Pulmonary edema as an acute complication of ritodrine therapy in the presence of maternal intrauterine infection

Side effects and disadvantages of contraceptive methods currently used in zoo- and wild animals are presented and discussed. For the preservation of wild animal populations in captivity, i.e. in zoos, wild animal- and national parks, contraception alone is not suitable without a sensible supplementary postnatal selection.     

Channel-optical-waveguide fabrication based on electron-beam irradiation of polyimides

A new-channel-waveguide-fabrication process for use with polyimide is described. The new technique uses an electron-beam-induced effect to alter the refractive index of the polyimides directly. Channel waveguides with an 8-μm-wide, 8-μm-deep core have been fabricated on a polyimide film by the use of electron-beam irradiation. Only one kind of polyimide (6FDA/TFDB) was used in this waveguide. The difference in refractive index between the core and the cladding was approximately 0.30% for both TEand TM-polarized incident light when the dose was 1500 μC/cm(2), which was sufficient to produce waveguides. The optical properties of the waveguide are also demonstrated.     

Multi-scale,multi-depth lithography using optical fibers for microfluidic applications

This paper proposes and demonstrates a method for multi-scale, multi-depth three-dimensional (3D) lithography. In this method, 3D molds for replicating microchannels are fabricated by passing a non-focused laser beam through an optical fiber, whose tip is immersed in a droplet of photopolymer. Line width is adjustable from 1 to 980 µm using eight kinds of optical fibers with different core diameters. The height of line drawing can be controlled by adjusting the distance between the tip of the optical fiber and a substrate. The surface roughness (R_a, R_z) of a single line and plane was evaluated. The method was employed to fabricate a 3D mold of a microchannel containing tandem chambers, which was then successfully replicated in PDMS. Multi-scale, multi-depth 3D lithography can provide a simple, flexible tool for producing PDMS microfluidic devices.     

Safe breakwater-following control of an autonomous underwater vehicle with non-zero forward velocity

Periodic inspection is essential for the maintenance and security of port facilities. This paper discusses safe path-following control of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) for port area inspection. An AUV usually has a non-holonomic constraint and cannot be stabilized by continuous linear feedback control. In this paper, we derive the error dynamics with respect to a straight line path and show that its linear form is controllable. We then propose a tuning method of linear feedback control gains, which considers the turn point, safety during navigation, and the physical limitations of the vehicle. A critical damped response to a given path is commonly regarded as an ideal one. However, in some cases underdamped and overdamped responses are better for safe navigation. The tuning method can select the suitable damping degree of the control response. Our method is first described for horizontal motion control and then is generalized to vertical motion and 3-D motion controls. Simulations were done to verify the effectiveness of the proposed tuning method and the results are discussed.     

Effect of the selective PAF antagonist SM-10661 on an asthmatic model. 1. Effect on passive anaphylactic bronchoconstriction in guinea pigs

The effect of SM-10661, a selective antagonist of platelet-activating factor (PAF), on passive anaphylactic bronchoconstriction was examined in guinea pigs. A challenge of ovalbumin to passively sensitized guinea pigs induced bronchoconstriction, which peaked at 4 min. When SM-10661 was administered intravenously 2 min before ovalbumin challenge, bronchoconstriction was inhibited dose-dependently with an ID₅₀ of 68 mg/kg. In guinea pigs pretreated with 15 μg/kg mepyramine which is a suboptimal dose, antigen-induced bronchoconstriction peaked at 4–6 min, but was inhibited by SM-10661 with an ID₅₀ of 21 mg/kg. When guinea pigs were pretreated intravenously with 2.5 mg/kg mepyramine, 1 mg/kg indomethacin and 0.01 mg/kg propranolol, the antigen-induced bronchoconstriction peaked at 6 min. SM-10661 inhibited the response with an ID₅₀ of 45 mg/kg. Histamine- and leukotriene D₄-induced bronchoconstrictions were unaffected by up to 100 mg/kg SM-10661. Ovalbumin challenge of minced lungs from passively sensitized guinea pigs triggered the release of leukotrienes and histamine. SM-10661 had no effect on the antigen-induced release of peptide leukotrienes or histamine up to 10⁻⁴ M. These results indicate that SM-10661 may be a useful tool to investigate the role of PAF in antigen-induced anaphylactic bronchoconstriction. Based on a paper presented at the Third International Conference on Platelet-Activating Factor and Structurally Related Alkyl Ether Lipids, Tokyo, Japan, May 1989.     

Secondary electron emission and glow discharge properties of 12CaO·7Al2O3 electride for fluorescent lamp applications

12CaO·7Al₂O₃ electride, a sub-nanoporous compound having a work function of 2.4 eV, was examined as a candidate cathode material in fluorescent lamps. The electron emission yield was higher and the discharge voltage was lower for 12CaO·7Al₂O₃ than for existing cathode materials such as Ni, Mo or W; therefore, the energy consumption of the fluorescent lamps can be improved using 12CaO·7Al₂O₃ cathodes. Prototype glow-discharge lamps using 12CaO·7Al₂O₃ were constructed and exhibited reasonable durability.     

