A case of congenital tricuspid regurgitation associated with atrial septal defect and peripheral pulmonary stenosis

This report describes a 5-year-old girl with congenital tricuspid regurgitation associated with an atrial septal defect and peripheral pulmonary stenosis. The girl was diagnosed with the heart murmur at birth and recently developed the cardiomegaly. Cardiac echocardiography and catheterization showed severe tricuspid regurgitation, an atrial septal defect of the secundum type and peripheral pulmonary stenosis. In the operative findings, the tricuspid annulus was dilated to 33 mm in diameter, and leaflets were attached normally to the antomic annulus. There was a large cleft of the anterior leaflet of the tricuspid valve. Suture of the cleft and annuloplasty of the tricuspid valve, suture closure of the atrial septal defect and patch dilatation of peripheral pulmonary stenosis were successfully performed. Including this case, 19 other cases with congenital tricuspid regurgitation undergoing surgery were reported to date.     

Hematopoietic–Mesenchymal Signals Regulate the Properties of Mesenchymal Stem Cells

It is well known that the properties of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSCs), such as their self-renewal ability and multipotency, are maintained through interactions with mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs). MSCs are rare cells that are present in the bone marrow and are useful for clinical applications due to their functional ability. To obtain the necessary number of cells, MSCs must be cultured to expand, but this causes a remarkable decrease in stem cell properties, such as multipotency and proliferation ability. In this study, we show that the c-Mpl signal, which is related to the maintenance of hematopoietic stem cells, has an important effect on the proliferation and differentiation ability of MSCs. Utilizing a co-culture system comprising MSCs and HSCs, it is suggested that signaling from hematopoietic cells to MSCs supports cell proliferation. Interestingly, the enhanced proliferation ability of the HSCs was decreased in c-Mpl knock-out HSCs (c-Mpl-KO). In addition, the MSCs co-cultured with c-Mpl-KO HSCs had reduced MSC marker expression (PDGFRa and Sca-1) compared to the MSCs co-cultured with c-Mpl-wild-type HSCs. These results suggest that a hematopoietic–mesenchymal signal exists, and that the state of the HSCs is important for the stability of MSC properties.     

Synthesis, spark plasma sintering and electrical conduction mechanism in BaTiO3-Cu composites

BaTiO₃-Cu composite powders were prepared via an alkoxide-mediated synthesis approach. As-synthesized BaTiO₃ nanoparticles were as small as 40 nm and coated partially larger Cu particles of approximately 1 μm in size. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and dilatometry revealed a gradual increase in weight loss and retarded shrinkage with the increase of Cu addition. BaTiO₃-Cu composites were successfully densified by spark plasma sintering (SPS). The microstructures show an average grain-size for BaTiO₃ of around 100 nm and a crystallite size of about 1 μm for the Cu inclusions. The AC conductivity of the BaTiO₃-Cu composites increased with increasing Cu content or with temperature. The dominant electrical conduction mechanism in SPSed BaTiO₃-Cu composites changed from migration of oxygen vacancies to band conduction of trapped electrons in oxygen vacancies with the increase of Cu content.     

Microstructure of Aluminum/Glass Joint Bonded by Ultrasonic Wire Welding

An Al/glass joint created by using ultrasonic welding was analyzed by means of multiscale observation techniques. A cross-sectional analysis of the microstructure revealed that a directly joined interface without reaction phases formed at the periphery of a round joined region. The size of Al grains markedly decreased after ultrasonic welding and some subgrains were observed along the interface. The finer Al grains observed around the periphery of the joined interface showed active plastic flow that promoted welding.     

Finite Element Analysis of Precursors to Macroscopic Stick–Slip Motion in Elastic Materials: Analysis of Friction Test as a Boundary Value Problem

In this study, we apply the finite element method to investigate precursor to frictional sliding phenomena arising immediately prior to macroscopic stick–slip transitions in elastic bodies within the framework of a continuum theory. Using a numerical model that mimics an actual experimental system, we study the behavior of contact surface nodes to assess the influence of stiffness, driving velocity, initial conditions, and discretization conditions on the propagation characteristics of microscopic slips. In particular, we show that the initial distribution of frictional stress arising due to the Poisson effect has a significant effect on the propagation characteristics in slip regions. Next, based on the results of a finite element analysis of precursor phenomena that accounts for the influence of bulk compliance, we consider the determination of parameters in rate-dependent friction models. With regard to the behavior of sliding friction, we show that the relationship between friction tests and friction models is fundamentally different from the relationship between material tests and constitutive models for material deformation. We conclude that a proper understanding and classification of friction tests, friction models, and the relationship between these tests and boundary value problems are crucial ingredients in the application of computer-aided engineering techniques to sliding-friction phenomena; indeed, friction tests must ultimately be treated as boundary value problems.     

