Search

We performed electrophysiological study and catheter ablation on a 62-year-old patient with supraventricular tachycardia(SVT). This SVT was reproducibly initiated and terminated by atrial stimulation during the electrophysiological testing. The P-wave morphology and atrial activation sequence of intracardiac electrograms were identical to those in normal sinus rhythm. SVT was terminated with carotid sinus massage that increased vagal tone, and for this reason, the reentry circuit of SVT could be localized in sinus node. On the basis of these findings, the SVT was diagnosed as sinus node re-entrant tachycardia and was successfully eliminated by radiofrequency catheter ablation. Radiofrequency catheter ablation would be effective in patients with sinus node reentrant tachycardia refractory to anti-arrhythmic drugs. It should, however, be performed with careful consideration to the influence of the sinus node.

The pineal complex, deep brain, and skin have been known to function as extraretinal photoreceptors in non-mammalian vertebrates. To see the diversity of localization of extraretinal photoreceptors in lower vertebrates having different habitats, we analyzed the opsin-like immunoreactivities in anuran amphibians, Xenopus laevis, Rana catesbeiana, Rana nigromaculata, and Bufo japonicus. An antiserum (toad Rh-AS) was raised against rhodopsin purified from the retinas of Japanese toad, B. japonicus. In the retina of all the anurans examined, the outer segments of rods were immunopositive to toad Rh-AS. The outer segments of most pinealocytes were immunopositive in R. catesbeiana, R. nigromaculata, and B. japonicus. The outer segments of photoreceptor-like cells within the frontal organ of R. nigromaculata were immunostained. Interestingly, toad Rh-AS immunostained many secretory cells of mucous glands in the head skin of B. japonicus, implying the presence of a novel photoreceptive molecule. Within the hypothalamus, toad Rh-AS immunostained many cells in the magnocellular preoptic nucleus of R. catesbeiana and B. japonicus. Toad Rh-AS also labeled cerebrospinal fluid (CSF)-contacting cells in the anterior preoptic nucleus of R. nigromaculata and those adjacent to the lateral ventricle within the septum of R. catesbeiana. Thus the distribution patterns of the rhodopsin-like immunoreactivities among the anurans were highly diverged, and there was no relationship between the distribution patterns and their habitats. J. Exp. Zool. 286:136-142, 2000.

Extraretinal photoreceptors in animals are involved in a variety of physiological functions such as photo-entrainment of circadian rhythm, photoperiodicity and body colour change. We have identified pinopsin in the chicken pineal gland as a typical 'non-visual' photoreceptive molecule. Pinopsin with bound 11-cis-retinal shows a blue-light sensitivity (lambda max = 468 nm), and it may play a role in synchronizing the phase of the endogenous circadian oscillator with an environmental dark-light cycle. Pinopsin is not a unique pineal opsin in animals. In the zebrafish, we have detected expression of two rhodopsin genes, the nucleotide sequences of which are very similar but distinct from each other. One is canonical rhodopsin expressed in the retina, and the other is expressed in the pineal gland. The latter gene is widely distributed among teleosts, and we named it 'exo-rhodopsin' after extraocular rhodopsin. On the other hand, our effort to identify the 'deep brain opsin' responsible for the photoperiodic gonadal response resulted in the identification of two kinds of opsins; pinopsin in the toad anterior preoptic nucleus and rhodopsin in the pigeon lateral septum. Both of these opsins are localized in the cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons in the brain of the two animals. We also identified VAL opsin in zebrafish retinal horizontal cells, which have not been considered as photoreceptive cells. It has become evident that animals employ a wide variety of photoreceptive molecules for 'non-visual' purposes.

This study was performed to examine the anesthetic action of halothane on the spinal cord of rats by using fos immunoreactivity, a marker for neuronal activity following noxious stimulation. Sprague-Dawley rats were injected with 150 microliters of 5% formalin subcutaneously into the left hindpaw. Control group (n = 5) received 100% oxygen for 3 hours after injection. 1 MAC group (n = 5) and 1.5 MAC group (n = 5) of rats were anesthetized with 1 MAC or 1.5 MAC halothane, respectively, for 3 hours after injection. The number of fos immunoreactive cells was counted in the lumbar spinal cord of each rat. All rats showed escape reactions against noxious stimulation in the control group. In the 1 MAC and 1.5 MAC groups, two of five rats showed response to noxious stimulation and the another three showed no response, respectively. There was profound relation between the responding rats and the expression of fos immunoreactivity in the spinal dorsal horn. The number of fos immunoreactive cells decreased in the cord of rats that showed no response to noxious stimulation by halothane 1 or 1.5 MAC. These findings suggest that halothane has analgesic action on spinal nociceptive neurons in the rats on the condition that its reactions to noxious stimulation are suppressed by halothane of any concentration.

