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Distant metastasis in carcinoma of the uterine cervix is a rare manifestation, with scalp metastasis being an exceptional event.We describe a 48-year-old woman with Stage IIb, squamous cell carcinoma of the cervix who was initially treated with radical hysterectomy and lymphadenectomy followed by concurrent chemoradiotherapy. The patient presented eight months later with swelling over the top of the scalp. The scalp was involved in the disease as the sole anatomic site of distant metastasis.A search of the literature revealed only seven cases of such distant metastatic involvement of the scalp from cervical cancer. More frequent reports and better understanding on these rare events may give new insight to clear strategies to prevent scalp metastases.

Toroidal field ripple loss of neutral-beam-injected fast ions is measured from the heat load on the first wall in JT-60U. The heat load is localized in both toroidal and poloidal directions and increases with both ripple size and safety factor. The overall measured ripple loss is in good agreement with an orbit-following Monte Carlo calculation. Nevertheless, there is a small difference between the experimental and the calculated location of the maximum heat load, which suggests that the radial electric field shifts the impinging points of ripple-trapped ions on the first wall.

Recently, environmental embrittlement has been investigated in many ordered intermetallics including Co[sub 3]Ti, Ni[sub 3]Al, Ni[sub 3]Si, FeAl, Fe[sub 3]Al, and (Fe,Co)[sub 3]V. At ambient temperatures, the embrittlement is caused mainly by hydrogen released from moisture in air. A number of intermetallics also show a reduction in ductility at elevated temperatures; however, the cause of the ductility reduction is not well understood at the present time. Oxygen is identified as an embrittling agent in Ni[sub 3]Al and Ni[sub 3]Si alloys but apparently not in other alloys such as Ni[sub 3][Si,Ti] and Co[sub 3]Ti. L1[sub 2]-ordered intermetallic alloys with compositions (Fe[sub 22]Co[sub 78])[sub 3]V exhibited moisture-induced hydrogen embrittlement when tested in air at ambient temperatures. Their ductility also decreases with increasing temperature above 500 C and reaches a minimum around the critical ordering temperature [[Tc] = 910 C] when tested in vacuum. At present, there is no detailed study of the environmental effect in (Fe,Co)[sub 3]V at elevated temperatures. In this study, the environmental effect on the ductility and fracture in (Fe,Co)[sub 3]V is investigated at various temperatures and in various atmospheres, and the results are compared with those from other intermetallic alloys.

Magnetization measurements have been carried out on ternary compounds MM'X (M=Mn, Cr; M'= Ru, Rh, Pd; X=As, P) in magnetic fields up to 150 or 230 kOe. Their magnetic properties are discussed on the basis of the values of magnetization and high-field magnetic susceptibility.

The composition and temperature dependences of strength of ordered and disordered single crystalline Cu3Pt alloys involving ternary additions are investigated. The relation between deformation behaviour and relative phase stability of L12 ordered phase with respect to L12 −s long period ordered phase is discussed in relation to the antiphase domain (APD) morphology observed in each alloy. Direct observation of APDs by transmission electron microscopy shows that maze-like APDs are formed during ordering in Cu-23at.%Pt alloy, while in (Cu-23at.%Pt)-1 at.%In and Cu-19at.%Pt alloys swirl-like APDs are formed. This implies that the relative phase stability of L12 phase with respect to L12 −S phase in Cu-23 at.%Pt alloy is lower than that in (Cu-23at.Pt)-l at.%In and Cu-19at.%Pt alloys. Compression tests of an ordered single crystal of each alloy at various temperatures reveal a positive temperature dependence of critical resolved shear stress (CRSS) in Cu-23 at. %Pt alloy, but not in (Cu-23 at.%Pt)-1 ...

