Mild hydrothermal treatment to prepare highly dispersed multi-walled carbon nanotubes

Multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) with improved dispersion property have been prepared by a mild and fast hydrothermal treatment. The hydrothermal process avoids using harsh oxidants and organic solvents, which is environmental friendly and greatly decreases the damage to intrinsic structure of MWCNTs. The modified MWCNTs were highly soluble in polar solvents such as water, ethanol and dimethylformamide. Morphological observation by TEM indicated that the diameter and inherent structure were well reserved in modified MWCNTs. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy were used to quantify functional groups created on the MWCNT surface, and to determine rational parameters of hydrothermal process.ArticleAPPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE. 257(6):1845-1849 (2011)journal articl

Fabrication of flower-shaped Bi(2)O(3) superstructure by a facile template-free process

A novel flower-shaped Bi(2)O(3) superstructure has been successfully synthesized by calcination of the precursor, which was prepared via a citric acid assisted hydrothermal process. The precursor and Bi(2)O(3) were characterized with respect to morphology, crystal structure and elemental chemical state by field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). It was shown that both the precursor and Bi(2)O(3) flower-shaped superstructure were constructed of numerous nanosheets while the nanosheets consisted of a great deal of nanoparticles. Furthermore, key factors for the formation of the superstructures have been proposed; a mechanism for the growth of the superstructure has been presented based on the FESEM investigation of different growth stages.ArticleAPPLIED SURFACE SCIENCE. 257(15):6577-6582 (2011)journal articl

Czochralski growth techniques of germanium crystals grown from a melt covered partially or fully by liquid B2O3

We propose two unique Czochralski (CZ) techniques for growing germanium (Ge) crystals with an extremely low dislocation density and high interstitial oxygen concentration ([Oi]) using boron oxide (B2O3) and a silica crucible. When a Ge melt is partially covered with liquid B2O3, but only on the outer region of the melt surface, germanium-oxide (GeO2)-related particles forming naturally in the melt are effectively dissolved by the liquid B2O3. The clean central portion of the melt produces dislocation-free undoped or Ga-doped Ge crystals. In addition, Ge crystals with [Oi] up to 6 x 10(17) cm(-3) can be grown from a melt fully covered by liquid B2O3 with added GeO2 powder. The reaction and transportation of oxygen atoms during the growth process using B2O3 was investigated, revealing that liquid B2O3 acts like a catalyst without heavy contamination of the growing Ge crystal by B and Si atoms. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.JOURNAL OF CRYSTAL GROWTH. 360:47-51 (2012)journal articl

Influence of Ge composition in the Cu2Sn1-xGexS3 thin-film photovoltaic absorber prepared by sulfurization of laminated metallic precursor

Cu2Sn1-xGexS3 thin-film absorbers are prepared by sulfurization of laminated precursors. The crystal grain size is enhanced under higher growth temperature and/or sulfur pressure. By the XRD and Raman analyses, the crystal alloy is considered to be composed of majority monoclinic phase with minority secondary phase such as Cu-2(Sn1-xGex)(3)S-7 throughout the whole Ge/(Ge+Sn) composition range. The optical band gap is observed to be varied between 0.94 eV and 1.30 eV in relation with the Ge contents. A photovoltaic conversion efficiency of about 2% is obtained in the sample utilizing Cu2Sn0.6Ge0.4S3 absorber. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.ArticleSOLAR ENERGY MATERIALS AND SOLAR CELLS. 140:312-319 (2015)journal articl

Current status and future plan of the Program of the Antarctic Syowa MST/IS radar (PANSY)

The Tenth Symposium on Polar Science/Special session: [S] Future plan of Antarctic research: Towards phase X of the Japanese Antarctic Research Project (2022-2028) and beyond, Tue. 3 Dec. / 2F Auditorium, National Institute of Polar Researc

The serum amyloid A3 promoter-driven luciferase reporter mice is a valuable tool to image early renal fibrosis development and shows the therapeutic effect of glucosyl-hesperidin treatment

Tubulointerstitial fibrosis is a progressive process affecting the kidneys, causing renal failure that can be life-threatening. Thus, renal fibrosis has become a serious concern in the ageing population; however, fibrotic development cannot be diagnosed early and assessed noninvasively in both patients and experimental animal models. Here, we found that serum amyloid A3 (Saa3) expression is a potent indicator of early renal fibrosis; we also established in vivo Saa3/C/EBPβ-promoter bioluminescence imaging as a sensitive and specific tool for early detection and visualization of tubulointerstitial fibrosis. Saa3 promoter activity is specifically upregulated in parallel with tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) and fibrotic marker collagen I in injured kidneys. C/EBPβ, upregulated in injured kidneys and expressed in tubular epithelial cells, is essential for the increased Saa3 promoter activity in response to TNF-α, suggesting that C/EBPβ plays a crucial role in renal fibrosis development. Our model successfully enabled visualization of the suppressive effects of a citrus flavonoid derivative, glucosyl-hesperidin, on inflammation and fibrosis in kidney disease, indicating that this model could be widely used in exploring therapeutic agents for fibrotic diseases.This work was supported in part by grants from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan (to No. Y)

Effects of 6-month eicosapentaenoic acid treatment on postprandial hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia, insulin secretion ability, and concomitant endothelial dysfunction among newly-diagnosed impaired glucose metabolism patients with coronary artery disease. An open label, single blinded, prospective randomized controlled trial

Additional file 2: Table S2. Comparison of cookie meal test data between baseline and 6 months, and comparison of absolute change from baseline among patients with baseline plasma glucose <110 mg/dL