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In peripheral tissues, cells are maintained in the interstitial fluid that flows from capillaries to lymph system. However, the brain has no lymphatic capillaries, and the actual state of the interstitial fluid has long been unknown. Recently, a glymphatic system has been proposed in which part of the cerebrospinal fluid flowing on the surface of brain tissue enters the brain parenchyma via the peri-arterial space, becomes interstitial fluid, and then flows out again from the peri-venous space. Brain injury due to head contusion or stroke is thought to impair the intracerebral circulation and aggravate the extracellular environment, but the actual situation is unknown. Therefore, in this study, we examined the effects of focal brain tissue damage on intracerebral circulation using the light-injured mouse, an originally developed closed head injury model. In light-injured mice, the injury-making process does not affect intracerebral circulation because the cranium is maintained. However, this method has quantitative problems, so we developed a method to image cerebrospinal fluid and blood vessels from the surface of the cerebral cortex. After examining different injury sites and different time periods after injury, it was found that intracerebral circulation was reduced to the same extent on the ipsilateral and contralateral sides of the injury at one-week post-injury. This intracerebral circulatory deficit was still partially present at four-weeks post-injury. These results indicate that the intracerebral circulation is extensively impaired by local injury and neurodegenerative diseases.

An inelastic neutron scattering study has been performed in an S = 3/2 bilayer honeycomb lattice compound Bi(3)Mn(4)O(12)(NO(3)) at ambient and high magnetic fields. Relatively broad and monotonically dispersive magnetic excitations were observed at ambient field, where no long-range magnetic order exists. In the magnetic-field-induced long-range ordered state at 10 T, the magnetic dispersions become slightly more intense, albeit still broad as in the disordered state, and two excitation gaps, probably originating from an easy-plane magnetic anisotropy and intrabilayer interactions, develop. Analyzing the magnetic dispersions using the linear spin-wave theory, we estimated the intraplane and intrabilayer magnetic interactions, which are almost consistent with those determined by ab initio density functional theory calculations [M. Alaei et al., Phys. Rev. B 96, 140404(R) (2017)], except the third and fourth neighbor intrabilayer interactions. Most importantly, as predicted by the theory, there is no significant frustration in the honeycomb plane but frustrating intrabilayer interactions probably give rise to the disordered ground state.

Background The Catheter Ablation versus Standard Conventional Therapy in Patients with Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Atrial Fibrillation (CASTLE-AF) trial has shown that the catheter ablation (CA) for atrial fibrillation (AF) significantly reduced the risk of death and hospitalization for heart failure in patients with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM) and AF (N Engl J Med 2018; 378:417–27). In addition, the Catheter Ablation Versus Medical Rate Control in Atrial Fibrillation and Systolic Dysfunction (CAMERA-MRI) study demonstrated that the absence of myocardial fibrosis on late gadolinium enhanced (LGE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is associated with improvement of left ventricular systolic function after CA in NIDCM patients with AF (J Am Coll Cardiol 2017; 70:1949–61). Extracellular volume fraction (ECV) by T1 mapping has emerges as a non-invasive mean to quantify diffuse myocardial fibrosis. Purpose The aim of this study was to compare the predictive value of LGE-MRI and ECV by T1 mapping for the prediction of improvement of LVEF after CA in NIDCM patients. Methods A total of twenty-eight patients with NIDCM and AF (age: 67±10 years; 25 (89%) male; LVEF: 34.1±8.8%) were studied. Using a 1.5T MR scanner and 32 channel cardiac coils, cine MRI, LGE-MRI, pre- and post- T1 mapping images of LV wall at mid-ventricular level (modified Look-Locker inversion recovery sequence) were acquired. Myocardial fibrosis on LGE was defined as area with >5SD signal intensity of normal myocardium. ECV from six segments of mid ventricular level were averaged for each patient. All patients underwent CA for AF, and the improvement of LVEF before and after CA were evaluated by echocardiography. Results All patients restored sinus rhythm after CA at the time of echocardiography. The mean LVEF was 34.1±8.8% before CA and 49.1±12.0% after CA (p Conclusions In NIDCM patients with AF, ECV by T1 mapping had better predictive ability for improvement of LVEF after CA in comparison to LGE-MRI. ROC curves of ECV and LGE-MRI Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

