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Graft-versus-host-disease-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS) is a useful composite endpoint that measures survival without relapse or significant morbidity after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). We aimed to develop a novel analytical method that appropriately handles right-censored data and competing risks to understand the risk for GRFS and each component of GRFS. This study was a retrospective data-mining study on a cohort of 2207 adult patients who underwent their first allo-HSCT at the Kyoto Stem Cell Transplantation Group (KSCTG), a multi-institutional joint research group of 17 transplantation centers in Japan. The primary endpoint was GRFS. A stacked ensemble of Cox proportional hazard regression and seven machine learning algorithms was applied to develop a prediction model. The median age of patients was 48 years. For GRFS, the stacked ensemble model achieved better predictive accuracy evaluated by C-index than other top-of-the-art competing risk models (ensemble model: 0.670, Cox-PH: 0.668, Random Survival Forest: 0.660, Dynamic DeepHit: 0.646). The probability of GRFS after 2 years was 30.54% for the high-risk and 40.69% for the low-risk group, respectively (hazard ratio [HR] compared to the low-risk group: 2.127; 95% CI: 1.19-3.80). We developed a novel predictive model for survival analysis that showed superior risk stratification to existing methods using a stacked ensemble of multiple machine learning algorithms., アンサンブル学習を用いた造血幹細胞移植予後予測モデルの開発 --機械学習を用いた新規生存時間解析手法の実装--. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2021-12-28.

Four distinct classes of multiferroics are usually being discussed in the literature, in which ferroelectricity is respectively driven by electronic lone pairs, geometry, charge ordering, and magnetism. Each class has its own shortcomings for technological applications. Here, through a combined experimental and theoretical investigation, we propose a mechanism to achieve multiferroicity in a single phase by engineering the anionic network and creating local geometric distortions in fluorinated, vacancy-ordered brownmillerite Ca2Mn2O5−xFy. The system exhibits both ferroelectricity and an antiferromagnetic order above room temperature, pointing toward a novel route to multiferroicity by anion mixing.

The alkylating agent busulfan is commonly used as conditioning in allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation for acute myeloid leukemia (AML). However, a consensus has not yet been reached regarding the optimal busulfan dose in cord blood transplantation (CBT). Therefore, we conducted this large nationwide cohort study to retrospectively analyze the outcomes of CBT in patients with AML receiving busulfan at intermediate (6.4 mg/kg i.v.; BU2) or higher (12.8 mg/kg i.v.; BU4) doses within a fludarabine/i.v. busulfan (FLU/BU) regimen. Among 475 patients who underwent their first CBT following FLU/BU conditioning between 2007 and 2018, 162 received BU2 and 313 received BU4. Multivariate analysis identified BU4 as a significant factor for longer disease-free survival (hazard ratio [HR], .85; 95% confidence interval [CI], .75 to .97; P = .014) and a lower relapse rate (HR, .84; 95% CI, .72 to .98; P = .030). No significant differences were observed in non-relapse mortality between BU4 and BU2 (HR, 1.05; 95% CI, .88-1.26; P = .57). Subgroup analyses showed that BU4 provided significant benefits for patients who underwent transplantation while not in complete remission (CR) and those age

Although allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT) is the key strategy to cure patients with mature T and natural killer (NK) cell lymphomas/leukemia, especially those with relapsed/refractory diseases, there is no consensus strategy for donor selection. We retrospectively analyzed the outcomes of allo-HSCT in 111 patients in 15 Japanese institutions as a multi-institutional joint research project. Thirty-nine patients received bone marrow or peripheral blood stem cell transplantation from related donors (rBMT/rPBSCT), 37 received BMT/PBSCT from unrelated donors (uBMT/uPBSCT), and 35 received cord blood transplantation (CBT). Overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) at 4 years were 42% and 34%, respectively. The cumulative incidences of relapse and nonrelapse mortality were 43% and 25%. In multivariate analysis, CBT showed comparable OS with rBMT/rPBSCT (rBMT/rPBSCT versus CBT: hazard ratio [HR], 1.63; P = .264) and better OS compared with uBMT/uPBSCT (HR, 2.99; P = .010), with a trend toward a lower relapse rate (rBMT/rPBSCT versus CBT: HR, 2.60; P = .010; uBMT/uPBSCT versus CBT: HR, 2.05; P = .082). This superiority of CBT was more definite in on-disease patients (OS: rBMT/rPBSCT versus CBT: HR, 5.52; P = .021; uBMT/uPBSCT versus CBT: HR, 6.80; P = .007). Better disease control was also strongly associated with better OS and PFS with lower relapse rate. In conclusion, allo-HSCT is beneficial for the survival of patients with mature T and NK cell lymphomas/leukemia if performed in a timely fashion. Since CBT showed favorable survival with a lower relapse risk, it could be a preferred alternative, especially in on-disease patients.

AlxFe2−xO3 (x-AFO) thin films, belonging to the κ-Al2O3 family, are interesting because they show room temperature ferrimagnetism and have a polar crystal structure. These types of materials are being studied to observe simultaneous ferrimagnetism and ferroelectricity, and the possibility of coupling between the two. However, it is difficult to realise ferroelectric properties at room temperature, due to the low resistivity of the films. In this work, we have optimized the synthesis conditions to obtain x-AFO (0.5 ≤ x ≤ 1) thin films with high resistance. While magnetic measurements confirmed room temperature ferrimagnetism of the films, the maximum magnetization was observed for the composition x = 0.8. In addition, the Curie temperature was found to be influenced by oxygen pressure during deposition. Ferroelectric measurements on the films showed small remnant polarization (∼0.5–2 μC cm−2). In contrast, the predicted polarization from first principles calculations was calculated to be between 21 and 26 μC cm−2. The analysis also suggested that ferroelectric domain-switching occurs through shearing of in-plane oxygen layers. The presence of multiple in-plane domains, which oppose polarization switching of adjacent domains, is suggested to be the cause of the small observed polarization. The magnetocapacitance measurements showed weak magnetic coupling with the capacitance.

