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Abstract Proximity-induced long-range spin-triplet supercurrents, important for the field of superconducting spintronics, are generated in superconducting/ferromagnetic heterostructures when interfacial magnetic inhomogeneities responsible for spin mixing and spin flip scattering are present. The multilayer stack Nb/Cr/Fe/Cr/Nb has been shown to support such currents when fabricated into Josephson junction devices. However, creating pure spin currents controllably in superconductors outside of the Josephson junction architecture is a bottleneck to progress. Recently, ferromagnetic resonance was proposed as a possible direction, the signature of pure supercurrent creation being an enhancement of the Gilbert damping below the superconducting critical temperature, but the necessary conditions are still poorly established. Here, we demonstrate that pumping pure spin currents into a superconductor in the presence of an external magnetic field is only possible when conditions supporting proximity-induced spin-triplet effects are satisfied. Our study is an important step forward for pure spin supercurrent creation, considerably advancing the field of superconducting spintronics.

Abstract We show a method to control magnetic interfacial effects in multilayers with Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction (DMI) using helium (He $$^{+}$$ + ) ion irradiation. We report results from SQUID magnetometry, ferromagnetic resonance as well as Brillouin light scattering results on multilayers with DMI as a function of irradiation fluence to study the effect of irradiation on the magnetic properties of the multilayers. Our results show clear evidence of the He $$^{+}$$ + irradiation effects on the magnetic properties which is consistent with interface modification due to the effects of the He $$^{+}$$ + irradiation. This external degree of freedom offers promising perspectives to further improve the control of magnetic skyrmions in multilayers, that could push them towards integration in future technologies.

Dipolar magnon-magnon coupling has long been predicted in nanopatterned artificial spin systems. However, observation of such phenomena and related collective spin-wave signatures have until recently proved elusive or been limited to low-power edge modes which are difficult to measure experimentally. Here we describe the requisite conditions for dipolar mode-hybridization, how it may be controlled, why it was not observed earlier, and how strong coupling may occur between nanomagnet bulk modes. We experimentally investigate four nanopatterned artificial spin system geometries: chevron arrays, square, staircase, and brickwork artificial spin ices. We observe significant dynamic dipolar-coupling in all systems with relative coupling strengths and avoided-crossing gaps supported by micromagnetic-simulation results. We demonstrate reconfigurable mode-hybridization regimes in each system via microstate control, and in doing so elucidate the underlying dynamics governing dynamic dipolar-coupling with implications across reconfigurable magnonics. We demonstrate that confinement of the bulk modes via edge effects plays a critical role in dipolar hybridized modes, and treating each nanoisland as a coherently precessing macro-spin or a standing spin-wave is insufficient to capture experimentally observed coupling phenomena. Finally, we present a parameter-space search detailing how coupling strength may be tuned via nanofabrication dimensions and material properties.

Spin-dependent transport of photogenerated electrons across Fe/GaAs(0 0 1) interfaces is calculated using a one-dimensional electron transport model. Creation of spin-polarized electrons by photoexcitation in this model is defined by the band structure of GaAs along the [0 0 1] direction and the optical selection rules. The tunnel probability across the interface is obtained from Chang's model and first principles calculations are employed to calculate the spin polarization of Fe for electrons propagating along the [0 0 1] direction. By combining the above ingredients, the spin-filtering current, ISF, was calculated for different parameter values, including Schottky barrier height and photon energy. The model is used to fit with experimental results of the photoexcitation technique, yielding qualitative agreement especially for the observed sign switching of the spin-filtering current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tuning magnetic properties in layered van der Waals (vdW) materials has captured significant attention due to the efficient control of ground states by heterostructuring and external stimuli. Electron doping by electrostatic gating, interfacial charge transfer, and intercalation is particularly effective in manipulating the exchange and spin-orbit properties, resulting in a control of Curie temperature (T C ) and magnetic anisotropy. Here, an uncharted role of intercalation is discovered to generate magnetic frustration. As a model study, Na atoms are intercalated into the vdW gaps of pristine Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 (CGT) where generated magnetic frustration leads to emerging spin-glass states coexisting with a ferromagnetic order. A series of dynamic magnetic susceptibility measurements/analysis confirms the formation of magnetic clusters representing slow dynamics with a distribution of relaxation times. The intercalation also modifies other macroscopic physical parameters including the significant enhancement of T C from 66 to 240 K and the switching of magnetic easy-hard axis direction. This study identifies intercalation as a unique route to generate emerging frustrated spin states in simple vdW crystals., (© 2024 The Author(s). Advanced Materials published by Wiley‐VCH GmbH.)

