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Exotic nuclei are characterized by a number of neutrons (or protons) in excess relative to stable nuclei. Their shell structure, which represents single-particle motion in a nucleus, may vary due to nuclear force and excess neutrons, in a phenomenon called shell evolution. This effect could be counterbalanced by collective modes causing deformations of the nuclear surface. Here, we study the interplay between shell evolution and shape deformation by focusing on the magnetic moment of an isomeric state of the neutron-rich nucleus 75Cu. We measure the magnetic moment using highly spin-controlled rare-isotope beams and achieving large spin alignment via a two-step reaction scheme that incorporates an angular-momentum-selecting nucleon removal. By combining our experiments with numerical simulations of many-fermion correlations, we find that the low-lying states in 75Cu are, to a large extent, of single-particle nature on top of a correlated 74Ni core. We elucidate the crucial role of shell evolution even in the presence of the collective mode, and within the same framework, we consider whether and how the double magicity of the 78Ni nucleus is restored, which is also of keen interest from the perspective of nucleosynthesis in explosive stellar processes., 10 pages, 4 figures

We developed a very sensitive high-frequency carrier-type magnetic-field sensor with a sub-pT resolution using a transmission-line-type sensor. Meander-type sensor elements using amorphous CoNbZr films (4μm in thickness), Cu conductor with a meander pattern (30 mm in length, 1.0 mm in width, 18 μm in thickness), and a ground plane were fabricated. We obtained a magnetic field resolution of 9.1×10-13 T/Hz1/2 at 1 Hz. The detectable magnetic field was limited by the 1/f noise. We detected a magnetocardiogram (MCG) signal of heartbeats with the sensor.

A clock and data recovery (CDR) architecture featuring a parallel phase detector is proposed for speeding up linear-type CDRs. A cause of speed limit in conventional CDRs is very short UP pulses in its phase detector circuit. The parallel phase detector expands UP pulsewidth by adding fixed-width using a half-rate clock. The parallel phase detector is used in the CDR with a couple of unbalanced charge-pump. The bandwidth of decision latches of the PD is extended by 1.7 times by using both shunt-peaking and capacitance coupling. The monolithic CDR implemented in 0.13-mum CMOS shows 1.7 times wider phase linear response region of 0.56UI than that of a conventional CDR. It operates at 12.5-Gb/s with PRBS 231-1 input data. Measurements show large jitter tolerance of over 0.5 UIpp for 4-8 MHz jitter frequency as well as jitter transfer characteristics independent on input-jitter amplitudes of 0.1, 0.3, and 0.5 UIpp

1. Persistent hypoglycaemia was experimentally induced by insulin infusion to improve understanding of the regulatory mechanisms of blood glucose concentrations specific to chickens. 2. An osmotic minipump containing bovine insulin was implanted to deliver insulin in vivo at a constant rate (11.25 to 45 U/kg BW/d) for 5 d in 4-week-old broiler chickens force-fed a maintenance diet once a d. Birds infused with the highest dose of insulin died within 3 to 4 d. 3. In chickens continuously infused with insulin at 22.5 U/kg BW/d, fasting glucose concentrations in plasma determined every 3 h during the 3rd day of infusion were consistently and significantly lower than in controls. 4. Continuous infusion of insulin at 22.5 U/kg BW/d induced persistent hypoglycaemia (almost one-half the normal blood glucose concentration) lasting for at least 4 d in broiler chickens. 5. Insulin infusion did not significantly change plasma NEFA or protein concentrations and increased plasma GOT activity only at 1 of the daily experimental sampling points.

This paper presents the design and implementation of a scalable asynchronous transfer mode switch. We fabricated a 10-Gb/s 4/spl times/2 switch large-scale integration (LSI) that uses a new distributed contention control technique that allows the switch LSI to be expanded. The developed contention control is executed in a distributed manner at each switch LSI, and the contention control time does not depend on the number of connected switch LSI's. To increase the LSI throughput and reduce the power consumption, we used 0.25-/spl mu/m CMOS/SIMOX (separation by implanted oxygen) technology, which enables us to make 221 pseudo-emitter-coupled-logic I/O pins with 1.25-Gb/s throughput. In addition, power consumption of 7 W is achieved by operating the CMOS/SIMOX gates at -2.0 V. This consumption is 36% less than that of bulk CMOS gates (11 W) at the same speed at -2.5 V. Using these switch LSI's, an 8/spl times/8 switching multichip module with 80-Gb/s throughput was fabricated with a compact size.

