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In order to establish the general way to prepare thin film crystals of organic semiconductors, we studied annealing effects on the heteroepitaxial growth of Cu-phthalocyanine (CuPc) crystallites on KCl {0 0 1} substrate crystals. CuPc was deposited on a cleaved KCl single crystal by vacuum evaporation (under 10 −4 Torr). Then, the sample was taken out from the vacuum chamber and annealed in the air. On the CuPc as-deposited surface, no clear contrast was observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). On the contrary, many needle-like crystallites could be observed after the annealing treatment. Those crystallites were oriented so that their long axis was parallel to the 〈1 0 0〉 direction of the KCl substrate. We also investigated the effects of the annealing temperature and annealing duration time to find an optimal annealing condition.

Growth striations were always observed on the etched surfaces of KCl crystals grown from aqueous solutions doped with Pb. However, the origin of the striations is not known in the case of aqueous solution growth. In this work, it was studied how the width and period among the striations were influenced by the growth rate and concentration of the dopant Pb. The crystals were grown from the aqueous solutions doped with Pb (1/4000–1/1250 in molar fraction) by an evaporation method at pH=2.0. The average growth rates were changed from 24 to 115 μm/day by controlling the evaporation rate. It was found that both the width and period among the striations decreased with an increase of the average growth rate. However, the effects of the concentration of dopant Pb upon the width and period among the striations were not found within the concentration range examined.

We are concerned with the numerical conformai mappings of the multiply connected domain, whose outer boundary is a unit circle. A potentially theoretical scheme in the charge simulation method has been recently proposed for numerical conformai mappings of ring domains. The object of this paper is to show an extension of the scheme to multiply connected domains. We show a numerical result of high accuracy applying the scheme to a typical example.

The effects of doping of sodium acetate upon the habit changes of NaBrO3 crystals have been investigated. The crystals were grown from aqueous solution under the following conditions: (i) supersaturations, ln (C/C e )=0–0.4 , (Ce: equilibrium mol fraction); (ii) growth temperatures, 15–43°C. The gross morphologies of crystals have taken on three distinct forms: tetrahedral {1 1 1} habit, cubic {1 0 0} and intermediate ({1 1 1}+{1 0 0}) habits. The result of habit changes was shown in a plot of growth temperature against supersaturation as compared to the results from non-doping and doping of 1.15 mol% acetic acid (J. Crystal Growth 158 (1996) 336; J. Crystal Growth 212 (2000) 507). The dependency of the growth rates upon the growth temperatures was investigated under the conditions where the supersaturation was kept constant. It was found that the growth rates of {1 0 0} were drastically reduced at higher growth temperatures.

OBJECTIVE Forskolin, a direct activator of adenylate cyclase, can relax airway smooth muscle, similar to other agents that increase intracellular cyclic adenine monophosphate. However, the potential usefulness of forskolin in treating bronchospasm is limited by its poor water solubility. Colforsin daropate is a novel and potent water-soluble forskolin derivative. No clinical data have been published on the bronchorelaxant effects of this drug. The aim of this study was to investigate whether intravenous colforsin daropate prevents thiamylal-fentanyl-induced bronchoconstriction. DESIGN Double-blind, prospective, placebo-controlled randomized study. SETTING University teaching hospital. PATIENTS Thirty-six patients were allocated randomly to two groups: the control group (n = 18) and colforsin daropate group (n = 18). INTERVENTIONS Intravenous administration of colforsin daropate or placebo (normal saline). MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS Anesthesia was induced with thiamylal 5 mg/kg and vecuronium 0.3 mg/kg. A 15 mg x kg(-1) x hr(-1) continuous infusion of thiamylal followed anesthetic induction. Controlled ventilation was maintained, delivering 50% nitrous oxide in oxygen. Twenty minutes after the induction of anesthesia, the control group patients started to receive 7.5 mL/hr continuous infusion of normal saline, and the colforsin daropate group patients started to receive 0.75 microg x kg(-1) x min(-1) (7.5 mL/hr) continuous infusion of colforsin daropate for 60 min. After that, both groups received fentanyl 5 microg/kg. Systolic and diastolic arterial pressure, heart rate, mean airway resistance (Rawm), expiratory airway resistance (Rawe), and dynamic lung compliance (Cdyn) were measured at the baseline, just before the administration of fentanyl (T30), at three consecutive 6-min intervals after fentanyl injection (T36, T42, and T48) and 30 min after fentanyl injection (T60). At baseline, both groups had comparable Rawm, Rawe, and Cdyn values. In the control group, Rawm increased significantly at T36-60 compared with the baseline, Rawe increased significantly at T36-48 compared with the baseline, and Cdyn decreased significantly at T36-60 compared with the baseline. In the colforsin daropate group, there were no changes in Rawm, Rawe or Cdyn at T36-60. CONCLUSIONS These observations suggest that intravenous colforsin daropate has a bronchodilator effect in humans.

