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The sound velocity of Fe3C was measured at pressures from 33 to 86 GPa and at ambient and high temperatures up to 2300 K using inelastic X-ray scattering (IXS) from laser-heated samples in diamond anvil cells (DACs). The compressional velocity (VP) and density of Fe3C at room temperature were observed to follow a linear relationship (Birch's law). The temperature dependency of Birch's law was not clearly observed and can be ignored. Birch's law for Fe3C is expressed by: V P = 1.09 ± 0.14 × ρ − 1.79 ± 1.26 . The result indicates that VP and VS (shear velocity) of the preliminary reference Earth model (PREM) inner core at the Inner Core Boundary (ICB) were by 12% and 48% smaller than those of Fe3C, which could be accounted for by the premelting effect by analogy from pure Fe or by partial melting of the Fe–Fe3C mixture in the inner core.

Background Recent studies have reported that immune-checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) cause various immune-related adverse events (irAEs) and irAEs are associated with antitumor effects of ICIs. However, it remains unclear whether the incidence of irAEs was associated with types of PD-1 inhibitors and treatment lines. Methods We retrospectively evaluated data of advanced or recurrent NSCLC patients treated in 1st to 3rd line with PD-1 inhibitors at Niigata Lung Cancer Treatment Group between January 2016 and October 2017. Results Of 231 patients who received anti-PD-1 therapies, 176 patients received nivolumab and 55 patients received pembrolizumab, and 63 patients (36%) developed irAEs in nivolumab therapy and 30 patients (55%) developed irAEs in pembrolizumab therapy. In the univariate analysis, male (Odd Ratio: OR 2.38, p = 0.01), smoker (OR 3.29, p = 0.002), squamous cell carcinoma (OR 2.99, p = 0.0001), pembrolizumab therapy (OR 2.15, p = 0.01), 1st line anti-PD-1 treatment (OR 2.07, p = 0.04), EGFR gene mutation negative (OR 8.77, p = 0.03) were significant predictors of irAEs. Multivariate analysis identified younger age ( Conclusion In the current study, pembrolizumab therapy and 1st line treatment were predictors of irAE onset in univariate analysis, but not in multivariate analysis.

In this paper, we aim to elucidate whether effects related to supply or demand contributed to the Japanese “credit crunch” in the 1990s. Using prefectural panel data, we estimate loan supply and demand functions and calculate their shifts. Our analysis reveals that demand-side effects contributed to the Japanese credit crunch to an equal or greater degree than supply-side effects. Further, we show that the credit crunch was not uniform across Japan, but was more severe in urban relative to rural prefectures. These findings suggest that traditional countermeasures in the banking sector that similarly affect all prefectures may not induce economic recovery. Given this, we assert that region-specific policies may be more appropriate.

Chromium disilicide (CrSi 2 ) nanostructures were grown by the exposure of Si substrates to CrCl 2 vapor at atmospheric pressure, and the growth condition dependence on the morphological and structural properties of CrSi 2 was systemically investigated. The various structures of CrSi 2 , such as microrods, nanowire bundles along with microrods and dendritic nanowire structures, have been grown. It was found that the Si substrate temperature and the quantity of the CrCl 2 source materials significantly affect the morphological and structural properties of the CrSi 2 structures. The structural evolution of CrSi 2 has been discussed on the basis of thermodynamic reactions, vapor deposition growth and dendritic growth phenomena. This growth process provides a simple and controllable method to grow novel nano-scaled structures of transition metal silicides for technological use.

The inhibition of fibril formation of amyloid β (Aβ) and the disaggregation of Aβ fibrils are the promising approaches for a medical treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) therapy. In this study, we investigated the effects of liposomes on dopamine-induced disaggregation of Aβ fibrils by using the variety of liposomes. The used liposomes were normal liposomes, raft-forming liposomes, charged liposomes and oxidized liposomes. Those liposome could accelerate the disaggregation rate of fibrils. From the comparison of normal and charged liposomes, a certain contribution of dopamine via an electrostatic interaction to the disaggregation was confirmed. From raft-forming and oxidized liposomes, we revealed a significant contribution of bound water to liposomes, which could assist the formation of the quinine-form of dopamine by a removal of its proton. It is, therefore, concluded that the membrane surface of liposomes is considered to be an adequate environment for the dopamine-induced disaggregation of fibrils.

We have determined the density evolution of the sound velocity of dhcp-FeHx (x ≈ 1) up to 70 GPa at room temperature, by inelastic X-ray scattering and by X-ray diffraction. We find that the variation of VP with density is different for the ferromagnetic and nonmagnetic dhcp-FeHx, and that only nonmagnetic dhcp-FeHx follows Birch's law. Combining our results with Birch's law for iron and assuming an ideal two-component mixing model, we obtain an upper bound of the hydrogen content in the Earth's inner core, 0.23(6) wt.% H, corresponding to FeH0.13(3). The iron alloy with 0.23(6) wt.% H can satisfy the density, and compressional and shear sound velocities of the PREM inner core, assuming that there are no other light elements in the inner core.

The dynamic structure factor S ( Q , ω ) of liquid silicon has been measured using inelastic X-ray scattering. The data show that distinct longitudinal collective modes exist in this ‘non-simple’ liquid metal similar as in the so-called ‘simple’ metallic fluids as, e.g. the liquid alkalis. However, the Si-modes are considerably more strongly damped and in S ( Q , ω ) the corresponding excitation peaks cease to exist for momentum transfers of about half the structure factor maximum position. The degree of positive dispersion, in the Q - ω -relation of the modes is, however, similar as in the liquid alkalis, indicating that the microscopic viscosity is similar in l-Si and that the stronger damping may rather be related to the higher thermal diffusivity. Additionally, it is found that the shape of the quasielastic line close to the structure factor maximum deviates considerably from the shape found in simple liquid metals. This observation is related to the onset of short time correlations between colliding particles on the sub picosecond scale which is in accord with findings from ab initio computer simulations under similar conditions.

