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Objectives The aim of this AFIRE (Atrial Fibrillation and Ischemic Events With Rivaroxaban in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease) trial subgroup analysis was to examine rivaroxaban monotherapy benefits and their relation to the time between stenting and enrollment among patients after coronary stenting. Background Of 2,215 patients with atrial fibrillation and stable coronary artery disease in the AFIRE trial, rivaroxaban monotherapy was noninferior to rivaroxaban plus antiplatelet therapy (combination therapy) in terms of efficacy and superior for safety endpoints. However, thrombotic risk after antiplatelet therapy cessation remained a concern among 1,444 patients who had undergone coronary stenting >1 year before enrollment. Methods The benefits of rivaroxaban monotherapy in coronary stenting subgroups were assessed for efficacy (a composite of stroke, systemic embolism, myocardial infarction, unstable angina requiring revascularization, or death of any cause), safety (major bleeding defined according to International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis criteria), ischemic endpoints, net adverse clinical event, and time between stenting and enrollment. Results Efficacy and safety endpoints for monotherapy were superior to combination therapy, with HRs of 0.70 for efficacy (95% CI: 0.50-0.98; P = 0.036) and 0.55 for safety (95% CI: 0.33-0.92; P = 0.019). For ischemic endpoints, the HR was 0.82 (95% CI: 0.58-1.15; P = 0.240). The HR became smaller with longer time between stenting and enrollment (efficacy, P for interaction = 0.158; safety, P = 0.097). Conclusions In patients with atrial fibrillation after coronary stenting, the benefits of rivaroxaban monotherapy for efficacy and safety endpoints were consistent with those in the whole AFIRE trial population. The benefits became apparent with longer time between stenting and enrollment. (Atrial Fibrillation and Ischemic Events With Rivaroxaban in Patients With Stable Coronary Artery Disease Study [AFIRE]; UMIN000016612 , NCT02642419 )

To obtain a history of occupational exposure in the workplace, the questionnaire is one of the main sources of information. The aim of this study was to develop an online questionnaire using the REDCap data management platform based on the Work-Related Cancer Surveillance Guidelines, reported by the Brazilian National Cancer Institute. Several issues were taken into consideration for its routine application. It should be simple, easy, capable of being applied in a short time and used in the clinical setting of collecting information on the occupational history of the cancer patient. Consequently, this could enable the compulsory notification of work-related cancer. The questionnaire was developed based on questions about the use of and exposure to carcinogenic factors at work and due to smoking. An entirely electronic version of the cancer patient interview was performed using tablets. The online questionnaire was applied at the Barretos Cancer Hospital, Barretos, to newly diagnosed patients from July 2016 to 2018. A total of 1063 patients were included, and 550 indicated positively when asked “Do you work, or have you worked with this substance and/or in this function?/job?” Of these potentially notified patients, 38 subsequently had compulsorily reported work-related cancer. Another important result of this study was the creation and development of a website. In conclusion, we developed an online tool that could facilitate hospital routines, contributing to generating data for the compulsory notification of work-related cancer and triggering investigations and surveillance actions in Brazil.

Beard samples were collected every day from a single person (55 [at start] to 66- [at end] years old) over a 12-year period. Beard hair samples were analyzed by particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE) to determine variations in concentrations of aluminum, chromium, arsenic, mercury and lead over the sampling period. Only mercury showed a gentle upward trend with age, and a significant increase of 20–30% was observed. This fact was consistent with the results of our previous studies on more than 1250 hairs collected from healthy people. It was also found that concentrations of many toxic elements tended to be higher in summer than in winter, except for chromium. In particular, arsenic and mercury concentrations significantly increased in summer. Their concentrations in the winter dropped to less than 50% and 86% of those in the summer, respectively. These seasonal changes can be attributed to changes in the ingestion of season-specific foods, such as marine products. These findings indicate that beard analyses are a powerful tool for evaluating the exposure to toxic-element.

The concentration of 22 metal elements including Mg, Al, Si, P, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Br, Rb, Sr, Zr, Ba and Pb in Barbula Indica moss samples collected in 12 different sites in Ha Noi in July of 2018 were determined by Proton Induced X-ray Emission. The obtained results has been used for assessment of heavy metal pollution in the air in Ha Noi region. The factor analysis was applied to the concentration data of 11 interested elements and the possible sources of air pollution have been suggested. The study showed that the PIXE technique is efficient to environmental pollution analysis since it precise, fast and low-cost.