Objective. In previous reports, it has been shown that many drugs may act against hyperdynamic responses during electro-convulsive therapy (ECT). The aim of this study was to conduct a randomized, placebo-controlled crossover study to investigate the hemodynamic responses and seizure duration during ECT by continuous administration of two doses of landiolol, a novel short-acting β1-adrenergic blocker, including standard and high-dose. Methods. Thirty-two patients undergoing ECT participated in this study. The control treatment was infusion of saline alone. The standard-dose of landiolol, 0.125 mg/kg per min, was infused over a 1-min period as a standard treatment. The high-dose landiolol treatment was 0.25 mg/kg per min, also infused over a 1-min period. After landiolol treatments, patients received landiolol at 0.04 mg/kg per min. Propofol and succinylcholine was then administered, and electrical stimulation was applied. Results. Both peak heart rate and mean arterial pressure after ECT was lowest with high-dose landiolol treatment. Motor and EEG seizure duration did not differ among the treatments. Conclusion. The results of this study show that high-dose landiolol treatment blunts hyperdynamic responses during ECT. Furthermore, landiolol does not reduce the seizure duration.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is often associated with acute hyperdynamic responses, and we hypothesize that diltiazem can blunt this response. We measured the effect of a 10-mg dose of diltiazem on heart rate and mean arterial pressure during ECT. Furthermore, we assessed seizure duration by using both the cuff method and two-lead electroencephalogram. We studied 18 patients with a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled cross-over study design. Diltiazem significantly reduced heart rate and mean arterial pressure just after medication, and it also significantly reduced the increases in these variables after ECT, as compared with the placebo. The use of diltiazem was, however, associated with a shortened seizure duration, possibly making ECT less effective. Because of the reduction in seizure duration, the routine administration of diltiazem may not be advisable because it can possibly interfere with the psychotherapeutic efficacy of ECT. However, diltiazem medication for ECT is potentially useful for reducing tachycardia and hypertension in high-risk patients.Diltiazem can blunt acute hyperdynamic responses after electroconvulsive therapy, but seizure duration is also significantly reduced, possibly making this therapy less effective.

In order to compare the prevalence of vertebral fractures in caucasian American and Japanese women, we examined the occurrence of vertebral fractures in a population of 1092 female residents of Yamanashi prefecture who participated in a screening program for osteoporosis. The relationship between vertebral fractures and bone mineral density (BMD) of the second metacarpal bone was also studied. Our findings regarding the prevalence of vertebral fractures in Yamanashi agreed strongly with the findings of previous reports in Japan. The prevalence of vertebral fractures was equal or lower among women in Japan compared with caucasians in Minnesota aged from 50 to 60 years. A comparison of the fracture and non-fracture groups revealed significant differences in age, height, and metacarpal BMD. However, after correction for age, no significant difference was found between the two groups.

In order to obtain higher efficiency of the micro switching dc-dc converter using thin film magnetic device, FeCoBN magnetic film for thin film inductor was newly developed, which had high saturation magnetization of about 1.7T, and high electrical resistivity over 3μ Ω•m. Consequently, a newly fabricated magnetic thin film inductor using the FeCoBN magnetic film had lower power loss due to the small eddy current loss. 5MHz switching buck and boost converters using the new thin film inductor had higher efficiencies than those of the conventional micro switching dc-dc converters.

