Plasmid DNA has been successfully delivered to mammalian cells by applying a nanosecond pulsed laser-induced stress wave (LISW). Cells exposed to a LISW were selectively transfected with plasmids coding for green fluorescent protein. It was also shown that transient, mild cellular heating (approximately 43 degrees C) was effective in improving the transfection efficiency.

Two acoustically different types of lung crackles, fine and coarse, occur in different pathophysiological conditions. To differentiate these crackles from objective characteristics of frequency information, crackles were recorded from 16 patients with pulmonary fibrosis judged clinically to have "fine" crackles and from 10 with chronic bronchitis who had mainly "coarse" crackles. Time expanded waveforms (1/4 cycle duration, initial deflection width, two cycle duration, and 9/4 cycle duration; duration of the first 1/4, 2/4, 8/4, and 9/4 cycles of crackle waveforms) were examined and fast Fourier transform analysis (peak and maximum frequencies) was performed. All waveform measurements for fine crackles were significantly smaller than those for coarse crackles. Peak and maximum frequencies for fine crackles were significantly higher than those for coarse crackles. Although there was some overlap in these values for individual crackles between the two groups when average values of these measurements were calculated for each patient, there was no overlap between fine and coarse crackles and the two groups could be clearly separated. Log peak frequency and log maximum frequency correlated better with 9/4 cycle duration (r = 085, 0 84) and two cycle duration (r = 0-87, 0 86) than with 1/4 cycle duration (r = 0-66, 0 77) or initial deflection width (r = 0-67, 0 79). Early and late segments of crackles have different characteristics, probably related to the origin of the sound and the resonance of the lung respectively. These results suggest that spectral and waveform characteristics may help to improve the accuracy of pulmonary auscultation and increase knowledge of how crackles are generated.

Laser-mediated gene transfection has received much attention as a new method for targeted gene therapy because of the high spatial controllability of laser energy. We previously demonstrated both in vivo and in vitro that plasmid DNA can be transfected by applying nanosecond pulsed laser-induced stress waves (LISWs). In the present study, we investigated the dependence of transfection efficiency on the laser irradiation conditions and hence stress wave conditions in vitro. We measured characteristics of LISWs used for gene transfection. For NIH 3T3 cells, transfection efficiency was evaluated as functions of laser fluence and number of pulses. The effect of ambient temperature was also investigated, and it was found that change in ambient temperature in a specific range resulted in drastic change in transfection efficiency for NIH 3T3 cells. Gene transfection of different types of cell lines were also demonstrated, where cellular heating increased transfection efficiency for nonmalignant cells, while heating decreased transfection efficiency for malignant cells.

Experimental pulmonary hypertension induced in a hypobaric hypoxic environment (HHE) is characterized by structural remodeling of the heart and pulmonary arteries. Adrenomedullin (AM) has diuretic, natriuretic, and hypotensive effects. To study the possible effects of HHE on the AM synthesis system, 150 male Wistar rats were housed in a chamber at the equivalent of a 5,500-m altitude level for 21 days. After 14 days of exposure to HHE, pulmonary arterial pressure (PAP) was significantly increased (compared with control rats). The plasma AM protein level was significantly increased on day 21 of exposure to HHE. In the right ventricle (RV), right atrium, and left atrium of the heart, the expressions of AM mRNA and protein were increased in the middle to late phase (5-21 days) of HHE, whereas in the brain and lung they were increased much earlier (0.5-5 days). In situ hybridization and immunohistochemistry showed AM mRNA and protein staining to be more intense in the RV in animals in the middle to late phase of HHE exposure than in the controls. During HHE, these changes in AM synthesis, which occurred strongly in the RV, occurred alongside the increase in PAP. Conceivably, AM may play a role in modulating pulmonary hypertension in HHE.

The effect of controlling the redox potential (Eh) on chalcopyrite bioleaching kinetics was studied as a new aspect of redox control during chalcopyrite bioleaching, and its mechanism was investigated by employing the "normalized" solution redox potential (Enormal) and the reaction kinetics model. Different Eh ranges were established by use of different acidophiles (Sulfobacillus acidophilus YTF1; Sulfobacillus sibiricus N1; Acidimicrobium ferrooxidans ICP; Acidiplasma sp. Fv-AP). Cu dissolution was very susceptible to real-time change in Eh during the reaction. It was found that efficiency of bioleaching of chalcopyrite can be effectively evaluated on the basis of Enormal, since it is normalized for real-time fluctuations of concentrations of major metal solutes during bioleaching. For steady Cu solubilization during bioleaching at a maximum rate, it was important to maintain a redox potential range of 0 ≤ Enormal ≤ 1 (-0.35 mV optimal) at the mineral surface by employing a "weak" ion-oxidizer. This led to a copper recovery of > 75%. At higher Enormal levels (Enormal > 1 by "strong" microbial Fe 2+ oxidation), Cu solubilization was slowed by diffusion through the product film at the mineral surface (< 50% Cu recovery) caused by low reactivity of the chalcopyrite and by secondary passivation of the chalcopyrite surface, mainly by jarosite.