A new data-transition look-ahead DFF (DL-DFF) that reduces the power consumption of CMOS LSI's is proposed. The power consumption is reduced in accordance with the data-transition probability. The main feature of the DL-DFF is that the clock signal is deactivated when there are no data transitions. This reduces the power consumption when the data-transition probability is low. The power consumption of a DL-DFF is compared to that of a conventional one by measuring a test chip fabricated using a 0.25-/spl mu/m CMOS/SIMOX process. It is found that a DL-DFF consumes less power than a conventional one when the data-transition probability is under 60%. For example, when the data-transition probability is 25%, it consumes 29% less power. Moreover, some suitable applications of a DL-DFF are presented.

Mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) is being used increasingly in children with steroid-dependent nephrotic syndrome (SDNS). However, there is limited information on the optimal therapeutic range for mycophenolic acid (MPA), the active metabolite of MMF, in these patients.26 patients with SDNS (mean age 13.1 years, 19 with minimal change disease and 7 with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis) who had received MMF for at least 6 months after longterm cyclosporine (CsA, mean 56 months) at Saitama Children's Medical Center between September 2002 and August 2008 were analyzed. MMF was introduced at an initial dose of 250 mg/12 h, adjusted to maintain target predose MPA at greater than 2 microg/ml (maximum 1 g twice daily) gradually over 4 weeks. After the introduction of MMF, the dosages of both CsA and prednisolone (PSL) were tapered off if possible.The mean MMF dose required was 34 +/- 6 mg/kg, which maintained the mean predose MPA levels of 3.1 mg/ml. In 26 patients, treatment with MMF for a mean follow-up period of 19 months (range 7 - 42), resulted in a reduction of the mean PSL dose from 0.33 +/- 0.23 to 0.17 +/- 0.11 mg/kg per day (p0.01) and mean CsA dose from 3.2 +/- 1.7 to 1.3 +/- 1.8 mg/kg per day (p0.01). The mean 12-monthly relapse rates decreased from 2.5 +/- 1.4 to 0.8 +/- 1.2 episodes (p0.01). In 20 patients treated with MMF (77%), the dose of PSL and/or CsA was successfully tapered with a reduction in the relapse rates. In 6 patients, however, CsA therapy was reintroduced or its dose was increased because of treatment failure. The patients whose average predose MPA levels were less than 3 microg/ml were significantly likely to have treatment failure (p0.05). 2 patients reduced the MMF dosage because of anemia or herpes labialis. However, no severe gastrointestinal discomfort was seen in any patients. Despite long-term CsA therapy, marked tubulointerstitial fibrosis developed during MMF therapy in surveillance biopsies of only one of these five patients.Therapy with MMF based on the predose MPA levels can be a less toxic alternative to CsA or in some cases a useful additional medication to allow for a reduction in the CsA and/or PSL dosage.

The DTG discussed in this paper, reduces data-dependent jitter (DDJ) and offers ns-order delay span for input data rates of up to 11Gb/s. The fine-delay blocks consist of 6 sub-blocks. Total fine delay is adjusted by combining the delays of the 6 sub-blocks using the control inputs for the fine-delay block. NMOS transistors are used as the variable capacitors (VCs) for delay control, because they provide small capacitance of

A scalable 10 Gb/s (1.25 Gb/s/spl times/8) 4/spl times/2 switch LSI is fabricated for a 640 Gb/s ATM switching system. This chip employs a new distributed contention control technique that allows the LSI to be expanded. To increase LSI throughput, 0.25 /spl mu/m CMOS/SIMOX (separation by implementation oxygen) technology is used. The technology enables 1.25 Gb/s pseudo-ECL I/O 221 pins. In addition, power consumption of 7 W is achieved by operating the CMOS/SIMOX gates at -2.0 V. This consumption is 36% less than that of bulk CMOS gates (11 W) at the same speed at -2.5 V [3].

