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Background: Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia (MPP) is generally a self-limiting disease, but it may become refractory. It is thought that refractory MPP is linked to the excessive immunologic responses of the host. Consequently, the use of adjunctive systemic corticosteroids may have beneficial effects. In this study, we compared the effects of high- and low-dose corticosteroid therapy in a pediatric population with refractory MPP. Methods: We retrospectively collected data from 91 pediatric MPP patients treated with adjunctive systemic corticosteroids between April 2014 and October 2016. The patients were divided into the following two groups: high-dose corticosteroid group (2 mg/kg/day or more of prednisolone equivalents; n = 38) and low-dose corticosteroid group (, ファイル公開：2020-05-01

Background Oral food challenge (OFC) tests are conducted in both specialized institutions and general hospitals. We aimed to compare the severity of the conditions of the patients between these 2 types of institutions in order to consider the role of such institutions in society. Objective We evaluated the results of OFC tests for hen's egg, cow's milk, and wheat that were conducted in a specialized institution (Aichi Children's Health and Medical Center [ACHMC], n = 835) and in 4 general hospitals (n = 327) in Aichi prefecture, Japan. Methods The symptoms provoked were scored using the total score (TS) of the Anaphylaxis Scoring Aichi scoring system in combination with the total ingested protein dose (Pro) before the appearance of allergic symptoms. Results The total ingested dose of the challenge-positive patients in ACHMC was significantly less than that in the general hospitals (p < 0.01). The median TS of the provoked symptoms in ACHMC and the general hospitals did not differ to a statistically significant extent in the hen's egg or cow's milk challenges; however, the median TS in ACHMC was significantly lower than that in the general hospitals for the wheat challenge (p = 0.02). The median TS/Pro values in ACHMC were almost identical to the upper 25% of the TS/Pro values in the general hospitals, suggesting that the specialized institution usually managed more severe patients. Conclusion The specialized institution performed OFC tests at a lower threshold dose, but provoked similar TSs to the general hospitals. This evaluation may help in optimizing the distribution of patients to general hospitals and specialized institutions.

Heat capacities of $$^{4}$$ He films have been measured at rather low temperatures between 2 and 80 mK and at areal densities between 2 and 24 $$\hbox {nm}^{-2}$$ . These areal densities correspond to a monolayer fluid and third-layer fluid. For monolayer films, the results do not contradict previous measurements carried out at high temperatures. On the other hand, at some areal densities, small and broad but definite bumps, whose origin has not yet been understood, have been observed around 15 mK. Between 13 and 24 $$\hbox {nm}^{-2}$$ , the measured heat capacities above 40 mK are proportional to $$T^{2}$$ and hardly change with areal density. These behaviors suggest that the second atomic layer does not solidify before the third-layer promotion, at least not into a commensurate solid, such as the so-called 4/7 phase.

Objective To assess hippocampal signal changes on diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) during the acute period after febrile status epilepticus (FSE) and to examine the relationship between DWI and subsequent epilepsy. Methods A prospective, multicenter study of children with a first episode of FSE was performed. The patients underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) within 3 days of FSE, and signal intensity was evaluated on DWI. Electroencephalography studies within 3 days of FSE were also assessed. Nine to 13 years after FSE, information on subsequent epilepsy was obtained. Results Twenty-two children with FSE were evaluated. DWI showed unilateral hippocampal hyperintensity in six patients (27%). Three of six patients with hippocampal hyperintensity had ipsilateral thalamic hyperintensity. On EEG within 3 days of FSE, five of six patients with hippocampal hyperintensity had ipsilateral focal slowing, spikes, or attenuation. Nine to 13 years later, the outcomes could be determined in five patients with hippocampal hyperintensity and in 10 without. All 5 patients with hippocampal hyperintensity had hippocampal atrophy and developed focal epilepsy, whereas only 1 of 10 patients without hippocampal hyperintensity developed epilepsy (P = 0.002). Ictal semiology was concordant with temporal lobe seizures in all patients. Ipsilateral temporal epileptiform abnormalities were seen on EEG in four of five at last follow-up. Significance Acute DWI hippocampal hyperintensity was seen in 27% of patients with FSE. Acute DWI hyperintensity suggests cytotoxic edema caused by prolonged seizure activity. Hippocampal DWI hyperintensity is related to mesial temporal lobe epilepsy and can be a target of neuroprotective treatments to prevent the onset of epilepsy.

