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The deformation of solid–liquid coexistence regions strongly affects the formation of solidification defects in casting applications. Thus, understanding the mechanism of semi-solid deformation is crucial. This study used the multi-phase-field lattice Boltzmann model (MPF-LBM), which can simulate polycrystalline solidification with solid motion and liquid flow, to simulate two-dimensional semi-solid shear deformation with various grain shapes and solid fractions. It was concluded that the MPF-LBM could express the characteristic behaviors of semi-solid deformation, such as the Reynolds’ dilatancy and shear band, depending on the grain shape and solid fraction.

Oral cancer is the most widely studied health outcome linked to areca (betel) nut chewing, or mastication of the Areca catechu fruit or seed often combined with slaked lime, tobacco, and the Piper betle (leaf). A growing area of research is the influence of betel nut chewing on metabolic conditions. To investigate betel nut chewing and metabolic conditions, including obesity and related health characteristics, a cross-sectional study of 122 adults was conducted in Guam between July 2013 and October 2014. Information on demographics, medical history, dietary intake and betel nut use was collected. Height and weight measurements were collected to calculate body mass index or BMI (weight in kg/height in m2) as an indicator of weight status. Waist was also measured to calculate waist-to-height ratio as an indicator of health risk status. Health characteristics were compared across the three chewing groups: 64 current betel nut chewers, 37 former betel nut chewers, and 21 non-betel nut chewers. Strong evidence of differences by betel nut exposure were seen by ethnicity (predominantly Chamorros across all chewing groups), BMI (predominantly obese among former betel nut chewers), waist-to-height ratio (predominantly high risk among current and former betel nut chewers), history of self-reported stroke (predominant among former betel nut chewers), and alcohol consumption (highest number of drinks among current betel nut chewers). The evidence of poor metabolic conditions seen among current betel nut chewers supports the need for a comprehensive approach to betel nut prevention strategies, to include the prevention of oral cancer and metabolic conditions. The evidence of poor metabolic conditions seen among former betel nut chewers warrants additional advanced study designs to rule out temporal ambiguity, and to further investigate any health implications of betel nut cessation. Citation Format: Yvette C. Paulino, Alisha N. Yamanaka, Patrick F.P. Sotto, Grazyna Badowski, Lynne R. Wilkens, Brenda Y. Hernandez. Areca (betel) nut chewing and metabolic conditions [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Eleventh AACR Conference on the Science of Cancer Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; 2018 Nov 2-5; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2020;29(6 Suppl):Abstract nr C074.

To examine the association between treatment-achieved HbAAssociations of treatment-achieved HbAA significant linear trend was associated with HbAThese findings suggest that the relationship between treatment-achieved HbA

Background Respondent driven sampling (RDS) is a relatively new network sampling technique typically employed for hard-to-reach populations. Like snowball sampling, initial respondents or “seeds” recruit additional respondents from their network of friends. Under certain assumptions, the method promises to produce a sample independent from the biases that may have been introduced by the non-random choice of “seeds.” We conducted a survey on health communication in Guam’s general population using the RDS method, the first survey that has utilized this methodology in Guam. It was conducted in hopes of identifying a cost-efficient non-probability sampling strategy that could generate reasonable population estimates for both minority and general populations. Methods RDS data was collected in Guam in 2013 (n = 511) and population estimates were compared with 2012 BRFSS data (n = 2031) and the 2010 census data. The estimates were calculated using the unweighted RDS sample and the weighted sample using RDS inference methods and compared with known population characteristics. Results The sample size was reached in 23 days, providing evidence that the RDS method is a viable, cost-effective data collection method, which can provide reasonable population estimates. However, the results also suggest that the RDS inference methods used to reduce bias, based on self-reported estimates of network sizes, may not always work. Caution is needed when interpreting RDS study findings. Conclusions For a more diverse sample, data collection should not be conducted in just one location. Fewer questions about network estimates should be asked, and more careful consideration should be given to the kind of incentives offered to participants.

