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Skin melanoma is one of the most aggressive and difficult-to-treat human malignancies, characterized by poor survival rates, thus requiring urgent novel therapeutic approaches. Although metabolic reprogramming has represented so far, a cancer hallmark, accumulating data indicate a high plasticity of cancer cells in modulating cellular metabolism to adapt to a heterogeneous and continuously changing microenvironment, suggesting a novel therapeutic approach for dietary manipulation in cancer therapy. To this aim, we exposed melanoma cells to combined nutrient-restriction/sorafenib. Results indicate that cell death was efficiently induced, with apoptosis representing the prominent feature. In contrast, autophagy was blocked in the final stage by this treatment, similarly to chloroquine, which also enhanced melanoma cell sensitization to combined treatment. Energy stress was evidenced by associated treatment with mitochondrial dysfunction and glycolysis impairment, suggesting metabolic stress determining melanoma cell death. A reduction of tumor growth after cycles of intermittent fasting together with sorafenib treatment was also observed in vivo, reinforcing that the nutrient shortage can potentiate anti-melanoma therapy. Our findings showed that the restriction of nutrients by intermittent fasting potentiates the effects of sorafenib due to the modulation of cellular metabolism, suggesting that it is possible to harness the energy of cancer cells for the treatment of melanoma.

Summary Background & aims The associations between dietary magnesium intake and stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD) incidences are inconsistent and not established in Asian. We aimed to determine the association between dietary magnesium intake and the risk of stroke and CHD in a Japanese population. Subjects/Methods We studied 85,293 Japanese subjects by questionnaire at baseline (age 45–74 years, without cardiovascular disease or cancer in 1995 and 1998 for Cohorts I and II, respectively). The participants were followed until the end of 2009 and 2010 in Cohorts I and II, respectively. Dietary magnesium intake was estimated from a self-administered 138-item food-frequency questionnaire. Results After 1,305,738 person-years of follow-up, 4110 strokes and 1283 cases of CHD were documented. The multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios (HRs, 95% confidence intervals, 95%CIs) of CHD for the fourth and fifth quintiles of dietary magnesium intake were 0.70 (0.50–0.99) and 0.66 (0.44–0.97) in men (P for trend = 0.036), respectively, and third quintile of dietary magnesium intake was 0.61 (0.39–0.96) in women (P for trend = 0.241), compared with the lowest quintile in men and women. We observed no decreased risks of incident stroke in men or women with higher dietary magnesium intakes. Conclusions Higher dietary magnesium intake was associated with a reduced risk of CHD in Japanese men.

A finding between dietary pattern and cancer may provide visions beyond the assessment of individual foods or nutrients. We examined the influence of dietary pattern with colorectal cancer (CRC) among a Japanese population.A total of 93,062 subjects (43,591 men, 49,471 women) who participated in the Japan Public Health Center-based Prospective Study were followed from 1995-1998 to the end of 2012, during which 2482 cases of CRC (1514 men, 968 women) were newly identified. Dietary data was obtained from a validated food-frequency questionnaire between 1995 and 1998.Three dietary pattern was derived from principal components factor: prudent, westernized, and traditional pattern. After controlled for potential confounders, the prudent pattern showed a decreased association of CRC risk in men (HR for highest quintile vs lowest: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.72-1.00; P trend0.05), slightly more strongly with distal colon cancer (P trend0.05); but an increased risk of rectal cancer in women (P trend0.05). The westernized pattern showed a significant positive linear trend for colon (P trend0.05) and distal cancer (P trend0.05) in women. There was no apparent association of traditional Japanese dietary pattern on the overall or any specific sites risk of CRC.A prudent dietary pattern showed an inverse association with CRC risk in men, and a westernized pattern was related with a higher risk of colon and distal cancer in women.