A novel hydrophilic and hydrophobic double microporous layer (MPL) coated gas diffusion layers (GDL) was developed to enhance the performance of polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) under both low and high humidity. A thin hydrophilic layer using titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) coated on the hydrophobic MPL is effective at conserving the humidity of the membrane electrode assembly (MEA) under low humidity, while a hydrophobic intermediate MPL between the hydrophilic layer and the carbon paper substrate prevents the removal of water from the hydrophilic layer. This results in a significant enhancement of PEFC performance under low humidity over that for a conventional hydrophobic MPL coated GDL. The double MPL coated GDL is also effective at increasing the discharge of excess water from the catalyst layer, which reduces flooding and achieves further enhancement of the PEFC performance under high humidity, compared with that for a conventional hydrophobic MPL coated GDL. The appropriate pore diameter and hydrophobicity, and decrease in the thickness of the hydrophobic intermediate MPL in the double MPL, are essential to enhance the PEFC performance.

The heat capacity of dilute 3He–4He films is measured to clarify whether the second adsorbed layer of 4He films on graphite solidify into the so-called “4/7 phase.” The 3He areal density is fixed at 0.2 nm−2, whereas the 4He areal density is gradually increased. The measured heat capacities suddenly decrease with an increasing areal density approaching that of the 4/7 phase. Above the areal density of the 4/7 phase, the heat capacities do not reduce completely to zero and have finite values. The behavior of the heat capacity does not change over a rather wide areal density regime, although it suddenly increases or recovers at around the areal density of the third-layer promotion. These behaviors can be interpreted as the separation of 3He–4He mixture films into a 3He-rich phase and a 4He-rich phase, with the 3He-rich phase solidifying into the 4/7 phase and the 4He-rich phase remaining fluid below the areal density of the third-layer promotion. These observations strongly suggest that a 4He film adsorbed on a graphite surface does not solidify into the 4/7 phase.

Polymer electrolyte fuel cells (PEFCs) generally have external humidifiers to supply humidified hydrogen and oxidant gases, which prevents dehydration of the membrane. If a PEFC could be operated without humidification, then external humidifiers could be removed, which would result in a simplified PEFC system with increased total efficiency and reduced cost. A water vapor exchange system installed in the PEFC was developed to enhance the performance without cathode humidification. A gas diffusion layer (GDL) coated with a hydrophobic microporous layer (MPL) was used at the active reaction area. A GDL coated with a hydrophilic MPL consisting of polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and carbon black was used at the cathode water vapor exchange area to promote water transport from the cathode outlet wet gas to the anode inlet dry gas. This is effective for reducing the IR overpotential, which enhances the PEFC performance. Appropriate enhancement of hydrophilicity by increasing the PVA content in the MPL to 20 mass% is effective to increase water transport from the cathode to anode. At the anode water exchange area, a GDL without the hydrophilic MPL is effective to promote water transport from the water exchange area to the active reaction area, which enhances the PEFC performance.

The important roles of impurity grains in graphite substrate in heat transfer mechanisms between 3He films and graphite substrate have been suggested. At sub-milli-Kelvin temperature ranges in particular, magnetic impurity grains of large diameter, about several micrometers are believed to play an important role in the heat transfer mechanism. However, the existence of such large grains is still controversial. Freshly cleaved surfaces of Grafoil are observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) analyses. Although results are preliminary, impurity grains with diameters of 0.5∼10 μm containing Al, Ca, Si, Fe, etc., are observed. Ferromagnetism is also observed after the subtraction of the diamagnetic contribution in magnetization measurements of Grafoil. The saturation magnetization coincides with the amount of magnetic impurities determined by ash analysis.

