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The unsymmetrical diorganomanganeses(II) (R1R2Mn) and magnesium triorganomanganates(II) (R12R2MnMgX) reacted with 2-cyclohexen-1-one to produce the 1,4-addition products in moderate to good yields. The approximate reactivity order obtained from the product distribution was CH2=CHCH2 > PhS > n-Bu > Ph > Me, Me3SiCH2, n-C6H13–C≡C. In contrast, the reactivity order for the addition of these reagents to cyclohexanecarbaldehyde was CH2=CHCH2 > Ph > Me > n-Bu > n-C6H13C≡C > Me3SiCH2.

Treatment of 2-iodoethanal alkenyl acetals, generated by iodoetherization from butyl vinyl ether and allylic alcohols, with phenylmagnesium bromide in the presence of a catalytic amount of FeCl2 provided tetrahydrofuran derivatives in good yields. Allyl 2-halophenyl ethers also afforded dihydrobenzofuran derivatives upon treatment with phenylmagnesium bromide under FeCl2 catalysis. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The three-dimensional structure of a modified human lysozyme (HL), Glu 53 HL, in which Asp 53 was replaced by Glu, has been determined at 1.77 A resolution by X-ray analysis. The backbone structure of Glu 53 HL is essentially the same as the structure of wild-type HL. The root mean square difference for the superposition of equivalent C alpha atoms is 0.141 A. Except for the Glu 53 residue, the structure of the active site region is largely conserved between Glu 53 HL and wild-type HL. However, the hydrogen bond network differs because of the small shift or rotation of side chain groups. The carboxyl group of Glu 53 points to the carboxyl group of Glu 35 with a distance of 4.7 A between the nearest carboxyl oxygen atoms. A water molecule links these carboxyl groups by a hydrogen bond bridge. The active site structure explains well the fact that the binding ability for substrates does not significantly differ between Glu 53 HL and wild-type HL. On the other hand, the positional and orientational change of the carboxyl group of the residue 53 caused by the mutation is considered to be responsible for the low catalytic activity (ca. 1%) of Glu 53 HL. The requirement of precise positioning for the carboxyl group suggests the possibility that the Glu 53 residue contributes more than a simple electrostatic stabilization of the intermediate in the catalysis reaction.

An approximate method and a rigorous method are presented for the time-domain soil-structure interaction analysis, both of which use the stiffness of soil obtained numerically or experimentally in the limited frequency range. In the aseismic design of a large-scale structure, the approximate and rigorous methods are intended to be used in a preliminary analysis and a detailed study, respectively. Both methods are based on the approximation that the first few terms of the Fourier or Taylor expansions of a frequency-dependent function are used. The difference lies in the number of coefficients of each series, and also in the manner in which the coefficients can be determined. In order to demonstrate the validity of the proposed methods, a soil-structure system, whose soil has a complex profile under the foundation, is analysed. The dynamic stiffness of the soil is calculated by a 3-D hybrid approach that combines the finite element method and the boundary element method. As a result, the present methods are capable of evaluating the complexity of the soil more precisely and efficiently than conventional methods.

We propose an “Adaptive Metamorphosis Building (AMB)”, which adapts itself to change in the society, enviornment around the building and demand on the building over its life span. It can alter its size, recycle its structural materials and change its functions or layout easily. Thus, its total life is longer than that of present buildings, and ideally, the AMB can be a semi-permanent building. Then, we introduce its design condition and needs(demand and requirement), which constraint the shape or development of the AMB. Finally, we study how to determine the structural shape so that its structural stability is maximized and the design conditions are satisfied.

In Japan, CHP has been installed for energy saving for decades. Recently renewable energies such as photovoltaic cells and wind power are being installed with increasing speed. But such generators may influence to the stability of the electric system. To enhance the introduction of renewable energies, we have to reduce the influence to the stability of the electric system. It is important to make a good use of distributed generations to reduce the influence using information technologies.

