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Background The transition to the dilated phase, as well as sudden cardiac death, is one of the most undesirable scenarios for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Although the dilated phase of HCM (DHCM) is defined as left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) Methods Of the 319 HCM patients enrolled in the J-HCM registry from our hospital, we analyzed 168 patients (101 male and 57 female, 63.4±14.8 years), after excluding those who underwent PTSMA, who received pacemaker implantation, and who died or dropped out within 2 years. The patients were divided into two groups according to the change of LVEF from the baseline. During the follow-up period (62.0±109.9 months), LVEF decreased by ≥10% in 37 patients (Group D) whereas it did not in 131 patients (Group C). We compared clinical parameters between the two groups to identify the factors affecting the declining LVEF by ≥10% and examined whether the scoring method using those parameters can predict it. Results At the baseline, the percentage of male and diabetic patients was greater in group D than group C (76% vs. 55%, P=0.023 and 38% vs. 12%, P100msec), and atrial fibrillation tended to be more in group D than group C (all P Conclusions This scoring method appeared to be useful to stratify the risk of the decrease in LVEF in patients with HCM. The validation study is warranted in a larger population. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

This pre-specified analysis of DAPA-CKD assessed the impact of sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibition on abrupt declines in kidney function in high-risk patients based on having chronic kidney disease (CKD) and substantial albuminuria. DAPA-CKD was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial that had a median follow-up of 2.4 years. Adults with CKD (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio 200-5000 mg/g and estimated glomerular filtration rate 25-75 mL/min/1.73m2) were randomized to dapagliflozin 10 mg/day matched to placebo (2152 individuals each). An abrupt decline in kidney function was defined as a pre-specified endpoint of doubling of serum creatinine between two subsequent study visits. We also assessed a post-hoc analysis of investigator-reported acute kidney injury-related serious adverse events. Doubling of serum creatinine between two subsequent visits (median time-interval 100 days) occurred in 63 (2.9%) and 91 (4.2%) participants in the dapagliflozin and placebo groups, respectively (hazard ratio 0.68 [95% confidence interval 0.49, 0.94]). Accounting for the competing risk of mortality did not alter our findings. There was no heterogeneity in the effect of dapagliflozin on abrupt declines in kidney function based on baseline subgroups. Acute kidney injury-related serious adverse events were not significantly different and occurred in 52 (2.5%) and 69 (3.2%) participants in the dapagliflozin and placebo groups, respectively (0.77 [0.54, 1.10]). Thus, in patients with CKD and substantial albuminuria, dapagliflozin reduced the risk of abrupt declines in kidney function. HJLH and DC are co-primary authors. The DAPA-CKD Trial Committees and Investigators are listed in the Appendix.

Objectives Human papillomavirus (HPV) infection drives carcinogenesis in the oropharynx. No standard sampling or HPV detection methods for evaluating oropharyngeal HPV infection exist. The prevalence of oral HPV infection in Japan is unknown. Materials and methods We examined 435 healthy Japanese individuals to address whether adding tonsillar washing to oral gargling would improve HPV detection. We compared HPV assessment using GENOSEARCH HPV31 versus nested PCR and direct sequencing. Associations between HPV infection and demographic and behavioral characteristics were examined. Results Most participants who were HPV-positive based on oral gargles were also HPV-positive based on tonsillar washings: 11 (64.7%) of 17 on nested PCR and 12 (70.6%) of 17 on GENOSEARCH HPV31. Although HPV infection was more prevalent in oral gargles followed by tonsillar washings than in oral gargles alone, the difference was not statistically significant (nested PCR, 4.8% vs. 3.9%, P = 0.46; GENOSEARCH HPV31, 5.3% vs. 3.9%, P = 0.33). The overall agreement between nested PCR and GENOSEARCH HPV31 was 98.6%, with 76.0% positive agreement. The overall prevalence of oral HPV infection in Japan was 5.7% (95% confidence interval, 3.9–8.3%). Men had a significantly higher prevalence of oral HPV infection than women (8.3% vs. 2.6%, P = 0.02). Infection increased with number of lifetime sexual partners (P Conclusion The oropharynx is probably the major source of HPV-infected cells in oral gargles. Oral gargling could be a standard sampling method for evaluating oropharyngeal HPV infection. GENOSEARCH HPV31 could be an option for oral HPV detection.

Supplemental material, DS_10.1177_0022034519858282 for Third Dentition Is the Main Cause of Premolar Supernumerary Tooth Formation by H. Kiso, K. Takahashi, S. Mishima, A. Murashima-Suginami, A. Kakeno, T. Yamazaki, K. Asai, Y. Tokita, R. Uozumi, M. Sugai, H. Harada, B. Huang, M. MacDougall and K. Bessho in Journal of Dental Research

The SAC (symmetry adapted cluster)/SAC−CI method was used to calculate the ground, excited, and ionized states of carboxy P450 model complexes. The excited and ionized states were calculated up to 5.9 and 3.4 eV, respectively. Our initial calculations were with the D4h-skeleton model structure. The Q-band was well described, but the BI band (lower of the split Soret bands) was higher than the experimental value by 0.7 eV and the BII band (higher of the split Soret bands) did not appear. Next, we used the distorted X-ray crystallographic structure with side chains on porphyrin. The calculated results reproduced not only the Q-band but also both the BI and BII bands in reasonable agreement with experimental findings with regard to both absorption positions and intensities, thus demonstrating the importance of using the actual molecular geometry. In particular, the BII band is attributed to excitation from the π bond of the porphyrin side chain. We examined the effect of proteins on the spectrum by using the...

