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Introduction Quelque soit l’espece consideree, Cupressus sempervirens (Cups) en Europe, Cryptomeria japonica (Cryj) au Japon ou Juniperus ashei aux USA, l’allergie au pollen de Cupressacees augmente. Le pollen de Cups est implique dans les syndromes croises cypres/peche ou cypres/agrumes par les allergenes de la famille des proteines regulees par la gibberelline (GRP). L’objectif du travail est de comparer 2 groupes de jeunes patients japonais allergiques au pollen de Cryj avec (n = 22) ou sans (n = 21) allergie aux fruits et etudier l’implication de la GRP du pollen de Cryj : Cry j 7 dans les reactivites croisees pollen/fruit. Methodes Selection de groupes de patients japonais a l’hopital National Sagahamira au Japon. Analyse allergomique avec immunoblot direct et competitif, production d’allergenes recombinants et spectrometrie de masse. Un groupe 3 de jeunes patients japonais allergiques aux fruits seulement (n = 19) et un groupe 4 de patients europeens allergiques au pollen de Cups (n = 29) constituent des controles supplementaires. Resultats Cry j 7 est reconnu par 46 % des patients allergiques au pollen de Cryj et aux fruits (groupe 2) et par aucun des patients allergiques au pollen seulement (groupe 1). Cry j 7 recombinant inhibe la reactivite IgE a deux isoformes de Cry j 7 natif. Cry j 7 et Cup s 7 croisent. Un allergene acide, de faible masse, independant des sensibilisations croisees pollen/fruit est mis en evidence dans Cryj : la calmoduline. Discussion Les reactivites croisees pollen/fruits au Japon chez de jeunes enfants impliquent la peche, les agrumes et la pomme. Des GRP allergeniques ont ete decrites dans les deux premiers mais pas dans la pomme. La modelisation 3D de differentes GRP revele des structures tres semblables. En general, les differentes GRP croisent entre elles mais des differences subtiles d’affinite IgE pourraient exister. Le groupe 3 non sensibilise au pollen de cedre du Japon est allergique a des fruits differents : le kiwi et la banane. Conclusion Le syndrome croise pollen/fruit mis en evidence au Japon et impliquant une sensibilisation a Cry j 7, la GRP du pollen de Cryj est semblable a celui decrit en Europe avec Cup s 7, la GRP de pollen de Cups. Les fruits associes sont les memes.

Forsythide (F1) isolated from the leaves of Forsythia viridissima (Oleaceae) showed vasorelaxant effects on norepinephrine (NE)-induced contraction of rat aorta with or without endothelium. This compound did not affect contraction induced by high concentration potassium (60 mM K(+)) and phorbol 12,13-diacetate, but inhibited NE-induced contraction in the presence of nicardipine. These results demonstrated the inhibitory effects of F1 on NE-induced vasocontraction presumably due to decrease of calcium influx from extracellular area, which was induced by NE.

Embossing and restoration are utilized to improve the mechanical properties of sheet metal. By subjecting the sheet to these techniques, the section modulus of the sheet metal is increased. Moreover, strain hardening is locally introduced on the sheet. With these strengthening methods, sheet metal of thinner gage can be utilized with remarkable improvement in mechanical properties, such as strength and rigidity. In this paper, embossing and restoration process are conducted to different aluminum alloy sheets. The effects of these techniques to the yield strength, tensile strength, total elongation and bending strength of the sheets are investigated. Also, the effects of bulge height during embossing and of forming condition on these mechanical properties of formed specimens are examined. The effectiveness of these forming techniques on strengthening the sheets is likewise discussed.

