Electrophysiological effects of ketamine on Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel in single rabbit portal vein cell

The effects of ketamine on Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel currents were studied in dispersed single smooth muscle cells from rabbit portal vein using inside-out patch clamp technique. In a near physiological K+ and Ca2+ gradient, three populations of outward rectangular single currents were recorded in isolated cell membrane of rabbit portal vein at +60 mV membrane potential. These currents were judged as Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel currents since application of EGTA or Apamin in the internal solution inhibited these currents. Application of 10(-5)M or 10(-4)M ketamine inhibited the number of occurrences of channel opening and decreased open times, but did not reduce the amplitudes. When the 10(-3)M ketamine was applied, the Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel currents were abolished. We suggest that the depression of Ca(2+)-activated K+ channel currents may explain the continuous contraction observed in rabbit portal vein at a clinical concentration of ketamine from a point of electrophysiological K+ current study.     

Effect of heat-treatment on the hydrogen sensitivity of ZnO thin films loaded with palladium salts

Porous ZnO thin films were impregnated with palladium salts from their aqueous solutions, and the effects of heat-treatments on the appearence of the hydrogen sensitivity were investigated. In the course of the impregnation of PdCl₂, a ZnCl₂·4Zn(OH)₂ phase is formed in a surface region which retards the appearence of the hydrogen sensitivities. By heating the sample at 140–200 °C, this phase is decomposed but the impregnated PdCl₂ is not decomposed, and a remarkable hydrogen sensitivity appears even at room temperature. Similar situations hold in the loading of other kind of palladium salts, although the magnitude of the sensitivity is different between different kinds of loaded salts. The mechanisms of the appearence of the hydrogen sensitivity and of the loss of the sensitivity caused by the heat-treatment at higher temperatures are discussed.     

Total planning of combined district heating,cooling and power generation systems for a new town—Part II

The objective of this study is to introduce one of the main results of the project for studying energy conservation technologies in a new airport town, which is organized by the Osaka Science and Technology Center, Japan. First, based on the estimated energy demands in the new town, technological aspects are investigated for the district heating, cooling and hot water supply system. Then, the economic and energy saving characteristics are compared for several alternative systems according to the differences of the type of absorption refrigerating machine and so forth. Assuming that a combined heat and power plant is used as the heat source plant of the district thermal distribution system, the optimal combined district heating, cooling and power generation system has been selected from a comprehensive economic viewpoint. Lastly, it is ascertained that if fuel costs continue to rise at the rate of 8 per cent per year, the best energy conservation system becomes superior economically to the conventional district thermal distribution system.     

The therapeutic effect on patients with spinal cord lesions according to urinary drainage methods taken in the acute stage (author''s transl)

Intraventricular repair was performed successfully in a 6-year-old body having a ventricle associated with d-loop and d-transposition in situs solitus of the atria and viscera. A spiral Teflon patch was utilized to partition the ventricle. Complete heart block did not result, and the patient is doing well 8 months after the operation. Details of the pre- and postoperative studies, as well as details of the surgical technique, are presented. A review is presented of the operative procedures that have been designed for the correction of a single ventricle associated with transposition of the great arteries and have been reported previously in the literature. The advantages for use of the techniaue employed in the present case are discussed.     

Formation and growth mechanism of porous,amorphous, and fine particles prepared by chemical vapor deposition. Titania from titanium tetraisopropoxide

The formation and growth mechanism of porous, amorphous, and fine particles were investigated. TiO₂ particles were produced in a tubular flow reactor by a chemical vapor deposition technique using titanium tetraisopropoxide as a starting material at low temperatures (573-973 K) and atmospheric pressure. Prepared particles were of submicron size and had large surface area (as large as 270 × 10³ m²/kg). According to the proposed mechanism, reactions begin on the reactor wall and then the primary particles form in the gas phase by chemical reactions. The primary particles collide, coalesce with each other and grow. However, significant experimental deviations from the Brownian collision and coalescence theory imply that other processes, such as the surface reactions on the particle, play an important role in the growth, in addition to coalescence. Intraparticle reactions decreased the surface area by filling the pores.     

Pellet compliance model based on out-of-pile simulation

The thermal and mechanical behavior of fuel rods is significantly influenced by the extent of their relocation and by compliance of the cracked pellets. Movement of the cracked pellet pieces towards the cladding results in softer pellets with crack voids which accommodate some fraction of the thermoelastic pellet deformation and make the pellet more compliant under the restraint of the cladding. It is difficult to model such a pellet compliance independently of experimental observations because the cracked pellet behavior is uncertain by nature.Electrically heated simulation of pellet-cladding mechanical interaction (PCMI) facilitates much quicker and more flexible experimentation than actual in-pile tests. Testing apparatus consists of the simulated fuel rod with hollow UO₂ pellets and a tungsten rod in the center, and a diameter measuring device including three pairs of diameter sensors. Test parameters include the pellet-cladding gap and the cladding thickness. Results show that rods with a smaller gap have a larger increasing rate of cladding diameter. This suggests that a group of cracked pellet pieces induced by thermal stress has an apparent compliance which increases with pellet-cladding gap. Results also show more sensitivity to cladding thickness than those calculated assuming pellets having intrinsic stiffness. This also suggests the compliant nature of cracked pellets.Such a compliant nature can almost be described by reducing the elasticity of the pellet. A simple pellet compliance model was obtained by fitting calculations with measurements to describe a cracked pellet as a uniform axisymmetric body with apparent elasticity.     

Robust porous SiOCH/Cu interconnects with ultrathin sidewall protection liners

Robust porous low-k/Cu interconnects have been developed for 65-nm-node ultralarge-scale integrations (ULSIs) with 180-nm/200-nm pitched lines and 100-nm diameter vias in a single damascene architecture. A porous plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD)-SiOCH film (k=2.6) with subnanometer pores is introduced into the intermetal dielectrics on the interlayer dielectrics of a rigid PECVD-SiOCH film (k=2.9). This porous-on-rigid hybrid SiOCH structure achieves a 35% reduction in interline capacitance per grid in the 65-nm-node interconnect compared to that in a 90-nm-node interconnect with a fully rigid SiOCH. A via resistance of 9.7 /spl Omega/ was obtained in 100-nm diameter vias. Interconnect reliability, such as electromigration, and stress-induced voiding were retained with interface modification technologies. One of the key breakthroughs was a special liner technique to maintain dielectric reliability between the narrow-pitched lines. The porous surface on the trench-etched sidewall was covered with an ultrathin plasma-polymerized benzocyclobuten liner (k=2.7), thus enhancing interline time-dependent dielectric breakdown reliability. The introduction of a porous material and the control of the sidewall are essential for 65-nm-node and beyond scaled-down ULSIs to ensure high levels of reliability.