In order to develop an air electrode to be used for rechargeable metal‐air batteries, gas‐diffusion type carbon‐based electrodes have been tested for the electrochemical reduction and evolution of oxygen. The electrode, loaded with a large surface area of La0.6Ca0.4CoO3 catalyst was found to show high bifunctional performance, i.e., 3000 mA/cm2 (oxygen reduction) and 1000 mA/cm2 (oxygen evolution) at −125 and +700 mV vs. normalHg/normalHgO , respectively, in 30 w/o KOH at 25°C. The oxide catalyst is considered to decompose effectively HO2− , an intermediate appearing in both oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions. The air electrode was stable for 100 cycles of charge‐discharge test at a current density of 100 mA/cm2.

Background and Purpose-Hyponatremia after subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) is commonly associated with diuresis and natriuresis, but the causes are still controversial. We investigated whether brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) was related to such hyponatremia. Methods-Plasma BNP concentrations were measured by immunoradiometric assay in 18 patients at 0 to 2 days (period 1), 7 to 9 days (period 2), and Ͼ14 days (period 3) after SAH. Plasma concentrations of antidiuretic hormone (ADH), atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), and noradrenaline were also measured during period 2. Results-The 11 patients with hyponatremia (serum sodium concentration of Ͻ135 mEq/L) had much higher plasma BNP concentrations during each period than did healthy controls (PϽ0.05), whereas the 7 patients with normonatremia did not show statistically higher values. In the patients with hyponatremia, the plasma BNP concentration during period 2 was statistically higher than that during periods 1 and 3 (PϽ0.05). The plasma noradrenaline concentration during period 2 was higher in patients with hyponatremia than in those with normonatremia (PϽ0.05), whereas the plasma concentrations of ADH and ANP during period 2 were not statistically different between the hyponatremic and normonatremic patients. Key Words: hyponatremia Ⅲ natriuretic peptide, brain Ⅲ subarachnoid hemorrhage H yponatremia after SAH has been reported to have an incidence of 30% to 40%. Recent studies have demonstrated that this phenomenon is frequently associated with hypovolemia, which is caused not by the syndrome of inappropriate secretion of ADH but by CSW. Conclusions-We1,2,3 However, the cause of CSW is still controversial. Some authors have reported that ANP 4,5 and digoxinlike peptides 6 may cause the hyponatremia, while others have suggested that these agents are not involved. 7,8 BNP, which was isolated from porcine brain in 1988, 9 causes natriuresis and diuresis. It has recently become possible to measure BNP accurately by immunoradiometric assay. We investigated whether BNP was related to hyponatremia after SAH by measuring plasma BNP concentrations with use of an immunoradiometric assay in patients with acute SAH. Subjects and Methods Patients and ManagementEighteen patients (4 men and 14 women without cardiac, renal, or endocrine diseases; meanϮSD age, 62.3Ϯ10.8 years) with SAH verified by CT scan were investigated from January 1995 through December 1996. All patients underwent cerebral angiography and aneurysm clipping within 48 hours of the onset, except for 1 patient in whom angiography failed to identify the source of hemorrhage. Each patient received intravenous fluid at approximately 2500 to 3000 mL/d to maintain a central venous pressure of 4 to 12 cm H 2 O. Sodium administration ranged from 280 to 320 mEq/d in patients without hyponatremia, while sodium loss was replaced according to urinary excretion when hyponatremia occurred. When symptomatic vasospasm occurred, ozagrel sodium (Xanbon, Kissei Pharmaceutical Co Ltd) was intravenously administered at 80 mg/d in pa...

The purpose of this study is to assess the cognitive skills and the audio visual perceptions of orienteering athletes and to research the relationship between these two. 17 male athletes, who have been playing orienteering sport for at least 2 years, whose average age is 16.3 ± 1.6 years, participated voluntarily in our study. Reaction time test, mental rotation tests were implemented to the participants on successive days, during the same time zone, and in a quiet environment favorable for testing. The "Finger Tapping Test" (FTT), in which the speed of consecutive motor movements was evaluated was implemented via a computer program and the athletes were asked to press the specified key consecutively for 20 seconds. The obtained data was recorded. In conclusion, it was determined that the random-interval audio visual reaction times are longer than the Fix-interval audio visual reaction times. It was concluded that each question was answered in 8.7 seconds on average during the mental rotation test implemented in the study; whereas it was discovered that the correct answer average was 9.8 in the MR test, which consists of 16 questions. When the answers given by the athletes to the test questions were examined, it was determined that 4 athletes, who answered each question approximately in 3 seconds and completed the test in under 1 minute, are not successful in terms of accuracy and duration. These results indicate that the mental rotation performances of the orienteering athletes are not at a good level.

FLAIR diagnostic images are superior to conventional MR or CT images in patients with subacute subarachnoid hemorrhage.

Adsorption of transition metal ions such as Fe(III), Ni(II), and Zn(II) on silicon wafers in ammoniac hydrogen peroxide solution (SC-1 solution) has been studied. It was found by comparing the experimental results with the equilibrium calculations that the main adsorption species is the dissolved neutral hydroxide complex. This was supported by the calculated free energy change of adsorption of hydroxide complexes.