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This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics of young patients with Brugada syndrome (BrS) with ventricular septal defect (VSD) and explore their genetic backgrounds.VSD is the most frequently occurring congenital heart disease among children. In contrast, BrS is a rare hereditary disease that is responsible for ventricular fibrillation and sudden cardiac death. Owing to their low incidence, the genetic background and clinical characteristics of patients with BrS with VSD have not been elucidated yet.This study enrolled 36 individuals who were diagnosed with BrS when they were 20 years of age and performed genetic screening for SCN5A. The functional alteration in mutant NaAmong the 36 patients with BrS, 5 had been diagnosed with VSD. This study found 14 heterozygous SCN5A variants in 15 unrelated patients. The 5 patients with VSD carried SCN5A variants, including R367S, R535∗, R893C, W1345C, and G1743R. The 3 missense variants (R893C, W1345C, and G1743R) have been proved to reduce peak NaThis study identified 5 loss-of-function SCN5A variants in 5 young patients with BrS with VSD. The study hypothesizes that altered blood flow in the right ventricular outflow tract leads to fibrosis and electrophysiological changes, predisposing the patients to earlier clinical presentation of BrS. In patients with VSD and ST-segment elevation in the right precordial leads, BrS should be considered and appropriate screening should be pursued accordingly.

Black TiO2 nanoparticles (b-TiO2) with superior solar–thermal water evaporation performance are prepared using a one-step solution plasma process (SPP) in ambient conditions. It is found that radic...

A facile surface patterning method using low temperature and atmospheric pressure is desirable for optoelectronic device fabrication. In this work, we demonstrate a fascinating dynamic fabrication ...

Recently, metal oxide nanocrystallites have been synthesized through a new pathway, i.e., the submerged photosynthesis of crystallites (SPSC), and flower-like ZnO and CuO nanostructures have been successfully fabricated via this method. In this work, the SPSC process was applied for the fabrication of iron oxide and hydroxide nanoparticles. The experiments were conducted under visible light, ultraviolet light, and gamma-ray irradiation conditions and the morphologies of the obtained nanoparticles were observed and compared with that obtained without illumination. Then, the mechanism of the SPSC process for the fabrication of iron oxide nanoparticles was discussed. The results show that various kinds of morphologies of nanocrystallites were obtained on the Fe plate surface and the main morphologies are different under different conditions. For example, most FeOOH with the morphologies of nanorod and nanofiber exist by visible light irradiation; most faceted crystals of FeOOH and Fe2O3 with the morphologies of nanograular and nanorod exist by ultraviolet irradiation. In the SPSC process, light irradiation generates center dot OH at the crystal tips and promote the crystallization in apical growth of FeOOH.

By adapting hetero-nanostructures in optoelectronic device, a prominent luminescence characteristic can be obtained. The challenge is to engineer the band bending if a semiconducting surface gets contact with a metal. A galvanic replacement method is versatile for bimetallic hetero-nanostructures synthesis. However, the nanostructures morphologies can be varied depending on the metals pair or their supporting template. In this study, we demonstrate a facile 1-D ZnO nanorods (NRs) growth fabricated by galvanic replacement reactions. Without using bimetallic solution, the galvanic replacement reaction was implemented by joining Zn metal to Au, Pt, Ag, Cu, W, and Ni metals substrate. The luminescence properties of ZnO NRs were characterized by photoluminescence (PL) and cathodoluminescence in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM-CL). Based on PL analysis result, oxygen vacancy (VO) was responsible for the visible light region emission in all ZnO-M samples. Then, STEM-CL analysis highlighted the presence of zinc interstitial (Zni) at the interface of ZnO-M. Due to band bending, interaction between VO and Zni resulted the formation of zinc antisite (ZnO) at the interface. There was no shift in visible light emission of the NRs due to Fermi-level pinning. The findings will be useful for future large-scale synthesis and engineering of hetero-nanostructures luminescent devices.

