Sum-frequency-generation system for differential absorption lidar measurement of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide

A sum-frequency-generation system for differential absorption lidar measurement of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide in the lower troposphere was developed. The system uses a combination of a pair of KD*P crystals and a tunable dye laser with LDS 765 dye pumped by the second harmonic of a Nd:YAG laser to generate lambdaon and lambdaoff alternatively. Compared with the conventional system that uses Coumarin 445 dye pumped by the third harmonic, the output energy and long-term stability were improved. By use of this system, atmospheric NO2 concentrations of approximately 10-50 ppb were measured, with an instrumental error of approximately 7 ppb.     

Postnephrectomy arteriovenous fistula--surgical experience of a complicated case by renal dysfunction and congestive heart failure

Postnephrectomy arteriovenous fistula is a rare complication. Twenty nine years after the left nephrectomy due to renal tuberculosis, a 71-year-old male who had suffered from heart and renal failure was diagnosed as postnephrectomy arteriovenous fistula. Ligation of left renal artery and division of left renal vein were performed. Although CVP improved from 30 to 14 cmH2O after operation, cardiac function did not show remarkable improvement, and we were necessitated to introduce hemodialysis from the third week after operation. It is important to bear in mind this complication in order to make early diagnosis and treatment.     

Fracture characteristics,microstructure, and tissue reaction of Ti-5Al-2.5Fe for orthopedic surgery

The microstructure of Ti-5Al-2.5Fe, which is expected to be used widely as an implant material not only for artificial hip joints but also for instrumentations of scoliosis surgery, was variously changed by heat treatments. The effect of the microstructure on mechanical properties, fracture toughness, and rotating-bending fatigue strength in the air and simulated body environment, that is, Ringer’s solution, was then investigated. Furthermore, the effect of the living body environment on mechanical properties and fracture toughness in Ti-5Al-2.5Fe were investigated on the specimens implanted into rabbit for about 11 months. The data of Ti-5Al-2.5Fe were compared with those of Ti-6Al-4V ELI, which has been used as an implant material mainly for artificial hip joints, and SUS 316L, which has been used as an implant material for many parts, including the instrumentation of scoliosis surgery. The equiaxedα structure, which is formed by annealing at a temperature belowβ transus, gives the best balance of strength and ductility in Ti-5Al-2.5Fe. The coarse Widmanstättenα structure, which is formed by solutionizing overβ transus followed by air cooling and aging, gives the greatest fracture toughness in Ti-5Al-2.5Fe. This trend is similar to that reported in Ti-6Al-4V ELI. The rotating-bending fatigue strength is the greatest in the equiaxedα structure, which is formed by solutionizing belowβ transus followed by air cooling and aging in Ti-5Al-2.5Fe. Ti-5Al-2.5Fe exhibits much greater rotating-bending fatigue strength compared with SUS 316L, and equivalent rotating-bending fatigue strength to that of Ti-6Al-4V ELI in both the air and simulated body environments. The rotating-bending fatigue strength of SUS 316L is degraded in the simulated body environment. The corrosion fatigue, therefore, occurs in SUS 316L in the simulated body environment. Fatigue strength of Ti-5Al-2.5Fe in the simulated body environment is degraded by lowering oxygen content in the simulated body environment because the formability of oxide on the specimen surface is considered to be lowered comparing with that in air. The mechanical property and fracture toughness of Ti-5Al-2.5Fe and Ti-6Al-4V ELI are not changed in the living body environment. The hard-surface corrosion layer is, however, formed on the surface of SUS 316L in the living body environment. The C1 peak is detected from the hard-surface corrosion layer by energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis. These facts suggests a possibility for corrosion fatigue to occur in the living body environment when SUS 316L is used. The fibrous connective tissue and new bone formation are formed beside all metals. There is, however, no big difference between tissue morphology around each implant material.     

Comparative evaluation of left ventricular performance after mitral valve repair or valve replacement with or without chordal preservation

Germinating barley produces two alpha-amylase isozymes, AMY1 and AMY2, having 80% amino acid (aa) sequence identity and differing with respect to a number of functional properties. Recombinant AMY1 (re-AMY1) and AMY2 (re-AMY2) are produced in yeast, but whereas all re-AMY1 is secreted, re-AMY2 accumulates within the cell and only traces are secreted. Expression of AMY1::AMY2 hybrid cDNAs may provide a means of understanding the difference in secretion efficiency between the two isozymes. Here, the efficient homologous recombination system of the yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, was used to generate hybrids of barley AMY with the N-terminal portion derived from AMY1, including the signal peptide (SP), and the C-terminal portion from AMY2. Hybrid cDNAs were thus generated that encode either the SP alone, or the SP followed by the N-terminal 21, 26, 53, 67 or 90 aa from AMY1 and the complementary C-terminal sequences from AMY2. Larger amounts of re-AMY are secreted by hybrids containing, in addition to the SP, 53 or more aa of AMY1. In contrast, only traces of re-AMY are secreted for hybrids having 26 or fewer aa of AMY1. In this case, re-AMY hybrid accumulates intracellularly. Transformants secreting hybrid enzymes also accumulated some re-AMY within the cell. The AMY1 SP, therefore, does not ensure re-AMY2 secretion and a certain portion of the N-terminal sequence of AMY1 is required for secretion of a re-AMY1::AMY2 hybrid.     

