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Solid solution SnSe0.75S0.25 has potential to improve thermoelectric performance via ultra-low thermal conductivity as compared to the pristine SnSe which originates from phonon scattering due to disordered atoms of selenium (Se) and sulfur (S). SnSe0.75S0.25 and Cu-doped SnSe0.75S0.25 compounds were prepared via high energy ball milling and pelletized by a spark plasma sintering (SPS) process. Dislocation and point defects were successfully introduced by SnSe0.75S0.25. The existence of S in the Se site induced mass fluctuation which favors high-frequency phonon scattering. This leads to an impressively ultra-low thermal conductivity (κT) value of 0.258 W mK−1 at 753 K for SnSe0.75S0.25. Next, the Cu dopant was selected to enhance the electrical conductivity, which improved from 514.44 S m−1 (SnSe0.75S0.25) to 725.08 S m−1 for Sn0.98Cu0.02Se0.75S0.25 at 738 K. Interestingly, the Cu dopant induced nanoprecipitates of Cu2Se inside the grains, which further strengthens the phonon scattering. The Cu2Se nanoprecipitates and various defects at the grain boundaries contributed to a lower κT of 0.295 W mK−1 at 753 K for a Sn0.94Cu0.06Se0.75S0.25 sample. Moreover, the maximum figure of merit of (ZT) ∼0.19 at 738 K was attained for the Sn0.98Cu0.02Se0.75S0.25 sample.

Visualization of magnetic flux density using the CT (Computed Tomography) method was presented by using a reduced number of probe terminals. In this method, the sensor (CT probe) is composed of only the patterned coil plane, and can visualize two-dimensional magnetic flux density of a vertical component with the plane. The distributed data can be observed without scanning motion by use of a multi-layered CT probe. To obtain more effective measurement, we propose a new shape for the coil pattern with a switch function; this design permits display of an alternative magnetic flux density.

A visualization method of magnetic flux density distribution using CT (computed tomography) technique is presented. In this method, the sensor (CT probe) is composed of only the coil pattern plane, and can visualize two-dimensional distribution of magnetic flux density of vertical component in the plane. If the sensor is composed as a multilayered CT probe, it is also possible to image the magnetic flux density distribution without physical scanning motion. To perform high sensitivity measurement, we propose a new shape of coil pattern with switch mechanism. We perform visualization of one frequency component of magnetic flux density distribution from a mixed frequency magnetic field.

Objective: To determine the clinical characteristics of diffusion-weighted images (DWIs) in patients with TIA. Methods: The authors performed prospectively MRI including DWI in 129 consecutively studied patients with TIA (mean age, 67 years; 68% men) within 14 days after TIA onset. They examined the frequency of TIA-related DWI abnormalities and compared the clinical background of patients with and without DWI abnormalities. Using multivariate statistical methods, the authors investigated the independent factors associated with detection of DWI abnormalities. Results: Fifty-seven patients with TIA (44%) had DWI abnormalities (positive group), whereas 72 (56%) had no abnormalities (negative group). Prolonged TIA duration (TIA duration ≥30 minutes), hemiparesis, monoparesis, disturbance of higher brain function, history of either stroke or TIA, diabetes mellitus, and atrial fibrillation were observed more frequently in the positive group than in the negative group. No difference in other symptoms, vascular risk factors, or emboligenic cardiac and arterial disease was observed between the two groups. A multiple logistic regression model demonstrated that prolonged TIA duration (odds ratio [OR], 3.7; 95% CI, 1.3 to 10.8) and disturbance of higher brain function (OR, 10.2; 95% CI, 2.2 to 46.9) are significant and independent factors in correlating with DWI abnormalities. Conclusions: TIA-related DWI abnormalities are associated with prolonged duration of TIA and disturbance of higher brain function. More sustained and extensive ischemia may contribute to DWI abnormalities in patients with TIA.

A 38-year-old man with past history of head injury at the age of 16 years was admitted to our hospital in April, 2000 because of bacterial meningitis. At the end of March 2000, he experienced massive cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) rhinorrhea when he rested in bed, and subsequently he developed high-grade fever, headache, and nuchal stiffness in 2 weeks. His symptoms and signs improved with the antibiotic therapy alone. He had no recurrence of meningitis since then. A defect of his right skull base was clarified by 3D-CT, and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR)-CT. MRI brain scan showed the dislocation of the right frontal lobe into the ipsilateral anterior ethmoidal sinus. The diagnosis of CSF rhinorrhea and bacterial meningoencephalitis were made according to his clinical manifestations and neuroradiological studies including 3D-CT, MPR-CT and MRI brain scans. These imaging modalities, which described his head anatomy precisely, helped us to clarify the cause of his illness. When CSF rhinorrhea is present, it is important to take detailed past history of head trauma, even if the event occurred more than 20 years previously.