We have developed a system of erythroid-lineage-specific expansion of purified human peripheral blood (PB) CD34 positive cells mobilized by a granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF), as an in vitro model for the study of the process of proliferation and differentiation of erythroid progenitor cells. In this system, PB CD34 positive cells terminally differentiated into reticulocytes, which made it feasible to conduct a study on enucleation process of human erythroblasts. Erythroid differentiation/maturation was induced in the highly purified PB CD34 positive cells in the liquid suspension culture with interleukin-3 (IL-3), stem cell factor (SCF; a ligand for c-kit) and human erythropoietin (EP); 8 days of the culture generated progenitors equivalent to colony-forming units-erythroid (CFU-E) and 12 days of the culture generated a population mainly consisting of polychromatophilic normoblasts. Within additional 4 days of the suspension culture, these cells contained hemoglobin, differentiated to orthochromatic normoblasts, and became capable of enucleation in vitro, in a time-dependent manner. Removal of all serum from the culture medium, with or without cytokines, including IL-3, SCF and EP, did not affect enucleation processes of the cells on 12th day. On electron microscopy, the incipient reticulocytes contained all cellular organelles except the nucleus, and the extruding nucleus was surrounded by a plasma membrane. Colchicine and vinblastine blocked nuclear multiplication and cytochalasin D blocked cell division with formation of multinucleated cells. Only cytochalasin D completely inhibited enucleation, which was recovered by washing out the cytochalasin D in the 12th day cell cultures. Thus, human erythroblasts do not require cytokines, including EP in their enucleation process. In this process, the contraction of filamentous actin occurs, while microtubules apparently do not participate.

The aim of this study is to clarify the transitional change of the proliferation and differentiation of human peripheral blood CD34+ cells to megakaryocytic lineage, focusing on its clinical application. We developed a rapid system to purify human peripheral blood CD34+ cells from healthy volunteers, which produced CD34+ cells with a 90% purity. The purified CD34+ cells predominantly consisted of CD41- cells, and the rate of coexpression of CD41 was 0.6% +/- 0.5%. When the purified cells were cultured in liquid phase for 10 days in the presence of recombinant human stem cell factor (rSCF: a ligand for c-kit), interleukin-3 (rIL-3), and thrombopoietin (rTPO: a ligand for Mpl), the number of CD34+/CD41+ cells increased to 19% +/- 7% of total expanded cells on day 4 (4 days of liquid culture) and then gradually decreased to 2.2% +/- 0.6% on day 10. The absolute number of CD34+/CD41+ cells increased and reached a plateau on day 6, and 1.7 +/- 0.6 x 10(5) CD34+/CD41+ cells were produced by 1 x 10(5) CD34+/CD41- day 0 cells. The CD34-/CD41+ cells appeared on day 6, continuously increased in number until day 10, and constituted the main population of expanded cells on day 10, with a value of 38% +/- 18%. On day 10, 19.5 +/- 10.6 x 10(5) of CD34-/CD41+ cells were produced by 1 x 10(5) CD34+/CD41- day 0 cells. The deletion of rTPO from this cytokine combination decreased the number of CD34+/CD41+ and CD34-/CD41+ cells, after days 6 and 8, respectively. Day 0 cells required rIL-3 for promoting colonies containing megakaryocytes, whereas rTPO alone promoted almost no megakaryocytic colonies from day 0 cells. Thus, a combination of IL-3 and SCF expands CD34+/CD41+ cells from CD34+/CD41- cells, and TPO mainly acts to increase CD34-/CD41+ cells. This study suggests that if the expansion of CD34+/CD41+ is performed in vitro, the 6 days' culture of peripheral blood CD34+/CD41- cells with a combination of IL-3 and SCF with TPO provides the most rapid and stable products of CD34+/CD41+ cells for the rapid recovery of platelets in patients with peripheral blood stem cell transplantation.

