Advancement in singing ability using The YUBA Method in patients with cochlear implants

CONCLUSION

Although overall improvement was not so dramatic due to a lack of retention, session by session advancement of matching pitch for targeted MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) sound was predominantly obvious. It was proved that The YUBA Method worked to improve singing ability for patients with cochlear implants.

OBJECTIVES

This study sought to verify whether or not the Yuba theory and method improved the singing ability of patients with cochlear implants.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

Based on diagnosis, the instructor experimented to improve matching pitch of singing for three patients with cochlear implants using The YUBA Method. The mean fundamental frequencies and standard deviation of singing were then compared with before and after instructions to patients. The instruction was given for over 40 days at the University of Tokyo Hospital.

RESULTS

For each patient, the mean fundamental frequencies of their singing approached the mean MIDI specified frequencies as references for tests done in all three songs. Overall, the SD between fundamental frequencies of their singing and reference MIDI sounds became smaller.

The expression of TNF-alpha converting enzyme at the site of ruptured plaques in patients with acute myocardial infarction

BACKGROUND

Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) converting enzyme (TACE) plays an essential role in the TNF-alpha shedding process, which could affect the outcome of acute myocardial infarction (AMI). However, it remains unclear whether it originates from the ruptured plaque or represents a systemic process. This study analysed TACE-mediated TNF-alpha shedding at the site of ruptured plaques in AMI patients and compared them with a systemic mechanism.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The study included 60 patients with AMI who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and 21 patients with stable angina pectoris (SA). Local samples from the site of plaque were taken from AMI using aspiration catheter treatment. Systemic samples were also taken from the aorta in all patients with AMI and SA.

RESULTS

Systemic levels of TACE and TNF-alpha were higher in AMI patients than in SA patients. In AMI patients, these levels were higher in local samples than in systemic samples. A positive correlation was seen between local TACE and TNF-alpha levels in AMI patients. Thrombus material removed from the ruptured plaque showed immunostainings of TACE and TNF-alpha in infiltrating macrophages. By six months follow-up study, local TACE levels remained the only significant independent predictors of adverse cardiac events in AMI patients.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates that local expression of TACE is related to TNF-alpha shedding at the site of ruptured plaques in AMI patients. In addition, local TACE expression at the site of ruptured plaques may play an important role in poor outcomes in patients with AMI.

Highly Diastereo- and Enantioselective Direct Aldol Reactions of Aldehydes and Ketones Catalyzed by Siloxyproline in the Presence of Water

Proline-based organocatalysts have been developed for a highly enantioselective, direct aldol reaction of aldehydes and ketones in the presence of water. While several surfactant-proline combined catalysts have proved effective, proline derivatives with a hydrophobic moiety such as trans-siloxy-L-proline and cis-siloxy-D-proline, both of which are easily prepared from the same commercially available 4-hydroxy-L-proline, have been found to be the most effective organocatalysts examined in this study, affording the aldol product with excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivities, these two catalysts generating opposite enantiomers. Water affects the selectivity, and poor results are obtained under neat reaction conditions or in dry organic solvents. More than three equivalents of water are required for the best diastereo- and enantioselectivities, while three equivalents is the recommended amount from a synthetic point of view. The reaction proceeds in the organic phase, and also proceeds in the presence of a large amount of water. The large-scale preparation of aldols with the minimal use of an organic solvent, including in the purification step, is described.

Essential elements in the coding region of mRNA for translation of ColE2 Rep protein

Translation initiation of mRNA encoding the plasmid-specified initiator protein (Rep) required for initiation of the ColE2 plasmid DNA replication is fairly efficient in Escherichia coli despite the absence of a canonical Shine-Dalgarno sequence. Although a GA cluster sequence exists upstream the initiation codon, its activity as the SD sequence has been shown to be very inefficient. Deletion analyses have shown that there are sequences important for the Rep translation in the regions upstream the GA cluster sequence and downstream the initiation codon. To further define regions important for translation of the Rep mRNA, a set of the ColE2 rep genes bearing single-base substitution mutations in the coding region near the initiation codon was generated and their translation activities examined. We showed that translation of the Rep mRNA was reduced by some of these mutations in a region ranging at least 70 nucleotides from the initiation codon in the coding region, indicating the presence of translation enhancer(s) outside the translation initiation region which is covered by the ribosome bound to the initiation codon. Some of them seem to be essential and specific for translation of the ColE2 Rep mRNA due to the absence of a canonical SD sequence.

