Search

More than one million copies of short interspersed elements (SINEs), a class of retrotransposons, are present in the mammalian genomes, particularly within gene-rich genomic regions. Evidence has accumulated that ancient SINE sequences have acquired new binding sites for transcription factors (TFs) through multiple mutations following retrotransposition, and as a result have rewired the host regulatory network during the course of evolution. However, it remains unclear whether currently active SINEs contribute to the expansion of TF binding sites. To study the mobility, expression, and function of SINE copies, we first identified about 2,000 insertional polymorphisms of SINE B1 and B2 families within Mus musculus. Using a novel RNA sequencing method designated as melRNA-seq, we detected the expression of SINEs in male germ cells at both the subfamily and genomic copy levels: the vast majority of B1 RNAs originated from evolutionarily young subfamilies, whereas B2 RNAs originated from both young and old subfamilies. DNA methylation and chromatin immunoprecipitation-sequencing (ChIP-seq) analyses in liver revealed that polymorphic B2 insertions served as a boundary element inhibiting the expansion of DNA hypomethylated and histone hyperacetylated regions, and decreased the expression of neighboring genes. Moreover, genomic B2 copies were enriched at the boundary of various histone modifications, and chromatin insulator protein, CCCTC-binding factor, a well-known chromatin boundary protein, bound to >100 polymorphic and >10,000 non-polymorphic B2 insertions. These results suggest that the currently active B2 copies are mobile boundary elements that can modulate chromatin modifications and gene expression, and are likely involved in epigenomic and phenotypic diversification of the mouse species.

Growth of high-quality 4- N , N -dimethylamino-4′- N ′-methyl stilbazolium tosylate (DAST) crystal by slope nucleation method with controlled nucleation has been achieved when the DAST solution was subjected to a few successive thermal cycles. The ionic conductivities measured for the stirred and unstirred pre-crystalline solutions showed that the persisting cluster formation in the unstirred solution might have facilitated controlled nucleation. These efficient and high-quality organic-ionic nonlinear optical crystals can be directly utilized for electro-optic and terahertz applications.

A series of RECa 4 O(BO 3 ) 3 (RECOB) thin films (RE=Rare earth elements) was fabricated on ultrasmooth GdCOB (0 1 0) substrates by laser molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) method to explore the optimal growth conditions and to evaluate the luminescent properties. The growing surface of the film on a temperature gradient substrate was diagnosed with scanning reflection high energy electron diffraction (S-RHEED) system for quickly specifying optimum growth temperature and its dependence of rare earth element. The lowest temperature for epitaxial film growth was defined by the appearance of streak pattern in RHEED and it reflected the lattice matching with the substrate. TbCOB and EuCOB emitted respectively very bright green (543 nm) and red (611 nm) light, indicating that they are promising new phosphors. It is noteworthy that we could detect a remarkably strong red emitting region in the EuCOB–ScCOB–PrCOB ternary composition spread library.

High-rate growth of epitaxial Si films at low temperatures by atmospheric pressure plasma chemical vapor deposition has been investigated. Si films are deposited on (001) Si wafers in gas mixtures containing He, H 2 and SiH 4 at substrate temperatures ranging from 530 to 690 °C. The films are characterized by reflection high-energy electron diffraction, atomic force microscopy and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy. High quality Si films with excellent crystallinity and surface flatness similar to or better than those of commercial Si wafers are grown in the area where the deposition gap between the substrate and rotary electrode is small. Especially, in epitaxial Si film grown at 610 °C with an input plasma power of 2000 W, no lattice defects are observed by transmission electron microscopy. The maximum growth rate is approximately 6.6 μm/min at 690 °C with 1500 W and 1.2 μm/min at 610 °C with 2000 W, which is approximately 20–30 and 4–6 times faster than that obtained by thermal chemical vapor deposition at approximately 1100 °C, respectively.