Software switches offer flexibility to service providers but potentially suffer from low performance. A software switch called Lagopus was implemented using Intel's Data Plane Development Kit (DPDK), which offers libraries for high-performance packet handling. Prior work on software switches focused on characterizing packet forwarding throughput. In this work, we evaluated the impact of certain parameters and settings in Lagopus on application performance and studied packet drop rates. The importance of receive-thread packet classification for load balancing and to send delay-sensitive flows to a different worker thread from high-throughput flows was first demonstrated. Next, we showed that a loop-count variable used to control packet batching should be kept small in case link utilization is low. Finally, we showed that packet drop rate could be non-zero when the OpenFlow table size is large and packet arrival rate is high, and interestingly, the packet drop rate was higher with four worker threads than with a single worker thread. This implies a need for careful calibration and planning of the parameters of parallelization.

Neoadjuvant therapy-induced immunological deterioration may be a key factor in postoperative morbidity in patients with esophageal cancer. This study aimed to determine the effects of perioperative feeding with an immuno-enhanced diet on immune competence in patients treated with neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery. Because an immuno-enhanced diet that contained several antioxidants was used, perioperative oxidative stress and the effects of the immuno-enhanced diet on this stress were also investigated. Of 39 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent similar surgical procedures, 26 patients who received chemotherapy or chemoradiation therapy before surgery were randomly divided into two groups: group 1 (n= 14) was given an immuno-enhanced diet for 5 days before surgery, and group 2 (n= 12) received no enteral feeding products before surgery. Group 3 (n= 13) consisted of patients that did not receive neoadjuvant therapy and received no enteral feeding products before surgery. Several markers for coagulation and fibrinolysis were determined and immunological assessments were performed for each patient. To measure reactive oxygen metabolites and the total antioxidant capacity, diacron-reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and OXY-adsorbent tests were performed using a free radical elective evaluator. Significant depression in lymphocyte numbers was observed in groups 1 and 2 before and early after surgery as compared to group 3. Numbers of B cells, CD4/CD8 ratio, and phytohemagglutinin-induced lymphocyte transformation tests were also significantly decreased in groups 1 and 2 on postoperative day 1. Fibrin and fibrinogen degradation products were significantly elevated in group 2 compared to group 1. d-ROMs and OXY-adsorbent test values were elevated before surgery and were decreased transiently early after surgery. Compared to groups 2 and 3, d-ROMs values were significantly lower in group 1 patients throughout the postoperative period, while OXY-adsorbent test values were significantly higher in group 2 patients. Oxidative index was significantly suppressed in group 1 compared to group 3. No significant intergroup differences were observed with regard to morbidity after surgery. Although the baseline levels of immunological function might have been different because of less-advanced cancer stages in group 3, neoadjuvant therapy significantly affected several immunological parameters. Preoperative administration of an immuno-enhanced diet did not significantly prevent neoadjuvant therapy-induced immunological deterioration prior to esophageal cancer surgery. Patients with esophageal cancer had elevated levels of oxidant and antioxidant activities before surgery, which were transiently decreased early after surgery. Although the underlying mechanisms for these perioperative changes are unclear, this study showed that an immuno-enhanced diet containing several antioxidants may reduce oxidative stress following esophageal cancer surgery. After these mechanisms are studied further, oxidative stress control may become another tool for perioperative management to reduce morbidity after esophageal cancer surgery.

