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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 )

We demonstrate a quantitative evaluation of absolute displacement of surface acoustic wave by the time-division dual-comb interferometry with the Sagnac geometry. Due to an ultrahigh stability of the Sagnac geometry, achieved resolution is ~26 pm.

Small-cell lung cancer (SCLC) is a subgroup of lung cancer with a high frequency of liver metastasis, which is a predictor of poor prognosis. Diffuse liver metastases of SCLC with no visible nodular lesions in the liver when examined using computed tomography (CT) are relatively rare; however, a few cases with rapid progression to acute liver failure that were diagnosed after death have been reported. In this paper, we report a 63-year-old man with diffuse liver metastases of SCLC that were histologically diagnosed using a transjugular liver biopsy while the patient was alive, even though no lesions were visible during a contrast-enhanced CT examination.

The 5d transition metal Ir was added into the MgB2 superconductor. The Mg, B and Ir were sintered at 1173K for 30minutes under Ar-H2 atmosphere in the electric furnace. The nominal Irx(MgB2)1-x samples were prepared in the Ir concentration range of 0 < x< 0.05. Electrical resistivity ρ was measured between 20K and 50K by the 4-terminals method. The field and x-dependence of Jc at 20K were analyzed by the extended critical state model. The enhancement of Jc was observed for the x = 0.01 sample.

Distributed power generation, using renewable energy, has been attracting attention to cope with global environment issues; a microgrid is a promising configuration for distributed power generation. To augment the stability and efficiency of the microgrid, an intelligent control, which considers the restrictions and characteristics of each unit, is indispensable. It can be achieved by constructing an efficient operation schedule for each power plant in the microgrid, depending on energy demand, and predicting passive power generation. The operation scheduling is regarded as a constrained optimization problem, which must have nonlinear characteristics in case of actual systems. Although several methods using metaheuristic optimization have been proposed, it would be trapped into a local minimum in some cases. In this paper, we statistically analyze operation schedules, computed for an actual power network of the demonstrative project. In addition, we conduct an investigation of the relationship between the input parameter space and the solution space, which can be exploited to obtain more appropriate initial solutions leading to better and faster converging solutions.

This paper describes an optimal scheduling technology for determining the operating schedule of an energy network that minimizes CO2 emission or energy costs over a one-day or several-day period. This technology was implemented in Aichi, Japan, at Expo 2005 and at Central Japan Airport City. In the demonstrative research, the optimal scheduling of various energy sources was computed automatically, and then the results by applying a tabu search and genetic algorithm were assessed comparatively.

We investigated a solid oxide fuel cell stack that employs anode-supported planar cells in which two intermediate plates are installed every 10 cells to determine the influence of the separation and reconnection of the intermediate plates after high temperature operation. We showed that this separation and reconnection caused no significant degradation in stack performance. A 30-cell stack, which was constructed by removing two 10-cell sub-stacks from a 50-cell stack that had operated stably 1200 h, functioned well. The difference between the average voltages of the cells in the 50- and 30-cell stacks was less than 3% when the current density, fuel utilization, and oxygen utilization were 0.30 A cm −2 , 60%, and 15%, respectively. The 30-cell stack operated stably for about 1200 h with almost no degradation. These findings indicate that our stack can be restored after cells in the stack have broken down simply by removing the 10-cell sub-stacks that contain the broken cells and replacing them with undamaged 10-cell sub-stacks.

We have developed a 1 kW class solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack composed of 50 anode-supported planar 120-mm-diameter SOFCs. Intermediate plates, which exhibited negligible deformation under operating conditions, were placed in the stack to cancel out the cumulative error related to the position and angle of the stack parts. The stack provided an electrical conversion efficiency of 54% (based on the lower heating value (LHV) of the methane used as a fuel) and an output of 1120 W when the fuel utilization, current density, and operating temperature were 67%, 0.28 A cm −2 , and 1073 K, respectively. The stack operated stably for almost 700 h.

