Search

Hexagonal boron nitride nanoparticles were successfully prepared by laser ablation in liquid. A nanosecond laser at the second harmonic of Nd:YAG was used for the preparation, and they were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and dynamic light scattering. Increasing the laser fluence reduced the secondary particle size, yielding particles of 379 nm. The hightemperature laser process did not cause any phase change, and hexagonal boron nitride nanoparticles were obtained. Decreasing the amount of sodium hydroxide solution added to the solvent of laser ablation reduced the amount of agglomeration and reduced the secondary particle size, yielding nanoparticles of 189 nm. The zeta potential of the prepared nanoparticle was -62 mV and the primary particle diameter was 25 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) are becoming widely used for the treatment of various types of cancer. However, characteristic side effects, which are referred to as immune-related adverse events, may appear, and they have important clinical implications for the management of patients treated with ICIs. The development of mycobacterial infections has also been reported, but they have mostly been seen in cases with tuberculosis, and only a few cases involved non-tuberculous mycobacteriosis. We herein present the case of an 82-year-old man who was treated with nivolumab for gastric cancer. After the 22nd course of the treatment, the patient experienced loss of appetite for 1 week, and infiltration shadows were observed in the lower lobe of the left lung. Treatment for bacterial pneumonia was ineffective, and the lung field shadow gradually worsened. Mycobacterium intracellulare was detected in two consecutive sputum cultures. Thus, the patient was diagnosed with Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) lung disease, and treatment for MAC infection was thus initiated, with subsequent improvement of the patient's condition and infiltration shadows. At 7 months after the start of treatment, the sputum cultures became negative for acid-fast bacilli. Since MAC lung disease may develop acutely during immunotherapy with ICIs, clinicians should include it in the differential diagnoses for pneumonia during immunotherapy with ICIs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We introduce rigid syntomic cohomology for strictly semistable log schemes over a complete discrete valuation ring of mixed characteristic (0, p). In case a good compactification exists, we compare this cohomology theory to Nekovář-Nizioł's crystalline syntomic cohomology of the generic fibre. The main ingredients are a modification of Große-Klönne's rigid Hyodo-Kato theory and a generalization of it for strictly semistable log schemes with boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective study to evaluate the clinical and radiographic outcome of the Summit primary total hip arthroplasty (THA) at a minimum follow-up of 4 years.~Purpose~Objective~87 hips in 84 Japanese patients underwent THA using Summit stems. 3 patients were lost to follow-up, and 4 patients were excluded because a Summit stem was judged to be inappropriate for their narrow femoral canals. The remaining 80 hips in 77 patients were evaluated. Mean age was 66 years (range, 33-86 y). Mean postoperative follow-up period was 52 months (range, 48-66 m).~Methods~Methods~There was no early stem subsidence after surgery. Of the 80 hips, 60 (75%) showed radiographic signs of stem osseointegration including zones 3 and 5 at final follow-up. Stress shielding occurred in 50 hips (62.5%), and third-degree stress shielding was observed in 12 hips (15%). 3 patients experienced postoperative thigh pain due to distal fixation.~Results~Results~These short-term results indicate that the Summit stem achieved good initial fixation, although there were some cases of distal fixation. Careful long-term follow-up and observation will be necessary for hips in which stress shielding occurs.~Conclusions~Conclusions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of an AC electric field on the freshness of marine products was experimentally investigated. An AC voltage of 10 kV with 50 Hz in frequency was generated with a transformer and applied to a plane electrode set in an incubator. The biological material was the gonad of purple sea urchin. The AC electric field with 50 Hz in frequency was applied to the gonad at −1 °C for 7 days. Freshness was evaluated by measuring protein release and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. The results showed that the protein release and LDH activity in the gonad were suppressed by applying the AC electric field, compared with that without the AC electric field. Moreover, the gonad was treated with the AC electric field at −5 °C for 3 days and then preserved at 0 °C for 1 day without the field. This electrical field treatment of the gonad prolonged the freshness date for more than 10 days under 4 °C preservation condition. In addition, the permeability of the cell membrane was suppressed by applying the AC electric field. Concerning the relationship between permeability and AC electric field, the conformational change of bovine serum albumin (BSA) induced by the AC electric field was evaluated on the basis of UV absorption spectra. The results revealed that the secondary and/or higher-order structure gradually changes with preservation period. The conformational change of the BSA molecule was induced by applying the AC electric field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diffusion of metal particles into a silicon oxide layer during chemical vapor deposition causes various carbon nanotube growth modes. Here, the diffusion behavior of Co and Fe layers sandwiched between silicon oxides was investigated. The Co layer does not diffuse, while the Fe layer diffuses when annealed in Ar/H2. The thermal behavior also depends on the ambient gas. The diffusivity of Fe and the nondiffusivity of Co when annealed in Ar/H2 can be explained by ionic radius and valence requirements. Fe3+, which has a similar ionic radius to Si4+, can thermally diffuse via the substitution of Si4+ at the center of SiO4 tetrahedra with an oxygen vacancy, whereas Co2+ does not diffuse through substitution owing to its larger ionic radius and strict requirements for two oxide vacancies in SiO4 tetrahedra. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We have been producing the bifacial module, the HIT® Double, since 2000. This module was the first to be released in the world.1) We have since been developing high efficiency bifacial modules. We released a new bifacial photovoltaic (PV) module in 2013. It has a conversion efficiency of 16.0% in spite of having a light-through area of 8% within the total module area, and the temperature coefficient of the output power is quite good at −0.29%/°C. It passed various environmental tests that are much stricter than the industrial standard. Our field test showed the effectiveness of vertically installing the bifacial module, especially when installed on ground that highly reflects light such as snow or white limestone. We developed an original simulation method to accurately estimate the energy production of the bifacial module. A simulation accuracy of about 3.7% was confirmed through practical test results at our field test site in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In situ scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for observing the nucleation of graphene by segregation of bulk-dissolved carbon on a flat polycrystalline nickel surface. Preferential nucleation sites were determined on large (1 1 1) grains. In combination with ex situ atomic force microscopy measurements at the same area as with SEM, the nucleation sites were found to have step-bunched structures. Possible nucleation mechanisms are discussed based on the difference in the carbon concentration and critical nucleus size between the (1 1 1) terrace and step bunches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]