乾燥処理区と対照区で北アメリカ原産のニセアカシアと黄土高原郷土樹種のリョウトウナラ，油松，側柏の一年生実生苗について，水消費量とP-V曲線から得られる葉の水分特性を調べ，造林樹種としての可能性を検討した。ニセアカシアの個体当たり水消費量は両処理区とも郷土樹種と比較して多かった。また郷土樹種は気孔閉鎖で，ニセアカシアは落葉することで水消費を抑えていた。対照区では油松と側柏のψwtlpとψssatがニセアカシアとリョウトウナラに比べて低く，膨圧維持に有利なことが示された。乾燥ストレスを受けると油松とリョウトウナラでは体積弾性率の変化が認められた。油松を除く3種ではψwtlpとψssat の低下が認められ，浸透調節が行われていると考えられた。またリョウトウナラと側柏はニセアカシアに比べて浸透調節能力が高いことが示された。このことから郷土樹種3種はニセアカシアに比べて乾燥に強いと考えられ，この地域の造林樹種として高い適性をもつと考えられた。

Experimental feeds containing 0, 500, 1000, 1500 or 2000 ppb of lolitrem B derived from perennial ryegrass straw were fed to 9 month-old Japanese Black steers (average liveweight 180 kg) to determine their threshold level of lolitrem B. Steers received feeds containing 1000, 1500 and 2000 ppb of lolitrem B showed signs of ryegrass staggers after 2 to 7 weeks of feeding. The lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL) of lolitrem B was approximately 24 μg/kg body weight per day. Only small amounts of lolitrem B residue were detected in muscle, liver, kidney and cerebrum. In contrast, approximately 100 ng/g of lolitrem B was detected in perirenal fat of steers with ryegrass staggers. Keywords: Lolitrem B, Japanese Black cattle, ryegrass staggers, muscle, fat

Summary Background Quantitative information on the effectiveness of safety-engineered devices (SEDs) is needed to support decisions regarding their implementation. Aim To elucidate the effects of SED use in winged steel needles, intravenous (IV) catheter stylets and suture needles on needlestick injury (NSI) incidence rates in Japan. Methods Japan EPINet survey data and device utilization data for conventional devices and SEDs were collected from 26 participating hospitals between 1 April 2009 and 31 March 2014. The NSI incidence rate for every 100,000 devices was calculated according to hospital, year and SED use for winged steel needles, IV catheter stylets and suture needles. Weighted means and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to calculate overall NSI incidence rates. Findings In total, there were 236 NSIs for winged steel needles, 152 NSIs for IV catheter stylets and 180 NSIs for suture needles. The weighted NSI incidence rates per 100,000 devices for SEDs and non-SEDs were as follows: winged steel needles, 2.10 (95% CI 1.66–2.54) and 14.95 (95% CI 2.46–27.43), respectively; IV catheter stylets, 0.95 (95% CI 0.60–1.29) and 6.39 (95% CI 3.56–9.23), respectively; and suture needles, 1.47 (95% CI −1.14–4.09) and 16.50 (95% CI 4.15–28.86), respectively. All devices showed a significant reduction in the NSI incidence rate with SED use ( P P = 0.035 for IV catheter stylets and P = 0.044 for suture needles). Conclusion SED use substantially reduces the incidence of NSIs, and is therefore recommended as a means to prevent occupational infections in healthcare workers and improve healthcare safety.

We report on our calculation of the nucleon axial and tensor charges in 2+1-flavor QCD with dynamical overlap quarks. Gauge ensembles are generated at a single lattice spacing 0.12 fm and at a strange quark mass close to its physical value. We employ the all-mode-averaging technique to calculate the relevant nucleon correlation functions, and the disconnected quark loop is efficiently calculated by using the all-to-all quark propagator. We present our preliminary results for the isoscalar and isovector charges obtained at pion masses $m_\pi$ = 450 and 540 MeV., Comment: 7 pages, 10 figures, proceeding of the 33rd International Symposium on Lattice field theory (Lattice 2015), Kobe, Japan, July 2015

An automatic system was developed for the measurement of radiation using a magnetically levitated electrode ionization chamber. The system was used to measure background and 40K gamma ray dose rates. The background dose rate measurement demonstrated high sensitivity and reliability of the system, and a low-level 40K gamma ray dose rate was successfully measured. For the case of a 30-minute measurement, the detection limit of the system is 13 nGy/h. This measurement system will be useful as an area monitor to measure space dose rates

Here, we would like to summarize our investigations. We have first reviewed the supersymmetry (SUSY) as a candidate of new physics beyond the standard model (SM).

