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We report a unique case of a biopsy-proven rectal cancer exhibiting spontaneous complete regression in an extremely short period of 3 months. An 80-year-old man visited our hospital because of a positive fecal occult blood test. Colonoscopy showed a sessile polyp, about 25 mm in diameter, in the middle part of the rectum. Instead of endoscopic resection, two endoscopic biopsies were taken for histological evaluation, as an invasive cancer was endoscopically suspected.Well-differentiated invasive adenocarcinoma was revealed, and thus surgical resection was planned. At the second colonoscopy for endoscopic tattooing before surgery, the polyp was found to have unexpectedly developed into a flat lesion. Furthermore, the surgically removed specimen showed that the flat lesion had transformed to a depressed lesion, and surprisingly, no cancerous tissue was detected histologically.

New segmented polyurethanes (SPUs) grafted phospholipid analogous vinyl monomers and polyfunctional monomers were synthesized. The soft segments used in this study were poly(butadiene). The hard segments of these polyurethanes were 4,4'-methylenediphenyl diisocyanate and 1,4-butanediol. The blood compatibilities of the new polymers were evaluated by platelet rich plasma (PRP) contact studies and viewed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) using medical grade BioSpan and non-phospholipid polyurethane as a reference. The clotting times of the materials in contact with platelet poor plasma (PPP) were also measured. These results of two evaluations suggest that these grafted polymers may be regarded as hopeful biomaterials.

Sensitivity studies of epithermal neutron beam performance in boron neutron capture therapy are presented for realistic neutron beams with varying filter/moderator and collimator/delimiter designs to examine the relative importance of neutron beam spectrum, directionality, and size. Figures of merit for in-air and in-phantom beam performance are calculated via the Monte Carlo technique for different well-optimized designs of a fission converter-based epithermal neutron beam with head phantoms as the irradiation target. It is shown that increasing J/phi, a measure of beam directionality, does not always lead to corresponding monotonic improvements in beam performance. Due to the relatively low significance, for most configurations, of its effect on in-phantom performance and the large intensity losses required to produce beams with very high J/phi, beam directionality should not be considered an important figure of merit in epithermal neutron beam design except in terms of its consequences on patient positioning and collateral dose. Hardening the epithermal beam spectrum, while maintaining the specific fast neutron dose well below the inherent hydrogen capture dose, improves beam penetration and advantage depth and, as a desirable by-product, significantly increases beam intensity. Beam figures of merit are shown to be strongly dependent on beam size relative to target size. Beam designs with J/phi approximately 0.65-0.7, specific fast neutron doses of 2-2.6x10(-13) Gy cm2/n and beam sizes equal to or larger than the size of the head target produced the deepest useful penetration, highest therapeutic ratios, and highest intensities.

The muon transfer reaction from excited states of muonic hydrogen atoms was studied directly by observing the characteristic Lyman X-rays of muonic hydrogen isotopes and the ground-state population of muonic hydrogen atoms, q 1s , was determined for low density H 2 –D 2 mixtures. The time spectra of muonic X-rays and the ratio of K β to K α X-ray yields were also examined for detailed mechanism of the muon transfer reaction.

At the RIKEN-RAL Muon Facility, μ- to α sticking K β X-rays were observed for the first time taking advantage of the pulsed beam structure. The precision of the present measurements was insufficient to distinguish between theoretical models, however the observed K β /K α X-ray intensity ratio tends to be smaller than most of these theoretical predictions.

Muon transfer from proton to deuteron was examined with muonic X-rays. The parameter q 1s was determined directly and the time spectra of the X-rays were analyzed for effects of the muon transfer reaction.

To meet the needs for neutron capture theory (NCT) irradiations, a high-intensity, high-quality fusion converter-based epithermal neutron beam has been designed for the MITR-II research reactor. This epithermal neutron beam, capable of delivering treatments in a few minutes with negligible background contamination from fast neutrons and photons, will be installed in the present thermal column and hohlraum of the 5-MW MITR-II research reactor. Spent or fresh MITR-II fuel elements will be used to fuel the converter. With a fission converter power of {approximately}80 kW using spent fuel, epithermal fluxes (1 eV < E < 10 keV) in excess of 10{sup 10} n/cm{sup 2} {center_dot} s are achievable at the target position with negligible photon and fast neutron contamination, i.e.

