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To determine whether increasing thrombectomy-capable hospitals with moderate comprehensive stroke center (CSC) capabilities is a valid alternative to centralization of those with high CSC capabilities. This retrospective, nationwide, observational study used data from the J-ASPECT database linked to national emergency medical service (EMS) records, captured during 2013–2016. We compared the influence of mechanical thrombectomy (MT) use, the CSC score, and the total EMS response time on the modified Rankin Scale score at discharge among patients with acute ischemic stroke transported by ambulance, in phases I (2013–2014, 1461 patients) and II (2015–2016, 3259 patients). We used ordinal logistic regression analyses to analyze outcomes. From phase I to II, MTs increased from 2.7 to 5.5%, and full-time endovascular physicians per hospital decreased. The CSC score and EMS response time remained unchanged. In phase I, higher CSC scores were associated with better outcomes (1-point increase, odds ratio [95% confidence interval]: 0.951 [0.915–0.989]) and longer EMS response time was associated with worse outcomes (1-min increase, 1.007 [1.001–1.013]). In phase II, neither influenced the outcomes. During the transitional shortage of thrombectomy-capable hospitals, increasing hospitals with moderate CSC scores may increase nationwide access to MT, improving outcomes.

Photodegradation of azilsartan produces a phenanthridine derivative, with its molecular structure determined by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy. This structure is confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction and alternative synthesis. The phenanthridine ring formation is explained through the ring closure of an imidoylnitrene intermediate produced by decarboxylation of the 5-oxo-1,2,4-oxadiazole ring (oxadiazolone).

A multicolor digital holographic inspection system achieving both automatic scanning sensing head and automatic correction of a distortion in the profile due to positional error of a sensing head has been applied to the inner surface of a straight brass pipe having artificial defects on its wall. To investigate the inner surface of the pipe, the sensing head consisting of a cone-shaped mirror (CSM) glued to an aluminum base in the pipe is illuminated by the collimated RGB laser beams from the outside of the pipe. In the system, by changing the wavelength of the illumination light and scanning the CSM in the pipe, data acquisitions and analysis are performed using a personal computer. It is shown that the pipe inspection, including a classification of defects, can be successfully conducted by comparing the multicolor intensity images and the height profile of inner surface of pipe.

Background We aimed to develop quality indicators (QIs) related to primary and comprehensive stroke care and examine the feasibility of their measurement using the existing Diagnosis Procedure Combination (DPC) database. Methods and results We conducted a systematic review of domestic and international studies using the modified Delphi method. Feasibility of measuring the QI adherence rates was examined using a DPC-based nationwide stroke database (396,350 patients admitted during 2013-2015 to 558 hospitals participating in the J-ASPECT study). Associations between adherence rates of these QIs and hospital characteristics were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression analysis. We developed 17 and 12 measures as QIs for primary and comprehensive stroke care, respectively. We found that measurement of the adherence rates of the developed QIs using the existing DPC database was feasible for the 6 QIs (primary stroke care: early and discharge antithrombotic drugs, mean 54.6% and 58.7%; discharge anticoagulation for atrial fibrillation, 64.4%; discharge antihypertensive agents, 51.7%; comprehensive stroke care: fasudil hydrochloride or ozagrel sodium for vasospasm prevention, 86.9%; death complications of diagnostic neuroangiography, 0.4%). We found wide inter-hospital variation in QI adherence rates based on hospital characteristics. Conclusions We developed QIs for primary and comprehensive stroke care. The DPC database may allow efficient data collection at low cost and decreased burden to evaluate the developed QIs.

Frequency-Modulated Continuous-Wave (FMCW) technique has been introduced into digital holography (DH) using an injection-current-induced frequency modulation of a laser diode (LD) as a light source. Since the frequency of beat signals observed in the intensity variation of holograms captured by a high speed camera depends on the optical path length difference between the reference and the object light waves, the use of FMCW technique in DH can achieve selective reconstruction of an object located at a desired distance. As a preliminary consideration, both experimental and calculational studies were conducted for selective reconstruction of two objects at different positions. In addition, a polarization state of object wave transmitting through a PMMA sample was investigated using the technique in which the object wave interfered with two orthogonally linearly polarized reference waves having the different optical path lengths.

