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In this paper, we explored stable states in the system of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) crystal with a few additional hydrogen radicals (H

In this study, the main objective is to clarify the relationship between the material properties of the work material and the grooving properties for various work materials from hard and brittle materials to metallic materials. In this paper, in order to investigate the grinding characteristics of diamond electroplated wire tools, including the wear characteristics, we conducted grooving experiments with borosilicate glass (Pyrex), which is a kind of hard and brittle material, and aluminum alloy (A5052), and tough pitch copper (C1100), a kind of metallic material, using diamond electroplated wire tools in a work material rotation method. As a result of the grooving experiments, it was clarified that the grooving characteristics of the work materials were influenced by the hardness and brittle behavior of the materials. The groove depth is influenced by the hardness and brittleness behavior of the material. When machining hard materials, the groove depth increases slowly in the initial stage of machining due to the poor bite of the wire tool, but increases rapidly as the machining progresses. On the other hand, the groove width does not depend on the machining time or speed, but is influenced by the hardness of the material and the ease with which plastic deformation occurs. The wear of the wire tool is also influenced by the hardness and brittleness of the material. In the machining of hard materials, the wear caused by stray wire and vibration in the early stages of machining was significant. The grinding ratio calculated from the ratio of the groove depth to the amount of grinding has a very different trend for hard and brittle materials and metallic materials. In the machining of hard and brittle materials, the amount of machining increased rapidly as machining progressed, so the grinding ratio also increased, but in metallic materials, the amount of machining itself was small and the grinding ratio did not increase. For A5052, the grinding ratio tended to decrease as machining progressed. Future work In the future, it is necessary to clarify the machining conditions to reduce the wear caused by stray wire tools and vibration during the initial machining of hard materials.

A 52-year-old woman was diagnosed as having anti-centromere antibody (ACA)-positive primary Sjögren syndrome (pSS). Eight years later, she visited our hospital because she had developed dyspnoea. She was diagnosed as having pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) with pulmonary veno-occlusive disease on the basis of the results of right heart catheterisation, a severe decrease in diffusing capacity of the lung for carbon monoxide (D

Pomalidomide, a derivative of thalidomide, is an effective treatment for multiple myeloma. The drug exerts its effects through CRBN, a component of the E3 ubiquitin ligase complex CRL4CRBN. To search for novel factors involved in the anti-cancer activity of pomalidomide, we performed a genome-wide shRNA library screen and identified 445 genes as those affecting pomalidomide sensitivity. Genes encoding components of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, such as subunits of the CRL4CRBN complex, the COP9 signalosome, and the 26S proteasome, were among the pomalidomide-affecting genes. Karyopherin beta 1 (KPNB1) was identified as a novel pomalidomide-affecting gene. KPNB1 was required for the nuclear import of CRBN and for the CRBN-directed, pomalidomide-dependent degradation of a clinically relevant substrate, the transcription factor Aiolos. By contrast, the cytoplasmic translation factor GSPT1 was degraded following treatment with the thalidomide derivative CC-885 only when CRBN was present in the cytoplasm, indicating that subcellular distribution of CRBN is critical for the efficacy of thalidomide-based medications.

Simple Summary Screening, monitoring, and diagnostic methods in oncology are a critical part of treatment. The currently used clinical methods have limitations, most notably the time, cost, and special facilities required for radioisotope-based techniques. The use of magnetic nanoparticles is an alternative approach that offers faster analyses with safer materials over a wide range of oncological applications, such as the detection of cancer biomarkers and immunostaining. Furthermore, magnetic nanoparticles, such as superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles, can detect sentinel lymph nodes for breast cancer in a clinical setting, as well as those for gallbladder cancer in animal models within a timeframe that would enable them to be used during surgery with a magnetic probe. Abstract Screening, monitoring, and diagnosis are critical in oncology treatment. However, there are limitations with the current clinical methods, notably the time, cost, and special facilities required for radioisotope-based methods. An alternative approach, which uses magnetic beads, offers faster analyses with safer materials over a wide range of oncological applications. Magnetic beads have been used to detect extracellular vesicles (EVs) in the serum of pancreatic cancer patients with statistically different EV levels in preoperative, postoperative, and negative control samples. By incorporating fluorescence, magnetic beads have been used to quantitatively measure prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a prostate cancer biomarker, which is sensitive enough even at levels found in healthy patients. Immunostaining has also been incorporated with magnetic beads and compared with conventional immunohistochemical methods to detect lesions; the results suggest that immunostained magnetic beads could be used for pathological diagnosis during surgery. Furthermore, magnetic nanoparticles, such as superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs), can detect sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer in a clinical setting, as well as those in gallbladder cancer in animal models, in a surgery-applicable timeframe. Ultimately, recent research into the applications of magnetic beads in oncology suggests that the screening, monitoring, and diagnosis of cancers could be improved and made more accessible through the adoption of this technology.

