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Pharmacogenetics is the relationship between an individual’s genetic variations and their response to pharmacological treatment. We conducted an overview of reviews on the use of post-treatment pharmacogenetic testing for oncology, based on clinically relevant gene–drug pairs. We conducted a search on Medline, Embase and Cochrane Library, from their inception to 18 June 2020. We selected six eligible systematic reviews. The most studied drug categories were estrogen agonists/antagonists and fluoropyrimidines associated with cytochrome P450 and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase genes ( CYP2D6 and DPYD), but many studies were classified as being of critically low or low quality. There is a need for more high-quality primary studies and systematic reviews that assess the risk of bias, with consistent definitions of clinical outcomes to consider the benefits of pharmacogenetic testing for oncology.

Charge acceleration during an intense light field application to solids attracts much attention as elementary processes in high-harmonic generation and photoelectron emission. For manipulating such attosecond dynamics of charge, carrier-envelope-phase (CEP: relative phase between carrier oscillation of light field and its envelope function) control has been employed in insulators, nanometal and graphene. In superconducting materials, collective control of charge motion is expected because of its strongly coherent nature of quasi-particles. Here we report that, in a layered organic superconductor, a non-linear petahertz current driven by a single-cycle 6 femtosecond near infrared field shows up as second harmonic generation (SHG), which is in contrast to the common belief that even harmonics are forbidden in the centrosymmetric system. The SHG represents a CEP sensitive nature and an enhancement near the superconducting temperature. The result and its quantum many-body analysis indicate that a polarized current is induced by non-linear acceleration of charge, which is amplified by superconducting fluctuations. This will lead to petahertz functions of superconductors and of strongly correlated systems., Here the authors show second harmonic generation (SHG) from a centrosymmetric organic superconductor κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br. They find unusual temperature dependence and CEP-sensitive nature of the SHG which are explained in terms of nonlinear current.

In a honeycomb-lattice Mott insulator α-RuCl3, an ultrafast magnetization is induced by circularly polarized excitation of spin-orbit excitons. An ultrafast 6-fs measurement clarifies that the orbital moment emerges from a coherent inter-orbital charge motion.

We investigate the internal quantum efficiencies (IQEs) of AlGaN/AlN quantum wells (QWs) on (0001) c- and semipolar (1[Formula: see text]02) r-planes in the far-ultraviolet C (far-UVC) region using time-integrated photoluminescence and time-resolved PL spectroscopies. Stronger emissions from r-QWs are observed, especially at shorter wavelengths, indicating that the r-QWs exhibit higher IQEs than the c-QWs. Analyses of the experimental results suggest that the main reason for the higher IQEs of r-QWs in the far-UVC region is shorter radiative lifetimes and an increase in a slow decay component, which might be related to a reduction in the number of nonradiative recombination centers. These findings indicate the superiority of the semipolar r-plane for fabricating QWs that emit in the far-UVC region.

We show that a certain simply-stated notion of "analytic completeness" of the image of a real analytic map implies the map admits no analytic extension. We also give a useful criterion for that notion of analytic completeness by defining arc-properness of continuous maps, which can be considered as a very weak version of properness. As an application, we judge the analytic completeness of a certain class of constant mean curvature surfaces (the so-called "G-catenoids") or their analytic extensions in the de Sitter 3-space., 32 pages, 6 figures

The authors find that short-range charge correlations in prototypical electronic ferroelectrics show ultrafast enhancement upon photoexcitation, in contrast to the photoinduced melting of the long-range charge order.

We study strong and radiative decays of excited singly heavy baryons (SHBs) using an effective chiral Lagrangian based on the diquark picture proposed in Ref. [1]. The effective Lagrangian contains a $U_A (1)$ anomaly term, which induces an inverse mass ordering between strange and non-strange SHBs with spin-parity $1/2^-$. We find that the effect of the $U_A (1)$ anomaly combined with flavor-symmetry breaking modifies the Goldberger-Treiman relation for the mass difference between the ground state $\Lambda_Q (1/2^+)$ and its chiral partner $\Lambda_Q (1/2^-)$, and $\Lambda_Q (1/2^-) \Lambda_Q (1/2^+) \eta$ coupling, which results in suppression of the decay width of $\Lambda_Q (1/2^-) \to \Lambda_Q (1/2^+) \eta$. We also investigate the other various decays such as $\Lambda_Q (1/2^-) \to \Sigma_Q (1/2^+, \, 3/2^+) \pi \pi$, $\Lambda_Q (1/2^-) \to \Sigma_Q (1/2^+) \pi$, $\Lambda_Q (1/2^-) \to \Sigma_Q (1/2^+, \, 3/2^+) \gamma$, and $\Lambda_Q (1/2^-) \to \Lambda_Q (1/2^+) \pi^0$ for wide range of mass of $\Lambda_Q (1/2^-)$., Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures

A non-linear petahertz current driven by a single-cycle 6 femtosecond field shows up as SHG in a centrosymmetric organic superconductor. The SHG represents a CEP sensitive nature and an enhancement near the superconducting temperature.

Intense light-field application to solids produces enormous/ultrafast non-linear phenomena such as high-harmonic generations 1, 2 and attosecond charge dynamics 3, 4. They are distinct from conventional photonics. However, main targets have been limited to insulators and semiconductors, although theoretical approaches have been made also for correlated metals and superconductors 5. Here, in a layered organic superconductor, a non-linear charge oscillation driven by a nearly single-cycle strong electric field of >10 megavolts /cm is observed as a stimulated emission. The charge oscillation is different from a linear response and ascribed to a polar charge oscillation with a period of 6 fs. This non-linear polar charge oscillation is enhanced by critical fluctuations near a superconducting transition temperature and a critical end point of first order Mott transitions. Its observation on an ultrafast timescale of 10 fs clarifies that the Coulomb repulsion plays an essential role in superconductivity of organic superconductors., 5 Figs. for main text, 3 Figs for supplementary information

Within this work, we studied InGaN QWs with nominally 17% InN mole fraction grown within an 80 × 80 μm area with local misorientation angle change from 0.3° to 3.2°. We observed a significant improvement of the photoluminescence intensity for the area with misorientation above 1.5°, which we attribute to the quenching of nonradiative recombination processes. From the structural point of view, the increase of the misorientation angle above 1.5° is accompanied by the improvement of the morphology of the sample and quality of the quantum wells observed through atomic force microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. We show that the structural and emission qualities in high-InN- mole fraction layers can be improved just by increasing the misorientation angle of the substrate and that the improved qualities are preserved even for large misorientation angles.

We construct an effective hadronic model including single heavy baryons (SHBs) belonging to the $(\mathbf{3},\mathbf{3})$ representation under $\mbox{SU}(3)_L \times \mbox{SU}(3)_R$ symmetry, respecting the chiral symmetry and heavy-qaurk spin-flavor symmetry. When the chiral symmetry is spontaneously broken, the SHBs are divided into the baryons with negative parity of $\bar{\mathbf 3}$ representation under $\mbox{SU}(3)$ flavor symmetry which is the chiral partners to the ones with positive parity of ${\mathbf 6}$ representation. We determine the model parameters from the available experimental data for the masses and strong decay widths of $\Sigma_c^{(\ast)}$, $\Lambda_c (2595)$, $\Xi_c (2790)$, and $\Xi_c (2815)$. Then, we predict the masses and strong decay widths of other baryons including $\Xi_b$ with negative parity. We also study radiative decays of SHBs including $\Omega_c^\ast$ and $\Omega_b^\ast$ with positive parity., Comment: 13 pages, 1 figure. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1804.04872

The aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetic profile of daclatasvir (DCV) and asunaprevir (ASV) dual therapy in haemodialysis patients infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). Eighteen haemodialysis patients and 54 patients with normal renal function were treated with DCV and ASV dual therapy for 24 weeks. We evaluated the pharmacokinetic profiles of DCV and ASV and examined the rate of sustained virological response 12 weeks after the end of treatment (SVR12 ) and incidence of adverse events during treatment of haemodialysis patients infected with chronic HCV genotype 1 infection. To adjust for potential differences in baseline characteristics between haemodialysis patients and patients with normal renal function, we used propensity scores case-control matching methods. Area under the plasma concentration time curve from 0 to 6 h (AUC0-6 h ) of DCV was slightly lower in haemodialysis patients than in patients with normal renal function (P > 0.6). AUC0-6 h of ASV was significantly lower in haemodialysis patients (P = 0.012). SVR12 rates were 100% (18/18) for haemodialysis and 96.2% (52/54) for patients with normal renal function. Changes in mean log10 HCV RNA levels and viral response were higher in haemodialysis patients compared to patients with normal renal function. No discontinuations due to adverse events occurred. In conclusion, DCV and ASV dual therapy for HCV infection is effective and safe with similar results in haemodialysis patients compared to patients with normal renal function.

