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An improvement in dielectric strength is required in vacuum circuit breakers (VCBs) intended for use in higher voltage systems. In order to develop higher voltage VCBs, it is important to improve the dielectric strength in a vacuum based on consideration of the vacuum breakdown mechanism. Particularly for gaps longer than 10 mm, little is known about the breakdown mechanisms and their quantitative analyses in a vacuum. This paper discusses the breakdown conditioning characteristics of long gap electrodes, under a non-uniform electric field in a vacuum. We treat gap lengths of up to 50 mm in this paper. The conditioning characteristics are investigated under impulse voltage applications. A negative standard lightning impulse voltage was applied to rod-plane electrodes made of Cu-Cr and SUS304 for different tip radii and gap distances until the conditioning effect was completed. We observed illumination spots on electrodes at each breakdown during the conditioning process and calculated the corresponding breakdown field strengths. Experimental results revealed that the tendency of breakdowns associated with long gaps is different from that for the short gaps. As a result, we clarified that the breakdown field strengths are nearly constant at 110-120 kV/mm at the distances longer than 10 mm, and the breakdown field strength is at its maximum when the gap distance is about 5 mm. Index Terms--Breakdown conditioning, non-uniform electric field, long gap, lightning impulse voltage.

Adhesively bonded titanium alloy joints were prepared through flame-based surface treatment, and their failure behavior and substrate surface properties were investigated. The commercially available ITRO surface treatment technique was applied to Ti-6Al-4 V alloy substrates to modify their surfaces prior to bonding with an epoxy film adhesive. Adhesively bonded single-lap joint specimens were tested under static tensile loading to determine their strength and failure mode. Scanning electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were employed to observe the morphology and chemistry of the treated titanium alloy surfaces. ITRO treatment significantly increased the strength of the joint specimens. The strength enhancement was probably due to the interactions of the silicon oxide film that was formed on the surface of the titanium alloy substrate with both the adhesive and the substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The low growth rate of mist chemical vapor deposition normally requires a long growth time to achieve coalescence in the epitaxial lateral overgrowth of α-Ga2O3 thin films on sapphire substrates. To address this issue, sub-μm features were patterned using laser interference lithography. Periodical stripes with a ∼590-nm pitch allowed the overgrowth of crack-free, void-free, and continuous thin films, while typical growth conditions using a low carrier gas flow rate and a low Ga precursor concentration were maintained. Coalescence was achieved even with a short growth time of <30 min and a low film thickness of <500 nm. Transmittance and x-ray diffraction spectra show that the film was predominantly in α-phase. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images reveal cup-top-like α-Ga2O3 regions of low dislocation density on the SiOx mask. Selected area electron diffraction and high-resolution TEM analyses confirm that an α-Ga2O3 layer was formed even on the top of the SiOx mask. Interestingly, the dislocations formed on the window areas did not bend toward the center of the masks; rather, a dislocation bending outward from the center was observed. This suggests the occurrence of early coalescence and/or atomic rearrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work reports growth of α-(AlxGa1-x)2O3 single crystals with high incorporation of Al by a Mist Chemical Vapor Deposition two-chamber system, which was rationally designed to avoid side-reactions between different precursors during solution preparation for multi-component thin film growth. Multiple acceleration voltages were used in Energy Dispersive X-ray measurements to reliably obtain the Al composition x of the films. As a result, Vegard's law for lattice constants was verified and found to be valid in the α-(AlxGa1-x)2O3 system. However, Vegard's law for optical bandgaps, derived from different models, required an additional term to account for the bowing effect. At x = 0.71, the gaps were 7.74, 7.03, 7.26, and 7.34 eV as derived from the Tauc plots for the direct bandgap, indirect bandgap, Tauc-Lorentz model, and O'Leary-Johnson-Lim model, respectively. The two-chamber system provides reliable and effective control of the Al content in α-(AlxGa1-x)2O3 alloys and