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A car-borne survey of air dose rate measurements was performed yearly from 2011 to 2013 to determine the levels of environmental radiation in Gunma prefecture after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in 2011. The results revealed that the average ambient doses in each year were 85.3 ± 34.1 nGy/h in 2011, 60.3 ± 19.9 nGy/h in 2012, and 43.5 ± 15.1 nGy/h in 2013. The ambient dose rate in 2011, which was about three times higher than the average of 27.0 ± 7.1 nGy/h in 1998, was still in safety level considering the public health, and the ambient dose rate subsequently decreased in 2013 to approximately half the 2011 level. A contour map of the ambient dose rate showed relatively higher levels in the northern and western parts of the prefecture, with relatively lower levels toward the eastern and southern parts.

Radon and thoron concentration in the outdoor environment are affected by the magnitude of the exhalation rate that can vary diurnally and seasonally. This paper presents measurement results of radon and thoron exhalation rates and gamma-ray dose rate in different season at same location points in Gunma Prefecture Japan. Exhalation rates were measured by the MSZ instrument which is based on the accumulation method. Three measurement points Katashina Village, Midori City and Takasaki City were selected for measurement. Soil water saturation and soil temperature were measured to investigate their relationship with exhalation rate. The diurnal variation of exhalation rate may be correlated with soil temperature but no clear relationship was found between them. The gamma-ray dose rate do not vary significantly at the same places even in different season. The average radon exhalation rates were 11 ± 2, 2 ± 1, 5 ± 3 and 11 ± 4 mBq m−2 s−1 for spring, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. Those for thoron were 1,100 ± 100, 120 ± 30, 250 ± 80 and 860 ± 140 mBq m−2 s−1. Thus there was a variation of radon and thoron exhalation rate with different seasons. The radon and thoron exhalation rates in the summer and autumn surveys are higher than those in the spring and winter surveys which were affected by rainfall. It indicates that water saturation is an influential factor for radon and thoron exhalation rates.

A second cooling test of CASER2, the 200 m class superconducting direct current power transmission system at Chubu University, was performed from August to October 2010. During this time, the system was cooled down and the liquid nitrogen which cooled the superconducting power cable was circulated in the cryogenic pipe of CASER2. The heat leak of the cryogenic pipe was measured and the values of about 300 W was obtained. This result will be used further improvements of CASER2.

In the present experiments three straight high temperature superconducting BSCCO tapes were set parallel to each other on a board and the currents were fed to the tapes. The critical currents of the tape which was set between two tapes were measured with respect to the gap between the tapes. We observed that the critical current increases with decreasing the gap. The calculation of the magnetic flux lines around the tape by finite element method demonstrates the effect on self magnetic field by the adjacent tapes. We could provide some hints on how to arrange the tapes in the power cable for DC power transmission.

The 200-meter DC cable test facility was constructed in Chubu University. The cryogenic pipe is composed of two pipes, and the material of the inner pipe is stainless steel (SS304). The outer pipe is the straight pipe, and made from the iron steel because of high strength, low cost and not low temperature. If the cable structure is co-axial, the magnetic field is not generated outside the cable, and the ferromagnetism of the iron steel is not affected to the electric circuit. However, if the single core cable is used, the ferromagnetic effect of the outer pipe should be considered. Therefore, we measured the inductances of the cable after the construction of the experimental device. The measured inductance of the co-axial cable is matched with the analytical value, and it is very small. But the measured inductance of the single core cable configuration, it is 0. 4 mH. This is a large value, and therefore we can save the inductor in the power converter. Moreover, the energy storage can be available in the grid power line if large current operation is used.