The crafts such as lacquerware have made unique strides through decorating techniques using gold such as “Makie”, the technique to draw picture by scattering powdered gold, and “Chinkin”, the technique to rub gold into the design engraved by carving knives. In conventional techniques, practical knowledge and ability are essential to produce craft products. Therefore, screen printing which consists of simple processes has been developed. However, screen printing requires a masking plate made of silk or nylon to create patterns for transcribing ink into objects. This paper presents the formation of a decorative film by inkjet printing with gold nanoparticles for crafts such as lacquerware. The proposed method consists of on-demand process, which makes design changeable without masking. The aims are threefold: 1) to establish a sintering process of gold nanoparticles for acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) and phenol resin substrates used for synthetic resin products; 2) to characterize the sintered gold film; 3) to examine applicability to industry. The major results obtained are as follows: the appearance and the reflectance spectra of the gold nanoparticle film vary with heat conditions; the proper heat conditions which prevent thermal damage to substrates are the temperature of 373 K or below for the ABS resin substrate, and 423 K or below for the phenol resin substrate, respectively; the gold nanoparticle film possessed a good surface integrity without any voids when the sintering temperature is higher than 323 K for 1 h. Moreover, the film had such a high adhesion to substrates that no separation occurred after cross-cut test; the proposed method applied a lacquerware product made of ABS resin, yielding the decorative film

Current immunohistochemistry methods for diagnosing abnormal cells, such as cancer cells, require multiple steps and can be relatively slow compared with intraoperative frozen hematoxylin and eosin staining, and are therefore rarely used for intraoperative examination. Thus, there is a need for novel rapid detection methods. We previously demonstrated that functionalized fluorescent ferrite beads (FF beads) magnetically promoted rapid immunoreactions. The aim of this study was to improve the magnetically promoted rapid immunoreaction method using antibody-coated FF beads and a magnet subjected to a magnetic field. Using frozen sections of xenograft samples of A431 human epidermoid cancer cells that express high levels of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and anti-EGFR antibody-coated FF beads, we reduced the magnetically promoted immunohistochemistry procedure to a 1-min reaction and 1-min wash. We also determined the optimum magnetic force for the antibody reaction (from 7.79 × 10−15 N to 3.35 × 10−15 N) and washing (4.78 × 10−16 N), which are important steps in this technique. Furthermore, we stained paraffin-embedded tissue arrays and frozen sections of metastatic breast cancer lymph nodes with anti-pan-cytokeratin antibody-coated FF beads to validate the utility of this system in clinical specimens. Under optimal conditions, this ultra-rapid immunostaining method may provide an ancillary method for pathological diagnosis during surgery. (J Histochem Cytochem 58:XXX–XXX, 2010)

Summary Thalidomide is a teratogen that causes multiple malformations in the developing baby through its interaction with cereblon (CRBN), a substrate receptor subunit of the CRL4 E3 ubiquitin ligase complex. CRBN was originally reported as a gene associated with autosomal recessive non-syndromic mild mental retardation. However, the function of CRBN during brain development remains largely unknown. Here we demonstrate that CRBN promotes brain development by facilitating the proliferation of neural stem cells (NSCs). Knockdown of CRBN in zebrafish embryos impaired brain development and led to small brains, as did treatment with thalidomide. By contrast, overexpression of CRBN resulted in enlarged brains, leading to the expansion of NSC regions and increased cell proliferation in the early brain field and an expanded expression of brain region-specific genes and neural and glial marker genes. These results demonstrate that CRBN functions in the determination of brain size by regulating the proliferation of NSCs during development., Graphical Abstract, Highlights • CRBN is a determinant of head and brain size during zebrafish development • Thalidomide causes a reduction in head and brain size by binding to CRBN • CRBN prevents apoptosis and promotes NSC proliferation during brain development • crbn overexpression results in a concomitant increase in neurons and glial cells, Cellular Neuroscience; Developmental Neuroscience; Molecular Neuroscience

