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A high-pressure phase of CaRhO3 stable between perovskite and post-perovskite in P-T space was synthesized at 17 GPa and 1650 °C using a multi- anvil apparatus. The crystal structure of CaRhO3 was solved by the structure prediction evolutionary algorithm and was refined by Rietveld analysis of the synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction pattern, along with transmission electron microscopy observations. The structure is monoclinic with lattice parameters of a = 12.5114(1) Å, b = 3.1241(1) Å, c = 8.8579(1) Å, β = 103.951(1)°, V= 336.01(1) ų with space group P21/m. The structure contains edge-sharing RhO6 octahedral chains along the b-axis. The six RhO6 octahedral chains make a unit, which stacks up alternatively with the CaO8 polyhedral layer along the [101] direction to form the structure of CaRhO3 intermediate phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: One problem with polypropylene mesh (PPM) used to repair abdominal wall hernias is dense adhesions to the visceral surface. The authors developed the biocompatible poly-L: -lactic acid (PLLA) nanosheet (thickness < 100 nm), which has the unique ability to adhere tightly to tissues but not to opposing tissues. This study investigated the antiadhesive and fixative characteristics of the PLLA nanosheet after placement of intraperitoneal onlay PPM (IPOM) overlaid with a PLLA nanosheet on intact peritoneum.Methods: The PLLA nanosheet was fabricated by the spin-coating method and peeling technique with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) as a supporting film. Two 1.5-cm-square pieces of mesh were implanted on each peritoneal side of the midline incision. The mesh was fixed to the peritoneum with a suture and then overlaid with a 4-cm-square piece of Seprafilm or nanosheet. To examine the fixative property, mesh was overlaid with Seprafilm or nanosheet without a fixed suture. After 4 weeks, mesh adhesion, inflammatory reaction, fixation, and dislocation of mesh were evaluated.Results: Nanosheet-overlaid meshes were flexible and fit over the peritoneum. Adhesion was observed in 10% of the nanosheet-overlaid meshes and in 50% of the Seprafilm-overlaid meshes. The adhesion tenacity grade was significantly lower with the nanosheet-overlaid meshes (0.1 ± 0.1) than with the Seprafilm-overlaid meshes (1.0 ± 0.4) (p = 0.029), and the percentage of the adhesion area also was lower with the nanosheet-overlaid meshes (1.0 ± 1.0% vs 8.5 ± 3.2%; p = 0.037). The mean inflammatory cell counts were lower with the nanosheet-overlaid meshes (p = 0.0023). Regarding the fixative property, 37.5% of the nanosheet-overlaid meshes were fixated on the peritoneum, but no Seprafilm-overlaid mesh was fixated.Conclusion: Overlaying of a PLLA nanosheet was effective for adhesion prophylaxis of intraperitoneal mesh. It also may have a possible beneficial effect on fixation of mesh. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Activation of the vanilloid receptor subtype 1 (VR-1) results in release of proinflammatory peptides which initiate an inflammatory cascade known as neurogenic inflammation. We investigated its role in an acute model of surgically induced oesophagitis. Methods: Oesophagitis was induced by pyloric ligation in wild-type and VR-1 deficient mice. A subset of animals were administered the VR-1 antagonist capsazepine, famotidine, or omeprazole one hour before surgery. Five hours after surgery, myeloperoxidase activity (MPO), histological damage scores, intragastric pH, and immunocytochemical analysis of substance P (SP) receptor endocytosis were determined. Results: Oesophagitis induced knockout mice exhibited significantly lower levels of MPO activity, histological damage scores, and SP receptor endocytosis than wild-type mice. Inflammatory parameters were significantly reduced by acid inhibition and capsazepine in wild-type mice. Conclusions: We conclude that acute acid induced oesophagitis is reduced in animals lacking VR-1. This suggests that acid induced oesophagitis may act through VR-1 and that inhibition of the receptor may reduce inflammation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using the sera from buckwheat (BW)-allergic patients, several putative causative molecules were reported. However, few molecules were determined on the molecular structure. We demonstrated in 2000 that the major allergen with 24 kDa (BW24KD) is a legumin-like storage protein. The aim of this study was to isolate and characterize further a major allergen with 10 