Comparison of SGLT2 inhibitors vs. DPP4 inhibitors for patients with metabolic dysfunction associated fatty liver disease and diabetes mellitus.

PURPOSE: This study aimed to examine the potential benefit of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors for patients with metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) using a real-world database. METHODS: We analyzed individuals with MAFLD and DM newly initiated on SGLT2 or dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4) inhibitors from a large-scale administrative claims database. The primary outcome was the change in the fatty liver index (FLI) assessed using a linear mixed-effects model from the initiation of SGLT2 or DPP4 inhibitors. A propensity score-matching algorithm was used to compare the change in FLI among SGLT2 and DPP4 inhibitors. RESULTS: After propensity score matching, 6547 well-balanced pairs of SGLT2 and 6547 DPP4 inhibitor users were created. SGLT2 inhibitor use was associated with a greater decline in FLI than DPP4 inhibitor use (difference at 1-year measurement, - 3.8 [95% CI - 4.7 to - 3.0]). The advantage of SGLT2 inhibitor use over DPP4 inhibitor use for improvement in FLI was consistent across subgroups. The relationship between SGLT2 inhibitors and amelioration of FLI was comparable between individual SGLT2 inhibitors. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis using large-scale real-world data demonstrated the potential advantage of SGLT2 inhibitors over DPP4 inhibitors in patients with MAFLD and DM.

The Impact of Pathological Grade Group 3 on Relapse-free Survival After Salvage Radiotherapy for Postoperative Prostate Cancer.

BACKGROUND/AIM: This retrospective study aimed to investigate the outcomes of relapse-free survival (RFS) after salvage radiation therapy (SRT) to the prostate bed for postoperative biochemical recurrence of prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 87 patients were analyzed. There were 27, 32, and 24 patients with pathological grade groups of 1-2, 3, and 4-5, respectively. SRT doses of 64, 66 or 70 Gy were administered to 24, 3 and 60 patients, respectively. The Kaplan-Meier method was used to estimate time-to-event outcomes. The multiple imputations method was used to impute missing values, and Cox proportional-hazards models were applied for multivariate analyses. RESULTS: The median follow-up period for patients overall was 58.6 months. The 5-year RFS rates of the whole cohort was 59.4% and those for pathological grade groups 1-2, 3 and 4-5 were 88.9%, 37.7% and 39.5%, respectively. In multivariate analyses, higher pathological grade group [4-5 vs. 3 vs. 1-2: hazard radio (HR)=8.65, p<0.01], negative surgical resection margin (positive vs. negative: HR=0.41, p=0.02) and higher pre-salvage treatment serum prostate-specific antigen (cutoff value 0.31 ng/ml: HR=3.50, p<0.01) were significantly associated with poorer RFS. The cumulative incidences of grade 2 or more late rectal bleeding and late hematuria were 4.9% and 8.7%, respectively, at 5 years and 4.9% and 15.7%, respectively, at 8 years. These toxicities occurred only in the 70 Gy-treated arm. CONCLUSION: Our study revealed that pathological grade group 3 prostate cancer patients experienced moderately unfavorable RFS after SRT. Higher radiation doses might increase late toxicities without improving RFS.

Erratum: Search for Cosmic-Ray Boosted Sub-GeV Dark Matter Using Recoil Protons at Super-Kamiokande [Phys. Rev. Lett. 130, 031802 (2023)].

This corrects the article DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.130.031802.

Relationships among Grip Strength Measurement, Response Time, and Frailty Criteria.

BACKGROUND: Muscle response in older adults is believed to decrease with maximal muscle strength, although it has not been adequately assessed; further, the relationship between frailty and muscle response remains unexamined. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to develop a practical method for measuring muscle response using grip strength in older adults and to clarify the relationship between frailty and grip strength response. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: We performed a cross-sectional, clinical, observational study. A total of 248 patients (94 men and 154 women, mean age: 78.2 years) who visited the outpatient unit in the Integrated Healthy Aging Clinic of our Hospital for the first time were enrolled. MEASUREMENTS: Using a grip strength measuring device originally developed by us, we measured grip strength response indices, such as reaction time, time constant, rate of force development (response speed), and maximum grip strength. Grip strength response indices were compared among three groups (robust, pre-frail, and frail) according to the Fried and Kihon checklist assessments for frailty. RESULTS: Based on Fried's assessment, marked differences were found between groups not only in maximal grip strength but also in response time and response speed. Based on the Kihon checklist assessment, there was no significant difference in response time; however, a considerable difference in response speed for the left hand was observed. Moreover, according to the Kihon checklist assessment, some cases showed differences in muscle response although not in maximal muscle strength. CONCLUSIONS: The response speed of grip strength was suggested to decrease with frailty. The results suggest that measurement of grip strength response in both hands is useful to examine the relationship between frailty and grip strength response.