The thermal conductance (κ) between 3He solid films and graphite substrates is measured in weak magnetic fields of 0, 150, 300, and 600 Oe by a relaxation method. κ is markedly reduced in a magnetic field of 150 Oe and shows complicated magnetic-field-dependent variations. Previous measurements have revealed that heat flows along 3He solid films over a long distance and then flows into the graphite substrate at some local spots. The reduction in κ in magnetic field indicates an increase in the length of the thermal flow path and a decrease in the number of local spots through which heat is transferred to the graphite substrate. These suggest the important role of magnetic impurities present in the graphite substrate. The temperature-dependent variation in the ratio of κ and heat capacity (C), κ/C, is nearly unchanged when the magnetic field increases from 150 to 600 Oe, while κ shows complicated variations. κ/C shows a clear minimum at a temperature around 1 mK, which depends on the areal density of 3He. Above and below this temperature, heat transfer is thought to take place along the solid 3He film, respectively by phonons and spin excitations.

Heat capacities of a submonolayer 3He solid film adsorbed on a graphite surface are measured in magnetic fields up to 400 Oe. The measured heat capacity shifts to higher temperatures with an increasing magnetic field. The amplitudes of the shifts are twenty times larger than the magnitude of the Zeeman energy, which is anomalously large. With regard to the origin of these large shifts, the reduction of frustrations and the weakening of the competition between multiple spin exchange interactions are discussed.

The thermal conductance between second-layer 3He solid films and a graphite substrate was measured in magnetic fields up to 300 Oe. The thermal conductance is strongly influenced by the magnetic fields. Previous measurements in zero magnetic fields have revealed that heat is transferred only by some local spots between the 3He films and graphite substrates. This suggests that the magnetic Kapitza conductance functions as the heat transfer mechanism. The results of the measurements confirm the magnetic Kapitza mechanism.

A new ligand-coupling reaction of imidoylpalladium(II) complexes is described. Heating a toluene solution of imidoylpalladium complexes gave rise to the α-diimines (1,4-diazabutadienes).

Ichthyosis prematurity syndrome (IPS) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder characterized by prematurity, a thick caseous scale at birth and lifelong atopic diathesis. Here, we describe the first Japanese case of IPS and report novel compound heterozygous mutations (p.C403Y and p.R510H) in fatty acid transport protein 4 (FATP4). She is the first reported patient of Asian origin, entirely distinct from the Scandinavian population, in whom the heterozygote carrier frequency is very high.

The heat capacities ( C ) of submonolayer solid 3 He films adsorbed on a graphite surface are measured down to 100 μK at areal densities between 6.6 and 7.5 nm −2 , where 3 He film is expected to be commensurate to the corrugation of the adsorption potential of the graphite substrate and some novel adsorption structures have been predicted. In this areal density regime there has been no previous measurement below 2 mK. The temperature ( T ) variation of C shows almost single power law behavior, C ∝ T α , in a wide temperature range. And the exponent α is much smaller than −2, an expected exponent for localized spins in the high temperature limit. These behaviors should imply that the competition of multiple spin exchange interactions is strong at this density range.

The heat capacities (C) of submonolayer solid films adsorbed on a graphite surface are measured down to 100 μK at areal densities between 6.6 and 7.5 nm−2, where there has been no previous measurement below 2 mK. The temperature (T) variation of C shows almost single power low behavior, C ∝ Tα, in a wide temperature range. And the exponent α is much smaller than −2, an expected exponent for localized spins in the high temperature limit. These behaviors should imply that the competition of multiple spin exchange interactions is strong at this density range.

The hygiene hypothesis implies, in immunological terms, that microbial stimulation in early life skews the immune system towards the development of a T helper type 1 (Th1)-type lymphocyte population, and away from a T helper type 2 (Th2)-type development that is associated with atopy. The hygiene hypothesis originally theorized that increased infections protected against atopy. This theory has evolved since harmful infections may not be as critical as exposure to microbial burden because exposure to microbes can occur in the absence of infections. Despite substantial public hygiene measures in modern metropolitan communities, an atopy-protective effect of endotoxin in these metropolitan environments still occurs. This article is a review of clinical and experimental studies concerning the protective effect of endotoxin exposure on the susceptibility to atopic responses. The discussion includes : (1) factors influencing household endotoxin levels ; (2) recent developments in the potential use of endotoxin for the prevention of atopy and asthma ; (3) association of endotoxin and pets with atopic sensitization and diseases ; (4) animal studies on the protective effects of timing of endotoxin exposure on atopy and asthma and (5) animal studies on the protective effects of endotoxin dose on atopy and asthma.