More than 4000 beard samples were collected from a single person every morning over a 12-year period and analyzed using a standard-free method. We detected significant annual variations in the concentrations of magnesium and calcium in the study period, although significant monthly and seasonal variations were not noted. Calcium tends not to be obtained from season-specific foods or drinks, so its variations may be affected by changes in the metabolism of the body. In contrast, however, potassium showed marked long-term variations with significant seasonal differences. As our previous studies confirmed that green vegetables contain large quantities of potassium and that their supply and consumption increase from May to July, the seasonal variations in potassium concentration were attributed to the ingestion of green vegetables. Although magnesium is also contained in green vegetables in large quantities, its principle supply sources are diverse and its concentration did not show any clear seasonal changes.

A total of 4269 beard samples were collected from the same person every day over a 12-year period and analyzed by PIXE using a standard-free method. It was found that the concentrations of copper and zinc showed certain short-term changes but did not show a noticeable long-term trend over the study period, with only iron showing a slightly decreasing tendency with age. All of these elements showed clear yearly variations with a cycle of a few years possibly due to periodic metabolic changes in the subject’s body or long-term changes in eating habits. In contrast, however, selenium showed clear seasonal variations. Its concentration significantly increased in the summer and decreased in the winter, just as was observed with arsenic and mercury. This suggests that most of the subject’s selenium intake was from marine products, whose supply and consumption were increased in the summer. These findings confirmed that beard analyses are useful not only for evaluating essential-element intake but also for estimating the relationship between the body-element concentrations and ingestion of certain foods.

We investigated the relationships between the element concentrations in blood and hair to clarify the sex-specific differences in elemental movement from blood to hair, as we confirmed the presence of large sex-specific differences in the concentrations of certain elements in hair in our previous study. First, we compared the elemental concentrations in serum/plasma taken from healthy people ([Formula: see text] females, 142 males) and found that there were significant differences (up to 20%) between females and males in levels of phosphorus, sulfur, calcium, bromine, and lead. We then examined the sex-specific differences in the elemental transfer factors from blood to hair by analyzing plasma and hair samples that had been simultaneously collected from the same people (20 females, 21 males). Calcium and selenium showed significant differences in transfer factors from plasma to hair. Particularly, large sex-specific differences in the calcium concentration were explained by the difference in the transfer factors from blood to hair. We also examined the sex-specific differences among teenaged subjects alone ([Formula: see text] females, 9 males; average age was approximately 17 years old) and noted no significant difference in the transfer factors between sexes. Taken together, these findings indicate that the transfer factors themselves are influenced by the excretion of sex hormones.

This paper evaluated the performance and durability of leading structural shading materials to be used in the Super Containerized Living Units (Super-CLU’s) project. Fifteen unique shading fabrics were tested in five different experiments in order to evaluate their strength, resistance to wind, abrasion, and heat and to assess their heat transmissivity and breathability. A current United States Navy material was used as a control material for the evaluation of the other tested materials. Samples of each fabric were first tensile tested in both their warp and weft orientation to create an ‘as-received’ baseline condition. Then, additional samples of each fabric were exposed to wind, abrasion, or heat and subsequently tensile tested in order to show the degradation in tensile strength as compared to the as-received samples. The heat transmissivity and breathability testing was conducted separately.

In recent years, the contamination of marine products with heavy toxic elements has become a problem in Japan, as the Japanese coastal sea water is confirmed to be highly contaminated with heavy elements. In this study, parts of scallops and ascidians, which are the main foods of the people living in the Sanriku District, including hijiki and the fatty meal of whale, were analyzed. We also analyzed some parts that are not commonly eaten in general but are often consumed by some local populations, such as the mantle, mid-gut gland, ovary and spermary of scallops, and the internal organs and pharyngeal basket of ascidians. Dangerous quantities were detected for mercury in fatty meal of whale and for arsenic in hijiki, the mid-gut gland and mantle of scallops and the internal organs and pharyngeal basket of ascidians. In addition, concentrations of cadmium in the mid-gut gland and mantle of scallops as well as in the internal organs and pharyngeal basket of ascidians also showed high values. These results suggested that, even in the daily diet, it is possible to consume arsenic and cadmium in greater-than-tolerable quantities.

At Nishina Memorial Cyclotron Center (NMCC), a large number of studies in various research fields have been pursued under nation-wide common usage since 1993. One of the features of NMCC’s PIXE is the performance of many problem-based studies in order to determine effective measures against a range of issues. Various samples must be quantitatively analyzed quickly and accurately to cope with environmental issues. We have developed several original methods for analyzing a variety of samples with good sensitivity. Specially designed absorbers were developed for sensitive analyses of samples composed of heavy elements. In addition, a powdered-internal-standard method was established for the accurate quantitative analyses of powdered samples whose matrixes are heavy elements. The standard-free method for bio-samples allowed us to quantitatively analyze untreated samples, micro samples of nearly 1 [Formula: see text]g, and live bio-samples. We have been tackling a number of environmental problems in many countries in Southeast and East Asia using these original methods. We also wrestled with environmental problems caused by the massive tsunami that struck the Sanriku district of Japan in March 2011.

