The recent advances in wireless communication technologies allow mobile users to access various data services anytime and anywhere on land, while it is one of challenging issues to provide reliable ...data communications for maritime users due to the geographic features on the sea. Considering the increasing demands of maritime digital data services, we need to develop maritime communications supporting high-speed data rates and extended communication coverage. In this paper, we present the state-of-the-art works related to the data requirements of maritime services and the technical characteristics of existing maritime networks. Then, we introduce a long-term evolution for maritime (LTE-Maritime) that is an ongoing research project in South Korea. The objective of LTE-Maritime is to develop a maritime communication infrastructure supporting the data rates in the order of megabits per second within the communication coverage of 100 km. In order to confirm the feasibility of LTE-Maritime, we implemented a testbed for the LTE-Maritime which consisted of ships equipped with LTE-Maritime routers, base stations (BSs) along the coast, and an operation center. The experimental results show that the LTE-Maritime could be a practical solution for ship-to-shore data communication. Furthermore, we discuss a set of open issues related to the development of LTE-Maritime network.
In the present study, carbon nanofibers containing multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were fabricated and employed as electrodes for structural supercapacitors. Carbon nanofibers were utilized as ...the electrode material in structural supercapacitors to increase the specific surface area. Electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) nanofibers underwent conversion to carbon nanofibers through stabilization and carbonization processes aided by thermal treatment. The specific surface area of the electrospun carbon nanofiber electrodes was further increased approximately 118 times (1946.9 m2/g) using an activation process in comparison with that of non‐activated carbon nanofibers (16.43 m2/g). Multifunctional supercapacitors were fabricated by employing electrospun carbon nanofibers and a vacuum resin infusion technique. The specific capacitance of activated carbon nanofibers (ACNF) and ACNF‐MWCNT exhibited significant improvement (14.87 and 48.25 mF/cm2, respectively) compared to non‐activated carbon nanofibers (CNF‐MWCNT: 1.71 mF/cm2). This improvement was attributed to the reduction in equivalent series resistance and the increase of the surface area of the nanofiber electrodes. Additionally, the carbon nanofiber electrodes contributed to an increased interlaminar fracture toughness of structural supercapacitors, acting akin to “Velcro” between fabric interfaces. This work serves as a “proof of concept” for a straightforward and efficient method to manufacture electrodes for structural supercapacitors based on the electrospinning technique.
Highlights
Fabrication of carbon nanofibers containing MWCNTs using electrospinning.
The carbon nanofiber as an electrode for structural supercapacitors.
Simple and effective method.
Dramatically improving specific capacitance of the supercapacitors.
Carbon nanofibers containing multi‐walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) were fabricated using electrospinning and used as an electrode for structural supercapacitors.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Mouse anterior-posterior axis polarization is preceded by formation of the distal visceral endoderm (DVE) by unknown mechanisms. Here, we show by in vitro culturing of embryos immediately after ...implantation in microfabricated cavities that the external mechanical cues exerted on the embryo are crucial for DVE formation, as well as the elongated egg cylinder shape, without affecting embryo-intrinsic transcriptional programs except those involving DVE-specific genes. This implies that these developmental events immediately after implantation are not simply embryo-autonomous processes but require extrinsic factors from maternal tissues. Moreover, the mechanical forces induce a breach of the basement membrane barrier at the distal portion locally, and thereby the transmigrated epiblast cells emerge as the DVE cells. Thus, we propose that external mechanical forces exerted by the interaction between embryo and maternal uterine tissues directly control the location of DVE formation at the distal tip and consequently establish the mammalian primary body axis.
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•Mechanical cues exerted on the mouse embryo from the uterus establish A-P axis•External mechanical forces induce elongated shape of the mouse egg cylinder•Mechanical forces breach the basement membrane at the distal tip locally•Mechanical cues allow epiblast to transmigrate into distal visceral endoderm cells
Mouse anterior-posterior axis polarization is preceded by formation of the distal visceral endoderm (DVE). Hiramatsu et al. show that external mechanical cues exerted by the interaction between embryo and maternal uterine tissues establish the anterior-posterior axis by breaching the basement membrane and allowing epiblast cells to transmigrate into DVE cells.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Astrocytes are the most abundant cell‐type of the human brain and play a variety of roles in brain homeostasis and synaptic maturation, under normal conditions. However, astrocytes undergo dramatic ...pathological changes in response to brain injury, such as reactive gliosis and glial scar formation. Although abnormal hypertrophy and massive proliferation of astrocytes are obvious, the molecular identity and cues that dictate the structural changes in reactive astrocytes remain unclear. This study proposes that fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling is responsible for making astrocyte morphology more complex and hypertrophic in response to an inflammatory stimulus such as lipopolysaccharide. Primary astrocytes isolated from perinatal brains developed more branches in the presence of FGF8 or lesser branches in the presence of FGF2. Introduction of the constitutively active form of the FGF receptor 3 (caFGFR3) into the brain increases the structural complexity, with greater glial fibrillary acidic protein level in astrocytes, while overexpression of a dominant‐negative form of FGFR3 (dnFGFR3) reduces it. Treatment of FGF8 facilitated the wound‐healing process of primary astrocytes in vitro by changing their morphology, indicating that the FGF signal may control the responsiveness of astrocytes in injury conditions. Finally, the blockade of FGF signaling by introducing dnFGFR3 at the site of reactive gliosis reduces astrocyte branch formation and minimizes hypertrophic responses during reactive gliosis. Taken together, these results indicate that FGF8–FGFR3 signaling controls structural changes in astrocytes during reactive gliosis, under pathogenic conditions. GLIA 2014;62:1328–1344
Main Points
FGF8‐FGFR3 signaling regulates the morphological changes in developing and reactive astrocytes.
