Solubility of amaranth seed proteins in sodium sulphate and sodium chloride: the main factor in quantitative extraction for analysis

Nitrogen was extracted more efficiently from amaranth seed with 0.04 M Na₂SO₄ (5% w/v) than with either 0.09 M or 0.17 M NaCl (5% or 10% w/v), despite both solutions having the same ionic strength (μ= 1). Solubility of saline soluble proteins (albumin ± globulin) was very poor in either water or 1M NaCl, but increased in 0.4M NaCl at alkaline pH between 7 and 10. Globulins were very soluble in 0.4M NaCl at a pH 9. Albumin was the main storage protein. Saline soluble proteins formed very weak gels.     

A case of carcinomatous peritonitis for which combination therapy of 5-FU, leucovorin and cisplatin was effective

This case report describes a case of carcinomatous peritonitis which showed a good response to the combination therapy of 5-FU, leucovorin and cisplatin. A 55-year-old man was admitted with complaints of meteorism due to ascites fluid. Ascitic examination showed a high concentration of CEA and CA19-9, and adenocarcinoma cells. Laboratory and radiological examination did not reveal the origin of the carcinoma, and laparotomy suggested an appendiceal origin. The combination chemotherapy with 5-FU, leucovorin and cisplatin was conducted for a total of 11 courses for 2 years with good QOL until his death. This therapy was suggested to be useful for inoperable carcinomatous peritonitis.     

Polymerization of methyl methacrylate by tri-n-butylborane in the presence of amino acid esters

The polymerization of methyl methacrylate by tri-n-butylborane in the presence of amino acid esters was investigated. The binary systems of tri-n-butylborane and amino esters were found to be more effective for initiating the polymerization than tri-n-butylborane alone. Co-catalytic effects of amino acid esters were in the order: tyrosinate > glutamate > aspartate ? phenyl alaninate > serinate > glycinate. The rate of polymerization in a mixture of dimethylsulphoxide and toluene was proportional to the square root of the concentration of the initiator system, to the monomer concentration, and to the concentration of dimethylsulphoxide in the solvent. The overall energy of activation was estimated to be 4.6 kcal/mol for the tri-n-butylborane/methyl tyrosinate system. Copolymerization curves gave a typical free-radical character.     

Medical management after pituitary surgery

Although the majority of patients with pituitary tumor, undergoing transsphenoidal microsurgery, have a low incidence of hormonal deficiency after surgery, the endocrinological evaluations should be carefully done before and after surgery. Glucocorticoid replacement is necessary in patients with Cushing's disease during and after surgery as well as those with adrenal insufficiency. Repeated CRF test is useful to assess the secondary adrenal insufficiency of Cushing's disease after surgery. Patients with impaired secretion of both ACTH and TSH should receive glucocorticoid replacement before thyroid hormone replacement in order to avoid adrenal crisis. A combination of CRF, GRF, TRH and GnRH is a safer and more reliable test to evaluate pituitary function than the conventional triple test consisting of insulin, TRH and GnRH, especially in patients predicted to have pituitary-adrenal insufficiency. Diabetes insipidus(DI), immediately after pituitary surgery, should be treated with subcutaneous injection of Pitressin. Even if patients seem to have recovered from DI several days after surgery, they must be monitored closely because of the incidence of triphasic DI. Less attention has been given to replacement for GH deficiency in adults. Recent reports revealed that GH replacement in adults with GH deficiency decreases visceral fat tissue and increases plasma calcium, phosphorus, osteocalcin and procollagen III levels. GH replacement will become more popular even in adults. Many options and technological advantages in the diagnosis and treatment of pituitary tumors have developed in a decade. In the near future, post-operative patients with pituitary tumors must be cared for in view of the "quality of life".     

A multi-spectral non-local method for retrieval of boundary layer cloud properties from optical remote sensing data

A multi-spectral non-local (MSN) method is developed for advanced retrieval of boundary layer cloud properties from remote sensing data, as an alternative to the independent pixel approximation (IPA) method. The non-local method uses data at both the target pixel and neighboring pixels to retrieve cloud properties such as pixel-averaged cloud optical thickness and effective droplet radius. Radiance data to be observed from space were simulated by a three-dimensional (3D) radiation model and a stochastic boundary layer cloud model with two-dimensional (horizontal and vertical) variability in cloud liquid water and effective radius. An adiabatic assumption is used for each cloud column to model the geometrical thickness and vertical profiles of cloud liquid water content and effective droplet radius, neglecting drizzle and cloud brokenness for simplicity. The dependence of radiative smoothing and roughening on horizontal scale, optical thickness and single scattering albedo are investigated. Then, retrieval methods using 250-m horizontal resolution data onboard new generation satellites are discussed. The regression model for the MSN method was trained based on datasets from numerical simulations. The training was performed with respect to various domain averages of optical thickness and effective radius, because smoothing and roughening effects are strongly dependent on the two variables. Retrieval accuracy is discussed here with datasets independent of those used in the training, towards assessing the generality of the technique. It is demonstrated that retrieval accuracy of cloud optical thickness, which is often retrieved from single-spectral visible-wavelength data, is improved the most using neighboring pixel data and secondly using multi-spectral data, and ideally with both. When the IPA retrieval method is applied to optical thickness and effective radius, the root-mean-square relative errors can be 15-90%, depending on solar and view directions. In contrast, the MSN method has errors of 4-10%, which is smaller than IPA by a factor of 2-10. It is also suggested that the accuracy of the MSN method is insensitive to some assumptions in the inhomogeneous cloud input data used to train the regression model.     

