum group metals (PGMs) from waste materials involves dissolving the waste in an aqueous solution. However, since PGMs are precious metals, their dissolution requires strong oxidizing agents such as chlorine gas and aqua regia. In this study, we aimed to recover PGMs via the calcination of spent automotive catalysts (autocatalysts) with Li salts based on the concept of “spent autocatalyst + waste lithium-ion batteries” and leaching with only HCl. The results suggest that, when Li2CO3 was used, the Pt content was fully leached, while 94.9% and 97.5% of Rh and Pd, respectively, were leached using HCl addition. Even when LiF, which is a decomposition product of the electrolytic solution (LiPF6), was used as the Li salt model, the PGM leaching rate did not significantly change. In addition, we studied the immobilization of fluorine on cordierite (2MgO·2Al2O3·5SiO2), which is a matrix component of autocatalysts. Through the calcination of LiF in the presence of cordierite, we found that cordierite thermally decomposed, and fluorine was immobilized as MgF2
Recovering Lithium from the Cathode Active Material in Lithium-Ion Batteries via Thermal Decomposition
In this study, calcination tests were performed on a mixed sample of lithium cobalt oxide and activated carbon at 300–1000 °C under an argon atmosphere. The tests were conducted to discover an effective method for recovering lithium and cobalt from the cathode active material used in lithium-ion batteries. Additionally, the effect of soluble fluorine on the purification of lithium carbonate was investigated by the addition of lithium fluoride to an aqueous lithium hydroxide solution and a CO2 flow test was performed. The lithium recovery was ≥90% when the calcination occurred at temperatures of 500–600 °C. However, the percent recovery decreased at temperatures ≥700 °C. It was demonstrated that in order to increase the recovery while maintaining 99% purity of lithium carbonate in the recovered material, it was imperative to increase the temperature of the solution and to limit the F/Li ratio (mass%/mass%) in the solution to a value that did not exceed 0.05
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