We report here a method of simultaneously quantifying glucosylceramide (GlcCer) and galactosylceramide (GalCer) by normal-phase HPLC using O-phtalaldehyde derivatives. Treatment with sphingolipid ceramide N-deacylase which converts the cerebrosides in the sample to their lyso-forms was followed by the quantitative labeling of free NH(2) groups of the lyso-cerebrosides with O-phtalaldehyde. Using this method, 14.1 pmol of GlcCer and 10.4 pmol of GalCer, and 108.1 pmol of GlcCer and 191.1 pmol of GalCer were detected in zebrafish embryos and RPMI 1864 cells, respectively, while 22.2 pmol of GlcCer but no GalCer was detected in CHOP cells using cell lysate containing 100 microg of protein. Linearity for the determination of each cerebroside was observed from 50 to 400 microg of protein under the conditions used, which corresponds to approximately 10(3) to 10(5) RPMI cells and 5 to 80 zebrafish embryos. The present method clearly revealed that the treatment of RPMI cells with a GlcCer synthase inhibitor P4 resulted in a marked decrease in GlcCer but not GalCer, concomitantly with a significant decrease in the GlcCer synthase activity. On the other hand, GlcCer but not GalCer increased 2-fold when an acid glucocerebrosidase inhibitor CBE was injected into zebrafish embryos. Interestingly, the treatment of CHOP cells with ciclosporin A increased GlcCer possibly due to the inhibition of LacCer synthase. A significant increase in levels of GlcCer in fibroblasts from patients with Gaucher disease was clearly shown by the method. The proposed method is useful for the determination of GlcCer and GalCer levels in various biological samples.

The role of aspartic acid 53 of human lysozyme (peptidoglycan N-acetylmuramoylhydrolase, EC 3.2.1.17) has been investigated by a site-directed mutagenesis. In order to clarify the importance of precise positioning of the negatively charged carboxylate group in the active site geometry, both the three-dimensional structure and the enzymatic function of glutamic acid 53 human lysozyme (Glu-53 human lysozyme) have been characterized in comparison with those of wild type enzyme. Glu-53 human lysozyme was crystallized and analysed by X-ray crystallography. No remarkable difference in the conformation of whole molecule except the side chain of 53rd residue was observed. In spite of full retention of the binding activities against either beta-1,4-linked trisaccharide of N-acetylglucosamine ((GlcNAc)3) or the corresponding hexasaccharide ((GlcNAc)6), the conversion of Asp-53 to Glu reduced the enzymatic activities against both bacterial cell substrate and p-nitrophenyl penta-N-acetyl-beta(1----4)-chitopentaoside (p-NO2-(GlcNAc)5) to a few percent of the activities of wild type enzyme. Calculation of electrostatic potential around the reaction center predicted that no significant change in pKa of Glu-35 was caused by the mutation. These results indicate that the precise positioning of the negatively charged carboxylate in the geometry of reaction center is essential for the rate enhancement in the catalytic action of lysozyme, and suggest that Asp-53 of human lysozyme participates in the catalytic action not simply in an electrostatical manner but partly in a nucleophilical manner.

The effects of glycyrrhizin and its aglycone, glycyrrhetinic acid, on the cytoplasmic free calcium concentration ([Ca 2+ ] i ) in mastocytoma P-815 cells, DNP- Ascaris (antigen) sensitized mast cells, hepatocytes, fibroblasts and endothelial cells were investigated. In these cell types, glycyrrhetinic acid in the concentration range of 20 to 100 μM caused an increase in [Ca 2+ ] i and inhibited calcium increases induced by an antigen (mast cells), ATP, phenylephrine (hepatocytes) and thrombin (fibroblasts and endothelial cells). Stimulation with phenylephrine, in place of glycyrrhetinic acid, did not inhibit subsequent calcium increases induced by phenylephrine or ATP. On the other hand, glycyrrhizin at concentrations up to 100 μM neither caused an increase in [Ca 2+ ] i nor inhibited calcium increases induced by other stimulatory substances. These results suggest that the inhibition of the calcium-mediated signal pathway may participate in the cytostatic actions of glycyrrhetinic acid.

The objective of this paper is to present a method of causal FFT treatment which is available to not only approximately time-limited and band-limited functions but also singularity functions appearing frequently in earthquake engineering problems such as time domain response analyses and seismic record processing. By means of the causal FFT treatment for a singularity function, it is possible to determine several causal functions. The properties of the obtained causal functions are discussed in detail. The 0 second and 0 Hz value problems of engineering importance concerning the determination of the discrete singularity values of non-time-limited or non-band-limited functions are presented. Finally, by presenting numerical examples, several problems existing in the FFT analyses of singularity functions and a method to solve the problems are explained in detail.