Up to now, we have reviewed the formulation of supersymmetric theories. We now apply it to the standard model to obtain its minimal supersymmetric extension, the minimal supersymmetric standard model. In this chapter, we first supersymmetrize the SM, then introduce soft breaking terms, and finally indicate the phenomenological constraints on the supersymmetric standard model provided by particle physics experiments.

The only source of CP violation in the standard model (SM) is the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix, and its contribution to the electric dipole moment (EDM) is known to be very small. This fact is one of the most important arguments to claim that the study of EDM is very interesting. We must justify this statement by showing the smallness of the SM contribution to the observables in question. In this chapter, we will review the CKM contribution to different microscopic P, CP-odd processes and their observable effects to EDMs measured in various systems.

The parameter space of the R-parity violation (RPV) is quite large, and the analysis of the full parameter space including the usual R-parity conserving parameters is difficult. In such situations, we often allow only few parameters in the parameter space to vary for tractable phenomenological analyses, as was done in many previous works (assumptions of single coupling dominance) from which many tight constraints of the RPV couplings were derived.

We have seen in the previous chapter that the general renormalizable supersymmetric extension of the standard model allows also baryon and lepton number violating interactions. These interactions, called the R-parity violating interactions, can be avoided by imposing the conservation of R-parity. This assumption is however ad hoc and must be investigated phenomenologically. In this chapter, we will first review the R-parity violating interactions and their properties. We will then present briefly the bilinear R-parity violation, and finally list the phenomenological constraints on the trilinear R-parity violation given by particle physics experiments.

In this chapter, we present our analysis of the R-parity violating (RPV) contribution to the P, CP-odd electron-nucleon (e-N) interaction at the one-loop level [1]. The present tightest limits on the P, CP-odd e-N interactions are given by the recent update of the Hg electric dipole moment (EDM) experiment by the group of Seattle [2]. The accuracy of the Hg EDM data is such that one can expect to constrain the RPV couplings even at the one-loop level. This is because loop level diagrams can involve new RPV structures not encountered at the tree level. The analysis of the RPV contribution to the P, CP-odd 4-quark interaction at the one-loop level is also given, and prospective constraints from future experiments are shown.

The supersymmetric standard model is one of the leading candidates of new physics. We have seen that the supersymmetric models, due to the soft breaking terms, have a large degree of freedom, and that many parameters can be constrained from phenomenological analysis. The soft breaking terms are in general complex, and their complex phases are the source of CP violation. The experimental data of the electric dipole moment (EDM) give the most stringent upper limits on them. In this chapter, we will see the constraints imposed on R-parity conserving supersymmetric models by the EDM experimental data via different microscopic P, CP-odd processes.

In this chapter, we will review the hadronic many-body physics needed in the study of the electric dipole moments. We first examine the quark contents of nucleon which are needed in many subsequent analyses. We will then briefly review the method using low energy theorems which provides us with the relation between quark level P, CP-odd operators and the P, CP-odd meson-baryon couplings. After obtaining meson-baryon couplings, we will discuss the calculation of nucleon electric dipole moments using the chiral method. The Peccei-Quinn mechanism is then reviewed. We finally summarize the results.

