Trapped radical behavior of electron beam irradiated polytetrafluoroethylene fine powder at various temperatures.

Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) fine powder with 93% crystallinity was irradiated by an electron beam (EB) at various temperatures under a nitrogen atmosphere. Trapped free radicals in PTFE were studied using electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy. The observed spectra of the samples exposed to air after irradiation at various temperatures showed asymmetrical signals, which are middle-chain type peroxide macroradicals derived from fluoroalkyl radicals.

Pentadecafluorooctanoic-acid-free polytetrafluoroethylene and mechanism of PFOA formation by γ-irradiation.

Low-molecular-weight (M) polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) micropowder is added to wax for use in automotive equipment and printing machines and is produced by radiation-initiated degradation under atmospheric conditions. However, pentadecafluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) is produced as a by-product in concentrations greater than 25 ppb, which is problematic because PFOA does not degrade in the environment. Herein, we clarify the PFOA-formation mechanism and develop a manufacturing process for a novel low-M PTFE micropowder that does not contain PFOA (less than 5 ppb).

Spatially resolved spectral phase interferometry with an isolated attosecond pulse.

We demonstrate spatially resolved supercontinuum spectral phase interferometry with an isolated attosecond pulse (IAP). The measured spatial-spectral interferogram over the broadband region indicates a high degree of IAP coherence in both spatial and spectral domains. In addition, the spectral-delay interferogram shows periodic temporal oscillations over the full IAP continuous spectrum, which indicates high temporal coherence.

Fabrication of nanobeads from nanocups by controlling scission/crosslinking in organic polymer materials.

The development of several kinds of micro/nanofabrication techniques has resulted in many innovations in the micro/nanodevices that support today's science and technology. With feature miniaturization, the fabrication tools have shifted from light to ionizing radiation. Here, we propose a simple micro/nanofabrication technique for organic materials using a scanning beam (SB) of ionizing radiation.

[Outcomes of endoscopic sinus surgery in chronic sinusitis cases complicated/ not complicated by bronchial asthma and eosinophilic infiltration of the sinus mucosa].

Background: Intractable sinusitis is, in most cases, complicated by bronchial asthma and severe eosinophilic infiltration of the sinus mucosa. Our aim here was to study the postoperative outcomes of chronic sinusitis complicated/not complicated by bronchial asthma and of cases with eosinophilic sinusitis/non-eosinophilic sinusitis.

Methods: We conducted a prospective analysis of the outcome of 180 patients with or without bronchial asthma and eosinophilic infiltration who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for chronic sinusitis.

A clinical study of endoscopic sinus surgery for sinusitis in patients with bronchial asthma.

Background: An association between bronchial asthma and sinusitis has long been suspected. Our aim is to study the clinical features of chronic sinusitis associated with bronchial asthma as two manifestations of one airway disease.

Methods: We conducted a prospective analysis of the outcome of 88 patients, with or without bronchial asthma, who underwent endoscopic sinus surgery (ESS) for chronic sinusitis.

Two-photon microscopic analysis of acetylcholine-induced mucus secretion in guinea pig nasal glands.

The spatiotemporal changes in intracellular free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) as well as fluid secretion and exocytosis induced by acetylcholine (ACh) in intact acini of guinea pig nasal glands were investigated by two-photon excitation imaging. Cross-sectional images of acini loaded with the fluorescent Ca(2+) indicator fura-2 revealed that the ACh-evoked increase in [Ca(2+)](i) was immediate and spread from the apical region (the secretory pole) of acinar cells to the basal region. Immersion of acini in a solution containing a fluorescent polar tracer, sulforhodamine B (SRB), revealed that fluid secretion, detected as a rapid disappearance of SRB fluorescence from the extracellular space, occurred exclusively in the luminal region and was accompanied by a reduction in acinar cell volume.

Stabilization of exocytosis by dynamic F-actin coating of zymogen granules in pancreatic acini.

Reorganization of F-actin in the apical region of mouse pancreatic acinar cells during Ca(2+)-dependent exocytosis of zymogen granules was investigated by two-photon excitation microscopy with intact acini. Granules were rapidly coated with F-actin in response to either agonist stimulation or photolysis of a caged-Ca(2+) compound. Such F-actin coating occurred exclusively at the surface of granules undergoing exocytosis and was prevented either by latrunculin-A, which inhibits actin polymerization, or by Clostridium botulinum exoenzyme C3, which inhibits the small GTPase Rho.

Chemical chaperone therapy for brain pathology in G(M1)-gangliosidosis.

We synthesized a galactose derivative, N-octyl-4-epi-beta-valienamine (NOEV), for a molecular therapy (chemical chaperone therapy) of a human neurogenetic disease, beta-galactosidosis (GM1-gangliosidosis and Morquio B disease). It is a potent inhibitor of lysosomal beta-galactosidase in vitro. Addition of NOEV in the culture medium restored mutant enzyme activity in cultured human or murine fibroblasts at low intracellular concentrations, resulting in a marked decrease of intracellular substrate storage.

Topical FK506 (tacrolimus) therapy for facial erythematous lesions of cutaneous lupus erythematosus and dermatomyositis.

Tacrolimus is a prototype of a class of topical immunosuppressive agents with great potential for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. Topical tacrolimus therapy was applied to facial skin lesions in 11 cases of cutaneous lupus erythematosus (LE) and dermatomyositis. Of the 11 patients, 6 (3 systemic LE, one discoid LE and 2 dermatomyositis) showed a marked regression of their skin lesions after tacrolimus therapy, but 4 patients (3 discoid LE and one dermatomyositis) were resistant to the therapy.