A 35-year-old man with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) (follicular small cleaved, B cell, stage IVB) received double myeloablative chemotherapy with syngeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (PBSCT). Although platelet recovery was delayed until day 29 after the second transplantation, thereafter trilineage hematopoietic reconstitution was achieved. The evaluation after PBSCT did not detect any residual tumor. The patient was in good health until day 138, when his platelet count suddenly began falling; on day 150, it had fallen to 1.5 x 10(4)/microliter, and the patient was re-admitted for treatment. The bone marrow was normocellular with a normal count and megakaryocyte structure. Other examinations, including serological tests and computed tomography of the neck, chest, abdomen, and retroperitoneum, did not indicate a recurrence of NHL or reveal the cause of thrombocytopenia. The patient's platelet-associated IgG (PAIgG) level was at 70.9 ng/10(7) platelets (normal range: 9-25 ng/10(7) platelets); a diagnosis of thrombocytopenia due to an autoimmune mechanism such as idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) was made. Prednisolone therapy increased the platelet count and reduced the PAIgG level. Thrombocytopenia with an ITP-like mechanism rarely occurs more than 100 days after autologous or syngeneic stem cell transplantation, and should be taken into consideration as a late complication of PBSCT.

A 39-year-old man with cardiomyopathy due to point mutation of mitochondrial DNA(3243) was admitted to our hospital because of exertional dyspnea accompanied by hearing disturbance and diabetes mellitus. Echocardiography revealed asymmetric hypertrophy of the anterolateral and posterior walls and systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle (fractional shortening = 18%). Pulsed Doppler mitral inflow velocity wave showed a pseudonormalized pattern. Iodine-123 betamethyl-p-iodophenyl-pentadecanoic acid (123I-BMIPP) myocardial scintigraphy showed decreased accumulation in the anterolateral, posterior, and apical walls. Left ventriculography showed moderately decreased ejection fraction (43%), and left ventricular end-diastolic pressure was mildly elevated (18 mmHg). Angiography showed normal coronary arteries, but coronary flow reserve measured by administering intravenous adenosine triphosphate was impaired in the left anterior descending and left circumflex arteries compared to the right coronary artery. Intracellular accumulations of abnormal mitochondria were detected by histologic examination of the cardiac and skeletal muscles. Evaluation of cardiac function showed that the area of myocardial hypertrophy was nearly consistent with the region of decrease in 123I-BMIPP accumulation and coronary flow reserve.

A case of intracranial hemorrhage due to superior sagittal sinus thrombosis occurring in a boy with nephrotic syndrome is described. A twelve-year-old boy with nephrotic syndrome presented sudden onset of generalized convulsions. CT scan revealed a subcortical hematoma in the left frontal lobe. A left carotid angiography revealed the occlusion of the superior sagittal sinus. Neurological findings included disturbance of consciousness, right hemiparesis, and motor aphasia after the convulsions. All symptoms and signs disappeared immediately. There has been no evidence of rebleeding or convulsions for the last two years. This case had no abnormality of the coagulation system in routine investigation, but nephrotic syndrome and steroid therapy appeared to be associated with several disorders of the coagulation system. The authors suggested that it was necessary to pay attention to possible intracranial hemorrhage caused by cerebral venous sinus thrombosis in patients with nephrotic syndrome or who had undergone steroid therapy.

A 20-year-old Japanese man developed generalized, subcutaneous, painless nodules, fever, abnormal liver function, serosal effusions, hepatosplenomegaly, lymphadenopathy and anemia. Skin biopsies revealed lobular panniculitis with a morphologically benign histiocytic infiltration and prominent phagocytosis. Atypical T lymphocytes were also present in the skin and liver. The diagnosis given was aggressive cytophagic histiocytic panniculitis (CHP) or aggressive subcutaneous panniculitic T cell lymphoma (SPTCL). He received cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and vincristine on day 1, prednisolone on days 1-5, and etoposide on days 1, 3 and 5 (CHOP-E), with the support of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor. This regimen was repeated every 2 weeks and complete clinical remission (CCR) was attained after three cycles of CHOP-E. As the clinical course of aggressive CHP is recurrent and often fatal, he was given high-dose chemotherapy followed by autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplantation (APBSCT), after five cycles of CHOP-E. He has remained in CCR for 12 months after APBSCT. High-dose chemotherapy followed by APBSCT is considered to be one of the most beneficial therapies for patients with aggressive CHP and aggressive phase SPTCL.

