The thermal conductivity of the heavy-fermion superconductor CeCoIn5 has been studied in a magnetic field rotating within the 2D planes. A clear fourfold symmetry of the thermal conductivity which is characteristic of a superconducting gap with nodes along the ( +/- pi,+/- pi) directions is resolved. The thermal conductivity measurement also reveals a first-order transition at H(c2), indicating a Pauli limited superconducting state. These results indicate that the symmetry most likely belongs to d(x(2)-y(2)), implying that the anisotropic antiferromagnetic fluctuation is relevant to the superconductivity.

To clarify the superconducting gap structure of the spin-triplet superconductor Sr2RuO4, the in-plane thermal conductivity has been measured as a function of relative orientations of the thermal flow, the crystal axes, and a magnetic field rotating within the 2D RuO2 planes. The in-plane variation of the thermal conductivity is incompatible with any model with line nodes vertical to the 2D planes and indicates the existence of horizontal nodes. These results place strong constraints on models that attempt to explain the mechanism of the triplet superconductivity.

Calpains are calcium-dependent enzymes that determine the fate of proteins through regulated proteolytic activity. Calpains have been linked to the modulation of memory and are key to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer disease (AD). When abnormally activated, calpains can also initiate degradation of proteins essential for neuronal survival. Here we show that calpain inhibition through E64, a cysteine protease inhibitor, and the highly specific calpain inhibitor BDA-410 restored normal synaptic function both in hippocampal cultures and in hippocampal slices from the APP/PS1 mouse, an animal model of AD. Calpain inhibition also improved spatial-working memory and associative fear memory in APP/PS1 mice. These beneficial effects of the calpain inhibitors were associated with restoration of normal phosphorylation levels of the transcription factor CREB and involved redistribution of the synaptic protein synapsin I. Thus, calpain inhibition may prove useful in the alleviation of memory loss in AD.

The thermal conductivity of organic superconductor κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu(NCS)2 (Tc=10.4 K) has been studied in a magnetic field rotating within the 2D superconducting planes with high alignment precision. At low temperatures (T < ∼ 0.5 K), a clear fourfold symmetry in the angular variation, which is characteristic of a d-wave superconducting gap with nodes along the directions rotated 45 • relative to the b and c axes of the crystal, was resolved. The determined nodal structure is inconsistent with recent theoretical predictions of superconductivity induced by the antiferromagnetic spin fluctuation. 74.20.Rp, 74.25.Fy, 74.25.Jb, 74.70.Kn Since the discovery of superconductivity in organic materials about 2 decades ago, the question of the pairing symmetry among this class of materials is one of the most intriguing problems. In particular, the nature of the superconductivity in quasi-2D κ-(BEDT-TTF) 2 X salts (κ-(ET) 2 X), where the ion X can, for example, be Cu(SCN) 2 , Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Br or I 3 , has attracted considerable attention. In these layered organics, Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation experiments have established the existence of a well-defined Fermi surface (FS), demonstrating the Fermi liquid character of the low energy excitation. The large enhancement of the effective mass revealed by the specific heat as well as magnetic susceptibility measurements suggests the strong electron correlation effect in the normal state. Moreover, it was suggested that superconductivity occurs in proximity to the antiferromagnetic (AF) ordered state in the phase diagram [1]. Since some of these unusual properties suggest analogies with high-T c cuprates [2], it was pointed out by many authors that the AF spin-fluctuation should play an important role for the occurrence of superconductivity [3,4].Unconventional superconductivity is characterized by a superconducting gap with nodes along certain crystal directions. Since the superconducting gap structure is intimately related to the pairing interaction, its identification is crucial for understanding the pairing mechanism. Although the structure of the superconducting order parameter of κ-(ET) 2 X salts has been examined by several techniques, it is still controversial as we now summarize [1]. Results strongly in favor of unconventional pairing symmetry came from NMR experiments of κ-(ET) 2 Cu[N(CN) 2 ]Br, in which the absence of the Hebel-Slichter peak and cubic T -dependence of the spin lattice relaxation rate 1/T 1 were interpreted as an indication of d-wave pairing with line nodes [1,5]. The existence of the T -linear term in the thermal conductivity at low temperatures of κ-(ET) 2 Cu(NCS) 2 also supported the presence of line nodes [6]. However, some of the specific heat and penetration depth studies on these materials led to conflicting results. For example, recent specific heat measurements reported a fully gapped superconductivity [7]. Since these measurements rely on the T -dependence of the physical quantities, it is more desirable to measure the in-plane anisotropy of th...