In this chapter, we will review the nuclear many-body physics needed in the study of the electric dipole moment (EDM). We will first see the ab initio calculations of the EDMs of light nuclei (deuteron and He). We will then review in detail the screening of the P, CP-odd nuclear EDM in atomic system pointed by Schiff and the formula of the nuclear Schiff moment as important P, CP-odd mechanism contributing to the atomic EDM. We will next present the derivation of the leading P, CP-odd nuclear moments (the nuclear EDM, Schiff moment and magnetic quadrupole moment) for heavy nuclei within a simple model. After this simple calculation, a sophisticated mean-field approach is reviewed, and its results for the evaluation of the nuclear Schiff moments of heavy nuclei (Xe, Hg, Rn and Ra) are presented. We finally summarize the nuclear level P, CP-odd moments for all nuclei relevant to the discussions in this chapter. Note that the electric charge \(e\) is defined as \(e=|e|>0\) in this chapter, in contrast to the previous chapters.

In this chapter, we discuss the R-parity violating (RPV) supersymmetric effects to the microscopic P, CP-odd processes contributing to the electric dipole moment (EDM). The detail of the derivation of the RPV contribution to the EDM is carefully explained. We first explain the absence of one-loop level fermion EDM diagram within trilinear RPV supersymmetry. We will then present the two leading P, CP-odd contributions, the Barr–Zee type two-loop level fermion EDM and the tree level P, CP-odd 4-fermion interactions.

In Chap. 11, we have obtained the R-parity violating (RPV) contribution to the fermion electric dipole moment (EDM), quark chromo-EDM and the P, CP-odd 4-fermion interactions. In this chapter, we classify the RPV bilinears contributing to the elementary level P, CP-odd processes into several types. This classification will play an important role in our phenomenological analysis. Once classified, we will review the dependence of the EDM observables on RPV bilinears derived from hadronic, nuclear and atomic level calculations, seen in detail in Part II. Roughly speaking, we will derive the linear coefficient of the EDM observable on the RPV bilinears. This is the zeroth step of our analysis.

Now that we have all ingredients to calculate the R-parity violating (RPV) contribution to the electric dipole moment (EDM), we will analyze the constraints on RPV interactions given by the current experimental data. In this chapter, we will first perform the analysis by assuming that one RPV bilinear dominates, and do this analysis for each RPV bilinears. This is the method adopted in many previous works.

Summary Background: Increasing evidence suggests that mesothelial cells contribute to the control of inflammation in the peritoneal cavity by secreting prostaglandins. A study has shown that cyclo-oxygenase (COX)-2 knockout mice die partly as a result of peritonitis. Aim: To investigate the expression and location of COX in peritonitis associated with peptic ulcer perforation. Methods: Gastric and duodenal tissues were collected intraoperatively from nine and four patients, respectively, and immunohistochemical staining for COX-1 and COX-2 was performed. Results: Histologically, all patients had severe peritonitis around the perforation sites, into which many inflammatory cells and fibroblasts had infiltrated, and reactive mesothelial cells exhibited hyperplastic change. The COX-1 protein was not detected, whereas COX-2 was abundant in reactive mesothelial cells near the perforation site and disappeared away from the site. Macrophages and fibroblasts around the perforation site also revealed immunostaining for COX-2. Conclusions: Our results showed that COX-2 protein is induced in mesothelial cells, as well as in macrophages and fibroblasts, in inflamed peritoneal tissues associated with peptic ulcer perforation, suggesting involvement of COX-2 in tissue repair.

Acute otitis media (AOM) is a common infectious disease in children. Some children experience recurrent episodes of AOM. Recent investigations demonstrate antigen-specific immunological deficiencies in children prone to AOM. In the present study, the immune responses to non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae (NTHi) and Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) were further investigated in otitis-prone children and normal children. Forty-eight percent of otitis-prone children exhibited reduced IgG2 levels to S. pneumoniae and 55% exhibited reduced IgG levels to NTHi. These data suggest that otitis proneness appears to be related to numerous immunological derangements. Pathogen-specific antibodies are a reliable measure of otitis proneness.

A nuclear pumped laser is attractive as a self-powered and visible radiation sensor which is capable of processing information with coherent light signals. The development of highly efficient and low-threshold nuclear pumped lasers was advanced in an 3He/Ne/Ar gas mixture. This paper presents the analytic results of the lasing mechanisms of the 3He/Ne/Ar nuclear pumped laser through numerical simulations and reactor experiments.