Phosphodiesterase 7A (PDE7A) has been suggested to be involved in activation of T lymphocytes. In the present study, a possible involvement of PDE7A in function of preactivated T cells (i.e. T lymphoblasts) was investigated using ASB16165, an inhibitor for PDE7A. ASB16165, which has an IC50 value of 15 nM for human PDE7A, suppressed IL-12-induced IFN-gamma production by T lymphoblasts which have been prepared by stimulating mouse T cells with anti-CD3 antibody. In the same experiment, rolipram, a PDE4-specific inhibitor, showed similar effect, while calcineurin antagonist FK506 did not. Forskolin (an adenylyl cyclase activator) and dibutyryl cAMP also inhibited the IL-12-induced IFN-gamma synthesis. Rp-8-Br-cAMPS, an inhibitor of protein kinase A (PKA), reduced the suppressive effect of ASB16165 on the IFN-gamma production by T lymphoblasts. The rescue of IFN-gamma production by Rp-8-Br-cAMPS was also observed in the inhibition by rolipram and forskolin. These findings suggest that PDE7A may regulate function of activated T cells in a cAMP/PKA-dependent manner, and that PDE4 might share the role. The data in our study also indicate that PDE7 inhibitors such as ASB16165 will be beneficial for the patients with immunological disorders.

Parachlamydia acanthamoebae , belonging to the order Chlamydiales , is an obligately intracellular bacterium that infects free-living amoebae and is a potential human pathogen. However, no method exists to accurately quantify viable bacterial numbers. We present a novel quantification method for P. acanthamoebae based on coculture with amoebae. P. acanthamoebae was cultured either with Acanthamoeba spp. or with mammalian epithelial HEp-2 or Vero cells. The infection rate of P. acanthamoebae (amoeba-infectious dose [AID]) was determined by DAPI (4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole) staining and was confirmed by fluorescent in situ hybridization. AIDs were plotted as logistic sigmoid dilution curves, and P. acanthamoebae numbers, defined as amoeba-infectious units (AIU), were calculated. During culture, amoeba numbers and viabilities did not change, and amoebae did not change from trophozoites to cysts. Eight amoeba strains showed similar levels of P. acanthamoebae growth, and bacterial numbers reached ca. 1,000-fold (10 9 AIU preculture) after 4 days. In contrast, no increase was observed for P. acanthamoebae in either mammalian cell line. However, aberrant structures in epithelial cells, implying possible persistent infection, were seen by transmission electron microscopy. Thus, our method could monitor numbers of P. acanthamoebae bacteria in host cells and may be useful for understanding chlamydiae present in the natural environment as human pathogens.

We propose an effective and reliable time-domain substructure technique which takes soil-structure interaction effects into account and uses the flexibility coefficients of unbounded soil obtained in the frequency domain. Compared with previous methods, the frequency points to calculate flexibility coefficients, and computational loads in the calculation of time-domain interaction forces, are reduced. In the formulation, we have assumed the flexibility coefficient to be a periodic function, obtained within the bandlimited frequency range, which also includes the predominant frequencies of the structure and incident wave. Then we simulate the periodic flexibility coefficients using discrete impulse responses in the time-domain analyses. However, the real and imaginary parts of the bandlimited flexibility coefficients do not form a Hilbert transform pair; the discrete impulse responses should be modified to be causal for the time-domain analyses. We present various discrete impulse responses which have been obtained from only the real part, only the imaginary part and from both the real and imaginary parts of the frequency-domain flexibility coefficients by FFT with causality conditions. Through a numerical example the relationship between the modified discrete impulse responses and the validity of the time-domain substructure method is presented.

Palmoplantar pustulosis (PPP) has long been regarded as a tonsillar focal infection because tonsillectomy is so effective in its treatment. Immune mechanisms of focal infection have been discussed mainly with regard to humoral immunity as an autoimmune disease. The present immunological study demonstrates the expression of HLA-DR antigen in tonsillar epithelium. The patterns of the HLA-DR antigen appearance in the epithelium were categorized into 4 types, and the intensity was compared between hypertrophic tonsils, recurrent tonsillitis, and tonsils with PPP. In addition, paired fluorescent staining, a combination of CD3 and anti-HLA-DR antibodies, was performed. The activity of intraepithelial T-lymphocytes was determined as an index of the HLA-DR antigen expression. In an age matching study, HLA-DR antigen appeared in high intensity in tonsils with PPP. A close correlation was found between the appearance of HLA-DR antigens and activation of infiltrating T-lymphocytes. These findings suggest that the tonsillar epithelium plays an important role in focal infection.

