Determining temperature distribution on flank face of cutting tool

The temperature distribution of the tool flank face is measured by a simple method in this report. After drilling a small hole in the work, a fine metal wire (0.02 mm diam) is inserted and both the work and the wire are cut together. At the time of wire cutting, the end of the wire is in contact with the cutting edge and moves on the tool flank face. A thermoelectric couple is formed between the tool flank and the fine wire and then the temperature distribution on the tool flank face can be measured. Temperature distribution generally forms a trapezoid, regardless of cutting conditions and width of flank wear. The maximum temperature on tool flank is not affected by cutting condition.     

Effect of the amount of excess oxides on the densification of α-SiAlON fabricated via a reaction-bonding process

Y-α-SiAlONs with elongated grains were fabricated via a reaction-bonding process using starting compositions containing excess oxides in the form of Y₂O₃ and SiO₂. The density of post-sintered specimens reached a maximum value with compositions containing 2 mass% excess oxides, although conventionally sintered materials of this composition were not fully dense. However for compositions containing smaller amounts of excess oxides, the density of the specimen fabricated via a reaction-bonding process was lower than that via a conventional process. In these samples it is thought that liquid phase sintering was difficult to be achieve during the post-sintering process, since the amount of SiO₂ contained in the starting powder was lower and the Al₂O₃ in the starting composition was consumed for the production of β-SiAlON during nitridation. There was also a decrease in density of the reaction-bonded materials with further increases in the amounts of additional oxides. For these samples the compacts could not be densified uniformly, because of non-uniformity of the phase composition in the nitrided compacts. The dense reaction bonded α-SiAlON with elongated grains, fabricated from compositions with 2 mass% excess oxides exhibited both high fracture toughness and high hardness.     

Characterization of soluble E-cadherin as a disease marker in gastric cancer patients

The soluble fragment of E-cadherin protein (S-ECD) is reported to be increased in the peripheral blood of cancer patients. In this study, we investigated the clinical significance of serum S-ECD in 81 patients with gastric cancer. The amount of serum S-ECD was significantly higher in the gastric cancer patients (4735 +/- 2310 ng ml(-1)) than in healthy volunteers (2515 +/- 744 ng ml(-1)). With the normal range cut-off at average +2 s.d., 67% patients showed abnormally high serum S-ECD levels. This frequency was significantly higher than that of other tumour markers, such as CEA (4.4%) or CA19-9 (13.3%). However, there was no significant correlation between the amount of S-ECD and clinicopathological factors. Serum S-ECD might be derived from cancer tissue, as removal of cancers by surgical treatment results in quick decline of the serum S-ECD and S-ECD can be detected by immunoblot in cancer tissues but not in normal epithelium. The serum S-ECD amount was compared with the E-cadherin expression in cancer tissues, which were classified into those showing preserved (+), partially reduced (+/-) or lost (-) expression. Interestingly, E-cadherin (+/-) tumours showed higher serum S-ECD levels than the other types, and a higher amount of S-ECD in the immunoblot analysis. Thus, the serum level of S-ECD may serve as an excellent tumour marker with high sensitivity. Furthermore, analysis of S-ECD in serum and cancer tissue can offer clues for elucidating the mechanism of reduction of E-cadherin expression in cancer cells.     

Small fatigue crack behavior in 7075-T651

Small fatigue crack growth in 7075-T651 aluminum is periodically monitored with an ultrasonic Rayleigh wave technique. The wideband reflection signals are digitized and stored in the computer memory to permit the signal processing in the frequency domain. With the help of the constructed three-dimensional (3-D) reflection coefficient, the reflection amplitude spectra yield the measurements of the crack depth, if larger than 0.062 mm, and the crack closure stress. Acoustically obtainedda/dN-ΔK _eff relations describe the anomalous growth behavior of small surface crack, extending from the late small crack regime to the large crack regime passing through the minimum growth rate. The split spectrum processing proves to be useful in removing the grain noises to illuminate the target echoes, which is necessary to detect the nucleation and characterize the cracks smaller than 0.1 mm in depth. Discussions on the computer-controlled, automated,in situ monitoring system are provided. K. TOJO, formerly Graduate Student, K. TOJO, formerly Graduate Student,     

Chemopreventive efficacy of piroxicam administered alone or in combination with lycopene and beta-carotene on the development of rat urinary bladder carcinoma after N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine treatment