The thermal conductivity between the 3He solid films and the graphite substrate was measured by the relaxation method between 100 μK and 1 mK. The areal-density depedence of the thermal conductivity shows behavior similar to that of the exchange frequency J both in the submonolayer and in the second layer. These facts indicate that heat is transferred by magnetic mechanisms in the 3He solid film itself. They also imply that the 3He solid film is thermally connected with the graphite substrate only at some local spots.

Vitamin A is known to suppress the activity of the transcription factors, nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB) and activator protein-1 (AP-1), as do glucocorticoids. The possibility that vitamin A exerts various anti-inflammatory effects therefore seems likely. Sephadex beads were administered intravenously to anesthesized rats pretreated with a subcutaneous injection of vitamin A (3000, 10,000, or 30,000 IU/kg) or vehicle once daily for 3 days. After 16 h, the leukocyte differential, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and eotaxin, and the DNA-binding activity of NF-kappaB were measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Additionally, lung histology was assessed using preparations stained with May-Giemsa stain. Sephadex beads caused histological granulomatous changes and eosinophilic and neutrophilic infiltration into the lung, and markedly increased cell counts of eosinophils and neutrophils, concentrations of TNF-alpha and eotaxin, and NF-kappaB binding to DNA in BALF. Vitamin A significantly inhibited all responses. Vitamin A may inhibit Sephadex-induced lung granulomatous formation, and eosinophilic and neutrophilic infiltration due to its suppression of TNF-alpha and eotaxin production, and NF-kappaB activation.

Airway eosinophilia is one of the key pathophysiologic features in asthma. The endothelial adhesion molecules, vascular cell adhesion molecule (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule (ICAM-1), have previously been shown to play a crucial role in eosinophil recruitment into the inflamed airway. We have investigated the effects of dexamethasone on eosinophilia into the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and the upregulation of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 expression, measured by immunoblotting, induced by i.v. injection of Sephadex beads into rats. The beads significantly increased the lung eosinophilia, and expression of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 in the lung. Pretreatment with dexamethasone (0.1 to 2 mg/kg i.p.) strongly inhibited all the airway inflammatory events in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, glucocorticoids may be potent inhibitors of lung eosinophilia, at least in part, due to the prevention of the upregulation of VCAM-1 and ICAM-1 expression.

The adsorption structure of 3 He submonolayer solid film on a, Grafoil Surface is considered. The adsorption energies of some supposed structures are calculated by the path integral Monte Carlo simulations. According to these calculations the evolution of the adsorption structure is discussed. Two structural, phase transitions are predicted there. The phase boundaries coincide with the specific features in the results of heat-capacity measurements. The commensurate - incommensurate phase transition seems responsible for the sudden ferromagnetic peak of the exchange frequency.

We have determined the magnetoresistance of RuO_2-based resistors (Scientific Instruments RO-600) between 0.05 K and 0.3 K in magnetic fields up to 8 T. The magnetoresistance is negative around 0.5 T and then becomes positive at larger fields. The magnitude of the negative magnetoresistance increases rapidly as the temperature is lowered, while that of the positive magnetoresistance has smaller temperature dependence. We have also examined the temperature dependence of the resistance below 50 mK in zero magnetic field. It is described in the context of variable-range-hopping conduction down to 15 mK. Hence, the resistors can be used as thermometers down to at least 15 mK., 6 pages with 7 embedded figures. Published version (very minor changes)

Internal waves in a bay have an effect on vertical mixing and mass transfer. Toestimate sources and roles of the internal waves, we have to carry out computation with high resolution by using a three-dimensional non-hydrostatic model. As it is hard to carry out it now, a multi-layer model is considered to be one of the most suitable model. However, internal hydrolic jumps occur frequently on an interface between layers because of small density difference and great velocity (Internal Froude number>1.0). In previous studies, a flow field including both rapid and streaming flow has been solved by CIP-m scheme in which a finite difference method is used. But it is better to use a finite difference method (FEM) because the shape of a bay are complicated and FEM can be applied to any shape. In this study our purpose is to develop CIP-m FEM. The result of an experiment was consistent with that of computation.