We constructed a test stand of 20 m-class DC superconducting power transmission cable in Chubu University, in 2006. The cable consisted of thirty-nine Bi-2223 HTS tapes in two layers; nineteen tapes were used in the first layer and twenty tapes were used in the second layer. One of the features of the cable is that each HTS tape in the first layer is electrically isolated. Therefore, we can apply the current to the individual HTS tapes in the first layer. We measured critical current of the one HTS tape in the first layer when current was applied to the other HTS tapes, and compared the result with the magnetic field calculation due to the applied current. The critical current increased by 2 ~ 4% when the current was applied to all other eighteen HTS tapes in the same layer. From the magnetic field calculation, we concluded that the self magnetic field of the measured HTS tape was eliminated at the tape edge by the applied magnetic field from the neighbor HTS tapes, and then the critical current increased.

In this paper, we proposed a new image quality evaluation index-color distribution index (CDI). It considers color gamut, contrast ratio, maximum luminance, gamma characteristics, and just noticeable difference (JND) as human visual system to evaluate the ability for reproducing visually smooth gradation. When the CDI cell was defined, we verified JND from a fundamental matter, such as JND in luminance and chromaticity, using the latest TV sets. According to our investigations, luminance JND was AL/L = 0.01 and chromaticity JND was Au'v' = 0.001. We used these with unit CDI cell and evaluated bit depth needed for high image quality without any visible false contour. We clarified that 12 bit is needed for necessary and sufficient condition to reproduce high image quality with TV set designed based on BT.709. Also, we clarified that color gamut, contrast ratio, maximum luminance, gamma characteristics and bit depth should be balanced to achieve TV sets of high image quality from the viewpoint of the total image quality improvement.

The cellular and molecular features of multipotent epithelial cells during regeneration and asexual reproduction in colonial tunicates are described in the present study. The epicardium has been regarded as the endodermal tissue-forming epithelium in the order Enterogona, because only body fragments having the epicardium exhibit the regenerative potential. Epicardial cells in Polycitor proliferus have two peculiar features; they always accompany coelomic undifferentiated cells, and they contain various kinds of organelles in the cytoplasm. During strobilation a large amount of organelles are discarded in the lumen, and then, each tissue-forming cell takes an undifferentiated configuration. Septum cells in the stolon are also multipotent in Enterogona. Free cells with a similar configuration to the septum inhabit the hemocoel. They may provide a pool for epithelial septum cells. At the distal tip of the stolon, septum cells are columnar in shape and apparently undifferentiated. They are the precursor of the stolonial bud. In Pleurogona, the atrial epithelium of endodermal origin is multipotent. In Polyandrocarpa misakiensis, it consists of pigmented squamous cells. The cells have ultrastructurally fine granules in the cytoplasm. During budding, coelomic cells with similar morphology become associated with the atrial epithelium. Then, cells of organ placodes undergo dedifferentiation, enter a cell division cycle, and commence morphogenesis. Retinoic acid-related molecules are involved in this dedifferentiation process of multipotent cells. We conclude that in colonial tunicates two systems support the flexibility of tissue remodeling during regeneration and asexual reproduction; dedifferentiation of epithelial cells and epithelial transformation of coelomic free cells.

Body muscle-cell differentiation was ultrastructurally examined in palleal buds of the colonial tunicate Symplegma reptans. Undifferentiated coelomic cells accumulate near the primordial oral siphon and associate with the basal lamina beneath the epidermis. They initially display the characteristics of hemoblast cells that have a large nucleus with a prominent nucleolus and narrow cytoplasm filled with polysomes. However, they soon become unique due to the development of an indented contour of the nucleus. When the basal lamina of the epidermis develops into the fibrous extracellular matrix (ECM), the muscle precursor cell has the deeply-notched nucleus, and thick and thin filaments in the cytoplasm facing the ECM. Collagen fibril-like structures appear in the ECM. Myofilaments are arranged with the ratio of thick to thin filaments being 1:2.5. Dense bodies and plaques become evident before the oral siphon is perforated. These results show that in S. reptans, the sphincter muscle cells arise from undifferentiated hemoblasts, and that their differentiation begins with a morphological change in their nuclei. Epidermal cells and/or the ECM may have an inductive effect on muscle cell differentiation.

