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The presence and location of knots within cut lumber substantially controls the physical properties and commercial value of the material. Thus, there is great practical interest in developing ways of choosing the cutting pattern for a log in a sawmill to optimize the arrangement of knots in the resulting cut lumber. X-rays can image the interior of a log to detect the arrangement of the knots; however, traditional radiography measurements are two-dimensional in character and cannot provide the needed depth information. Conversely, computed tomography (CT) can provide the required spatial details but is challenging to do in practice because of its complexity and cost. The research here aims to overcome these concerns by employing a novel “oblique” scanning technique that uses radiography to determine knot orientations with both reasonable accuracy and low cost. Image processing and detection algorithms are developed to locate and orientate the knots automatically within the scanned logs. Detection metrics of precision and recall are used to analyze the performance of the detection algorithm. Results indicate that the oblique scanning method is a viable way to detect and orientate knots within logs with both reasonable accuracy and low cost compared to existing methods. In initial tests, an average circumferential angle accuracy within 15 deg was achieved, with the detection algorithm being able to detect between 60% and 80% of the knots present within the log.

The leaf of the Japanese wild cherry, Prunus Sato-zakura Group, especially ‘Oshima-zakura’, releases volatile organic compounds (VOCs) such as polysaccharides or coumarin from the leaves or fruits. These substances have a pleasant smell and exert a bactericidal effect. However, little information is available on the maturation and development of fragrant ingredients in ‘Oshima-zakura’ fruit. In this study, we used histochemistry to observe polysaccharide or VOC release from the fruit tissue. Ethephon (500 ppm) was sprayed on immature green fruit. Fruit samples were obtained at the immature (green), turning (red), and matured (black) stages. Fruit ripening proceeded about 3 to 5 days after ethephon application. The surface cells of the fruit epicarp were composed of a thick cuticle with wax, and two to three layers of cells were found underneath the cuticle, which contained chloroplast during the immature stage. As the fruit matured, these cells developed vacuoles in the epicarp tissue and anthocyanin accumulated significantly following ethephon application. When stained with toluidine blue-O, cells of the fruit mesocarp tissue exhibited a red-purplish colour following treatment with ethephon. This indicated that cells of the mesocarp contained polysaccharide, such as pectic substances or VOCs, especially coumarin. Accordingly, the substances that stained red-purplish may be antifungal and may exhibit antifeedant properties against pests. We conclude that polysaccharides or VOCs, especially coumarin, may increase the functional potential of wild cherry in addition to its fragrant properties, following treatment with ethephon.

K. Aoki, B. F. Windley, S. Maruyama & S. Omori reply: First, we thank Viete, Oliver & Wilde for their interesting and thought-provoking comments on the timing of the high-pressure granulite facies (HGR) metamorphism recorded in metamorphic rocks at Cairn Leuchan, Scotland, published by Aoki et al. (2013). Based on new metamorphic data of garnetites and garnet-amphibolites at Cairn Leuchan and new zircon U–Pb ages of amphibolitized eclogite at Tomatin, we suggested in our publication that the HGR metamorphism was retrograde after eclogite facies before the c. 470 Ma ‘Barrovian metamorphism’. Viete, Oliver & Wilde however speculate that the HGR metamorphism at Cairn Leuchan may have occurred at c. 1000 Ma, as a result of their new U–Pb zircon age of the Cowhythe Gneiss at Portsoy and from previous studies of the geological structure and geochronology. We are grateful for this opportunity to describe, albeit in a preliminary manner, our new understanding and tectonic model of the Caledonian orogen in Scotland and western Ireland of which the Barrovian metamorphism is a key component. A reply to a comment is not the correct place to propose an entirely new paradigm for such a classic orogen, but we will present our model more fully in a future publication.

Coniferyl alcohol is generated from the cleavage of β-O-4 bonds during alkaline pulping of hardwoods and softwoods. Once formed, some of the coniferyl alcohol (CA) is transformed into vinylguaiacol (VG) and isoeugenol (IE). All three of these compounds (CA, VG, and IE) can rearrange to quinone methides (QMs) under alkaline conditions and become involved in condensation reactions with lignin and carbohydrate moieties. The aim of this investigation was to see if ethylguaiacol (EG) addition to soda-AQ (SAQ) pulping systems would lead to its reaction with the QMs from CA, VG, and IE to form dimers that are unreactive towards further condensation. Sugar maple wood meal was delignified by the SAQ process with EG added at 5.0 wt% on wood meal. Three dimers were detected in the pulping effluent and identified as a combination of EG with CA, VG, and IE. The total yield of the three dimers corresponded to ∼80% of the estimated CA that would have been generated. Conventional kraft, SAQ, and SAQ+EG pulping o...

