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The performance and efficiency of molecularly doped organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) using voltage pulses have been investigated. The maximum current density and peak luminance have been found to depend on the pulse duration and device size, which was attributed to the heat effect in device. The self-quenching of dye molecules, especially at a high current density of ∼A/cm2, can be effectively inhibited using a low concentration of acceptor in donor system as a light-emitting layer (EML). For an OLED using a 0.4-mol % rubrene in Alq3 as an EML, a maximum peak luminance of 5.66×106 cd/m2 at 52.8 V can be sustained under the voltage pulses of duration of 5 μs. The current efficiency has been observed to decrease rapidly with the current density in device, which was believed to result from the annihilation of excitons. We have also investigated the performance of a pulsed OLED with an emitter layer of 4.0-mol % 1,4-bis[2-[4-[N,N-di(p-tolyl)amino]phenyl]vinyl]benzene in 4,4′-bis(9-carbazolyl)biphenyl, which has been known to exhibit low-amplified spontaneous emission under a pulsed nitrogen laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experiment to measure an invariant mass of $\phi $ mesons in nuclear medium is planned as the J-PARC E16 experiment. A trigger merging module (TRG-MRG) has been developed to detect leading-edges from 256 channels of discriminator-output signals and transmit those serialized hit data to trigger decision module with four optical links. The result of the test shows enough performance of the TRG-MRG as 1-ns time-to-digital converter (TDC) and data multiplexer with four 6.25 Gb/s transceivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Road traffic injuries, particularly pedestrian injuries, are a major health issue among children worldwide. The present study quantitatively analyzed the time trends of child pedestrian injuries in Japan from 1975 to 2013 by age. Study design: Time trend analysis of nationally aggregated data. Methods: We analyzed police data on pedestrian injuries requiring medical treatment among children aged 0e15 years occurring between 1975 and 2013. To quantify the time trends of pedestrian injury morbidity rates and to identify change-points in the trends, joinpoint regression analysis was applied by age group. Children were categorized into the age groups of 0e3, 4e6, 7e9, 10e12, and 13e15 years old. Results: Preschool children aged 0e6 years old showed continuous declining trends throughout the study period; these declining trends accelerated in the 2000s. School-age children aged 7e15 years old showed minimal changes from the early 1970s to the 1990s; of this age group, children aged 7e12 years old showed slight but significant declining trends in the first half and increasing trends in the latter half of this period. Children aged 7e15 years old showed declining trends in the 2000s. Despite the consistent declining trends among all age groups in the 2000s, the younger age groups showed steeper declines during this period. Conclusions: The declining trends in all age groups in the 2000s may reflect the improved traffic environments in Japan although the environmental approaches are not yet sufficiently adopted yielding modest effects. The continuing contrast between preschool and school-age children may reflect different behaviour changes by age such as more restricted outdoor activities among young children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dy3+- and Nd3+-doped stoichiometric 20GaS3/2·50GeS2·30SbS3/2 glasses were prepared. Judd–Ofelt analyses were performed to estimate radiative transition parameters for the excited levels. Near- and mid-infrared emission spectra were observed and their emission bands were carefully assigned on the basis of the transition parameters and the comparison of the spectra obtained by the different excited levels. The 4.4-μm emission band from Dy3+ due to the transition, 6H11/2 → 6H13/2, had a branching ratio more than 10% and a quantum efficiency was 63% for the glass doped with 0.3mol% of DyS3/2. The radiative transition rate of the initial level for this transition, 6H11/2, is larger than that of the final level, 6H13/2. However, the latter was more rapidly quenched at higher Dy concentration, which means that the problem of the self-termination for the four-level system could be avoided at an adequate concentration range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Permanent magnets are superior to electromagnets in generating strong multipole magnetic fields. Their fields are sometimes stronger than those that can be generated by superconducting magnets with the same bore radius, when the number of poles are higher. Three fabricated multipoles including a quadrupole magnet for the ILC (International Linear Collider) final focus doublet, a quadrupole magnets as a spin filter for cold neutrons, and a sextupole magnet for neutron beam focusing are described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three super strong permanent multipole magnets have been made: a fixed strength quadrupole, a variable quadrupole and a variable sextupole. The inner and outer diameters of the first 100 mm-length quadrupole are 14 mm and 100 mm, respectively. This fixed strength quad has an integrated gradient of 28.5 T; where the