Incommensurately Modulated Crystal Structure and Photoluminescence Properties of Eu2O3- and P2O5-Doped Ca2SiO4 Phosphor.

We prepared four types of Eu2O3- and P2O5-doped Ca2SiO4 phosphors with different phase compositions but identical chemical composition, the chemical formula of which was (Ca1.950Eu3+0.013☐0.037)(Si0.940P0.060)O4 (☐ denotes vacancies in Ca sites). One of the phosphors was composed exclusively of the incommensurate (IC) phase with superspace group Pnma(0ß0)00s and basic unit-cell dimensions of a = 0.68004(2) nm, b = 0.54481(2) nm, and c = 0.93956(3) nm (Z = 4). The crystal structure was made up of four types of ß-Ca2SiO4-related layers with an interlayer. The incommensurate modulation with wavelength of 4.110 × b was induced by the long-range stacking order of these layers. When increasing the relative amount of the IC-phase with respect to the coexisting ß-phase, the red light emission intensity, under excitation at 394 nm, steadily decreased to reach the minimum, at which the specimen was composed exclusively of the IC-phase. The coordination environments of Eu3+ ion in the crystal structures of ß- and IC-phases might be closely related to the photoluminescence intensities of the phosphors.

Rapid Sintering of Li2O-Nb2O5-TiO2 Solid Solution by Air Pressure Control and Clarification of Its Mechanism.

We first successfully synthesized Li1+x−yNb1−x−3yTix+4yO3 (LNT) solid solutions (0.13 ≤ x ≤ 0.18, 0 ≤ y ≤ 0.06) rapidly at 1373 K for one hour under 0.35 MPa by the controlling of air pressure using an air-pressure control atmosphere furnace. The composition is a formation area of a superstructure for LNT, in which the periodical intergrowth layer was formed in the matrix, and where it can be controlled by Ti content. Therefore, the sintering time depended on Ti content, and annealing was repeated for over 24 h until a homogeneous structure was formed using a conventional electric furnace. We clarified the mechanism of the rapid sintering using various microscale to nanoscale characterization techniques: X-ray diffraction, a scanning electron microscope, a transmission electron microscope (TEM), a Cs-corrected scanning TEM equipped with electron energy-loss spectroscopy, and X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy.

The Effect of Heat Treatment on the Emission Color of P-Doped Ca2SiO4 Phosphor.

In a series of (Ca2-x/2-yEuy□x/2)(Si1-xPx)O4 (x = 0.06, 0.02 ≤ y ≤0.5), various color-emitting phosphors were successfully synthesized by a solid-state reaction. These phosphors were characterized by photoluminescence (PL) spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffractometry, transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy. We evaluated the effect of heat treatment on PL properties with various annealing temperatures at 1373-1773 K for 4 h before/after reduction treatment from Eu3+ to Eu2+. In the red-emitting (Ca1.95Eu3+0.02□0.03)(Si0.94P0.06)O4+δ phosphor, the highest PL intensity exhibited when it was annealed at 1773 K. On the other hand, in the green-emitting (Ca1.95Eu2+0.02□0.03)(Si0.94P0.06)O4 phosphor, the highest PL intensity was realized when it was annealed at 1473 K and consequently treated under a reductive atmosphere. With increasing annealing temperature, the emission peak wavelength steadily decreased. Furthermore, with increasing Eu2+ content, the emission peak wavelength increased, with the color of emitting light becoming yellowish. Thus, the PL properties of the phosphors were affected by both the structural change from ß to α'L, which occurred by heat treatment, and the amount of doped Eu ions.

Influences of hyperlipidemia history on stroke outcome; a retrospective cohort study based on the Kyoto Stroke Registry.