We measured the yields of K-series X-rays from (αμ)+ ion formed by muon to alpha sticking as well as the yields and the disappearance rates of fusion neutrons in 3He-free solid and liquid D-T mixtures. The effective sticking probability ωs obtained by neutron measurement is much smaller than any theoretical values so far published, while the discrepancy in αμ X-ray yield seems less significant.

We report a systematic study on the electronic structure of Ce-based heavy Fermion materials Ce2TIn8 ( T = Rh , Co, Ir) by high-resolution angle-resolved (ARPES) and 4d–4f resonant (RPES) photoemission spectroscopies. We have experimentally determined the band structure and Fermi surface of these three compounds, and found that the Fermi surfaces of three compounds are very similar to each other, having quasi two-dimensional cylindrical Fermi surfaces centered at the M(A) point in the Brillouin zone. RPES results have confirmed the localized picture and, in addition, revealed that Ce 4f electrons in Ce2RhIn8 have a relatively stronger localized nature than those in Ce2CoIn8. This difference in the localized character explains well the difference in the magnetic property of these compounds.

In the last 30 years, maternal and perinatal mortality rates have markedly improved in Japan. These results are supported by the advanced technologies and newly developed treatments in obstetric and neonatal medicine, the evidence of which will be described through the authors' experiences. Ultrasound-guided treatments for fetuses and pediatric surgery for extremely tiny infants have been performed with cooperation among cardiac surgeons, anesthesiologists and perinatologists. The remarkable achievements in neonatal medicine are surfactant replacement therapy, application of high frequency oscillation (HFO) respirator, nitric oxide and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) systems and transcutaneous blood gas monitoring. The possibility to have a safe pregnancy and delivery arose for women with severe medical complications such as diabetes mellitus (DM), heart diseases, and hemo-dialysis, factors formerly regarded as contraindications to pregnancy. The accumulative data of these high-risk pregnancies treated in our center are introduced. It is noted that molecular mechanisms in fetal growth have been elucidated to some extent. The insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) and IGF-binding protein 1 (IGFBP1) system, and cytokines, are involved in the fetal growth. Newly developed treatments such as urinary trypsin inhibitor (Urinastatin) for prevention of preterm delivery and amnioinfusion to cases of preterm premature rupture of the membrane are summarized. Finally, the reference to advanced medicine and its side effects lead to broad discussions regarding the future development of perinatal medicine.

A large volume scintillation cell has been designed to detect low levels of radon and its progeny. The cell has a cylindrical shape (nominal volume 1.2 liters) with two photomultiplier tubes. In this study, the detection efficiency was estimated with Monte-Carlo calculations for 3-dimensional before fabrication. Counting efficiencies for241Am were measured along the axial of the cell with different distances between the source and the scintillation screen to confirm the calculation method. The counting efficiencies for the alpha particles from the226Rn and its short-live progenies were measured using a radon generator. The efficiency was estimated to be 0.36 count per alpha-particle as the average of three alpha-particles.

An athermal operation of the lasing wavelength in a membrane buried heterostructure distributed feedback (BH-DFB) laser was demonstrated by adopting a polymer (benzocyclobutene) cladding layer which has a negative temperature coefficient of refractive index. Membrane BH-DFB lasers of core thickness 65 nm were operated under room-temperature continuous-wave conditions. The temperature dependence of the lasing wavelength was measured to be 2.45times10-2 nm/degC, which is about 20%-30% of that for conventional semiconductor lasers

Accepted: 1997-04-08, 資料番号: SA1003573000

A new procedure for synthesis of optically active bicyclo[3.3.0]octenone derivatives possessing two distinguishable hydroxy groups was developed based on the intramolecular Pauson–Khand reaction of optically active enynes, which were easily prepared from dimethyl L-tartrate. (4S,5S)-4,5-Bis(tert-butyldimethylsiloxy)-7-(trimethylsilyl)hept-1-en-6-yne, for example, afforded (5S,7S,8S)-7,8-bis(tert-butyldimethylsiloxy)-2-(trimethylsilyl)bicyclo[3.3.0]oct-1-en-3-one exclusively, whereas (3S,4S)-3,4-dihydroxy-7-(trimethylsilyl)hept-1-en-6-yne produced (5R,6S,7S)-6,7-dihydroxy-2-(trimethylsilyl)bicyclo[3.3.0]oct-1-en-3-one in a highly stereoselective manner.