gradient at the center is more than 2.9 T/cm. The second, variable, quadrupole has an integrated strength of 38 T with 15 mm inner diameter and 230 mm length at the maximum: there are sixteen positions in its variable strength with about a 2 T even step width. The sextupole niodel is intended to change its strength at 25 Hz. One application of a variable quadrupole magnet is a final doublet quadrupole for an e+e linear collider. Permanent magnet sextupoles are useful for focusing of cold neutrons, which are a very useful probe for material research. Strong octupoles for beam tail folding in the final focus beamline of a linear collider will also be possible with permanent magnets. These high order multipoles made from permanent magnets can achieve higher strengths, for a given bore radius, than superconducting ones. Design works are presented starting from brief review. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The t(3;21) chromosomal translocation seen in blastic crisis of chronic myeloid leukemia and secondary leukemias results in a formation of a chimeric protein AML1-Evi-1, which suppresses wild-type AML1 function. Loss of AML1 function causes expansion of hematopoietic progenitor cells, whereas it is not sufficient for the development of leukemia. To identify essential mechanisms through which AML1-Evi-1 exerts full leukemogenic potential, we introduced AML1-Evi-1 and its mutants in murine bone marrow cells, and evaluated their transforming activities by colony replating assays. The transforming activity of AML1-Evi-1 was lost when any of the known functional domains of Evi-1 was deleted from the chimeric protein, and forced expression of Evi-1 did not transform the AML1-deleted bone marrow cells. Unlike the MLL-ENL and AML1-ETO leukemia-related chimeric proteins, AML1-Evi-1 could transform only the hematopoietic stem cell fraction. Moreover, AML1-Evi-1-transformed cells show a cell-marker profile distinct from that of the cells transformed by AML1-ETO, which also suppresses AML1 function. Thus, leukemogenic activity of AML1-Evi-1 may be due to activation of molecular mechanisms distinct from those activated by MLL-ENL or AML1-ETO in the hematopoietic stem cell fractions.Leukemia (2008) 22, 1241–1249; doi:10.1038/leu.2008.53; published online 13 March 2008 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To cope with the increase in electric power demand and provide an alternative technology to conventional electric power transmission cables, it is hoped that high-temperature superconducting (HTS) cables would be developed. A protective layer has been adopted in HTS cables as a countermeasure against short-circuit current. This protective layer is established in parallel, and is connected to the HTS cable at both ends of the cable. However, this protective layer is not effective for quenching the local degradation of HTS wire in the overload-current domain, which slightly exceeds the rated current in real cables with lengths of several km. Therefore, of concern is the possibility in which the generation of bubbles via an exothermic reaction affecting the electrical insulation, when local quenching occurs. In a 500-m HTS power cable, we applied an external magnetic field to a part of the HTS cable, and the superconducting cable was locally quenched. Quench propagation features and electrical insulation characteristics based on this enforced quenching were determined experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To assess the information on safety belt use for pregnant women and infants in maternity and baby magazines, we reviewed 2003 issues of the three top-selling monthly baby and maternity magazines. Articles on safety belt use during pregnancy and child safety seat (CSS) use for infants, and advertisements of the CSS, automobiles, or CSS-related products were examined for their informational content. Of the 9418 pages in the maternity magazines, 46 pages were on infants, 16 pages on pregnant women and 162 pages displayed advertisements. Of the 9750 pages in the baby magazines, 34 pages of articles addressed CSS use; no articles addressed the issue of pregnant women; 83 pages were advertisements. Although the magazines showed accurate information in general; its amount was not sufficient, and little specific information on appropriate use and selection of a CSS was seen. Some information was misleading and even incorrect: specifically related to when to start using a forward-facing seat, what products are attachable to the CSS, and the reuse of a CSS. Greater amounts and accuracy of safety information in these magazines would help pregnant women and parents acquire important safety knowledge that healthcare providers are falling short of providing in Japan. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Efforts have been made to improve the social environment of people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Thailand but have not been assessed in terms of their quality of life (QOL). In this study, we preliminarily examined the relationship between PLWHA's perception of social environment and QOL. The participants of this study were 200 PLWHA who belonged to the self-help groups in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand. We collected data in face-to-face interviews using a structured questionnaire. The QOL was measured using a Thai version of the Medical Outcomes Study HIV Health Survey. Those who perceived themselves as well accepted by the community, perceived health services accessible or someone's help available, tended to have better QOL in terms of mental health. Community acceptance was most significantly related to QOL. Stratified analyses revealed similar relationships between perceived social environment and QOL among symptomatic and non-symptomatic participants but the relationships appeared weaker among men than women. In sum, our preliminary findings suggest that supportive social environment, especially community acceptance, is important for mental aspects of PLWHA's QOL irrespective of the disease stages and for women who usually take on multiple roles in the Thai traditional family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The 1H and 87Rb spin–lattice relaxation and spin–spin relaxation times in superionic Rb3H(SeO4)2 single crystals grown by the slow evaporation method were measured over the temperature range 160–450K. The temperature dependencies of the 1H T 1, T 1 ρ , and T 2 are measured. In the ferroelastic phase, T 1 differs from T 1 ρ , which is in turn different from T 2, although these three relaxation times converge to similar values near 410K. This transition seems to occur at temperature which is about 40K lower than the superionic transition temperature. The observation of liquid-like values of the 1H T 1, T 1 ρ , and T 2 in the high temperature is compatible with the phase being superionic, indicating that the destruction and reconstruction of hydrogen bonds does indeed occur at high temperature. In addition, the 87Rb T 1 and T 2 values at high temperature were similar (on the order of milliseconds), a trend that was also observed for 1H T 1 and T 2. This behavior is expected for most hopping-type ionic conductors, and could be attributed to interactions between the mobile ions and the neighboring group ions within the crystal. The motion giving rise to this liquid-like behavior is related to the superionic motion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We have been developing an inductive type superconducting fault current limiter with a superconducting cylinder. For practical use, a high critical current density (Jc) is needed in a large diameter. To achieve these items, we have developed a Bi-2223 thick film on a MgO substrate, with a Bi-2212 buffer layer. This cylinder was 450 mm in diameter and 120 mm in length. We describe the superconductive characteristics of this cylinder, and the limiting properties of the fault current limiter using these cylinders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 500-m single-core high temperature superconducting (HTS) cable system has been constructed and tested in Yokosuka area, CRIEPI, by CRIEPI, The Furukawa Electric and Super-GM. In the actual power grid, the HTS cable distance extends sometimes several km. And has to be cooled down from about room temperature to liquid nitrogen temperature. As, the HTS cable is contracted and suffers mechanical stress. In the case of the tong distance HTS cable, it remains a major development issue. The FITS cable constructed in this test system has an offset section for absorbing the thermal contraction. In this paper, we describe the validity of that offset section and the thermomechanical characteristics on the cooldown and warm-up test. The offset functioned successfully as designed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many people living with HIV/AIDS (PHA) use herbal medicine as one of alternative therapies, where curative options are limited. This study aimed to examine the association between the herbal medicine use and quality of life (QOL) among PHA in northeastern Thailand. Participants were 132 HIV-positive Thai adults who attended the PHA's self-help group meetings from June to July 2002. Health-related QOL scores were measured by self-administered questionnaire from the Medical Outcomes Study-HIV Health Survey. Dimensions of physical function (PF) and mental health (MH) in QOL were assessed. Additional data were collected on herbal medicine use, socio-demographic, psychosocial and HIV-related characteristics. The herbal medicine users had significantly better MH scores than the non-users, while the herbal medicine use was not statistically associated with PF scores. When stratified, herbal medicine users with the following characteristics had significantly better MH scores than the non-users: female, widowed, having no income, reporting any HIV-related symptom, having no instrumental support or receiving subsidies. In conclusion, herbal medicine use was associated with better MH especially among socially vulnerable PHA. This study suggests that herbal medicine has a potential to improve the MH aspect of QOL among socially vulnerable PHA who cannot easily receive antiretroviral therapy in Thailand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fault current limiters for electric power systems have been researched. We have been studying on a inductive type superconducting fault current limiter. The limiter has superconducting cylinder as active element. It is necessary for practical use of the superconducting fault current limiter that superconductor has high critical current density (Jc). So as to get high Jc, we tried Bi-2223 as a material for the superconductor, and prepared Bi-2223 thick film. Raw paste of Bi system was coated on a polycrystalline MgO substrate and then was sintered in the air with intermediate pressing by a cold-isostatic-pressing (CIP) technique. The sintered Bi-2223 thick film had good crystal orientation. The Jc of the 500 µm thick film was over 6000 A/cm² at 77 K. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

