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We prepared a block copolymer composed of polythiophene (PT) with cinnamate groups and poly(ethylene oxide) (PEO), which are connected through a cleavable acetal bond, aiming at constructing donor/acceptor heterostructures through post deposition of acceptor molecules into donor template networks. The block copolymer films showed phase-separated structures with domain sizes of 10–100 nm. Irradiation with UV light afforded crosslinked films through [2+2] cyclodimerization of cinnamate groups. Then, PEO was removed by acidic cleavage of the acetal bond, yielding PT template networks. Taking advantage of the insoluble networks, a fullerene derivative was deposited into the PT templates through a spin-coating process to form donor/acceptor heterostructures. The introduction of the fullerene derivative was confirmed by UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence spectroscopy. This strategy of depositing acceptor molecules into donor template networks, instead of spin-coating from donor/acceptor blend solutions, could be applied to improve the phase-separated structures and power conversion efficiencies of polymer solar cells.

A simple near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer with a wavelength range of 898–2130 nm has recently been applied to diagnose Heliotron J plasmas. It adopts a symmetrical crossed Czerny–Turner mount equipped with a thermoelectrically cooled 512 channel InGaAs linear sensor. Reciprocal linear dispersion was deduced to 96.37 nm/mm at the center of the detector. External filters can be inserted into the path of the collection optics to reject second-order spectra, as needed. Absolute intensity calibration was performed together with a visible spectrometer using a tungsten halogen lamp, and the effect of the transmittance fringe in the visible region of the applied long-pass filter on the NIR calibration was investigated. The intended application of the NIR spectrometer includes extending the wavelength region of a spectral monitor to less contaminated regions for Heliotron J plasma studies. In preliminary measurements, we observed the Paschen series for the hydrogen pellet injection plasma and two atomic helium lines, i.e., 2S-2P singlet and triplet lines, in helium gas puffing experiments. A continuum spectrum in this regime that is attributable to black-body radiation from hot spots on the plasma-facing components was identified. In addition, this may also be used to monitor background radiation in the YAG-Thomson scattering signals near 1064 nm.A simple near-infrared (NIR) spectrometer with a wavelength range of 898–2130 nm has recently been applied to diagnose Heliotron J plasmas. It adopts a symmetrical crossed Czerny–Turner mount equipped with a thermoelectrically cooled 512 channel InGaAs linear sensor. Reciprocal linear dispersion was deduced to 96.37 nm/mm at the center of the detector. External filters can be inserted into the path of the collection optics to reject second-order spectra, as needed. Absolute intensity calibration was performed together with a visible spectrometer using a tungsten halogen lamp, and the effect of the transmittance fringe in the visible region of the applied long-pass filter on the NIR calibration was investigated. The intended application of the NIR spectrometer includes extending the wavelength region of a spectral monitor to less contaminated regions for Heliotron J plasma studies. In preliminary measurements, we observed the Paschen series for the hydrogen pellet injection plasma and two atomic helium lin...

Although Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), a major cannabinoid produced by Cannabis sativa (marijuana), is generally considered to induce antitumor effects in a wide variety of cancers, this cannabinoid has also been shown to stimulate the proliferation of cancer cells under certain conditions both in vitro and in vivo. Δ9-THC is now being used medicinally (ie, dronabinol, a synthetic form of Δ9-THC) as well as recreationally (drug abuse); however, Δ9-THC is not currently used as an anticancer agent in patients. In this chapter, we will summarize the biological effects of Δ9-THC on breast cancer cells, and provide an insight into the possible mechanisms responsible for modulating Δ9-THC sensitivity to breast cancer cells.

