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Background: Signet ring cell carcinoma (SRCC) of the pancreas is a very rare histologic variant of pancreatic carcinoma with very poor prognosis. We present a case of pancreatic SRCC with good prognosis achieved by resection and adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 one year, which is the standard treatment for advanced resected gastric cancer in Japan. The stomach carried a higher incidence of SRCC than other sites.Case presentation: A 70-year-old man presented with abdominal discomfort, and ultrasonography revealed a mass in the pancreas. Computed tomography showed a hypovascular tumor in the head of the pancreas, 51 mm in diameter, with invasion to the portal vein and duodenum. The patient underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) with portal vein resection and reconstruction. The pathological diagnosis was SRCC of the pancreas without invasion to the portal vein, pT3N1M0 Stage IIB (UICC classification). Subsequently, postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 was initiated to prevent recurrence. The patient has remained recurrence-free for 2 years and 6 months after PD. Conclusion: Adjuvant chemotherapy with S-1 may be an important factor for improving the prognosis of patients with resectable SRCC of the pancreas.

Pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) is a technically demanding procedure with high rates of morbidity and mortality. Therefore, preoperative evaluation of anatomy is indispensable. Multi-detector row computed tomography (CT) enables us to precisely understand arterial anatomy. It is a well-known fact that anatomical variants are often present in the hepatic artery (HA) but rarely in the gastroduodenal artery (GDA). We present the case of a patient with ampullary cancer with a rare anatomical anomaly, "replaced GDA (rGDA) " arising from the superior mesenteric artery, along with a history of coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using right gastroepiploic artery (RGEA).A 69-year-old male patient was referred to our department for further investigation of elevated hepatobiliary enzymes. He presented with no symptoms besides intermittent fever of 38°C. He had an operative history of CABG using the RGEA.Abdominal CT and esophagogastroduodenoscopy showed an ampullary tumor and biopsy specimen from the lesion revealed adenocarcinoma. CT angiography revealed the rGDA instead of a normal common HA.We performed a safe PD, preserving the rGDA and the RGEA to maintain hepatic and cardiac perfusion.Owing to the presence of a refractory pancreatic fistula, the length-of-hospital stay was extended, and he was discharged on postoperative day 72 without vascular complications. At present, the patient is in good physical condition and does not present with cardiovascular complications as well as tumor recurrence at 6 months after surgery.This is possibly the first case of a patient who underwent PD and has a proper HA following a GDA arising from a superior mesenteric artery (rGDA) and has a previous operative history of CABG using the gastroepiploic artery. The coexistence of the history of cardiovascular surgery made PD for this patient considerably more challenging.In the case of a rare anatomical anomaly, a coronary artery bypass via the RGEA should not be considered as an obstacle when R0 resection is achievable.

This paper introduces the contents of the report "Challenges for the national standardisation of geographical names in Japan", prepared by the Toponymy Subcommittee under IGU Working Group of the Planetary Science Committee, Science Council of Japan. The report suggests the establishment of a national geographical names board in Japan. It first indicates the growing awareness in the world on the importance of geographical names, including the activities of UNGEGN. This is followed by a description of current issues Japan is facing on geographical names, such as discrepancies of names used in the media and those used in textbooks, naming disputes at local authority mergers, and commercialisation of geographical names. It also described currently how the various government administration bodies deal with these issues, and points out some problems, mainly due to lack of overarching principles and coordination between agencies. Some examples of systems of other countries with a national geographical names board is shown, and finally some concrete recommendations, including an establishment of an inter-ministrial body that deals comprehensively with geographical names issues, awareness raising of society on the functions and importance of geographical names, development of human resources, and active participation in the international forum on geographical names.

