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The aim of this study was to clarify the clinical significance of bone metabolism in the mandibular condyles in determining condylar resorptive changes. Twelve condyles of patients with idiopathic condylar resorption and degenerative joint disease were analysed using

X-chromosome inactivation pattern (XCIP) analysis can be used to assess the clonality of cell populations of various origin by distinguishing the methylated X chromosome from the unmethylated X chromosome. In this study, the utility of XCIP analysis was improved by incorporating the examination of AC dinucleotide repeats in SLIT and NTRK-like family member 4 (SLITRK4) gene into the previously reported CAG repeat examination of androgen receptor (AR) gene in dogs. The rate of heterozygosity when both genes were analysed (125/150, 83.3%) was higher than AR gene examination alone (86/150, 57.3%). Blood samples from heterozygous dogs in either AC-1 or AC-2 of SLITRK4 gene were examined for the corrected inactivation allele ratio (CIAR), resulting in the determination of a reference range of CIAR3.8 in non-neoplastic cell/tissue samples. Using this analytical method, 49% (21/43) of neoplastic tissue samples from dogs showed a CIAR3.8, indicating the presence of a clonal population. Through the present study, the availability of canine XCIP analysis was improved by incorporating the examination of the SLITRK4 gene, providing a highly useful laboratory examination system for the detection of the clonality of various cell/tissue samples in dogs.

Osteosarcoma (OSA) in dogs is locally invasive and highly malignant. Distant metastasis is the most common cause of death. To date, the survival rate in dogs with OSA remains poor. The cytotoxic effects of etoposide against canine OSA cell lines, either alone or in combination with piroxicam, have been previously demonstrated in vitro. The aim of this study was to evaluate the anti-tumour effect of etoposide alone and in combination with piroxicam on canine OSA using murine models. Etoposide single agent treatment significantly delayed tumour progression with a marked reduction in Ki-67 immunoreactivity in tumour tissue. Concomitant treatment with piroxicam did not enhance the anti-tumour efficacy of etoposide. Etoposide single agent treatment and combination treatment with piroxicam down-regulated survivin expression, but was not followed by increased apoptotic activity. These findings indicate that etoposide might be a promising novel therapeutic for canine OSA. Further investigations into its potential for clinical application in veterinary oncology are warranted.

Giant-cell arteritis (GCA), commonly known as temporal arteritis, is a chronic granulomatous vasculitis that affects predominantly the extracranial branches of the carotid artery. Although an algorithm for diagnosing GCA that includes both biopsy and imaging examinations has been recently proposed, it harbors the possibility of false negatives. Hence, jaw claudication caused by ischemia of the masticatory muscles is one of the important clinical predictors for implementation of temporal artery biopsy (TAB). We describe a case of GCA in which jaw claudication was the only clinical predictor for implementation of TAB. A 78-year-old man was referred to our department with facial pain associated with mastication. He had been admitted 3 weeks previously to another department to investigate an unidentified fever. A blood test revealed an elevated C-reactive protein level and a high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (70 mm/h). Although ultrasonography and computed tomography angiography of the temporal region showed no findings specific for GCA, based on our examinations we determined that his facial pain arose from jaw claudication rather than temporomandibular disorder. Histopathological examination by temporal artery biopsy showed intima thickening with disruption of elastic lamina and inflammatory cell infiltration, and we consequently diagnosed GCA. Clinical symptoms immediately resolved after prescription of prednisolone 40 mg/day for 2 days. In this case of GCA the imaging examinations of the superficial temporal artery were false-negative, and jaw claudication was the most important predictor of GCA.

A low-energy electron beam (EB) can create self-interstitial atoms (SIA) in a solid and can cause directed self-assembly (DSA), e.g. {3 1 1}SIA platelets in c-Si. The crystalline structure of this planar defect is known from experiment to be made up of SIAs that form well aligned 〈1 1 0〉 atomic rows on each (3 1 1) plane. To simulate the experiment we distributed Frenkel pairs (FP) randomly in bulk c-Si. Then making use of a molecular dynamic (MD) simulation, we have reproduced the experimental result, where SIAs are trapped at metastable sites in bulk. With increasing pre-doped FP concentration, the number of SIAs that participate in DSA tends to be increased but soon slightly supressed. On the other hand, when the FP concentration is less than 3%, a cooperative motion of target atoms was characterized from the long-range-order (LRO) parameter. Here we investigated the correlation between DSA and that cooperative motion, by adding a case of intrinsic c-Si. We confirmed that the cooperative motion slightly promote DSA by assisting migration of SIAs toward metastable sites as long as the FP concentration is less than 3%, however, it is essentially independent of DSA.