Photo-functionalized radical reactions on TiO(2) have been correlated with adsorption of organic impurities and decreasing hydrophilicity of titanium-based biomaterials. Such reactive oxygen species (ROS) spontaneously generated on oxidized titanium surfaces may also have important roles against time-dependent degradation of biological ability and adherent micro-organisms. This study examined in vitro biological ability as a function of time and antimicrobial activity on oxidized titanium surfaces without photo-functionalization. Mechanically polished titanium and thermally oxidized titanium surfaces that had been stored for 4 wks showed adsorbed organic impurities with decreased surface hydrophilicity. Even after the storage period, anodically oxidized titanium surfaces enabled super-hydrophilicity without adsorption of organic impurities, because of the ROS and the hydrophilic functional groups generated on the surfaces. The osteogenic gene expressions of osteoblasts cultured on anodically oxidized titanium surfaces with or without storage were significantly higher than those on thermally oxidized titanium and polished titanium surfaces. Titanium surfaces anodically oxidized in a solution with chloride achieved antimicrobial activity against an oral microorganism due to the amount of ROS generated on the surface. Thus, titanium anodically oxidized in solution with chloride may have potential use for titanium-based internal fixation devices.

When titanium is anodized by discharge in NaCl solution, both antimicrobial activity and osteoconductivity are conferred. The viability of adherent micro-organisms and cells on antimicrobial titanium remains uncertain. We hypothesized that a thin peroxidation barrier would efficiently destroy adherent bacteria, whereas adherent osteoblastic cells would be viable, since these cells adhere to the surface indirectly though serum proteins. The efficacy of antimicrobial titanium appears to be based on peroxidation, since peroxidation products were detected in parallel with the destruction of bacterial cell-surface structures. The peroxidation effect of antimicrobial titanium was confined to the surface within narrow limits. The viability of osteoblastic cells on the surface was strongly dependent on the presence of serum protein, whereas that of adherent Streptococcus mutans was not affected by the presence of serum proteins. Therefore, differences in the adherent systems used by bacteria and osteoblastic cells are important determinants of their viability on antimicrobial titanium.

Soda pulping catalyzed by anthraquinone (AQ) or 2-methylanthraquinone (MAQ) can produce hardwood chemical pulps similar to kraft pulps in all respect but for bleachability. Results accumulated in our laboratory suggest that the residual lignin in pulps from anthraquinone catalyzed processes is less reactive toward bleaching chemicals than that in kraft pulps. Analyses of pulps by periodate and permanganate oxidations suggest that the residual lignin from the non-sulfur processes contained more condensed structures than kraft residual lignin. The low reactivity of these structures is believed to be responsible for the lower brightness of bleached soda-AQ (SAQ) pulps. Pulping and bleaching trials with hardwood chips demonstrated that shortening of the cooking time and/or increasing the alkalinity is one strategy for improving bleachability of SAQ pulps. When sugar maple (Acer saccharum) chips were SAQ cooked for 1.0 and 2.0 h at 165°C, the higher kappa number pulp produced after 1.0 h of cooking bl...

Black liquor gasification (BLG) as well as the recovery of lignin and other organic compounds from pulping black liquor would be aided if an efficient sulfur‐free pulping process could be developed. This has provided new impetus for research on soda pulping with redox catalysts instead of sodium sulfide that is presently used in the kraft process. Soda/anthraquinone (AQ) pulping afforded white birch (Betula papyrifera) and sugar maple (Acer saccharum) pulps with equal if not superior strength to kraft pulps. However, the delignification rate was significantly lower for soda/AQ pulping. When AQ was replaced by 2‐methylanthraquinone (2‐MAQ) a delignification rate only slightly lower than that of kraft pulping was obtained at the same effective alkali (EA). At a kappa number of ∼20, a soda/2‐MAQ pulp was produced from sugar maple at a higher yield (1.2% on chips) than for a kraft pulp. 2‐MAQ was synthesized, as a powder, at 75% yield using an AlCl3–mediated Friedel‐Crafts reaction that is one of the...

