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Virulence pathways in pathogenic bacteria are regulated by quorum sensing mechanisms, particularly biofilm formation through autoinducer (AI) production and sensing. In this study, the culture filtrate extracted from an edible mushroom, Agaricus subrutilescens , was fractionated to isolate a compound that inhibits biofilm formation. Four gram-negative bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae, Escherichia coli, Proteus mirabilis , and Enterobacter cloacae) and two gram-positive bacteria (Enterococcus faecalis and Staphylococcus aureus) were used for the bioassay. The bioassay-guided chromatographic separations of the culture filtrate extract resulted in the isolation of the compound. Further, spectroscopic analyses revealed the identity of the compound as 2,2′-azoxybisbenzyl alcohol (ABA). The minimum inhibitory and sub-inhibitory concentrations of the compound were also determined. Azoxybisbenzyl alcohol was significantly effective in inhibiting biofilm formation in all tested bacteria, with half-maximal inhibitory concentrations of 3–11 µg/mL. Additionally, the bioactivity of ABA was confirmed through the bioassays for the inhibition of exopolysaccharide matrixes and AI activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various metabolites, including phytohormones, phytoalexins, and amino acids, take part in the plant immune system. Herein, we analyzed the effects of L-methionine (Met), a sulfur-containing amino acid, on the plant immune system in tomato. Treatment with low concentrations of Met enhanced the resistance of tomato to a broad range of diseases caused by the hemi-biotrophic bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst) and the necrotrophic fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea (Bc), although it did not induce the production of any antimicrobial substances against these pathogens in tomato leaf tissues. Analyses of gene expression and phytohormone accumulation indicated that Met treatment alone did not activate the defense signals mediated by salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, and ethylene. However, the salicylic acid-responsive defense gene and the jasmonic acid-responsive gene were induced more rapidly in Met-treated plants after infection with Pst and Bc, respectively. These findings suggest that low concentrations of Met have a priming effect on the phytohormone-mediated immune system in tomato. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Strobilurins A and X, isolated from Mucidula venosolamellata culture extracts, demonstrated potent inhibition of human melanoma G-361 cell proliferation. Strobilurin X exhibited milder inhibitory effects on human fibroblast cells (NB1RGB) compared to strobilurin A. Additional strobilurin-related compounds were isolated from the other mushroom species. Oudemansins A and B displayed weaker activities on G-361 cells than strobilurins A and B, respectively, emphasizing the importance of a conjugated double-bond structure. Among isolated compounds, strobilurin G showed the lowest IC50 value for G-361 cells. Additional strobilurins bearing various substituents on the benzene ring were synthesized. Synthetic intermediates lacking the methyl β-methoxyacrylate group and a strobilurin analogue bearing modified β-methoxyacrylate moiety showed almost no inhibitory activity against G-361 cells. The introduction of long or bulky substituents at the 4′ position of the benzene ring of strobilurins enhanced the activity and selectivity, suggesting differential recognition of the benzene ring by G-361 and NB1RGB cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wafer-level direct bonding technology is a key process for the production of backside illuminated (BSI) CMOS image sensor (CIS). Usually, constant-depth mode scanning acoustic microscope (C-SAM) 300mm wafer images are acquired and defect size distribution is provided to monitor defects that degrade bonding yield. This acquisition technique is used as it is nondestructive and is able to capture the full wafer. Current solutions are not providing information detailed enough to identify the root cause of this degradation. A consequence is that most measurements and classification is currently done manually which take time and have reproducibility issues. In this paper, we propose a rule-based method for the classification of the defects and automatic segmentation of the defects to extract precise measurements depending on the type of defect. The classes of defects are precisely defined based on their origin in the process. All these information will allow to reduce the time to analyze the images and improve the precision and consistency of the analysis. These results will allow to identify more precisely the defects thus the causes of yield degradation during bonding process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systemic acquired resistance (SAR) is a potent innate immunity system in plants that is induced through the salicylic acid (SA)-mediated signaling pathway. Here, we characterized 3-chloro-1-methyl-1H-pyrazole-5-carboxylic acid (CMPA) as an effective SAR inducer in Arabidopsis. The soil drench application of CMPA enhanced a broad range of disease resistance against the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae and fungal pathogens Colletotrichum higginsianum and Botrytis cinerea in Arabidopsis, whereas CMPA did not show antibacterial activity. Foliar spraying with CMPA induced