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Solvolysis of benzyl phenyl ether (BPE), which is a model compound of lignin ether linkage, was studied in an aqueous ethanol solution, which can be obtained from bioethanol, under high-pressure...

Ring-hydrogenation of 4-propylphenol (4-PP) to 4-propylcyclohexanone, cis- and trans-4-propylcyclohexanols proceeded over graphite-supported palladium catalysts (Pd/G) in aqueous ethanol solution a...

The X-ray computed tomography system (XCT) as a coordinate measuring system has been increasingly introduced into the manufacturing industry because of its capability of measuring internal features. However, the metrological performance evaluation method for XCT has not yet been standardized. One of the biggest reasons of this is the difficulty in evaluating the material influence. The previous research by the authors revealed that the material influence significantly affects the form of the object to be measured. ISO/TC 213/WG 10, which covers the ISO standards of coordinate measuring machines, proposes the introduction of an additional object, called an “obstructive body,” by which the material influence is enhanced. This study presents the experimental results and a software simulation, in which the material influence is produced in a specific area and not on the entire surface of the test object. Additionally, requirements for the obstructive body in the industrial standardization of performance evaluation methods for XCT are proposed.

Simultaneous control of the magnetic and electric properties of materials is crucial for their application in next-generation memory and sensor devices. Herein, we report a single-crystal Co(II) co...

In this study, we investigated an Au–Pt/Al2O3 bimetallic catalyst prepared by a conventional deposition–precipitation method for the production of the high-value carboxylic acids glyceric acid and lactic acid from glycerol using liquid-phase flow reactor. Also, the distribution of the products was significantly different from the previously reported Au monometallic catalyst. A long-term (>1000 min) catalytic activity test at 358 K using a liquid-phase flow reactor, which is a common type of reactor used in large-scale commercial catalytic processes, revealed that the catalyst provided a glycerol conversion greater than 90 % and yields of lactic acid and glyceric acid of approximately 40 % and 20 %–25 %, respectively; however, an induction period was observed at the beginning of the test, and deactivation of the catalyst was observed at the end. Scanning transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy characterization of fresh catalyst revealed that nanosized Au and Pt species were highly dispersed on the Al2O3 support.

The OPERA experiment was designed to discover the vτ appearance in a vμ beam, due to neutrino oscillations. The detector, located in the underground Gran Sasso Laboratory, consisted of a nuclear photographic emulsion/lead target with a mass of about 1.25 kt, complemented by electronic detectors. It was exposed from 2008 to 2012 to the CNGS beam: an almost pure vμ beam with a baseline of 730 km, collecting a total of 1.8·1020 protons on target. The OPERA Collaboration eventually assessed the discovery of vμ→vτ oscillations with a statistical significance of 6.1 σ by observing ten vτ CC interaction candidates. These events have been published on the Open Data Portal at CERN. This paper provides a detailed description of the vτ data sample to make it usable by the whole community., Measurement(s)tau neutrinoTechnology Type(s)detectorSample Characteristic - Environmentneutrino beamSample Characteristic - LocationLaboratori Nazionali del Gran Sasso Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: 10.6084/m9.figshare.14979858

The crystallization of a complex having electron transfer properties in a polar space group can induce the polarization switching of a crystal in a specific direction, which is attractive for the development of sensors, memory devices, and capacitors. Unfortunately, the probability of crystallization in a polar space group is usually low. Noticing that enantiopure compounds crystallize in Sohncke space groups, this paper reports a strategy for the molecular design of non-ferroelectric polarization switching crystals based on the use of intramolecular electron transfer and chirality. In addition, this paper describes the synthesis of a mononuclear valence tautomeric (VT) cobalt complex bearing an enantiopure ligand. The introduction of enantiomer enables the crystallization of the complex in the polar space group (P2

Using light as a local heat source to induce a temporary pyroelectric current is widely recognized as an effective way to control the polarization of crystalline materials. In contrast, harnessing light directly to modulate the polarization of a crystal via excitation of the electronic bands remains less explored. In this study, we report an Fe

