Search

The United Nations refers to South-South cooperation as a broad framework of collaboration between developing countries in the Global South. It can take place on a bilateral, regional, or interregional basis. Its main purpose is to share knowledge, skills, resources and successful initiatives to meet development goals through concerted partnerships. Triangular cooperation implies the presence of traditional donor countries and organizations which facilitate South-South initiatives. Both forms of cooperation carry distinct benefits and differ from the more traditional North-South partnerships. This presentation will describe how, under the umbrella and support of ICMART, regional and interregional ART registries in the developing South, specifically the Latin American registry (REDLARA) and the African registry (ANARA), are contributing to the development, sustainability and cohesion in ART monitoring among the many countries they represent. With an innovative and standardized ART registry as a backbone, 35 countries in these two continents are now organized in regional reproductive networks increasing their recognition, visibility and impact, We shall demonstrate that this south-south and triangular cooperation, built upon a spirit of community and regional belonging is a strong facilitator of ART monitoring and transfer of technology to the developing South, and its ongoing expansion and reach. In Latin America, where REDLARA was established 30 years ago, local and expedited channels of communication have furthermore underpinned the training of embryologists, clinicians and other health care professionals through regional networks of professionals and certified training centers. This has resulted in enhanced ART self-reliance including the capability to implement new ART technologies and also monitor their availability, utilization, effectiveness and safety. Similar initiatives, strongly supported by REDLARA and ICMART, are starting to be implemented among African institutions via ANARA. Lastly, we shall demonstrate that our regional as well as global ART registries, together with other international organizations, have contributed to the dissemination of knowledge and serve as monitors and external quality controls now for 35 countries and almost 300 institutions in Latin America and Africa. Furthermore, given that both continents are progressively implementing the same cycle-based reporting system, new knowledge will be gained by examining regional and country similarities and differences.

Abstract title International Committee for Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART) Preliminary World Report on ART, 2018 Study question In 2018 what was global utilization, effectiveness and safety of ART? Summary answer Globally, ART utilization and data collection continue to increase but with wide variations in utilization, effectiveness and safety. What is known already ICMART began ART global data collection in 1991. Utilization, effectiveness and safety have continuously improved with more cycles, higher pregnancy rates and lower multiple birth rates, the latter as a result of transfer of fewer embryos. Frozen embryo transfer (FET) and donor egg cycles continue to increase. However, wide variations in practice and outcomes exist globally. Approximately 9 million ART babies have been born. ICMART has helped develop registries internationally. A new electronic data collection platform has been developed in conjunction with the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia; nevertheless, data collection and quality remain challenging. Study design, size, duration Countries and regions annually collect ART data, some prospectively and others retrospectively. ICMART retrospectively requested these data from all known global sources for 2018 and reviewed them for missing or incorrect data. The dataset was corrected and then analyzed utilizing standardized definitions from The ICMART/WHO Revised Glossary on ART Terminology, 2009 which was current at the time but is now replaced by The International Glossary on Infertility and Fertility Care, 2017, and previously developed methods. Preliminary results are presented. Participants/materials, setting, methods The European IVF Monitoring Consortium (EIM), Latin American Network of Assisted Reproduction (REDLARA), Australian/ New Zealand Registry and African Network and Registry for ART (ANARA) submitted regional data, and other countries contributed national data, through standardized formats to ICMART. A few individual clinics with no registry access also contributed. Data were reviewed, corrected, validated to the extent possible, analyzed and summarized by ICMART using descriptive statistics. Main results and the role of chance Data collection and analysis are ongoing, so presented results are preliminary. The number of ART cycles continues to increase, but utilization is still highly variable among countries and regions. Regional and country differences persist in the age of women treated, number of embryos transferred, live birth rates, rate of multiple births, use of ICSI, cryopreservation cycles and other factors. The role of chance is minimal. Actual global ART results are limited to reporting countries and clinics representing approximately 3/4 of global cycles. However, this is a very large sample size from which imputation of total global results is performed. Limitations, reasons for caution Some countries have limited data and many countries have limited data validation. ICMART can perform only minimal verification of submitted data. Widespread adherence to consensus definitions provided in the Glossary takes time and requires translation into multiple languages. Wider implications of the findings ICMART World Reports standardize data, track trends, enable comparisons, stimulate questions and improve ART quality. Better understanding of ART increases societal acceptance and support for equitable access and ART research.