In the heat-capacity (C) measurements of submonolayer and low-density second layer 3 He solid films adsorbed on graphitc surfaces, anomalous C T α (α -1) dependence has been observed in wide temperature ranges. It is attributed to the strong competition between several multiple spin exchange (MSE) interactions. And the competition is thougth to be caused by the corrugation of adsorption potential of the substrate. The detailed analysis shows that the coverage-dependence of the exponent α has some features. These features can be explained by the change in strength of MSE competition due to the change of the adsorption structure, i.e., the existence of zero-point vacancy, commensurale-incommensurate phase transition, and some specific adsorption structures. This supports that the MSE competition is responsible to anomalous T-dependence of C.

We have measured heat capacities of monolayer3He floated on a superfluid4He thin film (three atomic layers) adsorbed on graphite at low temperatures. The3He films behave as degenerate 2D Fermi fluids with m* ≈ 1.3m3, where m* is the quasiparticle effective mass and m3is the bare mass of3He, in the whole temperature range we studied (1 ≤ T ≤ 80 mK). No anomalous behavior suggesting “puddling” nor other phase transitions is observed. In contrast to our previous measurements for pure3He films without the underlying4He film, the temperature independent heat-capacity contribution is not observed. This can be explained by the second-layer localized spins trapped on substrate heterogeneities being replaced by nonmagnetic4He.

We present preliminary results of real-space imaging of two-dimensional (2D) submonolayer 4He films adsorbed on graphite basal planes using a cryogenic STM. Below 1K, we observed an additional \(\sqrt 3 \times \sqrt 3 \) atomic corrugation superimposed to the triangular lattice of the B-site carbon atoms of the graphite surface. This superlattice has the same periodicity as the commensurate solid 4He. It disappears on warming from 1 to 2K presumably due to melting of the 2D solid. Furthermore, an energy gap of the order of ± (10 to 30) mV was observed in tunneling spectroscopy measurements associated with the adsorption of 4He.

Heat capacities (C) of3He submonolayer solids adsorbed on a graphite surface are measured down to 100 μK, a factor of twenty lower temperatures than previous work. At a real densities near the commensurate\(\sqrt 3 \times \sqrt 3 \)solid (6.4 nm−2), an anomalous temperature dependence, C ∝ 1/T, is observed in a wide temperature range over two orders of magnitude (0.1 ≤ T ≤ 20mK). Similar behavior was observed for the commensurate\(\sqrt 7 \times \sqrt 7 \)solid in the second-layer with the same density, suggesting a common microscopic mechanism. It is, however, a puzzle that the\(\sqrt 3 \times \sqrt 3 \)solid is ferromagnetic according to recent magnetization measurements by ISSP group, while the\(\sqrt 7 \times \sqrt 7 \)solid is known to be antiferromagnetic. Possible explanations for this conflict, such as vacancy effects or multiple-spin exchanges modulated by a substrate potential corrugation, are discussed.

We have measured the heat capacity of 3 He thin films adsorbed on graphite at an areal density of 15.0 nm −2 down to as low as 100 μK. The second-layer 3 He behaves as a degenerate 2D Fermi fluid in the whole temperature range we studied. We observed no anomalous behavior in the heat capacity near 3 mK in contradiction to the recent report by other workers. This indicates that possible superfluid transitions would be below 100 μK. Instead, a small and temperature-independent contribution to the heat capacity was observed, which we attribute to nuclear-spin degrees of freedom in glassy solid 3 He trapped in substrate heterogeneities.