CONTEXT: Pregnant women are exempted from the current seatbelt legislation in Japan despite the fact that seatbelt use is essential to reduce the risk of fatalities for these women and their fetuses in car crashes. OBJECTIVE: To examine factors that might influence seatbelt use during pregnancy. METHODS: A cross sectional study, with data collected via an anonymous, self administered questionnaire at obstetric clinics in suburban areas of Japan. Altogether 880 pregnant women receiving prenatal care in July 2001 were recruited. The relative effects of factors that might influence seatbelt use during pregnancy were estimated using logistic regression analysis. RESULTS: Almost 70%-80% of pregnant women were consistent seatbelt wearers before pregnancy but seatbelt compliance was reduced by about half at 20 weeks or more gestation. Only 20% had received information on maternal seatbelt use, with one third reporting that seatbelt use is beneficial during pregnancy. Those who perceived that maternal seatbelt use is beneficial tended to maintain use, but daily car users and those who knew that they were exempted from seatbelt legislation were more likely to reduce use. CONCLUSIONS: Knowledge of the legislative exemption for pregnant women, misunderstanding of the benefits, and daily car use contributed to the reduction in seatbelt use after pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: Pregnant women are exempted from the current seatbelt legislation in Japan despite the fact that seatbelt use is essential to reduce the risk of fatalities for these women and their fetuses in car crashes. Objective: To examine factors that might influence seatbelt use during pregnancy. Methods: A cross sectional study, with data collected via an anonymous, self administered questionnaire at obstetric clinics in suburban areas of Japan. Altogether 880 pregnant women receiving prenatal care in July 2001 were recruited. The relative effects of factors that might influence seatbelt use during pregnancy were estimated using logistic regression analysis. Results: Almost 70%-80% of pregnant women were consistent seatbelt wearers before pregnancy but seatbelt compliance was reduced by about half at 20 weeks or more gestation. Only 20% had received information on maternal seatbelt use, with one third reporting that seatbelt use is beneficial during pregnancy. Those who perceived that maternal seatbelt use is beneficial tended to maintain use, but daily car users and those who knew that they were exempted from seatbelt legislation were more likely to reduce use. Conclusions: Knowledge of the legislative exemption for pregnant women, misunderstonding of the benefits, and daily car use contributed to the reduction in seatbelt use after pregnancy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fault current limiters for electric power systems have been researched. We have studied a inductive type superconducting fault current limiter. The limiter has superconducting cylinder as active element. We developed a high J[sub c] Bi-2223 thick film on a MgO cylinder. J[sub c] was over 5800 A/cm² at 77 K. We made a inductive type superconducting fault current limiter with the Bi-2223 thick film cylinder and investigated limiting performances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To clarify why seatbelt legislation did not achieve the expected reduction in mortality in Japan. Location and background: Seatbelt legislation was enacted in Japan in September 1985 and penalties were introduced in November 1986. Methods: The driver deaths per vehicle km traveled (D/VKT) were calculated to adjust for changes in traffic volume. Decreases in D/VKT were compared with the reduction expected after legislation. The association between percentage changes of driver D/VKT, seatbelt use rate, and seatbelt non-use rate were explored. Deaths of passengers, pedestrians, and cyclists were also examined. Mortality data were obtained from vital statistics, traffic volume figures from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, and seatbelt use rates from the National Police Agency. Results: Although the decrease in D/VKT after the law was enforced was larger than the absolute number of deaths, it was far less than predicted. The percentage decrease in seatbelt non-use rate showed the strongest correlation with the percentage decrease in driver mortality. Mortality did not increase among other road users after the law was enacted. Conclusion: Accurate evaluation of the effect of seatbelt legislation must take into account changes in traffic volume. The selective recruitment hypothesis—that high risk drivers were less responsive to seatbelt legislation—fits well with the findings. There was no conclusive evidence supporting risk compensation—that is, an increase in injuries among other road users. