[en] In a case of dismantling and withdrawing an equipment containing radioactive oil wastes, not dischargeably, at the inside thereof, the equipment is dismantled into each of constituent components and, after the removal of radioactive oil wastes, arranged or discarded. The procedures not only have a risk of prevailing radioactive contaminations but also make the operation time lower in a radiation administration region. In view of the above, upon dismantling and withdrawing an equipment containing radioactive oil wastes and solvent wastes, an oil coagulant comprising polynorbornane is charged into the equipment to solidify the oil wastes and solvent wastes in the equipment and then the equipment is dismantled and withdrawn. This can prevent the radioactive oil wastes that are difficult to be discharged from leaking out of the dismantled and equipment to result in the scattering of radioactive contamination and can shorten the operation time and reduce the exposure dose. (T.M.)

[en] This paper discussed the situation regarding the insight into future possibilities owned by pioneers of electric power enterprises, characteristics of the technology supporting electric power enterprises, and initiative for environmental ethics owned by power entrepreneurs. Furthermore, in the sense of ethics of the people who support the operation sites, as an insight to look at technology and human beings, this paper introduced the sense of mission, sense of responsibility, and sense of ethics toward power business of the people who engaged in the following events. (1) From the sense of mission, they created a restoration support system at the time of disaster prior to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station accident (1F accident) and quickly took countermeasures in face of 1F accident. (2) Tohoku Electric Power's thermal power plant was restored in a short period of time from the damage of the tsunami. (3) Hokkaido Electric Power Co. restored power transmission network in a short period of time, when a large blackout due to atmospheric depression occurred. Regarding nuclear power generation, the Japanese government and electric power companies have consistently promoted it from the viewpoint of peaceful use of nuclear power. As the social environment changes, people need to look at the reality of nuclear power generation. People in a position to oppose to nuclear power generation persist that (1) there is no cause of promoting nuclear power generation after 1F accident, and (2) feasibility of high level radioactive waste disposal sites is questionable. Recognizing that there may be errors on the grounds of promotion, promoting people are required to exchange dialogues with people with different positions. As fundamental issues concerning electric power technology and ethics, this paper summarized the author's opinions on (1) restructuring of technical ideology, (2) establishment of public-interest-first principle, and (3) ethics of science and technology. (A.O.)

[en] Detailed flow velocity analysis, including pulsatile and slow step-by-step movement of CSF (cerebrospinal fluid) at the craniospinal junction was conducted by the Integration Method of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. The study covered 13 cases in which some central nervous system disorder was suspected, but neuroimaging indicated no sign of any disorder. The patients ranged in age from 7 days to 60 years. The Integration Method of MR velocity image, originally established for quantitative measurement of CSF slow movement, composed of two-step analyses of a pulsatile velocity measurement and its integration. Velocity of CSF step-by-step movement in the ventral subarachnoid space (C1-C2) was measured at 100-250 mm/min, and this value was faster than those of dorsal and lateral side (50-100 mm/min). Maximum velocity was attained around the age of 10. The relationship between pulsatile and slow step-by-step movement in the ventral subarachnoid space was positively linear but not in dorsal and lateral subarachnoid space. It also was found that the direction of slow movement in this area can be classified four ways. These findings disclose a variability in CSF flow around the cervical spine. The method we used can non-invasively scan CSF slow movement in detail, and this movement possibly is related to the bulk flow of cerebrospinal fluid. (author)