Birds and lower vertebrates are known to have extra-retinal photoreceptors in the pineal complex and deep brain. Although the photoreceptive function of the pineal complex has been investigated well, the exact location and nature of the deep brain photoreceptors are not known. In this study we tried to localize visual pigments and signal transduction proteins immunohistochemically in the brain of bullfrogs (Rana catesbeiana). The retina, and the brain with the pineal and the frontal organ were fixed with Zamboni's fixative and/or Bouin's solution. Immunoreactivities to three antisera against bovine rhodopsin (Rh-As), alpha-subunits of bovine rod (anti-pTr alpha) and cone transducin (anti-pTc alpha) were shown in the retina, pineal, frontal organ and hypothalamus. The retina and pineal were immunopositive to both Rh-As and anti-pTr alpha, whereas the frontal organ was immunopositive to only Rh-As and the hypothalamus was immunopositive to all three antisera. The cells which were immunoreactive to Rh-As, anti-pTr alpha and anti-pTc alpha were observed in the preoptic nucleus and suprachiasmatic nucleus in the hypothalamus. The shape of these immunoreactive cells in the hypothalamus was round or spindle-like with one or two immunoreactive nerve processes most of which were perpendicular to the ventricular surface. Western blot analysis of the hypothalamus, pineal and frontal organ demonstrated immunoreactive bands molecular weight of which corresponded to those of the retina (34 kDa, 38 kDa and 41 kDa). Thus, visual pigments and transducin-like proteins seem to exist in the hypothalamus as well as the pineal complex of frogs.

Guanine nucleotide-binding regulatory proteins (heterotrimeric G proteins) are composed of alpha-, beta- and gamma- subunits, and they mediate a variety of intracellular signal transductions by coupling activated membrane receptors with effector enzymes and channels. Activated receptors catalyze the exchange of GDP bound to the alpha-subunits for cytosolic GTP, and GTP-bound alpha-subunits in turn regulate activities or functions of the effectors. The beta gamma-complex is not dissociable under physiological conditions, and it is indispensable for the GDP/GTP exchange reaction on the alpha-subunit. Recently, three kinds of lipid modifications have been found in the alpha- and gamma-subunits. The first is the attachment of fatty acids, myristate (C14:0) or structurally related fatty acids to the N-terminal glycine residues of some members of the alpha-subunits. Another type of fatty acylation to be characterized is the linkage of palmitate (C16:0) to a number of alpha-subunits via a thioester bond at their cysteine residues. The third type of modification is polyisoprenylation (farnesylation or geranylgeranylation) and alpha-carboxyl methylation at the C-terminal cysteine residue of the gamma-subunit. These modifications on the two subunits have been shown to play a critical role in not only protein-membrane interaction but also proper protein-protein interaction, both of which are required for the G protein function.

Several lines of evidence have suggested that protein phosphorylation and dephosphorylation may play an important role in the regulation of metabolism and signal transduction processes. In our present study, bovine and frog retinas were incubated in Krebs' solution containing [32P] H3PO4 for the labelling of all phosphoproteins. Then, photoreceptor outer segments were isolated from each retina, and further incubated under dark or light conditions. In such conditions, several phosphoproteins were dark- or light-dependently dephosphorylated. Interestingly, the light-dependent dephosphorylated 39 kDa protein as well as the 35-36 kDa protein was commonly observed in both bovine and frog retinas. The 35-36 kDa protein is considered to be the same as the 33 kDa protein that has previously been shown to be phosphorylated light-dependently, whereas 39 kDa protein is thought to be a novel protein that undergoes light-dependent dephosphorylation in retinal photoreceptor outer segments. Thus, these proteins were thought to have significant roles in the visual transduction processes.

