Real-Time Measurement of the Viscoelasticity of Green Juvenile Wood of Japanese Cedar at High Temperature

Changes in the viscoelasticity of green juvenile and mature wood during high-temperature drying were measured in real time. For each measurement, a 180-mm-long specimen of Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), its supporting system, a magnetic driver, and a deflection sensor were placed in an electric oven and a free-free flexural vibration test was performed. The temperature was fixed at 120°C. The resonance frequency decreased and the loss tangent increased during heating of the juvenile vs mature wood. These tendencies apparently occurred because the initial moisture content of the juvenile wood was higher than mature wood and because the juvenile wood had the larger number of intercellular layers

EFFECT OF HIGH TEMPERATURE AND HIGH HUMIDITY TREATMENT ON BENDING PROPERTIES OF WOOD

Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria Japonica D. Don) 110 110 1000-mm green boxed-heart timbers were dried under high temperature (110-140C) and high humidity (0.01-0.24 MPa gauge pressure) conditions until the weight remained unchanged. Then strength properties were examined. Wood became brittle because of the high temperature and high humidity treatment. We hypothesize that the wood was seriously damaged by hydrolysis because of the long treatment time used in this study and that the large cross-sectional area and high set gauge pressure lengthened the time of water loss from the wood. We considered viscosity and plasticity, rather than elasticity, to be the main factors that contributed to the decrease of work for rupture

Total Photoabsorption Cross Sections of A=6 Nuclei with Complete Final State Interaction

The total photoabsorption cross sections of 6He and 6Li are calculated microscopically with full inclusion of the six-nucleon final state interaction using semirealistic nucleon-nucleon potentials. The Lorentz Integral Transform (LIT) method and the effective interaction approach for the hyperspherical formalism are employed. While 6Li has a single broad giant resonance peak, there are two well separated peaks for 6He corresponding to the breakup of the neutron halo and the alpha core, respectively. The comparison with the few available experimental data is discussed.Comment: LaTeX, 8 pages, 3 ps figure

Overexpression of TEAD4 in atypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor: New insight to the pathophysiology of an aggressive brain tumor

BackgroundAtypical teratoid/rhabdoid tumor (AT/RT) is a highly malignant embryonal brain tumor that occurs mainly in early childhood. Although most of the tumors are characterized by inactivating mutations of the tumor suppressor gene, SMARCB1, the biological basis of its tumorigenesis and aggressiveness is still unknown.ProcedureWe performed high‐throughput copy number variation analysis of primary cell lines generated from primary and relapsed tumors from one of our patients to identify new genes involved in AT/RT biology. The expression of the identified gene was validated in 29 AT/RT samples by gene expression profiling, quantitative real‐time polymerase chain reaction, and immunohistochemistry (IHC). Furthermore, we investigated the function of this gene by mutating it in rhabdoid tumor cells.ResultsTEAD4 amplification was detected in the primary cell lines and its overexpression was confirmed at mRNA and protein levels in an independent cohort of AT/RT samples. TEAD4’s co‐activator, YAP1, and the downstream targets, MYC and CCND1, were also found to be upregulated in AT/RT when compared to medulloblastoma. IHC showed TEAD4 and YAP1 overexpression in all samples. Cell proliferation and migration were significantly reduced in TEAD4‐mutated cells.ConclusionsWe report the overexpression of TEAD4 in AT/RT, which is a key component of Hippo pathway. Recent reports revealed that dysregulation of the Hippo pathway is implicated in tumorigenesis and poor prognosis of several human cancers. Our results suggest that TEAD4 plays a role in the pathophysiology of AT/RT, which represents a new insight into the biology of this aggressive tumor.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137309/1/pbc26398_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/137309/2/pbc26398.pd

Atomic-scale characterization of nitrogen-doped graphite: Effects of dopant nitrogen on the local electronic structure of the surrounding carbon atoms

