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Plasmonic nanoparticle clusters promise to support unique engineered electromagnetic responses at optical frequencies, realizing a new concept of devices for nanophotonic applications. However, the technological challenges associated with the fabrication of three-dimensional nanoparticle clusters with programmed compositions remain unresolved. Here, we present a novel strategy for realizing heterogeneous structures that enable efficient near-field coupling between the plasmonic modes of gold nanoparticles and various other nanomaterials via a simple three-dimensional coassembly process. Quantum dots embedded in the plasmonic structures display ∼56 meV of a blue shift in the emission spectrum. The decay enhancement factor increases as the total contribution of radiative and nonradiative plasmonic modes increases. Furthermore, we demonstrate an ultracompact diagnostic platform to detect M13 viruses and their mutations from femtoliter volume, sub-100 pM analytes. This platform could pave the way toward an effective diagnosis of diverse pathogens, which is in high demand for handling pandemic situations.

Objective: This study was performed to determine the effects of stress after road transportation and oral administration of chromium and meloxicam on growth performance, plasma cortisol, serum metabolites, and behavior in dairy calves.Methods: A total of 50 Holstein heifers (average body weight [BW]: 172±4.19 kg; average age: 5.53±0.12 months) were randomly assigned to five groups including NL (not transported + D-lactose; 1 mg/kg BW), TL (transported + D-lactose; 1 mg/kg BW), TC (transported + chromium; 0.5 mg/kg dry matter [DM] feed), TM (transported + meloxicam; 1 mg/kg BW), and TMC (transported + combination of meloxicam and chromium; 1 mg/kg BW and 0.5 mg/kg DM, respectively). Doses of D-lactose monohydrate, meloxicam, and chromium were prepared for oral administration by suspension in 15 mL of water in a 20-mL dosing syringe. Blood was collected before transportation, immediately after 120 km of transportation (IAT), and at 6, 24, and 48 h after transportation.Results: Neither transportation nor administration of meloxicam and/or chromium affected (p = 0.99) average daily gain and feed intake. Plasma cortisol concentrations in the NL group (average 0.13 and 0.18 nmol/L, respectively) were lower (p

Carbon monoxide (CO) is an odorless, colorless, tasteless, extremely flammable, and highly toxic gas. It is produced when there is insufficient oxygen supply during the combustion of carbon to produce carbon dioxide (CO2). CO is produced from operating engines, stoves, or furnaces. CO poisoning occurs when CO accumulates in the bloodstream and can result in severe tissue damage or even death. Many types of CO sensors have been reported, including electrochemical, semiconductor metal-oxide, catalytic combustion, thermal conductivity, and infrared absorption-type for the detection of CO. However, despite their excellent selectivity and sensitivity, issues such as complexity, power consumption, and calibration limit their applications. In this study, a fabricbased colorimetric CO sensor is proposed to address these issues. Potassium disulfitopalladate (II) (K2Pd(SO3)2) is dyed on a polyester fabric as a sensing material for selective CO detection. The sensing characteristics and performance are investigated using optical instruments such as RGB sensor and spectrometer. The sensor shows immediate color change when exposed to CO at a concentration that is even lower than 20 ppm before 2 min. The fast response time of the sensor is attributed to its high porosity to react with CO. This easy-to-fabricate and cost-effective sensor can detect and prevent the leakage of CO simultaneously with high sensitivity and selectivity toward CO.

The aim of this study is to describe radiographic, ultrasonographic, and computed tomographic appearance of normal cinereous vulture’s eye and to determine normal biometric values of intraocular structures. Twenty-six eyes of thirteen healthy cinereous vultures were examined. Under general anesthesia with isoflurane, ultrasonography (US), computed tomography (CT) and skull radiography were performed. Differences between both eyes as well as between US and CT measurements were investigated and correlation of measurements between both eyes as well as correlation between CT and US measurements of the various ocular structures were calculated. Most of paired data did not show any significant differences between both eyes and the CT and US measurements, while there were significant differences (P

