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Background: A growing body of evidence suggests that non-viral hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) might benefit less from immunotherapy. Materials and methods: We carried out a retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from consecutive patients with non-viral advanced HCC, treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, lenvatinib, or sorafenib, in 36 centers in 4 countries (Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, and UK). The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS) with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus lenvatinib. Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS) with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus lenvatinib, and OS and PFS with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus sorafenib. For the primary and secondary endpoints, we carried out the analysis on the whole population first, and then we divided the cohort into two groups: non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)/non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) population and non-NAFLD/NASH population. Results: One hundred and ninety patients received atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, 569 patients received lenvatinib, and 210 patients received sorafenib. In the whole population, multivariate analysis showed that treatment with lenvatinib was associated with a longer OS [hazard ratio (HR) 0.65; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.44-0.95; P = 0.0268] and PFS (HR 0.67; 95% CI 0.51-0.86; P = 0.002) compared to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. In the NAFLD/NASH population, multivariate analysis confirmed that lenvatinib treatment was associated with a longer OS (HR 0.46; 95% CI 0.26-0.84; P = 0.0110) and PFS (HR 0.55; 95% CI 0.38-0.82; P = 0.031) compared to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. In the subgroup of non-NAFLD/NASH patients, no difference in OS or PFS was observed between patients treated with lenvatinib and those treated with atezolizumab plus bevacizumab. All these results were confirmed following propensity score matching analysis. By comparing patients receiving atezolizumab plus bevacizumab versus sorafenib, no statistically significant difference in survival was observed. Conclusions: The present analysis conducted on a large number of advanced non-viral HCC patients showed for the first time that treatment with lenvatinib is associated with a significant survival benefit compared to atezolizumab plus bevacizumab, in particular in patients with NAFLD/NASH-related HCC.

Objectives The aim of this AFIRE (Atrial Fibrillation and Ischemic Events With Rivaroxaban in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease) trial subgroup analysis was to examine rivaroxaban monotherapy benefits and their relation to the time between stenting and enrollment among patients after coronary stenting. Background Of 2,215 patients with atrial fibrillation and stable coronary artery disease in the AFIRE trial, rivaroxaban monotherapy was noninferior to rivaroxaban plus antiplatelet therapy (combination therapy) in terms of efficacy and superior for safety endpoints. However, thrombotic risk after antiplatelet therapy cessation remained a concern among 1,444 patients who had undergone coronary stenting >1 year before enrollment. Methods The benefits of rivaroxaban monotherapy in coronary stenting subgroups were assessed for efficacy (a composite of stroke, systemic embolism, myocardial infarction, unstable angina requiring revascularization, or death of any cause), safety (major bleeding defined according to International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis criteria), ischemic endpoints, net adverse clinical event, and time between stenting and enrollment. Results Efficacy and safety endpoints for monotherapy were superior to combination therapy, with HRs of 0.70 for efficacy (95% CI: 0.50-0.98; P = 0.036) and 0.55 for safety (95% CI: 0.33-0.92; P = 0.019). For ischemic endpoints, the HR was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.58-1.15; P = 0.240). The HR became smaller with longer time between stenting and enrollment (efficacy, P for interaction = 0.158; safety, P = 0.097). Conclusions In patients with atrial fibrillation after coronary stenting, the benefits of rivaroxaban monotherapy for efficacy and safety endpoints were consistent with those in the whole AFIRE trial population. The benefits became apparent with longer time between stenting and enrollment. (Atrial Fibrillation and Ischemic Events With Rivaroxaban in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease Study [AFIRE]; UMIN000016612 , NCT02642419 )

Patients with fasciitis–panniculitis syndrome (FPS) show erythema, oedema, induration of the extremities, arthritis, myalgia, or fever (1, 2). Previously, patients with these symptoms were consider...

