It is uncertain whether dietary intake of mushrooms rich in dietary fibre and several antioxidants is associated with a lower risk of dementia. We sought to examine prospectively the association between mushroom intake and the risk of disabling dementia. We performed a prospective study involving 3750 people aged 40 to 64 years residing in three communities who participated in an annual cardiovascular risk survey from 1985 to 1999. Cases of incident disabling dementia were surveyed from 1999 to 2020. We calculated the hazard ratios (HR) and 95 % CI for incident total dementia according to mushroom intake among participants with or without a history of stroke. During a mean 16·0 years’ follow-up in 3739 eligible participants, 670 people developed disabling dementia. For women, mushroom intake was inversely associated with the risk of total dementia and the association was confined to dementia without a history of stroke. The multivariable HR (95 % CI) for total dementia in women were 0·81 (0·62, 1·06) for mushroom intake of 0·1–14·9 g/d and 0·56 (0·42, 0·75) for mushroom intake above 15·0 g/d (Pfor trend = 0·003) compared with no intake. The corresponding HR (95 % CI) for dementia without a history of stroke were 0·66 (0·47, 0·93) and 0·55 (0·38, 0·79) (Pfor trend = 0·01). In men, no associations were observed between mushroom intake and the risk of disabling dementia. Among Japanese women, dietary mushroom intake was associated with a lower risk of disabling dementia.

We examined the neural underpinnings of the effects of mindfulness on anxiety in anorexia nervosa using functional magnetic resonance imaging in 21 anorexia patients. We used a functional magnetic resonance imaging task designed to induce weight-related anxiety and asked participants to regulate their anxiety either using or not using an acceptance strategy. Our results showed reduced activity in the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, putamen, caudate, orbital gyrus, middle frontal gyrus, posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus following a mindfulness-based intervention. The present study provides new insight regarding the neural mechanisms underlying the effect of mindfulness-based intervention in ameliorating anorexia nervosa.

There is an alarming rate of human African trypanosomiasis recrudescence in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. Yet, the disease has no successful chemotherapy. Trypanosoma lacks the enzymatic machinery for the de novo synthesis of purine nucleotides, and is critically dependent on salvage mechanisms. Inosine 5′-monophosphate dehydrogenase (IMPDH) is responsible for the rate-limiting step in guanine nucleotide metabolism. Here, we characterize recombinant Trypanosoma brucei IMPDH (TbIMPDH) to investigate the enzymatic differences between TbIMPDH and host IMPDH. Size-exclusion chromatography and analytical ultracentrifugation sedimentation velocity experiments reveal that TbIMPDH forms a heptamer, different from type 1 and 2 mammalian tetrameric IMPDHs. Kinetic analysis reveals calculated Km values of 30 and 1300 μm for IMP and NAD, respectively. The obtained Km value of TbIMPDH for NAD is approximately 20–200-fold higher than that of mammalian enzymes and indicative of a different NAD binding mode between trypanosomal and mammalian IMPDHs. Inhibition studies show Ki values of 3·2 μm, 21 nM and 3·3 nM for ribavirin 5′-monophosphate, mycophenolic acid and mizoribine 5′-monophosphate, respectively. Our results show that TbIMPDH is different from its mammalian counterpart and thus may be a good target for further studies on anti-trypanosomal drugs.

The tactile sensors for human support robots which can detect both normal stress and shear stress and have human-friendly surface have been proposed. Micro-cantilevers adequately inclined by Cr deflection control layer were fabricated by the surface micromachining on SOI wafer. The cantilevers were covered with the PDMS elastomer for human-friendly surface. When the stress is added to the surface of elastomer, the deformation of cantilevers along with elastomer is detected as piezoresistive layer in the cantilevers. The piezoresistive response of the cantilever is analyzed by FEM calculation. The response of the fabricated tactile sensor to normal stress and shear stress was measured by output from this resistance. The tactile sensor with PDMS elastomer can detect both normal stress and shear stress. On the other hand, it hardly has sensitivity to shear stress of orthogonal direction to the cantilever. It means that the tactile sensor can distinguish the direction of shear stress. The sensitivity of tactile sensor vary widely with cantilever pattern and relation between direction of cantilever and crystallite orientation of Si. It is suggested that the sensitivity of tactile sensor can be improved by using FEM estimation and selective ion implantation.

