Neurochemical studies of schizophrenia in Japan

Neurobiological research in schizophrenia has been hampered by several confounding factors such as the heterogeneity of the illness and the paucity of biological markers. Recent progress in research methods, however, has enabled the improvement in our understanding its pathophysiology. This paper reviews recent neurochemical investigations of schizophrenia and its animal models which were conducted in Japan in the last decade. The research areas reviewed are (i) monoamine and their metabolites in body fluids, (ii) phospholipids and prostaglandins, (iii) neurochemistry in autopsy brains, (iv) immunological measures, (v) magnetic resonance spectroscopy, (vi) regional cerebral blood flows (rCBF), (vii) molecular genetics, and (viii) animal models. It is worth noting that there exist abnormalities of amino acidergic (glutamatergic and GABAergic) neurotransmission as well as monoaminergic (dopaminergic and serotonergic) one in postmortem schizophrenic brains. These abnormalities and also the findings of altered rCBF indicate the existence of disturbed neuronal circuits that contribute to the diverse symptoms of schizophrenia. Also, dysfunction of membrane phospholipids derived from studies on magnetic resonance spectroscopy may underlie negative symptoms in schizophrenia. Given that schizophrenia is considered to comprise a group of disorders with a diverse heterogeneity of etiologies, research in the next decade is expected to identify putative genes that are involved in vulnerability to schizophrenic phenotype.     

Damage mechanism in weldment of 2.25Cr-1Mo steel under creep-fatigue loading

The purpose of this study is to clarify damage process of “Type IV cracking” in weldment of a 2.25Cr-1Mo steel and to propose a micro damage prediction method. From continuous observation under a creep-fatigue test, it was found that spherical shape voids initiated and grew on grain boundaries in fine grain region and these voids grow continuously by changing their shape to crack-like. Both spherical and crack-like void growth rate equations were derived from the proposed void growth model. It was indicated that measured void growth rate under the creep-fatigue loading was well predicted by the growth rate equations.     

Open‐cycle OTEC systems with freshwater product: Effects of noncondensable gases on performance of condenser

An open‐cycle ocean thermal energy conversion (OC‐OTEC) system is one of the energy conversion methods used to generate electricity from ocean thermal energy. For the OC‐OTEC system, steam evaporated from the surface seawater due to flash evaporation drives the turbine. At that time, dissolved gas such as air is introduced into the low‐pressure system (OC‐OTEC system) as the noncondensable gas, which degrades the performance of condensation heat transfer. In this paper, a small‐scale OC‐OTEC experimental unit experimentally investigates the effect of noncondensable gas on the heat transfer performance in a condenser. The experimental results are discussed in comparison with theoretical estimation by the Sparrow–in method. It is shown that the condensation is occupied by heat and mass transfer near a condensation surface and that the condensation efficiency is affected by exhaust quantity of noncondensable gas at a relatively high concentration ratio of condensable gas. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 154(1): 29–35, 2006; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20179     

Effects of lamotrigine and conventional antiepileptic drugs on amygdala- and hippocampal-kindled seizures in rats

A computer aided monitor-data processing system (CAMP-System) was developed in order to get a consistent and comprehensive database which can very precisely reflect intra-operative haemodynamic courses. The goal of the present study was to introduce a new method to scan and to gauge haemodynamic courses and to demonstrate its superiority over the traditional way of data processing based on a handwritten anaesthesia protocol. METHODS: The computerized system was applied to a study which was designed to investigate the influence of ketanserin (K) vs. urapidil (U) on haemodynamic stability during cardiac operations. Twenty male patients scheduled for myocardial revascularization received either 20 mg K or 30 mg U. Heart rate, central venous, arterial and pulmonary artery pressures were measured and on-line recorded every 20 seconds by the computer record system. In the handwritten protocol these variables were registered at eight pre-defined time points. Computerized data processing (including artifact depletion and data condensation) was compared to the results evaluated from the handwritten protocol. RESULTS: While the only significant differences in the handwritten protocol were slightly higher values of pulmonary artery pressures in group K, the computer analysis revealed a number of further differences. Higher maximum and a less stable time course of HR in group K in the pre-bypass phase and lower mean and standard deviation of MAP during cardiopulmonary bypass. CONCLUSION: Computerized data processing including automatic artifact suppression and data condensation was able to reveal differences in the course of haemodynamic variables that cannot be detected in a conventional handwritten protocol.     

