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With the global shift toward sustainable energy, emphasis is being placed on the efficient use of available resources. This study focuses on the potential application of High-Temperature superconductor (HTS) installed to synchronous rotating machines for hydropower generation, particularly in ports, introducing the concept of Carbon Neutral Port (CNP) and exploring the role of rotating machines in meeting both electricity and hydrogen demand to reduce CO2 emissions. Scenarios that obtain commercial electricity instead of using renewable energy have inherent costs associated with CO2 emissions. In terms of energy conversion efficiency, High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) generators exhibit a significant advantage over traditional non-superconducting generators, a superiority primarily attributable to their enhanced capacity for generating intensified magnetic flux densities and their ability to handle larger current loads. In this study, the operational estimation of the power generation system was examined based on the hypothesis that the use of HTS generators in an integrated hydrogen system can produce more hydrogen from surplus electricity and reduce CO2 emissions. The model for meeting hydrogen demand shows a net positive reduction in CO2 emissions, suggesting that integrating hydrogen production within such a system can be effective. By using the hydrogen efficiently generated from this surplus electricity to meet the demand for cargo handling machinery, a 6.8% reduction in CO2 emissions from port demand was obtained. Thus, the data suggest that an efficiency difference of only 6% with HTS generators can lead to significant benefits, especially when combined with hydrogen production. This article reports on methods and new concepts to achieve these results through a study on the integration of superconducting synchronous machines and hydrogen systems in ports for sustainable energy conversion.

A key feature of quantum spin liquids is the predicted formation of fractionalized excitations. They are expected to produce changes in the physical response, providing a way to observe the quantum spin liquid state1. In the honeycomb magnet α-RuCl3, a quantum spin liquid has been proposed to explain the behaviour observed on applying an in-plane magnetic field H||. Previous work reported that the thermal Hall conductivity took on a half-integer quantized value and suggested this as a signature of a fractionalized Majorana edge mode predicted to exist in Kitaev quantum spin liquids2. However, the temperature and magnetic-field range of the half-quantized signal2–4and its association with Majorana edge modes are still under debate5,6. Here we present a comprehensive study of the thermal Hall conductivity in α-RuCl3showing that approximately half-integer quantization exists in an extended region of the phase diagram, particularly across a plateau-like parameter regime for H||exceeding 10 T and temperature below 6.5 K. At lower fields, the thermal Hall conductivity exhibits correlations with complex anomalies in the longitudinal thermal conductivity and magnetization, and is suppressed by cooling to low temperatures. Our results can be explained by the existence of a topological state in magnetic fields above 10 T.

The honeycomb lattice is one of the simplest lattice structures. Electrons and spins on this simple lattice, however, often form exotic phases with non-trivial excitations. Massless Dirac fermions can emerge out of itinerant electrons, as demonstrated experimentally in graphene, and a topological quantum spin liquid with exotic quasiparticles can be realized in spin-1/2 magnets, as proposed theoretically in the Kitaev model. The quantum spin liquid is a long-sought exotic state of matter, in which interacting spins remain quantum-disordered without spontaneous symmetry breaking. The Kitaev model describes one example of a quantum spin liquid, and can be solved exactly by introducing two types of Majorana fermion. Realizing a Kitaev model in the laboratory, however, remains a challenge in materials science. Mott insulators with a honeycomb lattice of spin–orbital-entangled pseudospin-1/2 moments have been proposed, including the 5d-electron systems α-Na2IrO3(ref. 5) and α-Li2IrO3(ref. 6) and the 4d-electron system α-RuCl3(ref. 7). However, these candidates were found to magnetically order rather than form a liquid at sufficiently low temperatures, owing to non-Kitaev interactions. Here we report a quantum-liquid state of pseudospin-1/2 moments in the 5d-electron honeycomb compound H3LiIr2O6. This iridate does not display magnetic ordering down to 0.05 kelvin, despite an interaction energy of about 100 kelvin. We observe signatures of low-energy fermionic excitations that originate from a small number of spin defects in the nuclear-magnetic-resonance relaxation and the specific heat. We therefore conclude that H3LiIr2O6is a quantum spin liquid. This result opens the door to finding exotic quasiparticles in a strongly spin–orbit-coupled 5d-electron transition-metal oxide.