Rapid increases in concentrations of isoflurane and desflurane in oxygen have been shown to increase sympathetic activity. The aim of this study was to determine whether concomitant administration of nitrous oxide would reduce these sympathomimetic effects of volatile anesthetics.Eighty healthy patients in whom the trachea was intubated and mechanically ventilated were given 15 min of anesthesia with either N(2)O (67%)-O(2)-sevoflurane (GOS), O(2)-sevoflurane (OS), N(2)O (67%)-O(2)-isoflurane (GOI), or O(2)-isoflurane (OI) (n = 20 per group). The inspired concentration of sevoflurane was 0.85% (0.5 minimum alveolar concentration [MAC]), and that of isoflurane was 0.6% (0.5 MAC). Fifteen minutes after endotracheal intubation, baseline and arterial blood sample data were obtained. Immediately after that, a sudden administration of 2.9 MAC volatile anesthetics was performed. Systolic and diastolic arterial pressures, heart rate, and end-tidal carbon dioxide concentration were obtained at 0.5, 1, 1.5, 2, 3, 4, and 5 min after that. To measure catecholamine levels, arterial blood samples were obtained 2 and 5 min after the trial started.Except for the OI group, systolic and diastolic arterial pressure progressively decreased after the abrupt increase in the concentration of volatile anesthetics. Except for the OS group, the heart rate increased after the abrupt increase in the concentration of volatile anesthetics. In the OI group, the end-tidal concentration of carbon dioxide increased at 0.5 and 1 min, suggesting that a slight hyperdynamic state occurred. However, it decreased progressively after the abrupt increase in volatile anesthetic concentration in the other groups. Plasma norepinephrine levels increased progressively in all groups.Even if nitrous oxide was added to isoflurane or sevoflurane, the increase in heart rate could not be avoided. Contrary to previous reports, severe hyperdynamic circulation was not observed after a rapid increase in isoflurane concentration.

The relation between the growth shapes and supersaturations and/or supercoolings was investigated in the Na 2 S 2 O 3 .5H 2 O crystals: (i) The growth shapes changed from a hexagonal prismatic crystal, aggregate of platy crystals and to a spherulite with an increase of supersaturations and/or supercoolings. (ii) The deposition rate suddenly increased at a certain supersaturation and/or supercooling, where the growth shape changed from the hexagonal prism to the aggregate of platy crystals. (iii) The deposition rates of spherulites become higher with increasing the solute concentrations. (iv) The formation process of the spherulites were in situ observed by the Schlieren and/or Mach-zehnder interferometer methods.

A potentially theoretical scheme in the fundamental solutions method, different from the conventional one, is proposed for numerical conformal mappings of unbounded multiply connected domains. The scheme is introduced from an algorithm on numerical Dirichlet problem, based on the asymptotic theorem on extremal weighted polynomials. The scheme introduced in this paper has the characteristic called “invariant and dual.”

We determined the prevalence of vertebral fractures in hemodialysis (HD) patients, investigated whether low bone mineral density (BMD) is predictive of vertebral fracture, and evaluated the effect of serum intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) levels on vertebral fracture. One hundred eighty-seven male HD patients were assessed for vertebral fractures, and lumbar-spine and total-body BMD were measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometory. Thirty-nine patients (20.9%) had vertebral fractures. Each standard deviation (SD) decrease in lumbar-spine BMD increased the age-adjusted odds ratio of vertebral fracture 2.0 times (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4 to 2.0) and 1.6 times (95% CI, 1.1 to 1.6) for total-body BMD. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve for lumbar-spine BMD was significantly greater than that for total-body BMD (P < 0.05). Patients with serum iPTH levels in the lowest tertile had a 2.4-fold greater risk for vertebral fracture than those in the middle tertile and a 1.6-fold greater risk than those in the highest tertile (P < 0.05). When the two criteria of lowest tertile of serum iPTH level and highest tertile of serum ALP level were combined, the prevalence of vertebral fractures was the greatest. Similarly, when the lowest tertile of serum iPTH level and lowest tertile of serum ALP level were combined, the prevalence was the second greatest among the combined groups according to tertiles of serum iPTH and ALP levels. We conclude that low lumbar-spine BMD might be a sensitive predictor of vertebral fracture in HD patients, and patients with relatively low iPTH levels would have a greater risk for vertebral fracture than those with hyperparathyroidism.

OBJECTIVE Whether patients, who have lost bone mass, can be restored to age-matched control levels by some means is still controversial. We investigated how the thyroid status after antithyroid drug therapy for various periods of time affects bone metabolism in patients with hyperthyroidism by assessing currently used biochemical markers of bone turnover and distal radius bone mineral density (BMD). DESIGN AND PATIENTS The biochemical markers of bone turnover and BMD at the distal one third of the radius were measured in 79 women with hyperthy-roidism treated with antithyroid drugs for various periods of time. The patients were divided into two groups according to thyroid function at the time of study: a hyperthyroid group (serum thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH)

The conditions for the gel growth of ZnS were studied in this paper. The controlled reaction between the CH3CSNH2 and Zn(NO3)·6H2O solutions by the diffusion process in a metasilicate gel was used for growing ZnS crystals. The nano-crystallites formed in the gel have been examined by electron microscopy. The following results were obtained: (1) the resulting particles with a size of 5 nm were identified to be zinc-blende ZnS particles and (2) the luminescence property of the crystals was studied by means of cathode luminescence spectroscopy.