We describe a novel p-i-n photodetector fabricated on separation by implanted oxygen (SIMOX) substrate using a fully-depleted CMOS/SIMOX process, which is suitable for CMOS optoelectronic integrated circuits (OEICs). The photodetector/SIMOX exhibits a low parasitic capacitance of 0.2 pF, a high responsivity of 0.4 A/W at 850 nm, and a high photoresponse for 1 GHz operation at a supply voltage of 2.0 V.

The LSI has a re-routing banyan (RRB) type architecture that allows the construction of a nearly non-blocking network using a minimum number of switching elements. The 8/spl times/8 switch-chip architecture yields a 10/sup -8/ cell loss probability for a 0.9 offered load using 13 stages ofthe LSI in a 1 Tb/s RRB network. 0.25 /spl mu/m CMOS/SIMOX devices are used to increase chip bandwidth. The SSIs of the I/O and the 4:1 MUX circuit using CMOS/SIMOX exhibit 2.6 GHz operation, that is 1.4 times faster than bulk CMOS. In addition, a CMOS/SIMOX gate operated at 2.0 V dissipates 45 % less power than a bulk CMOS gate operated with the same propagation delay at 2.5 V. Thus, the CMOS/SIMOX device allows Gb/s interfaces as a part of a hundred-kilo-gate LSI with low power consumption. The circuit design reduces the number of gate fan-outs and wiring length. The design is especially effective in rising operating frequency owing to the fact that the source-drain (S/D) capacitance is one-third that of bulk CMOS.

For high-speed digital systems, it is important to develop point-to-point Gb/s interfaces that consume low power during low-transition-rate operation. This paper presents two novel Gb/s CMOS interfaces. One uses an active-pull-up (APU) technique to raise the maximum transmission speed. In the other interface, the transmission wave form is changed from digital to impulse to markedly reduce power consumption at low transition rate.

A new high-speed dynamic CMOS frequency divider that operates at frequencies of over 16 GHz is proposed. The core of the proposed 2:1 divider consists of only three inverters and one transmission gate, and it has no DC current. Using the 2:1 divider, we developed a 64:1 divider with 0.2-/spl mu/m CMOS/SIMOX technology. Experimental results show that the maximum input frequency of the proposed divider is 1.4 times as high as that of a conventional one. The proposed 64:1 divider has a high input frequency of 16.3 GHz with a power consumption of 45 mW at 2.0-V power supply, and a low power consumption of 2.0 mW with a input frequency of 7.0 GHz at 0.8-V power supply.

The effect of a tungsten (W) clad source/drain on the electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection in fully-depleted CMOS/SIMOX devices was studied. The ESD failure voltage based on the human-body model (HBM) in a CMOS input circuit was measured for three types of clad W-layer layouts. High ESD immunity of 4000 V was obtained for the fully-W-clad layout when the threshold voltage was less than 0.24 V and the threshold voltage dependence was observed. The blocked layout of the clad W layer provided an ESD protection level of over 3500 V at varied threshold voltages. A gapped W-layer layout provided 3000 V level immunity while keeping the resistance of the gate electrode low for high-speed operation in the output buffer. Based on these results, an optimized layout for the W layer in fully-depleted SOI technology is presented.

Severe renal hypertension due to both unilateral renal arterial occlusion and renal thrombotic microangiopathy developed in a 13-y-old girl as a manifestation of primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. The combination of the intravenous high-dose urokinase therapy and oral anticoagulation therapy, comprising aspirin, warfarin and dipyridamole, was significantly effective in improving her renal function and preventing thrombotic events during an 18-month follow-up period.

Neuropeptide Y (NPY) has at least three receptors (Y1, Y2, and Y3) through which it influences different mechanisms in many cell types. Previous data suggest that the Y2 receptor may be divided into prejunctional and postjunctional subgroups. We have examined the intracellular signalling pathways of the postjunctional Y2 receptor in rat renal proximal tubules. The results indicate that NPY regulates Na+,K(+)-ATPase through several signalling pathways: (1) In proximal tubule (PT) cells NPY increased intracellular calcium. The response was blocked by removing extracellular calcium and was also blocked by using nifedipine. This suggests that calcium was increased by influx from the extracellular space through L-type calcium channels. (2) NPY increased Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity in PT segments and this effect was also blocked by nifedipine. CaMKII-Ala286[281-302] a blocker of Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) inhibited the NPY-stimulated Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity. This implies that increased intracellular calcium activates CaMKII which subsequently increases Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity. CaMKII thus appear to act similar to what has been proposed for protein phosphatase 2B. (3) Calphostin C, an inhibitor of protein kinase C (PKC), did not inhibit NPY-stimulated Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity. PKC is, therefore, unlikely to be involved. (4) Y2 receptors are negatively coupled to the cAMP pathway. NPY attenuated forskolin-stimulated cAMP production in renal tubules and exogenous cAMP counteracted the NPY-stimulated Na+,K(+)-ATPase activity. This illustrated the importance of NPY for the regulation of renal sodium handling. We also propose that the renal tubule cell is a good model for studying the function and mechanisms of postjunctional Y2 receptors.