Understanding and knowledge regarding basic sexual behavior constitute a logical starting point for captive breeding of the endangered Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus, ABB) in the Republic of Korea. This study was therefore undertaken to create an ethogram for the sexual behaviors of ABB and to describe the time budget of the relevant behaviors. To create an ethogram, six adult ABBs (three females, three males) in captivity were observed using the Internet protocol cameras for 3 years without recording, and a pair of male and female ABBs were observed similarly with a recording system for two different years to collect the time budget data. We confirmed 23 distinct sexual behaviors and established, for the first time, an ethogram for sexual behaviors in ABB, including duration of individual behavior. Total sexual behavior was mostly observed between 11:00 and 13:00 hours, between 16:00 and 18:00 hours, and more frequently during the first week of July. Mean duration of courtships were 7.9 ± 3.5 minutes (when the courtship advanced to mating) or 15.2 ± 9.1 minutes (when the courtship did not advance to mating), mean duration of mating was 20.1 ± 9.6 minutes (when shivering, indicating ejaculation, was included) or 11.1 ± 4.0 minutes (when shivering was not included), and mean refractory duration was 1206.3 ± 858.2 minutes. These data could be applied by veterinarians and other biologists engaged in breeding the endangered bears in captivity. Furthermore, these data may be the basis for theriogenology studies in bears.

This paper proposes a system that provides video streaming services from the Internet of Media Things using blockchain and cryptocurrency (token). The user pays the token by the contract terms of the smart contract written on the blockchain through the distributed application (DApp). The IP camera, which is paid the token, streams the taken video to the user in real-time. To investigate the possibility of a blockchain camera streaming service, we upload a smart contract for streaming service on Etherium-based blockchain, and ERC20 tokens necessary for the transaction are created and implemented. To overcome the slow trading speed and the disability of proper refunding, the off-chain transaction, one of the blockchain scaling techniques, was applied and implemented in the system.

We reveal the significance of plasmonic nanoparticle’s (NP) shape and its surface morphology en route to an efficient self-assembled plasmonic nanoparticle cluster. A simplified model is simulated in the form of free-space dimer and trimer nanostructures (NPs in shape of sphere, cube, and disk). A ~ 200 % to ~ 125% raise in near field strength (gap mode enhancement) is observed for spherical NPs in comparison with cubical NPs (from 2 nm to 8 nm gap sizes). Full-width three-quarter maximum reveals better broad-spectral optical performance in a range of ~ 100 nm (dimer) and ~ 170 nm (trimer) from spherical NPs as compared to a cube (~ 60 nm for dimer and trimer). These excellent properties for sphere-based nanostructures are merited from its dipole mode characteristics.

The information on animal weight is often an essential component of wildlife management and research. However, it may be difficult to obtain direct scale weights from the free-ranging large animals when equipment needed to weigh the animals are inadequate or unavailable. In these cases, body weight can be estimated by morphometric equation. We investigated body mass and size (16 body parts) of reintroduced Asiatic black bears (Ursus thibetanus; ABB) and their offsprings (28 males and 24 females, age 7 months − 12 years) between 2005 and 2013. Mean body weight of adult females and males in September − December were 132.2 ± 11.8 and 166.6 ± 7.2 kg, respectively, which was higher than those in April − August (103.8 ± 5.6 and 141.7 ± 6.3 kg, respectively). We developed three predictive equations for body mass by pad width and season that can utilize the footprint size before capturing. In addition, we also developed eleven multiple regression models to predict body mass through body part measurements after capturing, and selected two best models including neck girth, chest girth, body length, season, and sex. This study is the first to develop predictive equations for body mass by simple measurements of body parts in ABB. This data will not only help to understand the relationship between the weight and body size of reintroduced bears, but by estimating the weight without a scale, it will help to make the task easier and faster and to determine the appropriate anesthetic dose in the field.

A facile new synthetic method for the preparation of a Type-A 1-arylnaphthalene lactone skeleton was developed and used to synthesise justicidin B and several derivatives. Key synthesis steps included Hauser-Kraus annulation of a phthalide intermediate and Suzuki-Miyaura cross coupling between a triflated naphthalene lactone intermediate and various potassium organotrifluoroborates. With two exceptions, the derivatives showed significant inhibitory effect on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced nitric oxide (NO) production in mouse macrophages. Moreover, several compounds, including justicidin B, had marked cytotoxicity towards six human tumour cell lines.