Glioblastoma has the poorest prognosis, and is characterized by excessive invasion and angiogenesis. To determine the invasive mechanisms, we previously used two glioma cell lines (J3T-1 and J3T-2) with different invasive phenotypes. The J3T-1 showed abundant angiogenesis and tumor cell invasion around neovasculature, while J3T-2 showed diffuse cell infiltration into surrounding healthy parenchyma. Microarray analyses were used to identify invasion-related genes in J3T-2 cells, and the expressed genes and their intracellular and intratumoral distribution patterns were evaluated in J3T-2 cell lines, human glioma cell lines, human glioblastoma stem cells and human glioblastoma specimens. To determine the role of the invasion-related genes, invasive activities were evaluated in vitro and in vivo. Fibroblast growth factor 13 (FGF13) was overexpressed in J3T-2 cells compared to J3T-1 cells, and in human glioma cell lines, human glioblastoma stem cells and human glioblastoma specimens, when compared to that of normal human astrocytes. Immunohistochemical staining and the RNA-seq (sequencing) data from the IVY Glioblastoma Atlas Project showed FGF13 expression in glioma cells in the invasive edges of tumor specimens. Also, the intracellular distribution was mainly in the cytoplasm of tumor cells and colocalized with tubulin. Overexpression of FGF13 stabilized tubulin dynamics in vitro and knockdown of FGF13 decreased glioma invasion both in vitro and in vivo and prolonged overall survival of several xenograft models. FGF13 was negatively regulated by hypoxic condition. Silencing of FGF13 also decreased in vivo bevacizumab-induced glioma invasion. In conclusion, FGF13 regulated glioma cell invasion and bevacizumab-induced glioma invasion, and could be a novel target for glioma treatment.

We demonstrate power-based refractive index (RI) sensing using an ultrasonically crushed polymer optical fiber (POF). This structure can be fabricated easily and cost-efficiently for a short time (of ~1 s) with no need to employ external heat sources or chemicals. What is required is an ultrasonic transducer, the horn of which is pressed against part of the POF. The RI dependence of the transmitted power is investigated, and almost linear trends are obtained in the RI ranges of from ~1.32 to ~1.36 (coefficient: -62 dB/RIU (RI unit)) and from ~1.40 to ~1.44 (coefficient: -257 dB/RIU)). When the RI is fixed at 1.33, the temperature dependence of the transmitted power is also investigated (coefficient: -0.094 dB/°C), which shows the temperature-dependent error in RI sensing can be compensated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We observed the nearby galaxy M 51 (NGC 5194) with BeppoSAX. The X-ray properties of the nucleus below 10 keV are almost the same as the ASCA results regarding the hard component and the neutral Fe Kαline, but the intensity is about half of the ASCA 1993 data. Beyond this, in the BeppoSAX PDS data, we detected a bright hard X-ray emission component which dominates above 10 keV. The 10-100 keV flux and luminosity of this component are respectively $2\times10^{-11}$erg s-1cm-2and $2\times10^{41}$erg s-1. These are about 10 times higher than the extrapolation from the soft X-ray band, and similar to the flux observed with Ginga, which found a bright power law component in 2-20 keV band. Considering other wavelength properties and the X-ray luminosity, together with strong neutral Fe K line, the hard X-ray emission most likely arises from a low luminosity active nucleus, which is obscured with a column density of ~1024cm-2. This suggests that hidden low luminosity AGNs may well be present in other nearby galaxies. We interpret the discrepancy between Ginga and other X-ray satellites to be due to a large variability of absorption column density toward the line of sight over several years, suggesting that the Compton thick absorption material may be present on a spatial scale of a parsec. Apart from the nucleus, several ultra-luminous off-nuclear X-ray sources detected in M 51 exhibit long-term time variability, suggesting the state transition similar to that observed in Galactic black hole candidates.

We report the influence of deposition pressure on the morphology and structural properties of the nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) particles embedded in amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx) using hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HW-CVD). Catalyst material Tantalum (Ta) was employed for the decomposition of source gases in the reaction chamber. X-Ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy techniques were used to understand the thin film phase transition. Different bonds in the films, for example Si-H, were identified using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and the role of hydrogen species in inducing crystallization has been discussed. Particular pressure limit has been found to be adequate for the growth of silicon related crystalline particles. The samples deposited at substrate temperature of 200 °C, has shown photoluminescence spectra from blue to red zone, and the parts of the visible spectra has been found to be in correlation with the size of nc-Si and/or defects present in the thin film. This low temperature deposited Si based thin films using HW-CVD could be useful for a visible light emitting device production.

Abstract:  The loci encoding the β chain of the pig major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II antigens, SLA-DR and -DQ, have been known to exhibit a remarkable degree of allelic polymorphism. Here, to understand the generation of SLA class II polymorphism, 25 SLA-DRB1 and 24 SLA-DQB genes including newly identified 12 SLA-DRB1 and 7 SLA-DQB genes obtained from miniature pigs were analyzed based on the nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences. Most of the allelic diversity was attributed to the variable sequences which encode a β1 domain consisting of a β-pleated sheet followed by an α helix. In the β1 domain coding region, there were four GC-rich sequences, which have been considered to involve the intra-exon sequence exchange also in other gene evolutions. The first and second GC-rich sequences were χ-like sequences, which have been shown to be a putative recombination signal, and were stably conserved among SLA-DRB1 and DQB genes. These χ-like sequences identified in SLA-DRB1 and SLA-DQB were found to encode the first turning point of the β-pleated sheet and the boundary between the β-pleated sheet and the α helix. Analysis of clustered sequence variation also suggested intra-exon gene conversions in which the χ-like sequences act as putative breakpoints. In addition to point mutations and selection mechanism, intra-exon gene conversions must be an important mechanism in the generation of allelic polymorphism at the SLA-DRB1 and SLA-DQB.

