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A ferromagnetic tri-disk-coupled (TDC) resonator is constructed by placing three YIG ferrite disks mutually attached on the circular center conductor. The EM fields in one of the disks is described in terms of expanded circular harmonics with an approximated transformation of derivative, and the EM fields in a TDC resonator is synthesized from the respective constituent fields of the disks, by sum-transformation, regarding three eigenjunctures of the TEC resonator. The synthesized fields include coefficients A, B, and D, which are described as functions of the radis ratio r/sub 0//r and azimuthal angle phi . The special case in which A=D=0 is treated. Two conditional equations of perfect Y circulation are calculated. Magnetically tunable operation is theoretically analyzed using the conditional curves, and the magnetically tunable operation is examined experimentally with theoretical analysis. >

The expression patterns of three members of a gene family that encodes proline-rich proteins in soybean (SbPRPs) were examined using in situ hybridization experiments. In most instances, the expression of SbPRP genes was intense in a limited number of cell types of a particular organ. SbPRP1 RNA was localized in several cell types of soybean hypocotyls, including cells within the phloem and xylem. SbPRP1 expression increased within epidermal cells in the elongating and mature regions of the hypocotyl; expression was detected also in lignified cells surrounding the hilum of mature seeds. SbPRP2 RNA was present in cortical cells and in the vascular tissue of the hypocotyl, especially cells of the phloem. This gene was expressed also in the inner integuments of the mature seed coat. SbPRP3 RNA was localized specifically to the endodermoid layer of cells surrounding the stele in the elongating region of the hypocotyl, as well as in the epidermal cells of leaves and cotyledons. These data show that members of this gene family exhibit cell-specific expression. The members of the SbPRP gene family are expressed in different types of cells and in some cell types that also express the glycine-rich protein or hydroxyproline-rich glycoprotein classes of genes.

1. The nature of endothelium-dependent relaxations resistant to nitro-L-arginine was investigated in porcine coronary arteries by measuring isometric force and membrane potential in the presence of indomethacin. 2. Bradykinin induced concentration- and endothelium-dependent relaxations and hyperpolarization in tissues contracted with prostaglandin F2 alpha. Nitro-L-arginine did not affect either the relaxations or the hyperpolarization induced by bradykinin. The threshold concentration of bradykinin was the same for the nitro-L-arginine-resistant relaxations and the membrane hyperpolarization. 3. Nitro-L-arginine-resistant relaxations were evoked by several agents (A23187, thrombin and UK 14304) in addition to bradykinin. The amplitude of membrane hyperpolarizations observed with all agents was proportional to that of nitro-L-arginine-resistant relaxations. 4. Thrombin caused more transient relaxations and hyperpolarizations than bradykinin in the presence of nitro-L-arginine. 5. In tissues contracted with high K+ or tetrabutylammonium (a non-selective K(+)-channel blocker), bradykinin inhibited the contractions in a concentration-dependent manner, whereas membrane hyperpolarization was not observed. The relaxations evoked by the kinin were abolished by nitro-L-arginine. 6. These results suggest that endothelium-dependent relaxations which are resistant to nitro-L-arginine are mediated by membrane hyperpolarization in the porcine coronary artery.

Two-dimensional spin-uncompensated momentum density distributions, $\rho_{\rm s}^{2D}({\bf p})$s, were reconstructed in magnetite at 12K and 300K from several measured directional magnetic Compton profiles. Mechanical de-twinning was used to overcome severe twinning in the single crystal sample below the Verwey transition. The reconstructed $\rho_{\rm s}^{2D}({\bf p})$ in the first Brillouin zone changes from being negative at 300 K to positive at 12 K. This result provides the first clear evidence that electrons with low momenta in the minority spin bands in magnetite are localized below the Verwey transition temperature., Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures, accepted in Physical Review B