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Ga-N bond extension and compression at the cores of different types of dislocation in hexagonal GaN films grown on Si(111) substrates have been studied by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy. The relative bond extension and compression are about 6 4 and 7 4% respectively around the cores of mixed dislocations and about 9 6 and 12 7% respectively around the cores of pure edge dislocations. The core structure of a pure edge dislocation is an eightfold atom-column ring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the interaction between motion parallax and binocular disparity cues in the perception of surface shape and depth magnitude by the use of the random dot stimuli in which these cues specified sinusoidal depth surfaces undulating with different spatial frequencies. When ambiguous motion parallax is inconsistent with unambiguous disparity cue, the reasonable solution for the visual system is to convert the motion signal to the flow on the surface specified by disparity. Two experiments, however, found that the visual system did not always use this reasonable solution; observers often perceived the surface specified by a composite of the two cues, or the surface specified by parallax alone. In the perception of this composite of the two cues, the apparent depth magnitude increased with the increase of the depth magnitude specified by both cues. This indicates that the visual system can combine the depth magnitude information from parallax and disparity in an additive fashion. The interference with parallax by disparity implies that the parallax processing is not independent of the disparity processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of international monographs for herbs is in progress. Here, we propose both a marker compound and a method for its analysis for the identification of garlic bulbs and their products. The constituents in 26 kinds of fresh edible parts of Allium vegetables and three types of garlic preparations were analyzed. Sulfur compounds are the most characteristic constituents in garlic, but manufacturing processes of garlic products dramatically affect these constituents. Thus, no sulfur compound could be specified as a universal marker of identification applicable for any type of garlic. On the other hand, garlic contains other characteristic compounds, namely, saponins. After analyzing Allium vegetables and garlic preparations, we concluded that sapogenins, especially β-chlorogenin, may be a viable candidate for identifying and distinguishing garlic from other Allium vegetables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The deformation electron density of ferroelectric sodium nitrite has been determined from X-ray diffraction data at 30 K. using Hirshfeld deformation functions. Owing to the strong correlation between odd terms of the deformation coefficients, constraints were imposed in the refinement. The net charges for Na, N and O atoms were estimated to be 0.27. 1120 and -0.24 e, respectively. The calculated spontaneous polarization using these net charges and atomic dipole terms. 7.8 µC cm-2, is much closer to the recently measured value. 12 µC cm-2, as compared with the value calculated from the formal point charges (74µC cm-2). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monocytes in a familial monocyte disorder, a recently recognized primary immunodeficiency syndrome, with impaired phagocytic functions were studied for their ability to produce interleukin 1 (IL-1) as well as the surface property. Monocytes from two children (siblings) with the disorder possessed CD11b, CD13, CDI4, CD33. Ia and LFA-l/Mac-l/p150,95β subunit antigens as determined by flow cytometry. Electron microscopic cytochemistry showed that the monocytes had surface glycoproteins reactive with four representative lectins. The IL-1 production by monocytes was assayed in the two patients and compared with that in six children with primary immunodeficieney syndromes and some monocyte abnormalities; three had congenital neutropenia, two had hyper-IgE syndrome, and one had defective monocyte chemotaxis. Monocyte culture supernatants were prepared with stimulation by lipopolysaccharide or silica, and their IL-1 activity was measured by the mouse thymocyte-proliferation assay. The patients' monocytes were defective in IL-1 production: the values were < 1.0% of the control monocyte values (n = 12) and were in contrast with those of congenital neutropenia monocytes of 186.2% to 204.3%. These results demonstrate a familial monocyte disorder which is characteristic among the immunodeficiency syndromes with regard to the defective lL-1 production and the impaired phagocytic functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We present a method to form semiconductor nanodots on Si substrates by using ultrathin Si oxide technology and the results on their optical properties. We can form ultra-small semiconductor nanodots with the size of ∼5nm and ultra-high density of ∼1012 cm−2 on Si surfaces covered with ultrathin SiO2 films of ∼0.3nm thickness. We focus on photoluminescence and electroluminescence properties of Ge nanodots embedded in Si films. These structures exhibit intense luminescence in the energy region of about 0.8eV. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Examines silicon(001) 2x1 domain conversions induced by sample electric current. Use of microprobe reflection high-energy electron diffraction; Existence of diffusion anisotropy of silicon adatoms; Preservation of the domain terraces.