Background The feature tracking (FT) technique has been proposed as a robust method to evaluate the myocardial strain using conventional cine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the left ventricle. Data is limited regarding the relationship between FT-derived myocardial strain and diffuse myocardial fibrosis evaluated by T1 mapping in patients with non-ischemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM). Purpose The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between extracellular volume (ECV) by T1 mapping and myocardial strain by FT in patients with NIDCM. Methods A total of sixty-four patients with NIDCM (62±12 years) and 15 controls (62±11 years) were studied. Using a 1.5T MR scanner, pre- and post- T1 mapping images of LV wall at mid-ventricular level was acquired to calculate ECV by modified Look-Locker inversion recovery (MOLLI) sequence. Radial strain (RS), circumferential strain (CS) and longitudinal strain (LS) was assessed by FT technique. ECV and myocardial strain were compared using a 6-segment model at mid-ventricular level. Results Compared to the controls, the NIDCM patients had a significantly higher ECV (0.30±0.02 vs. 0.24±0.01, p Conclusions In NIDCM patients, severity of myocardial fibrosis evaluated by T1 mapping is associated with impaired myocardial strain by FT technique. Correlation between the ECV and strain Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding source: None

High-fat diet (HFD) feeding stimulates fat accumulation in mammals and Drosophila. In the present study, we examined whether simultaneous feeding of familiar anti-obesity drugs, quercetin glycosides (QG) and epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), to Drosophila has the same suppressive effect on fat accumulation as previously reported in rats and mice. To understand the underlying molecular mechanisms of HFD diet-induced obesity and the suppression effect of the drugs, we performed transcriptome analyses.We induced extra fat accumulation by feeding Drosophila fly food containing 20% coconut oil and quantified the triglyceride accumulated in flies. The effects of anti-obesity drugs were also evaluated. We isolated total RNA from each sample and performed RNA-seq analyses and quantitive Real Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) to investigate altered gene expression.The mRNA levels of several genes involved in lipid metabolism, glycolysis/gluconeogenesis, and anti-oxidative stress changed in HFD-fed adults. Moreover, the levels altered in those fed an HFD with QG or EGCG. The qRT-PCR further confirmed the RNA-seq data, suggesting that the expression of five essential genes for lipid metabolism changed in HFD-fed flies and altered in the flies treated with anti-obesity drugs. The most remarkable alteration was observed in the dHSL gene encoding a lipase involved in lipid-storage after HFD feeding and HFD with QG or EGCG. These alterations are consistent with HFD-induced fat accumulation as well as the anti-obesity effects of the drugs in mammals, suggesting that the genes play an important role in anti-obesity effects.These are the first reports to date of entire profiles of altered gene expression under the conditions of diet-induced obesity and its suppression by anti-obesity drugs in Drosophila.

Compressed hydrogen is delivered by trailers in steel cylinders at 19.6 MPa in Japan. Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd. developed two compressed hydrogen trailers with composite cylinders in collaboration with JX Nippon Oil in a project of the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). The first trailer, which was the first hydrogen trailer with composite cylinder in Japan, has 35 MPa cylinders and the second trailer has 45 MPa cylinders. These trailers have been operated transporting hydrogen and feedstock to hydrogen refueling stations without the accident. This paper describes the safety design, including compliance with regulations, the influence of vibrations, and safety verification in case of a collision.

The PD-1/B7-H1 pathway regulates immune responses and maintains homeostasis. Here, we identified a unique expression of B7 homolog 1 (B7-H1) on masticatory mucosae in the oral cavity. B7-H1 was physiologically expressed on the dorsal surface of the tongue, gingiva, and hard palate. Other squamous epithelia and other structures of the epithelia did not express B7-H1 in the steady state. Physiological B7-H1 expression on masticatory mucosae was limited on prickle cells, and its expression on basal keratinocytes (KCs) was strictly regulated. B7-H1 on prickle cells was upregulated by external topical stimuli, but B7-H1 on basal KCs was induced only by internal stimuli via infiltrating cells. The blocking of KC-associated B7-H1 or the lack of programmed cell death-1 (PD-1) on tissue effector CD4