Summary The effect of serum thymic factor (FTS) on the D-variant of encephalomyocarditis (EMC-D) virus-induced diabetes and myocarditis in BALB/cAJcl mice was investigated. Mice pretreated with 50 or 10 µg of FTS were infected with 10 or 103 PFU of EMC-D virus. In the mice inoculated with 10 PFU of virus, 40% developed diabetes on post-infection day (PID) 14, whereas those treated with FTS (50 µg/administration) on day 2 and 1 before infection did not develop diabetes. FTS (10 µg)-pretreated mice developed diabetes. In histological observation, FTS non-treated mice which developed diabetes showed severe necrosis and inflammation of mononuclear cells in the islets of Langerhans and myocardia on 19 PID. Mice pretreated with 50 µg of FTS, however, manifested mild islet degeneration without any myocardial inflammation. Furthermore, in FTS non-treated mice, immunohistological staining showed a loss of insulin granules. This loss was markedly reversed and insulin granules remained largely intact in FTS-pretreated mice. Viral titers in pancreas of FTS-pretreated mice approximated well to those of non-treated mice on PID 4, 7 and 19. In mice inoculated with higher titer of EMC-D virus (103 PFU), however, 50 µg of FTS pretreatment did not change the course of these acute pathological developments (diabetes and myocarditis observed from PID 4).

The pull-through angioplasty technique allows stable wire tension and stabilization of the device during the procedure. In this technique, a guide wire is passed from one sheath to another, usually with the aid of a snare device. We describe the treatment of occlusive subclavian artery disease and lesion at the origin of the vertebral artery employing a brachiofemoral pull-through technique without using a snare device. In this technique, the guide wire is advanced from the femoral artery to the brachial artery. The guide wire is directly inserted into the sheath placed at the brachial artery. The brachial artery is compressed proximal to the point of sheath insertion to prevent bleeding. The sheath is extracted temporally and the guide wire is caught outside of the body. The sheath is then introduced again through the guide wire. We used the pull-through technique without a snare device in seven cases, and we were able to build the pull-through system in six of these cases without a snare device. This pull-through technique without a snare device is not difficult to use, and may reduce the time and cost of angioplasty procedures.

The characteristics of broadband noise radiated by LED light bulbs were investigated. According to the measurement results of the noise waveform in the time domain, LED noise can be categorized as intermittent type or non-intermittent type, in accordance with the operation of the switching power supply installed in the LED bulb. Intermittent-type noise is emitted by some LEDs supporting dimmer operation, and its repetitive bursts are synchronized with the AC mains frequency. For both types, the noise is a sequence of short pulses, each of which is generated at the instant that the power-supply circuit of the LED bulb is switched on or off. Hence, an "on pulse" and an "off pulse" are alternatively emitted. The interval of the pulses varies with time in general. A time-domain noise model representing the time-varying pulse interval and amplitude was developed by applying amplitude and frequency modulations to a regularly repetitive pulse train. As a statistical property of LED noise, amplitude probability distribution (APD) was also measured with various resolution bandwidths of the receiver. When the bandwidth was larger than the switching frequency of the power supply, Middleton's class-A model gave a good approximation of the APD. For narrower reception bandwidths down to 1 kHz, the noise can be regarded as Gaussian for non-intermittent type or intermittent Gaussian for intermittent type, respectively.

We present an optical and thermal design of one of major instrumental payload planned for SOLAR-C mission/Plan-B (high resolution spectroscopic option): the telescope assembly of Solar Ultra-violet Visible and near IR observing Telescope (SUVIT). To accommodate a launcher's nosecone size, a wide observing wavelength coverage from UV (down to 280 nm) through near IR (up to 1100 nm), and an 0.1 arcsec resolution in the field of 200 arcsec diameter, a short telescope design was made for a 1.5 m aperture solar Gregorian telescope with the compact design of three-mirror collimator unit.

As long ago as the 1960s, scientists understood that Diode lasers' oscillation wavelengths showed a significant shift to the shorter wavelength (high frequency) side, when exposed to strong (<4[T]) magnetic fields, at extremely low temperatures (<80[K]). Not surprisingly, then, in preliminary tests, when we exposed Fabry/Perot-type diode lasers oscillating at 780[nm] to weak magnetic fields (<1.4[T]), at room temperature (300[K]), we observed that the oscillation wavelength shifted to the longer (low frequency) wavelength side. In the present work, we used vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) to check whether its change into the shorter wavelength side takes place. In discussions of shift mechanisms, we consider how wavelength (frequency) and optical output-power shifts are correlated. Our expanded knowledge base has forced us to use a completely different mechanism to explain how/why our results differ from those obtained in studies conducted in the 1960's. We are now introducing a mechanism that affects a rise in temperature and an increase in the carrier density, affect the characteristic shifts observed in our experiments, when a magnetic field is applied to the laser diodes parallel to the injection current.