Nebivolol is a new β1-antagonist that acutely reduces arterial blood pressure without depressing cardiac function. The present study was designed to determine the effect of nebivolol on coronary arteries. Rings of canine left anterior descending coronary (LAD) artery with or without endothelium were suspended in organ chambers and the isometric tension was recorded. In some experiments, the transmembrane potential of the smooth muscle cells was recorded by electrophysiological method. During contractions to prostaglandin F2α, nebivolol induced concentration-dependent relaxations of the coronary arteries. The enantiomer. l-nebivold, also induced comparable relaxations; however, d-nebivolol induced smaller relaxations. The relaxations induced by nebivolol and its enantiomer were significantly larger in tissues with than in those without endothelium. The differences between tissues with and without endothelium were abolished by nitro-l-arginine (3 x 10-5M) or methylene blue (10-5M). The nebivolol-induced relaxations were not affeced by indomethacin (10-5M), phentolamine (5 x 10-6M), propranolol (5 x 10-6M), or methysergide (3 x 10-6M. Nebivolol at a subthreshold concentration for inducing relaxation (3 x 10-) did not significantly affect endothelium-dependent relaxations to acetylcholine but potentiated ADP-induced endothelium-dependent relaxations. The potentiation is stereoselective for l-nebivolol. Nebivolol induced a small hyperpolarization of the coronary smooth muscle with endothelium (1 mV). These observations demonstrate that (a) nebivolol induces relaxations of canine coronary arteries that are mainly mediated by endothelium-dervied relaxing factor(s): these effects are not related to the α- and β-adrengergic- or serotonegergic 5-HT1- and 5-HT2 blocking properties of the compound; (b) nebivolol potentiates ADP-induced endothelium-dependent relaxations: and (c) l-nebivolol is more potent than d-nebivolol in inducing and potentiating endothelium-dependent relaxations.

Placental transfer of antibodies to polysaccharide antigens is still a controversial subject. The incidence of invasive Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) infections is high in countries where the vaccine has not been included in routine immunization schedules. In the present work, we proposed to evaluate the natural immune response to Hib capsular polysaccharide in term and preterm Brazilian newborns and their respective mothers. Although the means, medians, and ranges of antibody titres in paired maternal and cord sera from preterm neonates were similar, the maternal levels were slightly higher than the cord levels and a poor correlation between these levels was verified. Term neonates showed similar antibody levels to those of their respective mothers and a very significant correlation between these levels was observed.

We have studied the [100]-[110] anisotropy of the Compton profile in the bilayer manganite. Quantitative agreement is found between theory and experiment with respect to the anisotropy in the two metallic phases (i.e., the low temperature ferromagnetic and the colossal magnetoresistant phase under a magnetic field of 7 T). Robust signatures of the metal-insulator transition are identified in the momentum density for the paramagnetic phase above the Curie temperature. We interpret our results as providing direct evidence for the transition from the metalliclike to the admixed ionic-covalent bonding accompanying the magnetic transition. The number of electrons involved in this phase transition is estimated. Our study demonstrates the sensitivity of the Compton scattering technique for identifying the number and type of electrons involved in the metal-insulator transition.

Background. In Japan, living donor renal transplantation has gained momentum due to an increased number of patients with end-stage renal disease. Living donation not only provides better outcomes, but also the recipients usually need less medications, thereby increasing the quality of life and reducing the potential side effects of immunosuppression. Materials and Methods. For the past 25 years, our center had performed 140 open donor nephrectomy (OPNx) renal transplantations. Since July 2003, we changed our procurement operation to living hand-assisted laparoscopic donor nephrectomy (HALNx) in 49 cases. Our operative technique consisted of two 12-mm ports placed in the midaxillary line at the superior and inferior levels of the umbilicus. Next, a 5-cm incision was made in the midline periumbilicus and the hand port system fitted through a midline abdominal incision. Results. In 49 cases, HALNx was completed successfully; no patient required conversion to laparotomy. The estimated blood loss was 33.0 ± 43.4 g and no patient required blood transfusion. In comparison, in OPNx the blood loss was 426.5 ± 247.6 g (P

Hybridoma cells can be cultivated at high densities for long periods through the combination of immobilization devices and continuous perfusion of medium, providing an efficient oxygen and nutrients feeding without cell loss. The disadvantage of these systems is that the cell density cannot be directly monitored and the cellular health is followed by online measurements of pH and dissolved oxygen and off-line determination of residual metabolites. We have been cultivating hybridoma lines in two types of bioreactors: a packed-bed created by hollow glass cylinders inside an airlift bioreactor and a hollow fibers bioreactor. Through the glucose uptake and the lactate production rates we calculated the efficiency of glucose consumption and estimated the growth rate, allowing a comparison of hybridoma lines in the two types of bioreactor, with serum-supplemented and serum-free culture media. The metabolic data together with monoclonal antibody productivity in a per cell basis would make it possible to detect changes of metabolic processes in a perfusion steady-state culture and would allow to improve monoclonal antibody productivity.

