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Background: A previous cross-sectional study reported that pathogenic factors associated with Osgood-Schlatter disease (OSD) in adolescent athletes include increased quadriceps muscle tightness, lower leg malalignment, and development of apophysitis in the tibial tuberosity. Purpose: To confirm these pathogenic factors associated with OSD in a longitudinal study with regard to physical function and performance. Study Design: Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2. Methods: In this study, 37 boys (mean age, 10.2 ± 0.4 years) were recruited from 2 soccer teams at an elementary school. This cohort study was conducted over an observation period of 1 year, with measurements recorded at baseline, followed by screening for OSD every 6 months. Variables evaluated at baseline included physical function (morphometry, joint flexibility, and lower extremity alignment), presence of Sever disease, and kicking motion. Results: Pathogenic factors associated with OSD in the support leg of adolescent male soccer players included height, weight, body mass index, quadriceps femoris muscle tightness in the kicking and support legs, and gastrocnemius muscle tightness, soleus muscle tightness, and medial longitudinal arch in the support leg. Additional factors included a diagnosis of Sever disease and distance from the lateral malleolus of the support leg’s fibula to the center of gravity during kicking. Conclusion: The onset of OSD was found to be affected by many factors, including developmental stage, physical attributes, and pre-existing apophysitis. In particular, a diagnosis of Sever disease and backward shifting of the center of gravity during kicking increased the risk of the subsequent onset of OSD, suggesting that these factors are very important as a possible focus for interventions.

We compared the effectiveness of promoting bone healing between two teriparatide preparations for atypical femoral fracture (AFF). A total of 45 AFFs were included in this study, and we compared the duration of bone union. Teriparatide administered by daily injection enhanced bone union more than weekly administration in complete AFFs. The efficacy of teriparatide for atypical femoral fracture (AFF) has been recently reported. Although two different teriparatide preparations can be used to treat osteoporosis in Japan, daily or weekly injection, all previous reports on the effectiveness of teriparatide for AFF only examined daily injection formulations. Therefore, we compared the promotion of bone healing between the two teriparatide preparations for AFF. A total of 45 consecutive AFFs in 43 Japanese patients were included in this study. They received either a daily 20-μg teriparatide injection (daily group; n = 32) or a once-a-week 56.5-μg teriparatide injection (weekly group; n = 13). We compared the clinical background and duration of bone union between these two groups. When all patents were included, the fracture healing time was not significantly different between the two groups. Only patients with complete AFFs had significantly fewer daily bisphosphonate or denosumab injections than the weekly group (P

The current study aimed to compare cytology using SurePathBetween January 2014 and December 2016, 57 patients underwent endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography for the diagnosis of biliary disease. Biliary cytological samples were processed using SP-LBC and subsequently BTH was performed. A final diagnosis was confirmed by surgery (23 malignant cases) and clinical follow-up (34 benign and malignant cases): 18 extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma; 17 intrahepatic/hilar cholangiocarcinoma (intra/H-CC); eight other malignant disease; and 14 benign biliary disease. The diagnoses made using SP-LBC and BTH were classified into four categories: (1) benign; (2) indeterminate; (3) suspicious for malignancy/malignant; and (4) inadequate. In addition, diagnostic accuracy was compared between SP-LBC and BTH.Although 23% (13/57) of BTH samples were classified as inadequate, all SP-LBC cases were classified as adequate. Among 43 malignant cases, 11 normal, four indeterminate and 28 suspicious for malignancy/malignant were found using SP-LBC (26%, 9% and 65%, respectively), in contrast to 10 inadequate, nine normal, 10 indeterminate and 14 suspicious for malignancy/malignant observed using BTH (23%, 21%, 23%, and 33%, respectively). The identification of malignant cells was strikingly different between SP-LBC and BTH. Furthermore, limited to intra/H-CC, accuracy was significantly higher using SP-LBC than using BTH (P .001).SP-LBC of the biliary tract is a useful and reliable method for diagnosing biliary malignant disease and has an advantage over BTH for detecting malignant cells and accurately diagnosing intra/H-CC.