Aims Coping strategies may be significantly associated with health outcomes. This is the first study to investigate the association between baseline coping strategies and cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence and mortality in a general population cohort. Methods and results The Japan Public Health Center-based prospective Study asked questions on coping in its third follow-up survey (2000–04). Analyses on CVD incidence and mortality included 57 017 subjects aged 50–79 without a history of CVD and who provided complete answers on approach- and avoidance-oriented coping behaviours and strategies. Cox regression models, adjusted for confounders, were used to determine hazard ratios (HRs) according to coping style. Mean follow-up time was 7.9 years for incidence and 8.0 years for mortality. The premorbid use of an approach-oriented coping strategy was inversely associated with incidence of stroke (HR = 0.85; 95% CI, 0.73–1.00) and CVD mortality (HR = 0.74; 95% CI, 0.55–0.99). Stroke subtype analyses revealed an inverse association between the approach-oriented coping strategy and incidence of ischaemic stroke (HR = 0.79; 95% CI, 0.64–0.98) and a positive association between the combined coping strategy and incidence of intra-parenchymal haemorrhage (HR = 2.03; 95% CI, 1.01–4.10). Utilizing an avoidance coping strategy was associated with increased mortality from ischaemic heart disease (IHD) only in hypertensive individuals (HR = 3.46; 95% CI, 1.07–11.18). The coping behaviours fantasizing and positive reappraisal were associated with increased risk of CVD incidence (HR = 1.24; 95% CI, 1.03–1.50) and reduced risk of IHD mortality (HR = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.40–0.99), respectively. Conclusion An approach-oriented coping strategy, i.e. proactively dealing with sources of stress, may be associated with significantly reduced stroke incidence and CVD mortality in a Japanese population-based cohort.

Background and aims Higher intake of fish or n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has been associated with reduced risk of coronary heart disease (CHD). However, it is unclear whether increased blood levels of n-3 PUFAs are associated with reduced risk of CHD in the Japanese population. Methods The relationship between circulating levels of n-3 PUFAs (eicosapentaenoic acid + docosapentaenoic acid + docosahexaenoic acid) and risk of CHD was examined in a nested case-control study among participants in the Japan Public Health Center (JPHC)-based Study Cohort. Plasma n-3 PUFA phospholipid levels were measured at baseline by gas chromatography in 209 cases with CHD and 418 controls matched for sex, age, date of blood draw, time elapsed since last meal before blood collection, and study location. The CHD cases (n = 209) comprised 168 cases of myocardial infarction and 41 of sudden cardiac death, otherwise classified as 157 non-fatal and 52 fatal coronary events, respectively. Mean duration of follow-up was 13.5 years. Results Multivariate conditional logistic analysis showed no significant association between n-3 PUFAs and risk of total CHD. The odds ratio (OR) for the highest versus lowest quartiles of plasma n-3 PUFAs was 0.79 (95% confidence interval [95% CI]: 0.41–1.51, p for trend = 0.51). Subtype analysis of CHD revealed that the multivariate ORs for the highest versus lowest quartiles for n-3 PUFAs were 0.91 (95% CI: 0.43–1.89, p for trend = 0.90) for myocardial infarction, 0.08 (95% CI: 0.01–0.88, p for trend = 0.04) for sudden cardiac death, 0.89 (95% CI: 0.42–1.89, p for trend = 0.97) for nonfatal coronary events, and 0.12 (95% CI: 0.02–0.75, p for trend = 0.03) for fatal coronary events. Conclusions Plasma n-3 PUFA levels were not associated with risk of total CHD but were inversely associated with risks of sudden cardiac death and fatal coronary events among middle-aged Japanese individuals.

Seafood/fish intake has been regarded as a protective factor for coronary heart disease (CHD), while smoking is a strong risk factor. To examine whether associations between smoking and risk of CHD are modified by seafood/fish intake, we studied 72,012 Japanese men and women aged 45-74 years who completed 2 food frequency questionnaires, 5 years apart, during the period 1995-2009. After 878,163 person-years of follow-up, 584 incident cases of CHD (101 fatal and 483 nonfatal), including 516 myocardial infarctions, were documented. There was a clear dose-response association between smoking and CHD risk among subjects with a low seafood/fish intake (