Background and purpose: Sorbin and SH3-domain-containing-1 (SORBS1) is an important adaptor protein in insulin-signalling pathway, and its genetic polymorphism may regulate the activity of insulin resistance. We investigated the association between the SORBS1 T228A polymorphism and ischaemic stroke. Methods: Genotyping was achieved by a rapid-cycle PCR and melting curve analysis using fluorescent probes in 1049 incident cases of ischaemic stroke and 1049 age- and sex-matched control subjects recruited from the Hisayama study. Results: The allele distributions of the SORBS1 T228A polymorphism were similar amongst cases and controls. The multivariate-adjusted odds ratio (OR) of the AA genotype for ischaemic stroke was 2.897 (95% CI, 0.907–8.018) compared with the TT genotype. In terms of stroke subtype, there was a trend toward a difference in the AA genotypes for lacunar infarction, compared with the TT genotype (OR = 8.740, P = 0.0510), and combined TT and TA genotypes (OR = 8.768, P = 0.0505). The other polymorphisms genotyped were not associated with any subtypes of ischaemic stroke. T228A polymorphism of SORBS1 was not associated with the prevalence of diabetes. Conclusions: The AA genotype of SORBS1 T228A polymorphism may play a role in lacunar infarction in the Japanese population.

A full-length cDNA encoding a heat shock protein (hsp) belonging to the 83 to 90 kilodalton hsp family of Arabidopsis thaliana has been isolated and sequenced. Truncated cDNA clones were isolated by nucleic acid hybridization to a truncated soybean HSP83 cDNA probe and a fragment generated from a Drosophila HSP83 gene. A single strand DNA vector/primer based extension procedure was employed to obtain the full-length cDNA. The level of transcripts homologous to this cDNA (AtHS83) is low in 2-week-old Arabidopsis plants but is rapidly enhanced by elevated temperatures. DNA sequence comparison between this cDNA and hsp83-90 sequences from human, yeast and Drosophila reveal amino acid identities of 63 to 69%, typical identities for interspecies comparisons between hsp83 to 90 kilodalton proteins. Genomic DNA blot analysis performed with probes derived from AtHS83 indicate the presence of a HSP83 gene family estimated to be comprised of at least three genes.

Male ICR mice were intraperitoneally injected with TEM, MMC, ENU, PCZ, or PMS and mated to untreated females of the same strain on days 64–80 after the treatment. Copulations during this period involve sperm that were spermatogonial stem cells at the time of the treatment. The fetuses were examined on day 18 of pregnancy for external and skeletal abrnomalities. The 5 mutagnes tested all caused significant increases in the incidence of abnormal fetuses over the control level. The genotoxically effective dose, in mmole/kg, for producing fetal abnormalities with a frequency of 2% was estimated to be 0.007 for TEM and MMC, 0.6 for ENU, 1.8 for PCZ, and 3.0 for PMS. These values correlate well with the mutagenic potency estimated from the data reported for inducing specific-locus mutations in spermatogonial stem cells. Irrespective of the kind of mutagen used, external abnormalities represented by cleft palate and dwarfism occurred more frequently than skeletal abnormalities represented by rib malformations. It is concluded from these data that F 1 fetal abnormalities can serve as sensitive indicators for quantitatively assessing the genotoxicity of a chemical agent in spermatogonial stem cells.

Further characterization of a proline-rich cell wall protein gene family from soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr) has been accomplished by the isolation and sequence analysis of two additional genes, SbPRP2 and SbPRP3, which encode mRNAs of 1050 and 650 nucleotides in length, respectively. Like the proline-rich protein gene, SbPRP1, which was previously reported (Hong, J. C., Nagao, R. T., and Key, J. L. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 8367-8376), these two SbPRP genes encode proteins having a signal peptide sequence and repeats of Pro-Pro-Val-Tyr-Lys. The SbPRP2 gene encodes a protein of 26 kDa which contains a perfect alternating repeat of Pro-Pro-Val-Tyr-Lys and Pro-Pro-Val-Glu-Lys. The SbPRP3 encodes a 10-kDa protein which also contains Pro-Pro-Val-Tyr-Lys as a major amino acid repeat, but the overall amino acid sequence of this protein is more variable than that of SbPRP1 and SbPRP2. RNA blot analyses have demonstrated that there are marked differences in the pattern of expression of each SbPRP in various soybean tissues. In contrast, sequence analysis reveals that the SbPRP genes contain a high degree of sequence conservation. Nucleotide sequence homology extends 90 to 100 base pairs upstream of the transcription initiation site and includes typical CAT and TATA sequences. Approximately 80 base pairs of the 3'-noncoding sequence around the polyadenylation signal is also highly conserved. Therefore, the DNA sequence upstream of the 5'-conserved region is presumed to contain cis-elements accounting for the developmental and tissue specificity of gene expression. While the pentameric repeat structures occur in all SbPRP genes, the encoded proteins are predicted to be different in several features including basicity, substitutions of tyrosine and glutamic acid in the repeat, and the size of the mature protein.

