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We investigated the magnetoresistance and the Hall effect in an organic massless Dirac fermion system $\alpha$-(BETS)$_2$I$_3$ under pressure. The Fermi energy of this system is slightly far away from the Dirac points, and thus the $\nu =1$ quantum Hall state is realized in a low magnetic field at low temperatures. Moreover, the experimental formula for chemical potential as a function of temperature is clarified. We succeeded in detecting the inter-band effects of the magnetic field on the Hall conductivity when the chemical potential passes the Dirac points., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures

Theoretical and experimental studies have supported that the electronic structure of $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$I$_3$ under pressure is described by two-dimensional Dirac fermions. When the interlayer tunneling is coherent, the electronic structure of the system becomes three-dimensional, and we expect the peak structure to appear in the interlayer resistivity under magnetic fields. We theoretically and experimentally show that the peak appears in the interlayer resistivity at low temperatures and high magnetic fields. From the experiment, we estimate that the magnitude of the interlayer tunneling is $t_1 \sim 1$ meV. Our result opens the door to investigating the three-dimensional electronic structure of $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$I$_3$., Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures

Introduction: Before corrective surgery for idiopathic scoliosis, the stress x-rays are indispensable to collect information regarding the reducibility of deformity, deciding fusion levels, and categorizing curve types and so on. The hanging radiograph has not been conducted preoperatively so far as known. The objective of this study was to investigate retrospectively the significance of the hanging radiograph for prediction of the curve correction with surgical procedure by comparing with the side-bending and the traction radiographs. Methods: The subjects enrolled in current study were 22 cases of idiopathic scoliosis who performed posterior instrumentation and fusion by ISOLA method between 2008 and 2014. They included 2 males and 20 females, with a mean age of 16 years and 8 months. The type of curves by Lenke classification were type 1 in 20 cases, type 2 in 1 case, and type 3 in 1 case. We investigated the correction rates of main thoracic curves in side-bending, traction, and hanging positions and compared them with that after surgery. In addition, correction indices were also calculated and compared among these stress x-rays. Results: The correction rate after surgery was 65.9% that was statistically higher than those in side-bending (44.2%), traction (46.6%), and hanging (22.1%) positions. There were statistical correlations between the correction rates after surgery and in side-bending position (R=0.73) and those after surgery and in traction position (R=0.57). However, there was no statistical correlation between the correction rates after surgery and in hanging position (R=-0.01). With regard to the correction indices, that in hanging position (3.67) was statistically higher than those in side-bending (1.51) and traction (1.45) positions. Conclusion: The correction rates in side-bending and traction positions seem to be useful to estimate the amount of curve correction before surgery whereas, that in hanging position did not have any significance as preoperative evaluation.

Uniaxial pressure can dramatically change the properties of low-dimensional systems and induce electronic phase transitions. The first-discovered molecular massless Dirac electron system α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 has intensively been studied because of its unique features, such as the Fermi energy being very close to the Dirac point, strong electron correlation, and the quantum phase transition from the charge-ordered insulating state. However, the Dirac state is realized only under high pressure of 15 kbar, which limits the measurement of physical properties (e.g., experimental determination of band dispersion and density of states). Here, we demonstrate that the Dirac state of α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 can be realized by applying uniaxial bending strain without confining it in a pressure cell. Uniaxial strain below 1% completely suppresses the metal–insulator transition observed at ambient pressure. Under strain, a characteristic temperature dependence of magnetoresistance associated with the formation of the n = 0 Landau level is observed, indicating the realization of the massless Dirac state.