We examined the association between green tea consumption and mortality due to all causes, cancer, heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, respiratory disease, injuries, and other causes of death in a large-scale population-based cohort study in Japan.We studied 90,914 Japanese (aged between 40 and 69 years) recruited between 1990 and 1994. After 18.7 years of follow-up, 12,874 deaths were reported. The association between green tea consumption and risk of all causes and major causes of mortality was assessed using the Cox proportional hazards regression model with adjustment for potential confounders.Hazard ratios for all-cause mortality among men who consumed green tea compared with those who drank less than 1 cup/day were 0.96 (0.89-1.03) for 1-2 cups/day, 0.88 (0.82-0.95) for 3-4 cups/day, and 0.87 (0.81-0.94) for more than 5 cups/day (P for trend.001). Corresponding hazard ratios for women were 0.90 (0.81-1.00), 0.87 (0.79-0.96), and 0.83 (0.75-0.91; P for trend.001). Green tea was inversely associated with mortality from heart disease in both men and women and mortality from cerebrovascular disease and respiratory disease in men. No association was found between green tea and total cancer mortality.This prospective study suggests that the consumption of green tea may reduce the risk of all-cause mortality and the three leading causes of death in Japan.

To determine the presence or extent of arginine deficiency in pressure ulcer (PU) patients on percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) feeding and to examine the effects of arginine supplementation on PU healing.All eligible PEG patients, with and without PU, were cross-sectionally assessed for plasma arginine. Three-month supplementation with arginine-enriched water (Arginaid Water) was performed on a subset of patients with PU. This intervention study was a prospective, non-controlled trial with 5 PU patients.Geriatric ward of a rural clinical hospital in Japan.Thirty-nine inpatients with PEG feeding were assessed for plasma arginine. Five of the 13 patients with PU and five of 26 patients without PU underwent amino acid profiling.Five of the patients with PU received Arginaid Water supplementation.Plasma amino acid measurements and biochemical analyses were performed. For those with PU on Arginaid Water supplementation, plasma arginine concentration and PU status were monitored every month.Patients with PU showed significantly lower plasma arginine concentration compared to those without PU (control vs. PU; 80.2±21.3 vs 62.8±14.7 nmol/ml, p0.01). After the addition of Arginaid Water, plasma arginine concentration increased (before vs 3 months later; 57.9±1.8 vs 83.1±8.5, p0.01), and PU area, perimeter, DESIGN-R and PUSH scores significantly improved.Plasma arginine was lower in PEG patients with PU. The healing rate of PU is improved with Arginaid Water supplementation. The findings from this study support the use of arginine supplementation in PEG patients with PU.

Detailed description is given of a holographic coding plate that encodes position coordinates of quantized spatial regions on the coding plate. A coding plate fabrication method is described that makes it possible to produce a coding plate of 2(m) x 2(n) quantized regions by a total of (m + n) exposures. Reconstruction of point images and their immobility are discussed in a framework of the first-order approximation. Dancings of the reconstructed point images are explained in terms of the third-order aberrations. Intensity variations of the reconstructed point images due to the volume holographic effect are discussed. Outline of a holographic graphic input device called a Holotablet, which is an example of the application of the holographic coding plate, is described.

A method of high-speed data collection used in imaging the magnetic-field distribution leaking from magnetic devices along any plane is proposed. The method uses the computed tomography (CT) technique. A high-speed data collection system developed for demonstrating the method is described. An image of the magnetic field is reconstructed from projection data provided by the voltage induced in the sensors of a line conductor and a rectangular coil moving in the plane of observation. Rotational scanning of the sensors is used for collecting the projections so that data-acquisition time can be reduced. To demonstrate the performance of the system, the reconstructed images of the magnetic-field distributions made by some permanent magnets are shown. >

Business realization of a new basic technology requires a set of technologies consisting of every necessary complimentary technology in addition to the original basic technology. This leads us to a concept of "application-specific research", which is the research activity including further elaboration of the basic technology but also development of every necessary complimentary technology in order to realize a specified application. Application-specific research can be regarded the mode-conversion stage from "Research" mode to "Development" mode in an R&D process. Application-specific research is also assigned to the stage 2 (Business case) in the stage-gate process. By assigning so, the roles of the stage 2 and the gate 3 (Decision on business case) will be much more clearly understood. "The Valley of Death" should be understood not as the gap between basic research and business, but as the mode-conversion stage connecting them.

