Temperature-sensitive gels (TSGs) are generally used in the fields of medical, robotics, MEMS, and also in daily life. In this paper, we synthesized a novel TSG with good thermal durability and a lower melting temperature below 60 • C. We discussed the physical properties of he TSG and found it provided excellent thermal expansion. Therefore, we proposed the usage of TSG to develop a strategic breathable film with controllable gas permeability. The TSG particles were prepared firstly and then blended with linear low-density polyethylene/calcium carbonate (LLDPE/CaCO 3 ) composite to develop microporous TSG/LLDPE/CaCO 3 films. We investigated the morphology, thermal, and mechanical properties of TSG/LLDPE/CaCO 3 composite films. The film characterization was conducted by gas permeability testing and demonstration temperature control experiments. The uniformly porous structure and the pore size in the range of 5-40 µm for the TSG/LLDPE/CaCO 3 composite films were indicated by SEM micrographs. The demonstration temperature control experiments clearly proved the effect of the controllable gas permeability of the TSG and, more promisingly, the great practical value and application prospects of this strategic effect for the temperature-sensitive breathable film was proved.

High purity nanoporous silica was fabricated using Shirasu a volcanic ash as a starting material. The starting materials were melted at 1400°C. A mother glass was formed by quenching the melt in pure water. Leaching was performed by immersing the mother glass into an HCl solution. Nonsilica phases formed by phase separation in the mother glass were leached out with acid solution. The obtained porous silica was more than 99% pure and had pore size smaller than 2 nm. In order to control the pore size, post heat treatment was performed. The treatment temperature was varied from 540 to 600°C for 12 h. The treatment time was varied from 6 to 12 hours at 600°C. The pore size was controlled from 3.1 to 23.4 nm with changing temperature and time for the post heat treatment.

High purity nanoporous silica was fabricated using Shirasu volcanic ash as a starting material. The starting materials were placed into a platinum crucible and were melted at 1400°C. A mother glass was formed by quenching the melt in pure water. Leaching was performed by immersing the mother glass into an HCl solution. Nonsilica phases formed by phase separation in the mother glass were leached out with acid solution. The obtained porous silica was more than 99% pure and had pore size smaller than 2 nm. In order to control the pore size, post heat treatment was performed. The pore size could be controlled from 3.1 to 21.7 nm by changing the post treatment temperature.

Fusobacterium necrophorum is a very rare cause of endocarditis. We herein report a case of F. necrophorum endocarditis with liver abscesses in a 51-year-old woman. This is the first reported case of monomicrobial F. necrophorum endocarditis to present in a patient over 50 years old. We also reviewed 10 reported cases, including the present case. Our review indicated that anaerobic bacteria, including Gram-negative anaerobic bacilli such as F. necrophorum, should be considered in the differential diagnosis of infective endocarditis, especially in patients without preexisting organic heart disease.

Because inorganic solid electrolytes are one of the key components for application to all-solid-state batteries, high-ionic-conductivity materials must be developed. Therefore, we propose a method of efficiently evaluating the activation energy of ionic diffusion by calculating a potential-energy surface (PES), searching for the optimal diffusion path by an algorithm developed using dynamic programming (DP), and calculating the corresponding activation energy by the nudged elastic band (NEB) method. Taking β-Li3PS4 as an example, the activation energy of Li-ion diffusion was calculated as 0.43, 0.25, and 0.40 eV in the a-, b-, and c-axis directions, respectively, which is in good agreement with previously reported values. By comprehensively searching for the lowest energy path by PES-DP, the arbitrariness of the path selection can be eliminated, and the activation energy must only be calculated using the NEB method a few times, which greatly reduces the computational cost required for evaluating activation energy and enables the high-throughput screening of solid state electrolytes.