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The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com, The results of clinical and experimental studies on epilepsy associated with focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) are presented. We have been interested in the findings of abnormal increases in the numbers of small vessels in specimens of FCD resected from epilepsy patients. In the clinical study of 13 patients with epilepsy, specimens of FCD or dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNT) were examined using immunohistochemistry. The number of vessels in both lesions were greater than those in cortical specimens of autopsy cases without epilepsy. Because the vessels showed negative staining of VEGF, it was thought that the phenomenon of increase in the number of vessels was simply a hypervascularity, not a neovascularity. The local hypervascularity was expected to show local hyperperfusion in CBF-SPECT study, but interictal SPECT demonstrated local hypoperfusion and ictal SPECT showed hyperperfusion. This may have been caused by a functional change in those vessels. In the experimental study, we tried to make a new animal model of FCD to study epileptogenicity of FCD. When kainic acid had been infused into the neocortex in the neonatal rats, FCD was induced in adult Wistar rats. Histopathological examination revealed cortical dyslamination and abnormal neurons. On EEG, local spike bursts were elicited from the lesions, however, clinical seizures were not detected. Although the data are preliminary and observation over a longer period is required to determine whether spontaneous seizures will occur in this model, it is expected that this new model will be useful for studying epilepsy associated with FCD.

A new family of quaternary carbon and nitrogen containing Rare Earth (RE: Sc, Y, Ho, Er, Tm and Lu) borides: REB 15.5 CN, has been synthesized and structurally characterized by powder X-ray diffraction data. They are all isotypic with Sc 1-x B 15.5 CN whose structure was solved based on single-crystal X-ray data and HRTEM investigations. The structure refinement converged at a R(F 2 ) value of 0.044 for 364 reflections. The new structure type of Sc 1-x B 15.5 CN is composed of a three-dimensional network based on interconnected slabs of boron (B 12 ) ico icosahedra and (B 6 ) oct octahedra. A linear [CBC] chain and nitrogen tightly bridges icosahedra. Sc partially occupies voids in the sheets of boron octahedra. It crystallizes with the trigonal space group P 3 m1, with Z = 2. Lattice parameters (nm) are as follows: for RE: Sc, a,b = 0.5568(4), c = 1.0756(2): Y, a,b = 0.55919(6), c = 1.0873(2); Ho, a,b = 0.55883(7), c = 1.0878(6); Er, a,b = 0.55889(5), c = 1.0880(6); Tm, a,b = 0.5580(1), c = 1.0850(6); Lu, a,b = 0.55771(9), c = 1.0839(4). Magnetic characterization of ErB 17 C 1.3 N 0.6 has been performed.

Epitaxial InN films have been grown on sapphire substrate by using an ArF excimer laser-assisted metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (LA-MOVPE) as a new potential growth technique. An ArF excimer laser photolytically dissociates NH3 with independent of the growth temperature while photolytical dissociation of trimethylindium (TMI) is not observed. The photolytically dissociated NH3 reacts with TMI to deposit InN film and even single crystalline film is grown. This enables InN film deposition over a wide range of growth temperature, from a room temperature to a very high temperature (700°C). Single crystalline InN films with smooth surfaces are successfully grown in the temperature range of 350-700°C with a variety of condition. The characterization of the InN films grown over a wide range of temperature and condition enables to find out some important evidences about the InN properties, especially the band gap energy. Interestingly, this new growth technique provides a growth rate of more than 0.5 µm/h just by flowing a very little amount (~100 sccm) of NH3. While to obtain such growth rate in our conventional MOVPE a total amount of ~6000 sccm NH3 gas is required. The electrical properties are still found to be poor compared to the recently reported good results. Important evidences as to what species is responsible for poor electrical properties in the grown InN are discussed.

¶Background. There have been some reports that radiation necrosis can be controlled conservatively. There are rare cases showing progressive space-occupying radiation necrosis (PSORN). It is very difficult to control PSORN by conservative treatment. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the early diagnosis of those cases and the timing of surgery for patients with PSORN. Method. We have experienced some cases where quality of life was improved by the removal of PSORN after stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) for brain metastases. Therefore, we evaluated retrospectively the diagnosis and treatment of six cases of symptomatic PSORN at approximately 6–12 months after SRS for metastatic brain tumours. Findings. In all six cases, on Magnetic Resonance Imaging with Gd contrast material (Gd-MRI), PSORN was revealed as a ring-like enhanced mass with large perifocal oedema coupled with the appearance of neurological deficit. Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H-MRS) enabled us to differentiate PSORN from recurrence of metastases in all six cases. Single Photon Emission Computed Tomography with thallium-201 chloride (201TlCl-SPECT) enabled us to do this in four cases of the six. In four cases of the six, lesionectomy of the ring-like enhanced mass (PSORN) was performed, and in two of these cases the removal was performed within 4 weeks from the time when conservative treatment became ineffective, and the neurological deficit and perifocal oedema was improved as was the quality of life. However, in the other two patients who were left for more than 16 weeks, the deficit was gradually progressive. The two patients who did not receive lesionectomy were treated by conservative means with steroids and/or heparin and warfarin and they had progressive neurological symptoms. Interpretation. Although, the number of patients is small in this study, and more data will be needed, it is recommended that lesionectomy is performed at an early stage, if possible, when conservative management has failed.