This paper reports on hole multiplication processes, detected in a reverse-type avalanche photodiode (APD), Hamamatsu Photonics type S8664-55, which has a light sensitive area of 5 times 5 mm and a depletion layer thickness of ~ 40 mum. When the APD was irradiated from a 241Am isotope, the 13.9 keV and 17.6 keV X-rays produced spectral peaks, whose pulse height depended strongly on the bias voltage, whereas 57.5 keV photons produced another peak, whose the pulse height was much less bias sensitive. The former are identified with electron multiplication signals, whereas the latter with those due to hole multiplication. By measuring the electron and hole multiplication gains as a function of the bias voltage, the ratio of hole and electron ionization probabilities was determined as 0.0130 plusmn 0.0010 at 20degC, and 0.0153 plusmn 0.0010 at -20degC.

A wireless application based on a PDA and a mobile phone has been developed at AEROSPAZIO Tecnologie to allow remote control of space test facilities and increase the staff mobility. The application developed in house has been compared with the available software over different networks. The test activities and results are described

This paper focuses on innovations to extend application fields of robotic manipulators both from hardware and software aspects. An exchangeable end-effector system together with a versatile gripper mechanism increases the utility of a manipulator. An operation-teaching interface enables users to operate remote robots easily and ubiquitously via general 2D terminals. A potential market is expected to become several times larger than the present robot industry.

A novel thin and planar waveguide circuit is proposed to connect an antenna and backed RF circuits in millimeter-wave module. A microstrip, line to waveguide transition and waveguide E-plane corner are designed and fabricated in 70 GHz band. Low loss characteristics are confirmed by the experiments. Future study is to realize wide frequency bandwidth.

In this paper, we propose a deformable model-driven method to obtain the 3D information necessary for handling clothes by manipulators from observation with stereo cameras. The task considered in this paper is to hold up a target part of clothes (e.g. one shoulder of a pullover) by the second manipulator, when the clothes are held in the air at any point by the first manipulator. First, the method calculates possible 3D shapes of the hanging clothes by simulating the clothes deformation. The 3D shape whose appearance gives the best fit with the observed images is selected as estimation of the current state. Then, based on the estimated shape, the 3D position and normal direction of the part where the second manipulator should hold are calculated. The results of preliminary experiments using actual two manipulators have shown the good potential of the proposed method.

A robotic telemanipulation method, which enables an operator to command various manipulation tasks from remote site using only 2D interface is proposed. The operator treats a real task environment through robot's sights as if it were a virtual one in a CAD system, and is able to set a variety of spatial task constraints easily on the spot. Two fundamental techniques, real-world drawing and parametric modeling, are explained. By incorporating the Internet, this method will enable the operator to teach robot motions ubiquitously from anywhere and offer a wide range of application.

A method is proposed to classify and describe grasping and manipulation. It is based on the three functions of grasping surfaces, namely object-supporting, pressing and wrapping functions. The method provides a simple description for grasping and manipulation and it can express their physical fundamentals. The description is illustrated through example grasp and manipulation by a human hand. Because it is independent from specific hardware, the obtained interpretations of tasks by a human hand can be easily applied to robotic hand systems. The new method can be expected to change current approaches to designing robot hands.

In this paper, we propose a new reinforcement learning algorithm for generating a fuzzy controller. The algorithm generates a range of continuous real-valued actions, and reinforcement signal is self-scaled. This prevents the weights from overshooting when the system gets a very large reinforcement value. The proposed method is applied to the problem of controlling the brachiation robot, which moves dynamically from branch to branch like a gibbon swinging its body in a pendulum fashion.

