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We report an 80-year-old man with IgG4-related pleuritis who had been treated with a low dose oral steroid for two years and developed recurrent myelitis. He was admitted to our hospital with gradually worsening numbness in the lower body and difficulty in walking due to mild weakness and loss of proprioception in the legs. T2-weighted MR images of the spinal cord showed a high signal intensity lesion, located centrally in the spinal cord at the Th2-4 spine levels. Laboratory data revealed an elevated serum IgG4 level and cerebrospinal fluid protein level. Anti-aquaporin 4 antibody, anti-myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody and other autoantibodies were negative. He showed a good response to the administration of steroid pulse therapy with almost resolution of the neurological symptoms and MRI findings. He was followed with the maintenance therapy with a low dose oral steroid. After one year, he developed recurrence of myelitis in the lower end of the medulla oblongata and in the central to dorsal area at the C2 spine level. Each lesion of recurrent myelitis was located within 3 vertebral segments length and improved without focal spinal atrophy. Recently, IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD)-associated inflammation involving brain parenchyma and spinal cord were reported. Further investigations are needed to elucidate the relationship between IgG4-RD and seronegative recurrent myelitis.

Benign nodular goiter is a common disease. Although large goiters with obstructive symptoms including shortness of breath and dyspnea are a clear indication for surgery, acute upper airway obstruction, particularly in benign cervical goiter cases, is rare. We herein report the case of 46-year-old female with acute upper airway obstruction due to benign nodular goiter. The patient had a large and elastic goiter which was more pronounced on the left side of her neck, and surgery was scheduled for within a few months. Three months after the initial presentation, while still waiting for surgery, the patient was brought to the emergency room due to loss of consciousness and breathing difficulty and was immediately intubated. A computed tomography (CT) scan revealed that the trachea was markedly compressed by a nodular lesion in the left lobe, and bilateral pneumonia was also evident. Total thyroidectomy was immediately performed via the supraclavicular approach. The patient had an uneventful postoperative course and recovered well. The resected specimen included a well-encapsulated solid and cystic mass. Histopathological examination mainly revealed adenomatous goiter. The present case suggests that benign asymptomatic nodular goiter mostly located in the neck may cause acute airway obstruction, even if the nodules are not large. Early surgery should be performed when tracheal deviation and stenosis due to a large goiter is prominent by CT scan.

We report a rare case of cerebellar degeneration that was diagnosed at autopsy in a patient who developed lithium intoxication accompanied by neuroleptic malignant syndrome. This 63 year old female, who suffered from manic depressive psychosis, had received lithium bicarbonate at a daily dose of about 1000 mg for 4 years. She developed a high fever and extrapyramidal symptoms resembling a neuroleptic type of malignant syndrome and died 1 month later. Autopsy revealed an almost complete loss of Purkinje cells with a mild reduction of granule cells in most areas of the cerebellar hemisphere and vermis, except for the tonsil and flocculus, and mild gliosis in the dentate nucleus. In cases of suspected lithium intoxication, one must be alert to the possibility of neuroleptic malignant syndrome and to prevent cerebellar degeneration.

A case of pulmonary artery leiomyosarcoma in a 37 year old Japanese man is reported. The patient complained of chest pain and hemosputum. CT scan and angiography revealed that a tumor arose from the right main branch of the pulmonary artery. The surgical specimen was interpreted as an undifferentiated sarcoma at this time. The tumor recurred 6 months after the resection, and he died of right-sided heart failure. At autopsy, the pulmonary artery truncus was distended by the tumor, which protruded into the lumen. The tumor was composed of pleomorphic cells, giant cells and spindle-shaped cells. Many of the tumor cells were immuno-histochemically positive for alpha-smooth muscle action and vimentin. Electron microscopy revealed microfNaments with dense bodies in the cytoplasm and a discontinuous basement membrane around the cells. Although adenocarcinoma was also observed in the colon, the authors conclude that the present tumor is not a metastasis but a primary leiomyosarcoma arising from the pulmonary artery. Imaging techniques were very useful for differentiating sarcoma from thrombus in this site, and immunohistochemical demonstration for alpha-smooth muscle action was necessary for making a histological diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma.

