Effects of dressing containing plant sterol on serum cholesterol concentration and the safety evaluation in borderline or mildly hypercholesterolemic Japanese subjects

In a placebo-controlled double-blind study, we examined the effects of dressing containing plant sterol (PS) on blood lipids and the safety in Japanese borderline or mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects. Fifty-nine subjects [total cholesterol (TC) concentration > or = 200 mg/dL] were randomly divided into two groups and were given daily 15 g of dressing containing 800 mg of PS [PS(+)-group] or without PS [PS(-)-group] for 12 weeks. Every 4 weeks, fasting blood was examined and subjective symptoms were analyzed. Serum TC, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and apolipoprotein B (ApoB) concentrations did not change in the PS(-)-group, while TC and ApoB significantly decreased in the PS(+)-group at 8 and 12 weeks and LDL-C at 4, 8 and 12 weeks. Moreover, serum TC, LDL-C and ApoB concentrations were significantly lower than those of PS(-)-group at 8 and 12 weeks. Other laboratory tests were all in normal ranges and no adverse events were observed. The results indicated that PS-containing dressing decreased serum TC, LDL-C and ApoB concentrations in borderline or mildly hypercholesterolemic subjects. It is therefore proved that the dressing containing PS is helpful in maintaining blood cholesterol level normal and hence, the health of Japanese.     

Comparative immunohistological study on using capsaicin,piperine, and okadaic acid for the transepithelial passage of the inactivated viral and bacterial vaccines in fish

The practical difficulty of parenteral application of fish vaccines against devastating fish diseases diverted the interest toward oral vaccination. Search for effective methods to enhance the oral uptake of viral and bacterial vaccines is continuing. The current research focus on a new role of mucosal fish vaccine adjuvants inducing the antigen uptake by enhancing vascularity or increasing intestinal permeability. Some inflammatory substances cause reversible pathology to the intestinal epithelium, which could be employed for the transepithelial passage of vaccine particles. The natural inflammatory substances used were capsaicin, piperine, and okadaic acid as 1 mg, 2 mg, and 1 μg/fish, respectively. Two inactivated vaccines were used as antigens to test the effect of these inflammatory substances in two different fish hosts. Tested vaccines were inactivated redspotted grouper nervous necrosis virus vaccine in sevenband grouper (Epinephelus septemfasciatus) and inactivated Edwardsiella tarda vaccine in red sea bream (Pagrus major) fish models. The inflammatory substances and each vaccine were anally intubated to fish. Capsaicin proved to be effectively aiding the transepithelial passage of vaccine particles more than piperine, while okadaic acid had no detectable effect.     

New GTO Current Source Inverter with Pulsewidth Modulation Control Techniques

A new GTO current source inverter in which two auxiliary GTO's are added to the basic inverter circuit, which consists of six GTO's and three capacitors, is presented. One of the auxiliary GTO's is connected between the positive line of the inverter and the neutral of three Y-connected capacitors; another is connected between the negative line and the neutral. In the proposed inverter, the charges of three capacitors are controlled at the same time by means of pulsewidth modulation (PWM) to main GTO's and auxiliary GTO's. This inverter can supply both the sinusoidal current and voltage to the motor. The PWM control technique, the operating principle, and the experimental results for 2.2-kW induction motor drives are described. The output current waveform of this inverter is closely sinusoidal, as opposed to trapezoidal in the basic inverter circuit. The steady-state characteristics of the GTO-CSI induction motor drive system are analyzed by the state-variable methods, and a close agreement between the analyzed and the experimental results is obtained. Smooth and noiseless drive of induction motor over a wide range of speed is observed.     

Development of a novel emitting vinyl polymer and its application in organic electroluminescent devices

Abstract— A novel emitting vinyl polymer, poly[4‐(7‐{4‐[N,N‐bis(9,9‐dimethylfluoren‐2‐yl)amino]phenyl}‐2,1,3‐benzothiadiazol‐4‐yl)phenylethylene] (PVFABT), was designed and synthesized. The new vinyl polymer was found to form smooth amorphous films with a high glass‐transition temperature of 199°C. The polymer possesses bipolar character with both electron‐donating and accepting properties. It undergoes reversible anodic oxidation and cathodic reduction to give stable cation and anion radicals. It exhibits intense orange fluorescence in solution and as film. A multilayer organic electroluminescent device using PVFABT as an emitting material emitted orange light, exhibiting high performance.     

Fabrication of multilevel phase computer-generated hologram elements based on effective medium theory

A conventional method to synthesize diffractive optical elements and computer-generated holograms (CGH's) with high diffraction efficiency relies on an increase of phase levels. To fabricate such a device, one should perform electron-beam (e-beam) lithography with multiple-dose exposures or multiple-step photolithography. Here we describe a one-step method, which is based on the effective medium theory, for the fabrication of a multilevel phase CGH. The phase modulations required in cells of a CGH are constructed by means of dividing these cells into fine (subwavelength) structures. The surface features of these fine structures control their corresponding indices, and their values can be calculated according to the effective medium theory. By proper selection of the fine structures, based on the requirements of the phase modulation of the cells, a CGH with multilevel phases is synthesized when a binary structure is relieved on the dielectric material. Then the CGH can be fabricated by direct e-beam lithography or one-step photolithography through an amplitude mask followed by an ion-etching treatment. The experimental results showed that the reconstructed wave field is in good agreement with that simulated by a computer, indicating the effectiveness of the proposed method.     

Rupture of the aortic arch due to bacterial aortitis--a case report of a patient undergoing successful surgical therapy

A 59-year-old man came to our hospital because of hoarseness and chest pain. On initial examination, a chest roentgenogram showed no abnormality. Three weeks later, while the patient was waiting to undergo a computed tomographic (CT) scan, shock suddenly developed. A chest roentgenogram revealed an extremely wide mediastinal shadow. A CT scan revealed rupture of the aortic arch near the base of the left subclavian artery, although there was no aneurysm. An emergency operation was performed. The ruptured aortic arch was replaced with an artificial graft during cardiopulmonary bypass with selective cerebral perfusion. A diagnosis of infectious aortitis was not made until a pathologist discovered colonies of gram-positive cocci in the resected specimen of the aortic arch. Postoperatively, antibiotics were administered for only four days. The patient is well about two years after the operation. Infectious aortitis had a very low prevalence and rarely involves the thoracic aorta. However, we should be aware of that it may cause aortic rupture even in the absence of aneurysmal dilatation.     

Measurement and correlation of mutual diffusion coefficients for styrene-butadiene rubber(SBR)-n-nonane systems

The mutual diffusion coefficients for styrene-butadiene rubber(SBR)-n-nonane systems were measured using a sorption apparatus with a quartz spring at 100 and 130°C for mass fractions of n-nonane ranging from 0 to 0.16. The mutual diffusion coefficients were correlated with good agreement by the free-volume theory.     

Basic linear systems and their categorical realization theory

In this paper the following problem is considered: Given an unstructured dynamical input-output model, i.e., a time system. If the systems properties like causality, stationarity, linearity, and the finiteness condition are imposed on the system, what will its resulting characteristics? This problem is investigated in order to define a meaningful subclass of time systems and to check whether or not the set of systems properties available from the present systems theory is complete enough to describe systems behavior fruitfully. The class of basic linear systems is introduced as the meaningful subclass of time systems, and their properties and representation theory are discussed in terms of category theory. This research implies that affirmative answers can be obtained for the completeness question.