Three forms of electron or x-ray holography `by contrast' are discussed: they all exploit small changes in diffraction conditions to improve image quality and/or extract additional information. Spin-polarized photoelectron holography subtracts spin-down from spin-up holograms so as to image the relative orientations of atomic magnetic moments around an emitter atom. Differential photoelectron holography subtracts holograms taken at slightly different energies so as to overcome the forward-scattering problem that normally degrades the three-dimensional imaging of atoms, particularly for emitter atoms that are part of a bulk substrate environment. Resonant x-ray fluorescence holography also subtracts holograms at slightly different energies, these being chosen above and below an absorption edge of a constituent atom, thus allowing the selective imaging of that type of atom, or what has been referred to as imaging `in true colour'.

We have applied a new differential method of photoelectron holography to both experimental and theoretical multiple-energy photoelectron diffraction data for Cu 3p bulk emission from Cu(001). Dominant forward-scattering effects contained in a normalized hologram χ k have been eliminated by taking the k -difference δχ k along each direction k . Two data sets that are different in k -space sampling ranges and densities have been analyzed to compare atomic images reconstructed from χ and δχ . In both cases, the original scheme has yielded only very weak images of back-scattering atoms and spurious features in the forward-scattering directions. On the other hand, the differential scheme has been found to be successful in suppressing the forward-scattering effects to image not only side-scattering and back-scattering atoms in either case, but also forward-scattering atoms in one of the two cases.

We have investigated the photoelectron diffraction (PED) from a SrF 2 epitaxial thin film on Ge(111) from the viewpoint of holographic inversion for imaging the atomic structure. The holographic interference fringes were retrieved from the PED pattern including a wide variety of diffraction features via averaging the pattern around each forward-scattering peak. Furthermore, another method for enhancing holographic fringes by subtracting one photoelectron hologram from another at slightly different kinetic energies was theoretically investigated.

Two phases in the initial stages of Cu growth on Ge(111) have been investigated by using X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPED). Multiple-scattering analysis showed that the surface layer of the discommensurate phase consists of almost the same amount of two kinds of domains with regular and fault stackings. Furthermore, it was found that the ordered overlayer was formed after annealing the discommensurate phase and that the XPED pattern from the annealed phase cannot be explained by the simple models such as bulklike Cu and stoichiometric germanide Cu 3 Ge .

Effect of crystallinity change on electrical conduction characteristics of poly-L-lactic acid was studied experimentally. The crystallinity was changed by thermal annealing. The lower crystallinity samples have more remaining charge than the higher crystallinity samples. Moreover, at 80 degC that is above their glass transition temperatures (Tg: 55-60 degC), the conductivity is much higher in the lower crystallinity sample than in the higher crystallinity sample. The low crystallinity sample shows two thermally stimulated current (TSC) peaks - one around Tg and the other at a temperature about 20 degC higher than Tg, while the higher crystallinity sample shows only the lower-temperature TSC peak. The TSC peak around Tg is attributable to the micro-Brownian motion that enables orientation of dipoles having the direction perpendicular to the polymer main chains, while the higher-temperature TSC peak seems attributable to the orientation and magnitude change of the end-to-end vector in the polymer main chain.

Effects of endothermic reaction associated with glass transition on the impulse, DC, and AC breakdown strengths of poly-L-lactic acid (PLLA) and polyethylene terephthalate succinate (PETS) were studied experimentally. Impulse breakdown strength at first decreases monotonically with an increase in temperature for both PLLA and PETS. However, it increases and shows a hump when the temperature approaches a certain temperature that is slightly lower than the glass transition temperature. Then it decreases again. Moreover, it is shown that the degree of increment in impulse breakdown strength at this hump depends upon the crystallinity in PLLA. In the case of DC and AC breakdown, a similar local maximum as seen in impulse breakdown is not observed. Two possibilities, namely energy absorption and structural change both due to glass transition are discussed to explain the experimental results.