In this study, we report a facile fabrication method of 1-D ZnO nanorods (NRs) on a copper substrate surface by means of galvanic contact reactions. Instead of using bimetallic aqueous solution for the galvanic reactions, UV illumination on the Zn contacted with Cu surface in pure water environment was implemented, leading to galvanic combined submerged photo-synthesis of crystallites (G-SPSC) process. A pencil-like and flat-tip shape of NRs growth can be controlled as a function of UV irradiation time. In order to grow fine NRs, the galvanic process was essential for Zn2+ and OH− ions production. In particular, OH− accumulated at the vicinity surface of Cu to achieve a locally alkaline environment. Then, UV irradiation assisted the ZnO NRs initiated by water splitting process. Oxygen vacancy (VO) was responsible for the growth of pencil-like shape NRs. A blue shift in visible light region of photoluminescence (PL) spectra was observed when the pencil-like NRs transformed into flat-tip shape. The successful heterojunction of ZnO-Cu also was observed in their PL spectra, which dictated by the formation of zinc antisite (ZnO). The G-SPSC method approach is versatile for other bimetallic system adaptation and is promising for large-scale environmentally friendly synthesis of optoelectronic devices.

A well-designed experimental method has been presented to in-situ visualize the amorphous-to-crystalline phase transformation of two glass formers at the atomic-length scale in the supercooled liquid region using a high voltage electron microscopy (HVEM). Analysis of the HVEM high-resolution images, supported by the in-situ synchrotron diffraction, further confirms previous observations of distinctively different crystallization pathways in the two Zr Cu Al alloys. Moreover, the HVEM results illustrate that isolated distributed nanocrystals with mutual orientation easily grew up from the Zr56Cu36Al8, an average glass former, which follows a classical crystallization pathway; while density population poorly ordered atomic clusters with large misorientation suspended the growth in the Zr46Cu46Al8, a good glass former, which might follow an unusual crystallization pathway. In addition, in-situ synchrotron diffraction measurements confirm that the Zr56Cu36Al8 alloy finally crystallized into an extended structure, in contrast, the final crystalline product of Zr46Cu46Al8 alloy possesses a damped structure. Our study provides a detailed microscopic understanding of the crystallization behaviors in the supercooled liquids, showing that the density population nucleation site with large misorientation and the confined final crystalline structure contribute to the stability of Zr Cu Al supercooled liquids.

The effectiveness of applying selective laser melting (SLM) to a CoCrFeNiTi-based high-entropy alloy was compared with that of using electron beam melting (EBM). The higher solidification rate during SLM promoted a fine uniform microstructure with no visible segregation, which led to superior tensile properties (yield strength: 773.0 ± 4.2 MPa, ultimate tensile strength: 1178.0 MPa, elongation: 25.8 ± 0.6%) and a higher pitting potential (0.88 ± 0.03 V versus Ag/AgCl in a 3.5% NaCl solution at 353 K) in comparison to the EBM specimens (743.4 ± 11.6, 932.2 ± 4.8 MPa, 4.0 ± 0.2%, and 0.50 ± 0.04 V versus Ag/AgCl, respectively). The effect of a solution treatment on the tensile properties and pitting-corrosion resistance of the SLM specimens was then examined. The effect of the solution treatment on these properties depended on the cooling method used during the treatment. In particular, the tensile properties and pitting-corrosion resistance improved as a result of water quenching. On the other hand, the properties of the solution-treated specimens depended on the size and volume fraction of very fine-ordered particles, with diameters of tens of nanometers that contained Ni and Ti. The as-built and solution-treated SLM specimens exhibited excellent tensile strength and exceptional pitting-corrosion resistance; they had higher tensile strength and pitting-corrosion resistance than the conventional high-corrosion-resistant alloys.

We report a water decomposition mode called ‘Aquaionic Splitting (AiS)’ by means of iron corrosion in aqueous solution. In this paper, we investigated the phenomenon by controlling the reaction between iron and water. A pseudo-sacrificial protection method with oil paint was employed to select the anode and cathode formation locations that govern iron corrosion. Then, the AiS reaction was visualized by using BTB solution, whose colour corresponds to pH, to produce colour patterning that corresponds to the aquaion distribution. It has become clear that water can be selectively separated into protons and hydroxide ions by corrosion control treatment. In this vein, the diffusion coefficient of protons was estimated by using the colour patterning of BTB solution that accompanies iron corrosion, and aquaion distribution was then computer simulated by solving the diffusion equation.