In 84 recent hip fracture patients, lateral spinal radiographs were examined for the presence of vertebral fracture. Sixty-three patients (75%) had the complication of vertebral fracture and 21 patients did not. Furthermore, we classified those hip fracture patients according to the presence or absence of vertebral fracture and investigated the characteristics on the extent of osteopenia in axial and peripheral bones. The bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine, proximal femur, and distal radius were lower in the hip fracture patients with vertebral fracture (HX with VX) than in the hip fracture patients without vertebral fracture (HX without VX), indicating that hip fracture patients can be further divided into subgroups. In making a comparison with age-matched controls, we found that the BMD of all examined sites in the HX with VX were significantly low. Yet, it was only in the BMD of the proximal femur that we could find a significant difference between the HX without VX and age-matched controls. We concluded that hip fracture patients without vertebral fracture have a preferential deficit bone density in the proximal femur and a similar density in the lumbar spine and distal radius when compared with normal women of their age.

The extent of sensitization of austenitic stainless steel, SUS316, was evaluated by both conventional cyclic voltammetry and potential step chrono-amperometry (PSCA). The test solution used for the test was 0.5kmol-m -3 H 2 SO 4 - 0.01kmol-m -3 potassium thiocyanate solution. First, the ratio of peak currents in cathodic and anodic scanning (reactivation ratio) using the Electrochemical Potentiokinetic Reactivation method (EPR) based on conventional cyclic voltammetry was measured. Second, the modification reactivation ratio by PSCA was measured and both data were compared and discussed to determine the extent of sensitization. The modified reactivation ratio had a better correlation with sensitization time than the conventional reactivation ratio. However, the correlation ratio was not so high as a whole for SUS316, The reason for this could be attributable to the complication involved in the anodic reaction.

The effects of prednisolone treatment on bone turnover in rats were studied by biochemical markers. Female Wistar rats were randomized into three groups: (1) control; (2) prednisolone 25 mg/kg body weight (BW) (lower dose), twice a week subcutaneously; and (3) prednisolone 50 mg/kg BW (higher dose). Serum calcium, phosphorus, alkaline phosphatase (Alp), and urinary pyridinoline (Pyr) and deoxypyridinoline (Dpyr) were measured once a week for 4 weeks. Bone mineral density (BMD) of excised femur, tibia, and lumbar vertebrae were measured by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). Dry and ash weights of excised femur were measured by conventional methods, and the content of pyridinium cross-links in tibias was measured. Higher prednisolone treatment produced a significant increase of urinary Pyr and Dpyr at weeks 3 and 4. Although serum osteocalcin was not found to be reduced in prednisolone treatment except at week 4 in the higher prednisolone treatment group, BMD and dry and ash weights of excised bones was reduced by prednisolone administration. Further, the content of Pyr and Dpyr in bone was reduced by prednisolone administration. Our findings confirm that prednisolone induced osteoporosis in rats, mainly because of the increase of bone resorption activity..

Collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) is an arthritic model that was developed after immunization with type II collagen (CII). Apparently, contradictory results have been reported regarding the role of IFN-γ in the development of CIA. Therefore, we employed IFN-γR-deficient mice to study the role of IFN-γ. To introduce the CIA susceptibility gene (H-2q), IFN-γR-deficient (H-2b/b/IFN-γR−/−) mice were mated with DBA/1 (H-2q/q/IFN-γR+/+) mice; next, the F1 mice were interbred to yield F2 offspring bearing different combinations of H-2 (H-2q/q, H-2q/b, and H-2b/b) and IFN-γR (IFN-γR+/+, IFN-γR+/−, and IFN-γR−/−) genes. Although the H-2q allele appeared to confer susceptibility to CIA, mice that were homozygous for the IFN-γR mutation showed a substantially decreased incidence and severity of CIA. The CII-specific IgG levels of serum samples, which are known to be involved in the development of CIA, were remarkably reduced in IFN-γR−/− mice. Furthermore, the anti-CII IgG2a levels controlled by IFN-γR were significantly reduced in IFN-γR−/− F2 mice compared with those seen in IFN-γR+/+ and IFN-γR+/− mice, although the levels of all IgG subclass Abs examined were lower in IFN-γR−/− mice than in IFN-γR+/+ mice. No clear evidence of the imbalance of Th1/Th2 cytokines was observed in CII-immunized, IFN-γR-deficient mice. Taken together, these results suggest that IFN-γ exacerbates CIA by affecting, at least, levels of CII-specific IgG Ab rather than the imbalance of Th1/Th2 cells.