Recent Postoperative Radiotherapy for Left-sided Breast Cancer Does Not Increase Mortality of Heart Disease in Asians or Pacific Islanders: SEER Database Analysis.

BACKGROUND/AIM: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of recent radiotherapy on mortality from heart disease in Asians or Pacific islanders with breast cancer using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Asians or Pacific islanders with stage 0 or I (AJCC 6th) breast cancer between 2000 and 2015 were analyzed. The impact of radiotherapy for mortality from heart disease after treatment was evaluated by comparing patients who received radiotherapy for left-sided breast cancer, patients who received radiotherapy for right-sided breast cancer and patients who did not receive radiotherapy. RESULTS: In 25,684 Asians or Pacific islanders, the incidence of cardiac death was higher in patients who did not receive radiotherapy than in patients who received radiotherapy. Among patients who received external beam irradiation, the incidence of cardiac death was 2.00% for patients with left-sided breast cancer and 1.69% for patients with right-sided breast cancer, with no significant difference (chi-square test, p=0.427). In the period from 2000 to 2008, there was no significant difference between the cumulative heart-related death rates in patients who received radiotherapy and in patients who did not receive radiotherapy (Tarone-Ware test, p=0.406); however, in 2009-2015, the cumulative heart-related death rate in patients who did not receive radiotherapy was significantly higher than that in patients who received radiotherapy (log-rank test, p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Heart-related death after treatment for breast cancer is relatively rare in Asians or Pacific islanders. Since at least 2000, the cardiac impact of postoperative radiotherapy has not been significant.

Thermoelectric signature of quantum critical phase in a doped spin-liquid candidate.

Quantum spin liquid is a nontrivial magnetic state of longstanding interest, in which spins are strongly correlated and entangled but do not order; further intriguing is its doped version, which possibly hosts strange metal and unconventional superconductivity. A promising candidate of the doped spin liquid is a triangular-lattice organic conductor, κ-(BEDT-TTF)4Hg2.89Br8, recently found to hold metallicity, spin-liquid-like magnetism, and BEC-like superconductivity. The nature of the metallic state with the spin-liquid behaviour is awaiting to be further clarified. Here, we report the thermoelectric signature that mobile holes in the spin liquid background are in a quantum critical state and it pertains to the BEC-like superconductivity. The Seebeck coefficient divided by temperature, S/T, is enhanced on cooling with logarithmic divergence indicative of quantum criticality. Furthermore, the logarithmic enhancement is correlated with the superconducting transition temperature under pressure variation, and the temperature and magnetic field profile of S/T upon the superconducting transition change with pressure in a consistent way with the previously suggested BEC-BCS crossover. The present results reveal that the quantum criticality in a doped spin liquid emerges in a phase, not at a point, and is involved in the unconventional BEC-like nature.

Search for the Majorana Nature of Neutrinos in the Inverted Mass Ordering Region with KamLAND-Zen.

The KamLAND-Zen experiment has provided stringent constraints on the neutrinoless double-beta (0νßß) decay half-life in ^{136}Xe using a xenon-loaded liquid scintillator. We report an improved search using an upgraded detector with almost double the amount of xenon and an ultralow radioactivity container, corresponding to an exposure of 970 kg yr of ^{136}Xe. These new data provide valuable insight into backgrounds, especially from cosmic muon spallation of xenon, and have required the use of novel background rejection techniques. We obtain a lower limit for the 0νßß decay half-life of T_{1/2}^{0ν}>2.3×10^{26} yr at 90% C.L., corresponding to upper limits on the effective Majorana neutrino mass of 36-156 meV using commonly adopted nuclear matrix element calculations.