Present energy issues have increasingly stimulated the demand for the development of clean and sustainable energy platforms which can achieve net zero carbon emissions. Renewable energy resources are quite promising candidates for the construction of sustainable decarbonized society. One of examples of harnessing renewable energy-derived electricity is the electrolysis of earth-abundant water into hydrogen, which is a prominent carbon-free chemical fuel with a high weight energy density. Compared with polymer electrolyte water electrolysis in acidic environment, electrochemical alkaline water splitting can employ inexpensive nonprecious metals as electrocatalysts, which can make this technology a large-scale and cost-effective process. However, the anodic oxygen evolution reaction (OER) in the water splitting has a large overpotential, and it is a great bottleneck for widespread use. Thus, highly active and inexpensive electrocatalysts for OER are desired to overcome this concern. Iron (Fe) is a very earth-abundant element that is a quite cheap and non-toxic metal, and thus it is a potential candidate as electrocatalyst for OER. Previous studies have reported several multimetal oxides with Fe and other metallic elements, such as perovskite and brownmillerite types, which have attracted great attentions due to their facile synthesis and easily tunable OER activities by element substitution and doping. However, most of these studies focused on the choice of elements. Contrarily, the effects of crystal structures on OER activity have not yet been sufficiently interpreted, and it can be a crucial aspect to understand the OER electrocatalysis on Fe-based oxides and for the rational design of outstanding OER catalysts. In this study, we aim to comprehensively understand the effects of crystal structures on electrocatalytic OER activities on Fe-based oxides. To obtain versatile insights into OER electrocatalysis, we collected OER performances of Fe-based simple and bimetal oxides from our experiments and literature, and their structural characteristics were obtained from databases for inorganic compounds. Thus, we found that OER efficiencies on the Fe-based oxides were correlated with Fe–O bond lengths in their crystals; i.e., a shorter Fe–O bond length led to a higher OER activity.[1] We then exploited databases to mine potential candidates based on the structure–activity relationship and selected unreported Fe-based bimetal and trimetal oxides with various structures, which can dramatically accelerate our catalyst research. We synthesized these Fe-based multimetal oxides and evaluated their OER activity in alkaline media; remarkably, the OER efficiency on the unreported Fe-based multimetal oxides also exhibited excellent correlation with Fe–O bond lengths, as plotted in Figure 1. It is notable that the trend in the Fe–O bond length and OER activity is applicable to a wide variety of Fe-based simple, bimetal, and trimetal oxides regardless of chemical compositions, crystal categories, and Fe valence states. Furthermore, machine learning analysis proved that Fe–O bond length is the most dominant structural descriptor for OER efficiency compared with other structural parameters.[2] However, it is required to overcome the abovementioned catalytic trend because theoretical Fe–O bond length in Fe-based oxides is limited, and superior OER catalysts cannot be achieved according to this design guideline. Hence, we attempted to switch the OER electrocatalytic mechanism on a Fe-based oxide by the arrangement of crystal structure because different mechanisms should be involved in different descriptors; i.e., the mechanism switch could surpass the abovementioned catalytic trend. Thus, we found post-spinel CaFe2O4 that comprises a large amount of edge-shared FeO6 connectivity in its crystal. DFT calculations unveiled that the structural characteristics induced an unprecedented OER mechanism, multi-iron-site mechanism, where OER process goes through a reaction intermediate with an O–O bridge on multiple Fe sites as depicted in upper side in Figure 1. Consequently, CaFe2O4 exhibited prominent OER activity despite long Fe–O bond length in its crystal.[3] These findings provide a novel insight into the OER electrocatalysis on Fe-based oxides and contribute to the innovation of electrochemical hydrogen production. The part of this paper is based on results obtained from a project, JPNP14021, commissioned by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). Authors acknowledge the PRESTO program (No. JPMJPR15S3) of the JST. The part of DFT calculations was carried out on the supercomputers at NIMS, Hokkaido Univ., Kyushu Univ., and the HPCI systems (project codes: hp180115, hp200131). The part of this work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number 20H00314 and 20K15087. References [1] Y. Sugawara, K. Kamata, E. Hayashi, M. Itoh, Y. Hamasaki, T. Yamaguchi ChemElectroChem, 2021, 8, 4466. [2] Y. Sugawara. S. Ueno, K. Kamata, T. Yamaguchi, ChemElectroChem, 2022, 9, in press. [3] Y. Sugawara, K. Kamata, A. Ishikawa, Y. Tateyama, T Yamaguchi, ACS Appl. Energy Mater., 2021, 4, 3057. Figure 1

We have investigated the structural, magnetic, and dielectric properties of the Pb-based langasite compound ${\mathrm{Pb}}_{3}{\mathrm{TeMn}}_{3}{\mathrm{P}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{14}$ both experimentally and theoretically in light of metal-oxygen covalency, and the consequent generation of multiferroicity. It is known that the large covalency between Pb $6p$ and O $2p$ plays an instrumental role behind the stereochemical lone pair activity of Pb. The same happens here, but a subtle structural phase transition above room temperature changes the degree of such lone pair activity and the system becomes ferroelectric below 310 K. Interestingly, this structural change also modulates the charge densities on different constituent atoms and consequently the overall magnetic response of the system while maintaining the global paramagnetism behavior of the compound. This single origin of modulation in polarity and paramagnetism inherently connects both functionalities and the system exhibits mutiferroicity at room temperature.

