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Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background In 2020, the Japanese government issued a new policy to facilitate telemedicine to prevent spread of SARS-Cov-2 infection in outpatient of medical facilities. This policy included consultation via telephone or web and issuing prescriptions directly to pharmacies. However, the patients with diabetes mellites usually have few symptoms. Accordingly, evaluation of control status and medical feedback is difficult on telemedicine basis. We sought to evaluate the impact of telemedicine on the treatment of DM in patients with cardiovascular disease during SARS-Cov-2 Pandemic period. Method Between April and Oct 2020, 165 patients with cardiovascular disease having diabetes mellites utilized telemedicine. We retrospectively analyzed indices of patients’ condition and compared them before and after telemedicine. These indices included serum blood sugar, hemoglobin A1c, HDL, LDL cholesterol and triglyceride. Result Mean age of the patients was 74.0 ± 9.6 years. Average interval of telemedicine was 6.6 ± 3.4 months. The value of HbA1c before and after telemedicine period was 6.7 ± 0.9 and 7.0 ± 1.2 % respectively (p=0.006). No statistical difference was observed in systolic/diastolic blood pressure, HDL LDL cholesterol and triglyceride during same period. Conclusion In telemedicine for the patients with cardiovascular disease, additional caution is needed when patients had concomitant diabetes mellites.

To examine whether eating status and dietary variety were associated with functional disability during a 5-year follow-up analysis of older adults living in a Japanese metropolitan area.A 5-year follow-up study.Ota City, Tokyo, Japan.A total of 10,308 community-dwelling non-disabled adults aged 65-84 years.Eating status was assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. Dietary variety was assessed using the dietary variety score (DVS). Based on the responses, participants were classified according to eating alone or together and DVS categories (low: 0-3; high: 4-10). Functional disability incidence was prospectively identified using the long-term care insurance system's nationally unified database. Multilevel survival analyses calculated the adjusted hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for incident functional disability.During a 5-year follow-up, 1,991 (19.3%) individuals had functional disabilities. Eating status or DVS were not independently associated with incident functional disability. However, interaction terms between eating status and DVS were associated with functional disability; HR (95% CI) for eating together and low DVS was 1.00 (0.90-1.11), eating alone and high DVS was 0.95 (0.77-1.17), and eating alone and low DVS was 1.20 (1.02-1.42), compared to those with eating together and high DVS.Older adults should avoid eating alone or increase dietary variety to prevent functional disability. This can be ensured by providing an environment of eating together or food provision services for eating a variety of foods in the community.

Larvae of many benthic marine invertebrates swim more slowly than the ambient water flow that carries them past surfaces where they might settle. Competent larvae of the tubeworm Hydroides elegans, abundant early colonists in warm-water fouling communities, were used to determine if active behavior by microscopic larvae carried in flowing water can affect their contacts with surfaces representing early stages of fouling community succession (clean flat surface, flat biofilm, biofilm on worm tubes). We studied larvae in waves and in the unidirectional flow used in earlier studies of larval settlement, and near surfaces above them (like those where fouling organisms recruit) or below them. We videotaped larval motion near surfaces in a small flume in which we mimicked fine-scale flow measured near surfaces in harbors. Swimming larvae within millimeters of surfaces moved up and down while being carried by horizontal flow, enhancing their contact rates with surfaces above and below them compared with dead larvae passively carried by the current. After contact, live larvae ‘bounced’ along the surface, sampling it many times per distance they were carried by the current, whereas dead larvae did not. Thus, active behaviors of larvae of H. elegans, which must touch a biofilmed surface to be stimulated to attach and metamorphose, enhance their contact with and exploration of surfaces in flowing water. These behaviors are effective in unidirectional flow and waves, for surfaces above or below larvae, and for smooth or rough surfaces, all of which are conditions that the larvae of fouling-community animals encounter in harbors.

