Fabrication, nanostructures and electronic properties of nanodiamond-based solar cells

Nanodiamond-based solar cells were fa bricated and the photovoltaic properties were investigated. Fullerene (C60) and fullerenol (C60(OH)10-12) were used as n-type semiconductors, and diamond nan oparticles and metal phthalocyanine derivative were used as p-type semiconductors. The nanostructures of the solar cel ls were investigated by transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffracometry, and the electronic property was discussed.     

Human ES-cell-derived cardiomyocytes electrically couple and suppress arrhythmias in injured hearts

Transplantation studies in mice and rats have shown that human embryonic-stem-cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hESC-CMs) can improve the function of infarcted hearts, but two critical issues related to their electrophysiological behaviour in vivo remain unresolved. First, the risk of arrhythmias following hESC-CM transplantation in injured hearts has not been determined. Second, the electromechanical integration of hESC-CMs in injured hearts has not been demonstrated, so it is unclear whether these cells improve contractile function directly through addition of new force-generating units. Here we use a guinea-pig model to show that hESC-CM grafts in injured hearts protect against arrhythmias and can contract synchronously with host muscle. Injured hearts with hESC-CM grafts show improved mechanical function and a significantly reduced incidence of both spontaneous and induced ventricular tachycardia. To assess the activity of hESC-CM grafts in vivo, we transplanted hESC-CMs expressing the genetically encoded calcium sensor, GCaMP3 (refs 4, 5). By correlating the GCaMP3 fluorescent signal with the host ECG, we found that grafts in uninjured hearts have consistent 1:1 host–graft coupling. Grafts in injured hearts are more heterogeneous and typically include both coupled and uncoupled regions. Thus, human myocardial grafts meet physiological criteria for true heart regeneration, providing support for the continued development of hESC-based cardiac therapies for both mechanical and electrical repair.     

我国典型垃圾焚烧飞灰物化特性对比

对我国不同地区生活垃圾焚烧厂焚烧飞灰的物理、化学特性进行了分析研究,探讨了飞灰中总氯、可溶氯含量以及重金属分布与原始垃圾组分的相关性,结果表明,飞灰中重金属的含量与进厂原始垃圾的组成及垃圾收集方式密切相关;飞灰中所含氯的质量分数高达5.21%～14.49%,其中可溶氯占总氯质量的40.60%～83.96%;不同城市焚烧飞灰中氯的含量差异较大,经济发展水平较高的城市焚烧飞灰中氯的含量也相对较高,厨余垃圾所占比例是影响飞灰中氯(特别是可溶氯)含量的重要因素.     

Quantitative immunofluorescence of tyrosine hydroxylase in the adrenal medulla of spontaneously hypertensive rats

The amount of tyrosine hydroxylase protein in the adrenal medulla, which was estimated by a quantitative immunofluorescence method, was higher in spontaneously hypertensive rats than in normotensive control Wistar-Kyoto rats at 4 and 16 weeks of age before and after the development of hypertension.     

Effect of pulsing electromagnetic fields on DNA synthesis in mammalian cells in culture

DNA synthesis in Chinese hamster V79 cells was significantly enhanced when they were exposed to weak, pulsing electromagnetic fields generated by specific combinations of the pulse width (25 microseconds), frequency (10, 100 Hz) and magnetic intensity (2 X 10(-5), 8 X 10(-5) T). Conversely the DNA synthesis of cells in the fields at 4 X 10(-4) T was repressed to 80% of that in controls not exposed to the fields.     

An immunohistochemical study on the distribution of histiocytes containing S-100 protein-like antigen in cutaneous T-cell lymphoma/leukemia; a preliminary report

The immunohistochemical distribution of histiocytes containing S-100 protein-like antigen in the skin lesions of cutaneous T-cell lymphoma/leukemia is investigated. Marked hyperplasia of these histiocytes is found in two cases of mycosis fungoides.We thank Prof. Y. Ishida, Gunma University School of Medicine, Dr K. Iwata, Kochi Prefectural Central Hospital, Dr M. Motoi, Okayama University Medical School, Dr H. Enzan, Kochi Medical School, for supplying the material.     

Distribution of amino acid activating enzymes in rabbit's brain

Zusammenfassung Untersuchungen an Aminosäureaktivierenden Fermenten in den diversen Kaninchenhirnregionen, haben gezeigt, dass die Aktivität der Grosshirnrinde am höchsten, die der weissen Substanz des Grosshirns am niedrigsten ist, während sie in den übrigen Hirnteilen in der Mitte liegt.     

Ultrasonic comparison of two morphologically distinct melanosomes in malignant melanomas

Summary Ultrasonic measurement (0.333–200 MHz) of melanosomes isolated from B16 and Harding Passey (HP) mouse melanomas indicates that the partial wave resonance and principal relaxation of the 2 kinds of melanosomes are similar, but that their stochastic resonance is markedly different. The structure of the melanosomes appears basically amorphous, but linearly ordered and copolymeric in the molecular dimension of a segment composed of 5–6 zigzag units, which are packed closely in B16 and more openly in HP.Acknowledgment. This study was supported by Grants-in-Aid for Cancer Research, No. 580010030, No. 5839016 and No. 58480265, from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, by the Japan Ol'early Foundation and by the Alfred-Marchionini Foundation.     

Towards robust regional estimates of CO2 sources and sinks using atmospheric transport models

Information about regional carbon sources and sinks can be derived from variations in observed atmospheric CO2 concentrations via inverse modelling with atmospheric tracer transport models. A consensus has not yet been reached regarding the size and distribution of regional carbon fluxes obtained using this approach, partly owing to the use of several different atmospheric transport models. Here we report estimates of surface-atmosphere CO2 fluxes from an intercomparison of atmospheric CO2 inversion models (the TransCom 3 project), which includes 16 transport models and model variants. We find an uptake of CO2 in the southern extratropical ocean less than that estimated from ocean measurements, a result that is not sensitive to transport models or methodological approaches. We also find a northern land carbon sink that is distributed relatively evenly among the continents of the Northern Hemisphere, but these results show some sensitivity to transport differences among models, especially in how they respond to seasonal terrestrial exchange of CO2. Overall, carbon fluxes integrated over latitudinal zones are strongly constrained by observations in the middle to high latitudes. Further significant constraints to our understanding of regional carbon fluxes will therefore require improvements in transport models and expansion of the CO2 observation network within the tropics.     

Observation of orbital waves as elementary excitations in a solid

A basic concept in solid-state physics is that when some kind of symmetry in a solid is spontaneously broken, collective excitations will arise. For example, phonons are the collective excitations corresponding to lattice vibrations in a crystal, and magnons correspond to spin waves in a magnetically ordered compound. Modulations in the relative shape of the electronic clouds in an orbitally ordered state could in principle give rise to orbital waves, or 'orbitons', but this type of elementary excitation has yet to be observed experimentally. Systems in which the electrons are strongly correlated-such as high-temperature superconductors and manganites exhibiting colossal magnetoresistivity-are promising candidates for supporting orbital waves, because they contain transition-metal ions in which the orbital degree of freedom is important. Orbitally ordered states have been found in several transition-metal compounds, and orbitons have been predicted theoretically for LaMnO3. Here we report experimental evidence for orbitons in LaMnO3, using Raman scattering measurements. We perform a model calculation of orbiton resonances which provides a good fit to the experimental data.