The initial stages of epitaxy of SrF2 on Ge(111)-c(2×8) have been studied by X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPED). Forward-scattering peaks along the emitter–scatterer axes have been effectively used to determine the morphology of the overlayer. In addition, multiple-scattering analysis of the two-dimensional XPED patterns for the overlayer emission has provided the information on the average domain size of SrF2 islands. The epitaxy of SrF2 on Ge(111) has been characterized by (1) the 180° azimuthal rotation of the overlayer relative to the substrate, (2) formation of small SrF2 (111) islands of ∼2 TL (triple-layer) in thickness at deposited coverages below 1 TL-equivalent, and (3) aggregation of the islands into relatively large domains with the average height of ∼2 TL unchanged at coverages up to 2 TL-equivalent.

Petrogeneses of impure dolomitic marble and enclosed eclogite from the Xinyan area, Dabie ultrahigh-pressure (UHP) metamorphic terrane, central China were investigated with a special focus on fluid characteristics. Identified carbonate-bearing UHP assemblages are Dol + Coe ± Arg (or Mgs) ± Ap, Dol + Omp ± Coe ± Ap ± Arg (or Mgs), Phen + Omp + Coe + Dol ± Arg and Dol + Coe + Phen + Rt ± Omp ± Arg ± Ap. Retrograde assemblages are characterized by symplectitic replacement of Tr–Ab and Di–Ab after omphacite, and Phl–Pl symplectite after phengite. The P–T conditions of UHP metamorphism were estimated to be P > 2.7 GPa and T > 670 °C by the occurrence of coesite inclusions in garnet in enclosed eclogite and garnet–clinopyroxene geothermometer. The P–T conditions of initial amphibolitization were estimated to be 620

On the basis of the two-beam model for describing element-specific Kikuchi-band effects in X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPED), we have set up a scheme of Kikuchi-band analysis for determining structure factors and applied the method to the XPED for Ca2p emission from a CaF2 (111) substrate. The three-dimensional potential distribution corresponding to the fluorite structure of the CaF2 crystal was reconstructed from the experimentally evaluated structure factors. To discuss the possibility of applying this method to epitaxial film crystallography, we have performed multiple-scattering cluster calculations for clusters of variable size and investigated the critical thickness at which Kikuchi-band effects occur.

Three lignin model compounds of β-O-4 type, guaiacylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether (1), guaiacylglycerol-β-(4-methylguaiacyl) ether (2) and veratrylglycerol-β-guaiacyl ether (3) were heated with dioxane-water mixture (1:1, v/v) at 180°C for 20 min in the absence of and in the presence of holocellulose. The reaction mixtures were analyzed with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Compound (1) gave coniferyl alcohol (4), guaiacol (5), 1,2-diguaiacyl-propane-1,3-diol (7), dehydrodiconiferyl alcohol (8), DL-pinoresinol (9) and a trilignol (10) in the absence of holocellulose. Compound (2) gave (4), 4-methylguaiacol (6), (8), (9) and an unidentified compound (11) under the same reaction conditions. In contrast, the nonphenolic β-O-4 model compound (3) did not undergo both degradation and radical recombination on the treatment with the dioxane-water mixture under the same reaction conditions. After the treatment, the starting material was recovered almost quantitatively. Consequently, the reaction products (7), (8), (9) and (10) must be produced by recombination among the radical species derived from a homolytic cleavage of the phenolic β-O-4 linkage in (1) and (2). These results imply that the cleavage of phenolic β-O-4 linkages proceeds through the formation of quinone-methide intermediate on the treatment with dioxane-water at elevated temperature. When these model compounds were treated in the presence of holocellulose under the same reaction conditions, none of the secondary products (8), (9) and (10) were detected in the reaction mixtures, except (7) in only a trace amount. These results indicate that the carbohydrates act as hydrogen atom donor, reducing the radical species before the occurrence of radical recombinations.

We report here the structural analysis with X-ray photoelectron diffraction (XPED) on the interface between CaF 2 epitaxial layers and a sulfur-passivated InP(100) surface. Multiple-scattering cluster calculations with spherical-wave scattering (MSC-SW) give a good description of the XPED from both the InP(100) substrate and the CaF 2 overlayer and show that CaF 2 grows epitaxially on the substrate as CaF 2 (100) islands even at the initial stages of epitaxy. On the other hand, forward scattering peaks are observed in angular distributions of S2p intensities, which indicate the directions of the interatomic axes between S and Ca and/or F at the interface. We determined the possible stacking of CaF 2 layers on the S interlayer from these results and MSC calculations.