Sol-gel solutions were synthesized by using various alkoxides of polyhydric alcohol, carboxylate and stabilizer. Stability of modified sol-gel solution was good enough to keep its properties after at least three months although that of ordinary sol-gel solution is not good. SBT films were fabricated on Pt(200nm)/Ti(20nm)SiO2(500nm)/Si substrate at under 700°C by using modified sol-gel solution. Range of drying temperature was 200 to 400°C and that of RTA was 550 to 700°C. At high drying temperature, decrease of crystallinity for SBT films was observed accompanied by nucleation of Sr carbonate. On the other hand, SBT film dried at under 250°C and crystallized at 700°C shows high crystallinity of layer perovskite. SBT film derived from conventional sol-gel solution used to show strong crystal orientation of c-axis. In case of modified sol-gel solution, RTA temperature and amount of added stabilizer influenced crystal orientation of film. So it was possible that to control crystal orientation of SBT...

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate physiologically pulpal nerve responses and to elucidate histopathologically the pulp tissue reactions to "spot irradiation" with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser.Antidromic compound action potentials and the pulpal blood flow (PBF) were recorded from the canine tooth of a sodium pentobarbitone-anesthetized cat. The laser irradiation-induced pulp tissue changes were histologically investigated.The coronal antidromic compound action potentials disappeared in all the teeth tested during lasing, and the time needed to erase them was significantly shortened with increases in lasing power (P0.05). The radicular PBF increased when spot irradiation was performed, and the coronal PBF also temporarily increased with low-powered lasing. Histologic investigation revealed that spot irradiation with the laser produced severe damage in the pulp tissue in a dose-dependent manner.The present study suggests that spot irradiation with a pulsed Nd:YAG laser risks producing nerve injury and irreversible tissue damage in the pulp with lasing for the purpose of desensitizing hypersensitive dentin.

High-spin states in ${}^{113}\mathrm{Sb}$ have been investigated by in-beam \ensuremath{\gamma}-ray spectroscopy with the ${}^{103}{\mathrm{R}\mathrm{h}(}^{16}\mathrm{O},\ensuremath{\alpha}2n)$ and ${}^{88}\mathrm{Sr}{(}^{28}\mathrm{Si},p2n)$ reactions at beam energies of 80 and 120 MeV, respectively. Two $\ensuremath{\Delta}I=1$ strongly coupled rotational bands were observed; one is a positive parity band that gains approximately 8\ensuremath{\Elzxh} in spin alignments as a result of the level crossing at $\ensuremath{\Elzxh}\ensuremath{\omega}\ensuremath{\sim}0.4$ MeV and the other is a negative parity band that shows no evidence of a level crossing below $\ensuremath{\Elzxh}\ensuremath{\omega}=0.48$ MeV. This negative-parity band has spin alignment of $7\ensuremath{\Elzxh},$ and is interpreted as intruder states of a $2p\ensuremath{-}1h$ $\ensuremath{\pi}[{(g}_{7/2}{)}^{2}\ensuremath{\bigotimes}{(g}_{9/2}{)}^{\ensuremath{-}1}]$ structure coupled to the two-quasineutron ${7}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ state of the ${}^{112}\mathrm{Sn}$ core. The previously observed decoupled rotational band involving $2p\ensuremath{-}2h$ excitations across the shell gap has been also confirmed.

The electronic mechanisms of the cyclic processes of photochemical reductive elimination of H2 from [IrClH2(PH3)3] and thermal oxidative addition of H2 to [IrCl(PH3)3] are investigated theoretically. The geometries of the ground and excited states are optimized using the Hartree-Fock and single excitation configuration interaction methods, respectively, and higher level calculations for the ground and excited states are carried out by the symmetry adapted cluster (SAC)/SAC–configuration interaction method. The present calculation shows that the reductive elimination of H2 from [IrClH2(PH3)3] dose not occur thermally but photochemically through diabatic conversion from the lowest A′ excited state to the ground state (A′), while the oxidative addition of H2 to [IrCl(PH3)3] easily proceeds thermally. The lowest 1A′ excited state involves the nature of the Ir-H2 antibonding.

The ground, excited, and ionized states of free-base porphin (FBP) are reinvestigated by the SAC (symmetry-adapted cluster)/SAC-CI (configuration interaction) method. In particular, the Rydberg excited states, the valence−Rydberg mixing, and the effect of polarization d-functions are studied. The lowest Rydberg excited state would exist at around 5.5 eV with a weak intensity, but the valence−Rydberg mixing is small. The effects of both the Rydberg and polarization d-functions are relatively small for the excitation energies of the main peaks, whereas the polarization d-functions affect considerably the ionization spectrum.

