Abstract-We are developing a Compton camera based on Si and CdTe semiconductor imaging devices with high energy resolution. In this paper, results from the most recent prototype are reported. The Compton camera consists of six layered doublesided Si Strip detectors and CdTe pixel detectors, which are read out with low noise analog ASICs, VA32TAs. We obtained Compton reconstructed images and spectra of line gamma-rays from 122 keV to 662 keV. The energy resolution is 9.1 keV and 14 keV at 356 keV and 511 keV, respectively.

The production of NO was increased in patients with perennial nasal allergy, but the blood flow in the nasal mucosa of patients was reduced. Nitrotyrosine formation suggests that there is a process of ONOO(-)-induced damage in mucosa of patients with the perennial nasal allergy and this damage may limit the dilatation of blood vessels, despite the presence of excessive NO.

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The human homologue of the Drosophila segment polarity gene patched (PTCH) has been identified as the gene for the naevoid basal cell carcinoma (BCC) syndrome and has also been shown to be mutated in sporadic BCC. In order to elucidate the specificity of the PTCH abnormality in BCC, we examined normal skin and 12 BCC and 24 other types of tumour from Japanese patients for expression of the PTCH transcript by competitive reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction, as mutational inactivation of PTCH leads to overexpression of the mutant transcript owing to failure of a negative feedback mechanism. We found a high level of PTCH expression in all 12 BCCs, while 23 of the other tumours and four specimens of normal skin showed no or weak expression of the gene, with the exception of one specimen from a patient with Bowen's disease which had high expression. These results indicate that the PTCH abnormality plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of BCC.