Neoadjuvant therapy-induced immunological deterioration may be a key factor in postoperative morbidity in patients with esophageal cancer. This study aimed to determine the effects of perioperative feeding with an immuno-enhanced diet on immune competence in patients treated with neoadjuvant therapy followed by surgery. Because an immuno-enhanced diet that contained several antioxidants was used, perioperative oxidative stress and the effects of the immuno-enhanced diet on this stress were also investigated. Of 39 patients with esophageal cancer who underwent similar surgical procedures, 26 patients who received chemotherapy or chemoradiation therapy before surgery were randomly divided into two groups: group 1 (n= 14) was given an immuno-enhanced diet for 5 days before surgery, and group 2 (n= 12) received no enteral feeding products before surgery. Group 3 (n= 13) consisted of patients that did not receive neoadjuvant therapy and received no enteral feeding products before surgery. Several markers for coagulation and fibrinolysis were determined and immunological assessments were performed for each patient. To measure reactive oxygen metabolites and the total antioxidant capacity, diacron-reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and OXY-adsorbent tests were performed using a free radical elective evaluator. Significant depression in lymphocyte numbers was observed in groups 1 and 2 before and early after surgery as compared to group 3. Numbers of B cells, CD4/CD8 ratio, and phytohemagglutinin-induced lymphocyte transformation tests were also significantly decreased in groups 1 and 2 on postoperative day 1. Fibrin and fibrinogen degradation products were significantly elevated in group 2 compared to group 1. d-ROMs and OXY-adsorbent test values were elevated before surgery and were decreased transiently early after surgery. Compared to groups 2 and 3, d-ROMs values were significantly lower in group 1 patients throughout the postoperative period, while OXY-adsorbent test values were significantly higher in group 2 patients. Oxidative index was significantly suppressed in group 1 compared to group 3. No significant intergroup differences were observed with regard to morbidity after surgery. Although the baseline levels of immunological function might have been different because of less-advanced cancer stages in group 3, neoadjuvant therapy significantly affected several immunological parameters. Preoperative administration of an immuno-enhanced diet did not significantly prevent neoadjuvant therapy-induced immunological deterioration prior to esophageal cancer surgery. Patients with esophageal cancer had elevated levels of oxidant and antioxidant activities before surgery, which were transiently decreased early after surgery. Although the underlying mechanisms for these perioperative changes are unclear, this study showed that an immuno-enhanced diet containing several antioxidants may reduce oxidative stress following esophageal cancer surgery. After these mechanisms are studied further, oxidative stress control may become another tool for perioperative management to reduce morbidity after esophageal cancer surgery.

G4-11, an abnormal immunoglobulin G4 (IgG4) glycoprotein, highly purified from the sera of patients with rheumatoid arthritis and from healthy individuals, contains two asparagine-linked sugar chains in one molecule. Comparative studies of the sugar chains released by bydrazinolysis revealed that the structures of the sugar chains of rheumatoid arthritis G4-11 are quite different from those of normal individuals. Although all G4-11 contained biantennary complex-type oligosaccharides like in the case of serum IgGs, samples from patients with rheumatoid arthritis had less galactosylated forms than those from normal individuals. These results indicated that this galactose deficiency of the sugar chains occurs in the abnormal IgG4 molecule of rheumatoid arthritis patients, just as was found in whole serum IgG.

