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A Ni aluminide layer containing Zr or Hf was formed on a Ni specimen by the simultaneous electrodeposition of Al and Zr or Al and Hf using a molten-salt bath. When the simultaneous electrodeposition of Al and Zr was carried out using molten NaCl-KCl containing 3.5 mol%AlF3 and 0.05 mol%ZrF4, the electrodeposited layers were formed in the order of Ni2Al3, NiAl3 and Al from the Ni substrate side. The ZrAl3 particles were uniformly formed in the surface region of the NiAl3 and Al layers. On the other hand, when the simultaneous electrodeposition of Al and Hf was carried out using molten NaCl-KCl containing 3.5 mol%AlF3 and 0.05 mol%HfF4, the electrodeposited layer consisted of Ni2Al3 as the inner layer and NiAl3 as the outer layer were formed with HfAl3 particles uniformly formed in the surface region of the NiAl3 layer. For the sample treated with the simultaneous electrodeposition of Al and Zr, no significant change in the mass gain was observed during the cyclic-oxidation test at 1423 K, suggesting that the sample had a high cyclic-oxidation resistance. Similarly, the sample treated by the simultaneous electrodeposition of Al and Hf had a high cyclic-oxidation resistance. An adhesive scale, having localized inward penetrations consisting of Al2O3 containing ZrO2 or HfO2, was formed on the samples having the high cyclic-oxidation resistance.

The objective of this paper was to determine the optimum ignition temperature to measure precisely the total and organic P contents of animal manure composts by the dry combustion method. Total P content of the composts was measured by the wet digestion method and the dry combustion method, while the organic P content was measured by the fractionation method and the dry combustion method. Total P content of the composts ranged from 4.43 to 48.6 g kg−1 and there were significant correlations between the total P content measured by the wet digestion method and that measured by the dry combustion method at 550°C. Organic P content measured by the fractionation method ranged from 0.44 to 8.62 g kg−1. Organic P content measured by the dry combustion method ranged from 0.10 to 8.63 g kg−1, and there were significant correlations (r = 0.951) between the data obtained by the fractionation method and those obtained by the dry combustion method at 550°C. Ignition at 240 and 350°C was insufficient to comple...

産業廃棄物である浄水ケーキを添加した家畜ふん堆肥 (浄水ケーキ堆肥) におけるカリウムの溶出抑制, リン酸の溶解性制御および有機物分解抑制効果を, 資材無添加堆肥, ポリ塩化アルミニウムを添加した堆肥 (PAC堆肥) と比較検討した。1) 資材無添加堆肥ではほぼすべてのカリウムが溶出したのに対し, 浄水ケーキ堆肥では溶出が約25%減少した。2) 資材無添加堆肥と比較して, 堆肥中の可給性リン酸割合は, 浄水ケーキ堆肥では24～35%減少し, PAC堆肥では38～42%減少した。3) 作成した堆肥の炭素無機化率における反応速度論的解析の結果, 資材無添加堆肥の可分解性炭素割合は, 全炭素含量の26.1～26.3%, 浄水ケーキ堆肥では22.6～22.8%, PAC堆肥では17.4～21.1%と推定された。PAC堆肥は, 強いリン酸溶解性制御, 有機物分解抑制効果が見られたが, 発酵条件が悪くなる傾向があった。一方で, 浄水ケーキ堆肥は発酵状態も良く, リン酸溶解性制御, 有機物分解抑制効果に加えてカリウムの溶出軽減効果も認められた。

BACKGROUND We have recently reported that simultaneous determination of the fucosylation and glucosaminylation of alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) was useful in the differential diagnosis of various liver diseases. Here, we measured these indices in germ cell tumor and compared them with those in various diseases to reveal the characteristic feature of the carbohydrate moiety of AFP in this tumor. METHODS Fucosylation and glucosaminylation indices of AFP were determined for 743 serum samples from 10 patients with germ cell tumor, 437 with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), 241 with benign liver diseases (24 patients with acute viral hepatitis, 99 with chronic hepatitis, and 118 with hepatic cirrhosis), and 55 with carcinoma metastatic to the liver from digestive organs (41 from stomach, 10 from gallbladder, 2 from pancreas, and 2 from colon) by crossed immunoaffinoelectrophesis in the presence of concanavalin A and Lens culinaris agglutinin. RESULTS The fucosylation index of AFP in germ cell tumors (99% +/- 2%, mean +/- SD) was higher than those in HCC (39% +/- 31%), carcinoma metastatic to the liver (76% +/- 27%), and benign liver diseases (4% +/- 7%); the differences were statistically significant (P < 0.001). The glucosaminylation index of AFP in germ cell tumor (45% +/- 20%) also was significantly higher than those in HCC (4% +/- 4%) and in benign liver diseases (1% +/- 4%) (P < 0.001). The difference in mean percentage of the glucosaminylation index, however, was not significant between germ cell tumors (45% +/- 20%) and carcinoma metastatic to the liver (39% +/- 23%). CONCLUSIONS The current study indicates that the most characteristic feature of glycosylation of AFP in germ cell tumors is fucosylation rather than glucosaminylation.

