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Low Vt Ni fully silicided (FUSI) devices are demonstrated making use of Al implantation for pMOS and Yb or Yb+P implantation for nMOS combined with Ni-silicide phase engineering. When Yb(+P) and Al implantation are followed by a high temperature anneal, significant segregation of Yb or Al toward the Ni-FUSI/SiON interface is observed and large Vt shifts of 450 mV (330 mV) and 200 mV are obtained for nMOS NiSi FUSI/SiON devices and pMOS Ni-rich FUSI/SiON devices, respectively, as compared to the undoped reference devices. The Vt shifts are preserved down to the shortest gate lengths. For both Al and Yb, the Vt shifts are explained by the dopants reacting with and modifying the dielectric. Thus, the low Vt dual implantation approach proposed achieves a low-cost "dual dielectric" implementation without the need of dual deposition of dielectrics or capping layers. In the case of Yb implantation followed by a high temperature anneal, a significant reduction in the inversion dielectric thickness is observed, indicating that the reaction between Yb and SiON results in the formation of a high-κ dielectric. The Yb diffusion and reaction at the interface can be engineered using a P complaint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We report for the first time that the optimization of a HfSiON process on Ni-FUSI devices is best tackled using a design of experiments (DOE [Myers RH, Montgomery. Response surface methodology. New York, DC: Wiley; 1995]) approach. We show that a DOE allows for directly linking process parameters to relevant short channel performance metrics. By tuning the SiO2 thickness, HfSiO thickness, Hf concentration, nitridation parameters and by using response surface modeling (RSM), we report an improvement of 12%/17% in nMOS/pMOS drive current (I dsat 600/255uA/μm at I off =20pA/μm and V dd =1.1V) over our reference process. In parallel, we demonstrate that by selecting the right parameters, plasma nitridation can outperform thermal nitridation with NH3. We believe that this new approach will be useful for device engineers and can be easily applied. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Reaction behavior between Ni-FUSI gate and PVD-HfO2 gate dielectrics during FUSI formation was examined. A SiN cap between FUSI and HfO2 was found to increase the yield of the transistors, however, The scatter in the electrical properties was attributed to micro holes in the SiN cap that were produced by during the NiSi formation it could not suppress a scatter of the electrical property. The scatter in the electrical properties was attributed to micro holes in the SiN cap that were produced by during the NiSi formation The change of PDA condition from 700C to 1000C could suppress the generations of micro holes within the SiN cap. By these treatments, decent electrical characteristics were obtained, i.e., I on (n/p)=600/180 uA/um at I off =20 pA/um at Vdd=1.1V. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this letter, we report that by using a thin Dysprosium oxide (Dy2O3) cap layer (~1-nm thick) on top of SION host dielectrics, the threshold voltage (Vt) of poly-Si/TaN gated n-FETs can be modulated to match that of the reference poly-Si/SiON devices, with a significantly scaled equivalent oxide thickness, a much reduced gate leakage, improved time-zero-break-down characteristics, and a minor degradation of the long channel devices mobility. These effects are attributed to the formation of a DySiON layer formation after full device fabrication due to the intermixing between the Dy2O3 cap and the SiON layer, as evidenced by a cross-sectional transmission-electron-microscopy measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This work reports that introducing lanthanide in the gate dielectric or in the gate electrode results, in both cases, in large effective work function (eWF) modulation towards n-type band-edge for Ni-FUSI devices. This is done by: (a) deposition of a Dy2O3 capping layer on the host dielectric (SiON or HfSiON), or (b) simple Yb implantation of nMOS poly gates prior to FUSI. We show that: (1) both cases result in dielectric modification with gate leakage (J G) reduction; (2) adding a cap has no significant impact on T inv(<1Å), while