Because of radioactive fallout resulting from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) accident, water discharge from many outdoor swimming pools in Fukushima was suspended out of concern that radiocesium in the pool water would flow into farmlands. The Japan Atomic Energy Agency has reviewed the existing flocculation method for decontaminating pool water and established a practical decontamination method by demonstrating the process at eight pools in Fukushima. In this method, zeolite powder and a flocculant are used for capturing radiocesium present in pool water. The supernatant is discharged if the radiocesium concentration is less than the targeted level. The radioactive residue is collected and stored in a temporary storage space. Radioactivity concentration in water is measured with a NaI(Tl) or Ge detector installed near the pool. The demonstration results showed that the pool water in which the radiocesium concentration was more than a few hundred Bq L was readily purified by the method, and the radiocesium concentration was reduced to less than 100 Bq L. The ambient dose rates around the temporary storage space were slightly elevated; however, the total increase was up to 30% of the background dose rates when the residue was shielded with sandbags.

Reflux esophagitis (RE) is a known complication disturbing patients' quality of life after esophageal resection. It is generally recognized that bile reflux as well as acid reflux cause RE. However, the clinical influence of acid and bile reflux, and Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection on RE in the cervical esophagus after esophagectomy is not yet clarified. Sixty patients who underwent cervical esophagogastrostomy following esophagectomy were enrolled in this study. They underwent examination for H. pylori infection, endoscopic examination, and continuous 24-hour pH and bilirubin monitoring, at 1 month after surgery. The influence of acid and/or bile reflux, H. pylori infection, and others on the development of RE were investigated. RE was observed in 19 patients (32%) at 1 month after esophagogastrostomy, mild RE in 16 (27%), and severe RE in 3 (5%). The percentage of time duration of both acid and bile reflux into the cervical esophagus was higher in patients with RE than in those without (P = 0.027, P 0.14 between non-RE and mild RE (P = 0.017). Acid and/or bile reflux was observed in 31 patients (52%), acid-only reflux in 6 (10%), bile-only reflux in 15 (25%), and acid-and-bile reflux in 10 (17%). Severe RE was observed only in patients having acid-and-bile reflux. On the univariate analysis, no infection of H. pylori, acid reflux, and bile reflux were determined to be the influencing factors to RE among the clinical factors including age, gender, route of esophageal reconstruction, H. pylori infection, and acid-and-bile reflux. In the subanalysis using the logistic model, there were significant correlations between bile reflux and RE irrespective of the presence of H. pylori infection (P = 0.016, P = 0.007). On the other hand, there was a significant correlation between acid reflux and RE only in patients without H. pylori infection (P = 0.039). In the early period after esophagogastrostomy, bile reflux could cause RE irrespective of H. pylori infection, while acid reflex could cause RE only in patients without H. pylori infection. There is a possibility that bile reflux plays an important role in the development of RE after esophagectomy.

Aortic complications after esophageal cancer surgery are rare and usually fatal. Here, we report three patients who underwent thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for aortic complications after esophagectomy for cancer. In the first case, aortic rupture was caused by pyothorax due to residual tumor after esophagectomy. In the second case, aortic rupture was caused by pyothorax due to anastomotic leakage. In the third case, a pseudoaneurysm was caused by surgical injury during esophagectomy. TEVAR was safe and effective for severe aortic complications when graft infection was avoided. The first case died of sepsis on the 84th postoperative day, and the other two cases have survived 4 years and 2 years to date.

The light absorption coefficient of silicon is high in the short wavelengths, but much lower in the long wavelengths (longer than 900 nm). Thus it is necessary to use thicker silicon wafers to manufacture high-sensitivity light sensors for long wavelength applications. However, this imposes constraints on applied voltage, dark current, response speed, and cost. This then leads to limitations on device characteristics and possible applications. As an alternative to using thicker silicon wafers to enhance the NIR sensitivity of silicon photodiodes, we used an ultra-short pulse laser to form “black silicon” structures on the surface of silicon photodiodes. At 1064 nm, QE was improved from 25% to 72%. Future research will determine how this technology can also be applied to enhancing the NIR sensitivity of image sensors such as CCDs.

