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Trace-moisture standards traceable to the International System of Units (SI) used for the performance test of trace-moisture analyzers and trace-moisture measurement systems based on cavity ring-down spectroscopy (CRDS) developed at the National Metrology Institute of Japan (NMIJ) are briefly reviewed. The magnetic-suspension-balance/diffusion-tube humidity generator, which was the first generator used for the trace-moisture standard developed at NMIJ, is presented. Three measurement systems based on CRDS, which are wavelength-meter-controlled CRDS, dual-laser CRDS, and miniaturized CRDS, are presented. The performance of the three CRDS systems were evaluated using the SI-traceable trace-moisture standards.

Error correction is central to fault-tolerant quantum computation, but although various schemes have been developed in theory, there are few experimental realizations; a quantum error correction process is now reported for a single system of electron and nuclear spins residing in a diamond crystal. Practical quantum error correction Quantum information processing has the potential to be very powerful, solving problems that classical computing cannot even address. One drawback is its reliance on fragile resources — quantum superposition and entanglement — that are easily perturbed. Error correction is therefore central to fault-tolerant quantum computation and although various schemes have been proposed, there are few experimental realizations. Gerald Waldherr et al . successfully demonstrate a quantum error correction process on a system of electron and nuclear spins residing in a diamond crystal. Three nearby nuclear spins form the three entangled quantum bits (qubits) that are necessary for a quantum error correction protocol and the interaction with an electron spin enables readout. This new approach is applicable to other solid-state hybrid quantum spin systems such as those based on dopants in silicon. Error correction is important in classical and quantum computation. Decoherence caused by the inevitable interaction of quantum bits with their environment leads to dephasing or even relaxation. Correction of the concomitant errors is therefore a fundamental requirement for scalable quantum computation 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 . Although algorithms for error correction have been known for some time, experimental realizations are scarce 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 . Here we show quantum error correction in a heterogeneous, solid-state spin system 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 . We demonstrate that joint initialization, projective readout and fast local and non-local gate operations can all be achieved in diamond spin systems, even under ambient conditions. High-fidelity initialization of a whole spin register (99 per cent) and single-shot readout of multiple individual nuclear spins are achieved by using the ancillary electron spin of a nitrogen–vacancy defect. Implementation of a novel non-local gate generic to our electron–nuclear quantum register allows the preparation of entangled states of three nuclear spins, with fidelities exceeding 85 per cent. With these techniques, we demonstrate three-qubit phase-flip error correction. Using optimal control, all of the above operations achieve fidelities approaching those needed for fault-tolerant quantum operation, thus paving the way to large-scale quantum computation. Besides their use with diamond spin systems, our techniques can be used to improve scaling of quantum networks relying on phosphorus in silicon 19 , quantum dots 22 , silicon carbide 11 or rare-earth ions in solids 20 , 21 .

SummaryWe compared the effectiveness of promoting bone healing between two teriparatide preparations for atypical femoral fracture (AFF). A total of 45 AFFs were included in this study, and we compared the duration of bone union. Teriparatide administered by daily injection enhanced bone union more than weekly administration in complete AFFs.IntroductionThe efficacy of teriparatide for atypical femoral fracture (AFF) has been recently reported. Although two different teriparatide preparations can be used to treat osteoporosis in Japan, daily or weekly injection, all previous reports on the effectiveness of teriparatide for AFF only examined daily injection formulations. Therefore, we compared the promotion of bone healing between the two teriparatide preparations for AFF.MethodsA total of 45 consecutive AFFs in 43 Japanese patients were included in this study. They received either a daily 20-μg teriparatide injection (daily group; n = 32) or a once-a-week 56.5-μg teriparatide injection (weekly group; n = 13). We compared the clinical background and duration of bone union between these two groups.ResultsWhen all patents were included, the fracture healing time was not significantly different between the two groups. Only patients with complete AFFs had significantly fewer daily bisphosphonate or denosumab injections than the weekly group (P < 0.05). The fracture healing time in the daily group (6.1 ± 4.1 months) was significantly shorter than that in the weekly group (10.1 ± 4.2 months) (P < 0.05). Even if the influence of bisphosphonate or denosumab usage was excluded, a similar significant difference was observed in the fracture healing time (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the two groups among patients with incomplete AFFs.ConclusionsDaily teriparatide injections enhance bone union more than weekly injections in complete AFF patients.