A Bi-CMOS process was developed to produce a NTSC video-processing IC that draws on the particular advantages of both analog and digital processing techniques. It was possible to achieve good picture performance and to reduce the number of peripheral components. The features of the IC are that it uses many parameters to control picture characteristics by a compact bus interface; it has very stable synchronization with minimization of geometric distortion by the deflection processor; and it uses an adjustment-free filter. The specifications of the IC are given. >

SummaryWe have recently shown the existence of two distinct forms of botrocetin (one-chain and two-chain), and demonstrated that the two-chain species is approximately 30 times more active than the one-chain in promoting von Willebrand factor (vWF) binding to platelet glycoprotein (GP) Ib. The N-terminal sequence of two-chain botrocetin is highly homologous to sea-urchin Echinoidin and other Ca2+-dependent lectins (Fujimura et al., Biochemistry 1991; 30: 1957–64).Present data indicate that purified two-chain botrocetin binds to vWF from plasmas of patients with type IIA or IIB von Willebrand disease and its interaction is indistinguishable from that with vWF from normal individuals. However, an “activated complex” formed between botrocetin and IIB vWF expresses an enhanced biological activity for binding to GP Ib whereas the complex with IIA vWF has a decreased binding activity. Among several anti-vWF monoclonal antibodies (MoAbs) which inhibit ristocetin-induced platelet aggregation and/or vWF binding to GPIb, only two MoAbs (NMC-4 and RFF-VIII RAG:1) abolished direct binding between purified botrocetin and vWF. This suggests that they recognize an epitope(s) on the vWF molecule in close proximity to the botrocetin binding site.

Constrictive pericarditis (CP) after off-pump coronary bypass surgery, especially after minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass (MIDCAB), had rarely been reported. We presened a surgically treated case of CP after MIDCAB via left anterior small thoracotomy. A 57-year-old man underwent MIDCAB with placement of an internal mammary artery to the left anterior descending coronary artery uneventfully. Four years after the operation, he began to experience exertional dyspnea. Computed tomography of the chest showed pericardial thickening. Cardiac catheterization revealed elevation and equalization of the pressures in the 4 chambers, as well as low cardiac output. Pericardiectomy using cardiopulmonary bypass through a median sternotomy was performed successfully without injury to the bypass graft. Postoperative hemodynamic measurements were improved. The patient has resumed normal activity and remained free from heart failure for over 5 years.

We have developed an initial-beam-loading compensation system by a new compensation method, where the system modulates the phase and amplitude of a low-level rf signal simultaneously, thereby optimizing a high-power rf waveform fed to an accelerating structure to compensate the beam energy spread. This compensation system is very compact and can easily be installed in and removed from a klystron system. This system was used in a beam test performed in the 125 MeV electron linac of the Laboratory for Electron Beam Research and Application in Nihon University. Experimental results demonstrate that this system effectively corrects the beam energy spread due to the initial-beam-loading effect. The new compensation method is expected to be effective in the compensation of energy spread in high-intensity and long-pulse beams in electron linacs.

Three histidine residues of bovine adrenodoxin, His-10, His-56, and His-62, were modified with diethyl pyrocarbonate. The order of the modification among the three histidines were monitored by measuring the proton NMR spectra. The modified adrenodoxin exhibited reduced affinity for adrenodoxin reductase as determined in cytochrome c reductase activity. In the presence of cholesterol, the modified adrenodoxin induced a high spin form of cytochrome P-450scc on complex formation in the same manner as native adrenodoxin. The spectral titration showed that adrenodoxin modified with diethyl pyrocarbonate exhibited a 5-fold higher Kd value than that of native adrenodoxin. These effects of the modification of adrenodoxin on the affinities for the redox partners were not proportional to the number of modified histidines determined by the optical absorbance change at 240 nm. Modification of adrenodoxin up to 2 histidine residues did not affect the affinity for the redox partners, but further modification on the third one resulted in an increase of apparent Km in cytochrome c reductase activity by 2-fold and of Kd for cytochrome P-450scc by 5-fold. The 1H NMR spectra of the modified adrenodoxin unequivocally demonstrated that histidine residues at His-10 and His-62 reacted more readily with diethyl pyrocarbonate than His-56 did, indicating that modification of His-56 was responsible for the reduction of binding affinities of adrenodoxin for redox partners. These results are consistent with the proposal that the residue of His-56 in adrenodoxin has an essential role in the electron transfer mechanism where adrenodoxin functions as a mobile shuttle.