The Cr/Si bilayer cantilevers for an integrated multi-axis tactile sensor were fabricated by Si surface micromachining process. Among the cantilevers with various shapes, the rectangular and semicircular cantilevers can be deflected upward with good controllability. The maximum deflections are compared with those calculated by finite element method. Calculated deflections of Cr/Si cantilever agree considerably with the measured one. So, it is considered that the analysis by finite element method is useful as optimization of layer thickness and size to obtain the Cr/Si bilayer cantilevers with accurate deflection.

Barium Strontium Titanate (BST) thin films have been deposited on (100)-oriented MgO substrate by combining preparation of initial layer by Pulsed Laser Deposition and main layer by Metal-Organic-Decomposition method. Films with an initial layer of 20, 30 and 40 nm thickness and final thickness of 400, 650 and 800 nm have been obtained. Physical and dielectric properties of the BST thin films have been characterized from the viewpoint of frequency-agile micro and millimeter wave circuit applications. The results reveal that Ba0.6Sr0.4TiO3 thin films have a good crystallinity with characteristic orientation that is affected by the deposition conditions of the initial layer. Interdigital capacitor with a gap of 10 μm has been characterized and the dielectric loss and tunability are as low as 0.002 to 0.004 and 12%, respectively, at frequency of 1 MHz for the applied voltage from -/+40V to +/-40V. At microwave frequencies, classical coplanar waveguide lines formed on BST/(100)MgO were investigated. A differential phase shift of 18 degree was obtained at 20 GHz with insertion loss of about −2 dB at 60 V for Au/Cr interconnection. Finally, a 3-stage LC-ladder-type phase shifter with variable capacitors of BST thin film has been fabricated considering the experimental results obtained for the coplanar waveguide lines and a maximum phase shift of 40 degrees is obtained at 20 GHz at 60 V.

Natural-superlattice-structured Bi3TiNbO9–Bi4Ti3O12 (m =2–3) (BTN–BIT) films have been grown on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrates at 400 °C to 550 °C by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) using BTN–BIT (1 mol:1 mol) target, and were post-annealed in O2 for 45 minutes at 750 °C. BTN–BIT films prepared above 500 °C have single phase whose c lattice parameter is estimated to 8.300 nm in consideration of periodicity of lattice structures. This lattice constant is very close to the value (8.316 nm) of that of two unit cells of BTN and one unit cell of BIT, that is 2–1 superlattice structure of BTN–BIT. The BTN–BIT film with 2–1 superlattice structure has large remanent polarization (2Pr = 50 μC/cm2) and large coercive field (2Ec= 350 kV/cm). La-doped BTN–BIT thin film has also large remanent polarization (2Pr = 52 μC/cm2) and relatively small coercive field (2Ec= 220 kV/cm). The La-doped BTN–BIT film is fatigue-free on Pt electrodes up to 1010 switching cycles.

Neodymium-modified Bi4Ti3O12(BNdT) thin films have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), aiming to realize enhanced ferroelectric properties by a low temperature treatment. When deposited at 500°C, the film shows P-E hysteresis having twice remanent polarization 2Pr of 78.8 μC/cm-2, coercive force Ec of about 250 kV/cm, and leakage current of less than 10-7 A/cm2 from -50 to +50 kV/cm. Good fatigue properties of BNdT films deposited at 5 Hz have been obtained up to 1010 cycles of 500 kHz bipolar square pulses, with less than 25% decrease of +Pr and -Pr.

BiFeO3 thin film has been prepared on Pt/TiO2/SiO2/Si substrate at a temperature as low as 450°C by pulsed-laser deposition. The BiFeO3 thin film is perovskite single-phase, while any nonperovskite phase, such as orthorhombic Bi2Fe4O9, is not included. Dielectric constant of the film is 87, dielectric loss is 0.03, and leakage current density is low. The coexistence of ferroelectricity and ferromagnetism has been confirmed by means of the P-E and M-H hysteresis characteristics. The BiFeO3 thin film shows a well-saturated hysteresis loop with twice the remanent polarization 2Pr = 54 μC/cm2 and coercive field 2Ec = 100 kV/cm for a maximum applied electric field of 100 kV/cm, and also shows a saturated weak ferromagnetic hysteresis loop, as well as a small remanent magnetization with 2Mr = 0.6 emu/cm3 and 2 Hc = 200 Oe for a maximum magnetic field of 10 kOe at room temperature.