The effect of leukoreduction and storage periods on the accumulation of bioactive lysophospholipids and substances in human autologous blood (AB units) has not been fully investigated.The accumulation of bioactive lysophospholipids such as sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) and lysophosphatidylserine (LysoPS) in AB units during the storage was investigated. The time-dependent changes and the effect of the filtration in pre-storage leuckoreduction (LR) and unmodified samples derived from 46 AB units were analysed. Additionally, the changes of lysophospholipids and platelet releasate, namely β-thromboglobulin (β-TG), induced by exposure of whole blood (WB) or platelet-rich plasma (PRP) to the filter material were analysed.LysoPS, but not S1P levels, time-dependently and significantly increased in both unmodified and LR samples. LysoPS significantly decreased in LR compared with unmodified samples, whereas S1P increased in LR compared with unmodified samples. In addition, exposure of WB and/or PRP to the filter material in vitro resulted in increased levels of S1P, LysoPS and β-TG.LR effectively reduced the accumulation of LysoPS in AB units. On the other hand, it increased concentrations of S1P due to platelet activation by exposure to the filter material. These suggest that increases of S1P levels in LR and LysoPS in the unmodified samples were mainly caused by the leukocytes and/or platelets and that LR was effective in inhibiting the accumulation of LysoPS.

H. W. Reesink, J. Lee, A. Keller, P. Dennington, J. Pink, R. Holdsworth, H. Schennach, M. Goldman, T. Petraszko, J. Sun, Y. Meng, K. Qian, V. Rehacek, P. Turek, T. Krusius, E. Juvonen, P. Tiberghien, D. Legrand, G. Semana, J. Y. Muller, J. Bux, A. Reil, C. K. Lin, H. Daly, E. McSweeney, L. Porretti, N. Greppi, P. Rebulla, H. Okazaki, S. A. Sanchez-Guerrero, H. A. Baptista-Gonzalez, C. Martinez-Murillo, A. Guerra-Marquez, H. Rodriguez-Moyado, R. A. Middelburg, J. C. Wiersum-Osselton, A. Brand, C. van Tilburg, D. Dinesh, J. Dagger, P. Dunn, E. Brojer, M. Letowska, K. Maslanka, E. Lachert, M. Uhrynowska, E. Zhiburt, M. Palfi, G. Berlin, B. M. Frey, L. Puig Rovira, E. Muniz-Diaz, E. Castro, C. Chapman, A. Green, E. Massey, N. Win, L. Williamson, C. C. Silliman, D. J. Chaffin, D. R. Ambruso, N. Blumberg, P. Tomasulo, K. J. Land, P. J. Norris, O. C. Illoh, R. J. Davey, R. J. Benjamin, A. F. Eder, L. McLaughlin, S. Kleinman & S. Panzer

Disuse atrophy of swallowing-related organs is suspected when decreased swallowing frequency is seen in the elderly. However, swallowing frequency has not been examined in elderly people during daily life. We developed a swallowing frequency meter containing a laryngeal microphone that does not restrict the subject's ability to perform daily activities. In this study, the utility of the meter was assessed. Experiment 1: The ability of the meter to detect swallowing was examined. The subject was instructed to swallow saliva or foods at a voluntarily pace. During these procedures, swallowing events were simultaneously recorded by the meter, self-enumeration and videofluorography. As a result, all of the swallowing events identified by the meter coincided with the swallowing events identified by self-enumeration and videofluorography. Experiment 2: Swallowing sounds display various patterns both between and within individuals. Therefore, we examined the concordance rate between the number of swallowing events counted by the meter and that counted by self-enumeration in 15 subjects over a longer period than in experiment 1. The concordance rates calculated by two examiners between the meter and self-enumeration were 96·8 ± 4·5% and 98·9 ± 3·3% at rest and 95·2 ± 4·5% and 96·1 ± 4·1% during meals, respectively. Our findings indicate that this meter is useful for measuring the frequency of swallowing during daily situations.

