The risk factors specific to the elderly population for severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the Omicron variant of concern (VOC) are not yet clear. We performed an exploratory analysis using logistic regression to identify risk factors for severe COVID-19 illness among 4,868 older adults with a positive severe acute respiratory coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) test result who were admitted to a healthcare facility between 1 January 2022 and 16 May 2022. We then conducted one-to-one propensity score (PS) matching for three factors – dementia, admission from a long-term care facility and poor physical activity status – and used Fisher's exact test to compare the proportion of severe COVID-19 cases in the matched data. We also estimated the average treatment effect on treated (ATT) in each PS matching analysis. Of the 4,868 cases analysed, 1,380 were severe. Logistic regression analysis showed that age, male sex, cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, chronic lung disease, renal failure and/or dialysis, physician-diagnosed obesity, admission from a long-term care facility and poor physical activity status were risk factors for severe disease. Vaccination and dementia were identified as factors associated with non-severe illness. The ATT for dementia, admission from a long-term care facility and poor physical activity status was −0.04 (95% confidence interval −0.07 to −0.01), 0.09 (0.06 to 0.12) and 0.17 (0.14 to 0.19), respectively. Our results suggest that poor physical activity status and living in a long-term care facility have a substantial association with the risk of severe COVID-19 caused by the Omicron VOC, while dementia may be associated with non-severe illness.

At present, there is scarce evidence about the burden associated with the isolation of COVID-19 patients. We aimed to assess the differences between COVID-19 and other influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) in disease burden brought by isolation. We conducted an online survey of 302 respondents who had COVID-19 or other ILIs and compared the burden of isolation due to sickness with one-to-one propensity score matching. The primary outcomes are the duration and productivity losses associated with isolation, the secondary outcome is the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) valuation on the day of the survey. Acute symptoms of outpatient COVID-19 and other ILIs lasted 17 (interquartile range (IQR) 9–32) and 7 (IQR 4–10) days, respectively. The length of isolation due to COVID-19 was 18 (IQR 10–33) days and that due to other ILIs was 7 (IQR 4–11) days, respectively. The monetary productivity loss of isolation due to COVID-19 was 1424.3 (IQR 825.6–2545.5) USD and that due to other ILIs was 606.1 (IQR 297.0–1090.9) USD, respectively. HRQoL at the time of the survey was lower in the COVID-19 group than in the ‘other ILIs’ group (0.89 and 0.96, P = 0.001). COVID-19 infection imposes a substantial disease burden, even in patients with non-severe disease. This burden is larger for COVID-19 than other ILIs, mainly because the required isolation period is longer.

Predicting the need for hospitalisation of patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is important for preventing healthcare disruptions. This observational study aimed to use the COVID-19 Registry Japan (COVIREGI-JP) to develop a simple scoring system to predict respiratory failure due to COVID-19 using only underlying diseases and symptoms. A total of 6873 patients with COVID-19 admitted to Japanese medical institutions between 1 June 2020 and 2 December 2020 were included and divided into derivation and validation cohorts according to the date of admission. We used multivariable logistic regression analysis to create a simple risk score model, with respiratory failure as the outcome for young (18–39 years), middle-aged (40–64 years) and older (≥65 years) groups, using sex, age, body mass index, medical history and symptoms. The models selected for each age group were quite different. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves for the simple risk score model were 0.87, 0.79 and 0.80 for young, middle-aged and elderly derivation cohorts, and 0.81, 0.80 and 0.67 in the validation cohorts. Calibration of the model was good. The simple scoring system may be useful in the appropriate allocation of medical resources during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Graphene, two-dimensional layers of sp2-bonded carbon, has many unique properties. In this paper, graphene is decorated with flower-like MnO2 nanostructures for the application in energy storage devices. The as-prepared graphene and MnO2 nano-flowers, which were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM), were assembled into an asymmetric supercapacitor. The specific capacitance of the graphene electrode reached 245 F/g at a charging current of 1 mA. The MnO2 nano-flowers which consisted of tiny rods with a diameter of less than 10 nm were coated onto the graphene electrodes by electrodeposition. The specific capacitance after the MnO2 deposition is 328 F/g at the charging current of 1 mA with an energy density of 11.4Wh/kg and power density of 25.8 kW/kg. This work suggests that our graphene-based electrodes can be a promising candidate for high-performance energy storage devices.

The infrared astronomical satellite AKARI performed an all sky survey at six infrared bands. We report here on the calibration of the all-sky image data, observed in the four long wavelength bands with the FIS instrument (AKARI Far-infrared All Sky Survey : AFASS). The preliminary image attains a calibration uncertainty and sensitivity of better than ~ 30% and ~ 10 MJy str−1, respectively, for all four bands. The point spread function (PSF) is obtained via a stacking technique. The data are shown to be useful for exploring the internal structure and dust spectral energy distributions (SEDs) of nearby galaxies.

Three-dimensional (3D) photonic crystals with one to four layers of woodpile structures have been fabricated by stacking two-dimensional (2D) photonic plates by micromanipulation. First, air-bridge photonic plates were fabricated as unit structures using conventional IC processing techniques. Then, the 2D photonic plates were stacked using a micromanipulation system. To obtain lattices with precise periodicity, microspheres were inserted into the round openings which were prepared in the frame of the plates. Since neighboring plates have pore openings at the same position, plates were laminated at the proper position automatically. Consequently, positioning error was kept within 50 nm. Optical characteristics of the crystals were evaluated by their reflectance and transmittance at wavenumber between 700 and 7000 cm-1. The formed photonic crystals were expected to have a photonic band gap at around 3030 cm-1. As the number of layers was increased, the reflectance at around 3030 cm-1 increased to 60 %, and the transmittance at the same wavelength region decreased to 30 %.

This paper demonstrates a new technique to form a patterned metal-oxide film on a silicon wafer using a local electric field. The idea of the technique involves using an interaction between metal-organic molecules dissolved in a non-polar solvent and a local electric potential field on a substrate. In this paper, an alkoxide and a metal-organic complex were used as metalorganic precursors. The precursor molecules were selectively deposited at the electrified region of the substrate. The deposited precursor films were heated with an electric furnace to form oxide films. Patterned TiOx and Sr-Ti oxide films were formed on a SiOx/Si substrate. These patterned thin films are potentially applicable to electric and optical devices. We believe that this new technique provides a new bottom-up process of molecular assembly for nanofabrication.

This paper describes a new technique to fabricate two-dimensional microstructures assembled with nano-sized particles. The nano-sized particles attract a lot of attention because of their unique properties compared to bulk materials. Micro- and nano- structures assembled with nano-sized particles have potential applications in electronic, optical and biochemical fields. The Self-Assembled Monolayer (SAM) film patterning is one of the methods to assemble the nano-sized particles. We have proposed a new method to assemble nano-sized particles on a substrate using an electric field generated by an electrified pattern. In this study, following our methods titanium oxide (TiO2, diam.=21nm) particles were patterned on an n-type (100) silicon substrate having an oxidized layer. The particle deposition on the substrates was carried out using a colloidal suspension process and an aerosol process.

We fabricated the multi layered structure with Au gate electrode/polymer film/Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O film to study the electric-field control of high Tc superconductor. A Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O(BSCCO) film was fabricated using an ion beam sputtering technique. The plasma polymerization using trif luoroethane gas was used to make the gate insulator. The patterning of the BSCCO film was carried out using an ion beam etching technique. The supercurrent of the structure decreased when the gate voltage was applied to the gate electrode.