Polysilsesquioxanes were synthesized with end functional double-decker silsesquioxanes (DDSQ) and the polymers were characterized with 1H NMR, 29Si NMR and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). Polysilsesquioxane containing iso-butyl end capped DDSQ showed better solubility compared to that of methyl end capped DDSQ. Thermal properties investigated with TGA showed that the polymers exhibited exceptionally high stabilities in the range of 470-530°C even in both nitrogen and air atmosphere. The average residual weights of the polymers at 760°C were around 80% in the nitrogen atmosphere.

We construct an effective hadronic model including ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{c}(2595)$, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{c}(2625)$, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{b}(5912)$, and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{b}(5920)$, regarding them as chiral partners to ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{c}(2455)$, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{c}(2520)$, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{b}$, and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{b}^{*}$, respectively, with respecting the chiral symmetry and heavy-quark spin-flavor symmetry. We determine the model parameters from the experimental data for relevant masses and decay widths of ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{c}^{(*)}$ and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{c}(2595)$. Then, we study the decay widths of ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{c}(2625)$, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{b}(5912)$, and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{b}(5920)$. We find that, although the decay of ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{c}(2595)$ is dominated by the resonant contribution through ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Sigma}}}_{c}(2455)$, nonresonant contributions are important for ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{c}(2625)$, ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{b}(5912)$, and ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{b}(5920)$, which reflects the chiral partner structure. We also study the radiative decays of the baryons, and show that each of their widths is determined from the radiative decay width of their chiral partners.

We have demonstrated transient charge localization effects with a driving high-frequency field of 7-fs, 1.5-cycle near infrared light in correlated organic conductors. In a layered organic conductor alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 (BEDT-TTF: bis[ethylenedithio]-tetrathiafulvalene), a transient short-range charge order (CO) state is induced in a metallic phase. In contrast to such drastic change in the electronic state from the metal to the transient CO in alpha-(BEDT-TTF)2I3, dynamics of a field-induced reduction of a transfer integral are captured as a red shift of the plasma-like reflectivity edge in a quasi-one-dimensional organic conductor (TMTTF)2AsF6 (TMTTF: tetramethyltetrathiafulvalene). These studies on the field-induced charge localization have been motivated by the theory of dynamical localization on the basis of tight-binding models with no electron correlation under a strong continuous field. However, the results of pump-probe transient reflectivity measurements using nearly single-cycle 7-fs, 11 MV/cm pulses and the theoretical studies which are presented in this review indicate that the pulsed field contributes to the similar phenomenon with the help of a characteristic lattice structure and Coulomb repulsion.

Asecond compact accumulator is in use because a leakage occurred in the largewelded bellows of the original accumulatorin 2010. However, the present accumulator has the drawbacks, includinga lower pressure tolerance and large hysteresis duringexpansion and contraction, which can decrease the number of cycles to failure.In response, we developed new welded bellows with a pressuretolerance of 2.0 MPa and a hysteresis-free accumulator with a levelness accuracy of less than 1°.This accumulator has been confirmed through its commissioning to meet design requirements.

