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ABO‐incompatible living kidney transplantation (ABO‐ILKT) has steadily become more widespread. However, the optimal immunosuppressive regimen for ABO‐ILKT remains uncertain. We aimed to determine the longitudinal changes in the outcomes from ABO‐ILKT compared with those from ABO‐compatible living kidney transplantation (ABO‐CLKT) over the last 25 years. Of 1195 patients who underwent living kidney transplantations (LKT) at our institute between 1989 and 2013, 1032—including 247 ABO‐ILKT and 785 ABO‐CLKT cases—were evaluated for graft survival, patient survival, infectious adverse events, and renal function. The patients were divided into four groups according to the transplantation era and ABO‐compatibility. In the past decade, ABO‐ILKT and ABO‐CLKT recipients yielded almost equivalent outcomes with respect to the 9‐year graft survival rates, which were 86.9% and 92.0%, respectively (hazard ratio [HR] 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.59–3.22, p = 0.455). The graft survival rate for ABO‐ILKT conducted between 2005 and 2013 was better than that for ABO‐ILKT conducted between 1998 and 2004 (HR 0.30, 95% CI 0.13–0.72, p = 0.007). ABO‐ILKT recipients showed substantial improvements in the graft survival rate over time. Graft survival was almost identical over the past decade, regardless of ABO‐incompatibility. Currently, ABO‐ILKT is an acceptable treatment for patients with end‐stage renal disease. The authors determine the longitudinal changes in the outcomes from ABO‐incompatible living kidney transplantation over the last 25 years and conclude that ABO‐incompatible living kidney transplant recipients have experienced substantial improvements in graft survival rate, frequency of infectious adverse events, and renal function over time.

The dependence of the magnetization and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy (PMA) of Ta/CoFeB/MgO/Ta on the thicknesses of the CoFeB layer and the MgO overlayer was investigated by vibrating sample magnetometer. The magnetization is found to be small for samples with a thin MgO overlayer. The PMA strongly depends on the MgO overlayer (hereafter, MgO) thickness and its maximum value of 1.74 erg/cm2is achieved for a 1.0 nm thick MgO overlayer with annealing at 300 °C. The volume anisotropy of the CoFeB layer is found to be independent of the MgO thickness,which suggest that only the interface anisotropy depends on the MgO thickness. The possible mechanisms that may influence the interface magnetization and anisotropy are discussed herein.

OBJECTIVE:To investigate the outcome of Japanese anorexia nervosa (AN) patients who were treated with the standard Japanese inpatient therapy. METHOD:Of the 88 female AN patients treated with our inpatient therapy between January 1997 and December 2002, 67 (76.1%) who agreed to cooperate in this study were assessed by the Global Clinical Score (GCS) at admission and follow-up, 6.3±1.8 years after discharge. Their clinical characteristics at admission and discharge were also examined. RESULTS:Four (6.0%) patients had died before follow-up. BMI was significantly increased during inpatient therapy. At follow-up, excellent, much improved, symptomatic, and poor outcomes on GCS were 57.1%, 14.3%, 14.3% and 14.3%, respectively. Younger age at admission and larger BMI at discharge were significantly associated with a better outcome. DISCUSSION:This study shows the potential for the use of this method for the treatment of AN patients in countries without specialized eating disorder units.

Morphology and mechanical resonse of copper nanoparticles with defects have been simulated by means of molecular dynamics simulation. The embedded atom method potential for copper was used to express the interaction of atoms. Four types of model samples were prepared and about 37,000 atoms were contained in each sample. Two of them are cubic shape with {100} surfaces, in which vacancies or interstitials are introduced. The other two samples are once melted and solidified particles with nearly spherical surfaces. The atomic structure is controlled by cooling rate, and crystalline and amorphous structures are realized. Shear and tetragonal strains are applied to the samples and stress-strain relations for the samples are derived. Mechanical damping and internal friction were evaluated from the free decaying oscillations by releasing static strains.