No balloon microcatheter with a 3 cm marker has been developed to date. We developed a new balloon microcatheter with a double marker. This balloon microcatheter, with an outer diameter of 2.8 F, has a balloon on the most distal portion with a maximum inflation diameter of 4 mm and two markers, one is on the tip and the other is 3 cm proximal to the tip. This balloon microcatheter would make interventional procedures, especially for parent artery occlusion, simple to perform and safer.

In the present research, a bubble dynamics based model for cavitating flow simulations is extended to higher void fraction region for wider range of applications. The present bubble model is based on the so-called Rayleigh-Plesset equation that calculates a temporal bubble radius with the surrounding liquid pressure and is considered to be valid in an area below a certain void fraction. The solution algorithm is modified so that the Rayleigh-Plesset equation is no more solved once the bubble radius (or void fraction) reaches at a certain value till the liquid pressure recovers above the vapor pressure in order to overcome this problem. This procedure is expected to stabilize the numerical calculation. The results of simple two-dimensional flow field are presented compared with the existing bubble model.

To clarify the influences of the tip clearance flows on the unsteady cavitating flow, the three-dimensional unsteady cavitating flows through both the two-dimensional cascades and the three-dimensional inducer with and without tip clearance are performed numerically. The governing equations for the compressible fluid flow with the DES turbulence model are employed with the assumption of the isentropic process of liquid phase. The evolution of cavities is represented as the source/sink of vapor phase. The basic equations in the curve linear coordinate are solved by the finite difference method. As the results of the three-dimensional cavitating flows through the two-dimensional cascades, the tip clearance flows from the pressure side to the suction side of the blade produces the tip vortex cavitation, which affects the sheet cavitation on the leading edge of the next blade and enhances the blockage effect near the casing than the flows without tip clearance. On the other hand, in the case of the three-dimensional inducer, the large backflow cavitation is observed around the inlet of the inducer, where the cavities are developed on the casing by the tip clearance flows. The large pressure gradient between the non-cavitating pressure side and the cavitating suction side enhances the tip clearance flows. The calculation considering the tip clearance reproduces the developed cavitation region similar to that of experimental visualizations. Additionally, the backflow cavitation rotates with the speed slower than the rotation speed of the inducer. Then, the rotation of backflow cavitation causes the periodic fluctuation of the outlet pressure greater than that of the inlet pressure.

This paper presents the results of PL spectrum studies for Si nano-crystallites embedded in amorphous silicon matrix. Investigated layers were deposited by the hot-wire CVD method on glass substrates at the wafer temperature 300°C and different filament temperatures from the range 1650-1950°C. It was shown that variation of temperatures of filament (hot-wire) allows to produce the films with desirable parameters. Using of X-ray diffraction and photoluminescence methods the correlation between some photoluminescence bands and the sizes of Si nano-crystallites as well as the amorphous phase volume was shown. The nature of light emission is discussed.

Hemodynamic instability during and after carotid artery stenting (CAS) may reduce cerebral blood flow (CBF), leading to cerebral ischemia. To investigate changes in CBF in the periprocedural period, we continuously recorded the regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSO2) using near-infrared spectroscopy.In 46 consecutive patients with carotid artery stenosis, rSO2 was continuously recorded during and after CAS. In addition, the patients underwent SPECT to evaluate a change in CBF on the next day after CAS.Introprocedural bradycardia (heart rate <50 bpm) occurred in 21 patients (46%) including one transient cardiac arrest. Intraprocedural hypotension (systolic blood pressure <80 mmHg) occurred in 18 patients (39%), and 16 of them showed prolonged hypotension. The rSO2 in patients with bradycardia/hypotension during CAS was significantly less than that in patients without them (p<0.01). Moreover, the SPECT on the next day after CAS demonstrated that the ipsilateral CBF in patients with bradycardia/hypotension during CAS significantly more than that in patients without them (p<0.05).Intraprocedural hemodynamic instability resulted in a significant decrease in rSO2, leading to a possible severe cerebral ischemia. In addition, intraprocedural bradycardia/hypotension might be related with postprodedural hyperperfusion, causing the morbidity and mortality after CAS.

The machining of metal dies involves a variety of processes that include grinding, polishing and electrical discharge machining in addition to various cutting processes such as turning, boring, and milling. The precise machining of complex dies, particularly in deep machining, has largely been done by electrical discharge machining in the past, because the use of end mills and other cutting tools for such work has been difficult. In recent years, however, problems such as low machining efficiency and the creation of an affected layer have made the use of end mill cutting tools the general approach to this task. In the research reported here, our objective was to establish guidelines for the optimum design of small radius ball end mills for the deep machining of dies by systematic investigation of the cutting tool characteristics, which is to say the rotational behavior, cutting resistance, actual rate of depth of cut and machining accuracy of small radius ball end mills. Here, the guidelines obtained for ultra-deep, highly-accurate machining that is applicable to machining programs and is based on quantitative results for amounts of tool wear and tool deflection that obtained using the optimum tool shape reported earlier are presented.