Electrocrystallization of tetramethyl-bis(ethylenedithio)-tetrathiafulvalene (TM-BEDT-TTF) (1) as pure (S,S,S,S) and (R,R,R,R) enantiomers in the presence of (n-Bu4N)2(Mo6O19) and chloroform or bromoform afforded a series of four isostructural enantiopure radical cation salts [(S/R)-1]9(Mo6O19)5·(CHX3)2 (X = Cl, Br) crystallizing in the trigonal non-centrosymmetric space group R32. In the formula unit there are six donors of type A and three donors of type B showing, respectively, (ax, ax, eq, eq) and all-ax conformations (ax = axial, eq = equatorial) of the methyl substituents. The donors form a hexagonal network in the ab plane with a helical twist between them leading to lateral orbital overlap interactions. Electrocrystallization of the racemic donor provided the compound [(rac)-1]2(Mo6O19) which crystallized in the monoclinic system P21/n. Single crystal resistivity measurements show semiconducting behaviour of the enantiopure materials with a relatively high room temperature conductivity of 0.8–1.2 S cm−1, but rather insensitive to applied pressures of up to 2.3 GPa. Analysis of the electronic structure of the conducting solids through extended Hückel tight-binding band structure calculations indicates a Mott insulator behaviour explaining the semiconducting character and suggests that these compounds are valuable candidates for Dirac cone materials. Further insight into the conducting properties is provided by preliminary field effect transistor measurements., This work was supported in France by the National Agency for Research (ANR, Project 15-CE29-0006-01 ChiraMolCo), the CNRS and the University of Angers. Work at Bellaterra (Spain) was supported by the Spanish MICIU through Grant PGC2018-096955-B-C44 and the Severo Ochoa FUNFUTURE (CEX2019-000917-S) Excellence Centre distinction as well as by Generalitat de Catalunya (2017SGR1506). This work was also partially supported in Chiba, Japan by MEXT = JSPJ KAKENHI under Grants No. 16H06346 and 20K03870. Work in Okazaki was supported by Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (Grant Number 19H00891) and Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Research (Exploratory) (Grant Number 20K20903) from JSPS as well as PRESTO (Grant Number JPMJPR20L9) from JST.

Field-effect transistors based on strongly correlated insulators are an excellent platform for studying the electronic phase transition and simultaneously developing phase transition transistors. Molecular conductors are suitable for phase transition transistors owing to the high tunability of the electronic states. Molecular Mott transistors show field-induced phase transitions including superconducting transitions. However, their application to charge-ordered insulators is limited. In this study, we fabricated electric double layer transistors based on quarter-filled charge-ordered insulators α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 and α-(BETS)2I3. We observed ambipolar field effects in both compounds where both electron and hole doping (up to the order of 1013&nbsp, cm−2) reduces the resistance by the band filling shift from the commensurate value. The maximum field-effect mobilities are approximately 10 and 55 cm2/Vs, and the gate-induced conductivities are 0.96 and 3.6&nbsp, e2/h in α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 and α-(BETS)2I3, respectively. However, gate-induced metallic conduction does not emerge. The gate voltage dependence of the activation energy in α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 and the Hall resistance in α-(BETS)2I3 imply that the electric double layer doping in the present experimental setup induces hopping transport rather than band-like two-dimensional transport.

We report on the Shubnikov--de Haas (SdH) oscillations in the quasi-two-dimensional molecular conductor $\ensuremath{\alpha}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{(\mathrm{BETS})}_{2}{\mathrm{I}}_{3}$ [BETS: bis(ethylenedithio)tetraselenafulvalene] laminated on polyimide films at 1.7 K. From the SdH phase factor we verified experimentally that the material is in the Dirac fermion phase under pressure. $\ensuremath{\alpha}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{(\mathrm{BETS})}_{2}{\mathrm{I}}_{3}$ is in the vicinity of the phase transition between strongly correlated insulating and Dirac fermion phases, and is a possible candidate for an ambient-pressure molecular Dirac fermion system. However, the SdH oscillations indicate that the Berry phase is zero at ambient pressure. Under pressure, a $\ensuremath{\pi}$ Berry phase emerges when the metal-insulator crossover is almost suppressed at $\ensuremath{\sim}0.5$ GPa. The results contrast with those for the pioneering molecular Dirac fermion system $\ensuremath{\alpha}\text{\ensuremath{-}}{(\mathrm{BEDT}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\mathrm{TTF})}_{2}{\mathrm{I}}_{3}$ [BEDT-TTF: bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene] in which Dirac fermions and semiconducting behavior are simultaneously observed.