Objective:To investigate which factors predict the resumption of menstruation by patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). METHODS:Participants were AN patients who, even after weight recovery by inpatient treatment, had prolonged amenorrhea (N=11), AN patients who resumed menstruation after weight recovery (N=9), and age-matched healthy controls (N=12). Anthropometric data and the serum levels of leptin, insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-1), cortisol, luteinizing hormone (LH), estradiol (E2), and other hormones were measured at the beginning of the inpatient treatment and after weight recovery. RESULTS:Of the baseline anthropometric and hormonal factors, logistic regression analysis extracted a high serum cortisol level as a predictor of the inhibition of the resumption of menstruation. After weight recovery, the E2and leptin levels were significantly higher for eumenorrheic patients than for amenorrheic patients. CONCLUSION:The baseline serum cortisol level was a predictor of the prolonged inhibition of menstrual recovery.

Poly(ADP-ribose) glycohydrolase (Parg) is the main enzyme for degradation of poly(ADP-ribose) by splitting ribose-ribose bonds. Parg-deficient (Parg/- and Parg-/-) mouse ES cell lines have been established by disrupting both alleles of Parg exon 1 through gene-targeting. A transcript encoding a full length isoform of Parg was eliminated and only low amounts of Parg isoforms were detected in Parg-/- embryonic stem (ES) cells. Poly(ADP-ribose) degradation activity was decreased to one-tenth of that in Parg/ ES cells. Parg-/- ES cells exhibited the same growth rate as Parg/ ES cells in culture. Sensitivity of Parg-/- ES cells to various DNA damaging agents, including an alkylating agent dimethyl sulfate, cisplatin, gemcitabine, 5-fluorouracil, camptothecin, and -irradiation was examined by clonogenic survival assay. Parg-/- ES cells showed enhanced lethality after treatment with dimethyl sulfate, cisplatin and -irradiation compared with wildtype (Parg/) ES cells (p<0.05, respectively). In contrast, a sensitization effect by Parg-deficiency was not observed with gemcitabine and camptothecin. These results suggest the possibility that functional inhibition of Parg leads to sensitization of tumor cells to some chemo- and radiation therapies.

The effector CD4 T-cell response in wild-type C57BL/6 recipients of single class II MHC-disparate B6.H-2bm12cardiac allografts is restricted by CD4+CD25+regulatory T cells (Tregs) resulting in long-term allograft survival. To investigate the role chemokine receptors might play in Treg function, this study tested the requirement for CCR5 on Tregs to suppress the alloimmune response in C57BL/6 recipients of B6.H-2bm12cardiac allografts. In contrast to the long-term survival of B6.H-2bm12allografts in wild-type recipients (>100 days), the allografts were acutely rejected within 25 days in CCR5–/–recipients with intense infiltration of CD4 T cells. Numbers and duration of donor-reactive CD4 T cells producing IFN-γ and IL-4 were markedly increased in spleens of B6.CCR5–/–versus wild-type recipients. Wild-type and B6.CCR5–/–mice had equivalent numbers of splenic FoxP3+Tregs before and following transplantation, and these Tregs were equivalently suppressive in vitro. However, diminished numbers of FoxP3+Tregs infiltrated B6.H-2bm12allografts in B6.CCR5–/–recipients. Adoptive transfer of wild-type, but not CCR5-deficient, CD4+CD25+Tregs to CCR5–/–recipients restored long-term survival of B6.H-2bm12cardiac grafts. Collectively, these results indicate that CCR5 expression is required for the regulatory functions of Tregs that restrict alloreactive CD4 T-cell responses to single class II MHC-mismatched cardiac allografts.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine somatic and psychological factors related to the body mass index (BMI) of anorexia nervosa (AN) patients. Method: The analysis was of 24 hospitalized AN patients from the day after admission to the 4th day. The somatic factors analyzed were duration of AN, daily food intake, eating regulatory substances in blood (acylated ghrelin, desacyl ghrelin, leptin), serum cortisol, insulin and estimated creatinine clearance (CCr). The psychological factors analyzed were depression, anxiety, Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), and hunger/fullness feeling. Measurement of BMI and collection of blood samples were done on the morning after hospitalization. Statistical analysis was by multiple linear regression analysis. Results: BMI showed a reverse correlation with desacyl ghrelin (β=-0.486, p=0.015) and maturity fears (β=-0.375, p=0.046), but was not associated with any other factor by multiple regression analysis. Conclusion: The results suggest that desacyl ghrelin and maturity fears play important roles in the prolonged malnutrition state seen in AN patients.