The effects of the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) piroxicam and the carotenoids lycopene and beta-carotene, alone or in combination, on the development of rat superficial urinary bladder carcinomas induced by N-butyl-N-(4-hydroxybutyl)nitrosamine (BBN) were studied. Male Fischer 344 rats, 6 weeks old, were given 0.05% BBN in the drinking water for 8 weeks followed by administration of piroxicam (0.0075% in the diet), lycopene (0.0025% in the drinking water) and/or beta-carotene (0.0025% in the drinking water) for 12 weeks, then killed for histological analysis of urinary bladder lesions. Cell proliferation potential was analyzed by immunohistochemical staining of the proliferative cell nuclear antigen (PCNA). Piroxicam alone, piroxicam+lycopene, and piroxicam +lycopene+ beta-carotene all significantly decreased the incidences and numbers of transitional cell carcinomas (TCCs), but the combination of piroxicam with carotenoids did not result in a clear improvement in the preventive potential of piroxicam. Piroxicam+ beta-carotene also caused a significant reduction and lycopene alone a slight but not significant reduction in the number of TCCs. In contrast, beta-carotene alone and lycopene+ beta-carotene were without inhibitory influence on any of the lesion categories examined, and the latter significantly increased the proportion of high-grade TCCs. Nevertheless, all of the chemopreventive agents, either alone or in combination, significantly decreased the TCC PCNA index, the effect extending to the surrounding epithelium in the piroxicam+lycopene and piroxicam+lycopene+beta-carotene groups. These results indicate that the NSAID piroxicam may be a more effective chemopreventive agent than lycopene and beta-carotene for superficial urinary bladder carcinogenesis.     

Pregnancy and delivery in the patients with spina bifida--report of 5 cases

BACKGROUND: Because of improvement in the management for life-threatening complications of spina bifida, quality of life in the patient has become better and pregnancy is becoming more common problem in adolescent and adult female patients. In this paper, we reported patients with spina bifida who became pregnant and delivered a baby. METHODS: There were 6 deliveries from 5 patients. Mean patient age at the first pregnancy was 27.6 years (ranged from 26 to 32 years). Four patients had undergone surgical managements before pregnancy, of whom 1 had augmentation cystoplasty. Urological and obstetrical conditions during the pregnancy were analyzed. RESULTS: Upper urinary tract deterioration which was transient, was observed in 3 pregnancies. Serum BUN and creatinine levels remained stable throughout pregnancy in 4 patients. Pyelonephritis complicated 3 of 6 pregnancies. Delivery was vaginal in 4 and by cesarean section in 2. There were 7 obstetrical complications, which consisted of premature labor (2), uterine inertia (2), cephalo pelvic disproportion (2) and hydramnios (1). There were no significant anomalies in the newborns of these patients. CONCLUSION: To achieve successful pregnancy and delivery in the patient with spina bifida, careful urological and obstetrical observation for the potential complications is needed.     

Granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (CSF), macrophage-CSF, granulocyte-macrophage CSF, interleukin-3, and interleukin-6 levels in sera from children undergoing blood stem cell autografts

Endogenous production of granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), macrophage CSF (M-CSF), granulocyte-macrophage CSF (GM-CSF), interleukin-3 (IL-3), and interleukin-6 (IL-6) was investigated in 10 children who underwent a total of 12 courses of autologous peripheral blood stem cell transplant (PBSCT) by measuring their serum levels using immunoassay kits. The serum G-CSF level increased immediately following infusion of PBSC graft, peaked between days 3 and 7 posttransplant and then declined by the time the granulocyte count rose. No definitive association was found between the continuous high levels of G-CSF and infective episodes, the number of infused nucleated cells, monocytes, CFU-GM, or the number of days required to achieve greater than 0.5 x 10(9)/L granulocyte, greater than 1.0 x 10(9)/L leukocyte, or greater than 50 x 10(9)/L platelet counts. After PBSCT, IL-6 levels tended to be elevated. No detectable serum level of GM-CSF or IL-3 (< 50 pg/mL) was observed before PBSCT and 4 patients showed a transient increase in the GM-CSF level after PBSCT. No significant change was observed in the post-transplant serum levels of IL-3 or M-CSF. The role of endogenously secreted cytokines in early hematopoietic recovery after PBSCT needs further clarification, but, at present, routine use of exogenous G-CSF therapy is not recommended.