Background About half of patients with Crohn’s Disease (CD) require surgery in the course of treatment, furthermore, reoperation for later recurrence is also performed in high frequency. One of the characteristic findings for CD patients is creeping fat (CF) wrapped around inflamed areas of the intestine, and CF correlates with stenosis of the intestinal tract resulting from changes in the connective tissue of the intestinal wall. Lower postoperative recurrences have been reported among CD patients who underwent extensive CF resection, suggesting that CF would be clinically important. However, the detail mechanisms are still unknown. The aim of this study is to examine the functional mechanism and clinical significance of CF focused on innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) and macrophages. Methods Normal mesentery (NM) of ileum was obtained from microscopically and macroscopically intact areas in patients with colorectal cancer. Mesentery was also obtained from surgically resected specimens from patients with CD who were diagnosed based on established clinical, radiologic, and endoscopic criteria. Mesenteric stromal vascular fraction were isolated by enzymatic digestion. Mesentery from CD patients divided CF and areas with no or slight inflammation (non-CF). Early recurrence was defined as Rutgeerts score (≥2) or worsening of clinical symptoms (CDAI≥220). Results RNA-seq of CF revealed that expression of immune-related genes and of fibrosis-related genes were elevated compared with NM and non-CF. Both frequency and numbers of ILC1 were increased, and those of ILC2 and ILC3 were decreased in CF compared with NM. Positive associations between ILC1 and inflammatory macrophages (CD14+ CD163low) related to fat fibrosis were observed in frequency and number per unit weight. FACS and RT-PCR showed ILC1 from CF had higher expression of IFNγ than those from non-CF. Co-culture experiment of ILC1 from CF and SVF from NM showed increased expression of fibrosis associated genes (COL1A, COL3A), inflammatory markers of macrophages (iNOS, Mincle), and TGFB1, and these effects were cancelled by IFNγ-neutralizing antibody. Evaluation of risk factors of early recurrence showed high frequency of ILC1 from CF and low preoperative serum albumin level were significantly associated with early recurrence (P = 0.004, P = 0.04, each). There was a significant difference between the ILC1 high (≥ 80 %) and ILC1 low (< 80 %) from CF in terms of early recurrence-free survival (P = 0.02). Conclusion In CF, ILC1 plays a certain role in macrophage function related to fat fibrosis via IFNγ production. CD patients with high ILC1 (≥80%) in the CF have tendency of early recurrence.

Mushroom production has been growing in Brazil due to the culinary versatility of this food and its high nutritional value. However, few studies associating the aspects of its quality with the profile and preference of its consumers can be found in literature. Thus, in this study, we aimed to evaluate the firmness and biochemical composition of Shimeji and Shitake, as well as, the consumers’ profile and preference for purchasing these mushrooms. The mushrooms were characterized by firmness, protein and lipid content, total phenolic compounds, total flavonoids and antioxidation activity. In addition we carried out a survey on opinion of 308 mushroom consumers. The two mushrooms contain high protein content and low lipid content, and also expressive concentrations of bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity, suitable for these demanding functional food consumers. Shitake is approximately 4 times firmer than Shimeji and the highest levels for all analyzed biochemical attributes did not differ between the two studied mushrooms, except for protein content. The opinion survey indicated that young and adult women consume more mushrooms than men. Most of them buy mushrooms in supermarkets, and they are mostly higher educated people. No significant higher consumer preference for one of the two mushrooms analyzed was verified; however, most participants reported that they prioritize mushrooms which have characteristic aroma and flavor, smooth and juicy texture, being a convenient ingredient for a quick-cooking meal. RESUMO A produção de cogumelos vem crescendo no Brasil, devido à versatilidade culinária desse alimento e alto valor nutricional. Ainda são escassos estudos que associam os aspectos de sua qualidade com o perfil e preferência dos seus consumidores. Assim, nesse trabalho foi comparada a firmeza e composição bioquímica de Shimeji e Shitake, e verificado o perfil e a preferência dos consumidores para compra. Os cogumelos foram caraterizados pela firmeza, teores de proteínas, lipídios, compostos fenólicos totais, flavonoides totais e atividade antioxidade, além da realização de pesquisa de opinião com 308 consumidores de cogumelos. Os dois cogumelos contêm alto teor de proteínas e baixo de lipídios, além de concentrações expressivas de compostos bioativos e de atividade antioxidante, desejáveis aos consumidores exigentes em alimentos funcionais. O Shitake é aproximadamente 4 vezes mais firme quer o Shimeji e os maiores teores para todos os atributos bioquímicos analisados não diferiram entre os dois cogumelos, exceto para o teor de proteínas. A pesquisa de opinião indicou que mulheres jovens e adultas consomem mais cogumelos que os homens. A maioria deles adquire os cogumelos em supermercados, e são pessoas com escolaridade, majoritariamente, de nível superior. Não foi constatada significativa maior preferência dos consumidores por um dos dois cogumelos analisados, mas a maioria dos participantes relataram que na compra priorizam cogumelos com aroma e sabor característicos, textura macia e suculenta, e que permita rapidez no preparo de refeições.

