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著者人数: 91名(所属. 宇宙航空研究開発機構宇宙科学研究所(JAXA)(ISAS): 海老沢, 研; 福家, 英之; 森, 国城; 西村, 純; 高柳, 昌弘; 冨田, 洋; 上野, 史郎), Number of authors: 91(Affiliation. Institute of Space and Atronautical Science, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)(ISAS): Ebisawa, Ken; Fuke, Hideyuki; Mori, Kunishiro; Nishimura, Jun; Takayanagi, Masahiro; Tomida, Hiroshi; Ueno, Shiro), Accepted: 2018-07-03, 資料番号: SA1180102000

著者人数: 91名（所属. 宇宙航空研究開発機構宇宙科学研究所(JAXA)(ISAS): 海老沢, 研; 福家, 英之; 森, 國城; 西村, 純; 高柳, 昌弘; 上野, 史郎), Accepted: 2018-02-26, 資料番号: SA1170331000

Gender disparities in adult patients with asthma regarding its prevalence and severity are mainly due to enhanced type 2 T-helper (Th2) cytokine production in female patients compared to that in male patients. However, the pathways mediating this effect remain unclear.We aimed to determine the roles of two major subsets of dendritic cells (DCs) in females, specifically those displaying CD11b or CD103, during enhanced Th2 priming after allergen exposure, using an ovalbumin-induced asthma mouse model.Sex-based differences in the number of DCs at inflamed sites, costimulatory molecule expression on DCs, and the ability of DCs to differentiate naïve CD4The number of CD11bThese findings suggest that with regard to asthma, enhanced Th2 cytokine production in females might be attributed to 17β-oestradiol-mediated Th2-oriented CD103

CO2EOR has much advantage not only in enhancing oil recovery but also in CO2 storage. It is, however, necessary to confirm or estimate the technical, operational and economic uncertainties by pilot test for applying CO2EOR to actual oil fields. This paper describes the methods and the procedures to design an inter-well CO2EOR pilot test.As a result of subsurface study, the number of pilot wells is determined to be 1 injection well and 2 production wells in order to estimate CO2 areal sweep efficiency in the minimum cost. To confirm the effect of CO2EOR, well interval, cumulative CO2 injection volume and duration were determined to be 300 m, 2,000 tonnes and 2 weeks, respectively. The oil production rate begins to increase 1 month after the beginning of the pilot test, and the gas production rate and the vapor phase CO2 mole fraction also begins to increase at the same time. Then, the oil production rate reaches the peak after 1.5 months from the beginning, and the effect of CO2EOR is confirmed clearly. If oil saturation is high in the target reservoir, it will be difficult for confirming the oil bank clearly. In such case, pre-water injection before CO2 injection is found to be an effective countermeasure.As a result of surface study, a CO2 procurement method and a new platform were designed through the process optimization study. Manufactured CO2 was selected as CO2 source for the pilot test. The packed manufactured CO2 into tank containers are transported to the injection site by trucks and supply vessels. Moreover, CO2 impact study was conducted, and it is found that we can manage the potential risks related to corrosion and scale formation by using suitable countermeasure such as CRA's and inhibitors. Finally, based on the result of corrosion and scale formation studies, the operation guidelines were prepared. When the CO2EOR pilot test will be planned in any oil field, it will be possible to make the test design with the similar procedure to this study.