A new nonlinear optical alumino-borate crystal, K 2 Al 2 B 2 O 7 (KAB) with dimensions of 21×18×13 mm 3 , has been grown using a modified middle-seeded solution growth method. The significant abilities of KAB crystals for the generation of power ultraviolet (UV) light have been demonstrated. Crystalline KAB has been successfully used to generate the third harmonics of 1064.2 nm light. The dependence of the average power of the 355 nm third harmonic radiation on the Nd:YAG laser power has been studied. 200 mW average power UV pulses at 193 nm were generated in KAB by mixing the Nd:YAG laser and sum-frequency generation of a RbTiOAsO 4 (RTA) optical parametric oscillation at 10 kHz. No degradation in the output power was observed after 50 h operation.

We investigated the influence of N 2 pressure control on the growth of bulk GaN crystals by using a Na flux. GaN single crystals with a maximum dimension of 3 mm could be obtained by this method. though smaller crystals of 0.5-2 mm in size have been grown without pressure control. This suggested significant effects of additional NH 3 gas on growth of GaN crystals in the Na flux method.

Gadolinium yttrium calcium oxyborate, Gd x Y 1− x Ca 4 O(BO 3 ) 3 (GdYCOB), can control optical birefringence by changing the compositional parameter x . Therefore, it is possible to achieve non-critically phase matching (NCPM) in the range of 724–961 nm during second-harmonic generation (SHG). We have grown 2-in-sized GdYCOB ( x =0.32) crystal by the Czochralski method and succeeded in generating a SHG of Ti:sapphire laser at almost 860 nm under NCPM condition.

The influence of crystal defects on bulk laser damage and UV absorption in CsLiB 6 O 10 (CLBO) crystals was investigated. A CLBO crystal grown by the solution stirring method had a 2.5-fold higher laser-induced damage threshold (maximum) than conventional CLBO crystals. This highly damage-resistant CLBO crystal had a lower dislocation density (best value, 6.6×10 3 /cm 2 ) than conventional CLBO crystals (best value, 15.0×10 3 /cm 2 ). The temperature increase during UV generation on the output surface of highly damage-resistant CLBzO crystal was lower than that detected in conventional CLBO crystal.

Recent development of high-power solid-state UV radiation by nonlinear optical (NLO) borate crystals is reviewed. The performance of such UV light sources has rapidly improved in the past five years because of the superior NLO properties of CsLiB6O10 (CLBO) crystals. The performance of such UV light sources also depends on the reliability of the NLO crystals. The relation between the bulk laser-induced damage threshold (LIDT), dislocation density and UV absorption of CsLiB6O10 (CLBO) was investigated. A newly developed synthesis process allows the growth of CLBO crystals with LIDT 2.5-fold higher than those grown by the conventional top-seeded solution growth (TSSG) technique. High-quality CLBO possesses lower dislocation density and smaller absorption of UV light ( λ=266 nm ) than conventional CLBO. Reduction of the dislocation density can suppress absorption of UV light that helps to enhance the resistance of CLBO to laser-induced damages, to alleviate thermal dephasing during high-power generation of UV light and thus strengthen the reliability of CLBO for UV light generation.

Influence of hypothalamically-induced emotional behaviours on the plasma volume, plasma levels of epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA), ACTH and cortisol were examined in cats. The emotional behaviours consisting of restlessness, threat and searching–biting (S-B) were elicited intermittently for 6 h by electrical stimulation of the anterior, ventromedial, and lateral hypothalamus, respectively in awake and free-moving conditions. The blood was sampled three times immediately before, 1 h after and 6 h after the start of stimulation. The E level increased in both restlessness and threat after 1 h, then the levels tended to decrease after 6 h, whereas the NE level increased in both restlessness and threat after 1 h and furthermore increased after 6 h. The plasma ACTH once increased after 1 h in all behaviours thereafter, the level tended to decrease after 6 h. The plasma cortisol level increased in both restlessness and threat behaviours both after 1 and 6 h. The plasma volume in S-B behaviour increased after 6 h, while in restlessness and threat behaviours it decreased markedly and tended to decrease more in threat than in restlessness after 1 h. These results indicate that the hypothalamically-induced threat and restlessness behaviours elicited marked activation of sympatho-adrenomedullary and pituitary adrenocortical systems and hemoconcentration, whereas the S-B behaviour hardly produced such stress responses. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