We have investigated the synthesis conditions, and the magnetic properties of the Cu 2 U-type hexagonal ferrite, Ba 4 Cu 2 Fe 36 O 60 . The Cu 2 U-type hexaferrite was synthesized at the sintering temperature of 1050 °C with the initial composition of Ba 4.4 Cu 2 Fe 37.6 O 62.8 (Cu 2 U+0.2T-block). The saturation magnetizations at 300 K and 5 K are 46.8 A m 2 /kg and 65.0 A m 2 /kg, respectively. The Curie temperature is 420 °C which is lower than that of the M-type ferrite (450 °C) but higher than that of the Cu 2 Y-type ferrite (320 °C). The amount of the nonmagnetic impurity in this sample is estimated to be about 10 wt% by the electron probe micro analysis. We estimated the expected saturation magnetization to be 65.2 A m 2 /kg, by assuming the model of a Neel-type ferrimagnetic structure and the reduction of magnetization by the 10 wt% nonmagnetic impurity. This is consistent with the observed magnetization of 65.0 A m 2 /kg at 5 K.

The effect of a thrips-non-transmissible Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) on insect–host interactions between thrips and Arabidopsis thaliana was analysed. A wild-type TSWV virulent isolate and a TSWV isolate that induces mild symptoms on inoculated plants (TSWV-Mo) were used in this study, and TSWV-Mo isolate was obtained by single local lesion isolation using Petunia x hybrid after several passages on Nicotiana rustica plants. In transmission test, although wild-type TSWV (TSWV-wt) was transmitted by two thrips species (transmission ratio; Frankliniella occidentalis, 25%; Thrips tabaci, 10%; and T. palmi, 0%), none of the thrips transmitted TSWV-Mo. Feeding damage by F. occidentalis in A. thaliana plants was more extensive on TSWV-wt-infected plants than on TSWV-Mo-infected plants, despite comparable preference. Among the markers of plant defences, salicylic acid-regulated genes were upregulated threefold to sixfold by TSWV-wt or TSWV-Mo infection. In contrast, jasmonate-regulated genes and jasmonate/ethylene-regulated genes were not affected by the infections. Pull assays showed that adjacent TSWV-Mo-infected plants were preferred over uninfected plants. In conclusion, our results showed that the transmissibility by thrips of TSWV is not related to preference of vector thrips and suggested that TSWV-Mo-infected plants may be used as attractants for behaviour control of thrips.

Nowadays the system of public health is constructed in such a manner so that its main objective is the recovery of an already sick person, while prediction and prevention receive little attention. Meanwhile the development of these aspects of medicine can lead to the ability to control morbidity among the population, to identify chronic and genetic diseases in the early stages of development, and thus to prevent their further progression. This will reduce traditionally high costs of sick people treatment and the number of disabled population, and improve the quality and duration of life. The elaboration of new fields of science that are working on the study and interpretation of data obtained during laboratory and clinical research, creation of new methods for diagnosis, prognosis and treatment, provides an opportunity now to implement a new strategy, called PPPM, and gets promising results, which should lead to further development of an existing medicine.

