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In this study, the possibility of using π-conjugated organic semiconducting polymers as real-time radiation detectors was explored. Polyaniline (PAni) was used to fabricate radiation sensors because of its relative long-term stability in air. Each fabricated sensor was then subjected to irradiation by α- and β-particles, and the real-time response was measured. The multichannel analyzer (MCA) data of the response signal for each irradiation was acquired and the detection efficiency, relative to the electrode bias voltage of the detector, was extracted.

The friction and wear properties of Si3N4–8mass% Al2O3–6mass% Y2O3, AISI H13 steel, AISI 52100 steel, Inconel 600, ZrO2–3 mol% Y2O3, WC-6mass% Co and BN-50mass% Ni disk specimens sliding against aluminum alloy 5052 were examined at 823 K in air. The AISI H13 steel, AISI 52100 steel and BN–50mass% Ni disk specimens exhibited relatively stable friction coefficients as low as 0.4–0.5, although the AISI 52100 steel and BN-50mass% Ni disk specimens exhibited the largest volume increase and the highest specific wear rates, respectively. On the other hand, the AISI H13 steel, ZrO2–3 mol% Y2O3 and WC-6mass% Co disk specimens exhibited much smaller volume changes than AISI 52100 steel, Inconel 600 and BN-50mass% Ni disk specimens. However, the ZrO2–3 mol% Y2O3 and WC-6mass% Co disk specimens exhibited unstable friction coefficients and the friction coefficients as high as 0.6, respectively. SEM-EDS analyses revealed large amount of Al and oxygen on the worn surfaces of the Si3N4–8mass% Al2O3–6mass% Y2O3, AISI H13 steel, AISI 52100 steel and ZrO2–3 mol% Y2O3 disk specimens, while much smaller amount of Al and oxygen were observed on the worn surfaces of the Inconel 600, WC-6mass% Co and BN-50mass% Ni disk specimens. In addition, distinct oxygen peaks were observed on the worn surfaces of all the aluminum alloy pin specimens, but such oxygen peaks were hardly observed on the non-worn surfaces of all the pin specimens.

Many minimally invasive surgical procedures are now performed using teleoperated robotic systems. However, such commercially available systems do not provide significant force feedback to the surgeon. This reduces surgeon's dexterity and increases tissue trauma when performing the operation. In this paper, a compact and lightweight forceps' manipulator using pneumatic artificial muscles (PAMs) for minimally invasive surgery is presented, which allows for the perception of manipulation force without the usage of the force sensor. The main advantage of this concept is that no force sensor has to be integrated into surgical instruments and inserted into the patient's body. Rather, a disturbance observer is integrated into the slave-side controller for the estimation of the external force acting at the forcep's tip. This approach reduces costs and stabilizability demands for forceps' manipulator while enables haptic feedback to the surgeons. Results of force perception experiments and comparison with forceps' manipulator driven by pneumatic cylinders are presented to validate the concepts.

Droplet-free metal plasma sources are a promising technology for enhancing the adhesion of deposited films to a smooth surface. High-power pulsed sputtering (HPPS) plasma is an arc-free glow discharge plasma with an instantaneous power consumption of several tens of kilowatts, although the average power consumed is the same as that in conventional sputtering discharge systems. Sputtered metallic species are significantly ionized. The fractions of singly and doubly charged ions of argon and titanium in an HPPS plasma are studied using a time-averaged ion energy distribution function in the power-density region from 0.5 to 2.5 kW/cm2. Facile production of metallic ions is confirmed. Singly charged ions are dominant in the plasma. Argon and titanium ions together constitute more than 90% of the charged particles in the plasma. The metal ions are produced with increasing plasma power consumption. The instantaneous power contributes to the ionization of the plasma species. The gas ion energies is in a narrow range of a few electronvolts. Conversely, metallic ions is in a wider range of energy up to approximately 10 eV. It is seen from an optical emission spectrum of the HPPS plasma that metallic species are highly ionized.

