Observation of reversed-shear Alfvén eigenmodes excited by energetic ions in a helical plasma.

Reversed-shear Alfvén eigenmodes were observed for the first time in a helical plasma having negative q0'' (the curvature of the safety factor q at the zero shear layer). The frequency is swept downward and upward sequentially via the time variation in the maximum of q. The eigenmodes calculated by ideal MHD theory are consistent with the experimental data. The frequency sweeping is mainly determined by the effects of energetic ions and the bulk pressure gradient. Coupling of reversed-shear Alfvén eigenmodes with energetic ion driven geodesic acoustic modes generates a multitude of frequency-sweeping modes.

Effect of direct hemoperfusion using polymyxin B immobilized fiber on inflammatory mediators in patients with severe sepsis and septic shock.

The objective of this study was to investigate retrospectively the effect of direct hemoperfusion using polymyxin B immobilized fiber (PMX-DHP) in a cartridge to remove endotoxin on inflammatory mediators in septic patients. PMX-DHP was performed 59 times in 40 patients with severe sepsis and septic shock due to gram-negative bacterial infection. Mean age and APACHE II score were 63 years and 22, respectively. The first treatments with PMX-DHP were started when patient hemodynamics were unstable even after conventional therapies. The second treatments were performed in 19 patients whose hemodynamics were still unstable after the first PMX-DHP. The changes in inflammatory mediator levels were compared from baseline to post treatment with PMX-DHP. Statistical differences were calculated using the Wilcoxon rank sum test. Plasma endotoxin could be detected in 34 patients, which was significantly decreased in 20 cases measured by a chromogenic kinetic limulus amebocyte lysate assay (p=0.0254) and in 14 cases measured by a new limulus turbidimetric time assay (p=0.0196). Monocyte counts in peripheral blood decreased significantly (p=0.0402). Interleukin-6 decreased significantly (p=0.0020). Blood pyruvate also decreased significantly (p=0.0025). At the same time, mean arterial pressure, pulse pressure, systemic vascular resistance index, and urine output were significantly increased. These results indicated that PMX-DHP could decrease inflammatory mediators and be effective to interrupt the pathogenic sequence leading to septic shock due to gram-negative bacterial infection.

Energy confinement time and heat transport in initial neutral beam heated plasmas on the large helical device

The confinement characteristics of large net-current-free plasmas heated by neutral-beam injection have been investigated in the Large Helical Device (LHD). A systematic enhancement in energy-confinement times from the scaling derived from the medium-sized heliotron/torsatron experiments have been observed, which is attributed to the edge pedestal. The core confinement is scaled with the Bohm term divided by the square root of the gyro radii. The comparative analysis using a dimensionally similar discharge in the Compact Helical System indicates gyro-Bohm dependence in the core and transport improvement in the edge region of LHD plasmas.

Edge thermal transport barrier In LHD discharges

In LHD discharges a significant enhancement of the global energy confinement has been achieved for the first time in a helical device with an edge thermal barrier, which exhibits a sharp gradient at the edge of the temperature profile. Key features associated with the barrier are quite different from those seen in tokamaks: (i) almost no change in particle (including impurity) transport, (ii) a gradual formation of the barrier, (iii) a very high ratio of the edge temperature to the average temperature, and (iv) no edge relaxation phenomenon. These features are very attractive in applying the thermal barrier to future reactor grade devices.

Ion heating and high-energy-particle production by ion-cyclotron heating in the large helical device

Ion-cyclotron heating was applied to the Large Helical Device. When the proton-cyclotron resonance was near the saddle point of the magnetic field-strength plane, strong ion-cyclotron damping occurred. Under these conditions efficient plasma heating was achieved for more than one minute. A high-energy ion tail was observed, and the effective tail temperature was determined by a balance between the wave acceleration and the electron-drag relaxation. There was no apparent sign of particle orbit loss effect in the investigated density range of 0.8-1.3x10(19) m(-3).

[Clinical research on transfer of cefpiramide to the blood and large intestinal tissue in patients with cancer of the large bowel].

Cefpiramide (CPM) shows antibacterial activity against Staphylococci, Enterococci, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and anaerobic Bacteroides spp. CPM is a cephalosporin antibiotic which also exhibits antibacterial activity against Klebsiella and intestinal bacteria including Escherichia coli. Concentrations in blood of CPM which has antibacterial activity against main bacterial species detected during gastrointestinal surgeries and concentration transferred to the large intestinal tissue were measured in patients with cancer of the large intestine. Eighteen patients who were hospitalized and underwent large intestinal surgery from December, 1985 to March, 1987 were examined as subjects. CPM was administered at a dose 1 g each of 11 cases and 2 g to each of 7 cases. Concentrations in blood after administration of 1 g of CPM were in a range of 81.56-212.6 micrograms/ml between 25 minutes and 2 hours 20 minutes after administration, and concentrations in the large intestinal tissue were in a 14.17-66.95 micrograms/g range. Ratios of the tissue to the blood concentrations were 0.08-0.49, averaging 0.24 +/- 0.05. Concentrations in blood after administration of 2 g of CPM were 128.4-253.5 micrograms/ml between 1 hour 10 minutes and 3 hours 50 minutes after administration. Tissue concentrations were 48.33-116.5 micrograms/g between 1 hour 10 minutes and 5 hours 15 minutes after administration. Ratios of the tissue to the blood concentrations were 0.21-0.55, averaging 0.42 +/- 0.05 between 1 hour 10 minutes and 3 hours 5 minutes.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Clinical study of cefmenoxime in the field of abdominal surgery].

