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We have succeeded in preparation of novel paramagnetic Cu(II) complexes composed of tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)-based ligands as electrical conducting units, [Cu II (Bz-OMe- t Bu-sae-TTF) 2 ], [Cu II (EDT-bissae-TTF)] and [Cu II (Bz-bis(OMe- t Bu-sae)-TTF)]. Electrochemical measurements of these neutral complexes revealed that they exhibited two pairs of redox waves attributed to the oxidation of TTF moieties. Among the newly synthesized TTF complexes, only [Cu II (EDT-bissae-TTF)] gave a radical salt by electrochemical crystallization, but its resistive behavior was insulating. Field-effect transistors (FET) were fabricated with spin-coated films of [Cu II (Bz-OMe- t Bu-sae-TTF) 2 ] and [Cu II (EDT-bissae-TTF)], and their FET performances were very low compared with the conventional organic thin film transistors (OTFT) based on TTF derivatives. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of the spin-coated films indicated the non-uniform film surfaces with many small grains leading to the large grain boundaries, which probably causes the low carrier mobility of the FET devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] We investigated the effect of water management on greenhouse gas emissions and rice yield. [•] CP treatment produced the lowest total gas emissions and the highest rice grain yield. [•] Early season drainage promoted direct and indirect N2O loss and also reduced rice yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A free wire particle located in an electric field between parallel plate electrodes manifests several motions: standing, precession on the electrode, crossing, and breakdown via the particle. During stable standing or precessional motion, the corona discharge inevitably occurs. To clarify the influence of discharge phenomenon on the behavior of the wire particle, the corona discharge characteristic of the particle in the precession was investigated experimentally in a DC electric field formed by parallel plate electrodes with a positive voltage applied to the upper electrode. The waveforms of the corona discharge current flowing through a 6-mm wire particle were measured under two conditions: when a free wire was in precession on the lower electrode and when a wire was fixed between the electrodes vertically with a spacing of less than 1 mm between the lower electrode and the bottom of the particle. From a comparison of the waveform of corona discharge occurring at the particle in precession with that of the fixed particle, it was found that both micro-gap discharge and negative corona occurred simultaneously only when the particle was in precession with a relatively small elevation angle. The particle was lifted up when the magnitude of the corona discharge current was decreased below about 15 µA. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 157(2): 8–14, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.20278 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conductive particles existing in a high-voltage system could deteriorate the system performance owing to an electric discharge via the particles. In case when the particles exist in a dc high-voltage electrode system, the location of the particle would inevitably affect the discharge aspect. A corona-onset and breakdown voltage from a metallic wire particle were measured in detail. The wire particle has a length ranging from 6 to 12 mm, and a diameter of 0.25 mm. It was fixed between a parallel plate electrode with a spacing of 20 or 30 mm. When the particle was close to the negative electrode, a corona discharge occurred stably, and the corona-onset voltage was increased as the gap length between the negative electrode, and the positive end of the particle increased up to 0.8 mm. In contrast, when the particle was close to the positive electrode, the breakdown always occurred without preceding the corona discharge. At the middle region between the electrodes, the corona onset occurred at almost constant voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute (JAERI) plans to construct a tokamak fusion device called JT-60SC in which superconducting magnet systems will be used. The purpose in this paper is to qualify type 316LN stainless steel (SS316LN) for use as the conduit material of the Nb3Sn cable-in-conduit conductor for the central solenoid (CS) of JT-60SC. Tensile properties, fracture toughness and fatigue crack growth rates of the as-welded metal and the aged (923 K × 240 h) one of SS316LN were evaluated at 4 K. The tensile properties and fatigue crack growth rates were adequate to ensure the design requirements for JT-60SC. However, fracture toughness of the aged weld metal could not be validated due to unstable crack growth. It was concluded that improvement of fracture toughness after aging was required to ensure the structural integrity of the CS conduit. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Gout, which is characterized by the deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate (MSU) in the synovial fluid and other tissues, is the most common form of inflammatory arthritis. Unlike the easily recognized acute and monoarticular gouty arthritis, advanced gout induces multiple finger joint disorders and may sometimes mimic rheumatoid arthritis (RA) or vice versa. The gold standard for gout diagnosis is the identification of MSU crystals via aspiration in the symptomatic joints or nodules; however, its feasibility and specificity may be inadequate. Recently, there have been important advances in imaging techniques, assisting in the non-invasive diagnosis of gout. Ultrasonography (US) has been known to have the ability to detect deposition of MSU crystals in patients with gout. Herein, we report an evocative case of long-standing gout with precisely detected specific US features indicating MSU crystal deposition and inflammation in multiple joints. Comprehensive US assessment included the bone, hyaline cartilage, soft tissue, subcutaneous nodules and tendon; we also discriminated gouty arthritis from RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Evaluation of liver stiffness (LS) by magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is useful for estimating right atrial pressure (RAP) in patients with heart failure (HF). However, its prognostic implications are unclear. We sought to investigate whether LS measured by MRE (LS-MRE) could predict clinical outcomes in patients with HF. Methods: We prospectively examined 207 consecutive HF patients between April 2018 and May 2021 after excluding those with organic liver disease. All patients underwent 3.0-T MRE. The primary outcome of interest was the composite of all-cause death and hospitalisation for HF. Results: During a median follow-up period of 720 (interquartile range [IQR] 434–1013) days, the primary outcome occurred in 44 patients (21%), including 15 (7%) all-cause deaths and 29 (14%) hospitalisations for HF. The patients were divided into two groups according to median LS-MRE of 2.54 (IQR 2.34–2.82) kPa. Patients with higher LS-MRE showed a higher incidence of the primary outcome compared to those with lower LS-MRE (p < 0.001). Multivariable Cox regression analyses revealed that LS-MRE value was independently associated with the risk of adverse events (hazard ratio 2.49, 95% confidence interval 1.46–4.24). In multivariable linear regression, RAP showed a stronger correlation with LS-MRE (β coefficient = 0.31, p < 0.001) compared to markers related to liver fibrosis. Conclusions: In patients without chronic liver disease and presenting with HF, elevated LS-MRE was independently associated with worse clinical outcomes. Elevated LS-MRE may be useful for risk stratification in patients with HF and without chronic liver disease. Key Points: • Magnetic resonance elastography (MRE) is an emerging non-invasive imaging technique for evaluating liver stiffness (LS) which can estimate right atrial pressure. • Elevated LS-MRE, which mainly reflects liver congestion, was independently associated with worse clinical outcomes in patients with heart failure. • The assessment of LS-MRE would be useful for stratifying the risk of adverse events in heart failure patients without chronic liver disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS) / hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) is a serious complication after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Incidence of SOS/VOD after HSCT varies from 5 to 60%1-4, and mortality rate was 80%2, if it's with multiorgan failure. Difibrotide is only a drug for SOS/VOD treatment, approved by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare in Japan. Early diagnosis, and prompt initiation of defibrotide thought to be successful treatment of SOS/VOD5. The diagnostic criteria of SOS/VOD were based on clinical findings, such as body weight gain and hyperbirilubinemia. Recently, ultrasonography (US) has been suggested as one of modalities to diagnose SOS/VOD. We previously reported the usefulness of original US scoring system, which includes assessing hepatomegaly, ascites, and blood flow alteration. It is called Hokkaido US-based scoring system (HokUS) -106 in diagnosing SOS/VOD. And it has been suggested as one of criteria to diagnose SOS in European federation of bone marrow transplantation (EBMT) guideline 20237. However, 10 findings of HokUS-10 are rather many, and prominent findings are needed for diagnosing SOS/VOD. To identify prominent findings of HokUS-10 for diagnosing SOS. The patients who underwent HSCT from Jan. 2008 to June 2019 in our institution were retrospectively analyzed. HokUS-10 were applied to the patients before HSCT and on day 14, 28 or when the signs of SOS appeared after HSCT (Fig.1). SOS was clinically diagnosed by the modified Seattle8 or the Baltimore criteria9 or the EBMT criteria10. Patients developed SOS within 21 days after HSCT was categorized as classical SOS, and byond 21 days was as late-onset SOS. HokUS-10 consists of 10 parameters were used SOS/VOD diagnosis (Table 1) US was performed using PVT-375 BT (center frequency, 3.75 MHz), PVT-674 BT (center frequency, 6 MHz), and PVT-704 BT (center frequency, 7.5 MHz) equipped with Aplio™ XV/XG/500/Xario/i800/i700 (Canon Medical Systems Corp., Otawara, Japan), by 5 registered medical sonographers (1∼26 years experiment of US). To clarify most prominent parameters in HokUS-10, diagnostic performance and Odds ratio were analyzed in classical and late-onset SOS. Four hundred and forty-one until day 21 and 421 patients after day 22 of HSCT were enrolled. Of whom, 30 and 22 patients were diagnosed by clinically as classical and late-onset SOS, respectively. Ascites showed highest sensitivity as 100% in both classical and late-onset SOS. Highest positive predictive value as 100% was seen in hepatofugal portal vein blood flow