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An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of sweet green pepper (SGP) on the performance and egg quality of commercial laying hens. A total of 144 Hy Line W36 egg layers were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 9 replicate groups of 4 hens each. Treatments consisted of the following diets: 1) basal diet (BD), 2) BD + 75 ppm SGP, 3) BD + 125 ppm SGP, 4) BD + 225 ppm SGP. The diets contained 2,730 kcal/kg metabolizable energy and 15.5% crude protein. Egg production and egg quality were monitored for 16 weeks. Feed intake, hen-day egg production, egg mass, and feed conversion per dozen were not significantly affected by the addition of SGP to the diets. The addition of 225 ppm of SGP decreased egg weight. Specific gravity, albumen height, Haugh unit, yolk weight, albumen weight, albumen percentage, and yolk yellowness (b*) were not significantly affected by the addition of SGP. The addition of SGP to the diets increased yolk percentage, yolk color using a Roche fan, and yolk redness (a*). Based on these data, SGP was shown to be a useful feed ingredient for laying hens; it can be included in diets without negative effects on performance and egg quality. However, owing to the depression of egg weight with the inclusion of SGP, it may be of interest to producers and industry to control egg size in old layers and possibly improve shell quality. The addition of SGP to the diets impacted yolk color and may be useful in specialty markets.

To elucidate the current status of hip fracture incidence and treatment in Japan, a tally of hip fractures in patients from 1998 to 2000 was conducted in Japanese Orthopaedic Association-related hospitals. Response rates were from 40.5% to 55.6% in each observation year. The survey found a total of 110,747 new hip fractures aged 35 years old and over during the survey years. Age- and gender-specific number of patients increased with age and peaked at the age of 80-84 years, then leveled off after 85 years of age. The number of patients with femoral neck fractures exceeded that with trochanteric fractures before 75 years of age, and these figures became inverted thereafter. More left hips were fractured than right in all survey years; however, the difference was not significant. The most common cause of hip fractures was a simple fall; 68.8% sustained fractures indoors, and there was a significant monthly variation. Ninety-three percent of the patients with femoral neck fractures and 94% of the patients with trochanteric fractures were treated surgically, and about three fourths were treated with hemiarthroplasty among patients with femoral neck fractures. The mean hospitalization period was 56.4 days during the observation period.

In order to verify the critical factor of surface migration on a – c orientations of YBCO thin film growth, the surface roughness of MgO substrates was controlled by plasma cleaning. Then the films were deposited on these substrates at 600°C by ion beam sputtering. The a -phase ratio increases with increasing surface roughness. This strongly supports the surface migration mechanism because the migration is retarded by surface barriers, and then the a -phase growth is enhanced.

To study characteristics of nitric oxide (NO) release from substantia gelatinosa (SG) in the spinal cord, we measured NO concentration in transverse spinal cord slices of rats using electrochemical NO probes. Electrical stimulation of the dorsomedial white matter adjacent to SG elicited transient current changes in NO probes placed on SG and the amplitude corresponded to a NO concentration of 200-300 pM. This NO release was not affected by the application of antagonists of glutamate or substance P receptors. The NO release in the rats, which were neonatally treated with capsaicin for denervating C-fibers, was significantly smaller than that in control rats. These data suggest that NO is mainly derived from the unmyelinated afferent nerves in the SG of the spinal cord.

Arthrodesis of the hip has been plagued by high rates of nonunion, and by complications associated with prolonged cast immobilization. To prevent these problems, we devised a procedure for hip arthrodesis using an external fixator in combination with internal fixation at the fusion site. We have treated nine patients with this technique. All of the arthrodeses were solidly united without wound infections at the most recent follow-up. Patients were able to leave their hospital bed and walk on the affected limb with a cane shortly after surgery. This was possible because the external fixator was low in profile, as it was applied from the anterosuperior iliac spine to the femoral shaft, and provided rigid stabilization of the arthrodesis. The technique resulted in a reduction in the period of bed rest, immediate postoperative mobilization, shorter periods of hospitalization, no limitation in the range of knee and ankle motion, improvement in the patient's ability to carry out the personal hygiene, and fewer complications.