Summary Chronic HCV–infected patients tend to have vitamin D deficiency, suggesting that vitamin D supplementation may enhance the efficacy of treatment with pegylated interferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin (RBV). We therefore assessed the effects of vitamin D supplementation on viral response to PEG-IFN/RBV. Eighty-four patients with HCV genotype 1b were randomized, 42 to oral vitamin D supplementation (1000 IU/day) and 42 to nonsupplementation (control), from week 8 to the end of PEG-IFN/RBV therapy. The primary end point was undetectable HCV RNA at week 24 (viral response [VR]). VR rate at week 24 was significantly higher in the vitamin D than in the control group (78.6% vs 54.8% P = 0.037). Adverse events were similar in both groups. When patients were subdivided by IL28B SNP rs8099917 genotype, those with the TT genotype group showed a significantly higher VR rate at week 24 with than without vitamin D supplementation (86.2% vs 63.3% vs P = 0.044). Although patients with the TG/GG genotype, who were relatively resistant to PEG-IFN treatment, had similar VR rates at week 24 with and without vitamin D supplementation, the decline in viral load from week 8 to week 24 was significantly greater with than without vitamin D supplementation. Multivariate analysis showed that rs8099917 genotype and vitamin D supplementation contributed significantly to VR at week 24. SVR rates were similar in the vitamin D and control groups [64.3% (27/42) vs 50% (21/42), P = 0.19]. Vitamin D supplementation may enhance the effects of PEG-IFN/RBV in HCV genotype 1b–infected patients.

Human papillomaviruses (HPV) are double-stranded DNA viruses, which selectively infect keratinocytes in stratified epithelia. After an initial infection, many patients clear HPV. In some patients, however, HPV persist, and dysfunctional innate immune responses to HPV infection could be involved in the ineffective clearing of these viruses. In this study, the mechanisms of HPV-induced immune responses in keratinocytes were investigated. Binding of viral DNA leads to AIM2 inflammasome activation and IL-1β release, while IFI16 activation results in IFN-β release. Using immunohistochemistry, AIM2 and IFI16-two recently identified sensors for cytosolic DNA-were also detected in HPV positive skin lesions. CISH stainings further confirmed the presence of cytosolic HPV16 DNA in biopsy samples. Moreover, active IL-1β and cleaved caspase-1 were detected in HPV infected skin, suggesting inflammasome activation by viral DNA. In subsequent functional studies, HPV16 DNA triggered IL-1β and IL-18 release via the AIM2 inflammasome in normal human keratinocytes. Although HPV DNA did not induce IFN-β in keratinocytes, IFN-β secretion was observed when AIM2 was blocked. Meanwhile, blocking of IFI16 increased HPV16 DNA-induced IL-1β, but not IL-18, secretion. These findings suggest crosstalk between IFI16 and AIM2 in the immune response to HPV DNA. In sum, novel aspects concerning HPV-induced innate immune responses were identified. Eventually, understanding the mechanisms of HPV-induced inflammasome activation could lead to the development of novel strategies for the prevention and treatment of HPV infections.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) subtype 1b, which infects approximately 70% of Japanese carriers, is likely to be more eradicable by a telaprevir regimen than subtype 1a because of the higher genetic barrier of Val(36) and Arg(155) substitutions. The aims of this exploratory study were to evaluate the virological response and safety of 24-week oral administration of telaprevir alone in chronic HCV subtype 1b infection. Fifteen treatment-naive patients were treated with telaprevir 750 mg every 8 h for 24 weeks. All patients were Japanese whose median age was 58.0 years (range: 45-68), and six patients (40%) were men. Median baseline HCV RNA level was 6.80 log(10) IU/mL (range: 3.55-7.10). The HCV RNA levels decreased to undetectable in five patients (33%) within 8 weeks. Three patients (20%) with negative HCV RNA by Week 4 achieved end of treatment response. One patient (7%) who achieved sustained virological response had a low baseline viraemia of 3.55 log(10) IU/mL. Most of the adverse events including anaemia and skin disorders were mild to moderate. Developed variants were T54A and A156V/T/F/Y with or without secondary substitutions rather than V36M ± R155K. Telaprevir alone for 24 weeks in Japanese patients with HCV subtype 1b resulted in an sustained viral response rate of 7% (1/15) and was well tolerated for 24 weeks. These results will support the implementation of further studies on oral combination of telaprevir with other direct-acting antiviral agents in patients infected with HCV subtype 1b.

The strong light-field effect of (TMTTF)2AsF6 was investigated utilizing 1.5-cycle, 7-fs infrared pulses. The ultarfast (20 fs) and large (40%) response of the plasma-like reflectivity edge (0.7 eV) was analyzed by the changes in omega_p=sqrt(ne2/(epsilon_0*epsilon(infty)*m)} (n: number of charges in the 1/4 filled-band, m: mass of charge, epsilon(infty): dielectric constants for high-frequency and vacuum, e: elementary charge). The 3% reduction in omega_p is attributed to the 6% increase in m. Furthermore, 20 fs oscillation of omega_p in the time domain indicates that the plasma-like edge is affected by the charge gap (0.2 eV) nature. Theoretical calculations suggest that the Coulomb repulsion plays an important role in the increase in m.