A 78-year-old man who had worked in the building industry visited our hospital because of groundglass opacity with smoothly thickened, intralobular interstitial lines and interlobular septal lines on chest high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT). HRCT image also showed a focal area of reticulation and pleural thickening. Lung specimens obtained by surgical lung biopsy showed accumulations of intra-alveolar periodic acid-Schiffpositive materials, usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP)-like subpleural lung fibrosis and asbestos bodies (1 body/cm2 in high-power field, ×400). Serum granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor autoantibody was positive. The patient was diagnosed as having autoimmune pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) and needed differential diagnosis from secondary PAP caused from pulmonary asbestosis and UIP. Careful observation of the manifestations of pulmonary asbestosis and the progression of fibrosis using HRCT will be necessary in this patient.

Nanomaterials have extensive applications in the life sciences and in clinical diagnosis. We have developed magnetic nanoparticles with high dispersibility and extremely low nonspecific binding to biomolecules and have demonstrated their application in chemical biology (e.g., for the screening of drug receptor proteins). Recently, the excellent properties of nanobeads have made possible the development of novel rapid immunoassay systems and high-precision technologies for exosome detection. For immunoassays, we developed a technology to encapsulate a fluorescent substance in magnetic nanobeads. The fluorescent nanobeads allow the rapid detection of a specific antigen in solution or in tissue specimens. Exosomes, which are released into the blood, are expected to become markers for several diseases, including cancer, but techniques for measuring the absolute quantity of exosomes in biological fluids are lacking. By integrating magnetic nanobead technology with an optical disc system, we developed a novel method for precisely quantifying exosomes in human serum with high sensitivity and high linearity without requiring enrichment procedures. This review focuses on the properties of our magnetic nanobeads, the development of novel biosensors using these nanobeads, and their broad practical applications. Graphical abstract ᅟ.

Lipid-protein interactions play essential roles in many biological phenomena. Lysophospholipid mediators, such as cyclic phosphatidic acid (cPA), have been recognized as secondary messengers, yet few cellular targets for cPA have been identified to date. Furthermore, the molecular mechanism that activates these downstream signaling events remains unknown. In this study, using metabolically stabilized cPA carba-derivative (2ccPA)-immobilized magnetic beads, we identified adenine nucleotide translocase 2 (ANT2) as a 2ccPA-interacting protein in microglial cells. 2ccPA was tested for its ability to inhibit apoptosis caused by phenylarsine oxide in microglial cells. This damage was significantly improved upon 2ccPA treatment, along with cell proliferation, apoptosis, reactive oxygen species production, and intracellular ATP levels. This is the first report to suggest the direct binding of 2ccPA to ANT2 in microglial cells and provides evidence for a new benefit of 2ccPA in protecting microglial cells from apoptotic death induced by the ANT2-mediated signaling pathway.

Anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 antibody (anti-MDA5-Ab) is associated with fatal rapidly progressive interstitial lung disease (RP-ILD) in patients with dermatomyositis (DM). We attempted to clarify whether anti-MDA5-Ab is associated with long-term outcomes in patients with DM-ILD.Thirty-six patients with DM-ILD were retrospectively analyzed for their serum anti-MDA5-Ab by using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. We analyzed the association between clinical parameters, including the serum levels of anti-MDA5-Ab and ferritin.Fourteen patients (39%) were positive for anti-MDA5-Ab. The serum levels of anti-MDA5-Ab and ferritin in 7 patients with acute death were higher than those in the surviving patients. An "unclassifiable pattern" on chest computed tomography and the development of RP-ILD were also prognostic markers. The serum levels of anti-MDA5-Ab and ferritin (cut-off levels, 100 IU/mL and 899 ng/mL, respectively) were markers predictive of acute death, showing good sensitivity (86% and 83%) and specificity (97% and 100%). All 7 patients with acute death developed RP-ILD and were positive for anti-MDA5-Ab, including 6 patients with a high titer (≥100 IU/mL), whereas only 2 patients (29%) developed RP-ILD among the 7 survivors with a low titer of anti-MDA5-Ab (100 IU/mL). In contrast, a low positive titer of anti-MDA5-Ab was not associated with changes in pulmonary function for 2 years.Although a high serum titer of anti-MDA5-Ab (≥100 IU/mL) is associated with acute death via the development of RP-ILD, outcomes in the chronic phase for patients with a low titer of anti-MDA5-Ab (100 IU/mL) were similar to those of patients without anti-MDA5-Ab.