Dahl salt sensitive (Dahl-S) rats develop hypertension soon after birth. The cause of the increased salt-sensitivity in the Dahl-S rat is unknown. The mineralocorticoid specificity of the kidney receptor is conferred by the activity of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11beta-HSD). There are two isoforms of 11beta-HSD (11beta-HSD1 and 11beta-HSD2). Deficiency or inhibition of 11beta-HSD2 causes sodium retention and hypertension. In the present study we measured the activity of hepatic and kidney 11beta-HSD1 in Dahl-S and R rats before and after the development of hypertension. The activity of 11beta-HSD1 in the liver was lower in the Dahl-S rats at 6 weeks of age (S = 8.01 +/- 0.89 v R = 11.91 +/- 0.84 nmol/mg protein/10 min (P < .02) but there was no difference at 10 weeks. In contrast, 11beta-HSD1 in the kidney was not different at 6 weeks but it was significantly lower in the Dahl-S rats at 10 weeks (S = 0.91 +/- 0.04 v R = 1.12 +/- 0.01 nmol/mg protein/10 min (P < .001). Plasma renin concentration was lower at 6 (6w) and 10 weeks (10w) in the Dahl-S rats: S-6w = 4.2 +/- 0.4 versus R-6W = 6.3 +/- 0.8 ng angiotensin I (AI)/mL/h (P < .04) and S-10w = 6.4 +/- 0.7 versus R-10w = 10 +/- 0.9 ng AI/mL/h (P < .009). Plasma aldosterone and corticosterone were not different between the two strains. Systolic blood pressure (SBP) in the Dahl-S rats was 124 +/- 3 mm Hg at 6 weeks and 241 +/- 6 mm Hg at 10 weeks (P < .001). SBP in the Dahl-R rats was 113 +/- 5 mm Hg at 6 weeks and 143 +/- 4 mm Hg at 10 weeks. In conclusion, Dahl-S rats have lower hepatic 11beta-HSD1 activity at 6 weeks of age and lower kidney 11beta-HSD1 at 10 weeks of age compared with Dahl-R rats of the same age. These findings suggest that diminished activity of both liver and kidney 11beta-HSD1 may play a role in the salt sensitivity and development of hypertension in the Dahl-S rat.

How close a correlation there is between the conduction velocity and receptive properties of pulpal nerve fibers is still unclear. Our specific aims were to confirm whether: (1) capsaicin affects not only polymodal C fibers but A delta fibers as well, and (2) A alpha polymodal nociceptors exist in the tooth pulp. A total of 139 functional single cat tooth pulp nerve fibers was isolated for analysis, of which 21 were A beta, 37 C, and 81 A delta fibers. The A delta fibers were divided into two groups: One (n = 38) consisted of those fibers whose conduction velocities were more than 2.0 m/s both inside and outside the tooth pulp, and the other (n = 43) consisted of those fibers whose intrapulpal conduction velocities were less than 2.0 m/s, with extrapulpal conduction velocities greater than 2.0 m/s. We used 82 fibers to record the neural response following the topical application of capsaicin for 60 min at increasing concentrations (1 nM, 100 nM, 10 muM) through thin dentin. Six of 25 slow A delta, 10/20 C, and no A beta (0/11) or fast A delta (0/26) fibers responded to 1 nM or 100 nM of capsaicin. When the three concentrations of capsaicin solution were applied in turn, the electrical threshold and latency of A beta and fast A delta fibers did not change, whereas those of slow A delta and C fibers gradually increased. In 0/11 A beta, 0/26 fast A delta, 13/25 slow A delta, and 18/20 C fibers, the conduction was blocked reversibly or irreversibly following the application of 10 muM of capsaicin. The amplitude of the late component of antidromic action potential of fast A delta fibers decreased after the capsaicin application. No neural discharge could be recorded from 19 (3 A beta, 5 fast A delta, 6 slow A delta, and 5C) fibers following the application of a single high concentration of capsaicin (10 muM). A single low concentration of capsaicin (100 nM) activated only some slow-conducting fibers (0/4 A beta, 0/4 FA delta, 3/6 SA delta and 4/6 C). Response properties recorded from the remaining 18 fibers (3 A beta, 3 fast A delta, 6 slow A delta, and 6 C) were not changed following the application of the control vehicle. These results confirm that a low concentration of capsaicin has an excitatory effect on the response of slow pulpal A delta as well as C fibers, and that a high concentration of capsaicin blocks the conduction of slow A delta and C fibers as well as the terminals of fast A delta fibers in the pulp.

The SAC (symmetry adapted cluster)/SAC-CI method is applied to the calculations of the ground and excited states of carboxyheme complexes with two kinds of proximal ligands, imidazole (model hemoglobin and myoglobin) and imidazolate (model peroxidases). The Mulliken population analysis for the ground state of horseradish peroxidase CO (HRPCO) shows that the electron push effect from proximal to distal sites causes a charge polarization between the distal ligand and CO in comparison with the model hemoglobin CO (HbCO). The excited states of the HbCO and HRPCO are calculated up to 7.8 and 7.1 eV, respectively. The calculated excitation energies and oscillator strengths correspond well with the observed electronic spectra of these two compounds. The Q bands are well described by the excitations within Gouterman's four orbitals. The higher side shoulder of the B band is named as the n band since it is assigned to a distinct electronic structure. For the B, n, N, L, and M bands, Gouterman's four orbitals plus ...

