Effects of selenium supplementation on atopic dermatitis (AD) were investigated by administering seleno-L-methionine (SeMet) using a mouse model of AD caused by repeated application of 2,4,6-trinitrochlorobenzene (TNCB). BALB/c mice were sensitized with TNCB to the abdomen on day -7; then, TNCB was applied repeatedly to each ear three times a week from days 0 to 23. SeMet was orally administered to the mice from days 0 to 23. The efficacy of SeMet on AD was assessed by measuring ear thickness, histologic evaluation, serum total immunoglobulin (Ig) E levels, and expression of interleukin (IL)-4 in the ear and superficial parotid lymph node. Ear thickness was remarkably increased by repeated application of TNCB, and SeMet significantly suppressed ear thickness in BALB/c mice. SeMet inhibited epidermal hyperplasia and dense infiltration of inflammatory cells. The number of TNCB-induced mast cells was significantly decreased by SeMet. Serum total IgE levels that increased by the repeated application of TNCB were significantly suppressed by SeMet. Repeated application of TNCB induced expression of IL-4, a T-helper (Th) 2 cytokine, in the ear and superficial parotid lymph node of BALB/c mice and its expression was significantly inhibited by SeMet. These results demonstrated that SeMet supplementation suppresses AD-like skin lesions in BALB/c mice and inhibits the expression of total IgE and IL-4.

The investigation of the III-V nitride-based driving circuits is in demand for the development of GaN-based power electronic devices. In this work, we aim to grow high-quality InGaN/GaN heterojunctions on the n-channel AlGaN/GaN-on-Si high electron mobility transistor (HEMT) templates to pursue the complementary p-channel conductivity to realize the monolithic integrated circuits. As the initial step, the epitaxial growth is optimized and the structure properties are investigated by comparing with the InGaN/GaN heterojunctions grown on GaN/sapphire templates. It is found that both the In composition and relaxation degree are higher for the InGaN/GaN on the HEMT template than that on the sapphire substrate. The crystalline quality is deteriorated for the InGaN grown on the HEMT template, which is attributed to the poor-quality GaN channel in the HEMT template. Further analysis indicates that the higher In incorporation in the InGaN layer on the HEMT template may be caused by the higher relaxation degree due to the compositional pulling effect. An increase in the growth temperature by 20 °C with optimized growth condition improves the crystalline quality of the InGaN, which is comparable to that on GaN/sapphire even if it is grown on a poor-quality GaN channel.

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Used nylon fishing nets were utilized as recycled nylon (RN) short fibers for reinforcing cement mortar. Fishing nets were cut into specified shapes and lengths, then mixed into mortar. In this study, the influences of fiber geometries such as diameter, aspect ratio and the fiber content on the me chanical properties of mortar were emphasized. Changes in flowability of fresh mortar, compressive strength, flexural strength, failure behavior, flexural toughness, residual strength factors were experimentally investigated and compared among various mixes. Experimental results indicated that fiber geometries as well as fiber content directly affect the mechanical properties of mortar. Adding fibers was found to reduce flowability and compressive strength of the mortar. For instance, using sharp-shapes reduced compressive strength by 41% while using cross-shapes improved flexural strength by 44.5%. Improvement in flexural strength and flexural toughness were found in association with the fiber content. RN fiber contributes to the post-peak loading capacity and prevents abrupt failure of concrete structures.