The heat capacity of second-layer solid {sup 3}He adsorbed on graphite has been measured down to extremely low temperatures below 100 {mu}K . We observed a double-peak structure for a low-density registered solid, which strongly suggests that the system is a highly frustrated spin-1/2 two-dimensional (2D) antiferromagnet with a disordered ground state. As the density increases it approaches a 2D nearest-neighbor Heisenberg ferromagnet with a single rounded peak, which can be explained semiquantitatively by considering higher-order exchange processes up to six-spin exchange. {copyright} {ital 1997} {ital The American Physical Society}

The thermal conductivity between the 3 He solid films and the graphite substrate was measured by the relaxation method between 100 μK and 1 mK. The areal-density dependence of the thermal conductivity shows behavior similar to that of the exchange frequency J both in the submonolayer and in the second layer. These facts indicate that the thermal resistance of the 3 He solid film itself is the bottleneck of the heat transfer, and inside the 3 He solid film heat is transferred by magnetic mechanisms. They also imply that the 3 He solid film is thermally connected with the graphite substrate rather strongly but only at some local spots.

Integrin αIIbβ3 is indispensable for normal hemostasis, but its role for thrombopoiesis is still controversial. Recently, αIIb and β3 mutations have been identified in patients with congenital macrothrombocytopenia. We analyzed three unrelated Japanese families with congenital macrothrombocytopenia. Expression and activation state of αIIbβ3 in platelets was examined by flow cytometry and immunoblotting. Sequence of whole coding region and exon–intron boundaries of ITGA2B and ITGB3 genes was performed. The effects of mutations on αIIbβ3 activation state and phosphorylation of FAK were analyzed in transfected cells. We newly identified three mutations: two mutations in highly conserved Gly-Phe-Phe-Lys-Arg sequence in juxtamembrane region of αIIb, p.Gly991Cys and p.Phe993del, and one donor site mutation of intron 13 of ITGB3 leading to 40 amino acids deletion, p.(Asp621_Glu660del), in the membrane proximal β-tail domain of β3. One patient, who showed Glanzmann thrombasthenia-like marked reduction in surface αIIbβ3 expression (3–11% of normal control), was a compound heterozygote with ITGA2B p.Gly991Cys and a novel nonsense mutation, ITGA2B p.Arg422*. All three mutations, ITGA2B p.Gly991Cys, ITGA2B p.Phe993del, and ITGB3 p.(Asp621_Glu660del), led to highly activated conformation of αIIbβ3 and spontaneous tyrosine phosphorylation of FAK in transfected cells. These results suggest that gain-of-function mutations around membrane region of αIIbβ3 lead to abnormal platelet number and morphology with impaired surface αIIbβ3 expression.

We have investigated the effects of CP-99,994 [(+)-(2s,3s)-3-(2-methoxybenzylamino)-2-phenylpiperidine], a tachykinin NK1 receptor antagonist, HOE 140 (D-Arg[Hyp3,Thi5,D-Tic7,Oic8]bradykinin), a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist, and ketotifen (4-(1-methyl-4-piperidylidene)4 H-benzo[4,5]cycloheptal[1,2-b]thiophen-10(9H)-one hydrogen fumarate), a histamine H1 receptor antagonist with mast cell-stabilizing properties, on microvascular leakage induced by gaseous formaldehyde. Extravasation of Evans blue dye into airway tissues was used as an index of airway microvascular leakage. Leakage of dye in the trachea and main bronchi increased significantly in a concentration-dependent fashion after 10 min inhalation of formaldehyde (5-45 parts per million (ppm)). The airway response induced by 10 min inhalation of 15 ppm formaldehyde (trachea: 119.5 +/- 13.9 ng/mg, n = 7; main bronchi: 139.6 +/- 7.9 ng/mg, n = 7) was abolished by the administration of CP-99,994 (3 and 6 mg/kg i.v.), but not by the administration of HOE 140 (0.65 mg/kg i.v.) nor ketotifen (1 mg/kg i.v.). The increase in vascular permeability induced by formaldehyde in the rat airway was mediated predominantly by NK1 receptor stimulation. Activation of bradykinin receptors and mast cells did not appear to play an important role in this airway response.