Giant magnetoresistance due to electron-hole pair mechanism in poly(N-vinylcarbazole)

An amorphous molecular semiconductor, poly(N-vinylcarbazole) (PVCz), exhibits negative giant magnetoresistance (MR) under ambient conditions. The application of a weak magnetic field of 10 mT to PVCz films doped with lumichrome, in which light excitation immediately creates triplet electron-hole (e-h) pairs that are precursors of photocarriers, causes a steep decrease in resistivity by more than 20% at ambient temperature. Further, the resistivity of the doped film gradually reduces by approximately one-half under a field of 1 T, equivalent to an MR ratio of ?55%. In addition, anomalous spikes are also detected at 0.07, 0.30, and 9.0 T, indicative of an exponential dependence with a decay distance of 0.1 nm in the exchange interaction of the e-h pair. A quantum mechanical calculation based on the density operator formalism clarifies that the observed MR effect can be comprehensively understood by the spin-selective charge dynamics and the coherent and incoherent spin dynamics of the e-h pair in a quasi-one-dimensional lattice for photocarrier generation. Model calculations also indicate the importance of the spin-lattice relaxation for the giant MR effect in organic molecular semiconductors.     

Up-regulation by progesterone of proliferating cell nuclear antigen and epidermal growth factor expression in human uterine leiomyoma

Uterine leiomyoma is the most common smooth muscle cell tumor of the myometrium. Estrogen and progesterone (P4) are believed to be physiological regulators of leiomyoma growth. We recently showed that Bcl-2 protein, an apoptosis-inhibiting gene product, was abundantly expressed in leiomyoma relative to its expression in the normal myometrium and that Bcl-2 protein expression in cultured leiomyoma cells was up-regulated by P4, but down-regulated by 17 beta-estradiol (E2). To further characterize the molecular mechanism of sex steroidal regulation of leiomyoma growth, we examined the effect of menstrual phase on proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) expression in leiomyoma and investigated whether sex steroids could influence PCNA expression in leiomyoma cells cultured under serum-free conditions by immunoblot and immunohistochemical analyses. As epidermal growth factor (EGF) has been shown to mediate estrogen action and to play a crucial role in regulating leiomyoma growth, we also investigated the effects of sex steroids on the expression of EGF and EGF receptor (EGF-R) in cultured leiomyoma cells. The PCNA labeling index in leiomyomas was much greater in the secretory, P4-dominated, phase than in the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle and was significantly higher than that in the adjacent normal myometrium throughout the menstrual cycle. In monolayer cultures of leiomyoma cells, the addition of either E2 (10 ng/mL) or P4 (100 ng/mL) resulted in an increase in PCNA expression in the cells compared to that in control cultures, whereas in monolayer cultures of myometrial cells, the addition of E2 augmented PCNA expression in the cells, but P4 did not. Immunoblot analysis of proteins extracted from cultured leiomyoma cells revealed that leiomyoma cells contained immunoreactive EGF with a molecular mass of 133 kDa and that the addition of P4 resulted in a remarkable increase in the expression of 133- and 71-kDa immunoreactive EGF in the cells compared to that in control cultures, whereas the addition of E2 resulted in a somewhat lower expression of immunoreactive EGF in the cells. Furthermore, immunocytochemical analysis with a monoclonal antibody to human EGF-R demonstrated that the treatment with E2 augmented EGF-R expression in the cells compared to that in untreated cells, but P4 did not. The concentrations of sex steroids used were within the physiological tissue concentrations found in leiomyomas and myometria. These results indicate that P4 up-regulates the expression of PCNA and immunoreactive EGF in leiomyoma cells, whereas E2 up-regulates the expression of PCNA and EGF-R in those cells. As it is evident that EGF plays a crucial role as a local factor in regulating leiomyoma growth, the P4-induced increase in PCNA expression in leiomyoma cells may be mediated by P4-induced enhanced expression of EGF-like proteins in the cells, whereas the E2-induced increase in PCNA expression in leiomyoma cells may be mediated by E2-induced enhanced expression of EGF-R in those cells. It is, therefore, conceivable that P4 and E2 act in combination to stimulate the proliferative potential of leiomyoma cells through the induction of EGF-like proteins and EGF-R expression in uterine leiomyoma.     

Bottom-coverage simulation for magnetron-sputtering apparatus activated with superconducting bulk magnet

The bottom coverage in circular via holes for magnetron sputtering apparatus equipped with a superconducting bulk magnet was analyzed using computer simulation. Owing to the high magnetic field, the apparatus allowed film deposition under low pressure. In the simulation, the transport of sputtered atoms was treated by the Monte Carlo method and the film deposition was calculated using a string model. The simulated results qualitatively reproduced the behavior of the measured bottom coverage. However, considerable deviation was observed depending on the geometry. It was ascribed to factors such as resputtering, reflection, and surface diffusion.     

CIM system for telecommunications equipment

Much of telecommunications equipment manufacturing consists of relatively small production runs of a wide variety of products. This paper discusses the problems in such manufacturing systems and the development of a computer-integrated manufacturing system proposed to solve these problems.