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Highlights • Performance improvement of secondary electron direct energy converter was studied. • Additional electron collectors succeeded in enhancing secondary electron emission. • Blocking plates succeeded in suppressing scattered protons. • Recovered power increased by 75% compared with the conventional structure. Abstract The structure of secondary electron (SE) direct energy converter (SEDEC), which was proposed as an additional energy recovery device settled in the downstream of traveling wave direct energy converter for D-3He fusion, was investigated to improve its performance. Additional electron collectors (A-ECs) were settled near foil electrodes for quick collection of SEs. As the location of the A-ECs was close to the proton beam, scattered protons were incident on the A-ECs, leading to a decrease in the net electron current. Blocking plates were used to suppress incident of protons. The net electron current recovered and overcame the level measured in the conventional structure. The recovered power increased by 75%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a frontier topic of soft condensed matter physics, irreversible aggregation has drawn attention for a better understanding of the complex behavior of biomaterials. In this study, we have described the synthesis of an artificial amphiphilic molecule, an alternating tetra-block-like amphiphile, which was able to diversify its aggregate structure in water. The aggregated state of its aqueous dispersion was obtained by slow evaporation of the organic solvent at room temperature, and it collapsed irreversibly at ~ 50°C. By using a cryo-transmission electron microscope and a differential scanning calorimeter, it was revealed that two types of molecular nanostructures were formed and developed into submicro- and micrometer-sized fibrils in the aggregated material. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Designing non-natural antibody formats is a practical method for developing highly functional next-generation antibody drugs, particularly for improving the therapeutic efficacy of cancer treatments. One approach is constructing bispecific antibodies (bsAbs). We previously reported a functional humanized bispecific diabody (bsDb) that targeted epidermal growth factor receptor and CD3 (hEx3-Db). We enhanced its cytotoxicity by constructing an Fc fusion protein and rearranging order of the V domain. In this study, we created an additional functional bsAb, by integrating the molecular formats of bsAb and high-affinity mutants previously isolated by phage display in the form of Fv. Introducing the high-affinity mutations into bsDbs successfully increased their affinities and enhanced their cytotoxicity in vitro and in vivo. However, there were some limitations to affinity maturation of bsDb by integrating high-affinity Fv mutants, particularly in Fc-fused bsDb with intrinsic high affinity, because of their bivalency. The tetramers fractionated from the bsDb mutant exhibited the highest in vitro growth inhibition among the small bsAbs and was comparable to the in vivo anti-tumor effects of Fc-fused bsDbs. This molecule shows cost-efficient bacterial production and high therapeutic potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]