Bovine rhodopsin was bleached and regenerated with 7,9-dicis-retinal to form 7,9-dicis-rhodopsin, which was purified on a concanavalin A affinity column. The absorption maximum of the 7,9-dicis pigment is 453 nm, giving an opsin shift of 1600 cm{sup {minus}1} compared to 2500 cm{sup {minus}1} for 11-cis-rhodopsin and 2400 cm{sup {minus}1} for 9-cis-rhodopsin. Rapid-flow resonance Raman spectra have been obtained of 7,9-dicis-rhodopsin in H{sub 2}O and D{sub 2}O at room temperature. The shift of the 1654-cm{sup {minus}1} C{double bond}N stretch to 1627 cm{sup {minus}1} in D{sub 2}O demonstrates that the Schiff base nitrogen is protonated. The absence of any shift in the 1201-cm{sup {minus}1} mode, which is assigned as the C{sub 14}-C{sub 15} stretch, or of any other C-C stretching modes in D{sub 2}O indicates that the Schiff base C{double bond}N configuration is trans (anti). Assuming that the cyclohexenyl ring binds with the same orientation in 7,9-dicis-, 9-cis-, and 11-cis-rhodopsins, the presence of two cis bonds requires that the N-H bond of the 7,9-dicis chromophore points in the opposite direction from that in the 9-cis or 11-cis pigment. However, the Schiff base C{double bond}NH{sup +} stretching frequency and its D{sub 2}O shift in 7,9-dicis-rhodopsin are very similar to those in 11-cis- andmore » 9-cis-rhodopsin, indicating that the Schiff base electrostatic/hydrogen-bonding environments are effectively the same. The C{double bond}N trans (anti) Schiff base geometry of 7,9-dicis-rhodopsin and the insensitivity of its Schiff base vibrational properties to orientation are rationalized by examining the binding site specificity with molecular modeling.« less

Using highly specific antibodies against a chick red-sensitive cone pigment, iodopsin, we investigated the localization of iodopsin in the developing and mature chick retina. The chick retina contains several different photoreceptor types, including a rod, a double cone with a principal and accessory cone, and four different types of single cones. Immunocytochemical observations revealed that outer segments (OS) of one of the single cones (type 1) and both cells of the double cone were strongly immunoreactive to anti-iodopsin antibodies. The Golgi regions and small vesicular structures in the inner segments (IS) of these cells also were intensely stained, indicating a continuous synthesis of iodopsin and its addition to the newly formed cone OS. In the differentiating cones of the developing but immature chick retina, iodopsin immunoreactivity was found at the plasma membranes of both the IS and the terminals (pedicles). This suggests that unidirectional transport of iodopsin to the outer segment may be established during cone differentiation. Immunostaining in the outer plexiform layer (OPL) produced two bands, suggesting that the pedicles of the double cones and type 1 single cones terminate at different positions in this layer. Application of the antibodies to a cell culture system of the chick retina revealed that cells immunoreactive to anti-iodopsin differ slightly in morphology from those reactive with anti-rhodopsin. Since antibodies to iodopsin and rhodopsin stained different types of photoreceptors in the intact chick retina, it will be possible to analyze cell lineage of rods and cones in vitro by use of these antibodies.

Transducin (T alpha and T beta gamma) is a GTP-binding protein involved in the visual transduction process in a rod outer segment. We have previously demonstrated that T beta gamma is a mixture composed of two components, T beta gamma-1 and T beta gamma-2, with distinctive gamma-subunits, T gamma-1 and T gamma-2, respectively (Fukada et al., 1989, J. Biol. Chem., 264, 5937-5943). To investigate the interaction between T alpha and the two components of T beta gamma, the effect of either T beta gamma-1 or T beta gamma-2 on the ADP-ribosylation of T alpha catalyzed by pertussis toxin (IAP) was examined. T beta gamma-2 stimulated the ADP-ribosylation of T alpha by IAP, while T beta gamma-1 displayed almost no enhancement of the ADP-ribosylation. Addition of T beta gamma-1 to the mixture of T alpha and T beta gamma-2 had no effect on the ADP-ribosylation of T alpha. These results indicate that T alpha and T beta gamma-2 form a complex that serves as a substrate of IAP in the ADP-ribosylation reaction, while T beta gamma-1 has a little affinity for T alpha. It was suggested that T gamma-2 is an essential subunit for T beta to interact with T alpha.

1. Transducin subunits (T alpha and T beta gamma) were purified from freshly dissected frog (Rana catesbeiana) retinas. It was found that purified T beta gamma is composed of three components which can be separated from each other by an anion exchange column chromatography under nondenaturing conditions. 2. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis analyses of these three components demonstrated that each contains T beta (mol. wt 35,000) and T gamma (mol. wt approximately 8000). 3. Only one of the three components retained an ability to enhance the binding of GppNHp to T alpha in the presence of a photobleaching intermediate of rhodopsin, while the others showed very low abilities to enhance the binding. 4. These observations, together with the similar findings on bovine T beta gamma, strongly suggest that the functional heterogeneity of T beta gamma is conserved in vertebrate photoreceptor cells.

