Near infrared spectroscopy detects cerebral ischemia during hypotension in piglets

OBJECTIVE: To determine if platelet angiotensin II binding density during the second or third trimester of pregnancy can be used as a marker for early detection of women who will develop preeclampsia. METHODS: We collected blood samples from 412 nulliparous pregnant women during their second or third trimesters. They were classified in four groups after delivery: normotensive (n=297), transient hypertensive (n=54), preeclamptic (n=39), and chronic hypertensive (n=22). We also studied 35 nonpregnant women and 122 women in the peripartum period. The binding capacity of platelet angiotensin II receptors was analyzed in each patient. RESULTS: In normotensive pregnancies, there was a significant decrease in mean (+/-standard error of the mean [SEM]) platelet binding in the second trimester (1.6+/-0.2 fmol/10(9) cells) compared with nonpregnant women (3.3+/-0.7 fmol/10[9] cells). No statistical differences were observed in the mean (+/-SEM) number of platelet angiotensin II binding sites between the groups studied in the third trimester (normal: 1.7+/-0.1 fmol/10(9) cells; transient hypertensive: 2.3+/-0.4 fmol/10(9) cells; preeclamptic: 1.6+/-0.4 fmol/10(9) cells, and chronic hypertensive: 1.6+/-0.6 fmol/10(9) cells), nor were any significant differences found in second-trimester values. At cutoff levels providing identical sensitivities, angiotensin II binding showed significantly lower positive predictive values than mean arterial pressure (P < .05). With this study's sample size, we could have demonstrated an improvement in positive predictive values of 20% with a statistical power (1-beta) of 90%. CONCLUSION: The measurement of platelet angiotensin II receptor density cannot be recommended for the early detection of preeclampsia.     

Development of an Open-Ended Coaxial Line Probe for Measurement of Dielectric Properties of Inorganic Materials at High Temperature

An open-ended coaxial line probe for dielectric measurements at high temperatures was developed. The probe, which was fabricated using stainless steel as the center and outer conductors and quartz wool as an insulator, can function well up to 800°C. The dielectric properties of the raw materials and resultant materials were measured using a network analyzer that was equipped with the open-ended coaxial line probe at high temperatures to clarify the formation reaction process of YVO₄:Eu³⁺ and Mg₂SnO₄:Mn²⁺ phosphors using a microwave heating method. The developed probe was confirmed to be effective for reaction-process analyses at high temperatures.     

DNA ploidy and stromal bone formation as prognostic indicators of thyroid papillary carcinoma in aged patients: a retrospective study

The prognostic value of flow cytometry for thyroid papillary carcinoma in aged patients was studied and compared with that of tumor histology. Seventy-five surgically removed primary papillary thyroid carcinomas larger than 30 mm in diameter were obtained from patients over 60 years of age. A subtotal thyroidectomy with modified radical neck dissection was performed in all patients. Sixteen female patients died of the carcinoma (non-survivors) and 18 survived longer than 12 years without recurrence (survivors). Histologically, papillary carcinoma was subclassified into poorly and well differentiated types, and the presence of stromal bone formation was noted. Flow cytometry was performed using paraffin-embedded materials. The incidence of the poorly differentiated type was 2/18 among the tumors of survivors and 6/16 among the tumors of non-survivors (P = 0.08). Stromal bone formation was only found in the tumors of the survivors (6/18 and 0/16; P = 0.014). In flow cytometry, tumors of the survivors showed a DNA diploid pattern (14/14), whereas half of the tumors of non-survivors (6/12) showed an aneuploid pattern (P = 0.004). Moreover, in the remaining six tumors of the non-survivors, two showed a third peak at 6C and one showed a higher S fraction. Therefore, only three showed a DNA diploid pattern that was indistinguishable from that of the survivors. These results suggest that flow cytometry is useful for estimating the prognosis of thyroid papillary carcinoma.     

Part 7. Effects of poly(L‐lactide‐co‐ϵ‐caprolactone) on morphology,structure, crystallization,and physical properties of blends of poly(L‐lactide) and poly(ϵ‐caprolactone)

Blended films of poly(L ‐lactide) [ie poly(L ‐lactic acid)] (PLLA) and poly(?‐caprolactone) (PCL) without or mixed with 10 wt% poly(L ‐lactide‐co‐?‐caprolactone) (PLLA‐CL) were prepared by solution‐casting. The effects of PLLA‐CL on the morphology, phase structure, crystallization, and mechanical properties of films have been investigated using polarization optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, differential scanning calorimetry and tensile testing. Addition of PLLA‐CL decreased number densities of spherulites in PLLA and PCL films, and improved the observability of spherulites and the smoothness of cross‐section of the PLLA/PCL blend film. The melting temperatures (T_m) of PLLA and PCL in the films remained unchanged upon addition of PLLA‐CL, while the crystallinities of PLLA and PCL increased at PLLA contents [X_PLLA = weight of PLLA/(weight of PLLA and PCL)] of 0.4–0.7 and at most of the X_PLLA values, respectively. The addition of PLLA‐CL improved the tensile strength and the Young modulus of the films at X_PLLA of 0.5–0.8 and of 0–0.1 and 0.5–0.8, respectively, and the elongation at break of the films at all the X_PLLA values. These findings strongly suggest that PLLA‐CL was miscible with PLLA and PCL, and that the dissolved PLLA‐CL in PLLA‐rich and PCL‐rich phases increased the compatibility between these two phases. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