Study question What was the impact on treatment age in Japan after a subsidy policy change that set age limits for assisted reproductive technology (ART) treatment? Summary answer The national policy introducing age limits in the subsidy may have promoted ART treatment among younger women. What is known already Japan has provided partial subsidies for ART treatment since 2004. To promote treatment at a younger age, the government introduced a subsidy policy in 2016 that set age limits: up to six treatment cycles for women younger than 40 years of age; and up to three cycles for women between 40 and 42 years old. However, two out of 47 prefectures continued to provide subsidies to women aged 43 and older. Study design, size, duration We conducted a time series analysis of the utilisation of ART before and after the introduction of age limits, using data from the Japanese national ART registry from 2012 to 2016. Participants/materials, setting, methods We described the number of fresh and frozen treatment cycles, comparing the number between 45 prefectures that followed the national policy change (hereafter, prefectures with age limits) and two prefectures that did not (hereafter, prefectures without age limits). Ordinary least squares regression models were used to assess the impact of the policy change by prefecture on the number of ART cycles by women of different ages. Main results and the role of chance The overall number of fresh and frozen ART cycles continuously increased in all age groups from 2012 to 2016. Meanwhile, the number of fresh ART cycles among women aged ≤ 36 and 37-39 years in 2016 increased from the previous year by + 4.0% and +1.8% in prefectures with age limits, whereas it decreased in prefectures without age limits: -3.1% and -2.3%, respectively. The number of fresh ART cycles among women aged 40-42 and 43-45 years in prefectures with age limits in 2016 changed by + 1.5% and -0.1%, respectively, whereas it increased considerably in prefectures without age limits by + 9.6% and +65.4%, respectively. Similar changes were shown for the frozen cycles. After controlling for underlying time trends and prefectural characteristics, the policy change significantly increased the number of fresh and frozen ART treatment cycles among women aged ≤ 36 years and decreased the treatment cycles of women aged 40-42 years. Limitations, reasons for caution We evaluated the change observed in the year of the policy change and could not assess longer-term trends. Additionally, unobserved factors might have contributed to the change in treatment numbers. Wider implications of the findings The introduction of a policy to set an age limit for the partial ART subsidy resulted in a significant increase in treatment even among age groups younger than the boundary groups. The policy change might have conveyed educational messages regarding the benefits of early treatment. Trial registration number not applicable

This study assessed the effect of Kaempferia parviflora, also known as black ginger (BG), and its ethanol extract (BGE) on peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) γ agonistic activity, glucose tolerance, fat accumulation, and lipids-induced hypertriglyceridemia in mice. PPARγ ligand-binding capacity in vitro and polymethoxy flavone contents were highly observed in organic solvent extracts. In an animal experiment A, male diabetic Nagoya-Shibata-Yasuda mice were divided into five dietary groups and fed each diet for 8 weeks: AIN-93G diet (low-fat [LF] diet), high-fat (HF) diet, HF diet supplemented with 1% BG, HF diet supplemented with 0.19% BGE, and HF diet supplemented with pioglitazone (PPARγ agonist, 3 mg/kg/day) as a PPARγ agonistic positive control. As determined from glucose and insulin tolerance tests, plasma glucose levels were improved in the BG and BGE groups. The BGE extract suppressed fat accumulation in adipose tissues, liver, and muscles without changing the plasma adiponectin level. In an animal experiment B, in order to investigate the effect of BG and BGE on lipid-induced hypertriglyceridemia, male ddY mice were divided into three test groups: control, BG-administered group (500 mg/kg), and BGE-administered group (100 mg/kg). The plasma triacylglycerol level was not different among the groups during the lipids administration test. These results conclude that the BGE extract containing several kinds of polymethoxy flavones showed PPARγ ligand-binding capacity in vitro and prevented obesity and insulin resistance independent of adiponectin secretion in mice. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Kaempferia parviflora, also known as black ginger (BG), is often used as a folk medicine and a functional food material to prevent metabolic syndrome mainly in Asian regions. Here, we have clarified that ethanol extract from BG (BGE) contains several kinds of polymethoxy flavones to show PPARγ ligand-binding capacity and is an active extract for the improvement of obesity and insulin resistance. The BGE is expected to be applied for functional food materials in health food markets. Also, polymethoxy flavones to show PPARγ ligand-binding capacity can be generally applied as a physiological active compound of functional food supplements.