This paper proposes a novel method to investigate the property of a tiny ink dot in its drying process from its gelation to solidification using digital holographic microscopy and tackiness measurement. The method can analyze a variation of an ink dot having a diameter of a few hundred micrometers by using temporal variations of volume, height and contact angle of the ink dot calculated from reconstructed complex amplitudes of the light transmitted through the ink dot. In addition, the tackiness of the ink dot is evaluated using a handmade measurement device having a micro cantilever as the sensing probe. The experimental results using a commercially available water-based magenta ink ejected on a glass plate are presented.

The epidemiology of patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) has changed dramatically over recent decades as a result of rapid advances in aging societies. We assessed the influence of age on outcomes of patients with TBI and sought to identify prognostic factors for in-hospital mortality of TBI among elderly patients.Using a nationwide database, we analyzed data from 5651 patients with TBI. Univariate analysis was conducted to compare patient demographics, neurologic status on admission, radiologic findings, systemic complication rates, length of hospital stay, in-hospital mortality, and home discharge rates between elderly and nonelderly groups. Multivariable analysis was conducted to determine prognostic factors for in-hospital mortality among elderly patients.Overall in-hospital mortality was significantly higher in elderly patients (12.8% vs. 19.3%; P0.001). In-hospital mortality of elderly patients with mild TBI increased significantly at7 days after admission, whereas that of elderly patients with moderate or severe TBI was significantly higher immediately after admission. Age (odds ratio [OR], 1.62; P = 0.024), male sex (OR, 1.30; P = 0.004), Japan Coma Scale score on admission (OR, 5.95, P0.001), and incidence of acute subdural hematoma (OR, 1.89; P0.001) were associated with in-hospital mortality in elderly patients with TBI.Elderly patients with TBI showed significantly higher in-hospital mortality. Delayed increases in in-hospital mortality were observed among elderly patients with mild TBI. Level of consciousness on admission was the strongest predictor of in-hospital mortality among elderly patients.

Silicon electrodeposition in molten salts is a key technology for fabricating silicon films, as a material for solar cells, by environmentally friendly and inexpensive processes. We have already reported the electrodeposition of silicon films from SiO2 in fluoride melts. However, there are only few studies about the effects of ions in fluoride melts, such as O2- anion, and Li+/Na+/K+ cations, on silicon electrodeposition processes. In particular, it is important to understand the coordination structure of silicon ions for controlling the nucleation and growth processes between solid metal substrates and fluoride melts interface. In this study, we investigated the electrodeposition of silicon from SiO2 in LiF-NaF-KF melts mixed with Li2O as a source of O2- anion at 873 K, and binary LiF-KF, LiF-NaF, and NaF-KF melts. The results of the in-situ Raman spectroscopy and DFT calculations indicated that the O2− anions could cleave the Si-O-Si bonds of SiO2 or silicate ions such as [Si2O5]2−; consequently, the formation of tetrahedron [SiO3F]3− species was promoted. In addition, electrochemical measurements, XRD, SEM, and EDS analysis showed thickness and current efficiency of electrodeposited polycrystalline silicon was affected by the difference in coordination structures of silicon ions in fluoride melts. This study suggested the design of the molten salts bath was significant for controlling interfacial phenomena at electrode/molten salts to fabricate high-quality Si layers with high current efficiency.

Drying process of ink dots having diameter of a few hundred micrometer has been investigated with digital holographic microscopy. In addition, to follow the variation of tackiness of the ink dot in the drying process, a tackiness measurement device (TMD) has been applied to evaluate the change of tackiness of ink. Both the defromation of the ink dot obtained by digital holography and the change of tackiness measured with TMD are compared to investigate the drying rpocess.

Digital holographic techniques to investigate drying processes of both paint films and ink dot is presented. The proposed technique based on digital holographic interferometry can achieve both visualization of variations and analysis of dryness of paint films in the drying process by using phase changes between two subsequent reconstructed complex amplitudes of the reflected light from the film. To follow the drying processes, holograms are recorded at a constant time interval. Phase-shifting digital holography has been applied to analyze the dryness of commercial paints applied on the metal plate. For analysis of an ink dot having diameter of a few hundred micrometers, digital holographic microscopy is applied to evaluating the time history of dryness of ink dot in the drying process. This paper describes these holographic techniques applied to the commercially available paint and ink and presents some experimental results.

