Further studies on palytoxin. II. structure of palytoxin

The full structure of palytoxin, a potent coelenterate toxin, is reported.     

Flie?eigenschaften von Polymerl?sungen. 1. Mitt. Temperaturabh?ngigkeit der Spannungen nach pl?tzlichem Start und Abbruch des Flie?ens bei stetiger Scherung

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

On a first-passage problem for a cumulative process with exponential decay

A first-passage problem for a cumulative process is investigated. The cumulative process is assumed to be generated by a Poisson process, and the amplitude generated by an event is assumed to decay exponentially. An integral equation for the probability density of the first-passage time until the total amplitude exceeds a pre-specified threshold level is derived. The Laplace transform of the probability density of the first-passage time is obtained explicity when each amplitude generated by an event is distributed exponentially. The mean first-passage times are given in a closed form and plotted versus the threshold level.     

Improvements in Carrier-to-Noise-Ratio (CNR) of Lightwave Amplitude Modulated Vestigial-Sideband (AM-VSB) Transmission Systems by the Use of Optical Isolators

In lightwave community antena television (CATV) systems as well as other optical fiber communication networks, a transmitted optical signal is known to be degraded by an intensity noise produced within the fiber due to the interference between the signal and doubly reflected light. We report on the improvements to the signal degradation due to the double Rayleigh backscattering by inserting optical isolators in the trunk lines of the systems. A carrier-to-noise ratio (CNR) has been calculated as a function of the number and the insertion loss of the isolators. The calculated results indicate that there is an optimum number of isolators, and if the insertion loss is less than 0.3 dB, the CNR degradation can be restored by more than 60%. To test the calculated results, we conducted experiments for the specific case of employing one isolator, and obtained good agreements between the two.     

Intravoxel incoherent motion imaging of the kidney: alterations in diffusion and perfusion in patients with renal dysfunction

Purpose

To investigate the relationship between estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) and parameters calculated using intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging of the kidneys.

Materials and Methods

We studied 365 patients, divided into 4 groups based on eGFR levels (mL/min/1.73 m²): group 1, eGFR ≥ 80(n = 80); group 2, eGFR 60–80 (n = 156); group 3, eGFR 30–60 (n = 114); and group 4 ,eGFR < 30 (n = 15). IVIM imaging was used to acquire diffusion-weighted images at 12 b values. The diffusion coefficient of pure molecular diffusion (D), the diffusion coefficient of microcirculation or perfusion (D*), and perfusion fraction (f) were compared among the groups using group 1 as control.

Results

In the renal cortex, D* values were significantly lower in groups 2, 3, and 4 than in group 1. The D value of renal cortex was significantly low in only group 3. In the renal medulla, the D* and D values were significantly lower only in groups 2 and 3, respectively.

Conclusion

As renal dysfunction progresses, renal perfusion might be reduced earlier and affected more than molecular diffusion in the renal cortex. These changes are effectively detected by IVIM MR imaging.     

Lower bound for Ln/2 curvature norm and its application

We control the number of critical points of a height function arising from the Nash isometric embedding of a compact Riemanniann-manifoldM. The L^n/2 curvature norm ∥R∥ and a similar scalar ∥R∥ are introduced and their integralR(M) andR(M) overM. We prove thatR(M) is bounded below by a constant depending only onn and the Betti numbers ofM. Thus a new sphere theorem is proved by eliminating allith Betti numbers fori = 1, .…n −1. The emphasis is that our sphere theorem imposes no restriction on the range of curvature. Research partially supported by Grant-in-Aid for General Scientific Research, grant no. 07454018.