Introduction: In this study, a dual release bi-layer tablet containing Fesoterodine fumarate (Fst) 5 mg and Mirabegron (Mrb) 50 mg was prepared to investigate the different release behavior of each drug in bilayer tablet. The bilayer tablet was prepared based on monolayer-tablet formulation of each drug. Methods: The optimized bi-layer tablet showed an in vitro dissolution profile similar to commercial reference tablets Toviaz and Betmiga, based on a satisfactory similarity factor. Drug-release kinetics of each drug in the bilayer tablet were evaluated based on dissolution profiles. Drug-release behavior was evaluated by observing the surface of each layer by scanning electron microscopy and measuring the changes in weight and volume of the tablet during dissolution. Drug transfer between each layer was also investigated by Fourier -transform infrared spectroscopic imaging by observing the cross-section of the bilayer tablet cut vertically during dissolution. Results: The release of Fst was well suited for the Higuchi model, and the release of Mrb was well suited for the Hixson-crowell model. Compared with dissolution rate of each monolayer tablet, that of Fst in the bilayer tablet was slightly reduced (5%), but the dissolution rate of Mrb in bilayer tablet was dramatically decreased (20%). Also, a drug-release study confirmed that polymer swelling was dominant in Fst layer compared with polymer erosion, and degradation was dominant in MRB layer. Fourier-transform infrared imaging and 3-D image reconstruction showed that drug transfer in the bilayer tablet correlates with the results of drug-release behavior. Conclusion: These findings are expected to provide scientific insights in the development of a dual-release bilayer drug-delivery system for Fst and Mrb.

A clonorchiasis case in a captive leopard cat, Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus, was confirmed by ultrasonographic findings and egg morphologies found in the bile juice sample in the Korea. The leopard cat was introduced from the wild habitat of Gyeongsangnam-do, to Cheongju Zoo in Cheongju-si, Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea in August 2014. Physical examinations were basically performed for quarantine and check-up health. The cat was comparatively good in health except anorexia. The cyst-like bile duct dilation and the increased echogenicity of gall bladder wall and hepatic parenchyma were observed by ultrasonography. Ultrasound-guided needle biopsy was conducted for collecting bile juice and the specimens were observed under light microscope. The numerous small trematode eggs were detected in the bile juice sample of the light microscopy. The eggs were 25-33 (28±3) μm by 18-22 (20±1) μm in size and showed typical characteristics of Clonorchis sinensis egg, i.e., a dominantly developed operculum, shoulder rim and dust-like wrinkles in surface. To treat the liver fluke infection, 20 mg/kg of praziquantel was orally administered only once to the case. Follow-up studies including fecal examinations were conducted during 2 years after treatment. But no more eggs were detected from the case. In the present study, we described the first clonorchiasis case of leopard cat, which was confirmed by ultrasonographic findings and egg morphologies from the bile juice sample in Korea.

In this study, electric energy storage properties of (Pb0.89La0.11)(Zr0.70Ti0.30)0.9725O3 (PLZT 11/70/30) relaxor ceramics were investigated. XRD pattern and SEM image confirms the perovskite phase and dense structure without any secondary phases and pores, respectively. Room temperature dielectric constant was found to be high (~ 3520) with low dielectric loss (~ 0.03). Dielectric constant changes with temperature confirm the relaxor ferroelectric behaviour of PLZT ceramics. Different parameters such as degree of deviation (ΔTm) from the Curie–Weiss law, the diffuseness of the phase transition (ΔTdiff) and degree of diffuseness (γ), which are related to the relaxor nature of ferroelectrics were calculated. With the remarkably slim polarization versus electric field hysteresis loops even at high applied electric field, high energy storage of 0.85 J/cm3 and very high energy storage efficiency of 92.9% were obtained from the PLZT ceramics. These values suggest that the PLZT 11/70/30 composition can be used for the pulse driving energy storage applications.