Magnetic bistable materials that feature magnetic hysteresis are comparable to elementary binary units and promising for application in switches and memory devices. In this work, we report a material that consists of parallel cyanide-bridged [Feii–Wv] coordination chains linked together through rigid bis(imidazolyl)–benzene ligands and displays multiple magnetic states. The paramagnetic high-spin and diamagnetic low-spin states of the spin-crossover Feii ions can be interconverted by reversible light-induced excited spin state trapping (LIESST) by alternating between light irradiation of 808 and 473 nm. At 1.8 K, under 808-nm-light irradiation, magnetic interactions between the photogenerated paramagnetic high-spin Feii centres and the Wv centres lead to long fragments that exhibit single-chain magnet behaviour, with a wide magnetic hysteresis and a large coercive field of 19 kOe; under a 473 nm light, isolated Feii–Wv fragments behave as single-molecule magnets instead. At 3.3 K, the high-spin form still displays magnetic hysteresis, albeit narrower, whereas the low-spin one does not. Photoinduced spin crossover offers a convenient handle on the spin states and magnetic interactions within a material, which is promising for the development of photoresponsive nanomagnets. Now, a Wv–CN–Feii-based coordination polymer has been prepared that behaves either as a single-chain magnet or as single-molecule magnets under different light irradiations. Its magnetic hysteresis can also be switched on and off.

In this article, we revealed the mechanism of weak anchoring properties of liquid crystals (LCs) on cross-linked films of bottlebrushes consisting of poly(hexyl methacrylate) (PHMA) and poly(ethyl ...

Valorization of lignocellulosic biomass is expected to contribute to the realization of a carbon–neutral, sustainable society. In our previous work, a charcoal-supported Pt catalyst was found to be more active than other charcoal-supported metal catalysts (Rh, Pd, and Ru) for the conversion of Japanese cedar to aromatic monomers in supercritical water (yield = 17.4%). Here, we examined the effects of different support materials (i.e., active carbon, alumina, zirconia, and titania) to improve the aromatic monomer yield obtained using Pt catalysts. All of the Pt-based catalysts promoted aromatic monomer production from lignocellulosic biomass. Among them, the titania-supported Pt catalyst (Pt/TiO2) was found to afford the greatest yield (36.2%). Reusability testing revealed that the aromatic monomer yield obtained with Pt/TiO2 was greater than 25% at the fourth recycle.

The ring hydrogenation of 4-propylphenol in aqueous ethanol solution was studied over graphite- and activated carbon-supported palladium catalysts (Pd/G and Pd/C) with 0.1–5 wt % of palladium loadi...

Alcoholysis of benzyl phenyl ether to various aromatic compounds was studied in high-temperature aqueous methanol solution under high-pressure carbon dioxide conditions. The products formed included benzyl methyl ether, benzyl alcohol, phenol and toluene. As high as 70.7 ± 0.2% yield of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbon with 16.1 ± 0.3% yield of benzyl methyl ether was obtained by treating benzyl phenyl ether with an aqueous solution with 0.2 molar fraction of methanol, under 17.7 MPa carbon dioxide for 1 h at 573 K.

Objective: We investigated the association between Controlling Nutritional Status (CONUT) scores and the outcomes of bypass surgery in patients with chronic limb-threatening ischemia (CLTI). Methods: We retrospectively calculated preoperative CONUT scores in 118 patients (127 limbs) with CLTI who underwent infrainguinal bypass surgery. Survival, graft patency, and limb salvage were compared between the high and low CONUT score groups based on the respective cutoff points. Results: The median and mean CONUT scores were 5 and 4.8, respectively. The postoperative survival rate was lower in the high CONUT score (3–12) group than in the low CONUT score (0–2) group (P=0.0043). The limb salvage rate after arterial reconstruction was also significantly lower in the high CONUT score (8–12) group than in the low CONUT score (0–7) group (P=0.0009). Conclusions: The CONUT score can predict infrainguinal bypass surgery outcomes in patients with CLTI. (This is a translation of J Jpn Coll Angiol 2020; 60: 35–41.)

Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate the outcome of a short interposition using a small-diameter prosthetic graft as a flow-limiting procedure to manage symptomatic high-flow arteriovenous fistula (AVF). Methods A retrospective review of medical records on a case series was conducted. From June 2004 to April 2017, there were 25 patients with clinical symptoms of high output cardiac failure and progressive dilation of aneurysmal fistula vein due to high-flow AVF (≥1.5 L/min) who underwent short interposition with a 5-mm prosthetic graft at Saitama Medical Center. The primary outcome was the relief of clinical symptoms; other outcome measures included technical success, surgical complications, patency of vascular access, and postoperative changes in local and systemic hemodynamics as assessed by Doppler ultrasound. Results Twenty-five patients underwent short interposition for cardiac indications (n = 16) and aneurysmal dilation (n = 9). The technical success rate was 100%. The clinical symptoms were relieved in 24 patients (96.0%). Mean reduction in access blood flow was 52.4%. Cumulative primary unassisted patency rates (± standard error) at 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years were 76.2% ± 9.3%, 70.4% ± 10.3%, and 58.1% ± 11.6%, respectively. Secondary patency rates (± standard error) at 1 year, 2 years, and 3 years were 81.8% ± 8.2%, 71.5% ± 9.9%, and 71.5% ± 9.9%, respectively. Complications included access occlusion due to late thrombosis (n = 5 [21.7%]) and graft infection (n = 1 [4.3%]) in the median follow-up period of 3.9 years. Conclusions Short interposition with a prosthetic graft is a simple, effective, and durable treatment option for end-stage renal disease patients with cardiac symptoms and progressive dilation of the fistula vein due to high-flow AVF, offering clinical symptom resolution while preserving the autologous behavior of the initial access.