The rate of proliferation of porcine aortic endothelial cells (PAEC) in response to fibroblast growth factor (FGF) was largely retarded when incubated in Dulbecco’s modified Eagle’s medium (DMEM) supplemented with either 1% fetal bovine serum (FBS) or 10% dialyzed FBS in place of 10% FBS. Proliferation of endothelial cells in low serum media in response to FGF was enhanced to the level of media containing FGF plus 10% FBS by the addition of the dialyzable fraction from bovine brain homogenates. From the bovine brain dialyzable fraction, two active components were purified and identified as hypoxanthine and inosine. Either hypoxanthine or inosine, at a dose of 5 μM in DMEM with 1% FBS, maximally increased the incorporation of [3H]thymidine into DNA of PAEC in low serum media in the presence of FGF. However, no additive effect was observed when hypoxanthine and inosine were added simultaneously. The present data indicate that the proliferative action of FGF on PAEC can be potentiated by hypoxanthine and inosine.

Monomeric and polymeric compounds containing uracil group, i.e., 3-[2,4(3H)-pyrimidinedionyl]propylpyridinium bromide (2) and quaternary poly(4-vinylpyridine) containing 2,4(3H)-pyrimidinedione (4), were prepared and their complexation with bivalent metal ions was studied by visible and ESR spectroscopy. The concentrated methanolic solution of monomeric ligand 2 and bivalent metal ions like copper(II), cobalt(II), and zinc(II) gave mixed ligand complexes (5a–c) consisting of two molecules of 2, two molecules of methanol, and one bivalent metal ion. Complexes 5a–c in dilute methanolic solution were unstable and transformed to complexes 6 consisting of four molecules of 2 and one ion of bivalent metal. The uracil group of polymer 4 in methanol did not give a mixed ligand complex like 5 but exclusively formed the complex of type 6. On the other hand, compounds 2 and 4 with tetraamminecopper(II) bromide in water gave mixed ligand complexes composed of two molecules of uracil residue, two molecules of ammonia, and one molecular copper(II) ion.

Using C6-NBD-glucosylceramide (GlcCer) as a substrate, we detected the activity of a conduritol B epoxide-insensitive neutral glycosylceramidase in cytosolic fractions of zebrafish embryos, mouse and rat brains, and human fibroblasts. The candidates for the enzyme were assigned to the Klotho (KL), whose family members share a beta-glucosidase-like domain but whose natural substrates are unknown. Among this family, only the KL-related protein (KLrP) is capable of degrading C6-NBD-GlcCer when expressed in CHOP cells, in which Myc-tagged KLrP was exclusively distributed in the cytosol. In addition, knockdown of the endogenous KLrP by small interfering RNA increased the cellular level of GlcCer. The purified recombinant KLrP hydrolyzed 4-methylumbelliferyl-glucose, C6-NBD-GlcCer, and authentic GlcCer at pH 6.0. The enzyme also hydrolyzed the corresponding galactosyl derivatives, but each k(cat)/Km was much lower than that for glucosyl derivatives. The x-ray structure of KLrP at 1.6A resolution revealed that KLrP is a (beta/alpha)8 TIM barrel, in which Glu(165) and Glu(373) at the carboxyl termini of beta-strands 4 and 7 could function as an acid/base catalyst and nucleophile, respectively. The substrate-binding cleft of the enzyme was occupied with palmitic acid and oleic acid when the recombinant protein was crystallized in a complex with glucose. GlcCer was found to fit well the cleft of the crystal structure of KLrP. Collectively, KLrP was identified as a cytosolic neutral glycosylceramidase that could be involved in a novel nonlysosomal catabolic pathway of GlcCer.

A power and heat interchange system with fuel cells in collective housings is proposed. A solution method for determining optimal FC operation plan is proposed. From numerical simulations it is confirmed that fuel cells are effectively used by interchanging power and heat in a collective housing.