Wood-based materials are environment-friendly resources as they eventually decompose into carbon dioxide and water after disposal. However, there are a number of productivity and workability related problems: it takes many years for a tree to grow to a useable size, and wood materials are more difficult to process than metal and plastic materials. To overcome these problems, sequential extrusion of cryptomeria powders mixed with Japanese cypress was performed in an attempt to make long wooden rods. In sequential extrusion, the powder replenishment and short-stroke extrusion steps are alternated until the desired rods are obtained. In this process, a strong extrusion seams were required between the new powder batch and the extruded portion of the rod. A steel container with a device for controlling replenishment temperature was used to increase the bonding strength of extruded rods. The results showed that there exist an optimal replenishment pressure and temperature, and that, under these optimal conditions, long rods with the strength of natural wood can be obtained. Finally, it is found that the presence of back-pressure is key in producing sound, high-strength rods.

Numerical simulation of the blanking process of sheet metals, i.e. the formation of rollover, burnish surface and burr, is done using a rigid–plastic finite element code developed by the authors. The Jeong expression is used as a ductile fracture criterion and is linked with the simulation. The rollover length increases as the clearance between the punch and die increases, and as the n -value of the material increases. On the other hand, the burnish length increases as the clearance decreases and the n -value decreases. The burr height increases linearly with respect to the radius of the tool edge. A conventional simulation method is proposed that predicts the formed burnish length from the clearance and n -value. To confirm the results of the finite element simulation, blanking experiments were also carried out using sheet metal of 3 mm thickness under various clearances and for different materials. The experimental results show good agreement with the finite element simulation results.

Porous ceramics with a framework of aluminum borate whiskers (porous aluminum borate) were fabricated by in situ firing ceramic powder compacts, and incorporated within a Al alloy matrix by squeeze casting. The in situ technique of fabricating the porous aluminum borate is more cost-effective and safer for workers than traditional perform technique. The microstructures of the porous aluminum borate and the composites are isotropic and independent of the compacting and the casting direction. The Vickers hardness and the tensile strength of the Al alloy matrix composites increase with increasing volume fraction of porous aluminum borate from 20 to 30% or with decreasing diameter of aluminum borate whiskers from 1.2 to 0.3 μm. The tensile strengths of the composite are about 65 and 150% higher than those of unreinforced Al alloy at room temperature and 350 °C, respectively.

The aluminum borate porous ceramic with whisker-framework structure was in situ synthesized and used to manufacture aluminum matrix composites by squeeze casting. The processing technique for the reinforcement was not only non-harmful to the environment and humans, but also relatively cost-effective compared to SiC whiskers. The microstructures were observed and analyzed. The aluminum borate whiskers are uniformly distributed and randomly oriented. Fatigue behavior of the composites was investigated at temperatures from room temperature to 723 K. Fatigue life increased with an increase in volume fraction of aluminum borates. The fatigue life was correlated with stress and temperature. The damage mechanisms of fatigue are cracking of primary Si and the whiskers at room temperature and cavitation in the matrix at high temperatures.

In this paper we outline and apply a procedure to evaluate sound fields in a concert hall which involve scattered reflections. We adopted an experimental method and used a 1/10 scale model of the concert hall. Arrays of circular columns were placed in front of its walls to act as the scattering obstacles. The acoustic properties of the hall were measured both with and without the arrays of circular columns. Here, the quality of the scattered sound field was evaluated in terms of four orthogonal physical factors: sound pressure level (SPL), initial time-delay gap between the direct sound and the first reflection (Δt1), subsequent reverberation time (Tsub), and magnitude of the interaural cross-correlation function (IACC). The IACC at central seats near the stage and seating area near the columns were improved by the arrays of circular columns.

In ITER, the vacuum vessel (VV) is designed to be a water cooled, double-walled toroidal structure made of 316LN stainless steel with a D-shaped cross section approximately 9 m wide and 15 m high. The design work which began at the beginning of the ITER-EDA is nearing completion by resolving the technical issues. In parallel with the design activities, the R&D program, Full-scale VV Sector Model Project, was initiated in 1995 to resolve the design and fabrication issues. The full-scale sector model corresponds to an 18° sector (9° sub-sector×2) and is being fabricated on schedule. To date, 60% of the fabrication had been completed. The fabrication of full-scale model including sector-to-sector connection will be completed by the end of 1997 and performance tests are scheduled until the end of ITER-EDA. This paper describes the latest status of the ITER VV design and the Full-scale Sector Model Project.

