Fast and slow intraplate ruptures during the 19 October 2020 magnitude 7.6 Shumagin earthquake.

Strong tsunami excitation from slow rupture of shallow subduction zone faults is recognized as a key concern for tsunami hazard assessment. Three months after the 22 July 2020 magnitude 7.8 thrust earthquake struck the plate boundary below the Shumagin Islands, Alaska, a magnitude 7.6 aftershock ruptured with complex intraplate faulting. Despite the smaller size and predominantly strike-slip faulting mechanism inferred from seismic waves for the aftershock, it generated much larger tsunami waves than the mainshock. Here we show through detailed analysis of seismic, geodetic, and tsunami observations of the aftershock that the event implicated unprecedented source complexity, involving weakly tsunamigenic fast rupture of two intraplate faults located below and most likely above the plate boundary, along with induced strongly tsunamigenic slow thrust slip on a third fault near the shelf break likely striking nearly perpendicular to the trench. The thrust slip took over 5 min, giving no clear expression in seismic or geodetic observations while producing the sizeable far-field tsunami.

Successful hybrid repair for ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm caused by type IIIa endoleak resulting from a disconnected contralateral limb.

The occurrence of a type IIIa endoleak after endovascular aortic repair is a rare, but crucial, complication leading to rupture. Treatment of a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm caused by a type IIIa endoleak can sometimes be challenging. We have reported the case of a 78-year-old man who had presented with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm caused by a type IIIa endoleak resulting from disconnection of a contralateral limb. The patient underwent hybrid repair using manual reconnection of the limbs with laparotomy and an endovascular technique, including balloon occlusion of the infrarenal aorta and new contralateral limb deployment. We found this hybrid repair to be an effective and minimally invasive procedure when total endovascular repair would have been difficult.

VO2-dispersed glass: A new class of phase change material.

Energy storage technology is crucial for a sustainable society, and its realisation strongly depends on the development of materials. Oxide glass exhibits high durability. Moreover, the amorphous structure of the glass without periodic ordering demonstrates excellent formability and controllability, thus enabling a large-scale production. These factors provide impetus for the development of new materials for thermal management applications. As vanadium dioxide (VO2) with a strongly correlated electron system exhibits a structural phase transition, leading to a large heat of transition. Therefore, VO2 demonstrates immense potential as a phase change material (PCM). This study reports the fabrication of VO2-dispersed glass and examines its potential as a new latent heat storage material, which can be applied for massive PCM heat storage applications.

Pockels effect of silicate glass-ceramics: Observation of optical modulation in Mach-Zehnder system.

Silicate glass has been used for long time because of its advantages from material's viewpoint. In this paper, we report the observation of Pockels effect by Mach-Zehnder interferometer in polycrystalline ceramics made from a ternary silicate glass via crystallization due to heat-treatment, i.e., glass-ceramics. Since the silicate system is employed as the precursor, merits of glass material are fully utilized to fabricate the optical device component, in addition to that of functional crystalline material, leading us to provide an electro-optic device, which is introducible into glass-fiber network.

Parasitic amorphous on single-domain crystal: structural observations of silicate glass-ceramics.

Glass-ceramics (GCs) are materials obtained from the crystallisation of functional phases in glass, and have a structure that the crystallised phase embedded in the glass matrix. Glass-forming oxides are commonly added to the functional phases to improve the stability of precursor glass; however, the issue of glass-ceramics permitting the presence of residual phases resulting from addition is required to be clarified. To elucidate this issue, we prepared 'perfectly surface-crystallised' GC consisting of fresnoite-type Sr(2)TiSi(2)O(8) from a non-stoichiometric glass and performed texture/morphology observations. Numerous SiO(2)-rich binodal-like nanospheres (~10 nm) were parasitic on the fresnoite single-crystal domains. The parasitic texture is considered to form via the following process: (i) binodal-type phase separation into stoichiometric fresnoite (crystalline matrix) and SiO(2)-rich phases (amorphous nanoparticles) and (ii) single-domain formation by surface crystallisation in the matrix. Furthermore, in terms of texture, the resulting GC differs from the GCs reported to date, i.e., inverse GC.

