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Roses are the most important crop in the floriculture industry and attract both pollinators and human admirers. Until now, a lot of research focusing on postharvest physiology including flower senescence has been conducted, leading to improvement in vase life. However, few studies have focused on the physiology of petal growth, the perception of light by petals, and the relationship between petal growth and environmental conditions. Regarding roses, whose ornamental value lies in the process of blooming from buds, it is also important to understand their flowering mechanisms and establish methods to control such mechanisms, as well as focus on slowing the aging process, in order to achieve high quality of postharvest cut roses. Elucidation of the mechanisms of rose flower opening would contribute to enhanced quality and commercial production of floricultural crops as well as greatly advance basic scientific knowledge regarding plant biology. In this review, we describe the progress and future prospects in the study of petal growth physiology of cut roses.

To understand the role that the leaves play in the translocation of soluble carbohydrates in cut rose flowers, we first evaluated the effect of leaf removal on flower quality and the sugar content in petals. Cut rose flowers with leaves had higher soluble sugar content in petals compared with cut flower without leaves. Next, we treated cut flowers with radioactive glucose to clarify translocation routes of exogenously applied sugar. There was no significant difference between the specific radioactivity of sucrose and glucose in leaves, but specific radioactivity of sucrose in petals was much higher than that of glucose. These results suggested that most of the exogenously applied glucose first moved to the leaves, where it was converted into sucrose and then the synthesised sucrose was translocated to the petals. Our results showed that the leaves of cut rose flowers play an important role in the metabolism and transportation of exogenously applied soluble carbohydrates toward the petals, thus contributing to sustaining the post-harvest quality.

The present study describes a case of leg lymphedema due to iliopectineal bursitis associated with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), which was satisfactorily controlled by surgery and combination therapy with methotrexate (MTX) and tacrolimus. A 68-year-old male, who had a six-year history of RA, developed an iliopectineal bursa associated with destruction of the hip joint. The mass gradually increased in size, and there was swelling in his right lower extremity. The patient was subsequently hospitalized with increasing right hip pain and leg edema. A colorless transparent lymph fluid leaked from his leg, and leg lymphedema was thus diagnosed. The patient also had a 20-year history of myelodysplastic syndrome. Therefore, the extensive or total resection of the bursa was considered to be too invasive, so a partial bursal excision was performed via an anterior approach. Following the partial bursal excision, total hip arthroplasty (THA) was performed using the Hardinge approach. The leg lymphedema disappeared following the surgery, and the iliopectineal bursa was no longer enlarged. MTX and tacrolimus were postoperatively administered to strictly control the RA. The RA was subsequently well controlled, without any increases in the levels of inflammatory markers, such as C-reactive protein and matrix metalloproteinase-3. This case demonstrated that iliopectineal bursitis was resolved following THA, without complete excision of the intrapelvic bursa, and that strict RA control led to a good clinical course without recurrent inflammation of the bursa. Similar procedures may be beneficial in other patients contraindicated for resection of the entire bursa.

We have used a red-fleshed apple cultivar, Malus ×domestica Pink Pearl, and its progeny, ‘JPP 35’, as paternal parents for producing new red-fleshed cultivars suitable for fresh use or processing such as pie fillings, dried apple, apple juice, or cider. In this process, we found that the S3-RNase allele of ‘Pink Pearl’ was linked to its red flesh trait. It was suggested that this trait might be controlled by a new gene apart from the MYB10 (MdMYB10) gene. Using ‘JPP 35’ (S-RNase allele genotype; S3S7) produced by ‘Jonathan’ (S7S9) × ‘Pink Pearl’ (S3Sx) as a paternal parent, we developed a system for producing red-fleshed progenies suitable for fresh use. That is, 96% and 86% of progenies from ‘Shinano Sweet’ (S1S7) × ‘JPP35’ (S3S7) and ‘Orin’ (S2S7) × ‘JPP35’ (S3S7) containing the S3-RNase allele, respectively, showed the red flesh trait. Similarly, red-fleshed progenies suitable for apple pie or natural red juice could be produced by ‘Jonathan’ (S7S9) × ‘JPP35’ (S3S7).

