High-power operation of AlGaAs SQW-SCH broad-area laser diodes for Nd:YAG solid-state laser pumping

AlGaAs single-quantum-well separate-confinement-heterostructure (SQW-SCH) single-stripe broad-area laser diodes (LDs) for Nd:YAG solid-state laser pumping were developed. The high-power operation of the SQW-SCH LD was demonstrated. The maximum output power under continuous wave operation at room temperature was 2.6 W in the range of the Nd:YAG absorption band. Stable operation was also confirmed for over 500 h under the condition of 25 degrees C at 1 W under continuous-wave operation.<>     

A novel diagnostic method for allergy "LUCICA HRT"

Patch clamp method was used to search for, and characterize ion channel activity which may participate in cation influx in human myeloid K562 cells. In cell-attached, outside-out and whole-cell experiments two types of voltage-insensitive Na-permeable channels were identified with different selectivities for monovalent cations, referred to as channels of high (HS) and low (LS) selectivity. The unitary conductance was similar for both channel types being 12 pS (145 mmol/l Na, 23 degrees C). The relative permeability PNa/PK estimated from the extrapolated reversal potential values were 10 and 3 for HS and LS channels, respectively. Both HS and LS channels were found to be impermeable to bivalent cations (Ca2+ or Ba2+). The activity of HS and LS channels displayed a tendency to increase with depolarization. Both channel types were not blocked by tetrodotoxin and were insensitive to amiloride in the concentration range of up to 100 mumol/l. At higher concentrations (0.1-2 mmol/l), amiloride reversibly inhibited HS channels only. The results obtained lead us to conclude that, under physiological conditions, both types of Na-permeable channels may provide sodium influx in leukemic cells. Our data imply the existence of a novel family of Na channels in blood cells.     

GHTA welding phenomena of an aluminium alloy in a vacuum

The midair disintegration of the space shuttle 'Colombia', in which the total crew of 7 members was lost, occurred on 1^st February 2003. The circumstances of the crash shown on TV screens reaffirmed the public's view of the risks of space development and the importance of security. NASA has stopped any further space shuttle launches until the causes are fully investigated - a postponement of the completion of the International Space Station is inevitable. The operational life of the ISS is considered to be 10 years but it could be quite possible to prolong this if required for various reasons. Accordingly, it is highly likely that there will be requests for remodelling in order to achieve high levels of functional performance and to repair damage caused by debris impact and for other reasons. In order to meet these requirements it is essential to establish space welding technology.¹     

Diurnal variation in serum remnant-like lipoproteins, platelet aggregation and fibrinolysis in healthy volunteers

The linkage of cobalamin and folate deficiency to psychiatric illness has been studied and debated since these vitamins were first discovered in the 1940s. The clinical relevance of these deficiencies remains the subject of investigation and scholarly discussion. This article reviews case reports and studies derived from a MEDLINE search for English-language articles related to folate, cobalamin, and psychiatric illness. Emphasis is given to clinical research and recent developments. Preclinical evidence for direct effects of folate and cobalamin on brain functioning is compelling, and numerous associations of their deficiencies to psychiatric illness are evident. These vitamin deficiencies may typically present initially with psychiatric symptoms, but any direct causal relationship to specific neuropsychiatric illnesses are not well defined. The relationship of these vitamins in dementia is significant, but they may only rarely be a cause of truly reversible dementia. Folate deficiency appears most tightly connected with depressive disorders, and cobalamin deficiency with psychosis. Contrary to intuition, vitamin deficiencies appear to occur infrequently with eating disorders. Other diagnoses have been investigated much less extensively. The diagnosis and management of these deficiencies in the context of neuropsychiatric illness is still a matter of discussion. The quality of clinical research in this area is improving, but there are many unanswered questions that affect clinical practice. Clinicians should remain vigilant to the possibility of deficiencies of folate and cobalamin in diverse psychiatric populations. Normal hematological indices do not rule out the deficiencies. Further study is needed to refine the detection and clinical management of these vitamin deficiencies in psychiatric populations.     