Resonant X-ray magnetic scattering experiments have been conducted using circularly polarized light at the Gd L 3 edge on a Fe/Gd multilayer at 300, 150, 100 and 10 K. Specular reflectivity data collected with magnetic fields applied parallel and perpendicular to the plane of scattering confirm the Fe-aligned state at 300 K and twisted states at the low temperatures. At 300 K, the Gd spins appear to be distributed with a nonuniform profile along the layer thickness direction. There are at least two distinct twisted states with different magnetic structures at 100 and 10 K.

A cDNA clone for rat MAdCAM-1 homologue was isolated from mesenteric lymph nodes by RT-PCR using primers prepared from the exon sequences of the gene isolated from a genomic library of the WKAH rat, using mouse cDNA as a probe. A 1279 bp cDNA fragment contained an open reading frame (ORF) for a protein of 394 amino acids. Homology of nucleotide sequences between the mouse and rat MAdCAM-1 ORF was 85.1% with an amino acid identity of 80.5%. The rat MAdCAM-1 had two immunoglobulin-like domains, a mucinlike domain and the third immunoglobulin-like domain with a homology to α3 domain of the rat MHC class I molecule. Northern blot analysis demonstrated transcripts in Peyer's patches and mesenteric lymph nodes but not in spleen. Organization of the gene in the rat was similar to that in the mouse, consisting of 5 exons located at about a 4 kbp genomic region.

The concentration of titanium in soft tissues adjacent to titanium implants was measured by PIXE, 12 weeks after the placement of pure titanium implants in rat abdominal wall. Tissue response adjacent to implants; fibrous capsule thickness and number of cells, were also histologically analyzed. The results showed that the concentration of titanium in the fibrous capsule was less than 10 ppm irrespective to surface roughness of implants at the μm level. PIXE measurement is a useful method for the detection and quantification of trace elements when applied simultaneously with histomorphometric analysis.

The reflection of active waves in a reaction-diffusion equation with spatial inhomogeneity is analyzed by use of the eikonal equation. The counterpart of the Rankine-Hugoniot relation, i.e. the shock condition, is derived for the transition layer in reaction-diffusion systems. In the case that the curvature effect of a wavefront is negligible, we show that the time evolution of a front is well described by Whitham's shock-ray coordinate theory. It is shown that total internal reflection is possible for the speed of a wavefront increasing along a ray.

The phenyl ring dynamics of the insulin fragment Gly-Phe-Phe(B23–B25) were investigated using solid state deuterium NMR spectroscopy. It was found that the phenyl rings of the two phenylalanine residues Phe 2 and Phe 3 were rigid even up to 100°C both for the Gly-[ring- d 5 ]Phe-Phe and the Gly-The-[ring- d 5 ]Phe in the hydrated crystals. When the temperature was raised to 120°C, the hydrated water evaporated from the crystal, resulting in the onset of the flipping motion of the phenyl rings. Spectral simulation of the deuterium NMR spectra was performed to better characterize the motion of the phenyl rings in the peptides. It was found that the phenyl ring motion of the fragments is consistent with a 180° flip about the C β C γ bonds. The phenyl ring of Ph 2 of Gly-[ d 5 ]Phe-Phe was more mobile than that of Phe 3 of Gly-Phe-[ d 5 ]Phe when the tripeptide crystal was in the dehydrated state. The Phe-Phe residues in the tripeptide were quite rigid when the hydrophobic interaction around the Phe-Phe moiety was strong.