We investigated the role of activation of bradykinin receptors and mast cells in the microvascular leakage of the vessels of the skin induced by the intracutaneous (i.c.) injection of bradykinin in the rat. We evaluated the effects of HOE140 (D-Arg-[Hyp3,Thi5,D-Tic7,Oic8]bradykinin), a bradykinin B2 receptor antagonist, and ketotifen (4-(1-methyl-4-piperidylidene)4H-benzo[4,5]cyclohepta[1, 2-b]thiophen-10(9H)-one hydrogen fumarate), a histamine H1 receptor antagonist with mast cell stabilizing properties, on the skin response. Evans blue dye extravasation served as an index of the increase in vascular permeability. Bradykinin (2-100 nmol/site i.c.) induced the extravasation of Evans blue dye in a dose-dependent manner. Ketotifen (20 mg/kg i.p.) significantly inhibited the leakage of dye induced by bradykinin (10 nmol/site i.c.) by 66.2%, while HOE140 (1 mg/kg i.v.) had no effect. The concomitant injection of HOE140 (0.2, 2 nmol/site) and bradykinin (10 nmol/site i.c.), also did not significantly reduce the extravasation of dye. We conclude that the extravasation of plasma induced by the i.c. injection of bradykinin is mediated mainly by stimulation of the skin mast cells, but not by bradykinin B2 receptors.

We predict the striped (superheavy)-honeycomb (heavy) structural phase transition of the domain wall structure of 3 He submonolayer solid film on a graphite surface at 6.8 nm −2 based on the adsorption energy calculation by the path integral Monte Carlo simulation. The experimentally observed sudden jump of the Weiss temperature at the same density can be explained by this transition within the multiple spin exchange model.

In order to investigate the possibility of observing the crossover of the nucleation process from the classical to the quantum regime, the decomposition of supersaturated 3He–4He mixtures in the dilute phase has been studied in the temperature range from 160 mK down to 400 μK. The observed amount of critical supersaturation becomes almost independent of temperature below about 10 mK, while it increases with temperature above about 10 mK. The data are analyzed with the recent theory of Burmistrov, Dubovskii and Tsymbalenko. The results indicate a crossover temperature around 70 mK and the existence of the effect of dissipation.

We report the results of the first systematic study of the phase separation from supersaturated 3 He 4 He liquid mixtures of dilute phase in the temperature range from 130 mK down to 400 μK. We find that the degree of critical supersaturation becomes almost temperature independent below about 10 mK while it increases with temperature above about 10 mK

A method for open food challenge test to determine food allergy has not been established in an evidence-based manner.We conducted an analysis of 438 open food challenges of raw milk (n=133, mean age 2.7+/-1.9 years), boiled egg white (n=216, 2.8+/-2.1 years) or udon noodles (n=89, 2.7+/-1.7 years) for the patients aged 1 year or more. Doses were increased (trace amounts, 1 g, 2 g, 5 g, 10 g, 20-30 g) every 20 minutes.In total, 151 (38.5%) of food challenges were positive. The positive rates of milk, egg and wheat challenges were 35.8%, 42.4% and 33.3%, respectively. Of these, 76.2%, 32.5%, 27.8% and 0.7% had, respectively, skin, respiratory, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular symptoms. Although the prevalence of positive challenge increased with level of specific IgE, it did not correlate with the threshold amount of positive food challenge or the severity of symptoms. Among the challenge positive patients, 10.6% required injection of antihistamines, corticosteroids or adrenalines for the treatment of the symptoms.This challenge protocol seemed to be appropriate and safe.

Thermal conductance between a 3He solid film and a graphite substrate was measured in magnetic fields up to 400 gauss. The thermal conductance is strongly affected by the magnetic field. Previous measurements in zero magnetic field show that heat is transferred only by some local spots between 3He film and graphite substrates, and suggest the magnetic Kapitza conductance as the heat transfer mechanism. The results in the magnetic field support the magnetic Kapitza mechanism.

