Automated analysis of all-night records of tracheal sound to detect sleep disordered breathing

In sleep-disordered breathing, tracheal sounds disappear during apnea and vary cyclicly during hypopnea. We tried to detect these changes in tracheal sounds automatically with a personal computer, and we evaluated the diagnostic accuracy of this system for detecting sleep-disordered breathing. Polysomnography and tracheal sound recording were done in 33 subjects with possible sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome. Eighteen had positive results defined as an apnea/hypopnea index greater than 15. Tracheal sounds were digitized and a personal computer was used to calculate short time power spectra (44-600 Hz) every 0.2 seconds by the fast Fourier transform. The moving averages (18 seconds) of the logarithms of the power spectra were calculated every 2 seconds. Transient falls in the moving averages of more than 12 dB were detected. Those that were lower than 5 dB above the level of background noise were classified as tracheal sound apneas. The number of falls of more than 12 dB and the number of tracheal sound apneas correlated strongly with the number of apneas plus hypopneas (r = 0.95) and with the number of apneas (r = 0.97), respectively. The sensitivity and specificity of tracheal sound analysis for the sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome (as defined above) were 89% and 60%, respectively, when the criteria was more than 15 falls of more than 12 dB per hour. We conclude that tracheal sound analysis by this method is useful as a screening test for the sleep apnea/hypopnea syndrome.     

A novel mutant gene involved in T-lymphocyte-specific homing into peripheral lymphoid organs on mouse chromosome 4

Previously, we have shown a mutant mouse DDD/1 with T-cell-specific homing defect that is regulated by an autosomal recessive gene, plt (paucity of lymph node T cells), and seems to be caused by lymph node (LN) stromal cells. In the present study, immunohistochemical analysis showed unusual distribution of T cells in LN, Peyer's patches (PP), and spleen from plt/plt, probably due to the failure of T cells to migrate from blood into the T-cell zone in LN or PP, or into the spleen white pulp across high endothelial venule or marginal zone, respectively, based on the experiments in which labelled T cells were injected intravenously and detected in the tissues. Analysis of surface L-selectin and CD44 suggested that T cells with memory phenotype, probably from afferent lymphatics, recruit into plt/plt LN. Linkage mapping by simple-sequence length polymorphism of genomic DNA from 190 backcross progenies produced by intercrossing with MSM/Ms, linked plt most closely with D4Mit237, and localized at 24.7 cM from cetromere on chromosome 4. We discuss the possibility that a wild-type gene on plt locus encodes a chemokine inducing T-cell-specific homing into peripheral lymphoid tissues.     

Shorter-wavelength lithography utilizing MRS-type negative resists

New negative photoresists, called MRS-type resists, are successfully applied to deep-UV 1:1 projection printing and 365 nm 10:1 reduction projection printing. The MRS-type resists are characterized by intense absorption of exposure light and absence of swelling in aqueous developer solutions. They resolve steep profile submicron images in a 1.0 μ thick film. They are not adversely affected by reflected light from water surfaces. In order to use MRS-type resists with broader development latitude, optimizing the extent of light absorption is important because the resist profiles strongly depend on development conditions due to increasing solubility towards the resist bottom.     

A signal-swing suppressing strategy for power and layout areasavings using time-multiplexed differential data-transfer scheme

This paper presents a signal-swing suppression strategy which uses a time-multiplexed differential data-transfer (TMD) scheme combined with a data-transition detector (DTD) circuit, featuring shared complementary wires, which are originally allocated to adjacent signal bits, respectively. TMD can be exploited to reduce the signal voltage-swing and to realize a charge-recycling bus (CRB) architecture. This enables a dramatic power reduction without the throughput-loss due to time-multiplexing, while maintaining the same number of signal wires compared to a single signal line (SSL) scheme. This is because the differential transfer scheme inherently has a more capability in terms of throughput and noise tolerance compared to SSL. To demonstrate the effectiveness of TMD with DTD and TMD with CRB (TM-CRB), power consumption comparisons were made between SSL, the parallel architecture, TMD with DTD, and TM-CRB. For all measurements, the same throughput conditions were used based on the simulated and measured data of the 0.5 μm CMOS devices. This paper presents why TM-CRB can reduce the power dissipation on heavily loaded bus lines to less than 1/31 and 1/8, with bus activity of 100% and 25%, respectively, while maintaining the same number of signal wires, compared to SSL     

