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The Japan Surveillance for Infection Prevention and Healthcare Epidemiology (J-SIPHE) system aggregates information related to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) measures in participating medical institutions nationwide and is intended to be used for promotion of AMR measures in participating facilities and their communities. This multicenter study aimed to determine the usefulness of the J-SIPHE system for evaluating the correlation between antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance in Hokkaido, Japan.Data on antibiotic use and detection rate of major resistant Gram-negative bacteria at 19 hospitals in 2020 were collected from the J-SIPHE system, and data correlations were analyzed using JMP Pro.The detection rate of carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa was significantly positively correlated with carbapenem use (Spearman's ρ = 0.551; P = .015). There were significant positive correlations between the detection rate of fluoroquinolone-resistant Escherichia coli and the use of piperacillin/tazobactam, carbapenems, and quinolones [ρ = 0.518 (P = .023), ρ = 0.76 (P.001), and ρ = 0.502 (P = .029), respectively].This is the first multicenter study to investigate the correlation between antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance using the J-SIPHE system. The results suggest that using this system may be beneficial for promoting AMR measures.

We herein report a 73-year-old man with isolated hypertrophic pachymeningitis (HP) showing serological and pathological characteristics of both IgG4-related disorders and granulomatosis with polyangiitis. The patient presented with chronic onset headaches and ophthalmalgia. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a hypertrophic enhanced dura mater. Serum IgG4 and myeloperoxidase anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (MPO-ANCA) levels were elevated. A dura mater biopsy showed infiltration of numerous IgG4-positive plasma cells and granulomatous inflammation without apparent vasculitic lesions, storiform fibrosis, or obstructive phlebitis. Corticosteroid treatments improved his clinical symptoms and MRI findings. There have been reports of MPO-ANCA-positive IgG4-related HP presenting as granulomatous inflammation in the dura mater.

Ga2O3 thin film with Eu doping was prepared on p-Si substrate by pulsed laser deposition to investigate the temperature dependence of photoluminescence from Eu3+ and host. The obtained Ga2O3:Eu thin film has a polycrystalline monoclinic structure and smooth surface. The film exhibits multiple sharp emissions originating from Eu3+ dopants, as well as broad defect-related emissions in the UV-green region from Ga2O3 host. With increasing the temperature from 21 K to room temperature, the red emission from Eu3+ keeps unchanged in the wavelength, and remains ~55% PL intensity. Meanwhile, Ga2O3 defect-related ultraviolet and blue emissions experience a strong thermal quenching and a distinct red shift following the Varshni equation and Bose-Einstein expression. These experimental data will provide reliable guide for fabricating efficient luminescent devices based on rare-earth doped Ga2O3.

Photoelectrochemical (PEC) properties of ZnTe-based photocathodes with various structures were investigated to clarify the effective structure for the water reduction reaction. Samples with n-ZnO/ZnTe/p-ZnTe and n-ZnS/ZnTe/p-ZnTe heterostructures showed superior PCE properties to the samples without a heterojunction. In particular, the n-ZnS/ZnTe/p-ZnTe sample exhibited a large photocurrent even at a low applied potential in an electrolyte containing Eu

We demonstrate that terahertz radiation can be generated from titanium-diffused magnesium oxide-doped lithium niobate optical strip waveguides when pumped by a single laser source with a wavelength of 1.55 μm. Titanium-in-diffusion was performed on a magnesium oxide-doped lithium niobate substrate by the deposition of titanium in a 40-µm wide strip pattern and then annealing in a vacuum furnace. Prism-coupled Cherenkov-phase matching was utilized to extract the terahertz emission from the waveguide. The contrast between the emission from the waveguide against the bulk crystal when the sample was moved along its crystal facet was also recorded, where an improvement of ~ 18.0% in the time-domain peak signal of the waveguide was observed. The waveguide’s performance was also measured against that of a commercial terahertz emitter, a photoconductive antenna, where it was found that the time-domain signals of the two were comparable. The terahertz power spectra also revealed that the lithium niobate-based waveguides have a broader bandwidth by more than 1 THz, with a similar signal-to-noise ratio. As an effect, the waveguides gave a better signal at higher frequencies and, at times, reaching as high a difference of 20 dB. These results indicate the possibility of using titanium-in-diffusion to generate intense terahertz emission from titanium-doped lithium niobate waveguides and that these strip waveguides are viable alternatives to commercial terahertz emitters, especially at high frequencies. It is expected that much better output can be obtained from an optimized waveguide design and with more appropriate optics.