Nitrate uptake rate was determined in the East China Sea by a simulated in situ 15 N incubation technique during four cruises representing different seasons in the period from 1993 to 1996. Stations were occupied on an observational line extending from the inner continental shelf to the adjacent oceanic water in the Pacific. The nitrate uptake rate integrated over the euphotic zone was higher on the average on the continental shelf (56 mg N m −2 d −1 ) than at the outer waters of the shelf-break and pelagic regions (21 mg N m −2 d −1 ). Both seasonal and spatial variations were larger on the shelf. Uptake rates were low in summer when the water columns were stratified. Nitrate in the summer surface waters was found to be almost completely depleted by determination with a chemiluminescence technique, and kinetic uptake experiments conducted concurrently suggested severe limitation of uptake due to the low nitrate concentrations. Uptake rates were also low in well-mixed water columns in winter and spring when the water temperature was low. High rates of uptake were observed in a spring bloom as well as at some of the inner-shelf stations in autumn. In the latter case, high phytoplankton biomass was accompanied by detectable amounts of nutrients and by lower salinity at the surface of the stratified water columns. Chlorophyll specific uptake capacity was higher and was significantly correlated with water temperature at a group of stations mostly on the shelf, while the capacity was lower and unaccountably varied at other stations. An empirical prediction model of nitrate uptake from chlorophyll concentration, temperature, light intensity, and nitrate concentration was developed and applied to these data.

X-ray diffraction measurements for expanded fluid mercury have been carried out in a wide density region from the liquid to dense vapour region using synchrotron radiation at SPring-8. We have developed a new high-pressure vessel with seven windows to collect the scattered X-rays for energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction measurements under high temperature and high pressure, and present the new data. It was found that the reliability of the structure factors, S(k), and the accuracy of the pair distribution functions, g(r), are much better. Reliable relations of the coordination number and the correlation distance with the density of fluid Hg were obtained. Structural changes with decreasing density are discussed in relation to the metal–non-metal transition in fluid Hg based on the new results.

Small angle X-ray scattering measurements for supercritical fluid metals such as selenium and mercury have been carried out using synchrotron radiation at SPring-8 to study density fluctuations near the liquid–vapor critical points. The absolute value of the scattering intensity was estimated from measurements on compressed He gas, a method developed using the in-house X-ray source at Hiroshima University. The observed scattering intensity of fluid selenium increases when one approaches the isochore of the critical density with decreasing pressure. The correlation length of the density fluctuations and the long wave length limit of the structure factor, S (0), are deduced to be 16.5 A and 31 at 1680 °C and 459 bar using the Ornstein–Zernike formula. Based on these data, the density fluctuations in fluid selenium are discussed.

X-ray diffraction measurements for expanded fluid selenium have been carried out in a wide density region from the liquid to the dense vapor using synchrotron radiation at SPring-8. We have developed a new high pressure vessel with seven windows to measure scattered X-rays and the reliability of the structure factors becomes much better. The measurements were made in the semiconductor–metal (SC–M) transition region from 600 to 1500 °C near 800 bar. The structure factors in the dense vapor region from 300 to 441 bar at 1650 °C are obtained for the first time. Structural changes in the SC–M transition region and the structure of the dense selenium vapor are discussed, based on these new results.

Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction measurements using synchrotron radiation at SPring-8 for fluid Se have been carried out at temperatures up to 1650 °C and pressures up to 878 bar, including the dense vapour region, to investigate the structural change in the semiconductor-to-metal (SC–M) transition in expanded fluid Se. We obtained the structure factors, S ( k ), and the pair distribution functions, g ( r ), with a fairly good accuracy. Besides confirming the preservation of twofold-co-ordinated structure, the contraction of nearest co-ordination distance and the existence of asymmetry of the first peak in the g ( r ) in the metallic fluid region, it was found that the line shape of the first peak in the g ( r ) changes as well as the value of the first minimum in the g ( r ) increases obviously with increasing metallic properties. These results indicate that both the existence of different intrachain bonds and the interchain interaction are important for the mechanism of SC–M transition in fluid Se.

The authors point to the difficulty of assessing fiscal sustainability when revenues fluctuate sharply and unexpectedly. They note that in recent years tax revenues in Japan have been considerably unstable, so it is no longer appropriate to calculate the amount of structural tax revenue using a standard elasticity. The paper examines the fluctuation of Japan’s corporate tax revenue and its elasticity since 1980. In particular, it evaluates the role of structural and cyclical changes in the distribution of value-added, the relationship between interest rates and return on capital, asset price movements and return from foreign investment, the divergence of economic fluctuations among sectors and the deductions of carried-over losses. Finally, the paper discusses appropriate methods for the estimation of structural corporate tax revenue.

Corrigendum to ‘‘Syntheses and structural Characterizations of CrSi2 Nanostructures using Si Substrates under CrCl2 vapor’’ [Journal of Crystal Growth, doi: 10.1016/j.jcrysgro.2012.12.031] Wen Li , Erchao Meng , Tomoji Matsushita , Shingo Oda , Daisuke Ishikawa , Kaito Nakane , Junhua Hu , Shaokang Guan , Akihiro Ishida , Hirokazu Tatsuoka b,n a Graduate School of Science and Technology, Shizuoka University, 3-5-1 Johoku, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8011, Japan b Faculty of Engineering, Shizuoka University, 3-5-1 Johoku, Naka-ku, Hamamatsu, Shizuoka 432-8561, Japan c Materials Research Center, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Wenhua Road 97, Zhengzhou, Henan 450002, China