Si(111) surface topography changes during Si molecular beam epitaxial growth were observed by reflection electron microscope images using microprobe reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED). When RHEED intensity oscillations were observed at low substrate temperature (350 °C), it was found that the shape of atomic steps on the substrate was preserved during the growth and the surface topographies changed repeatedly with the period of the oscillations. When almost no oscillations were observed at higher substrate temperature (500 °C), the shape of the atomic steps changed during the growth. These observations provide direct evidence that RHEED intensity oscillations occur as the result of layer-by-layer two-dimensional nucleation growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To realize stable negative ion beams for 100 s required in the neutral beam injector of JT-60SA, a physical model to control cesium (Cs) distribution inside the negative ion source has been developed in order to maintain the stable negative ion production at the plasma grid (PG) surface with Cs. In this work, to quantitatively evaluate Cs coverage on the PG, a three-dimensional Cs transportation code was introduced to consider the spatial Cs distribution in the source. The spatial temperature distribution of the chamber wall was also introduced in this model. As a result, the reasonable variation of the Cs coverage for 100 s was obtained, compared to that in the initial model. Based on the modified model, the operational temperature of the chamber wall was proposed to be less than 60 °C to suppress the desorption of Cs in the chamber wall and to sustain the stable negative ion production. In addition, it was also suggested that a slightly higher wall temperature before the operation leads to a decrease in the amount of Cs stored at the chamber wall, resulting in suppression of Cs consumption in the ion source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Long pulse acceleration of hydrogen negative ion beams with the power density over 70 MW/m2 and the pulse length over 100 s has been demonstrated for the first time by using a multi-aperture 3-stage accelerator. Such long pulse acceleration was achieved by integrating the design of beam optics and voltage holding capability to meet the requirements of JT-60SA. By using the newly designed accelerator for JT-60SA, voltage holding at 500 kV with beam acceleration was stably sustained even after 5 g of cesium was seeded, and heat load on each acceleration grid was reduced below the allowable level for long pulse, less than 5% of total acceleration power. As a result, 500 keV, 154 A/m2 for 118 s beam acceleration was achieved, which satisfies the requirement of the negative ion source for JT-60SA. This pulse length of such high-power density beams is longest in the world. In addition, the result contributes to the long pulse acceleration of multi-stage electrostatic accelerators, such as 1 MeV negative ion accelerator for ITER. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Silicon layers grown on oxidized Si surfaces at temperatures between 400 and 500 °C exhibit intense photoluminescence (PL) in the D1 region after annealing at high temperatures (up to 1100 °C). This PL is associated with structural defects that are formed due to the mechanisms of Si growth and thermal relaxation. The growth proceeds through the nucleation of epitaxial and nonepitaxial Si islands. Their coalescence occurs with the formation of a number of interfacial defects, which propagate into the Si layer as it grows. Annealing modifies the structure of the defect and makes them efficient for optical emissions. These Si structures are able to produce PL in the D1 region from thin Si layers at room temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article studies different trends in drowning deaths, which is the most important external cause of child deaths in Japan. Until the mid-1970s, domestic drowning mortality among children aged 1-4 years did not change whereas their outside mortality declined steadily. A difference in risk reduction between outside and inside environments is a possible explanation of the different trends. Children's exposure to open water was reduced mainly through passive protections accompanying urbanization, such as fencing or covering rivers, ponds, lakes, and ditches.