As the seed extract from Camellia japonica (CJ) contains saponins, inhibitory effects of pancreatic lipase activity and body fat accumulation are expected. To investigate the anti-obesity effect of CJ seed extract, ICR mice were fed with a high-fat diet that was either supplemented or not with 1% CJ seed extract for 53 days. Including CJ seed extract in the high-fat diets of mice increased fecal fat excretion and decreased the body weight gain and lipid parameters in plasma and in the liver. In addition, lipid-induced hypertriglyceridemia was delayed by a single administration of CJ in ddY mice. Small intestinal transit was increased in ddY mice that received the CJ seed extract, but gastric emptying remained unchanged. These data demonstrate that CJ seed extract can suppress excess fat absorption, which can lead to the prevention of diet-induced obesity.

The electromagnetic wave propagation in a complex plasma containing macroparticle inclusions (dust) is reviewed. We focus on two classes of phenomena due to the presence of dust: (1), collection of plasma electrons and ions by macroparticle inclusions and related modification of dielectric properties, and (2), surface plasmon resonances on the macroparticle surfaces and their effect on electromagnetic wave propagation. It is demonstrated that the presence of these phenomena can significantly modify plasma electromagnetic properties by introducing additional (charging) damping, modifying field distributions near macroparticles, and leading to resonances and cut-offs in the effective permittivity. The conditions to observe such phenomena in laboratory dusty plasma and/or space (cosmic) dusty plasmas are discussed.

The dielectric properties of complex plasma containing either metal or dielectric spherical inclusions (macroparticles, dust) are investigated. We focus on surface plasmon resonances on the macroparticle surfaces and their effect on electromagnetic wave propagation. It is demonstrated that the presence of surface plasmon oscillations can significantly modify plasma electromagnetic properties by resonances and cutoffs in the effective permittivity. This leads to related branches of electromagnetic waves and to the wave band gaps. The conditions necessary to observe the band-gap structure in laboratory dusty plasma and/or space (cosmic) dusty plasmas are discussed.

Recently, reconstructive surgery with revascularized osteocutaneous flaps has been used to restore function in patients with bone defects caused by surgery for oral cancer. However, few basic studies have addressed problems such as the union of bone segments after osteotomy, the effects of dental implant placement on blood flow, and bone formation at the bone:implant interface in grafted bone. Nine adult beagle dogs were divided into three groups of three dogs each. Each group received osteotomized vascularized tibial grafts, osteotomized tibial grafts with implants (implants placed in contralateral limbs as control), or simple (non-vascularized) tibial grafts. The development of bone around the implants was studied by histological examination, contact micro-radiography (CMR), and fluorescent bone labeling. In the dogs receiving osteotomized vascularized tibial grafts, bone bridging was confirmed at both the medial and distal junctions of the bone segments after 4 weeks. Additional newly formed bone was observed after 8 weeks, and bone union at the surface of the segments was completed after 12 weeks. In contrast, bone formation was clearly delayed in dogs receiving simple (non-vascularized) tibial grafts. Histologically, no difference in bone union was evident between limbs with dental implants in tibial bone and control limbs without implants, suggesting that implant placement does not negatively affect revascularization. Fluorescent bone labeling technique confirmed high vascularity of the vascularized tibial bone grafts but not of the simple (non-vascularized) tibial bone grafts early after the procedure. Our results suggest that osseointegration occurred around dental implants placed at the same time as reconstruction with osteotomized vascularized bone grafts in this animal model.

脊椎疾患では,排便機能障害が出現し日常生活の障害となることがある.そこで,仙骨部腫瘍の患者において,手術時の脊髄神経根欠落による排便機能への影響について,直腸肛門内圧検査,臨床症状より検討した.手術前後に内圧検査と排便状態についてアンケート調査を実施した仙骨部腫瘍患者4例を対象とした.性別は男女各2例で,平均年齢は40歳であった.疾患は神経鞘腫,脊索腫各2例で,手術による神経根切離部位は,L5以下切離,両側S2,3,4切離,片側S2,3切離,神経根温存であった.両側脊椎神経根を切離された症例でも,内肛門括約筋機能はある程度保たれるが,機能には限界があり,個人差もあると思われた.外肛門括約筋機能は,片側脊椎神経温存で保たれるが,知覚機能には両側脊椎神経根温存が必要と思われた.