Esophageal cancer patients with distant organ metastasis have usually been treated only to palliate symptoms without multimodality therapy. The current study evaluates the role of multimodality therapy in esophageal squamous cell cancer patients with distant organ metastasis. Between February 1988 and January 2007, 80 esophageal squamous cell cancer patients with distant organ metastases were treated at our institution. Multimodality therapy was performed in 58 patients: 43 patients received chemoradiotherapy, 13 underwent surgery followed by chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, and two received chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy followed by surgery. Thirteen patients received single-modality therapy; chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery alone. The remaining nine patients received best supportive care alone. The metastatic organ was the liver (n= 40), the lungs (n= 33), bone (n= 10), and other (n= 6). Nine patients had metastasis in two organs. There was no difference in the median survival among the sites of organ metastasis, lung, liver, or bone (P= 0.8786). The survival of patients treated with multimodality therapy was significantly better than that of the patients who received single-modality therapy or best supportive care alone (P < 0.0001). In patients treated with multimodallity therapy, there was no difference in survival for patients treated with surgery compared with patients treated without surgery (P= 0.1291). This retrospective study involves an inevitable issue of patient selection bias. However, these results suggested that multimodality therapy could improve survival of the esophageal squamous cell cancer patients with distant organ metastasis.

The degradation and recovery behavior of the device performance on GaN LEDs (light emitting diodes) irradiated by 2-MeV electrons and 70-MeV protons are studied. The reverse current increases after irradiation, while the capacitance decreases. The device performance degradation is proportional with the fluence. For electron irradiation, the fluence rate also has an impact on the degradation. A low fluence rate shows larger degradation compared to a high fluence rate due to heat impact in the bulk. DLTS measurements reveal the DX center in the substrate before and after irradiation, and the concentration of DX center increases with fluence. The radiation damage for protons is larger than that of electron irradiation, which is caused by the difference of mass and the possibility of nuclear collisions resulting in the formation of lattice defects. After irradiation, the diode performance recovers by thermal annealing.

SUMMARY Esophageal small cell carcinoma (SmCC) has been regarded as a rare and aggressive tumor with early metastasis. The optimal treatment has not yet been established, and the role of surgery has remained controversial. In this retrospective study, we report seven cases studies of SmCC of the esophagus and analyze the clinical outcomes after surgery. Between 1986 and 2007, there were seven patients with esophageal SmCC treated surgically in our institution. All the patients with clinically limited disease underwent transthoracic esophagectomy with lymphadenectomy. Lymph node involvement was found in all cases irrespective of the depth of tumor invasion. Three of the seven patients were diagnosed as having an extensive disease on pathological examination after esophagectomy. Five patients received postoperative chemotherapy. Two patients are alive with no recurrence at 16 months and at 45 months after surgery. Another one without chemotherapy survived 93 months and died of another disease. The remaining four patients died of recurrent disease or another disease. The median overall survival to date of these patients was 16 months (range 12–93 months). Esophagectomy with lymphadenectomy resulted in a relatively better survival in some patients with esophageal SmCC. We concluded that surgery may be helpful as part of multimodality treatment in selected patients with esophageal SmCC.

The degradation and the recovery behavior of the device performance for SiGe diodes and p-MOSFETs irradiated by 2-MeV electrons are reported. For diodes, it is noted that both the reverse and forward current increase by irradiation. An interesting observation is that the forward current decreases after irradiation for a forward voltage larger than ~ 0.7 V. This reduction can be explained by an increased resistivity of the Si substrate. The degradation recovers by thermal annealing after irradiation. For a fluence of 1 × 1015 e/cm2, the diode performance almost recovers to the initial condition after 250 °C annealing. For the transistors, after irradiation, a slight negative shift of the threshold voltage and a decrease of the drain current for input and output characteristics have been observed together with a decrease of hole mobility. This is mainly due to the increase of the threshold voltage induced by positive charge trapping in the gate oxide.

Mmp-20 and Klk4 are the two key enamel proteases. Can both enzymes process amelogenin to generate the major cleavage products that accumulate during the secretory stage of amelogenesis? We isolated Mmp-20 and Klk4 from developing pig teeth and used them to digest the tyrosine-rich amelogenin polypeptide (TRAP), the leucine-rich amelogenin protein (LRAP), and 5 fluorescence peptides. We characterized the digestion products by LC-MSMS, SDS-PAGE, and C18 RP-HPLC monitored with fluorescence and UV detectors. Mmp-20 cleaves amelogenin sequences after Pro162, Ser148, His62, Ala63, and Trp45. These cleavages generate all of the major cleavage products that accumulate in porcine secretory-stage enamel: the 23-kDa, 20-kDa, 13-kDa, 11-kDa, and 6-kDa (TRAP) amelogenins. Mmp-20 cleaves LRAP after Pro45 and Pro40, producing the two LRAP products previously identified in tooth extracts. Among these key cleavage sites, Klk4 was able to cleave only after His62. We propose that Mmp-20 alone processes amelogenin during the secretory stage.

