Ions and electrons in blends of polymer-electrolyte can work in ensemble to operate light-emitting electrochemical cells (LECs), in which the unique features of in situ formed p-n homojunctions offer efficient charge injection and transport. However, electrochemical features give rise to significant stability and speed issues due to limited electrochemical stability and low ion mobility, resulting in low brightness and a slow response of LECs. Here, these issues are overcome by the separate control of ionic and electronic charges, using a simple driving pulse superimposed on a small base voltage; ions with slow response are rearranged by a constant base voltage, while a high-voltage pulse, superimposed upon the base, injects electrons/holes which have fast response, with minimal effect on the ions. This scheme successfully injects an extremely high current density of > 2 kA cm with a balanced electron/hole ratio, at a high-speed response time of ≈ 50 ns; both properties demonstrate advantages of LECs in making polymers brighter. An in situ electron spin resonance measurement on the LECs further revealed that this impressive performance is due to the highly doped polymers, whose spin density reached 7 × 10 spins cm , and an ordered polymer structure in the active layer blend.

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This study investigated the effects of AdipoRon, which is an agonist for adiponectin receptor 1 (AdipoR1) and AdipoR2, on the protein content, myotube diameter, and number of nuclei per myotube of C2C12 cells and skeletal muscle mass in C57BL/6J mice. AdipoRon suppressed the protein content, myotube diameter, and number of nuclei per myotube of C2C12 cells of C2C12 myotubes in a dose-dependent manner. Adiponectin-associated decline of protein content, diameter, and number of nuclei per myotube in C2C12 myotubes was partially rescued by knockdown of AdipoR1 and/or AdipoR2. Phosphorylation level of AMPK showed a trend to be increased by AdipoRon. A significant increase in phosphorylation level of AMPK was observed at 20 μM AdipoRon. Knockdown of AdipoR1 and/or AdipoR2 rescued AdipoRon-associated decrease in protein content of C2C12 myotubes. AdipoRon-associated increase in phosphorylation level of AMPK in C2C12 myotubes was suppressed by knockdown of AdipoR1 and/or AdipoR2. Successive intravenous injections of AdipoRon into mice caused a decrease in the wet weight of plantaris muscle (PLA), but not in soleus muscle (SOL). Mean fiber cross-sectional area of PLA, but not of SOL, was significantly decreased by AdipoRon administration. On the one hand, the expression level of phosphorylated AMPK and ubiquitinated protein in SOL and PLA muscles was upregulated by AdipoRon administration. On the other hand, AdipoRon administration induced no changes in the expression level of puromycin-labeled proteins in both SOL and PLA muscles. Expression level of adiponectin in extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle was increased by aging, but not in SOL muscle. Aging had no effect on the expression level of AdipoR1 and AdipoR2 in both muscles. Phosphorylation level of AMPK in EDL was increased by aging, but not SOL muscle. Results from this study suggest that high level of circulating adiponectin may induce skeletal muscle atrophy, especially fast-type muscle.

Suspension-cultured cells of azuki bean (Vigna angularis) as well as the original root tissues were hypersensitive to Cd (<10 μm). Repeated subculturings with a sublethal level of Cd (1–10 μm) did not affect the subsequent response of cells to inhibitory levels of Cd (10–100 μm). The azuki bean cells challenged to Cd did not contain phytochelatin (PC) peptides, unlike tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) cells that have a substantial tolerance to Cd (>100 μm). Both of the cell suspensions contained a similar level of reduced glutathione (GSH) when grown in the absence of Cd. Externally applied GSH to azuki bean cells recovered neither Cd tolerance nor PC synthesis of the cells. Furthermore, enzyme assays in vitro revealed that the protein extracts of azuki bean cells had no activity converting GSH to PCs, unlike tomato. These results suggest that azuki bean cells are lacking in the PC synthase activity per se, hence being Cd hypersensitive. We concluded that the PC synthase has an important role in Cd tolerance of suspension-cultured cells.

Understanding the science behind highly active materials is essential for advancement in the field of photocatalytic water splitting for solar energy harvesting. Sodium tantalate (NaTaO 3 ) doped with La cations is one of the best engineered materials for efficient water splitting to evolve hydrogen. In this study, physical insights into the sensitivity of the watersplitting activity to the spatial La distribution are discussed. The spatial distribution of La cations placed at the Na site was found to dictate the energy gradient of the conduction band bottom (CBB), resulting in a tunable electron population and hence water-splitting activity. A less homogeneous sample with a sufficiently large CBB gradient exhibited higher water-splitting activity. The mechanism of gradient tuning of the CBB through controlling the spatial dopant distribution is expected to be applicable to a broad range of metal oxide perovskites for artificial photosynthesis.

Linear and nonlinear optical properties of racemic (~)2-(c!-methylbenzylamino)-5-nitropyridine ((~)MBANP) single crystals have been comprehensively investigated and compared with those of the enantiomorph (-)2-(c!-methylbenzylamino)-5-nitropyridine ((-)MBANP) crystals. (~)MBANP crystal exhibits very high chemical and physical stability, but relatively small nonlinear optical coefiicients (d31 =6.8 pm/V, d32=4.7 pm/V, d33=0.84 pm/V). A comparison between the nonlinear optical coefficients of (~)MBANP and (-)MBANP demonstrates the validity of the oriented-gas model in molecular crystals that neglects all the contributions from intermolecular interaction.

We have examined the photocatalytic activity of Ga 2 O 3 supported on Al 2 O 3 (Ga 2 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 catalyst) without a noble metal cocatalyst for water splitting and reduction of CO 2 with water under UV light irradiation by changing the loading amount of Ga 2 O 3 . All prepared Ga 2 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 catalysts show photocatalytic activities for both water splitting and CO 2 reduction, and their activities are significantly improved compared to those of nonsupported Ga 2 O 3 and Al 2 O 3 . The water splitting is dominated for Ga 2 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 with less than 1.0 vol % of Ga 2 O 3 loaded, whereas the CO 2 reduction, for higher Ga 2 O 3 -loaded samples (2.6, 4.2 vol %). Crystalline structure characterizations of Ga 2 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 catalysts indicate that active sites for both reactions are different. The water splitting proceeds on nanometer-sized Ga 2 O 3 rods dispersed on an Al 2 O 3 support consisting of a little distorted α-Ga 2 O 3 phase. On the other hand, the CO 2 reduction proceeds on sub-micrometer-sized Ga 2 O 3 particles consisting of mixed phases of α-Ga 2 O 3 and γ-Ga 2 O 3 or with appearance of boundaries between the α and γ phases, which plays a critical role. Al 2 O 3 used as the support of the Ga 2 O 3 particles does not seem to play an important role in the photocatalytic CO 2 reduction.

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