To investigate the role of interleukin-1 related substances in amniotic fluid in normal term labor without intrauterine infection.Amniotic fluid samples were collected from forty-one patients with various backgrounds. A novel pre-assay treatment using Frigen II was introduced to improve the recovery rates of cytokines, i.e., interleukin-1alpha, interleukin-1beta and interleukin-1 receptor antagonist, prior to ELISA assay. Urine samples from newborn infants were also tested.The concentrations of interleukin-1alpha, interleukin-1beta and interleukin-1ra were significantly higher in samples from normal vaginal delivery. The higher levels of interleukin-1alpha were also observed in samples from preterm labor without infection. Preterm infants produced more of interleukin-1 receptor antagonist in urine compared with term infants.This study provides evidence of the possible involvement of interleukin-1 related substances in labor without signs of infection. The data from newborn urine suggests that amniotic interleukin-1ra originates from the fetus. However, amniotic fluid interleukin-1alpha and interleukin-1beta may be derived from maternal tissue, such as decidua.

低位筋間痔瘻に対する括約筋温存術式は形態・機能の保存を主眼に置いた術式であるが, より高い根治性との両立をはかるべく諸家によりさまざまな工夫が加えられてきた.現在当院では基本術式として, 二次口側から原発巣を切除し, 一次口からの導管の切除に際しては内括約筋の欠損を最小限とし, 原発口切除部を縫合閉鎖しておくという方法をとっている.内括約筋の欠損が僅かな症例においては一次口部の再建を行わずとも瘻管再形成をきたしにくいことより, 著者はあえて内括約筋内の導管を切除せず, 無傷の同筋を衝立として残存させる方法を40例に試みたが, 原発口を縫合閉鎖せずともほぼ満足のゆく成績を得ている.肛門機能温存の点からも合目的的な術式と考えられる本法について紹介する.

大腸癌の術前または術後経過中に4例の孤在性副腎腫瘍を発見し摘出術を施行したので, 転移か原発かの術前の鑑別診断が可能かどうかについてretrospectiveに検討した.症例の年齢は28～72歳, 男女比は1 : 1, 原発巣は, 3例が直腸癌, 1例がS状結腸癌であった.いずれもCT検査で発見され, 1例が左副腎に, 2例が術前に確認された.腫瘍の最大径は3～4cmで, 内分泌異常を示したものはなく, 術前carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA) 値はいずれも正常値で, CA19-9値は2例で異常値を示した.全例とも転移性副腎腫瘍を否定できず, 腫瘍摘出術を施行した.3例は腺腫, 1例は転移性腺癌であった.2例に腹部MRI, 1例に血管造影が術前に施行され, 画像所見および血液学所見の再検討でも両者の鑑別は困難であった.しかし手術標本の割面の肉眼所見では鑑別は比較的容易であった.

消化管の血管腫および腫瘍様病変は比較的稀な疾患である.最近われわれは横行結腸に発生した血管内乳頭状内皮過形成症の1例を経験したので報告する.症例は47歳,男性で血便を主訴として来院.内視鏡的には左側横行結腸に,出血を伴う陥凹を有する径約2cm大の粘膜下腫瘍状病変を認めた.憩室出血も否定できず,保存的治療を行ったが止血が得られず,横行結腸部分切除術を施行した.病理組織学的には粘膜下から固有筋層にかけて拡張した血管内腔に内皮細胞の乳頭状増殖が認められ,血管内乳頭状内皮過形成症と診断した.

Our operative method is so-called plastic surgery, originating from the concept of Parks' submucosal hemorrboidectomy by Milligan & Morgan. Completely closed hemorrhoidectomy was performed in 471 patients (cases in Male 241 : cases in Female 230: mean age : 53.9 years) from January 1997-May 1998. The operating method was the ligation and excision method in three directions, and wound closure was done by running suture of 2-0 or 3-0 Vicryl suture. Complication rate was 8.3% (39 out of 471 cases), and mean complete healing time was 27.8 days in case of no complication, on the other hand, 34.7 days in cases of complication. The results were as follows : Skin tag occurred in 26 cases (66.7%), wound dehiscence in 6 cases (15.4%), postoperating hemorrhage in 3 cases (7.7%), prolonged wound healing in 2 cases (5.1%), and stenosis and wound infection in 1 case (2.6%) each.In conclusion, the completely closed method has merits in early wound healing and preveating postoperative bleeding, however, the only demerit was skin tag as the main complication.