the expression of SA-responsible genes such as PR1, PR2 and PR5. The effects of CMPA on resistance against the bacterial pathogen and the expression of PR genes were observed in the SA biosynthesis mutant, however, while they were not observed in the SA-receptor-deficient npr1 mutant. Thus, these findings indicate that CMPA induces SAR by triggering the downstream signaling of SA biosynthesis in the SA-mediated signaling pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The appearance of the self-body influences the feeling that one's body belongs to oneself, that is, a sense of ownership (SoO) and pain perception. This can be identified by measuring the SoO and pain thresholds after performing the rubber hand illusion (RHI) with an injured rubber hand. The generation of SoO is thought to be caused by multisensory integration of bottom-up factors (vision, proprioceptive, and touch), and by top-down factors, such as the context effect. The appearance is one of the context effects which may become more effective when used simultaneously with other context effects (e.g., verbal suggestion). However, in the RHI, when appearance and other context effects are used simultaneously, the effect is unclear. In this study, we attempted to identify the influence of verbal suggestion on the SoO and heat pain threshold (HPT). As a preliminary step, in Experiment 1, the "normal" rubber hand and "penetrated nail" as injured rubber hand were used to clarify the context effect with appearance alone during RHI (synchronous/asynchronous), which was conducted within-subjects. In Experiment 2, we only used the "penetrated nail" rubber hand to clarify the context effect with verbal suggestion and appearance during RHI. We randomly classified participants into two suggestion groups ("fear" and "no-fear"). The RHI (synchronous/asynchronous) was conducted for each group. In each experiment, the effect of each condition was assessed by subjective measures of SoO, such as questionnaire, and objective measures of SoO, such as proprioceptive drift and electrodermal activity. Following RHI in each condition, HPT was measured. The main finding was that, in the synchronous condition, the "penetrated nail" appearance with "fear" verbal suggestion modulated questionnaire and HPT, but not electrodermal activity. We conclude that the context-included multisensory integration affected the subjective factors because it contains a higher cognitive process by verbal suggestion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A tricationic tris(pyridylpalladium(II)) metallacyclophane was prepared from 3,5-dibromopyridine by a successive treatment with tetrakis(triphenylphosphine)palladium(0), diphosphine, and silver salt. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the metallacyclophane incorporated one of three counter anions into its hole-shaped cavity to form multidentate C–H⋯anion interactions. Solution-phase 1H NMR experiments in DMSO-d6 indicated that the metallacyclophane exhibited selective binding behavior toward nitrate, tetrafluoroborate, p-toluenesulfonate, perchlorate, and hydrogen sulfate ions, whereas the hexafluoroantimonate ion exhibited only weak interaction toward the metallacyclophane. This anion recognition behavior was further demonstrated by an extraction experiment of water-soluble sulfonate dyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a chamber and recipe-independent fault detection and classification (FDC) indicator using the example of aluminum sputtering tools. We developed this indicator to detect abnormal discharge in an aluminum sputtering chamber when using a legacy FDC system. Abnormal discharge has several modes in the sputtering chamber, with abnormal discharge to a wafer commonly causing pattern defects. The indicator has been improved to detect only this problem, and to minimize the impact of false alarms that cause a loss of equipment productivity. The indicator can be readily extended to new chambers and the control limits are easily set for all recipes. This is because the equation for the indicator is very simple, and both the equation and the control limits are common to all sputtering chambers and recipes. It can therefore significantly reduce the setup work required of engineers, which is one of the biggest challenges in high-mix semiconductor manufacturing. The indicator is easily applied to newly installed tools at start of production and restrains the number of scrap wafers at minimum level. We also describe the mechanism of trace data changes in abnormal discharge modes using equivalent electrical circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a method for rapid resolution of parametric failure during the development period. Since the number of samples is small, it is not possible to carry out general big data analysis of white defect failures of CMOS image sensors (CISs) during the development period in the same way as can be done during the mass production period. Our feature value analysis of white defects based on device physics revealed that both a development product and mass products using big data show similar fluctuations in dark current spectroscopy and in-plane distribution in the wafer. Process step/tool identification and tool sensor data analysis revealed the degree of vacuum within the implantation tool to have a strong correlation with white defect count. We developed a virtual metrology (VM) model for white defect count and varied the degree of vacuum. As a result of our experiments, we