Electronic properties of the narrow-gap semiconductor $\mathrm{Fe}{\mathrm{Sb}}_{2}$ have been studied by the magnetization and $^{121∕123}\mathrm{Sb}$ nuclear quadrupole resonance measurements. In addition to the susceptibility, the spin-lattice relaxation rate has revealed a fully opened gap at the Fermi level. The relaxation process is dominated by the magnetic contribution at high temperature $T$, while the quadrupole contribution becomes dominant below $70\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{K}$. Electronic field gradient at Sb sites shows anisotropic $T$ dependence, reflecting most probably the anisotropic thermal expansion.

In our department, there were 313 thoracic surgeries for primary lung cancer from January 1994 to December 2003. We clinically reviewed for the operative and hospital death (n=18, 5.8%). The patients were 16 males and 2 females (70.6 +/- 5.6 years old). The surgical procedures were 4 pneumonectomies, 13 lobectomies (3 bronchoplasties) and 1 partial resection. The mean interval until postoperative death was 122.5 +/- 156.1 days. There were 5 direct operative deaths within 30 days (1.6%). There were 4 cancer deaths, 2 hemoptyses, 2 operative bleeding, 2 thromboses, 2 cerebral hemorrhages, 1 pyothorax, 1 pneumonia, 1 respiratory failure, 1 multiple organ failure after chemotherapy and 2 unexplained deaths. The patients with pneumonectomy or aged significantly had high mortality. For postoperative complications such as hemoptysis or bleeding, perioperative management that takes these issues into consideration is needed. Furthermore, we must carefully review the preoperative evaluation and combined treatment, because there were many cancer deaths among cases showing early recurrence and metastasis.

This study was performed to confirm that activated leukocytes are concerned with the vascular shut down effect, VSD, in photodynamic therapy, PDT. Hydrogen peroxide, H/sub 2/O/sub 2/, which is a kind of active oxygen that came from monocytes, was made visible under the confocal laser scanning microscope, CLSM, and the amount of its formation quantified from the fluorescent intensity with image analysis. Fluorescence images acquired by CLSM were analyzed, and the fluorescence intensity was expressed as a gray level, which is graded from 0 to 255. Only the fluorescence derived from a monocyte added zinc coproporphyrin III, ZnCP-III, just before measurement and with He-Ne laser irradiation caused the fluorescence distribution to increase with time, while no change of distribution was especially observed in three other conditions (only added Zn CP-III, only irradiated with He-Ne laser, non-treated). The result indicates that a photochemical reaction occurred due to excitation of the photosensitizer, and active oxygen derived from the reaction stimulated monocytes. The activated monocytes, this time for themselves, generated active oxygen and H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ was made visible by dichlorofluorescein, the DCFH fluorescence method. In conclusion, we confirmed that activated monocytes by photochemical reaction are concerned with the VSD effect.

Incremental learning algorithms are presented for nearest prototype (NP) classifiers. Fuzzification of the 1-NP and K-NP classification rules provides an explicit analytical expression of the membership of data to categories. This expression enables formulation of the protoype placement problem as mathematical programming which can be solved by using a gradient descent algorithm. In addition to the learning algorithm, analog electronic circuits are configured, which implement the 1-NP and k-NP classifiers.

The application of double circulation frequency operation (DCFO) is proposed to a wide band operation of a stripline Y-junction circulator. The ECFO mechanism, bandwidth and experiments are also reported.

Diplexer and broadbanding operations of stripline Y-junction circulators are reported. The former is realized, involving a combination of positive-sense and negative-sense circulations, in the Y-junction loaded with conductor-ferrite composites. The latter is performed with conductor-dielectric-ferrite composites. The frequency band, changeable with a biasing magnetic field, reached 45 percent in the experiment when four circulations were put into use. These operations are treated only above resonance.

