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Four tuberculosis (TB) diagnostic health facilities of the Chongwe District, Zambia.To determine the frequency of bacteriologically confirmed TB patients lost to follow-up (LTFU) before treatment from January to December 2017.This is a retrospective cohort study involving the review of TB registers. Information on presumptive TB patients who tested positive either by smear microscopy or XpertTwo hundred and seventeen bacteriologically confirmed TB patients were found in the laboratory TB registers. Of these, 145 (67%) were males and seven (3%) were children; 177 (81%) patients were diagnosed using Xpert, while the remaining 40 (19%) were diagnosed using sputum smear microscopy. A total of 71 (33%) were not linked to treatment. Those diagnosed using smear microscopy were 2.5 times (95% CI 1.1-5.3) more likely to be LTFU before treatment than those diagnosed using Xpert.About one third of TB patients who were not linked to treatment could potentially extend the duration of bacilli transmission in their communities. National TB control programmes should consider including LTFU patients before treatment in routine monitoring and evaluation.Quatre structures de diagnostic de la tuberculose (TB) dans le district de Chongwe, Zambie.Déterminer le nombre de patients TB perdus de vue (LTFU) avant le traitement ayant une confirmation bactériologique de janvier à décembre 2017.Etude rétrospective de cohorte impliquant la consultation des registres TB. Les informations relatives aux patients présumés TB qui ont été positifs par microscopie de frottis ou test Xpert® MTB/RIF ont été extraites des registres du laboratoire de TB et croisés avec les registres de traitement de la TB dans les structures de traitement.Parmi les 217 patients TB confirmés par bactériologie et identifiés dans les registres du laboratoire TB, 145 (67%) ont été des hommes et 7 (3%) ont été des enfants. Ont été diagnostiqués 177 (81%) patients par Xpert, tandis que 40 (19%) ont été diagnostiqués par microscopie de frottis de crachats. Un total de 71 (33%) n’a pas été lié au traitement. Les patients diagnostiqués par microscopie de crachats ont été 2,5 fois (IC95% 1,1–5,3) plus susceptibles d’être perdus de vue avant le traitement que ceux diagnostiqués par Xpert.Environ un tiers des patients TB n’a pas été connecté à la prise en charge et ces patients ont pu potentiellement allonger la durée de la transmission des bacilles dans leurs communautés. Les programmes nationaux de lutte contre la TB devraient envisager d’inclure les patients LTFU avant le traitement en suivi et évaluation de routine.Cuatro establecimientos de diagnóstico de la tuberculosis (TB) en el distrito Chongwe de Zambia.Determinar la pérdida durante el seguimiento (LTFU) antes de iniciar el tratamiento de los pacientes con diagnóstico de TB y confirmación bacteriológica de enero a diciembre del 2017.Fue este un estudio de cohortes retrospectivo a partir del análisis de los registros de TB. La información sobre los pacientes con presunción de TB que obtuvieron resultados positivos ya sea de la baciloscopia o la prueba XpertEn los registros de los laboratorios de TB se encontraron 217 pacientes con diagnóstico de TB y confirmación bacteriológica. De estos, 145 (67%) eran de sexo masculino y siete (3%) eran niños. El diagnóstico se obtuvo en 177 pacientes (81%) con la prueba Xpert y en los 40 restantes (19%) mediante la baciloscopia del esputo. Setenta y un pacientes (33%) no se vincularon a los servicios de tratamiento. La LTFU anterior al tratamiento fue 2,5 veces más frecuente en los pacientes diagnosticados mediante baciloscopia (IC95% 1,1–5,3) que en los pacientes diagnosticados con la prueba Xpert.Cerca de un tercio de los pacientes con TB no se vinculó a los servicios de tratamiento, lo cual pudo prolongar la transmisión de los bacilos en sus comunidades. Es necesario que los Programas Nacionales contra la TB tengan en cuenta la inclusión de los pacientes con LFTU anterior al tratamiento en el seguimiento y la evaluación sistemáticos.

et al., Feedhorn- and orthomode transducer- (OMT) coupled transition edge sensor (TES) bolometers have been designed and micro-fabricated to meet the optical specifications of the LiteBIRD high frequency telescope (HFT) focal plane. We discuss the design and optical characterization of two LiteBIRD HFT detector types: dual-polarization, dual-frequency-band pixels with 195/280 GHz and 235/337 GHz band centers. Results show well-matched passbands between orthogonal polarization channels and frequency centers within 3% of the design values. The optical efficiency of each frequency channel is conservatively reported to be within the range 0.64−0.72, determined from the response to a cryogenic, temperature-controlled thermal source. These values are in good agreement with expectations and either exceed or are within 10% of the values used in the LiteBIRD sensitivity forecast. Lastly, we report a measurement of loss in Nb/SiNx/Nb microstrip at 100 mK and over the frequency range 200–350 GHz, which is comparable to values previously reported in the literature., This work is supported by NASA under grant no. 80NSSC18K0132.

