The University of Osaka

Thermomechanical Properties of Natural Rubber/OPEFB Composites With Hybrid Latex–Starch Coupling Agent

ABSTRACT Natural rubber composites remain essential for industrial applications in Indonesia, particularly in tire manufacturing, where improved rigidity and strength are required. This study investigates the use of oil palm empty fruit bunch fiber as a sustainable filler to enha...

pH-Responsive Probe for β-Lactamase-based Protein Tag in Fluorescence Imaging of Receptor Endocytosis

Abstract Fluorescence imaging of the local pH environment surrounding proteins offers an understanding of cellular processes, including receptor endocytosis. We herein develop a pH-responsive fluorescent β-lactamase inhibitor for protein labeling via a genetically encodable β-lac...

Atomically thin amorphous carbon with an ultralow dielectric constant

Two-dimensional (2D) materials could replace conventional electronic components. Key advances have already been made in applying 2D materials to integrated circuits, but a robust, atomically thin ultralow-k dielectric remains crucial for further circuit scaling. Minimizing parasi...

Comparative Analysis of Ion and Electron Contributions to Ionospheric Ionization at Auroral and Subauroral Latitudes

Abstract Electron and proton precipitation into the nightside ionosphere is a key process in magnetosphere–ionosphere coupling. Although auroral electron precipitation at –10 keV is traditionally considered the main driver of auroral emissions, recent studies show that keV electr...

Extended global area search algorithm for unimolecular reactions and multistep conformational transitions

In this study, we propose an extended Global Area Search (GLAS) algorithm for the automatic exploration of multistep transitions without specifying reaction coordinates in advance. The key concept of the original GLAS method is to introduce repulsive interactions among walkers re...

Accurate AtomicDecomposition Method in 3D-RISM Theoryvia Multi-Input Linear Correction: Application to the Protein HydrophobicCore

Abstract Solvation free energy (SFE) is a fundamental thermodynamic quantity governing biomolecular processes in solution. Although the atomic decomposition method derived from the Kirkwood charging formula enables site-resolved evaluation of SFE contributions, its application wi...

Mining of NovelHuman DPP-IV-Targeting Tripeptidesthrough Multicomputational Screening and In Vitro Validation for DiabetesTherapy

Abstract Inhibition of human dipeptidyl peptidase IV (hDPP-IV) is considered an effective strategy in the management of type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, the lack of high-throughput screening approaches and the high cost of experimental evaluation have limited the discovery of pept...

Building a Physics-Aware AI Ecosystem for Solid-State Hydrogen Storage Materials

Abstract Hydrogen storage remains a central bottleneck for scalable hydrogen energy systems due to the multiscale and coupled nature of the thermodynamics, kinetics, and microstructural evolution of hydrogen storage materials (HSMs). Although artificial intelligence (AI) has acce...

Psychological profiles of readiness for advance care planning in super-aged Japan

Advance care planning (ACP) helps ensure that future medical care reflects individuals’ values and preferences. However, little is known about how multiple psychological characteristics combine to shape readiness for ACP, particularly in Japan. This study aimed to identify psycho...

Subjective well-being of healthcare workers after Japan’s COVID-19 state of emergency

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are the cornerstone of pandemic response, yet their subjective well-being may be compromised by unavoidable occupational risks. While current research has documented the immediate psychological impact of COVID-19, fewer studies have tracked how self-repo...

Comprehensive Spectroscopic Elucidation of Atomically Dispersed FeN 4 Active Sites of Fe‐N‐C Electrocatalysts

ABSTRACT To gain insights into single‐atom active sites of iron, nitrogen‐doped carbon (Fe‐N‐C), we performed comprehensive element‐specific spectroscopies including Fe K ‐edge X‐ray absorption, 57 Fe Mössbauer, and Fe Kβ 1,3 and valence‐to‐core (VtC) X‐ray emission spectroscopy...

Evidence for latent regularities in echolocation-guided flight behaviour of bats

Abstract Echolocating bats navigate complex environments with remarkable agility, yet it remains unclear whether their flight trajectories are governed by reproducible internal policies shared within a species and across the controlled environments examined. To address this quest...

BoDV-1 Infection Is Associated with Altered Prion Protein Glycoform Maturation and Reduced ETS1-MGAT5/GnTV Pathway Activity in Rat C6 Astroglial Cells

Borna disease virus 1 (BoDV-1) is a noncytolytic, neurotrophic virus that causes neurological disorders, where astrocytes contribute to neuropathology. Cellular prion protein (PrPC) is involved in pro-survival signaling and antioxidative defense. Using rat astroglial C6 cells as...

Gut microbial and metabolic biomarkers for early-onset colorectal cancer

Early-onset colorectal cancer (EO-CRC) is a growing global health challenge with poorly understood etiology. While gut microbiota and metabolites are implicated in colorectal carcinogenesis, EO-CRC-associated signatures remain poorly characterized. This study presents the first l...

Time-dependent queue length distribution in queues fed by K customers in a finite interval

Abstract We consider queueing models, where customers arrive according to a continuous-time binomial process on a finite interval. In this arrival process, a total of K customers arrive in the finite time interval [0, T ], where arrival times of those K customers are independent...

The syntax-phonology interface of Left Branch Extraction

Abstract Locality of dislocation has been one of the central issues in linguistics since Ross’s (1967. Constraints on variables in syntax. Cambridge, MA: MIT dissertation) seminal paper. One of the locality conditions that Ross describes is the Left Branch Condition, which prohib...

Supramolecular Protection–Deprotection for Switching Pore‐Surface Functionality in a Crystalline Porous Organic Salt

ABSTRACT The precise installation of highly interactive functional groups on pore surfaces remains a central challenge in crystalline porous materials since such groups often interfere with framework formation. In this study, supramolecular protection–deprotection was performed i...

Distribution and Time Trends of Refractive Errors in Japanese Spectacle Wearers

Purpose: This study aimed to estimate the distribution and temporal trends of refractive errors among spectacle wearers in Japan using a nationwide database of optical chain stores. Methods: Data from 4,525,689 individuals (53.0% women and 47.0% men; age range, 6-35 years) who pu...

Potential EnergySurfaces of Environment-SensitiveFlapping Fluorophores: FLAP

Abstract A series of FLAP molecules are one of the functional fluorescent probes that can sense subtle changes in local environments such as viscosity, polymer free volume, and external mechanical force. In this work, potential energy surfaces (PESs) of a representative Flexible...

Serum Agalactosyl IgG Predicts Hepatocellular Carcinoma and All‐Cause Mortality After SVR in Advanced Chronic Hepatitis C

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Patients with chronic hepatitis C and advanced fibrosis remain at substantial risk of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and non-liver-related death even after sustained virological response (SVR) to direct-acting antivirals (DAA). Serum agalactosyl IgG (agal-IgG...