We examined changes in the plasma levels of estradiol (E2), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), ACTH, cortisol and catecholamines accompanying various kinds of hypothalamically elicited emotional behaviors in female cats. The emotional behaviors consisting of restlessness, threat and searching–biting (S–B) were elicited intermittently for 6 h by electrical stimulation of the anterior hypothalamus (AH), ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH) and lateral hypothalamus (LH), respectively, in awake and free-moving conditions. The blood was sampled three times immediately before, 1 h after and 6 h after the start of stimulation. The plasma levels of ACTH, cortisol and catecholamines significantly increased in both restlessness and threat behaviors, whereas in the S–B behavior, the ACTH level significantly increased, while the cortisol level showed a slight nonsignificant increase. No changes were observed in the plasma catecholamine levels in the S–B behavior. The plasma E2 level significantly increased in threat behavior after 1 and 6 h of stimulation compared to the prestimulation levels, and the level also increased in comparison to the control group after 1 h. In contrast, the restlessness and S–B behaviors had little or no effect on the E2 level. No significant changes were observed in the plasma levels of IGF-1 in all behavior groups. These findings suggest that various hypothalamically elicited emotional behaviors have differential effects on the plasma E2, but not on the IGF-1 levels. Therefore, E2 and IGF-1 are regulated independently of each other.

Numerous animal studies on the correlation between stress and immunity have been performed but few such studies have been made concerning the relationship between various kinds of stress-related emotional behavior and immunological changes. Electrical stimulation of the hypothalamus in cats elicits various emotional behaviors such as restlessness, defensive attack, defensive retreat and quiet biting attack. We examined changes in the lymphocyte proliferative responses and plasma cortisol level which accompanied such emotional behavior. A significant increase in plasma cortisol was observed in the restlessness, defensive attack and defensive retreat groups, but not in the quiet biting attack or non-response (control) groups. A significant increase in the lymphocyte proliferative responses to phytohemagglutinin (PHA) was observed in the restlessness and defensive attack groups but not in the defensive retreat, quiet biting attack or non-response groups. These results suggest that various kinds of emotional behavior appear to be differentially correlated with the lymphocyte proliferative responses, while also being differentially correlated with the plasma cortisol concentration. Because the changes in lymphocyte responses and plasma cortisol did not always completely correlate with one another, the changes in the lymphocyte responses are not considered to be influenced by plasma cortisol alone.

Influence of hypothalamically induced emotional behavior on plasma levels of epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), glucose, cortisol, free fatty acids (FFA) and total cholesterol (T-C) were examined in cats under both fasted and fed conditions. Restlessness was evoked intermittently for 6 h by electrical stimulation of the anteromedial hypothalamus (AMH). Blood was sampled immediately before, 1 h after and 6 h after the start of stimulation. Both E and glucose levels in the restlessness group increased markedly after 1 h and then tended to decrease after 6 h in fasted and fed states. In the restlessness group the NE level increased after 1 h and further increased after 6 h and cortisol level increased markedly, whether cats were fasted or fed. The FFA level in the fasted restlessness group showed no change while it increased in the fasted control group after 6 h. By contrast, the FFA level in the fed restlessness group significantly increased after 6 h while no change was observed in the fed control group. The T-C level decreased only under the fasted condition in both restlessness and control groups. These results indicated that AMH-induced restlessness elicited marked sympatho-adrenal activation and hyperglycemia whether cats were fasted or fed while the behavior showed a different pattern in the response of plasma FFA between fasted and fed conditions. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Influence of hypothalamically induced emotional behavior on the circulating plasma volume, plasma levels of glucose, epinephrine (E), norepinephrine (NE), dopamine (DA) and cortisol were examined in awake cats under both fasted and fed conditions. Restlessness was evoked intermittently for 6 h by electrical stimulation of the anteromedial hypothalamus (AMH). Blood was sampled immediately before, 1 h after and 6 h after the start of stimulation. Changes in the plasma volume was calculated by changes of hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Ht). As the control group, another 7 cats with electrodes implanted but unstimulated were identically treated under both fasted and fed conditions. Both E and glucose levels in restlessness group once markedly increased after 1 h and then tended to decrease after 6 h, whereas NE levels in restlessness group increased after 1 h and further increased after 6 h, whether cats were fasted or fed. DA levels increased under the fasted condition of restlessness. The cortisol level markedly increased in both fasted and fed restlessness groups. The plasma volume in control group increased under the fed condition, while in restlessness group it decreased remarkably and tended to decrease more in a fasted state than in a fed state. These results indicated that AMH induced restlessness elicited marked sympatho-adrenal activation, hyperglycemia and hemoconcentration, whether cats were fasted or fed. Relationship among such responses, and the difference in responses between fasted and fed conditions were also discussed in the paper.

