Enhancement of sensitivity of Pd-based hydrogen-gas sensor by plasma exposure studied by wireless quartz resonator

This is the Accepted Manuscript version of an article accepted for publication in Japanese Journal of Applied Physics. IOP Publishing Ltd are not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it. The Version of Record is available online at https://doi.org/10.35848/1347-4065/ab78e2

COMPARISON AND IDENTIFICATION OF FACTORS INFLUENCING THE FLAVORS OF ENTERAL NUTRITION AGENTS

Objective:The flavor of an enteral nutrition formula affects medication adherence as well as patient's nutritional status and therapeutic efficiency on the major pathology. Therefore, it is important for medical professionals to understand the flavors of enteral nutrition formulas. This study aimed to evaluate the flavors of enteral nutrition formulas and examine the factors influencing these flavors. Methods:A total of 304 students in a pharmaceutical department were subjected to a semantic differential sensory evaluation in which they compared the flavors of digestion and semi-digestion enteral nutrition formulas using a five-point scale. In addition, factors related to good flavor were extracted via factor analyses, and subjected to a covariance structure analysis.Results:In the flavor comparison between digestion and semi-digestion nutrition formulas, semi-digestion nutrition agents scored significantly higher than digestion nutrition formulas did (Welch's t test, P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.69–0.99). The factor analyses extracted three subscales of factors related to good flavor: impression of taking, feeling of presence and sense of richness. In a path analysis model to determine the influence of these factor subscales on flavor, impression of taking feeling of presence were found to have significant influences (index of goodness of fit: χ2 = 474.883, df = 62, P < 0.001, GFI = 0.938, AGFI = 0.909, RMSEA = 0.079).Conclusion:Flavor affects medication adherence to enteral nutrition. Therefore, it is important for medical professionals to understand the factors that influence flavor and thus provide patients with better nutrition formulas

Restructuring in bimetallic core-shell nanoparticles: Real-time observation

The formation process of core-shell bimetallic nanoparticles synthesized by sputtering onto a substrate is observed in real time using an originally developed acoustic technique. The technique enables us to evaluate the structural change of nanoparticles at room temperature without contacting the nanoparticles or substrate. In the experiments, the sputtering of metal A followed by metal B tended to form B-shell/A-core nanoparticles. However, in Pd-Au alloy system, notable restructuring occurred during synthesis, resulting in the formation of A-shell/B-core nanoparticles. The formation process is analyzed using the molecular dynamics simulation, revealing that this restructuring occurs on a short timescale, and high diffusivity of Au plays an important role.Nakamura Nobutomo, Matsuura Koji, Ishii Akio and Ogi Hirotsugu. Restructuring in bimetallic core-shell nanoparticles: Real-time observation. Physical Review B, 105, 125401, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.105.125401

Point-Focusing Electromagnetic-Acoustic Transducer for Crack Inspection

Stress corrosion cracking in stainless-steel pipes is a critical failure in atomic power plants and chemical plants. In ultrasonic testing, piezoelectric transducers are generally used, in which reproducibility of amplitude measurements is not necessarily high because of effects of coupling materials and contacting conditions between the transducers and specimens. Comparing to the transducers, an electromagnetic acoustic transducer (EMAT) requires no coupling materials and is less sensitive to the contacting conditions, making the reproducibility higher. However, lower signal to noise (S/N) ratio has been a disadvantage. For increasing the S/N ratio, we developed a point-focusing EMAT (PF-EMAT) [1]. It generated shear-vertical (SV) waves from concentric line sources on a top surface of a specimen. Coil configuration of the EMAT was designed so that the SV waves were accumulated in phase at a focal point on the bottom surface, which increased the S/N ratio and improved the spatial resolution. We have designed PF-EMATs operated at different frequencies, and applied to artificially fabricated defects on stainless steel specimens. In this presentation, we show the results, and discuss availability of the PF-EMAT to crack inspection

The Inhibition of Lipase and Glucosidase Activities by Acacia Polyphenol

Acacia polyphenol (AP) extracted from the bark of the black wattle tree (Acacia mearnsii) is rich in unique catechin-like flavan-3-ols, such as robinetinidol and fisetinidol. In an in vitro study, we measured the inhibitory activity of AP on lipase and glucosidase. In addition, we evaluated the effects of AP on absorption of orally administered olive oil, glucose, maltose, sucrose and starch solution in mice. We found that AP concentration-dependently inhibited the activity of lipase, maltase and sucrase with an IC50 of 0.95, 0.22 and 0.60 mg ml−1, respectively. In ICR mice, olive oil was administered orally immediately after oral administration of AP solution, and plasma triglyceride concentration was measured. We found that AP significantly inhibited the rise in plasma triglyceride concentration after olive oil loading. AP also significantly inhibited the rise in plasma glucose concentration after maltose and sucrose loading, and this effect was more potent against maltose. AP also inhibited the rise in plasma glucose concentration after glucose loading and slightly inhibited it after starch loading. Our results suggest that AP inhibits lipase and glucosidase activities, which leads to a reduction in the intestinal absorption of lipids and carbohydrates