Clinical planning support system-CliPSS

Clinical planning support system (CliPSS), which is software developed to support neurosurgical planning and to enable a surgeon to generate 3-D computed images interactively and simulate sterotactic surgery on them, is discussed. The basic functions of CliPSS, involving section display, editing, extraction, and rendering, are reviewed. A method of thinning the volume of polygonal data for a surface-rendered image, which improves CliPPS's performance and interactivity, is presented     

Specific isoprenyl group linked to transducin gamma-subunit is a determinant of its unique signaling properties among G-proteins

Among 11 subtypes of heterotrimeric G-protein gamma-subunit, gamma1 (rod), gamma8 (cone) and gamma11 are modified with farnesyl while the others are modified with geranylgeranyl at the C-terminus. To understand the role of specific isoprenylation (farnesylation) of retinal transducin, we examined how and to what extent the type of isoprenyl group affects transducin-beta gamma (beta1 gamma1) functions such as interactions with membranes, Galpha/receptor, and effectors. To this end, the C-terminal farnesylation signal sequence (CVIS) of gamma1 was replaced by a geranylgeranylation signal (CVIL), and the resultant mutant (S74L) or wild-type (WT) gamma1 was coexpressed with beta1 in the baculovirus-Tn5 insect cell system. Both gamma1WT and gamma1S74L expressed as a beta gamma complex were mixtures modified with farnesyl and geranylgeranyl groups. The ratio of farnesyl to geranylgeranyl in preparations of beta1 gamma1WT and beta1 gamma1S74L purified from the Tn5 cell membrane fraction was about 1:2 and 1:6, respectively. These two forms of recombinant beta1 gamma1 and retinal beta1 gamma1 were different in their abilities to associate with rod outer segment membranes with the following rank order: beta1 gamma1S74L > beta1 gamma1WT > retinal beta1 gamma1. Functionally, beta1 gamma1S74L was the most potent to promote pertussis toxin-catalyzed ADP ribosylation of transducin-alpha (Talpha), to stimulate metarhodopsin II-catalyzed GTPgammaS-binding reaction to Talpha and to modulate adenylyl cyclase and phospholipase C activities. All of the beta1 gamma1 functions absolutely required the isoprenylation of the gamma-subunit. As for the interaction with Goalpha and adenylyl cyclase, predominantly geranylgeranylated beta1 gamma1S74L was less effective than geranylgeranylated beta1 gamma2 purified from bovine brain. These results demonstrate that the properties of Gbeta gamma are strongly affected by the type of functionally indispensable isoprenylation in addition to the amino acid sequence of Ggamma. The relative contribution of the two factors depends on proteins with which Gbeta gamma interacts.     

Velocity, electromechanical coupling factor and acoustic loss of surface shear waves propagating along x-axis on rotated Y-cut plates of LiNbO3

Velocity and propagation loss of surface shear waves are measured on free-space and metallised surfaces of LiNbO3 crystals along the x-axis of rotated Y-cut plates as a function of rotation about the x-axis between 35° and 70°. The coupling factor obtained from the velocities is 0.20 for a 35° rotated Y-cut plate and 0.09 for a 70° plate. The coupling factor changes linearly with the rotation angle. The propagation losses over the whole range measured here are less than 5 dB/cm on both free-space and on metallised surfaces. These losses are fairly low and very favourable for fabricating s.a.w. filters.     

Solid-state microwave relay systems in Japan

In response to the rapidly increasing demand for communication facilities, microwave relay systems have played an important role in Japan's telecommunications network because of their economy and capability for broadband transmission. Their progress has been marked during the past 20 years and this development has been supported by advances in such diverse fields as radio propagation, antennas, microwave and electronic circuitry, electron devices, and, particularly, in solid-state techniques. This article reviews the history of microwave relay systems and describes the past and expected future contributions of the solid-state technology to these systems.     

Mechanisms of tubulin modification by phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxides

The interaction of lipid peroxides with cellular proteins has been postulated to contribute to cellular aging. A potential target for such effects is tubulin, the building block of microtubules. We examined the concentration-dependent effects of phosphatidylcholine hydroperoxides on the ability of tubulin to polymerize into microtubules. The results demonstrated that even very low concentrations of peroxides were sufficient to interfere with the tubulin and, therefore, the microtubule function. Decreased tubulin activity (as measured by tubulin GTPase activity) showed correlation with the modification of methionine and cysteine in tubulin and a change in the tubulin conformational state as indicated by fluorescence and ultraviolet spectroscopic measurements. As no effect on electric conductivity was observed, indicating that modulation of ionic binding was not involved, the interaction mechanism may be a hydrophobic one.     

Field-induced silver injection into lithium disilicate glass

The objective of this work was to study field-induced silver injection into Li₂O · 2SiO₂ glass by the techniques of secondary ion mass spectrometry and thermally stimulated polarization/depolarization current (TSPC/TSDC), with an emphasis on the comparison experiments between gold and silver electrodes. For both anode materials, accumulation of lithium was found near the cathode. The blocking nature of the gold anode was demonstrated by the closeness of the observed and estimated width of the alkali-depleted region near the anode. For silver-anode samples, field-induced silver injection as well as lithium conduction occured and increased the TSPC slope from that of the gold-anode samples.     

A Spatial-Domain Technique for the Design of 3-D Separable-Denominator State-Space Digital Filters

In this paper,a technique for designing 3-D separable-denominator state-spacedigital filters is developed. The design process is divided intotwo phases. First, the coefficient matrices related to stabilityare constructed for the filter to be stable by using alternatingvariable method. Next, the other matrices are obtained by solvinglinear equations. These phases are repeated until there is nosignificant change in the squared error function.