Multicrystalline silicon has now become the main material in the photovoltaic market because of its low production cost and the relative high conversion efficiency of solar cells made from this material. Effective control of carbon and oxygen impurities in the crystal is required for the production of a high-quality component. In order to reduce impurity levels in a unidirectional solidification furnace, it is proposed to add a crucible cover to the casting process. Results from numerical simulations indicate a marked reduction of carbon impurity in a multicrystalline silicon ingot. The effect of crucible cover material on impurities in multicrystalline silicon was also investigated. These results show that the carbon concentration within the silicon ingot can be reduced by 10 times if the cover is made from carbon and by 1,000 times if the cover is made from tungsten. These results show that an effective and economical method for designing a cover is to use carbon and deposit a thin layer of tungsten on it. Experimental tests have also been carried out by placing a tungsten cover above the crucible. Results indicated that the carbon impurity has significantly decreased; however, the measured carbon concentration in the crystal is larger than the theoretically predicted value, despite the use of a crucible cover. A theoretical analysis has shown that this difference is due to a reaction between the crucible and the graphite susceptor. Furthermore, global simulations have shown that this reaction has a marked effect on carbon and oxygen impurities. When the carbon activity on the surface of the graphite susceptor increases, both oxygen and carbon impurities in crystal increase rapidly. Therefore, the production of high-purity multicrystalline silicon can be improved by designing a crucible cover with a thin layer of tungsten on it and by setting a free space between the silica crucible and the graphite susceptor to prevent reaction between them.

This paper reconsiders the design methodology of the short-channel gate-all-around (GAA) silicon-on-insulator (SOI) MOSFET and proposes an advanced concept that offers enhanced performance. The new ideas raised herein are based on gate-field engineering and source and drain (S/D) diffusion engineering. The validity of the proposal is demonstrated by device simulations. Covering the junction of a Si wire body with a relatively thick gate insulator raises the carrier density of low-doped S/D diffusion regions, resulting in a drastic reduction in the parasitic resistance (that has, up to now, hindered performance enhancement) as well as the suppression of short-channel effects due to the effective extension of channel length; it is also demonstrated that this merit can be expected even for narrow highly doped S/D diffusion regions with abrupt junctions. The simulation results suggest that 15-nm- and 20-nm-channel GAA SOI MOSFETs with the abrupt junction will be promising if the device has a body cross section of 10 nm × 10 nm and a thick insulator covers the junction. On the other hand, since it is demonstrated that the proposed GAA device must have long and graduated S/D diffusion regions in order to achieve the expected one-order-lower standby power consumption, a loss of drivability has to be accepted. However, it is shown that drivability can be improved by slightly expanding the cross section of S/D diffusion regions without seriously impacting the area penalty.

The formation mechanism of a high density of nanovoids by annealing amorphous Al 2 O 3 thin films prepared by an electron beam deposition method was investigated. Transmission electron microscopy observations revealed that nanovoids ∼1–2 nm in size were formed by annealing amorphous Al 2 O 3 thin films at 973 K for 1–12 h, where the amorphous state was retained. The elastic stiffness, measured by a picosecond laser ultrasound method, and the density, measured by X-ray reflectivity, increased drastically after the annealing process, despite nanovoid formation. These increases indicate a change in the amorphous structure during the annealing process. Molecular dynamics simulations indicated that an increase in stable AlO 6 basic units and the change in the ring distribution lead to a drastic increase in both the elastic stiffness and the density. It is probable that a pre-annealed Al 2 O 3 amorphous film consists of unstable low-density regions containing a low fraction of stable AlO 6 units and stable high-density regions containing a high fraction of stable AlO 6 units. Thus, local density growth in the unstable low-density regions during annealing leads to nanovoid formation (i.e., local volume shrinkage).

Introduction/Background Falls are popular and major problem for stroke patient during their hospital stay. The aim of this study is to reveal the factors associated with the risk of fall in stroke inpatients. Material and method Retrospective study carried out with stroke hospitalized patients. Thirty-four stroke patients who fell and 34 stroke patients who did not fall during their hospital stay underwent structured medical examinations to identify factors associated with fall. The control subjects were matched for age, height, body weight, body mass index (BMI), and primary diagnosis. Potential variables related to fall risk factors were collected from medical records. A conditional logistic regression was performed to calculate odds ratios using SPSS. Clinical data were collected from January to December 2016. “An unexpected displacement of the body to a lower level than the initial position without loss of consciousness” was regarded as fall. Results Nutrition status, evaluated with modified CONUT score at admission, was significantly associated with fall risk (odds ratio = 3.11, 95% CI: 1.18–9.94). There were no statistically significant differences in the other candidate factors (e.g. sarcopenia, activities of daily living, and rehabilitation intervention) between the two groups. Conclusion Our findings demonstrated that nutrition status was associated with fall risk in stroke hospitalized patients. Further studies are needed to reveal that nutritional intervention can contribute to falls prevention in stroke patients.