heterostructures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although enteral nutrition (EN) therapy for Crohn's disease has been confirmed to be as effective as steroid therapy, the precise mechanism responsible for the effects of EN remains unclear, although some of the therapeutic effects of EN are believed to be due to a low dietary fat content. In order to elucidate the influence of fat in EN, it is important to investigate not only the quantity of fat, but also the source of the fat.Methods: We compared two enteral nutritional formulae: Elental (Ajinomoto) (elemental diet; ED), which contains only 1.5% fat, provided as long-chain triglycerides (LCT), versus Twinline (Snow Brand Milk Products) (TL), which contains a high percentage of fat (20.4%), provided mainly as medium-chain triglycerides (MCT). These formulae were tested on rat enteritis and rat colitis induced by trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS).Results: Both ED and TL reduced the manifestations of enteritis. TL had a stronger anti-inflammatory effect than ED for colitis. TL also had nutritional advantages as compared with ED, as shown by the total serum protein in the TL group being significantly higher than that in the ED group.Conclusion: The results indicate that intraluminal MCT is suitable as a fat energy source during intestinal inflammation in rats. We suggest that Twinline may be more useful to improve nutritional status and to reduce the mucosal inflammation in rat colitis, but that Twinline is equal in effect to Elental for rat enteritis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An ion sensitive probe (ISP) has been applied to ion diagnostics of the edge plasma of the GAMMA10 tandem mirror device. Since high energy ions are created by ion cyclotron range of frequency heating in the central cell of GAMMA10, a secondary electron repeller electrode is set in to suppress secondary electrons emitted from the collector due to high energy ions. Then secondary electrons are successfully suppressed. The ion flux flowing into the collector is evaluated with numerical calculation of ion orbits. This calculation includes the potential profile near the tip of the ISP. Then a correction factor Fα of the ion flux to the free streaming one is determined. The calculation yields V–I characteristic of the collector current. The ion density can be estimated by using the measured ion temperature and the factor Fα. Sample data of the ion temperature and the ion density in the edge region of the central cell of GAMMA10 are given. The measurement with the ISP shows that the edge ion temperature of GAMMA10 plasma ranges from 100 to 400 eV, and the ion density from 0.5×1010 to 2×1010 cm-3. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The expenses related to fertility preservation or subsequent assisted reproductive treatments are significant for adolescents and young adult patients in Japan's current healthcare system. With fertility preservation becoming more widespread in developed countries, it is expected that these costs will be covered by insurance or subsidies. It is critical for patients, healthcare providers, and the government to know the costs that patients will be responsible for. In Japan, the costs of fertility preservation and subsequent assisted reproductive technology are not covered by insurance, but patients can apply for subsidies from the local and central governments if certain conditions are met. Presently, the above-mentioned costs, as well as the amount paid by the patient, vary by facility. Therefore, it is essential to ensure patients' continued access to necessary medical care despite the associated costs., Methods: In this study, questionnaires were mailed to 186 certified fertility preservation facilities in Japan to assess patients who had undergone fertility preservation or assisted reproduction. The questionnaires were sent between October 27, 2023 and March 31, 2024, with 140 of the 186 facilities responding (response rate: 75.3%)., Results: Our findings show that approximately one-third of the costs was borne by the patients., Conclusion: Given these circumstances, sustainable pricing and insurance coverage are necessary for both patients and facilities., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Ethical approval: Approval was obtained from the Institutional Review Board and Ethics Committee (T2023-0129). Human and Animal rights: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Real-world data on venous thromboembolism (VTE) in Japanese patients with gynecological cancer are lacking. The GOTIC-VTE trial aimed to evaluate the frequency of VTE-associated events and risk factors at the time of cancer diagnosis and during 1-year follow-up. From July 2017 to February 2019, patients with endometrial, cervical, ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal cancer who underwent VTE screening within 2 months before registration, were enrolled. Of the 1008 patients enrolled, 881 were included in the analysis set, 51 (5.8%) had VTE at the time of cancer diagnosis (baseline), 7 (0.8%) had symptomatic VTE, and the majority had asymptomatic VTE (n = 44; 5.0%). Patients with ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal cancer had a higher incidence of VTE (13.7%) than those with other cancer types. During the 1-year follow-up, 0.9% (n = 8) of the patients had symptomatic VTE, 3.5% (n = 31) had composite VTE (symptomatic VTE and incidental VTE requiring treatment), 0.2% (n = 2) had bleeding events, and 4.3% (n = 38) had all-cause death, all of which were significantly higher in the VTE group at baseline. In the multivariate analysis, chemotherapy was an independent risk factor for composite VTE during the 1-year follow-up (hazard ratio 3.85, 95% confidence interval 1.39-13.63, p = 0.018). Among gynecological cancers, VTE incidence is particularly high in ovarian, tubal, or peritoneal cancer, and patients undergoing chemotherapy should be cautioned against VTE occurrence during treatment.The GOTIC-VTE trial Unique identifier, jRCTs031180124; Registration date, April 06, 2017., Competing Interests: Declarations. Conflict of interest: Yoshifumi Takahashi received honoraria from Daiichi Sankyo. Hiroyuki Fujiwara received honoraria from Daiichi Sankyo, AstraZeneca, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. Toyomi Satoh received honoraria from Daiichi Sankyo. Kouji Yamamoto received a research grant from Daiichi Sankyo. Keiich Fujiwara received honoraria from Daiichi Sankyo. The other authors have no conflict of interest. All authors had full access to all of the data in the study and had final responsibility for the decision to submit for publication. Ethical approval: This study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Approval of the research protocol by an Institutional Reviewer Board: Jichi Medical University Central Clinical Research Ethics Committee (Permission number: 20JMU001Mre). Consent to participate: All participants provided written informed consent at the time of the registration., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The ultra-wide bandgap semiconductor α-Ga 2 O 3 can be heteroepitaxially grown on a sapphire substrate. However, due to a lattice mismatch of about 4.6% with a sapphire substrate, many dislocation defects occur in α-Ga 2 O 3 films. To reduce the dislocation density, compositionally step-graded α-(Al x Ga 1- x ) 2 O 3 layers were fabricated on a c -plane sapphire substrate using mist CVD. TEM measurements revealed few dislocations in the initial layer of α-(Al 0.96 Ga 0.04 ) 2 O 3 , but numerous dislocations were observed in the subsequent layer of α-(Al 0.84 Ga 0.16 ) 2 O 3 . However, the step-graded α-(Al x Ga 1- x ) 2 O 3 layers exhibited bending of the dislocations under both compressive and tensile strains due to compositional differences of α-(Al x Ga 1- x ) 2 O 3 , resulting in about 50% reduction of the dislocation density in the high-Ga-composition layer of α-(Al x Ga 1- x ) 2 O 3 . The introduction of multiple 50 nm α-Ga 2 O 3 layers into the compositionally step-graded α-(Al x Ga 1- x ) 2 O 3 layers resulted in a notable reduction in dislocation defects at the interface between the sandwiched α-Ga 2 O 3 layers. It is assumed that the dislocations were bent by the strain caused by the composition change, resulting in a decrease in the number of dislocations. It is anticipated that further reduction of dislocation density will be achieved by optimizing the composition change and thicknesses of layers that provide effective strain for dislocation bending, and by stacking these layers., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Objective: This study evaluated the long-term safety and efficacy of niraparib in Japanese patients with platinum-sensitive recurrent ovarian cancer., Methods: This was a follow-up analysis of a phase 2, multicenter, open-label, single-arm study in Japanese women with platinum-sensitive, relapsed ovarian cancer. Participants received niraparib (starting dose 300 mg) once daily in continuous 28-day cycles. The primary endpoint was the incidence of Grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia-related events (defined as the overall incidence of the MedDRA Preferred Terms "thrombocytopenia" and "platelet count decreased") occurring in the 30 days after initial administration of niraparib, and secondary endpoints included evaluation of treatment-emergent adverse events and progression-free survival., Results: Nineteen patients (median age, 62 years; median body weight, 53.9 kg) were enrolled. As previously reported, the