Suspended sediment transport in a mountainous catchment

Thesis--University of Tsukuba, D.Sc.(A), no. 881, 1991. 3. 2

The Role of Oxygen Tension in Penile Erection and Its Relationship to Erectile Dysfunction

The corpus cavernosum of the penis is one of the few vascular beds in which there is a change in oxygen tension with function (blood PO2 25-40mm Hg in the flaccid state, and 90-100mm Hg in the erect state). This change in oxygen tension exposes the components of the corpus cavernosum to a variety of cytokines, humoral, vasoactive, and growth factors which may affect the structure and function of the endothelial cells, smooth muscle cells, neurons and extracellular matrix. Among these cell types, endothelial cells are the first line of defense to blood-borne stress and can affect the underlying smooth muscle via paracrine mechanisms. Impotence is defined as the inability to obtain or sustain an erection sufficient for vaginal penetration and can result from a variety of pathological conditions, vascular disease, endocrine disease, neurological disease, and psychogenic disorders. The penis is a vascular organ and as such is susceptible to the effects of vascular diseases. This review will discuss the basic etiology of erection and vasculogenic erectile dysfunction and explore the role oxygen tension in regulating various cellular and humoral factors as well as trabecular structure and function

An Economy-based Approach to Scope Interaction among QP, Negation and Intensional Predicate

This paper provides an economy-based account for the scope interaction among QP, negation and intensional predicate. First of all, we argue that inverse scope of quantifier phrases either below negation or intensional predicate in raising constructions is attributed to their literal lowering. In particular, focusing on the asymmetry in inverse scope between the two types of Qps, universal and existential QPs, we suggest that the inability of the former universal QPs to take inverse scope below intensional verb is due to the phase-bounded locality of their scope-taking movement. By contrast, the inability of the latter existential QPs to take inverse scope below negation is ascribed to Relativized Minimality (RM) effects, which can be subsumed under the more general Weak Island effects. Second, we extend this line of analysis to scope relations of QPs in object position. The inability of object universal QPs to take wide scope over negation, on the one hand, stems from the same phase-bounded locality of their scopetaking movement that subject ones obey. Object existential QPs, however, either take phase-bounded movement to an outer [Spec, vP] position, thereby taking scope below negation. or alternatively, they have an option of exploiting the RM-circumventing unbounded scope movement, thereby taking wide scope over negation and being interpreted as specificPartial funding for the work reported here was provided by the Grant from the Brain Korea 21 project in 2003 (the first author) and by the Overseas Visiting Professor Grant from the Korea Research Foundation under No, 2001-013-A00036 (the second author)

Impacts of Heavy Rain and Typhoon on Allergic Disease

AbstractObjectivesAllergic disease may be increased by climate change. Recent reports have shown that typhoon and heavy rain increase allergic disease locally by concentration of airborne allergens of pollen, ozone, and fungus, which are causes of allergic disease. The objective of this study was to determine whether typhoon and heavy rain increase allergic disease in Korea.MethodsThis study included allergic disease patients of the area declared as a special disaster zone due to storms and heavy rains from 2003 to 2009. The study used information from the Korea Meteorological Administration, and from the National Health Insurance Service for allergic diseases (asthma, allergic rhinitis, and atopic dermatitis).ResultsDuring a storm period, the numbers of allergy rhinitis and atopic dermatitis outpatients increased [rate ratio (RR) = 1.191; range, 1.150–1.232] on the sixth lag day. However, the number of asthma outpatients decreased (RR = 0.900; range, 0.862–0.937) on the sixth lag day after a disaster period. During a storm period, the numbers of allergic rhinitis outpatients (RR = 1.075; range, 1.018–1.132) and atopy outpatients increased (RR = 1.134; range, 1.113–1.155) on the seventh lag day. However, the number of asthma outpatients decreased to RR value of 0.968 (range, 0.902–1.035) on the fifth lag day.ConclusionThis study suggests that typhoon and heavy rain increase allergic disease apart from asthma. More study is needed to explain the decrease in asthma

Aberrant phenotypes of transgenic mice expressing dimeric human erythropoietin

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Dimeric human erythropoietin (dHuEPO) peptides are reported to exhibit significantly higher biological activity than the monomeric form of recombinant EPO. The objective of this study was to produce transgenic (tg) mice expressing dHuEPO and to investigate the characteristics of these mice.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A dHuEPO-expressing vector under the control of the goat beta-casein promoter, which produced a dimer of human EPO molecules linked by a 2-amino acid peptide linker (Asp-Ile), was constructed and injected into 1-cell fertilized embryos by microinjection. Mice were screened using genomic DNA samples obtained from tail biopsies. Blood samples were obtained by heart puncture using heparinized tubes, and hematologic parameters were assessed. Using the microarray analysis tool, we analyzed differences in gene expression in the spleens of tg and control mice.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A high rate of spontaneous abortion or death of the offspring was observed in the recipients of dHuEPO embryos. We obtained 3 founder lines (#4, #11, and #47) of tg mice expressing the <it>dHuEPO </it>gene. However, only one founder line showed stable germline integration and transmission, subsequently establishing the only transgenic line (#11). We obtained 2 F1 mice and 3 F2 mice from line #11. The dHuEPO protein could not be obtained because of repeated spontaneous abortions in the tg mice. Tg mice exhibited symptoms such as short lifespan and abnormal blood composition. The red blood cell count, white blood cell count, and hematocrit levels in the tg mice were remarkably higher than those in the control mice. The spleens of the tg mice (F1 and F2 females) were 11- and -21-fold larger than those of the control mice. Microarray analysis revealed 2,672 spleen-derived candidate genes; more genes were downregulated than upregulated (849/764). Reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) were used for validating the results of the microarray analysis of mRNA expression.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>In conclusion, dHuEPO tg mice caused excessive erythrocytosis that led to abnormal blood composition, short lifespan, and abnormal splenomegaly. Further, we identified 2,672 genes associated with splenomegaly by microarray analysis. These results could be useful in the development of dHuEPO-producing tg animals.</p