Downregulation of FGFR3 signaling minimizes the hypertrophic response and branch formation in reactive astrocytes.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
Urban digital twin (UDT) technology can be used to digitize physical urban spaces. Previous UDT or smart city research reconstructed the three-dimensional topography of urban spaces, buildings, and ...facilities. They collected various multimodal sensor data from cities and monitored conditions such as temperature, humidity, fine dust, and real-time road traffic. However, these studies lacked ways to manage individual mobility data, such as those of the vehicles and pedestrians, which constitute major components of a city. Here, we propose a geospatial platform based on the universal game engine Unity3D, which manages large-scale individual mobility data for a UDT platform. The proposed platform stores and manages individual vehicles or pedestrians using information from public closed-circuit television. It also allows the generation of long-term route information for a unique vehicle based on its license plate. We also propose methods to anonymize license plates, to ensure the security of individuals, and to compress individual mobility data. Unique UDT models with individual mobility functionalities can be built and visualized using our proposed geospatial platform.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
A highly sensitive and facile colorimetric assay is introduced for detecting biogenic gaseous H
2
S using peroxidase (POD)-like catalytic activity of silver core/gold shell nanoplates (Ag@Au NPls). H
...2
S can react with Ag@Au NPls to form Ag
2
S or Au
2
S on their surface, which can reduce POD-like activity of Ag@Au NPls and consequently decrease the absorbance at 650 nm due to oxidation of 3,3',5,5’-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H
2
O
2
). For
in situ
and multiple detection of H
2
S, we utilized a microplate cover with 24 polydimethylsiloxane inner wells where Ag@Au NPls reacted with H
2
S gas followed by treatment with TMB/H
2
O
2
. As a result, the change in absorbance at 650 nm showed a linear relationship with the H
2
S concentration in the range 0.33 to 2.96 μM (0.36 absorbance/μM H
2
S in PBS, R
2
= 0.994) with a limit of detection of 263 nM and a relative standard deviation of 4.4%. Finally, this assay could detect H
2
S released from
Eikenella corrodens
, used as a model bacterium, in a short time (20 min) or at a low number of bacteria (1 × 10
4
colony forming units/mL). Therefore, this assay is expected to be applied for the study of H
2
S signaling in bacterial physiology, as well as measure H
2
S production released from other oral bacteria that cause halitosis and oral diseases, leading to the subsequent diagnosis.
Graphical abstract
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
Adherens junctions (AJs) adaptively change their intensities in response to intercellular tension; therefore, they integrate tension generated by individual cells to drive multicellular dynamics, ...such as morphogenetic change in embryos. Under intercellular tension, α-catenin, which is a component protein of AJs, acts as a mechano-chemical transducer to recruit vinculin to promote actin remodeling. Although in vivo and in vitro studies have suggested that α-catenin-mediated mechanotransduction is a dynamic molecular process, which involves a conformational change of α-catenin under tension to expose a cryptic vinculin binding site, there are no suitable experimental methods to directly explore the process. Therefore, in this study, we developed a novel system by combining atomic force microscopy (AFM) and total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF). In this system, α-catenin molecules (residues 276-634; the mechano-sensitive M
-M
domain), modified on coverslips, were stretched by AFM and their recruitment of Alexa-labeled full-length vinculin molecules, dissolved in solution, were observed simultaneously, in real time, using TIRF. We applied a physiologically possible range of tensions and extensions to α-catenin and directly observed its vinculin recruitment. Our new system could be used in the fields of mechanobiology and biophysics to explore functions of proteins under tension by coupling biomechanical and biochemical information.