Josephson plasma resonance (JPR) was investigated in the mixed state of Bi 2 (Sr,La) 2 CuO y (Bi-2201). The plasma frequency ω p was studied in detail, as a function of temperature, magnetic field and doping. The peculiar temperature dependence of the resonance field B p ( T ) in underdoped crystals was understood in terms of pinning effect with the assumption that JPR takes place in the whole sample at an average field, which was supported by the experimental data. B p ( T ) under the uniform field application in the temperature swept experiment showed no anomaly at the irreversibility line. ω p 2 ( B ) determined precisely using cavities was found to behave as B − μ with μ smaller than unity, which might suggest that a rather strong long-range correlation exists among vortices even in the liquid state.

Accepted: 1997-04-03, 資料番号: SA1003552000

Effects of columnar defects on the Josephson plasma resonance (JPR) were investigated in heavy-ion irradiated Bi{sub 2}Sr{sub 2}CaCu{sub 2}O{sub y}. A microwave magnetoabsorption peak caused by the JPR shifted to higher fields with increasing defect densities. The amount of the shift indicated that the interlayer coupling was enhanced even above the matching field of the columnar defects. Another absorption peak was found around the matching field, which we attribute to a novel JPR caused by the nonmonotonic field dependence of the interlayer critical current density. These results indicated that the feature of the vortex system was drastically altered even by small number of columnar defects. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

A study of surfactant-mediated epitaxial growth of Ge on Si(111) surfaces was carried out by in situ transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Most Ge islands grown on the Si(111) surfaces with and without surfactant (In) were triangular. Growth of Ge was in parallel orientation to that of the substrate crystal. The size of Ge islands on the surfaces with In was larger than that on surfaces without In. Ge films with In were smoother than those without In. It was found that formation of misfit dislocations (MDs) was promoted by In predeposition at the interfaces between Si and Ge films. The density of MDs with In is higher than that without In. This fact is one of the reasons for suppression of 3D island formation on an Si surface with In.

Accepted: 1996-08-16, 資料番号: SA1003554000

A high-performance and high-reliability magnetically levitated (MAGLEV) superconducting magnet (SCM) was developed. Its heat generation per unit time by the electromagnetic forces due to the spatially fifth ripple magnetic fields from levitation coils is under 2 W at the frequency range in which vehicles are levitated. The vibration mode of inner vessels that makes the largest contribution to heat generation in SCMs is clarified, the torsion mode. A modeling method to analyze SCM vibration, which considers the effect of the bogie frames of a vehicle, is examined, and heat generation in SCMs is calculated from the vibration of the inner vessel. Using the numerical analysis method, new SCMs combined with new bogie frames for the Yamanashi Test Line are designed. Good performance in vibration and heat generation of these SCMs is predicted by numerical analysis.

A precise measurement of the positive muon lifetime was performed at the RIKEN-RAL muon facility. We developed a new method to accumulate a large number of muon decays with a strong pulsed beam. A multi-wire proportional chamber was employed as a positron detector, which was finely segmented in order to reduce the systematic error due to the pile-up signal. Residual pile-up signals were corrected and a preliminary time spectrum was obtained in the off-line analysis. The pile-up correction analysis and the systematic error estimation are now in progress.

There are few reports about the quality of life (QOL) and morbidities of pediatric living donor liver transplantation (LDLT) donors. We evaluated the potential morbidities and identified the predictive factors regarding the QOL of living donors after pediatric LDLT. This cross-sectional study was a single-center analysis of 100 donors for pediatric LDLT. The severity of morbidities was assessed with the Clavien classification, the QOL was investigated with the short form-36 (SF-36), and the decision-making process regarding donation was analyzed with questionnaires. The median follow-up period was 3.8 years (range, 2.2-6.0 years). A total of 13% of the donors developed postoperative complications of Clavien grades I (7%), II (3%), and IIIA (3%). There was no grade IV morbidity or mortality. Eighty-one donors responded to the questionnaire and SF-36. The analysis of the questionnaires revealed that the donors had difficulty in the decision-making process, and suggested that it may be necessary to administer multistep informed consent. We identified unique predictive risk factors for lower SF-36 scores in the donors, which were the time to donation (more than 4 weeks) and the predonation self-oriented perception. The donors who have risk factors require enhanced pre- and post-donation psychological care.