A 73-year-old Japanese man with a history of partial gastrectomy due to gastric cancer 4 years previously was admitted because of intermittent fever. The patient developed abdominal pain, erythema, and myalgia in addition to the fever during the final clinical course, and died of acute heart failure. Autopsy disclosed atrophy of the left lobe of the liver and acute myocardial infarction. Neither metastasis nor recurrence of the cancer was observed. Small and medium-sized arteries of the visceral organs showed various stages of necrotizing vasculitis with narrowing of the lumina. The vasculitis was most prominent in the left lobe of the liver and in the heart. Narrowing of the portal vein due to portal tract inflammation in addition to vasculitis of the hepatic arteries may have induced ischemia and infarction, which had resulted in atrophy of the left hepatic lobe. Acta Pathol Jpn 42: 662–666, 1992.

This paper investigates an intervehicle communication method as a safe driving support system for intersection collision avoidance warnings. In this kind of system, realization of highly reliable communications in the physical layer is an absolute requirement. As a result, we propose a new MIMO-STBC (Space-Time Block Coding) method based on intersection propagation channel characteristics. MIMO transmission characteristics are determined by the propagation channel characteristics. First, we use a ray-tracing method simulation to clarify the propagation channel conditions, and then model the intersection propagation channel. We use the characteristics of this propagation channel to propose a MIMO-STBC method that utilizes decision feedback channel estimation, and verify the effectiveness of the proposed method in computer simulations. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electron Comm Jpn Pt 1, 90(9): 1–15, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/ecja.20400

Carcinoma showing thymus-like differentiation (CASTLE)は稀な甲状腺腫瘍であり,その組織学的特徴より,偏平上皮癌との鑑別が問題となる.今回われわれは,甲状腺CASTLEの1例を経験したので報告する.症例は61歳,男性.嗄声および左甲状腺腫瘤にて紹介により当科受診した.甲状腺左葉下極に1.5cm大の硬く,可動性不良な腫瘤を触知し,超音波検査ならびにCT検査では甲状腺癌が疑われた.穿刺吸引細胞診にて,低分化癌との診断を得たため,甲状腺左葉切除術,左保存的頸部郭清術を施行した.腫瘍は病理組織学的にCASTLEと診断され,左気管傍リンパ節に転移を認めた.術後頸部から上縦隔に放射線照射を行い,現在経過観察中である. CASTLEは偏平上皮癌と異なり,予後は良好であるため,本疾患に対するしっかりとした知識を持ち,正確な組織診断を導くことが重要である.

To receive terrestrial digital broadcasting signals in an automobile, we previously proposed a method for controling the antenna directional pattern and demonstrated the effectiveness of the method by field experiment in an urban area. We have now investigated the reception quality during high-speed traveling and clarified the performance of doppler-shift compensation in the proposed method. A field experiment demonstrated that high-definition television (HDTV) signals can be received in an automobile traveling at about 100 km an hour.

A 31-year-old Japanese man was admitted with complaints of left lower abdominal pain and diarrhea. He had a history of bronchial asthma since he was 26 years old. On admission, his eosinophil count was 4100/mm3 and increased as high as 12 000/mm3. A neurological examination disclosed mononeuritis multiplex with paresthesia in both lower and upper extremities. Because of hematochezia, colonoscopy was performed and disclosed multiple colonic ulcers and erosions from the rectum to the ascending colon. Endoscopic biopsy showed fibrinoid necrosis of small-sized vessels with moderate infiltration of eosinophils in the mucosa and submucosa. He was suspected of being a case with Churg–Strauss syndrome (CSS; allergic granulomatous angiitis), and prednisolone of 30 mg/day was administered. After the administration of prednisolone, his eosinophil count decreased dramatically. His symptoms also improved gradually, except for numbness in the extremities. Three weeks later, colonoscopy revealed improvement of the mucosal appearance, but the colonic ulcers and erosions were still present. Endoscopic biopsy showed exravascular granuloma with moderate infiltration of eosinophils in the submucosa. Colonoscopy and endoscopic biopsy may be important in establishing the diagnosis of CSS with intestinal symptoms.