BACKGROUND: Although hyperlipidemia is known as a risk factor of stroke, its effects on the outcome are unknown. The aim of the study is to clarify the influences of hyperlipidemia on the stroke early outcome by estimating odds ratio (OR) for sequelae requiring care and hazard ratio (HR) for death. METHODS: A total of 12617 stroke patients registered in the Kyoto Stroke Registry with information on a hyperlipidemia history. We compared patients who had hyperlipidemia history and patients who hadn't. The OR for remaining sequelae requiring certain care on 30 day after stroke was calculated using a logistic regression in stroke as a whole and in each stroke subtype; cerebral infarction (CI), cerebral hemorrhage (CH) and subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The HR for death within 30 day after stroke was estimated by the Cox regression. RESULTS: The OR (95% confidence interval) for remaining sequelae 30 days after stroke was 0.66 (0.60-0.73, p < 0.001) in patients with hyperlipidemia history compared with patients without hyperlipidemia history. After stratified by stroke subtypes, it was 0.75 (0.67-0.85, p < 0.001) in CI, 0.59 (0.45-0.77, p < 0.001) in CH and 0.77 (0.43-1.38, p = 0.767) in SAH. The HR (95% confidence interval) for death was 0.39 (0.31-0.48, p < 0.001) in patients with hyperlipidemia history comparing patients without hyperlipidemia history. After stratified by stroke subtypes, it was 0.45 (0.32-0.63, p < 0.001) in CI, 0.64 (0.44-0.93, p = 0.018) in CH and 0.76 (0.47-1.23, p = 0.264) in SAH. Each value was adjusted for age and sex. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that the outcome is favorable for patients with hyperlipidemia history in terms of both remaining sequelae and HR for death. A factor which increases the incidence of the disease could influence on the severity of the disease in a favorable way.

Weekly variations of stroke occurrence: an observational cohort study based on the Kyoto Stroke Registry, Japan.

OBJECTIVES: Understanding the temporal pattern of stroke onset and exploring the possible triggers are important strategies to reducing the incidence of stroke. If stroke occurs frequently on a specific day of the week, it is assumed that other factors, that is, 'triggering factors', induce stroke. The aim of the study is to investigate differences in the incidences of stroke among days of the week. DESIGN: Hospital-based registry stroke over an 11-year period. SETTING: Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 13,788 patients with stroke identified from January 1999 to December 2009 inclusive in the entire Kyoto Prefecture and registered in the Kyoto Stroke Registry (KSR). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patients with stroke were classified into seven groups based on the day of the week on which stroke developed. We confirmed the differences in the incidence among days using the χ(2) test and then performed multinomial logistic analysis referring to the stroke incidence on Sunday to calculate the OR and 95% CI of the stroke occurrence on each day of the week. RESULTS: The OR (95% CI) for stroke occurring on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday was 1.157 (1.030 to 1.293), 1.101 (0.981 to 1.236), 1.059 (0.943 to 1.188), 1.091 (0.972 to 1.225), 1.053 (0.938 to 1.205) and 1.074 (0.956 to 1.205), respectively. After stratification by stroke subtypes, cerebral infarction occurred more frequently on Monday than on Sunday (OR and 95% CI were 1.189 and 1.034 to 1.366, p=0.014) independent of age and gender. There was no significant day of the week variation in cerebral haemorrhage or subarachnoid haemorrhage. CONCLUSIONS: Some factors that arise periodically appear to affect the incidence of cerebral infarction, which gradually develops over years, and this suggests an aetiological mechanism different from the conventional cumulative effect of risk factors due to long-term exposure. We propose a hypothesis that there is a 'triggering factor' for the development of cerebral infarction.

Speech disturbance at stroke onset is correlated with stroke early mortality.

BACKGROUND: Speech disturbance is a common symptom of stroke and is important as a prompt identifier of the event. The frequency of the symptom among each stroke subtype, differences between patients with and without speech disturbance and its correlation to early mortality remain unclear. METHODS: The Kyoto prefecture of Japan has established a registry to enroll new stroke patients in cooperation with the Kyoto Medical Association and its affiliated hospitals. It is named the Kyoto Stroke Registry (KSR). We confirmed the existence or absence of speech disturbance in 1693 stroke patients registered to the KSR and investigated associations between speech disturbance and other characteristics. RESULTS: Speech disturbance was observed in 52.6% of cerebral infarction (CI), 47.5% of cerebral hemorrhage (CH), and 8.0% of subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) cases. Characteristics showing statistically significant differences between patients with and without speech disturbance and patients were age, blood pressure, history of hypertension, arrhythmia and diabetes mellitus, habit of tobacco and alcohol, and paresis. Mortality rates of patients with/without speech disturbance were 5.2%/1.2% for CI, 12.5% /4.1% for CH, and 62.5%/ 9.0% for SAH. Adjusted hazard ratios were 2.63 (1.14-6.13, p = 0.024) in CI, 4.15 (1.41-12.23, p = 0.010) in CH, and 20.46 (4.40-95.07, p < 0.001) in SAH). CONCLUSION: Speech disturbance was frequently observed in stroke patients at the onset and therefore could be useful to identify the problem at the earliest stage. Hazard ratio for death was higher in stroke patients with speech disturbance than patients without. Speech disturbance is a prompt predictor of stroke early mortality.Hiromi Nakano, Yoshiyuki Watanabe, Tatsuyuki Sekimoto, Kouichiro Shimizu, Akihiko Nishizawa, Atsushi Okumura and Masahiro Makino contributed equally to this work.