One type of emotional behavior called restlessness occurs when the anteromedial hypothalamus is stimulated in cats. We examined the changes in the distribution and surface expression of adhesion molecules in leukocytes accompanied with restlessness. Mature female cats were used for this study. The cats were stimulated with 60 Hz sine wave train pulses (20–90 μA, 10 s in duration, at 5-min intervals) for 60 min. Samples of blood were collected from 30 min before stimulation up to several hours after the final stimulation. The number of granulocytes increased just after stimulation, while at the same time the expression of L-selectin decreased. On the other hand, the number of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes decreased at 1–2 h after the end of the stimulation, while the expression of L-selectin increased. In addition, the expression of LFA-1 and VLA-4 did not change. These data suggest that hypothalamically elicited restlessness is thus accompanied by a leukocyte distribution change, which might be mediated by changes in the expression of L-selectin on leukocytes. Plasma cortisol increased during stimulation in restlessness. However, during in vitro culture experiments, cortisol did not alter the expression of leukocyte L-selectin which thus indicated that cortisol does not directly affect the surface expression of L-selectin. These results thus suggest that hypothalamically induced restlessness is a useful stress model for psychoneuroimmunological studies.

We carried out the damage test of DAST crystals due to identify the causes of laser damages. DAST laser damages were classified into two regions; surface and bulk. The smooth surface tended to suppress the surface damage. As for the bulk, crystal defects such as twin boundary and narrow-line defect (NLD) were the main causes of bulk damages. Twin-free and NLD-free crystal showed high damage tolerance (over 2.8 GW/cm 2 ). Growing in the low-supersaturated solution and introducing the solution stirring were effective to obtain DAST crystals with high damage tolerance.

The defects produced by B ion implantation into CVD diamond films have been investigated by the electron spin resonance (ESR) method. The ESR analysis revealed the P ac -center ( g = 2.003, ΔH PP = 10-16 Oe), which originates from carbon dangling bonds in the non-diamond phase carbon region. When the dose of B ion increased from 1 X 10 13 to 1 X 10 16 ions/cm 2 , the spin density of the P ac -center in the implanted region increased from 1.5 X 10 19 to 3.2 X 10 20 spins/cm 3 and ΔH PP also increased from 10 to 16 Oe, while ΔH PP decreased from 20 to 2.6 Oe in the case of N ion implantation. The spin density of the P ac -center and the ΔH PP strongly depends on B ion doses.

The electron affinities of CVD-grown (100) and (111) diamond surfaces were estimated using ultraviolet light (UV) before and after strong UV irradiation. Annealing in an O 2 atmosphere was carried out as the surface treatment. Before UV irradiation, electron affinities of (111) and (100) surfaces were positive. However, the electron affinities decreased with UV irradiation. In addition, the results of quantum mass analysis during UV irradiation show an increase in CO gas in the vacuum chamber but show no trace of O 2 gas. These results show that the O atoms desorbed from the specimen surface form not O but CO.

