Effects of the gradually increasing dawn light stimulation on sleep feeling

In a double-blind, multicentre study 245 children aged 1-10 yr undergoing elective minor surgery as inpatients were randomly allocated to receive a single caudal extradural injection of 1 ml kg-1 of either 0.25% bupivacaine or 0.2% ropivacaine after induction of light general anaesthesia. The groups were comparable for age, weight, vital signs and duration of surgery. The onset time was similar for ropivacaine and bupivacaine (9.7 vs 10.4 min). Further analgesia was not required in 40% of children. The mean time to first analgesia in the remainder was 233 min in the bupivacaine group and 271 min in the ropivacaine group. No motor block was measurable in either group. Ropivacaine 2 mg kg-1 was as effective as bupivacaine 2.5 mg kg-1 for caudal analgesia in children.     

Object-Blog System for Environment-Generated Content

The Object-Blog service application automatically converts raw sensor data to environment-generated content (EGC), including texts, graphs, and figures. This conversion facilitates data searching and browsing. Generated content can serve several purposes, including memory aids, security, and communication media. In Object-Blog, personified objects automatically post entries to a weblog about sensor data obtained from sensors attached to the objects. Feedback thus far from participants working with Object-Blog in an experimental environment has been positive.     

Streptozotocin-induced diabetes selectively enhances antinociception mediated by delta 1- but not delta 2-opioid receptors

We assessed the effect of diabetes on antinociception produced by intracerebroventricular injection of delta-opioid receptor agonists [D-Pen2,5]enkephalin (DPDPE) and [D-Ala2]deltorphin II. The antinociceptive effect of DPDPE (10 nmol), administered i.c.v., was significantly greater in diabetic mice than in non-diabetic mice. The antinociceptive effect of i.c.v. DPDPE was significantly reduced in both diabetic and non-diabetic mice following pretreatment with 7-benzylidenenaltrexone (BNTX), a selective delta 1-opioid receptor antagonist, but not with naltriben (NTB), a selective delta 2-opioid receptor antagonist. There were no significant differences in the antinociceptive effect of [D-Ala2]deltorphin II (3 nmol, i.c.v.) in diabetic and non-diabetic mice. Furthermore, the antinociceptive effect of i.c.v. [D-Ala2]deltorphin II was significantly reduced in both diabetic and non-diabetic mice following pretreatment with NTB, but not with BNTX. In conclusion, mice with diabetes are selectively hyper-responsive to supraspinal delta 1-opioid receptor-mediated antinociception, but are normally responsive to activation of delta 2-opioid receptors.     

Highly interactive operation workstation for distributionautomation system using spatial data management

A highly interactive operator workstation for a distribution automation system using spatial data management was developed. The spatial data structure, called MD-tree, manages a large amount of equipment data and its background map data hierarchically. By its rapid range searching and the related techniques, fast response time and a user-friendly interface are obtained on a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) workstation without a hardware accelerator. The system configuration, the graphic data management method using the MD-tree, and the sophisticated graphic functions and operations are described     

Role of (+)-SKF-10,047-sensitive sub-population of sigma 1 receptors in amelioration of conditioned fear stress in rats: association with mesolimbic dopaminergic systems

Rats exhibited a marked suppression of motility when they were re-placed in the same environment as that in which they had previously received an electric footshock. We examined the behavioral and neurochemical effects of (+)-N-allylnormetazocine hydrochloride ((+)-SKF-10,047) and (+)-pentazocine, putative sigma 1 receptor ligands, on this psychological-stress-induced motor suppression, defined as a conditioned fear stress. (+)-SKF-10,047 (3 and 6 mg/kg) dose-dependently attenuated the conditioned fear stress, whereas (+)-pentazocine failed to do so even at a higher dose (32 mg/kg). In rats showing the conditioned fear stress, dopamine turnover (i.e., the ratio of dopamine metabolites/dopamine contents) was decreased in the nucleus accumbens and was increased in the medial prefrontal cortex, but remained unchanged in the striatum. (+)-SKF-10,047 (3 and 6 mg/kg) dose-dependently reversed the decreased dopamine turnover in the nucleus accumbens without changing the increased dopamine turnover in the medial prefrontal cortex. (+)-Pentazocine (32 mg/kg) did not affect the stress-induced changes in dopamine turnover in these brain regions. Thus, the decreased dopamine turnover in the nucleus accumbens appears to be involved in the conditioned fear stress. These results suggest that (+)-SKF-10,047 ameliorates the conditioned fear stress by reversing the psychological stress-induced dysfunction in the mesolimbic dopaminergic systems, and that the (+)-SKF-10,047-sensitive sub-population of sigma 1 receptors may play in important role in this stress response.     

