Electronic Transports for Thermoelectric Applications on IVVI Semiconductors

Seebeck effect, Peltier effect, Thomson effect, electronic thermal conductivity, Hall effect, and Nernst effect are described on the basis of electronic conduction theory, taking account of effective mass anisotropy, nonparabolicity in Ek relation, and temperature dependent band gap. It is shown that the temperature dependence of the band gap does not modify the basic equations for the Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity, and Nernst coefficient. In narrow gap semiconductors, existence of minority carriers significantly enhances the electronic thermal conductivity, owing to the multiple carrier transport known as bipolar diffusion. Calibration coefficient £ for the Hall effect (R H ¼ À£=en) is increased by nonparabolicity in the Ek relation. Nernst coefficient gives useful information on scattering properties of the materials

Efficacy of PEG on head and neck cancer

Objective : Efficacy of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) on unplanned treatment interruption and nutritional status was examined in patients undergoing chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for advanced head and neck cancer. Methods :We retrospectively reviewed hospital charts of 44 patients with advanced head and neck cancer who were treated with CRT. Results : CRT-induced mucositis of grade 3 or worse and inadequate oral intake of less than one third of their usual intake developed in 33 patients who were recommended PEG placement, but not in 11 patients. Thirteen patients accepted PEG placement and then completed CRT (compliant group). However, among 20 patients who refused both PEG and nasogastoric tube (NGT) placements (non-compliant group), 10 required unplanned interruptions of CRT at a radiation dose around 30-40 Gy (UI-CRT group) while 10 others could complete CRT without interruption (C-CRT group) CRT. Total serum protein levels were significantly decreased after CRT in all patients. Discussion : It is suggested that therapeutic PEG placement is useful for preventing unplanned interruption of CRT in patients with advanced head and neck cancer. After severe mucositis and inadequate oral intake have developed during CRT, PEG placement should be considered before the radiation therapy dose of 30 Gy

Association of Human Leukocyte Antigen with Interstitial Lung Disease in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Protective Role for Shared Epitope

INTRODUCTION: Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) is frequently associated with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) as one of extra-articular manifestations. Many studies for Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) allelic association with RA have been reported, but few have been validated in an RA subpopulation with ILD. In this study, we investigated the association of HLA class II alleles with ILD in RA. METHODS: An association study was conducted on HLA-DRB1, DQB1, and DPB1 in 450 Japanese RA patients that were or were not diagnosed with ILD, based on the findings of computed tomography images of the chest. RESULTS: Unexpectedly, HLA-DRB1*04 (corrected P [Pc] = 0.0054, odds ratio [OR] 0.57), shared epitope (SE) (P = 0.0055, OR 0.66) and DQB1*04 (Pc = 0.0036, OR 0.57) were associated with significantly decreased risk of ILD. In contrast, DRB1*16 (Pc = 0.0372, OR 15.21), DR2 serological group (DRB1*15 and *16 alleles) (P = 0.0020, OR 1.75) and DQB1*06 (Pc = 0.0333, OR 1.57, respectively) were significantly associated with risk of ILD. CONCLUSION: HLA-DRB1 SE was associated with reduced, while DR2 serological group (DRB1*15 and *16) with increased, risk for ILD in Japanese patients with RA

Utility of a simplified ultrasonography scoring system among patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A multicenter cohort study

ABSTRACT: We aimed to evaluate the utility of a simplified ultrasonography (US) scoring system, which is desired in daily clinical practice, among patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) receiving biological/targeted synthetic disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs).A total of 289 Japanese patients with RA who were started on tumor necrosis factor inhibitors, abatacept, tocilizumab, or Janus kinase inhibitors between June 2013 and April 2019 at one of the 15 participating rheumatology centers were reviewed. We performed US assessment of articular synovia over 22 joints among bilateral wrist and finger joints, and the 22-joint (22j)-GS and 22-joint (22j)-PD scores were evaluated as an indicator of US activity using the sum of the GS and PD scores, respectively.The top 6 most affected joints included the bilateral wrist and second/third metacarpophalangeal joints. Therefore, 6-joint (6j)-GS and -PD scores were defined as the sum of the GS and PD scores from the 6 synovial sites over the aforementioned 6 joints, respectively. Although the 22j- or 6j-US scores were significantly correlated with DAS28-ESR or -CRP scores, the correlations were weak. Conversely, 6j-US scores were significantly and strongly correlated with 22j-US scores not only at baseline but also after therapy initiation.Using a multicenter cohort data, our results indicated that a simplified US scoring system could be adequately tolerated during any disease course among patients with RA receiving biological/targeted synthetic DMARDs

Permittivity Estimation of Multilayered Dielectrics by Wall-Thru Radar Image

Abstract -Using wall-through radar, we obtain image of wall and target by means of scanning an antenna mechanically or electrically. In this case, the wall information, permittivity and thickness, are necessary in order to compensate position shift of the image caused by the delay phase of the wall. So, we can inversely estimate the permittivity by comparing with same target image position with no wall image. In this paper, we propose novel method to estimate equivalent permittivity of multilayered dielectric flat plate