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A 73-year-old man, exhibiting psychomotor excitement after traumatic brain injury, developed allergic cutaneous eruptions and hepatic inflammation that did not resolve after the cessation of carbamazepine (CBZ). Fusing maculopapular erythema was observed in the face, neck, presternal region, and bilaterally in the forearms and feet. A drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation test revealed hypersensitivity to chlorpromazine (CPZ) and valproic acid (VPA), as well as to CBZ. The allergic reaction with eosinophilia to CPZ and VPA was suspected to have emerged following CBZ hypersensitivity, since previous treatment with CPZ and VPA prior to the introduction of CBZ had not been associated with adverse reactions earlier in the course of treatment. Recent studies have indicated linkages between severe CBZ hypersensitivity – but not mild CBZ hypersensitivity – and specific leukocyte antigens, HLA-B*1502 and HLA-A*3101, in Asian and European populations. The present case exhibited the HLA-B*4601 allele, which is associated with a high relative risk for the development of CBZ-induced maculopapular eruptions in Japanese and Han Chinese populations. Although cross-hypersensitivity among aromatic compounds, including CBZ and CPZ, is well-established, data regarding CBZ allergy-associated hypersensitivity to VPA are limited. In the present case, a cutaneous allergy to mianserin (a tetracyclic antidepressant) was also observed later in the course of treatment, suggesting additional cross-reactivity exists among aromatic psychotropic drugs. Thus, the association between the HLA-B*4601 allele and allergic reactions to VPA, aromatic psychotropic drugs, and CBZ should be further examined in future studies.

Experimental and analytical studies on hydrogen-tritium isotope separation by a CECE process with a LPCE column have been carried out in order to apply it to the water detritiation system for fusio...

Photo-activated electrons reduce reactants and photo-generated positive holes oxidize them in photocatalysis. The electrons and the holes, however, mostly or partly recombine yielding thermal energy before being used for the reactions because photocatalyst particles are basically symmetry, and thereby cannot generate any effective electric field to separate the electrons and the holes. Both the reduction and the oxidation proceed in the same space simultaneously in conventional photocatalysis reactors using suspended or supported catalyst particles, and thereby reduced products tend to be oxidized and oxidized products to be reduced. These reverse reactions and the infertile recombination of electrons and holes lower photon-efficiency of photocatalysis. In an effort for preventing the reverse reactions and the recombination to raise photon-efficiency, the authors proposed and fabricated a reactor equipped with a hetero-sided photocatalyst plate, that is, a conductive metal plate coated with photocatalyst at its front surface and with a reduction catalyst such as Pt at its back surface. The hetero-sided photocatalyst plate can generate the effective electric field to drive the electrons and the holes opposite directions due to its asymmetrical structure and the Schottky potential generated at the interface between the reactant solution and the photocatalyst. The plate divides the reactor volume into two spaces, oxidation and reduction spaces. The reactor equipped with the hetero-sided photocatalyst plate achieved a high photon-efficiency (the external quantum yield) 20%, five times as large as the undivided reactor, when hydrogen was generated from acidic water in the reduction space while formic acid was oxidized in the oxidation space.

Hybrid Langmuir-Blodgett films of an amphiphilic ruthenium tris-bipyridine complex (DC,Ru, n = 7, 13 and 19) and vanadium oxide gel were fabricated and characterized. Langmuir monolayers of the amphiphilic molecules hybridized and stabilized with layered vanadium oxide were transferred onto a solid substrate as z-type multilayers with a transfer ratio close to unity. AFM observation revealed that the monolayer had a smooth surface with roughness of 5 nm over I μm 2 . The hybrid monolayer of the vanadium oxide and DC n Ru showed photo-induced electron transfer to methyl viologens through the conduction band of the vanadium oxide.

Only few reaction engineering studies on photocatalysis have been reported, although such studies are necessary for its successful application. The authors studied reaction engineering matters such as the effects of temperature, reactant concentration, catalyst amount, and irradiation intensity on the photocatalytic reaction rate of hydrogen generation from H 2 S, a waste generated in the fuel oil desulphurization process. CdS/ZnS photocatalyst, which can be activated by solar light, was spread over the bottom of a beaker containing an H 2 S water solution and irradiated by a Xenon lamp. The photocatalytic hydrogen generation rate was independent of the catalyst amount as far as the photocatalyst particles cover the bottom surface. The reaction rate increased with but less than in proportion to the irradiation intensity, suggesting that a rate limiting step other than photo-activation exists. The activation energy of the reaction, 38 kJ mol -1 , suggested that an elevated reaction temperature would be advantageous. The reaction rate is the first order of the reactant concentration, suggesting that the adsorption of the reactant could be a rate limiting step. The external quantum yield was 19%, comparable to solar cells.

Light-leakage type photocatalytic fibers coated with a titanium oxide layer were fabricated to decontaminate aqueous waste solution. The titanium oxide layer was prepared by a sol-gel process using titanium tetra-butoxide and salt catalyst, and characterized by SEM and EDX analyses. The titanium oxide layer was sufficiently dense and stable against long term UV-irradiation in aqueous solutions. The fibers were bundled into a tube of about 3 mm in diameter, constituting a tubular reactor that promotes photocatalytic degradation of basic dyes by a single pass process.