Normal immune responses stimulated by pathogenic and environmental antigens generate memory T cells that react with donor antigens and no currently used immunosuppressive drug completely inhibits memory T-cell function. While donor-reactive memory T cells clearly compromise graft outcomes, mechanisms utilized by memory T cells to promote rejection are largely unknown. In this study, we investigated how early endogenous memory cells infiltrate and express effector function in cardiac allografts. Endogenous CD8 memory T cells in nonsensitized recipients distinguish syngeneic versus allogeneic cardiac allografts within 24 h of reperfusion. CD8-dependent production of IFN-? and CXCL9Mig was observed 24 to 72 h posttransplant in allografts but not isografts. CXCL9 was produced by donor cells in response to IFN-? made by recipient CD8 T cells reactive to donor class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecules. Activated CD8 T cells were detected in allografts at least 3 days before donor-specific effector T cells producing IFN-? were detected in the recipient spleen. Early inflammation mediated by donor-reactive CD8 memory T cells greatly enhanced primed effector T-cell infiltration into allografts. These results suggest that strategies for optimal inhibition of alloimmunity should include neutralization of infiltrating CD8 memory T cells within a very narrow window after transplantation.

Increasing detection of acute humoral rejection (AHR) of renal allografts has generated the need for appropriate animal models to investigate underlying mechanisms. Murine recipients lacking the chemokine receptor CCR5 reject cardiac allografts with marked C3d deposition in the parenchymal capillaries and high serum donor-reactive antibody titers, features consistent with AHR. The rejection of MHC-mismatched renal allografts from AJ (H-2a) donors by B6.CCR5--(H-2b) recipients was investigated. AJ renal allografts survived longer than 100 days in wild-type C57BL6 recipients with normal blood creatinine levels (28 ± 7 ?molL). All CCR5--recipients rejected renal allografts within 21 days posttransplant (mean 13.3 ± 4 days) with elevated creatinine (90 ± 31 ?molL). The rejected allografts had neutrophil and macrophage margination and diffuse C3d deposition in peritubular capillaries, interstitial hemorrhage and edema, and glomerular fibrin deposition. Circulating donor-reactive antibody titers were 40-fold higher in B6.CCR5--versus wild-type recipients. Depletion of recipient CD8 T cells did not circumvent rejection of the renal allografts by CCR5-deficient recipients. In contrast, ?MT--CCR5--recipients, incapable of producing antibody, did not reject most renal allografts. Collectively, these results indicate the rapid rejection of renal allografts in CCR5--recipients with many histopathologic features observed during AHR of human renal allografts.

We report on an electrical detection of current driven domain wall (DW) deformation induced by a current pulse injection in arc-shaped permalloy (Py) submicron wires. Current polarity and pulse length dependence were investigated under an assisting external magnetic field. Initial DW states prepared by an application of a large magnetic field were distributed to two distinct DW states. A current pulse application promoted transition between them. In addition, the third DW state was established only by an application of the short pulses (<50 ns). This result suggests the possibility of the high-speed control of the DW dynamics. (© 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)

In many experimental models, heart, pancreas and kidney allografts are accepted long-term following costimulation-targeting therapies, whereas skin, lung and intestine resist the induction of tolerance under the same regimens. We noted that a common feature of the resistant organs is their constant exposure to commensal microbes and hypothesized that these microorganisms may stimulate Toll-like receptors (TLRs), promote alloresponses and prevent tolerance induction. This hypothesis prompts the predictions that TLR engagement at the time of transplantation should avert tolerance to heart allografts in animals treated with costimulation-targeting therapies, whereas inhibition of TLR signaling should promote tolerance to skin allografts under the same conditions. Indeed, engagement of a single TLR was sufficient to prevent anti-CD154-mediated long-term cardiac allograft acceptance and correlated with abolished intragraft recruitment of CD4+/FoxP3+ regulatory T cells and the development of linked-suppression. Conversely, a lack of donor and recipient MyD88-dependent signaling led to successful skin allograft acceptance in anti-CD154-treated animals. Thus, the status of TLR signaling contributes to the resistance versus susceptibility of organs to transplantation tolerance.

