For adult patients with Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia (SAB), Infectious Diseases consultation (IDC) significantly lowers mortality and recurrence rate. Our systematic review and meta-analysis demonstrate that IDC is also associated with significantly lower mortality in children with SAB. Analysis of the impact of IDC on pediatric recurrence rates revealed moderate heterogeneity.

Although the relationship between dyslipidaemia (DL) and coronary artery disease (CAD) or between trace minerals intake and CAD is well known separately, the exact nature of this relationship remains unknown. We hypothesize that the relationship between trace mineral intake and CAD may differ depending on whether or not the individual has DL. The present study analysed the relationships among trace mineral intake, DL, and CAD in middle-aged and older adults living in Shika town, Ishikawa prefecture, Japan. This study included 895 residents following the exclusion of those with genetic risk carriers for familial hypercholesterolemia. Trace mineral intake was evaluated using the brief-type self-administered diet history questionnaire. Interactions were observed between DL and CAD with zinc (p = 0.004), copper (p = 0.010), and manganese intake (p < 0.001) in a two-way analysis of covariance adjusted for covariates such as sex, age, body mass index, and current smokers and drinkers. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that zinc (odds ratio (OR): 0.752; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.606, 0.934; p = 0.010), copper (OR: 0.175; 95% CI: 0.042, 0.726; p = 0.016), and manganese (OR: 0.494; 95% CI: 0.291, 0.839; p = 0.009) were significant independent variables for CAD in the dyslipidaemic group. The present results suggest that DL with a low trace mineral intake is associated with CAD. Further longitudinal studies are required to confirm this relationship.

Of the 2,668 patients admitted with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), 4% underwent prolonged isolation for >20 days. Reasons for extended isolation were inconsistent with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidelines in 25% of these patients and were questionable in 54% due to an ongoing critically ill condition at day 20 without CDC-defined immunocompromised status.

This study examined the effects of post-resistance exercise protein ingestion timing on the rate of gastric emptying (GE) and blood glucose (BG) and plasma branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) responses. In all, eleven healthy participants randomly ingested 400 ml of a nutrient-rich drink containing 12 g carbohydrates and 20 g protein at rest (Con), at 5 min (post-exercise (PE)-5) or at 30 min (PE-30) after a single bout of strenuous resistance exercises. The first and second sets comprised ten repetitions at 50 % of each participant’s one-repetition maximum (1RM). The third, fourth and fifth sets comprised ten repetitions at 75 % of 1RM, and the sixth set involved repeated repetitions until exhaustion. Following ingestion of the nutrient-rich drink, we assessed the GE rate using 13C-sodium acetate breath test and evaluated two parameters according to the Tmax-calc (time when the recovery per hour is maximised), which is a standard analytical method, and T1/2 (time when the total cumulative dose of [13CO2] reaches one-half). Tmax-calc and T1/2 were slower for the PE-5 condition than for either the PE-30 or Con condition (Tmax-calc; Con: 53 (sd 7) min, PE-5: 83 (sd 16) min, PE-30: 62 (sd 9) min, T1/2; Con: 91 (sd 7) min, PE-5: 113 (sd 21) min, PE-30: 91 (sd 11) min, P<0·05). BG and BCAA responses were also slower for the PE-5 condition than for either the PE-30 or Con condition. Ingesting nutrients immediately after strenuous resistance exercise acutely delayed GE, which affected BG and plasma BCAA levels in blood circulation.

The Kuju volcanic group, located in central Kyushu, Japan, consists of small stratovolcanoes and lava domes. To refine the eruptive history of the group, we conducted accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon dating of charcoal fragments from three pyroclastic-flow (PF) deposits on the southern slope. The obtained 14C dates are consistent with the geomorphology, stratigraphy, and thermoluminescence (TL) ages. The Handa PF deposits, which are products of the largest eruption of the group, were dated to ~53.5 ka BP. The Shirani and Muro PF deposits, which are block-and-ash flows, were dated to 44 to >50 cal ka BP and 35–39 cal ka BP, respectively. These ages can be correlated with TL ages for lava domes. This study demonstrates that the lava domes and associated PF deposits formed after the Handa eruption.