Yersinia pseudotuberculosis is known to produce a novel superantigen designated Y. pseudotuberculosis-derived mitogen. In the present study, we demonstrated that there was a distinct geographical heterogeneity between the Far East (higher prevalence) and Europe (lower prevalence) in the prevalence of the ypm gene encoding the superantigen among Y. pseudotuberculosis strains.

We report two cases of marked hypercapnia of more than 60 mm Hg (PaCO2) and extensive subcutaneous emphysema noted during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The first case, a 55-year-old man was diagnosed as having cholecystolithiasis and had hypercapnia up to 83.5 mm Hg (PaCO2) during laparoscopic cholecystectomy. The patient resumed spontaneous respiration under controlled ventilation accompanied by persistent bigeminal pulse. Soon after deflation, CO2 returned to normal range, and extensive subcutaneous emphysema was detected in the recovery room. The second patient, a 53-year-old woman, had cholecystolithiasis and also underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Both hypercapnia rising to 61.1 mm Hg (PaCO2) and extensive subcutaneous emphysema appeared just before completion of resection of the gallbladder. Mild hypercapnia during pneumoperitoneum of about 50 mm Hg (PaCO2) has been reported previously. As compared with cases in the literature, the present cases suggest that hypercapnia is due to extensive subcutaneous emphysema. The large absorption surface area in the subcutaneous tissue and the large difference in the partial pressure cause the extensive gaseous interchange of CO2 between subcutaneous tissue and blood perfusing into it at the moment between peritoneal cavity and blood perfused the peritoneum.

In November 1992 and June and August 1993 rectal contents from 204 small mammals living in the wild were collected and examined for the presence of Yersinia enterocolitica serovar O:8 to clarify the source of human infections caused by this microbe in the Tsugaru Region of Aomori Prefecture, Japan. Serovar O:8 was isolated from 10 (5.2%) of 193 wild rodents trapped in June 1993 (9 of 107) and August 1993 (1 of 23) but not from animals trapped in November 1992 (0 of 63). This serovar was not isolated from 11 moles. From May to September 1993, 12 human patients were found to have become ill and to be infected with Y. enterocolitica O:8. The patients lived in the same districts where the wild rodents harboring serovar O:8 were trapped. Two different patterns by restriction enzyme analysis of the virulence plasmid were observed. One pattern obtained by restriction enzyme analysis of the virulence plasmid was observed in 20 isolates from 11 human patients and 9 wild rodents, and the other was observed in 2 isolates from 1 human patient and 1 wild rodent. These findings indicate that wild rodents seem to play an important role as a source of human Y. enterocolitica O:8 infection.

We attempted a clavicular approach to intraosseous infusion (clavicular IO) as a new procedure in adults, and compared the flow rates of subclavian venous infusion, and clavicular, iliac and tibial IO. Furthermore, we observed enhanced roentgenograms of each IO by contrast media. As a result, clavicular IO indicated 11.9 +/- 0.68 mL/kg/hr (mean +/- SD, n = 29), iliac IO 32.2 +/- 4.48 (n = 21), tibial IO 18.9 +/- 1.28 (n = 15), and subclavian venous infusion 15.2 +/- 1.48 (n = 15). There were no statistically significant differences between subclavian venous infusion and clavicular IO. In roentgenograms, the contrast media entered the inferior vena cava from iliac IO, and via the femoral vein by tibial IO. The superior vena cava was enhanced through the subclavian vein in clavicular IO. No complications such as fractures or transclavicular penetrations by the IO needle occurred. In conclusion, clavicular IO may be an alternative infusion technique to provide the fluids into the subclavian vein in adults.