We have developed a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) stack with an internal manifold structure. The stack, which is composed of 25 anode-supported 100-mm-diameter SOFCs, provided an electrical conversion efficiency of 56% (based on the lower heating value of methane, which was used as a fuel) and an output of 350 W when the fuel utilization, current density, and operating temperature were 75%, 0.3 A cm−2, and 1073 K, respectively. The electrical efficiency and the output were maintained for 1100 h. The cell voltage fluctuation was ±2% for 25 cells. The relationship between average cell voltage and current density in the 25-cell stack was as almost the same as that in the 1- and 10-cell stacks, which suggests that our stack provides almost the same cell performance regardless the number of the cells.

A diagnostic technique to study the global structure of the recycling and impurity (molybdenum) influx from the plasma facing components is proposed and is tested using the three kinds of perturbations (gas puffing, transport oscillation, and localized heat deposition). Balmer line intensities I H α , charge exchange flux ΓCX and neutral molybdenum line IMoI are measured and their correlations are analyzed with response to the perturbation parameters ( I H α at the gas port, density ne, and hot spot temperature Thot). A simple model calculation is done to understand these correlations. It is found that the phase reversal of ΓCX with respect to ne modulation is well reproduced and a critical density exists for the phase reversal of IMoI. The evaporation Mo flux evaluated with measured Thot is also compared with enhanced IMoI for the heat load perturbation and it contribution to the total content of Mo ions is evaluated by ∼30% increment.

Tokamak operation has been performed under the localized plasma wall interaction conditions in TRIAM-1M, using a water cooled rail movable limiter (ML) made of Molybdenum. The limiter surface temperature dependence on hydrogen recycling and neutral molybdenum impurity production behaviour has been studied using visible as well as infrared spectroscopy during low power long pulse and high power short pulse discharges. In these experiments it is considered that escaped energetic electrons are lost mainly on ML and localised heat deposition makes a ‘hot spot’ on ML. It has been observed that H 2 , H α and MoI intensities critically depend on the hot spot temperature ( T hot ) and enhanced recycling due to localized PWI on ML can fuel the discharge without any external fueling source.

A noncontacting steel plate conveyance system using the transverse flux linear induction motor (TFLIM) is studied. The steel plate makes up the secondary of TFLIM. A combined control principle of levitation and propulsion for TFLIM is proposed. The output capacity of the power converter for control is limited by its maximum current, but the performance of TFLIM depends on its fundamental component. Then a third harmonic current injection scheme is considered for the drive system, in order to increase the fundamental component, keeping the value of the maximum current invariant. TFLIM characteristics are calculated both for the levitation and propulsion forces acting on the secondary steel plate, on the basis of a 3D electromagnetic field analysing program (J-MAG Studio). In comparison with a sinusoidal current excitation, the propulsion and levitation force of TFLIM increases by 33% and 37%, respectively, when the harmonic current injection level is optimized. Thus, the harmonic current injection scheme is shown to be an effective and practical mean to realize a steel plate conveyance system.

The viscous force acting on the magnetic flux in a high-Tc Bi2Sr2Ca2Cu3O10 superconductor was evaluated by applying a pulsed magnetic field. It was found that the magnetic flux intruding into the superconductor moves at a speed of about 50 m/s. The viscous force and the pinning force in a Bi-based high-Tc superconductor are discussed in the framework of the critical state model. The viscosity (η/φ0) of the magnetic flux was estimated to be about 1×105A·s/m3.

We have discovered mutant rats with hyperbilirubinuria at the laboratories of Eisai Co., Ltd., Gifu, Japan, and established a new inbred mutant strain, which was designated Eisai Hyperbilirubinuria Rat (EHBR/Eis). They show jaundice immediately after birth, and direct or conjugated hyperbilirubinemia throughout their life. The phenotypes are controlled by a single autosomal recessive gene, hyb with full penetrance. Affected homozygous males seem to have full reproductive capacity. On the other hand, the litter size of hyb/hyb females is significantly reduced at second parturition compared with that at first one. In order to maintain the strain efficiently and to produce both affected (hyb/hyb) and normal control (hyb/+) offspring at the same time, we have mainly been mating hyb/hyb males with hyb/+ females in establishing the inbred strain. We also report here the allele distribution of the EHBR/Eis strain.