Neurons of similar frequency preference are arranged in isofrequency bands (IFBs) across the primary auditory cortex (AI) of many mammals. Across the AI of the cat, one of the most frequently studied species for auditory anatomy and function, we demonstrate IFB-like responses using optical imaging of intrinsic signals (OIS). Optically defined activations were extensively elongated along the dorsoventral axis of AI (the ratio of the major and minor axes was approximately 2:1), and systematically shifted as a function of stimulus frequency. The elongation of this IFB-like zone was more conspicuous at higher frequencies. In the ventral sector of the imaged field, the IFB-like zones of activation evoked at different pure tone frequencies tended to overlap extensively. Electrophysiological recording from loci within the optically defined zones of activation revealed matched responses to the frequencies used for optical imaging at 65% of these loci. The dorsoventral orientation of these zones of activation was also closely matched with the orientation of tangentially spreading intrinsic axon terminals, as revealed anatomically. The visualization of IFB-like architecture and tonotopic organization by OIS provides a basic framework for investigating the relationships of different spectral channels and between multiple acoustic parameters at a neuronal population level.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic joint disease that can be complicated with extra-articular manifestations due to vasculitis. We describe a patient with RA who developed systemic vasculitis and died of myocardial infarction. Autopsy demonstrated vasculitis of the left anterior descendent and circumflex coronary arteries, which were narrowed or occluded with organizing thrombosis. Formation of granuloma with multinucleated giant cells was also observed in media of the circumflex artery. There was no microscopic evidence of atheroma formation in the coronary arteries. Of note, there was a follicle-like infiltration of CD45RO-positive T lymphocytes in interna of the left coronary arteries and the right renal artery. Although not frequently reported, coronary vasculitis as a cause of myocardial infarction should be considered in patients with RA. Moreover, our results suggest that infiltration of T lymphocytes might be involved in the development of rheumatoid vasculitis.

Objective—To investigate cardiac function in patients with mitochondrial encephalomyopathy, lactic acidosis, and stroke-like episodes (MELAS) and clarify the clinical features of cardiomyopathy in MELAS. Patients—11 consecutive patients with MELAS (mean age at initial examination 11.3 years, range 4 to 16 years) were enrolled in the study. Six were followed for more than five years. Results—On echocardiographic examination, three patients showed increased left ventricular end diastolic posterior wall thickness (LVPWTd), exceeding 140% of the normal value. Four patients, including these three, had an ejection fraction of less than 50%, and two also had increased left ventricular end diastolic volume (LVEDV) exceeding 140% of the normal value (%N). The LVPWTd%N was correlated positively with the LVEDV%N (R = 0.669, p

Four cervicobrachial plexuses from two colugos (Dermoptera), which are gliding mammals with semi-elongated necks, were dissected with imaging analysis and compared with those in its relatives, 12 sides of six treeshrews (Scandentia) and 32 sides of 16 strepsirrhines (Primates), for considering of its evolutionary constraint and functional adaptation. (1) The relative cervical length in the colugos was significantly longer than those in the others, regardless of the number and proportion of vertebrae. (2) In all examined colugos, the cervical plexus exhibited broader cervical root segments comprising the hypoglossal (N. XII) and first to fifth cervical (C1-C5) nerves, whereas the brachial plexus exhibited concentrated segments comprising C6 to the first thoracic nerve (T1) and part of T2. (3) On the other hand, the cervical plexus composed of N. XII and C1-C4 and the brachial plexus composed of C5-T1(2) were formed in all treeshrews (12/12 sides, 100.0%) and most strepsirrhines (27/32 sides, 84.4%) as seen in most terrestrial placental mammals. (4) Similar root segments of broader cervical and concentrated brachial plexuses were found in five sides of three strepsirrhines (15.6%), which are species with somewhat longer necks than the other strepsirrhines and treeshrews. Based on present and previous reports on elongated and shortened neck mammals, the modified root segments of the cervicobrachial plexus in the colugo appears to be related more to neck length than to its ecological habit, specialized locomotion, or any phylogenetic constraint.

Vibrationally excited HCO radicals have been observed in the photodissociation of acetaldehyde in a supersonic jet with the pump—probe technique. The threshold wavelength for the bending and CO-stretching excitations was 308.7 and 302.6 nm, respectively. The nascent vibrational distribution relative to the ground state has been determined as a function of the excitation wavelength for the 280–300 nm region. The observed vibrational distribution of HCO was found to be consistent with the model in which the excess energy above the reaction barrier is statistically distributed among the fragments' degrees of freedom.