Chemical structures of the sugar chains of various human alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) species with different affinity for Concanavalin A (Con A) and Lens culinaris agglutinin (LCA) were examined by pyridylamination of their oligosaccharides and stepwise exoglycosidase digestion. Using reversed-phase and size-fractionation high performance liquid chromatography systems we identified six pyridylamino-sugar chains. The Con A-reactive and LCA-nonreactive species of AFP from patients with hepatocellular carcinoma contained a biantennary sugar chain, and the Con A-reactive and LCA-reactive species had a biantennary one with a fucose residue at the innermost N-acetylglucosamine residue. The Con A-nonreactive and LCA-reactive species contained a biantennary sugar chain both with a bisecting-N-acetylglucosamine residue at the trimannosyl core and with a focus residue at the innermost N-acetylglucosamine residue. The Con A-nonreactive and LCA-nonreactive species contained a fucosylated triantennary sugar chain as a major component, and two minor components: a triantennary sugar chain and a biantennary sugar chain with a bisecting-N-acetylglucosamine residue at the trimannosyl core. Thus, the fucosylated and non-fucosylated triantennary sugar chains were newly identified in human AFP. Essentially identical results were obtained for AFP from the patient with gallbladder carcinoma which metastasizes to the liver. These results indicate that the increment in fucosylation and branching to form new antennae is a characteristic feature of the carbohydrate chains of AFP from patients with neoplastic diseases of the liver. Images Figure 1

We report here on three patients with cirrhosis for whom an early recognition of hepatocellular carcinoma was made possible by the measurement of the degree of fucosylation (fucosylation index) of α-fetoprotein. Increased levels of this index associated with a moderate increment of serum concentration of α-fetoprotein were observed in three patients with cirrhosis who showed no indication of hepatocellular carcinoma by several imaging modalities. Four years after the onset of an increase in the fucosylation index, small hepatocellular carcinoma with a tumor diameter less than 2 cm was revealed in case 1. In cases 2 and 3, small hepatocellular carcinomas were detected 24 mo and 9 mo, respectively, after the first sign of the increase in the index. However, the development to hepatocellular carcinoma was not detected in five patients with cirrhosis in whom continuous increments of serum concentration of α-fetoprotein with low levels of fucosylation index were observed during the prospective follow-up from 3 to 9 yr. These findings indicated that the fucosylation index of α-fetoprotein can be used as an aid in an early recognition of hepatocellular carcinoma, especially in patients with cirrhosis during the follow-up process in which the moderate increment of serum concentration of α-fetoprotein is noted. (HEPATOLOGY 1993;17:50–52.)

We have examined whether or not mutations exist in the proximal promoter region of the human α-fetoprotein (AFP) gene in the hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) tissue. Genomic DNA was extracted from four patients: one HCC tissue, one HCC and its corresponding non-cancerous (cirrhosis) tissues, one liver cirrhosis (LC) tissue without HCC and one matching HCC tissue and peripheral blood leukocytes. Serum concentrations of AFP in the patients ranged from less than 5 to 10 138 ng/ml. Nucleotide sequence was determined by direct sequencing using a single-stranded DNA template that was produced first through the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification and then asymmetric PCR. In one HCC tissue taken from the patient with a high concentration of serum AFP, nucleotides different from published ones were detected at −120 and −113. These changes, however, probably reflect a DNA polymorphism, because peripheral blood leukocytes of the same patient had the same changes. Including this patient, no mutations in the region from −160 to −10 were detected in the HCC specimens we have examined. These results suggest that the extremely proximal promoter region of the AFP gene where glucocorticoid-responsive element and HNF-1 binding sites exist is not responsible for the re-expression of AFP in HCC.