We investigate the effect of strong electronic correlation on the massless Dirac fermion system, $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$I$_3$, under pressure. In this organic salt, one can control the electronic correlation by changing pressure and access the quantum critical point between the massless Dirac fermion phase and the charge ordering phase. We theoretically study the electronic structure of this system by applying the slave-rotor theory and find that the Fermi velocity decreases without creating a mass gap upon approaching the quantum critical point from the massless Dirac fermion phase. We show that the pressure-dependence of the Fermi velocity is in good quantitative agreement with the results of the experiment where the Fermi velocity is determined by the analysis of the Shubnikov-de Haas oscillations in the doped samples. Our result implies that the massless Dirac fermion system exhibits a quantum phase transition without creating a mass gap even in the presence of strong electronic correlations., Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures

In-plane magnetoresistance for organic massless Dirac electron system (OMDES) $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$I$_3$ and $\theta$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$I$_3$ in addition to possible candidates of the OMDES $\alpha$-(BETS)$_2$I$_3$ and $\alpha$-(BEDT-STF)$_2$I$_3$, was investigated under hydrostatic pressure. We have found the universal behavior of the in-plane magnetoresistance under a low magnetic field perpendicular to two-dimensional plane. As for $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$I$_3$, the universality was examined with the parameters of temperature, magnetic field and its direction. We suggest that the universal magnetoresistance behavior is found even for the gapped state of $\alpha$-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$I$_3$ under intermediate pressure, when the thermal energy exceeds the gap., Comment: 11 pages, 4 figures

The dispersibility of nanoparticles in solvents remains difficult to predict and control. In this paper, the dispersibility of organically-modified nanoparticles in various solvents with different solvent properties and molecular sizes are investigated. The study indicates that solvent molecular size, in addition to the affinity between organic modifier and solvent molecules, affects the dispersibility of the nanoparticles. The experimental results imply that solvents with molecular size small enough can disperse nanoparticles more efficiently. In addition, based on the concept that solvent accommodation induces the enhancement of dispersibility, two approaches to improve nanoparticle dispersibility in desired solvents are proposed. One is the addition of a small amount of solvent with the right size and properties to both penetrate the modifier shell and to act as intermediate between the desired solvent and the organic modifier molecules. The other is dual-molecule modification to create additional space at modifier-shell surface for the penetration of the desired solvent molecules. The results of these approaches based on the concept of the solvent accommodation can enhance the dispersibility trends.

Summary Background Surfing was added as an official event of the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. There are many surfers troubled by low back pain, but there is no scientific analysis until now. This time, we took MRI on the lumbar vertebrae in 20 official professional surfers and examined the relationship between the low back pain and the rate of the lumbar disc degeneration. Materials and methods Subjects are 20 people (16 men, 4 women) of 17 Japan official professional surfers and 3 Japan official professionals bodydoaders in total, average age 29.8 years old (17–57 years), we investigated by use of the lumbar vertebrae T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Results 11 people (55%) had the low back pain, 10 people (50%)had the lumbar disc degeneration (more than Grade III of Pfirrmann classification), 2 people (10%) had the lumbar spondylolysis. There is no relationship between the low back pain and the rate of the disc degeneration. Conclusions The prevalence rate of low back pain in the professional surfers was approximately equal to previous report. The prevalence rate of the lumbar disc degeneration was 50%, and it was not high rate particularly in comparison with baseball and the swimming. The surfing competition is easy to cause the low back pain, but is not easy to cause the disc degeneration.

Although a suction vortex is one of the most common vortices appearing in everyday life, its internal structure has not been fully understood yet. We experimentally generate directly a superfluid suction vortex with a superfluid stirring system. A quantum vortex line carries all the microscopic circulation, and the distribution of vortex lines can be measured by combining two acoustic techniques. The results show that the vortex lines accumulate in the narrow region around the axis of symmetry. However, the vortex lines are not a simple bundle of straight vertical lines, but most of them incline in the horizontal direction.

The effect of the Coulomb interaction in interlayer magnetoresistance is elucidated in collaboration with theory and experiments for the Dirac electron system in organic conductor &alpha, (BEDT-TTF) 2 I 3 under a strong magnetic field. It is found that the effective g-factor enhanced by Coulomb interaction depends on the angle of the magnetic field, resulting in the field-angle dependence of a characteristic magnetic field in which interlayer resistance has a minimum due to spin splitting N = 0 Landau levels. The qualitative agreement between the theory and experimental results for the field-angle dependence of interlayer magnetoresistance is obtained.