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is one of the most serious complications of blood transfusion. We have been gathering information about TRALl in Japan since 1997 through our national haemovigilance system. Recently, we have 20–40 TRALI cases per year (five million bags issued per year). Although TRALI is a rare complication of transfusion, it may become severe and may sometimes be fatal. A substantial number of TRALI cases have been caused by donor HLA or HNA antibodies, which were generated in alloimmunized, i.e. parous females. Considering this mechanism, TRALI mitigation strategies such as the use of male-only-plasma have been implemented in many blood centres or countries. Because of the availability of male plasma and the time limit for the production of fresh frozen plasma (FFP), we first tried to prepare FFP-LR2 derived from 400 ml whole blood only from male donors. FFP-LR2 accounts for 75% of FFP in Japan. (Six per cent of FFP products are from 200 ml whole blood and 19% from apheresis plasma.) A preliminary project on male-predominant plasma was started at several core blood centres. To minimize the burden on nurses regarding marking bags collected from males or females, which might lead to serious errors in collection sites, we updated the computer system that allows the staff members in the production department to sort male and female blood automatically. In a month after the system implementation nationwide, we successfully increased the production rate of male plasma for FFP-LR2 product by up to more than 98%. Regarding FFP-LR1 derived from 200 ml whole blood, the percentage of female donors is approximately 75%. One of the core blood centres has successfully implemented the same strategy for producing FFP-LR1, but others have not done so yet. Although male-only-plasma strategies achieved good results without any expensive screening tests to reduce TRALI incidence in some countries, the standard measures for other plasma rich blood products such as platelet concentrates or apheresis plasma have not been established yet. There are some measures to consider reducing the risk of TRALI caused by other plasma-rich products – recruiting only males as apheresis platelet donors, testing a certain number of donors for HLA antibodies, replacing the supernatant of a platelet pool with male plasma and excluding female donors from apheresis donations. Some blood centres adopted some of these measures, but so far there is little evidence for the efficacy of these measures for reducing the risk of TRALI. We have recently conducted research about the relationship between strength of HLA antibodies and TRALI development. On the basis of the results of the research, we can set the cut-off level in HLA antibody tests, which can reduce the risk of TRALI by eliminating strong HLA antibodies that presumably cause TRALI development if the specificity of an antibody matches the patient’s antigen. Preliminary screening for donor HLA antibodies is ongoing in three core blood centres in Japan, results of which enable us to establish effective and feasible screening strategies for HLA antibodies in the near future.

Transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) is a life-threatening adverse reaction to transfusion. It is characterized by non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema that develops during or within 6 h after transfusion. Transfusion of blood products or massive transfusion has long been known as a rare cause of acute lung injury (ALI)/acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). Because the main causes of ALI/ARDS are sepsis and/or pneumonia, little attention has been paid to transfusion as a cause of lung injury. Owing to indifference to and underrecognition of this complication, ALI after transfusion may be attributed to other causes. Moreover, physicians tend to attribute the cause of respiratory failure to more common complications of transfusion such as allergic reaction and circulatory overload. Even if an appropriate diagnosis of non-cardiogenic pulmonary edema is made, transfusion may not be identified as its cause. Although anti-leukocyte antibodies have been proved to be one of the main causes of TRALI, the precise mechanism of this syndrome is poorly understood. Anti-HLA and -HNA antibodies in labile blood products are reported to cause TRALI, and animal models of TRALI show that these antibodies induce lung injury under certain experimental conditions. We have recently showed that anti-CD36 antibody caused TRALI in two patients. This finding suggests that as-yet-unknown antibodies other than anti-HLA or -HNA antibodies might cause TRALI. According to current haemovigilance reports and previous look-back studies, the incidence of TRALI is not very high. This finding supports the concept of the two-hit theory of ALI, where certain patients’ clinical conditions are prerequisite in addition to transfusion for developing TRALI. A recent study in the ICU of a tertiary care medical centre has revealed a high incidence of suspected TRALI cases. This study revealed that female plasma, number of pregnancies in donors, number of donor units positive for anti-granulocyte antibodies and anti-HLA class II antibodies and concentration of lysophophatidylcholine in donor products are associated with developing TRALI. Our recent prospective study has revealed the predominance of male Fresh frozen plasma (FFP) FFP in post-transfusion respiratory function when comparing male only FFP and mixed FFP in surgical patients. The incidence of TRALI in the UK was successfully reduced by using preferentially male plasma. Although TRALI has a relatively better prognosis than ALI with other causes, TRALI has still been the leading cause of transfusion-related death in the United States in recent years. The prevention of TRALI caused by plasma products has been successful, but TRALI caused by apheresis platelets is still problematic. A recent study has suggested that the prevalence of anti-HLA antibodies in female donors increases with the number of pregnancies. Thus, screening for anti-HLA antibodies has emerged as an effective measure to prevent TRALI caused by apheresis platelets. At present, no single measure can thoroughly eliminate TRALI; however, early diagnosis and intervention may improve the outcome for patients with TRALI. Further study is required to elucidate the mechanisms of TRALI, which may lead to the development of preventive measures and treatment.