P-doped ZnTe thin films were grown by MBE on ZnTe (100) substrates using InP as the P source under various InP fluxes. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS) analyses showed that the P concentration in ZnTe thin films increased with increasing InP flux, although In atoms were also incorporated in the films. To suppress In incorporation, the outlet of the InP cell was modified by mounting a cap and a plate with small holes. As a result, In incorporation was significantly suppressed, resulting in an In concentration three orders of magnitude lower, as confirmed by SIMS, although the P concentration also decreased by almost one order of magnitude compared with the case without a cap. An acceptor-bound exciton (Ia) peak was observed at around 2.36 eV in the P-doped ZnTe thin film grown with a cap, and the Ia intensity increased after annealing, indicating the activation of P acceptors.

We have grown Zn1−xCdxO (ZnCdO) thin films by molecular beam epitaxy on α-Al2O3 (0001) substrates across the full composition range of 0 ≤ x ≤ 1. The wurtzite phase is observed in the composition x ≤ 0.44 whereas the rocksalt phase is observed for x ≥ 0.58. Within the composition region of 0.44 3.0 eV. A large optical gap of 3.0 eV (an intrinsic gap of ∼2.7 eV) is achieved for RS-ZnCdO alloys at x ∼ 0.6. The stability of the RS phase with a low Cd content can be attributed to the low temperature MBE process. The upward shift of the band gap energy is observed in the mixed phase region due to the phase transition, and the largest band gap energy is obtained as 3.27 eV in the WZ (x = 0) and 3.0 eV in RS (x = 0.6) phase. RS-ZnCdO thin films exhibit a low resistivity of 5 × 10−4 Ω cm with a maximum mobility of ∼90 cm2 V−1 s−1 and a high carrier concentration of 4 × 1020 cm−3.

Low temperature growth of β-(AlGa)2O3 films has been realized by oxygen radical assisted pulsed laser deposition. The prepared films show a good (−201) orientation perpendicular to (0001) sapphire substrates even at a deposition temperature as low as 200 °C. The influences of the substrate temperature on the structural and optical properties of the films have been systematically investigated. All the films grown at substrate temperatures from 100 to 500 °C exhibit a high transmittance of over 90% in the ultraviolet and visible range. Abrupt bandgap value variation has been observed for films deposited at substrate temperatures higher than 100 °C, which agrees with the amorphous to crystalline transition temperature evidenced by X-ray diffraction. The speed of the film thickness decrease with substrate temperature is much slower for (AlGa)2O3 films grown with oxygen radical assistance, indicating the suppression of the evaporation of volatile species with the help of oxygen radical species. The low temperature growth of β-(AlGa)2O3 films could be compatible with the established lithography of semiconductor microfabrication processes.

We demonstrate that titanium-doped lithium niobate strip optical waveguides can act as terahertz emitters. Terahertz pulses were produced by pumping with a femtosecond laser at a wavelength of 1.55 μm via the prism-coupled Cherenkov-phase matching scheme. Near-single cycle time-domain pulses were generated and the terahertz time-domain peak signal from the 40-μm waveguide was found to be ~18% higher than that observed with bulk crystal. The THz power spectra revealed a broad bandwidth and high signal-to-noise ratio. These findings signify the feasibility of titanium-in-diffusion to produce strong terahertz radiation from titanium-doped lithium niobate waveguides.

Background Genetic factors such as single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) play a key role in the development of postoperative nausea and vomiting (PONV). However, previous findings are not widely applicable to different populations because of population-specific genetic variation. We developed a Japanese-specific DNA microarray for high-throughput genotyping. The aim of the current study was to identify SNPs associated with PONV on a genome-wide scale using this microarray in a sample of Japanese surgical patients. Methods Associations between 659,636 SNPs and the incidence of PONV 24 h after surgery in a limited sample of 24 female patients were assessed using the microarray. After imputation of genotypes at 24,330,529 SNPs, 78 SNPs were found to be associated with the incidence of PONV. We chose 4 of the 78 SNPs to focus on by in silico functional annotation. Finally, we genotyped these 4 candidate SNPs in 255 patients using real-time PCR to verify association with the incidence of PONV. Results The T > C variant of rs11232965 in the long non-coding RNA MIR4300HG was significantly associated with reduced incidence of PONV among genotypes and between alleles (p = 0.01 and 0.007). Conclusions We identified a novel SNP (rs11232965) in the long non-coding RNA MIR4300HG that is associated with PONV. The rs11232965-SNP variant (T > C) is protective against the incidence of PONV. Trial registration This study was registered at the UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (Identifier: UMIN000022903, date of registration: June 27, 2016, retrospectively registered.