Search for Cosmic-Ray Boosted Sub-GeV Dark Matter Using Recoil Protons at Super-Kamiokande.

We report a search for cosmic-ray boosted dark matter with protons using the 0.37 megaton×years data collected at Super-Kamiokande experiment during the 1996-2018 period (SKI-IV phase). We searched for an excess of proton recoils above the atmospheric neutrino background from the vicinity of the Galactic Center. No such excess is observed, and limits are calculated for two reference models of dark matter with either a constant interaction cross section or through a scalar mediator. This is the first experimental search for boosted dark matter with hadrons using directional information. The results present the most stringent limits on cosmic-ray boosted dark matter and exclude the dark matter-nucleon elastic scattering cross section between 10^{-33}cm^{2} and 10^{-27}cm^{2} for dark matter mass from 1 MeV/c^{2} to 300 MeV/c^{2}.

Virulence plasmids in clinical isolates of Rhodococcus equi from sick foals in the Netherlands.

Clinical samples from 123 foals with suspected rhodococcosis submitted to the Veterinary Microbiological Diagnostic Centre of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine between 1993 and 2006 were tested for the presence of the virulence gene vapA. Of the 123 samples, 120 were vapA-positive and 3 vapA-negative Rhodococcus equi were isolated. The 120 vapA-positive R. equi were isolated from 70 tracheal wash, 19 lung tissues, 7 lymph nodes, 6 synovial fluids, 13 abscesses or pus and single isolates from the uterus, gut, cerebrospinal fluid, abdomen fluid and faeces. Of the 120 isolates, 46 were from Dutch warmblood horses, 23 from Friesian horses, 14 from Trotters, 4 from Holsteiners, 3 from Arab breed, 2 from ponies, 1 from a Welsh pony and 27 from undefined breed horses. Using plasmid profile analysis of the 120 isolates, 117 isolates contained the 85-kb type I plasmid, 2 contained the 87-kb type I plasmid and 1 contained the novel 52-kb non-mobilizable virulence plasmid reported recently. These results showed that the virulent R. equi strains harbouring a virulence plasmid of 85-kb type I or 87-kb type I, which have been detected in clinical isolates from five European countries, are widespread in the Netherlands. This is the first report of plasmid types of clinical R. equi isolates in the Netherlands.

The prognostic value of 18F-FDG PET/CT taken immediately after completion of radiotherapy for lung cancer treated with concurrent chemoradiotherapy: A pilot study.

PURPOSE: The prognostic value of F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) taken immediately after completion of radiotherapy in lung cancer patients is not well known. The purpose of this study is to assess the prognostic value of PET/CT taken immediately after completion of radiotherapy in lung cancer patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with primary lung cancer planned to undergo concurrent chemoradiotherapy were enrolled. Patients underwent PET/CT scans at 3 time points: before radiotherapy, within 24hours of completing radiotherapy (im-PET/CT), and 2-9 months after radiotherapy (post-PET/CT). Maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was obtained. A post-PET/CT-SUVmax cut-off of 2.5 was determined as radiotherapy success. RESULTS: Nineteen patients were enrolled. im-PET/CT-SUVmax for patients in the high post-PET/CT-SUVmax group was significantly higher than that of the low group (P=0.004). Receiver operator curve analysis indicated that im-PET/CT-SUVmax of 4.35 was an optimal cut-off value to discriminate between the two groups. Multivariable analysis showed that a high im-PET/CT-SUVmax was significantly associated with a high post-PET/CT-SUVmax (P=0.003). CONCLUSION: PET/CT-SUVmax taken immediately following radiotherapy was associated with that evaluated 2-9 months after radiotherapy.

Self-Sustained Divertor Oscillation Driven by Magnetic Island Dynamics in Torus Plasma.

A new type of self-sustained divertor oscillation is discovered in the Large Helical Device stellarator, where the peripheral plasma is detached from material diverters by means of externally applied perturbation fields. The divertor oscillation is found to be a self-regulation of an isolated magnetic field structure (the magnetic island) width induced by a drastic change in a poloidal inhomogeneity of the plasma radiation across the detachment-attachment transitions. A predator-prey model between the magnetic island width and a self-generated local plasma current (the bootstrap current) is introduced to describe the divertor oscillation, which successfully reproduces the experimental observations.