Intravascular ultrasound findings after successful primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction: predictors of abrupt occlusion

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to evaluate the intravascular structure as depicted by intravascular ultrasound after successful primary angioplasty (i.e., without thrombolytic therapy) for acute myocardial infarction and to investigate the related predictors of acute coronary occlusion. BACKGROUND: The usefulness of primary angioplasty for acute myocardial infarction is still limited by early reocclusion. There are few data regarding the intravascular ultrasound findings after primary angioplasty. METHODS: Intravascular ultrasound was performed in 27 patients after successful primary angioplasty. Repeat coronary angiography was performed 15 min later, on the following day and 1 month after angioplasty. RESULTS: Abrupt occlusion occurred in 8 of 27 patients. Angiographic variables in patients with versus those without abrupt occlusion were not significantly different. Intravascular ultrasound disclosed a significantly smaller lumen area ([mean +/- SD] 2.49 +/- 0.72 vs. 5.06 +/- 1.52 mm2, p < 0.001) and a significantly greater percent plaque area (80.5 +/- 9.1% vs. 63.7 +/- 7.8%, p < 0.001) in patients with abrupt occlusion. There was no significant difference in external elastic membrane cross-sectional area. We classified the ultrasound appearance of the intravascular structure as smooth, irregular or filled. Abrupt occlusion occurred in none of 6 patients with a smooth intravascular structure, 24% of 17 patients with an irregular structure and in all 4 with a filled structure (p < 0.05). In the latter group, the lumen was filled with bright speckled or low echogenic material, although angiography revealed excellent coronary dilation in all these arteries. CONCLUSIONS: Intravascular ultrasound revealed a narrow lumen in coronary arteries showing abrupt occlusion after successful primary angioplasty, even though angiography disclosed successful dilation. Arteries with a lumen filled with bright speckled or low echogenic material frequently develop abrupt occlusion.     

Analysis of the headspace volatiles of freshly brewed arabica coffee using solid-phase microextraction

ABSTRACT:  Headspace volatiles of freshly brewed drip coffee were investigated by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatography/olfactometry (GC/O, CharmAnalysis™) analyses. For this purpose, a solid-phase microextraction (SPME) sampling method for the headspace volatiles of freshly brewed drip coffee was developed. SPME fiber coated with divinylbenzene (DVB)/carboxen/polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was selected from 6 types, and sampling time was determined at 2 min. The headspace coffee volatiles stayed constant in proportion for the first 2 min to keep the freshness of the brewed coffee aroma. Using this sampling method, the headspace volatiles of freshly brewed drip coffee (Ethiopian arabica coffee, roast degree: L value; 23) were examined by GC/MS and GC/O analyses. From the GC/O results, 1-(3,4-dihydro-2 H -pyrrol-2-yl)-ethanone (nutty-roast odor) and 4-(4'-hydroxyphenyl)-2-butanone (raspberry ketone, sweet-fruity odor) were newly detected as components in the aroma of coffee.     

Compact,lightweight, high‐frequency oscillation device using electromagnetic force and corresponding bead formation phenomena. Development of high‐frequency oscillating arc (1st report)

The current work expresses considerations about some of the differences of the fused flux CIS-F10 obtained by means of fragmentation in water and with an air jet. The comparisons are established taking into account their respective granulometric distributions, shapes and grain densities, as well as the energy and the time spent in the process of obtaining each of these variants. Criteria for the physical process of flux fragmentation with an air jet and its influence over the aspects formerly mentioned are also included. The principal findings were that the process for obtaining the fused flux CIS-F10 granulated with an air jet consumes 37% less energy and 25% less time than the one performed with pouring water. The solidness grade of the spherical grains, granulated with air, (with pycnometric density 2.31 g/cm³), with a granulometric distribution more continuous than that of the granules in water, contributes to the increase of the apparent density (11%) of the flux and promotes the creation of artificial granulometric distributions, counteracting the rolling effect during welding.     

Heavy oxynitridation technology for forming highly reliable flash-type EEPROM tunnel oxide films

For the first time, it is demonstrated that in flash-type EEPROMs, the endurance properties are dramatically improved by heavy oxynitridation (RTONO) of the tunnel oxide. The layer composition evaluated by SIMS measurement indicates that large amounts of N atoms (>10/sup 20/ atom/cm/sup 3/) pile up at the SiO/sub 2/-Si interface, and are distributed in the bulk SiO/sub 2/. In addition, the RTONO film reduces the number of hydrogen atoms, which are the origin of electron traps. This oxynitridation causes a decrease of both electron and hole traps in the tunnel oxide, resulting in an improvement of the threshold voltage narrowing.<>     

Disseminated intra-abdominal cystic lymphangiomatosis with severe intestinal bleeding. A case report

We describe cystic lymphangiomatosis with intestinal bleeding developing multiple lymphangiomas in the small intestine, mesentery, mesocolon, omentum, retroperitoneum, and spleen. Small intestinal fluorography showed multiple polypoid lesions, mainly in the jejunum. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging showed diffuse cystic tumors in the mesentery and spleen. Cystic lymphangiomatosis was proved by histologic findings of the biopsied specimen at laparotomy.