Group-V atoms exchange due to exposure of InP surface to AsH3(+PH3) revealed by x-ray CTR scattering

We conducted x-ray crystal truncation rod (CTR) measurements using synchro-tron radiation to analyze the As atom distribution in InP to the order of 1 ML. The InP samples which were only exposed to AsH₃(+PH₃) and capped by InP were investigated to study the effect of the purge sequence. The purge sequence is unavoidable to grow heteroepitaxial layers by OMVPE and is considered to affect largely the structure of the interface. From the results of the measurement and the computer simulation, the distribution of P and As atoms of the order of 1 ML was discussed as functions of the exposing time. It was shown that the number of As atoms contained in the samples saturated when the AsH₃-exposure time is longer than 10 s. Comparing the profiles of AsH₃-exposed samples with that of (AsH₃ + PH₃)-exposed samples, it was found that the As distribution in the buffer layer was suppressed in (AsH₃ + PH₃)-exposed samples. In order to obtain the sharp interfaces, the AsH₃-exposure time must be shorter than 0.5 s.     

Magnetic properties and microstructure of electrodeposited Fe−P amorphous alloy

Electrodeposited Fe–P amorphous alloy has been characterized in terms of magnetic properties and the microstructure. The Fe–P electrodeposits show amorphous structure with phosphorus contents of about 20 at%. The formation of the amorphous structure depends mainly on the phosphorus content. The amorphous Fe–P alloy shows typical soft magnetic properties such as low coercive force and high permeability. The coercive force (Hc) decreases with the low temperature annealing, and the lowestHc is about 0.05 oersted. This reduction inHc can be attributed to structural relaxation. The amorphous phase is crystallized at temperatures above 300°C accompanying a drastic increase inHc. The stable crystalline phase is Fe₃P.     

Fusion of porous isotactic poly(methyl methacrylate) thin films fabricated on silica nanoparticles with stepwise stereocomplex assembly

Structures of silica nanoparticles coated with stereocomplex thin films composed of isotactic (it) poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and syndiotactic (st) poly(methacrylic acid) (PMAA) and with porous it-PMMA thin films under gentle stirring or static conditions were analyzed by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. The porous it-PMMA films were fabricated by stepwise stereocomplex assembling of it-PMMA and st-PMAA, and subsequent extraction of the st-PMAA from the films. From DLS results, an evident difference was not observed between the it-PMMA films and the stereocomplex films, whereas the it-PMMA films after 10 h of stirring in acetonitrile/water (4/6, v/v) and drying on a SEM stage fused to form nanostructured networks. The fusion of the it-PMMA films on the silica nanoparticles occurred not by the dissolution of it-PMMA in the mixed solvent, but rather by an interaction of the it-PMMA chains driven by the slight solvation of acetonitrile without dissolution. Thus, leaving the solution at rest would be important for film fusion on the particles, and multiple spherical substrates could promote the crosslinking of the it-PMMA chains on the particles.     

Effect of sensor information accuracy on condition‐based strategy of GIS/GCB maintenance

Condition‐Based Maintenance (CBM) is a new maintenance strategy and interest of utilities for reliable operation of aged power equipment. Although attempts have been made to apply CBM to various types of equipment, owing to insufficient understanding of the effect of the accuracy of condition information provided by sensors, the specification of reliable information is still not clear and CBM has not been widely applied in real power substations. The effect of the accuracy of condition information on the criteria of failure recognition is treated in this paper. The potential failure curve (P‐F curve) used in the original Reliability‐Centered Maintenance (RCM) concept is studied and its effect is explained. The explanation is confirmed by comparison of proved original sensors for CBM and existing sensors in an SF₆ gas slow leakage detection experiment. The experiment indicates that SF₆ gas leakage at levels of less than 0.1% per year might be detected with a CBM sensor. It is concluded that special efforts should be devoted to the sensitivity and long‐term stability of sensors for reliable operation of power substations under the CBM strategy. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 176(2): 14–21, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library ( wileyonlinelibrary.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.21114