Physical neuromorphic computing, exploiting the complex dynamics of physical systems, has seen rapid advancements in sophistication and performance. Physical reservoir computing, a subset of neuromorphic computing, faces limitations due to its reliance on single systems. This constrains output dimensionality and dynamic range, limiting performance to a narrow range of tasks. Here, we engineer a suite of nanomagnetic array physical reservoirs and interconnect them in parallel and series to create a multilayer neural network architecture. The output of one reservoir is recorded, scaled and virtually fed as input to the next reservoir. This networked approach increases output dimensionality, internal dynamics and computational performance. We demonstrate that a physical neuromorphic system can achieve an overparameterised state, facilitating meta-learning on small training sets and yielding strong performance across a wide range of tasks. Our approach's efficacy is further demonstrated through few-shot learning, where the system rapidly adapts to new tasks., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Strongly-interacting nanomagnetic arrays are ideal systems for exploring reconfigurable magnonics. They provide huge microstate spaces and integrated solutions for storage and neuromorphic computing alongside GHz functionality. These systems may be broadly assessed by their range of reliably accessible states and the strength of magnon coupling phenomena and nonlinearities. Increasingly, nanomagnetic systems are expanding into three-dimensional architectures. This has enhanced the range of available magnetic microstates and functional behaviours, but engineering control over 3D states and dynamics remains challenging. Here, we introduce a 3D magnonic metamaterial composed from multilayered artificial spin ice nanoarrays. Comprising two magnetic layers separated by a non-magnetic spacer, each nanoisland may assume four macrospin or vortex states per magnetic layer. This creates a system with a rich 16 N microstate space and intense static and dynamic dipolar magnetic coupling. The system exhibits a broad range of emergent phenomena driven by the strong inter-layer dipolar interaction, including ultrastrong magnon-magnon coupling with normalised coupling rates of Δ f ν = 0.57 , GHz mode shifts in zero applied field and chirality-control of magnetic vortex microstates with corresponding magnonic spectra., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Reservoir computing is a neuromorphic architecture that may offer viable solutions to the growing energy costs of machine learning. In software-based machine learning, computing performance can be readily reconfigured to suit different computational tasks by tuning hyperparameters. This critical functionality is missing in 'physical' reservoir computing schemes that exploit nonlinear and history-dependent responses of physical systems for data processing. Here we overcome this issue with a 'task-adaptive' approach to physical reservoir computing. By leveraging a thermodynamical phase space to reconfigure key reservoir properties, we optimize computational performance across a diverse task set. We use the spin-wave spectra of the chiral magnet Cu 2 OSeO 3 that hosts skyrmion, conical and helical magnetic phases, providing on-demand access to different computational reservoir responses. The task-adaptive approach is applicable to a wide variety of physical systems, which we show in other chiral magnets via above (and near) room-temperature demonstrations in Co 8.5 Zn 8.5 Mn 3 (and FeGe)., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Introduction: Extramural vascular invasion in patients with rectal cancer is a poor prognostic factor associated with distant metastasis; thus, accurate preoperative diagnosis is important. However, the accurate detection of extramural vascular invasion using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is difficult, and an improved diagnostic modality is required. In addition, the factors involved in the formation of extramural venous invasion (EMVI) remain unclear. In this study, we aimed to examine the ability of 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/MRI ([18F] FDG PET/MRI) to detect EMVI and elucidate the factors involved in EMVI., Methods: Thirty-one patients with rectal cancer were enrolled in this study between 2017 and 2021. We preoperatively evaluated the pelvic [18F] FDG PET/MRI to detect extramural vascular invasion ([18F] FDG PET/MRI-defined EMVI: pmrEMVI). To investigate the factors related to pmrEMVI, we confirmed the desmoplastic reaction (DR) and TWIST expression in the primary lesions of rectal cancer and examined its relationship with pmrEMVI., Results: Six of the 31 patients were pmrEMVI positive. Four pmrEMVI-positive patients had distant metastases. The levels of immature DR and TWIST1 expression were significantly higher in cases with pmrEMVI positivity., Conclusion: pmrEMVI is a useful biomarker for predicting distant metastasis. In addition, pmrEMVI was significantly correlated with factors related to tumor invasiveness., (© 2023 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