Summary The anatomy of the brachial plexus in the common hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius), which has not been previously reported, was first examined bilaterally in a newborn hippopotamus. Our observations clarified the following: (1) the brachial plexus comprises the fifth cervical (C5) to first thoracic (T1) nerves. These formed two trunks, C5–C6 and C7–T1; in addition, the axillary artery passed in between C6 and C7, (2) unique branches to the brachialis muscle and those of the lateral cutaneous antebrachii nerves ramified from the median nerve, (3) nerve fibre analysis revealed that these unique nerve branches from the median nerve were closely related and structurally similar to the musculocutaneous (MC) nerve; however, they had changed course from the MC to the median nerve, and (4) this unique branching pattern is likely to be a common morphological feature of the brachial plexus in amphibians, reptiles and certain mammals.

Imino 15N and 1H resonances of Escherichia coli tRNA(lIle) were observed in the absence and presence of E coli isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase. Upon complex formation of tRNA(lIle) with isoleucyl-tRNA synthetase, some imino 15N-1H resonances disappeared, and some others were significantly broadened and/or shifted in the 1H chemical shift, while the others were observed at the same 15N-1H chemical shifts. It was indicated that the binding of tRNA(lIle) with IleRS affect the following four regions: the anticodon stem, the junction of the acceptor and T stems, the middle of the D stem, and the region where the tertiary base pair connects the T, D, and extra loops. This result is consistent with those of chemical footprinting and site-directed mutagenesis studies. Taken together, these three independent results reveal the recognition mechanism of tRNA(lIle) by IleRS: IleRS recognizes all the identity determinants distributed throughout the tRNA(lIle) molecule, which induces changes in the secondary and tertiary structures of tRNA(lIle).

A procedure for analyzing parametric resonance of liquid storage axisymmetric shells is proposed that is an extension of the procedure presented at PVP-89 for parametric resonance of empty axisymmetric shells with lumped weights. Free vibration modes of axisymmetric shells containing liquid are calculated considering the effect of initial stress due to static liquid pressure by using a conical shell finite element. The calculated free vibration modes are used to expand the free vibration modes of the axisymmetric shell with lumped weights and internal liquid. A type of Mathieu equation is derived considering the effects of the translational motion of the attached weight in the radial direction or the effects of the beam-type motion of the shell without lumped weight. The harmonic balance method is used to obtain the parametric resonance regions. Principal resonance of a circular cylindrical shell with an attached weight and combination resonance of a liquid storage circular cylindrical shell without attached weights are analyzed. Analytical results show good agreement with experimental results.

Neurotrophic effects of CS23, a mutein of human basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), and recombinant human epidermal growth factor (hEGF) were compared in dissociated cerebellar cultures from embryonic (E20) and early postnatal (P0-5) rats. Both CS23 and hEGF promoted the survival of cerebellar neurons without distinction of ages of animals used. The maximum effects of CS23 were always larger than those of hEGF. These results suggest that both bFGF and EGF also function as neurotrophic factors in postnatal cerebellum.

Spatial relationships between clusters of corticothalamic (CT) large terminals originating from cortical domains tuned to different frequencies were examined by pair-injecting two different anterograde tracers. Large-terminal CT projection originating from layer 5 was highly divergent with each injection site producing, on average, 15 local clusters distributing throughout non-lemniscal thalamic nuclei following a single anterograde tracer injection in the cat primary auditory cortex. Paired injections in higher- and lower-frequency cortical domains, resulting in labeling of two independent sets of terminal clusters, showed five recognizable patterns of spatial interaction between them. (1) In the ventral division of the medial geniculate complex (vMGC), sheet-like plexuses of small terminals of different origins were situated in parallel, with minimal overlap. (2) Extensive overlap of two low-density plexuses of differently labeled small terminals was observed in the medial division of the medial geniculate complex (MGC). (3) At the transition zones between the vMGC and the superficial dorsal nucleus of the MGC dorsal division, and between the vMGC and the ventrolateral nucleus, there were relatively broad clusters of a high density of large-terminal structures from the two cortical domains, which overlapped extensively. (4) At multiple loci in the nonlemniscal nuclei, pairing of two small clusters of differently labeled large terminals was observed. (5) Small unpaired clusters of large terminals were also found in the nonlemniscal nuclei. For large terminals, approximately 14%, 59%, and 27% clusters per injection demonstrated patterns 3, 4, and 5, respectively. The results provide evidence for the precise topographical organization for the large-terminal CT system at the microscopic level despite its highly divergent projection. This microtopographical projection from the tonotopic cortical field to non-tonotopic thalamic nuclei may raise the possibility of presence of a map that has not been defined in auditory non-lemniscal thalamic nuclei yet.