Aone year survey of indoor radon and thoron concentrations was carried out in offices and dwellings of the Gunma prefecture, Japan. A passive integrating radon and thoron discriminative monitor was used in the survey. The annual mean radon concentration was 22±14 Bq . m-3, and ranged from 12 to 93 Bq . m-3 among the 56 surveyed rooms. Radon concentration in offices was generally higher than that in the dwellings, with the arithmetic averages of 29 and 17 Bq . m-3, respectively. Radon concentrations were generally lower in the traditional Japanese wooden houses than those houses built with other building materials. Seasonal variation of indoor radon was also observed in this survey. Compared to summer and autumn, radon concentrations were generally higher in spring and winter. The mean value of thoron to radon ratio was estimated to be 1.3, higher values were observed in the dwellings than in the offices. The annual effective dose from the exposure to indoor radon was estimated to be 0.47 mSv after taking the occupancy factors of offices and dwellings into account.

The superconducting phase transitions of quasi-one-dimensional compound (V6S8, InV6S8, TlV6S8) were studied by the measurement of AC magnetic susceptibility χ′. In the sintered sample, the χ′ began to decrease monotonously at TC1. On the other hand, the χ′ of powdered sample decreased stepwise, and was characterized by two transition temperatures TC1 and TC2 (TC1>TC2). Under the magnetic field, TC2 shifted to the lower temperature, while the shift of TC1 was negligibly small. The TC1 is considered to be the transition temperature in the grains, and TC2 is the inter-grain transition temperature.

Summary This paper describes joint industry project DEA107, in which BP plc, Amoco, Eni SpA. Div. Agip, Scottish Enterprise Operations, and Japan Natl. Oil Corp. (JNOC) participated. Objectives of this project were to investigate and to report on the low-cycle fatigue phenomena of coiled tubing (CT), to present a rational fatiguelife prediction model for CT, and to develop an advanced CT which could be applied to CT drilling of deep wells. In this paper, the effect of various factors on the cyclic bending performance of parent CT materials is predicted in relation to ballooning and low-cycle fatigue phenomena; corrosion and low-cycle fatigue phenomena of CT after long-term exposure in a mud environment are discussed, followed by fatigue performance and improvement of circumferential joining techniques. A trial section of advanced CT of 2⅜-in. outer diameter (OD) and 0.190-in. wall thickness (WT) with a total length of 3,000 ft was manufactured by means of joining short lengths of seamless tubing using the amorphous diffusion bonding (ADB) technique. A CT drilling test at the JNOC Kashiwazaki test field in Japan was completed successfully using this advanced CT.

Cell adhesion during budding of tunicates is reviewed from the viewpoints of histology, cytology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Two kinds of multipotent cells play important roles in bud formation and development: epithelial cells, such as the atrial epithelium of botryllids and polystyelids, and mesenchymal cells, referred to as haemoblasts. Haemoblasts are able to aggregate to form a solid mass of cells, which soon becomes a hollow vesicle. The vesicular epithelium has junctional complexes that contain adherens junctions, and, sometimes, tight junctions; both occur apicolaterally on the plasma membrane. The hollow vesicle develops into the heart, the pyloric gland and duct, the gonad, including germ cells, and even the multipotent epithelium of buds. Cell culture studies suggest that multipotent epithelial cells may be interchangeable with haemoblasts. Several kinds of calcium-dependent, galactose-binding tunicate lectins (TC-14s) have been isolated and sequenced, and have been found to facilitate both in vivo and in vitro cell aggregation and migration. Tunicate homologs of cadherin and integrin genes have recently been isolated from Botryllus and Polyandrocarpa, respectively. Their unique molecular characteristics are discussed in the context of roles that they play in cell adhesion in the process of tunicate budding.

Environmental radiation at Izu-Oshima Island was observed six months after the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (F1-NPP). A car-borne survey of the dose rate in air was conducted over the entire island and the results were compared with measurements performed in 2005 (i.e., before the accident). The activity concentrations of cesium-134 and cesium-137 were also measured using a germanium detector. The dose rate in air was found to be 2.9 ± 1.2 times higher than that in 2005 and cesium-134 was detected on Izu-Oshima Island. These results are attributed to the accident at the F1-NPP.