In recent years, an increasing number of reports have demonstrated the usefulness of neoadjuvant chemoradiotherapy (NACRT). In our department, we consider cT3-4 and/or cN-positive locally advanced rectal cancer as an indication for NACRT. We have retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and safety of NACRT in 11 patients who underwent NACRT from November 2018 to July 2022. All patients were male, with a median age of 69 years, and cStage was Ⅱa: 1, Ⅱc: 1, Ⅲb: 5, Ⅲc: 3, and Ⅳa: 1. All patients completed NACRT, and there were no cases of CTCAE Grade 3 or higher adverse events or treatment interruptions. The response rate was 72.7%, and histological response grade were Grade 3: 1(9.1%), 2: 4 (36.4%), 1b: 6(54.5%), and surgical margin was negative in all cases. Pathological down stage was obtained in 45.5% of cases, and pCR was obtained in 1 case(9.1%). The median observation period was 17 months, and during the period, 2 cases(18.2%)developed recurrence, both of which were pulmonary metastases, and no local recurrence including pelvic lymph node recurrence was observed. NACRT for locally advanced rectal cancer is considered a relatively safe and highly locally controllable preoperative treatment.

Background: Follicular cholangitis (FC) is a benign bile duct disease that was first reported 2003. Pathologically, it is characterized by lymphoplasmacytic infiltration with multiple lymphoid follicle formations under the mucosal layer of the biliary tract. However, as this disease is extremely rare, little is known about its etiology and pathogenesis., Case Presentation: A 77-year-old woman was diagnosed with middle bile duct stenosis and potential increases in alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase levels (γ-GTP). Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) and IgG4 levels were all within the normal limits. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CE-CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed bile duct dilation from intrahepatic to upper common bile duct and an irregular mass lesion in distal bile duct. Additionally, multiple overlapping leaf-like folds were detected. 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography-computed tomography ( 18 F-FDG-PET/CT) did not demonstrate fluorodeoxyglucose uptake. Subtotal stomach-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy with regional lymph node dissection was performed because common bile duct cancer could not be ruled out. The resected specimen showed diffuse homogeneous middle bile duct wall thickening. Microscopically, the lesion exhibited thick fibrosis with several invaded lymphoplasmacytic cells, and lymphoid follicle formations were detected under the mucosal layer. Immunohistochemical staining (IHC) revealed positive for CD3, CD4, CD20 and CD79a, and these findings led to a final diagnosis of FC. The patient has not experienced recurrence to date (42 months postoperatively)., Conclusions: Currently, accurate preoperative diagnosis of FC is difficult. More cases must be accumulated to generate additional knowledge on its precise diagnosis and proper treatment., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Layered van der Waals (vdW) magnets can maintain a magnetic order even down to the single-layer regime and hold promise for integrated spintronic devices. While the magnetic ground state of vdW magnets was extensively studied, key parameters of spin dynamics, like the Gilbert damping, crucial for designing ultra-fast spintronic devices, remains largely unexplored. Despite recent studies by optical excitation and detection, achieving spin wave control with microwaves is highly desirable, as modern integrated information technologies predominantly are operated with these. The intrinsically small numbers of spins, however, poses a major challenge to this. Here, we present a hybrid approach to detect spin dynamics mediated by photon-magnon coupling between high-Q superconducting resonators and ultra-thin flakes of Cr 2 Ge 2 Te 6 (CGT) as thin as 11 nm. We test and benchmark our technique with 23 individual CGT flakes and extract an upper limit for the Gilbert damping parameter. These results are crucial in designing on-chip integrated circuits using vdW magnets and offer prospects for probing spin dynamics of monolayer vdW magnets., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals (vdW) magnets represent one of the most promising horizons for energy-efficient spintronic applications because their broad range of electronic, magnetic and topological properties. However, little is known about the interplay between light and spin properties in vdW layers. Here we show that ultrafast laser excitation can not only generate different type of spin textures in CrGeTe 3 vdW magnets but also induce a reversible transformation between them in a topological toggle switch mechanism. Our atomistic spin dynamics simulations and wide-field Kerr microscopy measurements show that different textures can be generated via high-intense laser pulses within the picosecond regime. The phase transformation between the different topological spin textures is obtained as additional laser pulses are applied to the system where the polarisation and final state of the spins can be controlled by external magnetic fields. Our results indicate laser-driven spin textures on 2D magnets as a pathway towards reconfigurable topological architectures at the atomistic level., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