There are numerous wooden historical artifacts in Kyoto and other parts of Japan, including Buddhist statues or Shinto deities. The identification of wood species in these historical artifact is desirable for both repair and maintenance purposes. The most common method of identifying wood species involves examining samples taken from the artifacts. However, intentional sampling from old cultural artifacts is prohibited in Japan. As a result, we attempted to determine the wood species of old statues non-destructively using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). In this article, we developed the softwood and hardwood separation model using NIRS to compare the prediction accuracy for few algorithms. The model was created based on wood samples stored in the xylarium of the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute (TWTw). We then applied this model to old Buddhist statues in order to classify them as either softwood or hardwood. These Buddhist statues were housed in Nazenji temple and are believed to have been carved during the Heian period (8th–12th century). For the near-infrared (NIR) measurements, we collected diffuse reflectance spectra from TWTw sample and Buddhist statues using same spectrometer. Initially, we used the soft independent modeling of class analogy method (SIMCA), partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS_DA), and support vector machine to analyze the NIR spectra obtained from the TWTw wood samples. Subsequently, we applied the NIR spectra obtained from several Buddhist statues in Nazenji temple to the aforementioned separation model and determined whether spectra data were classified as the softwood or hardwood. Finally, wood specimens detached naturally from the Buddhist statues over time were observed under microscopic analysis to identify the wood species. As comparing the prediction accuracy of few algorithms, SIMCA had a poor result, but PLS_DA had a good result. PLS_DA had better discrimination because it performed calculations to improve regression from both explanatory variables and objective variables.

A quantum memory at microwave frequencies, able to store the state of multiple superconducting qubits for long times, is a key element for quantum information processing. Electronic and nuclear spins are natural candidates for the storage medium as their coherence time can be well above 1 s. Benefiting from these long coherence times requires one to apply the refocusing techniques used in magnetic resonance, a major challenge in the context of hybrid quantum circuits. Here, we report the first implementation of such a scheme, using ensembles of nitrogen-vacancy centers in diamond coupled to a superconducting resonator, in a setup compatible with superconducting qubit technology. We implement the active reset of the nitrogen-vacancy spins into their ground state by optical pumping and their refocusing by Hahn-echo sequences. This enables the storage of multiple microwave pulses at the picowatt level and their retrieval after up to 35μs , a 3 orders of magnitude improvement compared to previous experiments.

We analysed the vascular morphology of the palm using a photoacoustic tomography (PAT) instrument with a hemispherical detector array. The three-dimensional (3D) morphology of blood vessels was determined noninvasively. Overall, 12 females and 11 males were recruited as healthy volunteers. Their ages were distributed almost evenly from 22 to 59 years. In all cases, many vascular networks were observed just beneath the skin and were determined to be veins anatomically. To analyse the major arteries, the layer containing the subcutaneous venous network was removed from the image. The analysis focused on the common and proper palmar digital arteries. We used the curvature of these arteries as a parameter to analyse their morphologies. There was no significant difference in the curvature between genders when comparing the subjects as a whole. The blood vessel curvature increased with age. Good agreement was found between the 3D numerical analysis results and the subjective evaluation of the two-dimensional (2D) projection image. The PAT system enabled visualization of the 3D features of blood vessels in the palm and noninvasive analysis of arterial tortuousness.

