Nanocrystalline (NC) and ultrafine-grained (UFG) CoCrCuFeNi high-entropy alloy (HEA) with grain size ranging between 59 and 386 nm was produced via powder metallurgy and heat treatment. The as-sintered HEA exhibited two face-centered cubic (FCC) phases (CoCrFeNi-rich and Cu-rich phases) and a small grain size (59 nm), whereas the alloy after heat treatment at 1000 °C exhibited a CoCuFeNi-rich phase with FCC structure and relatively larger grain size (386 nm). Moreover, the yield strength decreased from 1930 to 883 MPa, and plastic strain to failure increased by 8–32%. In terms of microstructural evolution, grain boundary strengthening coupled with lattice distortion was the dominant strengthening mechanism for NC HEAs. Furthermore, the coefficient for boundary strengthening was higher in the HEAs than in the corresponding pure elemental metals with FCC structure, possibly because of significant lattice distortion. The UFG HEAs exhibited high strength and good ductility because of the activation of dislocation.

Graphene-covered copper surfaces have been exposed to borazine, (BH)3(NH)3, with the resulting surfaces characterized by low-energy electron microscopy. Although the intent of the experiment was to form hexagonal boron nitride (h-BN) on top of the graphene, such layers were not obtained. Rather, in isolated surface areas, h-BN is found to form μm-size islands that substitute for the graphene. Additionally, over nearly the entire surface, the properties of the layer that was originally graphene is observed to change in a manner that is consistent with the formation of a mixed h-BN/graphene alloy, i.e., h-BNC alloy. Furthermore, following the deposition of the borazine, a small fraction of the surface is found to consist of bare copper, indicating etching of the overlying graphene. The inability to form h-BN layers on top of graphene is discussed in terms of the catalytic behavior of the underlying copper surface and the decomposition of the borazine on top of the graphene.

After an outbreak of pandemic influenza A/H1N1 (pH1N1) virus, we had previously reported the emergence of a recombinant canine influenza virus (CIV) between the pH1N1 virus and the classic H3N2 CIV. Our ongoing routine surveillance isolated another reassortant H3N2 CIV carrying the matrix gene of the pH1N1 virus from 2012. The infection dynamics of this H3N2 CIV variant (CIV/H3N2mv) were investigated in dogs and ferrets via experimental infection and transmission. The CIV/H3N2mv-infected dogs and ferrets produced typical symptoms of respiratory disease, virus shedding, seroconversion, and direct-contact transmissions. Although indirect exposure was not presented for ferrets, CIV/H3N2mv presented higher viral replication in MDCK cells and more efficient transmission was observed in ferrets compared to classic CIV H3N2. This study demonstrates the effect of reassortment of the M gene of pH1N1 in CIV H3N2.

Equine influenza virus (EIV) causes a highly contagious respiratory disease in equids, with confirmed outbreaks in Europe, America, North Africa, and Asia. Although China, Mongolia, and Japan have reported equine influenza outbreaks, Korea has not. Since 2011, we have conducted a routine surveillance programme to detect EIV at domestic stud farms, and isolated H3N8 EIV from horses showing respiratory disease symptoms. Here, we characterized the genetic and biological properties of this novel Korean H3N8 EIV isolate. This H3N8 EIV isolate belongs to the Florida sublineage clade 1 of the American H3N8 EIV lineage, and surprisingly, possessed a non-structural protein (NS) gene segment, where 23 bases of the NS1-encoding region were naturally truncated. Our preliminary biological data indicated that this truncation did not affect virus replication; its effect on biological and immunological properties of the virus will require further study.

Bioimpedance spectroscopy (BIS) has been used to track changes in total body water (TBW). Accurate TBW estimations can be influenced by both methodological and biological factors. One methodological variation that contributes to BIS TBW errors is the electrode placement. The purpose of the present study was to compare the reproducibility and validity of fixed-distance electrode placements (5 cm) with the standard single-site electrode placements. Twenty-nine subjects (fifteen men and fourteen women) participated in the reproducibility study, while sixty-nine subjects (thirty-three men and thirty-six women) participated in the validity study. The reproducibility study included two measurements that were taken 24 h apart, while the validity study consisted of a 12-week exercise intervention with measurements taken at weeks 1 and 12. TBW was estimated using BIS and 2H techniques. Reproducibility results indicated that fixed-distance electrodes reduced the day-to-day standard error of the measurement in men (from 1·13 to 0·81 litres) but not in women (0·47 litres). sem values were lower for women than for men, suggesting that BIS TBW estimates are sex dependent. Validity results produced similar accurate findings (mean difference < 0·21 litres). However, fixed-distance electrodes improved delta TBW errors (mean difference improvements>0·04 litres in men, women, and men and women combined). When tracking changes in TBW, fixed-distance electrodes may reduce reproducibility errors and allow for smaller changes to be detected. However, the reduction of reproducibility errors may be greater for men than for women. Therefore, reproducibility calculations should be based on the sex of the sample population.

Here we report an epoch-making simple fabrication for wrinkle formation. The present wrinkle formation process is a solution for controlling the area, shape and direction of wrinkle area by forming wrinkles on the liquid state polydimethylsiloxane directly exposed to sputtered metal particles in the low vacuum plasma chamber in various vacuum states and deposition conditions. Also the process allows us to make extremely flexible metal thin film electrode with approved adhesion. These bring us possibilities of actual electrical and biological applications.

We have developed the focused ion beam (FIB) fold-out technique, for transmission electron microscopy (TEM) sample preparation in which there is no fine polishing or dimpling, thus saving turnaround time. It does not require a nanomanipulator yet is still site specific. The sample wafer is cut to shape, polished down, and then placed in a FIB system. A tab containing the area of interest is created by ion milling and then “folded out” from the bulk sample. This method also allows a plan-view of the sample by removing material below the wafer's surface film or device near the polished edge. In the final step, the sample is thinned to electron transparency, ready to be analyzed in the TEM. With both a cross section and plan-view, our technique gives microscopists a powerful tool in analyzing multiple zone axes in one TEM session. The nature of the polished sample edge also includes the ability to sample many areas, allowing the user to examine a very large device or sample. More importantly, this technique could make multiple site-specific e-beam transparent specimens in one polished sample, which is difficult to do when prepared by other methods.