signal. Odds ratio, of classical and late-onset SOS of moderate amount of ascites, appearance of PUV blood flow signal, PUV dilatation, decrease of PV blood flow velocity, and GB wall thickness were 317.3 and 85.5, 41.6 and 32.1, 29.7 and 27.8, 12.6 and 30.6, and 27.4 and 6.6, respectively, in descending order. Prominent findings of HokUS-10 for diagnosing both of clinical and late-onset SOS were moderate amount of ascites, PUV dilatation, and appearance of PUV blood flow signal in descending order. Also, in classical SOS, GB wall thickening, and in late-onset SOS decrease of PV blood flow velocity were followed by prominent findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We previously revealed that Angiopoietin-2 (Ang2) predicts non-regression of liver fibrosis based on liver stiffness measurement (LSM) at 24 weeks after anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) treatment. In this study, we extended the observational period to 96 weeks to investigate the factors associated with non-regression after treatment with direct-acting-antivirals (DAAs). Patients treated with DAAs who underwent transient elastography at baseline and 24 and 96 weeks after DAA therapy were included. Baseline and post-treatment serum Ang2 levels were measured. Liver fibrosis stages were defined based on LSM. Multivariate regression was used to evaluate factors associated with non-regression of liver fibrosis between various time points. In total, 110 patients were included. Of these, 11% showed non-regression of LSM-based fibrosis stage at 96 weeks after DAA therapy. In multivariate analysis, advanced liver fibrosis stage and high baseline Ang2 levels were significantly associated with non-regression at 96 weeks. In patients with advanced liver fibrosis (F3/4), baseline Ang2 levels were associated with non-regression of liver fibrosis stage. Between SVR24 and SVR96, post-treatment Ang2 levels and controlled attenuation parameter values at SVR24 were significantly associated with non-regression of liver fibrosis stage in patients with F3/4. Thus, serum Ang2 levels are an important target for monitoring and therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Factors associated with improvement of liver fibrosis after successful hepatitis C virus (HCV) eradication by interferon (IFN)‐free direct‐acting antiviral agents (DAAs) have been not clarified well. Angiopoietin‐2 (Ang2) is reported to be associated with vascular leak and inflammation observed in patients with advanced liver fibrosis. Methods: In this retrospective study, patients treated with IFN‐free DAAs who underwent transient elastography before and at 24‐weeks post‐treatment and achieved sustained viral response were enrolled. Baseline serum Ang2 was measured, and its relationship with other clinical factors was analyzed. Liver fibrosis stage was defined based on liver stiffness according to a previous report. Predictive factors for regression of liver fibrosis stage after DAA therapy were evaluated. Results: Overall, 116 patients were analyzed. Baseline serum Ang2 levels were significantly associated with liver stiffness, spleen index, and liver stiffness‐based liver fibrosis stage. Moreover, 75% of patients experienced regression of liver fibrosis stage after DAA therapy. Multivariate analysis revealed that advanced liver fibrosis stage and Ang2 levels were significantly associated with regression of liver fibrosis stage after DAA therapy. In patients with advanced liver fibrosis (F3/4), baseline Ang2 level alone could predict regression of liver fibrosis stage. A baseline Ang2 cut‐off value (354 pg/ML) could predict regression of liver fibrosis stage after DAA therapy with high accuracy (sensitivity 0.882, specificity 0.733). Conclusions: Evaluation of serum Ang2 levels before DAA therapy is important. Our results provide a novel mechanistic insight into non‐regression of liver stiffness after DAA therapy. Long‐term and larger studies are required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Ultrasound technology can now be used for liver stiffness measurement (LSM) and for evaluating the amount of hepatic fat quantitatively known as the controlled attenuation parameter (CAP). This study aimed to determine the applicable cut‐off values of LSM and the CAP for primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and to investigate their clinical usefulness for assessing HCC risk in patients with chronic liver disease. Methods: A total of 1054 patients (88 with primary HCC and 966 without HCC) whose LSM and the CAP were measured by transient elastography with clinically evident hepatitis C virus (419 patients), hepatitis B virus (377 patients), and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease (258 patients) were enrolled in this study. Subsequently, a total of 966 patients who did not have HCC initially were followed, and the usefulness of the cut‐off values of LSM and CAP for HCC development were evaluated. Results: In hepatitis C virus patients, the incidence of HCC development was significantly higher among those with a combination of LSM ≥8.0 kPa and CAP ≤221 dB/m than among those with other values (log–rank test 0.0239, hazard ratio 2.66, 95%CI 1.07–6.47, P = 0.0362). In non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease patients, the incidence of HCC development was significantly higher among those with a combination of LSM ≥5.4 kPa and CAP ≤265 dB/m than among others (log–rank test 0.0040, hazard