Longitudinal changes in life-space mobility and the factors influencing it among chronic community-dwelling post-stroke patients.

PURPOSE: To identify longitudinal changes in life-space mobility and the factors influencing it among chronic, stable post-stroke patients. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This prospective study included Japanese post-stroke patients who received day-care rehabilitation services and could undergo three life-space mobility assessments (at baseline, 12, and 24 months) for over 2 years, using the Life-Space Assessment (LSA) tool. Physical function, cognitive function, and activities of daily living were assessed by self-selected comfortable gait speed, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), and Functional Independence Measure Motor subscale (FIM motor) scores, respectively, in addition to age, sex, time from onset, stroke type, and comorbidities. A multivariable linear mixed-effects model was used to examine the longitudinal changes in LSA scores and associated factors. RESULTS: A total of 89 participants were enrolled. At baseline, the median age was 74 years, 33% were women, and median time from onset was 75 months. The LSA scores significantly declined over the two-year period. In the multivariate linear mixed-effects model adjusted for clinical characteristics, comfortable gait speed and age were significantly associated with changes in the LSA score, independent of FIM motor scores and MMSE scores. CONCLUSIONS: Life-space mobility may persistently decline, and gait function may be a determinant influencing these changes in community-dwelling chronic post-stroke patients.Implications for RehabilitationLimited life-space mobility leads to less frequent participation in social activities and an increased risk of adverse health outcomes such as hospitalization.Changes in life-space mobility should be considered in the rehabilitation care plan for chronic post-stroke patients.Life-space mobility may decline persistently in stable post-stroke patients, even if they have periodically received day-care rehabilitation services.Since gait speed is a predominant factor affecting life-space mobility, regular assessment of gait function and appropriate strategies are needed to prevent deterioration of gait speed in chronic post-stroke patients.

Isolation of Rhodococcus equi from the gastrointestinal contents of earthworms (family Megascolecidae).

Rhodococcus equi was isolated from the gastrointestinal contents of earthworms (family Megascolecidae) and their surrounding soil collected from pastures of two horse-breeding farms in Aomori Prefecture, outdoor pig pens, forest in Towada campus, orange groves and forest where wild boars (Sus scrofa) are established in Tanabe, Wakayama Prefecture. The number of R. equi in the lower gastrointestinal contents of 23 earthworms collected from our campus was significantly larger than that of the upper gastrointestinal content. The mean numbers of R. equi from the gastrointestinal contents of earthworms collected from the various places were 2·3-fold to 39·7-fold more than those of the surrounding soil samples. In all, 1771 isolates from the earthworms and 489 isolates from the soil samples were tested for the presence of vapA and vapB genes using polymerase chain reaction. At the horse-breeding farm N, 9 of the 109 isolates (8·3%) from the earthworms and 7 of the 106 isolates (6·6%) from the soil samples were positive for the vapA gene. At the University's forest, one of the 250 isolates (0·4%) from the gastrointestinal contents of the earthworm was positive for the vapB gene. These results revealed that R. equi can be found in significant quantities in the gastrointestinal contents of earthworms, suggesting that they act as an accumulator of R. equi in the soil environment and as a source or reservoir of animal infection.

Impact of Magnetic Field Configuration on Heat Transport in Stellarators and Heliotrons.

We assess the magnetic field configuration in modern fusion devices by comparing experiments with the same heating power, between a stellarator and a heliotron. The key role of turbulence is evident in the optimized stellarator, while neoclassical processes largely determine the transport in the heliotron device. Gyrokinetic simulations elucidate the underlying mechanisms promoting stronger ion scale turbulence in the stellarator. Similar plasma performances in these experiments suggests that neoclassical and turbulent transport should both be optimized in next step reactor designs.