Since radiation and chemotherapy have little impact on survival and no prospect for cure, surgery offers the best potentially option in patients with liver tumors. However, a lot of patients with liver tumors is not resectable due to stage combined with health problems, or poor liver function reserve. In this study, our preliminary clinical reports in patients with unresectable liver tumors treatment with RFA have demonstrated radiologic evidence of tumor necrosis and complications. Multielectrode, radiofrequency probes were supplied by RITA Medical Systems (Mountain View, California). This study involved a total of 28 liver tumors in 19 patients (including 17 patients with hepatomas and 2 patients with metastases). The mean age was 68.9 years old. The size of tumor was more than 3 cm in 15 patients. The approaches to the tumor were laparoscopic in 1 patients and open surgical in 18 patients. Hepatic vascular occlusion was combined with RFA in 5 cases. The reasons for unresectable were defined as total bilirubin, ICGR 15, cardiopulmonary function and multiplicity. The efficacy of this RFA therapy was evaluated by preoperative and follow-up CT scans or tumor makers. There tumor necrosis was shown in 15 patients (78.9%). The survival rates at the time up to 12 months were 84.2% in 16 patients. The present study has demonstrated that the RFA is able to provide a safe and effective means in controlling liver tumors.

The objective of developing "ITS" is to realize driver convenience systems represented by ACC (adaptive cruise control), and to create active safety systems that realize an excellent vehicle safety performance. From February of last year we have, for the first time in the world, succeeded in creating a commercially available mass production pre-crash safety system (PCS) for excellent vehicle safety through developing and further evolving ITS technology applied to ACC. As the first crucial step in realizing an obstacle detection sensor was our development of "millimeter-wave radar." The second step was the successful development of a sensor fusion system integrating the millimeter-wave radar and a newly developed image sensor into the PCS system. By combining the vision-based obstacle detection system with the radar-based obstacle detection system, we have realized excellent obstacle detection performance.

Temperature dependence of magnetic Compton profile (MCP) has been measured on a single crystal of ${\mathrm{La}}_{2\ensuremath{-}2x}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{1+2x}{\mathrm{Mn}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}$ at $x=0.42$ along the c-axis. The spin magnetic moments of Mn $3d$ electrons in ${t}_{2g}$ and ${e}_{g}$ type orbitals are evaluated from the line-shape fitting analysis of MCP's using theoretical profiles derived from the $({\mathrm{MnO}}_{6}{)}^{8\ensuremath{-}}$ ab initio calculations. The experimental ratios of ${e}_{g}$ spins to ${t}_{2g}$ ones show higher values above the metal-insulator transition temperature ${T}_{c}$ in comparison with the value expected from the electronically homogeneous state. This is understood in terms of the phase separation between electron-rich ferromagnetic and electron-poor antiferromagnetic regions. The ratios indicate that the ${e}_{g}$ electrons are highly segregated in the ferromagnetic region. In addition, the fitting result just above ${T}_{c}$ suggests that the ${e}_{g}$-orbital state involved with the colossal magnetoresistance effect is optimized by an external magnetic field.

Presents a k-winners-take-all circuit that is an extension of the winner-take-all circuit by Lazzaro et al. (1989). The problem of selecting the largest k numbers is formulated as a mathematical programming problem whose solution scheme, based on the Lagrange multiplier method, is directly implemented on an analog circuit. The wire length in this circuit grows only linearly with the number of elements, and the circuit is more suitable for real-time processing than the Hopfield networks because the present circuit produces the solution almost instantaneously-in contrast to the Hopfield network, which requires transient convergence to the solution from a precise initial state. The selection resolution in the present circuit is, however, only finite in contrast to the almost infinite resolution in the Hopfield networks. >

金沢大学理学部, Nanofilm allotrope and phase transformation of ultrathin Bi film on Si(111)-7 × 7 were analyzed using scanning tunneling microscopy and electron diffraction experiments. It was observed that this pseudocubic {012}-oriented allotrope is stable up to four atomic layers at room temperature. The entire volume of the film started to transform into a bulk single-crystal (001) phase, as the bulk contribution in the cohesion became dominant, above the critical thickness. It was proposed that the allotrope consists of black phosphorus-like puckered layers stabilized by saturating all the pz dangling bonds in the film, based on ab initio calculations.