Chemical carcinogenesis is a multifactorial process comprising two main stages: initiation and promotion. Tumor promoters cause the development of tumors in initiated cells and the majority of them are non-genotoxic carcinogens. The identification of tumor promoters is important for preventing cancer. We previously identified 22 specific gene markers using a global gene expression analysis of chemically induced tumor promotion and established an in vitro real-time PCR screening assay for the assessment of the tumor promoting potential of chemicals in BALB/c 3T3 cells. Our in vitro tumor promoter screening test, based on these marker genes, enables earlier assessment, and is easier to conduct than classical methods. The general applicability of these markers, however, was unknown. In this study, to evaluate the performance of a set of markers, we independently validated a separate sample set, which had various structures and properties. Independent validation of the signature of 63 test chemicals showed an accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the assay of 96.8%, 97.0% and 96.7%, respectively. These results indicate that the tumor promoting activity assay, based on the expression of 22 marker genes, will become a valuable tool for rapid screening of potential tumor promoters.

In 2004, we searched for very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission from the Galactic Plane using the CANGAROO-III stereoscopic observation system. Two different longitude regions (l = −19°.5 and l = +13°.0) on the Galactic Plane were observed during July and August 2004. We analyzed events that triggered three telescopes aiming to measure the diffuse emission component. No significant signal associated with the Galactic Plane was found from either of the regions. Assuming that the gamma-ray spectrum is described by a single power-law for energies ranging between a few GeV and TeV, lower limits of the power-law spectral indices were found to be 2.2 for both of the regions with a 99.9% confidence level. This result is consistent with the other VHE measurements and constrains a hypothesis in which a very hard (∼2.0) cosmic ray electron spectrum was introduced to explain the EGRET GeV anomaly.

Summary. Serum ribavirin concentration is an important factor in antiviral therapy in combination with peginterferon (PEG-IFN) and ribavirin for patients with chronic hepatitis C in terms of both beneficial and adverse effects. We evaluated whether the serum ribavirin concentration can be predicted on the basis of renal function estimates. Serum creatinine and cystatin C concentrations were measured at the start of treatment in a total of 148 patients with chronic hepatitis C who underwent combination PEG-IFN and ribavirin therapy. Creatinine clearance (CrCl) and total clearance of ribavirin (CL/F) were calculated on the basis of the serum creatinine level. The glomerular filtration rate was calculated with two different formulae on the basis of the serum cystatin C level. These values were compared with serum ribavirin concentrations 4 weeks after the start of therapy. The cystatin C level increased with the progression of liver fibrosis, whereas the creatinine level was constant regardless of the degree of liver fibrosis. Significant correlation was not observed between the serum ribavirin concentration and serum creatinine level, cystatin C level, or calculated renal function estimates. However, significant correlation was found between the serum ribavirin concentration and CrCl and CL/F in patients who were given ribavirin >800 mg/day. Overall, renal function estimates do not correlate with the serum ribavirin concentration in Japanese patients with chronic hepatitis C who undergo combination PEG-IFN and ribavirin therapy. Serum creatinine-based renal function estimates might be predictive for the serum ribavirin concentration only in patients with a daily ribavirin intake of 800 mg or more.

Seasonal changes in the gastric evacuation rate (R) and gut contents of a wild population of rainbow trout Oncorhynchus mykiss feeding on natural prey at four water temperatures (2, 7, 9 and 12° C) were measured. The R and mass of the gut contents increased with water temperature, and prey items changed seasonally. These results suggest that the R of fish feeding on natural food depends primarily on water temperature, with their consumed prey being a secondary factor.