Masked mycotoxins (mycotoxin glucosides) derived from type A trichothecenes were detected in commercially available corn powder reference material. These new glucosides were identified as neosolaniol-glucoside (NESGlc) and diacetoxyscirpenol-glucoside (DASGlc) on the basis of accurate mass measurements of characteristic ions and fragmentation patterns using high-resolution liquid chromatography-Orbitrap mass spectrometric (LC-Orbitrap MS) analysis. Although the absolute structure was not clarified, 3-OH glucosylation appeared to be the most probable when considering the structures of neosolaniol and diacetoxyscirpenol and the fragmentation profiles of these masked mycotoxins. Concomitant detection of deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside, the most well-known masked mycotoxin derived from the type B trichothecene, deoxynivalenol, in the identical material further supports this probability.

A project implemented within the framework of the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defect Monitoring Systems is named MADRE: MAlformation DRug Exposure surveillance. The idea is to survey the simultaneous occurrence of malformations and first-trimester drug exposures. In a 2-year period 1990-91, this has yielded 1448 infants known to have been exposed to drugs and that are known to have malformations. Cases have been reported by eight programs: Australia, Central-East France, Israel, Italy IPIMC, Italy IMER, Japan Red Cross Hospitals, Japan Maternal Health and Welfare, and South America. By searching this databank for associations between drugs and malformations, specific relationships can be detected.The 9th revision of the WHO International Classification of Diseases, adapted by the British Paediatric Association, known as ICD9/BPA is used for coding malformations. This is a hierarchical system with 5 digits as the maximum level of specification of each malformation.The ATC (Anatomical Therapeutic Chemical) classifications system is used for coding drugs. This is a multiple level, hierarchical classification with up to 7 digits for specifying each drug.Up to five drugs and malformations are coded for each case using ATC and ICD9/BPA classifications, and all observed drug-malformation pairs form the basis for the analysis. For each drug-malformation combination where three or more cases are observed, a set of 2×2 tables is formed and analyzed as in case-control studies. The odds ratio for the pair, stratified for program, gives the relative risk for the malformation in question, comparing use of the specific drug with all other drugs.Well known or controversial associations were tested in the collected material, and at this stage only one new association is suggested, that is between cardiac defects and maternal treatment with thyroid hormones. This finding has to be further explored with new data.

With the rising cost of fuel and increasing demand for clean energy, solid-state thermoelectric (TE) devices are an attractive option for reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions. Although they are reliable energy converters, there are several barriers that have limited their implementation into wide market acceptance for automotive applications. These barriers include: the unsuitability of conventional thermoelectric materials for the automotive waste heat recovery temperature range; the rarity and toxicity of some otherwise suitable materials; and the limited ability to mass-manufacture thermoelectric devices from certain materials. One class of material that has demonstrated significant promise in the waste heat recovery temperature range is skutterudites. These materials have little toxicity, are relatively abundant, and have been investigated by NASA-JPL for the past twenty years as possible thermoelectric materials for space applications. In a recent collaboration between Michigan State University (MSU) and NASA-JPL, the first skutterudite-based 100 W thermoelectric generator (TEG) was constructed. In this paper, we will describe the efforts that have been directed towards: (a) enhancing the technology-readiness level of skutterudites to facilitate mass manufacturing similar to that of Bi2Te3, (b) optimizing skutterudites to improve thermal-to-electric conversion efficiencies for class 8 truck applications, and (c) describing how temperature cycling, oxidation, sublimation, and other barriers to wide market acceptance must be managed. To obtain the maximum performance from these devices, effective heat transfer systems need to be developed for integration of thermoelectric modules into practical generators. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4023097]

In November 1994, the construction of a new superconducting muon channel of the RIKEN-RAL muon facility at ISIS of Rutherford Appleton Laboratory was completed. Subsequently, important features, such as the highest instantaneous intensity with a single-pulse structure and a high purity have been confirmed. Along with the installation of advanced µCF experimental equipment, including a high-purity D-T mixture target system with an in situ3He removal capability and a 4 T confinement magnet, an advanced µCF experiment, e.g. a precise X-ray measurement on µ-α sticking in dtµ-µCF will be realized. An account of the commissioning experiments, a plan for the earliest phase of the µCF experiment and possible future directions are reported.

A study on the muon transfer reaction in the excited states of muonic hydrogen has been started at the pulsed muon facility of UT-MSL in the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics (KEK). Muonic X-rays from a mixture of protium and deuterium were detected and resolved successfully with a high-resolution Si(Li) X-ray detector,qls for a low-density p-d mixture was obtained with this elegant method.