著者人数: 153名（所属. 宇宙航空研究開発機構宇宙科学研究所(JAXA)(ISAS): 堂谷, 忠靖; 羽澄, 昌史; 今田, 大皓; 満田, 和久; 坂井, 真一郎; Tomida, T.; 辻本, 匡弘; Yamamoto, R.; 山崎, 典子）, Accepted: 2018-04-30, 資料番号: SA1180210000

Salt stress adversely affects plant growth at various stages of development including seed germination, seedling establishment, vegetative growth and finally reproduction. Because of their immobile nature, plants have evolved mechanisms to sense and respond to salt stress. Seed dormancy is an adaptive trait that enables seed germination to coincide with favorable environmental conditions. We identified a novel locus of Arabidopsis, designated SHG1 (salt hypersensitive germination 1), whose disruption leads to reduced germination rate under moderate salt stress conditions. SHG1 encodes a transmembrane protein with an ankyrin-repeat motif that has been implicated in diverse cellular processes such as signal transduction. The shg1-disrupted Arabidopsis mutant died at the cotyledon stage when sown on salt-containing medium, although wild-type plants could form true leaves under the same conditions. On the other hand, this mutant showed similar phenotypes to wild-type plants when sown on medium without salt and transferred to salt-containing medium at the vegetative stage. These results suggested that SHG1 played indispensable role in the seed germination and seedling establishment under moderate salt stress conditions. SHG1 may be involved in the release of seed dormancy., {"references":["C. Chang, B. Wang, L. Shi, Y. Li, L. Duo, and W. Zhang, \"Alleviation of Salt Stress-Induced Inhibition of Seed Germination in Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) by Ethylene and Glutamate,\" J. Plant Phys., vol. 167, pp. 1152–1156, 2010.","A. J. Vallejo, M. J. Yanovsky, and J. F. Botto, \"Germination Variation in Arabidopsis thaliana Accessions under Moderate Osmotic and Salt Stresses,\" Ann. Botany, vol. 106, pp.833-842, 2010.","W. E. Finch-Savage, and G. Leubner-Metzger, \"Seed Dormancy and the Control of Germination,\" New Phytol., vol. 171, pp. 501-523, 2006.","C. Becerra, T. Jahrmann, P. Puigdomènech, and C.M. Vicient, \"Ankyrin Repeat- Containing Proteins in Arabidopsis: Characterization of a Novel and Abundant Group of Genes Coding ankyrin-transmembrane proteins,\" Gene, vol. 340, pp. 111–121, 2004.","J. Huang, X. Zhao, H. Yu, Y. Ouyang, L. Wang, and Q. Zhang, \"The Ankyrin Repeat Gene Family in Rice. Genome-Wide Identification, Classification and Expression Profiling,\" Plant Mol. Biol., vol. 71, pp. 207–226, 2009.","H. Lu, D.N. Rate, J.T. Song, and J.T. Greenberg, \"ACD6, a Novel Ankyrin Protein, is a Regulator and an Effector of Salicylic Acid Signaling in the Arabidopsis Defense Response,\" Plant Cell, vol. 15, pp. 2408–2420, 2003.","H. Lu, Y. Liu, and J.T. Greenberg, \"Structure–Function Analysis of the Plasma Membrane-Localized Arabidopsis Defense Component ACD6,\" Plant J., vol. 44, pp. 798–809, 2005.","Y. Yang, Y. Zhang, P. Ding, K. Johnson, X. Li, and Y. Zhang, \"The Ankyrin-Repeat Transmembrane Protein BDA1 Functions Downstream of the Receptor-Like Protein SNC2 to Regulate Plant Immunity,\" Plant Physiol., vol. 159, pp. 1857–1865, 2012.","H. Sakamoto, O. Matsuda, and K. Iba, \"ITN1, a Novel Gene Encoding an Ankyrin-Repeat Protein that Affects the ABA-Mediated Production of Reactive Oxygen Species and Is Involved in Salt-Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana,\" Plant J., vol. 56, pp. 411–422, 2008.\n[10]\tH. Sakamoto, K. Sakata, K. Kusumi, M. Kojima, H. Sakakibara, and K. Iba, \"Interaction between a Plasma Membrane-Localized Ankyrin-Repeat Protein ITN1 and a Nuclear Protein RTV1,\" Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., vol. 423, pp. 392–397, 2012.\n[11]\tH. Sakamoto, Y. Nakagawara, and S. Oguri, \"The Expression of a Novel Gene Encoding an Ankyrin-Repeat Protein, DRA1, is Regulated by Drought-Responsive Alternative Splicing,\" Int. J. Biol. Life Sci. Eng.,vol. 7, pp. 81-84, 2013.\n[12]\tT. Murashige, and F. Skoog, \"A Revised Medium for Rapid Growth and Bioassays with Tobacco Tissue Culture,\" Physiol. Plant., vol. 15, pp. 473–497, 1962.\n[13]\tT. Nanjo, M. Kobayashi, Y. Yoshiba, Y. Kakubari, K. Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, and K. Shinozaki, \"Antisense Suppression of Proline Degradation Improves Tolerance to Freezing and Salinity in Arabidopsis thaliana,\" FEBS Lett., vol. 461, pp. 205–210, 1999.\n[14]\tS. Mahajan, and N. Tuteja, \"Cold, Salinity and Drought Stresses: An Overview,\" Arch. Biochem. Biophys., vol. 444, pp. 139–158, 2005.\n[15]\tJ. Y. Kang, H. I. Choi, M. Y. Im, and S. Y. Kim, \"Arabidopsis Basic Leucine Zipper Proteins That Mediate Stress-Responsive Abscisic Acid Signaling,\" Plant Cell, vol. 14, pp. 343–357, 2002."]}