ϵ-Fe2O3, a metastable phase of iron oxide, is widely known as a room-temperature multiferroic material or as a superhard magnet. Element substitution into ϵ-Fe2O3 has been reported in the literature; however, the substituted ions have a strong site preference depending on their ionic radii and valence. In this study, in order to characterize the crystal structure and magnetic properties of ϵ-Fe2O3 in the Fe2+/Fe3+ coexisting states, Li+ was electrochemically inserted into ϵ-Fe2O3 to reduce Fe3+. The discharge and charge of Li+ into/from ϵ-Fe2O3 revealed that Li+ insertion was successful. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism results indicated that the reduced Fe did not exhibit site preference. Increasing the Li+ content in ϵ-Fe2O3 resulted in decreased saturation magnetization and irregular variation of the coercive field. We present a comprehensive discussion of how magnetic properties are modified with increasing Li+ content using transmission electron microscopy images and considering the Li+ diffusion coefficient. The results suggest that inserting Li+ into crystalline ϵ-Fe2O3 is a useful tool for characterizing crystal structure, lithiation limit, and magnetic properties in the coexistence of Fe2+/Fe3+

Transplant-associated thrombotic microangiopathy (TA-TMA) is a fatal complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). However, so far, no large cohort study determined the risk factors and the most effective therapeutic strategies for TA-TMA. Thus, the present study aimed to clarify these clinical aspects based on a large multicenter cohort. This retrospective cohort study was performed by the Kyoto Stem Cell Transplantation Group (KSCTG). A total of 2425 patients were enrolled from 14 institutions. All patients were aged ≥16 years, presented with hematological diseases, and received allo-HSCT after the year 2000. TA-TMA was observed in 121 patients (5.0%) on day 35 (median) and was clearly correlated with inferior overall survival (OS) (hazard ratio [HR], 4.93). Pre- and post-HSCT statistically significant risk factors identified by multivariate analyses included poorer performance status (HR, 1.69), HLA mismatch (HR, 2.17), acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD; grades 3-4) (HR, 4.02), Aspergillus infection (HR, 2.29), and veno-occlusive disease/sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (VOD/SOS; HR, 4.47). The response rate and OS significantly better with the continuation or careful reduction of calcineurin inhibitors (CNI) than the conventional treatment strategy of switching from CNI to corticosteroids (response rate, 64.7% vs 20.0%). In summary, we identified the risk factors and the most appropriate therapeutic strategies for TA-TMA. The described treatment strategy could improve the outcomes of patients with TA-TMA in the future.

Skewed band structures have been empirically described in ferroelectric materials to explain the functioning of recently developed ferroelectric tunneling junction (FTJs). Nonvolatile ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) and the artificial neural network device based on the FTJ system are rapidly developing. However, because the actual ferroelectric band structure has not been elucidated, precise designing of devices has to be advanced through appropriate heuristics. Here, we perform angle-resolved hard X-ray photoemission spectroscopy of ferroelectric BaTiO3 thin films for the direct observation of ferroelectric band skewing structure as the depth profiles of atomic orbitals. The depth-resolved electronic band structure consists of three depth regions: a potential slope along the electric polarization in the core, the surface and interface exhibiting slight changes. We also demonstrate that the direction of the energy shift is controlled by the polarization reversal. In the ferroelectric skewed band structure, we found that the difference in energy shifts of the atomic orbitals is correlated with the atomic configuration of the soft phonon mode reflecting the Born effective charges. These findings lead to a better understanding of the origin of electric polarization.

A 64-year-old woman with lymphoma-associated demyelinating neuropathy was treated by 6 cycles of R-CHOP with intravenous immunoglobulin in the first 2 cycles. We noted substantial improvement in the findings of a nerve conduction study (NCS) after the first cycle, followed by more protracted improvement during the second to sixth cycles. The improvement of the neurological symptoms paralleled the findings of the NCS. Our case provides important information for understanding the etiology and optimization of treatments for lymphoma-associated demyelinating neuropathy.

Ceramic/ceramic composite structures have been proposed as a method for optimizing the electromechanical response of lead-free ferroelectrics. Co-sintering of ceramic composites, however, results in internal residual stresses as well as interdiffusion. In this investigation, the interaction between a nonergodic relaxor ferroelectric 0.93(Bi1/2Na1/2TiO3)-0.07BaTiO3 and an ergodic relaxor ferroelectric 0.94Bi1/2(Na0.78K0.22)1/2TiO3-0.06BiAlO3 in a multilayered composite structure is presented. The interaction between the two end members was analyzed both chemically and mechanically. The interdiffusion was characterized by EDX measurements and directly compared to the local mechanical properties as determined by nanoindentation. Vickers indentation was used to demonstrate the internal residual stresses through the indentation crack length anisotropy. Mechanical and chemical data are contrasted to a micro-XRD analysis, which reveals a change in the crystal structure of both end-members, most likely due to changes in the A-site elements as a result of interdiffusion.