内視鏡的ポリペクトミー後,定期的な経過観察中4年8カ月目に粘膜下の進展を主体にして特異な肉眼形態を呈し再発したS状結腸癌の1例を経験したので報告する.症例は64歳の男性で,4年8カ月前にS状結腸の15mm大の山田3型のポリープのポリペクトミーを施行された.組織診では粘膜筋板を越える腺腫内癌と診断され,注腸検査(注腸),大腸内視鏡検査(CF)による経過観察を行っていた.CFによる最終経過観察後19カ月目のCFでポリペクトミー部にIIc advanced様の腫瘤が発見され,注腸では腸管の高度なひきつれを伴う潰瘍性病変が描出された.開腹所見は,H0,P0,SE,N1でS状結腸切除(D3)を施行した,切除標本では3cm大の正常粘膜に被われた腫瘤の中心に0.8cm大の潰瘍を伴う腫瘍を認め,組織学的には粘膜下の進展を主体にした高分化腺癌でss,ly2,v0,n2であった.初回標本の再検でポリープはsm2,ly2,v0の高分化腺癌で,粘膜下部分の癌の遺残による再発と考えられた.

We have obtained extremely high reliability on the AlInAs/InGaAs/InP HEMT using WSi ohmic electrodes. The WSi electrode of this device demonstrates high stability under a high temperature (Ta=170/spl sim/200/spl deg/C) operating life test. The sample analyzed by a cross-sectional TEM/EDX shows no degradation of the WSi/InGaAs interface, on the other hand, titanium (Ti) and fluorine (F) are detected in the AlInAs layer. The estimated degradation mechanism of this device is related with decrease of carrier concentration in the epitaxial layer.

The low‐energy (about 30 eV) ion etching of InP with an excellent vertical sidewall profile, smooth surface, and a high etch rate (more than 1000 A/min) has been demonstrated in an electron cyclotron resonance plasma using a Cl2/N2 mixture. Surface analysis by x‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy and plasma diagnostics by optical emission spectroscopy suggest that the etching mechanism is dominated by the reduction of Cl neutral radical density by N2 dilution and the formation of InN and P3N5 due to the reaction between the atomic nitrogen in the Cl2/N2 plasma and the InP substrate. The success of this technique appears to be based on a new InP dry etching concept which controls the volatility of PClx (x=1–5) products, thus balancing the desorption rate of InClx (x=1–3) products, in contrast to the conventional reactive ion etching method which enhances the desorption of nonvolatile InClx products by high‐energy ion bombardment.

Oxidative stress in cancer patients has been demonstrated to be partly mediated by neutrophils. Although it is reported that natural antioxidants, such as green tea extract, reduce oxidative stress, there is limited evidence of their effects in cancer patients. This study aimed to determine the effect of green tea extract on reactive oxygen species produced by neutrophils from cancer patients.Peripheral blood samples were obtained from eighteen patients with advanced cancer. Green tea extract was added to the blood samples with luminol on Mebiol gel, and luminol-dependent chemiluminescence was measured to monitor the production of reactive oxygen species from migrated neutrophils into the gel, at 37°C.Luminol-dependent chemiluminescence was significantly down-regulated in the presence of green tea extract in a concentration-dependent manner.These results indicate the antioxidant effect of green tea extract on reactive oxygen species produced by neutrophils, which may be effective in reducing oxidative stress in cancer patients.

Experimental study on dust dynamics in cryogenic plasma is presented. Dust particles are introduced into an rf discharge plasma in the vapor of liquid helium. Charged dust particles are extracted from the rf plasma into a diffused plasma closer to the surface of the liquid helium. The thermophoretic force is found to play an important role in the dynamics of dust particles.

A bow shock is observed in a two‐dimensional flow of charged micro particles in a complex plasma. A thin conducting wire is placed vertically against the flow to make a potential barrier as an obstacle against the flow. A void is formed around the potential barrier surrounding the wire. When the flow velocity exceeds the dust acoustic velocity, the density in front of the void increases and forms the bow shock.