K. Yamashiro, K. Taira, M. Nakajima, D. Okuyama, M. Azuma, H. Takeda, H. Suzuki, H. Jotoku, K. Watanabe, M. Takahashi, K. Taguchi and M. Tamura Tissue rinse liquid-based cytology: a feasible tool for the intraoperative pathological evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer patients Objectives: A unique diagnostic method was designed for the intraoperative pathological evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in breast cancer patients, and the results were verified with 2 years of experience. Methods: Excised lymph nodes were cut into 2-mm-thick slices and rinsed thoroughly in CytoRich Red®. The sliced tissues were embedded in a paraffin block. Three cytological glass slides of the cells exfoliated in CytoRich Red® were prepared by the SurePath® liquid-based cytology (LBC) technique. Two slides were stained by the Papanicolaou method, and the remaining slide was immunostained with an anti-keratin antibody. This process is called tissue rinse liquid-based cytology (TRLBC). The results of TRLBC were compared with those of the final pathological diagnoses, including immunostaining with an anti-keratin antibody on paraffin blocks (PB). Results: This study analysed 444 SLNs from 247 consecutive breast cancer patients. It required 35 minutes to complete the intraoperative diagnosis on a single node, and it took an additional 5 minutes per node if more than one node was submitted. When the results of PB were assumed to be the gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity of TRLBC were 81.9% and 96.1%, respectively. TRLBC detected all nodes with macrometastasis and 23 of 24 nodes with micrometastasis. Fifteen false-negative TRLBC results were ‘isolated tumour cell clusters’ on PB, but there was one with micrometastasis histologically. Four of 14 false-positive TRLBC results were proven to be true positive by supplementary examination using step sectioning of the paraffin blocks of the nodes. Conclusion: TRLBC is a feasible and promising intraoperative cytopathological tool showing a comparable efficacy to PB while still allowing the conventional postoperative histological examination.

K. Yamashiro, M. Tagami, K. Azuma, A. Nakamura, O. Kato, K. Taira, M. Azuma, H. Takeda and H. Suzuki Cytodiagnosis through use of a z-axis video by volunteer observers: a promising tool for external quality assessment Objective: This study examined whether cytological diagnosis through the use of a video, which shows the changing depth of focus in the microscopic field, described as a z-axis video, is useful compared with a still image. Methods: From 17 cytology preparations of fine needle aspiration of the breast, we made six z-axis videos per case. A frame exhibiting the characteristic features was then extracted from each video and saved as a representative still image. One hundred and twenty-eight volunteer cytotechnologists were randomly divided into two groups of video observers and still image observers. The participants were asked to make a diagnosis of benign, indeterminate, suspicious or malignant without having any clinical information other than the age of the patient. Diagnoses were categorized as ‘recommended’ or ‘unacceptable’ according to degree of correlation with histology. Results: The number of definitive diagnoses of ‘benign’ or ‘malignant’ were increased in video observers, and indeterminate or suspicious categories were decreased (P = 0.013). The distribution of diagnostic categories in three of the 17 cases was significantly different; the distribution in the remaining cases was similar between the two groups. The z-axis video observers may have selected the definite diagnoses with confidence because they observed valuable microscopic findings by ‘focusing through observation’. The average number of ‘recommended’ diagnoses by individual observers was significantly higher in the video observer group than in the still image observer group (P = 0.016). In contrast, the average number of ‘unacceptable’ diagnoses was significantly lower (P = 0.019). Conclusions: A z-axis video is easy to obtain and is therefore expected to become a powerful diagnostic modality for the external quality assessment of clinical cytology and even in the field of primary cytodiagnosis.

NHK has developed a system for computer generation of Japanese Sign Language (JSL) graphics for meteorological information. As JSL is a different language from Japanese, persons whose first language is JSL have been demanding more TV programmes with sign language in addition to the closed caption services. The JSL CG system automatically generates animations from the telegrams distributed by the Japan Meteorological Agency so that the user can immediately see the latest meteorological information on the Internet. In addition, we are now working on development to adapt the system to the NHK Hybridcast, which is the integrated broadcast and broadband system in Japan. A major issue for the CG animations to be accepted by persons who use JSL for their daily communication is that the automatically generated hand movements of the animated characters connecting the sign language words may seem unnatural. Therefore we have developed a new method for connecting and interpolating between sign language word motions.

Tensile deformation behaviour in NbSi2 and MoSi2 single crystals with the C40 and C11b structure, respectively, was examined in a temperature range up to 1500 °C and compared with that under compression, focusing on the temperature dependence of the critical resolved shear stress (CRSS), elongation/fracture strain and crack initiation process. Two different types (Type A and Type B) of geometry of NbSi2 tensile specimens were used to evaluate elongation and fracture behaviour. No difference in the CRSS for the 0001 2 1 1 0 slip of NbSi2 and that for the {011) 10 1 0 1 3 1 2 10 , 10 1 1 1 3 1 2 10 , 10 1 0 0001 and 11 2 Y 112X ( X×Y=−6 ) were found near the crack path in NbSi2 deformed at 1000 °C.

Permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs) with rare-earth permanent magnets (PMs) are most popular for automotive applications in which high torque density and high efficiency are required. Because the rare-earth materials have risks of lacking stable supply, rare-earth-free motors such as claw pole motors are widely studied. This paper presents the driving characteristics of a claw pole motor with no use of heavy rare-earth materials. In this motor the magnetic flux density in the air gap can be controlled arbitrarily by controlling field current. This paper shows that the variable field excitation can contribute to enlarge high efficiency range compared with fixed field excitation. Moreover, the electricity consumption driven in the Japan's fuel economy criteria (JC08 cycle) as EV and HEV applications are discussed.

Chlorinated intrinsic amorphous silicon films [a-Si:H(Cl)] and solar cell i-layers were fabricated using electron cyclotron resonance-assisted chemical vapor deposition (ECR-CVD) and SiH 2 Cl 2 source gas. n–i–p solar cells deposited on ZnO–coated SnO 2 substrates had poor photovoltaic performances despite the good electronic properties measured on the a-Si:H(Cl) films. Improved open–circuit voltage ( V oc ) of 0.84 V and fill factor (FF) of 54% were observed in n–i–p solar cells by providing an n/i buffer layer and by using Ga-doped ZnO coated glass substrates. However, the FF improvement was still rather poor, which is thought to originate from high interface recombination in the ECR deposited solar cells. The V oc and the FF showed much stable feature against light soaking.

An annealing 650°C process for SrBi2Ta2O9 (SBT) has been achieved in metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). An optimized post anneal step at 650°C is also included. The samples showed a high remnant polarization (2Pr) of 14 μC/cm2 @5V, low leakage current of 10−8 A/cm2 or less @4V, and a fatigue-free nature. This is the first report of MOCVD deposited SBT that can achieve 650°C crystallization with the post annealing.

Plastic behavior and anomalous strengthening in various C40-type silicide single crystals are reviewed. The anomalous strengthening occurs in binary and ternary C40-type silicides at high temperatures. MoSi 2 and WSi 2 crystallize in the C11 b structure. Additional Mo and W atoms in NbSi 2 -based silicides may preferentially gather at the superlattice intrinsic stacking fault between two 1/6 〈1 2 10〉 superpartials and form a strong dragging atmosphere. The anomalous strengthening is due to the dragging atmosphere around moving 1/3 〈1 2 10〉 superlattice dislocations. Formation of the atmosphere can improve high temperature strength of NbSi 2 -based silicides with the C40 structure: the anomalous peak temperature is shifted from 1400 to 1600°C, and the peak stress height rises with increasing concentration of Mo and W addition. Attempts to improve the ductility and high-temperature strength of C40-based polycrystalline silicides are also made by controlling the microstructure and species of constituent phase and volume fraction of each phase. Lamellar structure in pseudo binary MoSi 2 /NbSi 2 is produced during the phase transformation from the C40 to C11 b phase after the peritectic reaction. The lamellar structure effectively maintains the good thermal stability and improve the high-temperature strength.

Pseudo-binary (Mo0.90Nb0.10)Si2 and (Mo0.85Nb0.15)Si2 containing duplex C11b and C40 phases were prepared in a slow solidification process using the floating zone method to obtain basic knowledge regarding control of their microstructure. In (Mo0.90Nb0.10)Si2 a thick band-like C40 phase was formed along grain boundaries in the C11b matrix, while peculiar fine lamellar colonies composed of the C11b and C40 phases appeared in (Mo0.85Nb0.15)Si2 accompanied by constituent large C11b and C40 grains. The orientation relationship between the two phases at the lamellar boundary was determined to be (0001)C40∥(110)C11b and [1120]C40∥[111]C11b. Although the atomic stacking sequence changed from three-fold periodical layers on (0001) planes in the C40 phase to two-fold layers on (110) planes in the C11b phase at the lamellar boundary, the lattice mismatch at the interface was very small (within 3%), resulting in good thermal stability of this microstructure and high strength at high temperatures. The phase transformation must proceed by the motion of all four 1 6 〈112〉-type partial dislocations on two layers of every three (0001) layers in the C40 phase to avoid large lattice distortion.