Background Afatinib is a 2nd generation EGFR-TKI and has been a standard first line treatment for patients (pts) with advanced NSCLC with EGFR mutations. Afatinib has good efficiency, whereas afatinib has severe adverse events (AEs) and often lead to discontinuation of treatment or a dose reduction. NJLCG1601 was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of low-dose afatinib maintenance treatment. Methods EGFR-TKI-naive stage III / IV / recurrent NSCLC pts harboring EGFR mutations (exon 19 deletion or exon 21 L858R or minor mutation) were enrolled. Pts received afatinib 40mg orally once a day. When prescribed AEs (grade ≧ 2 in CACAE ver 4.0) or unacceptable AEs occurred, a dose of afatinib was reduced from 40mg to 30mg, 30mg to 20mg. The treatment was continued until disease progression, occurrence of intolerable severe AEs, or withdrawal of consent. The primary endpoint was 1-year progression free survival (PFS) rate. Secondary endpoints were PFS, overall response rate (ORR), the incidence of AEs, and the incidence of grade ≧ 3 AEs. Assuming a threshold 1-year PFS rate of 42% and an expected 1-year PFS rate of 63%, a total of 26 pts was required to have 90% power at a two-tailed alpha of 0.05. This is a subset analysis of patients with adenocarcinoma in NJLCG1601 study (Trial Identifier, UMIN000020688). Results Between Apr 2016 and Sep 2017, 30 pts were enrolled. Among 30 patients, 28 patients (93%) were adenocarcinoma. Pts characteristics were as follows: median ages, 70 years (range 46-79 years); proportion of males, 43%; clinical stage, IV 61% and post-op 39%; EGFR mutation types, exon 19 deletion 54%, ex21 L858R 36%, and minor mutations 11%. 1-year PFS rate was 53.6% (95% CI, 33.8-69.8), median PFS was 13.0 months, and ORR was 78.6%. Dose reductions occurred in 86% (24/28). Incidence of all cause grade ≧ 3 was 60% which is smaller than the frequency of Japanese subset in LUX-Lung 3. ILD was occurred in 3 patients and 1 patients died. Treatment-related deaths were observed in 2 pts. Conclusions Low-dose afatinib maintenance treatment reduced treatment-related adverse events without detracting from the therapeutic efficacy. Legal entity responsible for the study UMIN000020688. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure A. Nakamura: Honoraria (self): MSD; Honoraria (self): Chugai; Honoraria (self): AstraZeneca. S. Inoue: Honoraria (self): AstraZeneca; Honoraria (self): Eli Lilly; Honoraria (self): MSD; Honoraria (self): Otsuka Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self), research funding: Kyorin Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): Ono Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): GlaxoSmithKline; Honoraria (self): Daiichi Sankyo Company; Honoraria (self): Taiho Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): Chugai Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): Teijin Pharma; Honoraria (self), research funding: Novartis Pharma; Honoraria (self): Pfizer Inc; Honoraria (self): Boehringer Ingelheim; Honoraria (self): Meiji Seika Pharma. S. Sugawara: Honoraria (self): AstraZeneca; Honoraria (self): Chugai Pharma; Honoraria (self): Nippon Boehringer Ingelheim; Honoraria (self): Taiho Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): Pfizer; Honoraria (self): Eli Lilly; Honoraria (self): Novartis; Honoraria (self): Kyowa Hakko Kirin; Honoraria (self): Bristol-Myers Squibb; Honoraria (self): Ono Pharmaceutical; Honoraria (self): MSD. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Background The prognosis of type 4 or large type 3-gastric cancer is extremely poor. Despite various perioperative adjuvant therapies; as JCOG0501, peritoneal recurrence is still difficult to control. Since the clinical efficacy of chemo-radiotherapy was suggested for the treatment of advanced gastric cancer, chemo-radiotherapy is a promising strategy for curatively resectable type 4 or large type 3-gastric cancer. This multicenter, phase II study evaluated the efficacy and safety of radiotherapy combined with S-1 plus cisplatin for this target. Methods Eligibility criteria included pathologically confirmed gastric adenocarcinoma with macroscopically type 4 or large type 3, without peritoneal or distant metastases. Patients received preoperative chemo-radiotherapy with S-1 80 mg/m2/day from Day 1 to 14 and cisplatin 60 mg/m2 on Day 1, and radiotherapy at a total dose of 40 Gy in 20 fractions was delivered for 4 weeks, followed by D2 gastrectomy, and received S-1 monotherapy for one year postoperatively. The primary endpoint was the pathological complete response rate (% protocol completion). Secondary endpoints were safety, overall survival, and the response rate (RR). The sample size was calculated to be 30 cases, under the hypothesis of expected % pathological complete response rate of 15% and threshold pathological complete response rate of 2% with one-sided testing at the 10% significance level and power of 90%. Results From November 2012 to April 2018, 20 patients were enrolled. A median age of 20 patients was 67 years. Nineteen patients had protocol operation, and two of them showed pathological complete response (10.5%; 95% confidence interval 1.3–33.1%, p Conclusions Preoperative chemo-radiotherapy with S-1 plus CDDP is a safe and promising treatment for type 4 or large type 3 gastric cancer. Legal entity responsible for the study Osaka Gastointestinal Cancer Chemotherapy Study Group. Funding Has not received any funding. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