Microendoscopic discectomy (MED) is one of the minimally invasive endoscopic procedures for treating lumbar disc herniation. We have applied MED techniques to posterior decompression procedures for treating lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS). In the present study, we examined the surgical complications in 114 consecutive patients surgically treated with MED procedures for LSS. Intraoperative complications occurred in 9 patients. Six patients (5.3%) experienced a dural tear, and three (2.6%) had a fracture of an inferior facet. Early postoperative complications occurred in 13 patients. Twelve patients (10.5%) experienced transient neurological complications. The clinical outcomes at the mean 28-month follow-up were not affected by these surgical complications. Other major complications such as nerve injury and surgical site infection were not observed. Most of the complications occurred in the initial series of patients, and the incidence of complications decreased with an increase in the surgeon's experience and the application of several preventive measures against the complications. The surgeon should undergo training when MED techniques are applied in surgical treatment in order to recognize the specific complications associated with such procedures and apply preventive measures against these complications.

Objective – To investigate the efficacy of low dose of botulinum toxin type A (BTX-A) for facial synkinesis and hyperlacrimation. Material and methods – Eleven patients suffering from facial synkinesis after Bell's palsy or facial nerve injury were treated with a low dose of BTX-A, 0.5–1.25 U per point into several points. One patient showing hyperlacrimation was also treated with BTX-A. The whole observational period was 43 months. Results – On average, 5.76 U of BTX-A, which was lower than that of previous reports, was injected per treatment. In seven cases, synkinesis disappeared completely after three or fewer sessions of BTX-A injection. The mean interval between treatments was 14.5 weeks. Hyperlacrimation was completely suppressed after a single subcutaneous injection of BTX-A. Only mild subcutaneous hemorrhage was observed as adverse reactions. Conclusion – Facial synkinesis can be treated with a lower dose of BTX-A without relevant adverse reactions.

Several different species of ions, Au, Fe, Ag, Ti and Si, were implanted into austenite stainless steel sheets at an energy of 3 MeV respectively. The martensite transformation induced with the ion implantation was investigated with transmission electron microscopy equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray spectrometer. The residual stresses induced with ion implantation were evaluated by the curvature technique. The effects of irradiation doses and ion species on the residual stress near surface induced by ion implantation were investigated. It is found that compressive residual stresses were induced by all the ions, and Fe and Au ions, among these ions, produced a higher level of residual stress at the same implantation. It shows that ion implantation can be employed to control and modify the internal stress near surface by changing the irradiation dose and selecting ion specie of the ion implantation.

A 600-MHz single-chip multiprocessor, which includes two M32R 32-bit CPU cores , a 512-kB shared SRAM and an internal shared pipelined bus, was fabricated using a 0.15-/spl mu/m CMOS process for embedded systems. This multiprocessor is based on symmetric multiprocessing (SMP), and supports modified-exclusive-shared-invalid (MESI) cache coherency protocol. The multiprocessor inherits the advantages of previously reported single-chip multiprocessors, while its multiprocessor architecture is optimized for use as an embedded processor. The internal shared pipelined bus has a low latency and large bandwidth (4.8 GB/s). These features enhance the performance of the multiprocessor. In addition, the multiprocessor employs various low-power techniques. The multiprocessor dissipates 800 mW in a 1.5-V 600-MHz multiprocessor mode. Standby power dissipation is less than 1.5 mW at 1.5 V. Hence, the multiprocessor achieves higher performance and lower power consumption. This paper presents a single-chip multiprocessor architecture optimized for use as an embedded processor and its various low-power techniques.

We presented the comparative study of spin correlation functions of generalized spin orbital density functional theory (GSO-DFT) and configuration interaction (CI) wave function (WF) approaches, in particular for simple models. The differences between them are ascribed to that of their symmetry frameworks, which is similar to that between the Heisenberg (HB) model and its mean-field approximation. Therefore, the prescriptions to spin-frustrated and -degenerated systems are examined from the viewpoint of the HB model and its solutions. Both nondynamic electron correlation and spin-dependent interactions are found to be important in the surface crossing regions. The GSO complete-active-space (CAS) CI and CAS self-consistent field (SCF) are also discussed as the multireference approaches for the systems. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Quantum Chem, 2003

