Recent cryo-electron microscopy (EM) studies reported the structure of various types of proteins at high resolution which is sufficient to visualize the intermolecular interaction at near atomic level. There are two main factors that cause the advances in cryo-EM; the development of image processing techniques, such as single particle analysis, and the improved electron detection devices. Although the atomic structures of small and asymmetric proteins are not yet to be determined by cryo-EM, this striking improvement implies the bright prospect of the application in biomedical studies. This study reviews the recently published studies reported high resolution structures using improved imaging analysis techniques and electron detectors. Furthermore, we will discuss about the future aspects of cryo-EM application.

Fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) has been considered an effective technique to investigate chemical properties of the specimens, especially of biological samples. Despite of this advantageous trait, researchers in this field have had difficulties applying FLIM to their systems because acquiring an image using FLIM consumes too much time. Although analog mean-delay (AMD) method was introduced to enhance the imaging speed of commonly used FLIM based on time-correlated single photon counting (TCSPC), a real-time image reconstruction using AMD method has not been implemented due to its data processing obstacles. In this paper, we introduce a real-time image restoration of AMD-FLIM through fast parallel data processing by using Threading Building Blocks (TBB; Intel) and octa-core processor (i7-5960x; Intel). Frame rate of 3.8 frames per second was achieved in $1,024{\times}1,024$ resolution with over 4 million lifetime determinations per second and measurement error within 10%. This image acquisition speed is 184 times faster than that of single-channel TCSPC and 9.2 times faster than that of 8-channel TCSPC (state-of-art photon counting rate of 80 million counts per second) with the same lifetime accuracy of 10% and the same pixel resolution.

Currently, focused ion beams (FIB) are widely used for specimen preparation in atom probe tomography (APT), which is a three-dimensional and atomic-scale compositional analysis tool. Specimen preparation, in which a specific region of interest is identified and a sharp needle shape created, is the first step towards successful APT analysis. The FIB technique is a powerful tool for site-specific specimen preparation because it provides a lift-out technique and a controllable manipulation function. In this paper, we demonstrate a general procedure containing the crucial points of FIB-based specimen preparation. We introduce aluminum holders with moveable pin and an axial rotation manipulator for specimen handling, which are useful for flipping and rotating the specimen to present the backside and the perpendicular direction. We also describe specimen preparation methods for nanowires and nanopowders, using a pick-up method and an embedding method by epoxy resin, respectively.

Our work on $Sc_2O_3-W$ matrix dispenser cathodes had been reviewed in this paper. The cathode with uniform distribution of $Sc_2O_3$ had been obtained using liquid-liquid doping method. The cathode had excellent emission property, i.e., the emission current density in pulse condition could reach over $35A/cm^2$. It was found that the cathode surface was covered by a Ba-Sc-O active substance multilayer with a thickness of about 100 nm, which was different from the monolayer and semiconducting layer in thickness. Furthermore, the observation results displayed that nanoparticles appeared at the growth steps and the surface of tungsten grains of the fully activated cathode. The calculation result indicated that the nanoparticles could cause the increase of local electric field strengths. We proposed the emission model that both the Ba-Sc-O multilayer and the nanoparticles distributing mainly on the growth steps of the W grains contributed to the emission. The future work on this cathode has been discussed.

It has been investigated what kind of characteristic X-ray in electron probe micro-analyzer (EPMA) is effective for the determination of compounds of Si series materials. After comparing the characteristic X-rays among the primary and secondary lines in $K_{\alpha}$ and $K_{\beta}$ obtained from the Si series standard samples, it was found that the secondary line of $K_{\alpha}$ exhibited the most informative spectrum although the intensity was considerably weak. As a result of analyzing the spectrum shapes of the Si series standard samples, the spectrum shape of the secondary line of $K_{\alpha}$ for SiC was different from those for other Si compounds. To grasp the characteristics of the shape, a line was perpendicularly drawn from the peak top to base line in order to divide a spectrum into two areas. The area ratio of right to left was defined to call as the asymmetry index here. As a result, the asymmetry index value of the SiC was greater than one, while those of other Si compounds were less than one. It was found from the EPMA analysis that identification of SiC became successful to distinguish from other Si compounds and this method was applicable for micro-sized compounds in a practical composite material.