Semiconductor hetero-nanostructures are of great interest for practical industry use. In this report, we demonstrated ZnO/CuO nanoforest (NFRs) fabricated by galvanic submerged photo-synthesis (G-SPSC) method, which utilizes light illumination in pure water without additives. For the first time, we elucidated the origin of its enhanced opto-functional properties. At the hetero-epitaxial interface, ZnO(001)/CuO(001) planes linkage were established, even though with 13.62 - 28.15% local lattice discrepancies along the c axis. Formed under Zn rich condition and photo-induced {110} ZnO surface, the NFRs exhibited photoluminescence emissions at 450 nm and 650 nm, due to zinc interstitial (I-Zn) and oxygen vacancies (V-O). Ternary oxide of ZnCuO2 was discovered. The interface exhibited significant emission at 650 - 700 nm and absorbance at 450 - 500 nm. On the basis of STEM-VEELS spectra and ab initio calculations, electrons occupancy at Cu 3p was responsible for 2.0 eV peak of the interface absorption coefficient. In particular, an interface dipole under interface-induced gap states (IFIGS) was clarified, caused by quasi defects zinc antisite (Zn-O). This led to an incommensurate charge density (ICCD) for a coherent ZnO(001)/CuO(001) interface. This is the origin for the opto-functional enhancement of the ZnO/CuO NFRs, where a maximum 12% IPCE at 550 nm, a 20% increase from similar NFRs morphology was demonstrated. Our results indicated a promising method and strategy for novel hetero-epitaxial nanostructures fabrication in the field of optoelectrical devices. (C) 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.

In this paper, we show the first production of Cu-based electrode materials including self-assembled barrier layers which can prevent Cu-Si inter-diffusion during sintering and are expected to be applicable to crystalline Si photovoltaics. The characteristics of electrodes produced by mixed Cu-P/Sn pastes at various compositions were evaluated. Electrodes sintered in an atmospheric environment showed electrical resistivity of below 1 × 10−4 Ω・cm. In addition, the formation of compounds such as Cu3Si at the Si surface was prevented with a Sn particle ratio ranging between 20 and 60 wt%. The structural analysis revealed that the electrode included not only a Cu-Sn IMCs network but also a self-assembled Sn-P-O glass phase between the Cu-Sn IMCs network and the Si substrate, capable of forming a barrier layer to prevent Cu-Si inter-diffusion. These results may enable the widespread use of atmospherically sintered Cu-based electrode for the mass production of next-generation crystalline Si solar cells. Subsequently, the manner in which the Sn-P-O glasses were formed was discussed using a thermos-dynamical approach.

Background Loss-of-function mutations in SCN5A are associated in ∼20% of Brugada syndrome (BrS) patients. Copy number variations (CNVs) have been shown to be associated with several inherited arrhythmia syndromes. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate SCN5A CNVs among BrS probands. Methods The study cohort consisted of 151 BrS probands who were symptomatic or had a family history of BrS, sudden death, syncope, or arrhythmic diseases. We performed sequence analysis of SCN5A by the Sanger method. For detecting CNVs in SCN5A, we performed multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification analysis of the 151 BrS probands. Results We identified pathogenic SCN5A mutations in 20 probands by the Sanger method. In 140 probands in whom multiplex ligation-dependent probe amplification was successfully performed, 4 probands were found to present different CNVs (deletion in 3 and duplication in 1). Three of them had fatal arrhythmia events; the remaining 1 was asymptomatic but had a family history. Mean age at diagnosis was 23 ± 14 years. All of the baseline 12-lead electrocardiograms showed PQ-interval prolongation. The characteristics of these 4 probands with CNVs were similar to those of the probands with mutations leading to premature truncation of the protein or missense mutations causing peak INa reduction >90%. Conclusion We identified SCN5A CNVs in 2.9% of BrS probands who were symptomatic or had a family history.