The expression of the mouse Zic1, Zic2, and Zic3 gene suggests an essential role for Zic genes in body pattern formation

We examined the expression of Zic1, Zic2, and Zic3 genes in the mouse embryo by means of in situ hybridization. Zic genes were found as a group of genes coding for zinc finger proteins that are expressed in a restricted manner in the adult mouse cerebellum. We showed that the genes are the vertebrate homologues of Drosophila odd-paired, which may play an essential role in parasegmental subdivision and in visceral mesoderm development. The expression of the three Zic genes was first detected at gastrulation in a spatially restricted manner. At neurulation, the expression became restricted to the dorsal neural ectoderm and dorsal paraxial mesoderm. During organogenesis, the three genes were expressed in specific regions of several developing organs, including dorsal areas of the brain, spinal cord, paraxial mesenchyme, and epidermis, the marginal zone of the neural retina and distal regions of the developing limb. For all stages, significant differences in the spatial expression of Zic1, Zic2, and Zic3 were observed. Furthermore, the expression of Zic genes in Pax3, Wnt-1, and Wnt-3a mutant embryos suggested that Zic genes are not primarily regulated by the three genes which were expressed in dorsal areas similar to Zic genes. However, in open brain, a mutant with severe neural tube defects, and in the Wnt-3a mutant mice, the expression of Zic genes was changed. The changed expression pattern in Wnt-3a mutant mice suggests that Zic genes in the neural tube are regulated by the factors from notochord. Our findings suggest that Zic genes are involved in many developmental processes. Furthermore, analysis of gene expression patterns in different mouse mutants indicated that Zic genes may act upstream of many known developmental regulatory genes.     

Regulation of adrenergic nerve-mediated contraction of canine pulmonary artery by K+ channels

The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of certain subtypes of K+ channels in nerve-evoked contractions of pulmonary artery in vitro. The lobar or segmental pulmonary arteries were dissected from dogs, cut into ring segments, and the contractile responses to electrical field stimulation (EFS) and noradrenaline were measured under isometric conditions. Addition of iberiotoxin, a big conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel blocker, and apamin, a small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channel blocker, did not change the resting tension but augmented the contractile responses to EFS, so that the electric stimulus frequency required to produce a half-maximal contraction (ES50) was decreased from 18.2+/-3.5 to 7.4+/-2.3 Hz (p<0.01) and from 16.8+/-2.2 to 11.4+/-2.0 Hz (p<0.05), respectively, whereas glibenclamide, an adenosine triphosphate (ATP)-sensitive K+ channel blocker, had no effect. In contrast, none of the K+ channel blockers altered the contractile response to noradrenaline. Incubation of tissues with iberiotoxin and apamin increased the release of 3H-noradrenaline evoked by EFS. We conclude that big conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels and small conductance Ca2+-activated K+ channels may play a role in the regulation of adrenergic neurotransmission in the pulmonary artery, probably by inhibiting the exocytotic release of noradrenaline from the adrenergic nerve terminals.     

Estimation of pH and the number of lytic granules in a CD8+ CTL clone treated with an inhibitor of vacuolar type H(+)-ATPase concanamycin A

A vacuolar type H(+)-ATPase inhibitor, concanamycin A (CMA), raised the pH and induced morphologic changes such as vacuolation in lytic granules in the CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocyte clone OE4. Here we measured the pH in lytic granules present in OE4 by immunoelectron microscopic observation using (3-(2,4-dinitroanilino)-3'-amino-N-methyldipropylamine (DAMP) as a pH probe. In control OE4, only the peripheral region, but not cores, were heavily stained with DAMP. Exposure to 100 nM CMA for 60 min raised the pH in the lytic granules from 5.7 +/- 0.2 to 6.8 +/- 0.2. Furthermore, the number of lytic granules in OE4 was estimated under phase contrast microscopy after Wright staining. About 20 lytic granules in average were detected in control cells, while CMA induced vacuolation and decreased their number by 20 to 30%.     

Achieving broad-area laser diodes with high output power andsingle-lobed far-field patterns in the lateral direction by loading amodal reflector

A modal reflector, which consists of a high-reflectivity region surrounded by low-reflectivity regions, is added to the front facet of two types of broad-area laser diodes (LD's) to control the lateral modes. One type of LD is the self-aligned laser with a bent active layer (SBA LD) that has a real index-guiding mechanism. The other is a planar-stripe LD that consists of a Zn-diffused region to confine the current flow and has a gain-guiding mechanism. For the SBA LD's with a modal reflector, stable single-lobed far-field patterns (FFP's) are obtained at up to 0.3 and 0.4 W output powers in continuous wave (CW) operation and pulsed operation, respectively. In addition, for planar-stripe LD's with a modal reflector, stable single-lobed FFP's are obtained at up to 0.4 W in CW operation. The lateral modes inside the cavity are analyzed by utilizing a slit model and FFP's are calculated. Good agreement is found between experimental and calculated FFP's for a large Fresnel number     

Effect of cavity length on 1.55 ?m buried-heterostructure DH laser characteristics

Various parameters in 1.55 ?m buried-heterostructure DH laser design are obtained by simple analytical approximations and the effect of cavity length on laser characteristics. Threshold current density is found to vary strongly (3?10 kA/cm2) with cavity length when cleaved short enough. Interference in far-field patterns is shown to depend on cavity length.