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ITER Central Solenoid (CS) pulse operation induces significant flow disturbance in the forced-flow Supercritical Helium (SHe) cooling circuit, which could impact primarily on the operation of cold circulator (SHe centrifugal pump) in Auxiliary Cold Box (ACB). Numerical studies using Venecia®, SUPERMAGNET and 4C have identified reverse flow at the CS module inlet due to the substantial thermal energy deposition at the inner-most winding. To assess the reliable operation of ACB–CS (dedicated ACB for CS), the process analyses have been conducted with a dynamic process simulation model developed by Cryogenic Process REal-time SimulaTor (C-PREST). As implementing process control of hydrodynamic instability, several strategies have been applied to evaluate their feasibility. The paper discusses control strategy to protect the centrifugal type cold circulator/compressor operations and its impact on the CS cooling.

The ITER superconducting (SC) magnet system, which consists of central solenoid coils, toroidal field (TF) coils, TF structures, and poloidal field and correction coils, is cooled by supercritical helium (SHe) circuits located in dedicated auxiliary cold boxes (ACBs) of the cryodistribution (CD). Due to the increase in the nuclear heat load during the deuterium-tritium plasma phase, the necessary cooling power to maintain the thermal stability of the magnet system can be beyond the presently designed and contracted specification of the cryoplant (LHe and liquid nitrogen plants). Increasing the cryoplant capacity or performance in turn will significantly increase the project cost apart from the impacts on the utility infrastructures (cooling water, electricity, civil works, etc.). In this paper, we will present arrangements within the CD for an efficient and flexible operation. Instead of a common control, which is the present design, by individually controlling the LHe bath temperature of the ACBs, the cooling power can be concentrated to the magnet system in need (reduction in the SHe circuit temperature). In addition to this, a proposal to minimize the heat of compression of the cold rotating machines in order to further allocate the cooling power to the SC magnet system will be introduced.

Co-simulation of Cryoplant and Tokamak superconducting magnet system (referred to as Magnet) has been performed to characterize operating condition associated with control strategies. Cryoplant model, developed by EcosimPro®, consists of three identical refrigerators connected with integrated Cryoplant Termination Cold Box (CTCB) which distributes the coolant to five Auxiliary Cold Boxes (ACB) for Magnet and CryoPump (CP) cooling. Meanwhile, Magnet model, developed by Visual Modeler®, consists of Toroidal Field (TF) coil, Central Solenoid (CS), TF STructure (ST) and Poloidal Field (PF)/Correction Coil (CC). Magnet model computes thermo-hydraulic behavior of a forced-flow Supercritical Helium (SHe), with specified thermal energy deposition along the conductor in the case of Deuterium-Tritium (DT) operation as well as plasma disruption followed by the fast energy discharge of CS and PF. Global simulation of ITER cryogenic system provides its operating characteristics for complex cryogenic processes. The paper discusses the coupling of Cryoplant and Magnet models and the control strategy for Cryoplant to manage substantial dynamic heat loads.

Process studies for Toroidal Field Structure (TF ST) system with a dedicated Auxiliary Cold Box (ACB-ST) have been conducted under 15 MA baseline, including plasma disruptions. ACB-ST consists of two heat exchangers immersed in the Liquid Helium (LHe) subcooler, which are placed at the inlet/outlet of a Supercritical Helium (SHe) cold circulator (centrifugal pump). Robustness of ACB-ST is a key to achieve the stability of TF coil operation since it provides the thermal barrier at the interface of the TF Winding Pack (WP) with ST. The paper discusses the control logic for the nominal plasma operating scenario and for Mitigation to regulate the dynamic heat loads on ST. In addition, the operation field of a cold circulator is described in the case of plasma disruptions. The required performance of heat exchangers in the ACB-ST is assessed based on the expected operating conditions.

