We have studied the influence of the surface roughness of copper foils on the sheet resistance of graphene sheets grown by chemical vapor deposition. The surface roughness of the copper foils was reproducibly controlled by electropolishing. We have found that the graphene sheet resistance monotonically decreases as the surface roughness of the copper foils decreases. We show that a pre-annealing treatment combined with an optimized electropolishing process of the Cu foils and a fast CVD growth prevents the evolution of the Cu surface roughness during graphene synthesis. This combination of fabrication conditions produces small grain polycrystalline graphene films with a sheet resistance of 210 Ω □(-1) and carrier mobility values as high as 5450 cm(2) V(-1) s(-1) after transfer onto SiO2/Si.

We investigated WS 2 -multiwalled carbon nanotube composites prepared by powder metallurgy. The inclusion of a small amount of nanotubes (0.75 wt%) dramatically increased electrical conductivity (by 12 300%) with a moderate decrease in the Seebeck coefficient (by 22%) and thermal conductivity (by 43%) enhancing both power factor and thermoelectric figure of merit at 300 K.Thermoelectric materials, which allow direct conversion between thermal energy and electricity, have received considerable attention recently as an eco-friendly energy transformation source. 1 The conversion efficiency is described by the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit zT ¼ (a 2 s/k)T where a, k, s, and T are the Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and absolute temperature, respectively. 2 Materials with superior thermoelectric properties typically contain rare and potentially toxic elements such as Te, Sb, Pb, Bi and Se. 3-5 The hybrid composite structures containing these elements have also been actively investigated to enhance thermoelectric performance. 6-8 Therefore, new thermoelectric materials are of interest due to the toxicity and abundance issues. Tungsten disulfide (WS 2 ), a layered transition metal dichalcogenide, is a promising candidate since it is an environmentally friendly and abundant material. 5,9-12 It also has a high a ($375 to 1000 mV K À1 ) 10,13,14 and low k ($1.1 to $2.25 W m À1 K À1 ). 14,15 However, s is nearly 3-6 orders of magnitude lower ($10 À1 to $10 1 S m À1 ) than those of binary tellurides resulting in a very low power factor (sa 2 ) and zT. 8,10,13-16 Here we have investigated WS 2 -multiwalled carbon nanotube (MWNT) composites, prepared by powder metallurgy, over a wide range of temperatures (300-800 K). The inclusion of a small amount of nanotubes with high aspect ratios (0.75 wt%) dramatically increased both carrier concentration (by 8670%) and electrical conductivity (by 12 300%) at room temperature. There was a moderate decrease in the Seebeck coefficient by 22%. Interestingly, the thermal conductivity was reduced by 43% probably due to the increase in the grain boundary and interface scattering of phonons. This increased both power factor (68.4 mW m À1 K À2 ) and thermoelectric figure of merit (0.0063) at 300 K by 7330 and 13 100%. The thermoelectric performance increased with increasing temperature. The maximum power factor and thermoelectric figure of merit were 390 mW m À1 K À2 and 0.22 at 700-800 K respectively.Recently, substantial amounts of single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) (10-100 wt%) were mixed with exfoliated WS 2 to synthesize freestanding WS 2 -SWNT hybrid films by a vacuum filtration method. 15 The s could be increased in the hybrid films ($10 4 S m À1 ). However, a was significantly reduced (60-80 mV K À1 ) 15 and k was increased compared with the pure WS 2 specimens. 14,15 The addition of nanotubes increased the power factor faster than k leading to an increase in zT. However, the maximum power factor ($120 mW m À1 K À2 ) and zT ($0.001)...

helper 17 T (Th17) effector cells are a recently identified Th subset and possess a unique property that distinguishes them from Th1 and Th2 subsets. The functional role of Th17 effector cells involves inflammatory responses, including autoimmunity and infection of specific pathogens. Therefore, IL-17A and its receptors may play a key role in determining the progression of certain inflammatory reactions. However, the relationship between IL-17A and adipogenesis has not yet been examined. Therefore, in this study, the effect of IL-17A on the adipogenic transdifferentiation of mouse myoblast (C2C12) cells was examined. CAAT/enhancer binding-protein β (C/EPBβ) signaling through the IL-17A receptor promoted adipogenic transdifferentiation of myoblast cells by activating peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ). These results will advance our understanding of the physiological function of IL-17A in myoblasts during inflammation, as well as the relationship between adipogenesis and inflammation.