We experimentally and theoretically demonstrate that nonlinear spin-wave interactions suppress the hybrid magnon-photon quasiparticle or "magnon polariton" in microwave spectra of a yttrium iron garnet film detected by an on-chip split-ring resonator. We observe a strong coupling between the Kittel and microwave cavity modes in terms of an avoided crossing as a function of magnetic fields at low microwave input powers, but a complete closing of the gap at high powers. The experimental results are well explained by a theoretical model including the three-magnon decay of the Kittel magnon into spin waves. The gap closure originates from the saturation of the ferromagnetic resonance above the Suhl instability threshold by a coherent backreaction from the spin waves.

A 76-year-old woman was diagnosed with left-sided transverse colon cancer invading the pancreatic tail with multiple liver metastases and peritoneal dissemination. Preoperative diagnosis was cT4b(SI)N2aM1c(H3, P1), cStage Ⅳc, harboring BRAF V600E mutation. Transverse colostomy was performed, and FOLFOXIRI plus bevacizumab(BEV)was administered. After 12 chemotherapy cycles, the primary tumor and metastatic lesions showed partial response. Because of CEA elevating after 5-FU plus LV plus BEV as maintenance therapy was changed, the regimen was switched to encorafenib plus binimetinib plus cetuximab as the second-line chemotherapy. The patient developed dermatitis around the colostomy after the start of the second-line chemotherapy, resulting in temporally cetuximab monotherapy. After improvement of dermatitis, the patient resumed encorafenib plus binimetinib, improving liver metastases. Eight months after the start of the second- line, the patient has been administered with triple therapy and had stable disease status.

Background: Currently, no established standard treatment exists for metastatic anal squamous cell carcinoma. We report a case of complete response in a patient with stage IV anal squamous cell carcinoma after undergoing multidisciplinary treatment., Case Presentation: A 62-year-old woman visited a nearby doctor with a chief concern of severe pain associated with a firm mass in the anus. The patient was diagnosed with anal canal squamous cell carcinoma and liver metastases and referred to First Department of Surgery Faculty of Medicine University of Fukui for treatment. The patient received a TNM classification of T4N0M1 and stage IV. Rectal amputation was performed; however, postoperative complications hindered immediate anticancer therapy and the liver metastases exacerbated. Radiofrequency hyperthermia and systemic chemotherapy were performed 3 months postoperatively. A prominent reduction in the liver metastasis was observed. Lung metastases appeared during the course of systemic chemotherapy. Radiotherapy was performed to treat the lung lesion and resolved. Radiotherapy was also performed for liver metastasis. The lesion in the liver showed resolution after 54 months postoperatively, and treatment with the anticancer drug was discontinued. Ten-year follow-up findings suggested complete resolution of the lesion in response to the treatment protocol followed in this case. This long-term survival was achieved through a multidisciplinary treatment., Conclusions: The present case suggests that multidisciplinary treatment approach is effective for resolving stage IV anal squamous cell carcinoma, and addition of new anticancer drug therapy may improve the overall prognosis of squamous cell carcinoma., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Strongly interacting artificial spin systems are moving beyond mimicking naturally occurring materials to emerge as versatile functional platforms, from reconfigurable magnonics to neuromorphic computing. Typically, artificial spin systems comprise nanomagnets with a single magnetization texture: collinear macrospins or chiral vortices. By tuning nanoarray dimensions we have achieved macrospin-vortex bistability and demonstrated a four-state metamaterial spin system, the 'artificial spin-vortex ice' (ASVI). ASVI can host Ising-like macrospins with strong ice-like vertex interactions and weakly coupled vortices with low stray dipolar field. Vortices and macrospins exhibit starkly differing spin-wave spectra with analogue mode amplitude control and mode frequency shifts of Δf = 3.8 GHz. The enhanced bitextural microstate space gives rise to emergent physical memory phenomena, with ratchet-like vortex injection and history-dependent non-linear fading memory when driven through global magnetic field cycles. We employed spin-wave microstate fingerprinting for rapid, scalable readout of vortex and macrospin populations, and leveraged this for spin-wave reservoir computation. ASVI performs non-linear mapping transformations of diverse input and target signals in addition to chaotic time-series forecasting., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Limited.)