The effects of LY117018 HCL (LY) treatment on bone metabolism, spine bone mineral density (BMD), bone mineral content (BMC), and serum cholesterol were studied in ovariectomized (OVX) rats. Experiment 1 was designed to observe the preventive effects of LY on bone loss due to ovariectomy (OVX; prevention study). The rats were divided into three groups: sham group, OVX + vehicle, and OVX + LY. LY was administrated at the same time of OVX. Experiment 2 was designed to investigate the interventional effects of LY on OVX rats with osteopenia (intervention study). The rats were divided into the sham and OVX groups, first. The OVX rats were allowed to lose bone for 6 weeks. At 6 weeks post-OVX, the OVX rats were divided into two groups: OVX + vehicle and OVX + LY. The longitudinal effects of LY on bone were studied by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry and biochemical markers including urinary pyridinoline (Pyr), deoxypyridinoline (Dpyr), and serum osteocalcin. Urinary Pyr and Dpyr increased maximally at 6 weeks post-OVX, decreased at 12 and 18 weeks post-OVX, although the OVX rats had significantly higher levels of Pyr and Dpyr than the sham group during the experiment. LY was a very potent inhibitor of Pyr and Dpyr excretion while at the same time only partially reducing the bone loss in the high turnover phase at 6 weeks postovariectomy. However, at the later time points at 12 and 18 weeks, no further bone loss occurred in rats treated with LY, while the vehicle-treated group lost another 10% in spine BMD and BMC. LY also completely blocked further bone loss when used in an intervention protocol. LY significantly reduced serum cholesterol levels in OVX rats. The results suggest that LY is not fully protective during the early rapid bone loss phase, but the compound is fully protective during the later slow phase of bone loss in both the protocols.

To determine whetherthe continuous low thoracic extradural administration of the same dose of lidocaine at low concentration with a high infusion rate or at high concentration with a low infusion rate in combination with a fixed dose of buprenorphine (0.4 ing·day−1) modifies postoperative pain relief. Twenty-eight patients undergoing elective upper abdominal surgery were randomly allocated to one of two groups to receive lidocaine 2% — buprenorphine at a rate of 6.3 ml· hr−1 (2% group, n = 13) or lidocaine 6% — buprenorphine at a rate of 2.1 ml· hr−1 (6% group, n = 15). During suture of the peritoneum, mepivacaine 2% (8 ml) with 0.1 mg (0.5 ml) buprenorphine was infused extradurally. After extubation, the continuous extradural infusion was initiated. Patients were assessed for the level of analgesia with the 10 cm VAS score at rest and with the Prince Henry Pain Scale (PHPS) at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, and 24 hr postoperatively. The visual analogue scale (VAS) scores at rest did not differ between the two groups except at 18 hr after surgery. The Prince Henry Pain Scale (PHPS) scores were not different between the two groups post-operatively. There was no difference in analgesia produced by the continuous extradural infusion of lidocaine 2% — buprenorphine at a rate of 6.3 ml· hr−1 and that of lidocaine 6% — buprenorphine at a rate of 2.1 ml· hr−1 following upper abdominal surgery.

The sintered porous Ni is very important as electrode materials and have been used widely. In this work, the effect of the sintering environments and characteristics of raw Ni powders of the three kinds on the specific surface area of the sintered porous Ni compact was investigated. They were sintered at 1173K and 1273K for 1 hour under the both sintering environments, capsule free HIP (CFHIP) of 120MPa of argon gas and vacuum. The specific surface area was measured by interfacial impedance method.. The specific surface area of the sintered porous compact formed from the smallest particle size Ni was the largest under the both sintering environments, CFHIP and vacuum, and at the each sintering temperature. The specific surface area of the porous Ni compact sintered in CFHIP was larger than in vacuum for every raw Ni powder.

