Stabilisation of tetragonal FeCo structure with high magnetic anisotropy by the addition of V and N elements

The development of magnetic materials with high saturation magnetization (M-s) and uniaxial magnetic anisotropy (K-u) is required for the realisation of high-performance permanent magnets capable of reducing the power consumption of motors and data storage devices. Although FeCo-based materials with the body-centred cubic structure (bcc) exhibit the highest M-s values among various transition metal alloys, their low K-u magnitudes makes them unsuitable for permanent magnets. Recent first-principles calculations and experimental studies revealed that the epitaxial FeCo thin films with the body-centred tetragonal (bct) structure and thicknesses of several nanometres exhibited K-u values of 10(6) J.m(-3) due to epitaxial stress, which required further stabilisation. In this work, the FeCo lattice stabilised via VN addition were characterised by high K-u magnitudes exceeding 10(6) J.m(-3). The obtained bct structure remained stable even for the films with thicknesses of 100 nm deposited on an amorphous substrate, suggesting its possible use in bulk systems

Genetic Alterations in Gorlin Syndrome

Gorlin syndrome (GS) is an autosomal dominant disorder that predisposes affected individuals to developmental defects and tumorigenesis, and caused mainly by heterozygous germline PTCH1 mutations. Despite exhaustive analysis, PTCH1 mutations are often unidentifiable in some patients; the failure to detect mutations is presumably because of mutations occurred in other causative genes or outside of analyzed regions of PTCH1, or copy number alterations (CNAs). In this study, we subjected a cohort of GS-affected individuals from six unrelated families to next-generation sequencing (NGS) analysis for the combined screening of causative alterations in Hedgehog signaling pathway-related genes. Specific single nucleotide variations (SNVs) of PTCH1 causing inferred amino acid changes were identified in four families (seven affected individuals), whereas CNAs within or around PTCH1 were found in two families in whom possible causative SNVs were not detected. Through a targeted resequencing of all coding exons, as well as simultaneous evaluation of copy number status using the alignment map files obtained via NGS, we found that GS phenotypes could be explained by PTCH1 mutations or deletions in all affected patients. Because it is advisable to evaluate CNAs of candidate causative genes in point mutation-negative cases, NGS methodology appears to be useful for improving molecular diagnosis through the simultaneous detection of both SNVs and CNAs in the targeted genes/regions

Prognosis of Elderly Japanese Patients Aged ≥80 Years Undergoing Hemodialysis

Although the number of elderly patients requiring dialysis has increased, data regarding the prognosis of elderly patients undergoing hemodialysis are limited. In the present study, prognosis in Japanese hemodialysis patients aged ≥80 years was evaluated. From January 1988 to July 2013, 1144 consecutive patients with end-stage renal disease required renal replacement therapy at our institution; of these, 141 were aged ≥80 years. These patients’ charts were retrospectively reviewed for relevant clinical variables and survival time. The life expectancies table from the National Vital Statistics database was used, and prognostic factors were assessed by multivariate analysis. In total, 107 deaths (76%) were recorded during the study period. The median survival time and estimated life-shortening period in the patients were 2.6 years and −5.3 years, respectively. Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group Performance Status and hemoglobin level were revealed as prognostic factors in the multivariate analysis. Estimates of prognosis and prognostic factors may provide useful information for physicians as well as elderly patients with end-stage kidney disease

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