The aim of this study was to evaluate postoperative changes in sperm chromatin heterogeneity in varicocele patients. In 15 infertile patients with varicocele, sperm parameters including concentration, motility, and morphology were evaluated before and after surgical correction of varicocele. Sperm motion analysis using computer-assisted semen analyzer (CASA) was also performed. To analyze the sperm nuclear proteins, the acridine orange staining method was used. On semen analysis, sperm concentration and motility significantly increased after surgery (p = 0.002, p = 0.003, respectively), although sperm morphology was unaltered postoperatively. CASA parameters, including velocity, linearity, amplitude of lateral head displacement and beat cross frequency were unaltered postoperatively. On the other hand, acridine orange staining significantly increased postoperatively (p = 0.002). Varicocele influences the sperm chromatin condition, as well as sperm concentration and motility.

OBJECTIVE:The duration of illness is quite long in some anorexia nervosa (AN) patients. In the present study, we investigated the psychopathological features of patients with prolonged AN as assessed by the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-1 (MMPI-1). METHODS:Fifty-five AN patients completed the MMPI-1 on admission to Kyushu University Hospital from 1999 to 2002. The patients were divided into three groups on the basis of their illness duration: a short-term group, less than 5 years of illness duration (n=31); a middle-term group, from 5 to 10 years (n=14); and a prolonged group, 10 years or more (n=10). RESULTS:The prolonged group scored significantly higher on the MPPI-1 scales of hysteria (Hy), low back pain (Lb) and family conflict than the short-term group. DISCUSSION:AN patients whose illness duration was prolonged characteristically had more hysteria with family conflict. This should be considered in their treatment.

OBJECTIVE:Anorexia nervosa (AN) patients were surveyed to determine which disease factors were related to AN influenced renal dysfunction. METHODS:Data were from forty-five AN patients hospitalized in our department between 1995 and 2002. The patients were classified into three groups based on the type of anorexia: restricting (n=18), self-induced vomiting (n=13), and laxative abuse (n=14). Twenty-four hour-creatinine clearance (Ccr) was calculated within two weeks of hospitalization for comparison among the three groups. RESULTS: The Ccr level of the laxative abuse group was significantly lower than that of the restricting group (65.8±31.4 ml/min vs restricting type: 104±23.3 ml/min, p=0.002). The laxative abuse group had a significantly longer duration of illness than the restricting group (p<0.0001). Multiple regression analysis revealed the duration of illness to be a risk factor for renal function deterioration in AN patients (r=0.580, p<0.001). DISCUSSION:Renal function should be carefully followed during the treatment of AN patients with a long duration of illness, especially those with long-term laxative abuse.

Fifteen patients 60 to 80 years old (a mean of 72 years) with hormone-refractory prostate cancer were treated with low dose prednisolone. All patients had previously undergone hormone therapy. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) values decreased in 11 cases (73%), of which 4 had PSA decreases of 50% or greater. Serum levels of DHEAS significantly decreased at 4 and 8 weeks after treatment (both intervals were p < 0.05 vs pretreatment). Of 8 patients with bone metastasis evaluation, 2 (25%) showed improvement of the lesion. In 5 patients (33%), relief of pain was observed one month after starting prednisolone. The one-year survival rate was 58%. The side effects were mild and manageable in an outpatient clinic.

Objective:The aim of this study was to determine which physical and psychological factors influence the autonomic nervous system (ANS) of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN). Methods:The subjects were 14 AN patients and 12 healthy controls. Beat to beat heart rate variability recorded in a supine position with a controlled respiratory rate of 15/min, was analyzed using power spectral analysis. Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed by State and Trait Anxiety Inventory and Zung’s Self-rating Depression Scale respectively. Results:Anxiety had a significant negative correlation with the ANS of AN patients. The illness duration times body mass index (BMI), a measure of sustained extreme loss of weight, was also significantly associated with changes in the ANS of AN patients. Conclusion:Although the ANS is influenced by various factors, sustained extreme loss of weight seems to be more influential factor in AN patients.