Primary auditory cortex (AI) has a tonotopic map consisting of orderly isofrequency (IF) bands, and cortical connections are commonly supposed to link domains preferring similar characteristic frequencies (CFs) within AI and in auditory association cortex. The interaction of different frequency channels, however, has not fully been understood in terms of anatomical substrates. Here, by injecting two anterograde tracers in different frequency domains of cat AI, without overlap of the injection cores, we attempted to relate the anatomical mapping of cortical outputs to physiologically defined fields in the auditory cortex. Consistent with previous studies, patches of labeled axon terminals were oriented largely along the IF axis. In regions distant from the injection sites, however, terminal patches were divergent in distribution. This divergence resulted in a complex geometry of partial overlap of projections originating from the two injection sites. The relative extent of the overlap tended to vary depending on the distance between the two injection sites. Physiological mapping for tonotopy across auditory fields revealed that projectional overlap was characteristic of dorsal AI and the dorsoposterior field and, to a lesser extent, in the secondary auditory field. Considering the differences in frequency representation in different AI IF bands, the anatomical convergence of projections tuned to different CFs could contribute to the spectral integration of sound components. Furthermore, the different extent of convergence in the functionally distinct fields might reflect field-specific processing of acoustic signals.

A Digital virtual Disk (DVD) random access memory (RAM) Redundant Array of Inexpensive Libraries (RAIL) optical storage system has been developed and tested at NTT Integrated Information and Energy Systems Laboratories. The RAIL storage system incorporates multiple DVD libraries that consist of dual DVD-RAM drives. Each DVD library utilizes a single mechanical robot picker for media loading and unloading. The current capacity of the single sided and single layered DVD optical media used in that system is 2.6 gigabytes. To increase the reliability of stored data and at the same time to eliminate the need for read after Mite verification, a process that can double the recording time, a RAID 4 algorithm has been implemented in the control unit of the RAIL storage system. Data sent by the host are transferred to a control unit, that stripes data over five data groups plus one parity unit. The striped and parity data are sent to individual libraries and written to DVD media. This system writes and retrieves storage data with a transfer rate of approximate 6 MB/sec, using write and read control methods that minimize data striping overhead. Other performance factors that affect the transfer rates are the striping size and the number of drives used in the RAIL system. Experimental results indicate that stripe sizes of 32 to 64 KB are sufficient to achieve high throughput. In addition, the transfer rates showed no further increase when the number of drives exceeded eight. This RAIL optical storage system which offers data redundancy can be used for networked multimedia applications.

Summary form only given. N/sub 2/O- and/or NO-based oxynitrides are promising candidates for ultra-thin gate dielectrics (

This paper reports the issues and limitations in CMOSFET characteristics with 2 nm NO oxynitrides through investigation of the nitrogen concentration dependence on the device parameters. It is shown that threshold voltage (V/sub T/) spread rather than V/sub T/ shift is the restricting parameter which determines the minimum nitrogen concentration required in NO oxynitrides. Significant current drive reduction with increasing nitrogen concentration is observed in p-MOSFETs, and thus, compensation of penetrated boron by additional channel doping is beneficial to achieve high performance, since it pushes the minimum limitation of nitrogen concentration lower. For n-MOSFETs, it is shown that the reverse short-channel effect is suppressed in NO oxynitrides due to lower channel dopant redistribution, resulting in worse short-channel effects for high nitrogen concentrations. Accordingly, while the effective mobility under a high normal field is enhanced with increasing nitrogen concentration in n-MOSFETs, short-channel device degradation due to nitridation dominates I/sub on/ vs. I/sub off/ characteristics. Optimization of the I/sub on//I/sub off/ ratio for n-MOSFETs requires careful design of super halo profiles to control short-channel behaviour in oxynitrided devices.

