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We have succeed in growing single crystals of EuCu 5 and EuAu 5 with the hexagonal structure by the Bridgman method. Both compounds are known to be ferromagnets with Curie temperatures T C = 57 and 13 K, respectively, and the Eu-4f magnetic moments of EuCu 5 are known to orient along the hexagonal c-axis or the [0001] direction by the Mössbauer experiment. The magnetisations at 2 K in EuCu 5 and EuAu 5 in the present experiment saturate at an extremely low field of 2 kOe for H ∥ [ 0001 ] , with a Eu 2 + -moment of 7 μ B / E u . On the other hand, the hard-axis magnetisations for H ⊥ [0001] saturate at a high field of 40 kOe. It is also found from the electrical resistivty measurement that the electrical resistivities along the current J ∥ [0001] in EuCu 5 and EuAu 5 are about 10 μ Ω ⋅ c m at room temperature, which are compared with the resistivities of ρ = 30–40 μ Ω ⋅ c m for J ⊥ [0001]. The quasi-one dimensional conductivities are also characteristic, which were clarified from the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) experiment and FLAPW energy band calculation for EuAu 5 , revealing the existence of a large plate-like Fermi surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The native distribution of the yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina, is throughout East Asia. Around 15 years ago this species was accidentally introduced into South Korea and France, where it became established and then spread into neighbouring countries. Previous mitochondrial DNA studies showed that the South Korean, Japanese, and French populations all originated from Eastern China. Recently, the hornet has invaded Iki Island, Japan and Jersey Island, UK. In this study, we analyze the complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of V. velutina to trace the origin of these two populations. The mitochondrial DNA haplotypes (COI, Cytb, and 16S rRNA) of V. velutina in Iki Island matched the unique haplotype present in China, South Korea, and Japan, while the haplotype from Jersey Island matched that of V. velutina found in France and China. These findings were supported by data from the complete mitochondrial DNA sequence of V. velutina from Iki Island, which was consistent with the sequence from South Korea and Tsushima, whereas V. velutina in Jersey was most similar to the French population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the efficacy and safety of secukinumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) who failed to respond to tumour necrosis factor- α (TNF-α) inhibitors.Method: This phase III double-blind, double-dummy, placebo-controlled study (NCT01770379) randomized (1:1:1) patients to subcutaneous secukinumab 150 mg, secukinumab 75 mg, or placebo at baseline, weeks 1, 2, 3, and 4, and then every 4 weeks. American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 20 response at week 24 was the primary endpoint. Secondary outcomes included the 28-joint Disease Activity Score using C-reactive protein (DAS28-CRP), Health Assessment Questionnaire Disability Index (HAQ-DI), and ACR50 at week 24. Long-term treatment was planned for 5 years.Results: ACR20 response rates at week 24 for the secukinumab 150 mg and 75 mg groups were not statistically superior to placebo. None of the secondary endpoints was met for either secukinumab dose. Although not statistically significant, compared with placebo, numerically greater differences in least squares mean changes from baseline in HAQ-DI score and numerically higher ACR50 response rates were observed at week 24 in both secukinumab treatment groups. No new or unexpected adverse events were observed in this study compared with the large secukinumab safety database across psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, and other RA studies.Conclusions: Given that other second-line therapies have demonstrated efficacy in RA patients who failed to respond to TNF-α inhibitors, these findings may suggest that interleukin-17A inhibition with secukinumab does not provide additional benefit to these patients. This study further confirms the well-characterized safety profile of secukinumab. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we revisit the augmented Lagrangian method for a class of nonsmooth convex optimization. We present the Lagrange optimality system of the augmented Lagrangian associated with the problems, and establish its connections with the standard optimality condition and the saddle point condition of the augmented Lagrangian, which provides a powerful tool for developing numerical algorithms: we derive a Lagrange–Newton algorithm for the nonsmooth convex optimization, and establish the nonsingularity of the Newton system and the local convergence of the algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objectives: To clarify the prevalence of anti-signal recognition particle (anti-SRP) antibody in connective tissue diseases (CTDs) and investigate the clinical characteristics of patients without inflammatory myopathy.Method: Sera from 6180 patients with CTD were examined by immunoprecipitation (IPP) assays, and the records of patients positive for anti-SRP antibody were reviewed retrospectively. The antibody against the 54-kDa protein of SRP (SRP54) was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in patients with anti-SRP antibody.Results: Of the 28 patients positive for