were able to reduce white defect count during the development period by 75%. The time required for resolution of failures was 10% that of the conventional method. This paper describes a detailed explanation of how the potential causative process step/tool was identified in addition to the conference paper presented in ISSM2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to further improve the productivity of manufacturing equipment, it is indispensable to monitor the conditions of all the manufacturing equipment and not just the processing chambers. In this paper, we present a robust machine learning based deterioration diagnosis technology with harmonic sensor, which has frequency characteristics that have high sensitivity to deterioration and low sensitivity to torque. The robust deterioration diagnosis using a small amount of data is possible by limiting the input data to be trained and inferred to signals and motion patterns, and inferring with neural network models that do not require developments for manufacturing equipment. The example of wafer transfer robots in the ion implanter and the Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LP-CVD) and the coater/developer show that wear deterioration of machine components can be detected from the level of deterioration output and it is possible to prevent errors of the wafer transfer robots because of maintenance based on increases in the level of deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are known to regulate gene expression and modulate cellular differentiation. MicroRNA‐9/9* (miR‐9/9*) and microRNA‐124 (miR‐124) are highly expressed in the central nervous system. In vivo function of miR‐9/9* and miR‐124 has been investigated in detail, whereas there remain some discrepancies regarding neural development. To this end, we electroporated miR‐9/9*, miR‐124 or miR‐9/9*/124 expression plasmids into neonatal retinal progenitor cells (RPCs) in vivo and analyzed the fate of electroporated cells. Both miR‐9/9* and miR‐124 reduced the number of SOX9‐ and GS‐positive cells and increased that of TUBB3‐positive cells in the postnatal day 14 retina. No major effects on the proliferation and apoptosis of the electroporated cells were detected at least postnatal day 3. These indicated that miR‐9/9* and miR‐124 influence the cell fate of glial cells, thereby inducing their differentiation into neurons. Moreover, we found this cell fate modulation was occurred in RPCs indicating high‐level expression of miRNA, but not in the low level. Our results strongly suggest that high‐level miRNA overexpression is essential for directing cell fate by miR‐9/9* and miR‐124 interference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amygdalin, prunasin, total cyanide and free cyanide concentrations in 12 powdered loquat seeds were investigated. Loquat (Eriobotrya japonica) is a species of flowering plant in the family Rosaceae, and its fruit is quite popular in Japan. Amygdalin and prunasin were measured using LC–MS/MS. Total cyanide was measured by enzymatic treatment, steam distillation and colorimetric quantification using the pyridine–pyrazolone method. Free cyanide was measured without enzymatic treatment. The mean concentrations of amygdalin, prunasin, total cyanide and free cyanide in powdered loquat seeds were 5900, 760, 410 and 44 mg/kg, respectively. The range of each quantitative value was extensive. Seven out of twelve samples were at risk for exceeding the acute reference dose (ARfD) of cyanide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We theoretically and numerically investigated procedures for accurately determining the acoustical physical constants of piezoelectric hexagonal (class 6mm) crystals, taking ZnO as an example, using bulk-wave velocities and leaky surface acoustic wave (LSAW) velocities acquired by ultrasonic microspectroscopy technology. Selection of appropriate propagation modes and directions for eight velocity measurements to facilitate accurately determining five elastic constants (c11E, c12E, c13E, c33E, and c44E) and three piezoelectric constants (e15, e31, and e33) was discussed in addition to measurements of two dielectric constants ([variant_greek_epsilon]11S and [variant_greek_epsilon]33S) and the density (ρ). Several determination procedures were obtained. Using only bulk-wave velocities measured for Y-cut, Z-cut, and several rotated Y-cut crystalline plane specimens provided the best determination accuracies for constants c13E, c33E, e31, and e33. Favorable determination accuracies were also achieved using several sets of two rotated Y-cut crystalline plane specimens such as (101) and (102). Conductive specimens of (001) and (102) with a resistive (103) specimen made the bulk-wave measurements simpler, resulting in greatly improved determination accuracies. The additional use of LSAW velocity with one conductive (001) specimen enabled the determination procedures to be simplified, resulting in acceptable accuracy for c13E. Measurements of bulk-wave velocities and LSAW velocities for just two resistive Y-cut and Z-cut specimens could determine all the constants, albeit with some deterioration in accuracy, especially for e31 and e33. This will be useful for preliminary determination of the constants for precious crystals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An epitaxy-on-recoil-implanted-substrate (ERIS) technique is presented. A disordered surface layer, generated by forward recoil implantation of ∼0.7-3×1015 cm-2 of oxygen