In this study, hydrogen boride films are fabricated by ion-exchange treatment on magnesium diboride (MgB2) films under ambient temperature and pressure. We prepared oriented MgB2 films on strontium titanate (SrTiO3) substrates using pulsed laser deposition (PLD). Subsequently, these films were treated with ion exchangers in acetonitrile solution. TOF-SIMS analysis evidenced that hydrogen species were introduced into the MgB2 films by using two types of ion exchangers: proton exchange resin and formic acid. According to the HAXPES analysis, negatively charged boron species were preserved in the films after the ion-exchange treatment. In addition, the FT-IR analysis suggested that B-H bonds were formed in the MgB2 films following the ion-exchange treatment. The ion-exchange treatment using formic acid was more efficient compared to the resin treatment; with respect to the amount of hydrogen species introduced into the MgB2 films. These ion-exchanged films exhibited photoinduced hydrogen release as observed in a powder sample. Based on the present study, we expect to be able to control the morphology and hydrogen content of hydrogen boride thin films by optimising the ion-exchange treatment process, which will be useful for further studies and device applications.

Water mass property in the southwest of Hokkaido Island, Japan, in the winter-to-spring season has been examined using 9 years’ hydrographic data and satellite data as well as ocean reanalysis data for 2010–2018. Hydrographic and moored observations in the eastern mouth of Tsugaru Strait indicate a regime shift in the 2010s; a cold period in 2010–2014 and a warm period in 2016–2018. The regions are known to be influenced by intrusion of Coastal Oyashio water (COW), which is cold fresh water originated from the Okhotsk Sea. Satellite-based sea surface temperature and altimeter data reveal that Coastal Oyashio (CO) flowing westward along the southern coast of Hokkaido Island to Funka Bay in the cold period and further to Tsugaru Strait in 2014. The western limit of COW does not reach Funka Bay in 2016–2018. During warm period, a warm core ring (WCR) originating from the Kuroshio Extension, approaches the southern coast of Hokkaido Island. Our analysis of high-resolution ocean reanalysis data indicates that the WCR disturbs inflow of the COW into Funka Bay and/or provides warm saline water to the COW. The Tsugaru Warm Current (TWC) flowing out of the strait to the east also contributes to this pathway change, but its impact is not large compared to the strong broad flow over the WCR. Our finding suggests that in the winter-to-spring season, the ocean environment of Funka Bay and Tsugaru Strait can be controlled by the Kuroshio-originating WCR that disturbs intrusion of the COW.

Mutations of calreticulin ( CALR ) are detected in 25–30% of patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) or primary myelofibrosis and cause frameshifts that result in proteins with a novel C-terminal. We demonstrate that CALR mutations activated signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5) in 293T cells in the presence of thrombopoietin receptor (MPL). Human megakaryocytic CMK11-5 cells and erythroleukemic F-36P-MPL cells with knocked-in CALR mutations showed increased growth and acquisition of cytokine-independent growth, respectively, accompanied by STAT5 phosphorylation. Transgenic mice expressing a human CALR mutation with a 52 bp deletion ( CALR del52-transgenic mice (TG)) developed ET, with an increase in platelet count, but not hemoglobin level or white blood cell count, in association with an increase in bone marrow (BM) mature megakaryocytes. CALR del52 BM cells did not drive away wild-type (WT) BM cells in in vivo competitive serial transplantation assays, suggesting that the self-renewal capacity of CALR del52 hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) was comparable to that of WT HSCs. Therapy with the Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitor ruxolitinib ameliorated the thrombocytosis in TG mice and attenuated the increase in number of BM megakaryocytes and HSCs. Taken together, our study provides a model showing that the C-terminal of mutant CALR activated JAK-STAT signaling specifically downstream of MPL and may have a central role in CALR -induced myeloproliferative neoplasms.

The microstructures of β solution treated and cooled Ti-6Al-4V specimens were Widmanstätten α plate structures for furnace cooling and air cooling, whereas martensite structure was obtained for water-quenching. In each case, the β matrix was partially retained alter cooling at room temperature. The initial structures after isothermal holding at deformation temperature were (α + β) lamellar structures formed by the growth of β matrix between α plates.