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In this paper we give equivalent conditions on the central limit theorem in total variation norm for a sequence of probability measures on R. This generalizes Cacoullos, Papathana­siou and Utev's central limit theorem in L1-norm for a sequence of probability density functions on R. We also give equivalent conditions on the central limit theorem in weak convergence and those on the local limit theorem.

Japan has a long stretch of coastal dykes along its shoreline to protect against storm surges, tsunamis and high wind waves. The 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami caused serious damage to these coastal dykes. To improve the coastal dykes along the damaged coast and also to reconsider tsunami risks in other parts of the Japanese coast, it is important to understand the effect that a tsunami can have on a coastal dyke. The present paper thus aims to analyze a tsunami flow around a coastal dyke using a LES numerical model. To simulate both an impact phase and an overtopping phase of a tsunami flow, which were observed in the 2011 tsunami, a dam break flow and a pump flow were used to generate a tsunami-like flow in the numerical model. Based on the numerical results, the pressure and the velocity field around a coastal dyke were ascertained. These effects were considered to have a big influence on the dike failure in the 2011 tsunami, and thus it is recommended that the design of countermeasures should include a calculation of both of these parameters.

A dynamical system with two stable equilibrium points will show a flip-flop motion between the neighborhoods of the two points when it is perturbed by small random noises. A typical example is the stochastic disk dynamo model where the two equilibrium points correspond to the two polarities of the earth's magnetic field. We will prove what has been suggested by a computer simulation, that is, the counting process of the flips or the reversals of the earth's field converges to a standard Poisson process if the time is suitably scaled.

We give a sufficient condition for the uniqueness of solutions to Cauchy problem for a class of integro-partial differential operators related to the stochastic analysis, by way of the large deviations technique.

We define the concept of the copula field, and give the applications to the stochastic quantization and to the stochastic control.

Let {Xn}􀁈1 be a Eyraud-Farlie-Gumbel-Morgenstern process. Put Sn = E􀀅=l Xk. In this paper we prove the large deviations theorem for Bn/n, and the central limit theorem for Bn/n112 , as n - ∞.

We consider small random perturbations of dynamical systems {Xe (t)}o9 (0 < c) on a cl-dimensional Euclidean space Rd when the origin o E Rd is a hyperbolic equilibrium point of unperturbed dynamical systems. The first exit time Tv of {X£ (t)}o9 from a bounded domain D(3 o) of Rd obeys the large deviations phenominon with a variable decay rate.

The effects of silicon-functional isocyanates on the stability of oil-in-water emulsions with and without a carbon functional triisocyanate in the oil phase were investigated. The oil component was di-n-butyl-phthalate (DBP) containing Aerosol OT as an emulsifier. It was found that only CH3Si(NCO)3 among the (CH3)nSi(NCO)4 - n's was effective to contribute additional stability for the emulsion without a carbon functional triisocyanate. It was also found that a reaction product of CH3Si(NCO)3 with water reacted with a carbon functional triisocyanate.

In order to find out the function of the hypothalamo-pituitary axis in brain dead patients, pituitary and hypothalamic hormone concentrations were measured and several anterior pituitary releasing tests were carried out in 39 brain dead patients. In addition, cerebral blood flow measurements were simultaneously performed. In almost all cases, the blood concentration of pituitary and hypothalamic hormones were above the sensitivity of the assay. Anterior pituitary releasing tests indicated that efficient functions of the hypothalamus were severely suppressed, while the normal secretory mechanism of the anterior pituitary was partially preserved in brain dead patients. Histological changes of hypothalamic neurons varied from barely detectable ghost cells to nearly normal cells even in the same case. Although, the remaining circulation seemed not to be sufficient enough to maintain integrated hypothalamo-pituitary function, as shown by the examinations of cerebral blood flow, the presence of hypothalamic hormones in the systemic circulation suggests that these hormones were released and carried from the hypothalamus by minimal flow which is preserved even after the diagnosis of brain death.