The effect of cefmenoxime (CMX) was evaluated in the abdominal surgery at 18 hospitals on the prevention and the treatment of postoperative infections. The results were summarized as follows. In 179 patients with prophylactic use of 2-4 g of CMX a day, no postoperative infection was observed in 94.4%. Using fever index to judge the effect of CMX in prevention of postoperative infections, the value of fever index was higher in the infected group than in the non-infected group. A significant difference was also observed in mean fever index value between the groups given CMX in 2 g and 4 g daily, being 15.4 degree hours and 1.7 degree hours. The incidence of postoperative infections was higher in cases with intraoperative bleeding of more than 500 ml than in cases with less bleeding. Postoperative infection and peritonitis subsided after the administration of 2-4 g of CMX/day for more than 8 days in 77.1% of cases. Very few side effects were noted due to CMX. These results suggest that CMX is safe and effective in the field of abdominal surgery for the prevention of postoperative infections and in the treatment of postoperative infections.

[Two cases of pericardial rupture due to blunt chest trauma].

We treated two cases of pericardial rupture from blunt chest trauma. Case 1: A 55-year-old male was injured in an automobile accident. He recovered from the left hemothorax by tube drainage. One year and two months after the trauma, a left pericardial rupture was found during an operation for a left diaphragmatic hernia. As the epicardium adhered firmly to the pericardium, the ruptured pericardium was not sutured. Case 2: A 46-year-old man fell from a tree five meters in height. Chest radiography showed multiple right rib fractures, a pelvic fracture, pneumopericardium, and right hemopneumothorax. After four days, we performed a thoracoscopic examination under local anesthesia. The thoracoscopy revealed a rupture as large as an egg in the right pericardium anterior to the phrenic nerve. Judging from the size of the rupture, cardiac luxation was suspected not to have occurred. So the defect was not repaired. These two patients were discharged uneventfully without cardiac luxation. In the future, the accumulation of thoracoscopic findings may provide adequate information for judging the indication of operative repair in pericardial ruptures.

[Three cases of traumatic lung cyst].

There are few reports of nonpenetrating blunt chest trauma causing traumatic lung cyst. Three young male cases of traumatic lung cysts from motor vehicle accident were reported. Two of them, 25 and 17 years old male, had benign clinical courses by conservative management. But in another case of 25-year-old male, lung abscess followed infection of lung cyst occurred despite antibiotic therapy. A left lower lobectomy and a partial resection of left upper lobe was performed 46 days after the injury. Culture of the contents of the abscess confirmed Acinetobacter. His subsequent recovery was uneventful and he was discharged one month after the operation.

Note: Multi-pass Thomson scattering measurement on the TST-2 spherical tokamak.

In multi-pass Thomson scattering (TS) scheme, a laser pulse makes multiple round trips through the plasma, and the effective laser energy is enhanced, and we can increase the signal-to-noise ratio as a result. We have developed a coaxial optical cavity in which a laser pulse is confined, and we performed TS measurements using the coaxial cavity in tokamak plasmas for the first time. In the optical cavity, the laser energy attenuation was approximately 30% in each round trip, and we achieved a photon number gain of about 3 compared with that obtained in the first round trip. In addition, the temperature measurement accuracy was improved by accumulating the first three round trip waveforms.

Edge profile measurements using Thomson scattering on the KSTAR tokamak.

In the KSTAR Tokamak, a "Tangential Thomson Scattering" (TTS) diagnostic system has been designed and installed to measure electron density and temperature profiles. In the edge system, TTS has 12 optical fiber bundles to measure the edge profiles with 10-15 mm spatial resolution. These 12 optical fibers and their spatial resolution are not enough to measure the pedestal width with a high accuracy but allow observations of L-H transition or H-L transitions at the edge. For these measurements, the prototype ITER edge Thomson Nd:YAG laser system manufactured by JAEA in Japan is installed. In this paper, the KSTAR TTS system is briefly described and some TTS edge profiles are presented and compared against the KSTAR Charge Exchange Spectroscopy and other diagnostics. The future upgrade plan of the system is also discussed in this paper.

Demonstration of improvement in the signal-to-noise ratio of Thomson scattering signal obtained by using a multi-pass optical cavity on the Tokyo Spherical Tokamak-2.

The multi-pass Thomson scattering (TS) scheme enables obtaining many photons by accumulating multiple TS signals. The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) depends on the accumulation number. In this study, we performed multi-pass TS measurements for ohmically heated plasmas, and the relationship between SNR and the accumulation number was investigated. As a result, improvement of SNR in this experiment indicated similar tendency to that calculated for the background noise dominant situation.