The SAC (symmetry adapted cluster)/SAC-CI method is applied to calculations of the ground and excited states of carboxyheme (FeC24N6OH16). The excited states are calculated up to 7.8 eV. The calculated excitation energies and oscillator strengths reproduce well the electronic spectrum. The Q bands are explained by the excitations within Gouterman's 4 orbitals. The B, N, L and M bands are explained by the excitations within ‘6 orbitals’, in which the lower porphyrin π orbitals, 44a′ and 45a′, are added to the 4 orbitals. The B band shoulder in the higher energy side has a d, σ-d ∗ , σ ∗ , CO∗ nature. The states higher than the M band are characterized by the d -π ∗ and π-d∗ states; therefore, the intensities are predicted to be small.

The transgenic rat TGR(mRen-2)27 develops severe hypertension with high adrenal renin and low kidney renin. The mechanism of suppressed kidney renin in these animals is still unclear. We investigated the effect of the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor, perindopril on the renin-angiotensin system in plasma and tissues (adrenal gland and kidney), and the effect of mouse renin antibody on plasma and tissue renin activity before and after perindopril administration. Perindopril lowered blood pressure in the TGR(mRen-2)27 rats from 254.5 +/- 7.4 mm Hg to 154 +/- 7.8 mm hg (n = 8, P.0001), while blood pressure in the untreated TGR (mRen-2)27 rats increased from 253.7 +/- 8.1 to 276.1 +/- 14.3 mm Hg during the study period. Perindopril significantly suppressed plasma angiotensin II (Ang II) from 19.4 +/- 2.5 pg/mL to 2.6 +/- 0.4 pg/mL, P.0001, while markedly increasing plasma renin concentration (PRC) from 15.5 +/- 1.8 ng AngI/mL/h to 148.2 +/- 35.5 ng AngI/mL/h, P.005 and kidney renin from 56.7 +/- 18.1 micrograms AngI/g/h to 827.4 +/- 79.1 micrograms AngI/g/h, P.0001. However, adrenal renin was not increased. A mouse Ren-2 renin antibody at a 1:1000 dilution that suppresses purified mouse Ren-2 renin activity by 62.6 +/- 3.6% (n = 3, P.0001) and does not suppress renin activity in plasma and kidney of the Sprague-Dawley rats, suppressed PRC in the untreated TGR(mRen-2)27 rats by 52.3 +/- 3.5% (n = 6, P.0001). However, it only suppressed PRC in the perindopril treated TGR(mRen-2)27 rats by 7.0 +/- 2.4% (n = 6, P.05). The antibody suppressed adrenal renin in both untreated and perindopril treated TGR(mREN-2)27 rats by 57.3 +/- 5.4% (n = 5, P.0001) and 49.7 +/- 2.2% (n = 6, P.0001), respectively. On the other hand, the mouse antibody suppressed kidney renin in the untreated TGR(mRen-2)27 rats by only 11.0 +/- 3.3% (n = 6, P.05), and did not suppress kidney renin in the perindopril treated TGR(mRen-2)27 rats (n = 6, P.0001), respectively. On the other hand, the mouse antibody suppressed kidney renin in the untreated TGR(mRen-2)27 rats by only 11.0 +/- 3.3% (n = 6, P.05), and did not suppress kidney renin in the perindopril treated TGR(mRen-2)27 rats (n = 6, PNS). The pH profile of renin activity in plasma confirmed the results of the antibody study. We conclude that in the TGR(mRen-2)27 rats adrenal renin is mainly mouse renin and kidney renin is mainly rat renin. The main sources of circulating renin in the TGR(mRen-2)27 rats are extra-renal tissues, including the adrenal glands, where mouse Ren-2 renin transcripts are highly expressed. The increased circulating renin in perindopril treated TGR(mRen-2)27 rats is rat renin derived from the kidney. The failure of adrenal renin to increase with perindopril suggests that at least in the basal state there is no feedback inhibition as there is in the kidney. The low kidney renin appears to be due to physiological rather than genetic factors.

The hydrolytic degradation of hyaluronic acid (HA) was investigated through kinetic measurements. The first-order rate constants were obtained under different pH conditions on the basis of the decrease in the molecular weight. The mechanism of the hydrolytic degradation of HA was also investigated by theoretical calculations (MNDO-MO) on model compounds of HA. It was speculated that hydrolysis occurs in acid solution on the glucuronic acid residue and the hemiacetal ring remains, while the destruction of the N -acetylglucosamine residue takes place in basic solution. These speculations are consistent with the structural analysis of the degradation products by 13 C-NMR.

The transgenic rat TGR(mRen-2)27, in which the Ren-2 mouse renin gene is transfected into the genome of the rat, develops severe hypertension with high adrenal renin and low kidney renin. These animals express both mouse and rat renin. To investigate the cause of hypertension in the TGR rat, we compared the kinetics of mouse renin acting on mouse and rat angiotensinogens. The optimum pH of the renin reaction in the Sprague-Dawley rat was 6.5, whereas the optimum pH of the reaction in the TGR rat was approximately 8.5. The optimum pH of the renin reaction in the DBA mouse was 6.0. Purified mouse Ren-2 renin acting on rat angiotensinogen showed a pH profile similar to that for the renin reaction in the TGR rat. The angiotensinogen concentration in pooled plasma from eight DBA mice was 104.5 ng angiotensin I/mL and was clearly lower than that in Sprague-Dawley rats (772.4 +/- 37.3 ng angiotensin I/mL, n = 4). The reaction of purified mouse Ren-2 renin with rat angiotensinogen was 10 times faster than with mouse angiotensinogen. Plasma renin activity in DBA mice increased dramatically on addition of rat angiotensinogen (from 253.4 +/- 66.7 to 225,000 +/- 48,000 ng angiotensin I/mL per hour). Intravenous injection of 2 or 10 microL of DBA mouse plasma into the nephrectomized Sprague-Dawley rat increased the mean arterial pressure of the rat by 27.7 +/- 4.7 and 61.8 +/- 2.7 mmHg, respectively, whereas injection of 200 microL of Sprague-Dawley rat plasma did not change the mean arterial pressure of the rat.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