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IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UL, UM, UPUK
This study evaluated the larvicidal activity of 12 Apiaceae plant essential oils and their components against the Asian tiger mosquito, Aedes albopictus, and the inhibition of acetylcholine esterase ...with their components. Of the 12 plant essential oils tested, ajowan (Trachyspermum ammi), caraway seed (Carum carvi), carrot seed (Daucus carota), celery (Apium graveolens), cumin (Cuminum cyminum), dill (Anethum graveolens), and parsley (Petroselinum sativum) resulted in >90% larval mortality when used at 0.1 mg/mL. Of the compounds identified, α-phellandrene, α-terpinene, p-cymene, (−)-limonene, (+)-limonene, γ-terpinene, cuminaldehyde, neral, (S)-+-carvone, trans-anethole, thymol, carvacrol, myristicin, apiol, and carotol resulted in >80% larval mortality when used at 0.1 mg/mL. Two days after treatment, 24.69, 3.64, and 12.43% of the original amounts of the celery, cumin, and parsley oils, respectively, remained in the water. Less than 50% of the original amounts of α-phellandrene, 1,8-cineole, terpinen-4-ol, cuminaldehyde, and trans-antheole were detected in the water at 2 days after treatment. Carvacrol, α-pinene, and β-pinene inhibited the activity of Ae. albopictus acetylcholinesterase with IC50 values of 0.057, 0.062, and 0.190 mg/mL, respectively. A spherical microemulsion of parsley essential oil-loaded poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) was prepared, and the larvicidal activity of this formulation was shown to be similar to that of parsley oil.
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IJS, KILJ, NUK, PNG, UL, UM, UPUK
The deformation behavior of a hot roll-bonded stainless steel/carbon steel (STS/CS) clad plate is investigated by focusing on the mechanical properties-microstructure relationship along the plate ...thickness and clad interface. In detail, the mechanical responses of the STS/CS clad plate and its constituents are evaluated using uniaxial tension, interfacial debonding tests (in normal and shear modes), and various microstructure characterization techniques, which clarify the interfacial heterogeneity of the STS/CS clad plate. The results of experimental analysis present the validity for applying a hybrid numerical–experimental identification procedure for the cohesive zone model (CZM) in the simulation of heterogeneous STS/CS interface using finite element (FE) method. Especially, the mixed-mode bilinear CZM coupled with the inhomogeneously distributed elastic-plastic properties over thickness can be optimized to accurately predict the measured load-displacement curves and springback in the two debonding tests and the V-bending test. Finally, the interfacial failure characteristics of the STS/CS clad are further presented through the comparison between the FE method and fractography analysis at the clad interface. The combined experimental and numerical study reveal interesting aspects beyond commonly reported interfacial behavior. These include: (1) The failure along the STS/CS clad interface is controlled by both “material factors” such as the carbon migration from the interface and its resultant differential strengthening through the thickness, and “process factors” that includes the gradient of strength and temperature across the clad and rolling tools. (2) The major deformation mode is variable according to locations and the mixed normal-shear mode is dominant at tool contacts for initiating the failure during the V-bending test. (3) The interfacial failure mechanism of cladding featured not only in a confined deformation zone where contact directly with tools, but also the exterior area where springback after unloading caused a drastic change of stress state. These abrupt interfacial failures could be clarified via stress state and local damage analysis of the well-reproduced FE model of cladding material.
•Plasticity and interfacial failure of STS-carbon steel clad plate were correlated to its microstructure characteristics.•The inhomogeneous mechanical-interfacial properties were identified by tensile test and microscopy analysis.•A mixed-mode cohesive zone model was established with its parameters identified by a hybrid inverse method.•Robust validations were proposed based on T-peel, lap-shear, V-bending tests along with fractography analysis.•Mechanism of interfacial crack initiation/propagation was suggested through coupled FE-microstructure analysis.
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GEOZS, IMTLJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
A simple and effective pepsin detection assay is reported based on a pepsin-susceptible peptide (PSP) reporter degradation strategy. PSP, which can be specifically cleaved by pepsin, was modified ...with fluorescein isothiocyanate (FITC) and biotin at the N- and C-terminals to be used as a reporter for colorimetric detection of dipsticks. A universal lateral flow dipstick consisting of a streptavidin test line for biotin binding and a sample pad immobilized with a gold-labeled polyclonal (rabbit) anti-FITC antibody was used to verify PSP-based pepsin detection. When the PSP reporter reacts with pepsin in a tube, it cleaves into two fragments, and the cleaved fragments do not display any color on the test line. Therefore, the higher the concentration of pepsin is, the greater is the decrease in test line intensity (I
T−line
) and the higher is the control line intensity (I
C−line
). First, the PSP cleavage and dipstick assay conditions for pepsin detection was optimized. The ratio of color intensity (I
T−line
/I
C−line
) of PSP-based dipstick assay showed a linear relationship with log concentration of pepsin ranging between 4 and 500 ng/mL (R
2
= 0.98,
n
= 6), with a limit of detection of 1.4 ng/mL. It also exhibited high specificity and good reproducibility. Finally, pepsin levels were quantified in saliva samples from healthy controls (
n
= 34) and patients with laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR,
n
= 61). Salivary pepsin levels were higher in patients with LPR than in healthy controls. The salivary pepsin levels correlated with those measured using a conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay kit. Therefore, this PSP-based dipstick assay is a convenient tool for assessing salivary pepsin levels.
Graphical Abstract
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EMUNI, FIS, FZAB, GEOZS, GIS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, MFDPS, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, SBMB, SBNM, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK, VKSCE, ZAGLJ
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