This study was designed to determine, first, the stiffness of the pulmonary arteries and, second, the relationship between the stiffness of the pulmonary arteries and the success rate of balloon angioplasty in patients with complete transposition after an arterial switch operation. Indexes of pulmonary arterial wall stiffness, percent change in the radius during a cardiac cycle and the pressure elastic modulus, were calculated from the pulmonary arterial pressure and radius measured from a cineangiogram. Of the patients, 13 had no significant stenosis, while 25 had significant stenoses and, therefore, underwent balloon angioplasty. In all, we dilated 33 stenotic lesions. In the presence or absence of postoperative pulmonary stenosis, the percent change in the radius of the pulmonary trunk was significantly less than the normal value. The pressure elastic modulus of the trunk and its branches was significantly greater than normal, and increased significantly with time after the operation. In patients without pulmonary stenosis, the systolic pulmonary arterial pressure increased concomitantly with the pressure elastic modulus. Balloon dilation was successful at 17 locations and unsuccessful at 16 locations. The percent change in radius was significantly less for the failures than for the successes. Prior to 3.5 years after the operation, the pressure elastic modulus was < 400 g/cm2 at most locations and balloon dilation was successful in 88%. More than 3.5 years after the operation, the pressure elastic modulus was < 400 g/cm2 in 11 of 15 locations, and balloon dilation was successful in only one location. The increased stiffness of the pulmonary artery may result in increased pulmonary systolic pressure in patients without pulmonary stenosis, and result in a low success rate for balloon angioplasty in patients with pulmonary stenosis.

Extended abstract of a paper presented at Microscopy and Microanalysis 2004 in Savannah, Georgia, USA, August 1–5, 2004.

We improved the extraction of ultraviolet light from AlGaN-based light emitting diodes (LEDs) at the wavelength of about 350 nm, by introducing a transparent structure that is free from binary GaN. We used an AlN-template layer on a sapphire substrate as starting medium of the metal organic vapor phase epitaxial growth. The buffer layer is an Al0.2Ga00.8N alloy. We also used a short period alloy superlattice as transparent and conductive p-type cladding and p-type contact layers. The resultant epitaxial structure is confirmed to be transparent with the transmittance of about 90% within the wavelength range of 340 – 400 nm. The crystal quality of the Al0.2Ga00.8N buffer layer was estimated by the transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation. The dislocation density of AlGaN buffer layer was highly reduced on the AlN template layer, both of which have a low density of screw and mixed-type dislocations, of the order of 10−8cm−2. We also found that light extraction is improved by a factor of 6 by introducing the transparent LED structure and a p-contact mirror. The resultant LED shows high performance under RT-CW operation, where 1 mW output power at 348 nm with 20 mA injection corresponds to the external quantum efficiency of 1.4 %. The maximum power was 7 mW at 220 mA. The emission spectrum is highly monochromatic with the UV-to-visible intensity ratio of about 1000. We also demonstrate the application of this transparent UV-LED to white light source in a bottom-emission geometry.

Two-dimensional electron gas transport properties have been investigated in nitride double-heterostructures. A striking effect has been observed that the two-dimensional electron gas mobility has been drastically enhanced in the AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN double-heterostructure, compared with that in the conventional AlGaN/GaN single-heterostructure. The observed mobility enhancement has been shown to be mainly due to the enhanced polarization-induced electron confinement in the double-heterostructure, and additionally due to the improvement of the interface roughness in the structure. Device operation of an AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN double-heterostructure field effect transistor has been demonstrated: a maximum transconductance of 180 mS/mm has been obtained for a 0.4 μm-gate-length device. In the double-heterostructure using InGaN channel, the increased capacity for the two-dimensional electron gas has been observed. The AlGaN/(In)GaN/AlGaN double-heterostructures are effective for improving the electron transport properties.

Electron transport properties in the Al0.15Ga0.85N/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors (HFETs) have been examined from room temperature up to 400°C. The temperature dependencies of the two-dimensional electron gas (2DEG) mobility have been systematically measured for the samples with different 2DEG densities. The 2DEG mobility has decreased with increasing the temperature, however, its decrease ratio has been no longer large above 300°C. Moreover, the 2DEG mobility has found to be less dependent on the 2DEG density at higher temperatures. These observed features indicate that the 2DEG mobility above room temperature is limited by longitudinal optical (LO) phonon scattering, as is expected by theoretical prediction. The observed 2DEG mobilities at 400°C were as high as from 100 to 120 cm2/Vs, directly providing the evidence for suitability of the HFET of this material system for high-temperature applications. The temperature dependence of the transconductance (gm) of a HFET device has also been examined up to 400°C. It has been revealed that the temperature dependence of gm has basically the same features as those of the 2DEG mobility in the corresponding temperature region.