Oxidation of ethyl lactate to pyruvate was carried out in the liquid-phase at 130°C in the presence of the oxides of various group IV to VI elements as candidate catalysts. Optimized reaction conditions with TiO 2 as a probe catalyst followed by comparative reaction studies for catalyst screening showed TiO 2 , ZrO 2 , and SnO 2 (+SnO) to be highly selective catalysts for giving pyruvate. Effects of temperature, oxygen pressure, solvents, and catalyst requirements are described. XPS and XRD patterns are given for a binary oxide, SnO 2 -MoO 3 , which showed excellent activity in favor of pyruvate.

Diphenyl-2-thienylmethyl radical dimerizes in solution at room temperature to give 2-(diphenylmethylene)-5-(diphenyl-2-thienylmethyl)-2,5-dihydrothiophene and a small amount of 5,5'-bis(diphenylmethylene)-2,2',5,5'-tetrahydro-2,2'-bithiophene.

A direct current superconducting power transmission (DC‐SCPT) test facility with 20‐meter power cable has been developed in Chubu University. Heat leakage through current leads dominates in case of short‐distance DC‐SCPT. To solve this problem, we have developed special Peltier current lead (PCL) with bismuth telluride (BiTe) alloy is used as a Peltier material, and have studied a gas‐cooled PCL as a novel type current lead for higher reduction of the heat leakage. In order to achieve high efficiency, highest thermoelectric figure of merit material is important to be used especially at low temperature conditions. In our work we measured the thermoelectric properties of BiTe samples, and optimized geometry of PCL by the numerical calculations. It was fount that the heat leakages through PCL and gas‐cooled PCL are reduced to 55% and to 36% of the conventional copper current lead (CCL) at the self‐cooling condition, correspondingly. PCL can reduce the total electric power consumption of the whole system. We also discuss the heat exchange ratio for the gas‐cooled PCL, and extend this approach for further reduction of the heat leakage.

Tri-2-thienylmethyllithium, produced by treatment of tri-2-thienylmethane with butyllithium in the presence of N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine at −78 °C in tetrahydrofuran, reacts with primary alkyl halides to give the alkylated products on the carbanion center nearly quantitatively, while the reaction with secondary and tertiary alkyl halides affords not only the substitution products at the carbanion center but also those at the 3-position of the thiophene ring.

The gamma‐ray dose rates were measured in Gifu and Tokushima Prefectures in Japan. Measurements were carried out by the car‐borne survey method. The dose rate in basaltic terrain in Tokushima prefecture was almost same as average of basaltic terrain in Japan. On the other hand, the dose rate in basaltic terrain in Gifu Prefecture was not same. In situ measurement of terrestrial gamma‐ray dose rate was carried out in this terrain to examine its cause. As a result, it was estimated that soil of rhyolite which attributed to neighbor terrain have deposited on this terrain.

Summary Morphology of the germinal epithelium and the early follicular oocyte in the ascidian Ciona savignyi as examined by electron microscopy. The oogenetic part of the germinal epithelium contains oocytes at two different stages and the dark and clear cells. The smaller oocyte contains synaptonemal complexes. The larger oocyte in the initial phase of growth has a conspicuous nucleolus, electron-dense materials and some mitochondria close to the nuclear envelope. The nucleus of the larger oocyte is round and has the smooth contour. The dark cell contains a relatively large nucleus and is sometimes connected to each other by an intercellular bridge. Therefore, the dark cell, which has been suggested to be the progenitor cell of two kinds of accessory cells, may be also the oogonium. The early follicular oocyte just after migration from the germinal epithelium retains most of cytological features similar to those of the larger oocyte. However, the nuclear contour of the early follicular oocyte is uneven. ...