In Arabidopsis, several genes encoding proteins with ankyrin repeats and transmembrane domains (AtANKTM) have been identified as mediators of biotic and abiotic stress responses. It has been known that the expression of an AtANKTM gene, At2g24600, is induced in response to abiotic stress and that there are four splicing variants derived from this locus. In this study, by RT-PCR and sequencing analysis, an unknown splicing variant of the At2g24600 transcript was identified. Based on differences in the predicted amino acid sequences, the five splicing variants are divided into three groups. The three predicted proteins are highly homologous, yet have different numbers of ankyrinrepeats and transmembrane domains. It is generally considered that ankyrin repeats mediate protein-protein interaction and that the number oftransmembrane domains affects membrane topology of proteins. The protein variants derived from the At2g24600 locus may have different molecular functions each other., {"references":["S.G. Sedgwick, and S.J. Smerdon, \"The Ankyrin Repeat: A Diversity of Interactions on a Common Structural Framework,\" Trends Biochem. Sci., vol. 24, pp. 311–316, 1999.","C. Becerra, T. Jahrmann, P. Puigdomènech, and C.M. Vicient, \"AnkyrinRepeat-Containing Proteins in Arabidopsis: Characterization of a Novel and Abundant Group of Genes Coding Ankyrin-Transmembrane Proteins,\" Gene, vol. 340, pp. 111–121, 2004.","J. Huang, X. Zhao, H. Yu, Y. Ouyang, L. Wang, and Q. Zhang, \"The Ankyrin Repeat Gene Family in rice. Genome-wide identification, Classification and Expression Profiling,\" Plant Mol. Biol., vol. 71, pp. 207–226, 2009.","H. Lu, D.N. Rate, J.T. Song, and J.T. Greenberg, \"ACD6, a Novel Ankyrin Protein, Is a Regulator and an Effector of Salicylic Acid Signaling in the Arabidopsis Defense Response,\" Plant Cell, vol. 15, pp. 2408–2420, 2003.","H. Lu, Y. Liu, and J.T. Greenberg, \"Structure–Function Analysis of the Plasma Membrane-Localized ArabidopsisDefense Component ACD6,\" Plant J., vol. 44, pp. 798–809, 2005.","Y. Yang, Y. Zhang, P. Ding, K. Johnson, X. Li, and Y. Zhang, \"The Ankyrin-Repeat Transmembrane Protein BDA1 Functions Downstream of the Receptor-Like Protein SNC2 to Regulate Plant Immunity,\" Plant Physiol., vol. 159, pp. 1857–1865, 2012.","H. Sakamoto, O. Matsuda, and K. Iba, \"ITN1, a Novel Gene Encoding an Ankyrin-Repeat Protein that Affects the ABA-Mediated Production of reactive oxygen species and is involved in Salt-Stress Tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana,\" Plant J., vol. 56, pp. 411–422, 2008.","H. Sakamoto, K. Sakata, K. Kusumi, M. Kojima, H. Sakakibara, and K. Iba, \"Interaction between a Plasma Membrane-Localized Ankyrin-Repeat Protein ITN1 and a Nuclear Protein RTV1,\" Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., vol. 423, pp. 392–397, 2012.","H. Sakamoto, Y. Nakagawara, and S. Oguri, \"The Expression of a Novel Gene Encoding an Ankyrin-Repeat Protein, DRA1, is Regulated by Drought-Responsive Alternative Splicing,\" Int. J. Biol. Life Sci. Eng.,vol. 7, pp. 81-84, 2013.\n[10]\tA.M. Mastrangelo, D. Marone, G. Laidò, A. M. De Leonardis, and P. De Vita, \"Alternative Splicing: Enhancing Ability to Cope with Stress via Transcriptome Plasticity,\" Plant Sci., vol. 185–186, pp. 40–49, 2012.\n[11]\tM. Arniges, J. M. Fernández-Fernández, N. Albrecht, M. Schaefer, and M. A. Valverde, \"Human TRPV4 Channel Splice Variants Revealed a Key Role of Ankyrin Domains in Multimerizationand Trafficking,\" J. Biol. Chem., vol. 281, pp. 1580-1586, 2006.\n[12]\tT. Murashige, and F. Skoog, \"A Revised Medium for Rapid Growth and Bioassays with Tobacco Tissue Culture,\" Physiol. Plant., vol. 15, pp. 473–497, 1962.\n[13]\tA. Matsui, J. Ishida, T. Morosawa, Y. Mochizuki, E. Kaminuma, T.A. Endo, M. Okamoto, E. Nambara, M. Nakajima, M. Kawashima, M. Satou, J.M. Kim, N. Kobayashi, T. Toyoda, K. Shinozaki, and M. Seki, \"Arabidopsis Transcriptome Analysis under Drought, Cold, High-Salinity and ABA Treatment Conditions Using a Tiling Array,\" Plant Cell Physiol., vol. 49, pp. 1135-1149, 2008."]}

