Selective nonanal molecular recognition with SnO2 nanosheets for lung cancer sensor

SnO₂ nanosheets were developed to detect nonanal gas in the order of ppb which was a marker of lung cancer. The nanosheets showed higher resistance change in nonanal gas than that in carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), acetone (CH₃COCH₃), hydrogen (H₂), ethanol (C₂H₆O), ammonia (NH₃), hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), formaldehyde (HCHO), acetaldehyde (CH₃CHO), or butanal (C₄H₈O). Crystal surfaces of the nanosheets would be effective for adsorption of nonanal molecules. Furthermore, it was shown that resistance changed with an increase in carbon number in aldehyde. The nanosheets had molecular selectivity for a series of aldehyde molecules. Molecular recognition of the nanosheets gave us a great advantage to detect nonanal gas which was produced by lung cancer.     

Estimating post-disaster traffic conditions using real-time data streams

This article presents a technique to determine the effects of an earthquake on road traffic conditions by linking seismic hazard and bridge fragility models with a traffic model and traffic sensor data. Using the earthquake characteristics as an input to the traffic model, the traffic conditions are sequentially estimated given traffic sensor measurements using an ensemble Kalman filter. The proposed algorithm is tested on a numerical experiment on Interstate 155 West near the New Madrid Seismic Zone in New Madrid, Missouri. The results show that the proposed technique improves the post-disaster traffic estimate. The supporting source code and data are available for download at https://github.com/rotsuka/postDisaster_EnKF..     

Importance of Kupffer Cells in the Development of Acute Liver Injuries in Mice

Kupffer cells reside within the liver sinusoid and serve as gatekeepers. They produce pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines and other biologically important molecules upon the engagement of pattern recognition receptors such as Toll-like receptors. Kupffer cell-ablated mice established by in vivo treatment with clodronate liposomes have revealed many important features of Kupffer cells. In this paper, we review the importance of Kupffer cells in murine acute liver injuries and focus on the following two models: lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced liver injury, which is induced by priming with Propionibacterium acnes and subsequent challenge with LPS, and hypercoagulability-mediated acute liver failure such as that in concanavalin A (Con A)-induced hepatitis. Kupffer cells are required for LPS sensitization induced by P. acnes and are a major cellular source of interleukin-18, which induces acute liver injury following LPS challenge. Kupffer cells contribute to Con A-induced acute liver failure by initiating pathogenic, intrasinusoidal thrombosis in collaboration with sinusoidal endothelial cells. The mechanisms underlying these models may shed light on human liver injuries induced by various etiologies such as viral infection and/or abnormal metabolism.     

Plastic behaviours during tempering by crystal plasticity analyses using fast Fourier transform

ABSTRACT

Heat treatment, such as quenching and carburising, often involves volume change caused by phenomena such as thermal expansion, phase transformation, and carbide precipitation during tempering. During the tempering process, an external force induces additional plastic deformation. The authors termed this phenomenon ‘tempering plasticity’. In this study, we performed crystal plasticity analysis using fast Fourier transform considering the volume change in carbides to assess the mechanism of tempering plasticity. As a result, tempering plastic strain occurred as the volume fraction of carbide increased, and the tempering plastic phenomenon could be reproduced based on the transformation model proposed by Greenwood–Johnson. The result supports the idea that the volume change accompanied by carbide precipitation is an important mechanism that invokes tempering plasticity.