Video signal processing for compatible analog HD (high-definition) VCRs in baseband/MUSE modes for consumer use with simple signal processors supporting 2/4-hour recording and search display is discussed. These HD VCRs permit long-time recording and multispeed playback functions similar to those of conventional VCRs. It was confirmed that not only do these VCRs satisfy specifications required for consumer use HD VCRs, but they also demonstrate the possibility of realizing a small-size, inexpensive, and low-power-consumption HD VCR. >

Indices of the corpus callosum with normal aging and their sex differences were elucidated using quantitative MRI. We studied 94 Japanese men (mean+/-SD 57.3+/-20.8 years, range 6-90 years) and 111 Japanese women (mean+/-SD 61.2+/-17.6 years, range 9-86 years) who had no intracranial lesions on MRI and no history of neurological illness. The widths of the rostrum, body and splenium, the anterior to posterior length, and the maximum height in the midsagittal image were selected for measurement. The Evans index, which is the relative ratio of lateral ventricle expansion, and the maximum width of the third ventricle in the axial image were also estimated for comparison. The widths of rostrum, body and splenium of the corpus callosum became thinner with age. Conversely, the anterior to posterior length and the maximum height of the corpus callosum increased with age. The ratio of the width of the body to the length of the corpus callosum and the ratio of the width of the body to the height of the corpus callosum are best correlated with age. No sex differences in regional size of corpus callosum, including these two ratios, were observed in any raw measures, although ventricular indices were larger in men than women. Evaluation of the ratio of the width of the body to its length and the ratio of the width of the body to its height may enable accurate estimation of normal or pathological changes of the corpus callosum. Aging and pathological atrophy of corpus callosum can be evaluated without any adjustment for gender.

In general, since the bandwidth of the video signal reproduced by home video cassette tape recorders (VCRs) is narrow below 2 MHz the burst signal cannot be directly recorded in the same way as the processing in the direct-FM recording VTR for broadcasting stations. But the NTSC signal whose chrominance signal is recorded by down-converted AM recording, can be reproduced by means of the double heterodyne system. Since in current VCRs the accuracy of the ordinary sync edge detection is no less than 50 ns (peak-to-peak value), supposing the SNR of the reproduced video signal is 40 dB (Vpp/Vrms), it is difficult to increase the accuracy to less than 30 ns even if using cancellation techniques for the noise superposed on the sync pulse's leading edge by 1 H delay line. >

This paper describes Joint Industry Project (JIP) DEA107, in which BP, AMOCO, Eni S.p.A. Divisione Agip, Scottish Enterprise Operations and Japan National Oil Corporation (JNOC) participated. The objectives of this project were to investigate and report low cycle fatigue phenomena of coiled tubing, to present a rational fatigue life prediction model for coiled tubing and to develop an advanced coiled tubing which could be applied to coiled tubing drilling of deep wells. In this paper, the effect of various factors on cyclic bending performance of parent coiled tubing materials is predicted first in relation to ballooning and low cycle fatigue phenomena. Then corrosion and low cycle fatigue phenomena of coiled tubing after long-term exposure in a mud environment is also discussed. Next, fatigue performance and improvement of circumferential joining techniques are discussed. Finally, a trial section of advanced coiled tubing of 2-3/8-inch outer diameter (O.D.) and 0.190-inch wall thickness (W.T.) with total length of 3000 feet was manufactured by means of joining short lengths of seamless tubing using the amorphous diffusion bonding (ADB) technique. A coiled tubing drilling test at the JNOC Kashiwazaki test field in Japan was completed successfully using this advanced coiled tubing.

Cell adhesion during budding of tunicates is reviewed from the viewpoints of histology, cytology, biochemistry, and molecular biology. Two kinds of multipotent cells play important roles in bud formation and development: epithelial cells, such as the atrial epithelium of botryllids and polystyelids, and mesenchymal cells, referred to as haemoblasts. Haemoblasts are able to aggregate to form a solid mass of cells, which soon becomes a hollow vesicle. The vesicular epithelium has junctional complexes that contain adherens junctions, and, sometimes, tight junctions; both occur apicolaterally on the plasma membrane. The hollow vesicle develops into the heart, the pyloric gland and duct, the gonad, including germ cells, and even the multipotent epithelium of buds. Cell culture studies suggest that multipotent epithelial cells may be interchangeable with haemoblasts. Several kinds of calcium-dependent, galactose-binding tunicate lectins (TC-14s) have been isolated and sequenced, and have been found to facilitate both in vivo and in vitro cell aggregation and migration. Tunicate homologs of cadherin and integrin genes have recently been isolated from Botryllus and Polyandrocarpa, respectively. Their unique molecular characteristics are discussed in the context of roles that they play in cell adhesion in the process of tunicate budding.