In the present study, we used a silicon drift detector (SDD) for the quantitative analysis of in-air PIXE. First, we examined the basic performances of the detector. We found that the shift of the peak position was less than 0.45 eV, and the energy resolution was 130–136 eV at 5.98 keV. We then used the SDD for a quantitative analysis. Physical parameters, such as the X-ray production cross-sections, values of the transmission of X-rays through absorbers and the detection efficiencies, which are required for quantification, were obtained theoretically and experimentally. We confirmed that many elements, from magnesium to barium, were able to be detected without using any special device. The results of the quantitative analyses of a few standard materials showed good agreement with the certified values. This method was also used to analyze practical samples, including bio-medical samples, and the results were in good agreement with the results obtained with in-vacuum PIXE.

A standard-free method for untreated hairs has been applied to quantitative analysis of the hairs taken from 1256 healthy people living in the Iwate prefecture, Japan. It was found that there are clear sex-specific differences in the concentration of some elements. Concentrations of many essential elements, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, copper, zinc and bromine, are clearly higher for female. In particular, calcium concentration is 2.6 times higher for female in comparison with that for male. Contrarily, concentrations of some toxic elements such as chromium, arsenic and mercury are higher for male. On the other hand, concentrations of many elements vary with age. Those of calcium, magnesium and zinc start to increase in the middle of teens and reach maximum in the middle of twenties for female. Mercury concentration increases as the ages advance, while those of chromium, arsenic and lead show no clear changes with age.

We developed a standard-free method for untreated hairs and the method has been applied to quantitative analysis of more than 30,000 hairs taken from the people concerned in order to evaluate exposure to some toxic elements and intakes of essential elements. Besides these analyses, we have measured nearly 2000 hairs collected from healthy people in Japan over the past 20 years. It was found that concentrations of some elements, such as vanadium, chromium, manganese, copper and mercury, keep increasing up to the present. Such tendencies were particularly notable for female, while not clearly observed for male. Concentrations of some essential elements, such as calcium, magnesium and zinc, show no obvious long-term variations. On the other hand, iron and selenium show slightly decreasing tendencies. With regard to toxic elements, it was found that arsenic, chromium and mercury are tending to increase year by year.

We investigate the charge density wave transport on the quasi one-dimensional system, orthorhombic tantalum trisulfide (o-TaS3), by applying a radio-frequency ac voltage. New ac–dc interference spectrum is observed in the differential conductance, which appears at both sides of the zero-bias peak. The frequency and amplitude dependences of the new spectrum do not correspond to those of any conventional ac–dc interference spectrum, namely integer and fractional Shapiro steps. The results suggest that there are unconventional internal degrees of freedom in the CDW. We propose that randomly distributed 2 π phase solitons contribute electrical conduction when both ac and dc voltages are applied. Our results provide a new insight for a general understanding of CDW dynamics.

The effects of spraying mineral water onto agricultural crops on their yields and mineral contents were examined. We sprayed a solution containing a large quantity of essential minerals onto the leaves of various agricultural crops every other week for a few months. The mineral concentrations in the agricultural crops and of the sprayed solution were measured by particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE). It was found that the effect of spraying mineral water on the crops was remarkable, especially for rice and soybeans, for which the yields became nearly three times higher and the concentrations of many essential minerals increased in their stems and leaves. However, no clear increase in the mineral contents was observed for polished rice. In addition, not all of the farm products showed positive effects. This indicates that an effective method and timing of spraying mineral water should be examined depending on the conditions of each individual agricultural crop.

In this paper, methods of quantitative elemental analysis of very small quantity of cultured cells were developed. First of all, an internal-standard method for the solution containing cells whose density is more than 1 × 106 cells/mL was established and then a standard-free method for cultured cells was developed. It was confirmed that the method allows us to quantitatively analyze more than 25 elements in the samples containing only 20,000 cells. Also, the methods for removing cultured cells from a flask were examined in order to improve accuracy and sensitivity of analysis since the use of trypsin and PBS sometimes brings a large amount of sodium, phosphorus and potassium, which have direct effect upon accuracy of analysis based on the standard-free method. It was found that the method of removing cells with a scraper without using trypsin and PBS is the best manner. Also, the effects of using thinner backing materials were examined in order to improve sensitivity of analyses. It is expected that accurate analysis of samples containing nearly two thousand cells is possible on the basis of the standard-free method when using a thinner backing material.