The characterization of the drying process of paints and coatings on the surfaces is important for many industrial applications. We present a new optical method to study the drying process of varnish based on immersion solid matching technique. The principle of the method is to match the refractive index of dry varnish with the added particles, making the dried varnish optically transparent. The state of the drying process can be evaluated by following the transparency of the varnish by visual inspection or imaging by camera. The method has several merits since it is non-contact, fast, simple and low-cost. In addition, particles that are invisible in dry varnish can provide improved properties such as hardness, abrasion and corrosion resistance or retard flammability without sacrificing the optical appearance of the coating.

A novel phase-shifting digital holographic method for estimation of inner surface profiles of tubes is proposed. For surface contouring, a two-wavelength method using injection-current-induced wavelength changes of a laser diode is used. To obtain inner surface information on a tube, a cone-shaped mirror is set inside the tube. Speckle noise occurring in the reconstructed phase difference image is effectively suppressed by an adaptive filtering technique consisting of exponential averaging and masking filtering processes. Distribution of optical path length in the experimental alignment is calculated and well explains the experimental results. It is shown that the calculation of optical path length by a simple model can remove the distortion of profiles occurring in the experimental results and enable the estimation of the inner surface profile of an aluminum tube.

Phase-shifting digital holography is applied to measure the shapes and positions of rough surfaces from the averaged conjugate product of the reconstructed complex amplitudes, named complex coherence factor, corresponding to dual wavelengths. The phase of the averaged product at the object plane provides the shape of the surface, whereas the peak position of the modulus with respect to reconstruction distance provides the position of the surface. The phase is almost free from speckle noise and easy to be unwrapped. The resultant resolution of surface shape amounts to a few tens of micrometres. The sensitivity of the position measurement that requires no marking on the object is several per cent of object distance from a charge-coupled device (CCD). The method corresponds to the detection of the position of maximum contrast of the fringes to be observed in conventional holographic interferometry. It makes use of fringe phase for shape mea- surement and fringe contrast for position measurement. Both the theory explaining the principle and experimental results are presented.

A compact optical sensor based on photometric detection of soil nutrients is developed. The sensor consists of three light emitting diodes (LEDs) and a simple data I/O circuit using a PIC (peripheral interface controller) device. The wavelength of LEDs is chosen to fit the absorption band of chemical reagents whose colour develops by reaction with soil nutrients. The sensor is applied for detection of six soil nutrients: ammonia nitrogen (NH4–N), nitrate nitrogen (NO3–N), available phosphorus (P2O5), available iron (Fe), exchangeable manganese (Mn) and exchangeable calcium (CaO) from colour changes caused by addition of chemical reagent in a transparent plastic cell. The results are compared with those calculated using absorbance of solutions measured by spectrophotometer and good agreement is observed. The resolution of 1.0–20 mg/100 g has been performed for standard solutions of soil nutrients in a cell of 5.5 mm in path length. The sensor is also applied to an analysis of soil nutrients of various farmlands, and the results are compared with those obtained by a colour chart judgment.

The digital holographic technique is applied to analyze the spatial distribution of polarization state of light transmitted through anisotropic objects using an orthogonal linearly polarized reference beam. The polarization orientation of reference beam is switched by an optical fiber Faraday rotator for successive hologram recording. To confirm the principle of polarization analysis, a quarter wave plate (QWP) is used and the distribution of polarization state over the object surface is analyzed for various orientations of the QWP. By providing an area of a known polarization for a part of the object wave as a reference, a phase drift of the reference waves can be evaluated and compensated for using the reference area. The principal axis and ellipticity of polarization ellipse are calculated and compared with their theoretical values. A good agreement between the experimental and theoretical values is observed.