Objective: In order to investigate kainic acid (KA)-induced amygdaloid seizure and seizure-induced brain damage in dogs, and to compare these findings with that in other species, a KA-induced seizure model in dogs was produced. Material and methods: Normal beagle dogs were used. A Teflon cannula for KA injection was inserted into the left amygdala, and cortical or depth electrodes were positioned. One week after surgery, 1.5 μg of KA was microinjected into the left amygdala. EEGs and the behavior of the animals were monitored for 2 months after KA injection. In addition, neuron-specific enolase levels in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF-NSE) were measured intermittently. At 2 months after the injection, histopathological studies were performed. Results: KA-treated dogs showed limbic seizures that started from the left amygdala within 30 min after injection. The seizures developed into complex partial status epilepticus (CPSE), and started independently from the bilateral amygdala during the CPSE. The CPSE lasted for 1–3 days, and the animals showed no spontaneous seizures during the 2-month observation period. A significant increase in CSF-NSE was observed immediately after CPSE. Histopathologically, extensive necrosis, which formed large cavity lesions, was observed around the bilateral amygdala. Summary: A microinjection of KA into unilateral amygdala in dogs induced CPSE. The seizures elicited independently from bilateral amygdala, and bilateral limbic structures suffered extensive injury. In addition, CSF-NSE was demonstrated as a useful marker of acute neuronal damage.

A transient (lasting for 15 min) bilateral carotid artery occlusion model was created by using male Mongolian gerbils ( n=20, weight 50-60 g). The animals were divided into a group with mild hypothermia (34 degrees C, n=10) and a normothermic group (37 degrees C, n=10). High-energy phosphate metabolism (ATP, PCr, Pi) and intracellular pH were sequentially measured using (31)P-MRS during ischemia and after reperfusion for 1 week. The same animals were also subjected to a histopathological evaluation. During ischemia, there were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in the quantities of the metabolites. However, after reperfusion the rate of metabolic recovery by the mildly hypothermic (MH) group was significantly higher (by 10-20%) than the normothermic (NT) group. The intracellular pH decreased about 0.4 in both groups after ischemia; and after reperfusion the intracellular pH of the MH group returned to baseline levels faster than in the NT group. One week after ischemia, energy metabolism gradually decreased about 10-20% in both groups. In the histopathological evaluation, pyramidal cell damage in the hippocampus was 33% on average in the MH group and 79% in the NT group. The neuronal damage to the cerebral cortex was 26% in the MH group and 61% in the NT group. Astrocyte reactivity in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex was 2.9% and 1.1% in the MH group and 9.7% and 5.2% in the NT group. The results of this experiment indicate that the protective effect of mild hypothermia is due to the high recovery rate of ATP and PCr and the prevention of a secondary decline in high phosphate energy.

Effect of the twisting direction, pellet fiber length and water absorption on the strength was investigated for an ecological jute fiber reinforced polypropylene (JFRP).High strength of JFRP is observed if jute fibers are well dispersed in the PP. It is necessary to pre-penetrate the matrix into the jute fiber bundle in producing the pellets for the dispersion of jute fibers, because the injection time should be reduced not to degrade the fiber strength at elevated temperature. For the pre-penetrating the matrix, Jute fibers should be twisted in opposite direction to the screw rotation at extruding the pellets. The interfacial failure is observed for any cases of the fiber lengths in pellet. However, the strength of JFRP has a maximum with respect to the fiber length. When the moderate fiber length encourages the ravels and dispersions of the fibers, high strength of the JFRP is obtained. A devised screw (CMH) is also effective for increasing the strength of JFRP, because it improves fiber dispersion.If the JFRP absorbs moisture under high humidity, the strength of it decreases remarkably. The microscopic failure mode, however, is independent of the water absorption, i.e. interfacial failure is observed at all testing conditions. The reduction of fiber strength dominates that of JFRP due to water absorption.

We have reported that new N-glycans carrying the TF-antigen occurred on a major royal jelly glycoprotein, and we have identified the glycosylation site to which the antigenic N-glycan is linked, but an appropriate procedure has not been established to prepare non-labeled immunoreactive glycopeptides in large amounts for functional analysis. In this study, we developed an effective method of preparing Asn-glycopeptide bearing TF-antigen.

