Thermal link for cartridge-type cryostat

We have developed a simple and small thermal link for cooling a cylindrical cartridge, on which device under test is mounted. It consists of a crown-like ring with an inner diameter of 170 or 140 mm and a clamping belt, which is a metal spring or nylon. A thermal conduction of the thermal link is achieved as the crown-like ring clamps the disk-like stage of the cartridge with external force of the clamping belt. This link can be applied at various temperature ranges from 2 to 100 K. The measured thermal conductance of the 170 mm link is 1.7, 5.6 and 3.3 W K⁻¹ for 4, 12, and 80 K stages, respectively. These values are consistent with a empirical calculation within 10% errors. This link is also effective to reduce mechanical vibration to be 6 μm (peak-to-peak) in the horizontal direction of the cartridge. This link is easily fabricated and is useful to various detectors which require to be cooled down.     

Effect of a topically applied neutralizing antibody against vascular endothelial growth factor on corneal allograft rejection of rat

BACKGROUND: Studies in corneal transplant rejection remain important because acute immunologic rejection continues to be the leading cause of human corneal transplant failure. As the permeability of vessels and the neovascularization induce cells infiltration into the graft, we considered the possibility that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a potent permeability-increasing factor and angiogenesis-mediating factor, could participate in the immune response. METHODS: As the established corneal transplant model for rejection, the corneal transplant between Lewis and Fisher rats has been reported. First, we evaluated VEGF production in the graft by immunohistochemical method in the animal model. Next, we tried to neutralize the effect of VEGF by topical administration of anti-VEGF antibody. We administered anti-VEGF antibody as eye drops for 10 days just after the transplantation of the established animal corneal transplant model. RESULTS: VEGF was strongly produced from the infiltrative cells into the graft. Anti-VEGF antibody significantly suppressed the acute rejection compared with saline or rabbit IgG. CONCLUSIONS: The inhibition of VEGF by topically applied neutralizing antibody is a new potential therapeutic strategy for the treatment of corneal transplantation.     

Role of peritoneal lavage smears and gastric wall brushing smears in gastric cancer surgery

Examinations of peritoneal lavage smears (LC) and gastric wall brushing smear cytology (BC) appear to be important for determining accurately the stage of gastric cancer. We have been carrying out such examinations during gastric cancer surgery for 7 years. In the present study, we evaluated the results obtained from 287 patients with gastric cancer. Tumor invasion and peritoneal dissemination were correlated with a positive incidence of cancer cells in LC and/or BC. Gastric cancer showing serosal invasion was classified into positive for LC and/or BC and negative for LC and/or BC. Patients positive for LC and/or BC had a poorer prognosis. For future gastric cancer treatment, patients positive for peritoneal cytology are expected to be targeted for intensive treatment during or before surgery.     

Studies of oxidation behaviors of CdTe in ammoniacal basic electrolytes

The time variations in the electrode potential and mass of an electrodeposited CdTe layer when immersed in a deposition bath under an open-circuit condition were examined using an electrochemical QCM in order to observe the oxidation behavior due to dissolved oxygen. The morphology, composition, and crystallinity of the CdTe layer were also examined by SEM, EPMA, and XRD measurements. In the early stage of immersion, mostly only Cd atoms in the CdTe were found to dissolve from the zinc blende-type CdTe lattice, keeping the flat and smooth surface morphology intact. Then, the remaining Te formed a lattice of elemental Te and covered the CdTe layer. The electrolyte could penetrate the Te layer and access the CdTe layer's surface because the Te layer was porous due to the elution of Cd atoms. Therefore, the preferential dissolution of Cd species continued to occur, and finally, only the porous Te layer remained on the substrate. This dissolution of CdTe supports the validity of the potential-pH diagram of the Cd-Te-NH₃-H₂O system.     

Defect structure and electrical conductivity in rapidly-quenched and slowly-cooled rhombohedral solid solutions of the system Bi2O3-BaO

The solid solubility limit, grain orientation, defect structure and electrical conductivity of solidified rhombohedral specimens in the Bi₂O₃-BaO system are described. The c-axes (in hexagonal notation) of solidified specimens were almost entirely oriented along the platelet/film thickness. Slow-cooling (∼ 10⁻²° Csec⁻¹) of the system gave solid solutions with substitutional type of 2BaO → 2Ba_Bi′ + 20+ V ₀ ^.. for 12 to 32 mol % BaO. High-temperature modification of slowly-cooled sample (16 mol % BaO) showed a conductivity of 8.8×10⁻¹ Ω⁻¹ cm ⁻¹ at 600° C along the conduction plane (perpendicular to the c-axis). Rapid quenching (∼ 10⁵° C sec⁻¹) produced solid solutions for 8 to 20 mol % BaO introducing interstitial Ba²⁺ (10–12 mol % BaO) and Schottky type defects such as V_Bi‴ and V _Bi ^‴ and V ₀ ^.. (16 to 20 mol % BaO), however the high-temperature modification of the rhombohedral structure could not be frozen.     

Internal tandem duplication of the FLT3 gene is preferentially seen in acute myeloid leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome among various hematological malignancies. A study on a large series of patients and cell lines

In this study, we examined a large number of patients to clarify the distribution and frequency of a recently described FLT3 tandem duplication among hematopoietic malignancies, including 112 acute myelocytic leukemia (AML), 55 acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), 37 myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), 20 chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), 30 non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), 14 adult T cell leukemia, 15 chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and 38 multiple myeloma (MM). We also evaluated 71 cell lines derived from 11 AML, 31 ALL, two hairy cell leukemia, three acute unclassified leukemia, 10 CML, 12 NHL including six Burkitt's lymphoma, and two MM. Using genomic PCR of exon 11 coding for the juxtamembrane (JM) domain and first amino acids of the 5'-tyrosine kinase (TK) domain, this length mutation was found only in AML (22/112, 20%) and MDS (1/37). According to the FAB subclassification, they were 5/18 (28%) of M1, 4/29 (14%) of M2, 3/17 (18%) of M3, 6/24 (25%) of M4, 4/20 (20%) of M5 and 1/9 of refractory anemia with excess of blast in transformation. In the various cell lines examined, this abnormality was determined in only one derived from AML and never found in other hematological malignancies. The sequence analysis of the abnormal PCR products revealed that 23 of 24 showed internal tandem duplication with or without insertion of nucleotides. In one AML, insertion and deletion without duplication was determined. All 24 lengthened sequences were in-frame. Duplication takes place in the sequence coding for the JM domain and leaves the TK domain intact. In conclusion, we emphasize that the length mutation of FLT3 at JM/TK-I domains were restricted to AML and MDS. Since all these mutations resulted in in-frame, this abnormality might function for the proliferation of leukemic cells.     

Genetic and non-genetic basis of essential hypertension: maladaptation of human civilization to high salt intake

A controlled laboratory experiment was used to assess the efficacy of the cognitive processes that underlie risk taking decision making in young and elderly people. Thirty-six participants took part in the study: half the subjects were elderly (mean age of 74) and the other half were young adults (mean age of 19). The elderly participants made equivalent decisions to those of the control young adults. Both age-groups of participants systematically and comparably changed their behavior as a function of risk levels. Furthermore, the elderly participants, relative to young adults, did not exhibit any slowing down in the speed of processing the information involved in making risk taking decisions, reflecting that healthy elderly people are cognitively apt to making risk taking decisions. Both age-groups took comparably less time on the easy trials (trials with either low or high levels of risk) and comparably more time on the difficult trials (trials with medium levels of risk).