We have systematically investigated Na adsorption on the Si(111)-(7 x 7) surface at room temperature using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Below the critical coverage of 0.08 monolayer, we find intriguing contrast modulation instead of localized Na adsorbates, coupled with streaky noise in the STM images, which is accompanied by monotonic work function drop. Above the critical coverage, Na clusters emerge and form a self-assembled array. Combined with first-principles theoretical simulations, we conclude that the Na atoms on the (7 x 7) surface are, while strongly bound ( approximately 2.2 eV) to the surface, highly mobile in "basins" around the Si rest atoms, forming a two-dimensional gas phase at the initial coverage, and that the cluster at the higher coverage consists of six Na atoms together with three Si adatoms.

The purpose of the paper is to propose a simple experimental method to evaluate the execution time in programmable controllers. First, features of the cyclic scan are examined experimentally by fundamental programs for evaluation. Second, the experimental evaluation method of the execution time of LDs and SFCs using stochastic tests is established. Furthermore, discussions on the evaluation method of other functions, the design for programming, and application to the real systems are also given.

Sequential control is an elementary technology for manufacturing systems. Manufacturing devices or systems are usually controlled by programmable controllers (PCs). In order to satisfy the requirements of downsizing and hidden information, we develop a novel type of controller which is implemented using the field programmable gate array (FPGA) as an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The widely used programming language in the area of sequential control, Ladder Diagram (LD), is also implemented on such a FPGA. The main bottleneck of the implementation is how to realize cyclic scan, which is the most significant characteristic of PCs. We describe two methods to implement the cyclic scan. One involves using the clock event of the Very High Speed Integrated Circuit (VHSIC) Hardware Description Language (VHDL), and the other is of translating a coil as a self-hold circuit of LD into an appropriate flip-flop element of VHDL. We also compare the two methods and show the benefits of the new controller implemented by FPGA.

An automatic road extraction method for 1/25000 scaled maps of Japan is presented. The method is applied to the automatic input of map data in a computer and also to recognition of line drawings. In the first process, the feature points of roads are calculated on the center lines of roads, and short vectors are made by connecting the feature points. Some of the vectors, corresponding to roads, are joined, and others are regarded as noise and removed in subsequent processes. The algorithm of this method is described, and experimental results applied to urban maps are shown. >

The machine tool industry is enjoying a period fast innovation, driven by end-users that have rediscovered the importance of production, after a long period during which finance and marketing seemed to be the sole instruments to reach industrial success. Innovation is also pushed by internal pressure: European manufacturers must keep proposing new solutions to face the evolution of a market that is increasingly competitive.

Three neurodegenerative diseases causing primary autonomic failure are pure autonomic failure (PAF), Parkinson's disease (PD), and multiple system atrophy (MSA). Differential diagnoses among these diseases are often difficult especially in early disease stage. For example, it may be difficult to determine whether a patient with parkinsonism and autonomic failure has PD or MSA. Recently, a decrease in myocardial uptake of meta-iodobenzylguanidine (MIBG), an analogue of norepinephrine, has been reported in PD but not in MSA using [123I]MIBG myocardial scintigraphy.1 This new imaging approach is thought to be of significance in the diagnosis and characterisation of akinetic rigid syndromes, especially PD. After that, we reported severe loss of cardiac sympathetic nerves in one patient with PD but not in one patient with MSA, which accounts for a difference in myocardial uptake of MIBG between PD and MSA.2 However, our observation was based on the study in only a single patient of each disease. In this study, we immunohistochemically examined the heart tissues from four patients with PD, three patients with MSA, and one patient with PAF, and showed the involvement of postganglionic cardiac sympathetic nerves in PD and PAF …

A single feed dipole antenna to radiate a circularly polarized wave and to have a broad bandwidth has been introduced and its characteristics have been confirmed from both calculation and experiment. It is found that the axial ratio bandwidth (2/spl les/dB) of about 20% and the gain of 9 dB pre obtained.

In this study, a doubled Q-switched Nd:YAG laser which has high peak power and lower thermal effect than that of a continuous wave laser, was employed to investigate the damage of tumor cells. As a photosensitizer, zinc coproporphyrin III (Zn CP-III) was prepared. Active oxygen from the photosensitizer was detected by method of luminol chemiluminescence at 430 nm-wavelength. Viability of human small cell carcinoma (MS-1) against the irradiation time, the concentration of Zn CP-III and the pulse energy was investigated. As the result, Zn CP-III produced active oxygen and cells treated by PDT showed a significant reduction of viability.

