Layered cathodes are essential for achieving a high energy density in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries, but they suffer from capacity fade due to local crystal phase transitions during charge-discharge cycles. Understanding these phase transitions is essential to minimizing their effects, but their nanometer size and sensitivity to experimental conditions make observation difficult. Here, we visualized nanometer-scale crystal phases within an epitaxial LiCoO2 cathode after 100 charge-discharge cycles by matching experimental and simulated cepstra derived from scanning nanobeam electron diffraction. While the LiCoO2 bulk remained a layered structure, spinel- and rocksalt-type phases were observed within 3 nm of the cathode-electrolyte interface. The developed method achieved a spatial resolution of 1.5 nm across a field of view of several hundred nanometers with minimal electron beam damage. The cepstral matching analysis offers valuable insights into the interfacial phase transitions and will aid in the design of high-performance lithium-ion batteries.

The deployment of exploration robots for search and rescue, rather than relying exclusively on human-led efforts, mitigates the risk of property damage and casualties arising from secondary disasters in complex environments. The effectiveness of these robots is often affected by various environmental factors, including the degree of terrain flatness and the presence of obstacles. To address these challenges, we propose a novel approach for autonomous motion control using a deep deterministic policy gradient-based experience (DDPG-E) replay method, which allows exploration robots to navigate autonomously and safely in complex environments. Using deep reinforcement learning to establish the control module, the proposed system enables the exploration robot to generate optimal motion control from environmental information by considering a six-degrees-of-freedom (6-DoF) pose. Experiments indicate that our approach not only promotes navigation with a high level of collision avoidance in complex environments but also achieves higher accuracy and superior generalization ability compared to preceding methods.

Polyolefin-coated fertilizers, widely used in Japanese agriculture, were analyzed to identify characteristic additives that could serve as source-specific markers for secondary microplastic originating from them. Four types of polyolefin-based samples were examined, revealing polyethylene as the main polymer component, along with poly(vinyl acetate), starch, and clay minerals as minor components. Thermal desorption gas chromatography-mass spectrometry led to the identification of three plasticizers, three fatty acids, and levoglucosan, a thermal degradation product of starch. Among these compounds, characteristic fatty acids and levoglucosan were found not only in unused commercial products but also in environmental samples and laboratory-degraded materials exposed to heat and ultraviolet radiation. These findings demonstrate their utility as markers of fertilizer-derived microplastics. Based on these findings, a stepwise identification framework was constructed and applied to white secondary microplastics collected from agricultural soil, with the origin of 14 out of 15 microplastic samples being attributed to polyolefin-coated fertilizers. Thus, we present a practical framework for source attribution of microplastics in agroecosystems.

Abstract In the present study, we investigated the segregation behavior of a plasticizer, i.e., dibutyl phthalate (DBP) in a polymer, i.e., polystyrene, subjected to a temperature gradient. We confirmed homogeneous distribution without phase separation when the DBP content was ≤ 15%. A sample film containing 10% DBP was annealed in a compression-molding machine, in which the top and bottom plates were held 3 mm apart at 200 and 120°C, respectively. After exposure to the temperature gradient, a DBP gradient distribution was confirmed in the thickness direction: there was a high DBP content at the high-temperature side and a low DBP content at the low-temperature side. The result indicates that a plasticized polymer adopts a plasticizer concentration gradient, i.e., a graded structure, when subjected to a temperature gradient.

KS-487 is a cyclic peptide previously reported to bind low-density lipoprotein receptor-related protein 1 (LRP1) and exhibit blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability. In this study, we evaluated the in vivo BBB permeability and selectivity of KS-487 in comparison with those of Angiopep-2 (ANG2), a widely used linear LRP1-binding peptide. Indocyanine green (ICG)-labeled KS-487 and ANG2 were subcutaneously administered to mice, and their biodistribution was assessed at 24, 48, and 72 h by using in vivo imaging. ICG-KS-487 and ICG-ANG2 displayed comparable brain permeability and nearly identical time-course profiles. Notably, ICG-KS-487 demonstrated greater brain selectivity, defined as the ratio of brain to liver accumulation at 72 h. No adverse effects, including weight loss or histopathological abnormalities in major organs, were observed in mice treated with ICG-KS-487. These findings highlight the remarkable brain-targeting properties and safety profile of KS-487, supporting its potential utility as a targeting ligand for drug delivery to treat brain-related disorders.

Learning and understanding of art are increasingly understood as dynamic processes in which emotion and cognition unfold over time. However, classroom-based evidence on how structured temporal intervals and guided prompts reshape students’ emotional experience remains limited. This study addresses these gaps by quantitatively examining changes in emotion over time in a higher education institution. Employing a comparative experimental design, third-year undergraduate art students participated in two structured courses, where emotional responses were captured using an emotion recognition approach (facial expression and self-reported text) during two sessions: initial impression and delayed impression (three days later). The findings reveal a high consistency in dominant facial expressions and substantial agreement in self-reported emotions across both settings. However, the delayed impression elicited greater emotional diversity and intensity, reflecting deeper cognitive engagement and emotional processing over time. These results reveal a longitudinal trajectory of emotion influenced by guided reflective re-view over time. Emotional dynamics extend medium theory by embedding temporal and affective dimensions into TBMA course settings. This study proposes an ethically grounded and technically feasible framework for emotion recognition that supports reflective learning rather than mere measurement. Together, these contributions redefine TBMA education as a temporal and emotional ecosystem and provide an empirical foundation for future research on how emotion fosters understanding, interest, and appreciation in higher media art education.