BACKGROUND Although circulating exosomes in blood play crucial roles in cancer development and progression, difficulties in quantifying exosomes hamper their application for reliable clinical testing. By combining the properties of nanobeads with optical disc technology, we have developed a novel device named the ExoCounter to determine the exact number of exosomes in the sera of patients with various types of cancer. METHOD In this system, individual exosomes were captured in the groove of an optical disc coated with antibodies against exosome surface antigens. The captured exosomes were labeled with antibody-conjugated magnetic nanobeads, and the number of the labeled exosomes was counted with an optical disc drive. RESULTS We showed that the ExoCounter could detect specific exosomes derived from cells or human serum without any enrichment procedures. The detection sensitivity and linearity with this system were higher than those with conventional detection methods such as ELISA or flow cytometry. In addition to the ubiquitous exosome markers CD9 and CD63, the cancer-related antigens CD147, carcinoembryonic antigen, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) were also used to quantify cancer cell line-derived exosomes. Furthermore, analyses of a cross-sectional cohort of sera samples revealed that HER2-positive exosomes were significantly increased in patients with breast cancer or ovarian cancer compared with healthy individuals and those with noncancer diseases. CONCLUSIONS The ExoCounter system exhibits high performance in the direct detection of exosomes in cell culture and human sera. This method may enable reliable analysis of liquid biopsies.

We describe a case of a woman who presented with a persistent cough, general fatigue, and a fever. Interstitial lung disease was rapidly progressive and resistant to high-dose steroid therapy. She tested positive for the presence of anti-melanoma differentiation-associated gene 5 (MDA-5) antibody, although she had no skin manifestations of dermatomyositis. She was eventually diagnosed with unclassifiable idiopathic interstitial pneumonia and was successfully treated with intensive immunosuppressive therapy including intravenous cyclophosphamide. To our knowledge, this is the first report of anti-MDA-5 antibody in a patient with idiopathic interstitial pneumonia.

Cutting fluid is commonly used during metal cutting process for cooling and lubrication. Fluid types are generally classified into mineral or fatty oils and water miscible oils. In Japan, the former is called water-insoluble coolants, and the latter is called water-soluble coolants. Water-insoluble coolants are specified as dangerous material by the Japanese law due to its flammability. Therefore, the water-insoluble coolants are not appropriate for unmanned operation of machine tools. Therefore, the usage rate of water-soluble coolants is increasing. Water soluble coolants are diluted with a water by several ten times. The waste management of the water-soluble coolant become important for environment-conscious green manufacturing. We have been developing a recycling system for water-soluble coolants. In the recycle system, water is extracted from the waste coolant and the water is then reutilized as a diluent of a new coolant. We have developed various types of chemical or bio-chemical water recovery methods for recycling systems. We found a commercially available amine-free water-soluble coolant is suitable for the recycling system. The processing time, processing cost, and the biochemical and chemical oxygen demand of the extracted water are improved by the amine-free water soluble coolant compared with a conventional amine-containing coolant. However, its corrosion inhibition performance was poor in general machining applications. Our cooperative company developed a prototype of a corrosion-inhibition-improved amine-free water-soluble cutting coolant. The prototype coolant showed a good stability and cooling and lubricating performances, and its recyclability was as good as that of conventional amine-free coolants. In this study, we focused on repeated recycling of the prototype coolant. We repeatedly applied the water recycling process to the recycled coolant. The recyclability of the prototype coolant was not affected by repeated recycling; however, process residues increased with the number of recycles, and a deterioration was noticed in the corrosion-inhibition performance of the coolant diluted with recycled water.

