High-speed 1-frame/ms scanning confocal microscope with a microlens and Nipkow disks

We have developed a high-speed confocal laser microscope. A microlens-array disk set in front of a pinhole-array disk improved optical efficiency more than ten times compared with that of conventional Nipkow confocal microscopy. This new microscope achieves a high-speed measurement of 1 frame/ms. We expect that it will be used for measuring biological and industrial active samples.     

Physical and functional association between thymic shared antigen-1/stem cell antigen-2 and the T cell receptor complex

Thymic shared antigen-1 (TSA-1)/stem cell Ag-2 (Sca-2) is a glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored antigen expressed on lymphocytes. We have previously demonstrated that a signal via TSA-1/Sca-2 inhibits T cell receptor (TCR)-mediated T cell activation and apoptosis. To elucidate a molecular mechanism for TSA-1-mediated modulation of the TCR-signaling pathway, we examined whether TSA-1 is physically coupled to the TCR in the present study. TSA-1 was clearly associated with CD3zeta chains in T cell hybridomas, activated T cells, and COS-7 cells transfected with TSA-1 and CD3zeta cDNA. The physical association was confirmed on the surface of T cells in immunoprecipitation and confocal microscopy. The analysis using stable and transient transfectants expressing a transmembrane form of TSA-1 revealed that the association of CD3zeta did not require the GPI anchor of TSA-1. Finally, tyrosine phosphorylation of CD3zeta chains was induced after stimulation with anti-TSA-1, suggesting that a functional association between these two molecules also exists. These results imply that the physical association to CD3zeta underlies a regulatory role of TSA-1/Sca-2 in the TCR-signaling pathway.     

A new collision method for the detection of axonal hazard

A method for determining the damaged position along an axon from measurements at the axonal end is proposed. This method is based on the properties of axons that the two pulses will annihilate after collision and that the refractory period is prolonged when the axon is damaged     

Degradation of Azo Compounds by Aeromonas hydrophila var. 24B

A bacterium which has the ability to degrade azo dyes has been isolated from a polluted environment and identified as Aeromonas hydrophilia. The specificity of azo dyes to the bacterium was examined. p-Acetamidoazobenzene, p-aminoazobenzene, acetanilide, aniline and p-phenylenediamine, which are produced as metabolites, were also isolated.     

RAFT Polymerization of Methyl Acrylate in Carbon Dioxide

Summary: Reversible addition fragmentation chain transfer (RAFT) polymerizations of methyl acrylate (MA) in solution containing either 22 vol.‐% CO₂ or toluene were performed at 80 °C and 300 bar using cumyl dithiobenzoate (CDB) at concentrations between 1.8 × 10^?3 to 2.5 × 10^?2 mol · L^?1 as the RAFT agent. Product molecular weight distributions and average molecular weights indicated the successful control of MA polymerization in CO₂, even at low CDB concentrations. RAFT polymerization rates were strongly retarded by CDB and were lower in CO₂ than in toluene solution. The enhanced fluidity associated with the addition of CO₂ to the polymerizing system provided access to mechanistic details of RAFT polymerization. The data of the present study into MA, together with our recent results on RAFT polymerization of styrene in solution of CO₂ and of toluene, suggest that self‐termination of intermediate RAFT radicals is responsible for retardation in case of high concentrations of this intermediate and in case of enhanced fluidity, which may be achieved by polymerization in solution of CO₂.

     

Cacao liquor polyphenols reduce oxidative stress without maintaining α-tocopherol levels in rats fed a vitamin E-deficient diet

The effect of crude polyphenols (CLP) from cacao liquor on vitamin F-deficient rats was examined. The CLP fraction contained 49.8% antioxidative polyphenols such as catechins and their oligomers. Supplementation of the vitamin E-deficient diet with CLP for 7 wk did not prevent the decrease in α-tocopherol levels in the liver, kidney, heart, brain, and plasma. The lipid peroxide levels in these tissues increased in the group fed the vitamin F-deficient diet compared with the control group. However, these changes were inhibited in a dose-dependent manner as a result of supplementation of the vitamin E-deficient diet with 0.25, 0.5, or 1.0% CLP. The lipid peroxide levels in plasma increased in the group fed the vitamin E-deficient diet. This change tended to be suppressed as a result of supplementation of the diet with CLP, but the difference was not significant. There was no evidence of absorption and distribution of CLP to the tissues; however, CLP intake resulted in a decrease in oxidative stress without maintaining vitamin E levels in the plasma and the tissues.     

An articulated neurosurgical navigation system using MRI and CTimages

Neurosurgical operations sometimes involve difficulties in finding out the real positions of small-size neoplasms shown on tomographical images. The articulated navigation system, with the aid of a computer, gives ongoing positional correspondence between the position in the patient's brain and the one in the tomographic images to assist neurosurgery     

Biodegradation of Azo Acid Dyes by Continuous Cultivation of Pseudomonas Cepacia 13NA

The biodegradability of azo acid dyes by continuous cultivation of Pseudomonas cepacia 13NA, a bacterium able to assimilate azo dyes, was investigated as a means of improving the results of conventional biological treatments for the clarification of the waste dye liquor. It was found that all the acid dyes used were removed in high efficiencies compared with the conventional biological treatments. Multi-stage continuous cultivation in the poor nutrient conditions used proved to be particularly effective for acid dyes that otherwise would be difficult to degrade.     

Improvement of power system stability by on-off discrete control of series capacitors

Application of controlled series capacitors with anti-parallel thyristor combination across the capacitor segment is one of the new and promising countermeasures for enhancement of power system stability. The line reactance can be directly controlled by the controlled series capacitors, hence, it is very effective to apply the capacitors for damping power system disturbances. In this paper, we describe the following. (1) The design method of control system for the segmented series capacitors with thyristor switches is proposed. (2) The effectiveness of the controlled capacitors proposed for power system stabilization is shown with the results of EMTP analysis. (3) The possibility of zero passing missing phenomena of capacitor voltage is indicated by EMTP simulation, and a countermeasure is proposed in order to avoid the phenomena. The effects of the countermeasure is indicated by the results of EMTP simulation.