anti-SRP antibody, nine (32.1%) did not have inflammatory myopathy. The clinical diagnoses and characteristics of those patients varied considerably. In patients with inflammatory myopathy, the index of anti-SRP54 was much higher than in those without myopathy (1.15 vs. 0.46; p = 0.036).Conclusions: The prevalence of anti-SRP antibody was 0.5% in a cohort of Japanese patients with CTD, and one-third of them did not have inflammatory myopathy. Sera from patients with inflammatory myopathy recognized SRP54 more strongly than in those without myopathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present work is to examine if the Hume-Rothery stabilisation mechanism holds across whole solid solution ranges in a series of gamma-brasses with especial attention to the role of vacancies introduced into the large unit cell. The concentration dependence of the number of atoms in the unit cell, N, for gamma-brasses in the Cu-Zn, Cu-Cd, Cu-Al, Cu-Ga, Ni-Zn and Co-Zn alloy systems was determined by measuring the density and lattice constants at room temperature. The number of itinerant electrons in the unit cell, e/uc, is evaluated by taking a product of N and the number of itinerant electrons per atom, e/a, for the transition metal element deduced earlier from the full-potential linearised augmented plane wave (FLAPW)-Fourier analysis. The results are discussed within the rigid-band model using as a host the density of states (DOS) derived earlier from the FLAPW band calculations for the stoichiometric gamma-brasses Cu5Zn8, Cu9Al4 and TM2Zn11 (TM = Co and Ni). A solid solution range of gamma-brasses in Cu-Zn, Cu-Cd, Cu-Al, Cu-Ga and Ni-Zn alloy systems is found to fall inside the existing pseudogap at the Fermi level. This is taken as confirmation of the validity of the Hume-Rothery stability mechanism for a whole solute concentration range of these gamma-brasses. An exception to this behaviour was found in the Co-Zn gamma-brasses, where orbital hybridisation effects are claimed to play a crucial role in stabilisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The density of states (DOS) of the conduction and valence bands of a single quasicrystal of Al72NI20Co8 were obtained using electron energy-loss spectroscopy and X-ray emission spectroscopy based on transmission electron microscopy. A complete DOS near the Fermi level, which shows a clear pseudo-gap structure compared to that of aluminium, is presented for the first time. The DOS distribution is non-symmetric about the Fermi level. Onset energies of Al L-shell excitation spectra of amorphous, quasicrystalline and crystalline Al75Cu15V10 are compared with that of aluminium. Only that of the quasicrystalline phase shows a shift to the higher energy side by 0.3 eV. Onset energies of Al L-shell excitation spectra of Al-based quasicrystals (Al73Co27, Al63Cu25Fe12, Al63Cu25Ru12 and Al70Pd20Mn10) and corresponding approximant crystals are compared with that of aluminium. The onset energies of these quasicrystals show chemical shifts to the high energy side, indicating a smaller amount of valence charge at Al atom sites in the quasicrystalline phase than that of aluminium. Onset energies of approximant crystals of τ0,τ2-Al73Co27, Al55Cu25Fe12Si8, Al55Cu25Ru12Si8 do not show a shift, and 1/1-Al67Pd11Mn14Si8 and 2/1-Al70Pd23Mn6Si1 show shifts compared with that of aluminium. An amount of the chemical shift of 2/1-Al70Pd23Mn6Si1 is larger than that of 1/1-Al67Pd11Mn14Si8. The results show that a decrease of valence charge at Al sites is characteristic for Al-based quasicrystalline materials. It may be attributed to an increase of covalency in the bonding of the quasicrystalline materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The formation area of the Al–Pd–Mn–Re–Si 1/1-cubic approximant (1/1-AC) was determined by partially substituting Re for Mn in the Al–Pd–Mn–Si 1/1-AC. It was found that the Al–Pd–Mn–Re–Si 1/1-AC is stabilized at compositions expressed by the formula Al 67-0.125 x Pd 11+0.375 x Mn 14-1.25 x Re x Si 8 with Re concentration x ? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thermal conductivity ( ? ) of the Al 82.6- x Mn 17.4 Si x and Al 82.6- x Re 17.4 Si x 1/1-cubic approximants was investigated with varying Si concentration x over a wide temperature range from 2?K to 300?K. Behaviors in ? observed for these 1/1-cubic approximants were essentially the same with those reported for the corresponding icosahedral quasicrystals; very small magnitude lower than 4.5?W/m?K, small contribution of electrons, and possession of a local maximum and a local minimum around 30?~?50?K and 100?~?200?K, respectively. By analyzing measured ? in terms of local atomic structure, we revealed that the lattice thermal conductivity is greatly reduced by combination of small group velocity of phonons and enhanced umklapp process of phonon-scattering. Those characteristics were caused by large lattice constant and vacancies in the structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Valence band spectra of icosahedral quasicrystals and their 1/1 cubic approximants in the Cd-Yb and Cd-Ca systems are investigated systematically. A sharp Fermi edge, indicative of sizable density of states at the Fermi level ( E F ), is clearly observed for all the compounds and E F is located not at the bottom of the pseudogap but at its shoulder. In addition, a peak structure appears just below E F for the Cd-Ca system, which is also