As flower opening involves the expansion of petal cells, the mechanisms of expansion growth were investigated in Rosa hybrida L. ‘FEbesa’ (syn. ‘Pretty Woman’) petals. Petal cell-wall extensibility was analyzed by creep extension analysis. Walls of the petal cells became loose at developing stage IV of completely separated sepals on an opening flower. Furthermore, cell-wall proteins extracted from rose petals at stage IV were suggested to have a positive effect on cell-wall loosening of stage III petals. Expansin and xyloglucan endotransglycosylase/hydrolase (XTH) proteins, which are located on apoplasts, are probably involved in cell-wall loosening in plants. Transcripts of these cell-wall proteins were extracted from rose petals with a view to elucidating their potential role in rose flower opening. Expansin and XTH transcript levels changed markedly during petal development. In particular, transcript levels of RhEXPA1 and RhXTH1 increased markedly during petal growth and were relevant to the typical growth in different part of the petals. Based on the present findings, we suggest that RhEXPA1 and RhXTH1 are the major paralogs involved in expansion growth of rose petals.

Constant rooting by cuttings to raise seedlings at high temperatures during summer in a forced elevated bench culture system of strawberry is important. Abscisic acid (ABA) applied to crown tissue of cuttings of strawberry runner plants at higher temperature (30°C) without low temperature treatment (storage for 2 days at 5°C) stimulated rooting to the same level as at low temperature; however, naphtaleneacetic acid, gibberellic acid, and benzyl adenine did not stimulate rooting well. Sucrose synthase (SuSy) activity increased 1 day after starting ABA treatment at 30°C and 2 days after 5°C exposure. SuSy activity treated with ABA at 30°C was always higher than that without ABA at 30°C. Soluble acid invertase activity at 5°C increased at 1 day compared with that at 30°C, and the activity when treated with ABA at 30°C did not change compared with that without ABA at 30°C. Bound acid invertase activity showed no marked differences among crown tissues treated at 5°C, 30°C, and with ABA at 30°C. The content of ABA in crown tissue of cuttings at 5°C was compared with that at 30°C, but they showed only a slight difference. At high temperature, cuttings of strawberry runner plants produced roots by ABA without low temperature treatment.

There have been few reports on the morphology of flower opening, despite its horticultural significance. It is not clear when cell division stops during rose petal development or what changes occur in cell morphology. This study aims to clarify the details of cell morphological changes during rose petal development. Rose (Rosa hybrida L. ‘Sonia’) petals were sampled in six flower bud stages. Cell morphological changes were observed by light microscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy using cross sections of the petals, and the number of epidermal cells was measured using Nomarski differential interference contrast microscopy. The number of epidermal cells increased with flower opening, but the rate of increase in the number of abaxial epidermal cells slowed down at an earlier stage than in adaxial epidermal cells. The increase in the epidermal cell area was much more rapid in later stages compared with the increase in cell number, suggesting that petal growth in later stages is mainly due to cell expansion. During flower opening, the unique expansion of spongy parenchyma cells produced large air spaces. Epidermal cells of the upper part showed obvious lateral expansion. In particular, marked expansion of adaxial epidermal cells with enlargement of the central vacuole was observed. Differences in the patterns of cell expansion among cell types and locations would contribute to the reflex of petals during rose flower opening.

The effect of exposing runner plants cut from strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch. ‘Tochiotome’) to low temperature to stimulate rooting was examined for its usefulness as a practical strategy for raising seedlings from cuttings taken from runner plants dropping in the air to force elevated bed strawberry culture during the summer. The rooting of cuttings cultured at various temperatures for 7 days was good at 15°C to 25°C but was reduced at 5°C and 30°C; however, cuttings excised from ten different cultivars showed varying responses for the most suitable temperature for rooting. The rooting of cuttings from ‘Tochiotome’ cultured at 30°C for 5 days after pretreatment at 5°C for 2 days was almost the same as for cuttings cultured at a constant 15°C for 7 days, but rooting of cuttings cultured at 30°C for 7 days was retarded. Interestingly, rooting was observed by storing only the crown at 5°C for 2 days even if both foliage and shoot tip were detached. Rooting was better in dark conditions than with 16-h day length, and was best for the subsequent development stage of runner plants with 2.5 leaves attached. Our results showed that rooting occurred during summer by culturing cut runner plants with 2.5 leaves at 30°C for 5 days after pretreatment at 5°C in the refrigerator for 2 days in the dark.

Si–Ti–C–O (Tyrano) fibers, with their advantages of light weight and high strength, are increasingly being applied as structural materials in the fields of aerospace and mover engineering. A twisting has been a serious problem on standard tensile test to evaluate the elasticity, fracture stress and strain of the fibers. Thus, stress–strain curves have been obtained by using developed a novel twisting relaxation tensile tester with the constant strain rate. The twisting relaxation apparently enhances the fracture stress and clearly increases the fracture strain of Si–Ti–C–O (Tyrano) fibers at every fracture probability. Although the twisting relaxation decreases the gradient of stress–strain curve, the elongation induced by relaxation mainly enlarges the fracture stress. Our results and discussion show that the twisting relaxation enhances the reliability against fracture for Si–Ti–C–O (Tyrano) fibers.

