Mandibular lengthening by gradual distraction: analysis using accurate skull replicas

Bone lengthening in the upper and lower extremities by gradual distraction has become an accepted procedure. We have used an extraoral device to lengthen the mandible in four patients with unilateral mandibular hypoplasia. Using an accurate skull replica, the proposed corticotomy line, intended direction of lengthening, and appropriate position for the screws were determined. Following distraction, a significant increase in the dimensions of the affected mandible was obtained in each case. In this series, accurate skull replicas proved very useful for defining the anatomy, for surgical simulation and for pre- and postoperative evaluation.     

Stimulatory effect of lymphocyte-derived factor on catecholamine efflux from cultured bovine adrenal medullary cells

The effects of lymphocytes and their conditioned medium on catecholamine efflux and uptake were examined in cultured bovine adrenal medullary cells. Co-culture of adrenal medullary cells with lymphocytes for 3 days caused an increase in appearance of catecholamines in the culture medium. Treatment of adrenal medullary cells with a conditioned medium prepared from lymphocytes also enhanced the appearance of catecholamines in culture medium in time- (8-48 h) and concentration-dependent manners. Heat treatment of the conditioned medium at 60 and 100 degrees C for 10 min reduced its stimulatory effect to 59 and 20% of control, respectively. After gel filtration on a Sephadex G-25 column or dialysis (<8 kDa molecular mass cutoff), the stimulatory activity of the conditioned medium was found in a high molecular fraction. The conditioned medium had little effect on the activity of lactate dehydrogenase in the medium of cultured adrenal medullary cells and on desipramine-sensitive [3H]norepinephrine uptake by the cells. These findings suggest that lymphocytes release a heat-sensitive factor(s) (molecular mass of more than 8 kDa) which increases efflux of catecholamines from cultured adrenal medullary cells.     

The effects of judge's roles on probability judgment

A number of studies on probability judgment have reported that people often tend to neglect the base-rate in the Cab Problem (Bar-Hillel, 1980). To explain the base-rate neglect, the present research hypothesized that subjects presented with the Cab Problem focused on the case information in the problem, because the subjects were asked to estimate probability based on that particular case. In 'two experiments, subjects' individuated or general interpretation of the Cab Problem was manipulated by instructing the subjects to play either responsible or neutral judge's role, respectively. The results suggested that in the responsible judge condition the case information had large impact on subjects' judgment, whereas in the neutral judge condition it did not. These results implied that the subject's base-rate neglect arose from taking the individuated interpretation.     

Identification of essential amino acids in the Streptococcus mutans glucosyltransferases

A comparison of the amino acid sequences of the glucosyltransferases (GTFs) of mutans streptococci with those from the alpha-amylase family of enzymes revealed a number of conserved amino acid positions which have been implicated as essential in catalysis. Utilizing a site-directed mutagenesis approach with the GTF-I enzyme of Streptococcus mutans GS-5, we identified three of these conserved amino acid positions, Asp413, Trp491, and His561, as being important in enzymatic activity. Mutagenesis of Asp413 to Thr resulted in a GTF which expressed only about 12% of the wild-type activity. In contrast, mutagenesis of Asp411 did not inhibit enzyme activity. In addition, the D413T mutant was less stable than was the parental enzyme when expressed in Escherichia coli. Moreover, conversion of Trp491 or His561 to either Gly or Ala resulted in enzymes devoid of GTF activity, indicating the essential nature of these two amino acids for activity. Furthermore, mutagenesis of the four Tyr residues present at positions 169 to 172 which are part of a subdomain with homology to the direct repeating sequences present in the glucan-binding domain of the GTFs had little overall effect on enzymatic activity, although the glucan products appeared to be less adhesive. These results are discussed relative to the mechanisms of catalysis proposed for the GTFs and related enzymes.     

Endothelin-1-like immunoreactivity in cerebral cortex of Alzheimer-type dementia

1. Endothelin-1-like immunoreactivity (ET-1-LI) in cerebral cortex in postmortem brains obtained from patients with Alzheimer-type dementia (ATD) was measured by enzyme-immunoassay. 2. The ET-1-LI in the ATD brains was significantly increased in frontal and occipital cortex than those in the control brains and a significant correlation was found between frontal and temporal lobe of ATD brains. 3. These findings may explain the clinico-radiological results that the cerebral blood flow is decreased in ATD patients, the mechanism of which is still unknown.     