The superconducting magnetic separation system which separates ferromagnetic particles from powder mixture has been developed. It is required to remove the impurities from the powdered products without using chemical or heating processing. The impurities are usually powdered stainless steel from the piping which are deformed strongly and shows ferromagnetism. Magnetic separation using permanent magnets have been used for the separation. The conventional magnetic separation system has not shown the expected performance especially for the small sized impurities. To solve the problem, superconducting magnetic separation system was developed. We used the magnet with magnetic field up to 2 T. The boa size was 100 mm in diameter. Inside of the magnetic boa the magnetic filters are located to produce the high magnetic gradient. The performance of the separator was reported together with the design guideline.

Recently, evidence implicating the roles of the anti-human leucocyte antigen (HLA) class II antibody in the development of transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), which is one of the most serious possible side effects of transfusion, has been accumulating. The aim of this study is to clarify the roles of the anti-HLA DR alloantibody in TRALI development. Cultured human lung microvascular endothelial (LME) cells were incubated with either HLA-DR15-positive or HLA-DR15-negative monocytes together with serum from a single multiparous donor previously implicated in a clinical case of TRALI and known to contain anti-HLA DR15 antibody. Production of soluble leukotriene B(4) (LTB(4)) was measured in the supernatant and found to be markedly increased in the presence of HLA-DR15-positive monocytes but not with the HLA-DR15-negative monocytes or in the absence of LME cells. The vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 expression in LME cells and leucocyte-function-associated molecule-1 (LFA-1) expression in HLA-DR15-positive monocytes were notably enhanced after combined culture of LME cells, HLA-DR15-positive monocytes and TRALI-inducing anti-HLA DR15 antibody-positive serum. In conclusion, anti-HLA DR alloantibodies may be implicated in LME dysfunction that leads to TRALI, in a monocyte-dependent manner.

Vesnarinone (OPC-8212) is a synthetic quinolinone derivative with inotropic and immunomodulatory effects. Vesnarinone has been shown to inhibit tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) produced by mitogen stimulated macrophages, and to inhibit phosphodiesterase (PDE) type III in cardiac muscle. TNF alpha and interferon-gamma (IFNgamma) have been implicated in the pathogenesis of autoimmune diseases, and both cytokines are targets for therapeutic intervention. IFNgamma can enhance autoimmune disease through direct effects, and indirectly by priming macrophages to produce TNF alpha. In this study, we demonstrate that while vesnarinone enhances basal TNF alpha levels, it inhibits TNF alpha production in peripheral blood mononuclear cells from multiple sclerosis (MS) patients and healthy donors stimulated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or primed with IFNgamma and stimulated with suboptimal doses of LPS. In addition, vesnarinone inhibited TNF alpha production in primary adult human microglial cultures. However, in contrast to rolipram, another TNF alpha inhibiting agent, vesnarinone failed to inhibit TNF alpha production by myelin basic protein specific T-cell lines. As oral TNF inhibitors are currently being considered in the USA for clinical application in MS, the implications of our findings on the development of vesnarinone for treatment of MS are discussed.