Background In clinically node-negative (cN0) breast cancer patients with triple negative (TN) and HER2+ disease and breast pathological complete response (breast pCR), low rates of nodal positivity after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) have been demonstrated. In these patients, the omission of surgical axillary staging has been proposed. However, this information is not routinely known preoperatively. We aimed to validate the correlation between pathologic breast response and pathologic nodal status, and evaluate the relationship between response of the breast tumor on MRI and pathologic nodal status after NAC in cN0 patients in the I-SPY2 trial. Methods We identified all patients with cT1-4 cN0 breast cancer prior to NAC from graduated arms of the I-SPY2 trial, a prospective neoadjuvant chemotherapy trial. Absence of residual disease post-NAC was defined as longest diameter (LD) of 0 mm on MRI. Breast pCR was defined as the absence of invasive tumor in the breast at surgery. Associations between ypN0 and patient, MRI, and tumor characteristics were assessed using chi-square tests and univariate regression. Results Of 365 cT1-4 cN0 patients included, 128 had HR+/HER2- tumors (35%), 60 HR+/HER2+ tumors (16%), 34 HR-/HER2+ tumors (9%) and 143 TN tumors (39%). Overall, 283 patients (78%) were ypN0 after NAC and 152 patients (42%) had a breast pCR. ypN0 rate was higher in patients with a breast pCR than those with residual disease (93% vs 66%, p In patients with HR-/HER2+, HR+/HER2+, HR-/HER2+ or TN disease and a breast pCR, ypN0 rate was respectively 82%, 96%, 96% and 97% (table 1). In patients with HR+/HER2-, HR+/HER2+, HR-/HER2+ or TN disease and with no evidence of residual disease in the breast on MRI, rate of ypN0 was 71%, 80%, 94% and 96% respectively. Conclusion In cT1-4 cN0 breast cancer patients with HR+/HER2+, HR-/HER2+ and TN tumors and a breast pCR, ypN0 rates after NAC are extremely high. In patients with HR-/HER2+ and TN tumors with no residual breast disease on MRI after NAC and pre-surgery, ypN0 rates are high enough to consider omission of axillary surgery. In patients with HR+ tumors, MRI is unsufficiently predictive for pathological response and can therefore not be used to select ypN0 patients. Research on the prediction of ypN0 in cN+ I-SPY2 patients is ongoing. Nodal status in patients with pCR and absence of residual disease on MRI Number of positive nodesBreast Cancer Subtype0123AllBreast pCR HR+/HER2-27(82)2(6)4(12)033(100)HR+/HER2+24(96)01(4)025(100)HR-/HER2+24(96)1(4)0025(100)TN67(97)2(3)0069(100)Absence of residual disease on MRI HR+/HER2-24(71)7(21)3(9)034(100)HR+/HER2+16(80)3(15)01(5)20(100)HR-/HER2+15(94)1(6)0016(100)TN54(96)2(4)0056(100) Citation Format: van der Noordaa ME, Esserman L, Yau C, Mukhtar R, Price E, Hylton N, Abe H, Wolverton D, Crane EP, Ward KA, Nelson M, Niell BL, Oh K, Brandt KR, Bang DH, Ojeda-Fournier H, Eghtedari M, Sheth PA, Bernreuter WK, Umphrey H, Rosen MA, Dogan B, Yang W, Joe B, van 't Veer L, Hirst G, Lancaster R, Wallace A, Alvaredo M, Symmans F, Asare S, Boughey JC, I-SPY2 Consortium. Role of breast MRI in predicting pathologically negative nodes after neoadjuvant chemotherapy in cN0 patients in the I-SPY2 trial [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2018 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2018 Dec 4-8; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2019;79(4 Suppl):Abstract nr PD4-04.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of abdominal deep muscles in adolescent soccer players. METHODS: Participants were 53 soccer players from junior high school and 14 adult soccer players. The deep abdominal muscles of both sides were imaged by ultrasonography. Abdominal muscles on the dominant leg side were selected as the targets of measurements, and measurements of the transversus abdominis (TrA) and internal oblique (IO) muscle were conducted. The muscle thickness of these muscles was measured at rest and during contraction (while drawing-in of the abdominal wall) and served as the basis for comparing the adolescent and adult players. RESULTS: While no significant inter-group differences were noted in the thickness of the TrA or IO muscle at rest, a significant difference was observed during the drawing-in maneuver. CONCLUSION: The deep abdominal muscles of adolescent soccer players have not likely reached full maturity.

We investigated the relationships between conception rates (CRs) at first service in Japanese Holstein heifers (i.e. animals that had not yet had their first calf) and cows and their test-day (TD) milk yields. Data included records of artificial insemination (AI) for heifers and cows that had calved for the first time between 2000 and 2008 and their TD milk yields at 6 through 305 days in milk (DIM) from first through third lactations. CR was defined as a binary trait for which first AI was a failure or success. A threshold-linear animal model was applied to estimate genetic correlations between CRs of heifers or cows and TD milk yield at various lactation stages. Two-trait genetic analyses were performed for every combination of CR and TD milk yield by using the Bayesian method with Gibbs sampling. The posterior means of the heritabilities of CR were 0.031 for heifers, 0.034 for first-lactation cows and 0.028 for second-lactation cows. Heritabilities for TD milk yield increased from 0.324 to 0.433 with increasing DIM but decreased slightly after 210 DIM during first lactation. These heritabilities from the second and third lactations were higher during late stages of lactation than during early stages. Posterior means of the genetic correlations between heifer CR and all TD yields were positive (range, 0.082 to 0.287), but those between CR of cows and milk yields during first or second lactation were negative (range, −0.121 to −0.250). Therefore, during every stage of lactation, selection in the direction of increasing milk yield may reduce CR in cows. The genetic relationships between CR and lactation curve shape were quite weak, because the genetic correlations between CR and TD milk yield were constant during the lactation period.