Cystic thymoma in a child: a rare case and review of the literature

Thymomas are rare mediastinal tumors in pediatrics and cystic thymoma, is characterized by a predominantly cystic formation, is extremely rare. This report describes a 13-year-old girl with cystic thymoma, who was treated by video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery. The microscopic findings were characteristic of cystic thymoma. The literature on cystic thymoma is reviewed here and the clinical characteristics of cystic thymoma are discussed.

Unique technological voice method (The YUBA Method) shows clear improvement in patients with cochlear implants in singing

It is known that children with cochlear implants tend to sing off-key, monotonously, and flat. There are a few reports that it is possible to improve off-key singing mainly through instruction using the falsetto voice for people with normal hearing. We examined whether their singing skills could be improved through instruction. Eight subjects (five boys and three girls aged 10.4+/-2.4 years) with cochlear implants were selected. Speech perception scores of short sentences were on average 66.5%+/-26.5%. We diagnosed their singing acuity by letting them sing a nursery song, well known to all of them, before and after the instruction. The mean fundamental frequencies of their singing approached the mean Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI)-specified frequencies as references and the deviation between fundamental frequencies of their singing and reference MIDI sounds became smaller. This study shows a clear improvement in the singing ability of children with cochlear implants through a unique technological voice method, mainly focused on the falsetto voice in this experiment.

Observation of phonons in multiferroic BiFeO(3) single crystals by Raman scattering

We have grown BiFeO(3) bulk single crystals by a flux method and characterized the phonon spectra in detail by Raman scattering in the temperature range 4-1100 K. All the 13 Raman-active phonon modes predicted by group theory, 4A(1)+9E, were observed at low temperature and successfully assigned by a polarized Raman measurement. Moreover, drastic spectral changes in the Raman spectra were observed at temperatures 600-700 K and 1000-1100 K. These features are discussed from the viewpoint of phonon coupling with the magnetic ordering and the structural phase transition, respectively.

Bacterial superantigens and T cell receptor beta-chain-bearing T cells in the immunopathogenesis of ulcerative colitis

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic relapsing-remitting inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects the colon and the rectum producing debilitating symptoms, which impair ability to function and quality of life. The aetiology of IBD is incompletely understood, but within the lymphocyte population, specific T cell subsets are known to be major factors in the development of intestinal immune pathology while different subsets are essential regulators, controlling IBD. Hence, IBD is thought to reflect dysregulated T cell behaviour. This study was to investigate if the normal molecular configuration of the T cell receptor (TCR) repertoire is compromised in patients with UC. The percentage of T cell-bearing beta-chain 4 (TCRBV4) was high in patients with UC, and T cells showed polyclonal expansion in the presence of bacterial superantigens (SA) such as streptococcal mitogenic exotoxin Z-2 (SMEZ-2), indicating that bacterial SA promote specific TCRBV family expansion. Further, in patients with UC, the duration of UC was significantly longer in patients with skewed TCRBV4 compared with patients without TCRBV4 skewing, suggesting that long-term exposure to bacterial SA such as SMEZ-2 might promote systemic immune disorders like the remission-relapsing cycles seen in patients with UC. In conclusion, our observations in this study support the perception that the systemic activation of T cells by enteric bacterial SA might lead to a dysregulated, but exuberant immune activity causing the remission and flare-up cycle of mucosal inflammation in patients with UC. Future studies should strengthen our findings and increase understanding on the aetiology of IBD.