The process of cardiovascular complications in Type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) is unclear. We investigated pathophysiological changes of the heart and vessels in the Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat Type 2 DM model during a long time period.Echocardiography was carried out at 22 and 62 weeks of age of OLETF ( n=10, each) and age-matched Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) rats ( n=10, each) as a reference. Haemodynamic measurements and histological examinations of the heart and the coronary and aortic vascular walls were done.The left ventricular (LV) maximal -dP/dt was reduced in OLETF rats at 62 weeks (-1085+/-35 mmHg/s) less than that at 22 weeks (-1892+/-396 mmHg/sec, p0.05) and in LETO rats at 62 weeks (-1306+/-200 mmHg/sec, p0.05). Wall thickening of intramyocardial coronary arteries, capillary tortuosity and thickening of basement membrane were evident in OLETF rats at 62 weeks. Intimal and medial wall thickening of the aorta were prominent in OLETF rats at 62 weeks (15+/-2.2 and 90+/-6.6 micro m, in LETO rats at 62 weeks, 2+/-0.4 and 65+/-5.2 micro m, p0.05, and in OLETF rats at 22 weeks, 7+/-4.6 and 71+/-6.0 micro m, p0.05, respectively).In the Type 2 DM model, angiopathy, especially in coronary arteries including small vessels, as well as a LV relaxation abnormality, are induced in a late stage of DM. These are considered to be important complications in Type 2 DM.

The CMA adaptive array was developed for capture of constant modulus signals. As is well known, the CMA adaptive array can suppress interferences successfully under multipath environments. In order to investigate the availability of CMA adaptive array for other non-constant modulus signals, this paper deals with performance of the CMA adaptive array for 16 QAM signals which have high bandwidth efficiency. Several CMA-based cost functions modified for the QAM signals are introduced and also an algorithm of switching those cost functions in the process of adaptation is proposed. Via computer simulation, it is shown that the CMA adaptive array with the cost functions changed in adaptation has significantly better convergence characteristics for the 16 QAM signals. In addition, the BER performance of the cost functions is clarified.

We present an exchangeable hand system designed for portable manipulators. It is developed for achieving lightness in weight especially at the end of a robot arm to improve performance and safety of a complete manipulation system. We prepared several end effectors with simple functions that can be used interchangeably. We describe concepts and details of our system including a new exchanger mechanism and a new versatile hand called WitchHand.

Melanoma is among the most aggressive malignancies with increasing worldwide incidence and there is no effective treatment for the metastatic disease. The absence of an effective therapy may be due to adaptation and selection of melanoma cells to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress (Hersey P and Zhang XD). We showed that GADD153, one of the components of the ER stress-mediated apoptosis pathway, was mostly excluded from the nucleus of primary and metastatic melanoma cells compared with nevus cells. These data suggest that the unexpected GADD153 cellular localization could be involved in melanoma cell adaption to ER stress, since GADD153 accumulates in the nucleus during ER stress. Unfolded protein response (UPR) signaling induced in response to ER stress is a dual process that acts inducing a protective response to restore ER homeostasis or cell death in a severe or persistent ER stress induction. We investigated if induction of ER stress was a potential strategy to chemosensitize melanoma cells to genotoxic drugs by surpassing the adaptive levels to ER stress. We first treated human melanoma cells (SBCl2, Skmel28 and Mel85) with tunicamycin (TUN), an ER stress inducer before cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II)(CDDP) treatment. CDDP is a low cost chemotherapeutic drug currently used in Brazil as a second line for melanoma treatment, especially in youngsters. We demonstrated an >50% increase in the percentage of cells in cell death process with TUN/CDDP treatment when compared to CDDP only. UPR markers, GRP78 and GADD153, were induced by TUN. One of the cellular mechanisms that are regulated by ER stress is autophagy. Accordingly, we observed an increase in the acidic vesicular organelles, assessed by acridine orange staining, in response to combined treatment. Autophagy inhibition with 3-Methyladenine increased TUN/CDDP induced-cell death, suggesting that autophagy plays a protective role in this response. Reactive oxygen species were involved in TUN and CDDP response, but more prominently in combined treatment response. However, the oxidative stress inhibition with N-acetylcysteine did not alter the sensitization effect of TUN pretreatment. We also tested temozolomide (TMZ), an equivalent drug to the active form of dacarbazine, the first line treatment of melanoma. The same sensitization capacity was observed in cells pretreated with TUN and further treated with TMZ. These results indicate that tumor cells could be preconditioned to cell death if exposed to a first ER stressor, such as TUN, which would compromise an effective adaptive response to a cell death inducer, as CDDP and TMZ. This combined approach may be a promising strategy for melanoma therapy. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):B21. Citation Format: Renata F. Saito, Andréia H. Otake, Margarita M. Cortes, Roger Chammas. Endoplasmic reticulum stress conditioned melanoma cell lines to chemotherapy-induced cell death. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference: Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2013 Oct 19-23; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2013;12(11 Suppl):Abstract nr B21.