Background: We aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of 2-[18F]-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging ([18F]FDG PET/MRI) for preoperative staging and usefulness of the detection of extramural vascular invasion (EMVI) for predicting metastasis in rectal cancer., Methods: Twenty-three patients underwent pretreatment [18F]FDG PET/MRI, including early-delayed and extended PET and dedicated pelvic MRI without using anticonvulsant or contrast agents. Seven patients received preoperative treatment and all subsequently underwent surgery. Clinical cancer stages were evaluated using postoperative histopathology as a reference. PET/MR-defined EMVI (pmrEMVI) and pathological (p) TN stages were correlated with disease progression for a maximum of 2 years., Results: Of 16 patients without preoperative treatment, 10 had pT3, 4 tumors, 7 had pN1-3 lymph nodes, and 5 had synchronous metastases (SM; liver, lung, inguinal node). The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of PET/MRI were 90%, 67%, and 81% for T staging (T1, 2 vs. T3, 4), and 89%, 100%, and 94% for N staging (N0 vs. N1-3), respectively. Patient-based accuracy for SM staging was 100% (4/4). Of 23 patients, 6 were positive for pmrEMVI and 4 had metachronous metastases or local recurrence (MM; pelvic node, brain, lung, skin) during the follow-up periods. Five of the 6 pmrEMVI-positive patients had SM and/or MM (odds ratio = 37.5). Among pT, pN, and pmrEMVI, pmrEMVI-positivity was the only significant predictor for poorer progression-free survival (p < 0.05)., Conclusions: [18F]FDG PET/MRI according to our suggested protocol is a one-stop, non-contrast, and valid diagnostic method for rectal cancer staging, and pmr-EMVI can be used as an imaging biomarker for predicting metastases., (© 2022 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Recently, it has been shown that the chiral magnetic insulator Cu 2 OSeO 3 hosts skyrmions in two separated pockets in temperature and magnetic field phase space. It has also been shown that the predominant stabilization mechanism for the low-temperature skyrmion (LTS) phase is via the crystalline anisotropy, opposed to temperature fluctuations that stabilize the well-established high-temperature skyrmion (HTS) phase. Here, we report on a detailed study of LTS generation by field cycling, probed by GHz spin dynamics in Cu 2 OSeO 3 . LTSs are populated via a field cycling protocol with the static magnetic field applied parallel to the ⟨100⟩ crystalline direction of plate and cuboid-shaped bulk crystals. By analyzing temperature-dependent broadband spectroscopy data, clear evidence of LTS excitations with clockwise (CW), counterclockwise (CCW), and breathing mode (BR) character at temperatures below T = 40 K are shown. We find that the mode intensities can be tuned with the number of field-cycles below the saturation field. By tracking the resonance frequencies, we are able to map out the field-cycle-generated LTS phase diagram, from which we conclude that the LTS phase is distinctly separated from the high-temperature counterpart. We also study the mode hybridization between the dark CW and the BR modes as a function of temperature. By using two Cu 2 OSeO 3 crystals with different shapes and therefore different demagnetization factors, together with numerical calculations, we unambiguously show that the magnetocrystalline anisotropy plays a central role for the mode hybridization., (Creative Commons Attribution license.)

Background: Prokineticin 1 (PROK1) was reported as an angiogenic factor, which is associated with tumor progression, cell invasion, and metastasis in colorectal cancer. Although the association between PROK1 expression in primary cancer lesion and patient prognosis was reported, it is unclear whether plasma PROK1 concentration may be a predictive factor in colorectal cancer patients. This study investigated the association between PROK1 concentration in plasma and prognosis in colorectal cancer patients., Methods: We measured preoperative PROK1 plasma levels using ELISA method, while PROK1 expression in primary cancer lesion was evaluated using immunohistochemistry (IHC). The association between plasma PROK1 levels and cancer-related survival rate (CRS) was evaluated. Additionally, we examined whether simultaneous PROK1 expression in both primary cancer lesions and plasma was correlated with CRS. The cancer-related survival rate was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and survival estimates were compared using the log-rank test., Results: We have gathered eligible 130 CRC patients retrospectively. Out of 130 patients, 61 (46.9%) were positive on IHC in primary cancer, and 69 (53.1%) were negative, while 43 (33.1%) had high-value PROK1 in plasma. Out of these 43, 30 (25.4%) also had concomitant higher IHC expression in primary cancer. The plasma PROK1 levels tended to increase with advancing stages. The plasma PROK1-positive group had a lower 5-year CRS than the negative group (63.6% vs. 88.2%; P = 0.006). Additionally, simultaneous PROK1 expression was associated with a more significant decrease of 5-year CRS than both negative groups in all stages (76.2% vs. 92.5%; P = 0.003) and stage III (59.3% vs. 84.5%; P = 0.047). Multivariate analysis showed simultaneous PROK1 expression was independently associated with worse CRS (HR, 1.97; 95% CI 1.20‑3.24, P < 0.01)., Conclusion: PROK1 expression in preoperative plasma reflects poor prognosis in patients undergoing curative resection for colorectal cancer. The plasma PROK1 level may be a potential predictive marker, especially in stage III colorectal cancer patients., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