Background S-588410 is a cancer peptide vaccine composed of five HLA-A*24:02-restricted epitope peptides derived from five cancer-testis antigens, DEPDC1, MPHOSPH1, URLC10, CDCA1 and KOC1, all of which are overexpressed in esophageal cancer. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of S-588410 on CD8 positive (+) T-lymphocytes in both blood and tumor tissue and PD-L1 expression in tumor tissue, by comparing of the specimens from before and after vaccination. Methods HLA-A*24:02 positive patients (pts) with esophageal cancer who can receive the treatment more than 30 days before the surgery were eligible. S-588410 (1 mg each of 5 peptides mixed with Montanide ISA 51 VG) was weekly injected subcutaneously. Blood and tumor tissue were collected for T cell receptors (TCR) repertoire analysis, multi-parameter immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry. Peptide-specific CTLs in PBMC were evaluated using ELISpot assay and tetramer assay. Results A total 15 pts were enrolled from Sep./2016 to Dec./2017. Pts received a median of 5 injections (range, 3-14) of S-588410. After vaccination, peptide-specific CTLs activity in PBMC were induced in all pts at least for 1 of 5 peptides. Multifunctional CD8+ T cells in PBMC were increased in 7 out of 12 pts and maintained in the other pts after vaccination. The densities of CD8+, CD8+GranzymeB+, CD8+PD1+ and PD-L1+ cell in tumor tissue after vaccination were higher than those before vaccination. Furthermore, in 6 out of 7 pts, TCRs identified from peptide-specific CTLs were present in both tumor tissue and PBMC after vaccination. Conclusions Vaccination of S-588410 induces CD8+/ CD8+PD1+ tumor-infiltrating cells and PD-L1 expression in esophageal cancer. These results suggest that S-588410 enhances tumor immunity and PD1/PD-L1 axis. Thus a combination of S-588410 with anti-PD1/PD-L1 antibody is expected to be more effective than monotherapy. Clinical trial identification UMIN000023324. Legal entity responsible for the study Shionogi & Co., Ltd. Funding Shionogi & Co., Ltd. Disclosure T. Kojima: Research grant / Funding (institution), Travel / Accommodation / Expenses, Sponsored initiated study: Shionogi; Research grant / Funding (institution), Sponsored initiated study: Ono Pharmaceutical; Research grant / Funding (institution), Sponsored initiated study: MSD; Research grant / Funding (institution), Sponsored initiated study: Oncolys BioPharma; Research grant / Funding (institution), Sponsored initiated study: Astellas Amgen BioPharma; Research grant / Funding (institution), Sponsored initiated study: Chugai; Research grant / Funding (institution), Sponsored initiated study: Parexel. T. Nakatsura: Advisory / Consultancy, Compensation for IDMC: Shionogi. K. Kato: Research grant / Funding (institution): Ono Pharmaceutical; Research grant / Funding (institution): Merck; Research grant / Funding (institution): Merck Serono. T. Hikichi: Full / Part-time employment: Cancer Precision Medicine. S. Yoshimura: Full / Part-time employment: Cancer Precision Medicine. T. Nakagawa: Full / Part-time employment: Shionogi. M. Furukawa: Full / Part-time employment: Shionogi. K. Stoeber: Full / Part-time employment: Shionogi. M. Nagira: Full / Part-time employment: Shionogi. N. Ide: Full / Part-time employment: Shionogi. All other authors have declared no conflicts of interest.