Dynamical localization that is, reduction of the intersite electronic transfer integral, was realized by strong electric filed (10 MV/cm) of 1.5-cycle (7 fs) near infrared light in layered organic conductor.

Strong (> 10 MV/cm) light-field effect of (TMTTF)2AsF6 was investigated utilizing 7-fs infrared pulses. The ultrafast (~20 fs) and large (~40%) response of the plasma-like reflectivity edge (~0.7 eV) was discussed in terms of dynamical localization.

Solid state blue lasers are indispensable for many applications including high-density optical data storage, light sources, color laser displays etc. In this article, ZnSe and nitride-based wide-gap semiconductors are mainly discussed.

Low-intensity high-frequency stimulation (HFS) delivered to the basolateral nuclei of the amygdala (BLAs) induced anti-nociceptive effects and reduced spontaneous motor activities in freely moving rats. Stimulation (20 μA, 100 sec–1, 200 μsec square, for 30 sec) was applied through electrodes implanted bilaterally in the BLA. Pain behavioral responses were inhibited by HFS in the formalin test but not in the plantar test. Spontaneous motor activities were also reduced by HFS delivered to the BLAs. Intrathecal injection of naloxone failed to block the analgesic effects of HFS, suggesting the descending opiate system to be minimally involved. We previously reported that HFS delivered to the BLA inhibited nociceptive responses recorded in the prefrontal cortex. Here, we demonstrate that such stimulation under the same conditions also induces analgesic effects in behavior studies.

Crystalline particles of mesoporous La 2 Ti 2 O 7 , a perovskite-type material, were prepared by hydrothermal synthesis at 210 °C in the presence of structure directing agent. Crystallization and simultaneous sintering occurred in the time course of the hydrothermal treatment, resulting in the improvement in crystallinity with a sacrifice of the decrease in surface area. The photocatalytic property was evaluated by hydrogen evolution from water with methanol sacrificial agent. The increase and the decrease of the material in crystallinity and surface area were responsible for the photocatalytic activity: the activity was improved by crystallization but the concurrent decrease in surface area (increase in size) of crystalline particles was disadvantageous.

This paper presents our field experience in data collection from remote sensors. By letting tractors, farmers, and sensors have short-range radio communication devices with delay-disruption tolerant networking (DTN), we can collect data from those sensors to our central database. Although, several implementations have been made with cellular phones or mesh networks in the past, DTN-based systems for such applications are still under explored. The main objective of this paper is to present our practical implementation and experiences in DTN-based data collection from remote sensors. The software, which we have developed for this research, has about 50 kbyte footprint, which is much smaller than any other DTN implementation. We carried out an experiment with 39 DTN nodes at the University of Tokyo assuming an agricultural scenario. They achieved 99.8% success rate for data gathering with moderate latency, showing sufficient usefulness in data granularity.

Summary. The present study was designed to determine the predictive factors for the viral response to pegylated interferon-alpha plus ribavirin combination therapy (PEGIFN/RBV) administered after curative treatment for hepatitis C virus (HCV)-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The study group was 78 patients treated between January 2005 and January 2009. The sustained viral response (SVR) rate was 25.8% (15/58) in patients infected with HCV-genotype 1 and 55.0% (11/20) in those with genotype 2. Among the 78 patients, 32 (41.0%) could not complete the treatment protocol, and this was because of HCC recurrence in 17 (53%) of them. Multivariate analysis identified partial early viral response (pEVR) as the only independent determinant of SVR [odds ratio (OR) 14.73, P = 0.013] for patients with genotype 1. Multivariate analysis identified male gender (OR 8.72, P = 0.001) and interleukin-28B (IL-28B) genotype (rs8099917) TT (OR 7.93, P = 0.007) as independent predictors of pEVR. Multivariate analysis also identified IL-28B genotype GG+TG (OR 14.1, P = 0.021) and α-fetoprotein >30 (OR 5.4, P = 0.031) as independent predictors of null response. Patients with SVR showed a better survival rate than those without SVR (P = 0.034). The second HCC recurrence rate tended to be lower in patients with SVR than in those without SVR (P = 0.054). With regard to the prognosis of patients with SVR, it is desirable to achieve SVR with interferon therapy even when administered after HCC treatment. IL-28B genotype is a potentially useful marker for the response to PEGIFN/RBV therapy administered after curative treatment of HCV-related HCC.