Introduction: Unrelated cord blood (UCB) and haploidentical related donor transplantation using post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy-haplo) have become alternative options to treat patients with hematological malignancies without a human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-matched donor. Although a previous phase III study showed better outcomes after bone marrow transplantation (BMT) using PTCy-haplo than those after double unit UCB, a donor selection algorithm including peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT) using PTCy-haplo or high-risk patients remains to be clarified. With the aim to assess the relative efficacies of UCB and PTCy-haplo transplant, we performed a multi-center retrospective analysis to compare the clinical outcomes in patients with hematologic malignancies. Methods: We included 517 patients aged 16 years to 70 years with hematological malignancies who received a first stem cell transplantation using a single UCB unit or PTCy-haplo between 2013 and 2019 in Kyoto Stem Cell Transplantation Group (KSCTG), which is a multi-center group of 18 transplantation centers in Japan. The primary endpoint was to compare overall survival (OS) between the UCB and PTCy-haplo groups. Secondary endpoints were relapse-free survival (RFS), GVHD- and relapse-free survival (GRFS), relapse, non-relapse mortality (NRM), neutrophil engraftment, platelet engraftment, grade II-IV acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), grade III-IV acute GVHD, chronic GVHD, and extensive chronic GVHD. Results: Among 517 patients, 460 received single UCB transplant and 57 received PTCy-haplo related donor transplant (53 PBSCT and 4 BMT). The median age of the UCB and PTCy-haplo groups was 55 and 52 years, respectively (P= 0.770). Myeloablative conditioning (MAC) was used more often in the UCB group than in the PTCy-haplo group (P< 0.001). In the PTCy-haplo cohort, the total dose of Cy was 80mg/m 2 (43.9%) or 100mg/m 2 (56.1%), and the median duration of tacrolimus and mycophenolate mofetil use was 173 and 34 days, respectively. The median follow-up periods of survivors were 2.2 and 2.4 years, respectively. OS in the UCB group was comparable to that in the PTCy-haplo group (2-year OS; 53.7%, 53.6%, P= 0.71 and adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) 1.00, P= 0.99), with similar risks of relapse (aHR 0.91, P= 0.99) and NRM (aHR 0.93, P= 0.69). This result was consistent regardless of disease risk. Neutrophil and platelet engraftment were significantly lower (92.2% vs 94.7%, P= 0.042 and 79.8% vs 82.5%, P= 0.003) and the incidence of acute GVHD in the UCB group tended to be higher (gradeⅡ-Ⅳ; aHR 1.64, p= 0.055, grade III-IV; aHR 3.60, P= 0.073) in the UCB group than those in the PTCy-haplo group. However, the incidences of chronic or extensive chronic GVHD after UCB transplant were comparable (chronic; aHR 0.89, p=0.68, extensive chronic; aHR 0.69, P= 0.35) to those after PTCy-haplo transplant. In the subgroup analysis of disease-specific comparison, acute leukemia patients have a significantly lower risk of relapse with UCB transplant (UBC vs PTCy-haplo, HR 0.55, P= 0.030) and lymphoma patients tended to have good results after PTCy-haplo transplant in terms of higher OS (UCB vs PTCy-haplo, aHR 2.13, P= 0.162) and lower relapse (aHR 3.43, P= 0.100). In terms of Cy toxicity in the PTCy-haplo group, transplant with a reduced dose of Cy (80 mg/m 2) tended to show higher OS (2-year OS, 64.8% vs 45.0%) and significantly lower NRM (2-year NRM, 8.0% vs 31.2%) without an increase in gradeⅡ-IV acute GVHD compared to those after standard-dose Cy (100 mg/m 2). Conclusion: Our findings suggest that UCB transplant gives outcomes comparable to PTCy-haplo transplant for patients without an HLA-matched sibling or unrelated donor. Disclosures Kanda: Amgen Astellas BioPharma: Honoraria; Astellas Pharma Inc.: Consultancy, Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb Co: Honoraria; CHUGAI PHARMACEUTICAL Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; DAIICHI SANKYO Co., Ltd.: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Eisai: Research Funding; Janssen Pharmaceutical K.K.: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Kyowa Kirin Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; Megakaryon Co: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; NextGeM Inc: Patents & Royalties; Novartis Pharma K.K.: Honoraria; Ono Pharma Inc.: Honoraria; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; Sanofi K.K.: Honoraria; Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; SymBio Pharmaceuticals, Ltd.: Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Limited: Honoraria, Membership on an entity's Board of Directors or advisory committees; TEIJIN PHARMA LIMITED.: Honoraria. Imada: Celgene Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; Bristol-Myers Squibb K.K.: Honoraria; Astellas Pharma Inc.: Honoraria; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.: Honoraria; Takeda Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd.: Honoraria; Novartis Pharma K.K.: Honoraria. Kondo: Asahi Kasei Pharmaceutical: Research Funding; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; Chugai Pharma: Honoraria; MSD Pharmaceutical: Honoraria; Sumitomo Dainippon Pharma: Honoraria. Takaori-Kondo: Bristol-Myers K.K.: Honoraria; ONO PHARMACEUTICAL CO., LTD.: Research Funding; Celgene: Research Funding.