found for the Cd-Yb system when subtracting a Yb 4f derived doublet. Ca 2p-3d resonant photoemission spectroscopies on the Cd-Ca compounds reveal the existence of Ca 3d states at E F , indicating that the 3d states do contribute to the peak structure at E F , which is attributed to hybridization with the Cd sp states. The low-temperature structural properties of the Cd-based compounds are also reported. An occurrence of a structural phase transition at 110?K and 100?K for Cd 6 Yb and Cd 6 Ca, respectively, is well documented. The transitions are understood as a consequence of an orientational ordering of Cd 4 tetrahedron located at the center of the icosahedral clusters. It is suggested that two orientations of the Cd 4 tetrahedron alternatively occur along the [110] direction of the high temperature bcc phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A theoretical interpretation of the Hume–Rothery electron concentration rule has been attempted by performing full-potential linearized augmented plane wave (FLAPW) band calculations for a series of gamma-brasses: Cu 5 Zn 8 , Cu 9 Al 4 and TM 2 Zn 11 (TM?=?Ni, Pd, Co and Fe). The Fourier spectrum of the FLAPW wavefunction was evaluated for states at point N on the set of {110} zone planes of the reduced bcc Brillouin zone at energy eigenvalues sustaining the pseudogap. It turned out that electrons near the Fermi level resonate with periodic potentials due to {330} and {411} lattice planes to open the pseudogap for all gamma-brasses studied. The effective electron per atom ratio (e/a) was evaluated by averaging the wave vector 2(k i ?+?G) having the largest Fourier component of the FLAPW wavefunction at energy E over selected electronic states k i in the Brillouin zone, with subsequent construction of the dispersion relation E versus in the extended zone scheme. The e/a value proved to be close to e/a?=?21/13?=?1.62, the value empirically assigned for the gamma-brass in the Hume–Rothery electron concentration rule, for Cu 5 Zn 8 , Cu 9 Al 4 , Ni 2 Zn 11 and Pd 2 Zn 11 , but to be as small as 1.43 and 1.31 for Co 2 Zn 11 and Fe 2 Zn 11 , respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have carried out the de Haas-van Alphen (dHvA) experiment, together with electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, magnetization and specific heat experiments on a high-quality single-crystal CeAgSb[sub 2], which has a small net ferromagnetic moment of 0.4 μ[sub B] per Ce atom. The bulk magnetic properties are well explained by the crystalline electric field scheme. On the other hand, large dHvA frequencies of 10[sup 8] Oe, which correspond to cylindrical Fermi surfaces, were detected by the dHvA measurement for the magnetic field along the tetragonal [001] direction, indicating the quasi-two-dimensional electronic structure. The dHvA branches of CeAgSb[sub 2] are highly different from those with small dHvA frequencies of 10[sup 7] Oe for the reference compounds LaAgSb[sub 2] and YAgSb[sub 2] which exhibit a semimetallic character. The dHvA results have been compared with the results of the energy band calculations. It was concluded that the 4f electron is mainly localized and that the Fermi surface of CeAgSb[sub 2] is similar to that of LaAgSb[sub 2], but it is slightly enlarged so as to form the large orbits along a hollow cylindrical Fermi surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To elucidate the characteristics of radiation carcinogenesis, the spectra of K- and N-ras oncogene mutations, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) and their association in X-ray-induced thymic lymphomas (TL) were determined by comparing with those of N-ethyl-N-nitrosourea (ENU)-induced and spontaneously occurring TL. Materials and methods: TL that arose in untreated, X-ray-irradiated and ENU-treated B6C3F1 mice were examined both for K- and N-ras mutations by PCR-SSCP and DNA sequencing and for LOH by PCR with polymorphic microsatellite markers. Results: (1) ras gene mutations were found in a proportion of TL from X-ray-exposed (~20%) and ENU-treated (30-40%) mice while no ras gene mutations were found in spontaneous TL. N-ras mutations were rare. (2) The spectrum of ras gene mutations was diverse and seemed to differ little between X-ray-induced and ENU-induced TL, even though there was a higher frequency of ras mutations in ENU-induced TL that clustered to K-ras codon 12. (3) The X-ray-induced TL showing K-ras mutation were associated with LOH on chromosome 6, while those showing no K-ras mutation were associated with high frequency of LOH on chromosomes 4, 11 and 12. Conclusion: These results demonstrate that, in the B6C3F1 mouse TL, X-ray-induced lymphomagenesis showed both the co-expression, yet low occurrence of allelic imbalance on chromosome 6 and K-ras mutation, and exclusive expression of frequent allelic imbalance on chromosomes 4, 11 and 12 and K-ras mutation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a case study of a 78-year-old man who was admitted to hospital with symptoms of watery diarrhea, nausea and muscle pain. The case mentions that magnetic resonance imaging and medical diagnosis of the patient reveals pathogenesis of myositis due to infection of Campylobacter jejuni. It also discusses types of myositis which include idiopathic myositis and infectious myositis.

A letter to the editor is presented discussing aorto-oesophageal fistula complicating systemic sclerosis.