p-InGaN/n-GaN heterojunction diodes were grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy and characterized using current-voltage (I-V) and capacitance-voltage (C-V) measurements. We changed the In mole fraction in p-InGaN from 0 to 25% to investigate diode characteristics. All the diodes showed rectified I-V characteristics at room temperature. The ideality factors obtained from forward I-V characteristics were around 2, meaning that the recombination current is dominant instead of the tunneling current through the defects in depletion layers of the diodes. The breakdown voltage in reverse I-V characteristics depends on the net donor concentration (ND - NA) in n-GaN instead of the In mole fraction in p-InGaN. This result also means that the defects in p-InGaN do not influence the breakdown voltage. The built-in potential from C-V measurements decreases with the In mole fraction in p-InGaN, meaning that the valence band discontinuity increases with the In mole fraction. This valence band discontinuity realizes the hole confinement in an HBT with an p-InGaN base. Using these InGaN/GaN heterojunction diodes, an InGaN/GaN double heterojunction bipolar transistor was fabricated for the first time. The maximum current gain of 1.2 was obtained at room temperature.

Two-dimensional electron gas transport properties have been investigated in nitride double-heterostructures. A striking effect has been observed that the two-dimensional electron gas mobility has been drastically enhanced in the AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN doubleheterostructure, compared with that in the conventional AlGaN/GaN singleheterostructure. The observed mobility enhancement has been shown to be mainly due to the enhanced polarization-induced electron confinement in the double-heterostructure, and additionally due to the improvement of the interface roughness in the structure. Device operation of an AlGaN/GaN/AlGaN double-heterostructure field effect transistor has been demonstrated: a maximum transconductance of 180 mS/mm has been obtained for a 0.4 mm-gate-length device. In the double-heterostructure using InGaN channel, the increased capacity for the two-dimensional electron gas has been observed. The AlGaN/(In)GaN/AlGaN double-heterostructures are effective for improving the electron transport properties.

In the historic period, several large eruptions were recorded from Kirishima, Sakurajima and Kaimondake volcanoes in southern Kyushu, Japan. Estimated dates of volcanic activity were established on these volcanoes through historical documentation of major eruption events. This study presents the correspondence between these documents and the records of AMS 14C dating of soils underlying tephra layers. We conclude that AMS 14C dates of soil materials can be useful in correlating tephra layers with documentary records of eruption.

We propose a novel technique based on preferential oxidation of Si in the Si/Ge system. Oxygen ions were implanted at 30 keV into Si/Ge multilayers while the substrate temperature was kept below 100°C. Significant oxygen concentration was then observed at the Si/Ge interfaces and at a thin Si layer embedded into the Ge layer. When the samples were then annealed above 400°c, the bonding state of the Si oxide approached that of SiO2. During this process, Ge atoms were expelled from the oxide layers. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed that silicon dioxide layers were formed. This new technique can be used to form semiconductor/insulator multilayered structures from Si/Ge multilayers.

Plasma concentrations of endothelium-associated proteins (EAP) (plasma fibronectin (PFN), angio-tensin-converting enzyme, factor VIII-related antigen (F VIII-R:Ag)) and tissue plasminogen activator and serum thyroid hormone concentrations were studied in nine patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), before and after weight gain. Before weight gain (-35.9 (se 2.3)% of standard body-weight) PFN was significantly reduced and F VIII-R:Ag was significantly increased in AN patients compared with the concentrations in control subjects (211.5 (se 14.9) v. 274.7 (se 16.6) μg/ml, P < 0.05; 129.2 (se 14.1) v. 88.2 (se 9.7)%, P <0.05 respectively). Serum triiodothyronine (T3) and free T3 levels were also significantly lower before weight gain in AN patients (0.85 (se 0.07) v. 1.53 (se 0.08) nmol/l, P < 0.001; 2.57 (se 0.23) v. 5.31 (se 0.34) pmol/l, P < 0.001 respectively), although serum thyroxine (T4), free T4, and thyrotropin concentrations were within the normal range throughout the study periods. Following weight gain, PFN and F VIII-R: Ag concentrations normalized as did the thyroid hormone levels. The incremental changes in PFN levels correlated significantly with those in serum thyroid hormone concentrations (T3, r 0.79, P <0.01; free T3, r 0.84, P < 0.01). These findings suggest that PFN levels may be directly related to serum T3 concentrations in AN patients.