Background Suppression of gastric acid secretion by proton-pump inhibitor (PPI) or potassium-competitive acid blocker (P-CAB) has recently been developed as a standard strategy for preventing gastrointestinal bleeding for patients receiving antiplatelet therapy after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). However, there has been limited evidences on the association between PPI/P-CAB administration and adverse cardiovascular events in patients undergoing PCI. Purpose We aimed to evaluate the prognostic impact of the prescription of PPI/P-CAB on clinical outcomes in patients after PCI. Methods This study is a subanalysis from the TWINCRE registry that is a multicentral prospective cohort including patients who underwent PCI at 12 hospitals in Japan between 2017 and 2019. Among registered patients, we ultimately evaluated 1,428 patients who were followed-up. They were divided into two groups by the prescriptions of PPI or P-CAB at discharge for the index PCI; the PPI/P-CAB group (n=1,023), and the Non-PPI/P-CAB group (n=407). The primary endpoint was major adverse cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events (MACCE) including death, acute coronary syndrome, stent thrombosis, hospitalization due to heart failure and ischemic stroke. Secondary endpoints was major bleeding events defined BARC3, 4 and 5. Results The average age of the study population was 70.3 years and 80.3% were male. Baseline clinical profiles were comparable between the groups, except that the PPI/P-CAB group included significantly higher rate of patients who had history of prior PCI (28.4% vs 18.7%, P=0.02). Additionally, there was no significant difference in the duration of dual antiplatelet therapy between the PPI/P-CAB group and Non-PPI/P-CAB group (average duration; 287±8 vs. 285±8 days, P=0.66). Overall, MACCE was developed in 132 patients (9.3%), and bleeding event was observed in 24 patients (1.7%) during 574 days of median follow-up period. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that patients in the PPI/P-CAB group had a significantly lower rate of MACCE than those in the Non-PPI/P-CAB group (Log-rank test, p=0.0003, Figure 1A). Multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that the prescription of PPI/P-CAB still was independently associated with the primary endpoint (hazard ratio 0.532, 95% confidence interval 0.369–0.766, p=0.0007), even after the adjustment by diverse covariates. Whereas, there was no significant difference in the bleeding event (p=0.64, Figure 1B). Conclusion PPI or P-CAB therapy was associated with better clinical outcomes after PCI, independent of the incidences of severe bleeding events. Figure 1 Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Background The distal transradial approach (dTRA) for coronary catheterisation is a newly introduced alternative to the conventional transradial approach. This technique is expected to decrease the incidence of haemorrhagic complications and improve patient comfort. However, limited data are available regarding the application of this technique in patients with acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This study investigated the feasibility and safety of the dTRA for primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with AMI. Methods This study included patients with AMI who underwent primary PCI via the distal radial artery across 3 Japanese hospitals between January 2018 and January 2019. Patients' background, procedural characteristics, and clinical outcomes including the incidence of haemorrhagic complications were analysed. Results This study enrolled 95 consecutive patients with AMI, including 68 patients (71.6%) with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), in whom distal radial artery puncture was attempted for primary PCI. The patients included 70 men (73.7%), and the mean age was 72.2±12.4 years. Among these patients, cannulation was successfully performed in 89 patients (93.7%). A 5-, 6-, or 7-French sheath (conventional or slender) was used in this study. Cannulation was performed using a forearm radial artery approach in patients in whom dTRA failed. PCI was successfully performed in all patients. The meantime to achieve haemostasis was 6.3±5.3 hours, and no major bleeding complications occurred. Based on The Early Discharge After Transradial Stenting of Coronary Arteries trial haematoma scale, grade I, II, and III subcutaneous haemorrhages were observed in 16 (16.8%), 4 (4.2%), and 1 patient (1.1%), respectively. No patient developed a haematoma > grade IV. In patients with STEMI, the mean door-to-balloon time was 39.4±31.9 min, and the mean puncture-to-balloon time was 19.7±14.2 min. Conclusions The distal radial approach is feasible and safefor primary PCI in selected patients with AMI.The application of the dTRA may serve as a less invasive strategy for the treatment of patients with AMI.

