Exchangeability of actin in cardiac myocytes and fibroblasts as determined by fluorescence photobleaching recovery

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether hypertension is a risk factor for hysterectomy performed for benign diseases. METHODS: Self-report questionnaires were collected from 77% of 2301 Danish women aged 30, 40, 50, or 60 years selected at random in 1982 for a prevalence study. Information about cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, use of medicine, weight and dieting history, life-styles, psychologic factors, gynecologic history (including history of hysterectomy), and social background were recorded. Weight, height, and blood pressure were measured. In an incidence study, the cohort was followed during 1982-1990 via central registers to assess the incidence of hysterectomy. Logistic and Cox regressions were used to analyze data. RESULTS: In the prevalence study, history of hypertension partly explained the relation between hysterectomy and cardiovascular diseases. In the incidence study, history of hypertension and use of diuretics were significant risk factors for hysterectomy. After confounder control, use of diuretics was explained by weight-related variables, and hypertension was a risk factor for hysterectomy in educated women (adjusted relative risk [RR] 2.88, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.07, 7.76) and in women with weight fluctuations (adjusted RR 3.31, 95% CI 1.35, 8.14). Weight cycling and lack of education remained significant risk factors for hysterectomy in women with and without hypertension, respectively. CONCLUSION: History of hypertension, weight cycling, and lack of education are closely related risk factors for premenopausal hysterectomy. These three risk factors contribute to women undergoing hysterectomy having an increased risk for cardiovascular diseases. We proposed that hypertension might be a plausible biological cause of menorrhagia and an indication for hysterectomy.     

Simulation program for estimating statistical power of Cox's proportional hazards model assuming no specific distribution for the survival time

Small sample properties of the maximum partial likelihood estimates for Cox's proportional hazards model depend on the sample size, the true values of regression coefficients, covariate structure, censoring pattern and possibly baseline hazard functions. Therefore, it would be difficult to construct a formula or table to calculate the exact power of a statistical test for the treatment effect in any specific clinical trial. The simulation program, written in SAS/IML, described in this paper uses Monte-Carlo methods to provide estimates of the exact power for Cox's proportional hazards model. For illustrative purposes, the program was applied to real data obtained from a clinical trial performed in Japan. Since the program does not assume any specific function for the baseline hazard, it is, in principle, applicable to any censored survival data as long as they follow Cox's proportional hazards model.     

Rutile-type TiO2 thin film for high-k gate insulator

We investigated rutile-type titanium dioxide (TiO₂) films for possible use as a high-k gate insulator. The TiO₂ thin films were directly deposited on Si substrates using a RF magnetron sputtering method with a sintered oxide target. A single phase of rutile-type TiO₂ whose dielectric constant of approximately 75 was obtained when the film was deposited in an inert gas atmosphere and annealed at 800 °C in an oxidizing gas atmosphere. The oxygen ions were deficient in the as-deposited film, and consequently, a sufficient oxygen supply was needed to crystallize the film to a single phase of rutile during the post-annealing. However, the interfacial SiO₂ layer between the TiO₂ and the Si substrate simultaneously grew thicker than 2 nm. As the interfacial SiO₂ grew, the leakage current was decreased and the equivalent oxide thickness was increased, in the Au/rutile-type TiO₂/Si capacitor. Therefore, we concluded that the growth of the interfacial SiO₂ layer thicker than 2 nm is inevitable to form the single phase of rutile-type TiO₂ and to decrease the leakage.     

Fine structure of transverse tubules and the sarcoplasmic reticulum at the myotendinous junction of stretched muscle fibers of the rat

The transverse (T) tubules and the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) at the myotendinous junction of stretched rat skeletal muscle were examined by conventional and intermediate voltage electron microscopy. Stretching induced a large cytoplasmic space devoid of myofibrils at the ends of lengthening fibers. In this space, irregularly running tubular elements were seen. They were connected both with subsarcolemmal caveolae and with T tubules traversing to the A-I junctional level of the preexisting myofibrils. The SR was arranged at regular intervals which were narrower than those of the adult sarcomere. This orderly spacing of the SR seems to indicate that they may play some role(s) in myofibril assembly and/or T tubule arrangement.     

Molecular cloning of a canine metallothionein cDNA

A canine metallothionein cDNA obtained from the liver of a cadmium-treated beagle was cloned and sequenced. Asn at position 4 conserved among all mammalian metallothionein-1 and metallothionein-2 is replaced by Asp in the canine metallothionein cDNA clone. Because the acidic amino acid doesn't exist at either position 10 or 11 in the deduced amino acid sequence, it is supposed that this cDNA is derived from canine metallothionein-1 mRNA. Northern blot analysis using the cDNA as a probe revealed the induction of the canine metallothionein mRNA expression in the liver and kidney of a cadmium-treated beagle. Thus, the canine metallothionein cDNA obtained in the present study should provide an useful tool for the molecular investigation of metallothionein in dog.     

Latest advances in camcorder technology

Camcorders have been developed to be compact with high performance. Latest advancement of key technologies and devices such as digital signal processing LSI, six-layer printed circuit board with micro chips, high-speed power lens with linear motor, 103 K pixels 0.7-in LCD electronic viewfinder, and high-energy Li-ion battery are described. High-band format is also explained     

Focusing characteristics of a wide-striped laser diode integratedwith a microlens

We developed a wide-striped laser diode integrated with a microlens that provides good focusing characteristics through a small focusing spot. We calculated and demonstrated that a 60-μm-wide core and a 1.9-μm-high ridge is the best structure for fundamental index-guiding mode oscillation of a wide-striped laser diode. We integrated a wide-striped laser diode with the developed microlens in the Fresnel diffraction held, and demonstrated that a device with a 60-μm-wide core has a minimum focusing spot width of 2.0 μm in the horizontal direction. Also, we estimated the wavefront in the Fresnel diffraction field from the working distance error of a lens designed for a collimated incident beam, and showed that the working distance error, focusing spot width, and sidelobe can be improved by this estimated wavefront     

An Electronic Approach to Materials Design

A molecular orbital approach to materials design has recently made great progress. This approach is based on the electronic structure calculations by the DV-Xα cluster method. In this paper recent progress in this approachis reviewed. In particular