Plasma levels of amyloid beta proteins Abeta1-40 and Abeta1-42(43) are elevated in Down''s syndrome

We report a case of pseudosarcomatous fibromyxoid tumor of the bladder in a 23-year-old man with a 2 month history of painless gross hematuria, which was studied by biphasic contrast-enhanced helical CT. CT demonstrated a 2 cm diameter polypoid enhancing mass in the anterior bladder wall. The lesion measured 103 and 91 HU on early and delayed images, respectively. Increased contrast enhancement was attributed to a histologically highly vascular myxoid stroma.     

Performance of passive heat removal by an air‐cooling panel from a high‐temperature gas‐cooled reactor

An experiment was performed to simulate an air‐cooling panel system for passive decay heat removal from a high‐temperature gas‐cooled reactor to investigate the performance of decay heat removal and the temperature distributions of components of the system. The experimental apparatus consisted of a pressure vessel 1 m wide and 3 m high. Nineteen simulated standpipes containing heaters with a maximum heating rate of 100 kW simulated residual heat of the core, and the cooling panels surrounded the pressure vessel. An analytical code (THANPACST2) was applied to the experimental data to investigate the validity of the analytical method and the model proposed. Under the conditions of helium gas at a pressure of 0.64 MPa and temperature of 514 °C in the pressure vessel, the predicted temperature distribution in the pressure vessel was estimated and was within ?10 to +50 °C as compared to the experimental data. The analysis indicated that the heat transferred to the cooling panel was 15.4% less than the experimental value. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(8): 665–677, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10061     

Correlation between resistivity and oxygen vacancy of hydrogen-doped indium tin oxide thin films

Thin films of indium tin oxide (ITO) sputter-deposited by dc-plasma containing deuterium on glass substrate without any heat treatments exhibited gradual lowering in electrical resistivity with increasing the deuterium content [D₂] in plasma gas by 1% and then demonstrated a jump in resistivity by further increase of [D₂] than 1%. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed that hydroxyl-bonded oxygen in ITO grew continuingly with [D₂]. Deuterium positioned at the interstitial site increased almost quantitatively with increasing [D₂]. Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy showed gradual reduction in the oxygen content of ITO with increasing [D₂] by 1% and then demonstrated an abrupt increase of the oxygen content with the increase of [D₂] than 1%. The films with [D₂] < 1% were oxygen deficient, but those with [D₂] > 1% were excess of oxygen. The most oxygen deficient film of [D₂] = 1% was the most conductive. Behavior in the resistivity with [D₂] looks parallel to that in the oxygen content. A lower resistivity of the films corresponded well to oxygen vacancy rather than hydrogen interstitial.     

The Direct Spectroscopy of Positronium Hyperfine Structure Using a Sub-THz Gyrotron

Positronium is an ideal system for research on Quantum Electrodynamics (QED), especially in a bound state. A discrepancy of 3.9 standard deviations has been found between the measured hyperfine structure (Ps-HFS) and the QED predictions. This may be due to the contribution of unknown new physics or common systematic effects in previous measurements, in all of which the Zeeman effect was used. We propose a new method to directly measure the Ps-HFS using a high power gyrotron. We compare two resonators which have been developed to supply sufficient power to drive the direct transition, a Fabry-Pérot resonator and a ring resonator with a diffraction grating. We plan to perform first direct measurement of Ps-HFS within the next six months.     

Characterization of germanium implanted Si1−xGex layer

Characterization of a Si_1−xGe_x layer formed by high-dose germanium implantation and subsequent solid phase epitaxy is reported. Properties of this layer are obtained from electrical measurements on diodes and transistors fabricated in this layer. Results are compared with those of the silicon control devices. It was observed that the germanium implantation created considerable defects that are difficult to eliminate with annealing. These defects result in boron deactivation in the p-type regions of the devices, giving rise to larger resistance. Optimization of the device structure and fabrication process is discussed.     

The effect of washing and heat treatment on the surface characteristics of fluorocarbon resin-treated polyester

Polyester fabrics and films treated with two fluorocarbon resins were washed and heat treated. Water repellency, surface tension and ESCA measurements were carried out. Changes in the water repellency of the resin-treated polyester fabric caused by washing and heat treatment are related to modification of the chemical composition of the polyester surface.     

Decreased beta-phenylethylamine in CSF in Parkinson's disease

OBJECTIVE: To determine the concentrations of beta-phenylethylamine (PEA) in CSF in patients with Parkinson's disease, and to evaluate the relation between concentration of PEA in CSF and severity of Parkinson's disease. METHODS: Using gas chromatography-chemical ionisation mass spectrometry, CSF concentrations of PEA were measured in 23 patients with Parkinson's disease (mean age, 64.0 (SD 8.2) years), of whom three were at Hoehn and Yahr stage II, 11 were at stage III, and nine were at stage IV. Comparison was made with eight patients with neuropathy (mean age, 57.0 (SD 19.2) years) and 12 controls without neurological disease (mean age, 57.6 (SD 4.8) years). RESULTS: Concentrations of PEA in CSF in Parkinson's disease were significantly lower (mean 205 (SD 131) pg/ml) than in patients with peripheral neuropathy (433 (SD 254) pg/ml) and controls (387 (SD 194) pg/ml). The concentrations of PEA in CSF correlated negatively with Hoehn and Yahr stage (P<0.01). CONCLUSIONS: There are decreased CSF concentrations of PEA in patients with Parkinson's disease.