Extension of the measurable temperature range of the LHD Thomson scattering system.

The large helical device Thomson scattering system was designed for the target electron temperature (T(e)) range, T(e) = 50 eV-10 keV. Above 10 keV, the experimental error becomes rapidly worse. In order to obtain reliable T(e) data in the temperature range above 10 keV, we are planning to extend the measurable T(e) range by following two methods. First we have installed one more wavelength channel that observes shorter wavelength region in polychromators. Next applying forward scattering configuration is another candidate. We estimate the data quality when the two methods are used. Both of the two methods are expected to improve T(e) data quality at T(e) ≥ 10 keV.

Conceptual design of new polychromator on Thomson scattering system to measure Zeff.

To measure the Z(eff) with electron temperature (T(e)) and electron density (n(e)) profiles at the same time and the same position in the KSTAR tokamak, we design a new polychromator for Thomson scattering system that has additional function. The additional function is measuring bremsstrahlung intensity to calculate Z(eff) independent of Thomson signals. For this new polychromator, we design and fabricate a collimation lens set, and interference filter that has center wavelength of 523 nm and 2 nm FWHM. Finally, we change the lenses, detector diodes, and add the bremsstrahlung filter on the KSTAR edge Thomson scattering polychromator. Then this new polychromator was tested by Tungsten light and monochromator.

Improvements of data quality of the LHD Thomson scattering diagnostics in high-temperature plasma experiments.

In Large Helical Device (LHD) experiments, an electron temperature (T(e)) more than 15 keV has been observed by the yttrium-aluminum-garnet (YAG) laser Thomson scattering diagnostic. Since the LHD Thomson scattering system has been optimized for the temperature region, 50 eV≤T(e)≤10 keV, the data quality becomes worse in the higher T(e) region exceeding 10 keV. In order to accurately determine T(e) in the LHD high-T(e) experiments, we tried to increase the laser pulse energy by simultaneously firing three lasers. The technique enables us to decrease the uncertainties in the measured T(e). Another signal accumulation method was also tested. In addition, we estimated the influence of high-energy electrons on T(e) obtained by the LHD Thomson scattering system.

Change of zonal flow spectra in the JIPP T-IIU tokamak plasmas.

When Ohmically heated low-density plasmas are additionally heated by higher-harmonics ion-cyclotron-range-of frequency heating, heated by neutral beam injection, or strongly gas puffed, the intensity of zonal flows in the geodesic acoustic mode frequency range in the tokamak core plasma decreases sharply and that of low-frequency zonal flow grows drastically. This is accompanied by a damping of the drift wave propagating in the electron diamagnetic drift direction, turbulence by trapped electron mode (TEM), and the increase of the mode propagating to ion diamagnetic drift direction (ITG). In the half-radius region, TEM and high-frequency zonal flows remain intense in both OH and heated phases. ITG and low-frequency zonal flows grow in heated plasmas, suggesting a strong coupling between ITG and low-frequency zonal flow.

Streamers in the JIPP T-llU tokamak plasmas.

It is shown that the low-density Ohmically heated tokamak plasmas have streamerlike eddies at the outer region at normalized minor radius of about 0.7 and high-frequency zonal flows of large amplitudes in the core. The amplitudes of the eddies ePhi/kT(e) and n(e)/n(e) are of order of 0.5, similar to that of blobs in the tokamak plasma boundary. The waveforms are featured by pulses of complex shape with sharp fronts, similar to the results of streamer simulations by Garbet et al.. The time constant of the fronts is also in agreement with the simulation. The radial span of the eddies is estimated to be much larger than the poloidal span.

[Four cases of airway infections caused by MRSA (methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus)].

Currently, infections caused by MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) pose a great problem clinically. We present 4 patients with MRSA infections experienced by us. In these patients the infection was localized in the trachea and main bronchus. The first patient was a 62-year-old man. After undergoing operation for early gastric cancer, he had septic shock and was admitted to our center. The second was a 60-year-old man. After he underwent operation for advanced gastric carcinoma at another hospital septicemia developed due to suture failure and he was admitted to our center. The third was a 38-year-old woman who was admitted to our center because of grades II degrees-III degrees burns on 75 to 80% of her body surface area. The fourth was a 60-year-old man who was admitted to our center because of rupture of an aneurysm of the abdominal aorta. It is assumed that MRSA has quite different characteristics from the usual MSSA (methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus) in that it produces a new penicillin-bound protein (PBP-2') within cells. Thus, from the fiberoptic bronchoscopy findings of our own cases it is considered that there may be cases in which the observed lesion is localized in the central airway alone, without involvement of the segmental bronchi. We believe it necessary to take some prompt measures under a suspicion of airway infection caused by MRSA in the following cases: (1) compromised hosts under tracheal intubation, (2) patients who are under treatment with second or third generation cephalosporins, and (3) patients with production of bloody sputum, and (4) endotoxin-positive patients.