Disseminated intra-abdominal cystic lymphangiomatosis with severe intestinal bleeding. A case report

We describe cystic lymphangiomatosis with intestinal bleeding developing multiple lymphangiomas in the small intestine, mesentery, mesocolon, omentum, retroperitoneum, and spleen. Small intestinal fluorography showed multiple polypoid lesions, mainly in the jejunum. Ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging showed diffuse cystic tumors in the mesentery and spleen. Cystic lymphangiomatosis was proved by histologic findings of the biopsied specimen at laparotomy.     

SAW velocity measurement of crystals and thin films by the phasevelocity scanning of interference fringes

We present principle and application of a novel noncontact velocity measurement of surface acoustic waves (SAW) on crystals and thin films using laser interference fringes scanned at the phase velocity of SAW. The scanning interference fringes (SIF) are produced by intersecting two laser beams with a frequency difference. The SAW velocity within the laser beam spot is measured as the ratio of observed SAW frequency and predetermined wave number of the SIF. The frequency measurement can be quite precise because of a large number of generated SAW carriers and amplitude enhancement effect. The SAW velocity measurement is free from the water loading effect accompanying the leaky SAW measurements. This principle was successfully applied to evaluate Si ₃N₄ and SiO₂ films deposited on Si (001) surface     

Activation of BK(Ca) channel via endothelin ET(A) receptors in porcine coronary artery smooth muscle cells

It has been demonstrated previously that endothelin-1 stimulates the Ca2+-activated K+ (BK(Ca)) channel activity in porcine coronary artery smooth muscle cells. The purpose of the present study was to delineate the endothelin receptor subtype involved in this action. In receptor binding studies, [125I]endothelin-1 was shown to bind to the homogenate of porcine primary coronary artery smooth muscle cells in a single class of binding sites with K(D) and Bmax values of 73 pM and 99 fmol/mg protein, respectively. Furthermore, endothelin-1 and endothelin-3 displaced the binding of [125I]endothelin-1 to these cells with respective IC50 values of 70 and 17000 pM, a 240-fold difference in potency. The effects of endothelin-3 on the activity of the BK(Ca) channel in porcine coronary artery smooth muscle cells were examined using the cell-attached patch-clamp technique. Similar to endothelin-1, endothelin-3 also exhibited a bell-shaped concentration-response curve. A maximal increase of 95% in channel open-state probability (Po) was induced by 100 nM endothelin-3 as compared with the 320% increase in Po by 1 nM endothelin-1. Thus, endothelin-1 was about 100-fold more potent and 3.4-fold more efficacious than endothelin-3 in this action. Both the receptor binding and the electrophysiological results suggest that the effects of endothelins on the BK(Ca) channel are mediated through the endothelin ET(A) receptor subtype.     

High temperature stable GHz-range low-loss wide band transducersand filter using SiO2/LiNbO3, LiTaO3

GHz-range low-loss transducers and filters are required for communication systems, especially mobile telephone communication systems. Many types of low insertion-loss transducers and filters utilizing the high electromechanical coupling coefficient (K²) materials such as LiNbO₃ and LiTaO₃ have been developed. Unfortunately, these materials have large temperature coefficients of the frequency (TCF). In this paper, SAW substrates with high coupling coefficients and low propagation attenuations and small temperature coefficient of frequency in the GHz-range are theoretically and experimentally investigated. The experimental results show very low propagation loss of 0.02 dB/λ ₀ and larger K² than those of the substrates of LiNbO₃ and LiTaO₃ at the TCF of below -5 ppm/°C at 1~2 GHz-range. The low-loss filter results using internal reflection types of IDT show the insertion loss of about 2.9 dB at 1 GHz and 4.9 dB at 2 GHz under the TCF's of 0 and +20 ppm/°C. These materials are applicable for devices at GHz-range because SiO₂ thickness is very thin such as below 1 μm and the center frequency shift of the filter versus SiO₂ thickness is very small     

Neuromuscular blocking actions of the aminoglycoside antibiotics sisomicin and micronomicin in the rabbit

In children with immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), bone marrow lymphocytes can express the common acute lymphoblastic leukemia antigen (CALLA) pattern with no evidence of leukemia or lymphoma. Bone marrow lymphocytes from 23 children and 20 adults affected with ITP were studied to determine the incidence and the clinical impact of lymphocytes with the immature B-cell phenotype and CD34+ cell expression. In this investigation we identified a group consisting of 52% of the children who showed the immature B phenotype, while the remaining 48%, similarly to adult ITP displayed an increase of T-cell antigens. CD34 was positive in 53% of children, but it was present in only half of the patients with the immature B phenotype and it was always absent in adults. IgH genes disclosed a germline configuration in all six patients in the immature B phenotype group. No difference was found in the two groups of children in terms of age, presentation of the disease or final outcome. Finally, no patient in either children's group has developed an acute lymphoproliferative disorder.     