The effect of photodynamic therapy (PDT) using Zn coproporphyrin III (Zn CP-III) on the microcirculation was examined. Animals were given Zn CP-III doses of 3 mg/kg or 5 mg/kg. Microvessels in the mesentery were exposed to 450 J/cm/sup 2/ laser light of Nd:YAG at 532 nm. Significant reductions in blood flow and complete blood flow stasis (vascular shut down: VSD) were observed during light treatment. VSD was a result of platelet aggregation and the mechanical obstruction of flow. In venules, VSD was more prominent than in arterioles, resulting in stasis after 300-350 J/cm/sup 2/ light treatment. VSD was dependent on Zn CP-III dose and initial vessel diameter. Animals given only either Zn CP-III or light treatment showed no apparent change in vessels. The authors conclude that the photoactivation of Zn CP-III results in significant thrombosis of normal vessels and it may contribute to the mechanism by which PDT results in tumor necrosis.

Two types of circularly polarized linear antenna having a rhombic loop configuration are investigated. One type of circularly polarized antenna is a single feed dual rhombic loop antenna (DRLA). The DRLA consists of two rhombic loops of the same size and is located above an infinite ground plane. The other is a hula hoop antenna (HHA). The HHA is fed from a coaxial cable, of which the inner conductor is connected to the antenna itself and the outer conductor is connected to the ground plane. Two types of feed are introduced for each of the DRLA and the HHA. The antenna characteristics for each feed model are calculated by the method of moments. The results are in good agreement with the measured data.

Although the pathogenesis of oral lichen planus (OLP) is not clear, a small proportion of cases with OLP are reported to transform to cancer. We examined the epithelial cell proliferation status of OLP to relate the labelling index to microscopic features surveyed routinely in pathology. Mucosal biopsies obtained from 44 cases diagnosed with OLP with an intact oral epithelium and 10 normal control specimens from Japanese subjects were immunohistochemically stained with MIB and p53 antibodies. The Ki67 labelling index (LI) was significantly higher in OLP compared with normal controls. A particularly large number of OLP lesions (64%) were p53 positive. No association was, however, found with p53 expression and the Ki67 LI. Atrophic and flat epithelia had a quantitatively higher LI, which did not significantly differ from acanthotic biopsies. Increased cell proliferation in OLP is likely to be a secondary phenomenon due to the damage inflicted on keratinocytes by infiltrating mononuclear cells in the submucosa.

The susceptibility of 129/SvJ mice to infection with Strongyloides venezuelensis was compared with that of C57BL/6 mice. After a primary infection, daily egg output in faeces (EPG) from 129/SvJ mice was lower and terminated earlier than that from C57BL/6 mice. Adult worm recovery from the small intestine of 129/SvJ mice on day 7 was also lower than that of C57BL/6 mice. When the numbers of larvae recovered from the lungs were examined on days 2, 3 and 4 after a primary infection, they were comparable between the two strains. On the other hand, when an equal number of larvae recovered from the lungs of each strain on day 3 were implanted orally into homologous strain mice, the magnitude of EPG and the number of adult worms in the small intestine on day 5 after implantation were significantly lower in 129/SvJ than in C57BL/6 mice. The number of mucosal mast cells in the jejunum was not significantly different between 129/SvJ and C57BL/6 naive mice. Total chondroitin sulphate concentration in the gut washings obtained from naive mice was significantly higher in 129/SvJ (11.34 +/- 9.48) than in C57BL/6 mice (1.09 +/- 0.77, P0.05). These results indicate that the natural resistance of 129SvJ mice to S. venezuelensis infection is expressed at the intestine, probably due to higher concentration of chondroitin sulphate, which prevents establishment of S. venezuelensis.

A new member of the GT-2 family of transcription factors, GmGT-2, was isolated from soybean while screening a cDNA library with a protein binding site (D1) in the promoter of Aux28, a member of the Aux/IAA family of auxin-responsive genes. GmGT-2 possesses various primary amino acid sequence characteristics common to all GT-2 factors thus far isolated, including sequence identity in the twin trihelix DNA-binding domains. Recombinant GmGT-2 expressed in Escherichia coli binds oligotetramers of both D1 and various GT-boxes. However, unlike other known members of the GT-2 family, GmGT-2 message levels are down-regulated by light in a phytochrome-dependent manner. Evidence is presented that the expression levels of Aux28 mRNA are also down-regulated by phytochrome. These results and other referenced data implicate the possible convergence of phytochrome and auxin signaling pathways.

