The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna; DECIGO

DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy especially between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz, revealing various mysteries of the universe such as dark energy, formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and inflation of the universe. The pre-conceptual design of DECIGO consists of three drag-free spacecraft, whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry– Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch two missions, DECIGO pathfinder and pre- DECIGO first and finally DECIGO in 2024

DECIGO pathfinder

DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is a milestone satellite mission for DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) which is a future space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to provide us fruitful insights into the universe, in particular about dark energy, a formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and the inflation of the universe. Since DECIGO will be an extremely large mission which will formed by three drag-free spacecraft with 1000m separation, it is significant to gain the technical feasibility of DECIGO before its planned launch in 2024. Thus, we are planning to launch two milestone missions: DPF and pre-DECIGO. The conceptual design and current status of the first milestone mission, DPF, are reviewed in this article

The status of DECIGO

DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) is the planned Japanese space gravitational wave antenna, aiming to detect gravitational waves from astrophysically and cosmologically significant sources mainly between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz and thus to open a new window for gravitational wave astronomy and for the universe. DECIGO will consists of three drag-free spacecraft arranged in an equilateral triangle with 1000 km arm lengths whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry-Perot interferometer, and four units of triangular Fabry-Perot interferometers are arranged on heliocentric orbit around the sun. DECIGO is vary ambitious mission, we plan to launch DECIGO in era of 2030s after precursor satellite mission, B-DECIGO. B-DECIGO is essentially smaller version of DECIGO: B-DECIGO consists of three spacecraft arranged in an triangle with 100 km arm lengths orbiting 2000 km above the surface of the earth. It is hoped that the launch date will be late 2020s for the present

Comparison of Clinical Trajectories before Initiation of Renal Replacement Therapy between Diabetic Nephropathy and Nephrosclerosis on the KDIGO Guidelines Heat Map

This study investigated differences between the clinical trajectories of diabetic nephropathy and nephrosclerosis using the Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) heat map and the clinical characteristics between the two diseases at RRT initiation. This single-center, retrospective study enrolled 100 patients whose estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was ≥45 mL/min/1.73 m2 at their first visit and who were initiated on RRT. Fifty consecutive patients were assigned to each of the diabetic nephropathy and nephrosclerosis groups. All data for simultaneously measured eGFR and urinary albumin to creatinine ratio (UACR) were collected from first visit to RRT initiation and were plotted on the KDIGO heat map. Diabetic nephropathy was characterized by higher blood pressure and UACR and lower age, eGFR, and serum albumin levels compared with nephrosclerosis at RRT initiation. The vast majority of patients with diabetic nephropathy and eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 had concomitant macroalbuminuria, whereas for patients with nephrosclerosis, even when eGFR was <45 mL/min/1.73 m2, many still had normoalbuminuria or microalbuminuria. The rate of decline of eGFR was significantly faster in the diabetic nephropathy group than that in the nephrosclerosis group. The clinical trajectories of diabetic nephropathy and nephrosclerosis differed markedly on the KDIGO heat map

Membrane tether formation from outer hair cells with optical tweezers.

Optical tweezers were used to characterize the mechanical properties of the outer hair cell (OHC) plasma membrane by pulling tethers with 4.5-microm polystyrene beads. Tether formation force and tether force were measured in static and dynamic conditions. A greater force was required for tether formations from OHC lateral wall (499 +/- 152 pN) than from OHC basal end (142 +/- 49 pN). The difference in the force required to pull tethers is consistent with an extensive cytoskeletal framework associated with the lateral wall known as the cortical lattice. The apparent plasma membrane stiffness, estimated under the static conditions by measuring tether force at different tether length, was 3.71 pN/microm for OHC lateral wall and 4.57 pN/microm for OHC basal end. The effective membrane viscosity was measured by pulling tethers at different rates while continuously recording the tether force, and estimated in the range of 2.39 to 5.25 pN x s/microm. The viscous force most likely results from the viscous interactions between plasma membrane lipids and the OHC cortical lattice and/or integral membrane proteins. The information these studies provide on the mechanical properties of the OHC lateral wall is important for understanding the mechanism of OHC electromotility

Low-Temperature Direct Synthesis of Multilayered h‑BN without Catalysts by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

Low-temperature direct synthesis of thick multilayered hexagonal-boron nitride (h-BN) on semiconducting and insulating substrates is required to produce high-performance electronic devices based on two-dimensional (2D) materials. In this study, multilayered h-BN with a thickness exceeding 5 nm was directly synthesized on quartz and Si at low temperatures, between 400 and 500 °C, by inductively coupled plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using borazine as the precursor material. The quality and thickness of the h-BN crystals were investigated with respect to synthesis parameters, namely, temperature, radio frequency power, N2 flow rate, and H2 flow rate. Introducing N2 and H2 carrier gases critically affected the deposition rate, and increasing the carrier gas flow rate enhanced the h-BN crystal quality. The typical optical band gap of synthesized h-BN was approximately 5.8 eV, consistent with that of previous studies. The full width at half-maximum of the h-BN Raman peak was 32–33 cm–1, comparable to that of commercially available multilayered h-BN on Cu foil. These results are expected to facilitate the development of 2D materials for electronics applications

Solvent Effect of Room Temperature Ionic Liquids on Electrochemical Reactions in Lithium–Sulfur Batteries

A room temperature ionic liquid (RTIL), <i>N</i>,<i>N</i>-diethyl-<i>N</i>-methyl-<i>N</i>-(2-methoxyethyl)­ammonium bis­(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)­amide ([DEME]­[TFSA]), was used as an electrolyte solvent for lithium–sulfur (Li–S) batteries. Li­[TFSA] was dissolved into [DEME]­[TFSA] to prepare the electrolytes, and a molecular solventtetraethylene glycol dimethyl ether (TEGDME)was used for Li­[TFSA] as a reference. Discharge–charge tests of Li–S cells using these electrolytes were carried out. The discharge–charge cycle stability and Coulombic efficiency of a cell with an RTIL electrolyte were found to be surprisingly superior to those of a cell with TEGDME electrolyte. The poor cycle stability of the cell with the TEGDME electrolyte was attributed to the dissolution of lithium polysulfides (Li₂S_<i>m</i>), which were generated as reaction intermediates through a redox process at the S cathode in the Li–S cell. RTIL has low donor ability owing to the weak Lewis basicity of [TFSA]⁻ anion, whereas conventional ether-based molecular solvents such as TEGDME have high donor ability. The dissolution of Li₂S_<i>m</i> was significantly suppressed owing to the weak donor ability of RTIL. In the RTIL electrolyte, Li₂S_<i>m</i> was immobilized on the electrode, and the electrochemical reaction of the S species occurred exclusively in the solid phase. These results clearly prove a novel solvent effect of RTILs on the electrochemical reactions of the S cathode in Li–S cells