[en] Three of the eight patients with the uncontrolled seizures and one with repeated daily headaches and attacks of irritability, were placed in a progressive group. The remaining four patients in a stabilized group. Resting and acetazolamide-activated regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was measured using a stable-Xe study system. ΔrCBF was calculated as acetazolamide-activated rCBF-resting rCBF, and compared ΔrCBF in all regions between the progressive and stabilized groups by unpaired test. Resting rCBF in the 8 patients was low on the affected side, being significantly low in the lesional area and total hemisphere. Upon acetazolamide activation, there was a difference in rCBF between the two sides, but this was significant only for the total hemisphere. No significant difference between the progressive and stabilized groups in resting rCBF was recognized in any of the regions. A significant difference in ΔrCBF was observed in all areas on the contralateral side and in the distant area and total hemisphere on the affected side, despite the similarity of ΔrCBF in the primary lesional area. In the three patients who underwent surgery, seizures were controlled with medication. ΔrCBF increased postoperatively was considered to be correlated with the degree of neurological improvement and the amount of tissue resected. The decrease of rCBF on the affected side was not an indicator of disease progression; rather, it was considered that hemodynamic compromise in more remote regions would lead to worsening of the condition. It is suggested that the possible use of surgery, regardless of patients age, should be assessed by investigation of cerebral hemodynamics in Sturge-Weber syndrome. (H.O.)

[en] The to-and-fro velocity of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) at C-1 and C-2 spinal-cord levels was measured by means of MR velocity-imaging technique, and the correlation of changes in velocity and various biophysical factors influencing the intracranial pressure environment were analyzed. Eight hydrocephalic patients, male and female, of different ages (both infants and adults), and 11 normal volunteers with a similar age range were investigated. The to-and-fro CSF movement was measured by means of phase-shift techniques with a bipolar gradient pulse. The cerebrospinal opening pressure was also recorded in 6 of the 8 hydrocephalic patients, either through a ventricular catheter reservoir or a spinal catheter inserted in the lumbosacral subarachnoid space; the CSF pulse amplitude, the pressure volume index (PVI), and the CSF outflow resistance (Ro) were also evaluated during the procedure. CSF flowed towards caudally in the early systolic phase of a cardiac stroke, but the flow direction was reversed in the early diastolic phase when the maximum flow rate was reached. Although such a flow pattern was commonly observed in all normal and hydrocephalic subjects, whatever the age, there was a marked difference in flow rate between the infants and the pediatric-adults groups, -i.e., it was 5-10 mm/sec for the former and 10-20 mm/sec for the latter. An abnormally high flow rate (33.0 mm/sec) was observed in the hydrocephalic patients when there was a malfunction of the ventriculoperitoneal shunt. A close correlation was found to exist among the changes in the CSF flow velocity, the CSF pressure amplitude, and the CSF outflow resistance (Ro), but not in the PVI. The measurement of the CSF flow velocity by MR velocity imaging appears to have an important role not only in the investigation of CSF dynamics, but also in the diagnosis and treatment of such pathologies as hydrocephalus and ventriculoperitoneal shunt malfunction. (author)

[en] It is very important for ''The containment'' of nuclear materials to keep the facility in the state of the negative pressure. We require the stable operations of the ventilation systems and the suitable adjustment of the changeable pressure balance due to clogged HEPA filters et al. for keeping and managing the state of the negative pressure. But it was very complicated that the Operation to keep the pressure balance in negative state. Therefore keeping the state of the negative pressure depended on the experience which veteran operators had. In Conversion Technology Development Division. we have developed the Expert System for supporting to the operation since 1985. And this system is the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI). This Expert System investigates unusual diagnoses which regard the state of negative pressure and ventilation systems and shows managements of them to the operators. We have already carried out the application of the Pilot System. And we will add some functions to the systems and will construct practical and advanced systems. (author)