The macroscopic electromechanical behavior of lead-free multilayer composites was characterized from room temperature to 150 °C. The polar seed component consisted of a nonergodic relaxor (Bi1/2Na1/2)TiO3-7BaTiO3, with an electric-field-induced long-range ferroelectric order, whereas the nonpolar matrix was an ergodic relaxor Bi0.5(Na0.75K0.25)0.5 TiO3-6BiAlO3 that undergoes a reversible electric-field-induced macroscopic nonpolar-to-polar transition. Microstructural evidence of the effects of cosintering are demonstrated through examination of grain size, interdiffusion, and pore structure. By manipulating the sintering interactions between the two constituents, namely, diffusion paths and residual stresses, both internal mechanical and electrical fields, as well as compositional gradients can be used to enhance the unipolar strain over that expected by a rule of mixtures approximation, thereby improving the properties needed for application of such materials to actuator systems.

LiCoO2 (LCO) is one of the most promising cathode materials for Li ion batteries (LIBs). However, LCO shows a rate-limiting step of Li+ migration between electrode and electrolyte interfaces, requiring LIBs to be charged under low-current conditions. For next generation batteries, it will be necessary to meet the demand for a shorter charging-time. We investigated a support method for the LCO surface to improve high C-rate performance, and revealed that the Li+ intercalation/de-intercalation reaction into/from LCO was accelerated by the introduction of a BaTiO3-LCO-electrolyte interface (triple-phase interface; TPI), due to the electric field concentration near the TPI. In this report, we investigate the dependence of high C-rate performance on the density of surface BaTiO3 nanodots using epitaxial LiCoO2 thin films created via pulsed laser deposition (PLD). As the number of nanodots increased, so did discharge capacity at 50C, becoming saturated at surface coverage over 22%. However, at 100C, the discharge capacity decreased at surface coverage over 40%. These results indicate that coalescence of nanodots reduces not only the TPI length but also the electrochemically active range at quite high C-rate. Therefore, we infer that optimal surface coverage should be varied depending on the C-rate. Keywords: High speed chargeability, Nanodots, Density, Dielectrics, LiCoO2

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-SCT) has been considered as a potentially curative treatment option for refractory or relapsed diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) patients. However, there is little information available, especially for Japanese patients and in cord blood transplantation (CBT). We aimed to determine treatment outcomes of allo-SCT for DLBCL in the Kyoto Stem Cell Transplantation Group, a multi-institutional joint research group. Sixty-eight DLBCL patients who underwent their first allo-SCT between 2003 and 2016 were included. The median time from diagnosis to transplantation was 13.5 months. Thirty-one patients were in CR/PR at transplantation. Twenty-seven patients underwent CBT. The median follow-up for survivors was 44.2 months. Four-year overall survival (OS) and relapse-free survival (RFS) rates were 23% (95% CI, 13-35%) and 20% (95% CI, 11-31%), respectively. Cumulative incidences of non-relapse mortality and relapse were 23% and 57%, respectively. Patients in CR/PR at allo-SCT had better OS (4-year, 46% vs 4%, P < 0.001) and RFS (4-year, 36% vs 7%, P = 0.005). The source of the stem cell did not significantly affect OS (4-year, bone marrow vs cord blood vs peripheral blood, 28.6% vs 27.2% vs 6.5%, P = 0.193). In multivariate analysis, non-remission status at SCT associated with inferior OS and RFS. Duration from diagnosis to transplantation of less than 1 year associated with inferior RFS. Allo-SCT, including CBT, may be a promising therapeutic modality for DLBCL patients who have good disease control at transplantation.

A Sol-gel method assisted with spin-coating has been successfully used to grow orthorhombic GaFeO3 epitaxial films on SrTiO3 (111) substrates for the first time. The film with Pna21 crystal structure has been grown along the c-axis. The rocking curve of (004) reflection shows that the Full-Width at Half-Maximum (FWHM) value could be determined to be 0.230&deg, indicating good single crystallinity and high quality. X-ray &Phi, scan reveals a three-fold symmetry of the substrate and a six-fold symmetry of the film, respectively. The in-plane domains rotate 60&deg, from each other in the film. Uniform film with dense structure, columnar grains with similar grain size was obtained. The thickness of the film was evaluated to be ~170 nm. The roughness value (RMS) measured by AFM was 4.5 nm, revealing a flat film. The in-plane Magnetization versus Magnetic field (M-H) curve at 5 K performs a typical ferri- or ferromagnetic hysteresis loop with a saturated magnetization (Ms) value of 136 emu/cm3. The Curie temperature could be determined to be 174 K. Compared to Pulsed Laser Deposition (PLD), the sol-gel method can prepare large area films with low cost. These new films show promising applications in multiferroic devices.

Antiferromagnetic (AFM) materials have attracted attention for device applications due to the absence of the stray field and high-frequency response. To integrate AFM materials into magnetic devices, the understanding of the interfacial effect between AFM and ferromagnetic (FM) materials is required. In particular, magnetization dynamics and magnetic damping are critical phenomena to be elucidated since they govern magnetization switching, spin-wave propagation, etc. Although a conventional method for studying the interfacial effects is stacking materials, the approach may cause unfavorable factors. To get insight into the dynamic properties at the AFM and FM interfaces, we have focused on B2-ordered FeRh, showing the first-order phase transition from the AFM to FM states, since the coexistence of AFM and FM domains occurs during transitions, which is an ideal platform for studying interfacial effects. For this study, we have studied ferromagnetic resonance (FMR) of FeRh thin films during the AFM–FM phase transition as a function of temperature. From the FMR measurements, we characterize the temperature dependence of the effective Gilbert damping constant αeff. We find that αeff decreases with increasing temperature, indicating that the temperature variation of the effective Gilbert damping constant originates from the exchange interaction between the AFM and FM domains in the film and/or AFM domains as a spin sink.