The principal aim of this study was to clarify the clinical profile of pediatric patients with fruit allergies.We assigned 265 pediatric patients with fruit allergies who were receiving outpatient treatment at Aichi Children's Health and Medical Center and 32 who underwent kiwi or banana oral food chal- lenge (OFC) test to an oral symptom group or a systemic symptom group and retrospectively examined their clinical profiles and prognosis from their medical records.The most common cause of fruit allergy was kiwi (139 patients, 21% of all patients). Watermelon had the highest oral symptom induction rate (97%), whereas banana had the highest systemic reaction induction rate (46%). In the oral symptom group, the prevalence of hay fever was 54% and 66% of patients showed aller- gic reaction to multiple fruits. In contrast, in the systemic symptom group, the prevalence of pollen allergies was 24% and 77% of patients showed allergic reaction to a single fruit only. The results revealed that 65% of patients allergic to bananas had infant-onset allergy and seven among 20 patients were confirmed acquisition of tolerability by the OFC test.Our data suggest that there is a difference in the clinical profile and disease type between patients with oral symptoms and those with primarily systemic symptoms. It is important to differentiate between these patients for accurate diet guidance, safety management, and prognosis estimation.

We report the effect of Dirac cone tilting on interlayer magnetoresistance in \alpha-(BEDT-TTF)$_2$I$_3$, which is a Dirac semimetal under pressure. Fitting of the experimental data by the theoretical formula suggests that the system is close to a type-II Dirac semimetal., Comment: 2 pages, 1 figure

Chiari malformation type I (CMI) has been considered a sporadic condition without a heritable etiology; however, there have been a number of case reports identifying familial aggregation and clustering of CMI, suggesting a genetic basis [1]. We report two siblings with neuropathic scoliosis (NS) caused by CMI with syringomyelia. The patients and their families were informed that data from the cases would be submitted for publication and gave their consent.

Background Since 1981, we have performed school scoliosis screening (SSS) using Moire topography in Miyazaki, Japan and attained a certain result in detecting scoliosis. However, this screening system was discontinued due to cessation of repair and production of Moire topographic equipment. The purpose of this study was to make clear both the results and the problems of SSS by Moire topography on the basis of our past 33 years' experiences. Methods The subjects were 689,293 students (5th grade boys in 200,329, 5th grade girls in 191,919, 8th grade boys in 151,351, and 8th grade girls in 145,694) who were screened by Moire topography between 1981 and 2013. The number of students received SSS, the positive rate of Moire topography, the discovery rate of scoliosis greater than 20°, the reference rate to the second screening, and the positive predictive value of Moire topography to detect scoliosis greater than 20° were investigated. Results The number of students received SSS achieved a peak in 1992. The positive rate of Moire topography and the discovery rate of scoliosis were highest in 8th grade girls. The reference rates to the second screening were 49.8% in 5th grade students and 41.4% in 8th grade students. The positive predictive values were 2.1% in 5th grade students and 7.6% in 8th grade students. Conclusion SSS by Moire topography seemed to be effective in detecting scoliosis although both the positive predictive value and the reference rate to the second screening were low.

International audience; We report experimental measurements and theoretical analysis of Shubnikov-de Haas (SdH) oscillations in a Dirac cone system: the α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 organic metal under hydrostatic pressure. The measured SdH oscillations reveal anomalies at high magnetic fields B where the 1/B oscillations periodicity is lost above 7 T. We interpret these unusual results within a theoretical model that takes into account intrinsic distortions of the α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 Dirac cones such as a parabolic particle-hole asymmetric correction. Others possible causes, such as a cone tilting or a Zeeman effect, are carefully ruled out. The observations are consistent among α-(BEDT-TTF)2I3 samples with different Fermi levels.

Persons with untreated atrophic thyroiditis develop a permanent height deficit. Adequate thyroxine replacement therapy can improve growth and the probability of attaining normal adult height. However, height deficit is related to duration of thyroxine deficiency, regardless of the adequacy of thyroxine replacement therapy after diagnosis.1 Several studies reported that use of adjunctive therapy with growth hormone (GH) and gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) to improve the final height of patients.2-5 The rationale for this therapy is to prolong the growth period by inhibiting pubertal progression and delaying epiphyseal fusion,6 although GH deficiency in atrophic thyroiditis patients usually improves after L-thyroxine treatment. We report a case of autoimmune atrophic thyroiditis in a boy who presented with GH deficiency even after his enlarged pituitary gland had decreased in size. Combined treatment with GH, GnRHa, and L-thyroxine was successful in allowing the patient to attain normal adult height.