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) provides a novel way to understand the structure-function relationship of protein synthesis at a single-molecular level. High-resolution AFM imaging in air, liquid and vacuum allows for single DNA, RNA and proteins to be observed at the nano-scale in addition to their conformational transitions, bound states, temporal behavior, and assembly. The recent development of frequency modulation mode AFM has led to imaging hydration structures of DNA in water and molecular polarization of DNA complexes in vacuum. Real-time imaging in near-physiological environments captures transcriptional activation with characteristic conformation of DNA-protein complexes. We review current achievements and the future potential of methodological and biological AFM to reveal insights into DNA, RNA and their complexes.

The Political Geography Research Group （PGRG） of the Human Geographical Society of Japan was established in 2011 to promote political geographic studies in Japan. The PGRG is the very first research unit on political geography in the Society which was established in 1948. Political geography was once one of the weakest sub―fields in Japanese geography with a very limited number of scholars and published works. This, however, is not at all the case now. Political geography is a reemerging field in Japan. In this review paper, four of the PGRG members contribute chapters on general trends in Japanese political geography, legacies of Japanese wartime geopolitics, the introduction of “new geopolitics” into Japan, and geographical studies on environmental movements. All of them have confirmed with confidence that Japanese political geography has been reemerging and making steady progress in terms of theory, methodology, and case study since the 1980s. Although the current stage of Japanese political geography is still in the regenerative phase, they strongly believe that political geography should be firmly embedded in Japanese geography.

SummaryObjectiveIt is usually suggested that life expectancy of top athletes especially in endurance sports is longer than that of sedentary people. On the other hand, heart rate recovery (HRR) after exercise is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease and mortality, but differences in HRR between various top athletes are unclear. We examined HRR in various top athletes to clarify a role of HRR that may affect their life expectancy.MethodsHRR was defined as the difference between the heart rate at peak exercise and that at 2min after the finish of exercise using symptom-limited maximal graded bicycle ergometer exercise testing. The relationships between HRR with the grade of static and dynamic component of classification of sports, age, and body mass index (BMI) were estimated.SubjectsThe subjects were 720 male athletes participating in the National Sports Festival Japan in 2005–2008 and age-matched 28 sedentary controls.ResultsHRR was significantly correlated (p

Oxidative thymine damage was investigated using a new non-heme oxygenation model, Fe(MeCN)6(2+)-H2O2-Ac2O, based on high-spin Fe(MeCN)6(2+) in a non-aqueous solution, Ac2O-MeCN. Thymine and 1,3-dimethylthymine oxidized by the system gave the corresponding trans-thymine glycol derivatives in good yield. Thymineglycol is equivalent to an oxidative product as a measure of oxidative DNA damage in living cells. It is suggested that the activation of Fe(MeCN)6(2+)-H2O2-Ac2O in Ac2O-MeCN forms the oxoiron O=Fe(IV)(AcO)(MeCN)4(+) as an active species via a hetelolytic two-electron mechanism, not a Haber-Weiss-Fenton-type reaction with a one-electron process by treatment with a radical scavenger. In addition, we also demonstrated the transition state (TS) for the interaction between thymine and O=Fe(IV)(AcO)(MeCN)4(+) in the triplet spin (spin multiplicity; M=3). This model of oxidative thymine damage may provide new insight into the oxidative mechanism of thymine glycol production in non-aqueous reactions of thymine.

In order to avoid denaturation of biomolecules due to strong adsorption on solid surfaces, a soft substrate has to be used for atomic force microscopy (AFM) observation. We propose a hydrophilic agarose gel surface as a soft substrate for AFM to observe liposomes and lipid membranes. Although our simple method does not require any delicate control at the molecular level, an agarose gel surface can be simply flattened to 0.3 nm in roughness using an atomically flat solid surface during gelation. The AFM images revealed that liposomes were unruptured on the gel surface at low liposome density, whereas an unruptured state was difficult to obtain on a solid surface like mica. This indicates that the weak interaction between the liposome and the soft surface inhibits the liposome from rupturing, and also that the surface rougher than the solid surface prevents lateral diffusion of the liposomes along the surface to be fused. Increasing the liposome density resulted in a lipid membrane at various thicknesses forming on the hydrogel surface by the fusion and rupture of liposomes. Using the soft substrate, it can be expected to promote investigations of structures and functions of biomolecules at the nanometer scale under physiological conditions with AFM.