To clarify the roles of the five sorbitol- and sucrose-related enzymes important to the development of ‘La France’ pear fruit, we traced the fluctuations in the activities and mRNA levels of these enzymes. Such an approach of simultaneously assaying five sugar-metabolizing enzymes is a first in pear fruit and the Rosaceae family. Both the activity and the mRNA level of NAD+-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD-SDH) were high in young fruit, but decreased during fruit enlargement and rose again with fruit maturation. Sucrose synthase (SS) showed nearly the same fluctuation pattern as did NAD-SDH. The changes in both NAD-SDH and SS activities, based on fresh weight, were proportional to that of the relative growth rate (RGR) of the fruit. This suggests that they function closely in supplying hexose from the unloaded sugars in the phloem for active growth. Two isogenes of soluble acid invertase (S-AIV), S-AIV1 and S-AIV2, were present in pear fruit; the former was expressed highly in young fruit, whereas the latter was expressed both in young and mature fruits. The fluctuation pattern of the activity for sorbitol-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (S6PDH) was similar to that of NAD-SDH. However, the role of S6PDH in fruit is unclear. Although sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) activity was higher in young fruit, it decreased and remained low with fruit maturation. This may be attributed to the finding that ‘La France’ pear fruit accumulates hexose but not sucrose. These results showed that NAD-SDH, SS, and S-AIV are of prime importance in supplying sugars for the development and accumulation of hexose necessary for pear fruit enlargement.

ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS. NAD-SDH antibody, NAD-SDH cDNA, Pyrus serotina, sugar accumulation ABSTRACT. The regulation of NAD + -dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD-SDH, EC 1.1.1.14) by sugar was inves- tigated by using sliced tissues of japanese pear (Pyrus serotina Nakai cv. Kousui) fruit in order to determine its role in the mechanism of sugar accumulation in fruit tissue. The results of the activities and steady-state levels of the protein and mRNA indicate that NAD-SDH in japanese pear fruit is among the sugar-inducible genes. By preincubating the sliced tissues for 16 hours in a medium without sugar, NAD-SDH activity declined and reached a stable level that was maintained for up to 40 hours. The washing procedure also reduced the sugar concentration in the apoplast and cytosol of the sliced tissues to low concentrations and enabled them to be manipulated by exogenous applications of carbohydrate solutions. Incubation of tissues in 50 or 100 mM sorbitol for 8 hours led to enhanced expression of the NAD-SDH gene as determined by increased mRNA and protein levels and enhanced enzyme activity. The presence of 100 mM glucose, sucrose, or mannitol also gave signifi cant stimulation on the levels of activity, protein, and mRNA of NAD-SDH compared with those of control tissues bathed in media in which the osmotic potential had been adjusted to that of the sugar solutions by adding polyethylene glycol. However, fructose was ineffective in stimulating NAD-SDH activities and the level of the protein was not enhanced but the level of mRNA was increased. Therefore, it is suggested that NAD-SDH gene transcription is enhanced by each sugar investigated, and fructose appears to be unique as it also infl uences NAD-SDH at a post-transcriptional level.

To determine the collision fatigue limit for piezoelectric ceramics, an electrical nondestructive method was suggested. The materials show large changes in electrical potential induced by pressure on the collision. Measurements on this type of material found a relationship between the maximum value of electrical potential (V m ) and supplied collision energy (E c s) below the collision fatigue limit. It was expressed by the following simple equation. V m = 9.5(E c s) 0 . 5 Applying the critical differential electrical potential (Vc = 4 V), we confirmed that the collision fatigue limit was nondestructively determined for PZT materials.

Effects of electron beam (EB) irradiation on bending stress-strain curve were studied for soda glass. The stress-strain curves were measured by standard bending test. EB irradiation enhanced bending fracture stress and rigidity and then also enhanced the crack length of homogeneously fractured sample. The enhancements were mainly explained by the enlargement of bonding energy for silicon-oxygen atomic pair in atomic network structure of soda glass. The enlargement was probably induced by relaxation of the network structure, when EB irradiation generated the dangling bonds at the weaker bonded metal-oxygen atomic pairs in the network structure.