We have investigated the time fluctuation of the charge density wave current in TaS3 ring crystals. The CDW current fluctuates between two discrete current values when a constant dc voltage is applied. We measured dc voltage dependence of the current switching. We discovered that the CDW current has the high current dominant regime and the low current dominant regime, and a hysteresis between the two regimes as a function of dc voltage.

Since the Great East Japan Earthquake on 11 March 2011, we have seen a rapid increase of requests for soil analysis by PIXE. In the Nishina Memorial Cyclotron Center (NMCC), a powdered internal standard method with palladium on carbon powder has been adopted for soil sample preparation. However, the method can be heavily laborious when many samples need to be handled in a limited time. Here, we report an alternative to the method which takes a standard in the liquid form with a few drops of acetone to be homogenized with soil sample in an agate mortar. The applicability of the moist method was examined using some standard reference materials by comparing the analyzed results with those from the conventional method and with the certified values. The results were generally satisfactory, although further examination is needed to improve the accuracy and reliability of the new method.

The single-particle spectral function of the strongly correlated electron system is composed of a coherent peak and incoherent hills on both sides. The non-resonant electronic scattering of the incoherent spectral function becomes the same in the $B_{\rm 1g}$ and $B_{\rm 2g}$ channels and also correlates to the optical conductivity. The mid-infrared hill in the optical conductivity has the same origin as the electronic Raman susceptibility induced by the hole hopping perpendicular to the stripe. The wide-energy Raman spectra in the hole-doped and electron-doped cuprates are different, because the hole-doped cuprates are in the stripe phase while the electron-doped ones are not.

The characteristics of the prebreakdown phenomena in low-pressure N2/O2 mixtures under quasi-dc uniform field gap were investigated. The appearance characteristics expressed schematically. The light, voltage and current waveforms of prebreakdown phenomena and the onset voltage of glow discharges were measured under conditions of 1/spl les/ pd/spl les/ 6 (Torr.cm) for N2/O2 mixtures. From these results it became clear that the forms of prebreakdown phenomena of the glow discharges observed under lowpressure N2/O2 mixtures were divided into four types, and these appearance characteristics were expressed schematically and discussed.

Various technical studies for building forest monitoring system for MRV system of REDD+ has been implemented utilizing satellite remote sensing technology and ground survey upon configuring two pilot study areas, at whole Louangphabang (LPB) province (approximately 20,000 km2) and in Bolikhmxai(BLK) province (approximately 4,400 km2) in Lao PDR. Multi-temporal land use/cover data were prepared for making analyses of deforestation and forest degradation caused by various driving factors, and to establish reference scenario for REDD+. In addition to ordinary method of forest carbon stock estimation based on the forest plot surveys, land use/cover maps and IPCC's emission factors (GOFC-GOLD, 2010), improved methods were studied introducing a concept of biomass classing derived from multispectral data and tree height measurement utilizing ALOS/PRIS stereo images, in order to reduce difficulty of field surveys at high altitude and steep mountain forest, especially in natural forest areas. First, multi-temporal land use/cover maps were prepared for two pilot study areas for analyzing deforestation and forest degradation of the subjected area. Then, the biomass level of "Current Forest" area of the land use/cover maps were classified into three classes as high, medium, and low applying spectral analyses of LANDSAT/TM and SPOT images, and based on visual interpretation results of pan-sharpened ALOS/AVNIR2 images in addition to limited number of field surveys as references. Matching accuracies were around 60% at this stage of study (This number improved to 85% at the later stage). Based on the field survey data, the forest carbon stock vs. tree height model was established, and furthermore it was related to the forest biomass classes. ALOS/PRISM images were used to measure heights at about 1,500 forest stands selected at 2 – 4 km grid intervals. Accuracy analyses showed that the standard deviation of the tree height measurement errors was approximately 4 – 5 m, but the mean value of the measured data were within 1– 2 m comparing to the field survey data. Finally, wall-to-wall, above-ground forest carbon stock estimation maps which would be useful for forest management and REDD+ were prepared. As a conclusion, it can be said that 3D measurement, in addition to multi-spectral information, of the forest provides useful information for monitoring forest carbon stock for REDD+ although further refinement of technologies is to be needed. And, the results and experiences obtained from the studies will provide useful data for establishing actual MRVsystem.