Diamond particles and films synthesized on silicon from CO/H 2 by microwave plasma chemical vapour deposition (CVD) are characterized. Intrinsic defects are investigated by electron miroscopy. The dominant dislocation located at the centre of the initial-stage particle governs the crystallinity of grown particles. Spotted layer growth on the {111} surface causes inferiority of {111} growth sectors. Substrate-induced distortion occurs by incorporation of a silicon protuberance inside the grown particle. New misorientated secondary nucleation occurs at the grain boundaries during formation of a polycrystalline film. Furthermore, residual ion-implantation-induced defects after restoration in a plasma are investigated by cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements. Residual point defects after annealing in plasma are observed from 2.156 and 3.189eV centres. A higher rate of removal of the damaged region by H 2 plasma treatment occurs at higher doses. The addition of 1% CO to the plasma suppresses the removal of the damaged region and reduces implantation-induced point defects.

To develop the hospital information system, the radiological information system, and the picture archiving and communication system for our new hospital, we analysed the data volume at each step of the flow in our present film-based system. After that, we used a small PACS, and it indicated the problems in it. From the analysis of the data volume of the film-based system, it was found out that digital data should be compressed, and prefetching techniques should be employed for digital PACS. Several types of display terminals had been proved to be necessary for different purposes. An RIS connection was thought to be obligatory to avoid incorrect input of ID on the image. Image input terminals should have edit functions for easy recognition of the image information. Taking account of these requirements for digital PACS, we are developing an actual total PACS.

During earthquakes, saturated loose sandy soils often liquefy, causing serious damage to buildings and underground structures. Various construction methods have been employed to stabilize these soils against liquefaction. The popular methods are those which increase their density. Vibration and impact methods are commonly employed, but these often pose a problem of noise and vibration in urban areas. Results of previous experiments have shown that Quick Lime Consolidated Briquettes (QCB), a soil stabilizer made of quicklime and cement placed to form cylinders, significantly increases resistance to liquefaction by utilizing the effects of water absorption, swelling, and hardening. In the present study, shaking table tests were performed to evaluate the earthquake resistance of soil treated with QCB. Results of these test showed that the response acceleration and excess pore water pressure in QCB-treated soils were scarcely affected by the excitation of 200 Gals. The soil settlement due to shaking was about one tenth of that for the untreated soil, proving the effectiveness of QCB during earthquakes.

Single crystals of Gd1−xYxCa4O(BO3)3 (GdYCOB) were grown by conventional Czochralski technique in various atmospheres (Ar, air, and Ar atmosphere containing 1% oxygen). We examined the effect of the growth atmosphere on the phase-matching properties. GdYCOB grown in air (GdY-air) had smaller birefringence than that grown in Ar atmosphere (GdY-Ar). A similar effect has been confirmed for crystals grown in an Ar atmosphere that contain 1% oxygen (GdY-1%O2). These results suggest that crystals with fewer oxygen defects have smaller birefringence.

This paper reports a method of dynamic simulation parameter tuning for a coal-fired power plant using genetic algorithms (GA). GA is a search algorithm based on the mechanics of natural selection and natural genetics. GA is one of the effective methods for optimization problems and it requires a formalization of problems and a fitness function definition. Because the dynamic simulation can be repeated and the error between real data and simulation results is defined by a fitness function, it is reasonable to consider genetic operations. In order to satisfy the environmental laws and regulations, the control of NOx emission is important in the field of power plant. We have, therefore, made a NOx analytical model and used the model for the dynamic simulation at the change of loads, the kind of coal, and so on. In this paper, the optimal parameters for the simulation are determined by GA.

The electronic structure formed by submonolayer coverages of Au and Ti on CVD diamond surfaces has been studied mainly using electron energy loss spectroscopy. There is no chemical reaction with the CVD diamond surface even at 850°C in the case of Au films. In contrast, TiC, formation has been observed at Ti/CVD diamond interfaces immediately after deposition at room temperature.