SRPX2 (Sushi repeat-containing protein, X-linked 2) has recently emerged as a multifunctional protein that is involved in seizure disorders, angiogenesis and cellular adhesion. Here, we analyzed this protein biochemically. SRPX2 protein was secreted with a highly post-translational modification. Chondroitinase ABC treatment completely decreased the molecular mass of purified SRPX2 protein to its predicted size, whereas heparitinase, keratanase and hyaluroinidase did not. Secreted SRPX2 protein was also detected using an anti-chondroitin sulfate antibody. These results indicate that SRPX2 is a novel chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan (CSPG). Furthermore, a binding assay revealed that hepatocyte growth factor dose-dependently binds to SRPX2 protein, and a ligand–glycosaminoglycans interaction was speculated to be likely in proteoglycans. Regarding its molecular architecture, SRPX2 has sushi repeat modules similar to four other CSPGs/lecticans; however, the molecular architecture of SRPX2 seems to be quite different from that of the lecticans. Taken together, we found that SRPX2 is a novel CSPG that is overexpressed in gastrointestinal cancer cells. Our findings provide key glycobiological insight into SRPX2 in cancer cells and demonstrate that SRPX2 is a new member of the cancer-related proteoglycan family.

Flash x-ray radiography was conducted using imaging plates (IP) to observe high-speed thermal spray jets and debris clouds produced from hypervelocity impact. The radiographs of the spray jets or debris cloud shadows on the IPs were analyzed to estimate the distribution of mass per unit area, i.e., Areal mass density, due to the distribution of the intensities of stimulated emissions from the IPs. The wide dynamic range of the IPs led to the detection of an Areal mass density one hundred times as large as the minimum Areal mass density and the very detailed densities. The availability of the IPs for the flash x-ray radiography of a high-speed thermal spray jet and a hypervelocity-impact-produced debris cloud was demonstrated.

The present state of research on toxicities of fire effluents in Japan is described. This review centers on the status of a joint study project which has been under way in recent years, participated in by research institutions in the country. The research setup in the country, the method of applying conditions of actual fires to testing apparatus of laboratory scale, the role of CO 2 mixed with pure gases, and the results of square wave exposure of fire effluents in a newly developed testing apparatus are described. INTRODUCTION Research in Japan on toxicities of fire effluents has been mainly carried out at universities and by national research institutes and testing facilities of various government ministries and agencies. Studies to be carried out at the research institutions of the ministries and agencies are based on the administrative needs of the individual government organs. Therefore, the concepts of toxicities of fire effluents of these research organizations differ in degree and are being studied by means of different techniques. The Science and Technology Agency of the Japanese government has set up a system for allocating funds, taking up cases of joint studies by a plural number of research institutions as special research projects. A 5-years joint research program concerning toxicities of fire effluents was started 3 years ago with the cooperation of the United States and Canada (hereafter called "Project Research") under this budgeting system. In Japan, five national research organs, two universities, and one pUblic testing organ are cooperating and sharing in the research work. This research is being done by the three working groups on establishment of burning conditions, development of testing apparatus, and development of an evaluation method, with three or four institutions participating in each working group. This is the first time that such a research organization has been set up in the field of fire safety science. So far, satisfactory results have been obtained. Here, the studies in Japan in recent years of toxicities of fire effluents will be described including the abovementioned results. BURNING CONDITIONS WHEN EVALUATING COMBUSTION TOXICITY The composition of gas emitted during combustion of a material is affected by burning conditions such as heating temperature, partial pressure of oxygen, and configuration of the combustion chamber, and by the size and orientation of the sample. Consequently, it is clear that the potential for toxicity of effluents FIRE SAFETY SCIENCE-PROCEEDINGS OF THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM 1069 Copyright © International Association for Fire Safety Science 1000 OPENING WIDTH (em) 0---29 0 900 0---44 x---59 I 800 6----89 0 g 700 :z; 0 600 H E-< :; 500 fil H fil l:l 400 xl p ~ ox fil 300 Ref ~ Pi! q,x E-< 200 '1

Phase modulation noise in a Fourier-transform plane phase hologram is investigated in terms of combination tones between signal components. Negative correlation between diffraction efficiency and signal-to-noise ratio is derived.

