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PLC??1 in dopamine neurons critically regulates striatal dopamine release via VMAT2 and synapsin III
No full textDopamine neurons are essential for voluntary movement, reward learning, and motivation, whose dysfunction isclosely linked to various psychological and neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's disease. Henceunderstanding the detailed signaling mechanisms functionally modulating dopamine neurons is crucial for thedevelopment of better therapeutic strategies against dopamine-related disorders. Phospholipase C??1 (PLC??1) is akey enzyme in intracellular signaling that regulates diverse neuronal functions in the brain. It was proposed thatPLC??1 would be implicated in the development of dopaminergic neurons, while the physiological function ofPLC??1 remains to be determined. In this study, we found that cell type-specific deletion of PLC??1 does notadversely affect the development and cellular morphology of midbrain dopamine neurons but does facilitatedopamine release from dopaminergic axon terminals in the striatum. This enhancement of dopamine release wasaccompanied by increased co-localization of vesicular monoamine transporter 2 (VMAT2) at dopaminergic axons.Notably, dopamine neuron-specific knockout of PLC??1 also led to the heightened expression and co-localization ofsynapsin III which controls the trafficking of synaptic vesicles. Our findings suggest that PLC??1 in dopamineneurons could critically modulate dopamine release at axon terminals by directly or indirectly interacting withsynaptic machinery including VMAT2 and synapsin III
Spiral-driven vertical conductivity in nanocrystalline graphene
No full textThe structure of graphene grown in chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is sensitive to the growth condition, particularly the substrate. The conventional growth of high-quality graphene via the Cu-catalyzed cracking of hydrocarbon species has been extensively studied; however, the direct growth on noncatalytic substrates, for practical applications of graphene such as current Si technologies, remains unexplored. In this study, nanocrystalline graphene (nc-G) spirals are produced on noncatalytic substrates by inductively coupled plasma CVD. The enhanced out-of-plane electrical conductivity is achieved by a spiral-driven continuous current pathway from bottom to top layer. Furthermore, some neighboring nc-G spirals exhibit a homogeneous electrical conductance, which is not common for stacked graphene structure. Klein-edge structure developed at the edge of nc-Gs, which can easily form covalent bonding, is thought to be responsible for the uniform conductance of nc-G aggregates. These results have important implications for practical applications of graphene with vertical conductivity realized through spiral structure
Temperature analysis of extra vessel electromagnetic pump cooling for a Micro nuclear reactor with an electric power of 20??MW
No full textLead bismuth eutectic (LBE) is used as coolant for MicroURANUS, a small marine nuclear power plant, and this coolant is transported in the plant by an electromagnetic pump. Given the considerable heat generated by the electromagnetic pump, the cooling of the pump is essential. This study compared air cooling and water-cooling methods and found that the maximum temperatures during air and water cooling were 640 K and 372 K, respectively. These findings were utilized to design an electromagnetic pump with water-cooling. The maximum temperature of the pump was lower than the boiling point of water; thus, the pump did not require a separate pressurization. Consequently, the resistance problem of the coil and the deformation problem of the material caused by generated heat can be solved through water-cooling
Coke resistant NiCo/CeO2 catalysts for dry reforming of methane derived from core@shell Ni@Co nanoparticles
No full textCore@shell Ni@Co and bimetallic alloyed Ni-Co nanoparticles with controlled Co/Ni compositions were prepared and supported on CeO2 to investigate their performance in catalytic dry reforming of methane (DRM) and occurrence of sintering and coking. Increasing the Co/Ni ratio significantly reduced coke deposition while maintaining catalytic activity for DRM. However, a Co/Ni ratio > 1 caused a rapid decrease in activity. The Ni@Co-1/CeO2 catalyst exhibited the highest CH4 and CO2 conversions, with long-term stability during DRM at 800 ? for 100 h. The initial core@shell structure of the Ni@Co-1/CeO2 catalyst transformed to a homogeneous alloy after DRM at 800 C for 10 h, losing its Co shell. However, the bimetallic alloyed Ni-Co-1/CeO2 catalyst transformed into a non-uniform alloy rich in Co on the surface after DRM for 10 h. As the elemental distribution of the NPs becomes more homogeneous, Ni-Co-1/CeO2 exhibit similar catalytic activity to Ni@Co-1/CeO2 after 50 h. The oxygen vacancies on the CeO2 surface provided oxygen atoms to the Ni surface, removing carbon species deposited and releasing CO. Therefore, Ni@Co-1/CeO2 catalyst provides excellent catalytic activity and stability due to the rapid formation of a homogenous alloy and the synergistic effect of Co and CeO2