Effect of the interaction between fibronectin and VLA-4 on the proliferation of human B cells, especially a novel human B-cell line, OPM-3

Very late antigen (VLA)-4 integrin has been suggested to play an important role in haemopoiesis. However, little is known concerning the roles of the fibronectin (FN)/VLA-4 interaction in the proliferation of human B cells. In this study we investigated the effect of immobilized FN on the proliferation of various B-cell lines, including a newly-established B-cell line, OPM-3, and human tonsillar B cells, that primarily express VLA-4 but not VLA-5. Immobilized FN significantly promoted the proliferation of OPM-3 cells and normal B cells via VLA-4. The cross-linking of beta1 integrins of OPM-3 cells resulted in the phosphorylation of the focal adhesion kinase (FAK) associated 90 kD protein, an increase in FAK-associated kinase activity, and the phosphorylation of Raf-1. Furthermore, the MEK1 inhibitor, PD98059, inhibited the FN-promoted proliferation of OPM-3 cells. These results demonstrate that the FN/VLA-4 interaction transmits the growth signal(s) which may be mediated by Ras pathway in OPM-3 cells, and suggest that OPM-3 cells may be of great value in studying the roles of the FN/VLA-4 interaction in human B-cell growth.     

Properties of syndiotactic-rich poly(vinyl alcohol) thin film in water. V. Effect of initial temperature of heating on elongation

The effect of the initial temperature of heating on the elongation of syndiotactic-rich poly(vinyl alcohol) thin films was investigated in water under a load. The elongation ratios E_i after 4 h at fixed temperatures increased roughly with an increase in the initial temperature T_i and a decrease in the annealing temperature. E_i after 4 h was the smallest at T_i = 45°C for the films annealed at temperatures below 100°C. E_i was 6.8 at T_i = 60°C for the unannealed film and 1.12 at T_i = 70°C for the film annealed at 200°C. The elongation at break decreased and the temperature at break increased with an increase in annealing temperature, but those at the annealing temperature of 100°C were the smallest. The films annealed at 200°C did not break even at 98°C (boiling temperature) in water and the elongation ratio was 1.42–1.97 in the initial temperature range of 10–70°C. From these results, the relation between the elongation in water and the state of polymer chains in film was discussed.     

Leaching behavior of heat-treated waste ash

The leaching behavior of heat-treated waste ash was studied to verify the possibility of the thermal treatment of waste incineration ash in existing incinerators and boiler combustion chambers. The influence of temperature, oxygen concentration and treatment time on the leaching behaviors of harmful heavy metals, especially lead (Pb) and chromium(VI) (Cr (VI)) were studied to clarify effective treatment conditions to suppress leaching. By examining the leaching behavior of Pb and Cr from ash heat-treated under various conditions, it was found that leaching can be suppressed by heat-treating the ash under conventional combustion conditions of around 900-1000 °C at 5-10% oxygen concentration. The leaching behaviors of Pb and Cr (VI) from real ash with different particle sizes and from model samples were also investigated in detail to find an effective method to suppress Pb leaching. It was found that the formation and growth of gehlenite (SiO₂·2CaO·Al₂O₃) in the ashes led to the decrease in the amount of Pb leaching. Therefore it was considered that the addition of an inorganic matrix with a high silica content that can promote gehlenite growth in the ash, for example, coal ash or waste glass is effective to suppress of Pb leaching.