Intraoperative monitoring for spinal cord tumor by spinal cord evoked potential following unilateral spinal cord stimulation

We described our experiences with intraoperative spinal cord monitoring in 6 cases of spinal cord tumor. During the operation, spinal cord evoked potential following unilateral spinal cord stimulation was recorded from subdural monitoring electrodes. This series included two cases of intradural extramedullary tumor (one case each of neurinoma and of meningioma) and four cases of intramedullary tumor (2 cases of cavernous angioma, one case each of ependymoma, and of glioblastoma multiforme). Before the removal of the tumor, the spinal cord evoked potential showed lower amplitude or no response on the more affected side in all 6 cases. During the operation, the different intraoperative changes were shown on each side. The authors think that the detection of unilateral damage to the spinal cord is possible in spinal cord evoked potential using unilateral spinal cord stimulation.     

Dispersion of phosphovanadates on silica gel chemically modified with silane coupling agents having an amino group and their catalytic activities for methanol oxidation

Phosphotetradecavanadate (PV14) was dispersed on a silica gel chemically modified with a silane coupling agent (AnPS-SiO₂) by an equilibrium adsorption method. The PV14 contents approximately correlated with the V(IV) spin contents by ESR. PV14 dispersed on AnPS-SiO₂ resulted in a quite high selectivity for formaldehyde such as 97% in methanol oxidation.     

Gaussian Thermal Flux model—I theory

The Gaussian Thermal Flux model is a fast thermal radiation sub-model which operates with minimal input and predicts flux on sloped surfaces for both clear and cloudy days. This paper presents the model's theoretical basis. It is distinguished from empirical models by its detailed two dimensional treatment of clouds, its computation of air layer transmissivity above and below cloud layers and its consideration of cloud height effects. The model improves upon existing flux emissivity and multi-band or line models by being independent of soundings and by its use of gaussian quadrature to speed the numerical integrations. It may be input entirely from standard screen level meteorological measurements.     

Carcinoma of the lung in Okinawa, Japan: with special reference to squamous cell carcinoma and squamous metaplasia

In Okinawa, a subtropical island in southern Japan, squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), especially the well-differentiated form, is prevalent, while this form is relatively rare in both the mainland and other countries (e.g. United States of America). More patients with SCC from Okinawa, moreover, were positive for human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) (79%), and harbored HPV types 6, 16 and 18, in combination. On the other hand, less than 30% of the mainland patients were positive for HPV DNA by PCR. Those patients who were positive all harbored only one HPV type. Furthermore, in Okinawa, there were a significant number of cases with adenosquamous carcinoma, and they too were positive for HPV DNA. The SCC and the adenocarcinoma cells adjacent to the SCC component in these cases were also positive for HPV DNA, and such adenocarcinoma cells were enlarged in size with relatively wide cytoplasm. The authors postulate that HPV infects adenocarcinoma cells and changes them to enlarged cells, followed by squamous metaplasia. In this report, HPV DNA was transfected to adenocarcinoma cells (cultured cell lines) and this showed that HPV causes squamous metaplasia. In addition, aberrant expression of p53 was demonstrated in a large number of the SCC cases in Okinawa. The enlarged adenocarcinoma cells adjacent to the SCC components in adenosquamous carcinomas also showed aberrant expression of p53. The recent advances in the studies of anti-oncogenes, p53, etc. and oncogenes are outlined. It is to be noted that the molecular mechanisms of carcinogenesis in the lung have been studied in general, classifying lung tumors into two groups, namely, small cell carcinoma (SCLC) and non-small cell carcinoma (NSCLC). However, because human lung cancer is represented by a wide variety of histologic types, molecular genetic studies according to a more detailed histological subclassification is needed.     