Ferroelectricity has recently been observed in wurtzite-structured Sc-doped AlN thin films, five years after our initial prediction of ferroelectricity in wurtzite compounds based on first-principles calculations. The thin films exhibited a much higher coercive voltage (3 MV/cm) than that of conventional perovskite-structured ferroelectric material PbTiO3, however, making it difficult to switch the films’ polarity and limiting their practical application. To identify tetrahedral ferroelectric materials with low coercive voltages, we have carried out a wider exploration of candidate binary compounds, from halides to chalcogenides to pnictogenides, using first-principles methods. The overall trend is for polarization switching barriers to decrease with decreasing anion-to-cation radius ratio, with the lowest barriers found in monovalent compounds such as the copper and silver halides; e.g., CuCl is calculated to have a switching barrier of 0.17 eV/f.u. and that of AgI is 0.22 eV/f.u., values similar in magnitude to that of PbTiO3 (0.20 eV/f.u.). Applying an epitaxial tensile strain to the basal plane is also effective for lowering the potential barrier further, with barriers in both AgI and CuCl decreasing to 0.04 eV/f.u. when a 5% in-plane expansion is applied. The results suggest that tetrahedral ferroelectrics with moderate coercive voltages (below 100 kV/cm) should be achievable.

A BiFeO3 (BFO) film is epitaxially grown on an (La0.3Sr0.7)(Al0.65Ta0.35)O3 (LSAT) substrate to investigate the lattice mismatch effect on the domain structure and lattice strain status within the BFO film. Atomic resolution scanning transmission electron microscope image, selected area electron diffraction (SAED) patterns, and X-ray reciprocal space mapping (XRSM) data clearly reveal that the lattice strain originating from the lattice mismatch between BFO and LSAT is relaxed by causing misfit dislocations in the BFO film. The SAED and XRSM data indicate that the crystal structure of BFO film is rhombohedral with the space group R3c. In particular, XRSM data acquired along two different in-plane orientations reveal that the BFO layer consists of two different domains that were 90° off each other with respect to the surface normal orientation. An atomistic model based on the crystal orientation relation found by SAED and XRSM shows that (1) the ferroelectric polarization axes of both domains are 35.6° with respect to the BFO film surface and (2) the two domains are consistent with the so-called 71° (and/or 109°) ferroelectric domains reported previously. The lattice mismatch of ∼2.8% calculated based on the epitaxial relation is proposed to be too large to be stored as elastic strain energy within the BFO layer.

We elucidate the magnetic phases and superconducting transition temperatures (Tc) in Sr2VFeAsO3-delta (21113V), an iron-based superconductor with a thick-blocking layer fabricated from a perovskite-related transition metal oxide. At low temperatures (T < 37.1 K), 21113V exhibited a superconducting phase in the range 0.031 =< delta =< 0.145 and an antiferromagnetic (AFM) iron sublattice in the range 0.267 =< delta =< 0.664. Mixed-valent vanadium exhibited a dominant AFM phase in 0.031 =< delta =< 0.088, and a partial ferrimagnetic (Ferri.) phase in the range 0.124 =< delta =< 0.664. The Ferri. phase was the most dominant at a delta value of 0.267, showing an AFM phase of Fe at T < 20 K. Increasing the spontaneous magnetic moments reduced the magnetic shielding volume fraction due to the superconducting phase. This result was attributed to the magnetic phase of vanadium, which dominates the superconductivity of Fe in 21113V. The Tc-delta curve showed two maxima. The smaller and larger of Tc maxima occurred at delta = 0.073 and delta = 0.145, respectively; the latter resides on the phase boundary between AFM and the partial Ferri. phases of vanadium. 21113V is a useful platform for verifing new mechanisms of Tc enhancement in iron-based superconductors., 34 pages, 10 figures, 2 tables, supplement information with 11 pages, 8 figures, 3 tables. accepted for publication, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter, Updated manuscript contains More references and readability. See http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1361-648X/aaf7e0

ZnO has been considered as a promising photocatalyst for wastewater treatment. Although many works have been done to enhance the photocatalytic activity of ZnO particles, it is difficult to synthesize well-controlled morphology of ZnO particles having high photocatalytic activity. In this work, stacked ZnO nanorods were synthesized at different growth time via solution precipitation method. Their length and diameter of stacked ZnO nanorods increased with growth time. The formation of stacked ZnO nanorods was attributed to the joining of (002) polar surfaces at the tips of a smaller ZnO nanorods during the synthesis process. A small amount of PVP was added to minimize the agglomeration and to reduce the secondary nucleation of ZnO nanorods. The photocatalytic study showed that the photodegradation of RhB solution by stacked ZnO nanorods under UV light followed first-order kinetic. The results also indicated that a larger effective surface area of stacked ZnO nanorods leads to a higher adsorption of organic molecules, causing a better photocatalytic activity for RhB dye removal. Stacked ZnO nanorods synthesized by solution precipitation method and their photocatalytic activity study.