A novel experimental technique to determine the heat transfer coefficient between the bed and particles in a downer

A novel method for directly measuring the temperature history of mobile hot ferromagnetic particles (steel particles), substituting for reacting particles, in a binary-solid (reacting particles and inert particles) downflow is introduced. The temperature history of the hot steel particles can be obtained by measuring the temperature of the particles at different axial positions using magnetic fields that can separate the steel particles from other bed materials immediately and easily. Employing the magnetic marking method, magnetic sensors were used to detect the change in magnetic flux density in a given magnetic field, and the residence time of the steel particles was also measured. The cross-sectional averaged particle-to-bed heat transfer coefficients were calculated from the experimental results using simple heat balance equations. The measured temperature data have a relatively wide error range; however, the average temperature curves derived from the average particle-to-bed heat transfer coefficients agreed with the temperature plots. Therefore, the experimental method of this study is applicable to the measurement of the particle temperature in a binary-solid downflow. The results showed that there is strong correlation between the particle-to-bed heat transfer coefficients and normalized collision frequency under the laminar gas flow conditions.     

InxGa1−xAs ohmic contacts to n-type GaAs with a tungsten nitride barrier

Significant reduction of the contact resistance of In_0.7Ga_0.3As/Ni/W contacts (which were previously developed by sputtering in our laboratory) was achieved by depositing a W₂N barrier layer between the Ni layer and W layer. The In_0.7Ga_0.3 As/Ni/W₂N/W contact prepared by the radio-frequency sputtering technique showed the lowest contact resistance of 0.2 Ωmm after annealing at 550°C for 10 s. This contact also provided a smooth surface, good reproducibility, and excellent thermal stability at 400°C. The polycrystalline W₂N layer was found to suppress the In diffusion to the contact surface, leading to improvement of the surface morphology and an increase in the total area of the In_xGa−As between metal and the GaAs substrate. These improvements are believed to reduce the contact resistance.     

Hot carrier magnetophonon spectroscopy of semiconductors in high magnetic fields up to 40 T

Hot carrier magnetophonon resonances of n-type Si, short channel InP and p-type InSb were investigated in pulsed high magnetic fields up to 40 T. Using a recently developed high resolution technique in pulsed high fields, many new features of the hot carrier-phonon interactions in high magnetic fields were found.     

Characterisation of optically driven microstructures for manipulating single DNA molecules under a fluorescence microscope

Optical tweezers are powerful tools for manipulating single DNA molecules using fluorescence microscopy, particularly in nanotechnology‐based DNA analysis. We previously proposed a manipulation technique using microstructures driven by optical tweezers that allows the handling of single giant DNA molecules of millimetre length that cannot be manipulated by conventional techniques. To further develop this technique, the authors characterised the microstructures quantitatively from the view point of fabrication and efficiency of DNA manipulation under a fluorescence microscope. The success rate and precision of the fabrications were evaluated. The results indicate that the microstructures are obtained in an aqueous solution with a precision ∼50 nm at concentrations in the order of 10⁶ particles/ml. The visibility of these microstructures under a fluorescence microscope was also characterised, along with the elucidation of the fabrication parameters needed to fine tune visibility. Manipulating yeast chromosomal DNA molecules with the microstructures illustrated the relationship between the efficiency of manipulation and the geometrical shape of the microstructure. This report provides the guidelines for designing microstructures used in single DNA molecule analysis based on on‐site DNA manipulation, and is expected to broaden the applications of this technique in the future.Inspec keywords: DNA, molecular biophysics, fluorescence, optical microscopy, radiation pressure, biological techniquesOther keywords: optically driven microstructures, single DNA molecule analysis, fluorescence microscopy, optical tweezers, nanotechnology‐based DNA analysis, manipulation technique, aqueous solution, fine tune visibility, yeast chromosomal DNA molecules, geometrical shape, on‐site DNA manipulation