Achieving a proper strength and properties of vacuum kinetic-sprayed (VKS) coatings has been a matter of issue. The heat-treatment of feedstock powder has been suggested as a solution to prevent ...porous microstructure of coatings. Unfortunately, there is still no study that clearly explains the effect of powder treatment on the two crucial deposition mechanisms in VKS (fragmentation and consolidation). Through observations and characterization of the coating microstructure and single-particle impact testing, the importance of the sufficient impact energy for dense VKS coatings is demonstrated. The results show that heat-treatment of Y2O3 powder resulted in improved mechanical properties of the coating and a dense coating structure. It is revealed that the larger heat-treated particles caused further size reduction of crystallites and consolidation via promotion of the intense fragmentation and intimate inter-crystallite bonding.
When the welded part of a vehicle body is considered in an analysis model, the accuracy of the analysis varies depending on whether the welded part is assumed to be a simple rigid body or if its ...characteristics are included. Particularly, when assuming a simple rigid body, the accuracy of the stress result may be insufficient, resulting in a large error. In this study, titled “part 2-development of finite element method (FEM) analysis model for predicting fracture strength”, a commercial welding simulation program, MSC Simufact welding software, was used to create a finite element method analysis model that includes the material characteristics of the welded part, and the analysis accuracy was determined in comparison with the experimental results presented in part 1. The analysis results showed satisfactory results with an error rate of 0.03%. Thus, the fracture strength and fracture position of the welding specimen could be confirmed using the FEM analysis model. Additionally, assuming that the welded part in spot welding has a simple geometric-shaped structure, a simplification spot welding model was created to determine whether it can replace the plasma arc spot welding experiment and pass the tensile shear test.
Perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) membranes, such as Nafion, are widely used in vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) because of their high proton conduction through the ion channels and excellent ...chemical stability. However, the high vanadium permeability of PFSA membranes induced by the randomly interconnected channels limits efficient cell operation. In this work, we demonstrate a sub-20 nm ultrathin PFSA-grafted graphene oxide/PFSA (PFSA-g-GO/PFSA) composite membrane with highly aligned ion channel morphology, which results in a 100-fold improvement in proton/vanadium ion selectivity compared to 25 μm-thick Nafion 211. In addition, the PFSA-g-GO nanosheets physically reinforce the ultrathin membrane while enabling the proton transport through the grafted PFSA ionomers, leading to stable cell operation at overall current densities from 40 to 200 mA cm−2. Especially, at a high current density of 200 mA cm−2, the PFSA-g-GO/PFSA composite membrane shows an energy efficiency (EE) of 78%, which is higher than that of Nafion 211, indicating its potential as an ion-selective membrane for VRFB.
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•Ultrathin composite membranes were developed by Langmuir-Blodgett method.•Well-ordered ion channels significantly suppress the vanadium ion crossover.•Employment of PFSA-grafted GO into monolayer improved the mechanical stiffness.•The membrane showed better cell performance, especially at high current densities.•Even at sub-20 nm thickness, composite membranes exhibited excellent durability.
Exploring the connection between ubiquitin-like modifiers (ULMs) and the DNA damage response (DDR), we employed several advanced DNA damage and repair assay techniques and identified a crucial role ...for LC3B. Notably, its RNA recognition motif (RRM) plays a pivotal role in the context of transcription-associated homologous recombination (HR) repair (TA-HRR), a particular subset of HRR pathways. Surprisingly, independent of autophagy flux, LC3B interacts directly with R-loops at DNA lesions within transcriptionally active sites via its RRM, promoting TA-HRR. Using native RNA immunoprecipitation (nRIP) coupled with high-throughput sequencing (nRIP-seq), we discovered that LC3B also directly interacts with the 3'UTR AU-rich elements (AREs) of BRCA1 via its RRM, influencing its stability. This suggests that LC3B regulates TA-HRR both proximal to and distal from DNA lesions. Data from our LC3B depletion experiments showed that LC3B knockdown disrupts end-resection for TA-HRR, redirecting it towards the non-homologous end joining (NHEJ) pathway and leading to chromosomal instability, as evidenced by alterations in sister chromatid exchange (SCE) and interchromosomal fusion (ICF). Thus, our findings unveil autophagy-independent functions of LC3B in DNA damage and repair pathways, highlighting its importance. This could reshape our understanding of TA-HRR and the interaction between autophagy and DDR.
In this study, a flexible conductive filament was fabricated by mixing thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU), carbon nanotubes (CNTs), and Cu powder. A polymer extruder was used to disperse conductive ...materials in the TPU matrix. Because the dispersion of CNTs in polymers is difficult, the dispersion process was repeated several times for the homogeneity of the fabricated conductive filament. Cu powder with high electrical conductivity was additionally added to improve the electrical characteristics of the conductive polymer. As TPU generally has excellent ductility and durability, the fabricated filament can secure flexibility. The resistance was measured and compared according to the mixing ratio of CNT/Cu powder. Based on the obtained results, the resistance of the conductive filament decreased as the CNT and Cu powder contents were increased. The addition of metal powders, such as CNTs and Cu powder, however, reduced the ductility of TPU. Finally, the developed conductive filament was used to fabricate a simple closed photodiode circuit.
