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The application of an electric field can be a new technique to control the electronic properties of two-dimensional materials. In a conventional double-gate structure, an ionic liquid is used in th...

Background To provide updates on clinical practice of acute pancreatitis (AP) in Japan, we conducted a nationwide epidemiological survey. Methods This study consisted of a two-staged survey; the number of AP patients was estimated by the first-stage survey and their clinical features were examined by the second-stage survey. We surveyed AP patients who had visited hospitals in 2016. Results The estimated number of AP patients in 2016 was 78,450, with an overall incidence of 61.8 per 100,000 persons. We obtained detailed clinical information of 2994 AP patients, including 706 (23.6%) severe cases classified according to the Japanese severity criteria. The male-to-female sex ratio was 2.0, and the mean age at onset was 59.9 years in males and 66.5 years in females. Alcohol was the most common etiology (42.8%) in males and gallstones in females (37.7%). The AP-associated mortality was 6.1% in severe AP cases, which was decreased by 40% compared to the 2011 survey. Antibiotics were administered to most cases, with carbapenem being frequently used. Enteral nutrition was given in 31.8% of severe cases, but majority cases received after 48 h. Among the 107 patients who received intervention for walled-off necrosis, five patients received surgery-first approach, 66 received endoscopic ultrasound-guided transluminal drainage, and 19 underwent step-up approach. Conclusions We clarified the current status of AP in Japan including the significant reduction of mortality in severe cases, shift to endoscopic approaches for walled-off necrosis, and poor compliance of the recommendations in the guidelines including management of enteral nutrition and antibiotic administration.

Nishikawa and colleagues describe a case of endoscopic multiple stenting for malignant biliary stenosis in a patient with complexly altered digestive anatomy following hepaticojejunostomy with Roux-en-Y anastomosis and gastrojejunostomy with Braun enterostomy. Furthermore, reintervention for malignant stenosis extending from the intrahepatic bile duct to the intestinal tract was successfully completed.

There are few reports on resistive strain sensors that exhibit both high sensitivity and a wide working range under stretching. We have newly developed a high-performance strain sensor based on a brittle-stretchable conductive network that consists of both brittle and stretchable conductive layers and is fabricated on a stretchable substrate using the screen-printing method. Adding strain usually generates structural cracks in brittle conductive layers leading to a significant increase in resistance, while a stretchable conductive layer bridges these cracks to maintain the conductive pathways under high-strain conditions. This novel conductive network endows superior electrical-mechanical performance to the strain sensors, which possess high sensitivity (gauge factor > 870) over the entire working range (∼100%). Additionally, the developed sensors showed unique anisotropic bend-sensing characteristics, which could be used to detect the bending directions. This high degree of comprehensive performance results in a strain sensor with the capability for full-range human motion detection and robotic motion sensing.

The hydrodynamic limit of the Ginzburg–Landau ∇ ϕ interface model was derived in Funaki and Spohn (1997) and Nishikawa (2003) for strictly convex potentials. This paper deals with non-convex potentials under suitable assumptions on the free energy and identification of the extremal Gibbs measures which have been recently established at sufficiently high temperature in Cotar and Deuschel (2012). Because of the non-convexity, many difficulties arise, especially, on the identification of equilibrium states. We show the equivalence between the stationarity and the Gibbs property under quite general settings, and we complete the identification of equilibrium states. We also establish some uniform estimates for variances of extremal Gibbs measures.

The reaction of tetra([Formula: see text]-tolyl)porphyrinato titanium (IV) oxide (2) with 4,7-diethyl-5,6-dimercaptobenzo[1,2,3] trithiole (3a) produced the corresponding titanium (IV) complex, tetra([Formula: see text]-tolyl)porphyrinato titanium (IV) trithiolobenzenedithiolate (4a), fused with a trithiole ring. Related compounds 4b and 4c were prepared by a similar reaction of 2 with 5,8-diethyl-6,7-dimercaptobenzo[1,4]dithiin (3b) and 3,6-diethyl-4,5-dimercapto-1,2-bis(2-cyanoethylthio)benzene (3c). The structure of 4b was determined by X-ray crystallography. Compound 4c was further treated with cesium hydroxide to produce the corresponding dithiolate anion 4c2S, which was deposited on the gold electrode. The electrochemical property of the gold electrode was determined by cyclic voltammetry. The structure of simplified model compound 4b[Formula: see text] was optimized using the DFT method with the Gaussian 09 program. The optimized structure was utilized to calculate the NMR chemical shifts, the HOMO and LUMO energy levels, and the electronic transition in the absorption spectrum.