Background: Amiodarone-in- duced hepatotoxicity consists of mild liver test abnormalities and rare cases of acute hep- atitis and chronic hepatic lesions, and his- tologically resembles the whole spectrum of alcoholic liver disease, i.e., non-alcoholic steatohepatitis. Amiodarone-induced neuro- toxicity, including tremor, ataxia and periph- eral neuropathy, is known, and some cases of parkinsonism following amiodarone use have also been reported. Objective: To study the pathology of amiodarone-associated parkin- sonism. Design: Light and electromicroscop- ical examinations of a patient with liver cir- rhosis and amiodarone-induced parkinson- ism. Results: On postmortem examination, the liver showed micronodular cirrhosis. Striking steatosis and frequent Mallory bod- ies were present on light microscopy. There were lysosomal inclusion bodies on electron microscopy. From these findings, amioda- rone-induced liver cirrhosis was diagnosed. Brain atrophy and infarcts were not observed, and pigmentation in the substantia nigra was preserved. Histologically, there was a slightly lesser degree of neuronal loss with astro- cytosis in the substantia nigra, locus ceruleus, and dorsal vagal nucleus. Lewy bodies were not found. In the cerebral white matter and basal ganglia, Alzheimer Type II astrocytes, which are abundant in hepatic encephalo- pathy, had deposition of electron-dense mate- rials within the lysosomes and mitochondrial matrices. The materials were compatible with the accelerated amiodarone. Conclusions: This is the first case in which the accumula- tion of amiodarone in the brain was morpho- logically observed. Amiodarone accumula- tion in the brain may play a role in neuro- toxicity inducing parkinsonism.

Leustroducsin B was synthesized via a convergent route based on division of the leustroducsin molecule into three segments A, B, and C. Two coupling reactions (Julia coupling reaction and Nozaki-Hiyama-Kishi (NHK) reaction) were employed for coupling of segments A and B: segment A1 for the Julia coupling reaction was prepared by a combination of Sharpless asymmetric epoxidation and an epoxide-cleavage reaction with an organoaluminum reagent, while segment A2 for the NHK reaction was synthesized from optically active alcohol that had previously been prepared by lipase-catalyzed kinetic resolution. Segment B, whose structure was modified with some functional groups, was synthesized from (R)-malic acid by a combination of Wittig reaction and Sharpless asymmetric dihydroxylation, and segment C, containing a cyclohexane moiety, was prepared by asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction. Segment B was first coupled with segment A1 via the Julia coupling reaction, but the yield was low due to unexpected epimerization. The NHK reaction of segment A2 proceeded to give the coupling product in good yield. This product was coupled with segment C via Wittig and Stille coupling reactions, and finally, phosphorylation was carried out by partial hydrolysis of a cyclic phosphate to give leustroducsin B.

Total synthesis of leustroducsin B was achieved via a convergent route, which includes Julia coupling reaction of segment A with segment B followed by Stille coupling reaction of segment C.

The phonon modes with strong electron–phonon interactions were investigated by two-phonon Raman scattering in p- and n-type high T c superconductors. In p-type superconductors, the strong electron–phonon interaction mode changes from the breathing mode at (π, π) to the half breathing mode at (π, 0) as carrier density increases across the optimum doping in LSCO or the 60 K phase in YBCO. It is in good accordance with the change of the superconducting coherent peak position in k-space. In n-type superconductors, the strong electron–phonon interaction modes change from (0.4π, 0.4π) to (0.4π, 0) at the insulator–superconductor transition. Electron–phonon interactions play an important role in superconductivity.

The purpose of this study is to examine interactions of arsenic (As) with indium (In), gallium (Ga) and aluminum (Al) of III - V semiconductor metals in human hepatic cells. As inhibited the proliferation of human hepatic cells as compared to control, while In, Ga and Al had no effect on the proliferation of human hepatic cells. For 2 mixtures with In and without Al (As + In and As + Ga + In) human hepatic cells were proliferated in comparison with As-treated cells. These results indicated that In protected against As toxicity in human hepatic cells. The other mixtures (3 mixtures without In, As + Ga, As + Al, As + Ga + Al, 2 mixtures with In and Al, As + In + Al, As + Ga + In + Al) had no effect on the proliferation of human hepatic cells. These data indicated that Al intercepted the protective action of In against As toxicity.

Magnetic excitations of the resonating valence bond (RVB) states were searched in high temperature superconducting cuprates by Raman scattering. Ho et al. [C.-M. Ho et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 86 (2001) 1626] disclosed that the spin excitation in the two-dimensional resonating valence bond state has a magnon-like dispersion and a spinon continuum above it. The density of states of the spin excitation has a peak at 1.5 J which is lower than the 2.36 J of the spin wave. We found that the A 1g spectra have a broad peak at 1.5 J in common at the underdoped region of p ⩽ 0.15 in LSCO, Bi2201, and Bi2212 and p ⩽ 0.1 in YBCO. The B 1g peak and the B 2g peak in the two-magnon region have a fine structure of the spin wave. The carrier density dependence is discussed.