The pressure head necessary for the forced convection of supercritical helium (SHe) across the ITER superconducting (SC) magnet system is generated by centrifugal-compressor type cold circulators. From the viewpoint of the cryogenic system, simulation results indicate that the main challenge of the ITER Central Solenoid (CS) operation is the peaking pressure head of SHe across the cold circulator induced during the rapid ramping of electrical current on the coils. Excess variation in pressure head will push the operation point of the rotating machine beyond the surge line in the compressor map which can trip the circulator and in the worst case result in damages. Therefore, in order to avoid the occurrence of a surge, it has been proposed to open adaptively a cryogenic valve, installed in parallel with the CS cooling channels, during the high pressure head instances. Such an action creates an additional flow channel which consequently suppresses the pressure head peak. The proposed strategy has been numerically benchmarked and tests have been performed in existing cryogenic facilities. In this paper, we will present the test results of pressure head mitigation across the cold circulator dedicated to the KSTAR CS and Poloidal Field (PF) coil cooling circuit with the main purpose of demonstrating the safe operation of the ITER CS circulator as well as cooling circuit during plasma shots. The tests were performed by progressively increasing the coil by-pass valve opening during identical PF/CS current shots and monitoring the tendency of the maximum pressure head variation across the cold circulator. Also, preliminary results of pressure head mitigation during real plasma experiments will be introduced.

The cryogenic system for the experimental fusion device, LHD has an equivalent refrigeration capacity of 9.1 kW at 4.4 K, and will refrigerate all sets of superconducting coils, their supporting structures, superconducting bus-lines and current leads. Eight sets of oil injected screw-type compressors with the massflow rate of 1100 g/s are equipped. Massflow rate to coldbox was controlled to 700 g/s, and the other of 400 g/s was bypassed. To minimize the bypass flow and to reduce the power consumption, overall operating characteristics of the helium refrigerator were investigated in this report. A power consumption of 500 kW was decreased by reducing the massflow rate of 200 g/s in the bypass circuit.

During the first two years of the LHD experiment the following results have been achieved: (i) higher Te (Te(0) = 4.4 keV at ne = 5.3 × 1018 m-3 and Pabs = 1.8 MW); (ii) higher confinement (τE = 0.3 s, Te(0) = 1.1 keV at ne = 6.5 × 1019 m-3 and Pabs = 2.0 MW); (iii) higher stored energy, Wpdia = 880 kJ at B = 2.75 T. High performance plasmas have been realized in the inward shifted magnetic axis configuration (R = 3.6 m) where helical symmetry is recovered and the particle orbit properties are improved by a trade-off of MHD stability properties due to the appearance of a magnetic hill. Energy confinement was systematically higher than that predicted by the International Stellarator Scaling 95 by up to a factor of 1.6 and was comparable with the ELMy H mode confinement capability in tokamaks. This confinement improvement is attributed to configuration control (inward shift of the magnetic axis) and to the formation of a high edge temperature. The average beta value achieved reached 2.4% at B = 1.3 T, the highest beta value ever obtained in a helical device, and so far no degradation of confinement by MHD phenomena has been observed. The inward shifted configuration has also led to successful ICRF minority ion heating. ICRF powers up to 1.3 MW were reliably injected into the plasma without significant impurity contamination, and a plasma with a stored energy of 200 kJ was sustained for 5 s by ICRF alone. As another important result, long pulse discharges of more than 1 min were successfully achieved separately with an NBI heating of 0.5 MW and with an ICRF heating of 0.85 MW.

Seasonal variations of activity and horizontal propagation direction of gravity waves in the MLT region at mid-latitude over Shigaraki, Japan (35 N) are investigated for various time and spatial scales using the MU radar observations and recent airglow imaging observations. Semiannual variation with solsticial maxima and equinoctial minima are generally observed for short period (

The antitumor effect of a new matrix metalloproteinase inhibitor, MMI-166, which is a selective inhibitor of MMP-2 and -9, was examined in the hamster pancreatic cancer cell line PGHAM-1. In vitro, MMI-166 inhibited the gelatinase activity of MMP-2 and -9 derived from PGHAM-1 cells, and dose-dependently inhibited invasion of PGHAM-1 through a basement membrane-like barrier. MMI-166 showed no apparent cytotoxicity to PGHAM-1 cells in culture at 100 microgram/ml. MMI-166 (200 mg/kg) or vehicle were administered orally, once daily, from day 1 until day 21 after implantation in the orthotopic implantation model of PGHAM-1. MMI-166 significantly reduced the incidence of liver surface metastasis from 66.7% to 20.0%, and it reduced the number of liver surface metastases per animal from 6.17 to 2.00, but this reduction was not significant. MMI-166 significantly reduced the volume of pancreatic tumors from 718.3 +/- 220.0 mm(3) to 222.8 +/- 85.4 mm(3). Treatment of pancreatic tumors with MMI-166 caused a significant reduction in the microvessel density from 37.90 +/- 10.18/mm(2) to 16.16 +/- 3.15/mm(2) and a significant increase in apoptotic index from 1.75 +/- 0.41% to 3.96 +/- 0.38%, but there was no significant difference between tumor cell proliferation in the MMI-166-group and the control group. These results showed that selective MMP inhibition could limit both cancer spread and angiogenesis in pancreatic cancer. The selective MMP-2 and -9 inhibitor MMI-166 may be of therapeutic use in the treatment of pancreatic cancer because of its inhibitory effect on invasion and angiogenesis.