Alendronate (4-amino-1-hydroxybutylidene-1,1-bisphosphonate) is a potent inhibitor of bone resorption. The efficacy and safety of 36 weeks of treatment with alendronate were evaluated in Japanese women with osteoporosis, osteoporotic osteopenia or artificial menopause. The bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar vertebrae, markers of bone and calcium metabolism and clinical symptoms were monitored. A total of 113 randomly selected patients with osteoporosis or osteopenia were enrolled in the study, of whom 12 were excluded from the analyses because of lack of data. As a result, 101 patients were evaluated for the safety of the drug. Since eight patients were excluded from the efficacy analysis, 93 were evaluated. The incidence of adverse effects in the placebo (P), alendronate 2.5 mg/day (L) and alendronate 10 mg/day (H) groups increased with increasing dose of alendronate, being 6.1, 14.3 and 18.2%, respectively. The most common adverse effects were gastrointestinal symptoms, none of which was serious. Lumbar BMD increased after 36 weeks of drug administration to 5.21%, 5.64% and -0.90% in the L, H and P groups, respectively (P < 0.001, L vs. P and H vs. P). Serum alkaline phosphatase activity, serum osteocalcin and urinary deoxypyridinoline excretion were significantly decreased in a dose-related manner. Serum calcium and phosphorus were also significantly decreased after alendronate administration. Serum intact PTH was transiently increased. The present results indicate that alendronate effectively decreases bone turnover in a dose-related manner and increases lumbar BMD at a dosage of 2.5 mg/day, the lowest dose used in this study, in Japanese patients with osteoporosis.

KCl crystals were grown from aqueous solution by the evaporation method at the growth temperature of 40°C, the Pb ion concentration was 0–1/2000 in molar fraction, the pH was 2.0–4.0, the evaporation rate 0.4–1.1 g/day and the duration of growth 5–32 days. The results obtained are summarized as follows. (1) Pb ion addition played the most important role for growing larger KCl crystals, since it reduced the generation of parasite crystals. (2) Growth shape changed from cubic to octahedral with increasing Pb ion concentration. (3) Dislocation density in the crystals grown from seeds was always much higher than that in the crystals grown from spontaneous nuclei. Some crystals grown from spontaneous nuclei were nearly free of dislocations. (4) Growth striations were always observed on the etched {100} surfaces of KCl crystals grown in this work. A growth history could be seen from the change of striation pattern with the growth.

Background/Aims: Carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is a major complication that occurs in the musculoskeletal system in patients on long-term hemodialysis (HD). Pentosidine is an advanced glycation endproduct (AGE) and there is evidence that shows AGEs contribute to the pathogenesis of the complications in patients undergoing HD. The aim of this study is to investigate whether pentosidine accumulates in the carpal ligament in patients undergoing HD with CTS in comparison with idiopathic CTS. Methods: Carpal ligaments and skin were obtained during surgery from 28 patients with CTS undergoing HD and 13 patients with idiopathic CTS (ID CTS). Pentosidine was measured by HPLC after hydrolysis of the samples, and amyloid deposits in the samples of HD CTS were examined histologically. Results: Pentosidine levels in ligament and skin were significantly higher in HD CTS than ID CTS. On the other hand, there was no difference in pyridinoline which is a physical cross-link between HD and ID CTS. Amyloid deposits were observed in 14 ligament samples, whereas there was none in 14 other samples. There was no significant difference in pentosidine and pyridinoline in ligament, pentosidine in skin, duration of HD and serum β2-microglobulin between the amyloid+ group and the amyloid– group. Conclusion: A greater concentration of pentosidine in the carpal ligament in HD patients compared with idiopathic patients suggests that an accumulation of AGEs contributes to one of the pathologies of occurrence of CTS in patients undergoing HD.

KCl aqueous solutions were annealed for a long time at a temperature of several tens of degree higher than the equilibrium temperature and the resulting effect on the metastable zone width (MSZW) and incubation period for nucleation was studied. The investigated solutions were pure, acidic (pH=2.6), and Pb ion-doped solutions. It was found that both MSZW and incubation period were enlarged by the overheating treatment and its effect on the crystal growth was also examined.

Effect of a magnetic field on the gel growth of PbBr 2 was studied by observing nanocrystallites in silica gel. The control of the reaction between the Pb(NO 3 ) 2 and KBr solutions by the diffusion process in a sodium metasilicate gel was used for the growth of PbBr 2 crystals. The nanocrystallites formed in the gel prepared with and without the magnetic field have been examined by transmission electron microscopy. The following results were obtained. (1) Oriented PbBr 2 nanocrystallites were obtained in the gel prepared with magnetic field. (2) The size of these nanocrystallites was four times larger than that of crystallites grown in the gel prepared without magnetic field (25 nm).

