Examination of VOC Concentration of Aroma Essential Oils and Their Major VOCs Diffused in Room Air.

This study analyzed temporal variation of the composition of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at different diffusion time of gaseous phase of aroma compounds of four essential oils, lavender, tea tree, eucalyptus, and melissa. GC/MS methodology with the trace gas sampling by a thermal desorption tube is used to quantitatively determine the concentration of the corresponding 14 kinds of major and original VOCs in four essential oils. This study revealed for the first time that the concentration level of gaseous phase composition is varied, with a diffusion time from that of the liquid phase at equilibrium with it and the VOCs in the essential oils are classified into two groups, depending on whether their concentration with the time. It is verified that the total concentration of VOCs of these essential oils in the room air diffused by the ultrasonic diffuser is as low as 0.6 ppb and decreased soon below 0.1 ppb.

Self-Adaptive Gas Sensor System Based on Operating Conditions Using Data Prediction.

Through the improvement of nanomaterial technologies, a gas sensor was developed for detecting ppm or ppb levels of gas. Our SnO2 nanosheet gas sensor can detect 50 ppb of acetone without the requirement of a novel metal catalyst by exposing the (101) facet containing the Sn2+ state. Despite the high performance, the fluctuation of the gas response value based on operating conditions, even at the same concentration, is a critical problem in gas sensors. Thus, the alarm criteria of the sensor are typically determined by a safety factor. However, this method is not suitable for application in ultrasensitive sensors that require distinguishing minute differences in extremely low concentrations for medical examination or odor analysis. Therefore, we suggest a self-adaptive system that is based on operating conditions in collaboration with the data prediction model. The sensor system is based on a predictive model obtained by the response surface methodology. When the system detects a change in conditions, the alarm criteria are changed appropriately through the calculated values from the predictive model. To prepare a database for an effective predictive model, the gas responses of the SnO2 nanosheet sensor were measured with 20 treatments with 3 independent variables, namely, the temperature, flow rate, and concentration. Our prediction model achieved its best performance on training data with R2 = 0.9299 and less than 5% error in the prediction of unseen data.

High Temperature Electrical Properties of Co-Substituted La4BaCu5O13+δ Thin Films Fabricated by Sputtering Method.

The high-temperature conductivity of the perovskite oxides of a La4BaCu5O13+δ (LBCO) thin film prepared by RF sputtering deposition and thermal annealing has been studied. While the bulk LBCO compound was metallic, the LBCO film deposited on a Si substrate by sputtering and a post annealing process showed semiconductor-like conduction, which is considered to be due to the defects and poor grain connectivity in the LBCO film on the Si substrate. The LBCO film deposited on a SrTiO3 substrate was of high film quality and showed metallic conduction. When the cation site Cu was substituted by Co, the electrical conductivity of the LBCO film increased further and its temperature dependence became smaller. The transport properties of LBCO films are investigated to understand its carrier generation mechanism.

Transformation of Acute Myeloid Leukemia with Deletion of Chromosome 7q and Additional Abnormalities in Chromosome 8 in a Patient with Essential Thrombocythemia.

This is a case report of a 60-year-old male patient with essential thrombocythemia (ET) that progressed to acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in approximately 9 years. His platelet count decreased approximately 8 years after ET treatment with hydroxyurea (HU) and aspirin. The dose of HU was reduced because of suspected myelosuppression due to HU; however, myelosuppression did not improve. Bone marrow examination revealed myelofibrosis; therefore, ruxolitinib was administered. Approximately 1 year later, his leukocyte and blast counts in the peripheral blood increased; thus, ET was judged to have progressed to AML-myelodysplasia-related change. Induction chemotherapy and consolidation therapy were initiated; however, the patient unfortunately failed to achieve complete remission. We then continued to administer salvage chemotherapy; however, his general condition worsened, and he died from cerebral hemorrhage. The karyotype at the onset of ET was 46,XY, which changed to 47,XY,del(7q),+8 at the time of AML diagnosis. In addition, genetic testing revealed FLT-3 ITD mutation. His histopathological analysis showed subarachnoid and intraparenchymal hemorrhages and tumor cell infiltration into the cerebrum, brainstem, and cerebellum. In this case, deletion of the long arm of chromosome 7, additional abnormalities in chromosome 8, and FLT3-ITD mutation were confirmed as risk factors for having developed secondary AML for approximately 9 years and death from cerebral hemorrhage 1 year later.