Preliminary field testing of a long-lasting insecticide-treated hammock against Anopheles gambiae and Mansonia spp. (Diptera: Culicidae) in West Africa

The efficacy of an experimental long-lasting insecticide-treated hammock (LLIH) with a long-lasting treated net used as a blanket and made of the same fabric (polyethylene) was tested in a concrete block experimental hut, against the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae s.l. and the arbovirus vectors and nuisance mosquitoes Mansonia africana (Theobald) and Mansonia uniformis (Theobald). The LLIH was treated with the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin. It was evaluated concurrently with ignited mosquito coils over 20 successive weeks. In total, 2,227 mosquitoes (130 An. gambiae and 2,097 Mansonia spp.) corresponding to 27.8 mosquitoes per trap-night were collected in the untreated hut (control). The repellent effect of both coils and LLIH significantly reduced the number of mosquitoes entering the huts (35- 60%). There was no significant difference between LLIH and mosquito coils in blood-feeding inhibition (93-97%) or in mortality (88-98%). The LLIH is more cost-effective and user-friendly than mosquito coils, which need to be replaced nightly to protect people sleeping indoors from mosquito bites. The effects of LLIH on exophagic vectors also need to be investigated because most people that sleep in hammocks are outdoors.

Human papillomavirus-16 is integrated in lung carcinomas: a study in Chile

The human papillomavirus (HPV) was detected in 20 (29%) out of 69 lung carcinomas (LCs) in Chile, by PCR and Southern blot, and was more frequently detected in squamous cell carcinoma (SQC) than in adenocarcinomas (46 vs 9%, P=0.001). HPV-16, positive in 11 cases, was the most frequently detected HPV genotype determined by DNA sequencing. HPV-16 E2/E6 ratio, estimated from real-time PCR analysis, was much lower than the unity, suggesting that at least a partial HPV-16 genome was integrated in all but one HPV-16-positive SQCs. The remaining one case was suspected to have only episomal HPV-16. Although the viral load was low in most of the LCs, a case showed the HPV-16 copy number as high as 8479 per nanogram DNA, which was even a few times higher than the minimum viral load of seven cervical carcinomas (observed viral load: 3356-609 392 per nanogram DNA). The expression of the HPV-16/18 E6 protein was found in only two HPV-16-positive SQCs (13%) but not in the case with the highest viral load. Although the viral load was in general very low and HPV E6 expression is none or weak, further studies seem warranted to examine aetiological involvement of high-risk HPV in lung carcinogenesis.

Differentiation between intradural and extradural locations of juxta-dural ring aneurysms by using contrast-enhanced 3-dimensional time-of-flight magnetic resonance angiography

BACKGROUND

Juxta-dural ring aneurysms of the ICA have different clinical outcomes and risks for SAH, which are dependent on their position in the intradural or extradural space. The aim of this study was to reveal the precise location of such aneurysms by using CE-MRA.

METHODS

Contrast-enhanced MRA studies were performed in 21 patients with 24 juxta-dural ring aneurysms. The locations were evaluated by source images of CE-MRA and MPR images. We evaluated the accuracy of preoperative MRI findings by comparing imaging results with intraoperative findings in 7 cases.

RESULTS

The CS was clearly enhanced in the CE-MRA technique, which allowed the precise identification of these aneurysms as intradural or extradural. Intracavernous aneurysms were diagnosed when the greater hyperintensity of the aneurysm was located within the less hyperintense region of the contrast-enhanced CS. Nine of the cases were diagnosed as intradural aneurysms, and 15 aneurysms were noted as extradural based on the findings of CE-MRA. Surgery was performed in 7 cases, which included 4 intradural and 3 extradural aneurysms, and the preoperative MRI findings corresponded with the intraoperative findings in all cases.

CONCLUSION

Contrast-enhanced MRA and MPR are very useful techniques for determining the location of juxta-dural ring aneurysms.