The purpose of this study is to develop automotive frictional parts, especially continuously variable transmission (CVT) blocks by using a composite material made of thermoplastics resin and fiber. CVT blocks are used at about 100oC under high pressure and friction condition. So, we have used nylon 9T, PA9T. PA9T has high a melting point that is higher than maximum temperature of the state of slip. To apply composite materials to CVT blocks, the material properties such as high strength, modulus of elasticity and fatigue strength are important. Therefore, a purpose of this study is improvements of mechanical properties by adding fillers to PA9T with various compounding and molding condition. PA9T and CF were mixed by using twin screw extruder. After compounding, dumbbell specimens were made by using injection molding machine. Bending, fatigue and abrasion tests were conducted. Moreover, we evaluated the transmission capacity of CVT belt made of PA9T composites and conducted slip test. According to results of tests, PA9T with CF38.8 vol% achieved desired values of CVT. The CVT belt has 40 Nm of torque under 2.0 kN of axle load.

The mechanism of strain rate dependence on the Bauschinger effect in dualphase type high strength steel sheets is investigated and the influence of mesostructure differences on spring-back is estimated in this study. Compression-tensile tests at a strain rate from 0.007/s to 100/s is conducted. To differentiate between the multiphase structure-induced effect and the matrix properties, the same tests are also conducted for ferrite single phase steel. As a result, the Bauschinger effect on dual phase steel is not associated with the matrix properties independently. Moreover, it is revealed that a multiphase structure-induced effect acts a dominant function for deformation characteristics through experiments and micro observations.

Here, we present the complete genome sequence of Ureaplasma parvum serovar 3, clinical strain SV3F4, isolated from a Japanese patient with a history of an infectious abortion.

We describe the management of a tracheoesophageal fistula due to a damaged tracheal stent, which was first inserted to treat tracheal stenosis. A 29-year-old woman with a history of treated epilepsy had a seizure and suffered from smoke inhalation during a fire. Breathing difficulties appeared and gradually worsened; consultation was obtained two years afterward. After undergoing a thorough examination, the patient was diagnosed with tracheal strangulation. A noncovered, metallic stent was inserted. When the patient was 37 years old, she was admitted to our hospital for the treatment of a tracheoesophageal fistula. We diagnosed it as a tracheoesophageal fistula due to the collapse of the damaged tracheal stent toward the esophageal side, and we decided to perform a mediastinal tracheostomy. Granulation may be formed in the circumference of a stent that has been present for a prolonged period, and removal of the stent may become difficult. This case suggests that insertion of a noncovered, metallic stent is contraindicated for a benign disease.

Sialic acids play important roles in various biological functions. In the brain, evidence suggests that sialylation of glycoproteins and glycolipids affects neural plasticity. While the 18 sialyltransferase isoenzymes (STs) identified to date synthesize individual sialyl-oligosaccharide structures, they each exhibit activity toward more than one substrate and can overlap in their specificity. Therefore, the distribution of STs is a secondary factor in the study of specific sialylation. Here, seven STs; ST3Gal I−IV, ST8Sia IV, ST6Gal I and ST6GalNAc II, the expressions of which were identified in the adult hippocampus by RT-PCR, showed diverse localization patterns in the hippocampus on in situ hybridization, suggesting that the individual cells expressed relevant STs. Furthermore, to assay activity-related changes in ST expression, we used amygdaloid-kindling among models of neural plasticity. Differential expression of the STs participating in the kindling, notably, up-regulation of ST3Gal IV and ST6GalNAc II mRNAs, and down-regulation of ST3Gal I and ST8Sia IV mRNAs, were observed in the hippocampus following kindled seizures. These results indicate that ST expressions are regulated by physiological activity and may play a role in neural plasticity.

The long fiber reinforced thermoplastic (LFRTP) pellet has better mechanical properties than short fiber reinforced pellet and better moldability than stampable sheet. At present, injection molding method is mainly used for molding LFRTP pellets because of its high productivity. However, the long fiber of LFRTP pellet, whose length is same as pellet length, is degraded during processing if conventional injection molding machines are used, and as the result, the mechanical properties are not improved as expected in many cases. Therefore, a new molding process is required to make good use of LFRTP pellets. Recently, a new molding process has been developed appropriate for LFRTP pellets. It is possible for this new molding machine to make fiber length longer in the molding than universal injection molding one. However, the deterioration of the filamentization becomes the disturbance of the improvement of the mechanical property. Then, the quantification of the filamentization was tried in this study. In addition to it, the experimental strength was compared with the theory strength that considers fiber length, fiber concentration and fiber orientation.As the result, we were able to prove the effectiveness of quantification technique of the filamentization. Then, it was possible to grasp the relationship between tensile strength and filamentization, and the importance of filamentization was confirmed.