Purpose: To investigate age-related differences in outcomes of critically ill patients with sepsis around the world. Methods: We performed a secondary analysis of data from the prospective ICON audit, in which all adult ( >16 years ) patients admitted to participating ICUs between May 8 and 18, 2012, were included, except admissions for routine postoperative observation. For this sub-analysis, the 10,012 patients with completed age data were included. They were divided into five age groups - 80 years. Sepsis was defined as infection plus at least one organ failure. Results: A total of 2963 patients had sepsis, with similar proportions across the age groups (80 = 30.9%). Hospital mortality increased with age and in patients >80 years was almost twice that of patients 70 years was independently associated with increased risk of dying. Conclusions: The odds for death in ICU patients with sepsis increased with age with the maximal rate of increase occurring between the ages of 71 and 77 years. (C) 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Strawberry is affected by several pests and diseases. Neopamera bilobata is an emerging pest that has been reported by several strawberry growers, usually associated with catfacing symptoms in fruits. We evaluated intercropping garlic or Chinese chives on N. bilobata populations on strawberry crops grown in high tunnels in two experiments. In the first experiment, we evaluated N. bilobata populations on strawberry intercropping with garlic plants (three densities: 8, 16, 24 GP - garlic plant per plot) on the bags by taking 12 samples from December 2015 to April 2017. N. bilobata populations on strawberry were also assessed when Chinese chives were grown under the suspended wooden structures in which strawberry plants are grown ('undercropping') (14 samples), in two high tunnels, from November 2016 to March 2017. The number of nymphs and adults on 14 randomly selected fruits per plot were assessed. During the garlic intercropping experiment, the treatments of three densities of garlic reduced N. bilobata populations; however, the 24 GP treatment caused a greater reduction than the 8 GP treatment. Garlic densities reduced N. bilobata populations by 35, 50, and 64% for the 8, 16, and 24 GP treatments, respectively. Chinese chives cultivated under the structures reduced N. bilobata populations by 47%. The results suggest that intercropping garlic or undercropping Chinese chives are suitable tools to be tested in integrated pest management in strawberry crops.

Pharmacokinetic parameters were summarized in clinical bioequivalence studies in Japan to confirm the validity for the use of parameters obtained from the clinical studies. Pharmacokinetic parameters, including maximum plasma/serum concentrations (Cmax), area under the plasma/serum drug concentration-time curve (AUC), time to achieve Cmax (Tmax), and half life (t1/2), of the standard products (original drugs) after oral administration of antimicrobials, including respiratory quinolones, cephalosporins, macrolides, and penicillin-based antibiotics were investigated by use of interview forms and/or package inserts from the generic products and the relationship among the pharmacokinetic parameters such as Cmax, AUC, Tmax, and t1/2 were estimated. In all the studies, the standard and generic products were administrated orally to healthy fasting subjects. Although there was more than a 1.5-fold difference in the Cmax and AUC0-24 h, but not in the Tmax and t1/2 values for levofloxacin tablets and cefacrol tablets, these parameters for other antibiotics were similar in various studies. The obtained results suggested that the parameters obtained from recent bioequivalence studies would be useful in identifying pharmacokinetic behavior of the original drugs, especially early time release; however, the pharmacokinetic results obtained from the recently conducted bioequivalence studies may be superior to those obtained from studies conducted in the past.