A new rat mutant with abnormal behavior has been found in a closed colony of Slc: SD. The affected rats turned around after their own tails beginning 4-5 weeks after birth, in response to extroceptive stimuli, such as sound or vibration. The behavior was more pronounced in younger animals. On gross observation, no alteration was found in the cerebrum, cerebellum, or anterior, posterior, or lateral semicircular canals. Light microscopic examination revealed no abnormality in the cerebrum or cerebellum. The trait was controlled by an autosomal dominant gene with incomplete penetrance (78.0%) when transferred to the WKY genetic strain background. It was named "turning" with the gene symbol Tur. A congenic strain was established, which was designated WKY/Eis-Tur.

Background Although immunosuppressants such as corticosteroids or cyclophosphamide can suppress the progression of LN, a major manifestation of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), some cases are resistant to those agents, and severe adverse reactions (ARs) may occur. Therefore, development of new effective drugs with fewer ARs is important. Recently, all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), one of natural retinoids, has been reported to differentiate regulatory T cells and suppress Th17 cells in the models of autoimmune diseases. We have reported that ATRA improved proteinuria, survival rate as well as renal pathology in lupus-prone mice (ref). On the other hand, AM80, a synthetic retinoid, has been reported to suppress the expression of inflammatory cytokines in collagen-induced arthritis and EAE. Objectives Effectiveness and safety of these retinoids for the treatment of LN were examined. Methods Twenty-three patients with LN who fulfilled the ACR9s revised criteria for classification of SLE were enrolled. Those unable to prevent pregnancy for more than 2 years, and who had been newly given any immunosuppressants within 8 weeks before this study were excluded. ATRA (10 mg/day) was administered to 9 patients (group A) and AM80 (4 mg/day) to 14 (group B) for 6M. Six in group B dropped out due to ARs, and effectiveness was analyzed using data of 8 patients. Through the study, the dose of steroid was not increased but allowed to be reduced if the clinical course was improved. Urinary protein (UP), serum albumin (Alb) and creatinine (Cr) levels, titer of the serum anti-double-strand DNA antibody (ADNA), serum complement levels (C3, C4) and activity (CH50) were determined every month. Results In group A, Average of UP decreased at 6M after the treatment (3.2 to 0.4 g/g Cr, p Conclusions This is the first report of on effectiveness and safety of retinoids for LN. Although the difference did not reach significance due to lack of number, UP and ADNA tended to reduce, Alb elevate, and complements tended to elevate in the both groups. Dose of steroid was reduced in some cases. Number of the cases was not enough mainly because of the exclusion criteria of contraception. Bone pain occurred relatively frequently and caused dropout in AM80 group, although it was not so severe. These findings suggest that retinoids might have a role in improvement of LN resistant to conventional therapy, and ancillary role of retinoids to high-dose steroids or immunosuppressants should be also tested in future. References Kinoshita K, Funauchi M, et al.: Retinoic acid reduces autoimmune renal injury and increases survival in NZB/W F1 mice. J Immunol. 170:5793, 2003. Disclosure of Interest None declared

A novel drive circuit suitable for next generation semiconductor, GaN-FET (Gallium Nitride Field Effect Transistor), have been proposed and discussed in this paper. Drive loss is also analyzed on respective methods. Furthermore, the problem which is loss increase one of body diode in GaN-FET has been pointed out, and a novel active discharged type gate drive circuit suitable for GaN-FET is proposed. Its operating principles and low loss operation are discussed and evaluated effectiveness from the experimental point of view.