In fracture healing, a large amount of cartilage is formed, then rapidly replaced by osseous tissue. This process requires the transition of extracellular matrix component from type II to type I collagen. We investigated the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-13 (MMP-13), which has a high potential to cleave type II as well as type I collagen, during fracture repair in mouse ribs. In situ hybridization demonstrated that MMP-13 mRNA was present throughout the healing process. It was detected in the cells of the periosteum at day 1. As fracture callus grew, strong MMP-13 mRNA signals were detected in cells of the cartilaginous callus. In the reparative and remodeling phases, both hypertrophic chondrocytes and immature osteoblastic cells in the fracture callus expressed MMP-13 mRNA strongly. These cells were located adjacent to tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP)-positive osteoclasts at the sites of cartilage/bone transition. In osteoclasts, MMP-13 expression was not detected. The level of MMP-13 mRNA peaked at day 14 postfracture by northern blotting. Immunohistochemical staining showed that MMP-13 was detected primarily in hypertrophic chondrocytes. These results indicate that MMP-13 is induced during fracture healing. The site- and cell-specific expression of MMP-13 and its enzymatic property suggest that MMP-13 initiates the degradation of cartilage matrix, resulting in resorption and remodeling of the callus. In conclusion, MMP-13 plays an important role in the healing process of fractured bone in mice.

To investigate the prevalence and risk factors of idiopathic osteoarthritis of the knee in a rural Japanese population, we studied 1547 subjects between the ages of 54 and 79 years who participated in the third Matsudai Knee Osteoarthritis Survey. Data were collected by questionnaire, physical examination, and anteroposterior standing radiographs of both knees. Eighty-four individuals with possible secondary osteoarthritis were excluded from the study. Radiographs were graded from 0 to 4 according to a modified Kellgren and Lawrence scale. Osteoarthritis was defined as being present in a knee if radiographic grades of 2 or higher were detected. Measurement of the femorotibial angle reflected the alignment of the lower extremity. The prevalence of radiographic osteoarthritis of the knee increased with age, and was significantly higher in women than in men (29.7% vs. 10.9%, respectively). However, the prevalence of symptomatic knees with radiographic osteoarthritis (grade 2 or higher) was not significantly different between females and males (35.6% vs. 26.5%, respectively). The femorotibial angle increased with the severity of knee osteoarthritis. Almost all of the knees with radiographic osteoarthritis exhibited a varus deformity due to the loss of cartilage in the medial tibiofemoral compartment. The body mass index increased significantly with each higher radiographic grade of knee osteoarthritis in women, but not in men.

The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in bone density in the distal femur 2 years after total knee arthroplasty with four different implant designs using cemented or cementless femoral components. Bone density was measured retrospectively from radiographs of 114 knees, using a densitometer. A decrease in bone density of up to 57% was identified in the distal femora with a cemented femoral component 2 years after surgery, compared with a decrease of up to 28% with a cementless, porous-coated component of the same design. The differences between the four implant designs in the changes in bone density in the anterior distal femur were significant at 2 years (P < 0.001). A possible cause of this result may be a difference in load transfer due to the different methods of fixation. The surgeon should expect decreased bone density in the distal femur at the time of revision surgery, especially with a cemented femoral component.

In the Super-ASHURA KrF Laser at ETL, a main amplifier with full pumping duration (270 ns) and 12 beam lines have been completed. At present, total output energy of 2.7 kJ has been extracted from the main amplifier by double-pass amplified 12 beams (20 ns×12) with an aperture filling factor of 74%. Local intrinsic efficiency has reached 10%. In the Raman amplification which is to be used for high peak power pulse generation, multi-pass forward amplification of nanosecond Stokes pulse showed an energy conversion efficiency of 73%. Also, a multi-joule short Stokes pulse (150 ps) has been obtained from 12.5 J, and 20 ns pulse by saturated backward amplification of a self-generated Stokes pulse. To investigate the effect of irradiation smoothness, the two-dimensional profile of the target rear surface displacement has been measured by using short (

Backward Raman pulse compression of high-power KrF laser using focused geometry was investigated. This simple configuration has various advantages suitable for creating not only high-power but also high-energy Stokes pulses. An energy conversion efficiency of 27% and power gain of 30 have been achieved.

The objective of this study was to measure three-dimensional knee motion during gait in patients with total knee replacements which either retained the posterior cruciate ligament (n = 11), or required sacrifice of the posterior cruciate ligament and replacement of its function with a posterior stabilizing articular surface (n = 9). Clinically meaningful translations (anterior and posterior, medial and lateral, proximal and distal) and rotations (flexion and extension, internal and external rotation, abduction and adduction) were measured using an instrumented spatial linkage. Although patients from both groups were able to achieve passive full extension and a minimum of 95 degrees flexion, some of their translations and rotations during free speed walking were consistently less than those in a group of healthy controls. Motion during the swing phase of gait was similar for both knee replacement groups. However, abduction and adduction and proximal and distal translation were larger (but neither difference was significant) for the patients with implants with a posterior stabilizing surface, which suggests that the stabilizing surface may not reliably provide as much stability in these directions as does retention of the posterior cruciate ligament.