今回, 我々は, 肝硬変に伴う意識障害に対して, 血液濾過透析が著効した, 維持血液透析下の慢性腎不全の1例を経験したので報告する. 患者は, 53歳, 女性で, 以前よりC型肝炎の進行による肝硬変の治療を受け, また, 腎機能低下の進行のため維持血液透析を受けていた. 平成4年9月28日, 意識障害のため入院した. 高アンモニア血症による肝性昏睡の進行が原因と診断し, 高アンモニア対策と血液透析を施行したが, 意識障害の軽減は見られずさらに悪化したため, 高性能膜を用いた血液濾過透析を行ったところ, 血中アンモニア濃度の低下と意識障害の改善が認められた. 慢性腎不全において, 肝硬変による肝性昏睡を合併した場合には, 血液濾過透析が有効と考えられた.

A complete profile of the scattering phase function of a silica aerogel with the refractive index of 1.050 was determined at 450 nm wavelength utilizing an iterative inverse-scattering-problem resolver. It is found that the phase function of the silica aerogel is comparatively close to Rayleigh's phase function, but the forward scattering component of the obtained phase function is slightly greater than that of Rayleigh's phase function. Moreover, a characteristic size of scatterers consisting of the aerogel was estimated based on the correlated-scattering theories and is found to be 10–20 nm.

A quasi-homogeneous model to describe the bed-to-wall radiative heat transfer in a gas-solid fluidized bed is proposed. A fluidized bed medium is considered to be continuous for radiation heat transfer and also isothermal. To examine the adequacy of the model, the equation of transfer is solved numerically under conditions corresponding to the experiments of Ilchenko et al, and the resultant wall radiative heat fluxes are then compared with the experimental data. Furthermore, a simple analytical expression for the wall radiative heat flux is derived using the P 1 method. It has been found that the derived analytical formula approximates 95% of the experimental data with an accuracy of better than ±30%.

Plasma concentrations of human atrial natriuretic peptide (hANP) were measured before and after hemodialysis (HD) in 19 patients undergoing chronic HD. We examined plasma hANP concentrations before HD in 36 patients, then re-examined the same patients 1 year later to assess annual changes. Plasma concentrations of hANP had decreased significantly from 262±38pg/ml (mean±SE) to 164±19pg/ml after HD (p

Objective To clarify the cognitive profiles including visuo-spatial abilities and social cognition of patients with Kabuki syndrome (KS). Methods Cognitive functions of seven KS patients (8.8±2.1 years, 3 girls), all of whom were confirmed as having KMT2D gene mutation (Out of 7 changes, 3 were nonsense mutations, 1 was frameshift deletion, 1 was splice-site mutation, and 2 were missense changes), were investigated using the Kaufmann assessment battery for children test (K-ABC), with copying tasks of 2D and 3D line figures. We also performed Theory of Mind (ToM) Test (Sally and Anne task). Results The findings from the K-ABC indicated disparities among cognitive areas in the KS participants (p Conclusion The K-ABC test revealed significant disparities among the subtests in patients with Kabuki syndrome with the KMT2D gene mutation. They were worse at simultaneous processing tasks and showed visuo-spatial difficulties similar to those of WS patients. Clarifying the characteristic traits of cognitive functions of KS patients may help us to better understand the syndrome.

The lifetime of the first 2+ state in the nucleus 124Ba has been measured by γ-γ coincidence recoil-distance Doppler shift method. The 109Ag(19F, 4n)124Ba reaction at a beam energy of 75 MeV was employed to populate excited states in 124Ba. The mean lifetime was determined to be 275(12) ps using the differential decay curve method. The value of B(E2;01 +→ 21 +) for 124Ba deduced from the lifetime is in reasonable agreement with the prediction of the proton-neutron interacting boson model(IBM-2) without Pauli blocking effect.

As a means of developing high reliability communication systems, the combined use of formal description techniques (such as SDL and LOTOS) and verification techniques is desirable. The paper gives a flexible, user-friendly verifier Vega which is based on a model-theoretic methodology that supports verification of temporal properties (e.g., cause-and-effect relationships) expressed in temporal logic for protocol specifications described in LOTOS. Vega is provided with an effective interface function, as well as the function of simple model checking, to give some degree of flexibility for the expression of temporal properties to be verified. Specifically, it allows the user to define useful expressions by combining built-in temporal logic formulas and enter them for use at any time.