The performance degradation of the I/V and C/V characteristics of Si1−xGex S/D diodes irradiated by 2-MeV electrons and 70-MeV protons was investigated. After irradiation, the reverse current increases, while the forward current and reverse capacitance decrease. Based on considerations of the damage factor and coefficient for different fluences and radiation sources, the radiation damage becomes smaller with increase in germanium content. Also, for proton irradiation, the damage is about three orders of magnitude larger than for electrons due to the difference of particle mass and collision probability to produce displacement damage.

Nano-structured TiO2/carbon clusters/Cr2O3 composite material has been successfully obtained by the microwave treatment of a TiO(acac)/Cr(acac)3/epoxy resin complex. The compositions of the composite materials were determined using ICP, elemental analysis and surface characterization by SEM–EDX, TEM and XRD. ESR spectral examinations suggest the possibility of an electron transfer in the process of TiO2 → carbon clusters → Cr2O3 with an oxidation site at TiO2 particles and a reduction site at Cr2O3 particles. The preliminary experimental results show that the calcined materials could decompose methylene blue under visible-light irradiation.

(2008). Interlayer growth and fracture at joint interface of pure aluminium / pure nickel friction welded joint. Welding International: Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 137-147.

The degradation and recovery behavior of device performance on GaAlAs LEDs (Light emitting diodes) irradiated by 2-MeV electrons and 70-MeV protons are investigated. The reverse current increases after irradiation, while the capacitance decreases. The device performance degradation is proportional with fluence. For electron irradiation, fluence rate is also effective for degradation. Low fluence rate shows more large degradation compared to high fluence rate resulting from heat impact in bulk. DLTS measurement reveals the DX center in epitaxial substrate, and this spectrum increases with fluence. The radiation damage of proton is larger than that of electron irradiation, which is caused by the difference of mass and possibility of nuclear collision for the formation of lattice defects. After irradiation, the device performance recovers by thermal annealing.

Summary form only given. A low inductance circuit has been fabricated in order to obtain shorter time to saturation during core unsaturation and current pulses with shorter widths during core saturation. B-H curves have been derived from the measured voltage and current waveforms. Characteristics of the magnetic core for pulsed-power generators have been investigated and the Electromagnetic Transient Program (EMTP) simulation has been carried out in order to determine the effects of leakage current on the energy efficiency of a 3-staged magnetic pulse compressor (MPC). As results, the derived B-H curves show the following characteristics: a high ratio of unsaturated to saturated permeability (muun/musat), a maximum flux swing of about 2.55 T, a high ratio of remanent flux density to saturation magnetic flux density (Br/Bs) and low core loss. And, it is found that muun increases with time to saturation and that musat is strongly influenced by the stray inductances of the core. By applying custom characteristics to each stage in EMTP simulation, more practical energy transfer in MPC is obtained.

Background and Aims: Patients with esophageal cancer often develop metastatic disease after esophageal resection and generally receive cisplatin-based chemotherapy or chemoradiotherapy. The efficacy and toxicity of the combination of docetaxel, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and cisplatin (DFC) as a second-line chemotherapy were evaluated in patients with postoperative metastatic esophageal cancer refractory to cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Patients and Methods: Twenty patients with metastatic esophageal cancer after esophagectomy refractory to cispatin-based therapy were included in this study. The DFC regimen consisted of docetaxel (60 mg/m2) on day 1, 5-FU (500 mg/day) on days 1–5 and cisplatin (10 mg/day) on days 1–5, being repeated every 3 weeks. Results: A total of 49 cycles (median 2, range 1–6) was administered to 20 patients. The median follow-up was 8 months (range 3–24). Of the 20 patients, 1 had a complete response, 6 had a partial response, 6 had stable and 7 had progressive disease. Median time to progression for all patients was 4 months (95% Cl 1.7–5.6). The median overall survival for all patients was 8 months (95% CI 5.7–10.3). The major toxicity was myelosuppression. Neutropenia of grade 3 or more occurred in 13 patients (65%), and thrombocytopenia of grade 3 occurred in 1 patient (5%). Febrile neuropenia was observed in 1 patient (5%). There was no treatment-related mortality. Conclusion: DFC is a feasible and promising regimen as a second-line therapy in metastatic/recurrent esophageal cancer refractory to cisplatin-based chemotherapy.