during Ar plasma etching of surface oxide, is shown to facilitate the subsequent epitaxial growth of ∼25–35-nm-thick CoSi2 layers on Si(100). The dependence of the epitaxial fraction of the silicide on the recoil-implantation parameters is studied in detail. A reduction in the silicide reaction rate due to recoil-implanted oxygen is shown to be responsible for the observed epitaxial formation, similar to mechanisms previously observed for interlayer-mediated growth techniques. Oxygen is found to remain inside the fully reacted CoSi2 layer, likely in the form of oxide precipitates. The presence of these oxide precipitates, with only a minor effect on the sheet resistance of the silicide layer, has a surprisingly beneficial effect on the thermal stability of the silicide layers. The agglomeration of ERIS-grown silicide layers on polycrystalline Si is significantly suppressed, likely from a reduced diffusivity due to oxygen in the grain boundaries. The implications of the present technique for the processing of deep submicron devices are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The objective of this trial was to investigate the synergistic effects of bodyweight resistance exercise and a protein supplement with vitamin D on skeletal muscle in sarcopenic or dynapenic older adults. Methods: This was a four‐arm randomized controlled trial. Sarcopenic or dynapenic older adults were recruited for this trial. After screening, a total of 112 older adults were randomly allocated among four groups; 28 older adults each were enrolled in the combined resistance exercise and nutritional supplementation group, the exercise alone group, the nutritional supplementation alone group, and the control group. Participants in the combined group and exercise alone groups took part in a bodyweight resistance exercise program for 12 weeks. Protein and vitamin D supplements were provided every day for 12 weeks for the participants in the combined group and nutritional supplementation alone groups. We assessed the echo intensity of participants' thigh muscle using ultrasonography, measured their appendicular muscle mass using a bioelectrical impedance data acquisition system, and tested their knee extension strength and physical function. Results: Participants in the combined group had a significantly greater improvement in rectus femoris echo intensity and knee extension torque than those in the other groups (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the combined program increased appendicular muscle mass in sarcopenic older adults (P < 0.05), but not in older adults with low physical function with normal muscle mass. Conclusions: The present study confirmed the synergistic effect of bodyweight resistance exercise and protein supplement with vitamin D on muscle quality and muscle strength in sarcopenic or dynapenic older adults. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2019; 19: 429–437. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The ability to separate RBCs from the other components of whole blood has a number of useful clinical and research applications ranging from removing RBCs from typical clinical blood draw, bone marrow transplants to transfusions of these RBCs to patients after significant blood loss. Viewed from a mechanistic/process perspective, there are three routine methodologies to remove RBCs: 1) RBCs lysis, 2) separation of the RBCs from the nucleated cells (i.e., stem cells) based on density differences typically facilitated through centrifugation or sedimentation agents, and 3) antibody based separation in which a targeted RBC is bound with an affinity ligand that facilitates its removal. More recently, several microfluidic based techniques have also been reported. In this report, we describe the performance of continuous RBC separation achieved by the deflection of intrinsically magnetic, deoxygenated RBCs as they flow through a magnetic energy gradient created by quadrupole magnet. This quadrupole magnetic, with aperture of 9.65 mm, has a maximum field of B0 = 1.36 T at the pole tips and a constant field gradient of B0/r0 = 286 T/m. The annular flow channel, contained within this quadrupole magnet, is 203 mm long, has an inner radius of 3.98 mm, and an inner, outer radius of 4.36 mm, which corresponds to an annulus radius of 380 micrometer. At the entrance and exit to this annular channel, a manifold was designed which allows a cell suspension and sheath fluid to be injected, and a RBC enriched exit flow (containing the magnetically deflected RBCs) and a RBC depleted exit flow to be collected. Guided by theoretical models previously published, a limited number of operating parameters; total flow rate, flow rate ratios of flows in and flow out, and ratios of RBC to polystyrene control beads was tested. The overall performance of this system is consistent with our previously presented, theoretical models and our intuition. As expected, the normalized recovery of RBCs in the RBC exit fraction ranged from approximately 95% down to 60%, as the total flow rate through the system increased from 0.1 to 0.6 ml/min. At the cell concentrations studied, this corresponds to a flow rate of 1.5 × 106–9 × 106 cells/min. While the throughput of these pilot scale studies are slow for practical applications, the general agreement with theory, and the small cross‐sectional area in which the actual separation is achieved, 77 mm2 (annulus radius times the length), and corresponding volume of approximately 2 mls, suggests the potential to scale‐up a system for practical applications exists and is actively being pursued. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