The objective of this paper is to extend the capability of analyzing the time dependence and coupling of temperature, stress and strain effects on the macroscopic and microscopic structures subjected to quenching, and to introduce a theory of the kinetic of the phase transformation. Strain due to phase transformation, transformation plasticity and thermal expansion are the dominant factors that need to be included in the simulation of a quenching process. The evolution of the microstructure also influences the constitutive equations. In particular, as the temperature changes from the high to phase transformation, temperature and then room temperature, the stress-strain relationship changes from elastic-plastic strain. Therefore, in order to obtain a high strength and ductility in carbon steels, transformation plasticity often has a major effect in increasing of the residual stress during quenching process. In this paper, we measured temperature change and distortion occurring during the quenching process of a carbon steel(SCr420) by thermal simulation machine (Gleeble 1500) are used to determine the parameter of transformation plasticity due to the generation of martensite. The modeling of martensitic transformation plasticity is also verified by using of computational simulation of the quenching process.

Abstract: We propose the “Flux-mediated epitaxy” as a novel concept for the growth of single crystalline films of incongruent, volatile, and high-temperature-melting compounds. In flux-mediated eptitaxy, by supplying materials precursors from the gas phase through the liquid flux films pre-deposited on the substrate, a quasi-thermodynamic equilibrium condition is obtained at the interface between the growing films and the flux films. This process has been demonstrated in this paper by fabricating ferroelectric Bi4Ti3O12 films, which has volatile Bi oxide. The most important step in this process is the selection of the right flux material, which is hard to predict due to the lack of an appropriate phase diagram. In order to overcome this problem, we have selected the combinatorial approach. A series of ternary flux libraries composed of two self-fluxes (Bi2O3 and Bi4Ti3O12) and a third impurity flux were fabricated on SrTiO3 (001) substrates. After that, stoichiometric Bi4Ti3O12 films were grown on each of these flux libraries at a temperature presumed to melt the flux. High-throughput characterization with the concurrent X-ray diffraction method resulted in the identification of CuO containing Bi2O3 as the flux material for the growth of single crystalline Bi4Ti3O12 films. Stoichiometric Bi4Ti3O12 films fabricated by using a novel CuO containing Bi2O3 are qualified to be single crystalline judging from their large grain size and the electrical properties equivalent to bulk single crystal’s.

To evaluate the diagnostic reliability of cardiac iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (123I-MIBG) radioactivity in discriminating dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) from Alzheimer disease (AD) regardless of parkinsonism.

Excellent crystallinity of material films and atomic control of their surface/interface, sufficient for the realization of their optimal physical properties, are technological premises for modern functional‐device applications. Bi4Ti3O12and related compounds attract much interest as highly insulating, ferroelectric materials for use in ferroelectric random‐access memories. However, it has been difficult thus far for Bi4Ti3O12films to satisfy such requirements when formed using vapor‐phase epitaxy, owing to the high volatility of Bi in a vacuum. Here, we demonstrate that flux‐mediated epitaxy is one of the most promising and widely applicable concepts to overcome this inevitable problem. The key point of this process is the appropriate selection of a multi‐component flux system. A combinatorial approach has led to the successful discovery of the novel flux composition of Bi–Cu–O for Bi4Ti3O12single‐crystal film growth. The perfect single‐crystal nature of the stoichiometric Bi4Ti3O12film formed has been verified through its giant grain size and electric properties, equivalent to those of bulk single crystals. This demonstration has broad implications, opening up the possibility of preparing stoichiometric single‐crystal oxide films via vapor‐phase epitaxy, even if volatile constituents are required.

The Large Helical Device (LHD) achieves high-performance plasma confinement by the coordination of the magnetic surface region and the chaotic field line layer. It is theoretically and experimentally shown that drift surfaces exist for highly energetic particles being extended over the last closed flux surface (LCFS) in the LHD. These particles are considered lost particles due to the loss-cone in the previous theories, where the analyses are limited inside the LCFS. The present theory predicts that the loss-cone is strongly reduced in the LHD and that highly energetic particles confined over the LCFS exist. These are consistent with the LHD experimental results in both the ICRF heating experiments and the low magnetic field neutral beam injection heating experiments. From particle orbit analyses and studies on the connection length of diverter field lines, it is also shown that plasma can exist in the chaotic field line layer located outside the LCFS in the LHD. The plasma in the chaotic field line layer is clearly detected by CCD-cameras in the LHD experiment. This ambient plasma might be expected to play the role of a kind of impregnable barrier for the core plasma, which suppresses both the MHD instabilities and the cooling of the core plasma due to charge exchange processes. The line-tying effects of diverter field lines that are slipped out from the chaotic field line layer can also stabilize the ballooning mode and the vertical displacement events of the plasma column.