To compare visual acuity and ocular higher-order aberrations (HOAs) in eyes with waterclefts, a type of crystalline lens opacity, and in normal eyes.Department of Ophthalmology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan, and Faculty of Medicine, University of Iceland, Reykjavik, Iceland.In this nested case-control study of subjects attending the third examination of the Reykjavik Eye Study in 2008, eyes with pure waterclefts and control eyes with no lenticular opacity were evaluated. All candidates had complete ophthalmic examinations and wavefront analysis. Higher-order aberrations in the watercleft group and the control group were compared.The watercleft group comprised 30 eyes and the control group, 194 eyes. The mean corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA) in the watercleft group was statistically significantly lower than in the control group (P.01). There was a significant relationship between CDVA and HOA in both groups. Total HOA and trefoil and coma aberrations were statistically significantly higher in the watercleft group than in the control group (P.05).Waterclefts significantly affected CDVA. Eyes with waterclefts had higher coma and trefoil aberrations, suggesting that the increased HOAs caused reduced visual acuity in eyes with waterclefts.

The time-domain waveform of the terahertz (THz) electric field emitted from the charge-ordered organic ferroelectrics α − (ET)2I3 [ET:bis(ethylenedithio)-tetrathiafulvalene)] can be significantly modulated depending on incident fluence of femtosecond pulses. Weak irradiation triggers the emission, showing ∼1 THz oscillation in the time-domain waveform with more than 5 oscillation cycles and a corresponding narrow spectral shape. In contrast, strong irradiation almost completely suppresses the trailing portion of the waveform after the first cycle, resulting in over 3 times broader bandwidth. As revealed by time-resolved experiments, this modulation arises from the cooperative nature of photoinduced melting of the charge order accompanying quenching of infrared-activity of the intermolecular vibrations which strongly couple with the emission.

Ultrafast dynamics of the photoinduced insulator (I) to metal (M) transition were investigated using femtosecond mid-infrared pump–probe spectroscopy in two-dimensional organic Mott insulators [bis (ethylenedithio)]-tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT-TTF) salts κ -(BEDT-TTF) 2 X ( κ -(ET) 2 X, where X denotes anion). In κ -( d -ET) 2 Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Br, a metallic state was photogenerated using a phonon-mediated mechanism: the effective bandwidth increases through the photoinduced molecular rearrangement. The mechanism differs fundamentally from the previously reported photoinduced filling control in one-dimensional Mott insulators.

In indoor environments, air sampling normally involves drawing a sample from an air stream or room using equipment based on either the impaction or filtration methods. An international standard reg...

Primary dynamics of photo-induced melting of charge order (CO) and metallic domain formation in [bis(ethlylenedithio)] tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT-TTF) salts α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 were studied using an infrared (1.4 μm) pump–probe spectroscopy with a time resolution of 30 fs. Faster (

We report the impact of the preheating temperature on the film quality and the TFT characteristics fabricated without the In incorporation. We found that both the surface roughness and the resistance of the film were greatly reduced for the preheating temperatures over 240°C. A very high transconductance of 13.6 mS/mm was obtained for a TFT (W/L = 50/20 µm) fabricated under the optimized preheating temperature of 240°C.

This study examined the influence of regular training in competitive cycling on individual muscle volume of the thigh and psoas major cross-sectionally and longitudinally. T1-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) images of the trunk and right thigh were obtained from eight experienced varsity male cyclists (experience: 4 years) and 10 untrained men (experiment 1), and from 12 (10 males, two females) varsity cyclists before and after competitive cycling training for 6 months (experiment 2). From the MR images, the volumes of each of the quadriceps femoris and hamstrings, total adductors, gracilis, sartorius, and psoas major were determined. The volumes of the monoarticular thigh muscles, semitendinosus, and psoas major muscles were significantly greater in the experienced cyclists than in the untrained men (experiment 1), and increased significantly after the competitive training for 6 months (experiment 2). In contrast, the volumes of the other biarticular thigh muscles were similar among the experienced cyclists and untrained men (experiment 1), and did not change by competitive cycling training (experiment 2). The results indicate that competitive cycling training induces muscle-specific hypertrophy of the synergistic muscles, especially between the monoarticular and biarticular muscles, leading to quantitative profiles of the musculature in experienced cyclists.