Changes in systemic arterial blood pressure and the degree of cerebral vasospasm were investigated in 125 patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage.Systemic arterial blood pressure was measured every 2 hours in each patient for a period of more than 2 weeks, and a fall in systemic blood pressure (FBP) was defined as a decrease of40 mmHg of systolic blood pressure between two consecutive measurements.A total of 91 FBPs occurred in 52 (41.6%) of 125 patients despite specific post-operative management to prevent hypovolemia. Five (5.5%) of the 91 FBPs occurred just before the onset of symptomatic vasospasm. Symptomatic vasospasm was observed in 36 (69.2%) of 52 patients with FBP and in 32 (43.8%) of 73 patients without FBP (p0.01, chi-squared test). A hypodense area on computed tomographic scans in association with cerebral vasospasm was observed in 25 (48.1%) of 52 patients with FBP and in 21 (28.8%) of 73 patients without FBP (p0.05).We conclude that FBP might result from delayed cerebral vasospasm and/or brain dysfunction owing to subarachnoid hemorrhage itself.

Regioselective alkylation of 2-alkyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-3H-cycloheptimidazol-4-one (1) and 2-alkyl-3H-cycloheptimidazol-4-one (2) was investigated. 3-[2'-(1-tert-Butyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-ylmethyl]-2-propyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-1H-cycloheptimidazol-4-one (6) was preferentially obtained under the conditions by using NaH in DMF or THF. On the other hand, 3-[2'-(1-tert-butyl-1H-tetrazol-5-yl)biphenyl-4-ylmethyl]-2-propyl-5,6,7,8-tetrahydro-3H-cycloheptimidazol-4-one (5), the synthetic intermediate compound of Pratosartan, was obtained selectively in the presence of n-Bu(4)NBr in toluene by using aqueous sodium hydroxide as a base. In this reaction, it was found that the concentration of the alkaline solution influences its regioselectivity. This selectivity was observed even for aldehyde and ester derivatives.

Transient forebrain ischemia induces calpain-mediated degradation of the neuronal cytoskeleton, alpha-fodrin, and this results in ischemic neuronal death. In this study, we investigated the spatial distribution and temporal changes of calpain-catalyzed alpha-fodrin proteolysis in focal cerebral ischemia and examined the effects of a calpain inhibitor. Ischemia was induced in gerbils by 3-h middle cerebral artery occlusion followed by reperfusion. Animals were divided into four groups: a sham-operated group, an ischemic group, a vehicle-treated group, and a calpain inhibitor-treated group. Intravenous injections of vehicle or calpain inhibitor I were administered 30 min before ischemia. Infarct volumes were measured 1 day after reperfusion and the spatial distribution of calpain-catalyzed alpha-fodrin proteolysis was investigated by immunohistochemistry 15 min, 1 h, 4 h, and 1 day after reperfusion. Infarct volume (mean +/- SD) in the ischemic group and the vehicle-treated group was 204.6 +/- 19.1 mm3 and 212.4 +/- 16.3 mm3, respectively, and the calpain inhibitor I reduced the infarct volume [149.4 +/- 25.2 mm3 (P0.05)]. Immunoblot analysis demonstrated that calpain inhibitor reduced proteolysis. Ischemia induced fodrin proteolysis in the ischemic core and the peri-infarct zone within 15 min after reperfusion, with proteolysis developing quickly in the ischemic core and more slowly in the peri-infarct zone. Proteolysis preceded neuronal death in the peri-infarct zone. Calpain inhibitor I ameliorated neuronal death in the peri-infarct zone but not in the ischemic core. Thus, calpain plays a pivotal role on focal ischemia as well as in global ischemia.

A compact high-efficiency Faraday rotator is constructed which uses a single-mode flint glass fibre as the Faraday element and a small-diameter toroidal electric coil as the magnetic system. Using a fibre Faraday rotator as the polarization modulator and/or the polarization compensator, glucose solution in the 10 mm long fused silica cell is detected with a high resolution of 0.01 g dl−1 in the wide measurement range of 0–25 g dl−1.