Purpose To evaluate long-term visual acuity outcomes and the influences of various preoperative factors on visual outcome in patients undergoing surgical removal of choroidal neovascular neovascularization (CNV) caused by age-related macular degeneration (ARMD).Methods The authors studied 146 eyes of 146 patients who were followed for at least 1 year after surgical excision of CNV associated with ARMD. Surgical indications included subfoveal active CNV localized mainly above the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) and a standard Japanese decimal visual acuity of 0.3 or worse. CNV above the RPE was diagnosed by fluorescein angiography, indocyanine green angiography, and optical coherence tomography. CNVs were divided into completely classic CNV or mainly classic CNV. The relationships of the postoperative logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) visual acuity with preoperative logMAR visual acuity, the shortest distance from the center of the foveal avascular zone to the CNV margin, CNV size, and age were analyzed.RESULTS Final logMAR visual acuity was improved (defined as a logMAR visual acuity increase of 0.2 or more) in 78 eyes (54%), stable in 47 (32%), and worsened in 21 (14%). Stepwise regression identified CNV size as a significant factor influencing final logMAR visual acuity (R2= 0.213, p<0.0001), while preoperative logMAR visual acuity, shortest distance from the center of the foveal avascular zone to the CNV margin, and age showed no significant correlation with final logMAR visual acuity. Surgical complications included retinal detachment in six eyes (4%), subretinal hematoma in four eyes (2%), macular hole in three (2%), and proliferative vitreoretinopa thy in two (1%). CNV recurred postoperatively in 18 eyes (12%). In 92 eyes with completely classic CNV, visual acuity was improved in 57 (62%), stable in 27 (29%), and worsened in 8 (9%). In 54 eyes with mainly classic CNy visual acuity was improved in 21(39%), stable in 20 (37%), and worsened in 13 (24%).Conclusions Surgical excision of CNV for ARMD was effective for completely classic CNV, and better postoperative visual acuity was achieved in cases of small CNV. Given the fact that photodynamic therapy (PDT) has only been used in Japan since 2004, future study should compare PDT and surgical excision in Japanese subjects for relative merits against surgical risk and postoperative complications, to define indications for PDT and surgical excision.

The dynamics of inertial cavitation bubbles produced by short pulses of high-intensity focused ultrasound near a rigid boundary are studied to get a better understanding of the role of jet formation and shock wave emission during bubble collapse in the therapeutic applications of ultrasound. The bubble dynamics are investigated by high-speed photography with up to 2 million frames/s and acoustic measurements, as well as by numerical calculations. The significant parameter of this study is the dimensionless stand-off, γ, which is defined as the distance of the bubble centre at its maximum expansion scaled by the maximum bubble radius. High-speed photography is applied to observe the bubble motion and the velocity of the liquid jet formed during bubble collapse. Hydrophone measurements are used to determine the pressure and the duration of the shock wave emitted during bubble rebound. Calculations yield the variation with time of the bubble wall, the maximum velocity and the kinetic energy of the re-entrant jet. The comparisons between experimental and numerical data are favourable with regard to both shape history and translational motion of the bubble. The acoustic energy constitutes the largest individual amount in the energy balance of bubble collapse. The ratio of the shock wave energy, measured at 10 mm from the emission centre, to the cavitation bubble energy was 1:2.4 at γ = 1.55 and 1:3.5 at γ = 1. At this distance, the shock wave pressure ranges from 0.122 MPa, at γ = 1, to 0.162 MPa, at γ = 1.55, and the temporal duration at the half maximum level is 87 ns. The maximum jet velocity ranges from 27 m s–1, at γ = 1, to 36 m s–1, at γ = 1.55. For γ < 1.2, the re-entrant jet can generate an impact pressure on the nearby boundary larger than 50 MPa. We discuss the implications of the results for the therapeutic applications of high-intensity focused ultrasound.

Wavelet-crosscorrelation analysis is a new application of wavelet analysis used to show the propagation of epileptiform discharges and to localize the corresponding lesions. We have shown previously that this analysis can help predict brain conditions statistically (Mizuno-Matsumoto et al. 2002). Our objective was to assess whether wavelet-crosscorrelation analysis reveals the initiation and propagation of epileptiform activity in human patients. The data obtained from three patients with simple partial seizures (SPS) using whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) were analyzed by the wavelet-crosscorrelation method. Wavelet-crosscorrelation coefficients (WCC), the coherent structure of each possible pair of signals from 64 MEG channels for various periods, and the time lag (TL) in two related signals, were ascertained. We clearly demonstrated both localization of the irritative zone and propagation of the epileptiform discharges. Wavelet-crosscorrelation analysis can help reveal and visualize the dynamic changes of brain conditions. The method of this analysis can compensate for other existing methods for the analysis of MEG, electroencephalography (EEG) or Elecotrocorticography (ECoG). Our proposed method suggests that revealing and visualizing the dynamic changes of brain conditions can help clinicians and even patients themselves better understand such conditions.

Two new lanostane triterpenoids (1, 2) and 10 new lanostane triterpene glycosides (3−12) have been isolated from the fruit bodies of Fomitopsis pinicola. Their structures were established primarily by NMR experiments and chemical methods, and their biological activity against COX-1 and COX-2 was investigated.