The relation between the electronic excitation and the magnetic excitation for the superconductivity in Bi(2)Sr(2)Ca(1-x)Y(x)Cu(2)O(8+delta) was investigated by wide-energy Raman spectroscopy. In the underdoping region the B(1g) scattering intensity is depleted below the two-magnon peak energy due to the charge-spin interactions. The depleted region decreases according to the decrease of the two-magnon peak energy, as the carrier concentration increases. This two-magnon peak energy also determines the B(1g) superconducting gap energy as 2Delta approximately alphaPlanck's over 2piomega(two-magnon) approximately J(eff) (alpha = 0.34-0.41) from under to overdoping hole concentration.

Background. Neutrophils are considered to be involved in the pathogenesis of Helicobacter pylori-associated gastroduodenal diseases on account of their potent biological functions as effector cells. Troxipide, a new antiulcer compound used for patients with gastric ulcer or gastritis, has been shown to inhibit migration and activation of guinea pig neutrophils, but little is known about the pharmacological effects on human neutrophils. Aims. To study the effects of troxipide on chemotactic migration and superoxide generation by human neutrophils. Methods. The chemotactic response of neutrophils was determined in a multi-well chamber with a polycarbonate filter and the generation of 02 by neutrophils was measured using a chemiluminescence method. Concentrations of troxipide in gastric mucosa were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography. Results. Incubation of neutrophils with 10−6 to 10−4 M troxipide caused inhibition of recombinant interleukin-8-induced migration. These concentrations of troxipide also inhibited superoxide generation by neutrophils stimulated by formyl-methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine or platelet activating factor. These phenomena were not simply due to the direct cytotoxic effects since the above concentrations of troxipide did not induce neutrophil apoptosis. The concentrations of troxipide detected in the gastric mucosa after oral administration were in the range able to inhibit chemotactic migration and superoxide generation by neutrophils in vitro. Conclusion. These results suggest that troxipide may exert its therapeutic effect in patients with gastric ulcer or gastritis by inhibiting inflammatory responses and mucosal injury mediated by neutrophils in gastric mucosa.

Irradiation-induced fuel microstructural evolution of the sub-divided grain structure, or rim structure, of large-grained UO2 pellets has been examined through detailed PIEs. Besides standard grain size pellets with a grain size range of 9–12 μm, two types of undoped and alumino-silicate doped large-grained pellets with a range of 37–63 μm were irradiated in the Halden heavy water reactor up to a cross-sectional pellet average burnup of 86 GWd/t. The effect of grain size on the rim structure formation was quantitatively evaluated in terms of the average Xe depression in the pellet outside region measured by EPMA, based on its lower sensitivity for Xe enclosed in the coarsened rim bubbles. The Xe depression in the high burnup pellets above 60 GWd/t was proportional to d−0.5–d−1.0 (d: grain size), and the two types of large-grained pellets showed remarkable resistance to the rim structure formation. A high density of dislocations preferentially decorated the as-fabricated grain boundaries and the sub-divided grain structure was localized there. These observations were consistent with our proposed formation mechanism of rim structure, in which tangled dislocation networks are organized into the nuclei for recrystallized or sub-divided grains. In addition to higher resistance to the microstructure change, the large-grained pellets showed a smaller swelling rate at higher burnups and a lower fission gas release during base irradiation.

The loci encoding the beta chain of the pig major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigens, SLA-DR and -DQ, have been known to exhibit a remarkable degree of allelic polymorphism. Here, to understand the generation of SLA class II polymorphism, 25 SLA-DRB1 and 24 SLA-DQB genes including newly identified 12 SLA-DRB1 and 7 SLA-DQB genes obtained from miniature pigs were analyzed based on the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences. Most of the allelic diversity was attributed to the variable sequences which encode a beta1 domain consisting of a beta-pleated sheet followed by an a helix. In the beta1 domain coding region, there were four GC-rich sequences, which have been considered to involve the intra-exon sequence exchange also in other gene evolutions. The first and second GC-rich sequences were alpha-like sequences, which have been shown to be a putative recombination signal, and were stably conserved among SLA-DRB1 and DQB genes. These alpha-like sequences identified in SLA-DRB1 and SLA-DQB were found to encode the first turning point of the beta-pleated sheet and the boundary between the beta-pleated sheet and the alpha helix. Analysis of clustered sequence variation also suggested intra-exon gene conversions in which the alpha-like sequences act as putative breakpoints. In addition to point mutations and selection mechanism, intra-exon gene conversions must be an important mechanism in the generation of allelic polymorphism at the SLA-DRB1 and SLA-DQB.

