Magnetic properties of vanadium-doped silicon carbide nanowires

This study reports the magnetic properties of vanadium (V) doped single crystalline silicon carbide nanowires. The first principle calculation indicated that the V-doped cubic SiC phase can exhibit half-metallic ferromagnetic properties that are essential for the realization of spintronic devices. Based on this calculation, V-doped SiC nanowires were fabricated in a chemical vapor deposition process. The single crystalline β-SiC nanowires, which are doped with ca. 4 at.% of V, had diameters of < 100 nm and a length of several μm. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations revealed vanadium carbide (VC) phases in the nanowires, even at this low concentration of dopants. Magnetic characterization implies that the nanowires are a mixture of the diamagnetic phase of VC and ferro- or paramagnetic phases of V-doped SiC. These results suggest that the doping of transition metal having high solubility to the SiC phase can lead to the realization of dilute magnetic semiconductor behavior at very low temperature.     

Oral administration of fingerroot (Boesenbergia pandurata) extract reduces ultraviolet b-induced skin aging in hairless mice

Fingerroot [Boesenbergia pandurata (Roxb.) Schltr.], belonging to Zingiberaceae, is an edible tropical medicinal plant that has been traditionally used to treat various diseases. However, the effect of its oral intake on skin has not yet been reported. This study aimed to investigate anti-photoaging effects of the ethanol extract of fingerroot in a hairless mouse model. Compared with the untreated UVB control group, mice that received fingerroot extract (BPE) showed significantly reduced wrinkle formation, skin thickening, and transepidermal water loss in dorsal skin irradiated with UVB. Moreover, BPE significantly prevented UVB-induced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 and -13 expressions and also MMP-2 and -9 activities. These results strongly suggest that oral administration of BPE confers in vivo anti-photoaging effects in hairless mice. Thus, fingerroot may have potential as an oral photoprotective agent to prevent skin photoaging following UV exposure.     

The effect of growth temperature on the coaxial InxGa1 − xN/GaN nanowires grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition

We report on the growth of coaxial In_xGa_1 − xN/GaN nanowires (NWs) on Si(111) substrates by using pulsed flow metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. The coaxial In_xGa_1 − xN/GaN NWs were grown by a two step process in which the core (GaN) structure was grown at a higher temperature followed by the shell (In_xGa_1 − xN) structure at a lower temperature. Dense and well-oriented coaxial In_xGa_1 − xN/GaN NWs were grown with an average diameter and length of about 300 ± 50 nm and 1.5-2.0 μm, respectively. The coaxial In_xGa_1 − xN/GaN NW was confirmed by cathodoluminescence mapping and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. It is proposed that the critical dissociation of precursors at an elevated growth temperature can lead to a clear formation of an outer-shell in coaxial In_xGa_1 − xN/GaN NWs.     

A 3.6-Gb/s point-to-point heterogeneous-voltage-capable DRAM interface for capacity-scalable memory subsystems

We describe a DRAM interface operating at 3.6 Gb/s/pin implemented in 130-nm CMOS logic and 110-nm DRAM process technologies. It utilizes simultaneous bidirectional (SBD) signaling in a daisy-chained (repeated), point-to-point configuration to enable high performance scalable memory subsystems; and also provides direct attach capability for DRAMs to memory controllers or other logic devices. Source-synchronous strobes are used for data capture, minimizing strobe-to-data jitter. A low-jitter differential clock retimes the data at each DRAM on a per DIMM basis preventing jitter from accumulating in repeated data. The phase of this clock is adjusted on each DRAM to minimize the latency of the repeaters. 80 mW of total power is dissipated per DRAM I/O at 3.6 Gb/s. We present results from a system using both memory controller and DRAM repeater test chips.     

Structural performance of composite sandwich bridge decks with hybrid GFRP–steel core

This paper presents the static and fatigue performance of composite sandwich bridge decks with hybrid GFRP–steel core. The composite sandwich bridge deck system is comprised of wrapped hybrid core of GFRP grid and multiple steel box cells with upper and lower GFRP facings. Its structural performance under static loading and fatigue loading with a nominal frequency of 5 Hz was evaluated. The responses from laboratory testing were compared with the ANSYS finite element predictions. The failure mode of the proposed composite sandwich bridge deck was more favourable because of the yielding of the steel tube when compared with that of all-GFRP decks. The ultimate failure of the composite sandwich deck panels occurs by shear of the bonded joints between GFRP facings and steel box cells. Results from fatigue load test indicated no loss in stiffness, no signs of de-bonding and no visible signs of deterioration up to 2 million load cycles. The thickness of the composite sandwich deck retaining the similar stiffness may be decreased to some extent when compared with the all-GFRP deck. This paper also presents design of a connection between composite sandwich deck and steel girder.     