The Cu-based bulk glassy alloys in Cu-Zr-Ti-Ni systems were prepared by means of copper mold casting. The Cu-based bulk glassy alloys samples were tested by X-ray diffractomer (XRD), differential scanning calorimeter, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Instron testing machine and Vickers hardness instruments. The result indicated that the prepared Cu-Zr-Ti-Ni alloys were bulk glassy alloys. The temperature interval of supercooled liquid region (${\Delta}T_x$) was about 45.48 to 70.98 K for the Cu-Zr-Ti-Ni alloy. The Vickers hardness was up to 565 HV for the $Cu_{50}Zr_{25}Ti_{15}Ni_{10}$ bulk glassy alloy. The $Cu_{50}Zr_{25}Ti_{15}Ni_{10}$ bulk glassy alloys were annealed in order to obtain nanocrystals. The results showed that the Vickers hardness was raise up to 630 HV from 565 HV. As shown in XRD results, the amorphous alloys changed to nanocrystals, which were $Cu_8Zr_3$, $Cu_3Ti_2$ and CuZr, improved the hardness. The SEM analysis showed that the compression fractured morphology of amorphous alloys was brittle fracture, and the fracture morphology after annealing was ductile fracture. This proved that annealing of amorphous to nanocrystals can improve the plasticity and toughness of amorphous alloys.

In this study $TiO_2$/reduced graphene oxide ($TiO_2/rGO$) bipyramid with tunable nanostructure was fabricated by two-step solvothermal process and subsequent heat-treatment in air. The as-synthesized anatase $TiO_2$ nanocrystals possessed morphological bipyramid with exposed dominantly by (101) facets. Polyethylenimine was utilized during the combination of $TiO_2$ and graphene oxide (GO) to tune the surface charge, hindering the restack of graphene during solvothermal process and resulting in 1 to 5 layers of rGO wrapped on $TiO_2$ surface. After a further calcination, a portion of carbon quantum dots (CQDs) with a diameter about 2 nm were produced owing to the oxidizing and cutting of rGO on $TiO_2$. The as-prepared $TiO_2/rGO$ hybrid showed a highly photocatalytic activity, which is about 3.2 and 7.7 times enhancement for photodegradation of methyl orange with compared to pure $TiO_2$ and P25, respectively. We assume that the improvement of photocatalysis is attributed to the chemical bonding between rGO/CQDs and $TiO_2$ that accelerates photogenerated electron-hole pair separation, as well as enhances light harvest.

Iron containing a high amount of chromium is known to be inferior to ductility due to ${\sigma}$ phase formation so that it is generally difficult to apply the plastic deformation process although the alloy possesses a superior characteristics of an excellent corrosion resistance. In this study, Fe-50mass%Cr alloy was melted using high purity powder and the deformation behavior has been investigated by cold rolling and tensile test. The tensile test yielded that the alloy revealed a serration at an early stage of tensile deformation and then the serrated flow vanished to change to a normal work hardening flow at the later stage. The former was governed by twin formation process, the latter by dislocation multiplication one, bringing about a high ductility of 20% or over. The reduction ratio in cold rolling was attained as high as 90%, thus the high corrosion-resistant alloy is able to possess a high ductility.

The histology and anatomy of the olfactory organ in Luciogobius guttatus was investigated using a light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. The paired olfactory organs in the dorsal part of the snout are situated in between the upper lip and the eyes. They consist of two nostrils, one anterior and the other posterior openings, and a single olfactory cavity. The anterior nostril, an incurrent opening, forms a short tubular structure from the skin. The posterior nostril, an excurrent opening, forms a circular structure opened to the exterior. The distributional pattern of the sensory epithelium is a continuous type. The sensory epithelium with numerous-motile cilia is made up of receptor cells, supporting cells, basal cells, and mucous cells. In contrast, the non-sensory epithelium is comprised of stratified epithelial cells and two types of mucous cells, acidic and neutral cells. The cilia number of the receptor cell is in range of 3 to 4 units. Such results in L. guttatus may reflect its ecological habit and microhabitat in the tidal zone with a periodic tide.

Thymosin ${\beta}4$ ($T{\beta}4$) has been recently reported to play a role in dentinogenesis by regulating the expression of dentin matrix proteins. Based on previous studies, it is hypothesized that $T{\beta}4$ is associated with the formation of the enamel matrix and thus plays an important role in ameloblast. However, there is no report on the function of $T{\beta}4$ during tooth development so far. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the expression of $T{\beta}4$ and its function in ameloblasts during mouse tooth development. $T{\beta}4$ was expressed strongly in the tooth bud at the bud stage and in the dental lamina and oral epithelium at the cap stage. In advanced bell stage at postnatal day 4, large elongated ameloblasts were observed and the expression of the $T{\beta}4$ protein was the highest, with the enamel being was thicker than that in the early bell stage. The length of ameloblasts increased from the presecretory to the secretory stage and decreased from the maturation to the protective stage. These results suggest that $T{\beta}4$ participates not only in the proliferation of oral epithelial cells during the early stage of tooth development but also regulates enamel protein secretion in ameloblasts and enamel mineralization.