Although it is not easy to differentiate neuropathic scoliosis caused by neural axis abnormalities (NAAs) from idiopathic scoliosis for lack of neurological signs, neuropathic scoliosis caused by NAAs has some specific clinical findings. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of neuropathic scoliosis caused by NAAs and to discuss the essential points of diagnosis and treatment. From 1998 through 2008, 622 new patients visited our scoliosis outpatient clinic. Of those, 12 patients with neuropathic scoliosis caused by NAAs diagnosed by cervical MRI were involved in this study. They included 5 boys and 7 girls with a mean age of 10 years and 5 months. We investigated the relationship of NAAs, treatment methods for scoliosis, and effects of neurosurgical treatment for prognosis of outcome. There were 10 cases of syringomyelia with Chiari malformation type I, 1 case of syringomyelia alone, and 1case of spinal cord tumor. Surgery was performed in 3 cases, an under arm brace was prescribed in 6 cases, and observation was selected in 3 cases. Scoliotic curves were improved in 4 out of the 11 cases on whom neurosurgical intervention for the relationship of NAAs were performed. The Cobb angles before surgery of these 4 cases were less than 30° and 3 of the 4 cases were 8 years old or less. We would emphasize that early treatment for the relationship of NAAs at younger age (≤8 yrs) and before curve progression (

NMR captures unusual slow dynamics of electrons on Mott transition with disorder, suggesting an electronic Griffiths phase., The Mott transition—a metal-insulator transition caused by repulsive Coulomb interactions between electrons—is a central issue in condensed matter physics because it is the mother earth of various attractive phenomena. Outstanding examples are high–Tc (critical temperature) cuprates and manganites exhibiting colossal magnetoresistance. Furthermore, spin liquid states, which are quantum-fluctuation–driven disordered ground states in antiferromagnets, have recently been found in magnetic systems very near the Mott transition. To date, intensive studies on the Mott transition have been conducted and appear to have established a nearly complete framework for understanding the Mott transition. We found an unknown type of Mott transition in an organic spin liquid material with a slightly disordered lattice. Around the Mott transition region of this material under pressure, nuclear magnetic resonance experiments capture the emergence of slow electronic fluctuations of the order of kilohertz or lower, which is not expected in the conventional Mott transition that appears as a clear first-order transition at low temperatures. We suggest that they are due to the unconventional metal-insulator fluctuations emerging around the disordered Mott transition in analogy to the slowly fluctuating spin phase, or Griffiths phase, realized in Ising spin systems with disordered lattices.

Deposition of SiO2 by simultaneous sputtering and electron beam vacuum deposition resulted in a stress of various values thin films.

No studies have used stress analysis with finite element analysis (FEA) to determine the causes of and mechanisms underlying rotator cuff tears. Therefore, we performed a biomechanical evaluation of the changes in stress distribution on the rotator cuff using three-dimensional (3-D) FEA. The 3-D FEA model of shoulder joint allowed for abduction angles of 0°, 45° and 90° from the plane of the scapula and included the anatomical insertion points of the three major rotator cuff tendons and the middle fibres of the deltoid muscle. Stress distribution of the supraspinatus tendon on 3-D FEA was validated by a comparison with cadaveric and two-dimensional finite element model. The principal stress peaked in the region approximately 1 cm proximal to the insertion of the supraspinatus tendon. Furthermore, the stress on the joint side increased at the anterior edge of the supraspinatus tendon at abduction angles of 45° and 90°. There are differences in stress changes between the joint side and bursal side of the supraspinatus tendon within the angles of abduction. The maximal tensile stress was observed on the articular side of the anterior edge of the supraspinatus tendon at 90° abduction. Our results indicate that the difference in tensile stress between the two layers results in delamination and causes partial-thickness tears. Decision analysis, Level II.