BACKGROUND: The incidence rates of breast cancer (BC) in Asian counties have been rising rapidly. The age-specific female BC incidence rates peak before menopause (around 40-50 years of age) in Asia, however treatment options for pre/perimenopausal patients are limited. Palbociclib (P) is an oral novel cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 (CDK4/6) inhibitor. The addition of P to endocrine therapy (ET) such as aromatase inhibitor or fulvestrant has been demonstrated improved progression-free survival (PFS) in phase 3 studies PALOMA-2 and PALOMA-3. This study is designed to evaluate efficacy and safety of P plus tamoxifen (TAM) in patients with hormone receptor (HR)-positive, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-negative advanced or metastatic BC regardless of menopausal status. This study is conducted as a Clinical Research Collaboration by National Cancer Center Hospital with research funding from Pfizer. TRIAL DESIGN: PATHWAY/NCCH1607 is a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized, phase 3 study. Patients will be randomized 1:1 to receive either P (125 mg once daily, days1-21 of a 28-day cycle) or placebo in combination with TAM (20 mg once daily, continuously). Pre/perimenopausal women should receive concurrent ovarian function suppression with goserelin. Randomization will be stratified by prior ET for advanced/metastatic BC (1st line ET vs. 2nd line ET) and menopausal status (pre/perimenopausal vs. postmenopausal). KEY ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Eligible patients include women of any menopausal status with HR-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic BC; candidates to receive TAM as 1st line or 2nd line ET for advanced/metastatic disease; ≥18 years of age; measurable or non-measurable disease (RECIST v.1.1); ECOG performance status 0-1; adequate organ function; have not received treatment with TAM (except for patients who have had more than 12 months from completion of adjuvant therapy with TAM); and have not received any CDK4/6 or phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) - mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) inhibitors. SPECIFIC AIMS: The primary endpoint is PFS as assessed by the investigator. Secondary endpoints include overall survival (OS), 1, 2, and 3-year survival probabilities, objective response (OR), duration of response, clinical benefit rate (CBR), pharmacokinetics, safety, and patient-reported outcomes. STATISTICAL METHODS: The sample size was determined to detect a 38% reduction in the hazard of disease progression or death in P plus TAM arm with a 1-sided significance level of 2.5% and power of 80%. A stratified log rank test will be used to compare PFS between the 2 treatment arms. PRESENT ACCRUAL AND TARGET ACCRUAL: Target accrual of 180 patients will be enrolled within 23 sites among Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Singapore. As of June 2018, 46 patients have been enrolled. CONTACT INFORMATION: This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03423199 and UMIN000030816. For more information, email NCCH1607_office@ml.res.ncc.go.jp Citation Format: Noguchi E, Hata T, Nakamura K, Kuchiba A, Hayashi M, Hamada A, Yonemori K, Sohn J, Lu Y-S, Yap Y-S, Fujiwara Y, Tamura K. PATHWAY: Asian, multicenter, phase 3 trial of tamoxifen with or without palbociclib ± goserelin in women with hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative advanced or metastatic breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT3-02-02.

We have investigated the laminar and the turbulent flow in superfluid 4He using a vibrating wire made of thin NbTi (φ 2.5 μm). The wire velocity as a function of applied force has shown a large hysteresis at the first cooling from normal fluid to the superfluid state. But after a couple of increasing and decreasing wire velocity we have found that the hysteresis vanished and the laminar and the turbulent flow are clearly separated at a critical velocity. The wire moving just after the first cooling must be influenced by remnant vortices nucleated through the superfluid transition. The appearance of the laminar flow below the critical velocity suggests that vortex strings on the wire seem to be selected as suitable sizes by a vibrating flow at higher velocities. We also measured the velocity dependence after immersing the wire directly into the superfluid and found that the laminar region expands up to a velocity much higher than the critical velocity observed above. This result indicates that remnant vortices are considerably reduced by the immersing method. © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.

We have studied the flow of superfluid 4He generated by a vibrating wire. As the drive force increases, the velocity of the wire grows in the laminar-flow regime, until it suddenly drops at the onset of the turbulent-flow regime. As the drive force decreases, the turbulence disappears at a critical velocity. This result suggests that the vortices on the wire are confined within a finite size, even in turbulence. We have measured the critical velocity of seven vibrating wires, whose resonance frequencies range from 0.5 kHz to 9 kHz, at 1.4 K and found that the critical velocity is almost constant below an oscillation frequency of 2 kHz and increases above this frequency. We have also observed the response of a vibrating wire in superfluid 4He at a low temperature of 30 mK. We find that the resonance frequency jumps upward at the same moment as the entry of the flow to a turbulent state. The frequency jump may be caused by vortex dynamics such as expansion, entanglement, and reconnection occurring in the turbulence. © 2006 American Institute of Physics.

We report the turbulent transition in superfluid 4He generated by a vibrating wire as a function of its thickness. The response of a vibrating wire with a 3 μm diameter in superfluid 4He at 1.2 K reveals a hysteresis at the turbulent transition between an up sweep and a down sweep of driving force, while no hysteresis appears for wires with a thickness larger than 4.7 μm diameter. These results indicate that the 3 μm wire is efficient for reducing the number of vortex lines attached to it. A cover box and slow cooling also prevent vortex lines from attaching to a wire, resulting in a vortex-free vibrating wire. The effective mass of the vortex-free vibrating wire is almost constant in a wide range of velocities up to 400 mm/s; however, the wire density estimated from the resonance frequency is a half of the expected value of wire material, suggesting that a wire mass becomes lighter or a wire diameter becomes larger in the superfluid effectively.