up to ∼5 and 2Å reduction occurs for SiON and HfSiON Yb-implanted devices, respectively, (3) the largest J G reduction (150×) is obtained for capped SiON devices due to dielectric intermixing and formation of a new high-k dielectric (DySiON), comparable to HfSiON in J G and mobility but with 500mV smaller V T; (4) on the other hand, being less invasive to the host dielectric, the optimized Yb I/I option gives 18% improved mobility compared to capped SiON devices; (5) excellent process control and reliability behavior (V T instability by a.c. pulsed IV, PBTI and TDDB) is reported for both eWF tuning methods. They allow ΔeWF(n−p) values up to ∼800meV when combined with Ni–silicide FUSI phase engineering, promising for low-V T CMOS. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The HfO2/Si interface stability has been investigated by using a rapid thermal annealing (RTA), an inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and a reactive sputtering, as a comparison of thermal and plasma oxidations of the Hf/Si interface. Reduction in both capacitance equivalent thickness (CET) and leakage current density (Jg) was difficult to be attained by the thermal oxidation since it accompanies the crystalline HfO2 with SiO2-like interface. Advantage is found for the plasma oxidation technique to oxidize Hf metal at low temperatures remaining the HfO2 in an amorphous phase with silicate interface. Reduction in both CET and Jg was attained by the plasma oxidation and a Hf metal pre-deposition technique. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Rationale: Anti-mitochondrial antibodies (AMA) M2-positive myositis can lead to severe respiratory failure. Traditional immunotherapies sometimes fail to address respiratory failure. Herein, this CARE-compliant case report described a patient with AMA-M2-positive myositis who recovered from ventilation with tracheostomy owing to immunotherapy-resistant respiratory failure to spontaneous breathing after modified lung volume recruitment (mLVR) therapy., Patient Concerns: A 60-year-old man experienced general fatigue and shortness of breath. The patient had a notable degree of proximal muscle weakness. Blood test results revealed hyperCKemia. The serum AMA-M2 antibody was positive. A muscle magnetic resonance imaging revealed diffuse abnormal hyperintensities in both lower limb muscles. Needle electromyography demonstrated fibrillation and positive sharp waves at rest with early recruitment, suggesting myogenic changes. Progressive muscle weakness and clinical findings fulfilled the criteria for definite idiopathic inflammatory myopathy. We diagnosed him with AMA-M2-positive myositis. Notably, his thoracic mobility was decreased, resulting in CO2 narcosis, requiring ventilation. Two courses of intravenous methylprednisolone for 3 days followed by oral prednisolone for myopathy. However, his respiratory function remained compromised, resulting in a tracheostomy., Diagnoses: We diagnosed him with severe immunotherapy-resistant respiratory failure due to AMA-positive myositis that required ventilation and tracheostomy., Interventions: To address respiratory failure, this patient underwent the mLVR therapy using the LIC TRAINER (LT). The pressure was adjusted by the operator using a bag-valve mask (BVM), starting at 1500 mL and increasing it up to a maximum of 2500 mL, while avoiding excessive airway pressure., Outcomes: Respiratory function was evaluated by objective measures using chest wall mobility, inspiratory capacity (IC), vital capacity (VC), tidal volume (TV), and subjective measures using the visual analogue scale (VAS). Both objective and subjective scales showed significant improvements. The patient was weaned off ventilation 48 days after the initiation of mLVR therapy., Lessons: The mLVR therapy is an effective respiratory rehabilitation for patients with weakened respiratory muscles or tracheostomy. It allows the intensity of treatment to be adjusted based on the patient's symptoms, making it both highly effective and safe. This case suggests that mLVR therapy may be effective in treating severe, immunotherapy-resistant respiratory failure in AMA-positive myositis., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflict of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.)