Low-intensity high-frequency stimulation (HFS) delivered to the basolateral nuclei of the amygdala (BLAs) induced anti-nociceptive effects and reduced spontaneous motor activities in freely moving rats. Stimulation (20 μA, 100 sec–1, 200 μsec square, for 30 sec) was applied through electrodes implanted bilaterally in the BLA. Pain behavioral responses were inhibited by HFS in the formalin test but not in the plantar test. Spontaneous motor activities were also reduced by HFS delivered to the BLAs. Intrathecal injection of naloxone failed to block the analgesic effects of HFS, suggesting the descending opiate system to be minimally involved. We previously reported that HFS delivered to the BLA inhibited nociceptive responses recorded in the prefrontal cortex. Here, we demonstrate that such stimulation under the same conditions also induces analgesic effects in behavior studies.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the reproducibility of the cytological diagnosis of endometrial lesions by the Osaki Study Group (OSG) method of new cytological diagnostic criteria using BD SurePathThis cytological classification using the OSG method consists of six categories: (i) normal endometrium (NE), (ii) endometrial glandular and stromal breakdown (EGBD), (iii) atypical endometrial cells, cannot exclude atypical endometrial hyperplasia or more (ATEC-A), (iv) adenocarcinoma including atypical endometrial hyperplasia or malignant tumour (Malignancy), (v) endometrial hyperplasia without atypia (EH) and (vi) atypical endometrial cells of undetermined significance (ATEC-US). For this study, a total 244 endometrial samplings were classified by two academic cytopathologists as follows: 147 NE cases , 36 EGBD cases , 47 Malignant cases, eight ATEC-A cases, two EH cases and four ATEC-US cases. To confirm the reproducibility of the diagnosis and to study the inter- and intra-observer agreement further, a second review round followed at 3-month intervals, which included three additional cytopathologists.The inter-observer agreement of NE classes improved progressively from 'good to fair' to 'excellent', with values increasing from 0.70 to 0.81. Both EGBD and Malignancy classes improved progressively from 'good to fair' to 'excellent', with values increasing from 0.62-0.63 to 0.84-0.95, respectively. The overall intra-observer agreement between the first and the second rounds was 'good to fair' to 'excellent', with values changing from 0.79 to 0.85. All kappa improvements were significant (P0.0001).In this study, it seemed that the use of the OSG method as the new diagnostic criteria for SP-LBC preparation, may be a valid method to improve the precision (reproducibility) of endometrial cytology.

1. The aim of this work was to select lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains from chicks and hens of egg-laying strains for potential use to control Salmonellae. 2. Nineteen LAB strains obtained from culture collections, and 24 strains isolated from excreta of laying hens and chicks, were evaluated for inhibitory capacities against two Salmonella serotypes using a "Spot-the-lawn" technique and other in vitro properties that could be predictive of antimicrobial activity. 3. The size of the inhibition zone differed slightly between Salmonella serotypes, however, the mean size of the Salmonella inhibition zone differed greatly among the LAB strains. Lactobacillus salivarius, L. plantarum, L. rhamnosus and L. reuteri exhibited powerful inhibitory effects to each Salmonella strain. 4. The result of the acid tolerance test showed that all L. salivarius, L. kitasatonis strains and each of L. ingluviei cannot survive in a low pH environment. In the bile acid tolerance assay, growth was inhibited in all strains, except L. kitasatonis HE4, and a large inhibition was observed in most of the L. salivarius and L. crispatus strains. 5. The results demonstrate that some LAB of poultry origin were able to inhibit the growth of Salmonella and survive simulated passage through the gastrointestinal tract. The selected LAB could act in the lower gastrointestinal tract to prevent salmonellosis in poultry.