In this paper, we study numerical conformal mappings of ring domains with the charge simulation method. The method has been applied to solve a lot of problems in electrical engineering. This paper is devoted to giving numerical results by new algorithms based on potentially theoretical considerations for the charge simulation method of numerical conformal mappings in ring domains.

Various techniques for evaluation of the extent of aging of Al-Zn-Mg alloys were investigated and discussed from the viewpoint of electrochemistry. The electrochemical methods used in this investigation were potentiometry, cyclic voltammetry and potential step chronoamperometry in NaCl solution. For the first technique, the rest potentials of specimens were measured at 1.2 ks after immersion, for the second, the pitting potentials were measured from cyclic voltammograms, and for the last, the quantity of electricity for both the dissolution of MgZn 2 and pitting corrosion were measured using a digitizing oscilloscope. The first two techniques were available until the peak aging condition, whereas the last method was applicable after the peak aging condition. Since all of these methods have advantages and disadvantages relative to each other, it is desirable to apply these techniques together for evaluation of the entire aging process.

In the last decade, more accurate quantitative methods to assess bone mass in vivo have become available. We have applied these techniques to assess periodic changes of bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients. In this longitudinal study, 132 female RA patients were divided into two groups. The first group of 90 patients were postmenopausal, with a mean age of 60.2 years (PM group), whereas the second group of 42 patients were premenopausal, with a mean age of 42.7 years (M group). The clinical courses of these patients were followed for an average of 3 years. Bone mineral density (BMD) in the lumbar spine (L2–L4), and the femoral neck were measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and second metacarpal bone mineral density was measured by using densitometric techniques periodically. Reduction of BMD in the lumbar spine was significant in both groups (P

Since 1980, about ninety computerized process control systems have been installed at Daido Steel Co., Ltd.. They have contributed to promotion of automated manufacturing . They involve several problems as follows, because these systems were built on proprietary environments provided from different suppliers: (1) To study new development at every time of computer model change. (2) Maintenance education for new environment. (3) Same restructuring cost required as origination. The above problems are common in computer industry. In recent years, computer manufacturers have developed the open-development-environments like UNIX in the area of process computer to resolve the problems. Open-System-Technology has been applied in our process control computer systems to save the cost and improve the performance, and intro

A total of 127 patients with involutional osteoporosis were randomly divided into two groups. The elcatonin group consisted of 67 patients who received 20 units of elcatonin per week administered intramuscularly, together with 0.6g calcium lactate (100mg as calcium) given orally three times daily for 24 weeks. The other 60 patients were assigned to a control group receiving 0.6g calcium lactate orally three times daily. Forty patients were withdrawn from the study treatment or dropped out during the study. The other 87 patients (consisting of 45 in the elcatonin group, and 42 in the control group) were measured for lumbar vertebral bone mineral density (BMD) using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA). The BMD was increased significantly (P < 0.05) by 1.87 ± 0.79% (mean ± standard error) in the elcatonin group and decreased by 0.61 ± 0.93% in the control group at the end of the study. The difference between the two groups was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The results of the present study demonstrated that elcatonin increases the BMD in patients with involutional osteoporosis.

Urinary pyridinoline (Pyr) and deoxypyridinoline (Dpyr) are collagen crosslinks found in bone and cartilage and are sensitive bone resorption markers. In this study, values of urinary Pyr and Dpyr during 24-h periods in 6 normal men, 10 normal women, and 10 osteoporotic patients were measured. In these three groups, urinary Pyr and Dpyr showed significant circadian variations only in normal men. Neither urinary Pyr nor Dpyr showed significant circadian variations in normal women or osteoporotic subjects, although they had the same trend as the diurnal changes of urinary crosslinks in normal men. Comparing the values of urinary crosslinks in the daytime (11:00–20:00 h) and at night (20:00–11:00 h), the latter were significantly higher than the former in both normal and osteoporotic subjects. Furthermore, the nighttime and daytime difference of urinary Pyr in osteoporotic subjects was significantly larger than those in normal subjects. Urinary Pyr and Dpyr were 22.6% and 10.7% higher, respectively, at night compared to during the day in normal women, while in osteoporotic patients, the values were 51.2% and 25.5% higher at night than during the day, respectively. In conclusion, the acceleration of bone resorption at night may be one of the etiologies of involutional osteoporosis.