Bending loss reduction in silica-based waveguides by using lateraloffsets

The excess loss that occurs in waveguide bends can be minimized by offsetting the connecting waveguides so as to reduce the transition loss at the junctions. Such bends were investigated in detail by employing the beam propagation method (BPM) and it was found that they can be optimized with respect to overall loss. In the addition, the S-shaped waveguides and directional couplers with offset junctions were fabricated based on silica-based planar lightwave circuits (PLC) on silicon substrates. The measured insertion losses of these S-shaped waveguides and directional couplers, which are in good agreement with the calculated results, are the lowest thus far reported     

Super-Water-Repellent Al2O3 Coating Films with High Transparency

We have prepared transparent, super-water-repellent coating films of alumina on glass plates by a combination of geometric and chemical approaches. The contact angle for water in the films was 165° and the transmittance for visible light was higher than 92%. A roughness of 20 to 50 nm was obtained, which is too small to scatter visible light, while the degree of roughness was great enough to enhance the water-repellent properties together with the chemical effect of a fluorine-containing agent and gave a super-water-repellent surface. The coatings have great potential for practical applications such as eyeglasses, cover glasses for solar cells, windshields of automobiles, and so on.     

The effect of nitrogen fertilizer use and other practices on methane emission from flooded rice

Methane (CH₄) flux measurements from rice paddy fields in the world and its controlling factors, especially fertilizer effects are summarized. The measurements at rice paddy fields in various locations of the world showed that there were large temporal variations of CH₄ flux and that the flux differed markedly with climate, characteristics of soil and paddy, application of organic matter and mineral fertilizer, and agricultural practices. From the data, it appears that identifying and controlling CH₄ flux factors have a potential to reduce CH₄ emission from rice cultivation. Potential mitigation options include: the form and amount of nitrogen and other chemical fertilizers, the method of fertilizer applications, the application of other chemical amendments, water management and cultivation practices.     

Complex formation of SMAP/KAP3, a KIF3A/B ATPase motor-associated protein, with a human chromosome-associated polypeptide

We have recently isolated SMAP (Smg GDS-associated protein; Smg GDS: small G protein GDP dissociation stimulator) as a novel Smg GDS-associated protein, which has Armadillo repeats and is phosphorylated by Src tyrosine kinase. SMAP is a human counterpart of mouse KAP3 (kinesin superfamily-associated protein) that is associated with mouse KIF3A/B (a kinesin superfamily protein), which functions as a microtubule-based ATPase motor for organelle transport. We isolated here a SMAP-interacting protein from a human brain cDNA library, identified it to be a human homolog of Xenopus XCAP-E (Xenopus chromosome-associated polypeptide), a subunit of condensins that regulate the assembly and structural maintenance of mitotic chromosomes, and named it HCAP (Human chromosome-associated polypeptide). Tissue and subcellular distribution analyses indicated that HCAP was ubiquitously expressed and highly concentrated in the nuclear fraction, where SMAP and KIF3B were also present. SMAP was extracted as a ternary complex with HCAP and KIF3B from the nuclear fraction in the presence of Mg-ATP. The results suggest that SMAP/KAP3 serves as a linker between HCAP and KIF3A/B in the nucleus, and that SMAP/KAP3 plays a role in the interaction of chromosomes with an ATPase motor protein.     

Influence of metal components in Hopeite films on IR and laser Raman spectra

Hopeite films on galvannealed steel were formed in various zinc phosphate solutions. The metal component composition of various Hopeite films was determined by atomic absorption. By measuring the infrared (IR) spectra and the laser Raman spectra for these films, the influence of metal component composition on these spectra could be investigated. In IR spectra, peaks corresponding to ₃ and ₄, the basic vibration mode of PO ₄ ^3– , were seen, but the peak patterns of ₄ were different for Hopeite containing manganese and that not containing it. In the Raman spectra, four clear peaks for various films were found in the region 1300 to 800 cm^–1 . Although these spectra are due to PO ₄ ^3– , ₁ and ₃ are found in this region. Essentially, ₃ degenerates triply, but in the crystalline state of Hopeite films, the symmetry of the regular PO ₄ ^3– tetrahedron will be distorted by the interaction. At that moment, the degenerations of ₃ are untied and split into three peaks. Thus it was thought that spectra with four peaks of ₁ were generated. However, the main peak corresponds to ₁ and other three peaks correspond to ₃. The values of the Raman band for various Hopeite films were compared. The band shifted to the lower wavenumber region according to the increase of manganese or nickel in these films. The structure of Hopeite films modified by the action of manganese or nickel has been analysed to be Zn_3–x Me _x (PO₄)₂ · 4H₂O (Me = Mn or Ni), but this structure is different from that of normal Hopeite films (Zn₃(PO₄)₂ · 4H₂O).