Muon-catalyzed fusion was investigated in thin solid deuterium films to determine the experimental feasibility of slow µ− production by detection of dd fusion protons as well as slow µ− collection utilizing a large-acceptance magnetic spectrometer. The spatial distribution of the fusion reaction in the film was extracted, and an optimum thickness for slow µ− emission was deduced. Collected 10 keV µ− were also successfully detected. However, the dd fusion yield being insufficient, we were not able to distinguish slow µ− via µCF from degraded µ−.

We studied the effect of a novel α-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methylisoxazole-4-propionic acid (AMPA)/kainate antagonist, YM90K [6-(1 H-imidazol-1-yl)-7-nitro-2, 3(1 H, 4 H)-quinoxalinedione monohydrochloride], in a focal cerebral ischemia model using anesthetized cats. Cats were subjected to permanent occlusion of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) for 6 h, then killed and examined histologically. The amount of ischemic damage was assessed in 12 stereotaxic coronal sections. Treatment with YM90K (i.v. infusion of 0.5 mg/5 ml/kg/h) starting 10 min after MCA occlusion markedly reduced the volume of ischemic damage (from 2823 ± 164 mm3 of the cerebral hemisphere in saline-treated cats to 1737 ± 305 mm3 in YM90K-treated cats). No essential differences were observed between YM90K- and saline-treated cats concerning physiological variables or brain temperature. These results further support the notion that the AMPA/kainate receptor plays an important role in the pathogenesis of focal cerebral ischemia. This evidence for the neuroprotective efficacy of YM90K in a gyrencephalic species suggests its therapeutic potential in the treatment of human stroke.

Microwave absorption was measured in the mixed state of ~Bi or Tl! 2~Sr or Ba! 2Ca n21Cu nO y . In a La-substituted Bi2Sr2CuO y ~Bi-2201!, a sharp resonant structure was found in the absorption as a function of magnetic field only when the microwave current flowed across the CuO2 planes, as well as in Bi2Sr2CaCu2O y ~Bi-2212!. Together with the frequency-dependence data, the resonant structure in the absorption in Bi-2201 is considered to be the Josephson plasma resonance. The anisotropy ratio g[(mc /mab) 1/2 was tentatively estimated to be ;750. A striking difference was found in the temperature dependence of the resonance field between Bi-2201 and Bi-2212. We argue that this comes from the difference in the dimensionality of the vortex systems. In Tl2Ba2CaCu2O y, no such resonance was found in the microwave region, which is probably due to a smaller anisotropy in this material. @S0163-1829~96!51622-X#

Purpose: To evaluate the early effects of radiation on the liver using single photon emission CT (SPECT) with 99mTc-phytate combined with a pinhole collimator and MR imaging with superparamagnetic iron oxide (SPIO) and to compare 2 modalities regarding the assessment of the reticuloendothelial cell function. Material and Methods: The right sides of the livers of 12 anesthetized rats were irradiated with X-rays (4000 cGy). On the 3rd and 4th days postirradiation, SPECT and MR imaging pre- and postcontrast were performed. Results: On SPECT, the irradiated areas appeared as areas with reduced 99mTc-phytate uptake in 9 rats. In the remaining 3 rats, irradiated lesions were not evident on SPECT. On the early postcontrast MR images, differential negative enhancement of the irradiated and nonirradiated areas in the same 9 rats as on SPECT was apparent. However, on the later postcontrast images of 3 of these rats, the irradiated areas, which were brighter than the nonirradiated areas, were visually less clear than those on the earlier postcontrast images. In the remaining 3 rats, no radiation damage was evident on MR images. Conclusion: SPECT with 99mTc-phytate and early postcontrast MR imaging with SPIO can show early radiation damage of the liver. The serial assessment of the postcontrast MR images provides functional information on the Kupffer cells.

We report on the low-threshold operation of membrane buried heterostructure distributed feedback laser arrays. 45 devices were fabricated on a wafer covering a wide wavelength range of 75 nm. The lowest threshold pump power as low as 0.64 mW along with the submode suppression-ratio of over 30 dB at two times the threshold were successfully obtained at room-temperature continuous-wave condition.