In-reactor tests and post-irradiation examinations (PIEs) were performed for standard and large-grained pellets with and without additives being soluble in a matrix and/or precipitated in a grain boundary, to confirm the effects of large grain structure on decreasing fission gas release (FGR) and swelling and to evaluate the influence of the additives in the matrix/grain boundary on them. The standard and large-grained pellets were loaded into small-diameter rods equipped with a pressure gauge. These rods were irradiated to about 60 GWd/t U at a linear heat rate of about 30–40 kW/m in the Halden reactor and then subjected to PIEs. Large-grained pellets showed a smaller FGR compared with standard pellets. Post-irradiation annealing tests suggested that swelling during transient power was decreased for large-grained pellets, except for those with additive enhancing cation diffusion.

The dependence on the impact angle of erosion damage caused by solid particle impact was characterized on several kinds of material, as expressed by a trigonometric function of both impact angle and material hardness. Erosion tests were conducted on five metallic materials, a ceramic and a plastic material using silica sand particles (mean particle size 325 μm) at impact angles from 3° to 90°, up to an impact velocity of 130 m s−1. The geometry of the specimen and the nozzle tip were devised in order to obtain erosion damage at shallow impact angles less than 20°. The reproducibility of erosion damage obtained under these conditions was consistent with that of standard erosion tests. The detailed erosion damage at shallow impact angles made the dependence of impact angle clear. Although the amount of erosion damage commonly increased with the increase in impact velocity, it was found that the dependence of the erosion damage of metallic materials on impact angle was independent of the impact velocity within 50–130 m s−1 in terms of the relative erosion damage normalized by that at a normal impact angle. This allowed simplification of the equation for erosion damage curves. It was recognized that the maximum erosion damage and the shape of the damage curves shifted monotonically according to the material hardness, which is considered generally to be correlated with other mechanical properties. As a result, the normalized erosion damage curves for tested materials were basically correlated with a trigonometric function in which constants and exponents depended on the impact conditions, except for the impact velocity, if the properties of the particles were fixed. Moreover, in the case of metallic materials, the values related to the hardness. This simulation probably enables an estimation of erosion damage at a given impact angle from that at the normal impact angle.

Using confocal microscopy in conjunction with microdrop application of Dil, we have imaged and measured individual dendritic spines of living hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons in acute brain slices, before and approximately 3 hr after induction of long-term potentiation by chemical means. Statistical analysis of changes in the length of individual spines, and comparison with results of Monte Carlo simulations, suggests that two forms of structural change occur in chemically induced long-term potentiation: growth of a subpopulation of small spines, and angular displacement of spines. These changes could provide a structural basis for the expression of long-term potentiation.

To examine the effects of surgery and anaesthesia on cell-mediated and humoral immunity, we investigated changes in subpopulations of peripheral T cells and B cells during gastrectomy. Twenty-one patients with gastric cancers who underwent total or subtotal gastrectomy were randomly assigned to receive thiopental/N 2 O general anaesthesia supplemented with either epidural (epidural group, n=12) or enflurane (enflurane group, n=9). The changes in peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations were detected and quantified using single and double label analysis of monoclonal antibodies against lymphocyte membrane surface markers (Leu series). Subpopulations were measured before induction, and 1 and 2 hours after skin incision. In the enflurane group, B cells (Leu12 + ), total T cells (Leu4 + ), inducer T cells (CD4 + , Leu 8+ ) and the CD4/CD8 ratio decreased and suppressor T cells (CD8 + , Leu15 + ) increased significantly< after skin incision. Whereas, the epidural group showed no change in the number of B cells and each T cell subpopulation during the study. These data suggest that epidural anaesthesia blocks the effect of stress induced by major surgery on fluctuation of peripheral lymphocyte subpopulations which may be associated with suppression of immunity

In a previous paper, the authors have investigated the relation between the behaviour of departing drops and the heat transfer on the surface of a horizontal tube. It was found that the departing drops on the condensing surface caused two significant effects, i.e. a sweeping effect and a covering effect. The heat transfer characteristics on the horizontal tube were measured and reported. The purposes of the present paper are to explore a model for calculating the behaviour of the departing drops on an inclined tube and through it to examine the heat transfer characteristics. The effect of the departing drops on the heat transfer is deduced and the phenomenon is clarified. The authors have also found that the heat transfer associated with both the sweeping and covering actions by the departing drops has its maximum at an inclination angle of the condensing tube of α ≈ 30° .