The DnaK/Hsp70 family is a molecular chaperone that has been extensively studied for its ability to assist the refolding and reassembly of a large number of diverse proteins. These protein support in the protection and recovery of cells from the ill effects of stress. DnaK/Hsp70 family is involved in the release, folding, assembly, transport, and aggregation of cellular protein. Recently, three dnaK homologues were found in cyanobacteria. Localization and function of three DnaK proteins from Synechococcus sp PCC 7942 have been discussed (Nimura et al. 1994). Although there is a great deal of interest in DnaK function, the detailed molecular mechanism is incompletely understood.

"There is a rising crisis-consciousness in Japan that the decline of fertility rates may result in retarding a healthy social development.... The study was done...to decide whether it was feasible to regard a child as public goods or social goods instead of private goods as in the past.... In Japan, if the domestic household market principle can decide the number of children for each family to have, there may be a chance of not fulfilling the adequate numbers of children needed for the society." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

We constructed a test stand of a 20 m DC superconducting power transmission cable in Chubu University in 2006. The cable uses thirty-nine Bi-2223 tapes. Four cycles of a cooling and current-feeding test have been carried out after the construction of the test stand. The cable suffered rapid temperature decrease of 20 K/hour at the daytime during the cooling process by cold nitrogen gas and liquid to the liquid nitrogen temperature. Nineteen HTS tapes in the cable are electrically isolated from each other, and the superconducting characteristics of these HTS tapes can be measured separately. At every cooling cycle, critical current of these isolated HTS tapes were measured. Consequently, no reduction of the critical current characteristics was observed through the 4 cooling cycles. We considered that this endurance of the cable against the cooling cycle is due to unfixed cable end structure of the cable, and that the cable was free from the mechanical stress in spite of the 6 cm shrinkage of the cable length under the low temperature.

Tri-2-thienylmethyllithium, produced by treatment of tri-2-thienylmethane with butyllithium in the presence of N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine at −78 °C in tetrahydrofuran, reacts with primary alkyl halides to give the alkylated products on the carbanion center nearly quantitatively, while the reaction with secondary and tertiary alkyl halides affords not only the substitution products at the carbanion center but also those at the 3-position of the thiophene ring.

One hundred patients with carcinoma of the urinary bladder were treated with preoperative intra-arterial anticancer drug infusion in combination with an active carbon-based artificial liver or preoperative radiotherapy (400 rad X 5 days, total 2000 rad) in order to alleviate systemic side effects after preoperative adjuvant therapy and to perform radical cystectomy as soon as possible. Five-year survival was 69.8% in the artificial liver combined preoperative intra-arterial anticancer drug infusion group, and that of the no-pretreatment group and the preoperative irradiated group was 48.6% and 45.8%, respectively. In particular, the CDDP treated group had a higher 5-year survival of 77.4% than did the without CDDP treated group. This was attributable mostly to improved prognosis of T2, whereas either of these preoperative adjuvant therapies failed to ameliorate the prognosis of T3 or T4 stage patients. Therefore, systemic preoperative anticancer chemotherapies such as M-VAC are necessary to destroy "micrometastases" and to improve the prognosis of highly advanced bladder cancer.