Highly mismatched alloys are a class of materials whose fundamental properties are dramatically modified through the substitution of a relatively small fraction of host atoms with an element of very much different electronegativity. In ZnTe, the incorporation of a small amount of isoelectronic O leads to the formation of a narrow, O-derived intermediate band (IB, E-) located well below the conduction band (CB, E+) edge of the ZnTe through an anticrossing interaction between localized states of O and the CB of the ZnTe matrix. Therefore, ZnTe1-xOx (ZnTeO) alloy is one of the potential candidates for an absorber material in a bulk intermediate band solar cell (IBSC). We have previously demonstrated the generation of photocurrent induced by two-step photon absorption (TSPA) in ZnTeO IBSCs using n-ZnO window layer. Here, we review our recent progress on the development of ZnTeO based IBSCs using n-ZnS window layer and Cldoped ZnTeO. With n-ZnS window having a small conduction band offset with ZnTe, the open circuit voltage of ZnTeO IBSC was improved. Cl-doping was performed to introduce electrons into the IB of ZnTeO that is required to be halffilled with electrons for the efficient operation of an IBSC. Low temperature photoluminescence spectra indicated that the doped Cl atoms act as donors in ZnTeO. The improved photovoltaic properties were demonstrated in the IBSC using Cl-doped ZnTeO.

During routine ultrasound examination, a hyperechoic mass was detected in the anterior segment of the liver in an 80-year-old woman with hepatitis C virus-related cirrhosis. Computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging findings suggested a malignant tumor with abundant fibrous stroma, similar to cholangiolocellular carcinoma. However, subsequent partial hepatectomy revealed a mass characterized by abundant fibrosis without tumor cells, dilated blood vessels, and marginal ductular reaction. Accordingly, focal confluent fibrosis was diagnosed. Generally, the diagnosis of focal confluent fibrosis is straightforward because of its well-established imaging characteristics. However, its differentiation from a malignant tumor can occasionally be difficult because of variation in presentation depending on the amount of fibrous stroma and the degree of inflammatory cell infiltration. In the present case, diagnosis was difficult because the lesion was more localized than usual, presenting a mass-like shape, and there was obvious hyperintensity on T2-weighted imaging and ring-shaped hyperintensity on diffusion-weighted imaging. Moreover, hepatic capsular retraction was indistinct, which can be one of the key findings of focal confluent fibrosis. When a hepatic mass is associated with a fibrous lesion, focal confluent fibrosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis, even though the lesion is associated with several atypical findings.

We report the improved photocurrent induced by two-step photon absorption (TSPA) in the intermediate band solar cells (IBSCs) with a n-ZnS/ZnTe/ZnTeO/ZnTe/p-ZnTe structure using Cl-doped ZnTeO. In the IBSC with an undoped ZnTeO, the TSPA current is not observed at room temperature but it is significantly improved by using Cl-doped ZnTeO. Temperature and excitation intensity dependent photoluminescence (PL) spectra reveal the high activation energy of Cl-donor, and the observed activation temperature by PL measurements is consistent with the temperature where the TSPA current starts to increase. The temperature dependence of the open circuit voltage of the IBSC using Cl-doped ZnTeO also supports that the Cl doping in the ZnTeO layer introduces electrons into the intermediate band.

MgZnO films and ZnO/Mg0.19Zn0.81O single quantum well (QW) structures with well layer thickness from 1 to 4 nm were directly prepared on sapphire substrates at the low substrate temperature of 400 °C by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The photoluminescence (PL) peak of QW shifted from 3.51 to 3.33 eV at room temperature as the well thickness was increased from 2 to 4 nm. The PL peak position of QW with well thickness of 2 nm can be well explained by Varshni’s relation and the best fitting to the data were E(0) = 3.558 eV, α = 2.17 × 10−4 eV/K, and β = 589 K. No S-shape variation of PL peak position with temperature for this QW indicates low-temperature growth is an ideal candidate for eliminating the stain effect in ZnO QW.