We investigated the relationship between the activity of calcium-dependent protease (calpain) and the ischemic neuronal damage. We also investigated the mechanism of ischemic resistance in astrocytes. In gerbil, a 10-min forebrain ischemia was induced by occlusion of both common carotid arteries. The calpain-induced proteolysis of cytoskeleton (fodrin) was examined by immunohistochemistry. Immunolocalization of micro and m-calpain was also examined. Intact fodrin was observed both in neurons and astrocytes, but proteolyzed fodrin was not observed in normal brain. Fifteen minutes after ischemia, proteolysis of fodrin took place in putamen, parietal cortex and hippocampal CA1. The proteolysis extended to thalamus 4 h after ischemia after which the immunoreactivity faded down in all areas except hippocampus. On day 7, the proteolysis was still observed only in hippocampus. Neurons with the proteolysis of soma resulted in neuronal death. Throughout the experiment, the proteolysis was not observed in astrocytes. micro -Calpain was observed only in neurons but m-calpain was observed both in neurons and astrocytes. The ischemia induced only micro -calpain activation, which resulted in fodrin proteolysis of neurons with differential spatial distribution and temporal course. The proteolysis was developed rapidly and was completed within 24 h in all vulnerable regions except hippocampal CA1. The proteolysis preceded the neuronal death. The mechanism of the proteolysis seemed to be involved by Ca(2+) influx via glutamate receptor and rapid neuronal death seemed reasonable. The reason why neuronal death in CA1 evolved slowly was not clarified. In astrocytes, fodrin was not proteolyzed by m-calpain. The low Ca(2+)-sensitivity of m-calpain may be the reason of ischemic resistance in astrocytes.

Blue phases are types of liquid crystal phases that appear in a temperature range between a chiral nematic phase and an isotropic liquid phase. Because blue phases have a three-dimensional cubic structure with lattice periods of several hundred nanometres, they exhibit selective Bragg reflections in the range of visible light corresponding to the cubic lattice. From the viewpoint of applications, although blue phases are of interest for fast light modulators or tunable photonic crystals, the very narrow temperature range, usually less than a few kelvin, within which blue phases exist has always been a problem. Here we show the stabilization of blue phases over a temperature range of more than 60 K including room temperature (260-326 K). Furthermore, we demonstrate an electro-optical switching with a response time of the order of 10(-4) s for the stabilized blue phases at room temperature.

Brain-specific angiogenesis inhibitor 1 (BAI1) is a p53-target gene specifically expressed in the brain. We examined the distribution of the endogenous BAI1 protein in normal human brain tissue using a polyclonal antibody against the extracellular region of BAI1. Immunohistochemical study demonstrated that BAI1 was expressed in neuronal cells of the cerebral cortex but not in astrocytes. BAI1 protein was localized in the cellular cytoplasm and membrane. It was predominantly localized in the cellular membrane when expressed in cultured cells by means of gene transfection. BAI1 protein may play an important role in neuronal functions such as synapse formation and signal transduction.

Investigation of electrochemical nucleation and growth mechanism is of great significance for controlling morphology of elctrodeposited metals on substrate. However, information concerning nucleation and growth mechanism in molten salts has not been sufficient, although it is necessary to understand growth processes of electrodeposition of metals in molten salt for realizing practical process. In particular, investigation of electrodeposited metals at early stage is expected to give us new information about morphogenetic process during electrolysis in molten salts. From the background, molten chloride salts containing silicon ions was used for studying electrochemical nucleation and growth mechanism of metallic silicon by using electrochemical techniques combined with micro-spectroscopic techniques. After conducing electrolysis for one second, hemispherical nucleated Si was observed by SEM, and process of agglomeration was also observed as time proceeded. The effect of time evolution on growth process has been also studied by conduction potentiostatic electrolysis. The growth mechanisum from the experiments will be presented at the symposium.

An inner surface of straight pipe has been investigated using digital holographic technique. Both contour images for surface profile and color reconstructed images are used to the detection of artificial defects made on the inner wall of copper pipe. For the inspection, a cone-shaped mirror glued to one end of a metal rod is inserted into the pipe and illuminated from the other open end of the pipe. The new algorithm in which a deviation of the cone-shaped mirror from the pipe axis can be directly evaluated from the experimental height profile reduces the amount of calculation for correcting the distorted experimental profile. The pipe inspection has been done using the developed images of both the color intensity image and height profile for the inner wall of pipe.

