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The solid solutions between ilmenite (FeTiO3) and hematite (a-Fe2O3) have recently attracted considerable attention as a spintronic material due to their interesting magnetic and electrical properties. In this study, the electronic and magnetic structures of epitaxially grown 0.6FeTiO30.4Fe2O3 solid solution thin films were investigated by combining x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES), x-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) for two different crystallographic projections, and first-principles theoretical calculations. The Fe L-edge XANES and XMCD spectra reveal that Fe is in the mixed-valent Fe2+-Fe3+ states while Fe2+ ions are mainly responsible for the magnetization. Moreover, the experimental Fe L-edge XANES and XMCD spectra change depending on the incident x-ray directions, and the theoretical spectra explain such spectral features. We also find a large orbital magnetic moment, which can originate the magnetic anisotropy of this system. On the other hand, although the valence state of Ti was interpreted to be 4+ from the Ti L-edge XANES, XMCD signals indicate that some electrons are present in the Ti-3d orbital, which are coupled antiparallel to the magnetic moment of Fe2+ ions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the detectability of corona enhancement around the hypervascular hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) by dual-phase cone-beam computed tomography during hepatic arteriography (CBCTHA). Dual-phase CBCTHA was performed for 71 HCC lesions (mean ± SD 1.7 ± 0.9 cm), including seven presenting a nodule-in-nodule appearance and nine hypervascular pseudolesions. The first scan was performed during injection of 30-40 ml half-diluted contrast material at a rate of 1.5-2 ml/s through the hepatic artery. Scanning was initiated 7 s after the beginning of contrast material injection. The second scan was started 30 s after the end of the first scan. Detectability of corona enhancement on second-phase CBCTHA was evaluated. Thickness of corona enhancement was also analyzed as thin (≤2 mm) or thick (>2 mm). Corona enhancement was detected in 63 (88.7%) of 71 tumors (1.8 ± 0.9 cm), but it was not detected in eight tumors (1.0 ± 0.2 cm). Thin corona enhancement was seen in 18 tumors (1.2 ± 0.5 cm), and thick corona enhancement was seen in 45 tumors (2.0 ± 0.9 cm). There was a significant difference in tumor diameter between tumors with and those without corona enhancement (P = 0.0157) and between thin and thick corona enhancement (P = 0.001). In all seven early-stage tumors, corona enhancement was demonstrated around the hypervascular focus within the hypovascular tumor portion. None of the nine pseudolesions showed any corona enhancement. Dual-phase CBCTHA depicted corona enhancement in 88.7% of hypervascular HCC lesions. This technique may improve the diagnostic accuracy of HCC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are usually multiple caudate arteries arising from the right, left, and middle hepatic arteries, and they are frequently connected to each other. Therefore, hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in the caudate lobe is frequently fed by multiple branches arising from different origins. HCC located in the Spiegel lobe is usually fed by the caudate arteries derived from the right and/or left hepatic artery. HCC in the paracaval portion is mainly fed by the caudate artery derived from the right hepatic artery; with low frequency, it is fed by the caudate artery derived from the left hepatic artery. HCC in the caudate process is usually fed by the caudate artery derived from the right hepatic artery. Because of the complexity and overlap of vascular territories, the tumor-feeding branch of a recurrent HCC lesion in the caudate lobe frequently changes on follow-up arteriograms. In addition, several extrahepatic collateral vessels supply the recurrent tumor. To perform effective transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) for HCC in the caudate lobe, radiologists should have sufficient knowledge of vascular anatomy supplying HCC in the caudate lobe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study evaluated the technical success and long-term patency of endovascular treatment for occluded native hemodialysis fistulas caused by thrombotic occlusion (TO) and nonthrombotic occlusion (NTO).Materials and Methods: This cohort included 96 consecutive occlusions (70 TOs and 26 NTOs) at the forearm. Clinical success and patency rates of endovascular treatment were calculated and compared between the TO and NTO groups.Results: Overall clinical success rate was 91.6%; and primary, assisted primary, and secondary patency rates at 1, 2, and 3 years were 49.6%, 30.7%, and 28.3%, respectively; 73.8%, 48.3%, and 48.3%, respectively; and 80.7%, 72.3%, and 66.2%, respectively. Clinical success rates of the TO and NTO groups were 91.4% and 92.3%, respectively. The 1-, 2-, and 3-year primary, assisted primary, and secondary patency rates of