Prevention of neutrophil apoptosis by monosodium urate crystals

The effects of monosodium urate (MSU) crystals on apoptosis of cultured peripheral blood neutrophils were investigated. MSU crystals at low concentrations decreased the rate of spontaneous apoptosis of neutrophils in a dose- and time-dependent manner. The culture supernatant of MSU crystal stimulated neutrophils also promoted a delay in neutrophil apoptosis. MSU crystals at higher concentrations rapidly caused cell lysis. These findings indicated that MSU crystals are capable of amplifying the inflammatory responses of gouty arthritis by decreasing the rates of neutrophil apoptosis at lower concentrations and inducing cell lysis at higher concentrations.     

A CMOS integrated circuit for multichannel multiple-subjectbiotelemetry using bidirectional optical transmissions [weightlessnessin space effects application]

A CMOS integrated circuit for a noninvasive biological-signal telemetry system specified for use in medical and physiological studies of the influence of weightlessness in space is presented. The system can monitor multichannel (4 channels maximum) biological signals from multiple subjects (4 subjects maximum) in real time by using time multiplexing. A key technique so-called synchronized multiple-subject telemetry, to achieve multiple-subject telemetry has been proposed. This technique utilizes bidirectional optical transmissions with direct and scattered infrared lights between an observer and each of the subjects. An experimental CMOS IC to give a small light-weight low-power, and smart telemetry instrument for use on animals has been developed. This IC is for evaluating circuit blocks of the implantable monolithic telemetry instrument. The major circuit blocks include CMOS digital circuits for synchronization, subject selection and time multiplexing, analog circuits for pulse interval modulation, and other blocks such as a CMOS optical pulse receiver and an LED driver. A preliminary experimental multichannel telemetry from two subjects has been performed with the implemented IC chips, and the principal operation of the multiple-subject optical biotelemetry has been demonstrated     

Effect of Forming Pressure on the Internal Structure of Alumina Green Bodies Examined with Immersion Liquid Technique

Green bodies prepared by compaction of alumina granules were made transparent by an immersion liquid technique, and the internal structure was characterized with an optical microscope to study the effect of forming pressure on the internal structure. Clear images obtained by the technique provide more detailed information than other existing methods for structures ranging from one to tens of micrometers. Intergranular pores were present between unfractured granules. Their sizes and concentration tended to decrease with increasing forming pressure. However, pores were clearly present even in the green body prepared at 600 MPa. A rod- and needlelike feature was also found and was concluded to correspond to a high-density region. The significance of large pores and high-density regions on processing as well as the details of the technique is discussed.     

A self-aligned gate GaAs MESFET with p-pocket layers forhigh-efficiency linear power amplifiers

This paper describes a newly developed GaAs metal semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET)-termed p-pocket MESFET-for use as a linear power amplifier in personal handy-phone systems. Conventional buried p-layer technology, the primary technology for microwave GaAs power MESFET's, has a drawback of low power efficiency for linear power applications. The low power efficiency of the buried p-layer MESFET is ascribed to the I-V kink which is caused by holes collected in the buried p-layer under the channel. In order to overcome this problem, we have developed the self-aligned gate p-pocket MESFET which incorporates p-layers not under the channel but under the source and drain regions. This new MESFET exhibited high transconductance and uniform threshold voltage. The problematic I-V kink was successfully removed and an improved power efficiency of 48% was achieved under bias conditions, which resulted in adjacent channel leakage power at 600-kHz offset as low as -59 dBc for 1.9-GHz π/4-shift QPSK modulated input     

Intracoronary infusion of E6010 has more potent thrombolytic activity than tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) in dogs: a higher plasma level of E6010 than t-PA causes potent thrombolytic activity