The pressure drop of two prototype cable-in-conduit conductors (CICCs) were measured. The NET conductor is a conventional type CICC, while the CEA conductor has a central flow channel to reduce hydraulic impedance. The pressure drop measurements were conducted with helium at temperatures ranging from 2 K to 4.7 K, and pressure from the saturated vapor pressure to in excess of 3 bar. Computer image analysis was used to estimate the flow cross sectional area and wetted perimeter of the conductors. The data are expressed in terms of a classical friction factor, and compared with previous experimental results. >

腫瘤脱で発見された下行結腸の巨大脂肪腫を経験したので報告する.症例は75歳,女性.下血と肛門違和感を主訴に来院し,肛門より脱出した黄色,表面平滑,弾性軟の腫瘤を触知した.用指にて容易に還納し,以後腫瘤触知は不可能となった.諸検査で大腸脂肪腫と診断し,内視鏡的腫瘍切除術を試みたが,茎部も太く施行不可能であったため結腸部分切除術を行った.腫瘤は9.5×6.5cmで茎の基部は2.5cmであり,割面は脂肪成分であった.病理組織学的には,腫瘤は成熟した脂肪組織の増殖よりなり,脂肪腫と診断した.術前診断には内視鏡と,CT検査が有用であった.

Heat transport in six (6) different model CIC conductors filled with He II has been measured. Each model conductor consists of a stainless steel tube containing a 75 strand cable of copper wire. Cable strands range from 0.4 to 1 mm OD, while the void space within the conductor varies between 36% and 52%. Steady state temperature gradients are compared to analysis based on Gorter Mellink heat transport. The agreement is acceptable provided the flow cross section of each conductor is about 10% higher than measured by image analysis. The method is suggested to aid in the hydraulic characterization of CIC conductors.

Implementation of a conventional current lead with a pulse tube refrigerator has been validated to be working as an Integrated Current Lead (ICL) system for the Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES). Realization of the system is primarily accounted for the flexibility of a pulse tube refrigerator, which does not posses any mechanical piston and/or displacer. As for an ultimate version of the ICL system, a High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) lead links a superconducting coil with a conventional copper lead. To ensure the minimization of heat loads to the superconducting coil, a pulse tube refrigerator has been upgraded to have a second cooling stage. This arrangement reduces not only the heat loads to the superconducting coil but also the operating cost for a SMES system. A prototype two-stage pulse tube refrigerator, series connected arrangement, was designed and fabricated to satisfy the requirements for the ICL system. Operation of the first stage refrigerator is a four-valve mode, while the second stage utilizes a double inlet configuration to ensure its confined geometry. The paper discusses the optimization of second stage cooling to validate the conceptual designImplementation of a conventional current lead with a pulse tube refrigerator has been validated to be working as an Integrated Current Lead (ICL) system for the Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES). Realization of the system is primarily accounted for the flexibility of a pulse tube refrigerator, which does not posses any mechanical piston and/or displacer. As for an ultimate version of the ICL system, a High Temperature Superconducting (HTS) lead links a superconducting coil with a conventional copper lead. To ensure the minimization of heat loads to the superconducting coil, a pulse tube refrigerator has been upgraded to have a second cooling stage. This arrangement reduces not only the heat loads to the superconducting coil but also the operating cost for a SMES system. A prototype two-stage pulse tube refrigerator, series connected arrangement, was designed and fabricated to satisfy the requirements for the ICL system. Operation of the first stage refrigerator is a four-valve mode, while the...

