Difference in voice analysis result by pre- and post- processing of telephone line.

The purpose of this study is to verify the impact of a deterioration of the sound quality of voice by a telephone line on estimating Vitality as the extent of depressive tendency based on voice analysis using MIMOSYS. First, the voices of about 1,000 people recorded using a recorder were prepared. Next, each voice was coded and resampled in preparation for transmission over a phone line. Vitalities obtained by analyzing the voices before and after these processes were compared. The results showed high correlation between the Vitality after coding and Vitality before coding, revealing that using a telephone would be an effective way to obtain voices.

A new devised skirted elephant trunk technique.

A simple and effective new elephant trunk technique was devised and applied to two patients with a successful result. In advance before the operation, an arch graft with a skirted elephant trunk was made. This was done by inserting a smaller, 22 mm diameter sized graft into the arch graft at the distal end and suturing it so as to leave a skirt extending over the smaller graft. This configuration facilitates the distal anastomosis and effectively shortens anastomotic time.

Expression of the proliferation-related Ki-67 mRNA in the early development of murine embryo.

In a search for early lymphoid-specific genes, we isolated a cDNA clone (LL7) encoding a murine homologue of Ki-67 protein, a proliferation-related nuclear antigen. LL7 transcript appears preferentially in lymphoid organs as the bone marrow, spleen, and the thymus. Here, we studied the expression of murine Ki-67 (mKi-67) mRNA among various organs or tissues during the early development of fetus. In fetus, mKi-67 mRNA appears developmentally as early as day 11 and is expressed maximally at day 15. In situ hybridization on the section revealed that the expression of mKi-67 mRNA is preferential in the area of active organ formation such as neurological system and the fetal liver. These results suggest that mKi-67 plays an important role in the proliferation of early embryonic precursor cells of neurological and immune systems.

Cross-linking of B cell antigen receptor-related structure of pre-B cell lines induces tyrosine phosphorylation of p85 and p110 subunits and activation of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase.

To understand the function of B cell antigen receptor (BCR)-related complex on pre-B cells (pre-BCR, Vpre-B/lambda 5/mu heavy chain/Ig-alpha/Ig-beta), we examined pre-BCR- and BCR-mediated signaling events in human and mouse pre-B (Nalm-6, 697, NFS-5), immature B (IgM+ Daudi, WEHI-231) and mature B (IgM+ IgD+ BALL1) cell lines. Anti-mu cross-linking induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the cytoplasmic proteins in each cell type, but did not induce a detectable Ca2+ mobilization response in pre-B cells. While the pre-B cells expressed Syk protein at levels similar to those found in B cell lines, pre-BCR cross-linkage did not induce phosphorylation of Syk tyrosine residues. Different protein kinase C isozymes were expressed by pre-B (PKC-alpha), immature B (PKC-alpha and -beta) and mature B (PKC-beta) cell lines. Anti-mu cross-linking induced PKC translocation from the cytosolic to the membrane compartment in immature and mature B cells, but did not have this effect in a pre-B cell line. Anti-mu cross-linking induced tyrosine phosphorylation of the p85 and p110 subunits of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (P13-kinase) in both pre-B and B cell lines, but the pre-BCR induced P13-kinase activation was Syk independent. Ligation of the pre-BCR complex thus triggers a characteristic signaling pattern in pre-B cells.