We have explored the magnetism in the non-geometrically frustrated spin-chain system $\gamma$-CoV$_{2}$O$_{6}$ which possesses a complex magnetic exchange network. Our neutron diffraction patterns at low temperatures ($T$ $\leqslant$ $T_{\mathrm{N}}$ = 6.6 K) are best described by a model in which two magnetic phases coexist in a volume ratio 65(1) : 35(1), with each phase consisting of a single spin modulation. This model fits previous studies and our observations better than the model proposed by Lenertz $et$ $al$ in J. Phys. Chem. C 118, 13981 (2014), which consisted of one phase with two spin modulations. By decreasing the temperature from $T_{\mathrm{N}}$, the minority phase of our model undergoes an incommensurate-commensurate lock-in transition at $T^{*}$ = 5.6 K. Based on these results, we propose that phase separation is an alternative approach for degeneracy-lifting in frustrated magnets.

ZnO nanomaterials with large surface area are desired particularly for the gas sensor, biosensor and photocatalyst applications. In this study, ZnO hexagonal nanodisks with thickness to diagonal aspect ratio (∼1/80) were successfully synthesised via sol–gel approach. By using aluminium sulphate as a complexing agent and carefully controlling the amount of ammonia hydroxide, zinc oxide hexagonal nanodisks were produced. The ZnO nanodisks had perfect hexagonal shape with about 4 μm in diagonal and 50 nm in thickness. The growth of the nanodisks was favoured along the six symmetric directions of ±[1ī00], ±[01ī0] and ±[10ī0]. The growth mechanism of ZnO hexagonal nanodisks is proposed as follows. The formation of ZnO hexagonal nanodisks was mediated by the adsorption of aluminate ions, Al(OH)4−, on the polar surface of ZnO. The Al(OH)4− ions were produced as a result of reaction between Al2(SO4)3 and NH4OH. The Al(OH)4− ions were bonded to the positively charged Zn2+-terminated (0001) polar surface of ZnO. Th...

Quantum criticality is often found in metallic compounds that are close to being magnetic. What about insulators in which the electric moments are fluctuating? These too can be described by the same framework—over a wider temperature range than in quantum critical metals.

Background: GvHD-free, relapse-free survival (GRFS) is a useful composite endpoint that measures survival without relapse or significant morbidity after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). We aimed to establish a predictive model of GRFS after allo-HSCT, using a machine learning algorithm within the Kyoto Stem Cell Transplantation Group (KSCTG), a multi-institutional joint research group of 17 transplantation centers in Japan. Methods: Consecutive patients with hematologic diseases who had undergone their first allo-HSCT between 1986 and 2016, were included in the study (n = 2,565). The primary endpoint was GRFS, and the secondary endpoints were: overall survival (OS), relapse, non-relapse mortality, and grades II-IV acute GvHD. Data were randomly split into the training set (70% of the dataset) and the validation set (30% of the dataset). The model was trained and tested using a 5-fold cross validation on the training set. A stacking ensemble of multiple machine learning algorithms was applied to develop a model. Predictions were first generated using different machine learning algorithms such as AdaBoost, Random Survival Forest, and Dynamic-DeepHit. A metamodel was subsequently trained using these predictions as inputs, to generate the final prediction (Figure 1). All models were trained using 28 input variables containing information on the patient and transplant characteristics. We used Cox Proportional-Hazards (Cox-PH) model as the benchmark case and evaluated the models' performance using the Harrell's Concordance Index (C-index). The model's final prediction can be directly used as a risk score for each patient. We validated this risk score in the validation set using the competing risk hazard model. Due to the small size of the validation set (N=770), we only classified the final risk scores into 2 groups as follows: high risk (above median) and low risk (below median) for each risk category. Results: The median age of the patients at transplantation was 48 years (range from 7 to 76). The sources of stem cells were related bone marrow (BM) in 650 patients, related peripheral blood (PB) in 382, unrelated BM in 978, unrelated PB in 24, and cord blood in 522. Myeloablative conditioning was administered in 1,293 patients and reduced-intensity conditioning in 949 patients. Refined disease risk indexes were low in 310 patients, intermediate in 1,197 patients, high in 545 patients, and very high in 368 patients. Median follow-up period of survivors was 4.5 years. For GRFS, our model achieved a higher C-index across all risk categories (C-index: 0.631) than other top-of-the-art competing risk models (Cox-PH: 0.620, Random Survival Forest: 0.627, Gradient Boosting: 0.609, Component-wise Gradient Boosting: 0.599, Dynamic DeepHit: 0.603). The model also showed the highest C-index for overall survival (C-index: 0.653), relapse (C-index: 0.703), non-relapse mortality (C-index: 0.636), and grades II-IV acute GvHD (C-index: 0.594). For GRFS, the probability after 1 year and 2 year was 24.9% and 15.2% for the high risk and 48.0% and 33.6% for the low risk, respectively (hazard ratio [HR] compared to the low risk: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.60-2.20) (Figure 2). The OS at 5 years was 43.4% for the high risk and 70.6% for the low risk (hazard ratio [HR] compared to the low risk: 2.41; 95% CI: 1.96-2.97). The cumulative incidence function (CIF) for non-relapse mortality at 5 years was 32.1% for the high risk and 21.4% for the low risk (HR 2.01; 95% CI: 1.38-2.91). The CIF for relapse at 5 years was 37.1% for the high risk and 16.4% for the low risk (HR 1.67; 95% CI: 1.25-2.23). Conclusions: A predictive model of GRFS after allo-HSCT was established, which could benefit physicians and patients during the clinical decision-making process. This also forms the basis for research on new prognostic biomarkers by evaluating their predictive power based on our model. Disclosures Kanda: MSD: Honoraria; Takeda: Honoraria; Bristol-Meyers Squib: Honoraria; Otsuka: Honoraria; Daiichi Sankyo Company: Honoraria; Novartis: Honoraria; Celgene: Honoraria; Astellas: Honoraria; Chugai: Honoraria; Kyowa Hakko Kirin: Honoraria; JCR Pharmaceuticals: Honoraria; NextGeM Incorporation: Patents & Royalties: 2019-011392. Imada:Bristol-Meyer Squibb K.K.: Honoraria; Celgene K.K.: Honoraria; Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; Ono Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; Kyowa Hakko Kirin Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.: Honoraria; Nippon Shinyaku Co.,Ltd.: Honoraria; Takeda Pharmaceutical Co.,LTD.: Honoraria; Novartis Pharma K.K.: Honoraria; Astellas Pharma Inc.: Honoraria. Takaori-Kondo:Takeda: Research Funding; Ono: Research Funding; Bristol-Myers Squibb: Honoraria, Research Funding; Celgene: Honoraria, Research Funding; Novartis: Honoraria; Kyowa Kirin: Research Funding; Chugai: Research Funding; Janssen: Honoraria; Pfizer: Honoraria.