The rotation of a dust cluster levitated in plasma sheath is investigated in the presence of magnetic field. In a cylindrical plasma chamber, a dust cluster is formed by micron sized dust particles and rotates under the influence of ion drag force driven by electric and magnetic field. When ion drag force is balanced with neutral drag force the cluster rotates at constant velocity. Ion temperature is determined by estimating the forces acting on the dust particle at room temperature as well as at cryogenic temperature.

The cytokine interleukin-1 (IL-1 beta) increased prostaglandin production by decidual stromal cells in culture in a time and dose dependent manner. Optimum conditions for stimulation were found to be for 24 hours at a concentration of 100 pg IL-1 beta/ml. An apparent increase in cyclo-oxygenase enzyme synthesis accompanied the increase in prostaglandin production, and both changes were inhibited by the protein synthesis inhibitor cycloheximide. This implicates protein synthesis in the stimulatory effects of IL-1 beta, which may be mediated through the increase in cyclo-oxygenase enzyme. A pre-incubation period of 72 hours was found to be necessary to observe the stimulatory effect of IL-1 beta on prostaglandin production, but this did not seem to be due to any change in the sensitivity of the cells to IL-1 beta; the increase in the number of cyclo-oxygenase positive cells was the same if IL-1 beta was added on day 1, day 2 or day 3 of culture, even though prostaglandin production was not stimulated on day 1 or day 2. Cycloheximide increased prostaglandin production on the first two days of culture and had no effect on the third day of culture. This was interpreted as indicating that a factor inhibiting cyclo-oxygenase activity was synthesised during the initial period of culture, which prevented any increase in prostaglandin production following the increase in enzyme synthesis.

Experiments on a cryogenic complex plasma have been performed. Preliminary experiments include production of a plasma in a liquid helium or in a cryogenic helium gas by a pulsed discharge. The extended production of a plasma has been realized in a vapor of liquid helium or in a cryogenic helium gas by rf discharge. The charge of dust particles injected in such a plasma has been studied in detail.

To elucidate the morphogenesis of cornoid lamellae (CL) in porokeratosis, skin lesions of three cases of disseminated superficial actinic porokeratosis and a case of linear porokeratosis were examined. By N-(7-dimethylamino-4-methyl-3-coumarinyl)maleimide staining, SH groups were present in the living layer of the epidermis beneath CL and irregularly disappeared at the bottom of CL, whereas SS linkages appeared in dyskeratotic cells in the living layer and in the irregularly shaped cell membranes of the horny cells. Epidermis beneath CL showed an increased and irregular involucrin expression. Ultrastructurally, the living keratinocytes contained many cytoplasmic vacuoles and had a smaller number of lamellar bodies than normal. Intercellular lamellar sheets were incompletely formed. The dyskeratotic cells and the lower horny cells contained many small vacuoles but formed a marginal band. The horny cells of CL also formed a marginal band and, further, a keratin pattern. CL may be formed by hyperproliferative atypical kertatinocytes which keratinize rapidly and irregularly and show defective desquamation due to the paucity of intercellular lamellar sheets.

The decidua has been implicated in the control of human labour, particularly through changes in prostaglandin production, but this tissue contains a number of different cell types. A density gradient system was used to obtain two populations of cells from term human decidua, and these populations were characterised. The more dense cells (population B) was a mixed population, predominantly macrophages (80%), but small numbers of T- and B-lymphocytes were also present, as identified by immunocytochemistry. Most of these cell types also contained detectable levels of cyclooxygenase enzyme. The less-dense cell population (population A) did not contain significant numbers of the above cell types and released prolactin, suggesting that they were decidual stromal cells. This preparation of decidual stromal cells may be of use in defining the functions of these cells in labour.

Dust charges in a complex helium gas plasma, surrounded by cryogenic liquid, are studied experimentally. The charge is determined by frequency and equilibrium position of damped dust oscillation proposed by Tomme et al. (2000) and is found to decrease with ion temperature of the complex plasma.

Fine particles injected in a planar magnetron were pushed upward by diffusible plasma, leading to being suspended by the force balance with the gravity and forming three‐dimensional structures on the two‐dimensional structure formed by particle strings.