We have a plan to adopt PACS as a medical image information system in the new hospital. In order to construct PACS suitable for our hospital, a preliminary survey was carried out to determine how PACS should be introduced and what are the physicians requirements for a new medical image system. The most important requirement of the physicians was a good quality workstation. Our plan of a new medical image information system is as follows. A primary database will be constructed according to each of modalities in the Department of Radiology. In the Department of Medical Information Science, we will make a secondary database according to the patient. Although it may be difficult for us to obtain a sufficient budget digitalizing all medical images by our move to the new hospital, our goal is to establish total PACS throughout the new hospital in 1995.

We report unique THz spectra obtained from DAST emitters via optical rectification with three different pump sources.

We have measured terahertz emission from various organic crystals excited by femtosecond pulses. Our four emitters are 3,5-dimethyl-1-(4-nitrophyenyl)-1,2,4-triazole (DMNT), 3,9-dinitro-5a,6, 11a,12-tetrahydro-[1,4] benzoxazino [3,2-b] [1,4] benzoxazine (DNBB), 1-(2-thienyl)-3-(4-methyl-phyenyl) propenone (TC-28), and 1-(3-thienyl)-3-(4-bromphenyl) propenone (TC-122). Bandwidths of these emitters are achieved to be more than 4 THz.

We have studied THz detection performance of low-temperature-grown GaAs (LT-GaAs) photoconductive switches gated with 1560-nm-optical pulses. LT-GaAs is annealed in the range of 500-600degC. Although the sample annealed at 600degC is most sensitive at frequencies below 1 THz, that annealed at 550degC is superior to others at higher frequencies than 1 THz.

We present the influence of crystallinity on bulk laser damage threshold and absorption of UV light in CLBO. Laser damage resistance of 2.5-fold higher and UV absorption of 30% lower are obtained from crystals with low dislocation density.

Emotions and the neuroendocrine system are known to affect leukocyte distribution. However, there have so far been few reports on the relationship between hypothalamically induced emotional behavior and the endocrine-immune response. We previously reported changes in the leukocyte distribution and adhesion molecules induced by anteromedial hypothalamus stimulation (AH stimulation), which elicits restlessness behaviors in the cat. In this study, we examined ventromedial hypothalamus stimulation (VMH stimulation), which elicits threat behaviors. In addition, the endocrine responses after VMH stimulation were evaluated. VMH stimulation as well as AH stimulation induced elevations of plasma cortisol and epinephrine levels and granulocytosis and lymphopenia. In contrast, VMH stimulation induced only an elevation of plasma norepinephrine and elicited an opposite pattern of CD62L expression on the leukocyte subpopulations. The different endocrine-immunological reactions between VMH stimulation and AH stimulation were thus associated with different types of behavioral responses.

Electrical stimulation of the anterior hypothalamus in cats elicits a behavior called restlessness. When a switch is available for the cats to shut off the electrical stimulation, the cats learn to turn off the stimulation (switch-off response; SOR). In this study, we examined the relationship between the SOR and immunoendocrinological alterations. First of all, an escapable stimulation, in which cats could turn off the stimulation, was applied (escapable condition; EC). One month later, inescapable stimulation was delivered under the same conditions except for the fact that the cats could not turn off the stimulation (inescapable condition; IC). A behavioral analysis revealed that unstable patterns of behavior and a reduction in motor activity were observed in IC compared with those in EC. Furthermore, no significant changes in peripheral leukocytes were observed, while plasma epinephrine and cortisol transiently increased after the series of stimulations, but immediately decreased after the end of the stimulation in EC. On the other hand, there was a greater and prolonged increase in the number of peripheral granulocytes and the plasma levels of epinephrine and cortisol from 1 to 2 h after the stimulation until the end of the experiment in IC. Regarding the number of peripheral lymphocytes, CD4+ or CD8+ lymphocytes and the CD4+ to CD8+ ratio, no significant differences were found between EC and IC. These results suggest that the inability to escape from the aversive stimulation caused a decrease in movement and a prolonged alteration of the immune and endocrine systems, as is often observed in learned helplessness.