Magnetocaloric effect (MCE) and magnetic torque measurements have been carried out in the π–d system λ-(BETS)2FeCl4 [BETS = bis(ethylenedithio)tetraselenafulvalene], which shows an antiferromagnetic insulating (AFI) phase below ∼8.5 K. In the magnetic torque curve, a sharp structure at ∼1.2 T and a step at ∼10 T are observed at low temperatures, which are caused by the spin-flop (SF) transition and the transition from the AFI to paramagnetic metallic (PM) phase, respectively. The MCE, directly related to the magnetic entropy, shows a small sharp peak at the SF transition and a sharp dip at the AFI–PM transition. The overall feature above 3 K is qualitatively interpreted by a simple picture: antiferromagnetic (AF) π spins and paramagnetic 3d spins at the Fe sites. However, a broad dip in the MCE is additionally found at ∼5 T below ∼3 K, which is not explained by the above picture. The results are compared with those of κ-(BETS)2FeBr4, which shows an AF order of the 3d spins at the Fe sites.

Physical properties of the organic charge-transfer complex that may be regarded as a doping system are presented. We measured resistivity of an ambient-pressure superconductor, κ-(BEDT-TTF)4Hg2.89Br8, as functions of temperature, magnetic field, and pressure. Metallic and superconducting states of this salt are possibly attributable to the doping effect, which originates from incommensurability of Hg chain because band structure calculation predicts strong electron-electron correlation enough to localize the itinerant electrons. We uncovered anomalous pressure and magnetic field dependences of superconductivity as well as non-Fermi liquid behavior in the normal-state resistivity at low pressures. In addition, we observed a pressure-induced crossover to the Fermi liquid behavior, which is seen in non-doped κ-type salts at any pressures.

We have studied electronic interactions between inorganic nanowires and organic molecules and the effects on optical response and molecular vibration, using quasi-one-dimensional organic-inorganic hybrid compounds, methylviologen lead iodide (MVPb 2 I 6 ) and piperidinium lead iodide (PDPbI 3 ). The materials consist of lead iodide nanowires with a diameter of 0.5 nm and intervening organic molecules, methylviologen (MV 2+ ) and piperidinium ion (PD + ), respectively. MV 2+ has a very high electron affinity, in contrast to PD + . By comparison of the optical absorption spectra between the compounds, it is shown that a broad absorption band appears in the visible region by varying organic molecules from PD + to MV 2+ . The absorption band in MVPb 2 I 6 is assigned to charge-transfer transitions from the lead iodide nanowire to MV 2+ . In the infrared absorption spectrum of MVPb 2 I 6 , a large amount of low-energy shift and a striking increase in oscillator strength were observed for the molecular vibration around the nitrogen atoms in MV 2+ . These features in MVPb 2 I 6 are owing to electronic interactions between the nanowire and MV 2+ . Electronic interactions in MVPb 2 I 6 are attributed to charge-transfer interactions, which result from electronic couplings between the valence band (VB) of the nanowire and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO) of MV 2+ .

Background Factors influencing clinical course of brace treatment apply to adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients remain unclear. By making clear them, we may select suitable patients for brace treatment and alleviate overtreatment. The purpose of this study was to explore predictive factors of Osaka Medical College (OMC) brace treatment for AIS patients in accordance with the modified standardized criteria proposed by the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) committee on bracing and non-operative management. Methods From 1999 through 2010, 31 consecutive patients with AIS who were newly prescribed the OMC brace and met the modified SRS criteria were studied. The study included 2 boys and 29 girls with a mean age of 12 years and 0 month. We investigated the clinical course and evaluated the impacts of compliance, initial brace correction rate, curve flexibility, curve pattern, Cobb angle, chronological age, and Risser stage to clinical outcomes. The clinical course of the brace treatment was considered progression if ≥6° curvature increase occurred and improvement if ≥6° curvature decrease occurred according to SRS judgment criteria. Results The curve progressed in 10 cases, the curve improved in 6 cases, and the curve remained unchanged in 15 cases (success rate: 67.7%). The success rate was statistically higher in the patient group whose instruction adherence rate was greater than 50% as compared with in those 50% or less. Initial brace correction rate, curve flexibility, curve pattern, the magnitude of Cobb angle, chronological age, and Risser stage did not have any significant effect for clinical courses. However, success rate was insignificantly higher in the cases whose Cobb angle in brace was smaller than that in hanging position. Conclusions OMC brace treatment could alter the natural history of AIS, however, that was significantly affected by compliance of brace wear.