SUMMARY: When a transformer is energized, inrush currents whose magnitudes may reach tens of its nominal current occur. Since the inrush currents lead to a voltage drop, this may cause stops and malfunctions of electrical appliances. In addition, the overcurrents may cause an unnecessary operation of an overcurrent relay and affect the power quality of the distribution system. Currently, distribution system operators use current‐versus‐time curves of transformer inrush currents for the studies of such phenomena. However, the studies based on the current‐versus‐time curve give approximate results, and studies based on the current‐versus‐flux curve is required so as to obtain accurate results. Considering this point, this report proposes a method to convert a given current‐versus‐time curve to a current‐versus‐flux one for the case of single‐phase transformers. Using the current‐versus‐flux curve obtained, detailed simulations can be performed using an electromagnetic transient analysis program such as XTAP. In this report, the proposed method is validated by experimental results using a single‐phase transformer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present here the unusual case of a male newborn infant who showed progressive severe cholestasis. The infant's gestational age was 37 weeks, and his birth weight was 2134 g. His serum level of direct bilirubin gradually increased from the 6th day of life and reached 257.5 mumol/L on the 22nd day of life. We could not find any cause for his cholestasis, but his serum level of ferritin was extremely elevated at 9211.0 ng/mL. Because we felt that his clinical condition might be related to hypercytokinemia caused by an immunologic reaction, steroid pulse therapy and cyclosporine were administered. His condition improved, and his direct bilirubin and ferritin levels declined. From the investigation of his cytokine profile, we found a preferentially elevated level of serum interleukin 17 (IL-17) (96.1 pg/mL) and high level of chemokines IL-8 and macrophage inflammatory protein 1beta. The IL-17 level gradually decreased to 7.5 pg/mL by the 124th day of life. The infant was successfully discharged from the children's hospital but later developed epilepsy at 11 months and asthma at 1 year, 2 months of age. Although we have not yet reached a definitive diagnosis, this case may be the first to show a relationship between cholestasis and an elevated serum IL-17 level in the neonatal period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a letter to the editor regarding portrayal of smoking in mass media.

Presents correction to an article related to megakaryocytic maturation published in the previous issue of the journal "Nature Medicine."

An experiment is being carried out at J-PARC -- Japan Proton Accelerator Research Complex -- to study the origin of hadron mass and the partial restoration of chiral symmetry of quantum chromodynamics in a finite density matter. The experiment, which is called the J-PARC E16 experiment, aims to measure the mass spectra of vector mesons in nuclei due to finite density effects. Previous measurements were performed at KEK-PS proton synchrotron and showed mass modifications of vector mesons in nuclei. A new experiment aims to confirm the results of KEK-PS with larger statistics to have a detailed study. Mass spectra of vector mesons are measured using electron--positron decays in proton-nucleus reactions. A new beam line is built to provide a high-intensity proton beam for the experiment, and decayed electrons and positrons are detected and identified by a newly constructed spectrometer. The experiment started the acquisition of pilot data to evaluate the performances of the beam line and the spectrometer in 2020 and 2021. The spectrometer worked well, and physics data taking will start in 2023. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A beam optics study using the ITER-relevant high intense negative ion beams, such as 1 MeV, 200 A/m2, has been performed experimentally and analytically using a multi-aperture and five-stage accelerator. Initially, multi-beamlets generated from this accelerator were deflected in various directions due to the magnetic field and space charge repulsion between beams and showed various divergences. These had limited the pulse length and the beam energy. Compensation methods of the beamlet deflections have worked effectively and contributed to achieving the ITER requirement, the divergence angle of <7 mrad, and the deflection angle of <1 mrad for 1 MeV beam. The beam pulse has been gradually extended from 1 to 100 s and is now going to a longer pulse based on these results. One of the remaining issues is to understand and suppress peripheral components of the beam, namely, the halo, and to reduce the local heat loads observed around the aperture edge. This halo component has been successfully distinguished from the beam core by using a newly developed beam emittance measurement system for high intense beams. By combining this measured beam emittance and the beam simulation, it was clarified for the first time that the halo components are generated in an area of 1 mm width from the aperture edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infectious disease following hematopoietic SCT (HSCT) is a major cause of TRM. The more valuable markers to distinguish infections disease