Three patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in blastic transformation were treated with G-CSF plus middle dose cytosine arabinoside (Ara-C). G-CSF was administered (150 mg, s.c. or 300 mg, d.i.v./day) 24 hr prior to Ara-C (2-3 g/body, 6 hour d.i.v. for 2-5 days) and continued until the peripheral neutrophil count rose above 1,000/microlitre. As a supplement, VP-16 (80 mg/m2, for 2 days) was administered as warranted to control the growth of blastic cells. All 3 patients survived for more than 12 months with a favorable performance status. Normal karyotypes were detected in 2 of the patients after chemotherapy. One of those patients in paticular demonstrated normal bone marrow findings with the almost complete disappearance of the Ph-positive clone. In vitro cultures of peroxidase-negative CML blastic cells revealed that G-CSF stimulated the induction of blastic cells into the cell cycle and that blastic cell apoptosis was more pronounced in cells cultured with G-CSF plus Ara-C than with G-CSF or Ara-C alone. G-CSF plus middle dose Ara-C therapy appears to be a strong candidate for the treatment of CML in blastic transformation with a poor prognosis.

The authors cared for a patient suffering from left trigeminal neuralgia who had systemic malignant lymphoma which had been treated with chemotherapy. The lesion of the left trigeminal nerve was not detected by brain CT scans or by the magnetic resonance images made at the onset of trigeminal neuralgia. However, metastasis to the left trigeminal nerve root was disclosed 6 months after the onset of the systemic lymphoma. Open biopsy confirmed lymphomatous involvement of the left trigeminal nerve root. In this case the site of the metastasis was mainly the trigeminal nerve root entry zone in the cerebellopontine cistern, and the lesion caused left trigeminal neuralgia and sensory impairment.

A 34-year-old man was found to have leukocytosis and thrombocytosis in 1983. In 1988, his leukocyte count was 10,400/microliter, Hb 16.5g and a platelet was 73 x 10(4)/microliter. A bone marrow examination showed megakaryocyte hyperplasia. Essential thrombocythemia (ET) was diagnosed but no treatment was given. In February 1993, anemia and hepatosplenomegaly developed and cytogenetic study of the peripheral blood demonstrated t(1;7) (q10;p10). Myelofibrosis was diagnosed as by bone marrow biopsy. The patient was treated with blood transfusion, oxymetholone and prednisolone, but without effect. In 1995, acute myeloid leukemia developed, and he died in December 1995 due to septicemia. We report here a case of the ET developed myelofibrosis with t(1;7) (q10;p10) anomaly and acute leukemia.

In situ observation of directional solidification of transparent, faceting organic materials was carried out in a centrifuge at accelerations from 2 to 10 g. The solidification rate, temperature and concentration distributions, and flow pattern in front of the solid-liquid interface were simultaneously measured and observed using a microscopic interferometer. Temperature oscillations occurred in this high Prandtl number melt from 2 to 10g. Non-uniform temperature and concentration distributions in front of the interface were considered as the driving forces for interface breakdown at high acceleration.

Two new hydrolyzable tannins, shephagenins A and B, were isolated along with hippophaenin A and strictinin from the leaf extract of Shepherdia argentea, which showed a remarkable inhibitory activity against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 reverse transcriptase. Their structures, having a gluconic acid core, have been elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic and chemical methods. The inhibitory effect of the leaf extract on HIV-1 reverse transcriptase was found to be due to tannins, and their activities were stronger than that of (-)-epigallocatechin gallate as a positive control.

A 56-year-old man was admitted to our hospital in November, 1991 because of hyperproteinemia and anemia. Total protein showed 12 g/dl and serum immunoglobulins were as follows; IgG 974 mg/dl, IgA 142 mg/dl, IgM 9270 mg/dl. M-component was identified as IgM-kappa with immunoelectrophoresis and serum viscosity indicated 6.9. Although the patient had no history of severe streptococcal infection, his serum showed very high activity of ASLO (6890 IU/ml). Bence Jones protein was detected in the urine and determined to be of kappa-type. Plasma cells occupied 43% of bone marrow nucleated cells and their cytoplasms were stained with FITC-labeled anti-IgM and anti-kappa antibodies. X-ray examination disclosed punched out lesions in the skull. Consequently, the patient was diagnosed as having IgM-myeloma. At first, VCAP regimens were given after plasmapheresis, but had no effect. Therefore, the patient was treated with CHOP protocol and the serum IgM decreased in amount and the proportion of bone marrow myeloma cells got down to 17%. ASLO titer also decreased in parallel with IgM. These findings suggest that IgM in this case had ASLO activity.

Six patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) expressing CD7 antigen (CD7+ AML) were studied. They consisted of five patients with M1 and one with an M2 morphology. Two cases expressed other lymphoid-associated antigens, in addition to CD7. The complete remission rate was 50%. One patient had central nervous system recurrence. Cytogenetic analysis demonstrated normal karyotypes in all the cases. All but one had germline configurations of the T-cell receptor (TCR) genes and immunoglobulin heavy chain gene. However, all did not have detectable recombinase activating gene-1 activity by the RT-PCR technique. We performed colony formation assay in two patients, and no enhancement of colony formation by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor was noted. The results presented here, together with those reported previously, suggest that CD7+ AML may demonstrate lineage infidelity.