Starting from 1,3-phenylene linked diporphyrin zinc(II) complex 2ZA, repeated stepwise Ag I-promoted coupling reactions provided linear oligomers from 2nZA up to 128ZA. Of these zigzag shaped porphyrin arrays, the Ag I-promoted intramolecular cyclization reaction of 2 nZA (n=5, 6, 8, 9, 12, and 16) under dilute conditions gave the corresponding cyclic porphyrin wheels C2nZA (n=5, 6, 8, 9, 12, and 16), whereas large arrays 2nZA (n=24, 32, and 48) did not provide cyclic porphyrin products. These large discrete porphyrin arrays and wheels were fully characterized by means of 1H NMR spectroscopy, MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry, UV/Vis absorption spectroscopy, GPC-HPLC analysis, and the scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) technique. The STM images of C12ZA and C18ZA reveal their large circular structures. In the cyclic structures of C2nZA in solution, however, the gradual decrease in fluorescence quantum yields and fluorescence lifetimes are observed, reflecting some conformational heterogeneities. Collectively, the present work provides an important contribution to the construction of fully covalently linked large cyclic arranged porphyrin arrays with ample electronic interactions as a model of light-harvesting antenna.

Type 316L stainless steel particles were pseudo-sensitized by being heated at 700 degrees C for 100 h under a reduced pressure of 1.3 x 10(-3) Pa. Pseudo-sensitization treatment resulted in the formation of chromium-rich precipitates at the outermost surfaces of the stainless steel particles. The curve for the apparent surface charge density (sigma app) of the pseudo-sensitized particles showed a more basic character compared with the curve for the sigma app of the original particles. There was no significant difference between the amounts of bovine serum albumin (BSA) adsorbed on the original and the pseudo-sensitized particles. On the contrary, the efficiency of BSA removal from the pseudo-sensitized particles during batch-wise and continuous cleaning operations with 0.1M NaOH solution were significantly smaller than that for the original particles. It was indicated that the extremely lowered cleanability of the pseudo-sensitized particles was caused by a marked increase in the positive sigma app values after the pseudo-sensitization. Solution treatment of the pseudo-sensitized particles at 1,050 degrees C for 1 h under a reduced pressure of 1.3 x 10(-3) Pa could put again the chromium precipitates into a solid solution, thereby returning the surface chemical composition and the sigma app nearly to the original states. In addition, the solution-treated particles showed a good cleanability comparable to that of the original particles. These results demonstrated that solution treatment could improve the lowered cleanability of the pseudo-sensitized stainless steel surfaces.

We report here surface potential and differential electrostatic force images of DNAs, proteins, and gold nanoparticles on insulating substrates. The frequency-shift mode was essential for these experiments to satisfy enough sensitivity to use indirect modulation and to avoid unexpected charge injection into insulating substrate surface caused by tip-sample contact. It is obvious that the surface potential of insulating substrate is indefinable and influenced by treatment process and conditions. However, the potential difference between adsorbates and substrate surface is meaningful, reflecting charge or dipoles of adsorbates. We demonstrated that electrostatic force microscopy provides characteristic contrast inversion between DNA and transcription complex images reflecting the difference of electric polarizability of these molecules. These findings indicate that the electrostatic properties of individual biological molecules can be imaged on an insulator substrate during the retaining complex formation.

