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H2 additional effect for crystallization of SnO2 films prepared by the hot-wire CVD method was investigated. The crystallization of SnO2 films starts at 170 °C. The selectivity enhancement of the solar cell substrate will contribute to reduce the cost of silicon thin film solar cells. The atomic hydrogen assisted nano-crystallization exists for the depositions of SnO2 films by the hot-wire CVD method. Furthermore, the addition of H2 gas improved the electrical conductivity up to 5.3 × 100 S/cm. However, these effects are limited in the deposition condition of a small amount of hydrogen. Addition of much higher hydrogen concentration starts an etching effect of oxygen atoms.

Summary To examine the possibility of dietary α-starch in reducing feed costs in a practical diet, α-starch was supplemented at 10, 20, 30 and 40% in a composed diet having the same protein level. The four diets were fed to ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis (initial weight 9.1 g) for 43 days. Growth and feed efficiency increased with the supplement, with values highest in the 30–40%α-starch diet. The level of dietary α-starch did not affect the proximate muscle composition; although the hepatosomatic index was not affected, liver glycogen increased with increasing dietary α-starch. The dietary α-starch did not influence evacuation time from the gut, and was well digested through passage in the gut, mainly between the stomach and the anterior part of the intestine. Ayu have an ability to adapt their metabolism to high dietary α-starch, and can digest 40% or more in a composed diet. Although the muscle lipid content did not change, the fatty acid composition was influenced by dietary starch. With the elevation of dietary starch, a decrease of C18:2n-6 and an increase of C22:6n-3 occurred. These results indicate that at least 40%α-starch can be used in practical diets for ayu.

A 150-MHz graphics rendering processor with an integrated 256-Mb embedded DRAM, delivering a rendering rate of 75 M polygons/s, is presented, 287.5 M transistors are integrated on a 21.3/spl times/21.7 mm/sup 2/ die in a 0.18-/spl mu/m embedded DRAM CMOS process with six layers of metal. Design methodologies for hierarchical electrical and physical design of this very large-scale IC, including power distribution, fully hierarchical timing design, and verification utilizing a newly developed nonlinear model, clock design, propagation delay, and crosstalk noise management in multi-millimeter RC transmission lines, are presented.

Negative ions of copper clusters reacted with nitric oxide molecules are studied by mass-selected photoelectron spectroscopy. The series of the reacted cluster ions, Cu n N-, Cu n NO-, and Cu n NO2 - are observed in the mass spectrum. Photoelectron spectra are obtained at 3.49 eV photon energy for Cu n N- (n=2 and 3) and Cu n NO2 - (n=1 and 2). The photoelectron spectrum of Cu2N- contains a band structure analogous to that of Cu- or Cu2 -. From the expansion gas pressure dependence of the band peak intensity in the spectrum, it is concluded that Cu2N- has at least two isomers in the beam. One of the isomers is expected to have a structure in which the central ion is Cu- or Cu2 - and the residual atom(s) are weakly bound to the ion. For Cu n NO- (n=1-3), we detected no electron signals with the detachment photon energy of 3.49 eV. The possible structure of CuNO- is discussed in the light of the present results and also on the basis of the recent results of the study of CuO2 - by Wang and coworkers.

A 250-MHz microprocessor intended for home computer entertainment consists of a CPU core with 128-b multimedia extensions, two single-instruction, multiple-data (SIMD) very long instruction word (VLIW) vector processors containing ten floating-point multiplier accelerators and four floating-point dividers, an MPEG-2 decoder, a ten-channel direct memory access (DMA) controller, and other peripherals with 128 b internal buses on one die. The core is a two-way superscalar MIPS-compatible microprocessor with 16-kB scratch-pad RAM. Each vector processor is a five-way SIMD-VLIW architecture, which is tightly dedicated for specific applications concerning three-dimensional geometry calculation and physical simulation. A DMA controller connects between main memory and each processor's local memory to conceal memory access penalty. It contains 10.5 M transistors in 17/spl times/14.1 mm and dissipates 15 W at 1.8 V.