The efficacy of nocturnal administration of branched-chain amino acid granules to improve quality of life in patients with cirrhosis.

BACKGROUND: Nocturnal administration of branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) granules improves serum albumin levels in patients with cirrhosis. However, it is unclear whether or not this administration method can improve the patients' quality of life (QOL). In this study, we aimed to investigate the efficacy of BCAA granules, given nocturnally, in improving QOL in these patients. METHODS: We performed a multicenter, randomized controlled trial examining the comparative effects of BCAA granules given orally for 3 months with daytime or nocturnal administration in patients with compensated cirrhosis. Health-related QOL was measured by a Japanese version of the questionnaire on subjective and objective symptoms, and the Short Form-8 (SF-8) questionnaire. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients received BCAA granules three times a day (one sachet after each meal: the daytime group), and 16 patients received the granules twice a day (one sachet after breakfast, and two sachets before bedtime: the nocturnal group). Baseline characteristics did not differ between the groups (whole cohort: Child-Pugh grade A/B, 21/16; mean age, 68.2 years). There was no significant difference in any of the subjects revealed by the questionnaire regarding subjective or objective symptoms, or by the SF-8 between the daytime group and the nocturnal group after 3 months of treatment. The daytime group showed a significant effect on general health, vitality, social functioning, mental health, and role emotional as revealed on the SF-8. Conversely, the nocturnal group exhibited a significant decrease in the occurrence of muscle cramps in the legs (P = 0.014) and significantly improved Fisher's ratio after 3 months (P = 0.04). CONCLUSIONS: Nocturnal administration of BCAA granules in patients with cirrhosis reduced the occurrence of muscle cramps in the leg but did not improve the patients' QOL.

Second harmonic generation in periodically polarity-inverted zinc oxide.

We report on the second harmonic generation (SHG) in 2D periodically polarity-inverted (PPI) ZnO heterostructures. The grating structures with nanometer-scale periodicity are fabricated on (0001) Al(2)O(3) substrates by using the in situ polarity inversion method. The achievements of SHG with grating in fabricated PPI ZnO structures are demonstrated under consideration of quasi phase matching conditions. In general, grating formation using the this periodical array of differnet polar surface can be extended to the other heteroepitaxial systems with polarity characteristics.

Disruption of the midkine gene (Mdk) delays degeneration and regeneration in injured peripheral nerve.

Midkine (MK) is a growth factor implicated in the development and repair of various tissues, especially neural tissues. MK acts as a reparative neurotrophic factor in damaged peripheral nerves. A postulated role of MK in the degeneration and regeneration of sciatic nerves was explored by comparing wild-type (Mdk(+/+)) mice with MK-deficient (Mdk(-/-)) mice after freezing injury. In the Mdk(-/-) mice, a regenerative delay was observed, preceded by a decelerated Wallerian degeneration (WD). The relative wet weight of the soleus muscle slowly declined, and recovery was delayed compared with that in the Mdk(+/+) mice. In the regenerating nerve, unmyelinated axons were unevenly distributed, and some axons contained myelin-like, concentrically lamellated bodies. In the endplates of soleus muscles, nerve terminals containing synaptic vesicles disappeared in both mice. In Mdk(-/-) mice, the appearance of nerve terminals was delayed in synaptic vesicles of terminal buttons after injury. The recovery of evoked electromyogram was delayed in Mdk(-/-) mice compared with Mdk(+/+) mice. Our results suggested a delay in axonal degeneration and regeneration in Mdk(-/-) mice compared with Mdk(+/+) mice, and the delayed regeneration was associated with a delayed recovery of motor function. These findings show that a lack of MK following peripheral nerve injury is a critical factor in degeneration and regeneration, and manipulation of the supply of MK may offer interesting therapeutic options for the treatment of peripheral nerve damage.