The blast progenitors in acute myelogenous leukemia grow in response to hematopoietic growth factors (HGFs), and their sensitivity to antileukemic drugs is influenced by HGFs. We report the effects of stem cell factor (SCF) on the growth and sensitivity to 1-beta-D-arabinofuranosylcytosine (Ara-C) of blast progenitors in acute myelogenous leukemia. SCF stimulated both colony formation and self-renewal of blast progenitors and, when used in combination with other HGFs, synergistic enhancement of colony formation was noted in 8 of the 15 patients examined. Cell fractionation studies demonstrated no unique growth dependency on SCF in either CD34+ or CD34- populations. Blast cells of patients that displayed synergistic growth enhancement with SCF displayed the highest Ara-C sensitivity when HGFs were used in combination with SCF. The tritiated thymidine suicide test (20-min exposure) revealed that the proportion of blast progenitors in the S phase of the cell cycle was highest when SCF and another HGF were simultaneously present, although 24-h exposure killed most or all of the blast progenitors. These data indicate that SCF enhances growth and sensitivity to Ara-C of acute myelogenous leukemia blast progenitors in a closely correlated fashion and that the cell cycle changes as well as other mechanisms are involved in the Ara-C sensitivity modulation by SCF.

A 31-year-old woman, a child of consanguineous parents, who had shown mental retardation and slowness in running ability since childhood, complained of progressive spastic gait for one and a half years prior to admission. On admission, neurological examination revealed severe spastic paraplegia, mental retardation, visual disturbance, cerebellar ataxia, disturbance of deep sensation, sphincter disturbance, pes cavus and pes equinovarus. Protein content in the cerebrospinal fluid was increased to 86.1 mg/dl. Markedly reduced activity of galactosylceramidase in the leukocytes and the cultured fibroblasts confirmed the diagnosis of Krabbe's disease. T2-weighted MR images disclosed high signal areas in the deep white matter of the bilateral parieto-occipital lobes. There were also abnormal high signal bands along the bilateral pyramidal tracts from the corona radiata to the cerebral peduncle and the posterior part of the corpus callosum. The nerve conduction studies showed markedly decreased motor and sensory conduction velocities with decreased amplitudes. Visual evoked potentials showed prolongation of the right P100 latency. Auditory brainstem responses showed prolonged interpeak latencies between I-V peaks. Somatosensory evoked potentials showed prolongation of the N20 latencies. The morphometric histopathological analysis of the sural nerve revealed a decrease in the density of myelinated fibers and the presence of myelinated fibers with thin myelin sheath relative to the size of transverse area of axon. There were linear inclusion bodies in the cytoplasm of Schwann cells on electron microscopic examination. This is the first report in Japan of a patient with Krabbe's disease who survived after adolescence.

A newly established human leukemia cell line, OM9;22, is reported, with B-precursor immunophenotype (CD10+ CD19+ CD22+ HLA- DR+ C mu-) and CD13 antigen, originated from a 19-year-old female patient with Philadelphia (Ph) chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The OM9;22 cells carry a Philadelphia (Ph) translocation and hybrid message detected by a minor-breakpoint cluster region (BCR) exon 1/ABL exon 2 junctional probe using reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. The genetic alterations are consistent with those observed in the donor's leukemia cells, allowing us to conclude that this cell line is a minor-BCR rearranged Ph-positive ALL (Ph+ ALL). Colony formation of the OM9;22 cells in methylcellulose culture is enhanced by the addition of human interleukin 7 (IL-7). In liquid culture, more than 80% of IL-7-treated OM9;22 cells express CD20 antigen but fail to express surface immunoglobulins or cytoplasmic mu-chain, indicating that the cells have a potential of limited maturation by IL-7. By contrast, IL-4 suppresses the colony formation of the OM9;22 cells. These findings suggest that this cell line might be a model of B-precursor human leukemia with proliferative capability by IL-7.

In situ observation on the interface instability and the solute transport boundary layer in front of the solid/liquid interface is carried out during the di rectional solidification of SCN-1.5at%Salol. Based on this, and in combination with the experimental results of SCN-1.1 wt%Eth, SCN-0.43wt%C152 alloys, the morp hological instability of a solidifying planar interface is systematically invest igated during directional solidification with and without the convection. It is found that the interface stability analysis in our previous paper describes corr ectly the time-dependent evolution of interface instability. Both the incubation time ti for instability and the incubation time tb for breakdown of the planar interface can be determined from the time-dependent instability so lution, and the convection obviously shortens the incubation time ti for i nstability and the incubation time tb for breakdown of the planar interface. The steady-state instability solution overestimates the unit amplitude devel oping rate by an order of magnitude, as compared to the experimental value, while the time-dependent solution underestimates the experimental result.