The temperature dependence of retention failures in a 288-bit ferroelectric memory device using SrBi2(Ta,Nb)2O9 was studied. The retention times until failure occurred were fit to a model having a relationship of log(log(logtf) vs. 1/T for the period of infant mortality and to the Arrhenius model having the form of logtf vs. 1/T for the period of random failures, where tf is the time to failure and T is the temperature. The activation energy was found to be 0.35 eV for infant failures and 1.15 eV for random failures. This paper discusses possible causes for the different activation energies.

Ferroelectric non-volatile memories (FENVM) are fabricated using spin-coat and fire deposition of the SrBi2Ta2O9 layered perovskite ferroelectric. Test memories using a 2 transistor-2 capacitor bit cell, top contacts to capacitors and single level metal were fabricated. We report here on the integration and electrical characteristics of fully functional 1 Kbit test memories.

We serially measured the levels of serum N-terminal peptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP), the 7S domain of type IV collagen (IV-7S), and hyaluronate (HA) before (0 month), at the end (6 months), and 24 weeks after the end of interferon therapy (12 months) in patients with chronic hepatitis type C to estimate the effects of interferon alfa (IFN-alpha) on serum levels of hepatic fibrogenesis markers. One hundred twenty-one patients with chronic hepatitis type C received intramuscular injection of 6 million U of natural IFN-alpha for 24 weeks. Patients were divided into three groups: sustained complete response (CR-S), complete response with rebound (CR-R), and nonresponse (NR). Serum PIIINP, IV-7S, and HA levels were significantly decreased and reached normal levels at 12 months in CR-S; only IV-7S levels were significantly decreased at 12 months in CR-R, whereas these levels remained abnormally high in the NR. These results suggest that IFN- alpha therapy could lower the levels of serum hepatic fibrogenesis markers along with improvements in hepatic inflammation. (Hepatology 1996 Jul;24(1):27-31)

We serially measured the levels of serum N-terminal peptide of type III procollagen (PIIINP), the 7S domain of type IV collagen (IV-7S), and hyaluronate (HA) before (0 month), at the end (6 months), and 24 weeks after the end of interferon therapy (12 months) in patients with chronic hepatitis type C to estimate the effects of interferon alfa (IFN-alpha) on serum levels of hepatic fibrogenesis markers. One hundred twenty-one patients with chronic hepatitis type C received intramuscular injection of 6 million U of natural IFN-alpha for 24 weeks. Patients were divided into three groups: sustained complete response (CR-S), complete response with rebound (CR-R), and nonresponse (NR). Serum PIIINP, IV-7S, and HA levels were significantly decreased and reached normal levels at 12 months in CR-S; only IV-7S levels were significantly decreased at 12 months in CR-R, whereas these levels remained abnormally high in the NR. These results suggest that IFN-alpha therapy could lower the levels of serum hepatic fibrogenesis markers along with improvements in hepatic inflammation.

Marked improvement was observed in a-Si:H prepared from SiH2Cl2 at the high growth rate of 15 A/s by ECR-hydrogen plasma. The defect densities in the annealed state and the saturated state after light soaking are maintained at low levels, (1–5) × 1015 cm−3 and (2–5) × 1016 cm−3, for the films with a wide range of the structural parameters such as the optical gap (1.75–1.95 eV), hydrogen content (5–20 at.%), and content of SiH2 bonds (2–10 at.%). In addition, no marked changes were observed in the behavior of light induced degradation as the Fermi level position of the films was varied in a range of 0.6 eV. This leads us to conclude that the defect precursors are efficiently eliminated from the Si-network during the film growth.

We have successfully incorporated the ferroelectric and the high dielectric constant capacitors into integrated circuits. The GaAs MMICs with BST capacitors have been widely used for cellular phones. The BST technology is also applied to a silicon CCD delayline processor for VCRs and camcorders. With respect to the ferroelectric technology with Y1, an experimentally fabricated 256k bit FeRAM has exhibited the remarkable performance of the 100 ns and 3V operation with a 1T/1C cell configuration dedicated for the FeRAM. These integrated ferroelectrics have been achieved by controlling the ferroelectric properties in thin films and incorporating the films into GaAs and silicon devices with outstanding process technology. Furthermore, we refer to the memory cell design technology which enables the FeRAM to work below 1V. Various advantages of low-voltage and high-speed operation inherent in integrated ferroelectrics will be emphasized on the intelligent microelectronics applications toward the next m...

