Abstract Eel larvae apparently feed on marine snow, but many aspects of their feeding ecology remain unknown. The eukaryotic 18S rRNA gene sequence compositions in the gut contents of four taxa of anguilliform eel larvae were compared with the sequence compositions of vertically sampled seawater particulate organic matter (POM) in the oligotrophic western North Pacific Ocean. Both gut contents and POM were mainly composed of dinoflagellates as well as other phytoplankton (cryptophytes and diatoms) and zooplankton (ciliophoran and copepod) sequences. Gut contents also contained cryptophyte and ciliophoran genera and a few other taxa. Dinoflagellates (family Gymnodiniaceae) may be an important food source and these phytoplankton were predominant in gut contents and POM as evidenced by DNA analysis and phytoplankton cell counting. The compositions of the gut contents were not specific to the species of eel larvae or the different sampling areas, and they were most similar to POM at the chlorophyll maximum in the upper part of the thermocline (mean depth: 112 m). Our results are consistent with eel larvae feeding on marine snow at a low trophic level, and feeding may frequently occur in the chlorophyll maximum in the western North Pacific.
Key issues of resist process design for 32nm node logic device were discussed in this paper. One of them is reflectivity control in higher 1.3NA regime. The spec for the reflectivity control is more and more severe as technology node advances. The target of reflectivity control over existent substrate thickness variation is 0.4%, which was estimated from our dose budget analysis. Then, single BARC process or stacked mask process (SMAP) was selected to each of the critical layers according to the substrate transparency. Another key issue in terms of material process was described in this paper, that is spin-on-carbon (SOC) pattern deformation during substrate etch process. New SOC material without any deformation during etch process was successfully developed for 32nm node stacked mask process (SMAP). 1.3NA immersion lithography and pattern transfer performance using single BARC
Case: A 35-year-old woman was allergic to iodine contrast medium and was diagnosed with primary aldosteronism (PA) based on functional confirmatory tests. She was suspected to have unilateral PA because of marked hypertension, spontaneous hypokalemia, high plasma aldosterone, reduced plasma renin activity, and a right hypodense adrenal tumor. She wanted to become pregnant and requested adrenalectomy instead of medical treatment with mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists. Localization of PA by adrenal vein sampling (AVS) was necessary, but angiography with iodine contrast medium was not possible because of her allergy. AVS was performed using gadolinium contrast agent (gadoterate meglumine) instead of iodine, in combination with computed tomography angiography (CTA) because the American College of Radiology manual does not recommend prior steroid administration for high-risk patients who have already exhibited adverse reactions to iodine contrast medium. In AVS, before and after adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) loading, 12 blood samples were drawn from the right adrenal vein, left adrenal central vein, left adrenal common duct, left and right renal veins, and the lower inferior vena cava with only 5 mL of gadolinium medium. There were no complications during AVS. Examination revealed an elevated aldosterone/cortisol ratio on the right side, lateralized ratio of 7.4, and contralateral ratio of 0.76; the patient was diagnosed with right unilateral PA. She underwent right adrenalectomy and showed improvements in aldosterone level from 312.4 pg/mL to 83.0 pg/mL, potassium from 3.0 mEq/L to 3.9 mEq/L, and systolic blood pressure from 138 mmHg to 117 mmHg. She is currently off her medications. Conclusion: In PA patients with iodine allergy, AVS can be performed safely and precisely using gadolinium contrast combined with CTA.
We have developed an advanced under-sodium ultrasonic visual inspection technique in order to observe in-vessel structures in a Fast Breeder Reactor (FBR) whose reactor vessel is filled with opaque liquid sodium. The final goal of this work is achievement of resolution equivalent to that of an image obtained by optical fiber scope. The under-sodium ultrasonic visualizing system consists of a matrix-arrayed transducer and a signal- processing device. The matrix-arrayed transducer, in which 36x36 piezoelectric elements are arranged with 5 mm interval and sealed by a thin metal diaphragm, can realize a 3-dimensional image with high resolution. Regarding signal processing, the 3-dimensional image synthetic processing and the cross correlation processing for the purpose of improving S/N ratio of ultrasonic echoes are implemented on a high-speed parallel processor. Under-sodium imaging test was carried out, and it was confirmed that a 3-dimensional image of the blind target, which was prepared without information beforehand, could be visualized clearly with less than 2.0 mm resolution under-sodium.
