Ta additive effect on RF magnetron sputtered CoCr films

Magnetic properties for sputtered CoCrTa films (18 at.% Cr and 2.0-3.0 at.% Ta), which were deposited under various background pressures P_i, and argon sputtering pressures, P _Ar, have been examined. The perpendicular anisotropy field H_k for CoCrTa films maintains high values of 5-6 kOe in a wide range of P_i and P_Ar , as compared with that for CoCr films. In order to optimize Ta composition, magnetic properties and crystalline microstructures for Ta additive content (0-4.0 at.%) have been investigated. H_k and perpendicular coercivity H_c⊥ increase with increasing Ta concentration above 2.0 at.% Ta. C-axis orientation is improved by adding Ta to CoCr films. However, above 3.0 at.% Ta, H_c⊥ steeply decreases and domain wall motion is observed, owing to the increase in crystalline grain size. The appropriate Ta composition is 2.0-3.0 at.%     

An inactivating mutation of the luteinizing hormone receptor causes amenorrhea in a 46,XX female

Hypergonadotropic hypogonadism is characterized by decreased gonadal function due to the inability of the gonads to respond to pituitary gonadotropins. Hypergonadotropic hypogonadism in females has many causes, among which are ovarian dysgenesis and abnormalities of the ovarian receptors for the pituitary gonadotropins. We evaluated a woman who presented with amenorrhea due to hypergonadotropic hypogonadism, but who had structurally normal ovaries. She is a sister of two previously identified 46,XY male pseudohermaphrodites with Leydig cell hypoplasia. Injection of hCG did not cause any change in plasma levels of estradiol or progesterone, suggesting complete ovarian resistance to LH. Analysis of the DNA sequence of the LH receptor gene revealed that the patient is homozygous for the same single base change as her two brothers. This mutation causes substitution of an alanine residue by a proline at position 593. In vitro analysis of the mutant LH receptor in cultured human embryonic kidney 293 cells documented that the receptor is unable to stimulate adenylyl cyclase in response to hCG. Plasma levels of estradiol and progesterone were low, whereas LH and FSH levels were increased. On histological analysis of the ovary, follicles were seen at all developmental stages. Nonetheless, primary amenorrhea had been present for 5 yr, and repeated measurements of plasma estradiol and progesterone indicate that ovulation does not occur. These results document the existence of inherited LH resistance as a cause of primary amenorrhea in women. The combined clinical and molecular observations are consistent with previous experimental data suggesting that in humans, LH is necessary for ovulation but follicular maturation can occur in the presence of FSH alone.     

New process for producing an extrusion laminated film without any chemical primer—non anchor coating extrusion laminating process

A new process, the Non Anchor Coating Extrusion Laminating Process for producing an extrusion laminated film without any chemical primer, was investigated. Good adhesive properties were obtained by combining an ozone treatment of a molten polyethylene (LDPE) web and an activation treatment of the polyamide (ONy) substrate film. The adhesion mechanism induced by the new process was studied by FT-IR, ESCA and extraction of unreacted polyamide from the laminated samples. The peel strength between the ONy and LDPE laminated films produced with this process was greater than that for laminated film made with a conventional lamination process using anchor coating agents. A model of the adhesive mechanism is proposed. Hydrogen and covalent bonds through oxygenated functional groups are responsible for the enhanced adhesion.     

Anti-angiogenic effect of an insertional fusion protein of human basic fibroblast growth factor and ribonuclease-1

Human pancreatic ribonuclease-1 (RNase1) does not exhibit its cytotoxicity unless it is artificially internalized into the cytosol. Furthermore, once it encounters the cytosolic RNase inhibitor (RI), the activity of RNase1 is seriously reduced. To achieve the cellular targeting of RNase1 and the blocking of RI binding simultaneously, the basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) sequence was inserted into RNase1 at the RI binding site using a gene fusion technique. The effect of this fusion protein, CL-RFN89, on the angiogenesis, which was accelerated by FGF-FGF receptor interaction, was investigated. It was shown by using fluorescein-labeled CL-RFN89, that the binding to human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) was dependent on the existence of the FGF receptors. In addition, CL-RFN89 inhibited the cellular growth of HUVECs in vitro and also inhibited the tube formation, using a three-dimensional tube formation assay. Furthermore, this fusion protein was shown to prevent in vivo tumor cell-induced angiogenesis, using the mouse dorsal air sac assay. These results demonstrated that CL-RFN89 inhibits angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo and that it can be expected to be a potent antiangiogenic agent.     