We have grown blue (480 nm) nitride semiconductor light emitting diodes (LEDs) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) on GaN templates. Packaged devices exhibited output powers up to 0.87 mW at 20 mA forward current. The corresponding external quantum efficiency was 1.68%. Utilizing a combination of direct current (dc) and pulsed electroluminescence measurements it has been demonstrated that at low (

Thermal analysis is an important design aspect and becoming a more important component of the electric motor design process due to the push for reduced weights and costs and increased efficiency. The accuracy of analytical thermal models depends on the accuracy of the thermal resistance computation and on the number of nodes in the equivalent thermal circuit. In this paper several thermal analytical models with different numbers of nodes are compared against with each other and with experimental data. It will be demonstrated that the more sophisticated and detailed model having a larger number of nodes can be used to calibrate the simpler but faster models with less nodes. The models are all for the same range of small TENV induction motors.

We examined high power endurance of single-mode fibers including bend-insensitive fibers. The bend-insensitive fibers have effective suppression of fiber-temperature increase under tight bending. Trench index profile does not influence on threshold powers for fiber fuse propagation.

Recent lower hybrid current drive (LHCD), and heating (LHH) experiments on JT-60 are reported. The current drive product of neRpIRF approximately 12.5*1019 m-2 MA was achieved at the LH power of approximately 4.5 MW, and the CD efficiency, the energy confinement, the global power balance and the heat load on divertor plates were investigated in high power LHCD plasmas. Nearly steady state H-mode discharges were found during LHCD with two different frequency injections. Sawtooth suppression in NB heated plasmas by LHCD have shown an improvement in confinement near the plasma center. Parametric instabilities in LH heating experiments were significantly reduced by increasing the plasma current, and the stored energy increased linearly with heating power of up to approximately 9 MW at ne approximately 7*1019 m-3 and Ip=2.75 MA. Parametric instabilities near the plasma edge in the ion heating regime were also reduced in peaked density plasmas produced by pellet injection and LH waves increased the central plasma pressure at ne(0) > 1.4*1020 m-3.

Des feuilles de pâte thermomecanique blanchie au peroxyde et exposees a de l'oxygene singulet ne subisssent pas de perte de blancheur. Un compose modele de la lignine, l'apocynol, depose sur un papier-filtre, a ete soumis a un traitement identique. On note une legere perte de blancheur. Il semble que l'oxygene singulet n'ait pas de role decisif dans le jaunissement photochimique des pâtes

Differential scanning calorimetry, direct current, thermally stimulated polarization current, and complex permittivity were measured for inflation formed polybutylene succinate, tubular formed polybutylene succinate and tubular formed polybutylene succinate adipate, which are available on the market. Polybutylene succinate formed by the inflation method has the highest conductivity at all the temperatures. Furthermore, only this polymer shows a thermally stimulated polarization current peak around 50 °C, which is probably due to ionic impurities. In all the samples, both the permittivity and dielectric loss factor increase significantly with a decrease in frequency. This seems attributable to the motion of ions in the samples.

The 850nm single-mode oxide-confined VCSEL with a metal aperture as a spatial mode filter is reported. The OPTALO (optical probing technique for AlAs lateral oxidation) process was adopted to manufacture a small oxide aperture in VCSEL with high reproducibility. The combination of a metal-aperture and an oxide-aperture brought good performance to 850nm single-mode VCSEL. The fundamental transverse mode oscillation was obtained up to 4.7mW output power. The SMSR is larger than 27dB. No kinks in the L-I curves were observed under -40 to 95degC temperature range. The laser beam is selectively polarized in parallel to the lang0.1-1rang orientation of the GaAs substrate. We also developed the 780nm single-mode VCSEL array (8times4) for laser beam printer application. The polygon scanner system incorporating this 780nm single-mode VCSEL array made it possible to achieve 2400 DPI high dense printing together with 80ppm high speed print

Poly(lactide) (PLA) synthesized from starch is attracting much attention, since it is biodegradable and is able to attain a good mechanical property by a proper process such as stretching. It is known that the two PLA isomers, PLLA and PDLA, strongly interact with each other. Therefore, if the two isomers are blended, they form racemic crystals (stereocomplex). Since little is known about the effect of forming the stereocomplex on the dielectric properties, permittivity and thermally stimulated polarization current are compared among two kinds of PLLA films and a stereocomplex film. As a result, both the permittivity and current were found to become larger with a decrease in the crystallinity, irrespective of the crystal structure of the sample.

