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The fretting wear behaviour of heavily work-hardened eutectoid steel wire is an important issue in the construction and usage of locked coil steel ropes. These ropes, which are used for high duty applications in aggressive environments, such as those encountered in the mining industries, can exhibit a variable service life. Earlier papers examined the design features of this class of rope and aspects of the operating regime, which may contribute to this variable life. The as-drawn surface of the wire was determined to play a significant role in the fretting behaviour, initially suppressing wear and friction. In this paper, the influence of low viscosity oils, with and without graphite additions, on the fretting behaviour of the as-drawn wire are examined. Oil bath lubrication suppresses effectively wear and friction throughout the tests. Of greater significance, however, a smear of oil, more typical of service conditions, is also effective, at least during the early stages of testing. The addition of graphite to this smear of oil aids its retention, and its ability to lubricate and form a shield around the fretting interface. The presence of oil inhibits the ingress of oxygen and consequently, at higher normal forces, when significant breakdown of the oil film occurs, micro-welding and tearing of the clean metal surfaces follows. Even so, wear and friction are still suppressed effectively.

This study was made to clarify the relationship between mode of identification, mode of emotion and physiological response to noise. Twenty-six subjects, young females, listened to six different daily sounds for 150 s through head phones. The level of sound was 60–61LAcq. The pulse wave and blood pressure were observed, and pulse wave interval, wave height and maximum and minimum blood pressures were measured. Measurements were taken twice once 30 s before listening and again during the final 30 s of listening. The ratio of the latter value to the former value was used as the index for the evaluation of change. Immediately after the listening session, identification of the sound source and emotional response were surveyed via a questionnaire and the sounds were judged as related to comfort or discomfort. In the case of incorrect identification, physiological functions were not seen to change significantly. However, in the case of correct identification, maximum and minimum blood pressures were significantly increased form the pre-listening values. The physiological functions of the discomfort group did not change significantly. In the comfort group, wave height was decreased and blood pressure was significantly elevated.

The trypsin-sensitive cholecystokinin-releasing peptide is a peptide purified from rat pancreatic juice on the basis of its stimulatory activity toward pancreatic enzyme secretion. We postulate that the peptide acts as a mediator of pancreatic enzyme secretion in response to dietary protein intake and that it (designated as "monitor peptide" from its role in the intestine) could be responsible for the feedback regulation of pancreatic enzyme secretion. About 20 nmol of the highly purified peptide were obtained from 800 ml of rat pancreatic juice by reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography. It was then sequenced. The peptide comprises 61 amino acid residues (Table I). It has a sequence that closely resembles that of a highly conserved region in pancreatic secretory trypsin inhibitors (PSTIs, Kazal type inhibitor): -Ile-Tyr-Asx-Pro-Val-Cys-Gly-Thr-Asx-Gly-. However, the peptide is less related to other mammalian PSTIs than they are to each other. The additional 5 residues at the NH2 terminus make the peptide larger than the common 56-residue PSTIs. The trypsin-sensitive cholecystokinin-releasing peptide is to be classified as a Kazal-type inhibitor and may be one of the rat PSTIs or a related peptide. The present results and increasing evidence from other laboratories and ours suggest that Kazal-type inhibitors play previously unrecognized multiple physiological roles.

Aims The reliability of scanning laser ophthalmoscope (SLO) microperimetry in differentiating full thickness macular holes from macular pseudoholes and impending macular holes was evaluated. Methods 106 eyes with the clinical diagnosis of full thickness macular holes, macular pseudoholes, and impending (stage 1) macular holes were examined for the presence of deep or relative scotoma using SLO microperimetry. The relation between these scotomas and the clinical diagnosis was studied. Results Deep and relative scotomas were detected in all 57 eyes with clinically defined full thickness macular holes. In contrast, among 49 eyes diagnosed with macular pseudoholes or impending macular holes, no deep and only one relative scotoma was observed. The sensitivity of the presence of a deep scotoma as an indicator of the clinical diagnosis of a full thickness macular hole was 100% (57 of 57), and the specificity was 100% (49 of 49). The sensitivity of the presence of a relative scotoma was 100% (57 of 57) and the specificity was 98.0% (48 of 49). Conclusion With SLO microperimetry, full thickness macular holes can be precisely and objectively distinguished from other conditions that mimic macular holes.

Nowadays advanced magnetic tunnel junction applications demand very high tunnel magnetoresistance at room temperature, thus it is quite important to explore high Curie temperature Tchalf-metallic Heusler alloys. In this article first-principles calculation unveiled that NiCrMnSi has a Tcof 1200 K comparable to that of traditional Co2MnSi Heusler alloys, even though it does not contain a Co element. In addition, we examined whether NiCrMnSi Heusler phase films can be obtained by magnetron sputtering on MgO substrates. The results of the structural analysis and first-principles calculations indicated that the NiCrMnSi Heusler phase is metastable. A possible route to obtain a metastable NiCrMnSi Heusler alloy is to utilize appropriate templates.