A belt-shaped hexagonal cyclic porphyrin array 2 that comprises of six meso-meso, beta-beta, beta-beta triply linked diporphyrins 3 bridged by 1,3-phenylene spacers is prepared by oxidation from cyclic dodecameric array 1 consisting of six meso-meso directly linked diporphyrins 4 with DDQ and Sc(OTf)3. The absorption spectrum of 2 is similar to that of the constituent subunit 3 but shows a slight red-shift for the Q-bands in near-infrared (NIR) region, indicating the exciton coupling between the neighboring diporphyrin chromophores. Observed total exciton coupling energies in the absorption spectra were largely matched with the calculated values based on point-dipole exciton coupling approximation. It was found that the experimental exciton coupling strength (292 cm(-1)) of the Q-band in 2 is slightly larger than the calculated one (99 cm(-1)), indicating that the electronic communications are enhanced through 1,3-phenylene linkers in hexameric macromolecule. A rate of the excitation energy hopping (EEH) that occurs in 2 at the lowest excited singlet state in the near-infrared region has been determined to be (1.8 ps)(-1) on the basis of the pump-power dependent femtosecond transient absorption (TA) and the transient absorption anisotropy (TAA) decay measurements. The 2 times faster EEH rate of 2 than that of 1 (4.0 ps)(-1) mainly comes from involving through-bond energy transfer among diporphyrin subunits via 1,3-phenylene bridges as well as Förster-type through-space EEH processes. STM measurement of 2 in the Cu(100) surface revealed that it takes several discrete conformations with respect to the relative orientation of neighboring diporphyrins. Collectively, an effective EEH in the NIR region is realized in 2 due largely to the intensified oscillator strength in the S(1) state (Q-band) and the close proximity held by 1,3-phenylene spacers.

Conformations of two dodecameric porphyrin wheels adsorbed on a Cu(1 0 0) were probed by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Whereas a wheel consisting of six meso – meso linked diporphyrins was detected as uniform ring structure, several different images with three discrete molecular heights were detected for a wheel consisting of six meso – meso , β-β,β-β triply-linked planar diporphyrins. These results indicate that the former has a conformation similar to that in a free space, while the latter has various conformations with respect to orientation of planar diporphyrin units toward the metal surface. Several discrete STM images of the latter have been interpreted in terms of possible eight conformations, which vary as to relative orientation of neighboring diporphyrin units.

Background In the clinical situation, the saddle-back (S-B) type is more frequently detected than the coved type. In the present study, the discrimination of Brugada syndrome from the S-B type individuals using a marker of the standard 12-lead electrocardiography (ECG) was attempted. Methods and Results The study group consisted of 55 individuals with the S-B type in whom pilsicainide provocation test (PLC test) was carried out. The time from the onset of the QRS wave in lead V2 (IV 2) to the peak of the late R-like wave in the QRS wave (PV2), and the time from IV2 to the offset of the QRS wave in lead V5 (EV5) were measured. The coved type was induced by the PLC test in 29 cases (N-C group), but not in the remaining 26 cases (N-N group). The (IV2 -PV2) - (IV2 - EV5) value before the PLS test was greater in the N-C group than in the N-N group. The negative predictive value of `(IV2 - PV2) - (IV2 - EV5) ≥0' was 76.4% for the prediction of a positive PLC test. Conclusions A `(IV2 - PV2) - (IV2 - EV5) ≥0' is a useful ECG marker for the discrimination of Brugada syndrome in the S-B type individuals. (Circ J 2007; 71: 546 - 549)

A patient underwent an electrophysiological study (EPS) and catheter ablation (CA) for ventricular tachycardia (VT) that developed 11 years after myocardial infarction. Entrainment mapping (EM) of the left ventricle did not identify the origin of the VT during induction. Electro-anatomical mapping revealed a low voltage area from the anterior to the inferior left ventricular wall. Another EPS was performed for right ventricular mapping. A basket catheter was placed in the right ventricle to evaluate impulse propagation and we attempted to identify the VT circuit with EM during the same VT (complete left bundle branch block configuration, inferior axis) as the previous EPS. Eight different VT appeared, three of which were sustained during CA. The reentry circuit exit was identified on the tricuspid annulus (TA) at the 9:00 site and radiofrequency (RF) ablation was performed, but the axis transformed from the inferior to the superior and another VT appeared. Despite RF ablation to the VT circuit exit at the 5:00 site, another sustained VT appeared. Finally, it was terminated by ablation to a critical slow conduction zone (SCZ) located near the 7:00 site one year later. Electro-anatomical voltage mapping detected a critical isthmus between TA and right ventricle infarct scar. Here, we describe a rare SCZ proximal to the TA in a patient with VT late after myocardial infarction.