Thermosetting resin and cross-linked polyethylene are widely used as electrical insulating materials in many pieces of electrical apparatus and cable. These polymer materials are not ecologically friendly, since they are not suitable for recycling. Biodegradable polymers are attracting our attention as eco-friendly materials for our daily life. However, research on their electrical properties had been very limited at least until we started in April 2003 a joint research project to study the feasibility of using biodegradable polymers in the electrical insulation field through systematic and fundamental research on essential dielectric phenomena. The present work done in this project deals with the dipolar polarization and depolarization currents in poly-L-lactic acid and polyethylene terephthalate succinate.

We propose differential holography as a method to overcome the long-standing forward-scattering problem in photoelectron holography and related techniques for the three-dimensional imaging of atoms. Atomic images reconstructed from experimental and theoretical Cu 3p holograms from Cu(001) demonstrate that this method suppresses strong forward-scattering effects so as to yield more accurate three-dimensional images of side- and back-scattering atoms., revtex, 4 pages, 2 figures

Picci and Katayama (1996) and Katayama and Picci (1997) derived stochastic realization methods for a system with exogenous inputs and the relevance of stochastic realization to subspace identification of state-space systems has been shown in Picci and Katayama (1996). In this paper, we briefly review the basis of stochastic subspace identification algorithms and present some simulations results to compare the performance and computational loads of the realization based algorithms, the CLS algorithm, and the basic 4SID.

We propose a new method that allows reconstruction of a high-resolution image utilizing several sampling phase-shifted images. The proposed method allows pixel-shift of a color filtered CCD with channel-dependent sampling pattern, and doubles the resolution of obtained images.

We propose resonant x-ray fluorescence holography as a method for selectively imaging atoms of a specific atomic number as near neighbors around a fluorescing atom of a different atomic number. Theoretical calculations for ${\mathrm{FeNi}}_{3}(001)$ show that the images of Ni atoms neighboring a fluorescing Fe atom can be selectively reconstructed via the differential contrasts from several holograms obtained as the incident x-ray energies are varied across the Ni K absorption edge. Thus, this technique should provide a unique way for determining the chemical order and disorder around a given atom, through resonant selection of its atomic number or ``true color.''

We report a case of intractable lymphedema of the left leg following radical prostatectomy. The 69-year-old male patient complained of difficulty walking, caused by severe lymphedema. Intraarterial autologous lymphocyte transfusion therapy was performed because of failure of conventional conservative therapy, and the leg edema resolved almost completely. However, the treatment did not improve the penoscrotal edema necessitating excision of the edema and skin graft in a separate procedure. The post-operative course was excellent and the patient's performance status improved to 1 from 3.

Terazosin (TE) and tamsulosin (TA) were allocated randomly to 38 patients who had urinary disturbance accompanying prostatic hypertrophy, and the efficacy and safety of the drugs were examined. Subjective symptoms due to I-PSS were improved significantly in both TE and TA groups. On the other hand, objective symptoms such as the maximum urinary flow and mean urinary flow were improved more in the TE group. TE showed hypotensive and cholesterol-decreasing effects in patients who also had hypertension and hyperlipemia. No unknown adverse reactions were observed in either groups, and the drugs were shown to be highly safe. TE was considered to be useful as the first choice drug for the patients with hypertension and or hyperlipemia and those with severe objective symptoms. TA was considered to be useful for the patients with impaired drug compliance or those with severe subjective symptoms though objective symptoms were not so severe.