[en] In 4 Sturge-Weber-syndrome child patients with calcified lesions mainly in the occipital lobe, regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) was determined with stable Xe-CT in the resting state and after iv injection of acetazolamide (AA) and megimide (M), with the purpose of examining factors affecting deterioration of neurologic manifestations and the influence of lobectomy. In the resting state, rCBF of the temporal and occipital areas was significantly lower on the affected than unaffected sides. The side-to-side asymmetry of rCBF in the affected and unaffected sides decreased from the frontal to temporal and occipital areas. It was indistinct after AA injection because cerebral vasoreactivity became higher on the affected side. A low rCBF in association with a high cerebral vasoreactivity on the lesion side suggested that the low rCBF matched the low cerebral metabolism of the brain area affected by leptomeningeal angiomatosis. However, cerebral vasoreactivity to AA depended on clinical presentations. Two patients presented with progressive mental retardation. The other two patients were in clinically stable condition. Cerebral vasoreactivity to AA in the former two cases was poorer on both the affected and unaffected sides than that in the latter two cases. M administration was associated with a significantly decreased rCBF in the area of leptomeningeal angiomatosis and cerebral calcification and with a significantly increased rCBF of the 'pericalcified' area. In one patient undergoing extended occipital lobectomy on the affected side, no decrease in rCBF was noted in the resting state in either affected or unaffected side, and cerebral vasoreactivity to AM on the unaffected side was apparently increased. Both circulatory disturbance and seizure appear to play a role in clinical presentations, as well as their deterioration in Sturge-Weber-Syndrome patients. (N.K.)

[en] Cylindroma, a rare malignant epithelial tumor arising in the lacrimal gland, causes visual disturbance, exophthalmos, and disturbance in extraoccular movement as an intracranial tumor. The authors report 2 cases of cylindroma presenting an intraorbital tumor. Case 1 was 58-year-old man who had had retroorbital pain, exophthalmos, and diplopia for 3 years. The tumor was removed subtotally, but it recurred 6 months after the 1 st operation. The same operation was, therefore, performed 6 months after the 2 nd operation. He died of multiple metastases to the intracranial space and vertebral body. Case 2 was a 34-year-old man who had had the same complaints as Case 1. The intraorbital contents, including the tumor and a lateral bony wall of the orbit, were removed. A plain CT scan showed an ill-demarcated high-density mass in the orbit behind the eye ball. It was enhanced rather heterogenously. The erosion of the bone structures adjacent to the tumor was noted, as has been described in the previous literature. The CT scan is of value for the assessment of the local invasion and intracranial extension of the tumor. (author)

[en] This liquid nitrogen piping with total length of about 50 m was made and installed to supply the liquid nitrogen for heat insulating shield to three superconducting magnets for deflection and large super-conducting magnet for detection in the π-meson beam line used for high energy physics experiment in the National Laboratory for High Energy Physics. The points considered in the design and manufacture stages are reported. In order to minimize the consumption of liquid nitrogen during transport, vacuum heat insulation method was adopted. The construction period and cost were reduced by the standardization of the components, the improvement of welding works and the elimination of ineffective works. For simplifying the maintenance, spare parts are always prepared. The construction and the procedure of assembling of the liquid nitrogen piping are described. The piping is of double-walled construction, and its low temperature part was made of SUS 316L. The super-insulation by aluminum vacuum evaporation and active carbon were attached on the external surface of the internal pipe. The final leak test and the heating degassing were performed. The tests on evacuation, transport capacity and heat entry are reported. By making the internal pipe into smaller size, the piping may be more efficient. (Kako, I.)

[en] To determine the patterns of gene expression responsible for the radiosensitivity of glioblastoma cells, we analyzed transcriptional changes after ionizing radiation in different cell lines. After completing clonogenic survival assays, we selected two glioblastoma cell lines with different radiosensitivities. Subsequently, they were investigated by using the technique of DNA microarray, and we then categorized the upregulated genes into 10 groups. Between the two cell lines, the difference in the percentage of DNA repair/replication category was the largest, and this category was present at a greater percentage with radioresistant cell line U87MG. Moreover, among the commonly upregulated genes, the DNA repair/replication category was present in the largest percentage. These genes included G22P1 (Ku7O) and XRCC5 (Ku80) genes known as important members of the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway of DNA double strand break (DSB) repair. Furthermore, cell line that specifically upregulated genes included the members of major pathways of DNA DSB or single strand damage repair. These pathways were not only NHEJ, but also homologous recombination (HR) and postreplication repair (PRR). In conclusion, the distribution of genes involved in the DNA repair/replication category was most different between two human glioblastoma cell lines of different radiosensitivities. Among commonly upregulated genes, the DNA repair/replication category was present in the largest percentage. (author)