Great interest in current-induced magnetic excitation and switching in a magnetic nanopillar has been caused by the theoretical predictions of these phenomena. The concept of using a spin-polarized current to switch the magnetization orientation of a magnetic layer provides a possible way to realize future 'current-driven' devices: in such devices, direct switching of the magnetic memory bits would be produced by a local current application, instead of by a magnetic field generated by attached wires. Until now, all the reported work on current-induced magnetization switching has been concentrated on a simple ferromagnet/Cu/ferromagnet trilayer. Here we report the observation of current-induced magnetization switching in exchange-biased spin valves (ESPVs) at room temperature. The ESPVs clearly show current-induced magnetization switching behaviour under a sweeping direct current with a very high density. We show that insertion of a ruthenium layer between an ESPV nanopillar and the top electrode effectively decreases the critical current density from about 108to 107A cm−2. In a well-designed 'antisymmetric' ESPV structure, this critical current density can be further reduced to 2 × 106A cm−2. We believe that the substantial reduction of critical current could make it possible for current-induced magnetization switching to be directly applied in spintronic devices, such as magnetic random-access memory.

The effects of a series of 102 bisphosphonates on the inhibition of growth of Entamoeba histolytica and Plasmodium falciparum in vitro have been determined, and selected compounds were further investigated for their in vivo activity. Forty-seven compounds tested were active (IC50 &lt; 200 μM) versus E. histolytica growth in vitro. The most active compounds (IC50 ~ 4−9 μM) were nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates with relatively large aromatic side chains. Simple n-alkyl-1-hydroxy-1,1-bisphosphonates, known inhibitors of the enzyme farnesylpyrophosphate (FPP) synthase, were also active, with optimal activity being found with C9−C10 side chains. However, numerous other nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates known to be potent FPP synthase inhibitors, such as risedronate or pamidronate, had little or no activity. Several pyridine-derived bisphosphonates were quite active (IC50 ~ 10−20 μM), and this activity was shown to correlate with the basicity of the aromatic group, with activity decreasing with increasing pKa values. The activities of all compounds were tested versus a human nasopharyngeal carcinoma (KB) cell line to enable an estimate of the therapeutic index (TI). Five bisphosphonates were selected and then screened for their ability to delay the development of amebic liver abscess formation in an E. histolytica infected hamster model. Two compounds were found to decrease liver abscess formation at 10 mg/kg ip with little or no effect on normal liver mass. With P. falciparum, 35 compounds had IC50 values &lt;200 μM in an in vitro assay. The most active compounds were also simple n-alkyl-1-hydroxy-1,1-bisphosphonates, having IC50 values around 1 μM. Five compounds were again selected for in vivo investigation in a Plasmodium berghei ANKA BALB/c mouse suppressive test. The most active compound, a C9 n-alkyl side chain containing bisphosphonate, caused an 80% reduction in parasitemia with no overt toxicity. Taken together, these results show that bisphosphonates appear to be useful lead compounds for the development of novel antiamebic and antimalarial drugs.

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In this study we examined the influence of adenosine on the cellular functions of human gingival fibroblasts (HGF), such as the production of inflammatory cytokines and extracellular matrices (ECM), and the expression and function of adhesion molecules. Concerning the expression of adenosine receptors, RT-PCR analysis revealed that HGF expressed adenosine receptor A1, A2a and A2b, but not A3 mRNA. Ligation of adenosine receptors by adenosine or its related analogue, 2-chloroadenosine (2-CADO), N⁶-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) or CGS21680 synergistically increased IL-1β-induced IL-6 and IL-8 production. In terms of ECM expression, adenosine and the adenosine receptor agonists, 2-CADO and CPA, enhanced constitutive and IL-1β-induced expression of hyaluronate synthase mRNA, but not the mRNA levels of other ECM, such as collagen type I, III and fibronectin. Moreover, the adherence of IL-1β-stimulated HGF to activated lymphocytes was also inhibited by adenosine, which is in part explained by the fact that adenosine down-regulated the IL-1β-induced expression of ICAM-1 on HGF. These results provide new evidence for the possible involvement of adenosine in the regulation of inflammatory responses in periodontal tissues.