An inhibitor of prostaglandin synthetase which catalyzes the conversion of arachidonic acid into prostaglandin E2 was partially purified from the 105 00 × g supernatant fraction of the human decidual cell homogenate. By means of ammonium sulfate fractionation, Mono Q ion-exchange chromatography, and gel filtration chromatography, the inhibitor was purified about 15-fold, giving a preparation with a molecular weight of 55–60 KDa. The 50% inhibitory concentration of the purified substance was approximately 0.2 mg/ml. The inhibitor may play a role in suppression of prostaglandin production by decidua in early pregnancy.

A novel packaging technology using a multi-layer Tape Automated Bonding (TAB) tape was developed for a GaAs multi-chip module to be employed in radio units of mobile telephones. The microwave properties of the multi-layer TAB tape were first evaluated using a ring resonator and a through-line. Then, the TAB tape was applied to a 900 MHz-band high power amplifier. It consists of two MMIC chips and an output matching circuit formed on the TAB tape. The amplifier module delivered a saturated output power of 31.6 dBm with a power added efficiency of 54.9% at 933 MHz with a supply voltage Vdd of 3.3 V. These results suggest that the TAB tape assembly has a high potentiality for realizing a thin and light weight RF unit in mobile communication terminals with low cost.

High-power microwave generation in an axially-extracted virtual cathode oscillator (VIRCATOR) is studied numerically using MAGIC which is a two-dimensional, finite-difference, time-domain particle-in-cell code. The simulation was motivated by the recent experiment of Yatsuzuka et al at the Himeji Institute of Technology in Japan. The Himeji experiment observed that, while pinching of the electron beam was found to be essential for microwave generation, the electron beam current remained below the critical pinching current when microwaves were detected. On the other hand, an earlier experiment by Benford et al showed that microwave emission occurred only when the diode current exceeded the critical current. In the simulation being developed for the Himeji VIRCATOR geometry, the preliminary phase space diagrams show the formation of a virtual cathode. A detailed simulation study is in progress on the effect of bipolar flow on the critical current for beam pinching and microwave emission. Bipolar flow consists of ion flow from the anode into the diode gap in addition to the electron flow and is known to increase the electron space charge limited current.

Drain current frequency dispersions (gate-lag) in GaAs MESFETs have been investigated and a novel surface trap model is proposed which reveals the mechanism of gate-lag. Assuming two kinds of surface traps with a delay time of 28 msec and 5 msec, the fitting curve agrees with the measured drain current transients. The dependence of gate-lag on various operating bias conditions such as pulse period, applied pulse voltage, and drain bias has been also observed. Furthermore, it is confirmed that the double recessed structure with the inner recess depth of 500 /spl Aring/ is available for the reduction of gate-lag.

A 1.5 Watts FET amplifier with 5.8 dB gain over 27.5 to 28.4 GHz frequency band has been developed. This amplifier combines the output power of four multistage amplifier modules utilizing a 4 way combiner with low insertion loss.

A MIC direction sensitive doppler module with a GaAs FET oscillator stabilized by a dielectric resonator has been developed by means of a Ag/Pd thick film technique. A module with 17 mW output power at 10.5 GHz has about -90 dBm minimum detectable signal for the bandwidth of 1KHz at the bias condition of 6.5 V, 44 mA.

Power output of 100 mW and linear power gain of 5 dB have been realized at 30 GHz for the GaAs FET fabricated by optimizing physical parameters of the channel for high power end.

We evaluated functional and morphological outcomes of transvaginal anterior levatorplasty with posterior colporrhaphy for symptomatic rectocele. Ten women (median 68 years) underwent transvaginal anterior levatorplasty with posterior colporrhaphy for symptomatic rectocele. Symptoms and continence were monitored before and after surgery. Manovolumetric study and defecography were performed in 9 of 10 patients before and 3–6 months after surgery. Twenty-one females without anorectal diseases were used as controls in manovolumetric study. The patients were followed up after a median of 89 months (range, 3–103). Main symptoms (defecatory disorders in 9 patients, vaginal mass in 6, perineal discomfort in 2) disappeared after surgery. Six patients performed digitation preoperatively and gave up digitation on defecation after surgery. Stool incontinence disappeared in 4 of 5 preoperatively incontinent patients (Cleveland clinic score, 5–12) and continence score improved from 5 to 2 in the remaining patient. Three patients with urinary cough incontinence preoperatively did not experience incontinence after surgery but cough incontinence occurred occasionally in an 81-year-old patient postoperatively. Rectocele demonstrated on defecography disappeared postoperatively in all 9 patients who underwent defecography. High threshold volume and maximum tolerable volume, which were observed preoperatively, decreased to control levels after surgery. Transvaginal anterior levatorplasty with posterior colporrhaphy might be an option for symptomatic rectocele to improve anorectal and urinary dysfunctions with morphological disorders.