Ancient chlamydiae diverged into pathogenic and environmental chlamydiae 0.7-1.4 billion years ago. However, how pathogenic chlamydiae adapted to mammalian cells that provide a stable niche at approximately 37 °C, remains unknown, although environmental chlamydiae have evolved as endosymbionts of lower eukaryotes in harsh niches of relatively low temperatures. Hence, we assessed whether an environmental chlamydia, Parachlamydia Bn9, could grow in human HEp-2 cells at a low culture temperature of 30 °C. The assessment of inclusion formation by quantitative RT-PCR revealed that the numbers of bacterial inclusion bodies and the transcription level of 16SrRNA significantly increased after culture at 30 °C compared to at 37 °C. Confocal microscopy showed that the bacteria were located close to HEp-2 nuclei and were actively replicative. Transmission electron microscopy also revealed replicating bacteria consisting of reticular bodies, but with a few elementary bodies. Cytochalasin D and rifampicin inhibited inclusion formation. Lactacystin slightly inhibited bacterial inclusion formation. KEGG analysis using a draft genome sequence of the bacteria revealed that it possesses metabolic pathways almost identical to those of pathogenic chlamydia. Interestingly, comparative genomic analysis with pathogenic chlamydia revealed that the Parachlamydia similarly possess the genes encoding Type III secretion system, but lacking genes encoding inclusion membrane proteins (IncA to G) required for inclusion maturation. Taken together, we conclude that ancient chlamydiae had the potential to grow in human cells, but overcoming the thermal gap was a critical event for chlamydial adaptation to human cells.

In a prior study, we reported on a significant decrease in calpain10 gene expression in white blood cells (WBC) as well as the major insulin-target tissues including liver and adipose tissue, before the onset of diabetes in Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rats. In this study, we extended our hypothesis that some type 2 diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) susceptible genes are up/down-regulated before the onset in WBC of OLETF rats, reflecting their up/down-regulation in major insulin-target tissues, such as the liver. We tested this hypothesis using rat cDNA microarrays. The findings show that 1080 genes are up/down-regulated by more than 2-fold compared to the controls, Long-Evans Tokushima Otsuka rats, before the onset in WBC and liver under fasted or insulin administered condition. Fifty-seven of the 1080 genes were up/down-regulated in both WBC and the liver. More than half have been reported to NIDDM susceptible genes and the remainder have not been reported to be related to NIDDM. These results indicate that there some NIDDM related genes are up/down-regulated in WBC before the onset of diabetes.

We herein describe the development of a Bacillus subtilis system that can be used to produce large quantities of recombinant (r-) human salivary cystatins, a cysteine protease inhibitor of family 2 in the cystatin superfamily. The B. subtilis that lacked the alkaline protease E gene (DeltaaprE type mutant strain) was prepared by homologous recombination. The cDNA fragments coding for mature cystatins (S and SA) were ligated in frame to the DNA segment for the signal peptide of endoglucanase in the pHSP-US plasmid vector that was then use to transform the DeltaaprE type mutant strain of B. subtilis. The transformants carrying the expression vectors were cultivated in 5-L jar fermenters for 3 days at 30 degrees C. Both r-cystatin S and r-cystatin SA were successfully expressed and secreted into the culture broth, and were purified using a fast performance liquid chromatography system. The first use of DeltaaprE type mutant strain of B. subtilis made it possible to obtain a high yield of secreted protein, which makes this system an improvement over expression in Escherichia coli. We conclude that this system has high utility for expression of commercial quantities of secreted proteins.

The authors propose a new grid voltage control scheme to determine the optimal sending voltage profile so as to minimize total number of tap position changes per day under constraints of acceptable voltage limit for distribution feeders with photovoltaic systems (PVs). In order to verify the validity of the proposed grid voltage control scheme for multiple PV connections, numerical examples for a grid model with PV were shown.

We report the long-term follow up of a growing skull fracture treated by duraplasty and cranioplasty with artificial dura mater and methylmethacrylate. The patient had undergone duraplasty and cranioplasty 19 years earlier at the age of 1 year and 11 months old. We examined the growth of the skull and the long-term adaptation between his own skull and methylmethacrylate 19 years after cranioplasty.

This paper proposes a method for computer-assisted medical diagnosis using simplified multi-dimensional fuzzy reasoning. The reasoning is based on the iterative use of fuzzy modus ponens and fuzzy modus tollens. Seven types of easy-to-gather production rules for fuzzy medical diagnosis are proposed. The fuzzy inference mechanism accepts patient's symptoms with attached degree of compatibility and infers diagnoses with a degree of certainty that expresses the degree to which it can be certain that the diagnosis is correct. Truthfulness of relationships between symptoms and diseases are fuzzily expressed in terms of linguistic truth values such as "Very True" and "Possibly True". Practical methods for the examination of unconfirmed symptoms and for the reexamination of given symptoms are also considered.