The present study was performed to elucidate whether the angiotensin II (ANG II) receptor exists in the plasma membrane fraction of the neurohypophysis in hens, to estimate the time of action of ANG II on the neurohypophysis before and after oviposition, and to examine relationships between the action of ANG II on the neurohypophysis and those of estrogen and prostaglandin F(2α) (PGF(2α)) in relation to arginine vasotocin (AVT) release. The specific binding had a binding specificity to chicken ANG II (cANG II), reversibility, and saturation in the [(125)I]cANG II binding assay. Scatchard analysis revealed that the binding sites are of a single class. The equilibrium dissociation constant (K(d)) obtained by kinetic analysis and Scatchard analysis suggested a high affinity, and the maximum binding capacity (B(max)) obtained by Scatchard analysis suggested a limited capacity. These results suggest that an ANG II receptor exists in the neurohypophysis of hens. The K(d) and the B(max) value was significantly smaller in laying hens than in nonlaying hens, which suggests that bindings of the cANG II receptor change, depending on the difference in laying condition. Values of the K(d) and the B(max) decreased approximately 15 min before oviposition in laying hens, and decreased 1 h after an intramuscular injection of estradiol-17β and 5 min after an intravenous injection of cANG II in nonlaying hens. The amount of specific binding of PGF(2α) receptor in the neurohypophysis also decreased and AVT concentration in blood increased after the cANG II injection. It seems likely that the action of cANG II in the neurohypophysis increases due to the effect of estrogen approximately 15 min before oviposition, and the cANG II action stimulates AVT release through the increase in the PGF(2α) action in this tissue.

The point of load (POL) is a power supply, supplies a “low voltage and large current” power to a digital processor application. Digital load current changes very quickly, therefore, a fast transient response is required for POL. In case of the digital controlled POL, “conversion time delay” on the ADC and “internal calculation time” deteriorates its performance. As a result, the output voltage of the Digital controlled POL has a large deviation with the rapid load transient. This is not acceptable for digital processor load. This paper clarifies the delay of the ADC which embedded in the DSP, and the calculation time. We introduce a technique for calculation process improvement, and for shortening the detection delay on the ADC to achieve the high-speed response. The proposed algorithm is verified by using 1/8 brick size of 10W POL adopting the latest high performance DSP (TMS320F2808: TI), which is newly developed as a commercial product.

Pegylated interferon and ribavirin combination therapy is the standard treatment for patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC), but treatment failure can be difficult to predict. We and others have reported a relation between lipid values and sustained viral responses in patients with CHC. However, the relationship between lipid values and treatment failure has not been previously reported. The present study investigated the association between the profiles of phospholipids and free cholesterol (FC), the main constitutive ingredients of the surface of lipoprotein, classified according to particle size and hepatitis C treatment, and determined the usefulness of these parameters for predicting the outcome of treatment. Fifty-five patients with CHC (33 men and 22 women) were included in the study. The serum total cholesterol, triglyceride, phospholipids, and FC levels in the lipoprotein subclasses were determined using high-performance liquid chromatography with gel permeation columns, enabling the lipoproteins to be classified into 13 subclasses according to particle size. According to a univariate analysis, the treatment failure group had a significantly higher serum phospholipid level overall in the high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and medium HDL fractions as well as a higher serum FC level in the HDL fraction and all HDL subclass fractions compared with the corresponding values in the non-nonvirological response group. Higher serum phospholipid and FC concentrations in the HDL subclasses were predictive of a failure to respond in patients with genotype 1b.

An improved model of granulomatous inflammation in skin was developed by second passage skin grafting of isolated, lyophilized skin granulomas, originally elicited in naive mice by inoculations of lyophilized hepatic schistosome egg granulomas. The tissue reaction is caused by a single exposure to a noninfectious, acellular granulomagenic stimulus and occurs in healthy mice free of systemic disease. The model should prove useful for isolation of granuloma initiation factor(s). Furthermore, because there is a time lag before new granuloma formation begins, a window exists for analytical dissection of the initiation process. In this study we described the responses of host cells by autoradiography, and light and electron microscopy. The activity of angiotensin-converting enzyme and proline-specific endopeptidase showed a modulation during granuloma formation. In addition we found that severe immunosuppression with high dose cyclosporine therapy did not alter granuloma formation, supporting the idea that initiation of organized granulomas is T-cell independent.