Encapsulation of lead-free Sn/Zn/Bi solder alloy particles by coating with wax powder for improving oxidation resistance

An encapsulation treatment of lead-free Sn/Zn/Bi solder powder was investigated for improving the oxidation resistance. Sn-8mass%Zn-3mass%Bi alloy particles were coated with a wax (12-hydroxystearic acid) powder by means of a dry mechanical treatment method using a ball mill. In order to determine the optimum operating conditions of the ball mill in the wax-coating treatments, the compressive energy required for deforming a single Sn/Zn/Bi alloy particle was measured with an unconfined compression tester and the mechanical energy applied to the alloy particles in the ball mill was estimated using the results of the compression test. The optimum operating conditions were determined based on both the applied energy and the flowability of solder pastes, and the wax-coated alloy particles maintaining the spherical shape were obtained under the conditions. The wettability test and the solder balling test for the solder pastes containing the wax-coated alloy particles stored at room temperature in air were carried out to evaluate the oxidation resistance performance. The wax-coated alloy particles had an excellent wettability compared with the original alloy particles, and the oxidation resistance of the Sn/Zn/Bi solder powder was improved by the encapsulation treatment.     

The spatial distribution of Zn during galvanic corrosion of a Zn/steel couple

The spatial distribution of Zn²⁺ during galvanic corrosion of a model Zn/steel couple in 0.01 M NaCl was investigated using a scanning zinc disk electrode. The couple had a coplanar arrangement of a steel substrate with an electroplated zinc layer at the center. During galvanic corrosion, the marked changes in the Zn²⁺ concentration were confined to a thin solution layer ca. 1.0 mm thick above the couple surface. In this thin solution layer above the zinc layer, a higher concentration region of Zn²⁺ in the range of 5-18 mM extended around the zinc layer in the solution during galvanic corrosion. Conversely, above the steel surface distant from the zinc layer, the surface concentration of Zn²⁺ was almost zero during galvanic corrosion. On this surface, the precipitation of zinc corrosion products due to the hydrolysis reaction of Zn²⁺ was observed. The distribution of the Zn²⁺ concentration supported that Zn²⁺ acted as a buffer that suppressed the increased pH due to the cathodic reaction on the steel surface near the zinc layer and almost no corrosion products formed there. The spatial distribution of Zn²⁺ is discussed in relation to the distributions of potential and pH and the surface morphology of the galvanic couple.     

Sequential addition of temperature-sensitive missense mutations into the PB2 gene of influenza A transfectant viruses can effect an increase in temperature sensitivity and attenuation and permits the rational design of a genetically engineered live influenza A virus vaccine

We have previously described a strategy for the recovery of a synthetic influenza A virus wild-type (wt) PB2 gene (derived from influenza A/Ann Arbor/6/60 [AA] virus) into an infectious virus. It was possible to introduce an attenuating temperature-sensitive (ts) mutation at amino acid residue 265 of the AA wt PB2 gene and to rescue this mutant gene into infectious virus. Application of this new technology to influenza A virus vaccine development requires that multiple attenuating mutations be introduced to achieve a satisfactorily attenuated virus that retains the attenuation (att) phenotype following replication in vivo. In this report, we demonstrate that putative ts mutations at amino acids 112, 556, and 658 each indeed specify the ts and att phenotypes. Each of these mutations was introduced into a cDNA copy of the AA mutant mt265 PB2 gene to produce three double-mutant PB2 genes, each of which was rescued into an infectious virus. In general, the double-mutant PB2 transfectant viruses were more ts and attenuated in the lower respiratory tracts of hamsters than the single-mutant transfectant viruses, and the ts phenotype of two of three double-mutant PB2 transfectant viruses was stable even after prolonged replication in the upper respiratory tracts of immunocompromised mice. Two triple-mutant PB2 transfectant viruses with three predicted amino acid substitutions resulting from five nucleotide substitutions in the cDNA were then generated. The triple-mutant PB2 transfectant viruses were more ts and more attenuated than the double-mutant PB2 transfectant viruses. These results indicate that sequential introduction of additional ts mutations into the PB2 gene can yield mutants that exhibit a stepwise increase in temperature sensitivity and attenuation compared with the preceding mutant(s) in the series. Furthermore, the level of temperature sensitivity of the transfectant viruses correlated significantly with the level of attenuation of these viruses in hamsters. Although the triple-mutant PB2 transfectant viruses were attenuated in hamsters, intranasal administration of these viruses elicited a vigorous serum hemagglutination-inhibiting antibody response, and this was associated with resistance of the lower respiratory tract to subsequent wt virus challenge. These observations suggest the feasibility of using PB2 reverse genetics to generate a live influenza A virus vaccine donor strain that contains three attenuating mutations in one gene. It is predicted that reassortant viruses derived from such a donor virus would have the properties of attenuation, genetic stability, immunogenicity, and protective efficacy against challenge with wt virus.     

Measurement of slowly varying component in phase error distribution of a large-channel-spacing arrayed-waveguide grating

It has been difficult to measure the phase error distribution of a large-channel-spacing arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) with optical low coherence interferometry (OLCI). In this reported work OLCI was successfully used to measure the slowly varying component in the distribution of a 1 THz-spaced AWG that was the primary filter in an ultra-high-density multi/demultiplexer. The spectral sidelobe of the AWG can be reduced by using the component to achieve the lowest possible accumulated crosstalk in the multi/demultiplexer.