Facile synthesis of ZnO nanobullets by solution plasma without chemical additives.

ZnO nano-bullets were synthesized using solution plasma from only Zn electrode in water without any chemical agents. In this sustainable synthesis system, the rapid quenching reaction at the interface between the plasma/liquid phases facilitates the fast formation of nano-sized materials. The coil-to-pin type electrode geometry, which overcomes the discharge interruption owing to the electrode gap broadening of the typical pin-to-pin type enables the synthesis of numerous nanomaterials through a stable discharge for 1 h. The as-prepared samples exhibited a high crystalline ZnO structure without post calcination, and the length and width were 71.8 and 29.1 nm, respectively. The main exposed facet of ZnO nano-bullets was the (100) crystal facet, but interestingly, the (101) facet was confirmed at the inclined surfaces in the edges. The (101) crystal facet has an asymmetric Zn and O atom arrangement, and it could result in a focused electron density area with relatively high reactivity. Therefore, ZnO nano-bullets are promising materials for applications in advanced technologies.

Catalyst-free Highly Sensitive SnO2 Nanosheet Gas Sensors for Parts per Billion-Level Detection of Acetone.

The development of a facile gas sensor for the ppb-level detection of acetone is required for realizing health diagnosis systems that utilize human breath. Controlling the crystal facet of a nanomaterial is an effective strategy to fabricate a high-response gas sensor without a novel metal catalyst. Herein, we successfully synthesized a SnO2 nanosheet structure, with mainly exposed (101) crystal facets, using a SnF2 aqueous solution at 90 °C. The SnO2 nanosheets obtained after various synthesis durations (2, 6, and 24 h) were investigated. The sample synthesized for 6 h (NS-6) exhibited a 10-fold higher response (Ra/Rg = 10.4) for 1 ppm of acetone compared to the other samples, where Ra and Rg are the electrical resistances under air and the target gas. Furthermore, NS-6 detected up to 200 ppb of acetone (response = 3). In this study, we attributed the high response (of low concentrations of acetone) to the (101) crystal facet, which is the main reaction surface. The (101) crystal facet allows the facile formation of a depletion layer due to the highly reactive Sn2+. Additionally, the acetone adsorption energy of the (101) crystal facet is relatively lower than that of other crystal facets. Owing to these factors, our pristine SnO2 nanosheet gas sensor exhibited significantly high sensitivity to ppb levels of acetone.

Selective Detection of Target Volatile Organic Compounds in Contaminated Air Using Sensor Array with Machine Learning: Aging Notes and Mold Smells in Simulated Automobile Interior Contaminant Gases.

We investigated the selective detection of target volatile organic compounds (VOCs) which are age-related body odors (namely, 2-nonenal, pelargonic acid, and diacetyl) and a fungal odor (namely, acetic acid) in the presence of interference VOCs from car interiors (namely, n-decane, and butyl acetate). We used eight semiconductive gas sensors as a sensor array; analyzing their signals using machine learning; principal-component analysis (PCA), and linear-discriminant analysis (LDA) as dimensionality-reduction methods; k-nearest-neighbor (kNN) classification to evaluate the accuracy of target-gas determination; and random forest and ReliefF feature selections to choose appropriate sensors from our sensor array. PCA and LDA scores from the sensor responses to each target gas with contaminant gases were generally within the area of each target gas; hence; discrimination between each target gas was nearly achieved. Random forest and ReliefF efficiently reduced the required number of sensors, and kNN verified the quality of target-gas discrimination by each sensor set.