Heat capacity of dilute 3He‐4He mixture submonolayer films was measured. The excess heat capacity previously observed in pure 3He fluid films disappears by the addition of a small amount of 4He. The measured heat capacity changes slightly with the 4He areal density at high temperatures. This behavior supports the coexistence of two‐dimensional gas and liquid phases of 4He. However, the variation of the heat capacity with the 4He areal density in the present study is completely different from that obtained in previous measurements of the second atomic layer.

Granulomatous inflammation is a process that involves mononuclear leukocytes as well as other inflammatory cells. The heterogeneity of its appearance may be due to the variety of cytokines and chemokines that are involved. In this study, we compared granuloma formation and bronchoalveolar leukocyte differential in the lungs of rats (2- and 8-wk-old) that were treated intravenously with Sephadex beads. In addition, the kinetics of cytokine and chemokine production was determined in these groups. In adults, the beads caused lung granulomas associated with infiltration of eosinophils and neutrophils and increased eosinophil and neutrophil counts in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid within 16 h. In pups, the granulomas were formed slowly and did not reach the size achieved in adults. Eosinophils and neutrophils were sparsely found in the periphery of the granulomas, even at 32 h. Pups were also unable to respond rapidly to Sephadex bead treatment with eosinophil and neutrophil infiltration in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. Tumor necrosis factor-alpha was significantly increased in both groups, but the cytokine was lower in pups than in adults. Interferon-gamma and eotaxin were increased only in adults, and IL-4 and regulated on activation, normal T cell expressed, and secreted was increased only in pups. In conclusion, the i.v. administration of Sephadex beads produced granulomatous inflammation in the lungs of adult rats, but pups were unable to respond as rapidly to the treatment. In addition, the difference in response between the two age groups was associated with the kinetics of cytokine and chemokine production.

Food allergy is frequently associated with atopic dermatitis (AD) in children. Appropriate elimination diet is necessary in the case of immediate food hypersensitivity, regardless it causes worsening of the chronic eczema or not. Here we report the prevalence of immediate type food allergy diagnosed by oral food challenge or the episodes of apparent acute allergic reaction in the AD patients (n=182, average age 4.9+/-5.1), who visited our clinic within one year. The prevalence of food allergy in the AD patients was 85.7% in age 0 years, 75.6% in age 1,65.4% in age 2, and declined to 13.9% in age 7 years old or more. The offending foods were egg, milk, wheat, fish and so on. The symptoms of food allergy included skin, gastrointestinal or respiratory manifestations, and also anaphylaxis. In conclusion, immediate type food allergy is frequently associated with childhood AD, and appropriate elimination of the offending food is necessary to avoid the acute allergic reaction including anaphylaxis.

For ${}^{3}\mathrm{He}$ submonolayer solid adsorbed on Grafoil, the evolutions of the adsorption structure and of the competition of multiple-spin-exchange interactions with increasing areal density are discussed. The discrepancy of the heat-capacity exponent from the normal value, $\ensuremath{-}2$, is considered to show the strength of the competition. We give various discussions to explain the density dependence of the competition, the sudden change of the exchange frequency, and other observations. There we propose the structural phase diagram constructed from the simulations and the possible zero-point vacancies.

Nuclear-spin heat-capacities (C) of 3He submonolayer solids adsorbed on a graphite surface are measured down to 100 μK . In the whole coverage region for the solid phase ( 6.6 nm −2 ) an anomalous temperature dependence, C∝1/T, is observed in a wide temperature range. This anomaly is discussed in terms of competition between the multiple-spin exchange interactions comparing with the behavior in the second layer solid.

Excess heat capacities ( C ex ) both in the first- and second-layer 3 He films adsorbed on Grafoil substrate have been measured at temperatures down to 100 μK . With increasing density, the high-temperature C ex increases rather abruptly somewhat before the second-layer promotion in the uniform film. Otherwise, C ex is roughly density-independent. The results are consistent with the model that C ex arises from nuclear-spin degrees of freedom in the amorphous 3 He adsorbed on substrate heterogeneities and that the amorphous 3 He has also a layered structure.