from non-infectious complications are needed. Procalcitonin (PCT) and C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured periodically throughout the clinical course of consecutive 28 patients who underwent HSCT. The diagnoses of 103 febrile episodes were analyzed. PCT and CRP level on the first day of fever significantly increased in systemic bacterial or fungal infection (P<0.001 and <0.001, respectively). PCT is more valuable than CRP for discrimination between systemic bacterial or fungal infection and intracellular infection (P=0.022 and 0.447, respectively). The area under receiver-operator characteristics curve for detection of bacterial or fungal infection was 0.82 for PCT and 0.76 for CRP. When PCT levels did not increase over 0.25 ng/mL through the fifth day of fever, PCT yielded a specificity of 100.0%. In multivariate analysis, the maximum level of PCT during a whole course of HSCT>=2 ng/mL was independently associated with worse overall survival as post-transplant predictors (adjusted hazard ratio 6.42, P=0.035). PCT provide additional information for discrimination between bacterial or fungal infection and other causes and predicting the patient's prognosis after HSCT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The additive effect of α-glucosidase inhibitors (α-GIs) was investigated in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) under control with rapid-acting insulin analog.Subjects and Methods: Thirty-six poorly controlled T2D patients were recruited, and plasma glucose (PG) was controlled by three times daily injection of insulin lispro mix 50/50 (Mix50) to maintain fasting PG <130 mg/dL and 2-h postprandial PG (PPG) <180 mg/dL. Another group of 20 patients was randomly assigned to either 0.3 mg of voglibose or 50 mg of miglitol, which was administered at breakfast every other day. Another group of 16 patients was assigned to a crossover study, in which each α-GI was switched every day during the 6-day study. PPG, C-peptide, and lipid profile were analyzed.Results: The addition of voglibose had no effect on PPG, but miglitol blunted the PPG rise and significantly decreased 1-h and 2-h postprandial C-peptide levels compared with Mix50 alone. In addition, miglitol significantly decreased the 1-h postprandial triglyceride rise and the remnant-like particle-cholesterol rise, while it increased the 1-h postprandial high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and apolipoprotein A-I levels in the crossover study.Conclusions: Miglitol appears to have rapid action, which appears earlier than that of lispro. The combination of miglitol and Mix50 seems effective for the control of PPG and lipid profile in T2D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is concerned with photoluminescence of nanostructured silicon layers that emit radiation in the wavelength range 1.5–1.6 μm due to optical transitions to deep levels of recombination centers produced by crystal lattice defects. It is shown that the dependence of the photoluminescence intensity on the excitation power density is adequately described by the model of deep levels of one type. A shift of the photoluminescence peak to shorter wavelengths with increasing excitation power density is observed. The shift is indicative of changes in the occupancy of deep levels in the conditions of transfer of charge carriers between recombination centers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background In Japan, stroke mortality and incidence started to decline during the 1960s. The recent unfavourably diverging trends in risk factors make it uncertain whether the decline will continue. Few comprehensive stroke registries of long research duration exist in Japan to illustrate the trends in stroke incidence. Objective We examined 12-year stroke registration data to evaluate the current trend in a Japanese population. Methods Data were obtained from the Takashima Stroke Registry, covering approximately 55 000 residents of Takashima County in central Japan. We calculated the age-adjusted stroke incidence rates (/100 000 person-years) and 95% confidence intervals for 1990–1992, 1993–1995, 1996–1998, and 1999–2001. We applied the direct method to adjust for the age distribution among the four periods. The incidence time trend was determined by calculating the average annual change across the study years using negative binomial regression analysis. Results There were 1453 (men: 771 and women: 682) registered first-ever stroke cases during 1990–2001. The diagnosis was established by neuro-imaging in 93·6% of the cases. The average age was 69·4 years in men and 74·2 years in women. The age-adjusted incidence rates of stroke across the four observation periods were 143·1 (confidence interval: 127·4–158·8) in 1990–1992, 147·4 (confidence interval: 131·9–162·8) in 1993–1995, 120·4 (confidence interval: 106·7–134·0) in 1996–1998, and 122·9 (confidence interval: 109·6–136·2) in 1999–2001. The stroke incidence across the study years showed an insignificant time trend, with an average annual change of −0·33% (confidence interval: −2·44 to 1·78) per year. Similar trends were observed for both men and women and stroke subtypes. Conclusions The previously reported declining trend in stroke incidence may have levelled off or slowed down considerably in the Japanese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]