A basic study on the nuclear characteristics in the accelerator driven subcritical reactor (ADSR) was performed through a series of neutronics design calculations and reactor physics experiments. Calculations were executed mainly by the MCNPX code, and experiments were performed at the Kyoto University Critical Assembly (KUCA). Some nuclear features of the research reactor type ADSR were revealed through the present study. The following facts were found: 1) Further studies are necessary concerning the nuclear data in the high energy region and the generated neutrons through the spallation reactions especially by the light nuclei and the lower energy protons. 2) The adjustment of subcriticality by the control rod significantly affects the reactor power of ADSR because of the distortion in the neutron flux distribution caused by the control rod insertion. 3) An accurate calculation is essential to evaluate the neutron multiplication in the ADSR. 4) The neutronics behavior after a pulse injection can be approximately simulated by the calculation.

Background. There have been many reports about newly developed degenerative changes in the adjacent segments after anterior interbody fusion. It is a controversial issue whether the adjacent-segment disease in patients treated by anterior interbody fusion is the result of progressive cervical spondylosis at the adjacent levels or is caused by the arthrodesis. The aim of this study is to clarify the difference in postoperative effect on the adjacent segments between anterior interbody fusion and expansive laminoplasty. Method. This study included 14 patients who underwent pre- and postoperative MR images at 6 and 12 months. Seven patients underwent cervical interbody fusion and the other 7 patients underwent expansive laminoplasty. Disc degeneration was evaluated semiquantitatively by calculating the degenerative index (DI) that is a ratio of the intensity in the disc to that in the upper cervical cord. Findings. In the anterior interbody fusion group, the adjacent disc intensities decreased within 12 months (F=20.42; P

Intact ovarian follicles, obtained from untreated and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) treated Japanese yellowtail Seriola quinqueradiata during different maturational stages, were incubated with radioactive [ 3 H]pregnenolone, [ 3 H]17-hydroxyprogesterone or [ 14 C] androstenedione and steroid metabolites identified by thin layer chromatography (TLC) followed by recrystallization to constant specific activity. In untreated late vitellogenic (0 h) follicles, androstenedione was the major product with smaller amounts of testosterone and oestradiol-17β. In post-vitellogenic (12 h post-injection) intact follicles, androstenedione predominated, and although testosterone and oestradiol-17β were not produced, there were small amounts of 17,20β-dihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (17,20β-P) and 17,21-dihydroxy-4-pregnene-3,20-dione (11-deoxycortisol). In HCG-treated fish, a steroidogenic shift resulted in the disappearance of testosterone and oestradiol-17β coinciding with the appearance of 17,20β-P. During early and late final oocyte maturation FOM (24 and 36 h post-injection), there was a five- to seven-fold increase in the production of 17,20β-P, whereas production of 11-deoxycortisol remained almost the same. During FOM, in addition to 17,20β-P, its 5β-reduced metabolite, 17,20β-dihydroxy-5β-pregnan-3-one (5β-17,20β-P) was synthesized, suggesting a decrease in maturation-inducing 17,20β-P activity. 17,20β,21-Trihydroxy-4-pregnen-3-one (20β-S) was not synthesized by ovarian fragments in Japanese yellowtail at any maturational stage. The metabolites identified on TLC during FOM were tested to evaluate their maturation-inducing activity in an in vitro bioassay. Of the steroids tested, 17,20β-P was the most effective inducer of germinal vesicle breakdown (GVBD), followed by 5β-17,20β-P. Timely synthesis of 17,20β-P immediately prior to and during FOM as well as its great potency in inducing GVBD in vitro supports the evidence for a physiological role of 17,20β-P as a maturation-inducing hormone in Japanese yellowtail.

We performed blinded visual evaluation of MR angiography (MRA) films in 44 patients with unilateral carotid artery stenosis to determine whether a flow gap and poststenotic signal attenuation on 3 D-PC MRA were useful signs of severe carotid artery stenosis. Although nine patients with a flow gap alone had various degrees of stenosis ranging from 22.2 to 77.3 % without any decrease in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF), 13 patients with both a flow gap and poststenotic signal attenuation had severe stenoses of 80 % or more, with a definite decrease in baseline rCBF. The presence of both a flow gap and poststenotic signal attenuation on 3 D-PC MRA appeared to be a reliable marker of severe carotid artery stenosis with a decrease in rCBF.

