Effect of UFT on treatment of urological cancer--effect of UFT on treatment of invasive bladder cancer and advanced prostate cancer. Ibaraki Urological Cancer Chemotherapy Study Group

A prospective randomized joint study was conducted to evaluate the usefulness of UFT 1) as a postoperative adjuvant therapy in patients with invasive bladder cancer who had undergone curative combination therapy with operation and/or chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy, 2) as an endocrine chemotherapy in patients with newly diagnosed stage C/D prostate cancer, for a period of 3 years from January, 1992. For bladder cancer, of 36 patients with invasive bladder cancer, clinically cured by combination therapy, 20 patients were treated with UFT as an adjuvant chemotherapy over 12 months, and they were compared to 16 patients with no adjuvant therapy. After excluding 10 inappropriate patients, 12 patients in the UFT treatment group and 14 patients with no adjuvant treatment group were observed. For prostate cancer, of 29 patients with clinically stage C/D prostate cancer, 13 were treated with endocrine therapy in combination with UFT, and 16 patients were treated with endocrine therapy alone. After excluding 7 inappropriate patients, 10 patients with endocrine chemotherapy and 12 patients with hormonal therapy were observed. The non-recurrence rate, survival rate and side effects of UFT were evaluated. In the study of bladder cancer, neither a significant difference of non-recurrent rate nor of survival rate was seen between the two groups. In the study of prostate cancer, neither a significant difference of non-recurrent rate nor of survival rate was seen between the two groups. These findings suggest UFT is less useful as an adjuvant therapy for the invasive bladder cancer and as an endocrine chemotherapy for newly diagnosed advanced prostate cancer.     

The involvement of calpain-dependent proteolysis of the tumor suppressor NF2 (merlin) in schwannomas and meningiomas

Neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2) protein, also known as merlin or schwannomin, is a tumor suppressor, and NF2 is mutated in most schwannomas and meningiomas. Although these tumors are dependent on NF2, some lack detectable NF2 mutations, which indicates that alternative mechanisms exist for inactivating merlin. Here, we demonstrate cleavage of merlin by the ubiquitous protease calpain and considerable activation of the calpain system resulting in the loss of merlin expression in these tumors. Increased proteolysis of merlin by calpain in some schwannomas and meningiomas exemplifies tumorigenesis linked to the calpain-mediated proteolytic pathway.     

Identification and diversity of bovine major histocompatibility complex class II haplotypes in Japanese Black and Holstein cattle in Japan

Bovine leukocyte antigen (BoLA), the major histocompatibility complex of cattle, is one of the most polymorphic gene clusters. We genotyped a population of 109 Japanese Black and 39 Holstein cattle to analyze their BoLA class II haplotypes, BoLA-DRB3 locus, 5 BoLA-DQA loci, and 5 BoLA-DQB loci. We identified 26 previously reported DRB3 alleles, 22 previously reported and 3 new DQA alleles, and 24 previously reported and 6 new DQB alleles. A dendrogram was constructed based on the predicted amino acid sequences of the α1 or β1 domains encoded by BoLA-DQA or -DQB alleles, which revealed that DQA alleles were clustered into 5 loci, whereas DQB alleles could not be clearly assigned to specific DQB loci. The BoLA-DRB3-DQA-DQB haplotypes were sorted by sequential analytical processes, and 42 distinct haplotypes, including 11 previously published haplotypes and 31 novel haplotypes, were defined. Strong linkage disequilibrium was present in the BoLA genes. We also compared DRB3-DQA1 haplotype frequencies between 507 Japanese Black and 143 Holstein cattle. Thirty-nine DRB3-DQA1 haplotypes were identified, including 29 haplotypes from Japanese Black and 22 haplotypes from Holstein cattle. The majority of the haplotypes could be identified in both breeds, although several haplotypes were identified in only a single breed. This is the first report presenting a detailed study of the BoLA class II haplotype in Japanese Black and Holstein cattle in Japan.     

The flow characteristics of an upward gas‐liquid two‐phase flow in a vertical tube with a wire coil: Part 2. Effect on void fraction and liquid film thickness

An experimental study has been carried out to clarify the characteristics of the void fraction and the liquid film thickness of the air‐water two‐phase flow in vertical tubes of 25‐mm inside diameter with wire coils of varying wire diameter and pitch. The flow pattern in the experiment on the average void fraction and the local void fraction distribution in cross section was a bubble flow, and the liquid film thickness was in the region of semiannular and annular flows. It is clarified from these experiments that the average void fraction in tubes with wire coils is lower than that in a smooth tube and decreases with the wire diameter owing to the centrifugal force of the swirl flow which concentrates bubbles at the center of the tube, that the local liquid film thickness becomes more uniform with a decrease in the pitch of the wire coil, and that the liquid film becomes thicker after the passage through the wire coil with an increase in the wire diameter. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Heat Trans Asian Res, 31(8): 652–664, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/htj.10067     

Streak-camera-based long-distance range finder with 10(-7) resolution

A novel optical distance meter with a pulsed yttrium aluminum garnet laser and a pair of streak cameras is developed. To minimize timing errors, the time scale is marked by an optical-registration-clock pulse. This assures an intrinsic resolution of 3 mm. For field applications, comparison of multiwavelength and single-wavelength methods confirms that the latter method is much better if carefully corrected. By use of the equipotential temperature criterion for correction of the atmospheric parameters, such as the atmospheric boundary layer effect and the temperature along the ray trajectory, a resolution of better than 1 cm is achieved over a range of 30 km. This result corresponds to a relative resolution of 3 × 10(-7). Typical ranging results in a geophysical application are shown for monitoring of the relative translational shift of the Asian (Eurasian) and the Philippine plates; the predicted shift is found to be absent.     

Multilayer Ceramic Capacitors with Thin (Ba,Sr)TiO3 Layers by MOCVD

Barium strontium titanate ((Ba,Sr)TiO₃; BST) thin films were prepared on platinum-coated MgO substrates at 650°C by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD). Perovskite single phased BST thin films were obtained. Dielectric constant at 1 kHz–100 mV was 1000. Multilayer ceramic capacitor with twelve BST dielectric layers of 0.26 m thick was formed on the MgO substrate. Capacitance and dissipation factor (tan) at 1 kHz–100 mV were 32 nF and 1.5% respectively. Capacitance per unit volume of 33 F/mm³ provided 10 to 20 times larger volumetric efficiency than the conventional multilayer ceramic capacitors. Temperature coefficient of capacitance was –4000 ppm/°C. The leakage current at 1 V was 2.3×10^-9 A that yielded an acceptable CR product of 12.8 M-F. MOCVD was proposed as one of the promising manufacturing technologies for multilayer ceramic capacitors of high performance with sub-micron thick dielectric layers.     

Preparation of Barium Strontium Titanate Thin Film by Spray Deposition

Barium strontium titanate ((Ba,Sr)TiO 3 ; BST) thin films were prepared on platinum-coated silicon substrates using spray deposition. The spray condition (substrate temperature and chamber pressure) dependence on surface roughness for the fired BST thin films was investigated. We obtained BST films thinner than 100 nm on the following properties. Average roughness (Ra) and peak-to-valley value (Rmax) were 3.9 and 130 nm. Dielectric constant and dissipation factor at 1 kHz were 250 and 1.6%. These excellent properties were obtained with even thickness. This method is considered to be advantageous for use with electronic devices that have thin dielectric layers, which make for thin films.