SUMMARY(1) Records of 52 patients with aortitis syndrome were reviewed. The male to female ratio was 1: 4.2, and the age of the onset averaged 23.6-year-old.(2) There was a tendency that the lesions of the thoracic and abdominal aorta types involved younger patients than the aortic arch type. The observation of clinical course suggested the distribution of arterial lesions was fixed in the initial period of the disease.(3) It was speculated that preceding infections, especially nasopharyngeal and pulmonary infections, may facilitate an autoimmune process which has been considered to be related to the development of aortitis syndrome.(4) The principal arterial changes were stenosis and occlusion, but dilatation or aneurysm formation was found in some cases. The distribution of these lesions was analysed.(5) The symptoms were classified into the principal symptoms and the accompanying symptoms, and their time relationship was reviewed.(6) Emphasis was made on the importance of careful palpation of bilateral radial pulses, blood pressure measurement in the both arms and legs and careful auscultation of cardiac and vascular murmurs in the diagnosis of aortitis syndrome. Frequent occurrence of renovascular hypertension and aortic insufficiency associated with aortitis syndrome was pointed out. Ischemic retinal changes were less frequently found than hypertensive changes.(7) Laboratory data were compared between the cases of active inflammatory stage and those of inactive stage.(8) Early effects of steriod hormones were evaluated.

Ferroelectric random access memory (FRAM) has been commercialized for about 20 years and its reliability has been well proven all over the world. In the recent Internet of Things (IoT) era, it also plays important roles to particularly in edge computing because of its high writing speed, high rewriting endurance, and low writing energy consumption. We review the history of semiconductor memories using ferroelectrics and overview the progresses of the new ferroelectrics and promising ferroelectric applications in the future.

Recently, the clinical applications of photodynamic therapy (PDT) in the management of malignant brain tumors have attracted significant attention. Meta-analysis of the observational studies on this treatment in high-grade gliomas (Eljamel, 2010) included more than 1,000 patients and reported median survival in cases of newly diagnosed and recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) of 16.1 and 10.3 months, respectively. In some series, increase in the long-term survival rates was also observed. Few controlled trials demonstrated statistically significant impact of PDT on prolongation of survival in patients with GBM in comparison to conventional management. The main treatment-related adverse event is short-lasting excessive photosensitivity of the skin and retina after photosensitizer administration, but its negative consequences can be easily avoided with appropriate protective measures. Overall, PDT may be considered to be a safe and effective adjuvant therapeutic option for patients with newly diagnosed and recurrent malignant gliomas. Aggressive tumor resection seems to be an important prerequisite to maximize treatment efficacy.

Lewy bodies (LBs) are filamentous intraneuronal inclusions that are hallmark lesions of Parkinson's disease, and LBs have been shown, by immunohistochemistry, to contain cytoskeletal as well as other cellular proteins. Similar LBs also occur in the cortical neurons of a subset of patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), and cortical LBs are the predominant or sole lesions in the brains of patients with an AD-like dementia known as diffuse Lewy-body disease (DLBD). To gain insight into the biochemical composition of LBs, we generated monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to LBs purified from the brains of patients with DLBD. Here, we describe three of these new mAbs (LB48, LB202, and LB204) that stained LBs by immunohistochemistry and recognized the medium molecular mass neurofilament (NF) protein in western blots. These results support the hypothesis that NF subunits are integral components of LBs. Continued efforts to clarify the composition of LBs are likely to lead to novel strategies for the antemortem diagnosis of LB disorders as well as to insight into the role LBs play in the degeneration of affected neurons in these disorders.