Photoelectron spectra by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-photoyield spectroscopy (UV-PYS) have been analyzed to study O2-annealing effects on band diagrams of ferroelectric SrxBiyTa 2O9 (SBT) thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and metalorganic dcecomposition (MOD) methods. XPS studies on the annealed PLD-SBT film has shown a rapid shift in its Bi 4f core peaks from the oxidized to the metallic ones, as the film suffer Ar+ bombardment. Surface of the annealed film has exhibited lower Fermi level than the as-deposited one in UV-PYS. The result suggests O2-annealing can suppress leakage current through PLD-SBT films. The UV-PYS studies on MOD-SBT have shown almost the intrinsic Fermi levels before and after the additional annealing. The XPS studies have shown that the additional annealing is not effective to improve stabilities of (Bi2O2)2+ layers, once the film is baked and crystallized.

C axis-oriented Bi4Ti3O12–SrBi4Ti4O15 (B IT-SB Ti) intergrowth epitaxial ferroelectric thin films have been grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method on MgO (001) and SrTiO3 (001) substrates. The epitaxial growth of BIT-SBTi intergrowth thin films were confirmed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) θ-2θ scan, pole figure plots and reciprocal space mappings. The c axis lattice constant of the BIT-SBTi intergrowth thin film is very close to that of made up of regular stacking of one-halves of the unit cells of Bi4Ti3O12 (3.296 nm) and SrBi4Ti4O15 (4.189 nm). The annealed BIT-SBTi thin film on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrate shows intergrowth structure, too, and exhibits superior ferroelectricity that the values of 2Pr and 2Ec are 32.0 μC/cm2 and 190 kV/cm, respectively. The annealed BIT-SBTi film shows that the degradation of switching charge after 1×1010 switching cycles was 16.5%. This ferroelectric enhancement is attributed to strain of pseudo-perovskite layers interacting through Bi2O2 layer. The dielectric constant and dielectric loss of the annealed BIT-SBTi film were 433 and 0.037, respectively.

Photoelectron spectra by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and UV-photoyield spectroscopy (UV-PYS) have been analyzed to study O2-annealing effects on band diagrams of ferroelectric SrxBiyTa2O9 (SBT) thin films deposited by pulsed laser deposition (PLD) and metalorganic dcecomposition (MOD) methods. XPS studies on the annealed PLD-SBT film has shown a rapid shift in its Bi 4f core peaks from the oxidized to the metallic ones, as the film suffer Ar+ bombardment. Surface of the annealed film has exhibited lower Fermi level than the as-deposited one in UV-PYS. The result suggests O2-annealing can suppress leakage current through PLD-SBT films. The UV-PYS studies on MOD-SBT have shown almost the intrinsic Fermi levels before and after the additional annealing. The XPS studies have shown that the additional annealing is not effective to improve stabilities of (Bi2O2)2+ layers, once the film is baked and crystallized.

BaTiO3 (BTO) thin films with perovskite structure have been prepared on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates using a combined process of a conventional MOD (metal organic decomposition) process and a hydrothermal treatment. The BTO thin films with polycrystalline structure are grown on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates at a processing temperature of 140°C. The structural development, stoichiometry, spectroscopic, and dielectric properties of the BTO thin films have been systematically investigated. X-ray diffraction patterns show that well-developed crystallites with a pure perovskite phase have been formed. ICP (Inductively coupled plasma) and XPS (x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy) results show that stoichiometric BTO thin films were obtained.

Retention characteristics of Metal-Ferroelectric-Insulator-Semiconductor(MFIS) and Metal-Insulator-Ferroelectric-Insulator-Semiconductor(M-I-FIS) structures have been investigated both theoretically and experimentally. The simulated time dependence of capacitance for the MFIS has indicated that reducing currents through the ferroelectric and the insulator layers improves the retention characteristics more effectively than choosing the insulators with larger dielectric constants. The M-I-FIS structure has been studied in order to reduce the charge injection between the metal and the ferroelectric layer in the MFIS. The simulations have indicated that the M-I-FIS can provide much longer retention time than the original MFIS, although the experimental retention time of the M-I-FIS have almost the same as that of the MFIS.