To assess the usefulness of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging in diagnosis of confluent fibrosis in patients with advanced cirrhosis.Findings on pretransplantation MR images were compared with findings on pretransplantation computed tomographic (CT) scans and posttransplantation gross appearance and histologic findings in 11 patients with confluent fibrosis. In all patients, MR imaging was performed before and after administration of gadopentetate dimeglumine.Nine lesions appeared wedge shaped and involved the medial segment of the left lobe, anterior segment of the right lobe, or both; two lesions consisted entirely of lobar or segmental fibrosis. Associated volume loss in the affected regions was seen in 10 lesions. All 11 lesions were hypoattenuating on non-contrast material-enhanced CT scans.Findings on MR images corresponded well to CT findings and gross appearance. MR imaging provided useful morphologic information about confluent fibrosis, but the MR signal characteristics are not unique and do not enable differentiation from hepatic neoplasms.

The deliberate induction of carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum during laparoscopic surgery could be a possible source of cardiovascular collapse. The effects of elevated intraabdominal pressure (IAP) on systemic hemodynamics and splanchnic blood flow created by insufflation of carbon dioxide were examined in anesthetized dogs.Stepwise increases in IAP of 8 (n = 7), 12 (n = 7), and 16 (n = 7) mm Hg were applied to determine the threshold pressure that had minimum influence on these hemodynamics. Hemodynamic parameters were measured at baseline and 1, 2, and 3 hours after the start of insufflation.At an IAP of 16 mm Hg, cardiac output was decreased significantly by 1 hour after the start of insufflation and became progressively lower during the procedure. Systemic vascular resistance was elevated significantly in parallel with the change in cardiac output. Although hepatic arterial blood flow was not decreased significantly, portal venous and superior mesenteric arterial blood flows were diminished significantly at 16 mm Hg, resulting in a decrease in total hepatic blood flow. No significant changes were observed in these parameters at 8 or 12 mm Hg.Based on these results, an IAP from 8 to 12 mm Hg is recommended for laparoscopic surgery, to avoid complications caused by hemodynamic derangements.

We investigated the current status of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Japan. A retrospective survey of laparoscopic cholecystectomy was performed involving 1989 patients from eight Japanese institutions. The preoperative work-up and the operative technique were largely identical to those in the United States. Conversion to open cholecystectomy was required in 54 patients (2.7%) because of unexpected intraoperative findings such as inflammation and adhesions in 40 patients (2.0%) and intraoperative complications in 14 patients (0.7%). There were no deaths, and postoperative complications occurred in 34 of 1935 patients (1.75%) in whom laparoscopic cholecystectomy was completed. Only 10 patients (0.51%) had serious complications (hemorrhage and bile duct injury, for example) that required laparotomy. The incidence of bile duct injury was 11 of 1989 (0.55%). We conclude that the adoption of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in Japan has been highly successful.

We report a case of 10-year-old boy with chronic tubulo-interstitial nephritis (TIN). He had febrile convulsion and received sodium valproate (VPA) treatment. 18 months later, he had developed Fanconi syndrome. On admission, he also had evidence of tubular and glomerular dysfunction. Renal biopsy revealed interstitial nephritis with linear tubular-basement-membrane deposition of IgG and C3 and dominant infiltration of CD4 positive cells in interstitium. Although there is not a positive proof of the etiology in the relationship between TIN and VPA, it is likely that VPA is a possible cause of chronic TIN from his past history.

A-48-year-old man with end stage renal disease due to MCTD started CAPD in February 1988. He also had been treated by steroid therapy which was gradually decreased. He had seven hemoperitoneum episodes for ten months and two years since starting CARD. None of episodes were associated with CAPD catheter nor bacillus peritonitis. While he had had long term hemoperitoneum episode in March 1989, he was received no steroid and had leucopenia and low compliments. Therefore he was treated by steroids again. He had no hemoperitoneum episodes for seventeen months since re-steroid therapy. And he recovered from leucopenia and low compliments. It seems that the mechanisms of hemoperitoneum are due to immunological abnormality associated with MCTD.