In the HL-60 sublines that were isolated after a long-term continuous culture, abnormally stained or abnormally banded regions on chromosomes replaced extrachromosomal double minutes. The c-MYC gene is amplified in these structures. We followed the c-MYC gene loci during a consecutive passage by using FISH, and have found a large extrachromosomal element (LEE) that preexisted at the earliest passage in a very small fraction of cells. No chromosomal integration of c-MYC sequences was observed in up to 225 passages. The LEEs persistently evolved during culture and were not excluded from the nucleus. In the LEE-positive cells, the spontaneous differentiation was blocked and the granulocytic differentiation that was induced by treatment with dimethyl sulfoxide was reversed by withdrawal of the drug. The c-MYC gene integration into LEEs is unlikely to lead to these phenotypes. The reversibility might be related to the reversible c-MYC down-regulation during the early phase of the drug treatment of HL-60 cells at early cell passages.

Diffuse neurofibrillary tangles with calcification (DNTC) represents a primary and sporadic presenile dementia that is characterized by temporal or fronto-temporal atrophy with diffuse neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), neuropil threads and Fahr-type calcification without senile plaques. We examined the tau pathology in five autopsy cases of DNTC by immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry using phosphorylation-dependent and -independent anti-tau antibodies. The pattern of staining for different epitopes of beta-amyloid (A beta) was also investigated. NFTs were immunopositive with all the anti-tau antibodies used in this study. On the immunoblots, sarkosyl-insoluble tau appeared as three major bands of 60, 64 and 68 kDa, and as a minor band at 72 kDa. The majority of extracellular NFTs were weakly immunopositive only with the antibody recognizing the 40 carboxyl-terminal of A beta in DNTC. These results suggest that Alzheimer's disease-like tau pathology could exist independently of A beta deposits in DNTC.

Complementary DNA of mouse deafness dystonia peptide 1 (DDP1) was isolated from adipocyte cDNA library and expressed in mammalian cells. The sequence shares homology of 92 and 97% on the nucleic acid and the amino acid levels with human DDP1. In comparison to mouse Bruton's tyrosine kinase (Btk) locus, the coding region spans 2 exons and the splice point is the same as human DDP1. Northern blot analysis suggests that mouse DDP1 expresses ubiquitously. In vitro transcription/translation study showed that the cDNA of mouse DDP1 codes about 11 kDa peptide. DDP1 tagged with FLAG localized in mitochondria and cytoplasm of COS7 cells. P19 embryonal carcinoma cells transfected with anti sense DDP1 cDNA were frequently dead after subculture and all the survivals expressed endogenous DDP1 mRNA. Therefore, mouse DDP1 may play an important role to survive in contrast to Tim8p, a yeast homologue, which was unnecessary in yeast.

Objective: To find out which factors predict recurrence of cancer in the remnant after unilateral thyroid lobectomy for patients with papillary cancer. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Teaching hospital, Japan. Subjects: One hundred thirty-three patients with a clinically solitary papillary thyroid cancer who had unilateral lobectomy for the primary disease between 1966 and 1990 and were followed up for more than 60 months. Twelve patients had developed recurrences in the remnant gland by the time of the second operation and 121 patients had not as judged by a second operation, an ultrasound examination, or by palpation. Result: The primary tumour size in those who developed recurrences was significantly larger than in those who did not (p < 0.0001), and clinical signs of regional lymph node involvement or distant metastases were also significantly more common (p = 0.006). No patient died of their cancer. Conclusion: Size of the primary tumour is an important prognostic factor for recurrence of solitary papillary thyroid cancer in the remnant after unilateral lobectomy. Such recurrences are unlikely to be lethal.