Photoluminescence (PL) properties of ZnTe/ZnMgTe quantum well (QW) structures grown by molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) were investigated systematically with respect to well widths and Mg contents. Observed PL peak energies were consistent well with the calculated emission energies of the QWs considering a lattice distortion in the ZnTe well. From the temperature dependence of PL intensity, it was found that a suppression of a carrier escape from QW is crucial to obtain a PL at higher temperature in the ZnTe/ZnMgTe QW. Based on the results, multiple quantum well structures were designed and fabricated, which exhibited a green PL at room temperature.

We have fabricated the europium (Eu) doped Ga 2 O 3 thin films on GaAs substrate by using pulsed laser deposition. The impact of Eu contents on structure, surface morphology, and optical properties are systematically investigated. We demonstrate that the Eu contents in Ga 2 O 3 films can be controlled by adjusting the Eu contents in the targets. Moreover, all the films exhibited monoclinic Ga 2 O 3 structure and smooth surface. We also clearly observe intense red emissions at 611 nm for the Eu doped Ga 2 O 3 films. It is believed that this work paves the way for the development of GaAs-based red electroluminescence devices by using wide bandgap Ga 2 O 3 as the host materials for Eu 3+ ions.

The garnet-type lithium ion conductor, nominal Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) has received a lot of interest as they are considered usable as solid electrolytes in lithium battery. The Li+ migration bottleneck size of garnet-type Li7La3Zr2O12 (LLZO) solid electrolyte are posed significant effect on Li+ transportation property. However, the regulation mechanism of the bottleneck size on the Li+ migration activation energy is not clear. In the study, equivalent substitution of tetravalent M4+ (M4+ = Ge4+, Ti4+, Sn4+, Hf4+ and Te4+) ions on Zr site of Li7La3M0.25Zr1.75O12 is designed to regulate the bottleneck size. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) is applied to detect the quantitative structural information of M-doped LLZO. Experimental and calculations results show that the M4+ substitution regulate the Li+ migration bottleneck size via changing M–O bond length. The M–O bond length increases with the increase of M4+ doping ion radius which results in the increase of the bottleneck size. However, larger bottleneck size is not necessarily favorable for Li+ migration. Ge4+ and Ti4+ doped LLZO have smaller bottleneck size than the un-doped LLZO, which is more suitable for Li+ migration (corresponds to lower Ea of 0.28 eV, 0.29 eV, respectively). This study is of great significance for obtaining optimum lithium ion migration channel size for LLZO, and the regulation mechanism is universality for crystal ion conductors.

Monolithic and phosphor-free light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been fabricated based on vertically integrated Ga2O3:Tm, Ga2O3:Eu, and Ga2O3:Er films by alternate-target pulsed laser deposition. Direct white light emission with superior CIE chromaticity coordinates of (0.3329, 0.3335) and correlated color temperature of 5479 K has been achieved from LEDs. Electroluminescence spectra demonstrate that the white emission was a consequence of the combination of dominant blue emissions at 461 and 475 nm from Tm3+ ions, green emissions at 529 and 550 nm from Er3+ ions, and red emissions at 590 and 615 nm from Eu3+ ions. The Ga2O3:(Tm+Eu+Er)-based LED exhibits current-controlled color tunability, which endows it with the capability of affording both “warm” and “cold” white light by controlling the operating current. Moreover, this strategy for LEDs shows the full color tunability by intentionally modifying the thickness ratios of Ga2O3:Tm, Ga2O3:Eu, and Ga2O3:Er monolayers. We anticipate that this study will pave the way toward full-color displays and solid-state lighting technology using rare-earth doped Ga2O3.

Yellow color from vertically integrated light emitting device (LED) was reported. The multilayer structured Er and Eu doped Ga2O3 films were deposited on sapphire and GaAs substrates by alternate-target pulsed laser deposition. The structure, surface morphology, and optical properties of the films were systematically investigated. Bright yellow electroluminescence originated from the combined simultaneous emission of excited Er3+ (529, 550 nm) and Eu3+ (615 nm) can be observed with the naked eyes at a low driven voltage of 10 V. Parameters of the yellow emission for the chromaticity diagram were calculated to be x = 0.4379, y = 0.5343. It is determined that the optically active Er and Eu ions are simultaneously activated by defect-assisted carrier recombination excitation. We believe that this work will provide a prospect for realizing low-voltage driven color LED using rare earth doped Ga2O3 films.

