Narrow track readout with magnetic garnet film

A novel magneto-optic readout head, which utilizes the modulation of width of straight domains in a garnet film in response to the fringing field from the recording medium, was evaluated from the viewpoint of narrow track readout. In a static transfer experiment with a garnet film having a domain width of 2.25 μm, a definite transfer to the garnet film with track widths of 3 μm or less was confirmed. An expression for the modulation degree of the domain width was derived, and its predictions agreed well with the experimental results. In the dynamic readout experiment, a carrier-to-noise ratio of 50 dB was obtained for a trackwidth of 4 μm and a wavelength of 10 μm. The cross-talk was -30 dB when the track-to-track spacing and track width were 10 μm and 5 μm, respectively. From these results the feasibility of narrow track readout based on this head was demonstrated. The readout performance, including the decrease of readable track width, the wavelength and crosstalk, can be greatly improved if a garnet film, having a domain width narrower than that used in this experiment is used together with a high-density recording medium.     

A sol-gel method using acetic anhydride in the presence of cholesterol in organic solution media: preparation of silicas that recognize steroid hormones

Silicas were prepared by a sol-gel method from tetraethoxysilane and acetic anhydride in the presence of cholesterol in organic solution media. Some silicas had higher pore volumes than silicas obtained in the absence of cholesterol. The adsorption abilities by these silicas were compared using various compounds in benzene solution. Although no clear difference among their adsorptions of cholesterol was observed, progesterone and other analogous steroid hormones were well adsorbed by silicas prepared in the presence of cholesterol, especially, prepared with n-heptane as an additional solvent. This silica adsorbed steroid hormones more selectively than other analogous compounds such as bisphenol A and hexestrol. On the other hand, a silica prepared by the usual aqueous sol-gel method with cholesterol had no clear adsorption selectivity to steroid hormones. Furthermore, no selective adsorption of steroid hormones was observed in the case of a common silica gel for column chromatography. This unique property of adsorption observed in silicas prepared using acetic anhydride in the presence of cholesterol is likely to be induced by the imprinting effect of the steroid skeleton part of cholesterol in silica matrix.     

Bipolar charging and neutralization of nanometer-sized aerosol particles

An experimental study of charging and neutralization of 2.5–10 nm aerosol particles by bipolar air ions has been carried out. The time required to attain the charge equilibrium state, both for charging of initially uncharged particles and for neutralization of charged particles, has been previously determined using different-sized diffusive type chargers. To avoid sizing errors caused by space charge field and Brownian diffusion effects, a tandem DMA (differential mobility analyzer) system has been used. The first DMA classifies a certain fraction of particles, and the second one allows precise determination of their size. The experimental charging probabilities at equilibrium are in relatively good agreement with calculations based on Fuchs' theory, except in the particle size range below 3 nm where large deviations have been observed.     

Expression of tenascin in mesangial injury in experimental glomerulonephritis

The resistance to torsional load was measured in a human cadaver model of a surgical neck fracture. Ten fresh-frozen human cadaver shoulders were thawed, dissected free of soft tissue attachments, and analyzed with dual energy x-ray absorptiometry to establish bone mineral density. Osteotomies were fixed with figure-of-eight wire alone and figure-of-eight wire supplemented with intramedullary Enders rods. Intramedullary Enders rods improved the mean maximum load by 1.5 times (p < 0.05). No statistically significant correlation was found between mean maximum load and bone mineral density.     

Thyroid hormone and reserpine abolished periods of periodic catatonia: a case report

Stenosis of the external iliac artery in healthy athletes, although uncommon, has been reported in competition cyclists. A case of a racing cyclist whose chronic vague leg symptoms were incorrectly attributed to L4/5 nerve root irritation is reported. This highlights the importance of clinical vascular testing when assessing ill defined leg pain. The role of trauma as a causative factor in this condition has not been previously documented.     

Learning model for adaptive behaviors as an organized group of swarm robots

This paper describes a novel organizational learning model for multiple adaptive robots. In this model, robots acquire their own appropriate functions through local interactions among their neighbors, and get out of deadlock situations without explicit control mechanisms or communication methods. Robots also complete given tasks by forming an organizational structure, and improve their organizational performance. We focus on the emergent processes of collective behaviors in multiple robots, and discuss how to control these behaviors with only local evaluation functions, rather than with a centralized control system. Intensive simulations of truss construction by multiple robots gave the following experimental results: (1) robots in our model acquire their own appropriate functions and get out of deadlock situations without explicit control mechanisms or communication methods; (2) robots form an organizational structure which completes given tasks in fewer steps than are needed with a centralized control mechanism. This work was presented, in part, at the Second International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics, Oita, Japan, February 18–20, 1997     