We produced 23 cloned cell lines from parental CHMp, which was previously established from a canine mammary adenocarcinoma patient in our laboratory. Two representative cloned cell lines, namely, CHMp-5b and -13a, were selected and characterized for cellular morphology, growth potential and expression of some tumour-related proteins. Subsequently, we transplanted the 2 tumour cell lines orthotopically into female nude mice to examine their tumorigenicity and metastatic potential. Interestingly, despite sharing the same origin, only CHMp-5b cells metastasized to the lung. Our results indicate that a comparison between these 2 cell lines at the molecular level will help us understand mechanisms of tumour progression, especially in the context of distant metastases originating from canine mammary gland tumours.

Background Pre-hospitalization medication such as aspirin and nitrates has been shown to affect the mode of presentation in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). However, it is not formally assessed whether other cardiovascular medications may be contributed to the differences in the mode of presentation, especially in relation to coronary risk factors. Methods and results We conducted a registration study of patients (M/F 850/323) with either ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) or unstable angina (UA), and examined the differences in the mode of presentation, pre-hospitalization medication, and coronary risk factors. The ratio of the incidence of STEMI and NSTEMI/UA was significantly reduced in patients having pre-hospitalization medication with aspirin, nitrates or statins, but not with other medications such as beta-blockers in multivariate analysis. Pre-hospitalization medication with aspirin and nitrates was significantly associated with the same reduction of the ratio in patients with male gender, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and a history of coronary artery disease. However, in patients who smoked, were obese and hypercholesterolemic, pre-hospitalization medication with nitrates was significantly associated with the reduced ratio. The ratio was significantly low in patients with males and hypercholesterolemia treated with statins before admission. Conclusion Depending on their coronary risk factors, pre-hospitalization medication with aspirin, nitrates or statins was associated with a different presentation and evolution of ACS.

We have examined the dissociation process of a low-energy molecular beam making use of an empirical molecular dynamic simulation. The main concern was to explain why two (nitrogen molecule N2) beams with different energy (sub-keV and keV) give a similar intrapair distance RN-N in diamond. It was due to the peculiar dependence of the lateral range straggling on the incident energy across a few keV. When a sub-keV (N2) beam was implanted into a diamond, the dissociation elapsed a long time until it was settled in several hundreds fs because of multiple collisions. The range distribution caused by multiple collisions is almost isotropic whereas it becomes anisotropic when used a (N2) beam with the higher energy than that. From the viewpoint of computation, a few keV is a critical energy to choose an algorithm MD or MC with binary collision approximation. For the case of sub-keV N2 beam, MD is indispensable. This proved the reason of the apparent contradiction. Much later than the collision stage, a definite change further occurred in the long-range-order of the crystal at around 2 ps in diamond. It seems a phonon-assisted phenomenon would start then and might affect on the further events to be occurred later than 20 ps.

A novel series of potent histamine H(3) receptor inverse agonists based on the 3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrazino[1,2-a]indol-1-one scaffold has been discovered. Several compounds display high selectivity over other histamine receptor subtypes and have favorable physicochemical properties, low potential for CYP450 enzyme inhibition and high metabolic stability in microsomal preparations. (R)-2-Cyclopropylmethyl-8-(1-isopropyl-piperidin-4-yloxy)-3-methyl-3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrazino[1,2-a]indol-1-one (8t) showed good in vivo efficacy after per os application in an acute rat dipsogenia model of water intake.

We have examined a predictive model for the electronic stopping force (dE/dx)e to be used in the classical molecular dynamic (MD) simulation. The essential term (dE/dx)proton of (dE/dx)e is based on the Lindhard–Winther theory, while the effective charge follows the Brandt–Kitagawa model. The (dE/dx)proton term is expressed by the electron local density ρ(r) defined by the Muffin-tin model and the Hartree–Fock–Slater approximation. This model had been proposed to explain the impact-parameter dependence of (dE/dx)e for channeling ions passing through a semiconductor. Here the energy dependence of the averaged 〈dE/dx〉e after thin-film transmission was examined, where the electron–phonon interaction can be ignored in the computation. The present work uses a nitrogen (14N) beam passing through a diamond with energies from 10 to 100 keV, which is fully included in the region. Because of the channeling components in the crystalline target, the calculated data 〈dE/dx〉e was 10% smaller than that of measured values in an amorphous target. The exponent of the energy dependence of 〈dE/dx〉e (∝ E0.473) was a little gentler than that assumed in conventional models as (dE/dx)e (∝ E0.5). We have confirmed that this predictive model without a free parameter will be useful in a new system, even for a MD simulation that will take into account the electron–phonon interaction for a non-metallic target.