Selective area growth (SAG) of GaN using the HVPE method was carried out to obtain a high-quality GaN bulk single crystal. Selectivity of the GaN growth was excellent and the GaN layer had no cracks. The FWHM (195 arcsec) of the X-ray rocking curve for (0 0 0 4) diffraction was narrower than that (348 arcsec) of the sample grown by the conventional method. Overgrowth of the GaN on the SiO2 mask was enhanced in the 〈1 1 2 0〉 direction. Cathode luminescence intensity of this overgrowth region was much stronger than that of the window region. It was found that a reduction in stress is achieved by narrowing the window area, and the epitaxial lateral overgrowth on the mask is effective in obtaining high-quality GaN layer.

Acentric, autonomously replicating extrachromosomal structures called double-minute chromosomes (DMs) frequently mediate oncogene amplification in human tumors. We show that DMs can be removed from the nucleus by a novel micronucleation mechanism that is initiated by budding of the nuclear membrane during S phase. DMs containing c-myc oncogenes in a colon cancer cell line localized to and replicated at the nuclear periphery. Replication inhibitors increased micronucleation; cell synchronization and bromodeoxyuridine–pulse labeling demonstrated de novo formation of buds and micronuclei during S phase. The frequencies of S-phase nuclear budding and micronucleation were increased dramatically in normal human cells by inactivating p53, suggesting that an S-phase function of p53 minimizes the probability of producing the broken chromosome fragments that induce budding and micronucleation. These data have implications for understanding the behavior of acentric DNA in interphase nuclei and for developing chemotherapeutic strategies based on this new mechanism for DM elimination.

We studied the expression of both fibroblast growth factor-2 (FGF-2) and FGF receptor-1 (FGFR-1) in various histological types of human thyroid neoplastic and hyperplastic tissues to clarify the biological behavior of FGF-2. A total of 37 malignant tumors (24 papillary carcinomas, 10 follicular carcinomas, 3 anaplastic carcinomas), 8 follicular adenomas, and 12 adenomatous goiters were examined by immunohistochemical methods. With immunohistochemical staining, both FGF-2 and FGFR-1 were frequently detected in human thyroid carcinoma (79.2 to 100% and 80 to 100%, respectively). In thyroid hyperplastic lesions such as adenomatous goiter, the FGF-2 immunoreactivity in follicular cells was detected in 2 of 12 adenomatous goiters (16.7%). In contrast, FGFR-1 immunoreactivity was detected in 66.7% of cases of this disease. The endothelial cells of microvessels in the stroma adjacent to the neoplasms and hyperplastic lesions also showed cytoplasmic FGF-2 immunoreactivity. The difference between FGF-2 and FGFR-1 expression in adenomatous goiters was statistically significant (P

Case Report A 34-year-old man was admitted to our hospital after a convulsive attack, which had previously occurred only once a few years after his infancy. He was the second child of consanguineous healthy parents. His elder sister was free of neurological problems. Abnormal enlargement of his head developed from the age of 1 year till Dear Sir, Megalencephalic leukoencephalopathy with subcortical cysts (MLC) is characterized by clinical features including macrocephaly developed within the first year of life, slow deterioration of motor skills due to increasing ataxia and spasticity, mild cognitive impairment and mild clinical course [1–6] . Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings of this disease are well known including diffuse T 2 hyperintensity in cerebral white matter and subcortical cysts in the temporal and parietal regions early in its course. However, descriptions of MRI features including difthe age of 3 years. Mild delay in mental and motor development was noted at 2 years of age. A diagnosis of hydrocephalus of unknown cause was made at that time without intensive neuroradiological examination. He had mild mental retardation and spastic gait disturbance; these symptoms remained stable over his teens and were thought to be sequelae of hydrocephalus in his infancy. His medical checks and treatment for epilepsy were discontinued at 20 years. He has worked as a full-time factory worker since the age of 20 years.