Drought stress is a critical environmental factor that adversely affects crop productivity and quality. Because of their immobile nature, plants have evolved mechanisms to sense and respond to drought stress. We identified a novel locus of Arabidopsis, designated DRA1 (drought responsive ankyrin1), whose disruption leads to increased drought-stress tolerance. DRA1 encodes a transmembrane protein with an ankyrin-repeat motif that has been implicated in diverse cellular processes such as signal transduction. RT-PCR analysis revealed that there were at least two splicing variants of DRA1 transcripts in wild-type plants. In response to drought stress, the levels of DRA1 transcripts retaining second and third introns were increased, whereas these introns were removed under unstressed conditions. These results suggest that DRA1 protein may negatively regulate plant drought tolerance and that the expression of DRA1is regulated in response to drought stress by alternative splicing., {"references":["S. G. Sedgwick, and S. J. Smerdon, \"The ankyrin repeat: a diversity of interactions on a common structural framework,\" Trends Biochem. Sci., vol. 24, pp. 311–316, 1999.","C. Becerra, T. Jahrmann, P. Puigdomènech, and C.M. Vicient, \"Ankyrin repeat- containing proteins in Arabidopsis: characterization of a novel and abundant group of genes coding ankyrin-transmembrane proteins,\" Gene, vol. 340, pp. 111–121, 2004.","J. Huang, X. Zhao, H. Yu, Y. Ouyang, L. Wang, and Q. Zhang, \"The ankyrin repeat gene family in rice. genome-wide identification, classification and expression profiling,\" Plant Mol. Biol., vol. 71, pp. 207–226, 2009.","H. Lu, D.N. Rate, J.T. Song, and J.T. Greenberg, \"ACD6, a novel ankyrinprotein, is a regulator and an effector of salicylic acid signaling in the Arabidopsis defense response,\" Plant Cell, vol. 15, pp. 2408–2420, 2003.","H. Lu, Y. Liu, and J.T. Greenberg, \"Structure–function analysis of the plasma membrane-localized Arabidopsis defense component ACD6,\" Plant J., vol. 44, pp. 798–809, 2005.","Y. Yang, Y. Zhang, P. Ding, K. Johnson, X. Li, and Y. Zhang, \"The Ankyrin-Repeat Transmembrane Protein BDA1 Functions Downstream of the Receptor-Like Protein SNC2 to Regulate Plant Immunity,\" Plant Physiol., vol. 159, pp. 1857–1865, 2012.","H. Sakamoto, O. Matsuda, and K. Iba, \"ITN1, a novel gene encoding an ankyrin-repeat protein that affects the ABA-mediated production of reactive oxygen species and is involved in salt-stress tolerance in Arabidopsis thaliana,\" Plant J., vol. 56, pp. 411–422, 2008.","H. Sakamoto, K. Sakata, K. Kusumi, M. Kojima, H. Sakakibara, and K. Iba, \"Interaction between a plasma membrane-localized ankyrin-repeat protein ITN1 and a nuclear protein RTV1,\" Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., vol. 423, pp. 392–397, 2012.","S. Mahajan, and N. Tuteja, \"Cold, salinity and drought stresses: An overview,\" Arch. Biochem. Biophys., vol. 444, pp. 139–158, 2005.\n[10]\tA.M. Mastrangelo, D. Marone, G. Laidò, A. M. De Leonardis, and P. De Vita, \"Alternative splicing: Enhancing ability to cope with stress via transcriptome plasticity,\" Plant Sci., vol. 185–186, pp. 40–49, 2012.\n[11]\tT. Murashige, and F. Skoog, \"A revised medium for rapid growth and bioassays with tobacco tissue culture,\" Physiol. Plant., vol. 15, pp. 473–497, 1962.\n[12]\tT. Nanjo, M. Kobayashi, Y. Yoshiba, Y. Kakubari, K. Yamaguchi-Shinozaki, and K. Shinozaki, \"Antisense suppression of proline degradation improves tolerance to freezing and salinity in Arabidopsis thaliana,\" FEBS Lett., vol. 461, pp. 205–210, 1999.\n[13]\tS. Luhua, A. Hegie, N. Suzuki, E. Shulaev, X. Luo, D. Cenariu, V. Ma, S. Kao, J. Lim, M.B. Gunay, T. Oosumi, S.C. Lee, J. Harper, J. Cushman, M. Gollery, T. Girke, J. Bailey-Serres, R.A. Stevenson, J.K. Zhu, and R. Mittler, \"Linking genes of unknown function with abiotic stress responses by high-throughput phenotype screening,\" Physiol. Plant., vol. 148, pp. 322–333, 2013."]}