We report a method for measuring the concentration of flecainide in hair. An animal study, in which flecainide (1, 5, and 10 mg/kg/day) was orally administered for 1, 2, and 3 weeks to pigmented rats, showed that flecainide concentration in rat hairs newly regrown after administration significantly correlated with both the daily dose and the dosing period. The part of hair containing flecainide continued to grow upward, retaining the drug within the hair structure that had been formed at the time of drug exposure. Flecainide was also determined in human scalp hairs collected from patients treated with flecainide. The drug content of white hairs was much less than that black hairs collected from the same rats and subjects, suggesting the determinant effect of hair pigment on flecainide accumulation in hair. These findings suggest that the analysis of flecainide in hair may be useful for assessing exposure to drug qualitatively. © 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmaceutical Association J Pharm Sci 90:1891–1896, 2001

A simple optical-fibre water concentration sensor that uses absorption of the fluorescent light from the 781 nm laser-diode-pumped Tm3+ :YAG crystal has been constructed. Highly sensitive and reliable measurements of water concentration are achieved by using the transmitted pumping light for the reference signal. The minimum resolution of 0.05 mass% is achieved over the water-concentration range 0 - 30 mass% using the signal wavelength of fluorescence at 1.94 µm. By suitably selecting the wavelength of the fluorescence light, water concentrations in ethanol-water and methanol-water mixtures can be measured with high sensitivity in the full range of 0 - 100 mass%.

It has been reported that prothrombin time (PT), which is prolonged by warfarin, is reduced when patients on warfarin also take griseofulvin repeatedly. We investigated the cause of the drug interaction and the initial effects of griseofulvin on warfarin pharmacokinetics. Total cytochrome P-450, and the activities of aminopyrine N-demethylase, aniline p-hydroxylase and 7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase, after repeated administration of griseofulvin (100 mg/kg orally daily for 5 days) were examined. Acute effects of single doses of griseofulvin (100 mg/kg) on coagulation activity (prothrombin time) and warfarin pharmacokinetics after administration of warfarin were also studied. Repeated administration of griseofulvin induced warfarin-metabolizing enzymes. In contrast, a single administration of griseofulvin increased prothrombin time and serum warfarin concentrations. The activity of a warfarin-metabolizing enzyme (7-ethoxycoumarin O-deethylase) was reduced when griseofulvin was added to rat liver microsomes. The results suggest that reduced warfarin action after repeated administration of griseofulvin may be due to induction of warfarin-metabolizing enzymes, but that there is also an initial increase in warfarin action.

Object. Surgical or endovascular occlusion of the parent artery proximal to an aneurysm has been recommended for treatment of dissecting aneurysms of the intracranial posterior circulation. However, dissecting aneurysms may rupture even after proximal occlusion because distal progression of thrombus is necessary to occlude the dissecting aneurysm completely, and this may be delayed by the presence of retrograde flow. In this article the authors present their experience in treating six patients with ruptured dissecting aneurysms.Methods. The authors report on six patients with a ruptured dissecting aneurysm in the posterior fossa who were successfully treated by endovascular occlusion of the aneurysm by using Guglielmi detachable coils. The procedure was particularly aimed at occluding the dissected site.Conclusions. At the present time, endovascular occlusion of the dissected site is a safe, minimally invasive, and reliable treatment for dissecting aneurysms when a test occlusion is tolerated and adequate collateral circulation is present.

The state of drying paint is monitored from the dynamic behaviors of the speckle pattern arising from laser illumination of the region inspected. Temporal variation of the peak height of the cross-correlation function between successive frames taken with a fixed interval is plotted until the peak maintains a stationary maximum value. We used a speckle pattern in the diffraction field for monitoring of a single region and that in the image field for simultaneous monitoring of various regions. Both the normal and the phase-only algorithms were compared for cross-correlation computation. The former showed more distinct variation of peak height.