The effectiveness of the polarisation scrambling technique for suppressing BER fluctuation is confirmed experimentally with a 2900 km optical in-line amplifier transmission system. The technique suppresses the BER fluctuation by three orders of magnitude, from 10/sup -5/-10/sup -9/ to 10/sup -8/10/sup -9/.

A 2.5Gbit/s, 50km span straight line transmission over 10 000 km using 199 Er-doped fibre amplifiers was successfully demonstrated. The simultaneous transmission or supervisory control and response signals was also confirmed

A hard solar X-ray burst in the energy range 90–400 keV was observed at about 0528:30 UT on 13 April 1974. This event is peculiar in the sense that the X-ray flux is considerably high whereas the corresponding radio and optical flares are of moderate sizes, that the duration of the X-ray burst is very short, and that the X-ray peak is delayed by about 2.5 min relative to the first radio peak.

Using anesthetized and paralyzed monkeys, we have studied the visual response properties of neurons in the cortical area surrounding the middle temporal area (MT) in the superior temporal sulcus (STS). Systematic electrode penetrations revealed that there is a functionally distinct region where three classes of directionally selective cells with large receptive fields cluster. This region is anteriorly adjoined to the dorsal two-thirds of MT, has a width of 4–5 mm mediolaterally, and therefore may correspond to the dorsal part of the medial superior temporal area (MST), which was previously defined as a MT-recipient zone. One class of cells responded to a straight movement of patterns in the frontoparallel plane with directional selectivity (D cells: 217/422, 51.4%). The second class of cells selectively responded to an expanding or contracting size change of patterns (S cells: 66/422, 15.7%). These cells responded neither to a change in width of a slit of any orientation or any length, nor to a change in brightness. The third class of cells responded only to a rotation of patterns in one direction (R cells: 58/422, 13.7%). A majority of these cells (41/58) responded to the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of patterns in the frontoparallel plane (Rf cells), while the rest responded to a rotation of patterns in depth (Rd cells). We will suggest that these cells acquire the ability to discover whole events of visual motion-- i.e., unidirectional straight movement, size change (radial movement), and rotation--by integrating elemental motion information extracted by MT cells. The receptive fields of D, S, and Rf cells can be constructed by converging signals of MT cells, the preferred directions of which are arranged in parallel (D cells), radially (S cells), and circularly (Rf cells). The receptive fields of Rd cells can be constructed, in turn, by the convergence of signals of S cells.

The middle temporal (MT) and medial superior temporal (MST) areas of the macaque cortex have many cells that respond to straight movements in the frontoparallel plane with directional selectivity (D cells). We examined their responses to movements of a bar, of a wide dot pattern, and to combined movements of the two in anesthetized and immobilized animals. D cells in MT showed a wide variety in the strength of the inhibitory field surrounding the excitatory center field. Responses of SI+-type cells to a bar moving across the excitatory field were suppressed when a wide dot pattern moved over the surround field in the same direction and at the same speed as the bar. Inhibition was selective to the direction and speed of the surround movement, and the effective area for inhibition occupied a wide area, which expanded in all radial directions. Responses of SI- -type cells to a center bar movement were changed little by a conjoint movement over the surround field. Consequently, SI- -type cells responded to wide-field movement as well as to stimuli confined within the excitatory field. Although D cells in MST commonly had large excitatory fields, a proportion of them (Figure type) responded to bar movement much more strongly than to wide- field movement. Their responses to a bar movement were suppressed direction-selectively by a conjoint movement of a wide dot-pattern background. The effective area for inhibition coexisted with the excitatory field in these cells. MST cells of the Nonselective type responded comparably well to the two stimuli, and those of the Field type responded much more strongly to wide-field movement than to bar movement. It is thus suggested that MT cells of the SI+ type and MST cells of the Figure type can detect a difference between movements of an object and its wide background, whereas MST cells of the Field type can detect a conjoint movement of a wide field, neglecting the movements of a single object.

The size of the hard X-ray source in the Crab Nebula was observed with scintillation counters on board two balloons at a lunar occulatation on 24 January, 1975. The Gaussian width of the source is 34″ (+17″, −14″) and the center thereof is offset from the pulsar by 6″±4″ at position angle 102°. The observed time profile can also be fitted to an alternative model of two line sources whose intensities are 48% at 11″ and 25.5% at 7″ on both sides of the pulsar.