Methyl methacrylate-grafted phenolic resin fiber was soaked in AgNO3 aqueous solution to support Ag+ by ion exchange reaction. The fiber supporting Ag+ was carbonized at 900°C for 30 min in a nitrogen atmosphere, followed by activation at 900°C under a stream of steam. One of the activated fibers contained 0.58 wt% of silver and showed 2100 m2/g of specific surface area and 200 MPa of tensile strength. This fiber showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli before and after soaking in the flowing tap water for 20 days. The amount of Ag+ dissolved from the fiber into the water is discussed from a viewpoint of practical use.

The surface phonons of LaB 6 (100) surface have been investigated by means of high resolution electron energy spectroscopy. On the clean surface we have observed 8 loss peaks in the off-specular spectra, of which the higher energy losses are related to the vibrations of the three-dimensional network of boron. Theoretical analysis based on a force constant model strongly suggests the deformation of the three-dimensional network of boron; the topmost octahedra are expanded by ∼ 0.004 nm parallel to the surface.

A flavoprotein dehydrogenase assayed for the activity of electron transfer from NADPH to cytochrome c was highly purified from the cytosolic fraction of differentiated human promyelocytic leukemia HL-60 cells. The purified enzyme had an apparent molecular mass of 68 kDa by sodium dodecyl sulfate gel electrophoresis and an equimolar amounts of flavin mononucleotide and flavin-adenine dinucleotide. The purification factor of the enzyme with respect to the cytosolic fraction was close to 1100 and the recovery of activity was approximately 18%. Reduction of cytochrome c by NADPH indicated Michaelis-Menten kinetics with a K m value of 1.50 μM for NADPH. When cytochrome c was the varied substrate, a K m value of 4.10 μM was obtained. NADH was not an effective electron donor for cytochrome c reduction and NADPH-dependent reduction of nitroblue tetrazohum was negligibly small. The purified enzyme alone did not exhibit superoxide production, and NADPH oxidase activity was not markedly stimulated upon incubation of the reductase with cytochrome b 558 purified from porcine neutrophils. The purified flavoprotein gave a positive cross-reactivity to polyclonal antibodies raised to microsomal NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, indicating structural homology between these enzymes. The catalytic properties of the purified NADPH-cytochrome c reductase have similarities to those of liver NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase.

In this paper we describe a novel way to produce mesoporous carbon fibers without an activation process or activation catalysts starting from a novolak/poly(vinyl butyral) blend. The carbon fibers thus made essentially do not contain metals.

A novolactype phenolic resin including 1 wt% of AgNO3 was spun, hardened, carbonized at 900°C under nitrogen and finally activated at 900°C for 10 and 60 min under steam. The resulting fibers showed specific N2-BET surface areas of 280 and 1,940 m2/g, respectively. The latter contained 2.2 wt% of the silver particles of which the largest size was several 100 nm and showed antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. After soaking in the flowing tap water for 20 days, this fiber lost one third of silver but kept the antibacterial activity.

Copper incorporation into ceruloplasmin during ceruloplasmin synthesis was studied by comparing LEC and control rats. Major 132 and 136 kDa ceruloplasmins were found in microsomes and the Golgi apparatus, respectively, isolated from liver homogenates of LEC and control rats. Copper analysis showed that no copper was detected in the ceruloplasmin in the microsomes of either rat. Copper was present in ceruloplasmin in the Golgi apparatus and serum of controls, while it was not detected in ceruloplasmin in the Golgi apparatus and serum of the LEC rat. These results indicate that copper is incorporated into ceruloplasmin in the Golgi apparatus of normal hepatocytes. LEC rats fail to incorporate copper into ceruloplasmin in the Golgi apparatus.

