This paper presents a micro XY stage that employs electrostatic comb-drive actuators and achieves a bi-directional displacement range greater than 225 μm per motion axis. The proposed XY stage design comprises four rigid stages (ground, motion stage, and two intermediate stages) interconnected via flexure modules. The motion stage, which has two translational degrees of freedom, is connected to...

Previously, we described a mAb (1-23) reacting with a novel cell surface antigen expressed on thymocytes at late CD4-CD8- [(double negative (DN)] to early CD4+CD8+ [(double positive (DP)] differentiation stage. Since the expression of this molecule was restricted to immature thymocytes, we designated it as immature thymocyte antigen-1 (IMT-1). In this study, we have investigated the relevance o...

This paper presents a micro XY stage that employs electrostatic comb-drive actuators and achieves a bi-directional displacement range greater than 225 μm per motion axis. The proposed XY stage design comprises four rigid stages (ground, motion stage, and two intermediate stages) interconnected via flexure modules. The motion stage, which has two translational degrees of freedom, is connected to...

Lunatic Fringe (Lfng) enhances Notch1 activation by Delta-like 4 (DL4) to promote Notch1-dependent T-lineage commitment of thymus-seeding progenitors. Subsequently, Notch1 and T-cell receptor-β (TCRβ)-containing pre-TCR complexes signal CD4/CD8 double-negative 3 (DN3) committed T-cell progenitors to survive, proliferate, and differentiate into CD4/CD8 double-positive (DP) αβ T-cell precursors. ...

BACKGROUND Acupuncture is reported to reduce myocardial ischemia, arrhythmias, and hypertension. To investigate the physiological mechanisms underlying these observations, a model of reflex-induced, reversible myocardial ischemia was developed to test the effects of median nerve stimulation as a surrogate for electroacupuncture. METHODS AND RESULTS Chloralose-anesthetized cats were instrument...

PURPOSE Wavefront sensors provide quite useful information on the optical quality of the eye. However, in eyes where very high-order aberrations and scattered light are prominent, wavefront sensors may overestimate retinal image quality. This study showed that, in those cases, the double-pass technique is a complementary tool for better estimation of ocular optical quality. METHODS A double-p...

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study was to determine the characteristics of double potentials (DPs) that are helpful in guiding ablation within the cavo-tricuspid isthmus. BACKGROUND Double potentials have been considered a reliable criterion of cavo-tricuspid isthmus block in patients undergoing radiofrequency ablation of typical atrial flutter (AFL). However, the minimal degree of separati...

BACKGROUND Pulmonary hyperinflation has the potential for significant adverse effects on cardiovascular function in COPD. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between dynamic hyperinflation and cardiovascular response to maximal exercise in COPD patients. METHODS We studied 48 patients (16F; age 68 yrs ± 8; BMI 26 ± 4) with COPD. All patients performed spirometry, plethys...

This study aimed to determine whether certain respiratory and cardiovascular parameters associated with anaerobic threshold (AT), measured during graded exercise testing, occur at lower intensities in the morning than in the evening. Ten healthy Japanese men volunteered to participate in this study, which involved two conditions that were performed at different times of day: morning (M) exercis...