To clarify to what extent vascular occlusion or shortage of soluble carbohydrate shortens vase life of cut 'Sonia' roses (Rosa hybrida L.), cut flowers were continuously treated with 200 mg·liter-1 8-hydroxyquinoline sulphate (HQS group), 20 g·liter-1 sucrose (Sue group) or 20 g·liter-1 sucrose plus 200 mg·liter-1 HQS (Sue + HQS group), whereas control flowers were kept in water. All cut flowers were kept at 23°C, 70% RH and 12 hr photoperiod, with 10 μmol·m-2·s-1 irradiance. Although all treatments extended the vase life, sucrose was more effective than HQS. Treatment with sucrose promoted unfolding of petals, suppressed the decrease in fresh weight of cut flowers, and inhibited the occurrence of blueing more than did HQS. Water conductivity of stem segments in the control and Sue groups decreased rapidly after harvest, but that in the HQS and Sue + HQS groups was maintained near the initial level for seven days. The number of bacteria in the stem segments increased in the control and Sue groups, but this increase was suppressed by HQS. Glucose, fructose and sucrose concentrations in petals in the Sue and Sue + HQS groups were much higher than those in the control or HQS groups. These results show that decrease in the soluble carbohydrate concentration in petals was more important than vascular occlusion in determining the vase life of cut 'Sonia' roses under our experimental conditions.

The Statak is a suture anchor device used for attaching soft tissue to bone. This is a report on six knees in which this device was used to repair partial avulsion of the patellar ligament during total knee arthroplasty (TKA). The six patients were all women. The average age of the patients was 69 years. The diagnosis was osteoarthritis in three patients, rheumatoid arthritis in two, and steroid arthropathy in one. Three of the operations were revision arthroplasties. In all six cases, approximately half of the patellar ligaments were accidentally detached from the tibial tubercles during surgery, and were repaired using the Statak devices. The average length of follow-up was 3 years. The Knee Society knee score improved from an average of 15 points preoperatively to 87 points at the latest follow-up. The average total range of motion measured 104° before surgery and 108° at the latest follow-up. Three of the six knees operated on had no extensor lag. The suture anchor simplifies the secure fixation of the ligament to bone. The procedure can be performed easily and quickly. In our opinion, the Statak device has proven itself to be effective for the repair of partial patellar ligament avulsion during TKA.

We have been researching and developing an image space that based mainly on a photo-realistic texture, that can be shared by people in different locations and that can lend a real sense of being present. This paper proposes a technique for creating a setting representation of a natural panorama. The setting representation is a compact pseudo 3D expression using approximate representation on planes, which enables virtual views to be generated. The scene is captured using an original three-camera system. The images are stitched into stereo panoramas and the depth is estimated. The (texture) panorama is segmented into regions, each of which can be regarded approximately as a plane. The set of plane parameter for each region is estimated depending on the depth data (setting representation). Based on the setting representation the virtual views are calculated using the center panorama, and the left and right panoramas are used for occlusion compensation.

A method for high-quality stereo panorama mosaicing is presented. A scene is captured with an original three-camera system as stereo moving-picture sequences. The images are stitched together after improving their texture. The multi-purpose three-camera system features accurate frame synchronization between three channels and can be used outdoors through battery operation. For registration of the panorama stitching, under a newly investigated distortion-free condition, affine parameters are estimated through the overlapped areas using the steepest descent algorithm. The texture improvement has two steps : vertical resolution recovery by field integration and image enhancement by two dimensional quadratic Volterra filtering that satisfies Weber-Fechner's law. The presented method enables high-quality stereo mosaicing with accurate mutual disparities between channels and without visible distortion of textures.

In 1995, Eckhoff and colleagues demonstrated a new method for assessing relative rotational alignment of the femoral and tibial components in total knee arthroplasty (TKA). We studied the usefulness of a modified Eckhoff method. Five knee prostheses (Natural Knee, Deltafit, and three different sizes of Press-Fit Condylar) were used in an in-vitro study. A series of lateral radiographs were taken with the femoral component rotated in 1 degrees increments from 15 degrees internal rotation to 15 degrees external rotation. The rotation of the implant was calculated based on the geometric relationship of pegs that were present symmetrically on the medial and lateral sides of the femoral components in all prostheses. In a study of the clinical applications, two independent observers measured the relative rotation of 18 knees in 16 patients after TKA, using this method. In the in-vitro study, the measurement error of rotation averaged 0.27 degrees, and the maximum error was 0.96 degrees. Clinically, the mean difference between the measurements of the two observers in each knee was 0.64 degrees; there was a high correlation between the values measured by the two observers (r = 0.89; P0.0001). This is a useful method for determining the relative rotation in TKA accurately and reproducibly.