Mast cell chymase is known to induce eosinophil migration in vivo and in vitro. In the present study, we investigated possible involvement of mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinases; extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), c-Jun amino-terminal kinase (JNK), and p38, in the chymase-induced eosinophil migration. Human chymase induced a rapid phosphorylation of ERK1/2 and p38 in human eosinophilic leukemia EoL-1 cells, while no phosphorylation was detected in JNK. The chymase-induced phosphorylation of ERK and p38 was inhibited by pertussis toxin. Similar results were obtained in the experiments using mouse chymase and eosinophils. U0126 (the inhibitor for MAP/ERK kinase) suppressed chymase-induced migration of EoL-1 cells and mouse eosinophils. However, SB203580 (p38 inhibitor) and SP600125 (JNK inhibitor) showed little effect on the migration. It is suggested therefore that chymase activates ERK and p38 probably through G-protein-coupled receptor, and that ERK but not p38 cascade may have a crucial role in chymase-induced migration of eosinophils.

Glucosylceramide synthase (GlcT) and lactosylceramide synthase (GalT) are key enzymes for the synthesis of major glycosphingolipids of vertebrates. In this article, we report a new reliable method to determine GlcT and GalT activities using the fluorescent acceptor substrates C6-4-nitrobenzo-2-oxa-1,3-diazole (NBD)-ceramide and C6-NBD-glucosylceramide, respectively, and a normal-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The reaction products, C6-NBD-glucosylceramide for GlcT and C6-NBD-lactosylceramide for GalT, could be separated from the corresponding acceptor substrates within 6 min under the conditions used. Reaction products were able to be detected quantitatively at concentrations ranging from 50 fmol to 50 pmol, making it possible to determine both activities using the lysate from 1 × 10 4 cultured CHOP cells (Chinese hamster ovary cells expressing polyoma LT antigen) and one zebrafish embryo. This method was used successfully to evaluate the degree of knockdown of GlcT and GalT during zebrafish embryogenesis after injection of the morpholino-oligo-based antisense into one- to four-cell embryos. These results indicate that the fluorescence-based HPLC method is a highly sensitive, rapid, and reproducible assay for determining GlcT and GalT activities and is useful for evaluating the activities in gene knockdown experiments.

The midterm effects of coil embolization for ruptured aneurysm remain unknown. We investigated the prevention of rebleeding by GDC in ruptured aneurysms. Between March 1998 and April 2003, we treated 38 ruptured aneurysms measuring less than 10 mm in diameter. The patients were followed for a median of 37.3 months. During the follow-up term, aneurysms treated by coil embolization did not develop rebleeding after 1 month. We conclude that an embolized aneurysm measuring 10 mm or less remains quite stable over 3 years.

Our purpose was to evaluate a two-stage newborn hearing screening program using automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) before discharge and to describe our follow-up program. This study used 4085 infants born in the Seirei-Hamamatsu and Mikatahara General Hospitals during a 2-year period. The initial screening test was performed 2 or 3 days after birth at an intensity of 35 dBnHL. For the infants who were referred from this test, the re-screening test was performed 5 or 6 days after birth. Diagnostic work-up with auditory brainstem response (ABR), otoacoustic emissions (OAE), and a conditioned orientation reflex audiometry (COR) test were performed by the age of 3-6 months. The referral rate was 1.20% (49/4085 infants) in the first test and 0.71% (29/4085 infants) in the two-stage screening. The two-stage screening procedure was able to reduce the false-positive rate from 0.83 to 0.34%. The incidence of bilateral and unilateral congenital hearing loss diagnosed by ABR was 8/4085 (0.20%) infants and 7/4085 (0.17%) infants, respectively. One infant with congenital cytomegalovirus infection, who passed the two-stage AABR tests, was diagnosed with hearing loss 1 month after birth, using ABR. The two-stage measurement of AABR is effective and time efficient due to significant decreases in the referral rate and the false-positive rate.