B-RAF is one of the most commonly mutated oncogenes in human cancer. However, the mutation status of B-RAF has not been established completely in HNSCC. We have analysed the mutation status of the kinase domain of the B-RAF gene (exons 11 and 15) in 91 Japanese HNSCC patients as well as 12 HNSCC cell lines. DNA was extracted and amplified by PCR. Mutations were then analysed by SSCP mutation detection method. Since V600EB-RAF constitutes 90 % of the mutations identified in B-RAF in human cancers, we also used MASA analysis to specifically detect this mutation in exon 15 of B-RAF. Using both methods, no mutation was found in both exon 11 and 15 in all patients and cell lines. Mu tations are absent or rare in the kinase domain of B-RAF in Japanese HNSCC. However, more studies are still needed to determine its usefulness as a target for molecular therapy in these patients.

An 8*8 and an expandable 16*16 crosspoint switch LSI utilizing a new circuit design and super self-aligned process technology (SST-1A) are discussed. The LSIs successfully switched with a bit error rate of less than 10/sup -9/ at 2.5 Gb/s using a 2/sup 9/-1 pseudorandom NRZ sequence. Pulse jitter was limited to less than 80 ps at 1.2 Gb/s by utilizing a small internal voltage swing (225 mV) employing a differential CML cell, including a selector. The LSIs have an ECL-compatible interface, -4-V and -2-V power supply voltages, and a power dissipation of less than 0.9 W for the 8*8 LSI and 2.8 W for the expandable 16*16 LSI. >

Nestin is a neuroepithelial precursor cell marker expressed in a variety of human cell types during development. However, no information exists on the expression of nestin in mature glomeruli as well as during the glomerular development. Here, we examined nestin expression in rat and human glomerular tissues in quiescent states using RT-PCR and immunohistochemical methods. Nestin mRNA was detected in the rat glomeruli in parallel with its expression in developing rat brains. In the normal mature rat glomeruli, WT-1 positive cells expressed nestin. Co-expression of nestin and vimentin was observed in mature rat podocytes. Immunoelectron microscopy revealed nestin localization in the cell bodies and primary processes of podocytes. A similar expression pattern was observed for vimentin. In matured glomeruli, nestin was not expressed by mesangial and endothelial cells. In the newborn rat, early developing glomeruli (metanephric cap, metanephric vesicle, comma-shaped vesicle and S-shaped body phases) expressed nestin. In the capillary loop stage, Bowman's capsules also expressed nestin. Immunoelectron microscopy demonstrated that developing podocytes and endothelial cells in S-shaped phase glomeruli expressed nestin. Additionally, in immature glomeruli, the mesangial cells in capillary stage of glomerulus also expressed nexin. As in the rat, WT-1 positive cells in human glomeruli also expressed nestin and immunoelectron microscopy confirmed nestin expression in human glomerular podocytes. These results reveal that in normal condition nestin is expressed in several glomerular cell types at early stage of development and becomes confined to podocytes in mature glomeruli, thus implicating nestin in podocyte functions.

State-of-the-art high-speed switching and optical WDM subscriber network technologies for a broadband integrated services digital network are described. A broadband network architecture dial is integrated by optical wavelength division multiplexing of STM and ATM digital signals and the analog RF subcarrier is proposed. Attainable switch and switching network sizes for time division, space division and ATM switches are determined from high-speed device trends. An expandable switch LSI and module architecture for time division and space division STM switching networks is proposed. A 2-Gb/s STM switching LSI, a 620-Mb/s STM switching module a 2-Gb/s ATM switching LSI, and their multi-case and multi-chip packages are described.

An automatic measuring system using an ionization chamber having a magnetic levitation electrode has been developed. To check the system performance, environmental radiations and natural /sup 40/K /spl gamma/-rays have been measured. Results of measurements of environmental radiations confirm the system sensitivity to be high and stable, and those of /sup 40/K /spl gamma/-rays show possibility of measurement of ultra-low level radiation even with an ionization chamber. Minimum detectable ionization current is 2.3 /spl times/ 10/sup -17/ A. It corresponds to 2.4n Gy/h and 0.0024 /spl mu/ Sv/h, respectively in the absorbed dose and the dose equivalent rates. The developed system is useful for the monitor to measure the environmental dose rate.