A 40-year-old female dental technician visited our hospital for the investigation of a chest X-ray abnormality. Chest computed tomography demonstrated centrilobular nodules and lung volume reduction, and her serum KL-6 level was elevated. A histological analysis of the specimens obtained on a surgical lung biopsy showed peribronchiolar fibrosis with pigmented macrophages and cholesterol clefts. An energy-dispersive X-ray analysis showed that these lung tissues contained some metals, including indium. The serum indium level was also elevated. We diagnosed this patient with pneumoconiosis caused by exposure to sandblasting certain dental metals. This is the first reported case of pneumoconiosis in a dental technician associated with exposure to indium.

The main target of anti-inflammatory drug therapies for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is reducing the risk of acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), an important risk factor for acute death. In the RECOVERY trial, 6 mg/day of dexamethasone for up to 10 days improved 28-day mortality compared with those who received usual care alone. Here, we present three COVID-19 cases who improved after treatment with methylprednisolone (MPSL) and/or following prednisolone (PSL) for acute progression of respiratory failure. Three male COVID-19 patients, aged 56, 84, and 49 years old, developed acute respiratory failure after admission. MPSL therapy (500 mg/day for 3 days) was started for these patients at 4, 4, and, 2 days after admission, respectively, when oxygen administration was required. Following this therapy, two of the three present cases received 30 or 40 mg/day of PSL for an additional 6 and 8 days, respectively. The remaining case discontinued corticosteroid after MPSL therapy. All three cases survived, had fever reduction at 6, 2, and 1 days after start of MPSL therapy, could discontinue oxygen therapy at 6, 6, and 11 days after start of MPSL therapy, and showed negative results for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) polymerase chain reaction at 8, 6, and 22 days after start of MPSL therapy, respectively. No serious side effects due to drug discontinuation of treatment for COVID-19 were observed. MPSL is a candidate drug for corticosteroid therapy for COVID-19. Corticosteroid therapy should be started in the early stage of respiratory failure. Optimal drug selection, timing of intervention, dose, and duration of corticosteroid therapy for COVID-19 should be analyzed in the further studies. © Journal of Xiangya Medicine. All rights reserved.

A wire tool having electrodeposited diamond grains is frequently used for machining hard and brittle materials such as silicon ingots, magnetic materials, ceramics, and sapphires. This study aims to examine the wear characteristics of the tool during the microgrooving of ceramics. We conducted microgrooving experiments for alumina ceramics. The results indicate that the grooving time and the machining distance influence the groove depth. However, as the damage in a wire tool progresses, the groove depth does not depend on the machining distance. A fast relative velocity leads to serious damage in the wire tool even when the machining time is short. In the case of wet grooving, the damage to the wire tool was smaller than that in the case of dry grooving.

The essential features and scale of sensor data was discussed to monitor the tool anomaly in the machining process from the pattern variation of large scale sensor data such as vibration and effective power. The cycle data, the time series sensor data collected with an acceleration or power sensor in one periodical machining of the given groove shape, had been measured periodically. In this study, the graphic pattern formed by overwriting the time series cycle data on a specific coordinate system was treated as the “big sensor data”. The big data from the effective power sensor can stably respond to the cutting power changes and showed a strong possibility as a detecting device for tool anomaly such as abrasive wear and chipping. While the big data from the acceleration sensor only responded to a big event like the chattering vibration. The number of cycle data needed to generate the big sensor data also affected on the detection sensitivity for tool anomaly. It had been required a family of time series sensor data enough to represent the cutting power change as a visual graphic pattern.

It is well-known that a series of cracks sometimes gets initiated perpendicular to the cutting edges on the rake faces of brittle cutting tools made of materials such as cemented carbide, ceramics, and cermet under high-speed intermittent cutting. The tools used in intermittent cutting processes are exposed to elevated temperatures during cutting and then cool quickly during the noncutting time. Previous studies have suggested that such repeated thermal shocks generate thermal stress in the tool and that the thermal cracks are then propagated by thermal fatigue. Recently, high-speed machining techniques have attracted the attention of researchers. To apply new cutting tool materials to this machining process, it is important to evaluate their thermal shock fatigue resistances. During high-speed intermittent cutting, the frequency of thermal shocks becomes high and the action area of the thermal shocks is limited to the rake face of the tool. Therefore, conventional thermal shock resistance evaluation methods are unsuitable for this case. Consequently, the authors have developed a new experimental evaluation method using a CO2 laser beam. In this study, we irradiated cemented carbide and TiN cermet cutting tools with the CO2 pulse laser beam and gauged the effectiveness of the proposed thermal shock fatigue resistance evaluation method. The results show a correlation between the thermal shock due to the CO2 pulse laser beam and those due to the intermittent cutting experiments.