The 200-MHz and 1.5-GHz-band quadrature modulator ICs are developed. The ICs integrate a digital frequency divider, double-balanced FET mixers, and a combiner. The power consumptions of the 200-MHz- and 1.5-GHz-band modulator ICs are 100 mW and 160 mW, respectively. These ICs realize low distortion below -50 dBc, and low image and carrier rejections below -40 dBc and they reduce the phase-error to less than 1.1 degrees . The modulator ICs have excellent spectrum efficiency and are useful in realization of small-size and lightweight handy radio telephone equipment. Circuit design, fabrication process, and device performance are outlined. >

RISC-based Massively Parallel Processors (MPPs) often show low efficiency in real-world applications because of cache miss penalty, insufficient throughput of the memory system, and poor inter-processor communication performance. Hitachi's SR2201, an MPP scalable up to 2048 processors and 600 GFLOPS peak performance, overcomes these problems by introducing three novel features. First, its processor the 150 MHz HARP-IE, solves the cache miss penalty by "pseudo vector processing" (PVP). In PVP, data is loaded by prefetching to a special register bank, bypassing the cache. Second, a multi-bank memory architecture that operates like a pipeline eliminates the memory system bottleneck. Third, the inter-processor communication achieves high performance on the three-dimensional crossbar network, using a "remote DMA transfer" protocol and a hardware-based cache coherency. As the result of these improvements, the SR2201 achieved 220.4 GFLOPS with 1024 processors in the LINPACK benchmark, which is almost 72% of the peak performance.

A Q-band high gain and low noise Variable Gain Amplifier (VGA) using dual gate AlGaAs/InGaAs pseudomorphic HEMTs has been developed. The dual gate HEMT can be fabricated using the same process as the single gate HEMT with a gate length of 0.15 /spl mu/m. The Q-band VGA consists of a 1-stage low noise amplifier MMIC using a single gate HEMT and a 2-stage VGA MMIC using dual gate HEMTs. The VGA has a gain of more than 20 dB from 41 GHz to 52 GHz. A gain control range of more than 30 dB is obtained in the same frequency range. A minimum noise figure of 1.8 dB with an associated gain of 22 dB is achieved at 43 GHz when biased for a low noise figure. This performance is comparable with the best data ever reported for LNAs at Q-band including both GaAs based HEMTs and InP based HEMTs.

Hysteretic drain current (Id) drift phenomena observed in the high power operation of WSi gate GaAs MESFETs were studied. The existence of a thin insulating layer at WSi-GaAs interface originated by the native oxide on GaAs surface was revealed by XPS and X-ray reflection. Id drift phenomena can be explained as the effect of holes being trapped in the insulating layer at the WSi-GaAs Schottky contact interface.

Long-pulse high power microwave experiments are being conducted at the University of New Mexico (UNM) using a modified Physics International Pulserad 110A. The Pulserad 110A, which previously consisted of an 11-stage Marx bank followed by a Blumlein, has been modified by replacing the Blumlein with a parallel L-C network, as described by Cummings. Both the Marx bank and the L-C network together form a type-A pulse-forming network with an output impedance of 40 /spl Omega/, a pulse duration of 500-700 ns, and a peak voltage and current for a matched load of 570 kV and 14.3 kA, respectively. The UNM Pulserad 110A drives an electron beam diode having a graphite annular knife-edge cathode. The electron beam that is generated is injected into a slow wave structure (SWS) having 12 periods with variable ripple amplitudes. Microwave radiation in the TM/sub 01/ mode is observed with peak powers on the order of 170 MW and pulse widths at full-width, half-maximum of 20-25 ns. Longer pulse widths are observed for lower powers. Studies are being conducted to determine the effects of changes in the anode-cathode gap spacing and cathode diameter on pulse duration for a given SWS configuration. Both vacuum and plasma-filled experiments are being performed to investigate possible increase in pulse width using plasma filling. The system design will be presented along with experimental results.