Background The efficacy of brace treatment for patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) remains controversial. To make comparisons among studies more valid and reliable, the Scoliosis Research Society (SRS) has standardized criteria for brace studies in patients with AIS. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the Osaka Medical College (OMC) brace for AIS in accordance with the modified standardized criteria proposed by the SRS committee on bracing and non-operative management. Methods From 1999 through 2010, 31 consecutive patients with AIS who were newly prescribed the OMC brace and met the modified SRS criteria were studied. The study included 2 boys and 29 girls with a mean age of 12 years and 0 month. Patients were instructed to wear the brace for a minimum of 20 hours per day at the beginning of brace treatment. The mean duration of brace treatment was 4 years and 8 months. We examined the initial brace correction rate and the clinical outcomes of main curves evaluated by curve progression and surgical rate, and the compliance evaluated by the instruction adherence rate for all cases. The clinical course of the brace treatment was considered progression if ≥6° curvature increase occurred and improvement if ≥6° curvature decrease occurred according to SRS judgment criteria. Results The average initial brace correction rate was 46.8%. In 10 cases the curve progressed, 6 cases the curve improved, and 15 cases the curve remained unchanged (success rate: 67.7%). The mean instruction adherence rate, that was defined the percentage of the visits that patients declared they mostly followed our instruction to total visits, was 53.7%. The success rate was statistically higher in the patient group whose instruction adherence rate was greater than 50% (88.2%) as compared with in those 50% or less (42.8%). Conclusions OMC brace treatment for AIS patients could alter the natural history and significantly decreased the progression of curves to the threshold for surgical intervention. Better instruction adherence of brace wear associated with greater success.

Pressure dependence of the conductivity and thermoelectric power is measured through the Mott transition in the layer organic conductor EtMe_{3}P[Pd(dmit)_{2}]_{2}. The critical behavior of the thermoelectric effect provides a clear and objective determination of the Mott-Hubbard transition during the isothermal pressure sweep. Above the critical end point, the metal-insulator crossing, determined by the thermoelectric effect minimum value, is not found to coincide with the maximum of the derivative of the conductivity as a function of pressure. We show that the critical exponents of the Mott-Hubbard transition fall within the Ising universality class regardless of the dimensionality of the system.

We studied the normal state properties of an organic superconductor, κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br, through the measurement of the Hall effect as functions of temperature and pressure. At low pressure, the Hall coefficent shows the peak structure. From the coincidence of the temperature and its pressure evolution with those of anomalies observed in other physical properties, the peak temperature is considered to be T*. At high pressure, we observed the drastic decrease and sign change of the Hall coefficient. From the incompatibility with the behavior of a similar compound, κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2, we concluded that this behavior orignate from the singularity of the Fermi surface of this salt.

The longitudinal magnetoresistance of a two-dimensional superconductor, $$\beta'- Et_{2}Me_{2}P[Pd(dmit)_{2}]_{2} (dmit=C_{3}S^{2-}_{5})$$ under hydrostatic pressure was measured at low temperatures with the field applied perpendicular to the conducting layers. At 0.58 GPa, the field-dependent isothermal interlayer resistance $$R_{\perp}(H)$$ exhibited a peak below the superconducting transition temperature TC. This peak effect can be explained by a model of resistively-shunted Josephson-Junctions. The peak is strongly suppressed at a higher pressure, 0.71 GPa.

Charge disproportionation (CD) recently observed in many organic conductors is reviewed. CD is closely related to the charge ordering (CO) but is observed even when no long range CO is established. In a 0-phase BEDT-TTF salt, (BEDT-TTF) 2 RbZn(SCN) 4 , an extremely slow dynamics of CD has been observed above T MI . A similar phenomenon is also observed in the Cs-analog, (BEDT-TTF)2CsZn(SCN)4. However, a spin-singlet ground state without CD is suggested in this salt at low temperatures. It is shown that α-(BETS) 2 I 3 exhibits CD at low temperatures, as in α-(BET-TTF) 2 I 3 . Recently, an abnormal line broadening has been observed in 13 C-NMR of (TMTSF) 2 FSO 3 under pressure as well as in 77 Se-NMR of λ-(BETS) 2 FeCl 4 in a high field. We expect that both are very likely caused by a large CD among the organic molecular sites.