Bronchial asthma is associated with eosinophilic inflammation and expression of T-cell-derived cytokines, which influence eosinophilic function. FK506, a newly established immunosuppressive agent, may have potential as a therapeutic instrument for asthma because of its suppressive effect on T-cell activation. To assess this, we compared the inhibitory effects of FK506 and cyclosporin A on production of granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor and interleukin-5 by interleukin-2- or Dermatophagoides farinae-stimulated mononuclear cells from patients with asthma, and their contribution to proliferation and survival of eosinophils in vitro. FK506 inhibited granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor production by stimulated mononuclear cells from asthma patients at lower concentrations than cyclosporin A. Both drugs inhibited eosinophil proliferation and survival activity from mononuclear cells at comparable concentrations. Interleukin-5 production by stimulated mononuclear cells was also inhibited both by FK506 and cyclosporin A. We conclude that both FK506 and cyclosporin A have potential for therapy of bronchial asthma.

Murine AIDS (MAIDS) is induced by infection with the replication-defective virus (BM5def) component in the LP-BM5 murine leukemia virus (MuLV) mixture. The disease is characterized by polyclonally activated CD4+ T cells and B cells. It is known that BM5def is expressed at highest levels in B lymphocytes and that B cells serve as viral antigen-presenting cells. Full and sustained activation of CD4+ T cells against a conventional Ag usually requires both TCR and costimulating signals. Among various molecules known to provide costimulatory function, the expression of CD54 (ICAM-1) and CD11a/CD18 (LFA-1) on MAIDS B cells was increased, whereas that of CD2, heat-stable Ag (CD24), CD80 (B7-1), and CD86 (B7-2) was unchanged from normal. C57BL/6 mice depleted of both CD54 and CD11a expression as a result of chronic administration of mAb had developed no MAIDS at 4 wk and 8 wk after LP-BM5 MuLV infection. In addition, the proliferative response of B cells to mitogen was well conserved, whereas MAIDS-associated increases in serum Ig levels were inhibited. Replication of BM5def was suppressed markedly in infected mice treated with the CD54 and CD11a mAbs. These results suggest that the CD54/CD11a signal transduction pathway is a critical determinant of MAIDS development, and the lack of an immune response against viral Ag is enough to suppress BM5def replication and to prevent MAIDS.

This paper presents a specification of a claw pole motor that has a field excitation coil for hybrid electric vehicles. The characteristic of the claw pole motor is no use of Dy and Tb which can increase torque capability. The filed excitation which can be generated by controlling filed current in a rotor provides us controllable efficiency. Additional ferrite magnets are installed between the rotor poles for the purpose of increasing torque capability due to moderating magnetic saturation of each claw. FE analysis and experimental results are shown in this paper.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) is a potent orexigenic neuropeptide implicated in feeding regulation in mammals. However, except for the case of the goldfish, the involvement of NPY in the feeding behaviour of teleost fish has not well been studied. Therefore, we investigated the role of NPY in food intake using a zebrafish (Danio rerio) model because the molecular bases of NPY and its receptor have been well studied in this species. We examined the effect of feeding status on NPY-like immunoreactivity and the expression level of the NPY transcript in the brain. The number of neuronal cells showing NPY-like immunoreactivity in the hypothalamic regions, including the periventricular nucleus of posterior tuberculum and the posterior tuberal nucleus, was significantly increased in fish fasted for 7 days. NPY mRNA levels in the hypothalamus, but not the telencephalon, obtained from fish fasted for 7 days were higher than those in fish that had been fed normally. We then investigated the effect of i.c.v. administration of NPY on food intake. Cumulative food intake was significantly increased by i.c.v. administration of NPY (at 1 and 10 pmol/g body weight; BW) during a 60-min observation period. The NPY-induced orexigenic action (at 10 pmol/g BW) was blocked by treatment with a NPY Y1 receptor antagonist, BIBP-3226, at 100 pmol/g BW. These results indicate that NPY acts as an orexigenic factor in the zebrafish.

