Hydroxypropyl cellulose (HPC) was investigated as a replacement for serum substitute supplement (SSS) for use in cryoprotectant solutions for embryo vitrification. Mouse blastocysts from inbred (n = 1056), hybrid (n = 128) strains, and 121 vitrified blastocysts donated by infertile patients (n = 102) were used. Mouse and human blastocysts, with or without zona pellucida, were vitrified and warmed in either 1% or 5% HPC or in 5% or 20% SSS-supplemented media using the Cryotop (Kitazato BioPharma Co. Ltd, Fuji, Japan) method, and the survival and oxygen consumption rates were assessed. Viscosity of each vitrification solution was compared. Survival rates of mouse hybrid blastocysts and human zona pellucida-intact blastocysts were comparable among the groups. Mouse and human zona pellucida-free blastocysts, which normally exhibit poor cryoresistance, showed significantly higher survival rates in 5% HPC than 5% SSS (P < 0.05). The 5% HPC-supplemented vitrification solution showed a significantly higher viscosity (P < 0.05). The blastocysts were easily detached from the Cryotop strip during warming when HPC-supplemented vitrification solution was used. The oxygen consumption rates were similar between non-vitrified and 5% HPC groups. The results suggest possible use of HPC for supplementation of cryoprotectant solutions and provide useful information to improve vitrification protocols.

Deposition profiles of tungsten released from the outer divertor were studied in JT-60U. A neutron activation method was used for the first time to accurately measure deposited tungsten. Surface density of tungsten in the thick carbon deposition layer can be measured by this method. Tungsten was mainly deposited on the inner divertor (around inner strike points) and on the outer wing of the dome. Toroidal distribution of the W deposition was significantly localized near the tungsten released position, while other metallic impurities such as Fe, Cr, Ni were distributed more uniformly. These data indicate that inward drift in the divertor region played a significant role in tungsten transport in JT-60U.

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Abstract.[Purpose] Parkinson's disease (PD) leads to stance instability in the late stage of the disease. Conventional studies of the center of pressure (COP) have difficulties characterizing postural instability in the early stage of PD. The present study analyzed stabilograms of PD patients using a recently developed method, detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA).[Subjects] The subjects were 7 PD patients in stages I-III of Hoehn and Yahr, and 10 age-matched healthy elderly (HE) persons.[Method] COP signals were measured during quiet standing, and subjected to DFA and conventional analysis. DFA parameters (scaling exponents) relating COP fluctuation to time interval showed similar behaviors both in PD and HE subjects. Both in the anterior-posterior (AP) and medio-lateral (ML) directions, three exponents, α1, α2 and α were obtained for short-and long-term fluctuations, and the whole range, respectively. [Results] Magnitudes α, α1 and α2 were almost the same: α1 ≈1.5, α2 ≈1.0, and α ≈1.3. The crossover points dividing the shortand long-term fluctuations in the AP direction, however, differed between PD and HE subjects. The former was about 0.6 times shorter than the latter.[Conclusion] PD patients may control upright posture with the similar postural strategies to HE subjects, but the switching times between the short-and long-term strategies may be different.

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