This paper discusses the impact ionization rates of holes in AlxGa1−xSb near x=0.06, where resonance impact ionization is expected. Resonance impact ionization did not occur in a range of the electric field we studied. We evaluate the impact ionization of holes at the spin‐split‐off band theoretically, and show that our measured result is reasonable.

Differential renal blood flow and parenchymal mass were compared in 50 pairs of scintigraphic studies performed on 44 patients. Background corrected total kidney counts were determined between 1 to 2 minutes following injection of I-123 or I-131 orthoiodohippurate (OIH), and at 1 to 2.5 hours after injection of Tc-99m glucoheptonate (GHA). The OIH and GHA differentials agreed within 5% in 36 studies (72%). When the OIH differentials were symmetric (45% to 55% in each kidney), agreement with the GHA results was complete (17 out of 17). By comparison, 42% (14 out of 33) of studies with asymmetric OIH differentials had a greater than 5% disparity from the GHA split function. Serum creatinine was elevated at the time of 9 out of 14 studies (64%) with OIH/GHA disagreement and 18 out of 36 studies (50%) with OIH/GHA agreement. Of the 14 studies with disparate OIH/GHA differentials, the GHA differential was more symmetric in 10 (71%). When different scinitigraphic measures of differential renal flow and parenchymal mass disagree, this is most likely due to the effects of asymmetric renal impairment rather than to those of global renal dysfunction.

Bovine adrenodoxin in the reduced form has been measured by one- and two-dimensional 1H NMR spectroscopy. By comparing the spectrum of reduced adrenodoxin with that of the oxidized protein, resonances have been assigned for the aromatic residues. The spin-lattice relaxation time for the resonances due to histidine residues was found to depend on the reduction state of adrenodoxin. The distance from the paramagnetic center is calculated by using the Solomone-Bloembergen equation. The resonances from Tyr-82 and Ala-81 show large chemical shift changes upon reduction of adrenodoxin. The conformational change of adrenodoxin manifested by chemical shift difference between reduced and oxidized forms is found in the sequence around Tyr-82 and Ala-81. Modification with 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)carbodiimide at Glu-74, Asp-79, and Asp-86 inhibited the interaction with both adrenodoxin reductase and cytochrome P-450scc (Lambeth, D. J., Geren, L. M., and Millett, F. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 10025-10029; Geren, L. M., O'Brien, P., Stonehuerner, J., and Millett, F. (1984) J. Biol. Chem. 259, 2155-2160). Thus, the sequence of these amino acids was assigned to the interaction site with the redox partners. The present 1H NMR investigation of adrenodoxin demonstrates that a conformational change upon reduction of the iron-sulfur cluster occurs in the sequence of negatively charged amino acids that is a putative site for interaction with redox partners. This could offer the structural basis of the electron transfer mechanism in which adrenodoxin functions as a mobile electron carrier.

Intergranular stress corrosion cracking (SCC) of Cu–9 at.% Al alloy bicrystals with symmetrical [110] and [100] tilt boundaries has been investigated under constant applied stresses in an ammoniacal solution at 303 ± 2 K. The susceptibility, defined by the inverse of time spent for initiation and propagation of the brittle crack along the boundary, was found to be strongly dependent upon the misorientation. Susceptibility minima were found at misorientations where interfacial energy cusps have been often observed in copper and aluminium in the literature. The grain-boundary energy is considered to be one of the crucial factors which determine the susceptibility. It is suggested that the susceptibiliy is affected by the dislocation behaviour at a grain boundary. A stress field generated as a result of interaction between lattice dislocations and a grain boundary may reduce the resistance to intergranular SCC. The susceptibility rapidly decreases, most probably owing to the increase in dislocations...

