Linkage of antisocial alcoholism to the serotonin 5-HT1B receptor gene in 2 populations

We examined the effects of repeated administration of (S)-alpha-fluoromethylhistidine (FMH), a specific inhibitor of histidine decarboxylase (HDC), on radial maze performance and brain contents of histamine and amino acids in rats. By daily subcutaneous (s.c.) administration of FMH (100 mg/kg), rats showed significant enhancement of a radial maze performance without changes in locomotion. Six days after FMH treatment, the histamine levels both in the cerebral cortex and diencephalon decreased significantly. However, the glutamate and glycine levels significantly increased in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus. These results suggest that FMH enhances the acquisition phase of radial maze study with the increases in glutamate and glycine levels in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of rats.     

Effects of x-ray tube-voltage ripple and current mode on patient dose

This paper proposes a radiographic sensitivity attenuation curve for screen-films systems. This curve expresses the relative inverse value of mAs value needed to give the same photographic density. This curve decreases more slowly with increasing object thickness than the exposure attenuation curve generally used hitherto. By using the radiographic sensitivity attenuation curve and the exposure attenuation curve, the voltage-ripple dependence of mAs values and patient dose for the same photographic density was obtained. As predicted theoretically in a previous paper [Med. Phys. 18, 921 (1991)], it was verified quantitatively the reverse order that larger ripple values resulted in lower patient dose and lower mAs value for the unsaturating current mode at large ripple. This reverse order clearly appeared in two-pulse units. These phenomena were experimentally verified. As a result it was found that in radiographing with a two-pulse unit, larger mA value results in lower patient dose.     

Growth of silicon nanowires on H-terminated Si {111} surface templates studied by transmission electron microscopy

We have studied the growth of silicon nanowires (SiNWs) by means of transmission electron microscopy. SiNWs are grown from nanocatalysts via the Vapor-Liquid-Solid (VLS) mechanism using silane (SiH4) gas as a source gas. The nanocatalysts are prepared on a hydrogen (H)-terminated Si surface. We have examined the formation mechanism of nanocatalysts on H-terminated surface and have observed several structural variants of SiNWs. According to the study we have suggested that many structural variations of SiNWs are possible, which modify the structural properties of SiNWs to great extents.     

Cost analyses of uranium enrichment by laser isotope separation process

The probability of the selective two-step photoionisation of ²³⁵U atoms by laser and ultraviolet radiations is estimated from the rate equations for uranium atoms with two isotopes with three levels. The population of ²³⁵U ions is obtained by linearising the rate equations. We have calculated the ion production rates for three cases in which the laser and ultraviolet powers are changed while the atom density is kept constant. The power consumption and the capital investment required for the large-scale laser enrichment plant conceptionally designed based upon the above results, and consequently the unit cost of separative work, are estimated. It is concluded that the laser isotope separation process could be competitive with the conventional gaseous diffusion and gas centrifugal methods.     

Temperature imaging of sub-millimeter-thick water using a near-infrared camera

This paper presents a method of imaging temperature distributions of sub-millimeter-thick water using a near-infrared camera and optical narrow-bandpass filter. The principle is based on the temperature dependence of the ν₁ + ν₃ absorption band of water. Temperature images are constructed by measuring the absorbance of water at the wavelength of 1412 nm through the filter for all pixels of the camera. From calibration measurements on 0.5-mm thick water at temperatures from 26.0 °C to 40.0 °C, the temperature coefficient was 6.3 × 10^?4 K^?1 and the standard deviation of absorbance was 1.9 × 10^?4. Thermal diffusion in 0.5-mm thick water caused by a thin heating wire was visualized with this method. The obtained images were verified against temperature distributions calculated by solving a two-dimensional thermal conduction model. This method would be useful for temperature measurement applications and control of aqueous solutions in microchips.     

Migration of dehydroabietic and abietic acids from paper and paperboard food packaging into food-simulating solvents and Tenax TA

An investigation was undertaken to establish the concentration in paper products of dehydroabietic (DHA) and abietic (AA) resin acids, present in rosin, which are major toxicants of pulp- and paper-mill effluent. Their migration was studied from paper and paperboard products into various food-simulating solvents and the substitute fatty food simulant Tenax TA (modified polyphenylene oxide). DHA and AA were detected in five of 10 virgin paper products and in all 10 recycled paperboard products for food-contact use at concentrations of 14-500 and 110-1200 µg/g, respectively. In virgin paper products, the highest migration was into 95% ethanol or heptane, with negligible or no migration into other solvents. In recycled paperboard products, migration was highest into 95% ethanol, but was also observed into 20% ethanol, water and heptane. Migration to Tenax TA was also observed and the migration level increased with time. The maximum migration levels of DHA and AA into food simulants were 0.853 and 3.14 µg/g, respectively. The results suggest that, in the worst case, the daily intake of DHA and AA from paper and paperboard products was 50 times lower than the tolerable daily intake of rosin.     

Pretreatment of polyamide monofilament with hydrochloric acid improves sensitivity of three-dimensional microarray, Bio-Strand

A single-nucleotide-polymorphism-typing method using a novel three-dimensional DNA microarray, Bio-Strand, is promising because it is rapid, inexpensive and easily automated. It has been developed with the intent to overcome the drawbacks of conventional DNA microarrays, which use flat surfaces and impermeable materials such as glass slides; Bio-Strand as a novel DNA microarray, with its permeability, has a significantly improved stability compared with conventional DNA microarrays that use impermeable materials. In this study, we have developed a simple method of pretreating a polyamide monofilament to increase its surface area and to make it permeable, which makes Bio-Strand more sensitive and stable, allowing it to be adapted for clinical diagnostic applications. The fluorescence signal obtained with a nylon 6 monofilament pretreated under optimal conditions (hydrolysis by 5 M HCl/ethanol followed by washing with 50% ethanol and 100% ethanol) was significantly stronger than that obtained with an untreated monofilament.