The aim of the present study was to reevaluate the prenatal production of specific IgE for eggs and milk and, in those cases, to determine whether there is a relation to the amount of maternal egg and milk intake. Total and specific IgEs from 160 cord blood samples were determined by immunoassays using a paramagnetic particle solid phase and an enzyme-mediated chemiluminescent reaction for signal detection. The levels of cord blood IgE for total, egg, and milk were 0.63 ± (SD) 1.10 IU/ml, 0.020 ± 0.055, and 0.036 ± 0.053 IU/ml, respectively. IgE levels specific to egg and milk over 0.03 IU/ ml were observed in 33 and 70 out of 160 cases, respectively. To address whether the maternal intake of eggs and milk affects the level of cord blood IgEs, all mothers except 9 were interviewed, and the amount of eggs and milk taken during pregnancy was recorded. No correlation was seen between egg and milk intakes and cord blood IgE levels. Our data demonstrate a high incidence of the prenatal production of specific IgE for eggs and milk which is independent of maternal egg and milk intakes.

The hCG beta-subunit contains a carboxy-terminal extension bearing four serine-linked oligosaccharides [carboxy-terminal peptide (CTP)], which is important for maintaining its longer half-life compared with the other glycoprotein hormones. Previously, we enhanced the in vivo half-life of FSH by fusing the CTP to the carboxy end of FSH beta coding sequence. The alpha-subunit is common to the glycoprotein family. We constructed alpha-subunit CTP chimeras, since such analogs with the appropriate O-linked glycosylation and conformation would increase the in vivo stability of the entire glycoprotein hormone family. Two chimeras were constructed using overlapping polymerase chain reaction mutagenesis: a variant with CTP at the carboxy end and another analog with the CTP at the N-terminal region of the subunit, between amino acids 3 and 4. The latter design was based on models showing that the amino-terminal region of alpha is not involved in assembly with the beta-subunit, nor is it essential for receptor binding and signal transduction. These chimeras were cotransfected with the hCG beta gene into Chinese hamster ovary cells. The chimeras were secreted and combined efficiently with the CG beta-subunit, comparable to the wild type alpha-subunit. CG dimers containing the alpha-subunit chimera with CTP at the carboxy end of the subunit had a much lower binding affinity for the hLH-hCG receptor in vitro, whereas the binding of the dimer containing the CTP at the amino-terminal end of the subunit was similar to wild type hCG. Furthermore, the in vivo activity of this analog was enhanced significantly. Moreover, regardless of the two insertion points in the alpha-subunit, the CTP sequence was O-glycosylated. These data suggest that the entire signal for O-glycosylation is primarily contained within the CTP sequence and is not dependent on the flanking regions of the recipient protein. The transfer of CTP to the alpha-subunit of hCG results in an agonist with prolonged biological action in vivo. These data further support the rationale for using the CTP as a general target to increase the potency of bioactive glycoproteins.