Parameter optimization technique using the response surface methodology

We propose a parameter optimization technique using the response surface methodology (RSM) for the accurate biological cell simulation which calculates cell behavior by numerically integrating the differential equation and generates action potentials, intracellular Ca transient, contraction, and intracellular ATP consumption by using parameter values of major ion permeability and amplitude of Ko dependency. Since most of these parameters cannot be directly measured by experiment, these are searched for by applying an optimization technique, that is, by minimizing an objective function defined as a difference between a measured and a calculated waveform of action potentials in a cardiac myocyte. We employ the RSM as the optimization technique. In the RSM, a quadratic polynomial is used in general, and a mathematical technique is used to calculate the extreme points. Because our parameter space cannot be approximated by a single quadratic polynomial surface, we adopt a recursive subdivision technique and use the coefficient of multiple determination to representing a response surface in each subspace for a criteria of the subdivision. We confirmed the effectiveness of the proposed technique by searching for parameters which are determined in advance.

Comparison between prenatally diagnosed choledochal cyst and type-1 cystic biliary atresia by CD56-immunostaining using liver biopsy specimens

Because it is difficult to distinguish preoperatively between a prenatally diagnosed choledochal cyst (CC) and type-1 cystic biliary atresia (BA) by ultrasound scanning or magnetic resonance imaging, some mode of discriminating between the 2 entities is required. The aim of this study was to investigate the immunohistological differences between prenatally diagnosed CC and type-1 cystic BA, using liver biopsy specimens immunostained for CD56. Five children with prenatally diagnosed CC and two children with prenatally diagnosed type-1 cystic BA were identified by fetal ultrasonography between 1985 and 2004. The control group included two children who were operated on at an earlier period due to postnatally diagnosed BA. Liver wedge biopsy in the right lobe was performed at the time of the radical operation. Histological findings of the CD56-stained liver biopsy specimens were classified into 4 categories each, with particular focus on staining distribution and intensity. The staining distribution was classified according to the scale 0 = no staining; 1 = some staining of bile ducts/ductules but staining in less than one-third of portal tracts; 2 = staining in one-third to less than two-thirds of portal tracts; and 3 = staining in more than two-thirds of portal tracts. Staining intensity was scored as follows: 0 = no staining, 1 = weak staining, 2 = moderate staining, and 3 = strong staining. The staining intensity and distribution in the CC group was zero in all 5 cases. The type-1 cystic BA group consisted of patients with scale 1 or 3 staining distribution and score 1 or 2 staining intensity. In the control group, staining distribution was 1 or 3, and staining intensity was 1 or 3. These results indicate that CD56-positive biliary duct cells are present in prenatally diagnosed type-1 cystic BA. The authors suggest that exploratory laparotomy might be avoided and, instead, immunohistological examination using liver biopsy specimens may be a reliable test for the differential diagnosis of CC and type-1 cystic BA in prenatally diagnosed neonates.

Oligogenic transmission of abnormal teat patterning phenotype (ATPP) in cattle

Abnormal teat patterning phenotype (ATPP) is characterized by one (moderate form) or two (severe form) absent teats in cattle. Using an allele-sharing non-parametric linkage strategy, significant associations with severe ATPP animals were detected on BTA17 (Z(max) = 7.3 at 21 cM), centromeric BTA1 (Z(max) = 3.7 at 8 cM) and telomeric BTA1 (Z(max) = 4.8 at 142 cM). The BTA17 region was also significantly associated in the analysis of the moderate ATPP animals (Z(max) = 5.3 at 0 cM). The transmission disequilibrium test in severe ATPP animals demonstrated significant over-transmission of paternal alleles in the BTA17 region (P = 2.2 x 10(-9)), the centromeric BTA1 region (P = 0.035) and the telomeric BTA1 region (P = 0.005). Significant over-transmission of the BTA17 region was also observed among the moderate ATPP animals (P = 2.3 x 10(-4)). These findings indicate that the BTA17 locus plays a key role in risk of the disease, and that the BTA17 locus contributes temporally in combination with the two other loci on BTA1 and/or possibly unknown modifier(s) in a probabilistic oligo- or polygenic manner of transmission. Haplotypes of these three loci can be used for marker-assisted animal breeding to control the recurrence of affected progeny with ATPP.