A low-jitter design method based on ωn-domain jitter analysis for the clock and data recovery (CDR) ICs using the linear phase-locked loop (PLL) is proposed. Using this method, the loop parameters of the PLL can be optimised, which makes it possible to design the CDR IC for various targets.

The method of immediate root canal filling following vital pulp extirpation involves many problems to be solved clinically. Therefore, the present study was performed to increase the clinical usefulness by applying formalin medicine in the root canal before immediate root canal filling after vital pulp extirpation. Group 1 (the group of applying formalin tricresol or formalin guaiacol on the intentionally exposed pulp tissue) Group 2 (pulp extirpation). This study is based upon 95 human permanent teeth with noninfected pulps in patients ranging in age from 16 to 43 years. Under local anesthesia the experimental teeth were isolated with cotton rolls. The pulp was intentionally exposed during the preparation of the Ingle's cavity with diamond instruments mounted on a high speed air turbine. The cavity and exposed pulp surface were cleaned with Neo-cleaner (10% Hypochlorite) and oxydol, and then dried using an absorbent material. One of the experimental medicines, which had been saturated into phi 2mm cotton pellet, was applied on the exposed pulp tissue. The cavity was filled with gutta-percha and amalgam. Under local anesthesia, the pulp was intentionally exposed in the same way as mentioned above. After removal of pulp tissue, root canals were cleaned with oxydol. Root canals were filled with Calvital (CV) in 15 cases. Following insertion of sterilized paper point soaked in the solution of formalin guaiacol (FG) or formalin tricresol (FC) for 5 minutes, root canal filling with Calvital was carried out in 20 cases. The experimental teeth were clinically observed at various intervals, and then extracted. After fixation in 10% formalin solution, the teeth were decalcified using nitric acid and embedded in celloidin. The serial sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and observed histopathologically. Group 1. 1. Kinds of clinical discomfort observed in this investigation were as follows. FG: Spontaneous pain (25.0%), Percussion discomfort (5.0%). FC: Spontaneous pain (35.0%), Percussion discomfort (35.0%). 2. Clinical results were as follows. FG: 14 cases (70.0%) out of 20 were evaluated as good, 6 cases (30.0%) as fairly good, and none as bad. FC: 11 cases (55.0%) out of 20 were evaluated as good, 9 cases (45.0%) as fairly good, and none as bad. 3. Histopathological changes observed in this investigation were as follows. 1) Hyperemia, 2) Hemorrhage, 3) Round cell infiltration, 4) Suppurative inflammation, 5) Coagulation necrosis, 6) Atrophy, 7) Cicatrization. Group 2. 1. Kinds of clinical discomfort observed in this investigation were as follows. CV: Spontaneous pain (20.0%), Percussion discomfort (20.0%). FG: Spontaneous pain (30.0%), Percussion discomfort (15.0%). FC: Spontaneous pain (30.0%), Percussion discomfort (30.0%). 2. Clinical results were as follows.

Cases of acute exacerbation in chronic liver disease ("acute-on-chronic") in Japan were surveyed by questionnaire method since 1986 and 220 cases were collected. 73 pathological specimens of 102 cases which were autopsied were subjected to morphological analysis. The cases were divided according to causes of acute exacerbations: namely super-imposed viral infection or drugs (Group I), unknown causes or post immunosuppressant therapy (Group II), alcohol abuse (Group III), operation, digestive tract hemorrhage or post TAE etc, (Group IV). Area of hepatic necrosis was large and regeneration of hepatocytes were significantly strong in Group I and II compared with cases of Group IV. Regeneration was also inhibited in liver of habitual alcohol drinker. Significant difference was shown in cases of Group IV. Pathologically liver of 10 cases of Group III divided to florried cirrhosis (3 cases), alcoholic liver cirrhosis (4 cases) and alcoholic hepatitis combined with post hepatitic liver cirrhosis (3 cases, all HBV carriers).