Intergranular corrosion in copper bicrystals with symmetrical [110] tilt boundaries and in Cu-9 at.% Al alloy bicrystals with symmetrical [110] and [100] tilt boundaries was investigated by examining the depths of corrosion grooves developed at the boundaries after an immersion test in acid solutions (modified Livingston's etchants) usually used to reveal lattice dislocations. On the plot of depth of penetration against misorientation, cusps (sharp minima) were observed at misorientations of 38·9°, Σ = 9 (221), 70·5°, Σ = 3 (111) and 129·5°, Σ = 11 (113) in the [110] tilt boundaries of copper and Cu–9 at.% Al alloy, and at those of 22·6°, Σ = 13a (015), 36·9°, Σ = 5 (013), 43·6°, Σ = 29a (025), 53·1°, Σ = 5 (012) and 67·4°, Σ = 13a (023) in the [100] tilt boundary of Cu–9 at.% Al alloy. The misorientation dependences of the penetration depth were compared with those of grain-boundary energies in copper and aluminium reported in the literature.

The authors have studied the feasibility of making sharp and clean electrical contacts with high-temperature superconductors by cleaving single-crystal Y-Ba-Cu-O and Bi-Sr-Ca-Cu-O films in a stream of evaporated noble metals forming SN (superconductor/normal metal) contacts at the revealed cross-sectional edge surfaces of the films. With this technique, contact resistances on the order of 10/sup -9/ to 10/sup -8/ Omega cm/sup 2/ have been consistently obtained. For a structure with an oxide/Au/oxide configuration, the interface resistance was found to show a flat temperature dependence below T/sub c/. Material dependence and anisotropy were observed in the contact resistance. When

We achieved 2.5-Gb/s-1200-km transmission in standard optical fiber using an electroabsorption modulator integrated with a distributed feedback laser diode having quarter-wavelength shifted corrugation and optimized coupling in the laser section. Several devices from on wafer showed high optical output power and stable single mode operation. These results showed that our electroabsorption-modulator-integrated distributed-feedback laser diodes with quarter-wavelength-shifted corrugation are cost effective and have very long-haul transmission capability.

IT HAS been recognized that recipient lymphocytotoxic antibodies directed to organ donor lymphocytes are frequently associated with hyperacute rejection. Therefore, for many years it has been standard practice to perform a crossmatch test against donor lymphocytes before transplantation. We previously reported that double-filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) was effective in removing preformed antibodies and led to encouraging results in presensitized patients. However, with cyclosporine A (CyA), the graft survival rate was lower in presensitized patients than in sero-negative patients. From May 1996, FK 506 (tacrolimus, Prograf) has been commercially available for renal transplantation in Japan. In this study, we analyzed the effects of FK 506 on the clinical course of transplantation in presensitized recipients.

Aim: Inter-individual variations in normal human cerebral blood flow (CBF) at rest condition have been reported. Inter-individual variation of cerebral vascular tone is considered to contribute to this, and several determinants of cerebral vascular tone have been proposed. In the present study, the relationship between CBF and cerebral vascular tone to inter-individual variation at rest condition was investigated using positron emission tomography (PET). Methods: CBF was measured using PET with H215O in each of 20 healthy subjects (20–28 years) under three conditions: at rest (baseline), during hypercapnia and during hypocapnia. The vascular response to change in PaCO2 was calculated as the percentage changes in CBF per absolute change in PaCO2 in response to hypercapnia and hypocapnia. Results: A significant negative correlation between baseline CBF and the vascular response to hypocapnia was observed in the thalamus, temporal cortex, parietal cortex, occipital cortex and cerebral cortex (P