A SINE species from hippopotamus and its distribution among animal species

Thirty sequences of a short interspersed repetitive element (SINE) were isolated from genomic DNA of Hippopotamus amphibius (hippopotamus). RNA polymerase III split promoter sequence was observed in all of the 30 sequences; and poly(A)-like structure at 3'-end, as well as direct repeat flanking to the repetitive sequence in many of the 30 sequences. A comparison of the consensus sequence of the 30 sequences with sequences in a DNA database (DDBJ/GENBANK/EMBL) revealed 93% homology to the consensus sequence of a whale SINE, CHR-2, and 73% homology to mouse glutamic acid tRNA. Phylogenetic analysis of tRNA-related regions of the sequences with all of the mouse tRNAs revealed that glutamic acid tRNA was genetically closest to the hippopotamus SINE. In addition, the tRNA-related region of the consensus sequence was folded into a cloverleaf structure as with mouse glutamic acid tRNA. These findings led us to conclude that the SINE of hippopotamus was genetically related to a whale SINE, CHR-2 [the hippopotamus SINE was named CHR-2(hippo)] and was a retroposon derived from glutamic acid tRNA. Hipo53 and hipo95, which were the genetically most separated CHR-2(hippo) sequences in the present study, were used as a probe for dot-blot hybridization to examine the distribution of their homologous sequences among animal species. Although the distribution spectra of hipo53 and hipo95 homologous sequences in animal species differed to some extent, large amounts of both sequences were found in Hippopotamus amphibius and Globicephala macrorhynchus (whale); and small amounts in most of the animal species in Artiodactyla examined. These findings indicated that the hippopotamus and whale had more recently branched off from the clade that includes chevrotain and pecorans than the other animal species in the clade. The 30 CHR-2(hippo) sequences were aligned, and the substitution rates among the sequences were calculated with a different substitution rate model for transition and for transversion. The calculation combined with the mutation rate of the pseudogenes (r = 4.6 x 10(9)) indicated that CHR-2(hippo) sequences diversified at least 132 million years ago (Myr).     

Plasma interleukin-6 is not a mediator of changes in lipoprotein lipase activity in cancer patients

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Cancer cachexia is characterized by a variety of metabolic disorders. Alterations in fat metabolism have been reported to be associated with suppression of tissue lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity in tumor-bearing animals. Interleukin-6 (IL- 6) has been documented to reduce tissue LPL activity and may play a role in inducing cancer cachexia. This study was conducted to clarify the changes in LPL activity and the role of IL-6 in patients with either gastrointestinal cancer or breast cancer. METHODOLOGY: Twelve patients with colorectal cancer, 7 patients with gastric cancer, 7 patients with breast cancer and 5 normal volunteers were studied. Serum concentrations of triglycerides (TG), non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) and IL-6 were measured. LPL activity was measured in plasma post-heparin administration. The relationships of LPL activity to tumor progression, body weight loss and serum IL-6 levels were examined. The effect of tumor resection on LPL activity was also studied. RESULTS: LPL activity was suppressed with tumor progression in patients with either gastrointestinal cancer or breast cancer. Suppression of LPL activity and the degree of weight loss were negatively correlated in patients with either gastric or colorectal cancer (r = -0.5826, p = 0.011) but not in patients with breast cancer. The decrease in LPL activity was not always reversed after resection of the tumor. Circulating IL-6 did not correlate with either plasma LPL activity or tumor progression. CONCLUSIONS: Reduced LPL activity in patients with advanced gastrointestinal or breast cancer may reflect changes in nutritional status. Serum IL-6 is less likely to be a mediator of these alterations.     

InGaAsP InP current confinement mesa substrate buried heterostructure laser diode fabricated by one-step liquid-phase epitaxy

New InGaAsP/InP buried heterostructure laser diodes fabricated by one-step liquid-phase epitaxy are described, in which the InGaAsP active region completely embedded in InP is grown on the top of the mesa stripe formed on the InP substrate while, simultaneously, current confinement structure is automatically formed on both sides of the mesa stripe. These current confinement mesa substrate buried heterostructure laser diodes (CCM-LD's) have current confinement structure which very effectively blocks unwanted leakage current bypassing the light emitting region which has enabled laser operation with a threshold current as low as 20 mA, 70-mW maximum CW output at room temperature, and 125°C maximum CW operation temperature. Life tests over 6000-h CW operation at 70°C and 5 mW/facet have confirmed good reliability of these devices.