The interfacial energies between α and γ iron were calculated for Kurdjumov-Sachs (K-S), Nishiyama-Wassermann (N-W), and one orientation relationship (OR), which may represent irrational OR, with varying interface orientation. The relaxation of atomic structure in the vicinity of the interface was performed by the Monte Carlo method using an embedded atom method (EAM) potential. Whereas the polar plot of calculated interfacial energies exhibited small and large cusps for the K-S and N-W ORs, an almost equiaxed energy surface with shallow cusps was obtained for the irrational ORs. The equilibrium shape of an α particle, N-W oriented with the γ matrix, was a thick rectangular plate with broad facets containing monatomic ledges. In contrast, the equilibrium shape of a particle, K-S oriented with the γ matrix, was elongated nearly in the closed-packed directions with {112}y type and another broad facet that achieves relatively good matching. The volume of these shapes in the Wulff space tends to be smaller for K-S than that of the N-W OR. The equilibrium shape of the grain boundary α particle at the γ grain boundary was calculated under the assumption that the α particle has K-S OR with one of the two γ grains using the modified Wulff construction proposed earlier. The variation of the shape of the α particle with γ grain boundaries at an early stage of precipitation may primarily be ascribed to the change in the variant of the smallest nucleation activation energy and less prominently to the change in the γ grain boundary energy.

The influences of trace metals in the wastewater and shear stress by aeration were particularly examined to clarify the formation mechanism of nitrifying granules in an aerobic upflow fluidized bed (AUFB) reactor. It was found that Fe added as a trace element to the inorganic wastewater accumulated at the central part of the nitrifying granules. Another result obtained was that suitable shear stress by moderate aeration (0.07-0.20 L/min/L-bed) promoted granulation. Furthermore, it was successfully demonstrated that pre-aggregation of seed sludge using hematite promoted core formation, leading to rapid production of nitrifying granules. From these results, a nitrifying granulation mechanism is proposed: 1) as a first step, nitrifying bacteria aggregate along with Fe precipitation, and then the cores of granules are formed; 2) as a second step, the aggregates grow to be spherical or elliptical in form due to multiplication of the nitrifying bacteria and moderate shear stress in the reactor, and then mature nitrifying granules are produced. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis successfully visualized the change in the spatial distribution of nitrifying bacteria in the granules, which supports the proposed granulation mechanism.

The electric properties of interface-engineered junctions with YbBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7/ as the counter-electrode were investigated. The junctions exhibited excellent Josephson characteristics with the critical current density (J/sub c/) ranging from 10/sup 2/ A/cm/sup 2/ to more than 10/sup 6/ A/cm/sup 2/, and the normal resistance (R/sub n/) ranging from 10/sup -6/ /spl Omega/cm/sup 2/ to 10/sup -9/ /spl Omega/cm/sup 2/. The R/sub n/ values varied approximately in accordance with J/sub c//sup -p/, where p was close to 0.25 for low-J/sub c/ junctions and increased gradually up to 0.75 for high-J/sub c/ junctions. The junctions with R/sub n/ exceeding 10/sup -7/ /spl Omega/cm/sup 2/ exhibited dI/dV profiles peculiar to tunneling processes via localized states. The dI/dV profiles of the junctions with lower R/sub n/ were characterized by reproducible fine structures below 15 mV, probably due to multiple Andreev reflections. These results indicate that the crossover from the tunneling regime to metallic weak-links takes place in these junctions depending on the process conditions.

