Charge-density-wave superconductor Bi2Rh3Se2

We discovered a superconducting transition with the charge-density-wave state in a ternary compound Bi2Rh3Se2. This compound crystallizes in the parkerite-type structure composed of sheets containing one-dimensional Rh-Rh chains. The electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, thermoelectric power, sample length change, and x-ray diffraction measurements reveal that this compound is in the CDW state below 240 K. Furthermore, the specific heat and electrical resistivity measurements show a superconducting transition at ~0.7 K. The various superconducting parameters were determined, and the GL parameter (0) shows the considerably large value of 151 indicating an extreme type-II superconductor

Transport properties in normal metal Bi2Pd3S2 and superconducting Bi2Pd3Se2

The transport properties of the parkerite-related compounds Bi2Pd3X2 (X=S,Se) were studied. The electrical resistivities of both compounds show typical metallic behavior up to 400 K. Resistivity and specific heat measurements at low temperatures reveal that Bi2Pd3Se2 is superconducting below 1 K. On the other hand, Bi2Pd3S2 does not show a bulk superconducting transition down to 0.35 K. In the normal state, the electronic specific heat coefficient γ and the Debye temperature θD are found to be 5.9 mJ/mol K2 and 170 K, respectively for Bi2Pd3S2, and 8.3 mJ/mol K2 and 150 K, respectively for Bi2Pd3Se2. In the superconducting state for Bi2Pd3Se2, the upper critical field at zero temperature for Bi2Pd3Se2 is 290 mT. From the electronic specific heat in the superconducting temperature range, it was found that Bi2Pd3Se2 belongs to an s-wave weakcoupling superconductor

Virological characterization of the 2022 outbreak-causing monkeypox virus using human keratinocytes and colon organoids

ヒトiPS細胞由来大腸オルガノイドおよびヒトケラチノサイトを用いたmpoxウイルス2022年株の解析. 京都大学プレスリリース. 2023-06-07.The outbreak-causing monkeypox virus of 2022 (2022 MPXV) is classified as a clade IIb strain and phylogenetically distinct from prior endemic MPXV strains (clades I or IIa), suggesting that its virological properties may also differ. Here, we used human keratinocytes and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived colon organoids to examine the efficiency of viral growth in these cells and the MPXV infection-mediated host responses. MPXV replication was much more productive in keratinocytes than in colon organoids. We observed that MPXV infections, regardless of strain, caused cellular dysfunction and mitochondrial damage in keratinocytes. Notably, a significant increase in the expression of hypoxia-related genes was observed specifically in 2022 MPXV-infected keratinocytes. Our comparison of virological features between 2022 MPXV and prior endemic MPXV strains revealed signaling pathways potentially involved with the cellular damages caused by MPXV infections and highlights host vulnerabilities that could be utilized as protective therapeutic strategies against human mpox in the future

A Case of Advanced Hepatocellular Carcinoma with Portal Vein Tumor Thrombus Refractory to Epirubicin That Showed Marked Decrease in Tumor Markers after Transcatheter Arterial Infusion with Miriplatin

Miriplatin, a cisplatin derivative with a high affinity for iodized ethyl esters of fatty acids from poppy seed oil, is a novel chemotherapeutic agent designed for use in the transarterial treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Here, we describe transcatheter arterial infusion (TAI) using miriplatin to treat a case of advanced HCC with portal vein tumor thrombus (PVTT) refractory to TAI with epirubicin. A 66-year-old man with advanced hepatitis C virus-related HCC with PVTT in the right lobe of the liver was treated with TAI with epirubicin suspended in iodized oil; however, tumor marker levels (alpha-fetoprotein and des-gamma-carboxy protein) did not decrease. Next, he was treated twice with TAI with miriplatin suspended in iodized oil. The tumor marker levels markedly decreased to a nearly normal range and the size of the main tumor was markedly reduced according to dynamic computed tomography. No serious adverse events occurred during the course of treatment with TAI and miriplatin. Therefore, we suggest that TAI with miriplatin is a safe and effective treatment option for advanced HCCs refractory to TAI with epirubicin

Via-switch FPGA with transistor-free programmability enabling energy-efficient near-memory parallel computation

We are developing field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) with a new non-volatile switch called via-switch. In via-switch FPGAs (VS-FPGAs), the via-switches required for reconfiguration are placed in the routing layer so that the entire transistor layer can be utilized for computing, and higher implementation density can be achieved compared to conventional SRAM FPGAs. Furthermore, since arithmetic units and memories for computing can be placed under the via-switch crossbar for routing, large-scale parallel operations can be realized where the memory and the arithmetic unit are adjacent to each other. These features enable operation with high energy efficiency. This article reports 65 nm prototype fabrication results and predicted the performance of the VS-FPGA designed for AI applications. We also present the developed application mapping flow and crossbar programming method. The VS-FPGA closes the gap between FPGA and application-specific integrated circuits (ASIC) with the performance advantage of the via-switch and via-switch copy scheme for FPGA-to-ASIC migration, contributing to the expansion of the FPGA usage