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We applied Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) to characterize the p-n junction grown on hydride vapor-phase epitaxy GaN wafers with three different doses of the p-type dopant Mg. The distributions of the contact potential difference (CPD) were visualized to observe the abrupt changes in the CPD across the p-n junction. Based on this result, we attempted to evaluate the electrostatic potential distributions across the GaN p-n junction, which consequently provide the dopant concentrations in the p-type region (NA) and unintentionally doped regions (NUID). The obtained values of NA in this study were two orders of magnitude smaller than doped Mg concentrations, while those of NUID were consistent with the results of secondary ion mass spectroscopy. We demonstrate the potential of KPFM in the evaluation of GaN p-n junctions.

With an increase in the aging population in many countries worldwide, much attention is being paid to the study of thermal comfort for the elderly. Because the elderly spend most of their time indoors, the demand for air conditioning is expected to increase, and it is important to study the thermal comfort of the elderly and appropriate operation plans for air conditioning. In this study, we conducted a field survey of thermal comfort and building energy simulation for an air-conditioned nursing home in Nagano, Japan. The field survey was conducted between June 2020 and June 2021. Over 80% of the subjects were satisfied with the indoor thermal environment. The thermal neutral temperature of the elderly was 25.9 °C in summer and 23.8 °C in winter. Future weather data was used to predict the future heating and cooling loads of the nursing home. The results showed that the total heat load may not change significantly, as the decrease in heating load compensates for the increase in cooling load. This study will serve as a useful reference for a wide range of stakeholders, including managers and designers of nursing homes.

Abstract Background The effect of bystander interventions has been extensively evaluated by cerebral function after 1 month post-resuscitation. However, patients who received bystander cardiopulmonary resuscitation (BCPR) and achieved the return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) before the arrival of the emergency medical system (EMS) are routinely defined with an unknown electrocardiogram (ECG) and are usually excluded before analysis. The aim is to determine the influence of excluding patients with unknown first monitored rhythm, which includes cases of bystander ROSC, from the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) database. Methods This nationwide population-based observational study was conducted in Japan using Utstein data from 2011 to 2014. In total, 91,995 patients with bystander-witnessed cardiogenic OHCA received resuscitation attempts in the pre-hospital setting. These patients were divided into three groups by the first monitored rhythm upon EMS arrival. We analysed the differences of datasets that included and excluded the unknown group and determined the effect on outcomes by multivariate logistic regression and odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Results When the unknown group was excluded from the data, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to favourable cerebral performance category (CPC) 1 or 2 was decreased (conventional CPR: AOR, 1.90 to 1.58; chest-compression-only CPR: AOR, 2.08 to 1.69) compared to the unknown group’s inclusion. Conversely, the AOR of public-access defibrillation (PAD) was increased (AOR, 4.51 to 6.13). Conclusions The exclusion of unknown ECGs from a dataset may lose ROSC patients by bystander CPR, causing selection bias to affect outcomes.

Detonation nanodiamond aggregates contain water that is removed by thermal treatments in vacuo, leaving available pores for the adsorption of target molecules. A hard hydrogel of detonation nanodiamonds was thermally treated at 423 K for 2 h, 10 h, and 52 h in vacuo to determine the intensive water adsorption sites and clarify the hygroscopic nature of nanodiamonds. Nanodiamond aggregates heated for long periods in vacuo agglomerate due to the removal of structural water molecules through the shrinkage and/or collapse of the pores. The agglomerated nanodiamond structure that results from long heating periods decreases the nitrogen adsorption but increases the water adsorption by 40%. Nanodiamonds heated for long times possess ultramicropores

Abstract Background Mass Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) training using less expensive and easily portable manikins is one way to increase the number of trained laypeople in a short time. The easy-to-carry, low-cost CPR training model called Push Heart (PH) is widely used in Japan. The aim of this study was to examine if PH can achieve chest compression quality that is similar to that using more conventional Little Anne (LA) manikins for training laypersons. Methods This prospective randomized crossover study was done during routine community CPR training of laypersons in Singapore. The participants were randomly allocated into two groups, using the PH and LA models respectively. They crossed over during the training so that both groups had measurements using both models. Chest compression data were collected using blinded CPRcards, which are credit card-sized devices with accelerometers and data capture. Participants did not receive any CPR feedback during measurement. Results Forty-two people had data captured for the study with 15 males. The median compression depth was 41.5 mm on LA and 38.0 mm on PH (p = 0.0664), and median compression rate was 105 cpm on LA and 103 cpm on PH (p = 0.2429). Overall, only 1.5% of compressions performed on the PH achieved adequate depth of between 50–70 mm compared to 5.5% achieved on LA (p = 0.049). In contrast, 84% of all compressions performed on the PH were within the adequate rate of 100–120 cpm compared to 79.5% on LA (p = 0.457). Only the under 20-year-old group was able to achieve adequate median compression depth (50.5 mm) on LA, while the older age groups did not (p = 0.0024). The other age groups performed similar quality of chest compression regardless of the model used. 73.8% of participants preferred the LA for training. After the training, participants felt similarly well-prepared with either model with a median score of 8/10 on LA compared to 7/10 on PH (p = 0.0011). Conclusions The PH can be an alternative mass CPR training model. Both models achieved satisfactory chest compression rates, but the majority of participants, especially the elderly, had difficulty achieving adequate depth.

This article discusses a study conducted on the genes PGRP-LC and Toll-1 in the insect species Nilaparvata lugens, also known as the brown planthopper. The researchers used RNA interference (RNAi) to suppress the expression of these genes and found that suppressing PGRP-LC resulted in increased mortality rates in insects infected with live bacteria. However, suppressing Toll-1 did not have a significant effect on mortality rates. The study suggests that RNAi could be a valuable tool for controlling this destructive pest species. [Extracted from the article]

This study investigated the incidence of sport-related concussion (SRC) in sports, effect of athlete knowledge on reporting behavior differences between collegiate and non-collegiate athletes, and differences in SRC symptoms between sexes and level of participation. In this cross-sectional survey, 1 344 Japanese collegiate and noncollegiate athletes from a single institute were analyzed. Using a web-based survey, demographics, general SRC, knowledge of SRC, the most recent SRC reporting behaviors, and symptom presentation were examined. The prevalence of SRC during the academic year 2016–2017 was 2.68 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.88–3.69) across all sports. The prevalence of SRC was 33.3 (95% CI: 17.96–51.83) in rugby union and 8.33 (95% CI: 1.03–27.00) in women's soccer. The prevalence of SRC in males (3.47 [95% CI: 2.38–4.86] was 3.65 times higher than that in females (0.95 [95% CI: 0.26–2.41]). In total, the mean total score of knowledge was 5.30 (4.2) across 25 questions; dizziness was the most well-known symptom (867/1 344, 64.5%), followed by headache (59.3%). Being more emotional (44/1 345, 3.3%) was the least frequently known symptom. Level of participation did not affect scores (5.16 [3.96] vs. 5.52 [4.54]; p = 0.131). All 87 disclosing participants experienced drowsiness and irritability and felt more emotional. In terms of sex and participant level, no significant differences were found in any symptoms. This study found very low rates of concussion education in Japan. Dissemination of concussion education is essential in the future to recognize concussion earlier and prevent severe concussive injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]