Facile fabrication and high ambient stability are strongly desired for the practical application of temperautre sensor in real-time wearable healthcare. Herein, a fully printed flexible temperature sensor based on cross-linked poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) was developed. By introducing the crosslinker of (3-glycidyloxypropyl)trimethoxysilane (GOPS) and the fluorinated polymer passivation (CYTOP), significant enhancements in humidity stability and temperature sensitivity of PEDOT:PSS based film were achieved. The prepared sensor exhibited excellent stability in environmental humidity ranged from 30% RH to 80% RH, and high sensitivity of −0.77% °C−1 for temperature sensing between 25 °C and 50 °C. Moreover, a wireless temperature sensing platform was obtained by integrating the printed sensor to a printed flexible hybrid circuit, which performed a stable real-time healthcare monitoring.

Hydrodynamic limit for the Ginzburg–Landau ∇ ϕ interface model with a conservation law was established in Nishikawa (2002) under periodic boundary conditions. This paper studies the same problem on a bounded domain imposing the Dirichlet boundary condition. A nonlinear partial differential equation of fourth order satisfying the boundary conditions is derived as the macroscopic equation. Its solution converges to the Wulff shape derived by Deuschel et al. (2000) as the time t → ∞ .

OBJECTIVES Patients with chronic pancreatitis are managed by extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy (ESWL) for pancreatic stones. Stone density on noncontrast computed tomography (NCCT) is used to predict stone composition and fragility, but no report investigating the pancreatic stone density has been documented. We aimed to assess the usefulness of pancreatic stone density on NCCT in predicting the ESWL outcome. METHODS We evaluated 128 consecutive patients with pancreatic stones who underwent ESWL. Pancreatic stone density on NCCT was measured in Hounsfield units. Patients with complete stone removal were compared with those with incomplete stone removal. Patient characteristics; imaging findings, including stone density; and interventions were evaluated as potential predictors. The optimal cutoff value of variables to differentiate complete removal from incomplete removal was determined by receiver operating characteristic analysis. RESULTS Complete stone removal was achieved in 66 patients (51.6%). When the density threshold was set at 820.5 Hounsfield units, complete stone removal was achieved in 52 patients (78.8%) with lower-density stones. In multivariate analysis, single stone (P = 0.007) and lower-density stone (P < 0.001) revealed significant association with complete stone removal. CONCLUSIONS The measurement of pancreatic stone density before therapy can help predict therapeutic outcomes.

Background and study aims Difficult biliary cannulation and unintentional pancreatic duct cannulation are thought to be important contributors to pancreatitis occurring after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography. Our aim was to compare and evaluate the rates of success and complications of transpancreatic precut papillotomy (TPPP) and the double-guidewire technique (DGT), both with prophylactic pancreatic stenting. Patients and methods From April 2011 to March 2014, patients with difficult biliary cannulation, in whom we planned to first position a guidewire in the pancreatic duct, were enrolled, and 68 patients were prospectively randomly allocated to two groups (TPPP 34, DGT 34). We evaluated the rates of success and complications for each group. Results TPPP had a significantly higher success rate (94.1 %) than DGT (58.8 %). The rate of post-ERCP pancreatitis was 2.9 % in both groups. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the overall rate of complications related to cannulation. Conclusion If biliary cannulation cannot be achieved, TPPP should be selected first after unintentional pancreatic duct cannulation.University Hospital Medical Information Network identifier: UMIN000008200

A band gap is opened in bilayer graphene (BLG) by applying an electric field perpendicular to the layer, which offers versatility and controllability in graphene-based electronics. The presence of the band gap has been confirmed using double-gated BLG devices in which positive and negative gate voltages are applied to each side of BLG. An alternative method to induce the electric field is electron and hole doping of each side of BLG using electron-transfer adsorbates. However, the generation of the band gap by carrier doping is still under investigation. Here, we determined whether the electron/hole doping can produce the electric field required to open the band gap by measuring the temperature dependence of conductivity for BLG placed between electron-donor self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and electron-acceptor molecules. We found that some devices exhibited a band gap and others did not. The potentially irregular and variable structure of SAMs may affect the configuration of the electric field, yielding variable electronic properties. This study demonstrates the essential differences between gating and doping.