Development of Cryogenic Process Real-time SimulaTor (C-PREST) has been finalized to provide a platform to study the entire cryo-plant processes of Large Helical Device (LHD). Although LHD utilizes three different cooling schemes, a pool boiling, a forced-flow supercritical helium cooling and a two-phase flow cooling, C-PREST successfully demonstrated its capability to simulate the LHD cooldown process and filling five Liquid helium (LHe) reservoirs independently. To understand the dynamic behaviors of the cryo-plant, the simulations have been carried out for a transient operating condition as introducing the thermal disturbance(s) to the 20,000 liter LHe reservoir of the refrigerator. This paper describes simulations of a large cryogenic plant and discusses dynamic behavior of helium refrigerator/liquefier under various thermal disturbances. Computational speeds associated with these operating conditions were also discussed.

A co‐axial type pulse tube cryocooler has been fabricated which is applied as a current lead for the superconducting coil. The cryocooler consists of an outer regenerator tube enclosing and thermally insulating a central pulse tube. The connection between the pulse tube and the regenerator was realized at the cold end. This arrangement allows inserting a 16 mm diameter copper rod on the axis of a cryocooler which serves as a current lead. Characterizations of the pulse tube current leads are performed by the numerical analyses and the experiments. The Equivalent Pressure Volume (EPV) method was utilized to obtain optimized refrigeration capacity with four‐valve operation mode. The paper also discusses the possibility of applying a pulse tube current lead to the superconducting coils.

A dynamic simulation of a large scale cryogenic plant has been conducted, using the Cryogenic Process REal‐time SimulaTor (C‐PREST) developed as a platform to study cryogenic plant processes. The target plant, Large Helical Device (LHD), consists of a 10 kW class helium refrigerator/liquefier and superconducting coil systems with their supporting structure. Since the development of helium refrigerator/liquefier had been completed, the simulation model was focused on the superconducting coil systems. As the preliminary step for the entire cryogenic plant, the coils are simplified and modeled to have certain temperature efficiencies. Cooldown of the coil systems were conducted from the room temperature to close to 4.4 K, utilizing automatic cooldown sequence programs for the actual cryogenic plant. The paper discusses the computational speed just before establishing the two‐phase flow condition and the validity of the simulations compared with the real plant operation.

Heat transfer through porous media in static saturated superfluid helium is investigated for porous media with different thickness, porosity and pore size. For large pore diameter, data are analyzed with the tortuosity concept in the pure Gorter‐Mellink regime. It is shown that the tortuosity is constant over the temperature range investigated. For smaller pore diameter, the analysis reveals that the permeability is temperature‐dependent in the Landau regime. In the intermediate regime, a model, including Landau and Gorter‐Mellink regime, predicts a constant tortuosity within 10% but falls short predicting correctly the experimental data over the entire range of temperature.

To improve the stability of superconducting magnets cooled by He II, it is considered that the utilization of the porous media enhances the heat transport capability of He II. In the present studies, the thermal hydraulic characteristics of He II through porous media have been investigated experimentally and numerically. Experimental results are presented about 6 porous media with various porosity, thickness and average pore diameters. Numerical results are reported about 4 porous media among them. In the present numerical analysis, the two‐dimensional calculations have been performed for the turbulent Gorter‐Mellink regime to understand the heat and mass transfer of the He II through the porous media in the case of the large heat input. The present numerical model was based on the two‐fluid model with the Gorter‐Mellink mutual friction and dealt with the classical friction loss and the tortuosity in the porous media. This paper discusses the influence of these additional terms on the heat and mass flow o...

Dynamic behavior of a helium liquefier has been studied in detail with a Cryogenic Process REal‐time SimulaTor (C‐PREST) at the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS). The C‐PREST is being developed to integrate large‐scale helium cryogenic plant design, operation and maintenance for optimum process establishment. As a first step of simulations of cooldown to 4.5 K with the helium liquefier model is conducted, which provides a plant‐process validation platform. The helium liquefier consists of seven heat exchangers, a liquid‐nitrogen (LN2) precooler, two expansion turbines and a liquid‐helium (LHe) reservoir. Process simulations are fulfilled with sequence programs, which were implemented with C‐PREST based on an existing liquefier operation. The interactions of a JT valve, a JT‐bypass valve and a reservoir‐return valve have been dynamically simulated. The paper discusses various aspects of refrigeration process simulation, including its difficulties such as a balance between complexity of the adopted models and CPU time.