Frog (Rana catesbeiana) rod outer segment membrane contains cyclic GMP phosphodiesterase (EC 3.1.4.1). Irradiation of dark-adapted rod outer segment membrane increased the enzyme activity by 5-20-fold in the presence of GTP. The phosphodiesterase in rod outer segment membrane is also activated by mixing a photo-product of 11-cis (regenerated), 9-cis or 7-cis rhodopsin which is stable at 0 degrees C. However, neither opsin in the membrane nor all-trans retinal activates the enzyme. The phosphodiesterase in rod outer segment membrane is also activated by irradiation at -4 degrees C. Thus, we conclude that the phosphodiesterase in activated by a common photolysis intermediate of these rhodopsin isomers, perhaps before metarhodopsin II decays.

Thirty three cases of posterior dislocations and posterior fracture-dislocations of the hip were followed-up one to five years. The satiefactory results were obtained in seventeen cases.The clinical results of seventeen cases out of hirty three were analysed as regard the intervals between dislocation and reduction by closed or open method, roentgenographic findings, age of patients, and complications such as a sciatic nerve palsy.It was concluded that in simple dislocations, early closed reduction was acceptable, but in fracture-dislocations early primary open reduction with removal of lose fragment or internal fixation of the fragment was better.

Strain-measuring tests were performed with strain gages on rectangular coupons taken from perforated plate with triangular pitch under both uniaxial tensile loads and pure bending loads. The effective Young’s modulus obtained from the tests have strong correlation with the values recommended by the ASME Code. Next, to evaluate the stiffening effects of tubes, similar strain-gage tests were performed for different types of perforated coupons. One type had the tubes strength welded into the penetration holes of the test coupons. Another type had the tubes both expanded and strength welded into the test coupons. Stiffening effects of tubes are clearly obtained from these tests. Judging from the effective Young’s modulus of triangular pitch obtained by the testing, the recommended minimum credit given to the tube wall is 50 percent under elastic load condition. In addition, for experimental tests on an actual large-sized shell-and-tube heat exchanger under hydraulic test condition, good correlation was obtained between calculated and measured stress when full credit was taken for the tube wall in the calculation.

Parmi les 18 raies de Stokes attendues par l'analyse theorique du groupe d'espace de D 2h 18 , une est absente. Chacune est successivement attribuee a la representation irreductive du groupe ponctuel d 2h , ce qui confirme la symetrie cristalline orthorhombique du cristal de K 2 CuF 4 a un seul domaine. Les spectres d'une structure cristalline a plusieurs domaines presentent des traces de cette symetrie orthorhombique

The energy spectrum of diffuse hard X-rays measured in the range 10–40 keV shows a rather sharp change of slope. The logarithmic derivative of the spectrum changes around 20–30 keV by the increment significantly greater than 0.5 within an interval smaller than 50 keV.

Previous ablation studies have suggested that area 19 of the cat plays an important role in pattern discrimination. To clarify the functional roles unique to area 19, we studied the receptive-field properties of cells in area 19 and compared them with those of cells in area 17. Recordings were made of anesthetized and immobilized animals. The majority (72%) of the cells in area 17 responded maximally to an elongated bar at a particular orientation, while they responded only weakly or not at all to a small spot (elongation-requiring cells). In contrast, more than half (63%) of the cells in area 19 showed a good response to a nonoriented small stimulus moving in any direction (dot- responsive cells). Two-thirds of the dot-responsive cells in area 19 failed to respond when the moving slit was elongated to more than some length in any orientation. These dot-responsive cells of the “inhibited- by-length” type responded strongly to the end of a long bar, and many of them also responded strongly to a break point in the middle of a long bar. We suggest that these dot-responsive cells of the “inhibited- by-length” type detect discontinuities in contours. Though they are in the minority, elongation-requiring cells constitute a considerable population (37%) in area 19, and dot-responsive and elongation- requiring cells from columnar patches in the same area. We conclude that, in contrast to area 17, whose main role is the decomposition of patterns into oriented contours, area 19 analyzes both orientation and discontinuities, with a strong bias towards the latter.