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) is a member of a family of heterodimeric glycoprotein hormones that contain a common alpha subunit but differ in their hormone-specific beta subunits. Site-directed mutagenesis was used to examine the role of the five disulfide bonds in the alpha subunit on the folding, assembly with the hCG beta subunit, and in cases where dimer formation occurred, receptor binding and signal transduction. Cysteine residues in the disulfide bonds formed by cysteines 7-31, 10-60, 28-82, 59-87, and 32-84 (Lapthorn, A., Harris, D. Littlejohn, A., Lustbader, J. Canfield, R., Machin, K., Morgan, F., and Isaacs, N. (1994) Nature 369, 455-461) were converted to alanine, and these mutants were transfected alone or together with the wild-type hCG beta gene into Chinese hamster ovary cells. The alpha Cys-10, 28, 60, 82, and 84 mutants were not secreted and in most cases were degraded at a faster rate than the native subunit. In addition, these mutants failed to assemble with the hCG beta subunit. Mutants with alterations at alpha Cys-7, 31, 32, 59, or 87 were secreted and combined with the beta subunit. Heterodimers containing a 7-31 double mutant bound to human lutropin-chorionic gonadotropin receptor expressed in transfected human fetal kidney cells, and stimulated cAMP comparable to wild-type hCG. Dimers containing the beta subunit with either single mutant alpha 59, alpha 87, alpha 32, or the alpha 59-87 double mutant showed much lower affinity for the receptor than wild-type hCG. These results suggest that disulfide bonds associated with alpha 7, alpha 31, alpha 59, alpha 87, and alpha 32 are not essential for the alpha subunit to fold into a form that will combine with the hCG beta subunit and to produce a biologically active dimer. This contrasts with observations of the hCG beta subunit where all the disulfide bonds are required for efficient combination and folding (Suganuma, N., Matzuk, M., and Boime, I. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 19302-19307). In addition, the lack of secretion of some mutants reflects previous observations that proteins which do not fold correctly are rapidly degraded. Thus, alpha subunit mutants which fold properly are secreted and can form heterodimers.

A 25-year-old infertile woman who had higher basal levels of serum progesterone (P) and estradiol (E(2)) was examined. Ultrasonography and gonadotropin-releasing hormone test suggested polycystic ovarian syndrome. The high serum E(2) and P concentration increased even more along follicle growth and after ovulation, respectively. Although the source of the higher levels of steroids was unclear, she became pregnant with artificial insemination of husband's sperm and luteal support with human chorionic gonadotropin administration, and delivered a healthy newborn. Through the present study, we can conclude that the high basal level of P in follicular phase may not always impair reproduction, although several reports stress that it adversely affects oocyte maturation and fertilization, and is harmful to endometrial receptivity.

We present a case report about bilateral multicystic dysplastic kidneys (MCDKs). Pregnancy was terminated at 21 weeks' gestation and the fetus was examined by autopsy. The kidneys were replaced by many cysts and there was no parenchyma. However, on histological examination, there was normal nephrogenesis amid the cystic/dysplastic tissue. This suggests that normal nephrogenesis occurs before the secondary changes leading to MCDKs.

We isolated a luciferase gene (LbLuc) from the non-luminous diurnal firefly, Lucidina biplagiata, with high similarity to that from the nocturnal firefly, Photinus pyralis. The recombinant LbLuc showed luminescence activity comparable to that of the luciferases from P. pyralis and Luciola cruciata. To understand the non-luminosity of L. biplagiata, we determined the amount of luciferase in the adult specimen using the luciferin-luciferase reaction and found that the content of luciferase in L. biplagiata was estimated to be only 0.1% of that in L. cruciata. As previously reported, the content of luciferin in L. biplagiata was less than 0.1% of that in L. cruciata. Thus, the non-luminosity of L. biplagiata might be explained by low levels of both luciferase and luciferin.

Focussing attention on (acrylonitride-butadiene-styrene) ABS resin which is used abundantly for home electric appliances, devised the design guideline to ease recycling and evaluated the superiority of recycled ABS in terms of CO2 emissions by performing the LCI analysis

We did a retrospective study of 1,736 vaginal hysterectomies at Handa City Hospital from 1990 to 1999 with special reference to those 24 cases ending in laparotomy. The duration of operation, estimated blood loss, and uterine (with adnexal) weight of the failed vaginal hysterectomies were 139.1+/-42.9 min, 1,176.8+/-699.8 mL, 564.5+/-357.6 g, respectively. These values were significantly higher than those for the successful vaginal hysterectomies. Adhesions were seen in 14 cases (58.3%). Blood transfusion was required in 9 cases (37.5%). The most frequent cause for laparotomy was adhesions, followed by non-descent of the uterus. The decision to convert a vaginal hysterectomy into an abdominal procedure should be prompt because delay means the increased blood loss and a greater need for blood transfusions.