incidence of Grade 3 or 4 thrombocytopenia-related events during the first 30 days of treatment was 31.6%. At data cutoff, median (range) treatment exposure was 504.0 (56-1,054) days and mean ± standard deviation dose intensity was 154.4±77.5 mg/day. The most common treatment-emergent adverse events were nausea (n=14, 73.7%), decreased platelet count (n=12, 63.2%), decreased neutrophil count (n=11, 57.9%), anemia, vomiting, and decreased appetite (all n=9, 47.4%). One patient was diagnosed with treatment-related leukemia, which resulted in death. Median (95% confidence interval) progression-free survival was 18.0 (5.6-26.7) months., Conclusion: Overall, the safety profile of niraparib was considered manageable in this study population of Japanese patients with platinum-sensitive, relapsed ovarian cancer and was consistent with that observed in studies of non-Japanese patients., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT03759587., Competing Interests: Kosei Hasegawa declares the receipt of research grants from Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, MSD, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd, honoraria from AstraZeneca, Chugai, Daiichi Sankyo, Eisai, Genmab, Kaken, Kyowa Kirin, MSD, Sanofi, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd, and travel expenses from Regeneron. Kosei Hasegawa is also on the advisory board of Chugai, Eisai, Genmab, MSD, Roche, Sanofi, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd. Shoji Nagao declares the receipt of grants from AstraZeneca, consulting fees from AstraZeneca, and honoraria from AstraZeneca, Chugai, Eisai, MSD, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals Company Ltd. Kazuhiro Takehara declares the receipt of speaker bureaus fees from AstraZeneca, MSD, and Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, and manuscript writing fees from MSD. Hidekatsu Nakai and Hidemichi Watari declare the receipt of lecture fees from Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. Shuuji Sumino is an employee of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. Yoichi Kase and Ai Kato are employees of, and hold stocks in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. Ajit Suri is an employee of Millennium Pharmaceuticals, part of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd, and holds stocks in Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd. Other authors have no conflict of interest to disclose., (© 2024. Asian Society of Gynecologic Oncology, Korean Society of Gynecologic Oncology, and Japan Society of Gynecologic Oncology.)

The Ag x O thin film with various oxygen flow ratios ( R [O 2 ]%) deposited by radio frequency magnetron sputtering (RFM-SPT) has been studied. While adjusting R [O 2 ]% from 0% to 30%, the Ag x O thin film transitioned from metal to semiconductor and/or insulator with different transparent appearances on the surface observed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmittance measurement. At high oxygen flow ratios, the Ag x O film is multi-phased as a mixture of Ag (II) O and Ag 2 (III) O 3 . In addition, the work function ( ϕ ) of those samples changes from 4.7 eV to 5.6 eV as measured by photoelectron yield spectroscopy (PYS). The compositional and chemical state changes that occur at the Ag x O surface during the increments of R [O 2 ]% are evaluated by the relative peak intensities and binding energy shifts in X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). With the incorporation of more electrons in chemical bonding, the oxygen-induced band forms. And combining all the results from transmittance (band gap confirmation), PYS (work function confirmation), and XPS (valence band position confirmation), the estimated band diagrams are given for the oxidation state of Ag x O with various oxygen flow ratios., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

α-Ga 2 O 3 films were grown on a c -plane sapphire substrate by HCl-supported mist chemical vapor deposition with multiple solution chambers, and the effect of HCl support on α-Ga 2 O 3 film quality was investigated. The growth rate monotonically increased with increasing Ga supply rate. However, as the Ga supply rate was higher than 0.1 mmol/min, the growth rate further increased with increasing HCl supply rate. The surface roughness was improved by HCl support when the Ga supply rate was smaller than 0.07 mmol/min. The crystallinity of the α-Ga 2 O 3 films exhibited an improvement with an increase in the film thickness, regardless of the solution preparation conditions, Ga supply rate, and HCl supply rate. These results indicate that there is a low correlation between the improvement of surface roughness and crystallinity in the α-Ga 2 O 3 films grown under the conditions described in this paper.