In this paper, we review our results on HfSiON deposited by MOCVD. Characteristics of capacitors and FETs fabricated by the conventional poly-Si gate CMOS process are discussed. We cover the issues of flatband voltage shift, effective inversion-layer mobility in relation to fabrication method of HfSiON, design consideration of HfSiON for 50 nm CMOSFETs and dielectric reliability.

The influence of inversion-layer capacitance (C/sub inv/) on supply voltage (V/sub dd/) of n- and p-MOSFETs is quantitatively examined. Hole C/sub inv/ is experimentally evaluated in addition to electron C/sub inv/. It is found that the degradation of gate capacitance for holes due to C/sub inv/, is more severe than that for electrons. Self-consistent calculation under a simple valence band model represents the experimental hole C/sub inv/, quite well. It is demonstrated that additional band bending of a Si substrate due to C/sub inv/ becomes a dominant factor to limit the lowering of V/sub dd/ for CMOS with ultra-thin gate oxides. The operation at V/sub dd/ lower than 0.6 V is quite difficult even with effective T/sub OX/ less than 1 nm.

This paper reports the studies on the inversion-layer mobility in n-MOSFETs having N/sub 2/O- and NO-based oxynitrided gate oxides. Different behavior on the effective normal field (E/sub eff/) dependence have been found between N/sub 2/Oand NO-based oxynitrided samples. It has been found that the positioning of O-Si-N bonds slightly inner from the interface leads to higher Id in NO-samples than N/sub 2/O-samples. This improvement of Id takes place through two mechanisms. One is less surface roughness scattering due to smoother interface and the other is less Coulomb scattering probability due to remote interaction with inversion carriers.

The characteristics of dual gate CMOSFETs with oxynitride gas dielectrics were studied, and the optimization for nitrogen concentration (C/sub N/) in oxynitride film was systematically carried out. It was clarified that the required C/sub N/ for suppressing boron penetration in pMOSFET can be drastically decreased by using BC as a gate dopant instead of BF/sub 2//sup +/. Furthermore, it was found that the introduction of excess nitrogen results in the unique behaviour of short channel characteristics degradation in nMOSFET for the first time, and it becomes one of the limiting factor for nMOSFET miniaturization.

In this paper, we study the characteristics of MOSFETs with N/sub 2/O-oxynitride gate dielectrics, shallow junctions and TiSi/sub 2/ source/drain diffusions in order to investigate the overall impact of N/sub 2/O-oxynitride gate dielectrics on high performance CMOSFETs. It is demonstrated that, in addition to the mobility degradation, an increase of parasitic resistance in gate-overlapped source/drain region by the nitrogen donors contributes to the reduction of current drivability, especially in p-MOSFETs.

Reduction in plant leaf area and growth as a consequence of phosphorus (P) limitation have been attributed to the direct effects of lack of P on the expansion of individual leaves, and to reduced production of the assimilates required for growth. A series of field and pot experiments was conducted to assess the effect of low-P supply on photosynthesis, photoassimilate partitioning, leaf area expansion, and on the ethanol-soluble (cytosol) and cell wall fractions (pectin hemicellulose and cellulose). The crops used were pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan), and mashbean (Vigna aconitifolia). Phosphorus levels were 5 and 200 kg P ha−1 for the field experiments and 5 and 250 kg P ha−1 for the pot experiments. Leaves were exposed to 13CO2/12CO2 (99.5 at.% 13C) for 2 h in natural light conditions using a steady state 13CO2/12CO2 feeding system. The carbon (C) content and the 13C abundance in ethanol and water-soluble cellulose and hemicellulose fractions were determined using a mass spectrometer (MAT 252 Finnigan, San Jose, California, USA). Biomass and leaf area expansion were severely decreased by low P, however, there was genotypic variation among the pigeonpea cultivars used. Low-P treatment resulted in a decrease in P concentration in whole leaves and cell walls but an increase in the cytosol fraction. P-limitation resulted in the partitioning of more 13C assimilates to roots and less to leaves and stems. For pigeonpea, a hybrid (ICPH 8) that is more adapted to low-P conditions than the non-hybrids (ICPL 87 and UPAS 120) recorded a relatively higher amount of 13C in leaves and stems than the non-hybrids. These results suggest that at low-P availability there is increased partitioning of photoassimilates to roots and decreased partitioning to growing leaves. The synthesis into hemicellulose and cellulose in leaves is suppressed, causing an inhibition of leaf area expansion. Leaf area expansion is an important trait affecting crop productivity. Variability among crop plants in the translocation of photoassimilates to leaves and the other growing parts at low-P availability provides scope for genetic manipulation of this trait to improve the adaptation of crops to P-stressed environments.