It is often difficult to make a correct diagnosis of ring-like enhanced lesions on Gd-enhanced MR brain images. To differentiate these lesions using proton MR spectroscopy (1H-MRS), we retrospectively evaluated the correlation between the 1H-MR spectra and histopathological findings. We evaluated proton MR spectra obtained from the lesions in 45 patients, including metastasis (n = 19), glioblastoma (n = 10), radiation necrosis (n = 7), brain abscess (n = 5), and cerebral infarction (n = 4). The rate of misdiagnosis was found to be lowest at the threshold level of 2.48 for the (choline containing compounds)/(creatine and phosphocreatine) ratio (Cho/Cr) obtained from the whole lesions, which include the enhanced rim and the non-enhanced inner region. That is, the positively predictive values of a Cho/Cr greater than 2.48 for diagnosing metastasis or glioblastoma was 88.9 and 60.0%, respectively, and the positively predictive value of a Cho/Cr less than 2.48 for diagnosing radiation necrosis or cerebral infarction was 71.4 and 100%, respectively. For further differentiating between metastasis and glioblastoma, information about the presence and absence of an N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) peak and lipid- or lactate-dominant peak was found to be useful. In 73.7% of metastasis cases a lipid-dominant peak was observed in the whole lesion without an NAA peak in the inner region, whereas the same pattern was observed in only 10% of the glioblastoma cases. Correlation with the histopathological findings showed that a high Cho signal is suggestive of neoplasm. Lipid signal in the non-enhanced central region was correlated to necrosis. Lactate signals were often observed in glioblastoma, abscess and sometimes metastasis, presumably reflecting the anaerobic glycolysis by the living cells in the ring-like enhanced rim. Single-voxel proton MR spectroscopy may serve as a potential tool to provide useful information of differentiation of ring-like enhanced lesions that cannot be diagnosed correctly using enhanced MR images alone.

We present three cases of infants with idiopathic neonatal hepatitis showing diffuse intrahepatic fatty degeneration. Prolonged cholestasis has improved immediately upon intravenous administration of a high-dose gammaglobulin treatment in all three patients. The TT virus (TTV) genome was detectable in the serum of two patients, in the duodenal fluid of one and in the liver of all three. By analyzing sequence homology, we observed that the respective TTV isolated from serum, duodenal fluid and liver tissue were completely identical in cases 2 and 3. These findings suggest that TTV infection was one of the contributing factors for neonatal cholestasis in these patients. TTV was isolated from the serum of two out of the three mothers. The viruses were either completely or almost identical in sequence to those isolated from their respective infants, suggesting that they had been transmitted from mother to infant in these 2 cases. The patients presented here, whose livers were infected with the TTV and showed a favorable response to gammaglobulin therapy, may represent a subset of idiopathic neonatal hepatitis patients.

Epilepsy surgery, as is employed for the management of intractable seizures, was performed in animals harboring a seizure focus induced by a local application of kainic acid (KA). Amygdalo-hippocampectomy failed to stop spontaneous seizures in the contralateral hippocampus. Callosotomy inhibited seizure propagation to the contralateral sensori-motor cortex. However, epileptic activity ipsilateral to the focus, including subcortical structures, persisted even after the callosotomy. Multiple subpial transection (MST) around the epileptic cortical focus suppressed the seizure activity of the cortex. However, seizure propagations in subcortical structures remained, even after MST. Niferacetam (a new nootropic agent) was tested in these models, and its promising effect on the intractable extratemporal epilepsy is reported.

GDP-L-Fuc:N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosaminide alpha1,6-fucosyltransferase (alpha1,6FucT) catalyzes the transfer of a fucosyl moiety from GDP-fucose to the asparagine-linked GlcNAc residue of complex N-glycans via alpha1,6-linkage. We have cloned the genomic DNA which encodes the human alpha1,6FucT gene ( FUT8 ) and analyzed its structure. It was found that the gene consists of at least nine exons spanning more than a 50 kbp genomic region, and the coding sequence is divided into eight exons. The translation initiation codon was located at exon 2, and thus exon 1 encodes only 5'-untranslated sequences. Transcription initiation site of FUT8 was determined by 5'-rapid amplification of the cDNA end and a primer-extension analysis using the total RNA isolated from SK-OV-3 cells, which have a high level of alpha1,6FucT activity. We then characterized the FUT8 promoter region by a reporter gene assay. The luciferase reporter assay indicated that the 5'-flanking region of exon 1, which covered about 1 kbp, conferred the promoter activity in SK-OV-3 cells. This region contains potential binding sites for some transcription factors, such as bHLH, cMyb, GATA-1, as well as a TATA-box, but not a CCAAT motif. 5'-Untranslated sequences found in ESTs and the cDNA for the FUT8 suggest the presence of an additional exon(s) at the upstream of the first exon identified in this study, and therefore, the transcription of the gene would be regulated by multiple promoters.