We report the local atomic and electronic structure of a nitrogen-doped graphite surface by scanning tunnelling microscopy, scanning tunnelling spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and first-principles calculations. The nitrogen-doped graphite was prepared by nitrogen ion bombardment followed by thermal annealing. Two types of nitrogen species were identified at the atomic level: pyridinic-N (N bonded to two C nearest neighbours) and graphitic-N (N bonded to three C nearest neighbours). Distinct electronic states of localized {\pi} states were found to appear in the occupied and unoccupied regions near the Fermi level at the carbon atoms around pyridinic-N and graphitic-N species, respectively. The origin of these states is discussed based on the experimental results and theoretical simulations.Comment: 6 Pages, with larger figure

Spectroscopy and 2.1 µm laser operation of Czochralski-grown Tm3+:YScO3 crystals

We report on growth, temperature-dependent spectroscopy, and laser experiments of Tm3+-doped YScO3 mixed sesquioxide crystals. For the first time, cm3-scale laser quality Tm3+:YScO3 crystals with 2.2 at.% and 3.1 at.% doping levels were grown by the Czochralski method from iridium crucibles. We reveal that the structural disorder in the mixed crystals allows for broad and smooth spectral features even at cryogenic temperatures. We obtained the first continuous wave laser operation in this material at wavelengths around 2100 nm using a laser diode emitting at 780 nm as a pump source. A maximum slope efficiency of 45% was achieved using a Tm3 + (3.1 at.%):YScO3 crystal. Our findings demonstrate the high potential of Tm3+-doped mixed sesquioxides for efficient ultrafast pulse generation in the 2.1 µm range

Johann Georg Hamann, Memoráveis socráticas. Tradução, notas, cronologia e posfácio de José Miranda Justo. Segunda edição revista e aumentada. Lisboa: Centro de Filosofia da Universidade de Lisboa, 2017

Resenha e comentários críticos à tradução das Memoráveis socráticas, de Johann Georg Hamann. Tradução, notas, cronologia e posfácio de José Miranda Justo. Segunda edição revista e aumentada. Lisboa: Centro de Filosofia da Universidade de Lisboa, 2017

The Fermi energy in acceptor doped SrTiO3 and BaTiO3

In order to evaluate the presence of space charge layers and the magnitude of band bending at electrode interfaces of mixed ionic-electronic conductors we have evaluated the Fermi energies in the bulk and at interfaces of acceptor-doped SrTiO3, BaTiO3 and (Ba,Sr)TiO3. While the interface Fermi energy can be directly obtained using photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) if conducting electrode materials are deposited, the determination of the bulk Fermi energy is more challenging due to the high resistivity of the samples. One approach is to use XPS on thin films deposited on conducting samples. In general, we observed a good agreement between upper and lower limits of Fermi energies at thin films surfaces and at interfaces. Surprisingly, the Fermi energy is hardly observed below EF-EVB≈2eV (see Fig. 1), although defect chemistry calculations predict values as low as EF-EVB≈2eV for acceptor doped samples, such as Fe-doped SrTiO3 or Mn-doped BaTiO3.c,d Even at anode interfaces of ionically polarized Fe-doped SrTiO3 single crystals,e at which the oxygen vacancy concentration should be very low, we have not observed lower Fermi energies. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

The Stimulation of Inducible Nitric-oxide Synthase by the Prion Protein Fragment 106–126 in Human Microglia Is Tumor Necrosis Factor-α-dependent and Involves p38 Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase

A synthetic peptide consisting of amino acid residues 106-126 of the human prion protein (PrP-(106--126)) has been previously demonstrated to be neurotoxic and to induce microglial activation. The present study investigated the expression of the inducible form of the nitric-oxide synthase (NOS-II) in human microglial cells treated with PrP-(106--126). Using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, we found that PrP-(106--126) induces NOS-II gene expression after 24 h of treatment and that this effect is accompanied by a peak of nuclear factor kappa B (NF-kappa B) binding at 30 min as evaluated by electrophoretic mobility shift assay. Since our previous data demonstrated tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) to be a potent inducer of NOS-II in these cells, we analyzed the expression of this cytokine in PrP-(106--126)-treated microglia. PrP-(106--126) caused the release of TNF-alpha as detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and a blocking antibody, anti-TNF-alpha, abolished NOS-II induction elicited by this peptide. Moreover, PrP-(106-126) activates p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase, and the inhibition of this pathway determines the ablation of NF-kappa B binding induced by this fragment peptide