Appearance of ferromagnetism in Pt(100) ultrathin films originated from quantum-well states with possibility of small orbital magnetic moment

Ferromagnetism was observed in a Pt(100) ultrathin film deposited on a SrTiO3(100) substrate. The ferromagnetism, which appears in films with thicknesses of 2.2-4.4 nm, periodically changes with a period of approximately 1 nm (5-6 ML) depending on the film thickness. This is consistent with the period derived from the quantum-well states formed in the thin film. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism measurements were conducted to understand the intrinsic nature of the ferromagnetism in the Pt(100) ultrathin films, and contrary to our expectations, the orbital magnetic moment of pure Pt is much smaller than that of the Pt/ferromagnetic multilayer system. These results suggest that the origin of the large magnetic anisotropy in Pt components cannot be explained only by the amount of spin-orbit coupling in Pt.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Identification of a novel SEREX antigen family, ECSA, in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diagnosis of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) may improve with early diagnosis. Currently it is difficult to diagnose SCC in the early stage because there is a limited number of tumor markers available.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Fifty-two esophageal SCC SEREX antigens were identified by SEREX (serological identification of antigens by recombinant cDNA expression cloning) using a cDNA phage library and sera of patients with esophageal SCC. Sequence analysis revealed that three of these antigens were similar in amino acid sequences, and they were designated as ECSA (esophageal carcinoma SEREX antigen)-1, -2 and -3. The ECSA family was also similar to an EST clone, hepatocellular carcinoma-associated antigen 25a (HCA25a). Serum antibody levels to ECSA-1, -2 and -3 were significantly higher in patients with esophageal SCC than in healthy donors. Based on the conserved amino acid sequences, three peptides were synthesized and used for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). The serum antibody levels against one of these peptides were significantly higher in patients with esophageal SCC. This peptide sequence was also conserved in FAM119A, GOSR1 and BBS5, suggesting that these are also ECSA family members. Reverse transcription followed by quantitative PCR analysis showed that the mRNA expression levels of ECSA-1, -2 and -3 and FAM119A but not of HCA25a, GOSR1 and BBS5 were frequently elevated in esophageal SCC tissues.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We have identified a new gene family designated ECSA. Serum antibodies against the conserved domain of the ECSA family may be a promising tumor marker for esophageal SCC.</p

介護老人福祉施設における虐待予防プログラムを用いた研修実施と効果検証

論文　要介護高齢者入居施設における入居者虐待は、古くから存在した社会問題であるが、近年、①要介護高齢者の急増、②要介護高齢者施設を経営する主体（法人）の多様化、③高齢者虐待の防止、高齢者の養護者に対する支援等に関する法律（以下「高齢者虐待防止法」という。）の施行による虐待実態の顕在化、さらには各種メディアによる報道等によって、多くの人々にとってより身近な社会問題として認識されるようになってきた。　本研究は、実際に介護老人福祉施設の職員として実践に携わっている専門職と協働して作成した独自の虐待予防研修プログラム（素案）を用いて施設の介護職員向け研修を実施し、当該研修プログラムの評価（プログラムの実施効果の把握および当該研修プログラムに関する改善点等に関する示唆を得る）を行うことを目的として実施した。　本研究では、まず、介護老人福祉施設における福祉サービス提供実践者とチームをつくり、先行研究や既存の文献等も踏まえながら議論を重ね、「虐待を生み出す要因を構造的に理解するための研修プログラム」と「不適切なケアを低減するための研修プログラム」の２本柱によって構成された介護老人福祉施設における虐待予防研修プログラム素案を作成することができた。また、本稿において当該プログラム素案の作成プロセスを示すことができた。　次に、当該プログラムを用いた研修を受講した方々を対象とした調査票調査の結果から、「虐待を生み出す要因を構造的に理解するための研修プログラム」と「不適切なケアを低減するための研修プログラム」をセットにした「介護老人福祉施設介護職員向けの虐待予防研修」の有用性を把握することができた。　また、今後も継続しての本プログラムの開発を進める上で、「研修を受講したことによる効果を実感できる工夫（仕組み）」、「プログラム２の図解化を成功させるための改善・工夫」、「研修受講者が『意識の変化が虐待予防につながる最も重要な効果である』ということを実感できるための工夫（仕組み）」が必要であることを明確にすることができた

Use of the index of pulmonary vascular disease for predicting long-term outcome of pulmonary arterial hypertension associated with congenital heart disease

AimsLimited data exist on risk factors for the long-term outcome of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) associated with congenital heart disease (CHD-PAH). We focused on the index of pulmonary vascular disease (IPVD), an assessment system for pulmonary artery pathology specimens. The IPVD classifies pulmonary vascular lesions into four categories based on severity: (1) no intimal thickening, (2) cellular thickening of the intima, (3) fibrous thickening of the intima, and (4) destruction of the tunica media, with the overall grade expressed as an additive mean of these scores. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between IPVD and the long-term outcome of CHD-PAH.MethodsThis retrospective study examined lung pathology images of 764 patients with CHD-PAH aged &lt;20 years whose lung specimens were submitted to the Japanese Research Institute of Pulmonary Vasculature for pulmonary pathological review between 2001 and 2020. Clinical information was collected retrospectively by each attending physician. The primary endpoint was cardiovascular death.ResultsThe 5-year, 10-year, 15-year, and 20-year cardiovascular death-free survival rates for all patients were 92.0%, 90.4%, 87.3%, and 86.1%, respectively. The group with an IPVD of ≥2.0 had significantly poorer survival than the group with an IPVD &lt;2.0 (P = .037). The Cox proportional hazards model adjusted for the presence of congenital anomaly syndromes associated with pulmonary hypertension, and age at lung biopsy showed similar results (hazard ratio 4.46; 95% confidence interval: 1.45–13.73; P = .009).ConclusionsThe IPVD scoring system is useful for predicting the long-term outcome of CHD-PAH. For patients with an IPVD of ≥2.0, treatment strategies, including choosing palliative procedures such as pulmonary artery banding to restrict pulmonary blood flow and postponement of intracardiac repair, should be more carefully considered