Determination of the blood (1--3)-beta-D-glucan (beta-DG) concentration is a sensitive marker to detect the presence of deep mycosis and fungal infections. Although cellulose material is known to contain beta-DG, the influence of a cellulose dialyzer membrane on the blood beta-DG level remains to be elucidated. In this study, we determined the plasma beta-DG levels in dialysis outpatients using either a modified regenerated cellulose (MRC) or a synthetic polysulfone (PS) membrane for more than 3 months. Plasma beta-DG levels were extremely high in patients using the MRC (2,778 +/- 549 pg/ml, n = 9) but not the PS membrane (18.8 +/- 3.7 pg/ml, n = 8) compared to normal ranges (20 pg/ml). A single dialysis session using the MRC membrane further increased blood beta-DG values to 5,561 +/- 722 pg/ml (p0.01). After changing the membranes from MRC to PS, the blood beta-DG levels gradually decreased and reached 29.6 +/- 6.0 pg/ml at 6 months. In contrast, the PS membrane did not affect plasma beta-DG levels after a single dialysis session (16.0 +/- 3.9 pg/ml) or 4 months later (24.0 +/- 4.9 pg/ml). These findings suggested that a cellulose membrane could influence the measurement of blood beta-DG concentrations in the long-term. Careful assessment is required to diagnose the presence of fungal infection in HD patients using a cellulose membrane.

The authors present a case report of hydrops of placental stem villi. Numerous small aechoic spaces were demonstrated by prenatal ultrasonography. The patient spontaneously delivered a female newborn at 26 weeks' gestation. The infant showed hypertrophied clitoris and urogenital sius, and had a normal 46, XX karyotype. Endocrinological examination revealed that 3beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase deficiency caused the anomaly. To our knowledge, this is the first report that congenital genital malformation complicated the placental mesenchymal dysplasia.

A patient with a living 10-week old cervical pregnancy who desired to preserve fertility was successfully treated with methotrexate, intraamniotic KCI injection and endocervical curettage. In the case of living cervical pregnancy even after 10 weeks, conservative treatment remains an option, although intensive management and care should be given.

The human chorionic gonadotropin beta-subunit (hCGbeta) is a glycoprotein in which 12 cysteine residues pair to form six intramolecular disulfide bonds. In order to elucidate the effect of each disulfide bond on glycosylation of the molecule, we analysed structures of asparagine-linked oligosaccharides of various recombinant hCGbeta produced in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells: wild-type hCGbeta (betaWT) and mutants in which any one of the six intramolecular disulfide bonds had been disrupted by site-directed mutagenesis. SDS-PAGE analysis of betaWT and these mutants before and after digestion with endoglycosidase F and H revealed structural changes in the oligosaccharide moieties of some mutants. In addition, structural analysis of oligosaccharides obtained from metabolically labeled betaWT and a mutant showed that the mutant contained additional high mannose type oligosaccharides. These results suggest that elimination of a specific disulfide bond, resulting in a change in the protein conformation, disturbs the normal assembly of the mature complex type oligosaccharides in the hCGbeta molecule.