Background Long-term follow-up of non-surgical procedures for the management of hepatolithiasis has been reported, but risk factors for mortality have not been properly evaluated. Methods We conducted a retrospective study of the case records of 121 patients with hepatolithiasis who underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), peroral cholangioscopy (POCS), percutaneous transhepatic cholangioscopy (PTCS), or conservative treatment at the Department of Gastroenterology of Chiba University Hospital between January 1980 and July 2011. The primary outcome measure was mortality, defined as death due to hepatolithiasis (concomitant liver failure with cholangitis and cholangiocarcinoma). Results Complete clearance of intrahepatic stones was achieved in 22 (57.8%) of 38 patients by POCS, in 12 (66.7%) of 18 patients by ERCP, and in 10 (52.6%) of 18 patients by PTCS. The remaining 46 patients were treated conservatively. The mean follow-up period was 11.4 ± 7.1 years (range, 0.6–32.8). There were 14 hepatolithiasis-related deaths (11 with cholangiocarcinoma and three from liver failure with cholangitis) during the follow-up periods. Multivariate Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed liver atrophy (P = 0.015; HR = 3.98; 95% CI, 1.30–12.20) and congenital biliary dilatation after biliary-enteric anastomosis (P = 0.036; HR = 4.57; 95% CI, 1.11–18.87) as significant risk factors for mortality. Conclusions Analysis of the 10-year long-term results after non-surgical management of hepatolithiasis identified liver atrophy and congenital biliary dilatation as risk factors for mortality. Patients with hepatic lobe atrophy should undergo a hepatectomy, if operable.

When performing high-sensitivity magnetic measurements via a high-sensitivity magnetic sensor such as a SQUID (Superconducting QUantum Interference Device) magnetometer, it is necessary to shield from environmental magnetic noise by employing a magnetic shield box. In general, however, the low frequency of such noise decreases the shielding performance of the magnetic shield box. Hence, the magnetic metallic contaminant signal and the low-frequency ambient magnetic field noise overlap, which makes filtering a challenging task. Therefore, we studied a system that suppresses gradient magnetic noise such as low-frequency environmental noise superimposed on a contaminant signal and commercial power supply noise localized spatially.

Aims: With the progress of development of 0.025-inch guidewire (GW), various treatments with 0.025-inch GW have become possible. To date, however, there has been no multicenter cooperative prospective study using 0.025-inch GW VisiGlide as the versatile GW. This time, we decided to examine the result of the use of 0.025-inch GW VisiGlide as the first choice in the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-related procedure without selecting the patient in a multicenter cooperative prospective study. Study Design: Multi-center single arm prospective study. Methodology: The 0.025-inch GW VisiGlide was used in the patients with Original Research Article British Journal of Medicine & Medical Research, 4(12): 2418-2430, 2014 2419 biliopancreatic diseases requiring ERCP as the first choice to examine the accomplishment rate of procedure and the incidence of accidental symptom. Results: The accomplishment rate of procedure was 92.8% (180/194). The accidental symptoms of ERCP-related procedures were observed at 4.6% (9/194) and GW perforation was observed as a GW-related accidental symptom at 2.1% (4/194) but all the accidental symptoms resolved conservatively. Conclusion: The 0.025-inch GW VisiGlide has a high accomplishment rate of procedure and a low incidence of accidental symptom in its use in the ERCP-related procedure, and it was suggested that it may be available as a versatile GW. Clinical Trial Registry (UMIN000008180).

Background and Aim Various techniques are required in endoscopic biliary stone removal. Because the presence of biliary stones is a benign disease, it is essential to minimize procedure-related complications. Having a sound knowledge of the risk factors can help reduce the number and severity of complications. We determined the risk factors for complications in patients undergoing endoscopic biliary stone removal. Methods This was a retrospective observational cohort study. We analyzed 743 consecutive patients with biliary stones who were treated with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and identified the independent risk factors for complications. Results Complications occurred in 66 patients (8.9%). Pancreatitis occurred in 26 patients (3.5%), cholangitis in 16 (2.2%), bleeding in 12 (1.6%) and other in 12 (1.6%). Independent risk factors for overall complications were multiple biliary stones (P = 0.0480) and anti-thrombotic drugs (P = 0.0186).Independent risk factors for moderate or severe complications were old age (P = 0.0201), multiple biliary stones (P = 0.0300), anti-thrombotic drugs (P = 0.0131), and cirrhosis of the liver (P = 0.0013). The respective risk factors for pancreatitis, cholangitis, and bleeding were precut technique (P = 0.0005), endoscopic mechanical lithotripsy (P = 0.0421), and both anti-thrombotic drugs (P = 0.0228) and cirrhosis of the liver (P = 0.0115). Conclusions Old age was associated with a similar complication rate to younger age but increased the severity of complications following endoscopic biliary stone removal. Improved awareness of the severity of complications may be of benefit during periprocedural management. Further studies are warranted.