In this study we examined the influence of adenosine on the cellular functions of human gingival fibroblasts (HGF), such as the production of inflammatory cytokines and extracellular matrices (ECM), and the expression and function of adhesion molecules. Concerning the expression of adenosine receptors, RT-PCR analysis revealed that HGF expressed adenosine receptor A1, A2a and A2b, but not A3 mRNA. Ligation of adenosine receptors by adenosine or its related analogue, 2-chloroadenosine (2-CADO), N(6)-cyclopentyladenosine (CPA) or CGS21680 synergistically increased IL-1beta-induced IL-6 and IL-8 production. In terms of ECM expression, adenosine and the adenosine receptor agonists, 2-CADO and CPA, enhanced constitutive and IL-1beta-induced expression of hyaluronate synthase mRNA, but not the mRNA levels of other ECM, such as collagen type I, III and fibronectin. Moreover, the adherence of IL-1beta-stimulated HGF to activated lymphocytes was also inhibited by adenosine, which is in part explained by the fact that adenosine down-regulated the IL-1beta-induced expression of ICAM-1 on HGF. These results provide new evidence for the possible involvement of adenosine in the regulation of inflammatory responses in periodontal tissues.

We report measurements for two-body charmless hadronic Bdecays with an η′ meson in the final state. Using 11.1×106BB̄pairs collected with the Belle detector, we find BF(B+→η′K+)=(79+12−11±9)×10−6and BF(B0→η′K0)=(55+19−16±8)×10−6, where the first and second errors are statistical and systematic, respectively. No signal is observed in the mode B+→η′π+, and we set a 90% confidence level upper limit of BF(B+→η′π+)<7×10−6. The CP asymmetry in B±→η′K±decays is investigated and a limit at 90% confidence level of −0.20

ObjectiveSince most chondrocytes in articular cartilage are in the resting phase (G0) of the cell cycle, it has been difficult to investigate their cell kinetics using 3H-thymidine autoradiography, or immunohistochemistry. In the present study, DNA cytofluorometry, which is useful to analyse the cell kinetics even for such inactive cell populations as in the G0 phase, was applied to human chondrocytes of the articular cartilages under normal aging and pathologic conditions such as osteoarthritis (OA), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and aseptic necrosis (AN).

OBJECTIVE: Leptin, neuropeptide-Y (NPY) and orexin are peptides regulating energy metabolism and appetite control. NPY and orexin are mainly found in the central nervous system and they have also recently been found in the peripheral nervous system. We investigated how fasting affects changes in circulating concentrations of these peptides and their association with nutritional and metabolic parameters in humans. DESIGN AND METHODS: Ten non-obese female patients with psychosomatic disorders fasted for 7 or 10 days. Blood samples were collected at 0800 h before fasting, on the 3rd and 7th days during the fast (with an additional sample taken on the 10th day when the fasting continued for 10 days) and on the 3rd and 7th days of refeeding. We measured blood concentrations of orexin-A, NPY, leptin, adrenocorticotropin, cortisol, insulin, C-peptide, glucose, and beta-hydroxybutyrate. RESULTS: Body mass index and plasma leptin concentrations concomitantly and significantly decreased during fasting, whereas serum orexin-A concentrations significantly increased and were negatively correlated with plasma leptin concentrations. Plasma NPY concentrations decreased slightly but were not significantly different from the prefasting values, and no significant relationship with leptin or orexin-A was found. Orexin-A and leptin concentrations showed a significant inverse correlation with serum glucose, insulin, C-peptide, and beta-hydroxybutyrate concentrations. Only changes in plasma leptin concentrations showed a significant negative correlation with serum cortisol concentrations. All the measured indices which changed during fasting returned to the prefasting concentrations by the 7th day of refeeding. CONCLUSION: Peripheral orexin-A and leptin concentrations inversely change during fasting, which is significantly correlated with energy metabolism in humans.