One of the major structural differences between the LH beta and CG beta subunits is the carboxy-terminal region: beyond amino acid 114, LH beta has a hydrophobic heptapeptide stretch, while CG beta contains a 31-amino acid hydrophilic carboxy-terminal peptide (CTP) that is O-glycosylated. The CG beta subunit is secreted quantitatively as a monomer and assembles efficiently whereas secretion and assembly of LH beta is inefficient. We previously implicated the carboxy-terminal heptapeptide as a determinant for the different intracellular behavior manifested by the LH beta subunit compared with the CG beta subunit. Here we tested the function of the heptapeptide and CTP domains by fusing them to their counterparts at amino acid 114 of CG beta or LH beta subunits. The secretion and assembly of these chimeras were examined in transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells. Removal of the heptapeptide enhanced the amount of LH beta subunit secreted 4-fold compared with intact LH beta. Fusion of this heptapeptide to CG beta 114, i.e. CG beta lacking the CTP, decreased the amount of secreted subunit 2-fold compared with wild type human CG beta. Similar experiments reveal that although deleting the CTP from the CG beta subunit did not significantly alter secretion, the combination efficiency of the truncated subunit was reduced to 60%. Perturbing the native carboxy-terminal sequence of either subunit increased the heterogeneity of the secreted forms. This result suggests that these regions are also involved in the posttranslational processing of the asparagine-linked oligosaccharides of the beta-subunits. Fusion of the LH beta heptapeptide to the truncated CG beta subunit decreased combination with the alpha-subunit. These data further support the hypothesis that the carboxy-terminal regions of LH beta and CG beta subunits play a role in the intracellular behavior of the corresponding heterodimers.

To clarify whether apoptosis is involved in endometriosis, we obtained eutopic endometrial tissues along with endometriotic tissues from the uterus (adenomyosis) (n = 12) and from the ovary (n = 12) from patients undergoing gynaecological surgery. Apoptosis-induced DNA fragmentation was detected by the TdT-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labelling method, and immunostaining with a monoclonal antibody against the Fas, Le(y) or B-cell leukaemia/lymphoma-2 (bcl-2) was also performed using the same tissue section. Analysis showed that apoptosis was occurring in all the samples of ovarian endometriotic tissue but in only two of the 12 adenomyotic and in five of the 24 eutopic endometrial tissue samples. In none of these cases was apoptosis correlated with phases of the menstrual cycle. The expression of bcl-2 in the eutopic endometrial and adenomyotic tissues was limited to the proliferative phase, and was observed in only one of the 12 cases of ovarian endometriosis. Fas and Ley were expressed randomly across a wide range in both the eutopic and ectopic endometrial tissues. These results suggest that the features of ovarian endometriosis are different from those of adenomyosis and eutopic endometrium in terms of the involvement of apoptosis. In addition, the regulatory mechanism involved in ovarian endometriosis may differ from that in other endometrial cells.

The carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) is the most frequent clinical symptom of dialysis-related amyloidosis. We examined CTS by ultrasound imaging and correlation between CTS and bone amyloidosis was sought. One hundred and forty-two wrists of 71 hemodialysis (HD) patients and 28 of 14 normal volunteers (group 1) were studied. Patients on HD were divided into 4 groups based on HD duration: Group 2, less than 5 years; group 3, 5-10 years; group 4, 10-15 years; and group 5, more than 15 years. The frequency of CTS increased gradually with HD duration: 0% in group 2, 35.3% in group 3, 36.4% in group 4 and 74.1% in group 5. The thickness of the palmar radiocarpal ligament (PRL), corresponding to the posterior wall of the carpal tunnel was significantly greater in groups 4 (p0.05), and 5 (p0.05) than in group 1 (2.25 +/- 1.30 and 3.11 +/- 1.02 in group 4 and 5 vs 1.15 +/- 0.34 mm in group 1); and the width of the carpal tunnel (CT) was significantly larger in group 5 than in group 1 (6.92 +/- 1.78 in group 5 vs 5.53 +/- 1.48 mm in group 1, p0.05). Wrists operated on for CTS had significantly increased PRL and CT compared to the control group and patients without CTS. Patients with CTS had wider PRL than the control and HD patients without CTS. Cystic radiolucent lesions (CRL) of carpal bones characteristic of bone amyloidosis were noted in 15 of 71 HD patients. The thickness of PRL and width of CT in HD patients with CRL exceeded those in patients without CRL. These data indicated that ultrasonographic findings of wrists were closely correlated with the degree of CTS and CRL. The usefulness of ultrasonographic evaluation of PRL thickness and CT width in the evaluation of dialysis-related amyloidosis should be evaluated.