✓ Cell lines resistant to 1-(4-amino-2-methyl-5-pyrimidinyl)methyl-3-(2-chloroethyl)-3-nitrosourea hydrochloride (ACNU) show a high degree of collateral sensitivity to L-asparaginase. The mechanism for this phenomenon was investigated by comparing the nutritional requirements and asparagine synthetase activity of the resistant sublines to those of parent cells. Nine ACNU-resistant sublines were isolated from rat glioma 9L cells after incubation with various concentrations of ACNU in Ham's F-12 medium. The 9L cells grew independently of asparagine, developing well in asparagine-deficient Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium. In contrast, the growth rates of all nine ACNU-resistant sublines decreased under the same conditions and required the addition of 10−4 M asparagine for maximum growth. Asparagine synthetase activity in the ACNU-resistant cells was much lower than in the 9L cells, suggesting that the requirement for asparagine in the resistant sublines was due to reduced activity of this enzyme. A growth-inhibition assay showed that the ACNU-resistant sublines were more sensitive to L-asparaginase than 9L cells by up to 2 × 105-fold. These results suggest that L-asparaginase therapy has the potential to become a new approach for treating acquired ACNU resistance.

✓ Three ACNU-resistant clones (R1, R3, and R12) were isolated from 9L rat glioma cells under selection pressure of ACNU in vitro. The authors have investigated the mechanisms of resistance and characteristics of these clones at the cellular level by studying cross-resistance patterns to chemical and physical agents. Although these resistant sublines showed complete cross-resistance to methyl-chloroethylnitrosourea (MCNU), no cross-resistance was observed for other alkylating agents, while each of the resistant sublines showed partial cross-resistance to structurally dissimilar toxic agents (vinblastine, Adriamycin, and VP-16). No difference in ACNU uptake was observed between 9L and R3 cells, and resistance patterns among alkylating agents suggested that the mechanism of ACNU resistance was specific to bifunctional nitrosoureas. Based on a transport study, this multidrug resistance could be explained by reduced intracellular uptake of these drugs, but there seemed little possibility that membrane P-glycoprotein, which usually is observed in typical multidrug-resistant cells, was expressed in these ACNU-resistant cells because enhanced drug efflux was not found in ACNU-resistant sublines. Significant collateral sensitivity to L-asparaginase indicated that ACNU might disturb the asparagine synthetic pathways by its mutagenic action. The increased level of total glutathione in the resistant sublines may be one mechanism of radiation or ACNU resistance.

Three ACNU-resistant sublines (R1, R3 and R12) from rat glioma 9L cells showed cross-resistance to vinblastine, adriamycin, and VP-16. Among these, the R3 subline also acquired radioresistance under aerobic conditions. Total glutathione levels in these sublines were elevated 2- to 3-fold. Treatment of the cells with BSO, a specific inhibitor of GSH synthesis, resulted in decreased intracellular total glutathione levels in all 4 cell lines to about 10% of control levels. However, sensitivity to radiation or to chemicals did not change accordingly. Treatment of 9L cells with OTZ, a precursor of cysteine, resulted in a rise in intracellular GSH levels but it did not correlate with sensitivity to X-ray or to ACNU. These results suggest that, in terms of cellular sensitivity to radiation or ACNU, total glutathione level alone cannot serve as a predictive indicator.

Contains fulltext : 53423.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Open Access) Chondroitin sulfate (CS) and dermatan sulfate (DS) have been implicated in the processes of neural development in the brain. In this study, we characterized developmentally regulated brain CS/DS chains using a single chain antibody, GD3G7, produced by the phage display technique. Evaluation of the specificity of GD3G7 toward various glycosaminoglycan preparations showed that this antibody specifically reacted with squid CS-E (rich in the GlcUAbeta1-3GalNAc(4,6-O-sulfate) disaccharide unit E), hagfish CS-H (rich in the IdoUAalpha1-3GalNAc(4,6-O-sulfate) unit iE), and shark skin DS (rich in both E and iE units). In situ hybridization for the expression of N-acetylgalac-tosamine-4-sulfate 6-O-sulfotransferase in the postnatal mouse brain, which is involved in the biosynthesis of CS/DS-E, showed a widespread expression of the transcript in the developing brain except at postnatal day 7, where strong expression was observed in the external granule cell layer in the cerebellum. The expression switched from the external to internal granule cell layer with development. Immunohistochemical localization of GD3G7 in the mouse brain showed that the epitope was relatively abundant in the cerebellum, hippocampus, and olfactory bulb. GD3G7 suppressed the growth of neurites in embryonic hippocampal neurons mediated by CS-E, suggesting that the epitope is embedded in the neurite outgrowth-promoting motif of CS-E. In addition, a CS-E decasaccharide fraction was found to be the critical minimal structure needed for recognition by GD3G7. Four discrete decasaccharide epitopic sequences were identified. The antibody GD3G7 has broad applications in investigations of CS/DS chains during the central nervous system's development and under various pathological conditions.