The symmetry of one of the simplest hexamonodentate complexes, [M(H 2 O) 6 ] 2+ (M = Fe, Co, Ni, and Zn), was controlled by tuning interactions in the second coordination sphere. Highly symmetric Ti-Mo or Zr-Mo cluster cations acted as symmetry templates, imposing a crystallographic trigonal coordination geometry in the hexamonodentate complexes through intermolecular hydrogen-bonding interactions. Magnetic measurements revealed that the ideal trigonal symmetry results in weak spin-orbit coupling for high-spin Fe II complexes, despite the T-term ground state in the octahedral geometry. In contrast, high-spin Co II analogues with the T-term ground state exhibited strong spin-orbit coupling. DFT studies supported that a d 6 Fe II ion in the D 3 symmetry has a 5 A 1 ground state while a d 7 Co II in the same symmetry has a 4 E ground state. Single-ion magnet behavior was observed in the Co II complexes. These results demonstrate that incorporating a diamagnetic, highly symmetric cluster enables precise symmetry control in single-ion magnets containing only monodentate ligands.

Clarification and control of the active sites at the atomic/molecular level are important to develop nanocatalysts. The catalytic performance of two oxidation states of nitrate-incorporating octadecavanadates, [V 18 O 46 (NO 3 )] 5- (V18) and [V 18 O 46 (NO 3 )] 4- (V18ox), and a copper-substituted one, [Cu 2 V 16 O 44 (NO 3 )] 5- (Cu2V16), in selective oxidation was investigated. Both V18 and V18ox possessed the same double-helical structures and one of two tetravalent vanadium sites of V18 was oxidized in V18ox. The comparison of the mobility of the incorporated nitrate reveals that tetravalent vanadium centres show stronger interaction with the incorporated anions than pentavalent ones. The oxidation reaction with V18ox proceeded more smoothly with tert -BuOOH as an oxidant than that with V18. The reactivity and selectivity of the oxidation of 2-cyclohexen-1-ol were different among the derivatives. V18ox showed the higher reactivity with 72% selectivity to epoxide. With V18, reactivity was lower but higher selectivity to epoxide was achieved. In the presence of Cu2V16, 2-cyclohexen-1-one was selectively obtained with 81% selectivity. The order of the reactivity for cyclooctene was V18ox, V18 and Cu2V16. These results shows that the cap part of the double-helix acts as the active site. Even though the vanadium-oxygen species exhibit the same structures, the catalytic properties can be controlled by changing the valence of vanadium and metal substitution.

Organometallic-polyoxometalate (POM) complexes form a unique class of molecular organometallic oxides characterized by the dynamic behavior of the organometallic cations. Herein, we investigated the reactivity of Cp*Ir-octatungstate clusters (where Cp* represents pentamethylcyclopentadienyl, C 5 Me 5 - ) with Werner-type transition-metal aquo cations. The addition of Ag + , Co 2+ , Ni 2+ , and M 3+ (M = Cr, Fe, or In) cations to the aqueous solution of Cp*Ir-octatungstate clusters resulted in the formation of [{Ag(OH 2 ) 2 } 2 {Cp*Ir(OH 2 )} 2 {Cp*IrW 3 O 12 (OH)} 2 (WO 2 ) 2 ] ( 1 ), Co 1.5 K 0.8 Na 0.2 [{ trans -Co(OH 2 ) 2 }{Cp*IrW 3 O 12 (OH)} 2 (WO 2 ) 1.3 { cis -Co(OH 2 ) 2 } 0.7 ] ( 2-Co ), Ni 0.2 K 1.4 Na 0.2 [{Ni(OH 2 ) 4 } 2 {Cp*IrW 3 O 12 (OH)} 2 (WO 2 ) 1.1 { cis -Ni(OH 2 ) 2 } 0.9 ] ( 2-Ni ), and [{M(OH 2 ) 4 } 2 {Cp*IrW 3 O 12 (OH)} 2 { cis -M(OH 2 ) 2 } 2 ](NO 3 ) 2 (M = Cr, 3-Cr ; Fe, 3-Fe ; or In, 3-In ), respectively. All clusters share the same cubane-type {Cp*IrW 3 O 12 (OH)} 5- building block, representing the first examples of organoiridium-POMs functionalized by transition-metal aquo cations. These compounds are insoluble in water, facilitating the evaluation of their heterogeneous water-oxidation properties. Notably, 2-Co generates the highest catalytic water oxidation current. This work provides a new synthetic method to introduce metal-aquo complexes on an organometallic oxide cluster, producing multimetallic molecules that model the catalytic sites of complex oxides.