We evaluated the frequency of paravalvular leakage (PVL) in 21 patients who had undergone mitral valve replacement (MVR) 3 times or more in our department between January 1981 and December 2003. Of these 21 patients, 5 underwent MVR 4 times, including the one who underwent the 5th MVR. Seven (38%) of 18 patients who had successfully undergone MVR 3 times and all 2 patients who had successfully undergone MVR 4 times developed PVL. PVL recurred in 6 (67%) of 9 patients who had undergone the 3rd MVR due to the occurrence of PVL. However, PVL recurred in only 1 (11%) of 9 patients who had undergone the 3rd MVR due to some postoperative complications other than PVL. Among 10 patients who developed PVL after the 1st or 2nd MVR, PVL recurred in 7 patients after the 3rd MVR. However, among 8 patients who did not develop PVL after the 1st or 2nd MVR, PVL occurred after the 3rd MVR only in 1 patient. These findings suggest that repeated MVR increases the incidence of PVL, and that patients with a past history of PVL are at a higher risk of developing PVL after repeated MVR.

A 61-year old asymptomatic woman was admitted to our hospital for the examination of an abnormal shadow in the left lower lung lobe in 1978. Enhanced chest computed tomograms and pulmonary arteriograms revealed a pulmonary arteriovenous malformation (PAVM) composed of feeding artery and draining vein. The patient had suffered brain abscesses 3 times because of paradoxical emboli from PAVMs. A diagnosis of hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) was made according to the criteria. The patient died of septic shock due to urinary tract infection by Candida albicans. We reviewed cases of PAVMs associated with HHT in the Japanese literature. In Japan, 126 HHT families and 144 HHT patients have been reported to date. PAVMs occur in approximately one-third of HHT patients in Japan. Twenty-four out of 45 patients (44.4%) had multiple PAVMs. We also discussed the diagnosis, complications, and treatment of PAVM-associated HHT.

Real-time H.264 encoding of HD video is still a heavy task for today's high-end PC processors. To improve the encoding speed, we introduce thread-level parallelism to our H.264 encoder. However, the parallelized encoder with slice-level decomposition sometimes causes observable artifacts in encoded image. We propose a new parallelization technique for deblocking filtering that can reduce the artifacts without degrading the parallel processing efficiency. Experimental results indicate that our parallelized encoder improves processing speed by a factor of 5.9 with 8 threads. This is achieved without any noticeable artifact. We can achieve real-time H.264 HD (720p 30fps) visual communication on a PC platform.

Content metadata play an important role assisting users to find and access content items of interest. In general, explicit metadata created commercially for traditional media distribution such as TV and packaged content work adequately. However with the proliferation of Internet usage, networked devices, and tools to create, edit, re-distribute, and manage diverse content items, the problem of maintaining reliable metadata in directory services of media servers is very complex. In this paper we analyze existing metadata frameworks used by industry consortia, specifically UPnP (universal plug and play) and DLNA (digital living network alliance) and discuss fundamental problems that cause content directories to be populated with unreliable metadata. We propose alternative methods based on implicit metadata and user-generated tagging that improve availability of reliable metadata.

The free vibration of a cantilever annular sector plate with curved radial edges and varying thickness is analyzed by the Ritz method. For this purpose, the plate is transformed into a regular sector plate with unit outer radius by a transformation of variables. The transverse deflection of the transformed plate is expressed in a power series, the dynamical energies of the plate are evaluated, and the frequency equation of the plate is derived by the conditions for a stationary value of the Lagrangian functional. This method is applied to annular sector plates with symmetrically or unsymmetrically curved radial edges and also with varying thickness; the natural frequencies and the mode shapes are calculated numerically, and the effects of varying thickness on the vibration are studied.