Photodissociation of the CO molecule from carbon monoxide complexes of myoglobin and hemoglobin was examined between 4.2 and 80 °K. Experimental results have demonstrated that: 1. (I)|The photodissociated form was stable below 10 °K. 2. (II)|The ratio of the quantum yield of hemoglobin to myoglobin was roughly estimated to be 0.38. 3. (III)|The recombination of dissociated CO occurred by raising the temperature. 4. (IV)|The recombination reaction of photodissociated myoglobin and hemoglobin with CO was biphasic, whereas that of cobalt myoglobin with O2 was monophasic. 5. (V)|Activation energies for fast and slow reactions of myoglobin and hemoglobin, and for monophasic reaction of cobalt myoglobin are listed below: Fast Slow Mb(Fe 2+ ) + CO 124 cal/mole 124 cal/mole Hb(Fe 2+ ) + CO 124 cal/mole 230 cal/mole Mb(Co 2+ + O 2 570 cal/mole 6. (VI)|In the near infrared region the photodissociated forms of myoglobin and hemoglobin gave absorbance peaks at 770 nm, whereas deoxygenated forms of myoglobin and hemoglobin gave absorbance peaks at 758 and 750 nm, respectively, which suggests that the near infrared band is sensitive to the protein structure and may be called the “conformation band”. Several discussions have been held on the nature of the photodissociated form and the biphasic property of the reaction of myoglobin and hemoglobin, compared with those of cobalt myoglobin. It is now concluded that the new species, corresponding to the “rapidly reacting form” of hemoglobin by Gibson, Q. H. (1959) Biochem. J. 71, 293–303, and, more recently, of hemoglobin, single chain proteins and noncooperative aggregated forms by Alpert, B., Banerjee, R., and Lindqvist, L. (1974) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S. 71, 558–562, is certainly trapped at 4.2 °K by photodissociating the carbon monoxide and oxygenated myoglobin and hemoglobin as well as the oxygenated cobalt myoglobin and hemoglobin.

Selected issues in the development of fusion nuclear technology (FNT) have been studied. These relate to (1) near-term experiments, modeling, and analysis for several key FNT issues, and (2) FNT testing in future fusion facilities. A key concern for solid breeder blankets is to reduce the number of candidate materials and configurations for advanced experiments to emphasize those with the highest potential. Based on technical analysis, recommendations have been developed for reducing the size of the test matrix and for focusing the testing program on important areas of emphasis. The characteristics of an advanced liquid metal MHD experiment have also been studied. This facility is required in addition to existing facilities in order to address critical uncertainties in MHD fluid flow and heat transfer. In addition to experiments, successful development of FNT will require models for interpreting experimental data, for planning experiments, and for use as a design tool for fusion components. Modeling of liquid metal fluid flow is a particular area of need in which substantial progress is expected, and initial efforts are reported here. Preliminary results on the modeling of tritium transport and inventory in solid breeders are also summarized. Finally, the thermo-mechanical behavior of liquid-metal-cooled limiters is analyzed and the parameter space for feasible designs is explored. Because of the renewed strong interest in a fusion engineering facility, a critical review and analysis of the important FNT testing requirements have been performed. Several areas have been emphasized due to their strong impact on the design and cost of the test facility. These include (1) the length of the plasma burn and the mode of operation (pulsed vs. steady-state), and (2) the need for a tritium-producing blanket and its impact on the availability of the device.

The anisotropy of the magnetic susceptibility of type A ferrimyoglobin single crystals was measured by a highly sensitive torque meter from liquid-N2 temperature down to the temperature of pumped liquid He. The torque meter covered the torque range of about 10−4 dyne·cm. The magnetic anisotropy of a haemoprotein single crystal containing more than 5·10−8 moles of ferric haem in a high-spin state could be measured with this apparatus. Fe3+ in the crystals investigated was in the high-spin state. The zero-field splitting of this state can be expressed by the spin-Hamiltonian D√Sz2 − 1/3S(S+1)√, (with the z axis perpendicular to the haem plane). The temperature dependence of the measured torque was best fitted to the theoretical curve by taking D ≈ 10.5 for acid ferrimyoglobin and D ≈ 6.5 for ferrimyoglobin fluoride. These values are in good agreement with those obtained from the mean magnetic susceptibility measurements. The possible presence of an FSz4 term in the spin-Hamiltonian is discussed.