Bleeding following endoscopic sphincterotomy (EST) is a rare but unavoidable complication of the procedure. We routinely perform local injection of hypertonic saline-epinephrine (HSE) for the treatment of post-EST bleeding. Any blood clot is removed only by irrigation with water after local injection of pure ethanol into the blood clot to cause crusting. We evaluated the usefulness of this treatment method.Subjects were 8 patients (1.2%) with post-EST bleeding requiring hemostatic intervention among 682 patients undergoing EST. After determination of the bleeding point, local injection of HSE was performed. When an adherent blood clot was present, pure ethanol was injected into the blood clot and then irrigation with water was performed to remove the blood clot.Endoscopic hemostasis was successfully achieved in all the 8 patients (100%). In 4 patients (50%), the adherent blood clots were successfully removed only with pure ethanol local injection into the blood clot followed by irrigation with water. No complications of the hemostatic procedure occurred in any patients.This study indicated that hemostasis with HSE local injection can be safe and useful for the treatment of post-EST bleeding, and also that blood clot removal with pure ethanol local injection can be useful.

Background and Aim Various methods for endoscopic transpapillary sampling have been developed. However, the factors affecting the accuracy of these methods for bile duct cancer are unknown. The aim of the present study was to determine the factors affecting the accuracy of endoscopic transpapillary sampling methods. Methods We reviewed the results from 101 patients with bile duct cancer who underwent transpapillary sampling by aspiration bile cytology, brushing cytology, and fluoroscopic forceps biopsy. The final diagnosis of bile duct cancer was made on the basis of pathological evaluation of specimens obtained at surgery and the clinical course over at least 1 year in patients not operated on. We carried out subgroup analyses for the factors affecting the accuracy of each transpapillary sampling method. Results Aspiration bile cytology was carried out 238 times in 77 patients, brushing cytology was carried out 67 times in 60patients, and fluoroscopic forceps biopsy was carried out 64 times in 53 patients. Accuracies of aspiration bile cytology were significantly higher for longer (≥15 mm) biliary cancerous lesions than for shorter (

Background The diagnostic accuracy of peroral video-cholangioscopy for indeterminate biliary lesions has not been determined in a prospective study. Objective To evaluate and compare the diagnostic accuracy of the peroral video-cholangioscopic visual findings for indeterminate biliary lesions with that of the cholangioscopy-guided forceps biopsy findings. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting Tertiary-care referral center. Patients Patients who showed indeterminate biliary lesions on endoscopic retrograde cholangiography underwent peroral video-cholangioscopy for diagnosis. Intervention Each patient underwent peroral video-cholangioscopy with cholangioscopy-guided forceps biopsy. Main Outcome Measurements The accuracy of diagnosis by the peroral video-cholangioscopic visual findings and cholangioscopy-guided forceps biopsy findings compared with that of the final diagnosis by other methods (malignant or benign). Results Thirty-three patients were enrolled, and the final diagnoses revealed that the lesions were malignant in 21 patients. All procedures were technically successful, and fine views were obtained in all patients. Procedure-related complications occurred in 2 patients (6.1%), but these complications were mild. The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy were 100%, 91.7%, and 97.0%, respectively, for the peroral video-cholangioscopic visual findings and 38.1%, 100%, and 60.6%, respectively, for the cholangioscopy-guided forceps biopsy findings, and a significant difference was observed in the accuracy ( P = .0018). Limitations This was not a blinded study. No comparison was made with other diagnostic modalities involving tissue sampling. Conclusion The diagnostic accuracy of the peroral video-cholangioscopic visual findings for indeterminate biliary lesions was excellent and significantly higher than that of the cholangioscopy-guided forceps biopsy findings. The accuracy of the cholangioscopy-guided forceps biopsy was insufficient, but the technique had an excellent specificity.