kDa by molecular cloning. Buckwheat allergens were identified by immunoblotting analysis using sera from 14 allergic and two nonallergic individuals. We identified a protein with 10 kDa (BW10KD) that reacted with immunoglobulin E (IgE) more strongly than with IgG and IgA in 57% of the allergic patients but not with IgE in nonallergic individuals. Analyses were performed by N-terminal amino acid sequencing and molecular cloning. Physiological significance was assessed by an immunoblotting experiment showing that the reactivity of an allergic patient's serum IgE to BW10KD was competitively inhibited by natural BW extracts. Molecular cloning experiments indicated that BW10KD as a BW allergen was a member of the 2S-albumin multigene family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An analysis of the control exerted on floating fibres in an apron-drafting system is presented, and from this a generalized method of evaluating the control operation is derived. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experimental studies of the motion of floating fibres in apron-drafting are reported. The pressure distribution in the apron zone is discussed, and apparatus designed to enable this to be measured is described. The properties of the fibre flux are considered in relation to the frictional and withdrawal forces of single fibres. Methods of determining the distribution of fibre-acceleration points are described, and a mathematical treatment for calculating this distribution is presented. There is a brief discussion of the irregularity of the fibre flux. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isomagnetic maps of 50 normal subjects (control group) and 23 patients with old inferior myocardial infarction (IMI group) were recorded in order to analyse T wave abnormalities in inferior myocardial infarction. The T wave of the magnetocardiogram (MCG) in the control group showed negative deflections in the left upper portion and positive deflections in the right lower portion, thus resulting in a T vector directed leftward and inferiorly. The T wave of the IMI group was flat or positive in the left upper portion and flat or negative in the right lower portion, suggesting a T vector directed superiorly. In addition, opposing dipoles were observed in 36.4% of the IMI group; i.e. one directed superiorly, presumably due to inferior myocardial ischaemia, and the other directed inferiorly due to normal repolarization. Localized T vector abnormalities could be detected by the MCG in some cases, in which coronary T waves of the standard electrocardiogram had returned to normal. Furthermore, multiple dipoles were more frequently observed in the isomagnetic map than in the isopotential map (5 vs. 15; P < 0.01). These results suggest that the MCG is helpful in diagnosing myocardial ischaemia when this is not detectable on the electrocardiogram. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The viscoelastic properties of some commercial textile fibers were measured by means of several longitudinal-vibration methods over a range of frequency from 2 X 10-1 to 2 X 105 cps at 20°C, 65% R.H., under a static tension of 0.4 g/den and a dynamic strain of less than 0.1%.In the above experiments, the nonlinear characteristics of vibrational properties were negligibly small, and the experimental results were described by the complex dy namic modulus function E*(ω) on the assumption that the Boltzmann superposition principle was valid.Generally speaking, for all the textile fibers tested the real part of the complex dy namic modulus was found to be flat over this frequency range except there was some increase in the supersonic range. The imaginary part of the complex dynamic modulus, on the other hand, seemed to increase at both ends of the frequency range covered.It was concluded from our experimental results that for any textile fiber there is not so anomalous a dispersion as that of various rubberlike materials found in the same frequency range.Furthermore, according to the method of representation by a continuous distribution of relaxation times, the shape of the so-called "relaxation spectrum" of any textile fiber was found to be fairly flat over the relaxation-time range from 1 X 10-6 to 1 X 10° sec. With the exception of slight increases at both ends of this relaxation-time range the spectrum can be represented by the so-called "box distribution." This is very differ ent from the spectra of rubberlike materials over the same relaxation-time range. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]