The aim of this study is to clarify the roles of NAD+-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD-SDH) and NADP+-dependent sorbitol-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (S6PDH) in fruit development, and the regulatory mechanism (s) underlying their expression during development using loquat as the study material. The cDNA of NAD-SDH, cloned from loquat fruit, consisted of 1, 572 bp and contained an open reading frame of 1, 023 bp capable of encoding a protein of 371 amino acids. The deduced amino acid sequence has 97.8% identity to that of an apple fruit. The activity of NAD-SDH is a function of fruit development, i.e. the increase in protein of this enzyme synchronized consistently with that of activity showing no posttranslational modification throughout the developmental stages. Furthermore, NAD-SDH activity correlated with the mRNA levels, indicating that the key regulatory step of the activity is at the transcriptional level. The increase in NAD-SDH with fruit development plays a dominantly important role during fruit maturation and sugar accumulation. The trend of S6PDH activity during fruit development paralleled that of NAD-SDH activity. It correlated with protein and mRNA levels revealing that the regulation of the activity is mainly at the transcriptional level like NAD-SDH. However, the role of S6PDH in fruit is not yet clear.

A cDNA library was constructed from poly(A)+RNA extracted from pollinated fruit of `PMR-142' cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). Subtraction hybridization was made between the cDNAs and poly(A)+RNA from unpollinated fruit to isolate cDNA clones that corresponded to the genes preferentially expressed in the pollinated fruit. We isolated three cDNAs, which were 756, 826, and 998 nucleotides long and designated Csf1, Csf2, and Csf3, respectively. When fruit growth was triggered by pollination, auxin treatment and natural parthenocarpy, Csf2 was always expressed. Time course of expression of the Csf2 gene was nearly parallel to that of the fruit growth. Nucleotide sequences of the Csf cDNAs were fully determined. Homology of the deduced amino acid sequence for Csf1 showed 75% identity with a pea extensin. Only 37%, 33%, and 26% homology was found between Csf2 and bell pepper CaSn-2, tobacco FB7-4, and opium poppy gMLP15, respectively. The Csf3 sequence showed 68% identity with the large subunit of 60S ribosomal protein L3 of Arabidopsis thaliana.

A 60 kDa protein (MF-60) abundantly appearing in matured apple fruit was detected by SDS-PAGE of the soluble protein. It was partially purified through Butyl-Toyopearl and DEAE-cellulose. Its partial amino acid sequences were determined to isolate a full-length cDNA. MF-60 cDNA (mf-60) consisting of 1,825 bp containing an open reading frame of 1,524 bp and encoding a 54.2 kDa polypeptide. The deduced polypeptide of mf-60 has 81.1% identity to turgor-responsive protein 26 g from wilted garden pea shoot. Northern blot and Western blot analyses showed that the levels of the protein and the transcript of MF-60 changed in parallel through the developmental season; they were very low in young fruit at 36 DAF and 60 DAF, started to increase at 85 DAF, and then remained at a higher level from 114 DAF to 176 DAF. These results suggested that MF-60 functions are connected with fruit development but not with the fruit ripening induced by ethylene.

The purpose of this study is to establish the mechanism of expression of NAD-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD-SDH) activity during the development of apple (Malus pumila Mill. var. domestica Schneid. cv. Fuji) by investigating the NAD-SDH activity and the levels of NAD-SDH protein and transcript. The gene expression was investigated by RNA blot analysis using NAD-SDH cDNA and the protein level was determined by Western blot using the antibody against NAD-SDH protein expressed in E. coli. The activity of NAD-SDH was very weak up to 80 days after flowering (DAF), then increased temporarily at 104DAF. Thereafter, it declined with fruit enlargement ; it rose rapidly again from 160 DAF with fruit maturation and remained high up to 207 DAF. That the levels of the immunoreactive protein of NAD-SDH per g fresh weight were high at 104, 181, and 207 DAF indicates a close correlation between the activity and the protein of NAD-SDH. Furthermore, RNA blot analysis indicated that the NAD-SDH transcript was proportionate to the level of the activity and protein through the developmental stages. These results indicate that the rise in the activity may depend upon the expression of the NAD-SDH gene.