A high prevalence of systemic infections caused by enterobacteria such as Escherichia coli is observed during the neonatal period. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is one of the major factors responsible for septic shock caused by these Gram-negative bacteria. We have recently demonstrated the presence of anti-LPS immunoglobulin (Ig)G antibodies in cord blood with a repertoire identical to that found in maternal serum. In the present study, we analyzed anti-LPS O111 antibody isotypes in maternal serum and colostrum from mothers and in cord serum from their respective full-term (n = 30) and preterm (n = 13) neonate infants. The main isotype found in serum samples from mothers of term infants was IgM (range between 28 and 54 mg/l), followed by IgA (1-2 mg/l) and IgG (2-3 mg/l). The range of IgG antibody concentrations in cord blood was between 2 and 3 mg/l, as a result of placental transfer. A novel observation in our study was that the LPS bands recognized by colostral antibodies were completely different from those recognized by IgG in serum. Colostral IgA antibodies recognized several bands not bound by serum IgG antibodies from the respective maternal serum, independently of the antibody quantity. In addition, we verified the pattern of LPS recognition by serum IgA and colostral IgA antibodies was identical, what suggested that the antibody isotype found in serum could probably be derived from differentiated IgA-positive cells which were homing to the mucosa through the mucosal homing mechanism. Identical pattern of recognition was obtained comparing the IgA and IgM isotypes in colostrum. Slight differences in the pattern of recognition were found between colostral and serum IgM antibodies. The fact that colostral antibodies recognize much more bands than serum antibodies may be important for the host to mount an effective immune response in the intestinal lumen, in order to prevent excessive absorption of LPS, reducing possible systemic effects caused by the molecule.

When isolated rabbit gastric glands were permeabilized with digitonin, they lost their ability to secrete acid, as monitored by [14C]aminopyrine accumulation, and they never recovered by supplement with cytosol prepared from gastric mucosa. However, the permeabilized glands elicited acid secretion when brain cytosol was supplemented. Fractionation of gastric cytosol by gel filtration revealed that the fraction at 30 kDa stimulated permeabilized glands by itself, whereas the 200-kDa fraction potently inhibited brain cytosol-stimulated acid secretion. Brain cytosol contained only the former stimulatory factor. With further gel filtration, the 30-kDa activator was separated into two components, 20 kDa (peak 1) and 1.8 kDa (peak 2), both of which are necessary for full activity. We purified peak 1 from bovine brain, and phosphatidylinositol transfer protein (PITP) was identified as the main component of the activity. The stimulating activity in brain and gastric mucosa correlated with the contents of PITP, and recombinant PITP mimicked the effect of peak 1, suggesting that PITP is one of the essential components in gastric acid secretion. When gastric glands were stimulated, the inhibitory activity, but not stimulatory activity, in the cytosol was increased. This suggests a regulatory mechanism such as stimulation translocates the inhibitory component from the secretory site on the membrane to cytosol. These results demonstrate a high degree of usefulness for our present model, the reconstituted digitonin-permeabilized gastric glands.

The aim of this study was to elucidate any association between oral lichen planus (OLP) and serum antioxidant micronutrients by a population-based case-control study. A total of 9536 subjects were examined, and 62 (58 reticular, 4 atrophic and erosive) diagnosed with OLP at referral facilities were compared with four controls per case (n=248) selected among disease-free subjects matched for age and sex. Serum levels of micronutrients (retinol, alpha-tocopherol, zeaxanthin/lutein and cryptoxanthin, lycopene, alpha-carotene and beta-carotene) were estimated by the high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. Among cases, mean serum retinol level (2.820+/-0.849 micromol/l) was significantly higher compared with that of controls (2.562+/-0.735 micromol/l) (P0.05). No significant differences were noted in carotenoid levels examined in this study, except for a lower level of lycopene found in atrophic/erosive OLP cases. The results of this study suggest that low serum retinol or carotenoid levels are not risk factors for occurrence of lichen planus, and any specific benefits of antioxidant micronutrients cannot be claimed for this inflammatory disorder.