the TO group were 54.4%, 29.3%, and 25.6%, respectively; 70.7%, 49.4%, and 49.4%, respectively, and 78%, 68.8%, and 64,2%, respectively. Those of the NTO group were 38.9%, 32.4%, and 32.4%, respectively; 81.2%, 47.3%, and 40.6%, respectively; and 87%, 80.3%, and 70.2%, respectively. There were no significant differences between the clinical success and patency rates of the two groups.Conclusion: Occluded native hemodialysis fistulas were restored with high frequency, without significant differences between clinical success and patency in the TO and NTO groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inferior phrenic artery (IPA) is the most common extrahepatic collateral vessel to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC); however, there are many anatomical variations in its origin and branches. In addition, the IPA is frequently reconstructed through several pathways, mainly through the retroperitoneal network, because of the occlusion of its orifice due to atherosclerosis or previous catheter manipulation. Infrequently, selective catheterization into the IPA is impossible even using a microcatheter, particularly in the IPA that originates from the proximal or distal portion of the celiac trunk or from the aorta with an acute angle. In this article, we describe anatomical variations of the IPA and catheterization techniques, such as a catheter with a large side hole and a catheter with a cleft, to facilitate catheterization into the IPA that is difficult using a conventional coaxial technique. Radiologists should have sufficient knowledge of such variations and catheterization techniques to perform transcatheter arterial chemoembolization for HCCs through the IPA effectively and safely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fully relativistic multielectron method based on the numerical solution of the Dirac equation was used to calculate the L2,3-edge X-ray absorption near edge structure (XANES) spectra of VO2, V2O3, and V2O5 crystals. The key-points of the method are: i) usage of the molecular orbitals (MO); ii) absence of any fitting parameters; iii) wide area of application: to any ion in any symmetry; iv) possibility of numerical analysis of the MO composition. The calculated spectra are in a satisfactory agreement with experimental data available in the literature, including the absolute values of the transitions energy, the shape of the absorption bands, and polarization dependence. The assignment of the absorption bands in terms of the electronic configurations was done. The structure of the absorption bands is attributed to the splitting of the vanadium p- and d-orbitals; the magnitude of this splitting is estimated from the spectra. Covalency effects were considered for all hosts; it was shown that the contribution of the oxygen wave functions increases with increasing the vanadium oxidation state. Dependence of the relative positions of the vanadium 3d and oxygen 2p levels and energies of the “ligand–metal” charge transfer transitions on the vanadium oxidation state was analysed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acne vulgaris is the most common inflammatory skin disorder and jeopardizes seriously the facial impression of a person. Development of acne involves a complex relation among several causes. Treatment and prevention success can be archived by affecting the main contributors positively likeProprionibacterium acnesor lipid oxidation leading to inflammatory reactions and follicular keratinization. Vitamin C tends to break down in cosmetic formulations resulting in a brownish discoloration. Sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) represents a stable precursor of vitamin C that ensures a constant delivery of vitamin C into the skin. We were able to show that 1% SAP has a strong antimicrobial effect with a log reduction of 5 after 8 h onP. acnesin a time-kill study. Further on in a humanin vivostudy with 20 subjects an SAP O/W formulation significantly prevents the UVA-induced sebum oxidation up to 40%. Finally, we performed an openin vivostudy with 60 subjects with a 5% SAP lotion over 12 weeks. The efficacy ranked as excellent and good of SAP was 76.9%, which was superior compared with a widely prescribed acne treatment. In conclusion, these data show that SAP is efficient in the prevention and treatment of acne vulgaris. SAP can be used in a non-antibiotic and effective treatment or co-treatment of acne with no side effects, which makes it particularly attractive for cosmetic purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of oxygen vacancy on Ti-L2,3 electron energy-loss near-edge structures (ELNES) of BaTiO3 was theoretically investigated through ab initio multiplet calculation. The presence of an oxygen vacancy influences spectral features not only at the nearest neighbor Ti site but also at Ti sites further from the oxygen vacancy. The effects of different oxygen vacancy concentrations were also investigated. Based on this study, it was concluded that the detection limit for oxygen vacancy with Ti-L2,3 ELNES