For the purpose of high reliability communication systems development, its service specification needs to be precisely described without any ambiguity. So, for specification, it is desirable to use LOTOS among the standard formal description techniques. LOTOS has been extensively used for formal description of protocols and telephone systems. In this paper we describe our approach and experience using OOA (Object-Oriented Analysis) as a means of easing the process of communication service specification development based on LOTOS. A communication service is first analyzed using an OOA technique. Then the results of the analysis are used to formally specify the service using LOTOS. >

In communication software design, it is important to describe the specification efficiently without any errors or ambiguity. For this purpose, several formal description techniques have been proposed to ensure rigorous specifications. In addition, it is necessary to facilitate the generation of highly reliable specification by using a computer, namely by application of CASE tools. We propose an integrated support environment, named ITECS, which has been developed to support the design of highly reliable communication software efficiently. ITECS has the following characteristics: it is based on the formal description technique LOTOS, to describe the specification rigorously; it has two specification functions to support editing of message sequence charts and graphical LOTOS specifications; it has verification functions to verify the consistency between two LOTOS specifications in the refinement process of design, and to verify the temporal properties within a single specification. This paper mainly discusses the verification support functions of ITECS in particular. >

In communication software design, it is important to describe the specification without any errors or ambiguity. For this purpose, several formal description techniques have been proposed to ensure rigorous specifications. In addition, it is necessary to facilitate the generation of highly reliable specification. We propose an integrated support environment, named ITECS (integrated environment for high reliability communication software design), which has been developed to support the design of highly reliable communication software efficiently. ITECS has the following characteristics: it is based on the formal description technique LOTOS, to describe the specification rigorously; it has specification functions to support editing of message sequence charts and graphical LOTOS specifications; it has verification functions based on the mathematical basis of LOTOS. This paper mainly discusses ITECS's verification of consistency between two LOTOS specifications in the refinement process of specification design.

Amorphous carbon (a-C) as a semiconductor in heterojunction solar cells, such as C/Si, C/GaAs, etc., were already reported by various groups. Here, we present the rectifying current-voltage characteristics of n-C/p-C junction. The cell, n-C/p-C on p-Si substrate, reveals a short circuit current density of 23.04 mA/cm/sup 2/, open circuit voltage of 0.346 V, and a power conversion efficiency of 2.28%, under AM0 and 1 sun illumination conditions. The spectral response of the cell was explained through the absorption characteristics of the two individual carbon layers.

SBT thin films were successfully deposited at low temperature by using modified sol-gel solutions. The solution was prepared from triple complex alkoxide, which was synthesized by optimizing organic ligands for low temperature decomposition. The solution was pyrolysed perfectly at much lower temperature than conventional MOD solution. The temperature was about 340/spl deg/C. SBT thin films deposited from modified SBT solutions were compared with that from conventional MOD solution. The results suggested that the modified SBT sol-gel solution was more effective for low temperature deposition.

Oncogene amplification and chromosomal anomalies are found in many solid tumors and are often associated with aggressiveness of cancer. We evaluated the frequency and the role of c-erbB-2 gene amplification, relative increase in c-erbB-2 gene copy number, and gain of chromosome 17 in bladder cancer. A total of 29 bladder cancer specimens were examined using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Dual labeling hybridization with a directly labeled centromere probe for chromosome 17 together with a probe for the c-erbB-2 locus was performed. c-erbB-2 gene amplification was found in 3.4% (1 of 29) of specimens. Relative increase in c-erbB-2 gene copy number was found in 41.4% (12 of 29) of specimens and was significantly associated with tumor grade (P = 0.044 by Fisher's exact test). Gain of chromosome 17 was identified in 65.5% (19 of 29) of specimens and was significantly associated with tumor grade (P = 0.002 by Fisher's exact test) and tumor stage (P = 0.003 by Fisher's exact test). Our results suggest that c-erbB-2 gene amplification, relative increase in c-erbB-2 gene copy number, and gain of chromosome 17 may play important roles in the development and progression of bladder cancers. Moreover, the use of c-erbB-2 amplification, relative increase in c-erbB-2 gene copy number, and gain of chromosome 17 using FISH, together with tumor grade and stage, may provide a more useful clinical indicator in bladder cancer.

Gene therapy for hypertension is very important for the next generation of antihypertensive drugs. Important question regarding vector-related limitations and suboptimal in vivo delivery systems will require expeditious attention for gene therapy to become a more widely applicable option in cardiovascular diseases including hypertension. However, the elucidation of molecular mechanisms of transcriptional activation of several important genes in the cardiovascular physiology enables us to develop clinical application of gene therapy for hypertension at the level of transcription factors. Recent studies showed that in vivo or ex vivo transfection of double-stranded oligodeoxynucleotides to block the binding of nuclear factors to specific cis-elements in the promoter regions of several genes resulted in inhibition of gene trans-activation and suppressed pathological changes in the cardiovascular system.