ratio 8.91, 95% CI 1.47–67.97, P = 0.0192). Conclusion: In the hepatitis C virus and non‐alcoholic fatty liver disease groups, a combination of LSM and the CAP cut‐off values would be useful for screening to identify the high‐risk group for primary HCC development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver stiffness (LS) has been reported to be a marker of liver congestion caused by elevated central venous pressure in heart failure (HF) patients. Recent studies demonstrated that LS could be non-invasively measured by virtual touch quantification (VTQ). However, its prognostic implication in patients with acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) is unclear. This study sought to determine whether LS measured by VTQ could be a determinant of subsequent adverse events in ADHF patients. We prospectively recruited 70 ADHF patients who underwent LS measurement by VTQ on admission in our university hospital between June 2016 and April 2018. The primary outcome of interest was the composite of all-cause mortality and worsening HF. During a median follow-up period of 272 (interquartile range 122–578) days, there were 26 (37%) events, including 5 (7%) deaths and 21 (30%) cases of worsening HF. The c-index of LS for predicting the composite of adverse events was 0.77 (95% CI 0.66–0.88), and the optimal cut-off value of LS was 1.50 m/s. Adverse events were more frequently observed in patients with high LS (≥ 1.50 m/s) compared to those with low LS (< 1.50 m/s). Multivariable Cox regression analyzes revealed that higher LS was independently associated with increased subsequent risk of adverse events after adjustment for confounders. In conclusion, high admission LS was an independent determinant of worse clinical outcomes in patients with ADHF. This finding suggests that LS on admission is useful for risk stratification of patients with ADHF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: We comprehensively analyzed how hepatitis C virus (HCV) eradication by interferon (IFN)-free direct-acting-antiviral-agents (DAAs) affects liver steatosis and atherogenic risk. Methods: Patients treated with IFN-free-DAAs who underwent transient elastography before and at 24-weeks post-treatment, including controlled attenuation parameter (CAP), and achieved sustained viral response (SVR) were enrolled. The association between changes in liver steatosis, lipid-metabolism, and genetic and clinical factors was analyzed. Results: A total of 117 patients were included. The mean CAP and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels were significantly elevated at SVR24. However, baseline LDL-C and CAP values were significantly negatively correlated with changes in these values after HCV eradication, indicating that in patients with high baseline values, the values generally decreased after HCV eradication. Mean small-dense LDL-C (sdLDL-C), which has greater atherogenic potential, was significantly elevated only in patients with both dyslipidemia (LDL-C >140 mg/dL) and liver steatosis (CAP >248 dB/m) at SVR24. Those patients had significant higher baseline BMI, LDL-C, and total-cholesterol levels. Conclusions: Generally, successful HCV eradication by IFN-free-DAAs decreases CAP and LDL-C in patients with high baseline values. However, elevated LDL-C was accompanied with elevated sdLDL-C only in patients with liver steatosis and dyslipidemia at SVR24; therefore, those patients may require closer monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • A newly established ultrasound scoring system could efficiently diagnose SOS/VOD. • An appropriate cut-off value to detect SOS/VOD was determined. • A US scoring system detected a certain SOS/VOD preceded to clinical diagnosis. Abstract Sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS)/hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD) is a well-documented complication after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Transabdominal ultrasonography (US) enables the visualization of blood flow abnormalities and is therefore useful for the diagnosis of SOS/VOD. We herein prospectively evaluated accuracy of a novel US diagnostic scoring system of SOS/VOD based on US findings. We carried out US in 106 patients on day 14 and when SOS/VOD was suspected after allogeneic HSCT. Among 106 patients, 10 patients (9.4%) were diagnosed as SOS/VOD by Baltimore or Seattle criteria. According to univariate analysis of 17 US findings (US-17 screening), we established a novel scoring system (HokUS-10) consisting of 10 parameters, such as gallbladder wall thickening, ascites, and blood flow signal in the paraumbilical vein. The sensitivity and specificity were 100% and 95.8%, respectively. Diagnostic performance of the HokUS-10 was significantly better than US-17 screening. In 4 of 10 patients US detection of SOS/VOD preceded to clinical diagnosis. The HokUS-10 scoring system is useful in the diagnosis of SOS/VOD; however, our results should be validated in other cohorts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To clarify the prevalence and chronological changes of testicular microlithiasis in isolated congenital undescended testes, retrospective chart review was performed.Materials and Methods: Among children with palpable isolated undescended testes who underwent orchiopexy at less than 3 years of age between January 2009 and May 2016, those who had preoperative testicular ultrasonography were enrolled. Testicular