ELSEVIER, Hashizume, K; Kunimoto, M; Maeda, T; Tanaka, T, S, EPILEPSY RESEARCH, 39(3), 221-228, 2000. author, Nefiracetam is being studied as a novel cognition-enhancing agent; however, it has been suggested from studying its chemical structure that it has a potential anticonvulsive effect. We examined the antiepileptic effect of nefiracetam on kainic acid (KA)-induced seizures. KA was infused into the left basolateral amygdaloid nucleus, and focal limbic seizures were induced in 43 male Wistar rats. During status epilepticus, 10, 50, 100 or 200 mg/kg of nefiracetam was intravenously injected. Nefiracetam inhibited KA-induced limbic seizures at doses over 100 mg/kg while it had a sedative effect on the animals. In [14C] deoxyglucose autoradiographic studies, the propagation of seizure-induced hypermetabolic areas was also suppressed dose-dependently. From the results, it was indicated that nefiracetam has an antiepileptic effect and that its application may suppress seizure propagation. Further study is required whether this agent is available as a novel anticonvulsant.

A previous study has demonstrated that the soleus H reflex is facilitated in association with voluntary teeth clenching in proportion with biting force in humans. The present study tried to elucidate the functional significance of this facilitation of the soleus H reflex, by examining 1) whether the facilitation of the H reflex is reciprocal or nonreciprocal between the ankle extensors and flexors and 2) whether the reciprocal Ia inhibition of crural muscles is facilitated or depressed in association with voluntary teeth clenching. The H reflex of the pretibial muscles was evoked by stimulation of the common peroneal nerve in seven healthy subjects with no oral dysfunction. The pretibial H reflex was facilitated in association with voluntary teeth clenching in a force-dependent manner. The facilitation started preceding the onset of electromyographic activity of the masseter muscle. Stimulation of the common peroneal nerve at low intensities subthreshold for evoking the M wave of the pretibial muscles inhibited the soleus H reflex after a short latency corresponding with a disynaptic inhibition, indicating that the reciprocal Ia inhibition was depressed in association with voluntary teeth clenching. Thus, the present study has shown that voluntary teeth clenching evokes a nonreciprocal facilitation of ankle extensor and flexor muscles and attenuated reciprocal Ia inhibition from the pretibial muscles to the soleus muscle. It is concluded that voluntary teeth clenching contributes to improve stability of stance rather than smoothness of movements.

This is the author-created version of SPRINGER VERLAG, Hashizume, K; Kiriyama, K; Kunimoto, M; Maeda, T; Tanaka, T; Miyamoto, A; Miyokawa, N; Fukuhara, M, CHILD'S NERVOUS SYSTEM, 16(2), 2000, 75-79. The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com. author, The correlation between scalp EEG, intraoperative electrocorticogram, neuroimaging and histopathology was examined in a epilepsy child with diffuse cortical dysplasia. A 6-year-old girl with moderate mental retardation had suffered from intractable complex partial and generalized epilepsy since 2-year-old. MR images demonstrated unilateral large macrogyria/polymicrogyria and schizencephaly in the right occipital lobe. The epileptic focus was detected on the macrogyria by EEG and single-photon emission tomography. However, intraoperative electrocorticogram showed frequent spikes from the polymicrogyria and no paroxysmal activity in the macrogyria. The polymicrogyria was resected including the macrogyria using an image-guided system. The histological findings revealed that the macrogyria was covered and separated with glial bundles. It has been reported that epileptogenisity was produced from abnormal neurons and their arrangement in cortical dysplasia, however in this case, the major dysplastic lesion had no epileptogenisity, rather the focus might be in polymicrogyria around the lesion.

The effect of body temperature on kainic acid (KA)-induced limbic seizures was examined in Wistar rats. In rats undergoing limbic seizure induced by 1 microgram intra-amygdaloid injection of KA, the post-injection latency of initial ictal discharges in the left amygdala was significantly longer in rats whose body temperature was lowered to 30 degrees C (2.55+/-0.94 min at 37 degrees C, 13.19+/-5. 70 min at 30 degrees C; p=0.0017). The post-injection latency of initial ictal discharges in the left hippocampus was also significantly longer under the same conditions (23.68+/-9.96 min at 37 degrees C, 43.85+/-17.98 min at 30 degrees C; p=0.0253). The number of limbic seizures occurring in the first 2 h post-injection was significantly lower in hypothermic rats (30.0+/-10.7 at 37 degrees C, 8.71+/-2.69 at 30 degrees C; p=0.0017), as was the total duration of limbic seizures over the same period (23.61+/-8.45 min at 37 degrees C, 10.30+/-4.48 min at 30 degrees C; p=0.0060). Local cerebral glucose utilization (LCGU), measured 2 h post-injection, was significantly lower in hypothermic rats, mainly in the limbic structures. 14C-deoxyglucose autoradiograms showed decreased radiation density not only in the left amygdala and bilateral hippocampus, but also in the cerebral cortex of hypothermic rats. The results of the present experiment demonstrate that the use of hypothermia, which has been shown to be effective in the treatment of acute cerebral ischemia and brain injury, may also be effective in the treatment of status epileptics.