Stainless steel has shown potential as a catalytic material in bulk form. However, it only becomes active in an aqueous acidic environment and elevated temperatures. This study aims to produce stainless steel nanoparticles that have high photocatalytic activity in a neutral medium and at room temperature and to elucidate the photocatalytic activity mechanism of the nanoparticles. Spherical, photocatalytic nanoparticles called “nanoballs” were synthesized by the submerged glow-discharge method. Stainless steel SUS316L grade wire was used as the cathode, platinum mesh was used as the anode while the electrolyte was potassium carbonate. The nanoballs were obtained after centrifuging and washing with water. The physical characteristics of the photocatalytic nanoballs were analysed by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and X-ray diffraction. The nanoballs were mixed with methylene blue and irradiated with ultraviolet light for the evaluation of photocatalytic reaction. The photodecomposition samples were determined using UV-vis spectrometry. The by-products of the photodecomposition were evaluated using mass spectrometry. The results show that stainless steel nanoballs have photocatalytic activity when irridiated with ultraviolet light at room temperature. Submerged glow-discharge plasma method can synthesize nanoparticles rapidly using only metal wires as the electrode.

Current fabrication methods of nanoporous gold (NPG) mainly rely on dealloying Ag–Au binary crystalline precursors, typically Ag65Au35, with the “dealloying threshold” or “parting limit” above 55 at%. Here we report a simple chemical dealloying process, through selective dissolution of one element from a Au55Cu25Si20 metallic glass ribbon with low ‘parting limit’, and a novel peculiar three-dimensional ‘cone shaped protrusion’ nanoporous structure which has never been reported before. In this structure, a metastable gold silicide formed in the initial dealloying stage was decomposed into gold nanoparticles and amorphous SiOx in the later coarsening stage. Our finding provides insights into the underlying relationship between ‘parting limit’ and atomic level structure of metallic glass. Comprehensive discussions on the porosity evolution stages as well as the correlation between the porous ‘cone shaped protrusion’ development and potential energy landscape are made in this report. The fabricated 3D NPG also exhibited excellent electro-oxidation catalytic ability attributed to the high density of low-coordinated atomic sites provided by the gold particle inside of ‘cone shaped protrusion’.

CaFe2O4 nanorods (CFO NRs) and aggregated particles (CFO APs) were fabricated with and without the help of molten salt-assisted shape modification, respectively. CFO APs present inferior photocatalytic performance due to the plenty of grain boundaries which hinder photogenerated charges transfer and act as charge recombination sites. Molten salt-assisted modification can easily changes the shape of CFO NRs and significantly suppresses the formation of grain boundaries, facilitating photogenerated charges separation and transfer for highly efficient photocatalytic degradation of methylene blue (MB). Surface state investigation indicates a decreased amount of unsuitable oxygen vacancies and defects in CFO NRs, which is beneficial in alleviating the recombination of photogenerated charges in CFO NRs. The CFO NRs show a ten-time increased kinetic constant of MB degradation from 0.0013 to 0.013 min−1 by virtue of the alleviative charge recombination.

The composite consists of disordered and ordered iron–platinum (FePt) alloys was induced by nanosecond pulsed laser (NPL) irradiation. The process was investigated by laser high-voltage electron microscopy (laser-HVEM), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analyses. The structural transformation upon NPL irradiation was monitored by laser-HVEM imaging, with the structure being modified in a short second after the one pulse. XRD analyses revealed expanded and contracted lattice distances before and after NPL irradiation, respectively. According to the XRD and TEM results, the surface of FePt alloys was transformed from fct to fcc structure with structural strain by NPL irradiation.

Nanoporous gold (NPG) with bi-continuous ligaments and pores structure has promising potential in functional applications, among which one prominent example is fuel cell electrocatalysts. However, current application of NPG is mostly limited to methanol electro-oxidation (MOR) due to its weak catalytic performance. Here we report a simple chemical dealloying process for generating peculiar three-dimensional (3D) free-standing NPG with ‘parting limit’ as low as 25 % (lower than theoretical ‘paring limit’ 55 %) and high specific surface area (maximum ≈31 m2 g−1) associated with a novel porous ‘cone shaped protrusion’ morphology. This NPG structure possesses the highest specific activity of MOR catalytic performance reported NPG catalysts so far. In addition, taking advantage of this excellent structural feature of the NPG, a nanoporous Pd catalyst (NPG@Pd) thin film was fabricated on the NPG substrate. The NPG@Pd catalyst exhibited greatly enhanced MOR performance (maximum MOR specific activity 2.14 mA cm−2). We attribute the enhancement of MOR activity to the increase of active sites as well as the modification of surface composition and electronic structure due to migration of Au to the Pd thin film layer.