Assessment on liquid Li fire risk under humid air condition and with heat insulators

The IFMIF-like fusion neutron sources (FNSs) such as A-FNS and IFMIF-DONES have Li fire risks and the R&D activity for the Li fire risk reduction has been conducted under the IFMIF/EVEDA project. The objectives of this study are to experimentally elucidate humidity condition in air at which no Li fire ignites and the effect of the heat insulator on the Li fire ignition. The experimental set-up was designed and fabricated in order to perform Li fire experiments safely and systematically. Around 1 g of metallic Li samples were heated with and without the heat insulators as an experimental parameter of humidity in air. In this work, no ignition was observed under the less than 0.15 vol% humidity air. The heating experiments with the heat insulators clarified that the reaction between Li and the heat insulators causing Li fire ignition didn’t occur. In conclusion, the results of the present study suggest the conditions of less than 0.15 vol% humidity air and employing the heat insulator of alkaline earth silicate wool are useful for the Li target system of FNSs

Quantitative evaluation of fatty degeneration of the supraspinatus and infraspinatus muscles using T2 mapping.

Although fatty degeneration of the rotator cuff muscles has been reported to affect the outcomes of rotator cuff repairs, only a few studies have attempted to quantitatively evaluate this degeneration. T2 mapping is a quantitative magnetic resonance imaging technique that potentially evaluates the concentration of fat in muscles. The purpose of this study was to investigate fatty degeneration of the rotator cuff muscles by using T2 mapping, as well as to evaluate the reliability of T2 measurement

ROK study-C (Rainbow of KIBOU study-colorectum): a colorectal cancer survivor cohort study on food, nutrition, physical activity, psychosocial factors and its influences on colorectal cancer recurrence, survival and quality of life in Japan

Abstract Background Many studies have shown that lifestyle factors such as diet, physical activity are related to the incidence of cancer. However, there are few studies on the association between lifestyle factors and cancer prognosis. To investigate the influence of lifestyle factors and psychosocial factors on prognosis, we started a prospective study of women with breast cancer, the Rainbow of KIBOU study-Breast (ROK Study-B) in 2007. As of February 2018, more than 6300 women have been enrolled, thus making this one of the world’s largest cancer patient cohort studies. Based on the know-how obtained from this study, we started another new cohort study for colorectal cancer patient (ROK Study-C). Methods The ROK Study-C is a prospective observational study for colorectal cancer survivors at the National Cancer Center Hospital. Participants fill in several self-administrated questionnaires about lifestyle, psychosocial factors (including posttraumatic growth and benefit finding, support), and quality of life (QOL) 5 times in total: at diagnosis, 3 and 6 months, 1 and 5 years after surgery. CT-scans will be collected to assess body composition and obesity. We also use blood and cancer tissue from the Biobank. The primary endpoint is disease-free survival. The secondary endpoints are overall survival and health-related QOL. The planned sample size is 2000 and the follow-up period is 5 years after the last enrollment. Discussion Recruitment began in December 2015 and the study is still ongoing. The ROK Study-C will contribute to improvements in patient prognosis and yield important evidence for colorectal cancer survivorship

Multiple rapidly growing desmoid tumors that were difficult to distinguish from recurrence of rectal cancer

Abstract Background Intra-abdominal desmoid tumors are usually slow growing and solitary, but multifocal desmoid tumors develop on rare occasions. Diagnosing desmoid tumors before histological examination of a surgical biopsy is often difficult. In particular, if a patient has a prior history of malignancy, it may be difficult to differentiate between these lesions and disease recurrence or metastasis. Case presentation We present a rare case of multiple rapidly growing intra-abdominal desmoid tumors after surgical trauma, without familial adenomatous polyposis. A 51-year-old male underwent abdominal perineal resection with lateral lymph node dissection after neoadjuvant chemotherapy for lower rectal cancer. Follow-up computed tomography (CT), performed 6 months after primary surgery, showed a 20-mm solitary mass in the pelvic mesentery. Another CT scan, performed 3 months later, revealed that the mass had grown to 35 mm in size and that two new masses had formed. Based on imaging studies and his medical history, it was difficult to distinguish the desmoid tumors from recurrence of rectal cancer. Curative resection was chosen for therapeutic diagnosis. The pathological diagnosis was multiple mesenteric desmoid tumors. Conclusions Desmoid tumors should not be excluded as a differential diagnosis for intra-abdominal masses after intra-abdominal surgery, even in cases of rapidly growing multiple masses