A two-year double-blind study monitored and evaluated the effects of 1 alpha-hydroxy vitamin D3 (1 alpha(OH)D3) on the lumbar (L2-4BMD) and total body bone mineral densities (TBBMD) and occurrence of fracture in 113 female osteoporotic patients receiving 0.75 micrograms/day of 1 alpha(OH)D3 (n = 57) or a placebo (n = 56) with calcium supplementation in both groups. L2-4BMD increased 1.81.% and 2.32% after one and 2 years in the 1 alpha (OH)D3 group, but decreased 1.89% (P < 0.05) and 0.28% in the placebo group. A significant difference (P < 0.01) existed between the two groups after one year. TBBMD decreased significantly in the placebo group by 3.34% (P < 0.01) and 3.52% after one and 2 years. Six new fractures occurred in the control group, but only two in the 1 alpha(OH)D3 group (Odd's ratio = 0.343, 95% confidence range; 0.0648-1.815). There were no serious adverse effects of the 1 alpha(OH)D3 treatment. It was concluded that two-year treatment with 1 alpha(OH)D3 increased the lumbar BMD and inhibited the decrease in TBBMD. Although it was not significant, new fracture occurrence in the 1 alpha(OH)D3 group was around 1/3 of that in the control group.

Carbon-carbon composites (C/C) are representative advanced materials utilized for brake disks of aircraft, the nose and leading edges of the US space shuttle and other aerospace applications. The various properties of these composites, their mechanical, thermal and electrical properties, are closely related to the graphitization of the components. Conventionally, the graphitization of carbon-carbon composites has been measured using relatively expensive facilities such as X-ray units, Raman spectroscopy, magnetic measurements, etc. However, a simpler and less expensive method for the evaluation of graphitization is required from the practical viewpoint. Therefore, the correlation between cyclic voltammograms in dilute sulfuric acid and the degree of graphitization of C/Cs was investigated in the present study. Three kinds of C/Cs whose degree of graphitization differed from each other were used. Two types of compounds, phenol-type and carbonyl-type compounds, were formed on surfaces of specimens in sulfuric acid. The results presented indicate that the graphitization of C/Cs changes the main components of surface compounds from the phenol type to the carbonyl type.

The growth of sodium bromate (NaBrO3) from an aqueous solution has been observed over a range of temperatures (29–46°C) and supersaturations (In(CCe) = 0.01–0.1, Ce: equilibrium mole fraction). The gross morphologies of the crystals grown in this experiment have taken three distinct forms: cubic, tetrahedral and polyhedral. The controlling factors have been found to be growth temperature and supersaturation (chemical potential).

In order to develop the recycling process of aluminum, the recovery of aluminum and the removal behaviors of reinforced materials from aluminum matrix composites have been investigated experimentally by using molten salt process, and its mechanism have been discussed. Si3N4/2024 and SiC/6061 aluminum composites SiC/Al–Si alloy composite containing K2TiO3 and Al2O3 were used samples. These aluminum matrix composites were treated in equimolar KCl–NaCl molten salts involving NaF, KF and LiF at 1033 K and the extent of the separation of various components was measured by X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) respectively. The results indicated that various components of the composite specimens were eliminated from these composites by being transferred into molten salts. The extent of elimination of carbide and nitride components was different from oxide components, such as Al2O3.

The sintered porous nickel is very important as electrode materials and have been used widely. In this work, the effect of surrounding pressure under capsule-free HIP (CFHIP) and vacuum on sintering behaviors concerned with the volume shrinkage, the relative density and the surface microstructure of the porous Ni sintered for 1 hour at 1073K or 1173K were investigated. The results obtained are as follows. The volume shrinkage and the relative density, as a function of the relative density before sintering, of the porous Ni sintered under CFHIP became larger than for ones sintered under vacuum at each of the sintering temperatures. These sintering behaviors of the porous Ni formed from the smaller particle size powder were accelerated under the both surrounding pressures, CFHIP or vacuum, and at both sintering temperatures. In case of under CFI-IIP, the neck growth of Ni powder was promoted at either sintering temperature as compared with under vacuum and this fact was emphasized at the elevated temperature. And the surface of porous Ni sintered under CFHIP was made smoother than ones sintered under vacuum for every Ni powder and at the each sintering temperature.