A novel lectin was isolated from mycelia of the basidiomycete Pleurotus cornucopiae grown on solid medium. The lectin was purified to homogeneity by mucin-Sepharose affinity chromatography. The molecular mass of the lectin was 40 kDa under reducing conditions, but the subunits were polymerized through disulfide bridges under physiological conditions. Hemagglutinating activity of this lectin was completely inhibited by 2-mercaptoethanol, indicating that the multimer is active. The activity was also inhibited by EDTA, and restored by CaCl2. N-Acetyl-D-galactosamine was the most potent hapten inhibitor. N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis revealed that the mycelial lectin was different from the fruit body lectin of this organism. The mycelial lectin appeared prior to fruit body formation and disappeared during the formation of fruit bodies. The lectin was localized on the surface of solid-medium-grown mycelia, and only dikaryotic, and not monokaryotic, mycelia produced the lectin. These results suggest that the appearance of this lectin is associated with fruit body formation.

Host defence mechanisms associated with the inhibition of translocation of bacteria from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract were investigated in SCID and beige mice after decontamination with oral antibiotics and colonization with Escherichia coli C25. SCID mice, which have impaired T and B cell function, tended to have a greater incidence of bacterial translocation from the GI tract up to 7 days after inoculation compared with controls. However, after 7 days both SCID and controls cleared the E. coli C25 from the liver, spleen, blood and peritoneal cavity. Beige mice, with impaired NK cell and polymorphonuclear leukocyte function, were not able to clear the inoculated bacteria from their liver by 14 days after inoculation although the controls were cleared by 7 days. Numbers of bacteria in the mesenteric lymph nodes (MLN) of beige mice did not decrease significantly by 14 days after inoculation, whereas numbers in SCID mice decreased markedly within 7 days. These results suggest that defence mechanisms other than T and B cell function are important in the inhibition of systemic infection from the GI tract.

We propose a new type segmented antineutrino detector made of plastic scintillators for the nuclear safeguard application. A small prototype was built and tested to measure background events. A satisfactory unmanned field operation of the detector system was demonstrated. Besides, a detailed Monte Carlo simulation code was developed to estimate the antineutrino detection efficiency of the detector., Comment: 23 pages, 11 figures; accepted for publication in Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research A

A numerical approach is presented for the analysis of the dynamic behaviour of the induction thermal plasma under step-like change of the sustaining magnetic field. The time-dependent energy conservation equation which includes thermal conduction, radiation and convection loss terms was solved numerically in conjunction with the continuity equation and Maxwell's electromagnetic field equations. A one-dimensional model with radial direction is adopted for the first approximation to analyse the transient aspects of the radial distributions of the temperature, the penetrating electromagnetic fields and the input and losses. Calculations were carried out for an Ar-induction thermal plasma with a diameter from 2 to 7 cm, operated at a frequency of 3 MHz and a pressure of 760 Torr. Special attention was given to the time constant which is a measure of the time necessary for the plasma to converge to a new steady state. The response time of the induction thermal plasma was a few milliseconds and had a strong dependence upon the diameter of the plasma across which the mass and energy diffusions take place under the off-balancing condition between the input and the loss. The transient aspect of a high-power induction plasma operated with a low frequency of 300 kHz is also discussed.