A miniaturized Nd:YAG laser is described, in which a 3‐mm‐diam×5.4‐mm‐long laser rod is end‐pumped by a single AlxGa1−xAs superluminescent diode (SLD) having 20‐μm×1.4‐nm stripe geometry. A 4.5‐mW laser power was obtained at room temperature in a 1‐ms pulse operation. Emitted power from the SLD was 50 mW with 1.7% external power efficiency. When continuously pumped, a 1.5‐mW laser power was obtained at room temperature.

An optical diffraction phenomenon in an ion-exchanged planar optical waveguide with a sputter-etched periodic surface corrugation was experimentally investigated in detail. A single-mode incident beam simultaneously gave rise to several diffracted beams of different mode indices in different directions. This phenomenon was interpreted on the basis of the phase-matching diagram for the multimode Bragg diffraction by using measured wave vectors of the propagation modes and of the surface corrugation.

Radiation therapy is usually given with the assumption that interindividual variations in radiosensitivity are small, except for some patients with hereditary diseases associated with increased sensitivity. Recently, we observed radiation induced pericarditis in a breast carcinoma patient, in whom clinical signs, blood counts and chromosome analysis after in vitro irradiation of blood suggested a state of unusually high radiosensitivity. No evidence of constitutional chromosome abnormality was found in karyotypic analysis with the G-banding technique.

HE 1980’s may well be noted in lightwave history for a seemingly endless stream of record breaking improvements in high-speed technology for devices and systems. At the start of the decade, first generation commer. cia1 digital lightwave systems typically operated at data rates below 100 Mbit/s. In laboratory experiments, rates from a few hundred megabits per second to 1 Gbit/s were being explored, with some special devices reaching speeds of a few gigahertz. Advances since then in several technologies have led to phenomenal increases in device and system speeds. The surpassing of the 1-Gbit/s data rate in laboratory transmission experiments led quickly to “hero” experiments at 2, then 4, and now 8 Gbit/s. These experimental systems transmitted data over substantial fiber spans, typically in the 50-200 km range. Laboratory system performance, as measured by the bit-rate distance product, increased from little more than 10 Gbit/s - km in 1980 to nearly 1000 Gbit/s km by the end of 1986. Commercial lightwave systems now span close to 50 km at 1.7 Gbit/s, and higher system bit rates and span lengths are in the planning stage. This Special Issue on High Speed Technology for Lightwave Applications is intended both to document the recent progress made in high-speed device and system performance, and to expose new techniques which may help to extend the current performance limits in the future. The special issue contains 24 papers, of which seven are invited and 17 have been contributed. These papers cover a broad range of topics in high-speed lightwave technoiogy, where high speed is defined for this purpose as operation at bit rates beyond 1 Gbit/s. The papers are presented in four groups: receivers, transmitters, modulators and electronics, and systems. Nearly all aspects of highspeed technology are covered. It is heartening to note the extension of optoelectronic integrated circuitry and coherent optical transmission techniques to multi-gigabitper-second rates, for this will ensure much exciting research and development in those fields in the decade ahead. We hope this special issue stimulates more generally new areas of interest in high-speed technology for lightwave applications. The guest editors thank all of those who contributed to make this special issue possible-our many contributors and reviewers. Special thanks go to our secretarial staffs, who worked tirelessly to manage the enormous flow of paperwork required by this international project.

A new electro-optical effect in nematic or nematic-cholesteric mixed liquid crystals is described which allows a 90° polarisation plane rotation of linearly polarised incident light induced by the electric field.

We have investigated acousto-optic diffraction by an acoustic surface wave generated by a ZnO-thin-film transducer in an ion-exchanged waveguide. A diffraction efficiency of 70% was obtained with 2 W of electric power.