Although fusion of somatic cells with embryonic stem (ES) cells has been shown to induce reprogramming, single-cell level details of the transitory phenotypic changes that occur during fusion-based reprogramming are still lacking. Our group previously reported on the technique of one-to-one electrofusion via micro-slits in a microfluidic platform. In this study, we focused on developing a novel air-lock patterning technique for creating localized adhesion zones around the micro-slits for cell localization and real-time imaging of post fusion events with a single-cell resolution. Mouse embryonic fibroblasts (MEF) were fused individually with mouse ES cells using a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) fusion chip consisting of two feeder channels with a separating wall containing an array of micro-slits (slit width ∼3 μm) at a regular spacing. ES cells and MEFs were introduced separately into the channels, juxtaposed on the micro-slits by dielectrophoresis and fused one-to-one by a pulse voltage. To localize fused cells for on-chip culture and time-lapse microscopy, we implemented a two-step approach of air-lock bovine serum albumin patterning and Matrigel coating to create localized adhesion areas around the micro-slits. As a result of time-lapse imaging, we could determine that cell division occurs within 24 h after fusion, much earlier than the 2–3 days reported by earlier studies. Remarkably, Oct4-GFP (Green Fluorescent Protein) was confirmed after 25 h of fusion and thereafter stably expressed by daughter cells of fused cells. Thus, integrated into our high-yield electrofusion platform, the technique of air-lock assisted adhesion patterning enables a single-cell level tracking of fused cells to highlight cell-level dynamics during fusion-based reprogramming.

The cDNA encoding the endo-beta-1,4-glucanase (carboxymethylcellulase; CMCase-I) from Aspergillus kawachii IFO 4308 was cloned. Nucleotide-sequence analysis of the cloned cDNA insert showed a 717-bp open reading frame that encoded a protein of 239 amino-acid residues. The predicted amino-acid sequence of the mature protein had considerable homology with the protein sequence of the FI-CMCase of Aspergillus aculeatus. The cDNA was introduced into Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The expressed enzyme had carboxylmethylcellulase activity, identified by clear zones on a CMC-agar plate after Congo Red staining.

Cultivated rye (Secale cereale) and its weedy relative (S. segetale) carry B chromosomes. The B chromosomes are known to be morphologically alike at somatic metaphase and they are of the standard type in natural populations. To clarify the cytogenetic relationship between the standard B chromosomes of S. cereale and those of S. segetale, we made four crosses between Afghan S. segetale with two standard B chromosomes as a pistillate parent and Turkish, Iranian, Korean, and Japanese S. cereale, all with two standard B chromosomes as pollen parents. We observed the pairing of B chromosomes at diakinesis in pollen mother cells in all F1 hybrids with four standard B chromosomes, two from each of the pistillate and the pollen parents. The degree of pairing of B chromosomes in all F1 hybrids with four standard B chromosomes was similar to or somewhat lower than, that in parental strains with four standard B chromosomes. These results showed that the standard B chromosomes in S. segetale from Afghanistan are homologous with those in S. cereale from Turkey, Iran, Korea, and Japan. We therefore propose monophyletic origin of the standard B chromosomes in S. segetale and S. cereale.Key words: Secale, B chromosomes, origin, cultivated rye, weedy rye.

DDD/1 (DDD) mice contrast strikingly with DDD-mtv-2/mtv-2 (DDD-mtv-2) congenics in their marked lymph node (LN) T cell paucity. To clarify the possible difference in LN function between them, reciprocal LN grafting experiments were conducted. DDD-mtv-2 LN grafts in DDD recipients underwent hyperplasia as dramatic as 10-to 20-fold increase in weight between 3 and 4 wk after implantation. Lymphoid cells in hyperplastic LN grafts were of recipient origin. Similar hyperplasia of mtv-2-heterozygous LN grafts also occurred on various hybrid backgrounds involving DDD mice. Moreover, LN grafts from BALB/c mice infected with mtv-2-derived exogenous mouse mammary tumor virus (MMTV) swelled in MMTV-free BALB/c recipients. Genetic analysis of DDD x (DDD x DDD-mtv-2)F1 backcross progeny demonstrated that LN hyperplasia was closely linked to mtv-2. The frequencies of V beta 5+ and V beta 8+ T cells unresponsive to mtv-2-encoded superantigen (SAg) changed with practically the same kinetics in both LN grafts and recipients' LN. Thus, the cells responsible for LN hyperplasia were polyclonal. V beta 14+ CD4+ cells responsive to mtv-2 SAg were specifically stimulated in recipients' LN but selectively deleted in hyperplastic LN grafts. DDD mice carrying hyperplastic mtv-2+ LN grafts or pretreated with mtv-2+ spleen cells developed an unresponsive state in terms of influx of mtv-2- lymphoid cells into mtv-2+ LN grafts. These results indicate that mtv-2 gene products including SAg may stimulate mtv-2- lymphoid cells of recipients and cause them to migrate into mtv-2+ LN grafts in a nonspecific manner with resulting LN hyperplasia.