Interleukin-10 (IL-10), a potent antiinflammatory and immunosuppressive cytokine, plays an important role in the regulation of immune responses. To discover small molecules that stimulate IL-10 production, a cell-based screening assay was performed using a murine macrophage cell line, RAW264.7. Imidocarb, (3,3'-bis-2-imidazolin-2-yl)-carbanilide, which has been used as an anti-protozoan drug for the prevention and treatment of babesiosis in cattle, was thus identified. Imidocarb markedly enhanced LPS-induced IL-10 production not only by RAW264.7 cells but also by murine peritoneal macrophages in a concentration-dependent manner. It also augmented IL-10 production in the presence of zymosan, a yeast cell wall component. In contrast, imidocarb inhibited LPS-induced tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha production by peritoneal macrophages. In mice, intraperitoneal administration of imidocarb significantly increased serum IL-10 levels and lowered TNF-alpha levels. Our results suggest that a novel anti-inflammatory property of imidocarb could lead to new therapeutic approaches in inflammatory conditions.

When a secondary radial power system (66 kV, 77 kV) has a number of connected feeders whose circuit breakers (CBs) can be opened or closed, the combinatorial number of possible system structures created by switching CBs becomes very large. In order to determine the optimal configuration of secondary radial power system in normal state and fault state, a new computation algorithm is proposed. The proposed algorithm is based on enumeration and reduced ordered binary precision diagram (ROBDD). In order to verify the availability of the proposed approach, the authors obtain optimal configurations for both normal and fault states on IEE of Japan secondary power system model (IEEJ model) by using the proposed method. IEEJ model has the distinctive characteristics of practical Japanese power systems, the total number of configuration candidates is the 76-th power of 2(=75,000,000,000,000 billion approximately). The optimality of the system configuration obtained by the proposed method is mathematically guaranteed.

In planning a distribution system, when feeders are newly installed, several tie lines to other feeders must be determined among many candidates, considering investment cost and constraints. However, it is difficult for planners to find the optimal tie line set, because too many candidates exist which can be constructed along the road on service area of the power company. In this paper, in order to support the planners' decision for selecting an optimal tie line of newly installed feeders, the authors have formulated the problem mathematically, and propose a new solution algorithm by using Tabu Search to find superior tie lines. Through numerical examples, the authors demonstrate the validity of the proposed method.

Genetic algorithm (GA) is well-known as a search algorithm based on the mechanics of natural selection and natural genetics. The ability of adaptiveness of GA is available for various problems in industrial fields. In this paper, GA is applied to scenario creation for the evaluating future plan in order to support planner's work. The proposed method is based on the planner's knowledge which is used to create scenarios by planner. The effectiveness of the proposed method is demonstrated by numerical results for an example of application to the power system planning.

In power systems state estimation computation takes an important role in security controls, and the weighted least squares method and the fast decoupled method are widely-used at present. State estimation computation using the existing Von-Neumann type computer is reaching a limit as far as the solution techniques are concerned, and it is very difficult to expect much faster methods. In order to solve the problem, the authors employ a neural network theory, the Hopfield network theory, which has an ultra parallel algorithm and is different from the existing calculating algorithms, for state estimation computation. A feasibility study using a 6 bus system is shown. >

The authors propose a new electrical power delivery system named FRIENDS (Flexible, Reliable and Intelligent Electrical eNergy Delivery System). FRIENDS is a new concept of power distribution system which can realize unbundled power quality services under de-regulated conditions. In order to realize FRIENDS, a system network configuration of FRIENDS itself must be developed. For unbundled power quality services, and especially for reliable power supply, the authors propose a new algorithm to create a network of FRIENDS. The proposed method is based on the tabu search method, and can find the least cost network configuration of FRIENDS under the constraint that no overloads exist in multiple fault cases.

The maintenance scheduling problem belongs to combinatorial optimization problem and is traditionally solved by various mathematical optimization techniques. These methods can give the strict optimal solution for small scale problems but are not eflcient for large scale problems because of the tremendous number of intermediate solutions. This paper deals with a method of solving a large scale long term thermal unit maintenance scheduling problem. The solur'ion algorithm is mainly based on the genetic algorithms, and the simulated annealing as well as the tabu search are cooperatively used. This method introduces a reasonable combination of local search and global search. The encodeidecode technique of this method represents the maintenance schedule concisely. The method takes maintenance class and extension of maintenance gap into consideration, and minimizes the weighted .rum of costs and the variance of reserve powers. The performance of the algorithm is tested by applying it to the real scale problems.

We present a patient with dialysis-related amyloidosis of the external auditory canals. This diagnosis was supported by histological and immunohistochemical studies. This is to the best of our knowledge the first reported case of amyloidosis of the external auditory canals that relate to the chronic hemodialysis.