An electroplated diamond wire tool is frequently used for the machining of hard and brittle materials such as silicon ingots, magnetic materials, ceramics, and sapphires. This study aims to examine the influence of brittle behavior of work materials on machinability (including tool wear); therefore, we conduct dynamic ultramicro hardness measurements and microgrooving experiments for three types of ceramics. The results indicate that the groove depth of a work material tends to increase with the processing time. Moreover, material properties of a work material, such as hardness and toughness, have a significant impact on the fluctuations in its groove depth. However, kerf width of a work material does not depend on the processing conditions and material properties. In addition, a faster relative velocity improves processing efficiency but also increases tool wear.

Escitalopram has been shown to be effective for treating major depression (MDD); however, research is lacking regarding its effect on treating MDD-related sleep impairments. The purpose of this study was to assess the efficacy of escitalopram monotherapy and investigate changes in insomnia, depressive symptoms, and quality of life (QOL). Participants were 14 patients with MDD who enrolled in a clinical trial at Jikei University Katsushika Medical Center. Escitalopram monotherapy was used, and hypnotics were administered three times per week for individuals suffering from sleep impairments. The following variables were assessed: (1) sleep quality [Pittsburgh sleep quality index (PSQI)], (2) depression [Zung self-rating depression scale (ZSRDS)], and (3) quality of life (QOL) as determined by the Sheehan disability scale (SDISS) and short form (36) health survey (SF-36). These assessments were conducted prior to any treatment (pre-test) and again 8–12 weeks after treatment (post-test). Monotherapy (E = escitalopram alone; n = 6) and combination therapy (E+ = escitalopram + zolpidem; n = 8) groups were compared. All participants completed the full protocol (average 9.4 ± 1.8 weeks). Regardless of treatment group, participants improved on all assessments (including sleep impairment). However, groups did not differ in their level of improvement. A two-factor ANOVA revealed that the E+ group showed particular improvements in QOL. In treating MDD and associated sleep impairments, zolpidem did not confer additional benefits. Thus, clinicians should consider E monotherapy for patients with MDD-related sleep impairments before prescribing combination therapies.

An innovative cutting method, constant load feeding method, is proposed as a high precision secondary working tool in CFRP cutting. The constant load feeding can restrain the occurrence of cutting defects such as burr and scuffing in a diamond saw cutting. The combining of constant load feeding with point contact eliminated most of the cutting defects even in the CFRP cutting with a low rigidity cutting tool like the diamond saw blade. In addition, there was no apparent cutting damage on the cutting surface obtained from the drilling with constant load feeding. These facts indicate that the self-generated feed rate in the constant load feeding would be the optimal feed rate to realize a defect-free drilling of CFRP composites.

The concern for environmental problems has been increasing rapidly in recent years. Water-soluble coolants are widely used in machining processes. To reduce management costs and the environmental load of water-soluble coolants, the authors studied a recycling system for water-soluble coolants. With this recycling system, water is extracted from a waste coolant by chemical or biochemical treatment; the recovered water is re-utilized as a diluent for a new coolant. Coolant recyclability depends on the coolant type. Most water-soluble coolants contain alkanolamines for corrosion inhibition and maintenance of putrefaction prevention. However, alkanolamines are difficult to eliminate from water-soluble coolants by chemical and physical waste treatment processes. Some amine-free, water-soluble coolants have been developed and are commercially available. The reduction of environmental load in the treatment of waste coolants is anticipated for amine-free coolants. We applied the recycling process to a commercially available amine-free, water-soluble coolant. The amine-free coolant showed good recyclability and lubricating performance. However, the corrosion inhibition performance of the coolant was inadequate for use in general machining. Recently, our cooperative company developed a prototype amine-free, water-soluble coolant with improved corrosion inhibition. In this study, we experimentally examined the recyclability and performance stability of this newly developed coolant. The experimental results showed that the new amine-free coolant has good corrosion inhibition equivalent to conventional amine-containing coolants. In addition, the recyclability, stability, and cooling and lubricating performance of the coolant are equal to conventional amine-free coolants. The amine-free, water-soluble coolant with improved corrosion inhibition has the advantage that it can be used in the recycling system for water-soluble coolants.