Population pharmacokinetics (PK) of a sodium channel-blocking antiarrhythmic, pilsicainide, was studied using the nonlinear mixed-effects modeling technique in 91 patients with cardiac arrhythmias (80 suspected Brugada syndrome [BrS] and 11 with atrial fibrillation) who received an intravenous infusion of 10 mg of the drug. Population pharmacodynamic (PD) analysis was also performed using an effect compartment model. PD responses were assessed by changes in electrocardiogram (ECG) pattern (BrS-like elevation of ST-segment) and conduction parameters. The final PK model showed that gender (values were 50% lower in women than in men) and creatinine clearance were significant (P < .01) covariates of weight-normalized systemic clearance of pilsicainide. Patients who showed a BrS-like ECG pattern after the drug administration also showed a significantly (P < .01) greater prolongation in His-Purkinje conduction compared to the remaining patients. In conclusion, female gender, renal dysfunction, and the drug-induced BrS-like ECG morphology may be associated with augmented ECG responses to pilsicainide.

目的: 流出3路起源心室頻拍 (VOT-VT) のリエントリー回路の同定, 方法と結果: 非虚血性心疾患症例 (男性3例, 女性1例) に合併したリエントリー性VOT-VTを対象.心臓電気生理学検査時, 誘発されたVOT-VT (n=5) 持続中に大動脈バルサルバ洞および心室流出路領域においてエントレインメントマッピング (EM) 施行後, カテーテルアブレーションを行った.カテーテルアブレーション成功部位 (n=5) では, 頻拍中postpacing間隔は頻拍周期と一致, あるいは刺激-QRS間隔は電位-QRS間隔と一致し, すべての成功部位はリエントリー回路上であることが示唆された, EM法によりカテーテルアブレーション成功部位を同定した, リエントリー回路出口 (exit) (n=4) は右大動脈バルサルバ洞, 大動脈弁下部, 左室流出路そして右室流出路に, 必須緩徐伝導路 (central-proximal) (n=1) は右大動脈バルサルバ洞に同定された, 総括: リエントリー性VOT-VTはEM法によりリエントリー回路出口 (exit) および必須緩徐伝導路 (central-proximal) が同定され, カテーテルアブレーション成功部位は, 大動脈バルサルバ洞および心室流出路に存在した.

On the basis of the Ag I -pro- moted coupling reaction of zinc(ii)- 5,15-bis(3,5-dioctyloxyphenyl)porphy- rin Z1, chain elongation has been at- tempted by using a stepwise doubling approach, which provides Z2, Z4, Z8, Z16, Z32, Z64, Z128, Z256, Z384, and Z512. The porphyrin arrays up to Z128 are sufficiently soluble in CHCl3 and THF despite their very long molecular lengths and rodlike structures, while the arrays over Z128 show a significant drop in solubility and stability. The dis- crete porphyrin arrays thus isolated were characterized by means of 1 H NMR spectroscopy, matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of- flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrome- try, UV/Vis spectroscopy, gel-permea- tion chromatography (GPC), cyclic vol- tammetry (CV), single-crystal X-ray crystallography, scanning tunneling mi- croscopy (STM), and atomic force mi- croscopy (AFM). Contrary to expected linear conformations of the arrays Z n (where n is the number of porphyrins), the single molecular images of Z128, Z256, and Z512 revealed largely bent structures; this finding indicates the substantial conformational flexibility of Z n. We also exploited an effective syn- thetic route by means of which Z n can be fabricated with a thiol-protected aryl group to provide Z n S2 through Z n Br2, by bromination with N-bromo- succinimide and subsequent Pd-cata- lyzed Suzuki-Miyaura arylation. Final- ly, the reaction of Z256 provided Z512, Z768, and Z1024. Collectively, this work provides an important milestone in the preparation of sub-microscale discrete organic molecules and the fab- rication of molecular-based materials, hence significantly contributing to device applications.