We have experimentally investigated the stopping power of a laser-ablated carbon plasma tested with a 225 keV/u oxygen beam. A dense plasma target was produced by irradiation of a graphite rod with a Q -switched Nd–glass laser. We have developed a diagnostics system for the target plasma using laser interferometry. The motion of the fringes was observed by a streak camera in order to obtain time-dependent electron density profiles. The maximum areal electron density of the carbon plasma reached n e l =1×10 18 cm −2 . For the measurement of the energy loss of ions in the target, we developed a time-resolved magnetic spectrometer system with a plastic scintillator and an MCP. Using a streak camera we measured the shift of the beam spot on the MCP. The stopping power observed 40 ns after the laser was fired was 15 MeV/(mg/cm 2 ). This value is enhanced by 50% compared to that in the cold equivalent.

A laser-produced plasma target system was developed for beam–plasma interaction experiments concerning heavy-ion inertial fusion. Irradiating a small particle of lithium hydride (LiH) with a pulsed laser, transformed the particle into a plasma. The isotropy of the plasma expansion was monitored by charge collectors. The electron density distribution was measured by interferometry. For particle sizes below and irradiation energies above certain critical values, we obtained a spherically symmetric Gaussian-like density distribution and a high degree of ionization. The expected density and size of the spherical plasma as a target for ion beams are roughly ∼10 18 cm −3 and ∼1 mm, respectively.

We have investigated the feasibility of neodium gallate (NdGaO3, NGO) as substrates for GaN epitaxial growth for the first time. GaN films deposited on neodium gallate substrates by the hydride vapor phase epitaxy technique have been found to be single-crystalline with the epitaxial relationship of GaN(0001)|NGO(011) and GaN[1010]|NGO[100], where the lattice mismatch between the film and the substrate is less than 2%. Photoluminescence (PL) of GaNNGO films at room temperature showed a strong band edge emission with little emission in the longer wavelength region. The carrier concentration and the electronmobility of GaNNGO films were 7 × 1019 cm−3 and 45 cm2/Vs, respectively. These results are superior to those of GaN/sapphire films deposited simultaneously under the same conditions.

To achieve low conversion-loss and high image-rejection performance in the wide band for up and down conversion, an SSB subharmonically pumped mixer using an inphase RF divider/combiner is proposed. The SSB mixer monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) is integrated in a small area of 1.8/spl times/1.3 mm/sup 2/ and shows good performance at 21.6 to 30.8 GHz.

This paper describes novel high-isolation monolithic microwave/millimeter-wave integrated circuit (MMIC) field-effect transistor (FET) switches that have higher isolation characteristics than conventional switches without much insertion loss degradation. The newly developed switches consist of series/shunt FETs and T-shaped R-C-R circuit. Each FET switch utilizes the parasitic capacitive component of the FETs in the off-state to produce a band-rejection filter at the operating frequency. The design method of the newly proposed switches and their characteristics are described herein. With this method, the isolation characteristics are improved by more than 15 dB between 5.4 GHz and 6.4 GHz and more than 20 dB between 5.5 GHz and 6.1 GHz over conventional values.

To construct an alternative policy for the donor selection of platelet concentrate (PC), a clinical study exploring the features of lung injury following PC administration is needed.Although a male-donor-only policy for plasma products appears to have efficiently reduced transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI), this policy may not be applied to PC because of supply shortages.We prospectively examined pulmonary function after the transfusion of PC in informed surgical patients treated at a tertiary university hospital in Japan. The contributions of immunoreactive substances contained in the PC to respiratory function after PC transfusion was then statistically examined.Eighty-six patients (56 men, 30 women) were enrolled in the analysis. Fifty-four cases experienced respiratory failure (PaO2 /FiO2300 mmHg) after transfusion. Five cases were diagnosed as possible TRALI based on permeability pulmonary oedema, while 23 cases were diagnosed as transfusion-associated circulatory overload (TACO) based on chest radiograph findings. A multivariate logistic regression analysis identified the presence of anti-granulocyte antibody as a significant predictor of possible TRALI [P = 0.023; odds ratio (OR), 13.0; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.4-118.3]. Meanwhile, anti-leukocyte antibody class II was identified as a significant independent predictor of TACO (P = 0.010; OR, 18.4; 95% CI, 2.0-170.1).Our data suggest that antibodies contained in PC may contribute to the deterioration of respiratory function after PC transfusion, although the diagnoses of TACO and TRALI may have overlapped among the patients with pulmonary distress in this cohort.