Improved high-temperature characteristics in a thickness-tapered1.3-μm beam-expander integrated ridge-waveguide laser

High-temperature performance of a beam-expander (BEX) integrated laser was dramatically improved by reducing the current leakage in both longitudinal and lateral directions. Proton implantation into the BEX region and a reverse-mesa structure were combined to improve the high-temperature characteristics. A threshold current of 23.1 mA at 85°C and a very high-characteristic temperature T₀ (25°C-85°C) of 74 K were achieved. Stable operation for over 3000 h under a 10-mW output power at 70°C were confirmed     

A sensorless drive system for brushless DC motors using a digital phase‐locked loop

This paper proposes a sensorless drive system for Brushless DC (BLDC) motors using a Digital Phase‐Locked Loop (DPLL). The Back Electromotive Force (BEMF) voltage is measured from the motor winding to determine the permanent magnet rotor position using the DPLL, and Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) limits the motor current to control the speed of BLDC motors. The proposed method can drive BLDC motors using an open‐loop control without stepping out. Also, the proposed method is compared experimentally with a control method that uses Hall sensors. Experimental results for the BLDC motor show the effectiveness of the proposed method. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 142(1): 57–66, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10074     

0.13-μm 32-Mb/64-Mb embedded DRAM core with high efficientredundancy and enhanced testability

This paper describes the 32-Mb and the 64-Mb embedded DRAM core with high efficient redundancy, which is fabricated using 0.13-μm triple-well 4-level Cu embedded DRAM technology. Core size of 18.9 mm ² and cell efficiency of 51.3% for the 32-Mb capacity, and core size of 33.4 mm² and cell efficiency of 58.1% for the 64-Mb capacity are realized. This core can achieve 230-MHz burst access at 1.0-V power-supply condition by adopting a new data bus architecture: merged shift column redundancy. We implemented four test functions to improve the testability of the embedded DRAM core. It realizes the DRAM core test in a logic test environment     

Strength and ductility of ultrafine grained aluminum and iron produced by ARB and annealing

Strength and ductility of ultrafine grained (UFG) aluminum and iron fabricated by ARB and annealing were clarified in the grain sizes ranging from 200 nm to 20 μm. Strength held Hall–Petch relationship, while uniform elongation of the UFG materials was limited below a few percents. The limited uniform elongation in the UFG materials could be explained in terms of plastic instability.     

Assembly Process Design for Managing Manufacturing Complexities Because of Product Varieties

This paper comprehensively studies assembly process design (APD) to handle variety and presents a new approach to strategically manage manufacturing complexities because of product varieties. It links the chronological steps of APD to a general approach with a view to reduce both short and long term wastes. It synthesizes two strategic approaches, product and process-based, while exploiting the APD of an entire product family. A new evaluation method for measuring the complexities of an assembly system at different stages of design has been introduced by applying information entropy. The developed evaluation methodology explains the available techniques related to design, interprets them from a design for variety point of view, and leads to techniques to manage complexities in manufacturing. The suggested methodology has been applied to examples from automobile part manufacturers and has been found to be effective in understanding the complexities in manufacturing and leading to some strategies to manage variety.     

Nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the RNA polymerase and the 3'' non-coding region of a bovine enterovirus Japanese isolate: rapid synonymous substitutions between European and Japanese strains

Autoinduction plays an important role in intercellular communication among symbiotic and pathogenic gram-negative bacteria. We report here that a nitrogen-fixing symbiont of Phaseolus vulgaris, Rhizobium etli CNPAF512, produces at least seven different autoinducer molecules. One of them exhibits a growth-inhibitory effect like that of the bacteriocin small [N-(3R-hydroxy-7-cis-tetradecanoyl)-L-homoserine lactone]. At least two of the other autoinducers are synthesized by a LuxI-homologous autoinducer synthase. The corresponding luxI homologous gene (raiI) and a luxR homolog (raiR) have been identified and characterized. Enhanced expression of raiI is dependent on cell density and on the presence of one or more autoinducer molecules synthesized by R. etli CNPAF512. A raiI mutant was shown to release only three different autoinducer molecules; a raiR mutant releases four different autoinducer molecules. Examination of different mutants for nodulation of beans showed that raiI is involved in the restriction of nodule number, whereas nitrogen-fixing activity in terms of acetylene reduction per nodule was not affected.