We report on the case of a 57-year-old male found to have squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) arising from thyroglossal duct remnants. The patient presented with an asymptomatic tumor in his anterior neck which was immovable on palpation. Aspiration biopsy cytology revealed class V malignancy with many atypical clusters and marked keratinization. After preoperative radiation, a radical operation employing Sistrunk's procedure with bilateral neck dissection was performed. Histopathological examination confirmed a diagnosis of moderately differentiated SCC, but revealed ciliated columnar epithelium in the walls of the cyst without a normal layer of squamous cells. Furthermore, immunohistochemical studies demonstrated the tumor to be negative for thyroglobulin staining, but positive for cytokeratin and carcinoembryonic antigen. These histopathological findings proved attributable to squamous metaplasia occurring in the ciliated columnar epithelium of the thyroglossal duct. Thus, SCC might originate in the metaplastic portion of the thyroglossal duct remnants. Although the prognosis associated with SCC in the thyroglossal duct is not as optimistic as that associated with papillary carcinoma, no evidence of recurrence has been observed in this patient in the 7 years since his operation. This suggests the effectiveness of our therapeutic approach for this unusual disease.

Summary: Serum sickness nephritis was induced in young (3 weeks old) and old (50 weeks old) Fischer rats by immunization with egg albumin, and the age-related clinicopathological differences were analyzed. At least four differences were recognized between the young and old nephritis rats. First, the induced proteinuria was transient in the young group, but persistent in the old group and second, intramembranous electron dense deposits (IMEDD) in the thickened glomerular basement membrane were characteristic in the old group by electron microscopic observation. Third, the peripheral distribution of immune complexes in glomemlus was much more dominant in the young group. Fourth, the accumulation of monocytes was more prominent in the young group. These findings support the following suggestions: (i) in the ageing rats, there may be lowered efficiency of turnover of the extracellular matrix and the decreased ability of the mononuclear phagocyte system function; (ii) these changes may be responsible for the delayed clearance of the immune complexes from the glomerulus, and (iii) the longstanding presence of IMEDD observed in the ageing rats may play a role in persistent proteinuria.

A case that revealed the clinical and histologic features of superantigen-related nephritis and hemolytic uremic syndrome is reported. The patient was admitted with purulent arthritis due toStaphylococcus aureus infection, and showed rapidly progressive glomerulonephritic syndrome Clinical and histologic findings were similar to those of cases of superantigen-related nephritis previously reported, but our case had histologic evidence of various endothelial damage resembling that of hemolytic uremic syndrome. We suggest that such hemolytic uremic syndrome-like lesions may be one of the features of superantigen-related nephritis.

This study was designed to delineate the nature of beta-cell dysfunction in a model of genetically determined nonobese diabetes, the Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat. Pancreatic beta-cell function was analyzed immediately after weaning and 5 weeks thereafter, comparing animals with or without insulin treatment during the interval. In 3.5-week-old GK rats, fasting plasma glucose was mildly elevated with normoinsulinemia, and the islet insulin content was reduced by 33%. When incubated with 3-30 mM glucose in vitro, the GK rat islets showed reduced glucose sensitivity, i.e. the EC50 values were 19.5 and 15.9 mM, and the Hill constants for the positive cooperativity 2.1 and 4.2 in the islets of GK and the control rats, respectively. On the other hand, the maximum response to glucose was not attenuated when reduced islet insulin content was considered. In 8.5-week-old GK rats hyperglycemia worsened and glucose-stimulated insulin release by the islets more severely impaired. A daily insulin injection from the 3.5-8.5 weeks of age significantly lowered plasma glucose in the GK rat, accompanied by a marked suppression of both basal (with 3 mM glucose) and glucose (6-30 mM)-stimulated insulin release by the islets. In the GK rat, beta-cell dysfunction develops by the age of 3.5 weeks, and insulin treatment during the subsequent 5 weeks accelerates its progression.

We describe an extremely rare case of thyroid carcinoma accompanied by sarcoid reaction in regional lymph nodes. The patient, a 40-year-old woman, was found to have anterior neck swelling during a routine medical examination. Physical examination revealed a bad movable and firm nodule measuring 3.5 x 2.5 cm in the right thyroid lobe. Examination of a fine-needle aspiration cytology of the nodule suggested papillary carcinoma of class V. Right lobectomy and isthmectomy with neck dissection were performed. Histopathological examination of the resected specimens revealed papillary carcinoma accompanied by metastatic foci in right perithyroidal lymph nodes and non-caseous sarcoid-like granulomas in pretracheal, right upper internal deep cervical and submandibular lymph nodes. We concluded that these granulomas were due to a sarcoid reaction associated with thyroid carcinoma, after performing examinations to rule out the possibility of systemic sarcoidosis.