Thinning of the silicon wafers and decrease in kerf loss can minimize the production costs of semiconductor products. Currently, the quantity of kerf loss is about the same as the volume of the wafer itself. If we drastically reduce kerf loss, we can easily lower production costs. Therefore, we studied techniques for slicing silicon wafers with reduced kerf loss using a wire tool. As a first step, we performed micro-grooving with a fine wire tool. In this paper, we discuss the micro-grooving performance of a fine wire tool made of tungsten. A borosilicate glass is used as the work material. The main conclusions are as follows: When a fine wire tool and small-diameter abrasives are used, the kerf loss decreases. However, the strength of fine wire tools is very low. The relative velocity and abrasive diameters have a significant influence on the micro-grooving characteristics. Fine wire tools are easily fractured at fast relative velocities and with large-diameter abrasives. However, the grooving rate increases. Groove depth and grooving efficiency do not depend on the relative velocity and are dependent on the abrasive diameter.

Magnetic immunostaining is a technique used to accelerate the antigen-antibody immunoreaction by increasing the local density of antibody on the surface of a tissue specimen using a magnetic field. The high density of antibody is achieved by applying a magnetic force to antibody-labeled ferrite beads toward the specimen. A technical challenge of using conventional magnets for this technique has been the inhomogeneous accumulation of magnetic beads on the specimen in accordance with the distribution of the magnetic field. Thus, in this study, a dome-shaped magnet that generated a strong and uniform magnetic force distribution was proposed and demonstrated. Numerical analysis was used to optimize the shape of the magnet. Analysis of the motion of magnetic beads showed that the accumulation of beads on the sample was complete within one minute and that the resulting homogeneity was sufficient for rapid and accurate immunostaining. Finally, experiments showed that the homogeneity of the bead distribution was improved by the use of a prototype dome-shaped magnet compared to conventional cylindrical magnets.Magnetic immunostaining is a technique used to accelerate the antigen-antibody immunoreaction by increasing the local density of antibody on the surface of a tissue specimen using a magnetic field. The high density of antibody is achieved by applying a magnetic force to antibody-labeled ferrite beads toward the specimen. A technical challenge of using conventional magnets for this technique has been the inhomogeneous accumulation of magnetic beads on the specimen in accordance with the distribution of the magnetic field. Thus, in this study, a dome-shaped magnet that generated a strong and uniform magnetic force distribution was proposed and demonstrated. Numerical analysis was used to optimize the shape of the magnet. Analysis of the motion of magnetic beads showed that the accumulation of beads on the sample was complete within one minute and that the resulting homogeneity was sufficient for rapid and accurate immunostaining. Finally, experiments showed that the homogeneity of the bead distribution was ...

Magnetic immunostaining provides a novel technique for rapid intraoperative diagnosis of cancer metastasis and its characteristics in lymph nodes. Previous studies have shown the effectiveness of this technique using the manual staining process. However, to make this technique feasible for use in hospitals, establishing an automatic process is important. Thus, the objective of this study is to realize a device for immunostaining using magnetic fields that could not only automatically stain the samples, but also wash the specimen and change experimental solutions as well. The specifications for our prototype device were determined based on the manually performed experiments. We successfully fabricated a prototype device and demonstrated automatic immunostaining using it. The device completed, within 10 minutes, processes of blocking the specimen, injection of the magnetic beads, antigen-antibody reaction, and washing out the beads. The reaction took 1 minute, which was significantly shorter than that of conventional immunostaining. The device is expected to provide improved reproducibility of staining because of its automated processes.

Multi-wire saws with a diamond electrodeposited wire tool are widely used to slice hard and brittle materials. The properties of the materials significantly affect the saw’s performance in terms of slicing quality, efficiency, and accuracy. In this study, the effects of the material properties of workpieces on wire tool performance and tool wear are described. The main conclusions are as follows: the higher the hardness and toughness of the workpiece material, the longer the slicing time and greater the damage to the wire tool. The brittleness of the workpiece adversely affects the thickness variation more than its hardness. In addition, the frequency of chipping mainly depends on the hardness of the workpiece, whereas the chipping size mainly depends on the toughness of the workpiece.