A large series of split cord malformation (SCM). Over the last 22 years, we have operated more than 1500 patients of SD, of which over 450 are (SCM), and 300 are with various lipomatus malformations. About 55% type II and 45% type I SCM. A separate sub-classification of type I SCM (a,b,c and d), is presented which alter the surgical approach and influence the results. Overall improvement following surgery in patients with SCM was observed in 94%. Fifty percent patients improved and 44% remained stable. However, deterioration was noticed in 6%, mostly with composite type of SCM. A paradigm for management of SCM is provided taking into consideration also the author’s large experience.

Background and purposes: Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a common sleep disorder in patients with Parkinson disease (PD). Non-ergot dopamine agonists increase the risk of unanticipated sleep episodes. Objective: We aimed to assess the influence of renal function on EDS in patients with PD. Methods: Sixty-two patients treated with ropinirole or pramipexole were recruited for this study. We evaluated the historical and clinical characteristics including the motor symptom rating scales, Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). An ESS score of 10 or greater was defined as EDS. Participants with eGFR

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of addition of sodium polyacrylate (SPA) to a phytase-supplemented diet on the performance and phosphorus (P) retention of chicks. In experiment 1, chicks were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments which were fed from 7 to 21 days of age: i) basal diet (low nonphytate phosphorus (0.23% NPP)); ii) basal with 250 U/kg diet of phytase; iii) as (ii) with 2.5 g/kg diet of SPA; and iv) as (ii) with 5.0 g/kg diet of SPA. In experiment 2, three replicates, each with three chicks, were fed from 7 to 28 days of age the basal diet (0.23% NPP) with supplementation of phytase (0, 300, 600, 900 U/kg diet) and SPA (0, 2.5 g/kg diet) in a 4x2 factorial arrangement. In Experiment 1, feed efficiency was improved and excreted P was 10% less with phytase supplementation. However, the addition of SPA did not affect performance or P excretion. Dietary SPA supplementation to the diets showed significantly higher amounts of P retention, and highest values were observed in chicks fed 2.5 g/kg of the SPA-supplemented diet. In Experiment 2, feed efficiency was improved with phytase supplementation, and the addition of SPA showed significant improvement in feed efficiency. Excreted P was significantly lower in chicks fed SPA-supplemented diets, and the retained P coefficient improved with SPA supplementation. In conclusion, the increased transit time of digesta with suitable supplementation levels of SPA may allow phytase activity to be more effective in the degradation of phytate, and improve P retention.

In order to compare the bubble dynamics of various quantum liquids, we performed the visual observation of a sound-induced bubble in a normal liquid 4He, pure superfluid 4He, and superfluid 3He–4He liquid mixtures of saturated and unsaturated 3He concentrations. When an acoustic wave pulse was applied to these liquids under saturated vapour pressure, a macroscopic bubble was generated on the surface of a piezoelectric transducer. For all liquids, the size of the bubble increased, as a higher voltage was applied to the transducer at a fixed temperature. In the normal 4He we observed a primary bubble surrounded with many small bubbles which ascended upward together. In contrast to normal phase, only one bubble was generated in the superfluid 4He, and its shape proved to be highly irregular with an ill-defined surface. In the 3He saturated superfluid mixture, we also observed a solitary bubble but with a nearly perfect spherical shape. The bubble in this mixture expanded on the transducer surface, grew to a maximum size of the order of 1 mm and then started shrinking. As the bubble detached from the transducer with shrinking, we clearly detected an origination of the upward jet flow which penetrated the bubble. The jet velocity in the liquid mixture was approximately 102–103 times smaller than in water. At the final stage of the process we could sometimes observe a vortex ring generation. It is interesting that, though the bubble size and time scale of the phenomenon differ from those in water, the behaviour in the collapsing process had much in common with the simulation study of the vortex ring generation in water. In addition, for the mixture with the unsaturated 3He concentration of about 25% at 600 mK, the shape of the upward jet was observed distinctly, using more precise measurement with shadowgraph method.

