Detection of hepatitis C virus RNA from the heart of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

We investigated hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in 35 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and 40 patients with ischemic heart disease who were consecutively admitted to our hospital. Frequency of positive anti-HCV antibody was significantly higher in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (6 of 35 patients, 17.1%) than that in patients with ischemic heart disease (1 of 40 patients, 2.5%, p = 0.036). In three of these six patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, HCV RNA was detected in myocardial tissue. In two of these three patients, HCV RNA was detected from biopsy and autopsy specimens of the ventricles, but not in the serum, suggesting that HCV may replicate in myocardial tissue and may be relevant to ventricular hypertrophy. Thus, HCV infection may play a role in the development of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.     

Salvage chemotherapy with mitomycin, vindesine, and cisplatin (MiViP) in recurrent carcinoma of the cervix

We report two cases of metastatic non-functioning pancreatic endocrine tumour with very elevated plasma levels of alpha-fetoprotein. In these two cases, serial plasma levels of alpha-fetoprotein, initially normal, correlated well with hepatic tumour progression and were associated with fatal outcome. These results suggest that elevated plasma concentration of alpha-fetoprotein may be caused by metastatic pancreatic endocrine tumour and than alpha-fetoprotein serial measurement may be useful in prognostic evaluation.     

The short-term effect of a smoking prevention program for the upper graders of elementary schools--the results of intervention study for two years with quasi-experimental design

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the short-term effect of a smoking prevention program for Japanese elementary school-children in the fifth and sixth grades. The program was developed with concepts found in the Know Your Body Program and the conclusions of a National Cancer Institute-convened Expert Advisory Panel, and focused on teaching about the short-term effects of smoking and on resistance to social pressures to smoke. The study was conducted with a quasi-experimental design. An intervention group (52 boys and 54 girls) received three sessions for both the fifth grade in 1992 and the sixth grade in 1993. Moreover, the intervention group received a pre-test before the first session and a post-test after the third session in each grade. A comparison group (102 boys and 91 girls) received the same tests at the same time as the intervention group, but did not receive any program on smoking prevention. The short-term effect of the program were evaluated using the results of the pre-test in the fifth grade and of the post-test in the sixth grade in both groups. The results were as follows: 1) Remarkable short-term effects of the intervention were seen in respect to awareness of the importance of not smoking in girls, and also in the knowledge of the short-term effects of smoking in both sexes. 2) The intervention was not effective with respect to intention to smoke at the age of 20 and self-efficacy of refusing to smoke in both sexes. 3) The short-term effects were not clear in the smoking behavior in both sexes because the rates of ever smokers and of monthly smokers were almost the same for two years between the intervention group and the comparison group. 4) The smoking behaviors of children, their parents and their best friends had little influence on the results of the post-test in the sixth grade.     

Ice/metal interfaces: fracture energy and fractography

Results are presented of the fracture tests of ice/metal interfaces in an attempt to utilize fracture mechanics to characterize the failure of ice/solid adhesion. The four-point bending delamination specimen was used to measure the fracture energy of ice/aluminium and ice/steel joints at — 15 °C. The interfacial fracture energy was found to be dependent on ice type and formation procedure of the ice/metal composites. Crack growth was in a manner of asymmetrical bursting, and both cohesive and adhesive failure mechanisms were observed. Although the fracture of ice/metal interfaces was brittle in nature, the evidence of dislocation slip in ice crystals, as revealed by etching and replicating, suggests that microplastic deformations occur in the ice component.     

Second-law-based thermodynamic analysis of two-stage and mechanical-subcooling refrigeration cycles

Thermodynamic analysis of HFC-134a vapor-compression refrigeration cycles is investigated by both the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Second-law analysis is carried out for both two-stage and mechanical-subcooling refrigeration cycles. The analysis is performed on each of the system components to determine their individual contribution to the overall system irreversible losses. It is found that most of the losses are due to a low compressor efficiency. Irreversibilities of expansion valves and condenser are also significant. In addition, it is shown that the optimum inter-stage pressure for two-stage and mechanical-subcooling refrigeration systems is very close to the saturation pressure corresponding to the arithmetic mean of the refrigerant condensation and evaporation temperatures. These results are compared with the existing practice in the industry. Furthermore, theoretical results of a two-stage refrigeration system performance are also compared with experimental values for a CFC-22 system.     

The As-prepared surfaces of C-axis-oriented Nd1Ba2Cu3Oy thin films characterized using scanning probe microscopes

Recently, superconducting Nd₁Ba₂Cu₃O_y (Ndl23) thin films with high superconducting transition temperature (T _c) have been successfully fabricated at our institute employing the standard laser ablation method. In this paper, we report the results of surface characterization of the Nd123 thin films using an ultrahigh vacuum scanning tunneling microscope/spectroscopy (UHV-STM/STS) and an atomic force microscope (AFM) system operated in air. Clear spiral pattern is observed on the surfaces of Nd123 thin films by STM and AFM, suggesting that films are formed by two-dimensional island growth mode. Contour plots of the spirals show that the step heights of the spirals are not always the integer or half-integer number of thec-axis parameter of the structure. This implies that the surface natural termination layer of the films may not be unique. This result is supported byI-V STS measurements. The surface morphology of the Nd123 thin films is compared with that of thec-axis-oriented Y₁Ba₂Cu₃S_y thin films. Surface atomic images of the as-prepared Nd123 thin films are obtained employing both STM and AFM. STS measurements show that most of the surfaces are semiconductive. The results of STS measurements together with the fact that we are able to see the surface atomic images using scanning probe microscopes suggest that exposure to air does not cause serious degradation to the as-prepared surfaces of Nd123 thin films.     

Improvement of Concrete Properties and Reinforcing Steel Inhibition Using a Natural Product Admixture

The use of a natural white juice, taken from magrabe banana stem, as concrete admixture to improve mechanical and physicrvchemical properties of concrete has been studied. The compressive strength, bulk density the free lime liberated during hydration and the combined water content were determined. The results indicate that the admixture acts as a retarder in most cases and as accelerator in some ones. Also, the admixture effect on the corrosion resistance of the reinforcing steel against surrounding aggressive media has been investigated using galvanostatic polarization technique. The addition of 0.2% admixture leads to the more inhibition of the steel