In a previous work, we demonstrated a coupled cavity system where photons in one storage cavity can be transferred to another storage cavity at an arbitrary time by applying a voltage pulse to a third cavity placed in a p-i-n junction. In this work, we demonstrate methods to improve the transfer efficiency and photon lifetimes of such a coupled system. Firstly, we designed a photonic-crystal structure that achieves a large coupling coefficient without reducing the radiation quality factor compared to the previously proposed structure: The photonic-crystal design was changed to a more symmetric configuration to suppress radiation losses and then optimized using an automatic structure tuning method based on the Covariance Matrix Adaptive Evolutional Strategy (CMAES). Here we added two improvements to achieve an evolution toward the desired direction in the two-dimensional target parameter space (spanned by the coupling coefficient and the inverse radiation loss). Secondly, to improve the experimental cavity quality factors, we developed a fabrication process that reduces the surface contamination associated with the fabrication of the p-i-n junction: We covered the photonic structure with a SiO 2 mask to avoid the contamination and the electrode material was changed from Al to Au/Cr to enable cleaning by a weak acid. Owing to these improvements of the cavity design and the fabrication process, the obtained system provides coupling strengths that are about three times stronger and photon lifetimes that are about two times longer, compared to the previously reported system.

Here, we report on the increase of the quality-factors of photonic crystal nanocavities fabricated by a CMOS-compatible process. We fabricated nanocavities with the same cavity design but used either a binary photomask or a phase-shift photomask in the photolithography step to assess the impact of the photomask-type on the fabrication accuracy of the air holes. We characterized 62 cavities using time-resolved measurements and the best cavity had a quality-factor of 6.65 × 10 6 . All cavities exhibited a quality-factor larger than 2 million and the overall average was 3.25 × 10 6 . While the estimated magnitude of the scattering loss due to the air hole variations in the 33 cavities fabricated with the phase-shift photomask was slightly lower than that in the 29 cavities fabricated with binary photomask, the phase-shift photomask did not provide a significant improvement in the fabrication accuracy. On average, the scattering loss in these samples is more than 3 times larger than that of nanocavities fabricated using electron-beam lithography, which indicates room for further improvement.

This study aimed to identify factors associated with the prevalence and severity of menstrual-related symptoms. The protocol was registered in PROSPERO (CRD42021208432). We conducted literature searches of PubMed and Ichushi-Web and used the Jonna Briggs Institute critical appraisal checklist to assess the quality. Of the 77 studies included in the meta-analysis, significant odds ratios (ORs) were obtained for eight factors associated with primary dysmenorrhea (PD): age ≥ 20 years (OR: 1.18; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.04−1.34), body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m2 (OR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.01−2.26), longer menstrual periods (OR: 0.16; 95% CI: 0.04−0.28), irregular menstrual cycle (OR: 1.28; 95% CI: 1.13−1.45), family history of PD (OR: 3.80; 95% CI: 2.18−6.61), stress (OR: 1.88; 95% CI: 1.30−2.72), sleeping hours < 7 h (OR: 1.19; 95% CI: 1.04−1.35), and bedtime after 23:01 (OR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.16−1.45). Two factors were associated with severity of PD (moderate vs. severe): BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 (OR: 1.89; 95% CI: 1.01−3.54) and smoking (OR: 1.94; 95% CI: 1.08−3.47). PD severity (mild vs. severe) and prevalence of premenstrual syndrome were associated with BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 (OR: 1.91; 95% CI: 1.04−3.50) and smoking (OR: 1.86; 95% CI: 1.31−2.66), respectively. The identified risk factors could be utilized to construct an appropriate strategy to improve menstrual symptoms and support women’s health.