During the process of transduction of a photon signal in vertebrate rod outer segments, transducin, a guanine nucleotide binding protein, mediates between a photobleaching intermediate of rhodopsin and a cGMP-phosphodiesterase. We report here that the beta gamma-subunit of bovine transducin (T beta gamma) characterized so far consists of two components (T beta gamma-1 and T beta gamma-2), which can be separated by anion exchange chromatography under nondenaturing conditions. Both components consisted of two polypeptides of Mr 36,000 (T beta) and about 8,000 (T gamma) in sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide (13%) gel electrophoresis. On a further analysis by 8 M urea/sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, T gamma subunits of T beta gamma-1 and T beta gamma-2 showed Mr values of 8,000 (T gamma-1) and 6,000 (T gamma-2), respectively. Amino acid compositions of both T gamma-1 and T gamma-2 roughly corresponded with that of T gamma previously reported and were quite different from that of gamma-subunit of cGMP-phosphodiesterase. Western blot analysis of freshly isolated rod outer segments by an antiserum raised against a mixture of T beta gamma-1 and T beta gamma-2 revealed the presence of both components in the membranes of a starting material. This observation excludes the possibility that one of the components might be produced artificially in the course of the purification. In the presence of a photobleaching intermediate of either unphosphorylated or phosphorylated rhodopsin, the binding of guanosine 5'-(beta, gamma-imido)triphosphate (GppNHp) to the alpha-subunit of transducin (T alpha) was remarkably enhanced with increasing concentrations of purified T beta gamma-2. On the contrary, T beta gamma-1 retained little ability, if any, to enhance the GppNHp binding to T alpha; the ability of T beta gamma-1 was at least 30 times lower than that of T beta gamma-2. Such a low activity of T beta gamma-1 was attributed to inability for coupling of T alpha with a photobleaching intermediate of rhodopsin. These results indicate that T gamma-2 is essential for the GTP binding of transducin. The role of T gamma-1 in vertebrate photoreceptor cells was discussed.

This paper describes a bin picking system being installed two characteristic algorithms; one automatically constructs two dimensional models of structural industrial parts and the other recognizes parts having cylindrical components as main ones, using their models. Models are constructed automatically as much as possible and are modified interactively, if necessary. Parts may be stacked randomly. The recognition algorithm first extracts the main components and next searches for other components, utilizing their models. When models are too simple to detect orientations of parts, each part is looked by the other camera after being picked out from a bin. Our system uses only one image for a scene of stacked parts. The three dimensional positions of parts are obtained using both the results of recognition and a touch detector equipped in the gripper of a robot. Experimental results are presented finally.

1. All the cells (158) that we studied in the lateral geniculate nuclei of Macaca nemestrina and Macaca irus could be distinguished as either X-like or Y-like on the basis of their responses to tests developed to classify cat retinal and lateral geniculate nucleus cells. These tests include responses to stationary spots, fast moving wands and moving gratings. 2. Response latencies to electrical stimulation of the optic chiasm were determined for 130 cells; no X-like cell showed a latency shorter than 1-7 ms, no Y-like cell showed a latency longer than 1-6 ms. Primate lateral geniculate nucleus cells with X-like properties thus receive their excitatory input from retinal cells with slowly conducting axons and these most probably include the tonic ganglion cells described by Gouras (1968, 1969); Y-like lateral geniculate nucleus cells are driven by retinal cells with faster conducting axons, most probably including the phasic ganglion cells described by Gouras. 3. Wiesel & Hubel (1966) classified monkey lateral geniculate nucleus cells into four main types based on their receptive-field properties, as revealed by spectrally and spatially distinct stimuli. We find that all Type I and Type II cells show X-like properties; all type IV cells show Y-like properties. Type III consists of a subtype that show X-like properties, here termed Type IIIx, and a subtype that show Y-like properties, here termed Type IIIy. 4. The first cells encountered as the micro-electrode reached the lateral geniculate nucleus were always X-like. In some penetrations only X-like cells were encountered as the electrode moved downward through the lateral geniculate nucleus. In the remaining penetrations, after recording X-like cells through most of the lateral geniculate nucleus, Y-like cells were then encountered. No X-like cells were found below Y-like cells. thus these two classes of cells are anatomically segregated within the primate lateral geniculate nucleus. Electrode marking showed the borger between X-like and Y-like cells to correspond to the border between the paro- and magnocellular layers of the lateral geniculate nucleus. Thus X-like cells (i.e. Types I, II and IIIx) occur in the parvocellular layers, Y-like cells (i.e. Types IIIy and IV)in the magnocellular layers.

An important and difficult problem in image processing is to segment an image into several different kinds of regions. Unless we isolate regions, we cannot perform further processing for pattern recognition, scene analysis, image interpretation, etc. Besides, if the segmentation phase can be done at high speed, this reduces the total processing time greatly.