Experimental results are presented for He II counter flow through Al2O3 porous media. Tests have been performed on three porous disks with different thicknesses, 2, 3 and 4 mm, having the same porosity of 32 %, average pore diameter of 2 μm and permeability in the range of 10−14 m2. Temperature and pressure differences were measured across porous media from 1.4 K to 2.1 K in the saturated superfluid helium. The influence on the porous media thickness to the heat transfer is clearly seen on the typical linear Darcy regime and the turbulent Gorter‐Mellink regime. Deviation from these classical laws is observed for large temperature difference that can be attributed to the change of He II heat transfer properties due to the complex flow paths of porous media. The effect of porous media thickness to the He II heat transfer is discussed.

The authors measured the pressure drop of supercritical helium and He II counterflow heat transport in subscale cable-in-conduit conductors (CICCs) at a variety of different temperatures. These measurements were made on various conductors with different flow areas, void fractions, and strand diameters. Classical friction factor analysis was used to correlate the pressure drop results. The results of this analysis revealed systematic variations in the friction factor which appear to be dependent on the temperature of the helium. In a separate experiment heat transport in He II contained in the CICCs was analyzed in terms of the Gorter-Mellink relationship to obtain an independent determination of the flow cross-sectional area. These cross-sectional areas were used to reanalyze previously reported pressure drop data on the same conductors. Use of He II counterflow measurements as a general method to characterize the hydraulics of these conductors is discussed. >

The anti-metastatic efficacy and safety of a newly-developed matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor were examined. MMI-166, a N-sulfonylamino acid derivative, inhibited the enzyme activity of MMP-2, 9, and 14 but not MMP-1, 3 or 7. Daily oral administration of MMI-166 resulted in potent inhibition of metastatic lung colonization of Lewis lung carcinoma injected via the tail vein and liver metastasis of C-1H human colon cancer implanted into the spleen at inhibition levels of 43% and 63%, respectively. Daily administration of MMI-166 also resulted in prolonged survival of mice given intraperitoneal implantation of Ma44 human lung cancer cells. The anti-metastatic activity of MMI-166 was as effective as that of other MMP inhibitors with broad inhibitory spectrum. MMI-166 did not affect in vitro tumor cell growth. Neither body weight losses nor hematotoxicity was observed during long-term treatment, indicating the safety of MMI-166 in mice. These results indicate that the selective MMP inhibitor MMI-166 has therapeutic potential as an anti-metastasis agent.

Inhibition of gelatinolytic activity in implanted tumor tissues by oral administration of N-biphenyl sulfonyl-phenylalanine hydroxamic acid (BPHA), a selective matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor, was demonstrated by means of film in situ zymography (FIZ). Active-MMP-2 but not pro-MMP-2 showed gelatinolytic activity in FIZ, whereas both forms of MMP-2 were found to be active in conventional zymography. A mixture of either tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase-2 or BPHA with active-MMP-2 resulted in inhibition of gelatinolytic activity in FIZ but not in zymography. Thus, FIZ, but not zymography, could detect net MMP activity in tumor tissues. When a specimen from Ma44 human lung cancer xenograft was subjected to FIZ, gelatinolytic activity was markedly detected with precise localization in the tumor tissues. The gelatinolytic activity detected in Ma44 tumor tissues was found to be mainly derived from MMPs because the gelatin-degrading activity was inhibited by pretreatment of the tumor specimen with MMP inhibitors. Oral administration of BPHA but not (-)BPHA, an enantiomer of BPHA lacking MMP inhibitory activity, successfully inhibited the MMP activity localized in Ma44 tumor tissues in both a dose-dependent and time-dependent manner. The data presented in this report showed for the first time that oral administration of synthetic MMP inhibitor could inhibit the net activity of MMP activity in tumor tissues, suggesting the usefulness of the FIZ technique for determining the effective dose of MMP inhibitor in clinical studies.