The AutoAnalzer(Basic Model) manufactured on Technicon corporation was a very useful instrument for clinical laboratory automation, but it was necessary to convert the data obtained from the instrument to digital values used the chart reader. This was very troublesome and there was apprehension that there would be errors in A-D conversion. We tried converting data obtained from the AutoAnalzer to a digital value by on-line connection of the instruments with minicomputers(LINC-8 and FACOM-R). The output of the recorder was converted to voltage(0 to 100 V) using a potentiometer, quantitated(0 to 1.000) by the A-D converter attached to LINC-8, and processed by the minicomputer. The control-box was an experimental device mainly designed for the convenience of users. The functions of the control-box were designated analytical items, No. of A-D converters, start and stop of the AutoAnalzer operation to the minicomputer. Employing the control-box, a technician operated this system freely, without direct computer operation. We established a generally satisfactory system for clinical laboratory automation using the minicomputer.

A self aligned metal capping process for Copper damascene interconnect is newly developed in this study. A tungsten capping layer is selectively formed on the Cu interconnect using the preferential deposition phenomenon of W-CVD assisted by pre and post treatment. This technology is applied to 0.2 /spl mu/m bipolar-CMOS LSI with multilevel Cu interconnects, and then yield, reliability and operation speed are evaluated.

Emphysematous cystitis is a rare lower urinary tract infection. Patients with diabetes mellitus, neurogenic bladder, and recurrent urinary tract infection are generally at higher risk of this disease. A 71-year-old woman with neurogenic bladder was referred from the internal medicine department because of urinary retention. Abdominal radiography and computed tomographic (CT) scanning revealed a characteristic accumulation of air in the wall and lumen of the urinary bladder. Emphysematous cystitis was improved by antibiotic therapy and urinary drainage. CT scan was a sensitive method for detecting early signs and confirming the diagnosis.

A patient with autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) on maintenance hemodialysis (HD) experienced spreading back pain with a sudden onset, and was diagnosed with thoracic aortic dissection. Reports of ADPKD with aortic dissection are rare. Hypertension, which is essentially universal both among ADPKD and hemodialysis patients, is a known risk factor for aortic dissection. Additionally, some reports have indicated that patients with ADPKD have aortic fragility. We suspect that aortic dissection may be less rare than presently apparent among HD patients with ADPKD.

A 68-year-old male complaining of hemosputum was admitted to our hospital. Fiberoptic bronchoscopic examinations revealed bronchial polyps and a flat foreign body-like substance in the left main bronchus. A closer inspection of a biopsied bronchial inflammatory polyp showed inflammatory edema with hypervascularization in the submucosal space and inflammatory cell infiltration. Following complete removal of this foreign body-like substance, the polyps disappeared within six weeks. It is therefore feasible to assume that the polyps appeared as a reaction to this extrinsic substance. The origin of the foreign matter is not obvious because the patient had no history of aspiration and because the histological examination did not confirm that it was a foreign body. The substance could have been formed out of the organization and calcification of some secretes in the bronchus.

The clinical effectiveness of a combination treatment using imipenem/cilastatin sodium (IPM/CS) with G-CSF was studied in neutropenic patients (500/mm3) with hematological malignancies and secondary infections. Thirty seven patients were entered in the trial, and 30 patients were eligible. This combination was effective in 20 patients, thus the overall efficacy rate was 66.7 percent. The combination was effective in all 6 cases with septicemia, in 10 case out of 15 cases with fever after chemotherapy (efficacy rate; 66.7%), in 3 out of 8 cases with respiratory infections including 7 cases with pneumonia (efficacy rate; 37.5%), and a case with laryngopharyngitis. According to the order of the administration, the efficacy rates were 60.0% in 5 cases in whom G-CSF treatment was started before IPM/CS, 66.7% in 21 cases given both G-CSF and IPM/CS simultaneously, and 75.0% in 4 cases in whom IPM/CS was started before G-CSF. The difference was statistically not significant on the efficacy rates in the three groups. The efficacy in 18 cases treated with monotherapy on antibiotic was 72.2% and that in 12 cases treated with IPM/CS in combination with other antibiotics was 58.3%, and the difference in the efficacy rates in these two groups was not statistically significant. According to the neutrophil counts before and after the treatment, high response rate (60.0%) was obtained in cases of severe neutropenia (less than 100/mm3). Bacteriological examinations showed that all of bacteria detected as pathogens (10 strains of Gram-positive bacteria and 6 strains of Gram-negative bacteria) were eradicated, though 3 strains were replaced by other pathogens.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)