We previously reported that the BaTiO3(BTO)-LiCoO2(LCO)-electrolyte triple-phase interface (TPI) could play an important role in C-rate enhancement, however, why this supporting material is effective for high performance remains unknown. We focus on the relative permittivity of supporting materials using finite element method calculations and experiments. Calculations revealed that the electric field near the TPI was reinforced as the relative permittivity of supporting materials increased. Experimentally, we prepared nanodots and micropads deposited on LCO thin film using BTO and CeO2 as supporting materials to evaluate electrochemical properties and SEI formation mechanisms, respectively. High C-rate performance was improved by the introduction of CeO2 and BTO nanodots; however, only the BTO nanodots deposited on LCO could work at 100C. In addition, SEI around the TPI was quite thin around CeO2 and BTO pads, although 10 and 300 nm SEI were observed at the non-pad area of CeO2 and BTO, respectively. This indicated that the Li+ motion between electrolyte and electrode could be accelerated depending on the relative permittivity of supporting materials. The low SEI around the TPI of both the CeO2 and BTO pads suggested that the main reactions of Li+ insertion/de-insertion into/from LCO might be dominant around the TPI area.

We have investigated the magnetic properties of quasi-one-dimensional antiferromagnet BaCo2V2O8 by the measurements of 51V-NMR spectrum. With decreasing temperature, K ‖ shows a broad peak around 30 K signaling the 1D short-range order in the Co2+ spin chain. The estimated Weiss temperature θ = −105 K, hyperfine coupling constants A hf ‖ = 2.1 kOe/µB for H ‖ c and A hf ⊥ = 2.6 kOe/µB for H ⊥ c at 13 kOe are comparable to those at 70.6 kOe. These results suggest that static magnetic properties in the paramagnetic state are nearly independent of external magnetic field, although the ground Neel state is suppressed by the application of external magnetic field above H c = 39 kOe along c-axis. In the antiferromagnetic state below T N = 5.4 K, the double rectangle-like powder pattern was observed, indicating two V sites exposed to different size of internal fields, H A1 = 2.1 and H A2 = 3.8 kOe. The internal fields at V sites are explained by taking into account of the classical and pseudo-dipolar fields from Co2+ magnetic moments.

Conventional perovskite-type ferroelectrics are based on octahedral units of oxygen, and often comprise toxic Pb to achieve robust ferroelectricity. Here, we report the ferroelectricity in a silicate-based compound, Bi2SiO5 (BSO), induced by a structural instability of the corresponding silicate tetrahedral chains. A low-energy phonon mode condenses at ~ 673 K to induce the proper ferroelectric phase transition. Polarization switching was observed in a BSO single crystal with a coercive field of 30 kV/cm and a spontaneous polarization of 0.3 microC/cm2 along a direction normal to the cleavage plane. The in-plane polarization was estimated by first principles calculations to be 23 microC/cm2. The present findings provide a new guideline for designing ferroelectric materials based on SiO4 tetrahedral units, which is ubiquitously found in natural minerals.

We report on B2-ordering dependence of magnetostatic surface spin waves in ferromagnetic FeRh at room temperature. Spin waves transmit over a distance longer than 21 {\mu}m in highly ordered FeRh alloys even with relatively large spin-orbit interaction. The long-range transmission likely arises from the induced Rh moments of the ordered FeRh due to ferromagnetic exchange interaction between Fe and Rh. The results indicate a potential of using FeRh in spintronic and magnonic applications by integrating with other fascinating magnetic characteristics of FeRh such as electric field induced magnetic phase transition., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

Our combined experimental and theoretical study reveals unusually large cobalt-oxygen covalency in ${\mathrm{CoO}}_{4}$ tetrahedral unit of a barium cobalt oxychloride compound. This drives significant charge redistribution, resulting into large hole density on tetrahedral oxygens, which effectively behave as ``positively charged'' anions. These positively charged oxygens form local dipoles with dopant chloride anions, situated in the same atomic plane, which gets manifested in associated structural distortions. The spatial freezing of these local dipoles below certain temperature is found to produce concomitant effects on dielectric and magnetic responses, coupled via exchange-striction driven spin-phonon interaction. Our study should form the basis for designing new functional oxide materials using the concept of covalency-driven charge redistribution.