The production and dissolution of carbonates can occur in natural and artificially compacted bentonite soils. The formation of carbonate nodules was studied in bentonite and Pleistocene formations. In samples from a bentonite mine, small carbonate nodules were found clustered around silica particles. Dissolution studies on calcite, dolomite, siderite and magnesite were performed. Dissolution rates were in the increasing order of magnesite, siderite, dolomite and calcite. The production and dissolution of carbonates can change the microstructure of the matrix which subsequently affects its pore size and permeability. It is also possible that the formation of a carbonate crust can build a strong structure and seal the pores. To overcome these challenges, the characteristics of carbonate and similar minerals should be taken into account.

Bismuth carbide cluster ions, BinC2n+ (n = 3–11), were produced using a gas aggregation source. Reactions of neutral Bi clusters with hydrocarbon gases having unsaturated C–C bonds (C2H2, C2H4, and C2H2F2) followed by laser ionization can produce BinC2n+ in a gas phase. Bismuth carbide clusters smaller than Bi3C6+ were not found. Even-odd alternation in the stabilities of the cluster ions was observed, and the abundance of cluster ions with odd number of n in BinC2n+ was enhanced in the TOF-mass spectra. Density functional calculations of the BinC2n+ were performed in order to estimate the geometries of the cluster ions and the stability dependence on the cluster size.

Irradiation experiments of solid breeder materials including Li 2 TiO 3 have been being carried out in preparation for a test blanket module (TBM) of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER). The present paper deals with design and trial-fabrication works for developing a dismantling apparatus for the irradiation capsules. The dismantling process leads to release of tritium which is left in free volumes of the capsule or in the breeder specimens. In the design of the dismantling apparatus, the released tritium is recovered safely by a purge-gas system during the cutting of the irradiation capsule by a band saw, and then the tritium is consolidated into a radioactive waste. Furthermore, an inner-box enclosing the dismantling apparatus works as a countermeasure of possible release of tritium in accidental events. Good performance of a trial fabrication model of the dismantling apparatus has been demonstrated by preliminary cutting runs using some mockups simulating the irradiation capsules. Thus, the present design of the apparatus, together with the trial mock-up runs, will contribute to the design of the TBM structure and to the planning of the dismantling process of the TBM.

We proposed previously a superconductor frame compression circuit utilized in superconductor high-speed routers, which were expected to be used in the next generation network. The maximum operating frequency of the circuit was 23 GHz in the simulation. It was limited by the arrival timing-error between clock and data signal in one of the shift register. In this paper we analyzed this timing-error. And we designed a modified clock supply circuit. The behavior of the whole frame compression circuit was simulated by computers, and it was confirmed that it operated properly up to 40 GHz.

We have studied the ion-induced defects in a semiconductor (3C-SiC) using an empirical molecular dynamics calculation at temperature below 2000 K. The structures of produced defects were analysed by the Pixel Mapping method, focusing on the antisite related defects. In addition to the D I center that had been ascribed to be due to single antisite pair (C Si –Si C ) aligning in directions, we observed antisite clusters composed of 3–5 antisites. As a model cluster, Si C (C Si ) 4 had been predicted by quasistatic calculation, which was consistent with the lower formation energy of C Si than Si C . This implied inversely Si C and C Si (Si C ) 4 can be more stable if once they were formed under energetic ion impacts. In fact, we observed a clear trend of growth of C Si (Si C ) n approaching to C Si (Si C ) 4 under 5 keV boron impacts above annealing temperature.

The piezoelectric photo-thermal (PPT) and the surface photo-voltage (SPV) spectra of GaAs/AlAs short-period superlattices (SPS)-confined GaAs single-quantum well (SQW) were measured. The electron nonradiative transitions within GaAs-SQW and subband of SPS were observed in the room-temperature PPT spectrum. At low temperature (81 K), the PPT and SPV peaks originated from the exciton transition of e1-hh1 and e1-lh1 within GaAs-SQW were observed. These peak intensities showed the opposite behavior followed by a photo-quenching (PQ) of EL2 existing in GaAs substrate. It was found that EL2 in the substrate exerted an influence on the carrier transition mechanisms within GaAs-SQW and the electron nonradiative paths through EL2 were clearly discussed by the PPT and SPV measurements.

We newly miniaturized single-flux-quantum (SFQ) switch circuits for realizing a large-scale switch. A problem in our conventional design is a large size of circuits, because they consist of combine primitive-function logic cells , such as AND, NOT, and so on. To solve this problem, we investigated an approach that uses high-functionality logic cells . As the first step in such a design approach, we designed a new 2:1 multiplexer (MUX) cell, which is a key component in switches. The main features of the MUX cell include nondestructive operation, timing-free inputs, and compatibility with our standard cell library “CONNECT”. We significantly miniaturized the MUX by 67% in comparison to our conventional MUX circuit, which was implemented by combining primitive-function cells. We also designed a 2 × 2 switch using the MUX cell. In comparison to our conventional 2 × 2 switch, the circuit size, the number of Josephson junctions, and the power consumption were reduced by 27%, 30%, and 38%, respectively. The 2 × 2 switch operated at 40 GHz with a bias margin of ±6%.