Ten fresh-frozen cadaver knees were studied to investigate the contact pressure distribution and three dimensional (3-D) tracking of the patella under consecutive three different conditions. They have included (a) an intact knee, (b) the unresurfaced patella in bicompartmental knee arthroplasty (Bi-TKA), and (c) the resurfaced patella in tricompartmental knee arthroplasty (Tri-TKA). A pressure-sensitive conductive rubber (PSR) sensor system was developed to measure the patellar contact pressure dynamically, and two sets of high resolution video cameras with direct linear transformation method was used to measure the 3-D patellar tracking. Total contact area on the patella was decreased in Bi-TKA, and further decreased in Tri-TKA. However, patellar contact area was significantly less in Tri-TKA than in the intact knee in 0 to 100 degrees of knee flexion ( P P

We evaluated the effect of surface geometry and retention of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL) on screw-home movement in the knees of patients fitted with total knee replacement prostheses of five different designs (Miller/Galante [Zimmer, Warsaw, IN, USA], Mark II [Mizuho, Tokyo, Japan], Genesis PCL retaining, and cruciate substituting [Smith & Nephew/Richards, Memphis, TN, USA], and Yoshino/Shoji II [Biomet, Wiltshire, UK]). Three-dimensional motion was measured with a six-degree-of-freedom electrogoniometer (our original) during active flexion and extension of the knee. The Genesis-PCL retaining design, which has symmetric femoral and asymmetric tibial components, exhibited a pattern of screw-home movement closest to that in a normal control group (continuous external rotation between 30° flexion and extension). The implants with symmetric tibial components and the Genesis PCL-substituting design, with its asymmetric tibial articulating surface, did not replicate the screw-home movement. An asymmetric tibial articulating surface and retention of the PCL in total knee replacement may be important factors in allowing screw-home movement to occur.

The objective of this study was to measure three-dimensional knee motion or functional laxity with implants which either retained the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL+) in ten patients, or substituted for excised PCL with a posterior stabilized articulating surface (PCL-S) in ten patients. The intent was to identify the specific influence and significance of the presence of the PCL under active flexion and extension. Internal-external rotation (screw home movement) and anterior-posterior translation (femoral rollback phenomena) with active extension and flexion were chosen to characterize knee joint functional laxity, and were measured using an instrumented spatial linkage. Knees with a PCL+ implant exhibited both screw home movement and femoral rollback, while knees with a PCL-S design exhibited only femoral rollback. A knee with a PCL+ implant was more able to reproduce the normal kinematics of the screw home movement and femoral rollback, compared to a PCL-S design.

This study compared the single administration of hPTH(1-34), bisphosphonate cimadronate (YM-175), and concurrent therapy of these two for restoration of lost bone mass in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Animals were untreated for 4 weeks after surgery, and then injected s.c. with vehicle (OVX+V), hPTH(1-34) (30 micrograms/kg) (OVX+P), YM-175 (5 micrograms/kg) (OVX+Y), or a combination of these two (OVX+P+Y), 3 days a week, for 8 weeks, and sacrificed. Their proximal tibia were processed undecalcified for quantitative bone histomorphometry. Although OVX+Y showed a reduction of bone turnover compared to OVX+V, it failed to restore lost bone mass in OVX rats. In contrast, OVX+P exhibited a stimulation of bone formation and restored cancellous osteopenia due to OVX. OVX+P+Y also resulted a recovery of osteopenia, however, stimulation of bone formation by PTH was suppressed by YM-175.

A microdamage event, either bone microfracture or microcrack propagation, releases energy. Some of this energy is in the form of acoustic waves. We measured acoustic emission (AE) in normal and osteopenic vertebral bodies during compression loading to confirm the microdamage accumulation. The 2nd to 4th lumbar vertebrae taken from the embalmed cadavers of a 37-year-old male and a 75-year-old female were used. Bone mineral densities (BMDs) were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometer (DEXA). The male vertebrae had normal BMDs, while the female vertebrae had lower BMDs than the normal range and were graded osteopenic. Mechanical parameters (maximum load, maximum stress, stiffness, strain at maximum load, and apparent elastic modulus) and AE event count rates in the load-deformation curve were measured during quasi-static compression loading (deformation rate 0.1 mm/min). For all mechanical parameters, the normal vertebrae had higher values than the osteopenic vertebrae. Cumulative AE event counts until maximum load of the osteopenic vertebrae were much greater than that of normal vertebrae. The vertebrae which were well compressed to the plastic range in the loaddeformation curve displayed dome-shaped fracture lines just above the end plates. These results are consistent with the hypotheses that microcracks of osteopenic vertebral bodies are generated and accumulate at lower strains than those of normal vertebrae at a specific site.