SUMMARY We designed and evaluated ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) for a human activity monitoring system in order to reduce total power consumption. The ASIC extracts the HR from the measured electrocardiogram (ECG) raw signal. To create an ASIC with ultra-low power consumption, we used a novel algorithm based on fuzzy logic that is very simple and requires minimal processing power. The fabricated ASIC shows sufficient functionality and a power level as low as 2 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the development and the actual utilization of fab-wide fault detection and classification (FDC) for the advanced semiconductor manufacturing using big data. In the fab-wide FDC, the collection of equipment’s big data for the FDC judgment is required; hence, we developed the equipment monitoring system that handles the data in a superior method in high speed and in real time. We succeeded in stopping equipment and lots automatically when the equipment was detected as fault condition. In addition, we developed the environment that enables immediate data collection for analysis by the data aggregation and merging functions, which extracts keys correlating to yield from the equipment’s parameter. Furthermore, we succeeded in development of the high-speed and high-accuracy process control system that implemented virtual metrology and the run-to-run function for the purpose to reduce process variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Sunifiram is a novel pyrrolidone nootropic drug structurally related to piracetam, which was developed for neurodegenerative disorder like Alzheimer's disease. Sunifiram is known to enhance cognitive function in some behavioral experiments such as Morris water maze task. To address question whether sunifiram affects N-methyl- D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR)-dependent synaptic function in the hippocampal CA1 region, we assessed the effects of sunifiram on NMDAR-dependent long-term potentiation (LTP) by electrophysiology and on phosphorylation of synaptic proteins by immunoblotting analysis. In mouse hippocampal slices, sunifiram at 10-100 nM significantly enhanced LTP in a bell-shaped dose-response relationship which peaked at 10 nM. The enhancement of LTP by sunifiram treatment was inhibited by 7-chloro-kynurenic acid (7-ClKN), an antagonist for glycine-binding site of NMDAR, but not by ifenprodil, an inhibitor for polyamine site of NMDAR. The enhancement of LTP by sunifilam was associated with an increase in phosphorylation of α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisozazole-4-propionate receptor (AMPAR) through activation of calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and an increase in phosphorylation of NMDAR through activation of protein kinase Cα (PKCα). Sunifiram treatments at 1-1000 nM increased the slope of field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) in a dose-dependent manner. The enhancement was associated with an increase in phosphorylation of AMPAR receptor through activation of CaMKII. Interestingly, under the basal condition, sunifiram treatments increased PKCα (Ser-657) and Src family (Tyr-416) activities with the same bell-shaped dose-response curve as that of LTP peaking at 10 nM. The increase in phosphorylation of PKCα (Ser-657) and Src (Tyr-416) induced by sunifiram was inhibited by 7-ClKN treatment. The LTP enhancement by sunifiram was significantly inhibited by PP2, a Src family inhibitor. Finally, when pretreated with a high concentration of glycine (300 μM), sunifiram treatments failed to potentiate LTP in the CA1 region. Taken together, sunifiram stimulates the glycine-binding site of NMDAR with concomitant PKCα activation through Src kinase. Enhancement of PKCα activity triggers to potentiate hippocampal LTP through CaMKII activation. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The synthesis, structure, and conformational mobility of a trans-bis(aminophenolato)platinum(II) complex bearing a dodecamethylene bridge, [Pt(L)] ( 1) [ H L = N, N′-Dimethyl- N, N′-bis(2-hydroxyphenylmethyl)dodecane-1,12-diamine] are described. The 2D NMR and X-ray diffraction analysis revealed that the complex has a 'reversed U'-shaped syn conformation in the solution state, which is mainly due to steric congestion of the vaulted structure and hydrogen bonding at the bis[( o-aminomethyl)phenolato] coordination site, while the complex unit is packed in the crystalline state with 'Z-shaped' anti-conformation due to highly regulated molecular arrangement by 3D CH-π and hydrogen bonding interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a description of how to predict and control the transistor threshold voltage (Vth) for an advanced system on chip (SoC) by virtual metrology (VM), which we call virtual process control module (PCM), by using equipment data. Impact analysis for Vth variation by using a Virtual PCM model indicates that the impact of source and drain (S/D) resistance and extension resistance are comparable with that of the shape factor (i.e., gate length, sidewall width). Virtual metrology models for the resistance were developed to control and predict Vth. As a result of the VM control, Vth variation was reduced by 28%. Moreover, in-process prediction of Vth was put into practical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]