The anti-photoaging and moisturizing effects of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bouea macrophylla</Emphasis> extract in UVB-irradiated hairless mice

Ultraviolet (UV) light, a main cause of photoaging, leads to collapse of skin structure, resulting in wrinkle formation and dehydration. The present study assessed the anti-photoaging and moisturizing effects of Bouea macrophylla extract (BRE). UVB-irradiated hairless mice were orally administered with BME (300 mg/kg/day) for 8 weeks. BME ameliorated wrinkle formation, skin thickening, and inelasticity. BME upregulated COL1A1, COL3A1, COL4A1, and COL7A1 mRNA levels through activation of the transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β)/Smad pathway, thereby recovering the content of collagen reduced by UVB. Further, BME suppressed UVB-induced matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 and MMP-13 expression and inhibited MMP-2 and MMP-9 activity by mediating the mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs)/activator protein-1 (AP-1). BME improved moisture content by stimulating the expression of cornified envelope proteins and filaggrin-processing enzymes. Overall, the results show that BME prevents photoaging and promotes moisturization in UVB-irradiated hairless mice, suggesting its potential as a nutraceutical candidate for anti-photoaging and moisturizing effects.     

Effects of Onion (Allium cepa L.) Extract Administration on Intestinal α-Glucosidases Activities and Spikes in Postprandial Blood Glucose Levels in SD Rats Model

Diets high in calories and sweetened foods with disaccharides frequently lead to exaggerated postprandial spikes in blood glucose. This state induces immediate oxidant stress and free radicals which trigger oxidative stress-linked diabetic complications. One of the therapeutic approaches for decreasing postprandial hyperglycemia is to retard absorption of glucose by the inhibition of carbohydrate hydrolyzing enzymes, α-amylase and α-glucosidases, in the digestive organs. Therefore, the inhibitory activity of Korean onion (Allium cepa L.) extract against rat intestinal α-glucosidases, such as sucrase, maltase, and porcine pancreatic α-amylase were investigated in vitro and in vivo. The content of quercetin in ethyl alcohol extract of onion skin (EOS) was 6.04 g/100 g dried weight of onion skin. The in vitro half-maximal inhibitory concentrations (IC(50)) of EOS and quercetin, a major phenolic in onion, on rat intestinal sucrase were 0.40 and 0.11 mg/mL, respectively. The postprandial blood glucose lowering effects of EOS and quercetin were compared to a known type 2 diabetes drug (Acarbose), a strong α-glucosidase inhibitor in the Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat model. In rats fed on sucrose, EOS significantly reduced the blood glucose spike after sucrose loading. The area under the blood glucose-time curve (AUC(last)) in EOS-treated SD rats (0.5 g-EOS/kg) was significantly lower than in untreated SD rats (259.6 ± 5.1 vs. 283.1 ± 19.2 h·mg/dL). The AUC(last) in quercetin-treated SD rats (0.5 g-quercetin/kg) was similar to in EOS-treated group (256.1 ± 3.2 vs. 259.6 ± 5.1 h·mg/dL). Results from this study indicates that although quercetin does have blood glucose lowering potential via α-glucosidase inhibition, there are other bioactive compounds present in onion skin. Furthermore, the effects of two weeks administration of EOS in a high carbohydrate-dietary mixture (Pico 5053) on sucrase and maltase activities in intestine were evaluated in SD rat model. Compared to the upper and middle parts of intestine, the activities of sucrase in the lower parts of intestine remained significantly higher after two weeks of EOS treatment. These results indicate that EOS may improve exaggerated postprandial spikes in blood glucose and glucose homeostasis since it inhibits intestinal sucrase and thus delays carbohydrate absorption, although clinical trials are needed.     

QTF: Quasi-triangulation file format

A quasi-triangulation is the dual structure of the Voronoi diagram of spherical balls and its properties and algorithms are well-studied in three-dimensional space. Quasi-triangulation has been used for efficiently solving various structure/shape related problems for biomolecules. The computation of the quasi-triangulation directly from an input file can take a significant amount of time. If the quasi-triangulation is computed a priori and stored in a file, an application software can directly load the file for solving application problems. In this paper, we propose a neutral file format, called the quasi-triangulation file format QTF, so that users can use the quasi-triangulation more effectively and efficiently by focusing more on his or her own application problems than the Voronoi diagram or the quasi-triangulation itself. The proposed QTF file format was thoroughly validated through an extensive experiment by computing the molecular volumes of one hundred molecular models in the Protein Data Bank. This approach has an important consequence: The QTF file format separates the computation of the Voronoi diagram from its applications.     

Anti-photoaging effects of 2-methoxy-5-(2-methyl propyl) pyrazine isolated from peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch)

In this study, antioxidant and anti-photoaging activities of 2-methoxy-5-(2-methyl propyl) pyrazine (MMPP) isolated from peach (Prunus persica (L.) Batsch) were investigated in terms of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-1 and type-1 procollagen expression in ultraviolet (UV)-irradiated human skin fibroblasts. MMPP was obtained from the butanol fraction of a 95% ethanol extract of peach. The antioxidant and anti-photoaging activity of MMPP were assessed by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazy (DPPH), Western blot, and reverse trans-cription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analyses. MMPP displayed radical scavenging activity, suppressed MMP-1 expression, and increased type-1 procollagen expression. These results support the use of MMPP from peach as an antiphotoaging compound.     

Bioavailability of xanthorrhizol following oral administration of a supercritical extract of Java turmeric

Food Science and Biotechnology - Although xanthorrhizol, a sesquiterpenoid oil obtained from the rhizome of Curcuma xanthorrhiza Roxb., known as Java turmeric, has many pharmacological effects, its...