A New Method for Measuring Three-Dimensional Flow Structures Around River Bank Using ADCP

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Three-Dimensional Numerical Modeling for the Motion of Stones with Different Sizes and Shapes in Streams

Source: ICHE Conference Archive - https://mdi-de.baw.de/icheArchiv

Orientation and film thickness dependencies of (100)- and (111)-oriented epitaxial Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 films grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition

Abstract(100)- and (111)-oriented epitaxial Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 films with 500 and 1300 nm in thickness were grown by metal organic chemical vapor deposition. Remained strain was almost relaxed because the crystal structure of the films was almost the same as that of bulk Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3. Relative dielectric constant showed the maximum value against the temperature that depended on the measurement frequency. Maximum relative dielectric constant, εr(max.), and the temperature showing εr(max.), T(max.), decreased and increased with the frequency, respectively, are in good agreement with reported data for the bulk. εr(max.) and T(max.), respectively increased and decreased with the film thickness and (111)-oriented films showed larger value than that of the (100)-oriented one. Ferroelectricity was observed for all films up to 297 K and monotonously decreased with increasing temperature. Saturation polarization value increased with the film thickness and (111)-oriented films showed larger value than (100)-oriented ones. On the other hand, the coercive field decreased with increasing film thickness, but was almost independent with the film orientation

Development of a Two-Dimensional Gaseous Detector for Energy-Selective Neutron Radiography

AbstractEnergy-selective neutron radiography is a new method for studying the fine structure of heavy materials by using pulsed neutron sources. To perform such radiography, precise measurements of temporal information and twodimensional position are essential. Therefore, we developed a gaseous neutron detector using the gas electron multiplier (GEM). In addition, to detect neutrons, a single surface of an aluminium cathode plate and both surfaces of two GEM foils were coated with boron-10. Two normal GEM foils were stacked in a chamber for gas amplification. An anode plate with two-dimensional strips (0.8-mm pitch) was mounted in order to precisely reconstruct neutron incident positions. To allow high-speed data transfer, a compact readout system with new application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chips and a field programmable gate array (FPGA) was developed. Finally, several beam tests were conducted with pulsed neutron sources and two interesting applications were demonstrated

Autoimmune hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis in a patient with FGF23 autoantibodies

Hyperphosphatemic familial tumoral calcinosis (HFTC)/hyperostosis-hyperphosphatemia syndrome (HHS) is an autosomal recessive disorder of ectopic calcification due to deficiency of or resistance to intact fibroblast growth factor 23 (iFGF23). Inactivating mutations in FGF23, N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase 3 (GALNT3), or KLOTHO (KL) have been reported as causing HFTC/HHS. We present what we believe is the first identified case of autoimmune hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis in an 8-year-old boy. In addition to the classical clinical and biochemical features of hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis, the patient exhibited markedly elevated intact and C-terminal FGF23 levels, suggestive of FGF23 resistance. However, no mutations in FGF23, KL, or FGF receptor 1 (FGFR1) were identified. He subsequently developed type 1 diabetes mellitus, which raised the possibility of an autoimmune cause for hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis. Luciferase immunoprecipitation systems revealed markedly elevated FGF23 autoantibodies without detectable FGFR1 or Klotho autoantibodies. Using an in vitro FGF23 functional assay, we found that the FGF23 autoantibodies in the patient's plasma blocked downstream signaling via the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway in a dose-dependent manner. Thus, this report describes the first case, to our knowledge, of autoimmune hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis with pathogenic autoantibodies targeting FGF23. Identification of this pathophysiology extends the etiologic spectrum of hyperphosphatemic tumoral calcinosis and suggests that immunomodulatory therapy may be an effective treatment

Frequent p53 Accumulation in the Chronically Sun-Exposed Epidermis and Clonal Expansion of p53 Mutant Cells in the Epidermis Adjacent to Basal Cell Carcinoma

p53 expression was studied immunohistochemically to identify a precursor lesion of basal cell carcinoma (BCC) in the epidermis adjacent to BCC. With two different anti-p53 antibodies of CM1 and DO7, p53 expression was frequently detected in the epidermis adjacent to BCCs arising on the face and in the normal epidermis with usual sun exposure. In the epidermis adjacent to BCC, stained cells were occasionally clustered in a small area, but no cluster was found in the normal epidermis with usual sun exposure. The expression was less frequent in the normal epidermis with rare sun exposure. Ten cases of normal skin with usual sun exposure, showing CM1 staining in the epidermis, were screened for p53 gene mutations with polymerase chain reaction-single- strand conformation polymorphism analysis using DNAs obtained from the epidermis. No mutation was detected in exons 2 to 10 of the p53 gene in these 10 cases. The epidermis flanking three BCCs that was stained with CM1, on the other hand, carried a missense mutation of C to G transversIon at a dipyrimidine site of codon 249. This alteration replaced arginine with threonine. The mutation of codon 249 was not detected in the three BCCs. Our results first suggest that ultraviolet light irradiating the skin in a daily life induces p53 accumulation in the epidermis and secondly that the frequent clonal expansion of p53 mutant cells occurs in the epidermis adjacent to BCCs. This clonal expansion of mutant p53 may provide a molecular basis for high risk of developing subsequent new skin cancers in patients with BCC