Natto is a Japanese traditional soybean product fermented by Bacillus natto. The effects of dried fermented soybean (natto) supplement on egg production and egg qualities of layer chickens was studied with regard to the effective use of various waste foods in Japan. Dried natto, prepared by heating at 60°C, was added to a basic diet at a level of up to 3%. Forty 166-wk-old layer chickens (Rhode Island Red) were randomly divided into 4 groups and five layer chickens were used in each group with two replicates. Layer chickens in group 1 were fed a basic diet as the control. The remaining 3 groups were fed the basic diet supplemented with dried natto at levels of 1, 2, and 3% (w/w), respectively. The result did not show improvements in egg production or feed conversion ratio of layer chickens even when 3% dried natto was added to the control diet. The egg qualities including egg weight, eggshell strength and thickness, yolk color, yolk weight, albumen height, and Haugh unit were also not improved. However, the feeding of dried natto changed the cholesterol content in the egg yolk. The supplementation of dried natto showed the tendency to decrease the yolk cholesterol after 12-wk of feeding compared to the control diet though it did not change plasma cholesterol levels in the blood. On the other hand, yolk cholesterol decreased significantly after 12-wk of feeding 3% dried natto (p

Donryu strain rats show genetic polymorphisms in the aldehyde oxidase gene, resulting in the phenotypic expression of ultrarapid metabolizers with homozygous nucleotide sequences (337G, 2604C), extensive metabolizers with heterozygous nucleotide sequences (377G/A, 2604C/T), and poor metabolizers with homozygous nucleotide sequences (377A, 2604T). In the mating experiments the ratio of the number of ultrarapid metabolizers, extensive metabolizers, and poor metabolizers rats in the F1 generation from the heterozygous F0 extensive metabolizers male and female rats was roughly 0.6 : 1.5 : 1, and the ratio converged to approximately 1 : 2 : 1 in the F2 generation from the heterozygous F1 extensive metabolizers male and female rats. On the contrary, all the F2 generation from homozygous F1 ultrarapid metabolizers male and female rats or from homozygous F1 poor metabolizers male and female rats had the ultrarapid metabolizers or the poor metabolizers genotypes and phenotypes. The genotypes completely agreed with the phenotypes in all individuals of F0, F1, and F2 generations. The results indicate that the genetic polymorphism of aldehyde oxidase in Donryu strain rats obeys Mendelian heredity. The reason for a low ratio of the ultrarapid metabolizers rats in the commercially available Donryu strain rats - not more than several per cent - compared with the ratio expected from the Mendelian rule is unknown.

We report an instability of 4He crystal surface during a large modification of its shape observed by schlieren photography. 4He crystal was nucleated on an ultrasound transducer which was placed in the upper part of the sample cell facing the bottom. The crystal was grown on the transducer and the lowest part of it eventually touched the bottom of the cell. Almost immediately, the crystal started to change shape very quickly to adjust itself to the new boundary condition. During this large deformation, the hexagonal shape of the crystal surrounded by facets became unstable and the surface became corrugated. The corrugation pattern during the deformation was observed by a high-speed camera. The results were compared with Kelvin-Helmholtz type instability which Uwaha and Nozieres predicted.

We report visual observation of a sound-induced bubble in superfluid 3He–4He liquid mixtures using a high-speed camera at a rate of 1 msec/frame. The experiments were performed in the 3He dilute phase of phase-separated mixtures at 300 mK. The resonant frequency of the piezoelectric transducer was 9.36 MHz and the diameter of the active electrode was about 4 mm. When an acoustic wave pulse of sufficient magnitude was applied to the dilute phase from the transducer under saturated vapor pressure, a single bubble was nucleated on the active area. The bubble expanded almost spherically on the transducer, as it reached maximum size, it started shrinking, detached from the transducer, and collapsed. We also investigated the motion of the bubble in mixtures with a 3He concentration of 25% at 750 mK. In this case, the bubble grew elliptically on the transducer and detached from it without much change in shape.

It is well known that carotenoids and their derivatives (xanthophylls) are present in human blood serum. However, the location of these compounds in the biomembrane and their interactions with the phospholipid bilayer are still a subject of debate. In the present study, we have examined the interactions of these compounds with phosphatidylcholine-small unilamellar vesicle (PC-SUV) liposomes, using 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance (31P-NMR).