Background: Acrylamide poisoning is often reported as chronic poisoning presenting with peripheral neuropathy or carcinogenic action due to long-term exposure to low concentrations. However, there have been few reports of acute poisoning due to oral ingestion of acrylamide, where the symptoms appear a few hours after ingestion. Here, we report a case of acute acrylamide poisoning where a high concentration was ingested in a short time, resulting in a fatal outcome due to the rapid course of events., Case Presentation: The patient was an adolescent female who ingested 150 ml (148 g) of acrylamide with suicidal intent. A disorder of consciousness was observed when the emergency medical team arrived 36 min later. An hour later, tracheal intubation and intravenous access were performed at a hospital, and 2 h after that, she was transported to our hospital. After she arrived at the hospital, circulatory dynamics could not be maintained despite vasopressor and colloid osmotic infusion, and hemodialysis could not be introduced. Subsequently, cardiopulmonary arrest occurred, and the patient passed away 7 h after ingestion. In the present case, severe symptoms appeared shortly after acrylamide ingestion, unlike other reported cases. In previous report summarizing animal studies, there was a relationship among the symptoms of acute poisoning, the dose, and onset time. The data from this case were compared to those from previous reports, and we were able to predict the early appearance of severe symptoms based on this comparison., Conclusion: The severity of acute acrylamide poisoning by oral ingestion was primarily dependent on the amount and rate of ingestion., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Objective: Female cancer survivors planning to become pregnant are concerned about the impact of cancer treatment on their ability to maintain normal pregnancy and the negative impact on their offspring. However, studies on the pregnancy outcomes of cancer survivors in Japan are limited. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the pregnancy outcomes of female cancer survivors by comparing them with women without a history of malignant tumors in Japan., Methods: This cross-sectional study included 3308 subjects, based on an internet-based questionnaire (self-reported) survey conducted in Japan. Differences in pregnancy outcomes, including multiple pregnancies, stillbirth, preterm birth (PTB), and infant birthweight, between cancer survivors and subjects without a history of malignant tumors, were evaluated using a generalized linear mixed-effects model with adjustment for possible confounding factors., Results: Of 3308 subjects included in this study, 629 (19.0%) were cancer survivors, among whom cervical (40.4%), breast (19.1%), and thyroid (7.0%) malignancies were most frequent. 71 (2.2%) and 53 (1.6%) participants had a history of multiple pregnancies and stillbirth, respectively; 385 (11.8%), 179 (5.5%), and 137 (4.2%) participants, respectively, had histories of PTB at less than 37, 34, and 32 weeks of gestation. Further, 302 (10.7%), 326 (11.6%), and 330 (11.7%) participants delivered to low birthweight (LBW), small-for-gestational-age (SGA), and large-for-gestational-age (LGA) infants, respectively. Subjects with a history of cervical or breast cancers had significantly higher odds of PTB at <37 weeks of gestation (adjusted odds ratios [ORs], 1.87 [95% CI: 1.25-2.81] and 2.61 [95% CI: 1.77-3.86], respectively), preterm LBW infants (adjusted ORs, 2.70 [95% CI: 1.39-5.24] and 2.76 [95% CI: 1.03-7.38], respectively), and LGA infants (1.98 [95% CI: 1.36-2.89] and 1.99 [95% CI: 1.14-3.49], respectively), compared to those without a history of a malignant tumor. Subjects with a history of thyroid cancer had significantly higher odds of stillbirth (adjusted OR, 5.11 [95% CI: 1.11-23.5])., Conclusion: Cancer survivors had a higher risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes than those without a history of malignant tumors in Japan. Healthcare providers should consider the high likelihood of adverse pregnancy outcomes during preconception counseling for cancer survivors.