Interferon (IFN) therapy has been proven to induce the normalization of serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and to eradicate the hepatitis C virus (HCV) in some patients with chronic hepatitis C, and these patients are usually defined as 'sustained responders'. However, there have been some reports of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in these patients, and the development of HCC remains life-threatening in patients who clear HCV. We analysed the long-term prognoses of patients with chronic hepatitis C in whom HCV was eradicated with IFN. We investigated 392 sustained responders to IFN therapy, from 1,277 patients with chronic HCV infection who received IFN treatment at one of our institutions between April 1989 and March 1999. We analysed the medical records and looked for the development of HCC. About 30% of the sustained responders had been lost to follow-up 3 years after the end of IFN therapy, and the follow-up rate of sustained responders was significantly lower than that of non-sustained responders (P < 0.0001). HCC were found in eight patients: in seven patients HCC developed within 5 years after completion of IFN therapy; but in one patient, a single HCC less than 3 cm in diameter was detected between 7 and 8 years after completion of IFN. Of the five patients who had regular medical follow-up, the HCC was solitary, and the patients survived without any evidence of recurrence. Of the three patients who had not been followed-up, two died from HCC and HCC recurred in the third. These results suggest that HCC can develop in sustained responders and that sustained responders should be followed-up closely after completion of IFN so that HCC may be detected at an early stage. The optimal duration of the follow-up period of the sustained responders remains unclear. Additional prospective studies are required in order to establish an appropriate follow-up protocol for sustained responders to IFN.

Calcified shell layer is composed of two polymorphs of CaCO(3), aragonite or calcite, and an organic matrix. The organic matrix consists of EDTA-soluble and insoluble fractions. These fractions are thought to regulate the formation of the elaborate shell structure. After decalcification of powdered pearl with 0.3 M EDTA, an EDTA-insoluble fraction was extracted with 0.3 M EDTA/8 M urea. This extraction step enabled us to purify a new class of EDTA-insoluble protein, Pearlin, almost homogeneously. Pearlin has a molecular weight of about 15 kDa and contains a sulfated mucopolysaccharide. We cloned the complementary DNA coding for Pearlin and deduced its complete amino acid sequence. Sequence analysis reveals that Pearlin is composed of 129 amino acids with a high proportion of Gly (10.8%), Tyr (10.0%), Cys (8.5%), Asn (7.7%), Asp (7.7%), and Arg (7.7%). Northern blot analysis showed that Pearlin messenger RNA was expressed specifically in mantle epithelium. From the sequencing data, Pearlin was shown to be quite different from the fibrous protein rich in Ala and Gly. The function of this protein in biomineralization is discussed.

As a method of external diagnosis for power transmission and distribution equipment, X-ray projection technology has been applied. A new method of high accuracy projection, 3 dimensional image processing technology by application of X-ray CT, a method of detecting more accurate condition of the interior, by application of X-ray and infrared has been developed.

We performed a high-energy and high-fluence ion implantation, expecting to fabricate micromachines. (100) Si was bombarded by 3.1 MeV Au2+ ion with a fluence of 1017/cm2 at 95 K. Then an embedded layer was extracted after chemical etching (30% KOH, at 333 K). The stoichiometric change was evaluated by both experiments and simulation using TRIDYN. The experiments showed, although qualitatively, that Au clustering occurred even at a temperature lower than had ever been reported. From a critical ion fluence, which is necessary to extract a material after etching, we estimate a local concentration to be 1.0–1.2 at. %, which caused a physicochemical change by Au doping. A probable model for the clustering is proposed. It is a nonthermal atomic transfer mechanism following the electronic excitation. Here the electronic stopping power just beneath the surface is 140 eV/A, which is large enough to ionize valence electrons of Si. Also, a wide amorphized region supports an unstable electrostatic field, which should...