The Fas antigen is a cell surface protein that can mediate apoptosis in many cell types. Although its physiological function is still unclear, recent evidence indicates that this surface molecule is involved in apoptosis in the immune system and the liver. The epidermis is an organ that undergoes terminal differentiation with the eventual death of keratinocytes, and it has been suggested that this is a specialized form of apoptosis. In the present study, we examined whether or not the Fas antigen is involved in keratinocyte apoptosis. Immunoreactivity for the Fas antigen was found throughout the epidermis in normal human skin sections and cultured normal human keratinocytes, and mRNA for the Fas antigen was found to be constitutively expressed in normal epidermis and cultured normal keratinocytes by RT-PCR analysis. To determine whether the Fas antigen in keratinocytes is functional, we used a cytotoxic monoclonal antibody (mAb) against the Fas antigen to induce apoptosis. This antibody did not induce apoptosis of cultured keratinocytes even though they expressed the Fas antigen. We then tested the ability of several cytokines (TGFβ, TNFα and IFNγ) to induce Fas-mediated keratinocyte apoptosis. Only pretreatment with IFNγ followed by the addition of the anti-Fas mAb induced apoptosis, as assessed by cell viability, morphological changes and ultrastructural characteristics, suggesting that constitutive expression of the Fas antigen is not sufficient to induce apoptosis in keratinocytes and that keratinocyte apoptosis via the Fas antigen-mediated mechanism may require the activation of keratinocytes by IFNγ, which is thought to be produced by activated T cells. The Fas antigen may not be related to keratinocyte apoptosis that occurs in terminal differentiation, but rather to the apoptosis that occurs in inflammatory skin diseases.

The FIB-4 index is a simple formula to predict liver fibrosis based on the standard biochemical values (AST, ALT and platelet count) and age. We here investigated the utility of the index for noninvasive prediction of progression in liver fibrosis. The time-course alteration in the liver fibrosis stage between paired liver biopsies and the FIB-4 index was examined in 314 patients with chronic hepatitis C. The average interval between liver biopsies was 4.9 years. The cases that showed a time-course improvement in the fibrosis stage exhibited a decrease in the FIB-4 index, and those that showed deterioration in the fibrosis stage exhibited an increase in the FIB-4 index with a significant correlation (P0.001). Increase in the ΔFIB-4 index per year was an independent predictive factor for the progression in liver fibrosis with an odds ratio of 3.90 (P = 0.03). The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the ΔFIB-4 index/year for the prediction of advancement to cirrhosis was 0.910. Using a cut-off value of the ΔFIB-4 index/year0.4 or ≥ 0.4, the cumulative incidence of fibrosis progression to cirrhosis at 5 and 10 years was 34% and 59%, respectively in patients with the ΔFIB-4 index/year ≥0.4, whereas it was 0% and 3% in those with the ΔFIB-4 index/year0.4 (P0.001). In conclusion, measurement of the time-course changes in the FIB-4 index is useful for the noninvasive and real-time estimation of the progression in liver fibrosis.

Viscera slide is the normal, longitudinal movement of the intraabdominal viscera caused by respiratory excursions of the diaphragm. By detecting areas of restricted viscera slide, ultrasonic imaging was used to identify anterior abdominal wall adhesions prior to laparotomy or laparoscopy. Transcutaneous ultrasound examination was performed on 110 patients. A prediction of adhesions was made for each patient and then compared to the findings during subsequent laparotomy or laparoscopy. Only patients with previous abdominal surgery or history of peritonitis demonstrated adhesions. Sensitivity and specificity of viscera slide ultrasound in predicting adhesions were 90% and 92%. Nine out of 10 false results involved misinterpretation of ultrasound images of the lower one-third of the abdomen. Ultrasonic imaging of viscera slide is highly accurate in detecting abdominal wall adhesions. This technique is most useful in guiding the insertion of trocar in laparoscopic surgery, and as a noninvasive method in studying the formation of adhesions.

Two methods are proposed for effectively reducing the difference in dynamic characteristics among superconducting magnets for particle accelerators. The basic principle can be derived from the results of a dynamic analysis. Equalization of the voltage of magnets, not the current, leads to reduction of the field difference. The first method, the passive method, requires only the connection of an adequate value of resistance parallel to the magnet. The second is the active method which uses a compensation power supply. The passive method is applied to our machine and the 20% field deviation during acceleration is reduced to 0.5%; 1/40 of the uncorrected value. >

The differential modal gain (DMG) in a few-mode erbium-doped fibre amplifier (FM-EDFA) is successfully improved by employing a ring-core FM erbium-doped fibre (RC-EDF). The DMGs between LP01 and LP11 mode signals in the FM-EDFA with the RC-EDF are 1.8 and 1.6 dB for LP01 and LP11 mode pumping, respectively, whereas those in a FM-EDFA with a conventional step-index FM EDF are 9.2 and 6.1 dB, indicating 7.4 and 4.5 dB DMG improvement for LP01 and LP11 mode pumping, respectively.