Double-layered blood vessels over 3 mm in diameter extruded by the inverse-gravity technique
No full textOne of the most promising techniques for treating severe peripheral artery disease is the use of cellular tissue-engineered vascular grafts (TEVGs). This study proposes an inverse-gravity (IG) extrusion technique for creating long double-layered cellular TEVGs with diameters over 3 mm. A three-layered coaxial laminar hydrogel flow in an 8 mm-diameter pipe was realised simply by changing the extrusion direction of the hydrogel from being aligned with the direction of gravity to against it. This technique produced an extruded mixture of human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) and type-I collagen as a tubular structure with an inner diameter of 3.5 mm. After a 21 day maturation period, the maximal burst pressure, longitudinal breaking force, and circumferential breaking force of the HASMC TEVG were 416 mmHg, 0.69 N, and 0.89 N, respectively. The HASMC TEVG was endothelialised with human umbilical vein endothelial cells to form a tunica intima that simulated human vessels. Besides subcutaneous implantability on mice, the double-layered blood vessels showed a considerably lower adherence of platelets and red blood cells once exposed to heparinised mouse blood and were considered nonhaemolytic. The proposed IG extrusion technique can be applied in various fields requiring multilayered materials with large diameters
Disposal Assessment of ?? Radionuclide-Removed Waste from Spent Resin Tank at a Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant
No full textExperimental Analysis of a Pilot Lithium Charge Stripper Using a Magnetohydrodynamic Pump
No full textTowards the next generation improved throughput MXene-based membrane for environmental applications: A holistic review
No full textIn 2011, after the establishment of Ti3C2Tx MXene, it has attracted considerable attention in different areas such as photocatalysis, energy storage, electromagnetic shielding interference, and environmental applications owing to its high surface area, unique layered structure, easy functionalization, and high conductivity. This critical review paper discusses current trends in research as well as development of Ti3C2Tx MXene in desalination and water treatment processes. Additionally, the structural aspects of the MAX phase and MXene nanomaterials are illustrated along with the advancements in MXene membrane fabrication, including their synthesis, surface chemistry, and interlayer tuning. To date, very few peer-reviewed articles were published on MXene membranes for lab-scale water separation and purification. Additionally, the synthesis and characteristics of MXene nanosheets are thoroughly discussed and different types of MXene composite membranes, preparation methods and separation mechanisms are explained. Next, the gas separation, desalination, and organic solvent separation performance of MXene composite membranes as reported in earlier studies are critically evaluated. More information has been updated regarding the research gaps in the recent perception and performance of MXene- incorporated membranes. Furthermore, the limitations as well as potentials of Ti3C2Tx MXene-incorporated membranes are summarized. Recommendations and future perspectives for designing the commercial MXene composite membrane have been discussed. This holistic review article offers a fundamental basis for employing MXenes in the membrane field for water purification, organic solvent filtration and membrane desalination
A Ternary Neural Network Computing-in-Memory Processor With 16T1C Bitcell Architecture
No full textA highly energy-efficient Computing-in-Memory (CIM) processor for Ternary Neural Network (TNN) acceleration is proposed in this brief. Previous CIM processors for multi-bit precision neural networks showed low energy efficiency and throughput. Lightweight binary neural networks were accelerated with CIM processors for high energy efficiency but showed poor inference accuracy. In addition, most previous works suffered from poor linearity of analog computing and energy-consuming analog-to-digital conversion. To resolve the issues, we propose a Ternary-CIM (T-CIM) processor with 16T1C ternary bitcell for good linearity with the compact area and a charge-based partial sum adder circuit to remove analog-to-digital conversion that consumes a large portion of the system energy. Furthermore, flexible data mapping enables execution of the whole convolution layers with smaller bitcell memory capacity. Designed with 65 nm CMOS technology, the proposed T-CIM achieves 1,316 GOPS of peak performance and 823 TOPS/W of energy efficiency