Softening due to disordered grain boundaries in nanocrystalline Co.

Nanocrystalline Co consisting of fcc and hcp phases was processed by electrodeposition, and its mechanical properties were investigated by hardness tests. In addition, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy observations and molecular dynamics (MD) simulations were performed to investigate the grain boundary structure and dislocation nucleation from the grain boundaries. A large amount of disorders existed at the grain boundaries and stacking faults were formed from the grain boundaries in the as-deposited Co specimen. The as-deposited specimen showed a lower hardness than did the annealed specimen, although the grain size of the former was smaller than that of the latter. The activation volume of the as-deposited specimen (=1.5b(3)) was lower than that of the annealed specimen (=50b(3)), thus indicating that nucleation of dislocations from grain boundaries is more active in the as-deposited specimen than in the annealed specimens. The MD simulations showed that dislocation nucleation was closely related to a change in the defect structures at the boundary. Therefore, it is suggested that a significant amount of defects enhance changes in the defect structures at the boundary, resulting in softening of the as-deposited specimen.

The eye response test alone is sufficient to predict stroke outcome--reintroduction of Japan Coma Scale: a cohort study.

OBJECTIVES: Prompt assessment of consciousness levels is vitally important during the emergency care of stroke patients. The Japan Coma Scale (JCS) is a one-axis coma scale published in 1974 with outstanding simplicity. The hypothesis is that JCS is sufficient to predict stroke outcome. The aim of the study was to verify the predictability of JCS, which should help JCS attain international recognition. DESIGN: A cohort study. SETTING: A prefectural stroke registry. PARTICIPANTS: We analysed 13 788 stroke patients identified from January 1999 to December 2009 inclusive in the entire Kyoto prefecture and registered in the Kyoto Stroke Registry (KSR). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: We investigated the relationship between consciousness levels, based on JCS at stroke onset and activities of daily living (ADL) at 30 days or deaths within 30 days in a large population-based stroke registry. We calculated Spearman's coefficient for the correlation between JCS and the ADL scale, generated estimated survival curves by the Kaplan-Meier method and finally compared HRs for death within 30 days after onset, comparing patients with different conscious levels based on JCS. RESULTS: A total of 13 406 (97.2%) patients were graded based on JCS. JCS correlated to the ADL scale with Spearman's correlation coefficient of 0.61. HRs for death within 30 days were 1 (reference) (95% CIs), 5.55 (4.19 to 7.37), 9.54 (7.16 to 12.71) and 35.21 (26.10 to 44.83) in those scored as JCS0, JCS1, JCS2 and JCS3, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Using a single test of eye response, JCS has outstanding merits as a coma scale, that is, simplicity and applicability. The present study adds predictability for early outcome in stroke patients. JCS is valuable, especially in an emergency setting, when a prompt assessment of consciousness levels is needed.

Characteristics, risk factors and mortality of stroke patients in Kyoto, Japan.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate the characteristics, risk factors and outcome of recent stroke patients in Kyoto, Japan. DESIGN: We analysed stroke patients in the registry with regard to their characteristics, risk factors and mortality. Cox proportional hazards regressions were used to calculate adjusted HRs for death. SETTINGS: The Kyoto prefecture of Japan has established a registry to enrol new stroke patients in cooperation with the Kyoto Medical Association and its affiliated hospitals PARTICIPANTS: The registry now has data on 14 268 patients enrolled from 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2009. Of these, 12 774(89.5%) underwent CT, 9232 (64.7%) MRI, 2504 (17.5%) angiography and 342 (2.4%) scintigraphy. Excluding 480 (3.3%) unclassified patients, 13 788 (96.6%) patients formed the basis of further analyses which were divided into three subtypes: cerebral infarction (CI), cerebral haemorrhage (CH) and subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). RESULTS: A total of 13 788 confirmed stroke patients in the study cohort comprised 9011 (86.3%) CI, 3549 (25.7%) CH and 1197 (8.7%) SAH cases. The mean age ±SD was 73.3±11.8, 69.1±13.6 and 62.7±13.5 in the CI, CH and SAH cases, respectively. Men were predominant in the CI and CH cases, whereas women were predominant in the SAH cases. The frequencies of risk factors were different among the subtypes. Mortality was worst in SAH, followed by CH, and least in CI. HRs for death adjusted for age, sex, histories of hypertension, arrhythmia, diabetes mellitus and hyperlipaemia and use of tobacco and/or alcohol showed a significant (p<0.001) difference among CI (as reference), CH (3.71; 3.11 to 4.43) and SAH (8.94; 7.21 to 11.11). CONCLUSIONS: The characteristics, risk factors and mortality were evaluated in a quantitative manner in a large Japanese study cohort to shed light on the present status of stroke medicine.