We designed and constructed a new compact IH-LINAC with Alternating Phase Focusing (APF). The LINAC was designed to accelerate O+ ions up to 77 keV/u from 10 keV/u as a proof of the APF (0.5 m in length, 0.6 m in diameter and 63 MHz in operation frequency). We constructed a test bench for accelerating protons. It included that a PIG ion source, a focusing lens in front of the cavity and a bending magnet to analyze the accelerated beams. We succeeded in the world’s first acceleration with the IH-LINAC using APF. This paper describes the design of the linac and the result of the proof examination.

AMS is commonly used in radioisotope analysis because it can detect isotopes down to levels of 10-15 by abundance, but applications for trace element analysis are few. Therefore, we propose a new kind of AMS for trace element analysis using a linear accelerator (LINAC), an Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Source (ECRIS), and calibration methods with PIXE analysis. Abundance ratios of each element measured by PIXE are applied to create distribution charts of particles and charge states, and these charts are used for quantitative analysis. We report the concepts behind our AMS and calibration methods in this paper.

転移をともなう腫瘍径10mm以下の直腸カルチノイドの2例を経験した.症例1は64歳,男性.占拠部位はRb,肉眼型はIsで腫瘍径は10mmであったが中心陥凹をみとめた,肝転移をともなっていた.症例2は65歳,女性.占拠部位はRb,肉眼型はIIaで腫瘍径は9mmであったが中心陥凹をみとめた.No.251リンパ節に転移をみとめた.2例ともカルチノイド徴候はみとめず,病理組織検査では深達度sm,lyO,vOで,核異型,mitosisは軽度でありclassical typeのカルチノイドの診断であった.転移をみとめた10mm以下の微小直腸カルチノイドの2例を経験した.2例とも中心陥凹をみとめた.

Molecular-beam epitaxial growth of InN was investigated on Ga- and N-polar GaN templates. It was found that InN layers could be grown at higher temperature on N-polar GaN than on Ga-polar one, on which InN films succeeded the cation- or anion-polarity, respectively. The growth temperature of In-polar InN was limited below 500 °C; while that of N-polar InN could be as high as 600 °C. In the upper-limit growth temperature range for N-polar InN, atomic-height growth steps could be observed on the surface. The possible mechanisms for the polarity dependence of InN growth behaviors were also discussed.

InN growth on 2-inch sapphire (0001) with thickness up to 5 μm was demonstrated by radio-frequency plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (rf-MBE). The surfaces of the 2-inch samples were mirror-like and atomic growth steps were observed in large areas. The room temperature Hall mobility crossing the 2-inch InN wafers ranged from 900 to 1100 cm2/V s, with electron concentration of the order of 1018/cm3. The optical bandgap of the InN layers with electron concentration of the order of 1018/cm3 was 0.70–0.74 eV measured by optical transmission/reflection spectroscopy. (© 2003 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

InN crystals with the electron concentration Ne of 4–11 × 1018 cm−3 are grown on sapphire substrates by molecular beam epitaxy. Optical reflectance and transmission measurements are performed in a temperature range of 5 to 296 K. The reflectance spectra are analysed by simulation including the longitudinal optical phonon–plasmon coupling scheme. At a Ne value of 4 × 1018 cm−3, the electronic states are found to be still degenerated. An anomalous temperature dependence of the bandgp energy Eg is found; with decreasing temperature Eg increases, and then decreases below 50 K. This decrease is smaller for samples with smaller Ne. In spite of this energy shift the decrease of Ne is too small to be detected. The effective electron mass of the intrinsic region is estimated to be 0.1m0.

N-type ZnO thin films were successfully grown by sol-gel dipping coat method on glass substrates at 300–600 °C under air atmosphere. Poly ZnO thin films were obtained at more than 300 °C. Values of full width at half maximum of (0002) peak at the XRD spectra became small with the increasing the substrate temperatures. Optical transmittances of the ZnO thin films increased with the increasing the substrate temperatures. The optical transmittance of Ga-doped ZnO thin films was larger than In- and Al-doped ZnO films (5 wt%). Moreover, a resistivity of Ga-doped ZnO was smaller than those of In- and Al-doped ZnO films. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) results indicated that a chemical shift of oxygen (1s) in Ga-doped ZnO was smaller than those of In- and Al-doped ZnO films. These indicated that Ga atoms were easy to substitute of Zn atoms in comparison with In and Al atoms. This result was clear from the ionic radius and the covalent radius of Ga atoms, which were similar to those of Zn compared with Al and In atoms.