A proximity focusing RICH with aerogel radiator has been studied to extend the pion-kaon separation power in the forward region of the Belle spectrometer. Such a proximity focusing RICH counter is also a very fast detector, in particular if a micro-channel plate (MCP) PMT is used as the photon detector. With its excellent timing properties, the same device could also serve as a time-of-flight counter and thus supplement other identification methods, in particular for low momentum tracks. Cherenkov photons emitted in the radiator medium (aerogel) as well as in the entrance window of the PMT could be used for the time-of-flight measurement. A prototype of this novel device using BURLE 85011 64-anode, microchannel plate PMT, was tested on the bench and in the test beam at KEK. Excellent performance of this counter could be demonstrated. In particular, a good separation of pions and protons was observed in the test beam data with a time-of-flight resolution of about 35 ps (rms) for Cherenkov photons produced in the PMT window.

A proximity focusing RICH based on a silica aerogel Cherenkov radiator has been developed for a new particle identification device in the upgraded Belle detector. To further improve the detector performance, a new concept for Cherenkov ring imaging has been introduced, where multiple aerogel layers with different indices are accumulated to increase the number of detected photons without making the Cherenkov photon angle resolution worse. By constructing a prototype counter, this idea was validated in a test beam experiment, and a 5.5σπ/K separation at 4GeV/c with more than nine photoelectrons was achieved. We will present new results from a beam test as well as recent improvements on aerogel radiators.

We have analyzed the evolution of defects caused by self-irradiation of crystalline silicon. A classical molecular dynamics simulation was followed by defect analysis using the Pixel Mapping (PM) method. The PM identified {311} planar defects and long-chain structures of the so-called interstitial chains following low energy (1 keV) ion impact. The areal density obtained from simulation of self-interstitial atoms was about two thirds of that of experiments reported in the literature [Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 30 (1991) L639], while the atomic configuration on respective planes agreed exactly.

A feasibility study was performed to generate new sufficient mirror cusp magnetic field (CMF) by using the coils of the existing room temperature traditional 18 GHz electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) at RIKEN. The CMF configuration was chosen because it contains plasma superbly and no multipole magnet is needed to make the contained plasma quiescent with no magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) instability and to make the system cost-effective. The least magnetic field, 13 kG is achieved at the interior wall of the plasma chamber including the point cusps (PC) on the central axis and the ring cusp (RC) on the mid-plane. The mirror ratio calculation and electron simulation were done in the computed CMF. It was found to contain the electrons for longer time than in traditional field. It is proposed that a powerful CMF ECRIS can be constructed, which is capable of producing intense highly charged ion (HCI) beam for light and heavy elements.

In this preliminary study, the spatial extent of the defects introduced in Si by a normally incident 1 MeV H + nanobeam was investigated using a hybrid approach. First, the standard SRIM code was employed to calculate the angular and energy distributions of Primary Knock-on Atoms (PKA) using the Binary Collision Approximation (BCA). The long mean free path and the kinematics of scattering in a screened Coulomb potential resulted in an anisotropic PKA distribution that was mainly directed perpendicular to the primary ion trajectories. The PKA energy E dependence was close to 1/ E n with 1.5 n The results revealed that the low energy PKA’s resulted in localised damaged regions with Si Self-Interstitial Atoms (SIA) and associated vacancies concentrated within a few nm of the ion track. Although some clustering occurred, the majority of SIA were present as monomers. This is in agreement with previous work on low energy B + implanted Si. The contribution from the spatial distribution of displacements from high energy (>40 eV) PKAs was investigated using SRIM. It was found that within the maximum region of the SIA concentration (1–2 nm radius of the ion track) the contribution from high energy PKA’s is relatively unimportant (∼5%).

Selenization growth of phase-separation-free polycrystalline CuIn1–xGaxSe2 ( 0 ⩽ x ⩽ 0.29 ) films was demonstrated using a less-hazardous organometallic Se source, diethylselenide [(C2H5)2Se: DESe], and stacked structure of Se-premixed Cu–In–Ga metals called ‘precursors’. Distinct from the case of using Se vapor or H2Se gas, single-phase CuInGaSe2 films were obtained without thermal annealing using a combination of DESe and Se-premixed precursors. Photoluminescence spectra of the films at 77 K were dominated by the defect-related donor–acceptor pair and free electron to acceptor recombination emissions, which are particular to the CuInGaSe2 films exhibiting high-conversion efficiency.