High-power solid-state UV lasers are in high demand because of the convenient operation procedure. An effective technique for UV generation is cascaded sum-frequency generation pumped by the output of near-IR solid state lasers. The major challenge to such a UV laser seems to depend on the ability and reliability of the nonlinear optical (NLO) crystals that employed for frequency up conversion. The recent development of borate materials such as CsLiB 6 O 10 (CLBO) and (open square)-BaB 2 O 4 (BBO) have permitted an improved UV generation. In this work, we have investigated the bulk laser damage and the light scatter from bulk defects in CLBO and BBO crystals.

The smooth and highly oriented AlN films were obtained using pulsed laser deposition from sintered AlN target in a nitrogen ambient. The XRD investigation revealed that highly oriented AlN thin films along the c-axis (AlN (0002)) normal to the substrate were obtained both on Si(111) and on Si(100) substrates. The (0002) x-ray peak width became narrower with increasing substrate temperature. The CL investigation showed that AlN films at high laser energy density (Ed) indicated CL peak at shorter wavelength (306nm) than that at low Ed (394nm). N/Al atomic ratio in AlN films grown at high Ed also increased as comparison with the films grown at low Ed.

The relationships of hypothalamically elicited emotional behaviors to their accompanying pathophysiological effects were examined as a model of how complex "emotional behaviors" may be related to fundamental psychosomatic disorders. Twenty-two unanesthetized adult cats were studied. EKG alterations and histological changes in the heart, stomach, adrenal glands, and thymus were related to the specific stereotypical emotional behaviors that could be elicited by hypothalamic stimulation in tamed subjects. Restlessness, threat, and searching-biting behaviors were evoked by electrical stimulation of the anteromedial, ventromedial, and lateral hypothalamus, respectively. The occurrence of cardiac arrhythmias, ST and/or T (ST-T) changes in the EKG, histological damage to myocardium, gastric erosion, and adrenal hyperplasia were generally observed in the restlessness and threat groups but not in the searching-biting group. The pathophysiological effects were similar in the restlessness and threat groups with no specific EKG change or organ effect attributable to either site of stimulation. Hypothalamically elicited restlessness or threat behaviors in cats are each associated with cardiac, gastric, and adrenal pathophysiologies.

We have grown highly oriented aluminum nitride (AIN) thin films on Si (100) substrates by using pulsed laser deposition from sintering AIN targets. Three different growth environments, vacuum, nitrogen gas, and nitrogen plasma, have been used in order to investigate the effect of the ambient on the film quality. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry suggests that the N/Al ratio increases when the AIN film is grown in a nitrogen-contained ambient. Cathodoluminescence study implies the decrease of oxygen content in the film grown in a nitrogen plasma ambient.

Quantitative description of the value of Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) in the health care environment is essential to assess the benefits with which PACS provides us. It is necessary to obtain data related to our film-based system before PACS installation in order to make quantitative comparison of before-and-after PACS operation, so that we can assess the clinical effectiveness brought by the PACS itself. We conducted flow study to acquire the whole chart of data flow related to radiological examination. And then defined the parameters and employed them to conduct time study for measuring several items concerning order entry, report making and image delivery at outpatient clinics and wards of eight departments using stopwatches, IC cards and time-recorders. This paper describes the results of measurement. For example, the location of each clinic/ward affected the time spent for images/reports delivery, and that hand writing time occupies more than half of the time required for making a single diagnostic report in 16 percent of cases. These results indicate that acceptability by medical staff is the key to successful operation of PACS. For instance, simple man-machine interaction at image display workstation must be properly realized. By using the same parameters mentioned above, we can compare those data with the results measured after PACS operation in a few years.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.