The temperature dependence of the complex thermal effusivity has been measured above a glass transition point by the photoacoustic method in the 1,2-propanediol and 1,2-ethanediol system. The concentration dependence of the parameter of the Vogel-Tammann-Fulcher law has been determined. The distribution of a relaxation time has been estimated by the Cole-Cole plot. These thermal properties have been compared with the dielectric properties. The mean thermal relaxation frequency is found to be in agreement with the dielectric one. Whereas it is found that the parameter of the Davidson-Cole formula for thermal relaxation is different from that of dielectric one.

Macrophage scavenger receptors (MSR) mediate the binding, internalization, and processing of a wide range of negatively charged macromolecules. Functional MSR are trimers of two C-terminally different subunits that contain six functional domains. We have cloned an 80-kilobase human MSR gene and localized it to band p22 on chromosome 8 by fluorescent in situ hybridization and by genetic linkage using three common restriction fragment length polymorphisms. The human MSR gene consists of 11 exons, and two types of mRNAs are generated by alternative splicing from exon 8 to either exon 9 (type II) or to exons 10 and 11 (type I). The promoter has a 23-base pair inverted repeat with homology to the T cell element. Exon 1 encodes the 5'-untranslated region followed by a 12-kilobase intron which separates the transcription initiation and the translation initiation sites. Exon 2 encodes a cytoplasmic domain, exon 3, a transmembrane domain, exons 4 and 5, an alpha-helical coiled-coil, and exons 6-8, a collagen-like domain. The position of the gap in the coiled coil structure corresponds to the junction of exons 4 and 5. These results show that the human MSR gene consists of a mosaic of exons that encodes the functional domains. Furthermore, the specific arrangement of exons played a role in determining the structural characteristics of functional domains.

X-ray detection characteristics of gold photocathodes, and microchannel plates (MCP) have been investigated using synchrotron radiation in the energy range from 12 eV to 82.5 keV. The quantum efficiency of gold is compared with the published data which were reported at some discrete energies, and we add several new data points in the 12–35.9 eV. The detection response of MCP has been represented for photons from the VUV regime of 12 eV to the hard X-ray region of 82.5 keV along with its incident angle dependence. This MCP response has demonstrated the following remarkable sensitivity in this wide energy range: The energy response of MCP remains within about one order of magnitude through this broad range. This comes from the contribution of the combination of various ingredients of MCP; namely, C, O, Si, Ba and Pb. For the energy response, these ingredients, in turn, make some jumps and humps at their edge energies. Another useful feature of the MCP response we obtained is a rapid decrease in the MCP response for the energies less than about ten eV; this is desirable for avoiding the effect of visible light on the X-ray data. Also, the MCP response is compared with the detection efficiency of a silicon surface barrier detector for the application to plasma X-ray diagnostics.

Using synchrotron radiation, the detection characteristics of microchannel plates, silicon surface barrier detectors and gold photocathodes are investigated; in particular, the detailed structures of the detection efficiency including an extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS), an X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and a chemical shift is reported along the with discussion on the physical mechanisms. Also, the applications of these detectors to X-ray tomography diagnostics for the observation of the cross-sections of fusion-oriented tandem-mirror plasmas are described. These data give information on the spatial distribution of the hot electrons which play an important role in the formation of thermal-barrier potentials φb. Also, the tomographic reconstructed X-ray data in the central cell show the effect of φb formation on the improvement in the central-cell electron confinement for the first time.

Using synchrotron radiation from 0.056 to 0.900 keV, the detection efficiency of a silicon surface barrier (SSB) detector. η SSB , has been investigated. The experimental data are compared with the theoretically calculated results using the detector parameters of the depletion layer, the dead layer and the electrode. As a whole, the data points agree well with the theoretical results except for an oscillatory structure for the 0.07–0.17 keV region. In this energy region, sharp edge structures in η SSB are observed near the Al L II and L III absorption edges as well as the Al L I edge. In particular, this structure in η SSB near the Al L I edge is accompanied by an oscillatory behaviour like an X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) on the high energy side of the edge.