Synthesis of New RE3+ Doped Li1+xTa1-xTixO3 (RE: Eu, Sm, Er, Tm, and Dy) Phosphors with Various Emission Colors.

New phosphors with various emission colors for RE3+ doped Li1+xTa1-xTixO3 (LTT) (RE: Eu, Sm, Er, Tm, and Dy) were synthesized by electric furnace at 1423 K for 15 h. The microstructure of the host material and the photoluminescence (PL) property were determined and compared to those of RE3+ doped Li1+xNb1-xTixO3 (LNT). In the LTT phosphor, the highest PL intensity was achieved for the mixture composition Li1.11Ta0.89Ti0.11O3 with a LiTaO3 structure, although it has an M-phase superstructure. In the LTT host material, the effective activators were Eu3+ and Sm3+ ions, in contrast to the LNT host material. Here, we discuss the relationship between PL property and the host material's structure.

Vomiting should be a prompt predictor of stroke outcome.

BACKGROUND: To predict the outcome of stroke at an acute stage is important but still difficult. Vomiting is one of the commonest symptoms in stroke patients. The aim of this study is threefold: first, to examine the percentage of vomiting in each of the three major categories of strokes; second, to investigate the association between vomiting and other characteristics and third, to determine the correlation between vomiting and mortality. METHODS: We investigated the existence or absence of vomiting in stroke patients in the Kyoto prefecture cohort. We compared the characteristics of patients with and without vomiting. We calculated the HR for death in both types of patients, adjusted for age, sex, blood pressure, arrhythmia, tobacco and alcohol use and paresis. RESULTS: Of the 1968 confirmed stroke patients, 1349 (68.5%) had cerebral infarction (CI), 459 (23.3%) had cerebral haemorrhage (CH) and 152 (7.7%) had subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH). Vomiting was seen in 14.5% of all stroke patients. When subdivided according to stroke type, vomiting was observed in 8.7% of CI, 23.7% of CH and 36.8% of SAH cases. HR for death and 95% CI were 5.06 and 3.26 to 7.84 (p<0.001) when all stroke patients were considered, 5.27 and 2.56 to 10.83 (p<0.001) in CI, 2.82 and 1.33 to 5.99 (p=0.007) in CH and 5.07 and 1.87 to 13.76 (p=0.001) in SAH. CONCLUSIONS: Compared with patients without vomiting, the risk of death was significantly higher in patients with vomiting at the onset of stroke. Vomiting should be an early predictor of the outcome.

Imma perovskite-type oxynitride LaTiO2N: structure and electron density.

We present the first example of Imma perovskite-type oxynitride. LaTiO(2)N was found to have an Imma perovskite-type structure with a(0)b(-)b(-) tilt system. The Ti-(O,N) covalent bonding and existence of N atoms are responsible for the reduced band gap of LaTiO(2)N photocatalyst.

[Dietary fatty acid intake and concentrations in serum and erythrocyte membranes of students with allergic disease].