We examined the thrombolytic properties of a novel modified human tissue plasminogen activator (PA) (E6010), in which cysteine 84 is replaced by serine, and which has a prolonged biologic half-life (t1/2). We compared the thrombolytic efficacy of continuous intracoronary (i.c.) infusion of E6010 with that of recombinant human tissue PA (rt-PA) in a canine model with copper coil-induced 1-h-old coronary artery thrombi and also compared the relation between thrombolytic efficacy and plasma clearance represented by pharmacokinetic parameters of i.c.-infused E6010 and rt-PA. Sixty-minute E6010 and rt-PA i.c. infusions were compared. The thrombolytic effects of i.c.-infused E6010 and rt-PA, represented by time to reperfusion (TR), reperfusion rate at 60 min (RR), and reocclusion rates at 60 min after reperfusion (OR) were as follows. E6010: Dose 0.06, 0.15, 0.3 (mg/kg/h); TR 25 +/- 10, 15 +/- 10, 13 +/- 5 (min); RR 100, 100, 100 (%); and OR 0, 0, 17 (%), respectively. Recombinant t-PA: Dose 0.06, 0.15, 0.3 (mg/kg/h); TR 47 +/- 12, 18 +/- 17, 14 +/- 4 (min); RR 50, 75, 100 (%); and OR 100, 33, 33 (%), respectively. These findings indicate that E6010 has more potent thrombolytic activity than rt-PA.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Preparation and characterization of membranes with positively charged main chain from polyethylenimine

A membrane, which has positively charged groups in the polymer main chain, was prepared from polyethylenimine by crosslinking and successive alkylation. Dibromoalkane was used as a crosslinking agent. The crosslinked membrane was alkylated using methyl iodide under several conditions. Elemental and ICP emission analyses were introduced to measure the rates of alkylation and quaternization. From the membrane potential measurement, the effective charge density was estimated. The highest value was about 1.0 M, which was obtained by a prolonged alkylation time. This value was larger than that of some commercial ion exchange membranes. The effective charge density, which was obtained by the last alkylation procedure, was 10 times larger than that of the former one, though the rate of quaternizing increased by less than a factor of two. This implies that the activity constant in the membrane increased when the charge density is increased. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Solid-liquid phase equilibria of benzene + 2-methyl-2-propanol system under high pressures

Solid-liquid phase equilibria of the benzene + 2-methyl-2-propanol system have been investigated at temperatures from 278 to 323 K and pressures up to 300 MPa using a high-pressure optical vessel. The uncertainties of the measurements of temperature, pressure and composition are within ±0.1 K, ±0.5 MPa, and ±0.001 mole fraction, respectively. The freezing pressure at a constant composition increases monotonously with pressure. The eutectic point shifts to a higher temperature and benzene-rich composition with increasing pressure. In order to describe the pressure-temperature-composition relation of high-pressure solid-liquid phase equilibria, a new simple equation has been proposed as follows:

A new correlation for the viscosity of gaseous fluorocarbon refrigerants

A new generalized correlation is presented for the low-pressure gaseous viscosity of fluorocarbon refrigerants. The following empirical equation is obtained based on the most reliable experimental data for 16 fluorocarbons: $$\eta \xi = \left( {0.5124T_r - 0.0517} \right)^{0.82} Z_c ^{ - 0.81}$$ where η is the viscosity in μPa·s and ξ is the viscosity parameter defined using the critical temperature T _c in K, the critical pressure P _c in MPa, and the molar mass M in g·mol^?1 as follows: $$\xi = T_c ^{1/6} M^{ - 1/2} P_c ^{ - 2/3}$$ The applicable ranges are 0.6<T _r<1.8 and 0.253<Z _c<0.282. The availability of the correlating equation for both pure fluorocarbons and their mixtures has been investigated based on the experimental data of these authors and those in the literature. It is found that the present correlation is useful for the prediction of the viscosity of pure fluorocarbons and their binary mixtures at atmospheric pressure with mean deviations less than 1.6%.     

X-ray CDF study on the behaviour of the amorphous chain under extension

The behaviour of the amorphous chain in vulcanized natural rubber (NR) and styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR) under extension is studied by means of the cylindrical distribution function (CDF) derived from wide angle X-ray scattering (WAXS). In the case of the highly stretched vulcanized NR where the orientation-induced crystallization took place, the observed WAXS intensity was separated into a crystalline peak component and a broad amorphous one from which the CDF was obtained. The CDF calculated from the broad component shows that some of the amorphous segments of the highly stretched vulcanized NR are extended as fully as the crystalline chains and that the fraction of the segments increases with increasing extension. In the case of SBR, such fully stretched segments as in the case of the vulcanized NR show higher degree of an interchain packing order than those in the vulcanized NR.