The antitumor efficacy of a combination of Nedaplatin (NDP) with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) was evaluated using human squamous carcinomas in vivo. Because NDP was developed as a second generation platinum complex, we also compared the antitumor activity of NDP with 5-FU with that of Cisplatin (CDDP) with 5-FU.5-FU was injected daily for five days and either NDP or CDDP was injected once via the tail vein of mice implanted with KB3-1, OCC-1-JCK, LJC-1-JCK and Ma44 human squamous carcinomas. In some experiments, continuous administration of 5-FU using an osmotic pump was utilized.The sequential administration of 5-FU prior to NDP or CDDP (FN or FC therapy) resulted in enhanced inhibition of tumor growth in comparison with NDP, CDDP or 5-FU monotherapy against KB3-1, OCC-1-JCK and LJC-1-JCK squamous carcinomas. The combination of FN treatment was synergistic and as effective as that of FC treatment. FN treatment with continuous infusion of 5-FU using an osmotic pump, also led to enhanced tumor growth inhibition and prolonged survival against Ma44 squamous carcinoma.The results demonstrated the antitumor efficacy NDP with 5-FU against four human squamous carcinoma xenografts and suggested the clinical effectiveness of FN treatment.

We examined the antiangiogenic and antitumor efficacy of a newly-developed matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor, BPHA (N-biphenyl sulfonyl-phenylalanine hydroxiamic acid). BPHA potently inhibits MMP-2, 9 and 14 but not MMP-1, 3 or 7. In contrast, (-)BPHA, an enantiomer of BPHA, was inactive against all MMP tested. Daily oral administration of BPHA in mice resulted in potent inhibition of tumor-induced angiogenesis, primary tumor growth and liver metastasis, whereas (-)BPHA did not. These results demonstrate that selective MMP inhibition is correlated with antiangiogenic and antitumor efficacy and that the selective MMP inhibitor BPHA has therapeutic potential without hematotoxic effect or loss of body weight.

The antiangiogenic activity and antitumor efficacy of a newly developed matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) inhibitor were examined. N-biphenyl sulfonyl-phenylalanine hydroxiamic acid (BPHA) potently inhibits MMP-2, -9, and -14, but not MMP-1, -3, or -7. In contrast, (-)BPHA, an enantiomer of BPHA, was inactive against all MMPs tested. Daily oral administration of 200 mg/kg BPHA, but not (-)BPHA in mice resulted in potent inhibition of tumor-induced angiogenesis, primary tumor growth, and liver metastasis. The growth inhibition activity of BPHA was 48% and 45% in a B16-BL6 melanoma and F2 hemangio-endothelioma model, respectively. BPHA also showed 42% inhibition of the liver metastasis of C-1H human colon carcinoma cells. These results indicate that selective MMP inhibition is correlated with antiangiogenic and antitumor efficacy and that the selective MMP inhibitor BPHA has therapeutic potential.

Augmented antitumor activity was demonstrated in combination chemotherapy of Nedaplatin (NDP) or Cisplatin (CDDP) with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) against murine lung carcinoma and human squamous carcinoma from head and neck. Either NDP or CDDP (1/4 to 1 maximum tolerated dose; MTD) was injected once and 5-FU (1/16 MTD) was injected daily for five days via tail vein to tumor-implanted mice. The sequential administration of either NDP or CDDP prior to 5-FU (NF or CF therapy) showed severe body weight loss followed by the toxic death of tumor-bearing mice at the MTD of NDP or CDDP. In contrast, the reverse sequence of the treatment, that is, 5-FU prior to NDP or CDDP (FN or FC therapy), resulted in the synergistically enhanced inhibition of tumor growth and the prolonged survival in comparison with NDP, CDDP or 5-FU monotherapy. The antitumor activities of the combinations of CDDP with 5-FU was less than those of the combination of NDP with 5-FU. Especially, at the MTD of NDP in FN therapy, long-term tumor-free survival was frequently observed. Thus, FN therapy was thought to be the most efficient regimen in combination of NDP with 5-FU as a clinical therapy.

A collaborative MU radar and imaging observations of nightglow emissions over Shigaraki (35oN, 136oE), Japan, was carried out between January and March as part of the Planetary Scale Mesopause Observing System (PSMOS) campaign to investigate the horizontal structure of gravity waves around the mesopause region. The horizontal wavenumbers and apparent frequencies of quasi-monochromatic wave events of short periods ( (10 ∼ 80 km) were determined from four nightglow emission layers, OI 557.7 nm (∼ 96 km), O2 A (0-1) band (∼ 94 km), Na 589.3 nm (∼ 90 km) and NIR OH bands (∼ 87 km). This information was combined with simultaneous MU radar wind and SATI temperature measurements at the same height range to derive the intrinsic wave parameters for these events. Using the background structure information, the propagating characteristics such as wave ducting, evanescence and vertical propagation as internal modes was investigated. The study revealed a significant fraction of occurrence of non-propagation events with approximately 60% of all events. These results suggest that the small-scale gravity waves are highly susceptible to the variations of the mean flow and that the ducted effects are relatively common in the upper mesosphere.