Hemodynamic Analysis of Cerebral AVMs with 3D Phase-Contrast MR Imaging.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The hemodynamics associated with cerebral AVMs have a significant impact on their clinical presentation. This study aimed to evaluate the hemodynamic features of AVMs using 3D phase-contrast MR imaging with dual velocity-encodings. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-two patients with supratentorial AVMs who had not received any previous treatment and had undergone 3D phase-contrast MR imaging were included in this study. The nidus diameter and volume were measured for classification of AVMs (small, medium, or large). Flow parameters measured included apparent AVM inflow, AVM inflow index, apparent AVM outflow, AVM outflow index, and the apparent AVM inflow-to-outflow ratio. Correlation coefficients between the nidus volume and each flow were calculated. The flow parameters between small and other AVMs as well as between nonhemorrhagic and hemorrhagic AVMs were compared. RESULTS: Patients were divided into hemorrhagic (n = 8) and nonhemorrhagic (n = 24) groups. The correlation coefficient between the nidus volume and the apparent AVM inflow and outflow was .83. The apparent AVM inflow and outflow in small AVMs were significantly smaller than in medium AVMs (P < .001 for both groups). The apparent AVM inflow-to-outflow ratio was significantly larger in the hemorrhagic AVMs than in the nonhemorrhagic AVMs (P = .02). CONCLUSIONS: The apparent AVM inflow-to-outflow ratio was the only significant parameter that differed between nonhemorrhagic and hemorrhagic AVMs, suggesting that a poor drainage system may increase AVM pressure, potentially causing cerebral hemorrhage.

One-Year In Situ Incubation of Pyrite at the Deep Seafloor and Its Microbiological and Biogeochemical Characterizations.

In this study, we performed a year-long in situ incubation experiment on a common ferrous sulfide (Fe-S) mineral, pyrite, at the oxidative deep seafloor in the hydrothermal vent field in the Izu-Bonin arc, Japan, and characterized its microbiological and biogeochemical properties to understand the microbial alteration processes of the pyrite, focusing on Fe(II) oxidation. The microbial community analysis of the incubated pyrite showed that the domain Bacteria heavily dominated over Archaea compared with that of the ambient seawater, and Alphaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria distinctively codominated at the class level. The mineralogical characterization by surface-sensitive Fe X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis revealed that specific Fe(III) hydroxides (schwertmannite and ferrihydrite) were locally formed at the pyrite surface as the pyrite alteration products. Based on the Fe(III) hydroxide species and proportion, we thermodynamically calculated the pH value at the pyrite surface to be pH 4.9 to 5.7, indicating that the acidic condition derived from pyrite alteration was locally formed at the surface against neutral ambient seawater. This acidic microenvironment at the pyrite surface might explain the distinct microbial communities found in our pyrite samples. Also, the acidity at the pyrite surface indicates that the abiotic Fe(II) oxidation rate was much limited at the pyrite surface kinetically, 3.9 × 103- to 1.6 × 105-fold lower than that in the ambient seawater. Moreover, nanoscale characterization of microbial biomolecules using carbon near-edge X-ray absorption fine-structure (NEXAFS) analysis showed that the sessile cells attached to pyrite excreted the acidic polysaccharide-rich extracellular polymeric substances at the pyrite surface, which can lead to the promotion of biogenic Fe(II) oxidation and pyrite alteration. IMPORTANCE Pyrite is one of the most common Fe-S minerals found in submarine hydrothermal environments. Previous studies demonstrated that the Fe-S mineral can be a suitable host for Fe(II)-oxidizing microbes in hydrothermal environments; however, the details of microbial Fe(II) oxidation processes with Fe-S mineral alteration are not well known. The spectroscopic and thermodynamic examination in the present study suggests that a moderately acidic pH condition was locally formed at the pyrite surface during pyrite alteration at the seafloor due to proton releases with Fe(II) and sulfidic S oxidations. Following previous studies, the abiotic Fe(II) oxidation rate significantly decreases with a decrease in pH, but the biotic (microbial) Fe(II) oxidation rate is not sensitive to the pH decrease. Thus, our findings clearly suggest that the pyrite surface is a unique microenvironment where abiotic Fe(II) oxidation is limited and biotic Fe(II) oxidation is more prominent than that in neutral ambient seawater.