A pilot study to establish human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) carrier model using common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

BACKGROUND: For the diagnosis and treatment of adult T-cell leukemia/lymphoma (ATLL) caused by human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1) are required therapeutic modalities urgently. Non-human primate models for ATLL would provide a valuable information for clinical studies. We did a pilot study to establish an ATLL non-human primate model using common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus). METHODS: We inoculated HTLV-1-producing MT-2 cells into 9-month-old marmosets, either intraperitoneally or intravenously. We next administrated MT-2 cells into 13-month-old marmosets under cyclosporine A (CsA) treatment to promote infection. HTLV-1 infection was determined by measuring HTLV-1 antibody titer in the common marmosets. RESULTS: The HTLV-1 antibody titer increased in the intraperitoneally inoculated marmoset with or without CsA treatment, and it kept over five 5 years though proviral copy number (proviral load, PVL) remained low throughout the study. CONCLUSION: We obtained HTLV-1 asymptomatic carriers of common marmosets by inoculating MT-2 cells.

Breath analysis using a spirometer and volatile organic compound sensor on driving simulator.

In this study the correlation between the condition of drivers and their expiration was evaluated by analyzing the exhalation of car drivers in a simulation setting using a spirometer and a volatile organic compound (VOC) gas sensor. Participants wore exhalation masks and their expiration was monitored for fluctuations in breath measurements, including VOC concentration, oxygen intake, carbon dioxide excretion, and respiration rate. Participants used a driving simulator on four different courses of varying difficulty for approximately five min each, with the mean and standard deviation (SD) being calculated for each parameter during the cruising section of the course. After driving each course, participants assessed the 'enjoyment' and 'difficulty' of their experience. It was verified whether the state of the participants during driving can be determined from exhalation by comparing the questionnaire results. The mean and SD of all exhalation parameters were analyzed using box-and-whisker plots and any statistical significance between these parameters and driver experience was tested using the analysis of variance. There was no significant difference in the correlation between the questionnaire result of 'difficulty' and each exhalation parameter. By contrast, the low assessment group of 'enjoyment' showed large SDs in all parameters from both the VOC gas sensor and spirometer.

Trial of an All-Ceramic SnO2 Gas Sensor Equipped with CaCu3Ru4O12 Heater and Electrode.

We have constructed a gas sensor of SnO2 equipped with ceramic electrodes and a heater made of CaCu3Ru4O12, which demonstrated good device performance at high temperature. The CaCu3Ru4O12-based electrodes and heater were formed on Al2O3 substrates using a screen-printing process, which is cost-effective and suitable for mass-production. This all-ceramic device reached 600 °C at the lowest, and remained intact after one week of operation at 500 °C and rapid thermal cycling of 500 °C temperature changes within 10 s. We propose CaCu3Ru4O12 as a robust and reliable conducting material that can be a substitute for Pt in various devices.

Thermoelectric Array Sensors with Selective Combustion Catalysts for Breath Gas Monitoring.

Inflammable breath gases such as H2 and CH4 are used as bio markers for monitoring the condition of the colon. However, their typical concentrations of below 100 ppm pose sensitivity and selectivity challenges to current gas sensing systems without the use of chromatography. We fabricated a compact, gas-selective thermoelectric array sensor (TAS) that uses micro-machined sensor devices with three different combustion catalysts to detect gases such as H2, CO, and CH4 in breath. Using Pt/Pt-W thin-film micro-heater meanders, Pd/Al2O3, Pt,Pd,Au/Co3O4, and Pt/Al2O3 catalysts were heated to 320, 200, and 125 °C, respectively, and the gas sensing performances of the TAS for each gas and for a model breath gas mixture of 100 ppm H2, 25 ppm CO, 50 ppm CH4, and 199 ppm CO2 in air were investigated. Owing to its high catalyst temperature, the Pd/Al2O3 catalyst burned all three gases, while the Pt,Pd,Au/Co3O4 burned CO and H2 and the Pt/Al2O3 burned H2 selectively. To calibrate the gas concentration of the mixture gas without the use of a gas separation tool, linear discriminant analysis was applied to measure the sensing performance of TAS. To enhance the gas selectivity against H2, a double catalyst structure was integrated into the TAS sensor.

Effect of Core-shell Ceria/Poly(Vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) Nanoparticles Incorporated in Polymer Films and Their Optical Properties (2): Increasing the Refractive Index.

