The magnetic, electric and thermal properties of the (Ln 1−y Y y ) 0.7 Ca 0.3 CoO 3 perovskites (Ln = Pr, Nd) were investigated down to very low temperatures. The main attention was given to a peculiar metal-insulator transition, which is observed in the praseodymium based samples with y = 0.075 and 0.15 at T M −I = 64 and 132 K, respectively. The study suggests that the transition, reported originally in Pr 0.5 Ca 0.5 CoO 3 , is not due to a mere change of cobalt ions from the intermediate-to the low-spin states, but is associated also with a significant electron transfer between Pr 3+ and Co 3+ /Co 4+ sites, so that the praseodymium ions occur below T M −I in a mixed Pr 3+ /Pr 4+ valence. The presence of Pr 4+ ions in the insulating phase of the yttrium doped samples (Pr 1−y Y y ) 0.7 Ca 0.3 CoO 3 is evidenced by Schottky peak originating in Zeeman splitting of the ground state Kramers doublet. The peak is absent in pure Pr 0.7 Ca 0.3 CoO 3 in which metallic phase, based solely on non-Kramers Pr 3+ ions, is retained down to the lowest temperature.

A theoretical simulation of electromagnetic and thermal fields was performed for a cryocooled superconducting bulk disc after applying a magnetic pulse. The results of the simulation qualitatively reproduced the experimental ones for the time and applied field dependences of the trapped field B z and the temperature T on the bulk surface. For magnetic pulse application with a rise time of τ = 0.01 s, the magnetic flux propagation was about two orders of magnitude faster than the heat propagation because of the low thermal conductivity of the bulk. The results show that the intruding magnetic flux escaped because of the delayed temperature rise. For a longer magnetic pulse application with τ = 1 or 10 s, the flux propagation speed becomes slow and approaches the heat propagation speed. In this case, the magnetic flux escape attributable to the flux creep becomes small and a higher trapped field can be achieved. The method of exploring the enhancement of the trapped field using pulsed field magnetization is discussed.

Effects of the weak point disorder on the vortex matter phase diagram are studied by an irradiation of 2.5 MeV electrons in untwinned YBa 2 Cu 3 O y single crystals. We find that the point disorder lowers the critical point H cp of the first-order vortex lattice melting line H m (T) and has an opposite effect on the vortex glass phase boundary above and below H cp . Below H cp , the field-driven disordering transition line H*(T) between the Bragg glass and the vortex glass phases shifts to lower fields and the vortex glass phase is expanded after irradiation. Near the vortex liquid-to-glass transition line H g (T) above H cp , on the other hand, the vortex glass phase is reduced after irradiation, indicating the enhanced vortex wandering by the point disorder in the critical region. EFFECTS OF WEAK POINT DISORDER ON THE . . .

SMARCA4 is a subunit of the switch/sucrose non‐fermentable (SWI/SNF) chromatin‐remodeling complex. An effective treatment for SMARCA4‐deficient non‐small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) has not yet been established. Correlations between a response to immune checkpoint inhibitors and the SWI/SNF complex have been suggested, but little is known about the efficacy of immune checkpoint inhibitors against SMARCA4‐deficient NSCLC. A 43‐year‐old man underwent left upper lobe lung resection and was diagnosed with SMARCA4‐deficient lung adenocarcinoma. Two months after surgery, multiple lung metastases appeared. Immunohistochemical analysis showed no PD‐L1 expression. Whole‐exon sequencing revealed a relatively high tumor mutation burden at 396. After the failure of three standard chemotherapy regimens, the patient was treated with nivolumab as fourth‐line treatment. An obvious reduction in the lung metastases was obtained for more than 14 months. We report the first case of SMARCA4‐deficient NSCLC with a high tumor mutation burden successfully treated with nivolumab. Anti‐PD‐1 antibodies might be a promising treatment strategy for patients with SMARCA4‐deficient NSCLC.

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Cryoprobe is a novel transbronchial biopsy (TBB) tool that yields larger tissue samples than forceps. Pathological diagnosis and biomarker analysis, such as genetic alterations and programmed death‐ligand 1 (PD‐L1) expression, are paramount for precision medicine against lung cancer. We evaluated the safety and usefulness of cryoprobe TBB for lung cancer diagnosis and biomarker analysis. In this single‐center, prospective single‐arm study, patients suspected of having or diagnosed with primary lung cancer underwent cryoprobe TBB using flexible bronchoscopy after conventional forceps TBB from the same lesion. Cryoprobe TBB was performed in 121 patients. The incidence rate of severe bleeding and serious adverse events (4% [90% confidence interval: 2%‐9%]) was significantly lower than the expected rate (20% with 30% threshold, P < 0.01). Combining both central and peripheral lesions, the diagnostic yield rate of cryoprobe samples was 76% and that of forceps samples was 84%. Compared with forceps TBB samples, cryoprobe TBB samples were larger (cryoprobe 15 mm 2 vs forceps 2 mm 2 ) and resulted in a larger proportion of definite histomorphological diagnosis (cryoprobe 86% vs forceps 74%, P < 0.01), larger amounts of DNA extracted from samples (median: cryoprobe, 1.60 µg vs forceps, 0.58 µg, P = 0.02) and RNA (median: cryoprobe, 0.62 µg vs forceps, 0.17 µg, P < 0.01) extracted from samples, and tended to yield greater rates of PD‐L1 expression >1% (51% vs 42%). In conclusion, cryoprobe is a safe and useful tool for obtaining lung cancer tissue samples of adequate size and quality, which allow morphological diagnosis and biomarker analysis for precision medicine against lung cancer.

We present an extensive investigation (magnetic, electric and thermal measurements and X-ray absorption spectroscopy) of the Pr 0.5 Ca 0.5 CoO 3 and (Pr 1-y Y y ) 0.7 Ca 0.3 CoO 3 (y = 0.0625 -0.15) perovskites, in which a peculiar metal-insulator (M-I) transition, accompanied with pronounced structural and magnetic anomalies, occurs at 76 K and 40 -132 K, respectively. The inspection of the M-I transition using the XANES data of Pr