A new spin cast process for mass-production of polycrystallinesilicon sheets

A spin cast process for producing polycrystalline silicon sheets for low-cost and high-efficiency solar cells and equipment for its application to mass production are discussed. This process makes it possible to produce high-quality silicon sheets with a production rate of 15 s/sheet. A maximum solar cell efficiency of over 13% is obtained. To reduce production time, a crystal growth zone occurs in the equipment between the spinning zone and the cooling zone. The crystal grows after the spinning process with a physical growth rate of 20 mm/min when mold modules in the crystal growth zone are transferred to the cooling zone     

A multibit test trigger circuit for megabit SRAMs

A multibit test (MBT) trigger circuit for megabit SRAM packages with no unused pins is discussed. The features of the MBT trigger circuit are a logic trigger mode without using any additional pins and practical use of counter circuits. The essence of trigger mode selection is that two pulses are for MBT set and three pulses are for MBT reset. In this way, a logic trigger mode that does not use NC pins is especially effective as a 4-Mb SRAM. In addition, the proposed scheme is able to act as a logic trigger for an MBT circuit. The scheme is simple and effective. The logic trigger mode is proposed for future standardization     

Production of superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide by the red tide dinoflagellate Karenia mikimotoi

We found that the red tide dinoflagellate Karenia mikimotoi (Gymnodinium mikimotoi) generates reactive oxygen species (ROS). In chemiluminescence analysis using an O2- specific probe, a slightly lower but significant level of O2- was detected in a K. mikimotoi cell suspension as compared to one containing Chattonella marina, a well-known ROS-producing red tide phytoplankton. Interestingly, the chemiluminescence response pattern caused by K. mikimotoi was different from that of C. marina, although both responses were almost completely abolished in the presence of superoxide dismutase (SOD). By fluorescence spectrophotometric analysis, H2O2 was also detected in the K. mikimotoi cell suspension, but the level of H2O2 was approximately 10% of that in the C. marina suspension based on the cell number. No significant increase in O2- generation by K. mikimotoi was observed in the presence of lectins such as concanavalin A (Con A) and wheat germ agglutinin (WGA) or fish mucus substances prepared from the skin and gills of yellowtail, whereas C. marina generated an increased level of O2- in response to these stimuli. Furthermore, O2- production in C. marina, but not in K. mikimotoi, was inhibited by treatment with proteinase K.     

Differentiation of Veillonella atypica, Veillonella dispar and Veillonella parvula using restricted fragment-length polymorphism analysis of 16S rDNA amplified by polymerase chain reaction

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of pre-treatment counseling on discontinuation rates of 150 mg depo-medroxyprogesterone acetate (DMPA), given for contraception. METHODS: A total of 421 women participated, 204 receiving intensive structured pre-treatment and on going counseling on the hormonal effects and probable side effects of DMPA and 217 receiving only routine counseling. All participants were followed up at every 3 months for 1 year. The primary endpoint was termination rate, secondary endpoints were frequency of medical events and reasons for termination. RESULTS: The most common reasons for terminating DMPA were menstrual changes. Although women in the intensive structured counseling group reported more menstrual irregularity (39.7%) than did women in the routine counseling group (26.3%), study termination rates were significantly lower in the intensively structured counseling group than in the routine counseling group. At one year, the total cumulative termination rates were 11.3% (23/204) and 42.4% (92/217), respectively (P < 0.0001). No pregnancy and serious medical events were reported. CONCLUSION: Pre-treatment counseling on expected side effects increases the acceptability of DMPA.     

Microencapsulation of hepatitis B core antigen for vaccine preparation

PURPOSE: To prepare poly(lactide-co-glycolide)(PLGA) microspheres containing recombinant hepatitis B core antigen (HBcAg; Mw = 3,600,000) by a w/o/w emulsion/solvent evaporation method and evaluate the possibility of this system as a potent long-acting carrier for hepatitis B core antigen in mice. METHODS: Various additives had been incorporated in the internal aqueous phase during the process of microencapsulating HBcAg, HBcAg antigenicity in the medium extracted from the prepared microspheres were measured by ELISA. Shape confirmation of the HBcAg antigen was performed by a sucrose gradient velocity centrifugal technique. For in vivo study, prepared microspheres were administered subcutaneously to Balb/C mice, and the serum IgG level was determined by ELISA. RESULTS: The inactivation of HBcAg by methylene chloride was dramatically reduced by the addition of gelatin (4-8% (w/v)) to the internal aqueous phase during the preparation. Further improvement of the loading efficiency to almost 61% resulted with cooling (4 degrees C). The prepared microspheres (4.27 microm+/-1.23 microm) containing 0.15% HBcAg displayed burst release (50-60% within 2 days). In subcutaneous inoculation, the adjuvant effect of PLGA microspheres was almost the same as that of the complete Freund's adjuvant. Whereas oral inoculation using the microspheres was not effective. CONCLUSIONS: The pH of the added gelatin seemed to be the key to the stabilization of HBcAg from various stability tests and CD spectrum study. Finally, the possibility of using this system as a potent long-acting hepatitis B vaccine was demonstrated.