We investigated the preparation of well-dispersed core-shell ceria-poly(vinylpyrrolidone) (PVP) nanoparticles with an average particle size of around 20 nm which were used to produce a hybrid film with a polymer coating of dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate (DPHA). We obtained good dispersion of the nanoparticles in a mixed solvent of 48% 1-methoxy-2-propanol (MP), 32% 3-methoxy-3-methyl-1-butanol (MMB), and 20% methyl i-butyl ketone (MIBK). An ink of the polymer coating consisting of 68.7 wt% nanoparticles and 31.3 wt% DPHA with a polymerization initiator was prepared using this solvent mixture. The surface of the hybrid film showed low roughness and the nanoparticles formed a densely packed structure in the DPHA matrix. The resulting coating possessed excellent transparency and a high refractive index of 1.69.

Diagnosis by Volatile Organic Compounds in Exhaled Breath from Lung Cancer Patients Using Support Vector Machine Algorithm.

Monitoring exhaled breath is a very attractive, noninvasive screening technique for early diagnosis of diseases, especially lung cancer. However, the technique provides insufficient accuracy because the exhaled air has many crucial volatile organic compounds (VOCs) at very low concentrations (ppb level). We analyzed the breath exhaled by lung cancer patients and healthy subjects (controls) using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and performed a subsequent statistical analysis to diagnose lung cancer based on the combination of multiple lung cancer-related VOCs. We detected 68 VOCs as marker species using GC/MS analysis. We reduced the number of VOCs and used support vector machine (SVM) algorithm to classify the samples. We observed that a combination of five VOCs (CHN, methanol, CH3CN, isoprene, 1-propanol) is sufficient for 89.0% screening accuracy, and hence, it can be used for the design and development of a desktop GC-sensor analysis system for lung cancer.

Mixed-Potential Gas Sensors Using an Electrolyte Consisting of Zinc Phosphate Glass and Benzimidazole.

Mixed-potential gas sensors with a proton conductor consisting of zinc metaphosphate glass and benzimidazole were fabricated for the detection of hydrogen produced by intestinal bacteria in dry and humid air. The gas sensor consisting of an alumina substrate with platinum and gold electrodes showed good response to different hydrogen concentrations from 250 parts per million (ppm) to 25,000 ppm in dry and humid air at 100-130 °C. The sensor response varied linearly with the hydrogen and carbon monoxide concentrations due to mass transport limitations. The sensor responses to hydrogen gas (e.g., -0.613 mV to 1000 ppm H2) was higher than those to carbon monoxide gas (e.g., -0.128 mV to 1000 ppm CO) at 120 °C under atmosphere with the same level of humidity as expired air.

Development of an Exhaled Breath Monitoring System with Semiconductive Gas Sensors, a Gas Condenser Unit, and Gas Chromatograph Columns.

Various volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in breath exhaled by patients with lung cancer, healthy controls, and patients with lung cancer who underwent surgery for resection of cancer were analyzed by gas condenser-equipped gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS) for development of an exhaled breath monitoring prototype system involving metal oxide gas sensors, a gas condenser, and gas chromatography columns. The gas condenser-GC/MS analysis identified concentrations of 56 VOCs in the breath exhaled by the test population of 136 volunteers (107 patients with lung cancer and 29 controls), and selected four target VOCs, nonanal, acetoin, acetic acid, and propanoic acid, for use with the condenser, GC, and sensor-type prototype system. The prototype system analyzed exhaled breath samples from 101 volunteers (74 patients with lung cancer and 27 controls). The prototype system exhibited a level of performance similar to that of the gas condenser-GC/MS system for breath analysis.

Survey and Experimental Infection of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in Common Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus).

Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) are frequently used for biomedical research but can be afflicted with diarrhea-a serious and potentially lethal health problem. Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli (EPEC) is thought to be the causative pathogen of hemorrhagic typhlocolitis in common marmosets, but the actual incidence of the disease and the relationship between EPEC and hematochezia are unknown. This study investigated the prevalence of EPEC infection in common marmosets and the association between EPEC and hematochezia. A total of 230 stool or rectal swab samples were collected from 230 common marmosets (98 clinically healthy, 85 diarrhea, and 47 bloody stool samples) and tested by culture-based detection and PCR amplification of VT1, VT2, LT, ST, eae, and bfp genes. Healthy animals were divided into three groups (n = 4 each for high and low concentration groups and n = 2 as negative control), and those in the experimental groups were perorally inoculated with a 2-ml of suspension of EPEC R811 strain adjusted to 5 × 108 (high concentration) and 5 × 104 (low concentration) CFU/ ml. Two animals in each group were examined 3 and 14 days post-inoculation (DPI). EPEC was detected in 10 of 98 clinically healthy samples (10.2%), 17 of 85 diarrhea samples (20%), and all 47 bloody stool samples (100%), with a significant difference detected between presence of EPEC and sample status (P < 0.01). Acute hematochezia was observed in all animals of the high-concentration group but not in other groups at 1 or 2 DPI. A histopathological examination revealed the attachment of gram-negative bacilli to epithelial apical membranes and desquamated epithelial cells in the cecum of animals in the high-concentration group at 3 DPI. These findings suggest that EPEC is a causative agent of hemorrhagic typhlocolitis in common marmosets.

Multiple myeloma developing in a patient with immune thrombocytopenia.

A female diagnosed as having immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) was found to be simultaneously suffering from monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (IgGλ). Urine Bence-Jones protein was negative. During the course, plasma cells accounted for 21.6% of the bone marrow. Based on these clinical features in our case, the second disease was diagnosed as multiple myeloma (MM). Both ITP and MM were successfully treated with corticosteroids, bortezomib, lenalidomide with dexamethasone and eltrombopag olamine. MM with ITP may show the following features: 1) the great majority are IgG types, 2) λ chain types show marked light chain predominance when these two diseases appear simultaneously, 3) κ chain types are predominant in the cases with MM followed by ITP, and 4) MM cases with ITP are more often seen in Japan.

A case of nontraumatic gas gangrene in a common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

The common marmoset is widely used in neuroscience and regenerative medicine research. However, information concerning common marmoset disorders, particularly infectious diseases, is scarce. Here, we report a case of a female common marmoset that died suddenly due to gas gangrene. The animal presented with gaseous abdominal distention at postmortem, and Clostridium perfringens type A was isolated from several tissues. Vacuoles, a Gram-positive bacteremia and intravascular hemolysis were observed microscopically in the muscles, liver and lungs. On the basis of these findings, we diagnosed nontraumatic gas gangrene caused by Clostridium perfringens type A in this common marmoset.

CO Sensing Performance of a Micro Thermoelectric Gas Sensor with AuPtPd/SnO2 Catalyst and Effects of a Double Catalyst Structure with Pt/α-Al2O3.

The CO sensing properties of a micro thermoelectric gas sensor (micro-TGS) with a double AuPtPd/SnO2 and Pt/α-Al2O3 catalyst were investigated. While several nanometer sized Pt and Pd particles were uniformly dispersed on SnO2, the Au particles were aggregated as particles measuring >10 nm in diameter. In situ diffuse reflectance Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT) analysis of the catalyst showed a CO adsorption peak on Pt and Pd, but no clear peak corresponding to the interaction between CO and Au was detected. Up to 200 °C, CO combustion was more temperature dependent than that of H2, while H2 combustion was activated by repeated exposure to H2 gas during the periodic gas test. Selective CO sensing of the micro-TGS against H2 was attempted using a double catalyst structure with 0.3-30 wt% Pt/α-Al2O3 as a counterpart combustion catalyst. The sensor output of the micro-TGS decreased with increasing Pt content in the Pt/α-Al2O3 catalyst, by cancelling out the combustion heat from the AuPtPd/SnO2 catalyst. In addition, the AuPtPd/SnO2 and 0.3 wt% Pt/α-Al2O3 double catalyst sensor showed good and selective CO detection. We therefore demonstrated that our micro-TGS with double catalyst structure is useful for controlling the gas selectivity of CO against H2.

Draft Genome Sequence of Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Isolated from the Bloody Stool Sample of a Common Marmoset (Callithrix jacchus).

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Escherichia coli strain R811. This bacterium was isolated from the bloody stool sample of a common marmoset, and was categorized as enteropathogenic E. coli because it possessed eae.