In order to investigate influences of discharge rates on fluvial transport behavior of elements in the Kuji River, Japan, suspended and dissolved phase concentrations in the river water were measured together with the water flow rates. The concentrations of suspended particulate matter (SPM) increased by two or three orders of magnitude with the water discharge, and also had seasonal variations. Adsorptive elements or heavy metal elements, which tend to form insoluble compounds, were present generally as suspended forms in the river waters, and their dissolved form concentrations tended to increase with the water discharge. On the other hand, non-adsorptive elements such as alkali and alkaline-earth elements were present as dissolved forms under a normal flow rate condition, but equivalent quantity of suspended species also occurred under a high flow condition. In this case, the dissolved form concentrations decreased with the water discharge. Characterization of SPM with analyses of chemical compositions, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) indicated that clay mineral such as montmorillonite would be the main carrier material of trace and major elements during the fluvial transport in the Kuji River. Variations of contents of selected elements in SPM with the water discharge indicated that river bottom sediments, which are probably potential sources of SPM added due to high water flow rates, would be different in chemical compositions from SPM floating under a normal flow condition. Variations of chemical compositions of SPM as well as of suspended or dissolved form concentrations of elements in the river waters were formulated as a function of the water discharge rates. Keywords: Suspended particulate matter, Chemical species, Water discharge, Trace elements, Major elements, Fluvial transport

We have investigated the electrical properties of interface engineered junctions fabricated under various process conditions to clarify the possible origin of the spreads in I/sub c/ and R/sub n/ values. We found that in most cases, the I/sub c/R/sub n/, values of junctions on a wafer scaled with the square root of I/sub c/. The distribution of both the junction I/sub c/ and R/sub n/ were expressed well by the log-normal distribution function with their /spl sigma/ values being different by a factor of two. These results indicate that Cooper pairs and quasiparticles in the junctions transfer through different transport channels, i.e., direct tunneling for the former and resonant tunneling for the latter, and that a variation in the tunnel barrier thickness among junctions dominates the spreads in the I/sub c/ and R/sub n/ values. In contrast, we could not observe a universal scaling relation between I/sub c/R/sub n/, and I/sub c/ among junctions processed under different conditions. This indicates that the I/sub c/ variation due to process conditions originates from something other than a simple barrier-thickness variation.

Current transport mechanism in Go-doped PrBaCuO barriers was investigated for ramp-type junctions. The junction characteristics were extremely sensitive to a slight variation in the substrate temperature and the oxygen atmosphere during the heating process for the subsequent barrier layer deposition. Such sensitivity was related to the thermodynamic stability of YBaCuO. The conductance of junctions fabricated under the optimized conditions exhibited an exponential dependence on the barrier layer thickness at low temperatures, and the decay length was estimated to be around 1 nm. Characteristic power law dependence of junction conductance on temperature was confirmed for these junctions, indicating that resonant tunneling and hopping conduction via a small number of localized states were predominant. Clear Josephson characteristics were observed for junctions with a barrier thinner than 11 nm. We found that the experimental I/sub c/ versus barrier thickness relation was also explained well by resonant tunneling models.

Circuit operation of a voltage divider utilizing YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub x//Co-doped PrBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub y//YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub x/ ramp-edge Josephson junctions with a ground plane was demonstrated for the voltage region of 0-400 /spl mu/V at 12.5 K, where the maximum voltage corresponds to /spl sim/200 GHz internal Josephson oscillation. This voltage was around the critical current-normal resistance (I/sub c/R/sub n/) product of 420 /spl mu/V. In the design of the voltage divider, a transmission line model was adopted for an inductance loop because of the large dielectric constant of the insulation layer interposed between the ground plane and the wiring serving as a loop inductance. In the fabrication of the circuit, a SrTiO/sub 3//Co-doped PrBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub y//SrTiO/sub 3/ multilayer insulation and four-directional ramp-edge junction process using a photoresist reflow technique were adopted.

A new CMOS structure has been developed that is distinguished by its asymmetrically doped buried layer (ADB). This structure makes it possible to achieve high drain output resistance and high transconductance necessary for high-performance analog circuits with a low-voltage power supply. The ADB structure has a high-impurity-concentration "pocket" layer near the channel edge of the buried layer only on the source side and a low-impurity surface region through the channel. The source-side channel region determines the threshold voltage and the drain-side channel region absorbs the drain potential. The low-impurity surface region reduces impurity scattering and enables high transconductance. The fabricated ADB CMOS structure increased the drain output resistance, transconductance, and saturation current down to a 0.3-/spl mu/m channel length, as compared to a control structure. Furthermore, the drain junction capacitance was reduced because of the low impurity concentration beneath the drain region.