Noble metal nanoparticles strongly adhered to dielectric matrices have been extensively studied because of their potential applications in plasmonic devices based on tunable localized surface plasmon (LSP) excitation. Compared with conventional synthesis methods, the noble metal nanoparticles formed by ion-beam irradiation draw significant interest in recent years because a single layer dispersion of nanoparticles strongly bonded on the dielectric substrate can be obtained. In this paper, important phenomena related to ion-beam surface nanostructuring including ion-induced reshaping of metal nanoparticles, ion-induced core-satellite structure formation, and ion-induced burrowing of these nanoparticles are discussed, with their individual effects on LSP excitation. Consequently, ion-induced surface nanostructuring of Ag-Au bimetallic films on amorphous silica glass and sapphire with tunable LSP excitation are presented. In addition, theoretical studies of far-field and near-field optical properties of these nanoparticles under ion irradiation are introduced, and the enhanced localized electric field (hot spot) is interpreted. Finally, the futures and challenges of the emerging plasmonic applications based on tunable LSP excitations in bio-sensing and surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) are presented.

We succeeded in fabricating a Co 1.5 CrFeNi 1.5 Ti 0.5 Mo 0.1 high entropy alloy with superior tensile strength and corrosion resistance by a combination of additive manufacturing using selective electron beam melting (SEBM) and solution treatment (ST). The SEBM specimens exhibited superior tensile properties to those of the corresponding casting specimen. Furthermore, the tensile properties and corrosion properties of the SEBM specimens markedly improved by ST. These notable improvements are ascribed to homogeneous precipitation of very fine particulate ordering-phase particles whose diameters are several tens of nanometers with Ni and Ti concentrations. The solution-treated SEBM specimens also exhibited both high strength and high pitting potential, which in combination are superior to the conventional alloys used in severe corrosion environments.

Distributed healthcare and medicine has been studied to aim for preventive healthcare and early disease discovery, rather than the current system of medical treatment after serious symptoms: Small scale and flexible distributed systems with minimal investment, rather than the current large and rigid centralized structure. This is described as "the redirection". The study has expanded the scope of our paper at PICMET 2016 on active health improvement through sensor networks to the medical field. It has been demonstrated that this redirection can be realized by flexible distributed systems on Internet of Things (IoT) sensor networks. In this paper, as the first step, the vision for such systems has been clarified and the technological feasibility has been assessed. The conceptual system has been designed by integrating currently available technologies under the principle of self-responsibility, which allows system construction with minimal investment and low-cost management. The IoT sensor networks allow for response at the stage of pre-symptoms or developed symptoms and lead to an effective response with much lower cost, compared with traditional central hospital based rigid systems. The distributed system would greatly benefit remote areas of advanced countries as well as developmental countries. The unique point of the study is new business creation by activated residents; to enhance positive economic cycles in addition to reducing healthcare and medical cost. A social experiment has been planned for a remote village in the west of Tokyo prefecture to be proposed to the local government and residents. The experiment would offer evidence of the advantages of distributed systems under the principle of self-responsibility. The next step is to implement the system in the region and accumulate knowledge to deploy the system to wider areas.

ZnFe2O4/SnO2 (ZFO/SnO2) composites were fabricated via a facile solution combustion synthesis (SCS) method for methylene blue (MB) degradation. The crystallite and morphology characterizations revealed that ZFO/SnO2 composites have relatively small crystallite and particle size compared to pure ZFO. The introduction of SnO2 remarkably improved the photocatalytic performance of pure ZFO catalyst. Specifically, ZFO-SnO2 (10%) exhibited the highest photocatalytic degradation rate constant of 0.01970 min−1 in the composites, approximately 3.08 and 2.64 times higher than that of single ZFO (0.00640 min−1) and SnO2 (0.00747 min−1), respectively. The band alignment analysis showed that the improvement of photocatalytic activity was due to the improved charges separation efficiency in the ZFO/SnO2 composite. ZFO-SnO2 (10%) with H2O2 showed the highest photo-Fenton degradation rate constant of 0.05301 min−1 and could remove 95.2% of MB within 60 min under irradiation.