The effects of substrate temperature and surface stoichiometry on the growth behavior of InN were investigated in molecular beam epitaxy with in situ monitoring by reflection high-energy electron diffraction and spectroscopic ellipsometry. InN was grown on nitrided sapphire substrate or N-polarity GaN template. For both cases, InN layers were found in N polarity by coaxial impact collision ion scattering spectroscopy. At growth temperatures ranging from 470 to 590 °C, the N-rich condition was favorable for stable InN growth. Under the In-limited growth condition, the step-flow growth of InN was achieved on N-polarity GaN template at 580 °C with a growth rate of 1.3 μm/h. The FWHMs of X-ray rocking curves around InN (002) and (102) reflections were about 200–250 arcsec and 950–1100 arcsec, respectively. The InN layer grown with N polarity on GaN showed a Hall mobility as high as 800 cm2/V · s with a background electron concentration of 2.1 × 1019 cm—3 at room temperature.

Background: The pathogenesis of stroke-like episodes in patients with mitochondrial myopathy, encephalopathy, lactic acidosis and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) remains unknown. Methods: Fourteen stroke-like episodes in six patients with MELAS were studied using clinical, neuroradiologic, and electrophysiologic approaches. In two patients postmortem examination was done. Results: Headache and epileptic seizure were the most common presenting symptoms. In 13 of 14 episodes the cerebral cortex was primarily involved with variable subcortical edema particularly in the temporal, occipital, and parietal cortex. Repeated MRI performed in two episodes revealed progressive spread of the cortical lesion to the surrounding cortex for a few weeks after the onset of symptoms. In 6 of 11 episodes T1-weighted hyperintense cortical signal compatible with cortical laminar necrosis was seen during subacute stage of the episode. Fat-suppression MRI confirmed intracortical gyral hemorrhage in one episode. Petechial gyral microhemorrhages were also pathologically confirmed in the autopsy of another patient. In 9 of 11 episodes focal epileptiform discharges on EEG were noted in the acute brain lesion. In seven of nine episodes focal cortical hyperperfusion was seen in SPECT studies. Conclusion: The stroke-like episodes in MELAS may reflect neuronal hyperexcitability, which increases energy demand and creates energy imbalance between energy requirement and adequate availability of adenosine triphosphate due to oxidative phosphorylation defect particularly in the susceptible neuronal population, causing cortical necrosis. The episodic nature of stroke-like episodes is unexplained.

We have designed an ECR ion source which extracts four equal beams from one chamber as a study of an ion source for an accelerator that has several RFQ channels in one accelerating cavity for a heavy ion, HIF accelerator. Solenoid coils for the mirror magnetic field were designed using the magnetic field calculation program OPERA. Extraction electrodes were designed by using particle orbital calculation program FUGUN. Based on the above, we designed and manufactured four hole ECR ion source.

We have designed and manufactured a new compact IH-linac with alternating-phase-focus (APF) system which focuses beams by combination of alternating focus–defocus sections. The APF structure is suitable for shortening the cell length, and the diameter of the acceleration cavity can be reduced by high frequency operation. This linac can accelerate particles up to 85 from 10 keV/u for a charge to mass ratio 1/16, with an operating frequency of 65 MHz. We have constructed an acceleration system for He+ and tested it using the APF-IH ion implanter. Two problems occurred. Firstly, multi-pactoring electric discharges occurred. Secondly, the orbital calculation program was in error, so we performed more orbital calculations and manufactured a new vacuum exhaust system.

We have studied a compact heavy-ion linac for atomic physics and medical use. The design of the linac was based on using alternating-phase-focus (APF) and interdigital-H (IH) structures which give sufficient electric power efficiency. Thereby, it will be possible to design a small and high efficiency linac. The APF-IH linac was designed to accelerate ions from C2+ to U40+, from 30 to 300 keV/u and an operating frequency of 100 MHz. We made a half-scale cold model of this linac using orbit calculation and measured its RF characteristics. Then, we designed a APF-IH type linac using the results of the measurement.