Natural gas hydrate fields, which have a large amount of methane and ethane deposits in the subterranean Arctic and in the bottom of the sea at various places in the world, have become the object of public attention as a potential natural gas resource. Here the idea of natural gas exploitation from natural gas hydrate fields combined with CO2 isolation using CO2 hydrate has been presented. As a fundamental study, high-pressure phase behaviour for the ethane hydrate system was investigated in a high-pressure cell up to a maximum pressure of 100 MPa, following a previous study of CO2 and methane hydrates. Consequently, the phase equilibrium relationship of an ethane hydrate—water—liquid ethane mixture was obtained in the temperature range from 290.4 to 298.4 K and over a pressure range of 19.48 to 83.75 MPa. The observed phase boundary corresponds to the three-phase coexisting line with a non-variant quadruple point of ethane hydrate—water—liquid ethane—gaseous ethane at 288.8 K and 3.50 MPa, similar to the CO2 hydrate—water—liquid CO2 system.

Microscopically alkali feldspar in a quartz syenite from Oki-Dozen, Japan, consists of clear and turbid areas. Clear areas occur in the interiors of feldspar grains and are cryptoperthitic. Film microperthites are developed with turbidity in the rims, and mosaic microperthites are developed with turbidity in the interiors and in the rims. Turbidity is attributed to the presence of abundant micropores. The chemical compositions of pristine clear feldspars are around Or33Ab64An3. The interior microperthitic feldspars have lower An content than the clear feldspars. Some areas of the clear and microperthitic feldspars in the interiors are poor in calcium. In contrast, the microperthitic rims contain almost no calcium. The zonal patterns of calcium-rich cores and calcium-poor rims are very distinct in almost all feldspar grains. The overall calcium distribution patterns suggest a secondary calcium-depletion from the feldspars during hydrothermal or deuteric reactions. The development of Or-rich veins transversing feldspar grains and rim albite is consistent with this model. Calcium distribution patterns in alkali feldspar provide new and useful information on processes during geologic events.

A number of myopathies whose common denominator is abnormal foci of desmin positivity have been described under the rubrics of spheroid body myopathy, cytoplasmic body myopathy, Mallory body myopathy, myopathy with granulofilamentous inclusions, desmin storage myopathy, and intermediate filament myopathy. In this study we reevaluate the light microscopic and ultrastructural features of the myopathy with abnormal foci of desmin positivity. In 10 cases of the disease, ultrastructural analysis reveals 2 major types of lesions: (a) foci of myofibrillar destruction and (b) hyaline structures that appear as spheroidal bodies on electron microscopy. The foci of myofibrillar destruction consist of fiber areas containing disrupted myofilaments, Z-disk-derived bodies, dappled dense structures of Z-disk origin, and streaming Z-disks that are sometimes adjacent to lakes of dense material. The spheroid bodies are composed of compacted and degraded myofibrillar elements. Membrane-bound vacuoles harboring degenerating membranous organelles are a less frequent and probably secondary abnormality. None of the lesions in muscle comprise 8 to 10 nm intermediate filaments. The findings imply that spheroid body myopathy, cytoplasmic body myopathy, Mallory body myopathy, and myopathy with granulofilamentous inclusions are consequences of a single or closely related pathologic processes. Because the common denominator appears to be focal dissolution of the myofibrils followed by accumulation of the products of the degradative process, we propose the term myofibrillar myopathy to cover the observed spectrum of pathologic changes.

Smolt age and size, and individual growth during smoking were examined in a wild population of white-spotted charr, Salvelinus leucomaenis, in a small stream in northern Japan. Smolt size (110–210 mm F.L.) differed neither between sexes nor among age cohorts of 2–7 years. Back-calculation of riverine growth of smolts using otoliths showed a gradually increasing discrepancy in fork lengths of these age cohorts in both males and females, the faster-growing individuals smolting at an earlier age. A mark—recapture study on individually-identified fish revealed that the initial (spring-summer) length-frequency distribution of parr was unimodal, but became slightly skewed to the larger side in autumn, resulting in a bimodal distribution being evident by the following spring, with the upper modal group primarily composed of smolts. However, closer examination revealed that both male and female potential (subsequent) smolts were larger than the potential parr in the previous spring, the minimum lengths of the former being around 90–100 mm f.l. Specific growth rates of the potential smolts remained relatively high after summer through to the following spring, whereas those of the potential parr decreased after summer, despite having been similar between the two groups during the previous spring and summer. These observations revealed that the developmental triggering of smelting possibly occurs in or following the summer season.