AIM To examine the result of the use of 0.025-inch guidewire (GW) VisiGlide2TM as the first choice in the endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)-related procedures without selecting the patient in a multicenter prospective study. METHODS ERCP using 0.025-inch GW VisiGlide2TM as the first choice was conducted in patients who have needed ERCP, and its accomplishment rate of procedure, procedural time, incidence of accidental symptoms were compared with those of ERCP using 0.025-inch GW VisiGlideTM. RESULTS The accomplishment rate of procedure was 97.5% (197/202), and procedural time was 23.930 ± 16.207 min. The accomplishment rate of procedure using 0.025-inch GW VisiGlideTM was 92.3% (183/195), and procedural time was 31.285 ± 19.122 min, thus the accomplishment rate of procedure was significantly improved and procedural time was significantly shortened (P < 0.05). Accidental symptoms by ERCP-related procedures were observed in 3.0% (6/202), and all were conservatively alleviated. CONCLUSION When 0.025-inch GW VisiGlide2TM was used for ERCP-related procedure as the first choice, it showed high accomplishment rate of procedure and low incidence of accidental symptoms, suggesting it can be used as the universal GW. Clinical Trial Registry (UMIN0000016042).

The introduction of fluorinated self-assembled monolayer (FSAM) enhanced hole injection from indium-tin-oxide (ITO) and improved device lifetime for organic light-emitting diodes. These effects were caused by the large dipole moment of FSAM molecule. We studied the effect of fluorinated alkyl chain length. Although the increase in alkyl chain let to the increase in dipole moment, it also meant the increase in insulating part. However, a small increase in alkyl chain did not influence the enhancement of hole injection from ITO. A short alkyl chain disturbed the regular formation of SAM by lowering an intermolecular interaction.

To determine the safety and efficacy of endoscopic duodenal stent placement in patients with malignant gastric outlet obstruction.This prospective, observational, multicenter study included 39 consecutive patients with malignant gastric outlet obstruction. All patients underwent endoscopic placement of a nitinol, uncovered, self-expandable metal stent. The primary outcome was clinical success at 2 wk after stent placement that was defined as improvement in the Gastric Outlet Obstruction Scoring System score relative to the baseline.Technical success was achieved in all duodenal stent procedures. Procedure-related complications occurred in 4 patients (10.3%) in the form of mild pneumonitis. No other morbidities or mortalities were observed. The clinical success rate was 92.3%. The mean survival period after stent placement was 103 d. The mean period of stent patency was 149 d and the patency remained acceptable for the survival period. Stent dysfunction occurred in 3 patients (7.7%) on account of tumor growth.Endoscopic management using duodenal stents for patients with incurable malignant gastric outlet obstruction is safe and improved patients' quality of life.

We investigate the effect of the interface phenomena of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) molecules on hole injection. A SAM represents an easy and accurate approach to the modification of surface properties. The dipole moment of a fluorinated SAM (FSAM) improves hole injection from Indium Tin Oxide (ITO). We prepare several kinds of FSAM with different number of fluorine atoms FnSAM. As the number of fluorine atom increases, the dipole moment also increases. Increasing the chain length increases the van der Waals interaction between alkyl chains. We examine the interface characteristics of SAM molecules on the hole injection.

Objective To determine the physiological role of IGSF8 for fertility. Design Experimental prospective study. Setting Academic basic research laboratory. Animal(s) C57BL/6J and hybrid B6D2F1 mice, as well as Cd9 and Igsf8 knockout mice (C57BL/6J and 129/SvJ mix background), were used for this study. Intervention(s) None. Main Outcome Measure(s) In vitro and in vivo fertility tests of Igsf8 knockout mice. Result(s) Tetraspanin family member CD9 plays an important role in sperm-egg fusion. Recently, some researchers have reported that CD9 tightly associates with the immunoglobulin superfamily member IGSF8 on the egg surface and that IGSF8 is undetectable on the surface of Cd9 -deficient eggs. This led us to hypothesize that IGSF8 participates in sperm-egg fusion together with CD9. To examine the physiological role of IGSF8 in vivo, we generated Igsf8 -deficient mice by homologous recombination and examined the fertility of the females. Conclusion(s) The Igsf8 -deficient female mice showed no fertilization defect in vitro or in vivo. We observed that Igsf8 -deficient eggs retained the normal level and localization of CD9, resulting in normal microvilli formation, which indicates that IGSF8 is dispensable in fertility.