Introduction: In a case of pacemaker and/or implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantations, there is the possibility of infections related to the device. In such case, the removal of the total system is desirable, however, the lead extraction can sometimes be difficult. Methods: Among 756 subjects who underwent a device implantation procedure, we experienced 19 cases with a device infection or skin problems requiring a surgical procedure such as thinning or inflammation of the skin over the pocket or lead. We divided these 19 cases into three groups as cases with neither systemic nor local infections (N group), cases with regional but systemic infections (R group), and cases with systemic infections (S group). And the prognoses of these cases were investigated. Results: Out of the 19 cases, 12 cases were classified into N group, 5 cases were classified into R group, and the remaining 2 cases were classified into S group. The lead extractions were performed in one case each in the N, R and S groups. None of the cases in the N group developed a systemic infection over an average observation period of 31 months. Four cases in the R group remain been free from systemic infection over an average observation period of 39.5 months. Conclusion: Lead extractions are the ideal treatment in cases with device implantation site complications, but are not necessary if the extraction is difficult.

The electoral system of the House of Representatives in Japan was reformed in 1994 from a multimember constituency system to a new system, which combines a single-member constituency system and a proportional representation system. The purpose of this paper is to examine the spatial transformation that is occurring with regard to the organizations of Diet members to garner votes after introducing the new electoral system. Most assemblypersons have maintained their own personal support organizations from the former system after the introduction of the new system. This is because constituencies in the former system, which lasted for about 70 years, have a strong influence even at present on the awareness of assemblypersons and their supporters. It also indicates that even if supporters live outside the present constituency, they give various forms of support (not including voting) to assemblypersons during elections. However, assemblypersons in the Nagasaki third constituency are negative toward maintaining their former personal support organizations. This is due to the geographic condition that traffic access to the entire area is inconvenient. Moreover, for some assemblypersons who became members of the House of Councillors or the governor after being members of or candidates for the House of Representatives, it is difficult to establish personal support organizations that cover the entire prefecture. Accordingly, the spatial range of their organizations is limited to the former constituency. There are also some differences in these organizations between political parties. Assemblypersons of the ruling party can receive support not only from their own support organizations, but also from members of local assemblies and various local organizations supporting the ruling party. However, members of the conservative opposition party tend to depend on their former support organizations, as they cannot expect the support received by ruling party members. As mentioned above, assemblyperson's personal support organizations, which play important roles in the Japanese political system, are being transformed into spatially different forms due to the geographic situations in the constituencies, party affiliations, etc. over the 10 years since the 1994 electoral reform.

A 66-year-old man had a progressive increase in the pacing threshold over a one-year period, resulting from chronic myocarditis. Following steroid therapy, the pacing threshold decreased and became stabilized, and was accompanied by a decrease in the serum creatine kinase, cardiac myosin light chains and pro-collagen III peptide values, but cardiac function did not improve. Endocardial biopsy showed that there was no progression in the fibrosis. The pacing failure improved, but the cardiac function did not. It was believed that the steroid therapy suppressed the progression of the inflammation and fibrosis caused by the chronic myocarditis.

Background A new system of synthesizing a 12-lead electrocardiogram (Syn-ECG) with practically identical waveforms to the standard 12-lead ECG (Stn-ECG) from 3-channel ECGs recorded by Holter monitoring has been developed. Methods and Results The study group comprised 16 healthy individuals and 13 patients with abnormal ECGs. The bipolar eV1, eV5 and eVF leads were recorded using digital Holter monitoring and nine Syn-ECGs, corresponding to each lead of the Stn-ECG, were synthesized. The 9 ECGs consisted of a theoretical Syn-ECG and 8 Syn-ECGs positioned around the theoretical Syn-ECG at 3 cm intervals on the Frank's image surface. Of the 9 ECGs, the Syn-ECG with the maximum product of the cross-correlation coefficient of the QRS wave and that of the T wave, was automatically selected as the optimal Syn-ECG. The amplitude data from the QRS wave, R wave, T wave, and ST level, and also the amplitude ratio of the R wave, T wave to the QRS wave, were significantly well correlated between the Syn-ECG and Stn-ECG. Conclusions A practically identical ECG morphology, comparable with a Stn-ECG, was successfully created using this system. (Circ J 2004; 68: 751 - 756)