Three palladium(II) complexes with amino-amidato-phenolato-type tridentate ligands were synthesized and characterized by 1 H NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography. The strategic arrangement of a hydrogen-bond donor and acceptor adjacent to the substitution site of the Pd II complex allowed the selective coordination of nucleosides. Among two pyrimidine-nucleosides, cytidine and 5-methyluridine, cytidine was successfully coordinated to the Pd II complex while 5-methyluridne was not. On the other hand, both purine-nucleosides, adenosine and guanosine, were coordinated to the Pd II complex. As purines have several coordination sites, adenosine afforded three kinds of coordination isomers expected from the three different donors. However, guanosine afforded a sole product according to the ligand design such that the formation of double intramolecular hydrogen-bond strongly induced the specific coordination by N1 -position of guanine moiety. Furthermore, the preference of the nucleosides was evaluated by scrambling reactions. It was found that the preference of guanosine is nearly twice as high as adenosine and cytidine, owing to the three-point interaction of a coordination bond and two hydrogen bonds. These results show that the combination of a coordination and hydrogen bonds, which is reminiscent of the Watson-Crick base pairing, is an effective tool for the precise recognition of nucleosides.

Only a limited number of multinucleating ligands can stably maintain multinuclear metal structures in aqueous solutions. In this study, a water-soluble dinucleating ligand, 2,6-bis{[ N -(carboxylatomethyl)- N -methyl-amino]methyl}-4-methylphenolate (( sym -cmp) 3- ), was prepared and its copper(II) complexes were structurally characterized. Using the single-crystal X-ray diffraction method, their dimer-of-dimers type defect cubane tetranuclear copper(II) structures were characterized for [Cu 4 ( sym -cmp) 2 Cl 2 (H 2 O) 2 ] and [Cu 4 ( sym -cmp) 2 (CH 3 O) 2 (CH 3 OH) 2 ]. In the complexes, each copper(II) ion has a five-coordinate square-pyramidal coordination geometry. The coordination bond character was confirmed by the density functional theory (DFT) calculation on the basis of the crystal structure, whereby we found the bonding and anti-bonding molecular orbitals. From the cryomagnetic measurement and the magnetic analysis, overall antiferromagnetic interaction was observed, and this magnetic behavior is also explained by the DFT result. Judging from the molar conductance and the electronic spectra, the bridging chlorido ligand dissociates in water, but the dinuclear copper(II) structure was found to be maintained in an aqueous solution. In conclusion, the tetranuclear copper(II) structures were crystallographically characterized, and the dinuclear copper(II) structures were found to be stabilized even in an aqueous solution.

Purpose: The efficacy of infliximab (IFX) and adalimumab (ADA) for treating Behçet's syndrome (BS) and sarcoidosis has not been compared adequately., Methods: We reviewed the medical records of patients with uveitis diagnosed at Tokyo Medical University Hospital and compared the efficacy of IFX and ADA for BS and the efficacy of ADA for sarcoidosis and BS., Results: 68 patients in IFX group and 63 patients in ADA group were analyzed. In BS patients, IFX and ADA were both effective in improving uveitic macular edema (UME). ADA improved UME in BS but not in sarcoidosis patients. The efficacy of ADA in reducing doses of corticosteroids and glaucoma medications was better in sarcoidosis than in the BS group., Conclusion: Both IFX and ADA are efficacious in improving UME in BS patients. The reason that ADA improves UME better in BS than in sarcoidosis may be due to the difference in pathogenesis between these diseases.