Pressure effects on β′-type Pd(dmit)2 anion radical salts, which belong to a strongly correlated electron system with a quasi-triangular lattice of dimerized Pd(dmit)2 units, were studied with X-ray crystal structure analysis and resistivity measurements. The electronic state of this system is governed by various parameters including the effective on-site Coulomb energy on the dimer (Ueff.), the band width (W), the degree of frustration, and the degree of band-filling. X-ray crystal structure analysis under hydrostatic pressure at low temperatures was performed for the Et2Me2P salt The tight-binding band calculations based on structural data indicate that the application of hydrostatic pressure reduces the electron correlation effect and leads the system from the Mott insulating state to the metallic state accompanied by the superconductivity. Further application of hydrostatic pressure induces another non-metallic behavior. This would originate from a partial nesting of the anisotropic Fermi surface associated with a structural transition which removes the glide plane and the two-fold axis. Based on cation dependence in the pressure effect, we propose a possible interplay of the correlation and the frustration, and discuss the uniaxial strain effect for this unique strongly correlated electron system.

To evaluate whether hemoglobin oxygen saturation and hemoglobin concentration of the leg are useful indicators for circulatory compromise in patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis, we investigated the changes in the indices during level gait using reflectance spectrophotometry. Thirty-three patients with lumbar spinal stenosis were studied. Preoperatively, the hemoglobin oxygen saturation was greater in the 33 patients than in the control subjects. The indices increased in the control subjects more than those in the patients. Postoperatively, the increases in hemoglobin oxygen saturation were greater in the patients with lumbar spinal canal stenosis than before decompression and the hemoglobin concentration tended to approximate that in the control subjects. The results suggest these indices might be useful for monitoring disease severity in patients with lumber spinal canal stenosis. In addition to stenotic ischemia in the spinal canal, it is thought that the neurogenic intermittent claudication is secondarily caused by circulatory failure in the lower extremities attributable to the autonomic nervous dysfunction.

The purpose of this study was to analyze the effect of lumbar spine fusion on the superior adjacent intervertebral disk in the context of disk degeneration, using a nonlinear three-dimensional finite element method. Detailed L3-L5 motion segment models of normal and degenerated intervertebral disks were developed. In fusion models, L4-L5 was fixed by either posterolateral fusion or posterior lumbar interbody fusion (PLIF). Various loading conditions such as compression loading, compression loading plus flexion moment loading, or compression loading plus extension moment loading were applied to study the corresponding stress. Tresca stress on the posterolateral part of intervertebral annulus fiber and von Mises stress on the vertebral endplate (the superior and inferior sides of L3 and L4) were reduced in all degenerated disk models compared with the normal disk models. The PLIF model showed an increase in the percentage change of stress on the vertebral endplate and on the intervertebral annulus fibrosus when flexion and extension moment loadings were applied. This finding suggests that surgeons should consider the risk of exacerbating degeneration of intervertebral disks by undertaking lumbar spine fusion, when degeneration is found in intervertebral disks adjacent to vertebrae requiring fusion.

An in vitro biomechanical cadaveric study. OBJECTIVES To elucidate the effect of flexion-extension cyclic loads on the motion behavior of lumbar spine after different discectomies.Biomechanical cadaveric studies to evaluate the effect of discectomy have been performed and have indicated the relevance between the volume of removed disc materials and increase of motion in affected intervertebral disc. However, there are no biomechanical studies to investigate the motion behavior of injured intervertebral disc after cyclic loads.Twenty-eight lumbar functional spinal units were randomized into fenestration, annulotomy, limited discectomy, and radical discectomy groups. Pure bending moments were applied to simulate various loading modes and determine the resulting displacements before and after surgery, and after cyclic loads of 1,000, 5,000, and 10,000 cycles at a frequency of 0.5 Hz and a force of +/-3.0 Nm. Change of range of motion (ROM) was compared among each group.Following surgery, in the radical discectomy group, the relative change of ROM mostly increased in all motion directions except right lateral bending. On the other hand, during cyclic loads up to 10,000 cycles, in the limited discectomy group, the relative change of ROM mostly increased in all motion directions except right lateral bending.These results demonstrate that the effect of cyclic loads after discectomy may increase ROM, leading to spinal instability even if the increase in ROM does not occur immediately after surgery for the minimum removal of nucleus pulposus case. Clinically, this may underscore the importance of postoperative lumbar support.