In this work, the characteristics of CMOSFETs with heavily nitrided NO oxynitrides, which meet performance and manufacturability criteria, are investigated. The gate leakage current in NO oxynitride with sufficient nitridation is reduced by a factor of more than 10 when compared with thermal oxide of equivalent thickness. It is projected that NO oxynitride can be scaled down to an effective physical oxide thickness of 1.5 nm while maintaining strong resistance to B penetration and low standby power. Significantly enhanced diffusion of B in the Si substrate is observed during NO annealing. It is revealed that the magnitude of the diffusivity enhancement strongly depends on the NO annealing temperature, suggesting that the NO anneal process should be carefully optimized to minimize the channel/well dopant redistribution. Additionally, optimum device design for CMOSFETs with heavily nitrided NO oxynitrides is studied. It is experimentally demonstrated that careful tailoring of doping profiles for halo and S/D regions is required to minimize short-channel device degradation in heavily nitrided devices.

The distribution, morphological features, and postnatal development of parvalbumin (PV) immunoreactive neurons in the main olfactory bulb (MOB) of the house musk shrew, Suncus murinus, were studied to report for the first time on PV positive bulbar interneurons in the order Insectivora. In adult animals, PV neurons are distributed in the glomerular layer (GL), the external plexiform layer (EPL), the internal plexiform layer (IPL) and the granule cell layer (GCL) of the MOB. These neurons were identified as a subpopulation of periglomerular cells and perinidal cells [Alonso et al., 1995] in the GL and at the GL-EPL border, respectively, and as bipolar and multipolar neurons in the EPL and four types of the interneurons (horizontal cells, Cajal cells, Golgi cells, and bitufted cells) in the layers deeper than the mitral cell layer. During development of PV neurons, neurons exhibiting extremely faint PV immunoreactivity first appeared in the GCL at postnatal day 14 and increased markedly in number and intensity of their PV immunoreactivity from postnatal days 14 to 28. At postnatal day 21, PV neurons were identified as periglomerular cells in the GL, perinidal cells at the GL-EPL border, and morphologically unidentifiable neurons in the EPL, IPL and GCL. At postnatal day 28, PV neurons exhibited a nearly adult pattern with respect to distribution and structural features. The present results strongly suggest that a wide variety of PV positive neurons in the MOB of the house musk shrew may develop postnatally.

Cepharanthine, a biscoclaurine alkaloid extracted from Stephania cepharantha Hayata was examined for a possible apoptosis-inducing effect in murine P388 doxorubicin-sensitive (P388/S) and -resistant (P388/DOX) cells. A significant increase in LDH release from cells was observed after P388/S and P388/DOX cells had been exposed to cepharanthine for 24 h. Cepharanthine (10 micrograms/ml) markedly induced apoptosis in resistant cells after 6 h and 24 h. By the means of agarose electrophoresis the DNA ladder was detected in cell lines treated with cepharanthine for 24 h. Cepharanthine (1-10 micrograms/ml) also induced the production of reactive oxygen species in P388/DOX cells, while no such cepharanthine-induced increase in reactive oxygen species was observed in P388/S cells. Flow cytometry analysis showed a high level of Fas-antigen expression in P388/DOX cells treated with cepharanthine. Furthermore, we found that the inhibitition of DNA and protein synthesis caused by cepharanthine (10 micrograms/ml) was more significant in resistant cells than in sensitive cells. Cepharanthine had no effect on the GSH content of P388/S and P388/DOX cells. Our experimental results suggest that cepharanthin can induce apoptosis both in P388/S and P388/DOX cells, especially in the latter. Apoptosis induced by cepharanthine may be implicated in the production of reactive oxygen species and Fas-antigen expression in tumor cells.

