Atomically-flat, chemically-stable, superconducting epitaxial thin film of iron-based superconductor, cobalt-doped BaFe2_2As2_2

Epitaxial growth of Fe-based superconductors such as Co-doped SrFe$_2$As$_2$ (SrFe$_2$As$_2$:Co) was reported recently, but has still insufficient properties for device application because they have rough surfaces and are decomposed by reactions with water vapor in an ambient atmosphere. This letter reports that epitaxial films of Co-doped BaFe$_2$As$_2$ grown at 700 oC show the onset superconducting transition tempearture of 20 K. The transition is sharper than those observed on the SrFe$_2$As$_2$:Co films, which would originate from their improved crystallinity. These films also have atomically-flat surfaces with steps-and-terraces structures and exhibit chemical stability against exposure to water vapor

A review of preoperative chemoradiotherapy for lower rectal cancer

In Western countries, rectal cancer has been treated by chemoradiotherapy (CRT) for several decades now, and good local control has been reported. However, Japanese guidelines did not strongly recommend CRT, because CRT is only useful for achieving local control and imbues no survival benefit. For this reason, CRT was rarely used to treat rectal cancer in Japan. However, in the 2000s, several studies involving CRT began to be reported from Western countries, such as “correlation between pathological complete response and survival,” “induction chemotherapy followed by CRT,” and “watch-and-wait policies.” These studies were directly correlated with survival of and benefits to the patients. Given these findings, Japanese institutions have recently begun to introduce CRT for rectal cancer. Therefore, in the present study, we reviewed several topics regarding CRT for rectal cancer

Optoelectronic properties and electronic structure of YCuOSe

YCuOSe was prepared by solid-state reaction, and its wide gap semiconducting properties were examined. The single phase of YCuOSe was obtained in a limited temperature range around 750 °C and decomposed into Y2O2Se and Cu2Se at higher temperatures. The obtained YCuOSe sample showed a p-type semiconducting behavior with the electrical conductivity of 1.4×10−1 S cm−1 at room temperature. The band gap of YCuOSe was estimated to be 2.58 eV, which is much smaller than that of LaCuOSe (2.82 eV). The electronic structure of YCuOSe was investigated by ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy and energy band calculations to understand the differences in the electronic structures between LnCuOSe (Ln=La,Y). It was found that the Cu–Cu distance rather than the Cu–Se distance influences the electronic structures, and the smaller band gap of YCuOSe is attributed to the downshift of the Cu 4s energy level due to the smaller Cu–Cu distance and the consequent larger Cu–Cu interaction in YCuOSe