PURPOSE: An attempt was made to utilize accumulated scientific evidence for nutritional guidance concerning dietary fatty acids (FAs) for students with allergic diseases METHODS: A questionnaire survey on dietary fatty acid intake was conducted with 128 women students aged 19-20. In addition to hematological and physical examinations, fatty acid analyses were performed with serum and erythrocyte membrane samples using gas chromatography. Based on the answers to questions about allergic diseases, the subjects were divided into three groups (59 healthy students, 45 with previous experience of allergies, and 24 with allergies). We then investigated the influences of dietary fatty acids and other nutritional components on fatty acid compositions of serum and erythrocyte membranes, and statistically analyzed the results by comparing the three groups. RESULTS: 1) Dietary n-3 (g) intake by all students was lower than the tentative dietary goal in the Dietary Reference Intakes. However, there were no effects of allergic diseases on physical measurements and blood test data. Dietary n-3 (g) was negatively correlated with erythrocyte membrane n-3 (%), and dietary n-3 (%) was positively correlated with the number of acidophils (%). In addition, a positive correlation was found between serum n-3 (%) and dietary S (Saturated fatty acid) (%). 2) For the allergic group, the ratio of erythrocyte membrane M (Monounsaturated fatty asid) (%) to dietary M (%) was high. For the allergic predisposition group (allergic subjects and subjects with past history of allergic disease), a negative correlation was found between erythrocyte membrane M (%) and dietary S (%). CONCLUSION: Dietary n-3 (g) was insufficient in all subjects enrolled in this study, but erythrocyte membrane n-3 (Y%) decreased with increase of dietary n-3 (g). There was a tendency for acidophil number (%) to increase with the dietary n-3 (%). Therefore, it was suggested that if nutritional guidance is to made with attention to increasing dietary S (%), it should be stressed that serum n-3 (%) might become elevated and erythrocyte membrane M (%) depressed, especially in those with a predisposition to allergies.

Temperature response of mesophyll conductance. Implications for the determination of Rubisco enzyme kinetics and for limitations to photosynthesis in vivo.

CO(2) transfer conductance from the intercellular airspaces of the leaf into the chloroplast, defined as mesophyll conductance (g(m)), is finite. Therefore, it will limit photosynthesis when CO(2) is not saturating, as in C3 leaves in the present atmosphere. Little is known about the processes that determine the magnitude of g(m). The process dominating g(m) is uncertain, though carbonic anhydrase, aquaporins, and the diffusivity of CO(2) in water have all been suggested. The response of g(m) to temperature (10 degrees C-40 degrees C) in mature leaves of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum L. cv W38) was determined using measurements of leaf carbon dioxide and water vapor exchange, coupled with modulated chlorophyll fluorescence. These measurements revealed a temperature coefficient (Q(10)) of approximately 2.2 for g(m), suggesting control by a protein-facilitated process because the Q(10) for diffusion of CO(2) in water is about 1.25. Further, g(m) values are maximal at 35 degrees C to 37.5 degrees C, again suggesting a protein-facilitated process, but with a lower energy of deactivation than Rubisco. Using the temperature response of g(m) to calculate CO(2) at Rubisco, the kinetic parameters of Rubisco were calculated in vivo from 10 degrees C to 40 degrees C. Using these parameters, we determined the limitation imposed on photosynthesis by g(m). Despite an exponential rise with temperature, g(m) does not keep pace with increased capacity for CO(2) uptake at the site of Rubisco. The fraction of the total limitations to CO(2) uptake within the leaf attributable to g(m) rose from 0.10 at 10 degrees C to 0.22 at 40 degrees C. This shows that transfer of CO(2) from the intercellular air space to Rubisco is a very substantial limitation on photosynthesis, especially at high temperature.

An adenylyl cyclase, CyaA, of Myxococcus xanthus functions in signal transduction during osmotic stress.

An adenylyl cyclase gene (cyaA) present upstream of an osmosensor protein gene (mokA) was isolated from Myxococcus xanthus. cyaA encoded a polypeptide of 843 amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 91,187 Da. The predicted cyaA gene product had structural similarity to the receptor-type adenylyl cyclases that are composed of an amino-terminal sensor domain and a carboxy-terminal catalytic domain of adenylyl cyclase. In reverse transcriptase PCR experiments, the transcript of the cyaA gene was detected mainly during development and spore germination. A cyaA mutant, generated by gene disruption, showed normal growth, development, and germination. However, a cyaA mutant placed under conditions of ionic (NaCl) or nonionic (sucrose) osmostress exhibited a marked reduction in spore formation and spore germination. When wild-type and cyaA mutant cells at developmental stages were stimulated with 0.2 M NaCl or sucrose, the mutant cells increased cyclic AMP accumulation at levels similar to those of the wild-type cells. In contrast, the mutant cells during spore germination had mainly lost the ability to respond to high-ionic osmolarity. In vegetative cells, the cyaA mutant responded normally to osmotic stress. These results suggested that M. xanthus CyaA functions mainly as an ionic osmosensor during spore germination and that CyaA is also required for osmotic tolerance in fruiting formation and sporulation.