We studied the effects of chronic blockade of the renin-angiotensin system on hypertension and cardiac left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) in Dahl salt-sensitive (DS) rats given a high-salt or low-salt diet. [Experiment 1] Twelve-week-old male DS rats were fed an 8% NaCl diet and received the angiotensin II receptor (AT1) antagonist, candesartan (3 mg/kg/d), the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor enalapril (30 mg/kg/d), or vehicle for 6 wk after 3 wk of 8% salt-loading. Neither candesartan nor enalapril with concomitant high salt-loading attenuated the blood pressure (BP) elevation. LVH was also not attenuated significantly by these treatments. [Experiment 2] After 8 wk of 8% salt-loading, the rats were given a 0.3% NaCl diet and concurrently received candesartan, enalapril, or vehicle for 5 wk. Switching from the high-salt to low-salt diet significantly decreased BP and left ventricular mass in the vehicle-treated animals. Both candesartan and enalapril normalized BP during salt-depletion; the blockade of the renin-angiotensin system produced an additive reduction in LVH. These findings suggest that sodium intake and hemodynamic load, but not the renin-angiotensin system, may be major determinants of the development of LVH in DS rats.

We have constructed two kinds of external cavity semiconductor laser. The first one is a diffraction feedback system consisting of a collimating lens, a diffraction grating and a mirror controlled by a PZT element. The second one is a dispersion feedback system in which the diffraction grating is replaced with a prism. Changing the angle of the external mirror by controlling the voltage to be supplied to the PZT, we have succeeded to tune the longitudinal mode of semiconductor laser continuously in the range of about 1 GHz.

The mechanism of the blood pressure-lowering action of chronic administration of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors is still controversial. We investigated the effects of the ACE inhibitors, captopril and perindopril, on the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in plasma and tissues (adrenal gland and kidney) in the rat. Captopril or perindopril was infused intraperitoneally into rats via a mini-osmotic pump for 6 days at a rate of 0.5 or 0.25 mg/kg/hr, respectively. Perindopril markedly increased plasma renin concentration (PRC) from 12.7 +/- 1.1 to 867 +/- 59 ng Ang I/ml/hr and significantly inhibited plasma angiotensin II (Ang II) from 17.5 +/- 3.5 to 7.8 +/- 0.6 pg/ml and plasma ACE activity from 31.6 +/- 1.7 to 1.7 +/- 0.3 U/liter. Captopril also increased PRC from 12.1 +/- 2.1 to 147 +/- 17 ng Ang I/ml/hr. However, it did not inhibit plasma Ang II (20.6 +/- 1.9 vs 22.0 +/- 2.1 pg/ml, N.S.) and increased plasma ACE activity from 35.9 +/- 1.8 to 65.0 +/- 4.8 U/liter. Perindopril increased kidney renin from 625.3 +/- 84.6 to 2152.3 +/- 233.4 micrograms/g/hr, while captopril produced a modest but insignificant rise in kidney renin (708.0 +/- 107.1 vs 1083.3 +/- 155.5 micrograms Ang I/g/hr, N.S.). On the other hand, both captopril and perindopril decreased adrenal Ang II significantly (from 21.1 +/- 2.7 to 9.2 +/- 0.5 pg/capsule and from 15.5 +/- 2.9 to 2.0 +/- 0.6 pg/capsule, respectively). Adrenal renin was not altered by either treatment. In spite of no inhibition of plasma Ang II, the pressor response to intravenous Ang I was still suppressed after captopril treatment. Both captopril and perindopril lowered the blood pressure of the rats significantly. Our results support the hypothesis that inhibition of tissue RAS is important for the hypotensive action of ACE inhibition.

The development and progress of renal deterioration in patients with essential hypertension administered antihypertensive therapy remain unclear. In this retrospective analysis, we divided 25 essential hypertension patients who eventually required hemodialysis (HD) from 1981 to 1990, into those with malignant essential hypertension (MEH) (N = 9) and those with benign essential hypertension (BEH) (N = 16), and analyzed the clinical features, the rate of renal deterioration, and outcome in each group. The patients with MEH were significantly younger, and had a shorter duration of hypertension than those with BEH. There were no significant differences between the two groups in urinary volume, cardiothoracic ratio, hematological findings or blood chemistry at the initiation of HD. However, blood pressure in the patients with MEH was significantly higher than that in the patients with BEH at that time despite antihypertensive treatment. There was also no significant difference between the groups in the slope of reciprocal creatinine. The latter was significantly correlated with the level of blood pressure and serum total cholesterol. Considering the outcome, all of the patients with MEH survived for 5 years. These results suggest that the more rapid progression of renal deterioration in the patients with essential hypertension might be related to the severity of hypertension and to lipid abnormalities during antihypertensive therapy.

Angiotensinogen gene expression is controlled in a tissue- and development-specific manner. Interestingly, the angiotensinogen gene is abundantly expressed in adipose tissues other than the liver, where it is mainly produced. We investigated the molecular mechanism of angiotensinogen gene expression in a 3T3-L1 preadipocyte-adipocyte system. Although angiotensinogen mRNA was barely detectable in preadipocytes, its levels increased significantly during differentiation. As a whole, the pattern of the change in transcriptional activity of the angiotensinogen promoter was similar to that of the angiotensinogen mRNA levels during adipogenic differentiation, indicating that the activation of the angiotensinogen promoter might be involved in the adipogenic differentiation-coupled gene expression. The proximal promoter region, from -96 to +22 of the transcriptional start site, was sufficient to confer adipogenic activation, and the proximal element from -96 to -52 of the transcriptional start site was necessary for this promoter stimulation. DNA-protein binding experiments showed that this proximal element specifically bound to a nuclear factor induced by adipogenic differentiation. These results suggest that the proximal promoter element from -96 to -52 plays a role in adipogenic activation of the angiotensinogen promoter.