In 2007, the Tokyo Guidelines (TG07) working group established diagnostic criteria for assessment of the severity of acute cholangitis. This study aimed to analyze outcomes and identify predictors of mortality in patients with acute cholangitis managed according to the TG07.In this study, 215 consecutive cases of acute cholangitis were reviewed. Risk factors associated with mortality or refractory cholangitis, which is defined on the basis of prolonged hospitalization (28 days) or disease resulting in fatality, were examined using multivariate logistic regression analysis.There were 52, 133, and 30 cases of mild, moderate, and severe cholangitis, respectively. The overall mortality rate was 4.2 % (9/215). Mortality rates in patients with mild, moderate, and severe cholangitis were 0, 2.3, and 20.0 %, respectively (moderate vs. severe, p = 0.001). Multivariate analysis showed that serum albumin levels ≤2.8 g/dl and PT-INR1.5 were significant predictors of mortality. There were 57 patients (26.5 %) with refractory cholangitis. Multivariate analysis showed that serum albumin level ≤2.8 g/dl, PT-INR1.5, etiology and inpatient status were significant predictors of refractory cholangitis.The TG07 severity assessment criteria for acute cholangitis were significantly predictive of mortality. Hypoalbuminemia is an important risk factor in addition to organ dysfunction.

We present a new empirical model to spatially interpolate amplification factors of 5 % damped acceleration response spectra obtained at strong motion stations at intervals of about 10 to 20 km for periods ranging from 0.5 to 10 s. The predictor variable is Tz3.2 which is the propagation time of S wave from the seismic bedrock to the engineering bedrock calculated by velocity structure just beneath the station extracted from three-dimensional model with a grid spacing of about 1km. The logarithm of the amplification factors in the Kanto basin, the Nobi basin, and the Osaka basin are modeled by bi-linear regression lines using the Tz3.2. We also interpret the bi-linear regression lines by medium response of surface waves.

We develop empirical regression relations for estimating waveforms of horizontal and vertical ground motions in a period range of 0.1 to 10 seconds caused by subduction-zone and crustal earthquakes using many strong motion records all in Japan. The relations are provided for 5 % and 1 % damped acceleration response spectra, energy spectrum, average of group delay time, and standard deviation of group delay time. The waveforms with site-specific amplification and phase spectra are easily calculated by the empirical relations using the outer-fault parameters, rupture starting points, delay time among rupture starting points, and the location of the strong motion stations in interest. We show that waveforms calculated by the empirical relations for the hypothetical Nankai earthquake are consistent with waveforms calculated by the theoretical method using three dimensional structure model and inner-fault parameters as well as outer-fault parameters in previous studies.

We observed the polycrystallization process of a naphthyl-substituted diamine derivative (NPD) thin film on a self-assembled monolayer (SAM)-modified indium–tin–oxide (ITO) substrate. Fluorine-substituted SAM suppressed the growth of the polycrystalline region. After estimating the surface morphology of the polycrystalline region using AFM measurement, correlation between the molecular migration rate on the substrate, the rearrangement rate at the growth point, and the provision rate from the amorphous region clarified the polycrystallization growth mechanism for the NPD thin film. The formation of a channel around the polycrystalline region and the molecular migration rate on the substrate play important roles in polycrystalline region growth.

We investigate the effect of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) as a hole injection layer on the electroluminescence (EL) properties of organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs). We modify the surface of an indium–tin-oxide (ITO) substrate using (heptadecafluoro-1,1,2,2-tetrahydrodecyl)triethoxysilane (F-SAM) and n-decyltriethoxysilane (CH3-SAM). The current of the OLED with F-SAM is higher that those of the OLEDs with or without CH3-SAM at the same voltage and the same as that of an OLED with copper phthalocyanine (CuPc). In addition, the half-lifetime of the OLED with F-SAM is 2500 times greater than that of the OLED without the hole injection layer and about twice that of the OLED with CuPc. We discuss the conduction mechanism of the OLED in terms of the barrier height of the hole injection and the voltage distribution of the organic layers.