A rare case of a mature teratoma of the placenta is reported. The tumor lay between the amnion and the chorion and contained skin and its appendages, bone, cartilage, fat and ganglia, without organization. There was no evidence of a recognizable umbilical cord. We concluded that the tumor was a mature teratoma of the placenta. The distinction between a teratoma and a fetus acardius amorphus, and the possible origin of the tumor in this site, are discussed with a brief review of the literature.

Previously we proposed a DC component suppressing method which adds an extra one-byte data to a data block of fixed bytes and converts information data into channel codewords. In this paper, we propose 8-15 channel coding which has no DC component suppressing capability, and 8-15 modulation method which is based on 8-15 channel coding and DC component suppressing method. The window margin and the minimum interval between transitions of the 8-15 channel data are about 6.6% longer than those of (2, 7) RLL codes, and are theoretically the most suitable length when 8-bit data words are translated into 15-bit codewords. The 8-15 modulation method is superior to the (2, 7) RLL coding in respect to some of their characteristic parameters and suppresses low-frequency components efficiently.

Acinic cell carcinoma of the breast is an extremely rare, malignant neoplasm characterized by widespread acinar cell-like differentiation and clinically low-grade malignancy. Herein, we report a case of acinic cell carcinoma of the breast in a 41-year-old woman. The tumor was poorly demarcated but had a firm consistency. It was removed with lumpectomy, and sentinel lymph node biopsy was performed to check for metastasis. Microscopically, the tumor showed an infiltrative growth pattern with a combination of solid, trabecular, and microglandular areas. Many of the tumor cells had abundant clear vacuolated cytoplasm containing zymogen-typed granules which resemble acinar cells of the salivary glands. The immunohistochemical profile of the tumor was also similar to that of salivary gland acinic cell carcinoma: the tumor cells were positive for amylase, lysozyme,α-1-antichymotrypsin, S-100 protein, and epithelial membrane antigen and negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2. She received postoperative chemoradiation therapy and has been well for 3 years since surgery. As studies on large series are lacking, further studies are needed to elucidate the biological characteristics of acinic cell carcinoma of the breast.

ディジタルデータを記録する際, 変調方式の情報語に対する符号語の対応テーブルを一定のデータブロック毎に変調後の直流成分が最小になるように適宜選択することにより, 本来の特性パラメータの値を維持したまま直流成分を抑圧できる方式を提案している.

The structural properties of InN films grown on (0001) sapphire (α‐Al2O3) substrates are investigated by reflection high‐energy electron‐diffraction and x‐ray‐diffraction methods. The epitaxial relationship between the InN layer and the α‐Al2O3 substrate is revealed to be (0001)InN //(0001)α‐Al2O3 with [1010]InN//[1010] α‐Al2O3, which is different from that of AlN and GaN epitaxial films. The x‐ray rocking curve measurements prove that the crystalline quality of as‐grown InN films is not so good, while it can be significantly improved by thermal annealing at temperatures of 450–500 °C within 10 min in nitrogen ambient. The improvement of quality is ascribed to the rearrangement of mosaic crystallites in the films through the movement of their boundaries during a short period of time.

We propose a new image data processing method for MUSE (Multiple Sub-nyquist Sub-sampling Encoding) signal decoding. In conventional decoding, the moving and stationary areas of the luminance signal are processed separately. Those of the chrominance signal should be processed separately as well.However, this method requires many interpolation and sampling conversion filters and larger hardware. We have integrated these conventional filters into one 2-dimensional filter that has variable tap coefficients. This “integrated filter” has performed satisfactorily in our evaluation for the luminance signal.Furthermore, adapting the tap coefficients of the integrated filter to the chrominance signal of the MUSE signal, an HDTV (High Definition Television) signal is reproduced by using only one 2-dimensional integrated filter.