Effects of oral administration of timothy hay and psyllium on the growth performance and fecal microbiota of preweaning calves.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of oral administration of fiber from the first week of life on the growth and hindgut environment of preweaning calves. Twenty newborn female Holstein calves were divided into 2 groups as control and treatment. Calves in both groups were reared under the same feeding program except for oral fiber administration. Timothy hay and psyllium were mixed at a 50-to-6 ratio as a treatment diet for oral fiber administration. Calves in the treatment group were orally administered 50 g of fiber daily from 3 to 7 d of age and 100 g of fiber from 8 d of age until weaning. Feed intake and occurrence of diarrhea were recorded daily, and body weight (BW) was recorded weekly for the individual calf. Fresh feces were collected from calves at 7, 21, 35, 49, and 56 d of age to analyze fermentation parameters and microbiota to characterize the hindgut environment. Higher fiber intake in the treatment group due to oral administration of timothy and psyllium did not affect the starter intake and achieved higher BW at 21 d of age. The fecal pH, total volatile fatty acid, lactate, and ammonia nitrogen concentrations were not affected by oral fiber administration; meanwhile, the molar proportion of propionate was higher in the treatment group at 7 d of age. The difference in fecal microbiota in the calves subjected to the oral administration of fiber was observed within 21 d of life; Lactobacillus spp. and Prevotella spp. showed higher abundance, whereas that of Clostridium perfringens was decreased. These higher abundances of beneficial bacteria and lower abundance of pathogenic bacteria during early life may partly explain the higher BW of calves in the treatment group at 21 d of age. Furthermore, no adverse effect was observed for the BW and health status in the treatment group throughout the preweaning period. Therefore, early fiber feeding via oral administration potentially contributes to improving the hindgut environment in newborn calves, which leads to better growth of calves during the early stage of life.

Recurrence rate of intramucosal gastric cancer with positive vertical margin due to lesion damage during endoscopic submucosal dissection.

BACKGROUND AND STUDY AIM: In principle, additional surgery is performed after endoscopic submucosal dissection for early gastric cancer if the vertical margin is positive, regardless of lesion damage. The recurrence rate of vertical margin-positive lesions due to lesion damage after endoscopic submucosal dissection is unknown, and unnecessary surgeries may be performed. In this study, we investigated whether there was a difference in the recurrence rate between vertical margin-positive lesions due to lesion damage and vertical margin-negative lesions. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We included 1,294 intramucosal gastric cancer lesions that were resected by endoscopic submucosal dissection between January 2008 and December 2016, without additional surgery. The lesions were divided into the Damage and No damage groups based on vertical margin status. The Damage group had only one non-curative indication: a positive vertical margin due to lesion damage. The No damage group had no non curative indications. We compared the recurrence rate between the Damage and No damage groups. RESULTS: The recurrence rates of the Damage and No damage groups were 0% (0/23; 95% confidence interval: 0-14.8%) and 0% (0/1,271; 95% confidence interval: 0-0.003%), respectively, with no statistically significant difference. CONCLUSIONS: In intramucosal gastric cancer, the recurrence rate of vertical margin-positive lesions due to lesion damage was 0%, which did not differ from that of vertical margin-negative lesions with curative resection. Follow-up, instead of additional surgery, may be an option for patients with non-curative resection when the only non-curative indication is a positive vertical margin due to lesion damage.

Investigation of the thermal tolerance of silicon-based lateral spin valves.

Improvement in the thermal tolerance of Si-based spin devices is realized by employing thermally stable nonmagnetic (NM) electrodes. For Au/Ta/Al electrodes, intermixing between Al atoms and Au atoms occurs at approximately 300 °C, resulting in the formation of a Au/Si interface. The Au-Si liquid phase is formed and diffuses mainly along an in-plane direction between the Si and AlN capping layers, eventually breaking the MgO layer of the ferromagnetic (FM) metal/MgO electrodes, which is located 7 µm away from the NM electrodes. By changing the layer structure of the NM electrode from Au/Ta/Al to Au/Ta, the thermal tolerance is clearly enhanced. Clear spin transport signals are obtained even after annealing at 400 °C. To investigate the effects of Mg insertion in FM electrodes on thermal tolerance, we also compare the thermal tolerance among Fe/Co/MgO, Fe/Co/Mg/MgO and Fe/Co/MgO/Mg contacts. Although a highly efficient spin injection has been reported by insertion of a thin Mg layer below or above the MgO layer, these thermal tolerances decrease obviously.