HLA-A*24:183N, A*02:356N, and A*02:15N share the same stop codon at the same position in exon 4.

We evaluated the effects of several antibiotics on IL-6 expression by human bronchial epithelial cells, potent sources of this proinflammatory tory cytokine important in airway inflammation. Among those tested, erythromycin (EM) and clarithromycin (CAM) uniquely suppressed mRNA levels as well as the release of IL-6 at the therapeutic and non-cytotoxic concentration (10−6M). Our findings suggested that these macrolide antibiotics had suppressive effect on cytokine expression in human cells, and this new mode of action may have relevance to their clinical effectiveness in airway inflammatory diseases.

Disuse atrophy of swallowing-related organs is suspected when decreased swallowing frequency is seen in the elderly. However, swallowing frequency has not been examined in elderly people during daily life. We developed a swallowing frequency meter containing a laryngeal microphone that does not restrict the subject's ability to perform daily activities. In this study, the utility of the meter was assessed. Experiment 1: The ability of the meter to detect swallowing was examined. The subject was instructed to swallow saliva or foods at a voluntarily pace. During these procedures, swallowing events were simultaneously recorded by the meter, self-enumeration and videofluorography. As a result, all of the swallowing events identified by the meter coincided with the swallowing events identified by self-enumeration and videofluorography. Experiment 2: Swallowing sounds display various patterns both between and within individuals. Therefore, we examined the concordance rate between the number of swallowing events counted by the meter and that counted by self-enumeration in 15 subjects over a longer period than in experiment 1. The concordance rates calculated by two examiners between the meter and self-enumeration were 96·8 ± 4·5% and 98·9 ± 3·3% at rest and 95·2 ± 4·5% and 96·1 ± 4·1% during meals, respectively. Our findings indicate that this meter is useful for measuring the frequency of swallowing during daily situations.

Wafer annealing was applied to undoped conductive GaAs epitaxial layers grown by the chloride chemical vapor deposition method in order to realize semi‐insulating GaAs epitaxial layers. It was found that, by wafer annealing at temperatures higher than 950 °C, semi‐insulating epitaxial layers with a resistivity higher than 107 Ω cm and a mobility higher than 5000 cm2/V s can be obtained. The material quality has been evaluated by Hall measurement, isothermal capacitance transient spectroscopy, deep level transient spectroscopy, scanning photoluminescence, AB etching, ion implantation, and activation efficiency measurement. It was concluded that the semi‐insulating behavior of undoped GaAs epitaxial layers is due to the increase of the EL2 concentration to the level of 5×1015 cm−3 realized by wafer annealing. The present material does not show any cell structures which are inherent to bulk GaAs materials. It was found to be of the best quality ever reported from the viewpoint of various material characteriz...

Magnetic compound action fields (CAFs) over the right arm were measured from 63 sensor positions with two 7-channel SQUID gradiometer systems following electrical stimulation of the median nerve at the wrist. The field mapping of the CAFs revealed a propagating quadrupolar pattern with the leading depolarization and trailing repolarization fronts. The average distribution of the CAFs in the longitudinal direction was 9.0 cm in length for the depolarization field and 7.3 cm for the repolarization field in good agreement with a theoretical prediction based on the duration (3 msec) of the CAFs and the conduction velocity of the nerve (50 m/sec). The distance between the maxima of the depolarization front and the minima of the repolarization front was 6.3 cm. This spatial separation of the leading and trailing dipole locations suggests in part mutual cancellation of the fields with opposite polarity at or near the depolarized segment of nerve fibers.