糸球体マクロファージは，増殖性腎炎で重要な働きをしていることが，形態学的，免疫学的に，さらに近年では分子生物学的に解明されてきた。しかし，メサンギウム細胞の増殖の乏しい腎炎でも，マクロファージは浸潤している。われわれがラット血清病腎炎のモデルを用いた実験で，メサンギウム細胞増殖に対する糸球体内のマクロファージの作用は，腎炎の経過中に一過性の抑制から促進へと変化することがわかった。これは，糸球体内のマクロファージの質と量の両方の変化に起因していると考えられた。さらに，主にマクロファージが接着したメサンギウム細胞に増殖が認められる傾向があり，ICAM-1が，部分的に介在することが証明された。以上から，腎炎においては，糸球体マクロファージは，メサンギウム細胞増殖に対して制御作用を持ち，それは，両細胞が接着することによって有効に伝達されることが考えられた。

The growth and structural characterization of epitaxial erbium silicide on the (100)Si substrate are studied by transmission electron microscopy, reflection high-energy electron diffraction, and X-ray diffractometry. Erbium silicides (ErSi2−x) grow by annealing above 400°C after the deposition of Er film. The ErSi2−x film consists of two types of domains which have two different azimuthal orientations making an angle of 90° to each other. The epitaxial relationships between the hexagonal ErSi2−x film and the (100)Si substrate are [0001]ErSi2−x‖[011]Si and [0001]ErSi2−x‖[011]Si in the (1100) ErSi2−x‖(100)Si plane relation. The two types of domains in the ErSi2−x film are equivalent in volume fraction and crystalline quality, which has been proved from the equivalent integrated intensities of (2201) asymmetric reflection of X-ray diffraction.

The three-dimensional localization of laminin in rat glomeruli at the chronic phase of Masugi nephritis was investigated by a quick-freezing and deep-etching method combined with immunohistochemistry. Light-microscopically, laminin was localized in increased mesangial matrix and thickened glomerular basement membrane. The quick-freezing and deep-etching method revealed that the increased mesangial matrix, which was newly formed in axial portions and areas of mesangial interposition, was composed of fine fibrillar networks. They were revealed with the 3,3'-diaminobenzidine tetrahydrochloride (DAB) reaction products of peroxidase-labelled secondary antibody following anti-laminin antibody. However, these reaction products were not uniformly distributed in the newly formed matrix. Although the fibrils organizing lamina densa were also immunostained with anti-laminin antibody, the fibrils connected to mesangial cells, podocytes and endothelial cells had smaller amounts of DAB reaction products for laminin. These results indicate that one of the components of fibrils in the mesangial matrix and lamina densa is laminin, which is heterogeneously distributed in the newly formed matrix.

Chronic serum sickness nephritis was induced in rats by sensitization with egg albumin. The glomeruli were then examined by the quick-freezing and deep-etching method with immunohistochemical identification of immune complex deposits on replica membranes. In control rats, the glomerular basement membrane showed a three-layered structure. The middle layer was composed of a compact meshwork of fine fibrils that was connected to adjacent endothelial and epithelial cells by perpendicular fibrils in the inner and outer layers. The mesangial matrix contained a similar but looser meshwork structure. In the nephritic rats, small granular deposits were observed within the meshwork, distorting its fine structure. Larger nodular aggregates extended continuously from the middle layer to the epithelial side. Disruption of the connecting fibrils overlying these larger aggregates was noted. The deposits were stained by antiegg albumin or antirat IgG antibodies. Gold particles immunostaining for the sensitizing antigen were also localized within the deposits. These findings suggest that the deposition of immune complexes occurs in the fibrillary meshworks of the mesangium and lamina densa in this experimental model, with the resultant distortion of their meshwork structures and the formation of nodular aggregates.