We present a study of breakdown fields in BaxSr1−xTiO3 ceramics as functions of thickness, temperature, applied voltage ramp rate, electrode material and cross-sectional area. The data show evidence of Zener-like breakdown mechanisms. The d.c. leakage currents at voltages below breakdown are dominated by tunneling injection and image forces at low voltages (≤3 V), Schottky behavior at intermediate voltages V a (3 V ≤ V a ≤ 6 V; 150 kV/cm ≤ E ≤ 300 kV/cm), and Fowler-Nordheim tunneling at high voltages; it is shown that both the Schottky emission regime and the ultimate breakdown arise from inter-grain effects rather than the BST/electrode interface, in accord with the theory of Neumann and Arlt and of Waser and Klee. In contrast to PbZrxTi1−xO3 (PZT), which displays avalanche breakdown and space-charge limited d.c. leakage currents at normal 5 V silicon IC voltages, BST exhibits Schottky-dominated leakage currents in this 5 V regime, and is dominated by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling in its breakdown ...

The ethanol extract from the leaves of Camellia japonica L., Theaceae, showed antiradical potential in the DPPH test using TLC plates (SiO2). Aiming the isolation of active compounds, this extract was partitioned between BuOH:H2O (1:1) and the two obtained phases were also evaluated to detection of antiradical activity. The active BuOH phase was fractionated in Sephadex LH-20 and silica (normal or reverse phase) to afford three aglycone flavonoids (quercetin, kaempferol and apigenin), which have been described in the C. japonica at first time, two glycosilated flavonoids (rutin and quercetrin), and a mixture of saturated fatty acids. The structures of isolated compounds were defined by NMR and GC/MS analyses.

A unique diagnostic method was designed for the intraoperative pathological evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) in breast cancer patients, and the results were verified with 2 years of experience.Excised lymph nodes were cut into 2-mm-thick slices and rinsed thoroughly in CytoRich Red(®). The sliced tissues were embedded in a paraffin block. Three cytological glass slides of the cells exfoliated in CytoRich Red(®) were prepared by the SurePath(®) liquid-based cytology (LBC) technique. Two slides were stained by the Papanicolaou method, and the remaining slide was immunostained with an anti-keratin antibody. This process is called tissue rinse liquid-based cytology (TRLBC). The results of TRLBC were compared with those of the final pathological diagnoses, including immunostaining with an anti-keratin antibody on paraffin blocks (PB).This study analysed 444 SLNs from 247 consecutive breast cancer patients. It required 35 minutes to complete the intraoperative diagnosis on a single node, and it took an additional 5 minutes per node if more than one node was submitted. When the results of PB were assumed to be the gold standard, the sensitivity and specificity of TRLBC were 81.9% and 96.1%, respectively. TRLBC detected all nodes with macrometastasis and 23 of 24 nodes with micrometastasis. Fifteen false-negative TRLBC results were 'isolated tumour cell clusters' on PB, but there was one with micrometastasis histologically. Four of 14 false-positive TRLBC results were proven to be true positive by supplementary examination using step sectioning of the paraffin blocks of the nodes.TRLBC is a feasible and promising intraoperative cytopathological tool showing a comparable efficacy to PB while still allowing the conventional postoperative histological examination.

A-Si:H stable against light soaking was fabricated from SiCl2H2 fed into an activated hydrogen flow generated by an ECR plasma. Both hydrogen content (CH, at.%) and optical gap (Eg, eV) were reduced simultaneously with increasing substrate temperature (Ts, °C), which implies that structural relaxation is enhanced at the growing surface due to a strong interaction of hydrogen and chlorine. Meanwhile, hydrogen in the Si network was reduced to 6 at.% at a Ts of 220 °C or lower by hydrogen treatment without reducing the optical gap. These films showed some attractive features, viz., low electric conductivity of

Dielectric breakdown has been studied in several materials intended for high-dielectric DRAMs (dynamic random access memories), emphasizing lead zirconate-titanate (PZT) and barium strontium titanate (BST) ceramics. In this paper recent results from PZT are presented. In order to distinguish among impulse thermal breakdown, dc thermal breakdown, and avalanche breakdown mechanisms, studies have been carried out as functions of temperature, electrode material and shape, frequency and duration of applied fields, and specimen size and shape. Notable in the results is the fact that maximum breakdown field varies directly with electrode work function but is uncorrelated with electrode thermal conductivity; this militates against a purely thermal breakdown interpretation and instead favors an avalanche mechanism in which the initial step is electronic followed by thermal run-away. Thickness dependence also favors avalanche mechanisms, but dependence upon applied field ramp rate favors an impulse thermal mechanism.