The Rayleigh and Brillouin scattering has been investigated for the hexane-methanol system at several compositions near their consolute temperatures from one phase to two phases, and some thermodynamical properties such as a ratio of specific heats Cp/Cnu , a concentration-concentration fluctuation Scc(O), and the correlation length xi have been derived. The total scattering intensity and therefore Scc(O) diverge at the spinodal temperature for all samples. However, the critical index depends on the composition. This phenomenon has been analysed in terms of a modified Flory approximation, in which we have assumed that a repulsive term of the interaction varies with temperature. The consolute and spinodal temperatures were estimated. The Brillouin shift and corresponding sound velocity have no anomaly near these consolute temperatures.

The phase diagrams of binary solutions of C6H14—CH3OH and C6H12—CH3OH have been determined. The thermodynamic quantities of mixing, such as concentration-concentration fluctuation in the long wavelength limit, Scc (O, c, T), have been derived by using the treatment of Bhatia and March. The Rayleigh-Brillouin scattering has also been investigated for these solutions. Scc (O, c, T)'s obtained by Rayleigh-Brillouin experiments were in agreement with those obtained by thermodynamical treatment of the phase diagram. The Rayleigh peak intensity of C6H14—CH3OH system shows a weak position dependence from the interfacial boundary, in the case of the coexistence of two phases, while that of C6H12—CH3OH does not shown such an unusual behavior. These different behaviors are discussed in terms of the densities of the components.

The partial crystallization and melting of the Se sublattice in the superionic conductor Ag2Se are investigated by means of a constant-pressure and constant-temperature molecular dynamics simulation. The effective interionic potential of Rino et al. (1988) is used. The transition temperature is estimated to be about 1000 K, which is reasonable in comparison with the actual transition temperature, 1170 K. The atomic structures of the Se sublattice in the crystallization and melting processes are analysed by the method of the Voronoi polyhedron. The defect formation process before melting is studied in detail from a microscopic point of view. It is shown that, in the superionic phase, the repulsive force acting on an Se ion from its neighbouring Ag ions behaves as the restoring force maintaining the Se BCC sublattice, and that an opportunity to create the defect is given when the restoring force weakens.

The objective was to report the first pathologically confirmed case of partly functionally preserved medulla oblongata in a patient with catastrophic traumatic brain injury. A patient is described with epidural haematoma with normal breathing and blood pressure and a retained coughing reflex brought on only by catheter suctioning of the carina. Multiple contusions in the thalami and pons were found but the medulla oblongata was spared at necropsy. In conclusion, medulla oblongata function may persist despite rostrocaudal deterioration. This comatose state ("medulla man") closely mimics brain death.

The formula for the correlation factor in tracer diffusion has been derived by a simple and elementary calculation in the case where the diffusion takes place by ions jumping alternately between two kinds of site with equal spacing. The correlation factors for the vacancy and interstitial mechanisms are deduced from this formula. The formula has been applied to alpha -Ag2Te in which Ag ions diffuse by changing alternately between octahedral sites and tetrahedral sites in the anion FCC sublattice.

The therapeutic effectiveness of a new combination therapy--pretreatment with transcatheter arterial embolization (TAE) and subsequent percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI)--for solitary large (> 3.0 cm in diameter) primary hepatocellular carcinoma lesions was compared with that of TAE alone. With TAE alone, a partial response of the tumor was seen in only 10% of the patients, and the 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates were calculated to be 68%, 37%, and 0%, respectively. Histologic examination of specimens obtained at hepatectomy showed that TAE alone caused complete necrosis in only 20% of the tumors. In contrast, PEI combined with TAE significantly (P < .05) increased the partial response rate (45%) and significantly (P < .01) prolonged the 1-, 2-, and 3-year survival rates (100%, 85%, and 85%, respectively). Combination therapy caused complete histologic necrosis in 83% of the tumors. It also was significantly (P < .05) better than TAE alone in terms of rate of primary tumor recurrence during follow-up.