A 73-year-old woman with bilateral internal carotid artery stenosis, 80% in the left and 70% in the right, was scheduled for a laparoscopic operation for sigmoidrectal colon cancer. During the operation, general anesthesia was maintained with propofol and fentanyl, combined with epidural analgesia. Regional cerebral oxygen saturation (rSo2) was continuously monitored throughout the operation. Thirty minutes after the introduction of pneumoperitoneum with head-down position (Trendelenburg position: TP), only left rSo2 decreased from 52% to 17%. As fraction of oxygen (FI(O2)) was increased from 45% to 100%, mechanical ventilation was adjusted to keep end tidal carbon dioxide pressure at 40 mmHg and dopamine was administered to raise arterial blood pressure, left rSo, recovered to 60%. Thereafter, FIo2 was maintained at 60% and the rSo, was kept at 60% to 70% to the end of the operation. Neurological dysfunctions were not observed after the operation. In order to prevent cerebral ischemic damage from the operation with TP, monitoring of rSo, maybe essential during general anesthesia.

Alterations in glomerular basement membrane (GBM) anionic sites associated with immune deposits (ID) were observed using polyethyleneimine (PEI) as a cationic probe in serum sickness nephritis induced by egg albumin (EA). The anionic sites were fewer in number than in other GBM segments and were irregular in distribution in most, but not all, of the segments of the GBM with ID on the epithelial side of the lamina densa (LD). The disappearance of anionic sites was obvious in areas where the internal aspects of the lamina rara externa (LRE) of the GBM were occupied by ID, even if the ID were very small. In contrast, the disappearance of anionic sites was not evident, even though no change in anionic sites was found in some areas, where the ID had departed from the internal aspects of the LRE and a pale band was seen between the ID and the LD. Further, PEI aggregates, showing localization of anionic sites, were seen within the low density ID, but no PEI aggregates were seen within the high density ID. The results suggest that: 1) whether or not ID induce the disappearance of anionic sites is independent of the size of the ID, but is dependent on the density of and the place occupied by the ID, and 2) the ID seem to induce the disappearance of anionic sites by masking rather than destroying them.

The three-dimensional ultrastructure of glomerular sclerosis in the chronic phase of Masugi nephritis was investigated using a quick-freezing and deep-etching method. Newly formed mesangial matrix, which was increased in the axial portions, was composed of fine fibrillar networks similar to those in the lamina densa of the basement membrane. These fibrils were 10-20 nm in diameter and directly attached to the cell membranes of mesangial cells, endothelial cells and podocytes by connecting fibrils. Moreover, thicker fibrils with diameters of 20-30 nm were present in the networks and were connected with cross-bridges. A newly formed matrix of fine fibrillar networks was also seen in the areas of mesangial interposition in the glomerular capillary wall. The border between the matrix and lamina densa was unclear. The fibrils organizing the networks of lamina densa of the glomerular loop were thickened, with some decoration. Connecting fibrils were disrupted in the areas of endothelial detachment. It is suggested that prolonged tissue injury with endothelial detachment might induce mesangial sclerosis composed of fine fibrillar networks. The increase in density of the networks seemingly interfere with the contractile function of mesangial cells, which is followed by alteration of mesangial flow.

CATV網を媒体としてMUSE信号を伝送する時に発生する, 信号の反射や伝送歪みによる信号劣化を等化処理する波形等化器を開発し, 本装置の等化特性について, ベースバンド系での実験, およびAM伝送実験によって評価を行い, 良好な結果を得た.

An increase in microfilaments in phalloidin-treated hepatocytes of Wistar rats was identified three-dimensionally with myosin subfragment 1 (S1) on replica membranes, using the quick-freezing and deep-etching method. Almost all of the reticular microfilaments around the bile canaliculi and beneath the lateral cell membranes were decorated on their surfaces by S1 attachment. Some showed periodic structures. However, thinner filaments with diameters of 4-7 nm were not decorated by S1. Bundled intermediate filaments around the bile canalicular microfilaments and intermediate filaments localized among cell organelles had smooth surfaces without S1 decoration. The microfilaments decorated by S1 were attached directly to bundled intermediate filaments. The quick-freezing and deep-etching method is useful in analysing cytoskeletal pathology and can be applied to histochemical fields.