For a fuel-cell-based energy network to spread in usage, determining its configuration by minimizing the CO2 emissions or operation cost is necessary. We report on a method for determining an energy network design. The feature of this method is the combination of linear programming (LP) and a genetic algorithm (GA). LP is used to calculate the minimum value of the objective function for each candidate solution of the amount of energy equipment. These calculated values are used as criteria for selecting the best solution. For each candidate solution, the configuration is calculated using GA, and the best solution is then determined. This proposed method is effective for determining the best configuration design for an energy network.

Background Liver fibrosis is the main predictor of the progression of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Transient elastography (FibroScan), which measures liver stiffness, is a novel, noninvasive method to assess liver fibrosis. Aim We investigated the usefulness of liver stiffness measurement in the evaluation of liver fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients. Study population A total of 97 nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients. Methods Transient elastography was performed for liver stiffness measurement in 97 nonalcoholic fatty liver disease patients. And the relationship between histological parameters and liver stiffness measurement was studied by multivariate analysis. Moreover, we investigated the relationship between liver stiffness measurement and the serum levels of hyaluronic acid and type IV collagen 7s domain. Results The liver stiffness was well correlated with the stage of liver fibrosis (Kruskal–Wallis test p

This paper reports on the stability condition of the DC 300-V distribution network of a demonstrative project on power supply systems offering different service levels analyzed by SPICE simulation. To improve the simulation accuracy, we measured some characteristics of actual devices and incorporated them into the simulation models. Using these models, we repeated the simulation and evaluation of network stability while changing both the length of the feeders and the capacitance of the capacitors in the network. Finally, the relationship among those values required to keep the network stable was derived.

This paper presents the improvement of the flash lamp annealing (FLA) process to achieve the ultra-shallow junction (USJ) requirement for high-performance CMOSFETs. Issues concerning ultra-rapid activation are discussed; namely, crystal damage (residual defect, deformation and crack) and pattern dependence, We report that the FLA process with long pulse duration and cap layers can improve USJ characteristics for various design-scale cells.

Corticosteroids are highly effective anti-inflammatory or immunosuppressive drugs used commonly to treat human systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). All-trans-retinoic acid (ATRA), which belongs to a class of retinoids that exert immunomodulatory and anti-inflammatory functions, can also suppress the development of lupus nephritis in an animal model. However, both agents can inflict serious adverse effects. Here, we have asked whether ATRA can serve as a steroid-sparing drug in the treatment of lupus nephritis. To examine the efficacy of combining predonisolone (PSL) with ATRA, we treated intraperitoneally New Zealand black/white F1 (NZB/W F1) mice with PSL, ATRA or both agents. Survival rate and proteinuria were determined once a month. Cytokine and anti-DNA antibody production were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Renal histopathology was observed by haematoxylin and periodic acid Schiff (PAS), immunoperoxidase and immunohistochemical assay. Survival rate and proteinuria were improved in all experimental groups, and were much improved in the mice receiving the combination of ATRA and PSL (P0.05). A single administration of ATRA reduced the Th1 [interleukin (IL)-2, interferon (IFN)-gamma and IL-12], and a Th2 (IL-4) cytokine level, as effectively as administration of PSL. ATRA also suppressed the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthetase (iNOS) and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) in the kidney. The combination of PSL and ATRA significantly reduced IgG2 (especially IgG2b)-specific anti-DNA antibody levels in comparison with administration of either agent alone. These data suggest that ATRA might have the potential to act as a new therapeutic and steroid-sparing drug against lupus nephritis.

We have proposed a stand-alone photovoltaic power system that uses electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) and lead acid batteries as power storage devices. We simulated the system's operating characteristics and evaluated the photovoltaic array mismatching loss, system conversion loss, battery contribution factor, averaged battery state-of-charge, and maximum depth-of-discharge. The results show that the system is effective at reducing the mismatching loss and battery contribution factor, so the system efficiency is improved. Moreover the system can maintain the averaged battery state-of-charge during operation. The maximum depth-of-discharge can be kept higher than in the conventional system. Consequently, the proposed system should have a longer battery lifetime.