Aromatic polyimide films, Upilex S partially carbonized between 700°C and 1000°C. Electrical conductivity is higher at higher temperatures. The electrical conductivity s could be expresses as s = soexp (−E/kT), where k is the Boltzmann constant, t is the absolute measuring temperature. soand E are found to be 4 × 10−1Ω−1m−1and 0.02eB, respectively. The experimental data show that the Hall coefficient R is negative, and this implies that the carriers are negatively charged, i.e. electrons. The specimens are n-type semiconductors. The carrier density η is given by η = 1/(|e|R) and the mobility μ is μ is s/(η|e|), where |e| is the absolute value of the electron charge and s is the electrical conductivity. Fitting the data, η = A1exp (−E1/κT) and μ = A2exp (E2/κT). E1and E2depend on carbonized temperature. The polyimide films are not completely carbonized but partially carbonized at 700°C. The partially carbonized polyimide is an n type donor. It is concluded that the “impurity level” lies about 0.36eV below the conduction band.

Simultaneous determination of total boron and carbon on the surface of high-purity silicon plate was made possible by activation with the 10B(d,n)11C and 12C(d,n)13N reactions followed by chemical separation, in which the surface layer is dissolved in polyphosphoric acid containing I2O5for the 11C and 13N to be volatilized into a helium stream and then trapped in Ascarite and titanium sponge columns, respectively. It takes about 20 minutes for the chemical separation. The detection limit is 1·1012atoms/cm2for both B and C. Some preliminary experiments were undertaken for utilizing this analysis to the monitoring of air pollution, with the silicon plate as a passive sampler.

ObjectiveAlthough it is well known that binuclear cells commonly appear among the chondrocytes of normal cartilages as well as among neoplastic chondrocytes of chondrosarcomas, the mechanism of binucleation is still unclear. Therefore, this study was undertaken to clarify the mechanism of binucleation in chondrocytes, using primary culture cells of growth plate cartilage.

Abstract: This fourth in a series of checklists of Japanese Trichoptera deals with 11 species (3 genera) of Goeridae, 4 species (2 genera) of Uenoidae, and 45 species (15 genera) of Limnephilidae. In Goeridae, we suggest four taxonomic problems: (1) the specific status of Goera gyotokui Kobayashi should be confirmed; (2) four unnamed "species" of larvae separated with or without only tentative alphabetic designations of Goera are not identifiable to species; (3) generic identification of Silo nigricellus Matsumura is doubtful; (4) some undescribed species are in the collections of the authors. In Uenoidae, two taxonomic problems remain: (1) the specific status of Neophylax muinensis Kobayashi should be confirmed; (2) the larvae of 2 "species" of Neophylax separated with only tentative alphabetic designations are not identifiable to species. In Limnephilidae, we transfer 2 species, Stenophylax koizumii Iwata and Stenophylax dentilus Kobayashi, to the genera Hydatophylax and Pseudostenophylax, respectively. Two other species, Metanoea iijimae and Stenophylax kitagamii, are also transferred to the genus Apatania, a member of the family Apataniidae. However, seven taxonomic problems are still not solved: (1) the description of Nothopsyche yokouchii (Iwata) was based only on the larval stage and is insufficient for specific identification; (2) it is necessary to make a careful comparison between Asynarchus amurensis (Ulmer) and Asynarchus sachalinensis Martynov; (3) the specific status of Hydatophylax koizumii (Iwata) and Nemotaulius miyakei (Nakahara) should be clarified; (4) although 3 "species" of Grammotaulius were recorded from Japan, we have not found any Japanese material belonging to this genus; (5) 1 "species" of Asynarchus and 2 "species" of Limnephilus separated with only tentative alphabetic designations are not identifiable to species; (6) the positive association of adult and larval stages of Pseudostenophylax ondakensis (Iwata) is necessary to settle the specific status of Japanese species; (7) the generic identification of Drusus imanishii Iwata is doubtful.