The nano-grained B,C-SiC was fabricated by hot-isostatic-pressing (HIP) at ultra-high-pressure. The average grain size of the SiC was 200 nm and the superplastic elongation over 100% was exhibited in tensile deformation. The high temperature compressive deformation behavior of the superplastic B,C-SiC was invcstigatcd. The compressive tests were conducted at the temperature range from 1600 to 1800°C at various strain rates from 3x10 -6 to 1x10 -4 s -1 . The some cracks were formed during the deformation of 30% at all test conditions. The specimen fractured without deformation at 1600°C at 1x10 -4 s -1 . The SEM observation after deformation revealed the equiaxed grain shape and the grain growth.

BACKGROUND The clinical usefulness of color Doppler method with flow profile for examination of blood flow in the transplanted kidney was evaluated. PROCEDURE We measured blood flow in the transplanted kidney by flow profile in 14 renal recipients. RESULTS Blood flow in the renal arteries in recipients with graft dysfunction was significantly lower than those in recipients with good graft function. There was significant correlation between blood flow in the renal arteries and graft function. In addition, in the segmental arteries, there was significant correlation between peak flow velocity and blood flow. But there was no significant correlation between index of resistance and blood flow in the transplanted kidney. CONCLUSIONS Measurement of blood flow by flow profile may improve the examination capability of color Doppler ultrasonography of the transplanted kidney.

Methods: 50 healthy controls (mean age = 67.3± 4.5; 27 males) and 48 elderlywith stroke (mean age = 67.3± 7.14; 32 males)were recruited. Fatiguewas assessedbyFatigueSeverity Scale (FSS). Age, gender, and chronicity were recorded as demographic information. Assessments of stroke severity (Fugl-Meyer), cognition (MoCA), independence level (modified Rankin Scale and Barthel Index), depression (PHQ-9) and presence of pain were administered. Quality of life was assessed using WHOQoL-BREF. Chi squared was used for comparison between the groups. Spearman rank correlation coefficient was used to determine relationship between fatigue and other outcome measures. Results: Twenty-two patient with stroke reported fatigue (46%)while only 5 non-stroke elderly (10%) reported fatigue (p< .001). The stroke group had a greater FSS score compared to the healthy controls (p< .001). There was no difference between male stroke and female stroke on the FSS score (p= .28). Similarly, age, presence of pain, cognition, and stroke severitywere not significantly correlatedwith post-stroke fatigue. In contrast, depression was significantly positively correlated with post-stroke fatigue (r = .37, p< .001). Post-stroke fatigue was not correlated with the levels of independence (BI p= .16; mRS p= .62). However, physical domain of quality of life was significantly negatively correlated with fatigue among individuals with stroke (r=−.46, p< .001). Conclusion(s): Prevalence of fatigue among individuals post-stroke was higher than the healthy elderly. Post-stroke fatigue was not associated with gender, pain, stroke severity, functional capacity, cognition and levels of independence. In contrast, post-stroke fatigue positively associated with depression and negatively correlated with physical domain of quality of life. Implications: Investigation of post-stroke fatigue and its correlates will assist to improve the post-stroke care and rehabilitation outcome.

We developed a method to estimate multi-dipole sources in human brain by using Genetic Algorithm for source localization of the olfactory magnetoencephalography (MEG). Two current dipoles in each hemisphere of the brain are supposed as a source model. To investigate the ability of this method, source localization in simulation was performed by the presented method. As a result, if the noise level is restricted under 2 percent (S/N/spl ap/20), the source localization of the simulation was obtained with the error less than 1 cm.

This paper discusses a multi-parallel drive system, which uses two types of inverters; A main inverter with V/f control and numbers of auxiliary inverter with vector control and damping control to control multiple numbers of Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors (PMSMs). In addition, in PMSMs, the auxiliary windings are placed in the slots together with the conventional windings. The auxiliary windings are used in the auxiliary inverter with damping control to suppress the torque vibration when the motor speed is converged. From the simulation and experimental results, the proposed system achieves a stable operation with two parallel connected PMSMs. Furthermore, the experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed system even if the output power of the auxiliary inverter is less than 10% of the main inverter. Moreover, the relationship among the response of the damping control, the overshoot of the motor speed and the power capacity of the auxiliary inverter are investigated in simulation and experiments. From the results, it can be confirmed that if the application requires a slow response of the motor speed, the smaller power capacity of the auxiliary inverter can be designed to be 10% compared with the main inverter capacity.