Study on modified phenolic resin. I. Modification with homopolymer prepared from p-hydroxyphenylmaleimide

We studied the improvement of heat resistance and mechanical properties of phenolic resin modified with polymers prepared from p-hydroxyphenylmaleimide (HPMI). Homopolymers of HPMI and copolymers of HPMI with some vinyl monomers were synthesized and M_n T_g and thermal decomposition temperature of them were measured by GPC, DSC, and TG, respectively. The miscibility of homopolymer with novolac was examined by DSC. It was found that the homopolymer had good heat resistance and good miscibility with novolac. Molding compounds were prepared by hot roll-kneading the mixtures of novolac, the homopolymer, hexamethylenetetramine, and glass fiber. It was found that molded test pieces had good heat resistance.     

Study on modified phenolic resin. II. Modification with p-hydroxyphenylmaleimide/styrene copolymer

The improvement of heat resistance and mechanical properties of phenolic resin was examined with the blend of novolac and copolymers prepared from p-hydroxyphenylmaleimide (HPMI) and styrene. Copolymers of HPMI and styrene with various molecular weights were synthesized. Glass transition (T_g) and thermal decomposition temperatures of the copolymers were measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetry (TG), respectively. The miscibility of the copolymers with novolac was examined by DSC. It was found that the copolymers had a good heat resistance and a good miscibility with novolac. Molding compounds were prepared by hot roll-kneading of mixtures that involved novolac, copolymer, hexamethylenetetramine (hexamine), and glass fiber. It was found that the test pieces prepared by transfer molding from the molding compounds showed a good heat resistance and better mechanical properties than phenolic resin modified with HPMI homopolymer.     

Activation-induced cell death in human peripheral blood lymphocytes after stimulation with silicate in vitro

Silica and related substances such as silicate have been proven to possess "adjuvant effects". We have previously reported a finding of polyclonal human T cell activation induced by silicate as a superantigen in vitro. In this study, we observed activation-induced cell death in human lymphocytes after stimulation with chrysotile, a kind of silicate. Apoptotic cells were detected flow cytometrically using the TUNEL assay, and the maximum appearance of TUNEL positive cells occurred on day 4 of incubation. Simultaneously the manifestation of small-sized cells in the specimens increased implying apoptosis. Fas expression on lymphocytes increased to day 3 of incubation with chrysotile, and then spontaneously decreased on day 4 when remarkable apoptosis could be detected. Based on these results it is conceivable that activation-induced cell death occurred through Fas-Fas ligand interaction in lymphocytes after stimulation with silicate in a concentration with which no acute cytotoxicity has been detected. Whether and how the repeated apoptosis in definite clones of lymphocytes causes the induction of sFas synthesis need clarification.     

Dependence of self-heating effects on operation conditions and device structures for polycrystalline silicon TFTs

Self-heating, a degradation mechanism of n-channel poly-Si thin-film transistors (TFTs) due to bias stress, has been investigated. The aim of this work is to study this effect in depth to be able to propose a device structure designed to reduce it. The variation of the threshold voltage (V/sub t/) shift with the stress-pulsewidth is related to the temperature rise due to the self-heating effect that depends on the stress-pulsewidth. Electron trapping in the oxide caused by the bias stress is considered to be enhanced by the TFT temperature rise owing to the self-heating. We show that copper-film-based TFTs, which have a substrate made of an extremely thin glass layer and a copper film exhibit much reduced self-heating and thus a decrease of V/sub t/ shift caused by the bias stress. These observations are interpreted using numerical simulations to estimate the temperature rise in the poly-Si channel region due to Joule heating.