This paper reports a surgically treated case of Sturge-Weber syndrome (SWS) in which the epileptic foci and haemangiomatosis were successfully resected under monitoring of intraoperative electrocorticography. The patient was a 19-month-old female infant who was referred to our hospital because of frequent hemi-tonic-clonic convulsions that were resistant to anticonvulsant therapy. Serial MRI showed progressive atrophy in the left fronto-parieto-temporal lobe, and gyral enhancement by gadolinium corresponded to venous haemangiomatosis of SWS. Three-dimensional reconstruction of the MR images was performed using the Viewing Wand System. Conventional EEG taken before the operation showed slow activity in the left frontal lobe. Intraoperative ECoG revealed spike focus at the posterior temporal cortex to the margin of the haemangiomatosis. Lesionectomy with lobar corticectomy of the total frontal and parietal lobe and part of the temporal lobe was performed. The epileptogenic focus detected by ECoG in the posterior temporal lobe was also resected. In post-excisional ECoG, epileptogenic activities had disappeared. The patient had hemiparesis and hemihypesthesia just after the surgery, but gradually recovered from the paresis and almost has normal motor function except for right-hand clumsiness up to 1 year after surgery. The present study demonstrated that lobar corticectomy of the haemangiomatosis-affected cortex with resection of the neighbouring epileptogenic focus is a good surgical alternative even if a haemangiomatosis of the SWS affected multilobar corti of the hemisphere.

Planar Laser-Induced-Fluorescence technique was applied to measure the NO fluorescence distribution in a spark ignition engine. The fluorescence intensity had high value near the flame front, and gradually decreased from the flame front to the postflame gas. The fluorescence was distributed in the broad flame zone as compared with the case of the constant-volume combustion chamber. The effect of equivalence ratio on the NO fluorescence intensity were investigated. At the flame-development duration, the total NO fluorescence intensity was high as the equivalence ratio became rich. However, at the rapid-burning duration, the total NO fluorescence intensity of a slightly lean condition had a maximum value. As the equivalence ratio became lean, the peak intensity of the radial NO fluorescence distribution increased and the width of the high intensity zone in radial distance broadened. The peak intensity and the width of the radial distribution reached the maximum value at a slightly lean condition.

Nonlinear stress-strain (S-S) properties of a plain woven glass fabric composite were measured under three different loading paths which gave the same final stress state. Thin-walled tubular specimens were used. In all tests, acoustic emissions (AE) were measured to distinguish damage accumulation such as debonding, matrix cracking and fiber breakage. Internal damage of failed specimens was also examined using an optical microscope. The S-S relations up to failure were affected by the biaxial stress ratio α (the ratio between normal and shear stresses) and loading paths. Both damage accumulation and its sequence were also affected by loading paths. And they were characterized by microphotographs and AEs such as total AE event and primary frequency. However, the strength did not depend on the loading path. The material failure was governed by the final stress condition regardless of the difference of loading path.

In the present study, we isolated five murine LIM-homeodomain (LH) genes including a novel gene designated as L3 which is expressed specifically in the medial ganglionic eminence of the embryonic brain and the mesenchyme surrounding the oral cavity. The comparison of the expression domains in the embryonic forebrain using in situ hybridization histochemistry proved that three LH genes (LH-2, lim-1, and L3) share sharp boundaries. In addition to the prosomeric boundaries in the diencephalon, this gene family defines novel boundaries in the basal telencephalon, the mesencephalon, and the rhombencephalon. These mutually exclusive expression domains suggest that this family might be involved in controlling the early compartmentalization and boundary formation of the developing central nervous system.

Adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL, also known as PNPLA2) is an essential molecule for hydrolysis of intracellular triglyceride (TG). Genetic ATGL deficiency is a rare multi-systemic neutral lipid storage disease. Information regarding its clinical profile and pathophysiology, particularly for cardiac involvement, is still very limited. A previous middle-aged ATGL-deficient patient in our institute (Case 1) with severe heart failure required cardiac transplantation (CTx) and exhibited a novel phenotype, "Triglyceride deposit cardiomyovasculopathy (TGCV)". Here, we tried to elucidate molecular mechanism underlying TGCV. The subjects were two cases with TGCV, including our second case who was a 33-year-old male patient (Case 2) with congestive heart failure requiring CTx. Case 2 was homozygous for a point mutation in the 5' splice donor site of intron 5 in the ATGL, which results in at least two types of mRNAs due to splicing defects. The myocardium of both patients (Cases 1 and 2) showed up-regulation of peroxisome proliferated activated receptors (PPARs), key transcription factors for metabolism of long chain fatty acids (LCFAs), which was in contrast to these molecules' lower expression in ATGL-targeted mice. We investigated the intracellular metabolism of LCFAs under human ATGL-deficient conditions using patients' passaged skin fibroblasts as a model. ATGL-deficient cells showed higher uptake and abnormal intracellular transport of LCFA, resulting in massive TG accumulation. We used these findings from cardiac specimens and cell-biological experiments to construct a hypothetical model to clarify the pathophysiology of the human disorder. In patients with TGCV, even when hydrolysis of intracellular TG is defective, the marked up-regulation of PPARγ and related genes may lead to increased uptake of LCFAs, the substrates for TG synthesis. This potentially vicious cycle of LCFAs could explain the massive accumulation of TG and severe clinical course for this rare disease.

