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Intravesical thermometers are occasionally encountered in urologic practice. In the present paper, we describe the removal of a thermometer from the bladder of a woman who presented with irritable bladder symptoms. The thermometer was removed intact transurethrally using a rigid nephroscope and forceps, even though both ends of the thermometer were embedded in the bladder wall. Our retrieval technique may be of general use in such cases, and it should be attempted before resorting to open surgery.

Permittivity and electromagnetic losses of sapphire, ruby, and irradiated ruby samples were examined at frequencies of 30–40 GHz and temperatures of 4–300 K employing the whispering gallery mode technique. At room temperature, the dielectric properties of the sapphire, ruby, and irradiated ruby samples were similar. Significant differences in electromagnetic losses took place at cryogenic temperatures. Losses were related to the imaginary part of the susceptibility associated with the presence of paramagnetic Cr3+ ions as well as those introduced by structural defects caused by the irradiation of ruby samples. The presence of impurities and the structural defects result in the dielectric losses being larger than those of pure sapphire.

Anomalous X-ray scattering experiments were performed at Fe-K edge with hexagonal Z-type barium ferrite samples Ba3Co2-x Fe24+x O41 (x=0, 0.2 and 0.4) in order to study distributions of iron and cobalt atoms over ten crystallographically different sites in the structure. The results were consistent with those determined by the neutron diffraction technique combined with the Rietveld analysis and with those by extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EAXFS) analyses.

We recently identified ASP5736, (N-(diaminomethylene)-1-(3,5-difluoropyridin-4-yl)-4-fluoroisoquinoline-7-carboxamide (2E)-but-2-enedioate), a novel antagonist of 5-HT5A receptor, and here describe the in vitro and in vivo characterization of this compound. ASP5736 exhibited a high affinity for the human 5-HT5A receptor (Ki = 3.6 ± 0.66 nM) and antagonized 5-carboxamidotryptamine (5-CT)-induced Ca(2+) influx in human cells stably expressing the 5-HT5A receptor with approximately 200-fold selectivity over other receptors, including other 5-HT receptor subtypes, enzymes, and channels except human 5-HT2c receptor (Ki = 286.8 nM) and 5-HT7 receptor (Ki = 122.9 nM). Further, ASP5736 dose-dependently antagonized the 5-CT-induced decrease in cAMP levels in HEK293 cells stably expressing the 5-HT5A receptor. We then evaluated the effects of ASP5736 on cognitive impairments in several animal models of schizophrenia. Working memory deficit in MK-801-treated mice and visual learning deficit in neonatally phencyclidine (PCP)-treated mice were both ameliorated by ASP5736. In addition, ASP5736 also attenuated MK-801- and methamphetamine (MAP)-induced hyperactivity in mice without causing sedation, catalepsy, or plasma prolactin increase. The addition of olanzapine did not affect ASP5736-induced cognitive enhancement, and neither the sedative nor cataleptogenic effects of olanzapine were worsened by ASP5736. These results collectively suggest that ASP5736 is a novel and potent 5-HT5A receptor antagonist that not only ameliorates positive-like symptoms but also cognitive impairments in animal models of schizophrenia, without adverse effects. Present studies also indicate that ASP5736 holds potential to satisfy currently unmet medical needs for the treatment of schizophrenia by either mono-therapy or co-administered with commercially available antipsychotics.

Summary The effects of a synthetic adrenocortical hormone, dexamethasone, on the behavior and on the electroencephalogram of the neocortex and hippocampus, on the midbrain reticular arousal response, the thalamic arousal response and on the recruiting response were examined in unrestrained and unanesthetized rabbits to investigate the effect of the adrenocortical hormone on the brain and to elucidate the mechanism of its action. Following the administration of dexamethasone the animal showed considerable alertness both in behavior and in EEG for about twenty minutes. The hormone caused an increase of both the midbrain reticular arousal response and the thalamic arousal response for ten to thirty minutes, but exerted little effect on the recruiting response.

Lanthanum alunimate (LaAlO 3 ) single crystals were grown by float zone (FZ) method. (100) LaAlO 3 single crystal wafer was used as a seed. Crystal growth of LaAlO 3 without crack was achieved by the use of sintered rod with high density and homogeneity. Depending on the growth rate, the crystals showed a different color. Crystals grown in the rage of 5 to 20 mm/h exhibited a reddish-brown color, whereas crystals grown at 2 mm/h were colorless. These crystals were epitaxially grown to the seed crystal. The crystallographic information determined by IP-XRD (imaging plate X-ray diffractmeter) well agreed with the literature based on the pseudo-cubic structure. In the microstructure the grown crystals had polysynthetic twins of (100) phase on the plane perpendicular to the growth direction. The dielectric constant of each sample maintained in the vicinity of 24, while the quality factor (Qf) value depended on the growth rate. Very high Qf value of 390,000 GHz was obtained in the case of growth rate of 20 mm/h.