The electrophysiological mechanism of Brugada syndrome is unclear, but transmural dispersion of repolarization in the right ventricle is believed to be the most likely mechanism. On the other hand, the presence of a conduction delay region is considered to be related to the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation; that is, a relationship between the presence of a ventricular late potential (LP) and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. In this study, the LP from signal-averaged electrocardiography during isoproterenol (ISP) administration in patients with Brugada syndrome is discussed. The subjects were 11 patients with Brugada syndrome and 6 healthy individuals. In all subjects, the total filtered QRS duration (fQRS), root mean square voltage of the 40 ms terminal portion of the QRS (RMS40), duration of the low amplitude electric potential component (40 μV) of the terminal portion of the QRS (LAS40), and time duration of the fQRS-LAS40 difference were compared between when ISP was prescribed and when it was not. During ISP administration, a peculiar response, which resulted in an LAS40 prolongation, was observed in the patients with Brugada syndrome. With ISP, the fQRS remained unchanged, but the RMS40 and the fQRS-LAS40 decreased. Consequently another 3 patients with a positive LP were diagnosed using the ordinary standard because of the administration of ISP. We believe that the low-amplitude component was unmasked by shortening of the high-amplitude component. In patients with Brugada syndrome, a conduction delay in the ventricle may be present and may be related to the occurrence of ventricular fibrillation. (Circ J 2002; 66: 1101 - 1104)

The interest in single molecular electronics has recently grown due to the developments of scanning probe techniques and of precise synthesis of supramolecules. The electronic properties of molecules, which depends on the molecular orbital energy level relative to the Fermi level of the metal, can be modified by doping holes or electrons from a metal substrate. In order to study the electron transfer between the molecule and the metal substrate, we observed spatial distribution of effective tunnel barrier height by using scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). For completely fused porphyrin array, which is expected as a conducting molecular wire, the tunneling barrier height measured above the molecule is smaller than above the metal substrate, meaning that the molecule is positively charged. In case of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), whereas the molecular orbital is observed near Fermi level of the metal by photoemission analysis, the electron transfer was not detected by the STM, because deoxyribose-phosphate chains screen base pairs from the metal substrate.

OBJECT The purpose of this study was to elucidate differences in readmission rates and late outcome in outpatients with chronic heart failure treated in different clinical settings. PATIENTS AND METHODS This study included 65 consecutive patients who were admitted to our CCU due to acute heart failure for the first time and discharged from our institution. After their discharge, 31 were cared for by a cardiologist in the outpatient clinic of our institution (group A) and the other 34 were cared for by a general practitioner in a clinic (group B). The various findings during the acute phase and the follow-up period were retrospectively compared between the two groups. In addition, the incidence of unexpected readmission and prolonged outcomes were compared between the two groups. RESULTS The patients in group B were older than those in group A, but no other differences were noted in patient characteristics. More patients in group A required more than one hospitalization within 6 months from discharge (group A, 35.5%; group B, 8.9%, p

There has been simultaneous emergence in many countries of the world of political disputes over aspects of national history in the 1990s. Geographical knowledge has political implications. Hence it is concerned with the formation of national identity as well as historical knowledge. This paper examines the relationships between Japanese modernisation and geographical thought, the characteristics of school textbooks and geopolitics in Japan during the Asia Pacific War, and recent disputes about views of history and the meaning of views of geography in the post‐Cold War era. Consequently, it is shown that the view of geography promoted the formation of national identity in the same way as that of history through geographical education and geopolitics. Taking the roles of geography into consideration, it can be said that an imaginative geography based on an ethnocentric view plays an important role in the time of rethinking national history. We should be aware of such an ethnocentric view of geography and ma...