Sr2(Ta1划x, Nbx)2O7(STN) ferroelectric thin films have been prepared on SiO2/Si(100) substrates by the pulsed laser deposition (PLD) method. Preferential (110) and (151)-oriented STN thin films are deposited at a low temperature of 600°C in N2O ambient gas at 0.08 Torr. A counterclockwise C-V hysteresis was observed in the metal-ferroelectric-insulator-semiconductor (MFIS) structure using Sr2(Ta0.7, Nb0.3)2O7 on SiO2/Si deposited at 600°C. Memory window in the C-V curve spreads symmetrically towards both positive and negative directions when applied voltage increases and the window does not change in sweep rates ranging from 0.1 to 4.0×103 V/s. The C-V curve of the MFIS structure does not degrade after 1010 cycles of polarization reversal. The gate retention time is about 3.0×103 sec when the voltages and time of write pulse are ±15V and 1.0 sec, respectively, and hold bias was -0.5 V.

We have proposed a new type of simple detector pixel circuit and device structure for application of dielectric bolometer mode (DB) of infrared (IR) image sensor. The DB mode has merits such as uncooled room temperature operation, chopperless, low power dissipation, and high-sensitivity. A stable Ba1划xSrxTiO3 (BST) thin film has been successfully developed as a dielectric bolometer material for IR detector by Metal-Organic-Decomposition (MOD) method. The film was prepared on both Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si-bulk and Pt/Ti/NSG/Si3N4/SiO2 membrane structures, where an IR light is detected at the membrane as a change in dielectric constant (ε). So, the important issue for realizing a reliable IR sensor with high-sensitivity has been achieved to have a good thermal stability in ε against change in the detector temperature. XRD patterns and D-E hysteresis curves were measured and revealed that the BST film has a good perovskite structure and shows an adequate ferroelectric loops, especially for final annealing temperature higher than 700 °C. Temperature Coefficient of Dielectric constant (TCD), which decides the IR sensitivity, of the MOD made BST film is about 1 %/K. The reproducibility in ε, namely IR detector capacitance, was found to be very good in temperature ranging from about 10 to 80 °C within a relative change of 2 %. Finally, the stabilities in both the temperature dependence of ε and the output level have been obtained with a fairly large IR detectivity, where voltage sensitivity(Rv) and specific detectivity(D*) were about 1.2 kV/W and 2.9e8 cmHz 1/2/W, respectively.

Preferentially (151)-oriented Sr2(Ta1-x, Nbx)2O7 (STN) thin films on Pt have been prepared at temperatures as low as 550 and 600°C, in O2 and N2O atmospheres, respectively, by pulsed laser deposition (PLD). The temperatures are significantly lower than those prepared by sol-gel methods, where 950°C was reported. These are the lowest growth temperatures of crystalline STN thin films. Composition ratio (x) in the target material was determined to be around 0.3 from measurement of the Curie temperature and ferroelectric properties. Active oxygen generated by laser irradiation in ambient O2 or N2O atmosphere is found to be very effective for chemical reaction, and decreases the growth temperature of crystalline STN films. It is also confirmed by surface AFM and cross-sectional SEM observations that the film has a columnar-shaped structure with grain size ranging from 50 to 100 nm. Remanent polarization (Pr) and coercive field (Ec) are 0.4μ C/cm2 and 30 kV/cm, respectively. Finally, we expect the low temperature STN film prepared by PLD to be a promising ferroelectric for the application in ferroelectric memory FETs.

Preferentially (105)-oriented Sr0.7Bi2.8Ta2O9(SBTO) thin films on SiO2/n-Si(100) have been prepared by pulsed laser deposition at temperatures as low as 350°C, which is the lowest process temperature for growing SBTO ferroelectric thin films. Dielectric properties of the SBTO films have been improved by increasing the Sr/Bi atomic ratio from 0.7/2.8 to 0.7/2.0. Memory windows of as large as 3.6V and 4.V in the MFIS capacitor have been obtained at Sr/Bi ratios of 0.7/2.0 and 1.0/2.0 respectively and are the largest values reported in the MF(I)S diode structures. Little C-V degradation is observed up to with the 1010 cycles for the process temperature of 400°C, especially for Sr/Bi of 0.7/2.0, with the memory window remaining at more than 3.2V. Memory retention time was about 3×103 sec at which the difference in capacitance between “ON” and “OFF” states reduces to half of its initial value. Optimum hold bias voltage exists in the retention test. Improvement in memory characteristics is strongly related to the insulating properties of the ferroelectric and dielectric thin films rather than the value of dielectric constant.