A rare case of gastric carcinoma associated with increased serum variant alkaline phosphatase activities is presented. A 54 year old man had extremely high serum alkaline phosphatase activity (18,607 U/l) with normal calcium and phosphate concentrations. His bone scintigram showed abnormal findings, 'super bone scan'. He was diagnosed as having Borrmann type 4 gastric carcinoma with diffuse bone metastases by examinations of the upper gastrointestinal tract and iliac bone biopsy. The alkaline phosphatase isozyme of this patient was of the bone type as measured by cellulose acetate membrane electrophoresis and the placenta/bone type by agarose gel electrophoresis, respectively. Immunoelectrophoresis and the immunoprecipitation method using monoclonal antibodies against various alkaline phosphatase isozymes, however, showed that his serum alkaline phosphatase had the liver type antigenicity. Furthermore, it had a larger molecular size and different sugar chains compared with the common liver type alkaline phosphatase. These findings suggest that a unique variant alkaline phosphatase was produced by gastric cancer cells, which is possibly an explanation for the high serum alkaline phosphatase activities in this patient.

New method is adopted for the precise muon lifetime measurement at the RIKEN-RAL muon facility. About 1010 data have already accumulated. Analysis, especially count loss correction, is now in progress.

A recently developed wearable device has gained attention in the area of self-discipline for the prevention of lifestyle-related diseases. The present study aimed to clarify the relationship between circadian rhythm and body shape change using actigraphy. Using a body shape vector, we classified 24 women in their 40s and 50s into 3 groups with different body shape changes. A circadian rhythm experiment was conducted on weekdays for 1 week with 24 healthy women. Amounts of activity of the non-dominant wrist and trunk, subjective evaluation of sleep quality, and subjective state of activity were surveyed. In order to maintain a constant body shape throughout life, a less sedentary lifestyle with more trunk movement during the day, getting adequate sleep at night, and having a varied sleep-wake cycle may be important factors.

In this work we developed a setup to measure the speed of sound in gases using a laser ultrasonics system. The mentioned setup is an all optical system composed by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser to generate the sound waves, and a fiber optical microphone to detect them. The Nd:YAG provided a laser pulse of approximately 420 mJ energy and 9 ns of pulse width, at the wavelength of 1064 nm. The pulsed laser beam, focused by a positive lens, was used to generate an electrical breakdown (in the gas) which, in turn, generates an sound wave that traveled through a determined distance and reached the fiber optical microphone. The resulting signal was acquired in an oscilloscope and the time difference between the optical pulse and the arrival of the sound waves was used to calculate the speed of sound, since the distance was known. The system was initially tested to measure the speed of sound in air, at room pressure and temperature and it presented results in agreement with the theory, showing to be suitable to measure the speed of sound in gases.

When the electro-optic and acousto-optic effects are combined into a single device, the resulting acousto-electrooptic (AEO) modulator shows improved flexibility to overcome some limitations of the individual modulators or their cascade combinations. By using optical interferometry, it is possible to investigate the AEO modulator behavior as a function of this applied voltage. By this way, a lithium niobate AEO modulator is positioned in one of the arms of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer and operates at 62 MHz frequency, which constitutes the intermediate frequency of the heterodyne interferometer. Operating the AEO modulator in the acousto-optic small diffraction efficiency regime, the photodetected signal amplitude and phase are analyzed, and the induced phase shift, transmission curve and linearity response are obtained. The experimental results show good agreement with that expected from the coupled-mode theory. The possibility of linear control of the optical phase shift by the external voltage, from 0...

Two series of smectogenic salts were obtained by combining alkyl p-aminobenzoates with p-ethyl- and p-chlorobenzenesulfonic acids, respectively. The shortest ester alkyl chain required to generate a smectic A phase is nonyl when the former sulfonic acid is employed but the chain may be as short as butyl when the latter is employed. The smectic A-isotropic transition temperature in the second series is significantly higher than that in the first series, indicating that the terminal substituent on the anion is as crucial as that in non-ionic mesogens in determining the mesophase stability.