Myosin II is the motor protein that enables muscle cells to contract and nonmuscle cells to move and change shape1. The molecule has two identical heads attached to an elongated tail, and can exist in two conformations: 10S and 6S, named for their sedimentation coefficients2,3. The 6S conformation has an extended tail and assembles into polymeric filaments, which pull on actin filaments to generate force and motion. In 10S myosin, the tail is folded into three segments and the heads bend back and interact with each other and the tail3–7, creating a compact conformation in which ATPase activity, actin activation and filament assembly are all highly inhibited7,8. This switched-off structure appears to function as a key energy-conserving storage molecule in muscle and nonmuscle cells9–12, which can be activated to form functional filaments as needed13—but the mechanism of its inhibition is not understood. Here we have solved the structure of smooth muscle 10S myosin by cryo-electron microscopy with sufficient resolution to enable improved understanding of the function of the head and tail regions of the molecule and of the key intramolecular contacts that cause inhibition. Our results suggest an atomic model for the off state of myosin II, for its activation and unfolding by phosphorylation, and for understanding the clustering of disease-causing mutations near sites of intramolecular interaction. High-resolution cryo-electron microscopy structure of smooth muscle myosin II in the inhibited state enables increased understanding of the functions of the head and tail regions in regulation of myosin activity and the pathological mechanisms of disease mutations.

This research aims to clarify the differences in development processes, new product outlines, and post-launch results between two cases of design-driven innovation (DDI), one starting from industrial designers and the other starting from engineers.SignificanceThe importance of design for gaining a competitive advantage is well documented in many countries with a strong tradition of industrial design, such as Italy, Sweden, and Japan. The DDI concept proposed by Roberto Verganti has been developed based on the analysis of more than 50 case studies, mainly from the manufacturing industry. However, while several studies have been published on the practical process of DDI, there are still few empirical studies that focus on the differences in the processes and outcomes of DDI when starting from in-house industrial designers and when starting from R&D engineers.MethodologyThis study adopted a qualitative approach using Yin's methodology and selected two cases related to high-end model electric fans launched by two Japanese electronics companies in the electric fan market, which is a mature market.In both cases, information on the development process was collected mainly through the use of authenticated secondary sources, augmented in part by direct interviews. On the other hand, the overviews of the new products were based on the product catalogs, and the post-launch results were analyzed based on POS data.Findings/Discussion of resultsNew product development related to the DDI process includes the following stages: design research, idea generation, concept design, product planning, legal protection (patents, etc.), detail design, prototype manufacturing, testing, and production.In the two cases, the in-house designers play a strategic role in the product planning stage, but the main role of idea generation is different. In the case where idea generation was led by the in-house designers, the appearance of the conventional electric fan was retained, but incremental innovation through modularization was achieved. On the other hand, in the case where the ideas were generated by engineers in the R&D department, a different technology was adopted for the air blowing mechanism, resulting in newness in terms of appearance and product concept.Both models won the Good Design Award and succeeded in establishing a new domain of high-end electric fans in a mature market. The products originating from in-house industrial designers could only increase the number of fan blades in order to compete with other companies' products in subsequent product development. In contrast, the design by R&D engineers achieved less-than-satisfactory results in terms of sales due to the newness of its design, but it had a positive impact on the company's subsequent product development and business expansion by applying the adopted technology to products other than electric fans. As a result of this study's considerations, it was found that differences occur in the development processes, new product outlines, and post-launch results when the originators are in-house industrial designers and when they are engineers.Originality/valueThis novel qualitative study will advance the accumulation of DDI process research related to new product development and provide suggestions on how to effectively manage and utilize in-house industrial designers and engineers to ensure successful DDI and its outcomes.

A proton-electron coupling system, exhibiting unique bistability or multistability of the protonated state, is an attractive target for developing new switchable materials based on proton dynamics. Herein, we present an iron(II) hydrazone crystalline compound, which displays the stepwise transition and bistability of proton transfer at the crystal level. These phenomena are realized through the coupling with spin transition. Although the multi-step transition with hysteresis has been observed in various systems, the corresponding behavior of proton transfer has not been reported in crystalline systems; thus, the described iron(II) complex is the first example. Furthermore, because proton transfer occurs only in one of the two ligands and π electrons redistribute in it, the dipole moment of the iron(II) complexes changes with the proton transfer, wherein the total dipole moment in the crystal was canceled out owing to the antiferroelectric-like arrangement.