We present the discovery of a charge density wave (CDW) ground state in heavily electron-doped molybdenum disulfide (MoS 2 ). This is the first observation of a CDW in any d 2 (column 6) transition metal dichalcogenide (TMD). The band structure of MoS 2 is distinct from the d 0 and d 1 TMDs in which CDWs have been previously observed, facilitating new insight into CDW formation. We demonstrate a metal-insulator transition at 85 K, a 25 meV gap at the Fermi level, and two distinct CDW modulations, (2√3 × 2√3) R30° and 2 × 2, attributable to Fermi surface nesting (FSN) and electron-phonon coupling (EPC), respectively. This simultaneous exhibition of FSN and EPC CDW modulations is unique among observations of CDW ground states, and we discuss this in the context of band folding. Our observations provide a route toward the resolution of controversies surrounding the origin of CDW modulations in TMDs.

Strongly-interacting nanomagnetic arrays are finding increasing use as model host systems for reconfigurable magnonics. The strong inter-element coupling allows for stark spectral differences across a broad microstate space due to shifts in the dipolar field landscape. While these systems have yielded impressive initial results, developing rapid, scaleable means to access a broad range of spectrally-distinct microstates is an open research problem. We present a scheme whereby square artificial spin ice is modified by widening a 'staircase' subset of bars relative to the rest of the array, allowing preparation of any ordered vertex state via simple global-field protocols. Available microstates range from the system ground-state to high-energy 'monopole' states, with rich and distinct microstate-specific magnon spectra observed. Microstate-dependent mode-hybridisation and anticrossings are observed at both remanence and in-field with dynamic coupling strength tunable via microstate-selection. Experimental coupling strengths are found up to g/2π = 0.16 GHz. Microstate control allows fine mode-frequency shifting, gap creation and closing, and active mode number selection.

An inhomogeneous magnetic exchange field at a superconductor/ferromagnet interface converts spin-singlet Cooper pairs to a spin-polarized triplet state. Although the decay envelope of triplet pairs within ferromagnetic materials is well studied, little is known about their decay in nonmagnetic metals and superconductors and, in particular, in the presence of spin-orbit coupling (SOC). Here, we investigate devices in which singlet and triplet supercurrents propagate into the s-wave superconductor Nb. In the normal state of Nb, triplet supercurrents decay over a distance of 5 nm, which is an order of magnitude smaller than the decay of spin-singlet pairs due to the SOC. In the superconducting state of Nb, triplet supercurrents are not able to couple with the singlet wave function and are thus blocked by the absence of available equilibrium states in the singlet gap. The results offer insight into the dynamics between s-wave singlet and s-wave triplet states., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works. Distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 (CC BY).)

A 32-year-old woman was admitted our hospital due to epigastric discomfort. The patient diagnosed as having scirrhous carcinoma of the stomach by upper gastrointestinal scope. Peritoneal dissemination and ovarian metastasis were confirmed by the diagnostic laparoscopy. Therefore, combination chemotherapy with S-1 and intraperitoneal chemotherapy(ip)with docetaxel (DTX) was started. After 2 courses chemotherapy, laparoscopy was performed again. Peritoneal dissemination was scarred, but biopsy showed altered AE1/AE3 positive cells, and increased left ovarian metastasis, so systemic chemotherapy was changed to DCS chemotherapy and added DTX ip. After 4 courses chemotherapy and 7 months after the first diagnosis, subtotal gastrectomy, hysterectomy and bilateral adnexectomy were performed because the cytology and tumor marker remained within normal range. In histopathological diagnosis, the effect of chemotherapy was Grade 2 at the primary site and Grade 3 at the metastatic site. Nine years have passed since the initial diagnosis and she has no relapse with postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy.