We searched for the presence of the plus or minus strand of hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from three patients with chronic HCV infection using the strand-specific reverse transcription and polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. To examine whether the HCV population of PBMCs differs from that of plasma, a sequence of the hypervariable region (HVR) in the E2/NS1 region was analyzed. All three patients had both plus and minus strands of HCV RNA in their PBMCs. Sequence study revealed that the HCV population in PBMCs was homogeneous in all patients, while that in plasma was composed of two main clones. One of these had the same sequence as the clones seen in PBMCs, except for one patient. Our results suggest that PBMCs represent one of the extrahepatic replication sites of HCV and that tissue tropism is expressed by some of the HCV population.

For end-stage patients with malignant disease, home parenteral nutrition (HPN) is an effective and useful treatment in terms of pain control and nutritional support. Therefore, these patients are able to spend their final days at home with their family. In 1990, we started the treatment and have been experienced 109 cases. In this report, we evaluate these cases and which condition or circumstance are necessary to perform HPN for the terminal patients.

In the field of red blood cell cryopreservation, the latest research informations were mainly divided into two parts as follows: 1) The improvement of the frozen storage bag. 2) The long-term storage of the frozen and thawed red blood cells. That was based on the research for changing the film of frozen storage bags from polyvinyl chloride to polyolefin. In consequent, the broken ratio of the bags in the period of frozen storage was expected to reduced, immediately. And this was studied for establishment of the closed bag system and introduction of the mannitol-adenine-phosphate(MAP) solution. From these results, it was made clear that the frozen and thawed red blood cells could be stored in MAP solution at 4 degrees C for 3 weeks.

Treatment of bacterial meningitis depends on its severity. The signs, symptoms, and laboratory values of 51 patients with bacterial meningitis admitting to the Department of Pediatrics at Sendai City Hospital from January 1985 to December 1994 were analyzed in order to evaluate their prognostic value. The overall mortality rate was 3.9%. The incidence of neurological deficit on discharge was 31.4%. According to their prognoses, patients were divided into two groups: those who recovered with no detectable disabilities (good prognosis) and those who died or were left with neurological deficits (poor prognosis). An analysis of these groups using Fisher's exact probability test revealed that the following risk factors were associated with poor prognosis: 1) duration of fever (including the periods of relapse) for more than 10 days ; 2) abnormal findings on brain imaging, such as cerebral infarction, cerebral hemorrhage, cerebral abscess and subdural effusion: 3 initial serum CRP value above 16 mg/dl; 4) initial CSF glucose value below 12 mg/dl; and 5) initial CSF LDH value above 220 IU/l. Streptococcus pneumoniae infection carried the worst prognosis: the causal organism of both the two fetal cases was S. pneumoniae. The incidence of poor prognosis was also high in S. pneumoniae meningitis (60.0%), compared to those by Hemophilus influenzae (46.7%) and group B streptococcus (25.0%). In the cases in which causal agents were not detected, this incidence was as low as 10 percent, showing significant difference from cases in which causal agents were identified. In order to improve the prognosis of bacterial meningitis, factors associated with poor prognosis should be recognized at early stages of the illness.