SummaryActivated platelets are instrumental in restenosis due to their role in thrombus formation. Aurintricarboxylic acid (ATA) has been reported to prevent platelet activation by inhibiting von Willebrand factor binding to platelet glycoprotein (GP) Ib. We investigated the effects of ATA in vitro and in vivo in hamsters. ATA inhibited the in vitro platelet aggregation induced by ADP, botrocetin and thrombin, but not by collagen. The IC50 values during the ex vivo platelet aggregation by ADP, botrocetin and thrombin were 8.2 ± 1.8 μM, 0.9 ± 0.4 μg/ml and 2.4 ± 0.8 unit/ml, respectively. The platelet retention time to collagen-coated beads of hamster blood samples was inhibited by ATA (0.1, 0.3 and 1.0 mg/kg per hour) in a dose-dependent manner. Continuous administration of ATA (0, 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, 3.0 and 10.0 mg/kg per h) via an infusion pump produced dose-dependent antithrombotic effects: the time to occlude the carotid artery after vascular injury with a modified catheter was prolonged. Only when infused at doses of 3.0 and 10.0 mg/kg per hour, bleeding times were significantly prolonged. The continuous treatment with ATA (1.0 mg/kg per h) using a 2ML1 Alzet infusion pump for 2 weeks, resulted in a decrease in neointimal area by 22.2 ± 6.8% when measured 2 weeks after injury induction. DNA synthesis using DDT1MF2 hamster SMCs was decreased by ATA in a dose-dependent manner. ATA reduced the number of platelets adhering on the injured area, as detected by electron microscopy. These results indicated that treatment with ATA inhibited platelet adhesion but also SMC proliferation. These observations may explain the effect of ATA on neointima formation.

Summary N -Di-, trialkoxybenzylisoquinuclidines and related compounds were synthesized and evaluated for expectorant activities. Structure-activity relationship investigations in this series showed that both the trialkoxyphenyl ring and the basic nitrogen atom at the benzylic position were necessary for activity. N -Trialkoxybenzylisoquinuclidines 7a, 7c, 7d, 7f and 7g significantly increased bronchial secretion, and ethoxy derivative 7c showed the highest activity in these compounds. The n -propyloxy derivatives 7d and 7f also accelerated bronchoalveolar surfactant secretion with about two to four times more activity than ambroxol ( 7d and 7f ; ED 50 = 27.5 and 15.5 mg/kg po, respectively); however, compounds 7a, 7c and 7g were less active than ambroxol. Compounds 7d and 7f were selected for further examination. These compounds displayed antioxidant activity in vitro ( 7d and 7f ; IC 50 = 48.0 and 66.0 μM, respectively). Compound 7d also showed inhibition on bradykinin- or antigen-induced airway inflammation in guinea pigs. These findings suggest that compounds 7d and 7f are potent expectorants with antiinflammatory activity.

Digital holographic profilometry using multiwavelength from laser diodes is applied to an inspection of inner surface of straight copper pipe and the detection of artificial defects such as a hole, rust and a scratch in its wall. To obtain the inner surface profile, a cone-shaped mirror attached to a rod having two acrylic spacers is inserted into the pipe and illuminated by the collimated laser beam from the other open end of the pipe. The measurement has been performed by shifting the mirror stepwise along the pipe. Distribution of an optical path length in the alignment is calculated and used to compensate for a distortion in the profile due to a positional misalignment of the mirror. The new algorithm to obtain the positional error is adopted for the compensation process and the shape and positions of defects in the inner wall can be investigated.

We developed an antibody specific to β-amyloid precursor protein (βAPP) fragments possessing the exact amino terminus of the β-amyloid peptide and examined its induction in postischemic hippocampus. In control hippocampus, this APP fragment was lightly observed in pyramidal neurons of CA sectors and dentate granule cells. Transient forebrain ischemia enhanced accumulation of the APP fragment in CA1pyramidal neurons. Seven days after the ischemia, while the APP fragment was still observed in dentate granule cells and CA3neurons, it disappeared in dead CA1neurons. While astrocytes did not show in any immunoreactivity throughout the experiment, those in the CA1sector showed moderate immunoreactivity 7 days after the ischemia. The APP fragment has a cytotoxic effect on cultured neurons. These results suggest that the accumulation of the cytotoxic APP fragment in CA1neurons may play a role in the development of delayed neuronal death after the ischemic insult.

Phase-shifting digital holography has been used for the study of vibrating objects. The time-averaged complex amplitude of Fresnel diffracted field due to a vibrating object was obtained by using a three-step phase-shifting algorithm. Taking the inverse Fresnel transform of the complex amplitude resulted in an image of the object superimposed with Bessel fringes. The Bessel fringes are contour map of the vibration amplitude. By sinusoidally modulating the phase of the reference beam at the vibration frequency, the brightest fringe could be shifted to points of interest, thus extending the measurable range of vibration amplitude.