The authors report the case of a 54-year-old male who was found to have a large intracranial chondrosarcoma at the site from which chondromas had been partially removed twice, 6 and 10 years previously. On the third admission, the second through tenth and the twelfth cranial nerves on the right side were involved. Computed tomographic scans showed a large mass in the right middle and posterior fossae and the right ethmoid sinus. Angiography demonstrated an extradural mass in the right middle fossa. The tumor in the middle and posterior fossae was subtotally removed, and second, third, and eighth cranial nerve function improved postoperatively. Histological examination of tumor specimens showed active proliferation of poorly differentiated cartilagenous cells, suggestive of sarcomatous transformation of the pre-existing chondroma. It is emphasized that chondromas should be removed as completely as possible and that patients must be followed carefully after surgery.

The image quality improvement on large screen LC-TV is described. LC-TV that is achieving a larger screen than CRT has the advantage that 100% brightness for entire screen can be achieved, even by a size that reaches 60 inches. On the other hand, due to its high luminance and large screen size, image quality problems become more visible and thus they should be compensated. As an example of these problems, visible contouring, motion blur, and image compression degradation due to MPEG compression and their compensation algorisms are described in this paper.

New ferroelectnc liquid crystal (FLC) materials for the τ-Vmin mode FLCDS were developed, realizing fast response time (12μsec/line) and high contrast ratio (higher than 100:1). The developed FLC materials are useful for simple multiplexing FLCDs with high contrast and moving full color images, realizing high bit temporal dither for gray scale.

Diphenyl-2-thienylmethyl radical dimerizes in solution at room temperature to give 2-(diphenylmethylene)-5-(diphenyl-2-thienylmethyl)-2,5-dihydrothiophene and a small amount of 5,5'-bis(diphenylmethylene)-2,2',5,5'-tetrahydro-2,2'-bithiophene.

The nucleotide sequence relationships between 18 species of Mycoplasma and 3 species of Acholeplasma were examined by solution DNA hybridization. Radiolabeled DNAs from strains representing 13 Mycoplasma and 2 Acholeplasma species were used as hybridization probes. The mycoplasmas were heterogeneous but displayed a low degree of conserved information of the order of 3 to 5% of the genome. However, several species within each genus showed 13 to 15% homology. There was no detectable homology between species from the two genera, and M. pneumoniae and M. neurolyticum appeared to be unrelated to any of the other Mycoplasma species or to each other. These results suggest that it may be possible to isolate genes common to most, if not all, Mycoplasma and Acholeplasma species.

The inverse-narrow-width effect, the reduction in the threshold voltage with decreasing device width, is modeled and experimentally measured. A fringing gate capacitance model is extended to include the effects of the sidewall interface charge. Two- and three-dimensional simulations are used to illustrate the enhanced sidewall potential and current, and the effect of sidewall interface charge on the electrical behavior of MOSFET's with fully recessed isolation oxides. We compare the closed-form analytical threshold voltage expression developed with experimental data from small-geometry NMOS devices and find very good agreement.

A two-dimensional numerical model of the width direction of a MOSFET is used to simulate the surface potential and the subthreshold current of p-channel devices. Fully-recessed, semi-recessed, and nonrecessed oxide isolation structures with various transition angles as well as interface charge are modeled. The nonrecessed oxide structure is superior for reducing subthreshold current, in some cases more than 20 percent. The fully-recessed oxide with a 90° transition angle provides maximum device density, a planar surface, and ease of fabrication. Experimental results indicate that for the fully-recessed oxide structure the p-channel device with interface charge will show a threshold-voltage variation of only 12 percent with widths varying from 10 to 1.5 µm, and an increase in subthreshold current of an order of magnitude compared to a wide device.

Summary Four cell lines biochemically transformed by u.v.-irradiated herpes simplex virus contain virus DNA fragments ranging from 3 to 22% of the HSV genome. Of five revertant clones selected for 3H-TdR or BrdUrd resistance, four had lost all detectable virus DNA while the fifth, selected for BrdUrd resistance, retained the entire virus fragment but there was a reduction of virus copies per cell from 5 to 1. Three ‘supertransformed’ revertant cell lines contained virus DNA fragments ranging from 12 to 28%. The number of virus DNA fragments per cell ranged from 1 to 5 and clearly indicated that a single copy of the virus thymidine kinase gene is adequate for biochemical transformation. The determination of the base composition of the transforming virus DNA fragment indicated that the transforming DNA has a base composition approximately the same as the HSV genome and does not constitute a low GC virus DNA region. Cross hybridization between HSV-1 transformed cells and HSV-2 DNA is very slight, indicating that the DNA found in clone 139 is not entirely composed of the HSV-1 and HSV-2 common sequences.