Purpose : We investigated the changes in etiology of uveitis at the Uveitis Clinic of Tokyo Medical University Hospital in recent years. Methods : Medical records of patients with uveitis diagnosed between 2011 and 2017 (Group A) and between 2001 and 2007 (Group B) were reviewed. Results : 1,587 patients in group A and 1,507 patients in group B were analyzed. For noninfectious uveitis, frequencies of Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease, intraocular lymphoma (IOL) and iridocyclitis in young girls increased, while those of sarcoidosis and Behçet's disease decreased in the recent era. For infectious uveitis, herpetic iridocyclitis, ocular toxoplasmosis, ocular syphilis, and bacterial endophthalmitis increased, while acute retinal necrosis and ocular toxocariasis decreased. Unclassified uveitis decreased, whereas infectious uveitis and IOL increased due to the availability of new diagnostic tests. Conclusion : Etiologies of uveitis have changed over the years. Further development of novel tests and diagnostic criteria would increase definitive diagnosis for unclassified uveitis. (147/150 words).

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit atypicality in various domains of behavior. Previous psychophysiological studies have revealed an atypical pattern of autonomic nervous system (ANS) activation induced by psychosocial stimulation. Thus, it might be feasible to develop a novel assessment tool to evaluate the risk of ASD by measuring ANS activation in response to emotional stimulation. The present study investigated whether people with ASD could be automatically classified from neurotypical adults based solely on physiological data obtained by the recently introduced non-contact measurement of pulse wave. We video-recorded faces of adult males with and without ASD while watching emotion-inducing video clips. Features reflective of ANS activation were extracted from the temporal fluctuation of facial skin coloration and entered into a machine-learning algorithm. Though the performance was modest, the gradient boosting classifier succeeded in classifying people with and without ASD, which indicates that facial skin color fluctuation contains information useful for detecting people with ASD. Taking into consideration the fact that the current study recruited only high-functioning adults who have relatively mild symptoms and probably developed some compensatory strategies, ASD screening by non-contact measurement of pulse wave could be a promising assessment tool to evaluate ASD risk., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Doi, Tsumura, Kanai, Masui, Mitsuhashi and Nagasawa.)

Quaternary environmental changes fundamentally influenced the genetic diversity of temperate-zone terrestrial animals, including those in the Japanese Archipelago. The genetic diversity of present-day populations is taxon- and region-specific, but its determinants are poorly understood. Here, we analyzed cytochrome b gene (Cytb) sequences (1140 bp) of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to elucidate the factors determining the genetic variation in three species of large moles: Mogera imaizumii and Mogera wogura, which occur in central and southern mainland Japan (Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu), and Mogera robusta, which occurs on the nearby Asian continent. Network construction with the Cytb sequences revealed 10 star-shaped clusters with apparent geographic affinity. Mismatch distribution analysis showed that modes of pairwise nucleotide differences (τ values) were grouped into five classes in terms of the level, implying the occurrence of five stages for rapid expansion. It is conceivable that severe cold periods and subsequent warm periods during the late Quaternary were responsible for the population expansion events. The first and third oldest events included island-derived haplotypes, indicative of the involvement of land bridge formation between remote islands, hence suggesting an association of the ends of the penultimate (PGM, ca. 130,000 years ago) and last (LGM, ca. 15,000 years ago) glacial maxima, respectively. Since the third event was followed by the fourth, it is plausible that the termination of the Younger Dryas and subsequent abrupt warming ca. 11,500 years ago facilitated the fourth expansion event. The second event most likely corresponded to early marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 (ca. 53,000 years ago) when the glaciation and subsequent warming period were predicted to have influenced biodiversity. Utilization of the critical times of 130,000, 53,000, 15,000, and 11,500 years ago as calibration points yielded evolutionary rates of 0.03, 0.045, 0.10 and 0.10 substitutions/site/million years, respectively, showing a time-dependent manner whose pattern was similar to that seen in small rodents reported in our previous studies. The age of the fifth expansion event was calculated to be 5800 years ago with a rate of 0.10 substitutions/site/million years ago during the mid-Holocene, suggestive of the influence of humans or other unspecified reasons, such as the Jomon marine transgression.