Intergranular stress-corrosion-cracking (SCC) of Cu-9at.%Al alloy bicrystals with (100)-twist boundaries under constant stresses perpendicular to the (100) plane in an ammoniacal solution at 303 ± 2 K was investigated. The susceptibility defined by the inverse of time to fracture is strongly dependent upon the misorientation. The susceptibility rapidly increases with increasing the rotation angle approximately from 15 to 20°. It is shown that susceptibility cusps exist at the rotation angles of 22.6, 28.1 and 36.0° corresponding to ∑13 a , ∑17 a and ∑5, respectively. A weak cusp may also exist at 43.6°/∑29 a . The present result is compared with the structures and energies of grain boundaries in several face-centered cubic metals reported in the literature.

The stress corrosion cracking (SCC) behavior of copper bicrystals with 〈HO〉-tilt ∑3(111), ∑9(221), and ∑11(311) coincident site lattice (CSL) boundaries was investigated. Stress corrosion cracking tests were carried out in 1 N NaNO2 aqueous solution at 303 ±2 K using a slow strain rate technique (SSRT). Transgranular SCC occurred along the primary slip traces on the top surface of the bicrystal having a ∑3(111) coincidence boundary. No cracks initiated on the grain boundary except for very small and shallow corrosion pits. In contrast, for the bicrystals with ∑9(221) or ∑11(311) coincidence boundaries, corrosion pits and cracks initiated on the grain boundary and propagated into the crystal interior along {110} traces, which are almost perpendicular to the tensile axis. The SCC behavior is closely related to the activated slip systems and the degrees of crystal rotation owing to deformation. Susceptibility to intergranular SCC is affected by the angle between the Burgers vector of the primary slip system and the grain boundary plane. The susceptibility of the ∑23(111) boundary to SCC is remarkably low in comparison with the other two types of grain boundaries.

In situ superconducting YBa2Cu3O7−x films with Tc0 up to 87 K and Jc, 77 K up to 6×104 A/cm2 were prepared on Si substrates with MgAl2O4 and BaTiO3 double‐buffer layers. The epitaxial relations between various layers were established by transmission electron microscopy. The MgAl2O4 layer is heavily faulted. The subsequent BaTiO3 layer stops most of the faults, provides a template for the YBa2Cu3O7−x growth, and partially screens off the stress due to different thermal expansion coefficients. The microstructure of the YBa2Cu3O7−x layer is very similar to that of the films deposited directly on SrTiO3, exhibiting a homogeneous heavily faulted single‐crystal‐like structure free from secondary phases and grain boundaries. The slight degradation of the transport properties is attributed to residual thermal stress.

The High Field Laboratory for Superconducting Materials, Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, is equipped with a number of superconducting magnets, high-power resistive magnets and hybrid magnets producing a continuous field up to 31 T. Capacitor banks for a pulsed field up to 55 T are also installed in the institute. These facilities have been used for the measurement of high field properties of various materials. This paper describes recent achievements in both magnet technology and materials science.

Epitaxial films of the Bi 2 Sr 2 Ca 1 Cu 2 O x phase were prepared on MgO(100) substrates in situ by RF magnetron sputtering. The as-grown film showed a T c onset of 92 K and a T c end of 82 K. The superconducting properties and the c -axis lattice constant could be varied reversibly by annealing the film in various atmosphere at below 400°C. When the c -axis lattice constant was increased by about 0.2 A, the T c onset increased from 60 K to 93 K, suggesting that the T c increased with decreasing oxygen content in the film. However further decrease of the oxygen content in the film caused the degradation of the T c when the films were annealed in vacuum at above 250°C.

A simulation study to evaluate the errors in rate constants of the three compartment model using the weighted integral method was performed. Ten combinations of 7 kinds of weight functions, the errors were tested in 18F fluorodeoxyglucose (18FDG) study. The error factors arising in PET measurement were statistical noise, cerebral blood volume, time shift and scanning time of PET measurement. Errors in each rate constant were within the range of 10 percent and those in k1k3/(k2+k3) within 1 percent. The weighted integral method was confirmed to be a faster method than the conventional least squares method within a reasonable error range.