We measured the decay time of the scintillation pulses produced by electron and nuclear recoils in CaF2(Eu) by a new fitting method. In the recoil energy region 5-30 keVee, we found differences of the decay time between electron and nuclear recoil events. In the recoil energy region above 20 keVee, we found that the decay time is independent of the recoil energy., 10 pages, 4 figures

The authors describe a rule-based logic reorganization system LORES/EX, which transforms an existing logic circuit into one that is dependent on other technology. The system can be not only flexibly adjustable to technology changes, but also has several special features as follows: (1) introduction of the circuit standardization rules makes the size of the rule base much smaller, and makes the description and modification of the rules easier; (2) application of conflict resolution based on evaluation functions contributes to the generation of high-quality circuits; and (3) introduction of the automatic partitioning of a circuit into subcircuits enables the reorganization of the circuit with some 10 K gates in a practical computation time. >

A conceptual design study of a steady-state tokamak, JT-60 Super Upgrade, is being carried out. The capability of the present JT-60 facility will be fully utilized for this upgrade. The mission of JT-60SU is to establish integrated basis of physics and technology for steady-state tokamak reactors. In JT-60SU, steady-state physics will be evaluated in the intermediate parameter region between the present tokamaks and steady-state tokamak reactors. Technology development for long pulse operation and research for engineering safety will also be pursued.

A simulation technique that a set of signal transitions which may cause the simulated circuit to exhibit incorrect behavior by assuming event skew is described. Incorporation of timing check primitive enables detailed timing error messages composed of the past signal transitions at the primary inputs which cause the error, the internal gate which generates the potential spike signal and the internal signal transitions related to the error. The logic simulator on which the novel simulation technique is installed helps designers to find hazardous designs in the circuit under verification. LSIs verified by using the simulator are free from timing skew troubles on the bench of ATE (Automatic Test Equipment). >

The nuclear shielding design for the vacuum vessel of the JT-60SU has been studied for deuterium operation. A low activation material, Ti-6Al-4V, is proposed through a design study. A 25-40 cm thick water tank-type vacuum vessel using Ti-6Al-4V and boron (1% of /sup 10/B) doped water are shown to be the best choice. This design concept gave results consistent with the design requirements: the one-turn resistivity of the vacuum vessel is /spl sim/50 /spl mu//spl Omega/, and the dose inside the vessel is /spl sim/15 mrem/h a year after the shutdown. The total nuclear heating of the whole TF coil can be reduced to /spl sim/11 kW for a D-D fusion neutron rate of 1/spl times/10/sup 18//s.

Basic design parameters of the JT-60SU device are described. The design addresses wide range of shape and current profile control for the tokamak concept improvement with deuterium operation.

A “cystic lesion” is a nonspecific term used to describe an area of decreased lung opacity identified radiologically (1–4). These lesions can be focal or multifocal, bilateral or sometimes unilateral. The lesion should be distinguished from air-trapping caused by pathologies of the bronchus or blood vessels, and from a decrease in opacity due to mosaic perfusion. According to the definition by Webb et al., a cystic airspace is a thin-walled (usually < 3 mm), well-circumscribed, air-containing lesion with a diameter of 1 cm or more, and must be visible on high resolution computed tomography (HRCT) (3,4). The definitions with respect to the size and wall thickness are arbitrary, and there has been no consensus on the differentiation of a cystic lesion from other pathologic lesions with decreased lung opacity, such as cavities.

We report a case of pneumoperitoneum at the end stage of lung cancer. The patient was an 81-year-old man who experienced only mild abdominal pain and fullness. The pneumoperitoneum spontaneously disappeared. Ruptured viscera and peritonitis were not observed at autopsy. We speculated that air had moved from the lung cancer lesion to the mediastinum, and then through the retroperitoneal space into the peritoneal space. When pneumoperitoneum is observed, lung cancer and other intrathoracic diseases should be suspected as causes. Also, it may be necessary to carefully examine the patient for fever, general appearance, abdominal findings, and laboratory findings, including white blood cell count and C-reactive protein level, and on that basis differentiate from ruptured viscus, which requires an emergency laparotomy.

T2* weighted gradient echo image has heightened diagnostic sensitivity to hemorrhage, which is attributed to magnetic susceptibility-induced static field inhomogeneities arising from paramagnetic blood breakdown products such as hemosiderin, which shorten T2*. We examined 4 cases of head injury in chronic stage by T2* weighted images and assessed the clinical application of this sequence for diagnosis of the intracranial lesion. All patients underwent CT scan on acute stage and long-term follow up was performed. In all cases, abnormally low signals in the brain and subarachnoid space were more conspicuous with the T2* weighted image than with any of the conventional sequences. In 2 cases with diffuse axonal injury, of which lesions were not detected on acute stage CT scan, hypointensity area was clearly demonstrated in the cerebral peduncle and corpus callosum on T2* weighted images. Selection of T2* weighted image into the routine MR examination of patients with chronic stage of the head injury is recommended.