Partial amino acid sequences of NAD-dependent sorbitol dehydrogenase (NAD-SDH) were used to identify a full-length cDNA from apple fruit. This clone consisted of 1,433 bp containing an open reading frame of 1,137 bp that could code for a polypeptide with 379 amino acids. To our knowledge, this is the first report about cloning of NAD-SDH cDNA from a plant source. The deduced amino acids from cDNA revealed 43.7% identity to human NAD-SDH. The activity of this enzyme to convert sorbitol to fructose with the reduction of NAD was certified by the fusion protein of this clone expressed in Escherichia coli. Northern blot analysis showed that the mRNA was expressed in matured apple fruit.

Influences of electron beam irradiation on impact fracture energy were studied for soda glass. The irradiation, which was one of short-time treatments of dry process at low temperature below boiling point of water, increased the impact value of soda glass. The impact value enhancement can be explained by stress relaxation induced by increase in free volume related to dangling bonds.

The purpose of this study is to obtain the optimum conditions for forming the high precision machined surface by diamond cutting. Therefore, the affections toward the formation of surface by the variation of the tool damage and the whisker orientation were clarified. The results obtained from this study are as follows : The states of tool damage of single crystal and sintered diamond tool and carbide tool had the abrasive type wear, and the tool wear was expressed as the degradation of surface. The most suitable tool for forming the precision surface was the sintered diamond tool with middle size of diamond grain because of the favourable effect of the falling-off of diamond grains. 0.2μm of surface roughness and 0.5μm of surface contour were obtained. And, by setting the whisker orientation parallel to machinedsurface, the whisker was easily fell off and the surface was degraded.

Petal growth associated with flower opening depends on cell expansion. To understand the role of soluble carbohydrates in petal cell expansion during flower opening, changes in soluble carbohydrate concentrations in vacuole, cytoplasm and apoplast of petal cells during flower opening in rose (Rosa hybrida L.) were investigated. We determined the subcellular distribution of soluble carbohydrates by combining nonaqueous fractionation method and infiltration-centrifugation method. During petal growth, fructose and glucose rapidly accumulated in the vacuole, reaching a maximum when petals almost reflected. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the volume of vacuole and air space drastically increased with petal growth. Carbohydrate concentration was calculated for each compartment of the petal cells and in petals that almost reflected, glucose and fructose concentrations increased to higher than 100 mM in the vacuole. Osmotic pressure increased in apoplast and symplast during flower opening, and this increase was mainly attributed to increases in fructose and glucose concentrations. No large difference in osmotic pressure due to soluble carbohydrates was observed between the apoplast and symplast before flower opening, but total osmotic pressure was much higher in the symplast than in the apoplast, a difference that was partially attributed to inorganic ions. An increase in osmotic pressure due to the continued accumulation of glucose and fructose in the symplast may facilitate water influx into cells, contributing to cell expansion associated with flower opening under conditions where osmotic pressure is higher in the symplast than in the apoplast.

The purpose of this study is to generate higher precision surface of aluminum alloy reinforced by short fibers of alumina experimentally. So, linearly increased depth of cut type cutting is adopted because of being able to vary the cutting force which is concerned with the mechanism of generation of finished surface. As a result, the pore which was caused by fracture and falling-off or falling off thoroughly of fiber was generated in finished surface. As the stress condition around fiber was nearly constant under the same tool geometry, the ratio of depth of pore to the fiber diameter was constant. And, if tool geometry was properly selected with three dimensional cutting, it was feasible to generate the least defect surface.

Up to the present, aluminum alloy reinforced by short fibers of alumina is used as the parts of automobile because this material has wear-resistant. In the future, it is necessary to generate higher precision surface in order to apply to other uses. The purpose of this study is to experimentally generate higher precision surface of this material by means of diamond cutting with an ultra precision lathe. In order to attain the purpose, the first step was to quantitatively estimate surface roughness and defect from three dimensional measurement of the finished surface. After that, the optimum working conditions were selected. The results obtained from this study are as follows : The pore was generated by falling off of fiber, and the swell of matrix around fiber was observed in the finished surface. If tool geometry and another conditions were selected properly, better results were found to be obtained in surface defects, tool wear, and straightness of finished surface.

The level of NADP-dependent sorbitol-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (S6PDH) transcripts was higher in more developed peach leaves than in folded young leaves, and was concomitant to the alteration of enzyme activity and protein level. These results suggest that the expression of the S6POH gene is associated with source function. The S6PDH activity and protein level in leaves also varied seasonally. They were higher in May, declined with fruit maturation, and rose again after fruit harvest. This change was probably controlled by the level of transcripts.