Yap/Taz are well-established downstream effectors of the Hippo pathway, known to regulate organ size by directing proliferation and apoptosis. Although the functions of Yap/Taz have been extensively ...studied, little is known about their role in brain development. Here, through genetic ablation, we show that Yap/Taz are required for cerebellar morphogenesis. Yap/Taz deletion in neural progenitors causes defects in secondary fissure formation, leading to abnormal folia development. Although they seemed very likely to serve an important function in the development of cerebellar granule cell precursors, Yap/Taz are dispensable for their proliferation. Furthermore, Yap/Taz loss does not rescue the medulloblastoma phenotype caused by constitutively active Smoothened. Importantly, Yap/Taz are highly expressed in radial glia and play a crucial role in establishing the radial scaffold and cellular polarity of neural progenitors during embryogenesis. We found that Yap/Taz are necessary to establish and maintain junctional integrity of cerebellar neuroepithelium as prominent junction proteins are not maintained at the apical junction in the absence of Yap/Taz. Our study identifies a novel function of Yap/Taz in cerebellar foliation and finds that they are required to establish the radial glia scaffold and junctional stability.
•Yap/Taz are required for cerebellar morphogenesis by establishing the radial glia scaffold and cellular polarity.•Yap/Taz deletion causes abnormal folia development due to defects in secondary fissure formation.•Yap/Taz are dispensable for the proliferation of CGNPs and medulloblastoma caused by constitutively active Smoothened.•Yap/Taz are necessary to establish and maintain junctional integrity of the cerebellar neuroepithelium.
Spin pumping and the spin transfer torque in the normal metal (NM)/ferromagnetic materials (FM) heterostructure strongly depend on the interfacial spin memory loss. Therefore, the interface ...engineering of the NM/FM bilayer is important for enhancing spin pumping and spin-orbit torque efficiency for spin-orbitronic devices.
In this study, we investigate the influence of the graphene interlayer between Pt and yttrium iron garnet (YIG) on spin pumping. Measurements of both the coplanar wave guide ferromagnetic resonance and inverse spin Hall effect with ferromagnetic resonance are performed to study the role of graphene in the transmission of the spin current at the interface. Results indicate a decreased Gilbert damping constant with the insertion of graphene interlayer, which causes the spin mixing conductance and inverse spin Hall voltage to be significantly reduced. The observed decrease in damping constant and spin injection is attributed to the presence of magnetic proximity effect and interfacial spin-orbit scattering, which causes graphene to serve as a spin-sink layer.
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•Introduction of graphene interlayer between Pt and yttrium iron garnet (YIG) heterostructures.•Investigation of interface engineering by ferromagnetic resonance and inverse spin Hall voltage measurements.•Reduction of spin mixing conductance and the inverse spin Hall voltage by the insertion of a graphene layer.•Graphene at the interface of Pt/YIG behaves as a spin-sink layer.
We herein developed a novel method for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay based on the target-induced transcription of a light-up RNA aptamer, consequently producing a highly enhanced fluorescence ...signal upon specifically binding to the corresponding dye. Using this strategy, we successfully determined the ALP activity down to 0.018 U L
−1
(dynamic linear range of 0.04-4 U L
−1
) with excellent selectivity.
A novel method for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) assay based on the target-induced transcription of a light-up RNA aptamer was developed.
Ground reaction force (GRF) plays an integral role in legged robots to control interaction with the ground. However, most techniques in whole-body controller for quadrupedal robots do not explicitly ...take into account actual torque or force in their control loops and instead use feed-forward force to generate joint torque at every time step. In this paper, we present a closed-loop whole-body controller using the actual joint torque feedback, which regulates angular momentum of the center of mass (CoM) for quadrupedal locomotion. Using the torque measured from each torque sensor and the torque by solving the inverse dynamics, we can compute the external joint torque induced by the contact with the ground. To fully use the computed joint torque, we discuss a feasible approach and whole-body control criterion for quadrupedal robots that have constrained support polygons because of their point-feet and certain gaits using two or less legs in contact. Based on the approach, we generate a centroidal moment pivot trajectory considering the leg dynamics, linear translation, and angular rotation of the CoM, which can stabilize the robot‘s balance by using the actual angular momentum rate change transformed from the measured joint torque. In addition, a push recovery strategy based on capture point dynamics derived from linear momentum and a foothold generation method are integrated into the controller. The proposed controller is tested on a quadrupedal robot, called AiDIN-VI, that has a torque sensor at each joint. The proposed whole-body controller enables the robot to demonstrate several gait types such as trotting, pacing, jumping, and walking on various environments, and locomotive abilities under external pushes are verified.
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