Capability to control macroscopic molecular properties with external stimuli offers the possibility to exploit molecules as switching devices of various types. However, application of such molecular-level switching has often been limited by its speed and thus efficiency. Herein, we demonstrate ultrafast, photoinduced polarization switching in the crystal of a [CrCo] dinuclear complex by ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy in the visible and mid-infrared regions. The photoinduced polarization switching was found to have a time constant of 280 fs, which makes the [CrCo] complex crystal the fastest polarization-switching material realized using the metastable state. Moreover, the pump-probe data in the visible region reveal the pronounced appearance of coherent nuclear wavepacket motion with a frequency as low as 22 cm-1 , which we attribute to a lattice vibrational mode. The pronounced non-Condon effect for its resonance Raman enhancement implies that this mode couples the relevant electronic states, thereby facilitating the ultrafast polarization switching.

A rational approach to modulating easy-axis magnetic anisotropy by varying the axial donor ligand in heptacoordinated FeII complexes has been explored. In this series of complexes with formulae of [Fe(H4 L)(NCS)2 ]⋅3 DMF⋅0.5 H2 O (1), [Fe(H4 L)(NCSe)2 ]⋅3 DMF⋅0.5 H2 O (2), and [Fe(H4 L)(NCNCN)2 ]⋅DMF⋅H2 O (3) [H4 L=2,2'-{pyridine-2,6-diylbis(ethan-1-yl-1-ylidene)}bis(N-phenylhydrazinecarboxamide)], the axial positions are successively occupied by different nitrogen-based π-donor ligands. Detailed dc and ac magnetic susceptibility measurements reveal the existence of easy-axis magnetic anisotropy for all of the complexes, with 1 [Ueff =21 K, τ0 =1.72×10-6 s] and 2 [Ueff =25 K, τ0 =2.25×10-6 s] showing field-induced slow magnetic relaxation behavior. However, both experimental studies and theoretical calculations indicate the magnitude of the D value of complex 3 to be larger than those of complexes 1 and 2 due to the axial bond angle being smaller than that for an ideal geometry. Detailed analysis of the field and temperature dependences of relaxation time for 1 and 2 has revealed that multiple relaxation processes (quantum tunneling of magnetization, direct, and Raman) are involved in slow magnetic relaxation for both of these complexes. Magnetic dilution experiments support the role of intermolecular short contacts.

Polarization change induced by directional electron transfer attracts considerable attention owing to its fast switching rate and potential light control. Here, we investigate electronic pyroelectricity in the crystal of a mononuclear complex, [Co(phendiox)(rac-cth)](ClO4)·0.5EtOH (1·0.5EtOH, H2phendiox = 9, 10-dihydroxyphenanthrene, rac-cth = racemic 5, 5, 7, 12, 12, 14-hexamethyl-1, 4, 8, 11-tetraazacyclotetradecane), which undergoes a two-step valence tautomerism (VT). Correspondingly, pyroelectric current exhibits double peaks in the same temperature domain with the polarization change consistent with the change in dipole moments during the VT process. Time-resolved Infrared (IR) spectroscopy shows that the photo-induced metastable state can be generated within 150 ps at 190 K. Such state can be trapped for tens of minutes at 7 K, showing that photo-induced polarization change can be realized in this system. These results directly demonstrate that a change in the molecular dipole moments induced by intramolecular electron transfer can introduce a macroscopic polarization change in VT compounds., Polarization change from directional electron transfer attracts considerable attention owing to its fast switching rate and potential light control. Here, the authors provide a proof-of-concept of electronic pyroelectricity induced by intramolecular electron transfer in the single crystal of a valence tautomeric compound.

Some cyanide-bridged complexes are known for exhibiting slow magnetic relaxation behavior in a light-induced metastable state. Herein, an unexpected reverse effect is observed for the first time in the S= 1 / 2 {FeII LS -CoIII LS -FeIII LS } (HS=high spin, LS=low spin) ground state of a novel V-shaped trinuclear cyanide-bridged {Fe2 Co} complex. In this complex, light-switchable iron-cobalt charge transfer with repeatable off/on switching of slow magnetic relaxation is discovered upon alternating laser irradiation at 785 and 560 nm. An important characteristic of the present compound is that the S= 1 / 2 ground state exhibits slow magnetic relaxation before irradiation, whereas this is accelerated after irradiation. This is different from the typical behavior, where the light-induced metastable state exhibits slow magnetic relaxation.