The so-called "Ogasawara cockroaches" were examined by morphological observations and by breeding experiments to elucidate their actual taxonomical status. Fourteen groups (isolate) of "Ogasawara cockroaches" collected from Iwoto-A, Iwoto-B, Hahajima, Chichijima, Nishijima, Nakodojima, Tokunoshima-A, Tokunoshima-B, Okinawato- A, Okinawa-B, Amamiooshima, Miyakojima, Ishigakijima and Hawaii, were bred and passaged in our laboratory. Cockroaches collected from the field were first reared individually and the sexes of their offspring examined. Cockroaches collected from Iwoto, Tokushima and Okinawa, were found to consist of two groups; those whose offspring were all female and the other whose offspring consist of both male and female. Cross-breeding experiments showed that individuals from the group that did not produce any male but only female offspring were parthenogenetic. On the contrary, the group that have bisexual individuals produced both male and female offspring in a ratio of 1:1. Our results show that the so-called "Ogasawara cockroaches" consist of 2 species, namely, Pycnoscelus surinamensis and Pycnoscelus indicus. There are areas in which both species co-habitated together and there are also areas in which either only one of the two species can be found. The group that reproduces only female offspring and only through parthenogenesis was identified as P. surinamensis. The group that reproduces heterosexually and produce male and female offspring was identified as P. indicus. Thus, the so-called "Ogasawara cockroaches" found in Japan actually consist of 2 species, namely, P. surinamensis and P. indicus, which can be differentiated using the solitary breeding method to demonstrate parthenogenesis in the former and the need for sexual reproduction in the latter.

Ultrafast optical response of organic metal (TMTTF)2AsF6 induced by 1.5 cycle (7 fs) infrared pulse was investigated. Intense coherent oscillation of correlated charge (18 fs) grows in the time scale of 50 fs, reflecting the spontaneous-formation of the electronic coherence before the electronic thermalization.

Simultaneous consideration of the irradiation time and the cumulative dose is necessary for evaluating the risk of long-term exposure to radiation at low dose. This study intends to examine several numerical relationships between doses and dose rates in biological responses to gamma radiation. Data on inhibition of [ 3 H] thymidine uptake and micronucleus formation in human osteosarcoma cells were analyzed using the median effective dose (MED) as a measure of the risk. MEDs were calculated using parameters estimated by fitting general logistic curves to the dose-response relationships for each group defined by irradiation time. Both biological responses, the inhibition of [ 3 H] thymidine uptake and micronucleus formation, decreased sharply when the dose rates were less than 0.01 Gy/h. Exponential functions were fitted to the log relationships between MEDs and dose rates. This modified exponential model described well the quantitative effect of dose rates on MEDs, and suggested that risk is extremely low at very low dose rates.

Powders of 0.5Pb(Ni 1/3 Nb 2/3 )O 3 –0.15PbZrO 3 –0.35PbTiO 3 (PNN/PZT) composition that were calcined at 850, 900, and 950 °C were deposited as a thick film on a stainless-steel SUS304 substrate using an aerosol deposition method (ADM) at room temperature. A film with single perovskite phase was obtained only in the case of using the raw powder calcined at 950 °C. The measured deposition rate of ADM was as high as 1 μm/min for a film of 10×10 mm 2 area. The film annealed at 600 °C was formed by polycrystallites with 83-nm average diameter, but transmission electron microscope observation revealed that amorphous phase and fine polycrystallites formed the as-deposited film. The best electric properties were obtained for the deposited film using the raw material powders calcined at 950 °C. The obtained values are: remnant polarization (Pr), 18 μC/cm 2 ; coercive field ( E c ), 65 kV/cm; dielectric constant ( e r ), 750 at 1 kHz; and dielectric loss (tan δ ), 0.04 at 1 kHz.