In the 9th edition Japanese Classification of Colorectal Carcinoma, Stage Ⅱ and Stage Ⅲ colorectal cancer(CRC)were subdivided by TNM classification on invasion and number of lymph node metastases. We studied prognostic comparison and relation of adjuvant chemotherapy at the new classification. We included 400 cases with resected Ⅱ and Ⅲ CRC from 2007 to 2014. Ⅱa/Ⅱb/Ⅱc/Ⅲa/Ⅲb/Ⅲc were 97/68/20/24/124/67 cases. Adjuvant chemotherapy was performed at 19/32/45/66/59/70% in Ⅱa/Ⅱb/Ⅱc/Ⅲa/Ⅲb/Ⅲc, with or without adjuvant chemotherapy at each stage survival rates were compared. In Ⅱa/Ⅱb/Ⅱc, DSS was 97/97/82% and DFS was 89/88/76%, and the prognosis of Ⅱc was significantly worse. In Ⅲa/Ⅲb/Ⅲc, DSS was 95/86/57% and DFS was 82/77/41%. By the presence or absence of adjuvant chemotherapy, significantly differences were obtained at Ⅲb and Ⅲc. Prognosis of Ⅱc was almost same as Ⅲb, and prognosis of Ⅲa was almost same as Ⅱb. Therefore, we considered adjuvant chemotherapy with oxaliplatin should be performed to Ⅱc, Ⅲb, and Ⅲc.

Molecular tumor biomarkers hold considerable promise for accurately predicting colorectal cancer (CRC) recurrence and progression. Prokineticin 2 (PROK2) may be associated with angiogenesis and tumor formation in some malignant tumors. However, its prognostic value remains unknown. We focused on the association between PROK2 expression and clinical characteristics of CRC to assess value of PROK2 as a potential biomarker for stage I-III CRC patients prognosis. Between 1992 and 2006, 436 consecutive patients with stage I-III CRC treated with curative resection were included. PROK2 expression in primary tumors was investigated using immunohistochemistry. An animal model of liver metastasis was used to assess the role of PROK2. Positive PROK2 expression in primary tumors was found in 222 of 436 (50.9%) human CRC specimens and was significantly associated with lymphatic invasion, lymph node metastasis, clinical stage, and postoperative liver recurrence rate. Recurrence-free survival was significantly shorter in patients with positive PROK2 expression than in those with negative PROK2 expression. PROK2 expression was an independent unfavorable prognostic indicator for CRC [hazards ratio, 2.119; 95% confidence interval, 1.315-3.415; p = 0.002]. PROK2 overexpression promoted liver metastasis in vivo . We suggest that positive PROK2 expression is observed in CRC primary tissues; thus, PROK2 may be a useful predictor for liver recurrence and prognosis in CRC., Competing Interests: CONFLICTS OF INTEREST All the authors of this paper declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

A 74-year-old man visited our hospital complaining of abdominal pain. An abdominal computed tomography scan showed multiple wall thickness of the small bowel. Capsule endoscopy was recommended for further evaluation, and patency capsule examination was performed. Eighteen hours after patency capsule ingestion, he experienced small bowel perforation with severe peritonitis caused by intestinal pressure rising because of the patency capsule trapped in his terminal ileum. An ileocolic resection was performed, including the removal of the sclerotic ileum as an emergency surgery. A pathological examination showed transmural inflammation and multiple ulcers with perforation of the small intestine, consistent with Crohn's disease. Here, we report a rare and valuable case of novel tag-less Agile TM patency capsule (Given Imaging Ltd., Yoqneam, Israel) retention leading to small bowel perforation.

Unlike conventional spin-singlet Cooper pairs, spin-triplet pairs can carry spin 1,2 . Triplet supercurrents were discovered in Josephson junctions with metallic ferromagnet spacers, where spin transport can occur only within the ferromagnet and in conjunction with a charge current. Ferromagnetic resonance injects a pure spin current from a precessing ferromagnet into adjacent non-magnetic materials 3,4 . For spin-singlet pairing, the ferromagnetic resonance spin pumping efficiency decreases below the critical temperature (T c ) of a coupled superconductor 5,6 . Here we present ferromagnetic resonance experiments in which spin sink layers with strong spin-orbit coupling are added to the superconductor. Our results show that the induced spin currents, rather than being suppressed, are substantially larger in the superconducting state compared with the normal state; although further work is required to establish the details of the spin transport process, we show that this cannot be mediated by quasiparticles and is most likely a triplet pure spin supercurrent.