The fabrication and performance of integrated-optic 64*64 and 144*144 star couplers based on high-silica planar lightwave circuit (PLC) technology are reported. The star couplers exhibit low insertion loss (average excess loss alpha =1.66 dB for 64*64 and alpha =2.02 dB for 144*144) and good splitting uniformity (standard deviation sigma =0.92 dB for 64*64 and sigma =1.47 dB for 144*144P) at 1.55 mu m. >

Analysis of TCR of a series of CD4-8- (double negative; DN) alpha beta T cell lines induced with IL-3 revealed that their V gene usage was biased for V alpha 4 and V beta 2. This has been confirmed in the primary short-term cultures. Thus, IL-3 induced the generation of DN alpha beta T cells with predominant V beta 2 gene expression from the CD4+/CD8+ T cell-depleted spleen or bone marrow (BM) cells of both normal and nude BALB/c mice within 10 days. It was further indicated that the V beta 2+ beta-chain genes contained few junctional N regions in both IL-3-induced primary DN alpha beta T cells and continuous lines. Search for the in vivo counterpart of in vitro IL-3-induced DN alpha beta T cells revealed that BM, but not spleens, of normal BALB/c and B6 mice did contain a significant proportion of DN alpha beta T cells, and that the majority of them expressed V beta 2+ beta-chain genes with few junctional N regions. The presence of V beta 2+ DN alpha beta T cells was similarly observed in the BM of BALB/c nude mice, but their proportion varied markedly among various strains of mice, which was not linked to H-2 haplotypes. The results indicated that V beta 2+ DN alpha beta T cells in the BM represented one of the thymus-independent T cell populations, whose development was under the major histocompatibility Ag complex-unlinked genetic control. TCR of these T cells were shown to be functional as judged by the proliferative response to anti-V beta 2 antibody. Taken together, present results suggested that IL-3 could induce differentiation and/or proliferation of DN alpha beta T cells with uniquely limited repertoire, which existed preferentially in BM in vivo, and implied the possible involvement of extrathymic endogenous ligands as a positive selection force.

To evaluate the specific reactivity of HLA Class I antibodies (HLA-I Abs) in acute non-hemolytic transfusion reactions (ANHTRs) using solid phase assays (SPAs) and conventional complement-dependent lymphocyte cytotoxicity test (LCT). ANHTRs are major issues in transfusion medicine. Anti-leukocyte antibodies have been implicated as one of the causative agents of transfusion-related acute lung injury (TRALI) and febrile reaction. Antibodies to HLA Class I and/or Class II (HLA Abs) have been intensively studied using SPAs for TRALI, but not for febrile reaction. About 107 patients and 186 donors associated with ANHTRs were screened for HLA Abs by SPAs such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and the Luminex method. When HLA-I Ab was detected, its specific reactivity was evaluated by comparing its specificity identified by the Luminex method using recombinant HLA molecules and cognate HLA antigens (Ags), as well as LCT with or without anti-human globulin (AHG). The incidences of HLA Abs were as high as 32·7% of patients' serum samples and 16% of donors' serum samples. The incidence of HLA-I Abs did not differ significantly between cases of febrile and allergic reactions. However, HLA-I Abs associated with febrile reaction showed a significantly higher rate of possessing specific reactivity to cognate HLA Ags than those associated with allergic reactions. In addition, the Luminex method enabled the detection of HLA-I Abs much earlier than AHG-LCT in serum samples from a patient with febrile reaction and platelet transfusion refractoriness (PTR). SPAs seem more useful than AHG-LCT for evaluating reactivity of antibodies in ANHTR cases.