microlithiasis was classified as limited or classic.Results: Sixty-five patients (54 unilateral undescended testes and 11 bilateral undescended testes) were enrolled. Preoperative evaluation demonstrated limited testicular microlithiasis in only 2 undescended testes in 2 patients (1 with unilateral undescended testes and 1 with bilateral undescended testes). Of these patients, 1 with unilateral undescended testes had limited testicular microlithiasis and the other with bilateral undescended testes had classic testicular microlithiasis after surgery. Among 53 unilateral undescended testes without microlithiasis preoperatively, limited and classic testicular microlithiasis was found in 1 and 6 testes, respectively, during follow-up. Testicular microlithiasis was identified in 2 on the contralateral descended testis of unilateral undescended testes postoperatively. Among 10 patients with bilateral undescended testes without microlithiasis preoperatively, limited testicular microlithiasis was detected in 4 during follow-up. Testicular microlithiasis was not diminished or resolved during follow-up. The overall prevalence of testicular microlithiasis in undescended testes (21.1%) was significantly higher than that in the contralateral descended testis in patients with unilateral undescended testes (3.7%) (P < .01).Conclusion: Most testicular microlithiasis was identified postoperatively and never improved. The prevalence of testicular microlithiasis in isolated congenital undescended testes increased with time even if operated on early in life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an automatic classification method based on machine learning in contrast-enhanced ultrasonography (CEUS) of focal liver lesions using the contrast agent Sonazoid. This method yields spatial and temporal features in the arterial phase, portal phase, and post-vascular phase, as well as max-hold images. The lesions are classified as benign or malignant and again as benign, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), or metastatic liver tumor using support vector machines (SVM) with a combination of selected optimal features. Experimental results using 98 subjects indicated that the benign and malignant classification has 94.0% sensitivity, 87.1% specificity, and 91.8% accuracy, and the accuracy of the benign, HCC, and metastatic liver tumor classifications are 84.4%, 87.7%, and 85.7%, respectively. The selected features in the SVM indicate that combining features from the three phases are important for classifying FLLs, especially, for the benign and malignant classifications. The experimental results are consistent with CEUS guidelines for diagnosing FLLs. This research can be considered to be a validation study, that confirms the importance of using features from these phases of the examination in a quantitative manner. In addition, the experimental results indicate that for the benign and malignant classifications, the specificity without the post-vascular phase features is significantly lower than the specificity with the post-vascular phase features. We also conducted an experiment on the operator dependency of setting regions of interest and observed that the intra-operator and inter-operator kappa coefficients were 0.45 and 0.77, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Gastrointestinal graft-versus-host disease ( GI- GVHD) is a major and life-threatening complication of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation ( HSCT). This study evaluated the efficacy of ultrasonography ( US) for assessing and monitoring GI- GVHD. GI tract was evaluated by US in 81 patients. US findings were positive in 43 patients, including 11 false positive, and negative in 38 patients. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of US for the diagnosis of GI- GVHD were 100%, 78%, 74%, 100%, and 86%, respectively. Diffuse wall thickening of the ileum was the most frequent finding in patients with GI- GVHD. Severity of GI- GVHD was correlated with the thickness of internal low echoic layer of the wall, the echogenicity of mesenteric fat tissue, and the intensity of Doppler signaling. We classified US findings of GI- GVHD into four US grades. There was a significant correlation between clinical stage of GI- GVHD and the US grade. These ultrasonographic abnormalities were improved with clinical improvement of GI- GVHD upon treatment. Thus, US is an effective and efficient non-invasive means of identifying the extent and severity of GI- GVHD and monitoring response to treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new neutron shielding material resistant to temperatures up to 300°C is developed, consisting of a phenol-based resin with 6wt% boron. The resin will be applied around the vacuum vessel of the DD plasma device to suppress the streaming neutrons and to reduce the nuclear heating of the superconducting coils. The neutron shielding performance of the newly developed resin, examined by the 252Cf neutron source, is almost the same as that of polyethylene, which is not effective above 100°C. The new resin maintains its mechanical strength in the high temperature region. The outgas of CO2, NH3 and H2O from the resin have been measured, however, the neutron shielding performance of the resin after 200°C baking was almost the same as that before baking. Thirteen kinds of organic gases have been observed at ∼300°C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]