The process of oogenesis in Ciona savignyi was studied at the ultrastructural level to understand the development of the accessory cells and the relationship of the oocyte and its accessory cells to the germinal epithelium. There are two kinds of small cells, dark cells and clear cells, adjacent to the oocyte in the germinal epithelium. The previtellogenic ovarian follicles can be classified into four stages on the basis of accessory cell differentiation and chorion formation. At stage 1, the oocyte is enclosed by the primary follicular cells and the outer follicular cells, which resemble the dark cells and the clear cells, respectively. Late in this stage, the chorion rudiment and microvilli-like projections appear first at the area of the oocyte adjacent to the germinal epithelium. The chorion rudiment is distributed as patches on the oocyte surface and divides the primary follicular cells into inner and outer groups at stage 2. The rudiment covers the oocyte entirely, and the inner group of the primary follicular cells differentiates into the test cells, whereas the outer group becomes the inner follicular cells at stage 3. These cells contain much rough endoplasmic reticulum and electron-dense granules. At stages 2 and 3, subsurface cisterns are frequently observed at the oocyte surface facing the primary follicular cells or the test cells. The dense granules of the test cells become larger, whereas those of the inner follicular cells appear to become vacuolated at stage 4.

Twelve strains of herpes simplex virus from various geographical areas and different sites of isolation were compared by nucleic and hybridization. Within each serological type there was no detectable difference between strains gauged by the extent of the nucleic acid homology and the thermal stability of the hybrid molecules. Based on these results there is less than 5% nucleotide sequence variation within each serological type and less than 20% true homology between the two types.

A common failure mechanism in bulk CMOS integrated circuits is due to the latchup of the parasitic SCR structure. Using Schottky-barrier junctions for the source and drain of the p-channel transistors eliminates the p-n-p-n structure. A technology utilizing platinum-silicide p-channel source and drain and ion-implanted n-channel source and drain was realized demonstrating latchup resistance without many sacrifices inherent with other methods. Anomalies in the p-MOSFET characteristics are reported and discussed.

In the colonial ascidian, Symplegma reptans, the oozooid from which a particular colony has developed always degenerates about 30 days after metamorphosis, while all other zooids of the same colony are vigorous. Furthermore, an irregular type of regeneration, “blastogenic regeneration” (regeneration with the aid of budding), occurs if the zooids or their fragments are isolated under artificial conditions. Employing this species, we examined how budding and the life-span of a zooid are affected by the other zooids of the same colony and studied the relationship between the nature of fragments of zooids and the mode of regeneration. To survey the effects of the other buds and zooids of the same colony, all buds from the oozooid were removed. The zooids from which buds were removed made about twice as many buds as the controls, and they lived a little longer than the controls. This result suggests that budding of a zooid is inhibited by the ambient zooids in the same colony. When the fragments of zooids were cultured alone, they regenerated either by epimorphosis or by blastogenic regeneration according to the extent of surgical removal of tissue. In cases in which two or more buds were formed during blastogenic regeneration, only the first bud grew. These results indicate that budding and regeneration are regulated both at the zooidal level and at the colonial level.

The cDNA encoding lipocortin-like 39 kDa protein in guinea pig neutrophils was cloned into a yeast expression vector and the constructed plasmid was introduced into a yeast. The gene was expressed in an eukaryotic cell, yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the recombinant protein was purified and characterized. The purified protein was identical with the native one with respect to the antigenicity and several biochemical properties, such as inhibitory action against phospholipase A 2 , Ca 2+ -dependent binding to acidic-phospholipids and F-actin and availability as a substrate for tyrosine kinase (EGF receptor/kinase) and protein kinase C.