Hirosaki University

Hydration parameter h values of the hydrophobic l-amino acids (l-alanine, l-valine, l-leucine, l-isoleucine, and glycine as a reference) were estimated in water using the viscosity B-coefficients and partial molar volumes, and the food macromolecular interactions were explored in aqueous solutions at 25 °C using the apparent viscosities of macromolecular solutions (polyethylene glycol 3500, dextran T40, guar gum, locust bean gum, apple pectin, citrus pectin, sodium alginate, and xanthan gum) with l-amino acids (l-alanine, l-valine, and glycine as a reference). An increased number of hydrophobic groups were associated with viscosity B-coefficient values, the partial molar volume values, and hydration of approximately 1.4 mol of water per carbon-equivalent. When hydrophobic l-amino acids were added to food macromolecular solutions, the relationship between the apparent viscosity and amino acid molality could be expressed using linear regression lines; the slopes of these lines may reflect macromolecular interactions. Using this novel parameter, the contributions of the hydrophobicity of amino acids to macromolecular interactions can be compared. Glycine decreased and l-valine increased the apparent viscosities of almost all polyelectrolytes (i.e., pectins and alginate) in water, but the effects on nonelectrolytes were less marked (guar gum with glycine is an exception). The effects of l-alanine varied. However, these amino acids did not change the viscosity of xanthan in water, although xanthan is a polyelectrolyte. Thus, the low sensitivity of macromolecular interactions of xanthan gum on the effect of these hydrophobic l-amino acids has been demonstrated to be favorable for use as a stable food thickener.

The present study investigated spousal interdependencies in well-being and the sources of these interdependencies among Americans and Japanese. We collected high-powered three-wave longitudinal and cross-sectional data from a wide age range of participants ( N s = 3,012 American couples aged 26–96 and 2,307 Japanese couples aged 24–76) and assessed a variety of well-being measures. Study 1 replicated previous findings that American spouses’ well-being was positively associated with each other. Studies 2a and 2b generalized the findings of Study 1 to Japanese spouses. Both Studies 1 and 2b showed conflicting results: There were effects of mutual influence and shared environmental factors’ influences on American and Japanese spouses’ well-being in a longitudinal actor-partner interdependence model when using the cross-lagged panel model, but not when using the random intercept cross-lagged panel model. These findings illustrate that the interdependent nature of well-being is an essential feature of American and Japanese married couples.

This work aims to develop multifunctional electrocatalysts capable of efficiently facilitating the concurrent oxygen evolution reaction (OER), urea oxidation reaction (UOR), and hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) at high current densities, representing a key step toward a dual-purpose technology for clean hydrogen production and urea-rich wastewater treatment. To achieve this goal, a flower-like Fe₃N-MoN heterostructure electrocatalyst composed of nanorods was synthesized on nickel foam (NF) using a hydrothermal-nitridation approach. This electrocatalyst exhibited exceptional multifunctional activities for OER (overpotential: η_10,1000 = 206, 374 mV), UOR (potential: E_10,500 = 1.35, 1.49 V), and HER (η₁₀₀₀ = 445 mV), while maintaining remarkable stability for over 48 h at 500 mA cm^-2. When employed in a two-electrode system (Fe₃N-MoN/NF (+) || Fe₃N-MoN/NF (-)), the catalyst demonstrated low operating potentials for overall water electrolysis (E_10,500 = 1.54, 1.78 V). Notably, the urea-assisted electrolysis system required a significantly lower voltage, achieving E₁₀ = 1.33 V. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) indicate that the enhanced catalytic ability should be stemmed from electronic structure optimization and surface reconstruction of Fe₃N-MoN heterostructure. This work demonstrates a rational design method for high-efficiency multifunctional electrocatalysts that couple low-energy hydrogen production with electrolytic purification of urea-rich wastewater.