Partial median sternotomy for pediatric cardiac surgery

There have been few reports on lymph node swelling in human parvovirus (HPV) B19 infection. A report of a 42-year-old female, who developed HPV B19-associated transient red cell aplasia with lymphadenopathy, is presented. The lymph node swelling began with the appearance of atypical lymphocytes in the peripheral blood and it disappeared as the patient recovered from the aplasia. Microscopically, the patient's bone marrow showed characteristic giant proerythroblasts with no maturation of the erythroid series. An excised inguinal lymph node showed florid, reactive follicular hyperplasia with paracortex expansion, and neutrophil infiltration and hemophagocytosis in the medullary sinus. These findings were compatible with the histology of a viral infection. A polymerase chain reaction study revealed HPV B19 in her serum and lymph node, but an immunohistochemical study failed to demonstrate HPV B19 capsid antigen in the lymph node or bone marrow. Although the present case suggests that reactive lymphadenopathy is associated with HPV B19 infection, the mechanism of the lymph node swelling still remains to be elucidated.     

Activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) by lysophosphatidic acid in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) induced activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK) in Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts. This activation reached the maximum at 20 min and required a high concentration of LPA with an EC50 value of approximately 3 microg/ml. LPA-induced activation of JNK was not suppressed by prior treatment of the cells with pertussis toxin, whereas it was completely blocked by suramin, a non-selective inhibitor of ligand-receptor interactions. The kinetics and concentration-dependency of LPA-induced JNK activation were in sharp contrast with those of LPA-induced extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) activation, which reached the maximum within 3 min and occurred with an EC50 of 0.1 microg/ml. The ERK activation was susceptible to pertussis toxin, whereas it was not inhibited by suramin. These results indicate that the signal transduction pathways of LPA-induced JNK and ERK activations are distinct. Thus, this is the first report showing that LPA induces not only ERK activation but also JNK activation, which may be responsible for the induction of DNA synthesis in LPA-stimulated Swiss 3T3 fibroblasts.     

Fundamental design and electrical characteristics of superconducting commutatorless motor

Since there are no iron cores in the rotor and stator windings of superconducting synchronous motors, some reactances are intrinsically smaller than those of conventional motors. Thus the low synchronous reactance would be expected to improve the torque-ampere ratio stability and the overload capacity in case of the variable-speed drive system of a load-commutated inverter due to the small armature reaction. Moreover, the low subtransient reactance may contribute to lessen the voltage stress during the shortened commutating period, especially in current source-type inverter (CSI) systems. In this paper, after presenting analytical formulas needed for a machine design, one design algorithm is described, citing one example of an experimental CSI-fed superconducting motor of 30 kVA which will be fabricated. Further, the distinguished features in its operation, as expected in the foregoing, are verified by the computer simulation study in comparison with a conventional machine in terms of a high specific power density, an extension of stable power limit, and so on.     

Preparation of long sticky ends for universal ligation-independent cloning: Sequential T4 DNA polymerase treatments

Ligation-independent cloning (LIC) is a useful method for efficient directional cloning of a PCR product. LIC requires a specially designed vector containing a long stretch of sequence that is missing any one of the four nucleotides. When the linearized vector is treated with T4 DNA polymerase, in the presence of the absent base, long single-stranded overhangs are generated that are suitable for cloning. In this study, long and efficient sticky ends for LIC were produced by sequential T4 DNA polymerase treatments at non-specific sequences on a commercially available vector. All restriction enzyme sites become available in the current LIC.     

The nature of adolescent competencies predicted by preschool delay of gratification.

Delay of gratification, assessed in a series of experiments when the subjects were in preschool, was related to parental personality ratings obtained a decade later for 95 of these children in adolescence. Clear and consistent patterns of correlations between self-imposed delay time in preschool and later ratings were found for both sexes over this time span. Delay behavior predicted a set of cognitive and social competencies and stress tolerance consistent with experimental analyses of the process underlying effective delay in the preschool delay situation. Specifically, children who were able to wait longer at age 4 or 5 became adolescents whose parents rated them as more academically and socially competent, verbally fluent, rational, attentive, planful, and able to deal well with frustration and stress. Comparisons with related longitudinal research using other delay situations help to clarify the important features of the situations and person variables involved in different aspects of delay of gratification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interval effect of beta-irradiation and subsequent 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide painting on skin tumor induction in mice

Skin tumors were produced in female ICR mice by 90Sr-90Y beta-irradiation and subsequent 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide painting. The doses were chosen so as to produce no tumors with a single agent alone; the interval between two treatments ranged from 11 to 408 days. The tumor induction rate was found to be at almost the same level (average, 12.4%) for each interval. The results indicate the persistence of the latent carcinogenic alterations in the beta-irradiated mouse skin.     

Diffusion of vanadium,chromium, and manganese in copper

The diffusion coefficients of vanadium, chromium and manaanese in copper have been determined by the residual activity method with radioactive tracers V⁴⁸, Cr⁵¹ and Mn⁵⁴ in the temperature ranges between 955 and 1342 K, between 999 and 1338 K and between 971 and 1253 K, respectively. The temperature dependence of the diffusion coefficients is expressed by the following Arrhenius equations along with the probable errors:D _V/Cu = (2.48 _-0.44 ^+0.53 ) x 10⁻⁴ exp [-(215 ± 2) kJ mol⁻¹/RT] m² per s,D _Cr/Cu = (0.337 _-0.090 ^+0.124 ) x 10⁻⁴ exp [-(195 ± 3) kJ mol⁻¹/RT] m² per s,D _Mn/Cu = (1.02 _-0.18 ^+0.22 ) x 10⁻⁴ exp [-(200 ± 2) kJ mol⁻¹/RT] m² per s. Anomalous penetration profiles for the diffusion of Cr⁵¹ and Mn⁵⁴ in the present results suggest that experimental results onD _Cr/Cu andD _Mn/Cu in the past have been influenced by oxidation and evaporation of the chemically active radiotracers during annealing for diffusion. formerly Graduate Student, Tohoku University     

Incoherent-scatter computed tomography with monochromaticsynchrotron x ray: feasibility of multi-CT imaging system forsimultaneous measurement-of fluorescent and incoherent scatter x rays

We describe a new system of incoherent scatter computed tomography (ISCT) using monochromatic synchrotron X rays, and we discuss its potential to be used in in vivo imaging for medical use. The system operates on the basis of computed tomography (CT) of the first generation. The reconstruction method for ISCT uses the least squares method with singular value decomposition. The research was carried out at the BLNE-5A bending magnet beam line of the Tristan Accumulation Ring in KEK, Japan. An acrylic cylindrical phantom of 20-mm diameter containing a cross-shaped channel was imaged. The channel was filled with a diluted iodine solution with a concentration of 200 μgI/ml. Spectra obtained with the system's high purity germanium (HPGe) detector separated the incoherent X-ray line from the other notable peaks, i.e., the iK_α and K_β1 X-ray fluorescent lines and the coherent scattering peak. CT images were reconstructed from projections generated by integrating the counts In the energy window centering around the incoherent scattering peak and whose width was approximately 2 keV. The reconstruction routine employed an X-ray attenuation correction algorithm. The resulting image showed more homogeneity than one without the attenuation correction