Abstract: We re-examined the type series material of Apatania koizumii Iwata and designated a lectotype and a paralectotype. We transferred Apatania koizumii to the genus Neophylax based on the morphological characters of the larvae. We redescribed the larva of Neophylax koizumii and its case and provided some ecological notes and the geographical distribution. We also examined the larvae used to describe Neophylax sp. NA (sensu Tanida 1985) and found that those belonged to Neophylax koizumii. On the other hand, the larva of Neophylax sp. NA designated by Akagi (1962) is clearly different from that of Neophylax koizumii in characters of the ventral sclerites on the meta-thorax and abdominal segment I.

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Abstract: Aerosol particles of99mTc-labeled carbon were prepared by sublimation and introduced in various liquid media. The adsorption of the aquasol and organosol particles were studied for various adsorbing substances and media, with the effect of surface treatment and voltage application. The particles often accumulated at the aqueous-organic interface, and also on the vessel surface in the presence of both aqueous and organic phases. The distribution of the particles was examined by a gamma-camera for different organic phases under various concentrations of electrolytes in the aqueous phase.

The enteric protist parasites Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar possess a cysteine biosynthetic pathway, unlike their mammalian host, and are capable of de novo production of L-cysteine. We cloned and characterized cDNAs that encode the regulated enzyme serine acetyltransferase (SAT) in this pathway from these amoebae by genetic complementation of a cysteine-auxotrophic Escherichia coli strain with the amoebic cDNA libraries. The deduced amino acid sequences of the amoebic SATs exhibited, within the most conserved region, 36-52% identities with the bacterial and plant SATs. The amoebic SATs contain a unique insertion of eight amino acids, also found in the corresponding region of a plasmid-encoded SAT from Synechococcus sp., which showed the highest overall identities to the amoebic SATs. Phylogenetic reconstruction also revealed a close kinship of the amoebic SATs with cyanobacterial SATs. Biochemical characterization of the recombinant E. histolytica SAT revealed several enzymatic features that distinguished the amoebic enzyme from the bacterial and plant enzymes: 1) inhibition by L-cysteine in a competitive manner with L-serine; 2) inhibition by L-cystine; and 3) no association with cysteine synthase. Genetically engineered amoeba strains that overproduced cysteine synthase and SAT were created. The cysteine synthase-overproducing amoebae had a higher level of cysteine synthase activity and total thiol content and revealed increased resistance to hydrogen peroxide. These results indicate that the cysteine biosynthetic pathway plays an important role in antioxidative defense of these enteric parasites.

The fraction of the total available energy carried by photons and the fraction carried by neutral particles of all types ine+e- multihadron final states have been measured at three centre-of-mass energies between 12 and 35 GeV. These fractions are approximately 27% and 37% with no strong dependence on centre-of-mass energy and the event topology. The neutrino energy fraction is estimated to be less than 10% at the 95% confidence level.

The production of collinear muon pairs has been studied using the JADE detector at thee+e− storage ring at PETRA. Results for the total cross section and the angular distribution were obtained at centre of mass (cm) energies ranging from 12 to 46 GeV. The data correspond to an integrated luminosity offLdt>90 pb−1, of which 71.2 pb−1 were taken at =34.4 GeV and 17 pb−1 at =42.4 GeV. The results are compared to electroweak theories, in particular the “Standard Model”.

The mean charged multiplicity as well as its distribution has been measured as a function of c.m. energy in the reactione+e-?hadrons. Fragmentation models are compared with the data. After applying radiative corrections the mean charged multiplicity is measured to be 8.4±0.3±0.6 at 12 GeV, 13.1±0.3±0.6 at 30 GeV and 13.6±0.3±0.6 at 35 GeV. The ratio of mean charged multiplicity to the dispersion (ch>/Dch) is almost constant in the energy range studied, indicating KNO scaling of the charged multiplicity. The inclusive differential cross sections(ds/dxp) shows scaling violation in the highxp region (xp>0.15). The absolute value of the scaling violation is consistent with the result of 2nd order QCD calculations. The production of neutral kaons has been investigated by identifying the decayKS0?p+p-. The production probability for a strange quark relative to that of au ord quark in the fragmentation, ?s, has been determined to be 0.27±0.03±0.05 averaged over c.m. energies from 12 to 35 GeV. Momentum spectra for neutral kaons are presented and are compared with model predictions.