Oxido bridges commonly form between iron(III) ions, but their bond angles and symmetry vary with the circumstances. A large number of oxido-bridged dinuclear iron(III) complexes have been structurally characterized. Some of them belong to the C 2 point group, possessing bent Fe-O-Fe bonds, while some others belong to the C i symmetry, possessing the linear Fe-O-Fe bonds. The question in this study is what determines the structures and symmetry of oxido-bridged dinuclear iron(III) complexes. In order to gain further insights, three oxido-bridged dinuclear iron(III) complexes were newly prepared with 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) and 1,10-phenanthroline (phen) ligands: [Fe 2 OCl 2 (bpy) 4 ][PF 6 ] 2 ( 1 ), [Fe 2 O(NO 3 ) 2 (bpy) 4 ][PF 6 ] 2 ·0.6MeCN·0.2(2-PrOH) ( 2 ), and [Fe 2 OCl 2 (phen) 4 ][PF 6 ] 2 ·MeCN·0.5H 2 O ( 3 ). The crystal structures of 1 , 2 , and 3 were determined by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction method, and all of them were found to have the bent Fe-O-Fe bonds. Judging from the crystal structure, some intramolecular interligand hydrogen bonds were found to play an important role in fixing the structures. Additional density functional theory (DFT) calculations were conducted, also for a related oxido-bridged dinuclear iron(III) complex with a linear Fe-O-Fe bond. We conclude that the Fe-O-Fe bridge tends to bend like a water molecule, but is often stretched by interligand steric repulsion, and that the structures are mainly controlled by the intramolecular interligand interactions.

Purpose : To investigate whether or not the physiological brain and liver FDG uptake are decreased in patients with highly accelerated glycolysis lesions. Methods : We retrospectively analyzed 51 patients with malignant lymphoma. We compared the FDG uptake in the brain and liver of the patients with that in a control group. In 24 patients with a complete response (CR) or partial response (PR) to treatment, we compared the brain and liver uptake before and after treatment. Results : The maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) and total glycolytic volume (TGV) of the brain as well as the SUVmax and mean standardized uptake value (SUVmean) of the liver in malignant lymphoma patients were 13.1 ± 2.3, 7386.3 ± 1918.4, 3.2 ± 0.5, and 2.3 ± 0.4, respectively ; in the control group, these values were 14.9 ± 2.4, 8566.2 ± 1659.5, 3.4 ± 0.4, and 2.5 ± 0.3, respectively. The SUVmax and TGV of the brain and the SUVmean of the liver in malignant lymphoma patients were significantly lower than the control group. The SUVmax and TGV of the brain after treatment were significantly higher than before treatment. Both the SUVmax and SUVmean of liver after treatment were higher than before treatment, but not significant. Conclusion : A decreased physiological brain and liver FDG uptake is caused by highly accelerated lesion glycolysis. J. Med. Invest. 68 : 181-185, February, 2021.

Obesity is a pathological state related to various lifestyle-related diseases, such as diabetes and dyslipidemia, that may be prevented through the development of anti-obesity treatments. Lipid accumulation in cells could be affected by vitamin E ester α-tocopheryl succinate (TS), which has various biological activities, such as anti-cancer effect, via activation of cell signaling pathways, although the antioxidative activity of TS is lost due to esterification of the phenolic OH group. In this study, we found for the first time that TS significantly suppressed lipid accumulation in mouse 3T3-L1 adipocytes. TS treatment reduced the amount of triglycerides in the culture medium, and inhibited activity of glycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, a marker of lipid synthesis. Furthermore, TS accelerated lipolysis. Treatment of adipocytes with TS for 24 h induced no significant cytotoxicity. In TS-treated cells, phosphorylation of Akt, which is involved in fatty acid synthesis via sterol regulatory element-binding proteins (SREBP), was prevented, while levels of phosphorylated protein kinase A (PKA) did not change. Taken together, these results suggest that vitamin E ester TS can suppress lipid accumulation in adipocytes by regulating lipid metabolic cell signaling.