The patient was a 53-year-old male with a chief complaint of bloody stool. To treat the cecal colon cancer, right hemicolectomy was performed. Histological examination showed moderately differentiated adenocaricinoma, SE, N3, H0, P0, M0 Stage IIIb by Japanese Classification of the Colorectal Carcinoma. After the operation, the patient received a chemotherapy with 6 cycles of Capecitabine regimen. After 1 year later, computed tomography detected swelling of Virchow's lymph node and tumor in the thyroid gland. By fine-needle aspiration cytology, thyroid gland tumor was diagnosed as papillary cancer and Virchow's lymph node was detected adenocarcinoma which was metastasis of cecal cancer. Total thyroidectomy and cervical lymph node dissection were performed. After the operation, the patient received chemotherapy with 6 cycles of FOLFOX regimen. And the patient had taken UFT/LV for 30 months. Now he has no recurrence and keeps his quality of life high. He has been alive for 80 months since the first operation. Virchow lymph node dissection can be one of the options of treatment of metastasis., Competing Interests: We have no financial relationships to disclose.The patient provided informed written consent prior to treatment and publication.

Mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma (MANEC) of the colon is rare and has a poor prognosis. Here, we report a case of MANEC in the ascending colon, in which streptozocin monotherapy achieved a partial response. A 36-year-old woman underwent right hemicolectomy for colonic polyposis, which included ascending colon cancer. Pathological examination revealed that some mucosal polyps were adenocarcinoma while one submucosal polyp was neuroendocrine carcinoma. Adjuvant chemotherapy was not administered, and 5 months after the operation, multiple liver metastases were identified. She was started on modified (5-FU, leucovorin, oxaliplatin) followed by XELOX (capecitabine, oxaliplatin) plus bevacizumab. Although these regimens helped achieve stable disease, computed tomography showed that the hepatic metastatic lesions had enlarged 4 months later. Subsequently, the regimen was changed to streptozocin monotherapy (1000 mg/m 2 , weekly). After 5 cycles, the regimen achieved partial response and was continued for a total of 17 courses without significant adverse events until progressive disease. As a third-line chemotherapy regimen, cisplatin plus etoposide (EP) was administered. The EP regimen reduced the size of the hepatic and ovarian metastatic lesions but severe neutropenia and anemia was observed. Amrubicin monotherapy was also administered as fourth-line chemotherapy but a good clinical response was not detected, and the patient died 20 months after the operation. Streptozocin monotherapy has the potential to be a therapeutic option for mixed adenoneuroendocrine carcinoma of the colon., Competing Interests: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.For this type of study formal consent is not required.Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report.

The increased invasiveness of colorectal cancer cells is important for progression and metastasis to the surrounding organs. According to recent molecular biological studies, signaling through transmembrane Prokineticin-Receptor2(PK-R2) is likely involved in the ability of tumor cell to invade. However, no studies have evaluated the relationship between PK-R2 expression, ability of cancer to invade/metastasize, and patient prognosis in cases of resected colorectal cancer. Accordingly, we have examined these factors in the present study.Immunohistochemical staining was performed to detect PK-R2 in the primary lesion and adjacent normal large intestine mucosa of 324 colorectal cancer patients who underwent resection surgery at our department. Additionally, we conducted clinicopathologic examinations and analyzed patient prognoses with the Kaplan-Meier method. Further, multivariate analysis was conducted using a cox-proportional hazard model.PK-R2 expression was observed on the cellular membrane of the primary lesion in 147 of 324 cases (45.3%) of human colorectal cancer. PK-R2 expression was associated with a higher incidence of vascular invasion, lymph node metastasis, hepatic metastasis, and hematogenous metastasis. Further, prevalence of PK-R2 expression increased as tumor stage increased. In stage III curative resection cases, where recurrence is the most serious problem, cases that expressed PK-R2 had a significantly lower 5-year survival rate (82.1% versus 66.8%) and higher recurrence compared to those cases with no PK-R2 expression. In the multivariate analysis for prognosis, PK-R2 expression was found to be an independent factor(ratio2.621).PK-R2 expression could be one of the new prognostic factors in human colorectal cancer.