is approximately 1%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Room temperature ferromagnetism of GaMnN thin film is awaked by a mild hydrogenation treatment of a sample synthesized by molecular beam epitaxy. Local environment of Mn atoms is monitored by Mn-L2,3 near edge x-ray absorption fine structure technique. Doped Mn ions are present at substitutional sites of Ga both before and after the hydrogenation. No secondary phase can be detected. Major valency of Mn changes from 3+ to 2+ by the hydrogenation. The present result supports the model that the ferromagnetism occurs when Mn2+ and Mn3+ are coexistent and holes in the midgap Mn band mediate the magnetic coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, a lot of people have suffered physical and mental stress. It makes sympathetic nerves dominant, and autonomic nerves unbalanced. Disruption of the balance in autonomic nerves leads to the increase of granulocyte, and causes various undesirable physical conditions. We investigated the relationship between stress and acne in order to confirm the influence of stress on skin conditions. The degree of subjective stress, and the ratio of neutrophils or lymphocytes in leukocytes were measured in acne patients and healthy volunteers. As it is suggested that the increase of the neutrophil ratio by stress makes reactive oxygen, and raises the degree of oxidation in the blood, we also measured the antioxidant action and the degree of oxidative stress by FRAS4. Additionally, the lifestyle characteristics in each group was investigated in order to confirm the relationship with stress by a questionnaire survey. According to the results of the questionnaire survey, acne patients find themselves readily suffering from acne anytime. Compared with healthy volunteers, acne patients have more undesirable lifestyles and higher stress degrees than healthy volunteers. Further, the Biological Antioxidant Potential (BAP), an antioxidant index measured in acne patients, was significantly lower ( P < 0.0001) than that of healthy volunteers. The acne patients had a higher ratio of neutrophils and a lower ratio of lymphocytes compared to the healthy volunteers. Among the acne patients, the neutrophil ratio was higher in those with high stress ( P < 0.05). These results suggest that acne patients easily feel higher stress against various loads, and the stress leads to the increase in the neutrophil ratio and the oxidation degree, which exacerbates the acne lesions. Keywords: acne, stress, autonomic nerve, sympathetic nerve, white blood cell, neutrophil, lymphocyte, oxidation, life style, skin [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A first-principles, fully relativistic, many electron method was applied to the calculation of the multiplet energies in the KLL Auger transition of 3d transition metals from chromium to copper (Z=24–29). The method is a configuration interaction (CI) method, combined with a fully relativistic molecular orbital (MO) theory using four-component MOs. Coulomb and spin–orbit interactions are fully considered in the active CI space with no adjustable parameters. All integrals in matrix elements are numerically calculated. The models of a free atom and a metal cluster having 13–19 atoms were used. The calculated multiplet splittings showed a systematic increase as the atomic number increased over the range from the KL23L23, KL1L23, to the KL1L1 configurations. The trend originated from the increase in orbital contraction. The results obtained using metal clusters had smaller multiplet splittings between the 3P2(KL3L3) and 1S0(KL2L2) terms than in the case of free-atom models by about 0.2 eV. Two final-state configurations were compared to see the effect of CI in the KL23L23 multiplets. The calculated energies were well comparable to the experimentally obtained peak positions. The 1S0 terms largely shifted by the inclusion of the CI with the KL1L1 configuration. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

New phosphors are consistently in demand for advances in solid-state lighting and displays. Conventional trial-and-error exploration experiments for new phosphors require considerable time. If a phosphor host suitable for the target luminescent property can be proposed using computational science, the speed of development of new phosphors will significantly increase, and unexpected/overlooked compositions could be proposed as candidates. As a more practical approach for developing new phosphors with target luminescent properties, we looked at combining experiments with machine learning on the topics of emission wavelength, full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the emission peak, temperature dependence of the emission spectrum (thermal quenching), new phosphors with new chemical composition or crystal structure, and high-throughput experiments., Competing Interests: No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s)., (© 2024 The Author(s). Published by National Institute for Materials Science in partnership with Taylor & Francis Group.)