The correlation between magnetic relaxation dynamics and the alignment of single-ion magnets (SIMs) in a crystal was investigated using four analogous cobalt(ii) complexes with unique hydrogen-bond networks. The hydrogen-bonding interactions in the crystals resulted in a relatively short intermolecular Co⋯Co distance, which led to non-zero intermolecular magnetic coupling. All the complexes with a Co⋯Co distance shorter than 6.5 Å exhibited zero-field slow magnetic relaxation as weak magnetic interactions split the ground ±M s levels and suppressed quantum tunneling of magnetization (QTM). In particular, antiferromagnetically coupled one-dimensional chain SIM networks effectively suppressed QTM when the two intrachain Co⋯Co distances were non-equivalent. However, when the two distances in a chain were equivalent and each molecular symmetry axis aligned parallell within the chain, QTM suppression was insufficient because magnetic coupling from the adjacent molecules was virtually cancelled. Partial substitution of the Co II ion with the diamagnetic Zn II ion up to 33% for this complex resulted in complete QTM suppression in the absence of an external field. These results show that the manipulation of intermolecular distances and alignments is effective for suppressing undesired QTM events in SIMs., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

X-ray structures of the halo-substituted complexes [Fe III (5-X-salMeen) 2 ]ClO 4 (X=F, Cl, Br, I) [salMeen=N-methyl-N-(2-aminoethyl)salicylaldiminate]at RT have revealed the presence of two discrete HS complex cations in the crystallographic asymmetric unit with two perchlorate counter ions linking them by N-H amine ⋅⋅⋅O perchlorate interactions. At 90 K, the two complex cations are distinctly HS and LS, a rare crystallographic observation of this coexistence in the Fe III -salRen (R=alkyl) spin-crossover (SCO) system. At both temperatures, crystal packing shows dimerization through C-H imine ⋅⋅⋅O phenolate interactions, a key feature for SCO cooperativity. Moreover, there are noncovalent contacts between the complex cations through type-II halogen-halogen bonds, which are novel in this system. The magnetic profiles and Mössbauer spectra concur with the structural analyses and reveal 50 % SCO of the type [HS-HS]↔[HS-LS] with a broad plateau. In contrast, [Fe III (5-Cl-salMeen) 2 ]BPh 4 ⋅2MeOH is LS and exhibits a temperature-dependent crystallographic phase transition, exemplifying the influence of lattice solvents and counter ions on SCO., (© 2019 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.)

Pentakis(dimethylsulfoxide-κ O )oxidovanadium(iv) bis(tetraphenylborate), [VO(dmso) 5 ][BPh 4 ] 2 (dmso: dimethylsulfoxide), was synthesized, and its pseudo- C 4 VO 6 coordination geometry was revealed by a single-crystal X-ray method. A novel equation set was obtained for magnetic susceptibility and magnetization of the d 1 complexes, considering the axial distortion and the spin-orbit coupling for the 2 D free-ion term. The equation set enabled magnetic simulation for significantly symmetry-lowered d 1 complexes to obtain the anisotropic g -values and also the excitation energies. In addition, conformational prediction was conducted, using the enumeration results on the basis of the group theory. The dominant conformers were predicted on the basis of the density functional theory (DFT) method, and especially, the conformer in the crystal was successfully predicted by a deep neural network method., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

In recent years, there has been great interest in chipless radio-frequency identification (RFID) devices that work in the terahertz (THz) frequency range. Despite advances in RFID technology, its practical use in the THz range has yet to be realized, due to cost and detection accuracy issues associated with shielding materials. In this study, we propose two types of low-cost THz-tags; one is based on the thickness variation of coated polyethylene and the other on the fingerprint spectra of reagents. In the proposed approach, machine learning, specifically a deep-learning method, is used for high-precision tag identification even with weak signals, or when the spectrum is disturbed by passing through shielding materials. We achieved almost 100% identification accuracy despite using an inexpensive tag placed under thick shielding materials with an attenuation rate of about -50 dB. Furthermore, real-time tag identification was demonstrated by combining a multiwavelength injection-seeded THz parametric generator and a convolutional neural network.