For reducing amount of CO2 emitted by acetylene production, a research on energy efficient plasma technologies for converting methane to acetylene was conducted, resulting in development of a tubular circle-to-plate (CTP) type of reactor. The CTP reactor driven by a pulsed plasma converted mixture of methane and CO2 to acetylene, ethylene, ethane, carbon monoxide, higher hydrocarbons such as C3 and C4, and hydrogen. CO2 was used mainly for stabilizing the plasma discharge, though it also reacted with methane yielding CO and hydrogen. A maximum energy efficiency of 4 mmol/kJ, which was obtained at a pulse frequency of 625 Hz, indicated a potential to reduce CO2 emission from the acetylene production. The energy efficiency decreased at a pulse frequency above 625 Hz with the CTP reactor, which differed from results with co-axial cylindrical (CAC) and point-to-point (PTP) type reactors. Acetylene selectivity was 62% at maximum at 8 kHz.The plasma technology would also be useful for relocating conventional fossil fuel dependent acetylene production to the sun-belt where solar thermal power, which is relatively inexpensive among renewable energies, can be utilized to generate plasma. Such relocation accompanied by replacement of fossil energy with renewable energy would result in reduction of global CO2 emission.

The unsteady flow in Laval nozzle for the molecular laser isotope separation (MLIS) of uranium is numerically simulated by solving the Euler equation through Harten-Yee TVD method, in order to clar...

Flow fields of nitrogen (N2) and argon (Ar) gases in a low pressure impactor are visualized by using a Laser Induced Fluorescence (LIF) technique of iodine molecules under typical MLIS (Molecular Laser Isotope Separation) operating conditions for uranium hexafluoride (UF6). The flow fields with different pressure ratios (downstream pressure/upstream pressure) and nozzle-to-plate distance are examined. It is shown that various shock waves exist in the low pressure impactor. The axisymmetric Euler equation is solved by using the Harten-Yee TVD method. The calculated shapes and locations of shock agree well with experimental data obtained by LIF. The calculated solutions compared with those previously calculated, however, a remarkable difference is observed between these two calculated results. With the aid of calculated flow fields, the collection efficiency is determined by tracking the particle trajectories. The diameter of 50% collection is found to be dependent on the pressure ratios and nozzle-to-plate...

A method of obtaining mutants defective in the regulatory function of Ig mu gene expression was developed. Such mutants are useful for discovering the functions of transcription factors and isolating their genes, especially those of DNA-unbinding factors. Cells expressing Ig mu and Eco-GPT simultaneously under control of each mu enhancer were prepared as follows: myeloma X63Ag8.653 cells were transfected with pSV-V mu Me delta CH1 encoding a mu gene modified for cell surface mu expression without light chains, selected by neomycin resistance, transfected with Eco-GPT gene connected to the mu enhancer, and selected with mycophenolic acid in a medium containing xanthine. The mu(m)/Eco-GPT cells were mutated with ethane methyl sulfonate (EMS), and selected with toxin-conjugated anti-mu antibody, and then with 6-thioguanine. The mu(M)-/Eco-GPT- mutants obtained were fused with X63Ag8.653 cells. Fusion caused the mutant to recover mu(M) expression, suggesting that some trans-acting transcription factor other than the mu-encoding gene itself was probably mutated.

In perfusion culture of mammalian cells, the cells should be separated from the spent medium and retained in the culture vessel. A possible cell separator for this purpose is a multiple inclined plate space in an agitated or air-circulated culture vessel. Local fluid velocity and cell concentration contours in an assumed hybridoma cell suspension, which was held stationary in such a gravitational cell settler consisting of multiple open-ended spaces partitioned by inclined plates, were estimated by numerically solving the momentum and continuity equations. The simulated maximum convection flow velocity was 20 times the Stokes’ velocity of the cells. The flow penetrated into the space below the lower ends of the inclined plates. The model estimated a larger cell settling rate than the Ponder-Nakamura-Kuroda (PNK) formula. In our experiment, the cell suspension of hybridoma 2E3 was held stationary in a vessel containing multiple inclined plates, and the position of the interface between the clear and turbid fluids was observed. The falling rate of the interface was larger than that predicted by the PNK formula. The model can be utilized for designing such cell separators for perfusion culture of suspended mammalian cells, including optimization of the size and interval of the plates.

A catechol 2,3-dioxygenase (C23O) gene of Pseudomonas aeruginosa was expressed under the Simian virus 40 or Rous sarcoma virus promoter in mammalian cells; it was found that the gene could be used as a reporter for the study of gene expression. The C23O gene was a more sensitive reporter than the generally used beta-galactosidase gene.

In order to measure reactivity from instant to instant during reactor operation, real time computation based on reactor kinetic equations must be made. The authors developed some reactivity meters capable of such computation based on the analog computer technique. After their characteristics were checked by an analog computer and a kinetic simulator, they were applied to reactor experiments and operation. It was found that the reactivity meter method for measurement of reactivity worth (especially for control rod calibration) is better than other current methods, and the reactivity meter can also serve as a tool in nuclear instrumentation of reactors for its ability to indicate reactivity even in reactor start up conditions.

A new principle is presented for obtaining absolute reactor power by processing the random fluctuation of neutron flux based on the stochastic nature of nuclear reactions. The required combination of instruments to carry out experiments is described, and experimental results obtained in a swimming pool reactor are reported. The power spectral density of the output current of an ion chamber located near the reactor core is determined by reactor kinetic parameters such as delayed neutron yield, life time, ν (mean number of neutrons generated per fission) and counter efficiency as well as by the total number of neutrons in the core, which is a measure of absolute power. Using either logarithmic amplifier or reactivity meter, absolute reactor power can be measured without any information about detector efficiency. This method has such merits as easiness and simplicity in operation, ability to measure absolute power in the range 0.01∼100 W where other methods are inapplicable, and negligible effect of changes ...