The optical absorption spectrum of InGaAs quantum well (QW) heterostructure samples were measured by using the piezoelectric photothermal (PPT) spectroscopy. From the room-temperature-PPT measurements and curve fitting analysis, the exciton contribution was clearly distinguished from the two-dimensional step-like band-to-band transition. Two samples of different QW structures, a molecular beam epitaxy grown single-QW (MBE-SQW) and an atomic layer epitaxy grown multiple-QW (ALE-MQW), were prepared in order to examine the availability of the PPT technique to the QW structure samples. The binding energies and FWHMs of the PPT exciton peaks were found to be 8 and 20 meV for MBE-SQW, and to be 13 and 43 meV for ALE-MQW samples, respectively. The present results show that the PPT methodology is a powerful tool for investigating the optical properties of QW structures only at room-temperature measurements.

We have constructed several high performance ECRISs in RIKEN and produced intense beams of heavy ions. (e.g. 2 mA of Ar8+, 0.6 mA of Kr13+, 0.3 mA of Xe20+) During the improvement of their performance, we found that the two key parameters play essential roles in increasing the beam intensity: plasma electrode position and magnetic field configuration. Based on these experimental results, we have a plan to construct a new superconducting ECRIS for producing an intense beam of U35+.

In order to get some insight into the origin of the anomalous angular dependence of H c2 in a layered intermetallic compound CaAlSi, electronic, superconducting, and structural properties are compared between CaAlSi and CaGaSi. The angular dependence of H c2 in CaGaSi is well described by the anisotropic GL model. Parallel to this finding, the pronounced lattice modulation accompanying the superstructure along the c -axis in CaAlSi is absent in CaGaSi. A relatively large specific heat jump at the superconducting transition in CaAlSi compared with CaGaSi indicates the presence of strong electron–phonon coupling in CaAlSi, which may cause the superstructure and the anomalous angular dependence of H c2 .

To investigate irradiation-induced Si amorphization during its initial stages, we have performed a classical molecular-dynamics (MD) calculation for the case of self-irradiation by 5 keV ions at a low temperature of 100 K. We examined the geometry of self-interstitial atom (SIA) clusters using the pixel mapping (PM) method, on the output data of MD calculations. Perfect crystalline silicon (c-Si) is amorphized by self-irradiation, and we observe that many SIA are produced. During sequential self-irradiation, the most frequently observed species were isolated SIA, i.e. I1 (monomer). The fractions of SIA clusters decreased as I2 (dimer), I3 (trimer), and I4 (tetramer) clusters, respectively. For I2 clusters, the 〈1 1 0〉 oriented I2’s were the dominant I2 species, which agree with previous predictions based on static calculations. Nevertheless, other I2’s with different orientations were also significant. Some of them have been proposed as intermediate I2’s in forming dislocations. The present results imply that irradiation-induced SIA’s play an important role in the triggering of amorphization, and MD combined with PM can reveal the intermediate processes underlying extended-defect formation.

We have analysed by computer simulation the evolution of defects caused by self-irradiation of crystalline silicon (c-Si) at high temperatures. A classical molecular dynamics simulation (MD) was followed by defect analysis using the pixel mapping (PM) method. The incident Si ion energy was 5 keV and the target temperature was set to 1000 K. In the present simulation, we aimed to reproduce experimentally observed {3 1 1} planer defects. So far we did not observe long chain structures towards the 〈1 1 0〉 direction, nor remarkable platelet {3 1 1} planar defects. Nevertheless we observed a significant increase of 〈1 1 0〉-oriented self-interstitial dimers and a small fraction of linear trimers, which will be the initial stages of 〈1 1 0〉-rod formation.

A free-prefabricated auricular composite graft was applied in two patients who underwent extended hemilaryngectomy. Good phonatory and respiratory functions were obtained without any significant aspiration. Although this reconstructive method is a two-staged procedure involving microsurgical techniques, we believe that it provides a good physiologic reconstruction of the larynx and trachea.

The springback of high-strength steel after hot and warm sheet formings is investigated. Environmentally friendly vehicles will promote the increasing usage of high-strength steel sheets, however, a large amount of springback after sheet forming is one of the major drawbacks. A series of hot and warm sheet forming experiments on high-strength steel sheets are conducted using a hot compression testing machine, and the effect of forming temperature on the amount of springback is evaluated. The springback is markedly reduced when the forming temperature is higher than 750K, which is approximately the critical temperature for the recrystallization of ferrite grains.

The epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a crucial event that occurs during cancer metastasis and can be induced by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) in various tumor cells in vitro. However, little is known about the effects of TGF-β in canine mammary gland tumors (CMGTs). Here, we investigated the role of TGF-β in CMGT. We observed that treatment of the CMGT cell line CHMp13a with TGF-β1 leads to transient induction of the mesenchymal marker vimentin. Real-time measurements of cellular electrical impedance also showed that CMGT invasiveness is transiently increased by TGF-β1 treatment, but is reversed after prolonged stimulation. This phenomenon is similar to the mesenchymal-epithelial transition (MET, the reverse phenomenon of EMT), and a process that is implicated in the establishment of secondary metastatic lesions.

Medium energy ion scattering (MEIS) combining a toroidal electrostatic analyzer with an energy resolution (dE/E) of 4 × 10−3 has been used for ultra-shallow depth profiling of As implanted into Si at 1, 2 and 5 keV to a dose of 1.2 × 1015 ions/cm2 before and after spike annealing at 1075 °C. Depth profiling results extracted from MEIS spectra were compared with those of simulation and SIMS measurement. The arsenic re-distribution close to the surface after spike annealing was found by MEIS and SIMS measurements.

The fundamental recovery technique for some medium failures in a database system is regularly carried out by executing a full backup that takes all copies of updated files. However, the overhead of such full backup becomes sometimes very large in a massive database system. To lessen the overhead of backups, an incremental backup with small overhead, which takes only copies of newly updated files, is usually adopted in most database systems. However, the overhead of an incremental backup increases in proportion to the total amount of updated files. It would be necessary to determine when to make full backups. This paper proposes a stochastic model with incremental and full backups: the expected costs incurred for two backups are obtained, and an optimal full backup interval which minimizes them is discussed. It is shown that an optimal interval is given by a finite and unique solution of an equation under suitable conditions. Finally, a numerical example is given and some useful discussions are made.

The sensitivity change of the blue-light stimulated luminescence (BSL), red thermoluminescence (RTL) and blue TL (BTL) signal with annealing treatment was investigated on several RTL-quartz samples. The BSL-signal from volcanic quartz was recognized to offer extremely weak emission in comparison with the one from archaeological burnt quartz. It was found that the BSL-sensitivity of the volcanic quartz was remarkably enhanced by up to a factor of 40 after annealing treatment, in comparison with the slight enhancement of 2.4 for archaeological burnt quartz, accompanied with a slight decrease of RTL-sensitivity. As a result, the archaeological burnt quartz has been verified to be datable using both BSL and RTL measurements, while RTL dating was recommendable from old age samples of volcanic origins.

We have examined a mechanism of Si amorphization, by a classical molecular-dynamics, paying attention to whether or not the self-interstitial atom (SIA) clusters were a precursor to amorphization, when a crystalline Si was self-irradiated by several keV ions at a low temperature of 100 K. The pixel mapping (PM) analyzed crystallographically a crystalline to amorphous (CA) transition caused by ion irradiation by means of a set of long-range-order parameters. The spatial distribution of SIAs were also counted by PM. Throughout the sequential self-irradiation, the fraction of isolated SIAs was dominant. Although the fractions were small, we found the significant increase of small SIA clusters, e.g. I2–I4, as the crystalline state was being collapsed. We conclude that those small SIA clusters can be the trigger to enhance the production of more SIAs, and results in CA transition.

Ion irradiation often causes amorphization in a crystal. We have presented a new crystallographic analysis that defines a new type of order parameter, which we call pixel mapping (PM). PM can describe algebraically to what extent and how the crystallinity has changed under ion bombardment. In other words, PM describes the long-range-order (LRO) interactions, based on the crystallography. PM can be effectively used, when it is incorporated in a classical molecular dynamics (MD) calculation. In the case of B ions implanted into a Si crystal, we observed crystal to amorphous (CA) transitions under energetic ion bombardment at low temperature. The PM profiling was more effective to reveal the CA transition than other atomistic methods of analyses as radial distribution function g(r) or vacancy mapping Nv. PM could distinguish between perfect crystalline states, transition states, and random states. Moreover, PM revealed that the lattice reaction was cooperative even in a mesoscopic volume, e.g. in a cube of 60 A × 60 A × 60 A, indicating the importance of LRO interactions.