Structural analysis of the sugar chains of human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) has revealed that abnormal biantennary structures appear specifically on hCG in the urine of choriocarcinoma patients. However, the enzymatic and molecular mechanisms of the biosynthesis of abnormal biantennary sugar chains have not yet been elucidated. In this report, the enzyme activities and the expression levels of mRNAs of N-acetylglucosaminyltransferases (GnT)-I to -V, beta-1,4-galactosyltransferase, and alpha-mannosidase II in normal human placentae and three human choriocarcinoma cell lines were investigated. GnT-IV activities in choriocarcinoma cell lines were increased from 16- to 66-fold and GnT-III activity was increased from 15- to 25-fold as compared with those in human placentae, whereas other enzyme activities were not increased significantly. The mRNA expression levels generally correlated with their enzyme activities. Among the two GnT-IV genes found in human tissues only GnT-IVa gene was strongly expressed in the cancer cells: from three to seven times as much as in the normal tissue, whereas that of GnT-IVb remained constant. On the basis of these results, we proposed that ectopic expression of GnT-IVa gene should occur along with the malignancy of trophoblastic tissues, and that the increased GnT-IV activity should be the main cause of the formation of abnormal biantennary sugar chains in choriocarcinoma. A possible enzymatic basis of the biosynthesis of abnormal biantennary sugar chains is discussed.

A conceptual design of a steady-state tokamak, JT-60 Super Upgrade, is being carried out. The present JT-60 facility will be fully utilized for this upgrade. The major objective of JT-60SU is to establish an integrated basis of physics for steady-state tokamak reactors such as SSTR. JT-60SU aims at investigation of steady-state operation relevant to the reactor regime. The technology development for long pulse operation and research for fusion safety improvement are also aimed at. The toroidal field coils are designed with using an advanced disk structure to improve the force transmission to the structure material. A modified three-in-hand grading using a circular Nb 3 Al and NbTi cable-in-conduit conductors is also adopted. A 40 cm thick water tank-type vacuum vessel made of Ti-6Al-4V, and boron (1% of 10 B) doped water is chosen for the vacuum vessel to reduce activation and to increase neutron shielding. Through these studies, we plan to conduct advanced tokamak experiments in JT-60SU for steady-state tokamak reactors. These studies will also contribute to the steady-state bum in ITER as an ultimate goal.

We evaluated MR myelography (MRM) and MR angiography (MRA) in addition to MRI before and after embolization of spinal arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) and fistulas (AVFs). Thirteen patients underwent MRI before and after embolization. Among these, MRM was performed in 7 cases and MRA in 8. MRM was performed with 2D-fast SE sequences and MRA with 3D-PC sequences following injection of Gd-DTPA. In all intramedullary AVMs, nidus, dilated draining veins and hemorrhage were visualized on MRI MRM and MRA were thought to be useful, but they were not essential for making the diagnosis. In perimedullary and dural AVFs, dilated draining veins and T2-prolonged areas in the cord were visualized, but the fistula itself could not be detected by MRM or MRA. MRM was very sensitive in detecting dilated draining veins around the spinal cord. After embolization, cord enhancement was observed for a relatively long period in patients having dural AVFs with poor clinical results. Closure of the fistula was suggested by marked vascular enhancement presumably due to stagnant flow following feeding vessel occlusion. It could also be verified by disappearance of draining veins on MRA. Verification of fistula closure was difficult using MRM since dilated veins did not rapidly decrease in size and mild dilatation persisted for a long period. MRM and MRA were effective in detecting recurrence. MRM and MRA in addition to MRI are useful in the diagnosis and follow-up of spinal AVMs and AVFs before and after embolization.

Asparagine-linked oligosaccharides of stem bromelain glycopeptides were quantitatively released by digestion with the almond glycopeptidase which cleaves beta-aspartylglycosylamine linkage in glycopeptides with oligopeptide moieties. The primary structures of the two oligosaccharide components, (Man)3(Xyl)1(Fuc)1(GlcNAc)2 and (Man)2-(Xyl)1(Fuc)1(GlcNAc)2 were elucidated as Man alpha 1 leads to 6Man alpha 1 leads to 6[Xyl beta 1 leads to 2]Man beta 1 leads to 4GlcNAc beta 1 leads 4[Fuc alpha 1 leads to 3]GlcNAc and Man alpha 1 leads to 6[Xyl beta 1 leads to 2]Man beta 1 leads to 4 GlcNAc beta 1 leads to 4[Fuc alpha 1 leads to 3] GlcNAc, respectively.