Typical Ziegler-type catalysts derived from AIR3 and TiCl4 were found to be effective in the syndiotactic polymerization of methyl methacrylate at low temperatures. The influences of polymerization variables on the polymer yield, the molecular weight of the polymer produced, and the syndiotactic regulating capacity of the catalysts were investigated. In general AlEt3/TiCl4 molar ratios of 3:10 mixing of both the catalyst components and aging of the catalyst system in the temperature range of −30 to 30°C. using aromatic hydrocarbon solvents such as toluene as a polymerization medium, and low polymerization temperature, such as −78°C. are the preferred conditions for the formation of syndiotactic, high molecular weight poly(methyl methacrylate) in high yield. From the results of testing catalyst activities of the separated catalyst systems it was concluded that some cooperation between AIR3 and the insoluble Ti halide compound obtained by the reduction of TiCl4 with AIR3 is essential for the formation of syndiotactic poly(methyl methacrylate).

A simple thermal chemical vapor deposition (STCVD) growth technique of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) is present. Carbon nanotube film was synthesized on the Pt plate substrates by pyrolysis of ethyl alcohol as carbon source at lower reaction temperature at atmospheric pressure by using simple apparatus. The as-synthesized MWCNTs were characterized by both scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM). The electrical property of an individual MWCNT was evaluated by I-V measurement. The electrical resistance of single MWCNT is about 450 k/ in linear region under bias voltage between 2 to 4 V. It can undergo a large current of 6 2A at 4 V

Site-selective growth of multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) from an iron oxide nanoparticle catalyst patterned by drying-mediated self-assembly technique is present. The ethanol solution of the iron nitrate was employed as catalyst precursor. The catalyst precursor was mounted on silicon wafer by dip-coating. After evaporation of solvent at room temperature, the catalyst pattern formed. The catalyst pattern was employed to synthesize carbon nanotube pattern by chemical vapor deposition of ethanol vapor after oxidation of iron nitrate. The patterned array of MWCNTs was obtained with a dot size of around 5 'm and the distance of about 25 'm. The present method offers a simple and cost-effective method to grow carbon nanotubes with self-assembled patterns.

The microstructural change of β titanium alloys, Ti-15V-3Cr-3Sn-3Al and Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al, and an (α+β) titanium alloy, Ti-6Al-4V, during hot deformation at temperatures in β single-phase and (α+β) two-phase regions was studied. For the β titanium alloys, dynamic recovery takes place dominantly within β grains during deformation in the β single-phase region although some discontinuous dynamic recrystallization occurs along β grain boundaries. The size and fraction of recrystallized β grains increase as strain rate decreases or the deformation temperature rises.

A giant magnetoimpedance sensor with a step-like impedance property was obtained in the case of amorphous Co85Nb12Zr3 soft magnetic thin film in a rectangle shape with an in-plane uniaxial easy axis in a direction nearly 60 degrees relative to the width direction of the element. It was shown experimentally that the magnetic field in which the step-like impedance change occurs has an almost constant value with a standard deviation in the microtesra (μT) range. The magnetic field in which the step-like change occurs includes information on the external magnetic field. To realize a magnetic field sensor with an accuracy of nT/Hz1/2 by using this step-like phenomenon, a differential circuit was studied in combination with an alternating bias field in the kilohertz (kHz) frequency range. The aim of the differential circuit was to make the driving circuit into a digital logic circuit, by using pulse signals timed to coincide with the step-like changes. The alternating bias field increases the sampling number, because of the step-like changes in the bias frequency. The aim of the ac bias is to improve the sensor accuracy by using an averaging effect. This paper reports a first trial of the method. As a result, a high-linearity sensor without hysteresis was obtained, which had a linearity error of less than 0.5% in the range of ±100 μT. A measurement accuracy of 460 nT was achieved with a 20 Hz time constant of the output low pass filter (LPF).

In this paper, the authors propose an on-chip high-Q variable inductor embedded in wafer-level chip-scale package (WL-CSP). The variable inductor has a metal plate and a spiral inductor fabricated by the WL-CSP technology. The metal plate can be moved by a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) actuator, and the inductance is varied according to the position of the metal plate. At the present time, the MEMS actuator has not been implemented yet. In this paper, the authors present a feasibility study on the proposed variable inductor. The inductor is evaluated with measurement results using a metal plate moved by a micromanipulator instead of the MEMS actuator. At 2 GHz, the measured inductance is varied from 4.80 to 2.27 nH, i.e., the variable ratio is 52.6%. The maximum value of quality factor is 50.1