Anisotropic uniaxial pressure response of the Mott insulator Ca2RuO4

We have investigated the in-plane uniaxial pressure effect on the antiferromagnetic Mott insulator Ca2RuO4 from resistivity and magnetization measurements. We succeeded in inducing the ferromagnetic metallic phase at lower critical pressure than by hydrostatic pressure, indicating that the flattening distortion of the RuO6 octahedra is more easily released under in-plane uniaxial pressure. We also found a striking in-plane anisotropy in the pressure responses of various magnetic phases: Although the magnetization increases monotonically with pressure diagonal to the orthorhombic principal axes, the magnetization exhibits peculiar dependence on pressure along the in-plane orthorhombic principal axes. This peculiar dependence can be explained by a qualitative difference between the uniaxial pressure effects along the orthorhombic a and b axes, as well as by the presence of twin domain structures.Comment: Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.

GATA2 zinc finger 2 mutation found in acute myeloid leukemia impairs myeloid differentiation

AbstractWe identified two novel GATA2 mutations in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). One mutation (p.R308P-GATA2) was a R308P substitution within the zinc finger (ZF)-1 domain, and the other (p.A350_N351ins8-GATA2) was an eight-amino-acid insertion between A350 and N351 residues within the ZF-2 domain. p.R308P-GATA2 did not affect DNA-binding and transcriptional activities, while p.A350_N351ins8-GATA2 reduced them, and impaired G-CSF-induced granulocytic differentiation of 32D cells. Although p.A350_N351ins8-GATA2 did not show a dominant-negative effect over wild-type (Wt)–GATA2 by the reporter assay, it might be involved in the pathophysiology of AML by impairing myeloid differentiation because of little Wt-GATA2 expression in primary AML cells harboring the p.A350_N351ins8 mutation

NMR study in the superconducting silicon clathrate compound NaxBaySi46

29Si, 23Na, 137Ba, and 135Ba NMR experiments were carried out in the superconducting silicon clathrate compound NaxBaySi46 to study the electronic states above the superconducting transition temperature. We observed three distinct 29Si signals with different Knight shift (2036, 862, and 720 ppm at 90 K with a small temperature dependence of ∼10%), which were ascribed to inequivalent Si sites in the Si46 structure. The results indicate that the conduction-electron spin and/or charge density is strongly site-dependent. At all the atomic sites, the Korringa relation in NMR relaxation was observed, indicative of metallic electronic structure with moderate electronic correlation. The Na and Ba atoms are partially ionized in NaxBaySi46, which shows the noticeable difference from the system of alkali-metal-doped fullerides. The comparison with band calculations is discussed

Gender and Japan-Korea Differences in Psychological Characteristics through DIPCA and POMS for All Japan Wheelchair Basketball Atheletes

Although previous studies investigating physical performance and biomechanics in wheelchair-bound athletes were reported, few studies have characterized the psychological state of these athletes. This study investigated differences in psychological characteristics among 37 wheelchair-bound athletes (Japanese males, n=11; Japanese females, n=9; Korean males, n=17). All subjects belonged to their own national teams for disabled wheelchair basketball. All subjects completed both the Diagnostic Inventory of Psychological-Competitive Ability for Athletes (DIPCA) and the Profile Of Mood States (POMS). Statictics analysis of DIPCA showed that the psychological competitive abilities in the Japanese males were significantly better than those in the Korean males in this series. However. the scores on POMS did not show significant differences between the Japanese and Korean males, expect for the score for "anger". Neither DIPCA nor POMS showed any significant differences with regard to gender. Above all, we conclude that the psychological differences between Japanese and Koreans reflected the outcomes of international competitions and these there was no gender difference in psychological characteristics

Complications and Management of Hepatic Arterial Infusion Chemotherapy for Liver Metastasis

Complications and management of hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy for 79 patients with liver metastasis were studied. Complications were observed in 20 cases (25.3%), who included 8 cases (88.9%) of lapalotomy group and 12 cases (17.6%) of left subclavian group. In lapalotomy group, they were 5 cases of system occlusion, 2 cases of catheter tip dislocation and catheter reinsertion through the left subclavian artery was performed in 4 cases. In left subclavian group, they were 4 cases of system occlusion, 3 cases of catheter tip dislocation, 2 cases of hepatic arterial occlusion and hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy was continued with catheter reinsertion in 8 of the 9 cases. It was considered that positive anti-complication measures including catheter reinsertion would contribute to the improvement of therapeutic results