A bottle with a vacuum insulation structure is generally called a thermos bottle. It has a dual structure with inner and outer cylinders and a vacuum layer between them. The bottle with the structure maintains the heat and cold. It has been found useful for many years as a container that carries drinking water. Recently, the lightweight design of a vacuum bottle has been required to meet consumer demand. However, the bottle's wall collapses during the process of drawing a vacuum if the stiffness of the cylinder is not enough. To construct the design guide that can prevent the collapse of a double-structured bottle induced by the pressure difference, a numerical simulation was performed. The critical thickness tc, which is the thickness of the bottle when the bottle starts to deform under 1 atm, was defined. tc depends on the length and diameter of the bottle. The index to dertermine tc from the length and diameter of the bottle was suggested. To evaluate the validity of the analysis, vacuum bottles were prepared and experiments were conducted. The index we suggested showed good agreement with the experimental results. The shift of index within the increase of Young's modulus can be formulated.

The aim of this observational study was to obtain information regarding efficacy and safety of add-on levetiracetam (LEV; n=32) in Japanese patients with refractory partial seizures in an everyday clinical setting, relative to control AEDs (n=30). This is the first study of LEV add-on therapy conducted in Japan since approval was made. The medical charts of patients were retrospectively reviewed. The efficacy variables were seizure freedom and ≥50% reduction in seizure frequency. A significantly higher response to LEV was demonstrated in patients with all seizure types at baseline, relative to control AEDs. In patients with a duration of epilepsy of at least 10 years, significant effects in response to LEV were demonstrated with regards to efficacy variables, relative to control AEDs, thus providing meaningful results. Only two patients (6.2%) discontinued LEV treatment due to worsening of seizures, but no discontinuation was reported due to adverse events. LEV as add-on therapy to other AEDs is a promising useful treatment option for patients with refractory partial seizures without notable effects on safety, indicating that this treatment regimen might be recommended for such patients.

We examined the excitotoxic effect of domoic acid (DA) on freely moving rats. Bipolar electrodes were stereotaxically placed in the dorsal hippocampus of 20 male Wistar rats under pentobarbital anesthesia. Skull screws were placed over the sensorimotor cortex. Animals were allowed 8 days to recover from surgery. They were divided into four groups and, while awake, received intraperitoneal phosphate buffer solution (group A 2 ml), or DA (group B 1 mg/kg, group C 5 mg/kg, group D 10 mg/kg). Video-EEG monitoring was performed for 24 h after injection of DA. In group B, focal hippocampal seizure status was induced ~2 h after injection. These seizures were reversible and subsided ⩽6 h after injection of DA. In groups C and D, severe limbic seizure status was induced, which progressed to fatal generalized status epilepticus. The clinical manifestations correlated well with the EEG changes. Pathologic examination disclosed dose-dependent hippocampal damage in groups B, C, and D and additional cortical damage in group D. Systemic administration of DA induced not only excessive hippocampal excitation but also severe hippocampal damage. This animal model provides further evidence supporting the role of excitotoxic injury in epileptogenesis and may be useful in developing protective mechanisms against hippocampal excitotoxicity.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how the reciprocal inhibition of the ankle-flexor motoneuron by the ankle-extensor spindle afferents is altered during cortically-induced rhythmical jaw movement (RJM) in urethane-anesthetized rabbit. The monosynaptic reflex (MSR) was induced by test shock of the common peroneal nerve (CPN) and recorded from a distal point of the nerve. The conditioning shock applied to the tibial nerve (TN) at the intensity below 1.2 times the threshold caused a significant inhibition of the MSR in the CPN. The inhibition tended to slightly decrease with an increase in amplitude of the test MSR with either application of stronger test shock or during RJM. The decrease of the reciprocal inhibition significantly exceeded the degree that can be ascribed to the increase of the amplitude of the MSR during RJM. The reciprocal inhibition was significantly reduced during fictive as well as actual RJM. It was concluded that (1) the reciprocal Ia inhibition of the crural motoneurons in the rabbit is reduced with RJM and (2) the intraoral sensory input is not essential for this reduction. This study indicated that the oral motor activity generally exerts a strong influence on the bodily motor function.