The mesomorphic properties of homologous series of N,N′-dialkanoyl-2,5-dimethyl-4-alkanoyloxy-1,3-benzenediamines and their 2-methyl-5-isopropyl and 2-methyl-5-t-butyl analogues have been studied. All the mesophases appearing in the nonanoyl to hexadecanoyl derivatives of the first series are metastable and nematic in type. By the replacement of the methyl group at the 5-position with an isopropyl or t-butyl group, nematic thermal stability is promoted. As a result, the nonanoyl to tetradecanoyl derivatives in the second series can exhibit a nematic phase with a temperature range of stable existence over 7 to 22°C. The 2-methyl-5-isopropyl compounds, in which the ester alkyl group is different from the other alkyl groups, were also synthesized. The broadest temperature range of stable existence of a nematic phase of 31°C is achieved when tridecyl groups are connected through the CONH groups and a octyl group through the COO group. The t-butyl group at the 5-position stabilizes not only the mesoph...

A new Fusarium mycotoxin glucoside, fusarenon X-glucoside (FUXGlc), is reported for the first time in wheat grain that was artificially infected with Fusarium fungi. This new glucoside was identified using LC Orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-Orbitrap MS) analysis on the basis of accurate mass measurement of characteristic ions and MS/MS fragmentation patterns. Although the absolute structure of FUXGlc was not clarified by LC-MS, 3-OH glucosylation seems to be the most probable structure based on the fragment profile and considering that deoxynivalenol-3-glucoside (DON3Glc) was reported as the predominant glucosylated derivative of the structurally similar mycotoxin, deoxynivalenol (DON). Another mycotoxin glucoside, nivalenol-glucoside (NIVGlc) was also found in the same grain sample. According to the semi-quantification by LC-Orbitrap MS, more than 15% of FUX and NIV were estimated to be converted into respective glucosides. The existence of these masked mycotoxins should be taken into account in risk assessment, since they could be transformed back to the corresponding mycotoxins under certain conditions; for example, through various food processing operations or in the digestive tract of mammals after ingestion.

Thymidine kinase is the key enzyme in salvage pathway for pyrimidine nucleotide synthesis. High activities of thymidine kinase have been found in rapidly proliferating normal, neoplastic tissues and sera from patients with various diseases including lymphoma, leukemias and small cell lung cancer. We investigated the serum thymidine kinase activities and the colorectal carcinomas in rats treated with 1,2-dimethylhydrazine. The positive correlations between serum thymidine kinase activities and numbers of total and large tumors were observed. These findings suggest the measurement of serum thymidine kinase activity may be clinically valuable in an early stage of the colonic carcinogenesis.

A laser ultrasonics system was used to detect impact damage in samples of composite material used in the Brazilian aeronautics industry. The ultrasonic generation was accomplished with a high power Nd:YAG laser at 1064 nm and the detector was a Mach‐Zehnder interferometer. The Nd:YAG laser was configured so as not to cause damage to the sample and a beam homogenizer was used to distribute the laser energy homogeneously over the optical spot cross section.

To study the changes in myocardial digitalis binding sites in heart failure, we measured myocardial ouabain binding sites, Na-K-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activity, and ventricular muscle mechanical responses to acetylstrophanthidin in dogs with right-heart failure (RHF) produced by tricuspid avulsion and pulmonary artery constriction. Sham-operated dogs were studied as the control. RHF produced a significant decrease in ouabain binding sites in the right and left ventricular myocardium, which was accompanied by a proportional decrease in Na-K-ATPase activity. However, RHF and sham-operated dogs did not differ in systemic hemodynamic or right ventricular trabeculate muscle isometric contractile responses to acetylstrophanthidin. To determine whether chronic beta-adrenergic stimulation contributed to the development of Na-K-ATPase downregulation, we administered nadolol (40 mg/day) to a separate group of dogs during an early stage of RHF development. Nadolol effectively prevented the reduction of myocardial ouabain binding sites that occurred in RHF. Thus we conclude that myocardial ouabain binding sites and Na-K-ATPase activity are reduced in dogs with experimental heart failure and that these changes probably occur as a result of the attendant heightened sympathetic activity.