Gastrectomy enhances vulnerability to the development of alcoholism

The sensitivity of the most recent generation of anti-hepatitis C virus (anti-HCV) screening tests from seven manufacturers was evaluated with a common panel of 530 specimens from 320 HCV-infected subjects. This panel included 221 samples from 57 seroconverters (53 pre-sero conversion negative specimens and 168 positive samples) and 309 selected specimens from 263 other HCV-infected patients of which 19% exhibited NS3 or core reactivity alone with the presence of HCV-RNA assessed by PCR. None of the seven screening tests detected all infectious and antibody-positive specimens. However, important differences were observed between these assays in the number of false-negative results, which seemed mainly due to nonreactivity of antibody to the NS3 antigen.     

Distribution and enumeration of attractors in probabilistic boolean networks

Many mathematical models for gene regulatory networks have been proposed. In this study, the authors study attractors in probabilistic Boolean networks (PBNs). They study the expected number of singleton attractors in a PBN and show that it is (2 - (1=2)/sup L-1)/sup n/, where n is the number of nodes in a PBN and L is the number of Boolean functions assigned to each node. In the case of L = 2, this number is simplified into 1.5/sup n/. It is an interesting result because it is known that the expected number of singleton attractors in a Boolean network (BN) is 1. Then, we present algorithms for identifying singleton and small attractors and perform both theoretical and computational analyses on their average case time complexities. For example, the average case time complexities for identifying singleton attractors of a PBN with L = 2 and L = 3 are O(1.601/sup n/) and O(1.763/sup n/), respectively. The results of computational experiments suggest that these algorithms are much more efficient than the naive algorithm that examines all possible 2/sup n/ states.     

A 10 ns 54×54 b parallel structured full array multiplierwith 0.5 μm CMOS technology

A 54 b×54 b multiplier fabricated in a double-metal 0.5 μm CMOS technology is described. The 54 b×54 b full array is adopted to complete multiplication within one latency. A 10 ns multiplication time is achieved by optimizing both the propagation time of the part consisting of 4-2 compressors and the propagation time of the final adder part. The n-channel pass-transistor circuit and the p-channel load circuit are used at the critical blocks to improve the multiplication speed. This multiplier is intended to be applied to double-precision floating-point data processing based on the IEEE standard up to clock range of 100 MHz     

Measurement and analysis of differential work hardening behavior of pure titanium sheet using spline function

Biaxial stress tests and in-plane tension/compression tests of pure titanium sheet (JIS #1) have been carried out in order to elucidate its anisotropic plastic deformation behavior under linear stress paths. Contours of plastic work and the directions of plastic strain rates at different levels of plastic work have been precisely measured in the stress space. The measured work contours bulged significantly toward the equibiaxial direction and showed strong asymmetry, and moreover, changed its shapes significantly with increasing plastic work (differential work hardening). Using the data of the measured work contours, the applicability of selected anisotropic yield functions, i.e., Hill’s quadratic, the Yld2000-2d and Cazacu’s yield functions, to the accurate prediction of the plastic deformation behavior of the pure titanium has been discussed. It was found that these yield functions were not able to reproduce the measured data. A new method for analyzing the differential work hardening behavior of the pure titanium sheet has been developed. This method uses the spline function of Bezier curves which approximates a work contour, inspired by the methodology proposed by Vegter and Boogaard (Int. J. Plasticity 22 (2006) 557-580). The procedure for determining the spline function is described in detail. The calculated results have been in good agreement with the differential work hardening behavior of the pure titanium sheet.