The dynamics of the reaction, Y O2→ YO O was studied by using the crossed-beam technique at several collision energies from 10.3 to 52.0 kJ mol−1. The Y atomic beam was generated by laser vaporization and crossed with the O2beam at a right angle. Among the energetically accessible electronic states of YO, the formation of the A2Π and A′2Δ states was observed by their chemiluminescence at all collision energies. By analyzing the chemiluminescence spectra of YOA2Π12,32–X2Σ, vibrational state distributions and relative populations of spin–orbit states were determined for YOA2Π12,32. At low collision energies, the vibrational distributions agree quite well with those expected from the statistical energy partitioning, while a little deviation from the statistical expectation was observed at the highest energy, 52.0 kJ mol−1. The populations of two spin–orbit states are in good agreement with the statistical expectations at all collision energies. The vacuum ultraviolet laser-induced fluorescence VUV-LIF technique was employed to determine the distributions of spin–orbit states of the product O3PJ at two collision energies, 20.7 and 52.0 kJ mol−1. The line shapes of the O atom transitions were analyzed to determine relative branching ratio of the ground state to the excited states of YO, i.e.YOX2Σ O3PJvs. YOA2Π and A′2Δ O3PJ. The results showed that the electronically excited YO was formed with comparable amount with the ground state which is statistically more favorable, and suggested the occurrence of two mechanisms taking place in the title reaction.

Summary: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between expression of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and cavernous sinus invasion in pituitary adenoma. Method.: Tissue samples from 54 pituitary adenomas were examined for expression of MMP-2 protein by immunohistochemistry. In sixteen tumors, the expression of MMP-2 mRNA was also examined by RT-PCR. Immunostaining was semiquantatively scored based on intensity (0-3) and distribution (0-3). Results.: There were 34 women and 20 men, with a mean age of 49.9 years (range 18-76). There were 12 tumors with cavernous sinus invasion, and 42 noninvasive cases. The MMP-2 score of pituitary adenomas with cavernous sinus invasion (3.9+/-0.5) was significantly higher than those without invasion (2.3+/-0.2; P<0.01). There was no difference in MMP-2 score between macroadenomas (3.0+/-0.3) and microadenomas (2.1+/-0.4; P>0.05), and also, no difference between the functioning adenomas (2.8+/-0.3) and non-functioning adenomas (2.8+/-0.3; P>0.05). We found no correlation between the MMP-2 score and the Ki-67 labeling index (r^2=-0.05; P=0.72). MMP-2 mRNA expression was also intense in invasive pituitary adenomas and was significantly higher in invasive pituitary adenomas than those without invasion (68.2+/-15.3; 21.8+/-8.2; P<0.05). Conclusion.: This study suggests that MMP-2 may be associated with aggressiveness and invasion in pituitary adenoma but is not related to tumor size or secretory function. MMP-2 may be a useful tool for assessing the invasive potential. al.

No Heading We measured heat capacities of the second layer 3He admixed with a small amount of 4He (= 0.9 nm-2) on graphite preplated with a monolayer 4He. The aim of this study is to elucidate possible 4He substitution effects on a recently proposed new quantum phase existing at densities just below that (?4/7) for the 4/7 registered phase. This phase is supposed to be the hole (zero-point vacancy) doped Mott localized phase. The substitution gives rise to an excess heat capacity (Cex) with unusual temperature and density dependencies which is most pronounced at a slightly lower density than ?4/7. The Cex stays relatively large even at ?4/7, and suddenly disappears at a slightly higher density. One possible scenario, which is consistent with the present data, is that the Cex comes from the isotopic mixing effect existing in a narrow density range around ?4/7 and that there exists an excess particle phase just above ?4/7 in addition to the hole doped phase below. The result may suggest finite fluidity or unexpectedly large band widths for the isotopic impurities in the 4/7 phase.

No Heading We measured heat capacities of two dimensional 3He adsorbed on graphite preplated with a 4He monolayer (3He/4He/gr) in a wide temperature (0.3 = T = 80 mK) and density range (1.3 = ? = 7.3 nm-2). We found that the system behaves as a normal Fermi fluid at low densities between 1.3 and 5.6 nm-2 where the quasiparticle effective mass seems to diverge at a density for the 4/7 phase (?4/7 = 6.8 nm-2). At higher densities but below ?4/7, we observed anomalous temperature dependencies of heat capacity with two round maxima near 1 and 30 mk. With increasing density in this region, a high temperature weight of heat capacity decreases selectively leaving the 30 mK peak, while the 1 mK peak develops. This unexpected behavior can not be explained by the conventional two-phase co-existence model. Instead, we propose here that the 2D normal Fermi fluid is continuously transformed to the 4/7 Mott localized phase through a new quantum phase where a hopping of the zero-point vacancy plays an important role.

