No abstract

These data strongly suggest that new commercial assays for sCD26 plasma levels need detailed evaluation and validation with samples from clinically well-characterized patients, and results obtained from these newer assays should be compared to those obtained from well-established in-house assays such as our assay or other validated sCD26 ELISA assays.

In this study, we attempted to produce a gold coating on a glass slide with an interdigitated array (IDA) pattern through a series of processes including spontaneous pattern formation as a key step instead of using photolithographic micromachining processes. In the first step, a gold film was formed by sputter deposition onto a strip of poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) elastomer. As part of the deposition process, the strip was heated because of the excess kinetic energy of the sputtered atoms. As the strip cooled to room temperature after the deposition, it thermally shrunk, causing the gold film to wrinkle because of buckling instability. Most of the wrinkles were oriented in a direction perpendicular to the lengthwise direction of the strip. In the second step, a glass strip that was narrower than the PDMS strip was placed on the PDMS strip. Sputter deposition of gold was repeated, resulting in the formation of wrinkles with an IDA pattern. Finally, this pattern was replicated on an elastomeric stamp surface that was then used for patterning a gold coating on a glass slide using microcontact printing techniques.

Annual changes in testicular development and occurrence of parasperm were investigated using 2-yearold male fourspine sculpins Cottus kazika, based on the histological observation of testes. The male reproductive organ of fourspine sculpins comprised a pair of testes and a sperm duct that functioned as a sperm-storage organ.