C-ABI3, the carrot homologue of the Arabidopsis ABI3, is expressed during both zygotic and somatic embryogenesis and functions in the regulation of embryo-specific ABA-inducible genes

A carrot gene homologous to the ABI3 gene of Arabidopsis was isolated from a carrot somatic embryo cDNA library and designated C-ABI3. The sequence of C-ABI3 was very similar to those of ABI3 of Arabidopsis and VP1 of maize in certain conserved regions. The expression of C-ABI3 was detected specifically in embryogenic cells, somatic embryos and developing seeds. Thus, expression of C-ABI3 was limited to tissues that acquired desiccation tolerance in response to endogenous or exogenous abscisic acid (ABA). Endogenous levels of ABA in seeds increased transiently and then desiccation of seeds started. The expression of C-ABI3 in developing seeds was observed prior to the increase in levels of endogenous ABA that was followed by desiccation of seeds. In transgenic mature leaves in which C-ABI3 was ectopically expressed, expression of ECP31, ECP63 and ECP40 was induced by treatment with ABA, which indicates that the expression of ECP genes was controlled by the pathway(s) that involved C-ABI3 and ABA. This suggests that C-ABI3 has the same function as VP1/ABI3 factor in carrot somatic embryos.     

Computer controlled ESCA for nondestructive surface characterization utilizing a TV-type position sensitive detector

A position sensitive detector system composed of a channel plate, a vidicon TV camera, and a computer is utilized for multichannel detection of ESCA spectra. It is demonstrated that the system achieves a marked improvement of measurement speed, S/N ratio, and sensitivity. The system also realized an improvement of spatial resolution while retaining energy resolution.     

Microwave-assisted sol–gel process for production of spherical mesoporous silica materials

Spherical mesoporous SiO₂ and SiO₂–TiO₂ particles were synthesized by sol–gel method using W/O emulsion under microwave irradiation. In SiO₂ system, W/O emulsion was prepared by mixing partially hydrolyzed Si(OC₂H₅)₄ aqueous solution including C₁₈TAC as template with n-hexane solution including polyglycerol polyricinalate as emulsifier. In SiO₂–TiO₂ system, Ti(OC₂H₅)₄ capped by acetylacetone was added to the aqueous phase. In both cases, spherical products were synthesized by heating of W/O emulsion for 30 min under microwave irradiation. The specific surface area and pore size of spherical products were 800 m²/g and 1.6 nm, respectively, which indicates that the spherical products are mesoporous. These results suggest that sol–gel reaction in water phase proceeds rapidly because microwave quickly and selectively heats up the aqueous solution.     

Influence of lengths of millimeter-scale single-walled carbon nanotube on electrical and mechanical properties of buckypaper

The electrical conductivity and mechanical strength of carbon nanotube (CNT) buckypaper comprised of millimeter-scale long single-walled CNT (SWCNT) was markedly improved by the use of longer SWCNTs. A series of buckypapers, fabricated from SWCNT forests of varying heights (350, 700, 1,500 μm), showed that both the electrical conductivity (19 to 45 S/cm) and tensile strength (27 to 52 MPa) doubled. These improvements were due to improved transfer of electron and load through a reduced number of junctions for longer SWCNTs. Interestingly, no effects of forest height on the thermal diffusivity of SWCNT buckypapers were observed. Further, these findings provide evidence that the actual SWCNT length in forests is similar to the height.     

Promotion of allergic immune responses by intranasally-administrated nanosilica particles in mice

With the increase in use of nanomaterials, there is growing concern regarding their potential health risks. However, few studies have assessed the role of the different physical characteristics of nanomaterials in allergic responses. Here, we examined whether intranasally administered silica particles of various sizes have the capacity to promote allergic immune responses in mice. We used nanosilica particles with diameters of 30 or 70 nm (nSP30 or nSP70, respectively), and conventional micro-sized silica particles with diameters of 300 or 1000 nm (nSP300 or mSP1000, respectively). Mice were intranasally exposed to ovalbumin (OVA) plus each silica particle, and the levels of OVA-specific antibodies (Abs) in the plasma were determined. Intranasal exposure to OVA plus smaller nanosilica particles tended to induce a higher level of OVA-specific immunoglobulin (Ig) E, IgG and IgG1 Abs than did exposure to OVA plus larger silica particles. Splenocytes from mice exposed to OVA plus nSP30 secreted higher levels of Th2-type cytokines than mice exposed to OVA alone. Taken together, these results indicate that nanosilica particles can induce allergen-specific Th2-type allergic immune responses in vivo. This study provides the foundations for the establishment of safe and effective forms of nanosilica particles.