We report a case of Alport syndrome. The patient, a nine-year-old boy, showed macroscopic hematuria after an upper respiratory infection seven years ago. Microscopic hematuria with proteinuria was pointed out in routine urinalysis at school. He had no apparent familial history of either progressive renal diseases or deafness. Renal biopsy was performed at the age of eight, and he was diagnosed as focal segmental glomerulonephritis (mild) by light microscopy. Slight irregular thickening of the glomerular basement membrane (GBM) was observed focally by electron microscopy. Both light microscopy and electron microscopic examinations did not indicate a hereditary nephritis. The 28-kilodalton (kDa) monomers of the non-collagenous globular domain (NC-1) of type IV collagen were absent along renal glomerular capillary walls from the patient by indirect immunofluorescence while they were normally observed in glomerular capillary walls from healthy subjects and patients with a variety of non-hereditary glomerulonephritis. It was suggested that immunofluorescence using a monoclonal antibody for the NC-1 domain of type IV collagen is useful in the precise diagnosis of the patients with Alport syndrome.

A scalable 10 Gbit/s 4 × 2 ATM switch LSI circuit has been fabricated. It employs a new distributed contention control technique that makes the LSI circuit expandable. To increase the LSI circuit throughput, 0.25 µm CMOS/SIMOX (separation by implanted oxygen) technology is used. It allows the LSI circuit to offer 221 I/O pins, an operating speed of 1.25 Gbit/s and 7 W power consumption.

Among many Cretaceous granitic masses in the Ryoke belt of central Japan, two discordant plutons, Kisokoma and Shinshiro, and the largest batholith, Inagawa, were investigated for the D/H ratio in coexisting biotite and hornblende. The relationships between δD- and X Fe - [= Fe/(Fe + Mg)] values for coexisting biotite and hornblende in the three granitic masses are markedly different. In the Kisokoma pluton, tielines between coexisting biotite and hornblende on the δ D— X Fe diagram are distributed in a narrow area and slopes of the tielines are essentially parallel to that derived from T. Suzuoki and S. Epstein's experimental work. In the Shinshiro pluton the tielines are distributed in two areas though the slopes are also almost parallel to that of Suzuoki and Epstein. In the Inagawa batholith, most of the tielines are nearly vertical with highly scattered δ D-values. The X Fe -values of the minerals are ∼ 0.5 in the Kisokoma and Shinshiro plutons, and ∼ 0.7 in the Inagawa batholith. Such a difference in the δ D— X Fe relationship is explained by the different geological conditions of intrusion of the three granitic masses. Namely, the Kisokoma and Shinshiro plutons are discordant, and the erosion level of the former is shallow and that of the latter is deep. The Inagawa batholith intruded during the geologic movement and interacted with the country rocks. On the basis of Suzuoki and Epstein's experimental work, the δ D-value of the water in a single granitic magma can be estimated to be as low as −60 to −70‰ in the initial stage, and as high as ∼ −30‰ in the later stage, because of the early crystallization of biotite and hornblende, whose δ D-values are usually lower than the value of water in the magma. When the experimental results for hornblende by C.M. Graham et al. and those for biotite by Suzuoki and Epstein are combined, the temperature of the hydrogen exchange equilibration between biotite and magmatic water is calculated to be from 400° to 630°C for the Kisokoma pluton, and from 650° to 800°C for the Shinshiro pluton. It is impossible to estimate the equilibration temperature for the Inagawa batholith, because there are no experimental data on hydrogen isotope fractionation between hydrous silicates, such as biotite and hornblende, with higher X Fe -values than 0.7 and coexisting water.

A soft rumen cannula for sheep was made with two kinds of silicone rubber and a polyethylene plug. The design of molds is simple and the materials can easily be obtained. The elasticity of the cylindrical part of the cannula controlled leakage of rumen contents to a minimum, and the moderate hardness of the flange prevented loss of contents from the rumen. The cannula could be used repeatedly and functioned well for over 4 yr. The cannula was easily pushed into the rumen, and the collection of whole digesta was accomplished easily by hand. A small amount of sampling with pipette could be achieved through the punched opening without removing the inner polyethylene plug.

It is well known that special and highly sophisticated medical treatment in university hospitals or other comprehensive general hospitals is essential for severely ill emergency patients. It is in practice, however, impossible to give adequate and satisfactory medical treatment for a number of reasons in Japan. The Ministry of Health and Welfare and other local authorities as well as the Japan Medical Association and Local Medical Associations are making every effort to establish critical care medical (CCM) centers in each community. Each functions as a central organization for emergency medical care in its community and gives adequate treatment to those patients with severe injury or life-threatening conditions.