Lately, the use of fibre reinforced thermoplastics (FRTP) has increased due to its increased mouldability compared to thermosetting FRP material. FRTP includes stampable sheet, short and long fibre reinforced thermoplastic pellets, continuous fibre reinforced thermoplastics sheets, etc. The long fibre reinforced thermoplastic (LFRTP) pellet has better mechanical properties than short fibre reinforced pellets and better mouldability than stampable sheet. At present, injection moulding method is mainly used for moulding LFRTP pellets because of its high productivity. However, the long fibre of LFRTP pellets, whose length is the same as pellet length, is degraded during processing if conventional injection moulding machines are used, and as a result, the mechanical properties are not improved as expected in many cases. Therefore, a new moulding process is required to make good use of LFRTP pellets. For this study, a transfer moulding apparatus was designed and built to minimize fibre degradation of the moulded parts. Firstly, the LFRTP pellets with fibre lengths of 3, 6, 9, 12.7 and 17 mm were prepared in order to clarify the difference of mechanical properties due to fibre length. The fibre ratio was 30% in weight for all cases and the same polypropylene was used. They were moulded to the shape of the test specimens. Tensile, bending and Izod impact strengths were measured by using these test specimens. Secondly, LFRTP pellets were moulded to the shape of test specimens by the transfer moulding apparatus and conventional injection moulding machine, and then mechanical properties were measured. At the same time, short fibre pellets were moulded to the smae shape of test specimens by the injection moulding machine, and mechanical properties were compared with those of LFRTP pellets. With the long glass fibre reinforced polypropylene, good results of fibre preservation and mechanical properties were obtained by the transfer moulding apparatus which was built for this study. The impact strength was increased remarkably as the fibre length increased, and consequently the preservation of fibre length in the moulded parts was especially effective in improving the impact strength.

The circulating tumor cell (CTC) test is used to evaluate the condition of breast cancer patients by counting the number of cancer cells in peripheral blood samples. Although microfluidic systems to detect or separate cells using the inertial migration effect may be applied to this test, the hydrodynamic forces acting on cancer cells are incompletely understood. In this chapter, we explain the inertial migration of cancer cells in microchannels. We also explain fabrication techniques of microchannels used in the experiments. By measuring the cell migration probability, we examined the effects of cell deformability and variations in cell size on the inertial migration of cancer cells. The results clearly illustrate that cancer cells can migrate towards equilibrium positions in the similar manner with rigid spheres. These results will be important for the design of microfluidic devices for the CTC test.

The circulating tumor cell (CTC) test has recently become popular for evaluating prognosis and treatment efficacy in cancer patients. The accuracy of the test is strongly dependent on the precision of the cancer cell separation. In this study, we developed a multistage microfluidic device to separate cancer cells from a red blood cell (RBC) suspension using inertial migration forces. The device was able to effectively remove RBCs up to the 1% hematocrit (Hct) condition with a throughput of 565 μL min(-1). The collection efficiency of cancer cells from a RBC suspension was about 85%, and the enrichment of cancer cells was about 120-fold. Further improvements can be easily achieved by parallelizing the device. These results illustrate that the separation of cancer cells from RBCs is possible using only inertial migration forces, thus paving the way for the development of a novel microfluidic device for future CTC tests.

The continuous ECAP process which can provide three-dimensional strain was developed in this study. A die with tri-axis crossed channels having channel angle φ of 90° and curvature ψ of 0° was created. As a result, continuous ECAP process via route Bc for AC4CH aluminium semi-solid alloy could be performed at 573K at pressing speed of 0.5mm/sec using the developed die. The continuous method cut the processing time in half compared to the non-continuously conventional method. The grains became fine from 100μm to approximately 2μm. Workpiece processed 8 passes exhibited four times higher toughness than as-cast alloy.

The purpose of this study is to verify the validity of sheet buckling design based on the effective width theory as an investigation of the impact crushing properties in high strength steel sheets. The need to make full cross-sections effectively without elastic buckling occurring is clarified and the application of the effective width theory under high speed deformation is considered. The findings of this investigation into the sheet buckling phenomenon are reported with numerical simulation by varying deformation strain rate, mechanical property of material and member configuration. The results demonstrate that the constant α used in the existing theory is function of strain rate  and material yield stress σY. With increasing crush speed, the cross section of a steel sheet becomes effective; the design based on the existing theory has provided enough evidence of safety. Furthermore, some criteria for limit buckling design are proposed.

Group C rotavirus (GCRV), astrovirus (AstV), and adenovirus (subgenus F AdenoV) are etiologic agents of acute nonbacterial gastroenteritis, which often represents community outbreaks. For the efficient detection of GCRV, AstV, and subgenus F AdenoV in stool specimens, a multiplex real-time PCR assay was developed to detect these three viruses simultaneously, with high sensitivity and specificity. In total, 8404 clinical specimens were collected between April 2008 and March 2011 and tested for GCRV, AstV, and subgenus F AdenoV by the multiplex real-time PCR, as well as for norovirus (NoV), sapovirus (SaV), and group A rotavirus (GARV) by non-multiplex real-time PCR. Forty-one specimens were positive for GCRV, AstV, or subgenus F AdenoV, including 15 specimens that were also positive for NoV, SaV, or GARV. Multiple viruses were detected simultaneously in 29 out of 4596 (0.63%) specimens infected with at least one virus. The association rates of AstV and subgenus F AdenoV with other viruses were significantly higher than those of NoV, SaV, GARV, or GCRV.