In order ot clarify the working conditions and health of dry cleaning workers, we investigated dry cleaning workshops in C ward of Nagoya City. We had the responses from 52 (91%) workshops and 181 (97%) workers. 26 (50%) of the workshops used petroleum solvents, 23 (46%) perchloroethylene, two (4%) 1, 1, 2-trichloro-1, 2, 2-trifluoroethane (R 113), and one (2%) petroleum solvent plus perchloroethylene. Average amounts of solvents consumed per workshop were 1280 kg/year of petroleum solvents, 1450 kg/year of perchloroethylene, and 275 kg/year of R 113. Average number of workers employed in 19 workshops per workshop was 3.6 persons (median 2.0), and the remaining 33(63%) workshops had no employee. The workers complained of strange smell, irritation of eyes, unsteady feeling of head at high rate during week. They also had the high rate of complaints of shoulder stiffness, fatigability, lumbago, and the percentages of them were higher in the workers using petroleum solvents than those in the workers using perchloroethylene. More detailed surveys were made in 13 workshops out of 52. In these cases, average working hours were 11.1 per day and average years of using solvents were 12.9 in workshops using petroleum solvents, 8.4 in those using perchloroethylene including 3.1 years of petroleum solvents. Relatively high concentrations of solvents were detected under the nose of the workers pulling clothes out of dry cleaning machines, near the clothes just pulled out, and about 30 cm above the clothes at brushing with solvents before putting them into the machines. Perchloroethylene leaked from the dry cleaning machine in a workshop. Amount of the total trichlorinated compounds (TTC) in the urine of the workers directly engaged in dry cleaning with perchloroethylene tended to be larger than those of the indirect workers. TTC in both groups, however, were significantly larger than those in the control and in the workers using petroleum solvents. RBC, Hb, an Ht of the female workers in the petroleum solvents workshops were lower than those in perchloroethylene workshops. Liver function tests showed that the average values in the workers directly engaged in dry cleaning with perchloreothylene were significantly larger than those in the indirect workers. A case of malignant lymphoma, a case of liver dysfunction and a case of diabetes mellitus were found among workers directly engaged in dry cleaning. Workers in the small-sized dry cleaning workshops would not be prevented from exposure to organic solvents without the further improvement of administrative guidance and cooperation of the makers of dry cleaning machines and solvents.

In order ot clarify the working conditions and health of dry cleaning workers, we investigated dry cleaning workshops in C ward of Nagoya City. We had the responses from 52 (91%) workshops and 181 (97%) workers. 26 (50%) of the workshops used petroleum solvents, 23 (46%) perchloroethylene, two (4%) 1, 1, 2-trichloro-1, 2, 2-trifluoroethane (R 113), and one (2%) petroleum solvent plus perchloroethylene. Average amounts of solvents consumed per workshop were 1280 kg/year of petroleum solvents, 1450 kg/year of perchloroethylene, and 275 kg/year of R 113. Average number of workers employed in 19 workshops per workshop was 3.6 persons (median 2.0), and the remaining 33(63%) workshops had no employee. The workers complained of strange smell, irritation of eyes, unsteady feeling of head at high rate during week. They also had the high rate of complaints of shoulder stiffness, fatigability, lumbago, and the percentages of them were higher in the workers using petroleum solvents than those in the workers using perchloroethylene. More detailed surveys were made in 13 workshops out of 52. In these cases, average working hours were 11.1 per day and average years of using solvents were 12.9 in workshops using petroleum solvents, 8.4 in those using perchloroethylene including 3.1 years of petroleum solvents. Relatively high concentrations of solvents were detected under the nose of the workers pulling clothes out of dry cleaning machines, near the clothes just pulled out, and about 30 cm above the clothes at brushing with solvents before putting them into the machines. Perchloroethylene leaked from the dry cleaning machine in a workshop. Amount of the total trichlorinated compounds (TTC) in the urine of the workers directly engaged in dry cleaning with perchloroethylene tended to be larger than those of the indirect workers. TTC in both groups, however, were significantly larger than those in the control and in the workers using petroleum solvents. RBC, Hb, an Ht of the female workers in the petroleum solvents workshops were lower than those in perchloroethylene workshops. Liver function tests showed that the average values in the workers directly engaged in dry cleaning with perchloreothylene were significantly larger than those in the indirect workers. A case of malignant lymphoma, a case of liver dysfunction and a case of diabetes mellitus were found among workers directly engaged in dry cleaning. Workers in the small-sized dry cleaning workshops would not be prevented from exposure to organic solvents without the further improvement of administrative guidance and cooperation of the makers of dry cleaning machines and solvents.

Asparagine-linked oligosaccharides of stem bromelain glycopeptides were quantitatively released by digestion with the almond glycopeptidase which cleaves beta-aspartylglycosylamine linkage in glycopeptides with oligopeptide moieties. The primary structures of the two oligosaccharide components, (Man)3(Xyl)1(Fuc)1(GlcNAc)2 and (Man)2-(Xyl)1(Fuc)1(GlcNAc)2 were elucidated as Man alpha 1 leads to 6Man alpha 1 leads to 6[Xyl beta 1 leads to 2]Man beta 1 leads to 4GlcNAc beta 1 leads 4[Fuc alpha 1 leads to 3]GlcNAc and Man alpha 1 leads to 6[Xyl beta 1 leads to 2]Man beta 1 leads to 4 GlcNAc beta 1 leads to 4[Fuc alpha 1 leads to 3] GlcNAc, respectively.