The antitumor efficacy of the combination of Nedaplatin (NDP) with cyclophosphamide (CPM) was evaluated using murine and human carcinoma implanted mice. NDP was developed as a second generation platinum complex. Because of its superior antitumor activity and lower nephrotoxicity than Cisplatin (CDDP), we also compared the antitumor activity of NDP plus CPM with that of CDDP plus CPM.Various doses of NDP or CDDP (1/4 to 1 maximum tolerated dose; MTD) and CPM (58 or 78 mg/kg) were injected once via the tail vein into mice implanted with Lewis murine lung carcinoma or Ma44 human lung carcinoma.Simultaneous administration of NDP or CDDP with CPM resulted in synergistically enhanced inhibition of tumor growth and prolonged survival in comparison with therapy using only NDP, CDDP or CPM. The combination therapy of NDP with CPM showed a superior survival effect with frequent long-term tumor-free survivors in comparison to that of CDDP plus CPM without increased hematotoxicity. The augmented antitumor efficacy of the combination of NDP with CPM was also demonstrated against Ma44 human lung carcinoma.The results suggested the effectiveness of using a combination of NDP with CPM for clinical therapy.

The elevated exogenous-methionine dependency of tumors for growth has been observed in all major cancer cell types. We have previously cloned a methioninase (rMETase) from Pseudomonas putida to deplete methionine. Growth inhibition followed by apoptotic cell death was induced by treatment of tumor cells with rMETase in vitro. A single i.p. injection of 300 units of rMETase can lower the serum methionine level in the mice from 70 microM to less than 1 microM within 2 h and maintain this depleted level for 8 h. Repeated dosing of rMETase of tumor-bearing mice could be administered without acute immune-hypersensitivity. rMETase treatment demonstrated growth inhibitory activity against human tumors in nude mice, including those which were multiple drug-resistant. No body weight loss or hematotoxicity, except a slight anemia, was found throughout the therapy. The combined treatment of the Lewis lung carcinoma with a fixed rMETase dose and increasing doses of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) resulted in a dose-dependent enhanced antitumor efficacy for survival as well as tumor growth inhibition. Thus, methionine depletion by rMETase potentiates the antitumor efficacy of 5-FU. The data presented in this report thus indicate that rMETase is active alone, is synergistic in combination with 5-FU, and has negligible toxicity suggesting a novel clinical approach for effective cancer therapy.

Augmented antitumor activity in combination chemotherapy of Nedaplatin (NDP) or Cisplatin (CDDP) with Etoposide (ETP) against murine and human lung cancer cells was demonstrated. NDP and CDDP were administered once and ETP daily for five days via tail vein. In the mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma, a combination of NDP and ETP resulted in synergistically enhanced inhibition of tumor growth, and prolonged survival in comparison with either NDP or ETP alone. NDP showed a more potent combination effect with ETP than CDDP did. These effects were also demonstrated in human lung cancer cell lines. Although body weight loss was enhanced by the combination of NDP or CDDP with ETP, it was tolerable, and no significant difference between NDP plus ETP and CDDP plus ETP was observed. Thrombocytopenia was not enhanced in the combined treatment of NDP with ETP. These results suggest the usefulness of the combination of NDP with ETP as a clinical therapy for lung cancer.

Publisher Summary A dummy heat load experimental apparatus is developed to test a refrigeration system of the Large Helical Device (LHD). It establishes a full automatic operating scenario of the helium refrigeration system for the LHD. The apparatus primarily consists of a forced-flow low temperature helium line, a liquid helium supply line and a liquid helium bath. The helium refrigeration system is operated with three refrigeration modes under steady-state condition. It is confirmed that the refrigeration system maintain reliable operation with a dummy load apparatus. However, the system is not fully satisfied its full-automatic operating mode. In other words, control valves of the refrigerator or liquefier are required some adjustment by an operator while operating with various refrigeration modes. Additional experiments are still necessary to establish full-automatic condition of the refrigeration system.