“The model test on multi-axes loading on RC shear walls” had been carried out as for the 10-year project aiming at comprehension of the earthquake response behavior of three-dimensional (3D) reinforced concrete (RC) shear walls under the 3D of multi-axes earthquake loading condition. The motivation of the project building-up is that the current seismic design of nuclear power plant building is carried out by applying one-dimensional (1D) dynamic earthquake load to an analytical building model in each direction independently whereas actual earthquake jolts the building in the three directions simultaneously. Therefore, there were opinions requesting some testing confirm whether or not the current seismic design methodology is reliable for the input motions exceeding the design earthquake ground motion moreover for the input motions of the 3D. The project had completed with various valuable outcomes that can reply to the opinions. Moreover, the outcomes will play an important role in evaluating seismic margins of important structures in a nuclear power plant. In this paper, based on the published documents relating to this test project, the author describes a review of the whole testing and summarizes the major outcomes extracted by the test project.

Effects of Interface modification on the organic single crystal transistors have been investigated using self-assembled monolayers and double gate configurations. Systematic carrier density control associated with the shift of Vth was achieved by the polarized self-assembled monolayers fabricated in between the gate oxide and organic single crystals, and by the second gate electrode, which was fabricated on the other side of the primary gate electrode.

Hydrodynamic limit for the Ginzburg-Landau ∇φ interface model was established in [6] under periodic boundary conditions. This paper studies the same problem on a bounded domain imposing Dirichlet boundary conditions. A nonlinear partial differential equation of second order with boundary conditions is derived as a macroscopic equation. The main tools are H − 1-method used in [6] and the higher integrability of gradients in [2].

This paper proposes the constitutive model for the shear transfer through the cracks of pre-cracked reinforced concrete (RC) plate subjected to combined axial and shear stress. The plate is a scale model of a shear wall of a nuclear power plant (NPP) building. Twelve plate specimens were initially cracked and then loaded to the failure point by increasing cyclic shear under constant axial stress. Tangential shear modulus, Gcr, values are estimated from the v � /g relationships observed in the test results and formulated to the constitutive model as the correlation function of the normal strain perpendicular to the crack plane, ocr, and shear strain, gcr, based on the smeared crack model concept. By incorporating the proposed model to a nonlinear FEM analysis program and comparing the analysis results with the test results, it is apparent that the program could be improved in its analytical accuracy. The proposed model will be useful for the nonlinear analysis of RC shear walls when the walls are exposed to simultaneous multi-directional load. # 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Various techniques are required in endoscopic biliary stone removal. Because the presence of biliary stones is a benign disease, it is essential to minimize procedure-related complications. Having a sound knowledge of the risk factors can help reduce the number and severity of complications. We determined the risk factors for complications in patients undergoing endoscopic biliary stone removal.This was a retrospective observational cohort study. We analyzed 743 consecutive patients with biliary stones who were treated with endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and identified the independent risk factors for complications.Complications occurred in 66 patients (8.9%). Pancreatitis occurred in 26 patients (3.5%), cholangitis in 16 (2.2%), bleeding in 12 (1.6%) and other in 12 (1.6%). Independent risk factors for overall complications were multiple biliary stones (P = 0.0480) and anti-thrombotic drugs (P = 0.0186).Independent risk factors for moderate or severe complications were old age (P = 0.0201), multiple biliary stones (P = 0.0300), anti-thrombotic drugs (P = 0.0131), and cirrhosis of the liver (P = 0.0013). The respective risk factors for pancreatitis, cholangitis, and bleeding were precut technique (P = 0.0005), endoscopic mechanical lithotripsy (P = 0.0421), and both anti-thrombotic drugs (P = 0.0228) and cirrhosis of the liver (P = 0.0115).Old age was associated with a similar complication rate to younger age but increased the severity of complications following endoscopic biliary stone removal. Improved awareness of the severity of complications may be of benefit during periprocedural management. Further studies are warranted.

Hydrodynamic large scale limit for the Ginzburg-Landau ∇φ interface model was established in [6]. As its next stage this paper studies the corresponding large deviation problem. The dynamic rate functional is given by for h=h(t,θ),t∈[0,T],θ∈? d , where σ=σ(u) is the surface tension for mean tilt u∈ℝ d . Our main tool is H −1-method expoited by Landim and Yau [9]. The relationship to the rate functional obtained under the static situation by Deuschel et al. [3] is also discussed.