The transgenic rat TGR(mRen2) develops severe hypertension with high renin activity in the adrenal and low renin activity in the kidney. To clarify the role of the adrenal gland as a source of circulating renin in TGR rats, we investigated the effects of nephrectomy (NEPEX) and adrenalectomy (ADX) on the adrenal and plasma renin-angiotensin system. TGR rats had a high basal plasma renin concentration (PRC; 18.2 +/- 1.0 ng angiotensin-I (AngI)/ml.h) compared with Harlan Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats (7.4 +/- 0.5 ng AngI/ml.h; P < 0.01) and SD rats of the Hannover strain from which the TGR rat was derived (5.3 +/- 0.6 ng AngI/ml.h, P < 0.01); TGR rats also had high adrenal renin (83.3 +/- 8.9) compared with Harlan SD rats (5.5 +/- 0.7; P < 0.01) and Hanover SD rats (6.1 +/- 0.6 ng AngI/ml.h). NEPEX markedly increased PRC (82.4 +/- 18.8 ng AngI/ml.h, P < 0.01) and adrenal renin levels (386.3 +/- 43.9 ng AngI/adrenal.h; P < 0.01) in TGR rats. ADX significantly lowered control levels of PRC and plasma AngII in the TGR rats (19.0 +/- 1.2 to 7.7 +/- 1.2 ng AngI/ml.h and 33.5 +/- 5.6 to 12.8 +/- 2.1 pg/ml, respectively) and suppressed the increases in PRC (119.4 +/- 20.2 to 61.8 +/- 4.0 ng AngI/ml.h) and plasma AngII (95.8 +/- 9.8 to 55.1 +/- 4.3 pg/ml; P < 0.01) caused by NEPEX in TGR rats. However, the levels of PRC and plasma AngII remained high after NEPEX/ADX in TGR rats. Our results suggest that the adrenal gland is one of the main sources of circulating renin in the TGR rat, but other extrarenal sources of plasma renin also exist in these animals.

We reported a case of type II cryoglobulinemia involving glomerulopathy associated with HCV-induced liver cirrhosis. The patient was a 57-year-old woman. Her past history included chronic hepatitis at 51 years and rheumatoid arthritis at 53 years of age. At 46 years, an erythematous lesion appeared on her legs, which was diagnosed as allergic vasculitis by skin biopsy. At 50 years, proteinuria, hematuria and hypertension were recognized. The next year, the first renal biopsy was performed and showed membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN). Recently, the edema of her legs has progressed, and the laboratory data showed proteinuria, hematuria, hypocomplementemia, rheumatoid factor positivity, and increase of monoclonal IgG kappa chain. The second renal biopsy revealed an endocapillary proliferative glomerulonephritis-like lesion with marked infiltration of monocytes and macrophages. The subendothelial deposit showed a fine fibril-like pattern. She was treated with steroids and double filtration plasmapheresis (DFPP) therapy, but the treatment was not very effective. She died of liver cirrhosis, which was probably induced by hepatitis C virus (HCV), and sepsis. Generally, the patients of type II cryoglobulinemia often showed HCV antibody positivity, pointing to HCV as an etiological factor. In this case, renal biopsy was performed twice in the same patient, and the histologic findings suggest the clinicopathological course of cryoglobulinemia.

The hypertensive transgenic rat [TGR (mRen-2)27] is a genetic model of hypertension in which transfection of the Ren-2 mouse renin gene into rats results in severe hypertension. These transgenic rats express a high level of renin in the adrenal gland, and the hypertension is ameliorated by treatment with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. In this study we investigated the distribution of adrenal renin in the TGR rat and examined the regulation of adrenal renin in a monolayer culture of adrenal cells. High concentrations of active renin and prorenin were found in the adrenal capsular (glomerulosa) and decapsular (fasciculata-medullary) portions of the TGR adrenal. This is in contrast with the Sprague-Dawley (S-D) rat, in which adrenal renin is found mostly in the active form and located primarily in the glomerulosa cells. The zonal distribution of aldosterone was also different in the TGR, with substantial amounts of aldosterone in the zona fasciculata as well as in the glomerulosa, while in the S-D rat, aldosterone is limited to the zona glomerulosa. In the primary monolayer culture of glomerulosa cells, TGR cells had significantly higher levels of active renin and prorenin and showed an increased response to ACTH and high potassium in the medium. Renin activity in the medium was predominantly in the form of prorenin and significantly higher than that in the S-D rat. Cultured fasciculata cells from TGR also produce renin that is stimulated by ACTH, but not by a high potassium concentration. Renin activity in the adrenal homogenate, medium, and plasma from TGR rats was completely inhibited by the renin inhibitor (CP 71362; 1 microM), but only slightly inhibited (12.3 +/- 3%) by a monoclonal antibody that inhibits renin activity from S-D rat tissues by 79.2 +/- 2.5%, suggesting that renin in the plasma and adrenal glands from TGR appears to derive primarily from mouse renin. In conclusion, the TGR (mRen-2)27 rats have higher than normal levels of adrenal renin, and the cultured cells show an exaggerated renin response to ACTH and potassium. The distribution of the renin enzyme in the adrenal zones of the TGR is similar to the distribution of mouse adrenal renin.