We evaluated the usefulness of a serological diagnostic kit (Bartonella IFA IgG, IgM; MRL Diagnostics) for Bartonella henselae infection.Of the 110 healthy individuals, 107 (97.3%) were with titers being less than 1: 64 for IgG antibody to B. henselae, 2 were with titers being 1: 64 and 1 with 1: 128. IgM antibody to B. henselae was negative in all individuals.Serological diagnosis of cat scratch disease (CSD) using indirect fluorescence antibody (IFA) methods (in-house and diagnostic kit) was made in either elevated titers of IgM (≥1: 20) or IgG (≥1: 256) antibodies, or a four-fold rise in IgG titer between acute and convalescent sera. Of the 18 individuals with serological diagnosis of CSD by in-house IFA method in 26 CSD clinical diagnosed patients, 15 (83%) were compatible with the results of the diagnostic kit, whereas 3 (17%) were not compatible. Of the 8 without serological diagnosis, 1 (13%) was serologically diagnosed as CSD, and the others were negative. Overall, the serological diagnosis was made in 16 of 26 (62%). The specificity and sensitivity of this kit were 100% and 62%, respectively. The cross-reaction between B. henselae and Bartonella quintana was observed in sera from comtrols and patients.Our results show that the diagnostic kit as well as in-house method is an useful tool for the serological diagnosis of cat scratch disease.
A design and preliminary experiments on a new monolithic hot-electron transistor employing superconductor-base (Super-HET) were demonstrated. A prepared device comprising n+-GaAs / Nb (200 Å) / α-InSb / Au multiple-layer exhibited the common-base current amplification factor as high as 0.8 at the liquid helium temperature. The theoretical calculation and Monte Carlo simulation predicted a higher transfer efficiency (96%) as well as the ultra-fast (femto-second order) data rate processing of our Super-HETs. The NbN epitaxial growth on semiconductor was studied and successfully achieved by introducing 5Å MgO buffer layer at the interface.
In Japan, problems about deterioration of infrastructure become prominent recently. Inspections for outside states of underwater structure in ports and harbors are dependent on the visual observation by divers. Furthermore, in aged quay wall, the infill sand behind the wall escape into the sea, and sometimes subsidence or collapse of top surface of quay wall can occur. Against these back-ground, the Civil Engineering Research Institute for Cold Region (CERI) and the Institute of Industrial Science (IIS, the University of Tokyo) study and develop inspection methods for underwater structure by using acoustic measurement device. This paper introduces the inspection methods for outside and inside states of underwater structures of ports and harbors.