Induction of phagocytic activity in the Ml cell line of mouse myeloid leukemia, on being exposed to a conditioned medium from cultured embryo cells, was accompanied by an increment in the activities of both lysosomal acid phosphatase and acid protease. The activity of these lysosomal enzymes, as well as that of phagocytosis, was not induced when Ml cells were incubated either with the conditioned medium subjected to heat treatment or in the presence of 5-bromodeoxyuridine (BUdR). The levels of these induced enzyme activities in Ml cells were comparable to those in normal mouse peritoneal macrophages. The lysosomal enzyme activity in Mm-1 cells, which were spontaneously differentiated from Ml cells and exhibiting a higher phagocytic activity, were reminiscent of those in peritoneal macrophages. Based on these observations, it was concluded that both phagocytosis and lysosomal enzyme activity occur simultaneously during the course of differentiation. This differentiation, morphological or functional, in Ml cells in the presence of the conditioned medium was further supported by biochemical evidence.

Labeling patterns were classified after double bone labeling of four male beagles, 10 months of age. Calcein and oxytetracycline were given on the 18th and the 7th day prior to simultaneous iliac and 11th rib biopsies. Undecalcified sections stained with the Villanueva bone stain were studied by epifluorescence microscopy. Five structures were identified and classified: the first or green label, the interlabel layer of mineralized bone, the second or yellow label, the post double-labeled mineralized bone layer, and osteoid seams. Doubly plus singly labeled surface equalled 40.8 +/- 8.4% of the total trabecular surface of the ilium. Doubly labeled surface as a percent of the total labeled surfaces equaled 55.5% in trabeculae and 68.1% in osteons, whereas green first-singly labeled surface equaled 24.2% and 11.9%, respectively, and yellow second-singly labeled surface equaled 20.3% and 20.0%, respectively. Unequivocal examples appeared in both biopsy sites of all four dogs of bone-forming systems that lacked one or the other label, or both, and also of systems in which cessation of mineralization or of new matrix formation occurred between the two labels and between the second label and the day of biopsy. The findings prove that the On-Off states in active bone-forming sites that have been postulated by other investigators do exist. Since widely different labeling patterns appeared in different bone-forming centers in the same bone and the same animal, a local factor rather than a systemic one should control those differences at the level of the BMU.

Summary In order to elucidate the injurious effect of Aluminium (AI) on root elongation, the localization of Al absorbed at the nucleus and the inhibition of cell division by Al was investigated in Allium cepa roots. The localization of Al at the nucleus was confirmed by staining with aluminon and by chemical analysis of nuclei isolated by zonal centrifugation. The inhibition of cell division was observed microscopically by counting the number of cells in metaphase, which is an index of the meristematic cell. This number decreased abruptly within several hours and no cells in metaphase were detected 10 h after treatment with AI.

Pulsed electromagnetic fields promote healing of delayed united and ununited fractures by triggering a series of events in fibrocartilage. We examined the effects of a pulsed electromagnetic field (recurrent bursts, 15.4 Hz, of shorter pulses of an average of 2 gauss) on rabbit costal chondrocytes in culture. A pulsed electromagnetic field slightly reduced the intracellular cyclic adenosine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cAMP) level in the culture. However, it significantly enhanced cAMP accumulation in response to parathyroid hormone (PTH) to 140% of that induced by PTH in its absence, while it did not affect cAMP accumulation in response to prostaglandin E 1 or prostaglandin I 2 . The effect on cAMP accumulation in response to PTH became evident after exposure of the cultures to the pulsed electromagnetic field for 48 h, and was dependent upon the field strength. cAMP accumulation in response to PTH is followed by induction of ornithine decarboxylase, a good marker of differentiated chondrocytes, after PTH treatment for 4 h. Consistent with the enhanced cAMP accumulation, ornithine decarboxylase activity induced by PTH was also increased by the pulsed electromagnetic field to 170% of that in cells not exposed to a pulsed electromagnetic field. Furthermore, stimulation of glycosaminoglycan synthesis, a differentiated phenotype, in response to PTH was significantly enhanced by a pulsed electromagnetic field. Thus, a pulsed electromagnetic field enhanced a series of events in rabbit costal chondrocytes in response to PTH. These findings show that exposure of chondrocytes to a pulsed electromagnetic field resulted in functional differentiation of the cells.