Tacrolimus hydrate, a potent immunosuppressant produced by Streptomyces tsukubaensis, was examined for its effect on epirubicin activity in multidrug-resistant P388 leukemia (P388/R) cells overexpressing P-glycoprotein and the parent (P388/S) cells. In the absence of modulator, the 50% inhibitory concentration for epirubicin after 48-h incubation, determined using a microculture tetrazolium assay, was 0.8 microgram/ml in P388/R cells and 0.009 microgram/ml in P388/S cells. P388/R cells demonstrated a 90-fold reduction in sensitivity to epirubicin. Tacrolimus hydrate (1 and 10 microM) markedly enhanced epirubicin cytotoxicity by 4.2- and 26.7-fold for P388/R cells. A significant increase in LDH release from cells by tacrolimus hydrate was also observed in P388/R cells treated with epirubicin. Tacrolimus hydrate had a marked effect on epirubicin-induced G2/M blockade in the resistant cells. Both tacrolimus hydrate and cyclosporin A dramatically increased the accumulation of epirubicin by the resistant cells, while these compounds had no effect on epirubicin accumulation in the parent cells. Thus, tacrolimus hydrate is able to down-modulate P-glycoprotein-associated resistance through inhibition of P-glycoprotein function, suggesting that the drug may be a candidate for killing drug-resistant tumor cells.

Somatostatin (SST)-14 and mammalian (m) SST-28 [1–14] immunoreactivities of chicken pancreatic islets were investigated by using light microscopic immunohistochemistry. Chicken D-cells in both A- and B-islets showed immunoreactivity to SST-14, but not to mSST-28 [1–14]. The acid-extract from both splenic and ventral lobes of pancreas was fractionated by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography, and the SST-like immunoreactivity was measured in the radioimmunoassay using anti-SST-14 serum. In both lobes, the SST-like immunoreactivity was detected in the fraction which corresponded to that of SST-14 standard, but was not found in that of mSST-28 standard. Immunohistochemically, pancreatic endocrine D-cells of 1 amphibian, 4 reptiles and 12 birds showed the same immunostaining property as chicken D-cells. By contrast, both SST-14- and mSST-28 [1–14]-immunoreactive D-cells were observed in the pancreatic islets of 16 mammals. From these results, we concluded that chicken islet D-cells contain only SST-14-like peptide, but not SST-28-like peptide, and that this phenomenon may be common to the avian species.

The colocalization of aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase (AADC), dopamine beta-hydroxylase (DBH), S-100 protein and chromogranin A (CgA) in the insulin-containing B-cells of the chicken endocrine pancreas was investigated by using light microscopic immunohistochemistry and combined pre-embedding immunoperoxidase and post-embedding immunogold electron microscopic immunocytochemistry. Using the post-embedding method, immunoreactivity against the anti-insulin serum by protein A-gold technique was observed in the core of all types of B-cell granules. Immunoreaction with anti-S-100 protein serum was detected in the core of all types of B-cell granules. Immunoreaction with anti-S-100 protein serum was detected in the core of all types of B-cell granules from non-osmicated tissues even by post-embedding method, but immunoreactivities against the anti-AADC, DBH and CgA sera were only demonstrable in crystalloid granules of B-cells by pre-embedding method. Immunoreaction with the anti-CgA serum was also detected in the cytoplasmic matrix around crystalloid granules and also in the dense bodies showing immunonegative with anti-insulin serum. From these results, it seems likely that S-100 protein co-stored all types of B-cell granules involved in the maturation of granules, and AADC, DBH and CgA are related to the synthesis of noradrenaline in crystalloid granules of B-cells.

The effect of cycloheximide (CH) on the cytotoxic activity of the anthracycline antibiotic epirubicin (EPI) was examined in cell cultures of murine leukemia doxorubicin (DOX)-sensitive P388 and -resistant P388 cells. The addition of CH (0.002 mu g/ml) to the growth medium markedly enhanced the EPI-induced cytotoxic effect in sensitive cells as well as that observed in resistant cells. CH, however, did not affect the intracellular content of EPI. The inhibition of DNA synthesis in leukemia cells was remarkable with the combination of EPI and CH compared with each drug alone. These results suggest that the combination of EPI and CH appears to be useful in killing mouse leukemia cells.