Atomic force microscopy (AFM) lithography has been investigated in La0.8Ba0.2MnO3 (LBMO) films. Unexpectedly, AFM lithography can be performed in LBMO film not only under a positive sample bias, but also under a negative sample bias. Under a positive sample bias voltage, grooves can be obtained directly with poor controllability and reproducibility. However, under a negative sample bias, controllable nanosized patterns were obtained with excellent reproducibility and a high etching selectivity. It is expected that various nanodevices will be fabricated by AFM lithography and etching techniques with perovskite manganites.

By atomic force microscopy (AFM), we have realized nanolithography and changed the physical properties within a desired nanosized region on Nb-doped SrTiO3 single-crystal substrate. Importantly, a considerable relaxation of these written patterns was observed directly, which evidently indicates that a significant chemical transport occurs during and after the AFM lithography. Furthermore, we found that defects introduced by Ar bombardment can stabilize these patterns, which is quite effective for the application of AFM lithography in perovskite oxides.

The patient was a 53 year-old male who had 3 syncopal episodes over a 6-month period. In the electrophysiological study, ventricular fibrillation (VF) was repeatedly induced by the ventricular extrastimulus method. Intravenous pilsicainide was administered, and the J-point and ST-segment in the right precordial leads became slightly elevated just following drug administration. Five min later, the patient experienced severe nausea and then vomited twice, at which point the electrocardiogram (ECG) showed increased elevation of the J-point and ST-segment. These ECG changes recovered to normal 30 min later. The cause of his syncope was strongly suspected to be related to the VF associated with Brugada syndrome. An interesting aspect of this case was the particular type of J-point and ST-segment elevation that was induced when the patient experienced nausea and vomiting. It is proposed that this phenomenon originated from the vagal stimulation associated with the nausea and vomiting.

As‐grown surfaces of c‐axis‐oriented laser‐ablated YBa2Cu3Oy (YBCO) films have been investigated by scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy (STM/STS) at 4.2 K. The square atomic arrangement with an average spacing of 0.4 nm was observed on the specimens even after exposure to ambient atmosphere, indicating that the (001) surface of the YBCO thin film was stable and free from severe contamination or chemical reaction. The STS observations revealed the semiconductive nature of the surface with a band gap of 0.1 eV. However, the tunneling spectrum varied its shape depending on the tip‐to‐sample distance and a clear superconducting gap structure with 2Δ∼40 meV appeared when the STM tip was closer to the surface than the usual position of the scanning mode, suggesting that the semiconductive layer is confined in the surface region of atomic size thickness.

Oxidative thymine damage was investigated using a new non-heme oxygenation model, Fe(MeCN)6(2+)-H2O2-Ac2O, based on high-spin Fe(MeCN)6(2+) in a non-aqueous solution, Ac2O-MeCN. Thymine and 1,3-dimethylthymine oxidized by the system gave the corresponding trans-thymine glycol derivatives in good yield. Thymineglycol is equivalent to an oxidative product as a measure of oxidative DNA damage in living cells. It is suggested that the activation of Fe(MeCN)6(2+)-H2O2-Ac2O in Ac2O-MeCN forms the oxoiron O=Fe(IV)(AcO)(MeCN)4(+) as an active species via a hetelolytic two-electron mechanism, not a Haber-Weiss-Fenton-type reaction with a one-electron process by treatment with a radical scavenger. In addition, we also demonstrated the transition state (TS) for the interaction between thymine and O=Fe(IV)(AcO)(MeCN)4(+) in the triplet spin (spin multiplicity; M=3). This model of oxidative thymine damage may provide new insight into the oxidative mechanism of thymine glycol production in non-aqueous reactions of thymine.