Treatment options for cerebral arteriovenous malformation (AVM) are still controversial due to the recent result of stereotactic radiosurgery and the improved result of microsurgical resection. We investigated previously treated AVM cases and discussed the efficacy and safety of preoperative embolization especially for microsurgical resection of high-grade AVM in the Spetzler-Martin grading.Efficacy of preoperative embolization was evaluated based on 126 previously treated AVM cases at Shinshu University Hospital during the last 25 years. The safety of embolization was evaluated based on our previously-embolized 58 AVM cases (91 procedures) in the last 11 years after introduction of preoperative embolization for AVM. In all 126 cases, 82 were treated before introduction of embolization and 44 were treated after introduction of embolization. In 82 cases of the pre-embolization era, 63 lesions were removed totally in 63 AVMs (77%), partially resected in 11 (13%) and untreated in eight (10%). In 74 surgically removed cases, 11 (15%) cases showed severe intra/postoperative bleeding. In 44 cases of the embolization era, lesions were removed totally in 29 AVMs (66%), disappeared only with embolization in one (2%), disappeared with radiosurgery in seven (16%) and were untreated in five (11%). In 32 surgically removed cases, only one (2%) case showed severe intra/postoperative bleeding.In all 58 embolized cases, 44 were surgically removed, six were treated with radiosurgery, one was eliminated with embolization alone and six were partially obliterated and followed up for their location. In 91 procedures for 58 cases, two haemorrhagic and three ischemic complications occurred, three were transient and two remained having neurological deficits.The introduction of preoperative embolization improved the total removal rate and reduced the intra/postoperative bleeding rate in surgical removal of AVM. The total risk of embolization is low and well-designed preoperative embolization makes surgical resection safer even in high-grade AVM in the Spetzler-Martin grading.

A rapid, sensitive, and cost-effective method is reported for the subjective and objective documentation of subtle opacities in lenses of unanesthetized transgenic mice or selenite-injected rat pups as models for cataract formation. Animal eyes were dilated with eye drops and the animal was positioned in front of a Nikon FS2 photo slit lamp. Slit-lamp observations were recorded using a Canon Optura Pi digital video recorder. High-quality images of opacifying lenses were captured from the video and quantified using densitometry at progressive stages of opacification. In mice, targeted genomic deletion of the proteins CP49 (a lens-specific filament) or Six5 (a model for myotonic dystrophy) resulted in subtle cataracts that were easily recorded and quantified using this instrumentation. In rats, the early progressive changes leading to a dense nuclear opacity caused by selenite injection were easily documented using this instrumentation. Low-cost components combined with a conventional slit-lamp ophthalmoscope were used to capture high-quality images of selected stages of cataract formation for quantitative analysis using commercial software. © 2004 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.

We describe first successful usage of ZYX exfoliated graphite to cool adsorbed two dimensional (2D) 3He to ugtra low temperatures (ULT). ZYX has much better characteristics as an adsorption substrate such as larger crystallite (platelet) size and smaller mosaic angle than Grafoil, a widely used exfoliated graphite in ULT experiments. In spite of the relatively small surface area of ZYX, we could perform a nuclear magnetization measurement of paramagnetic 2D solid 3He with continuous wave NMR below 10 mK. The data follow nicely the Curie law down to 200 µK. This indicates that ZYX can be used in experiments to study detailed density dependences of low temperature properties of 2D 3He including possible BCS transitions. We also show a preliminary resugt of pulsed NMR measurements of high density 2D fluid 3He adsorbed on ZYX preplated with a 4He monolayer.

We describe preliminary resugts of heat capacity measurements of the 4/7 phase in two dimensional 3He adsorbed on graphite preplated with a 4He monolayer in a temperature range between 0.17 and 20 mK. In zero magnetic field, we observed a double-peak structure similar to that reported previously for the same phase in a different system (3He/3He/gr) in which the gapless quantum spin-liquid ground state is proposed. The exchange interaction deduced from the high temperature data is by a factor of 30% smaller than the previous one, presumably because of the smaller lattice constant for the 3He/4He/gr system. The present resugt provides strong evidence that such a peculiar temperature dependence of heat capacity is characteristic of the 4/7 phase. Application of magnetic fields up to 0.65 T on this phase does not seem to change appreciably the higher temperature broad peak at around 1.4 mK.

A fluid monolayer of 3He adsorbed on a graphite surface is an ideal twodimensional (2D) Fermi system. We have observed very large mass enhancement of the quasiparticles (m*/m=20±5) in preliminary heat-capacity measurements for high density 3He fluids adsorbed on graphite preplated with a 4He monolayer (3He/4He/gr). This could be divergence of m* toward the critical density for the 4/7 phase with a triangular lattice, which is a registered phase commensurate against the first layer. The observed m* is larger than those reported for other 2D 3He systems, e.g., m*/m=13 for 3He/HD/HD/gr system, presumably because of the higher critical density. The apparent divergence of m* toward the different Critical densities strongly suggests the Mott–Hubbard type transition between the 2D Fermi fluid phase and the registered phase under a strong onsite hard core repulsion between the 3He atoms.