We have grown the full composition range (0 ≤ x ≤ 1) of Zn1-xCdxO (ZnCdO) thin films on MgO (100) substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. We obtained the wurtzite (WZ) phase in the Cd composition x ≤ 0.51, whereas in the Cd composition x ≥ 0.59, the rocksalt (RS) phase is obtained. A mixed phase of both the WZ and RS phases are observed inside the Cd composition range of 0.59> x >0.51. At this mixed phase region, we observed the WZ phase is transited to RS phase with an increasing band gap energy. We obtained the largest optical band gap energy in WZ-ZnCdO (x = 0) as 3.25 eV and RS-ZnCdO (x = 0.59) as 3.08 eV. In spite of high carrier concentration above 1.3 × 1020 cm−3, low resistivity around 2.5 × 10−4 Ωcm and high mobility of 51.7 cm2/Vs of maximum are observed on RS-ZnCdO thin films.

Green light-emitting device (LED) based on Er:Ga2O3/GaAs heterojunction was fabricated in this work. Erbium (Er) doped Ga2O3 film was prepared on p-GaAs substrate by pulsed laser deposition. The structural, morphological and optical properties were investigated by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscope and photoluminescence. Bright green electroluminescence dominated by 524 and 549 nm peaks can be observed with the naked eyes at a driven voltage of 6.0 V. These emissions were determined to be caused by the 4f-electron transitions of Er3+ from 2H11/2 → 4I15/2, 4S3/2 → 4I15/2, respectively. It is determined that the Er-related green electroluminescence arose from transfer of the energy released from the defect-assisted indirect recombination in the Ga2O3 host to the Er ions. We believe that the fabrication of green LED based on Er:Ga2O3/GaAs heterojunction will make contribution to future integration of optoelectronic devices compatible with GaAs technology.

We have investigated structural properties of Eu doped gallium oxide (Ga 2 O 3 ) films grown by pulsed laser deposition at different substrate temperature. X-ray rocking curve and Raman spectroscopy measurements prove that the films grown at the substrate temperature above 400 °C are of monoclinic β -Ga 2 O 3 structure and the crystalline quality of the films depends on the substrate temperature. X-ray absorption near edge structure measurements indicate that the valence of Eu ions in the Eu doped Ga 2 O 3 films varies from mixture of bivalent and trivalent to only trivalent with increasing substrate temperature. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis reveal that the Eu atoms doped in Ga 2 O 3 matrix are incorporated on Ga sites in Ga 2 O 3 matrix even for the films with amorphous structure grown at low substrate temperature.

Thulium (Tm) doped Ga 2 O 3 films were deposited on sapphire substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) with changing Tm compositions in the targets. Energy dispersive spectroscopy results reveal that films with different Tm compositions can be tailored by changing the Tm composition in the targets. X-ray diffraction and Raman spectra analysis indicate that all films have the monoclinic structure. Photoluminescence measurements demonstrate that the emission peaks at 460, 650 and 800 nm are observed from the Tm 3 + 4 f intrashell transitions from 1 G 4 excited states to the 3 H 6 , 3 F 4 , and 3 H 5 states, respectively. The results suggest that PLD is a promising method for obtaining high quality Tm doped Ga 2 O 3 films, which paves the way for the fabrication of optoelectronic devices based on Ga 2 O 3 films.

Quaternary Zn 1- x Cd x Te 1- y O y (ZnCdTeO) alloys with Cd and O contents of x y 1- x Cd x Te matrix. Measurements of the photovoltaic performance of two intermediate band solar cell structures indicate an importance of the conduction band alignment and the location of the intermediate band relative to the upper conduction band.

Free-fall tests are generally conducted as the last verification step in the cushioning package design process. However, in practice, design requirements are often not met in a single pass of verification testing and two or three repetitions of the ‘design and test’ steps are typically required, necessitating significant amounts of labour and material resources. Therefore, if the product is a prototype or an expensive product, repeated testing is difficult due to the limited quantity or high cost of samples. For such cases, a new method called the ‘hybrid free-fall test’ is proposed for preventing damage to a tested product. Using this method, the peak shock acceleration occurring during a target (high) free-fall height test can be predicted using the data from a safety free-fall height test. The packaged product is usually conceptually modelled to assist in packaging research, and so far, several physical models have been proposed. In this study, we review one such model, the friction-viscous damping model, and propose a new prediction method for the hybrid free-fall test in which a reconsidered friction-viscous damping model is applied. Furthermore, we used expanded polyethylene and structured corrugated sleeve cushioning materials for verification and considered an effective physical model for each cushioning material.