Anatomical descriptions of the maxillary sinus are critical in pathological diagnosis and the treatment planning of surgical procedures. This study was undertaken to develop a new technique for ...simulating anatomical structures and to clarify the morphological and clinical characteristics of the maxillary sinus. Thirty-three hemi-sectioned Korean heads were used in this study. CT scans and DentaScan reformatted cross-sectional images were taken on all specimens. From the CT images, three-dimensional reconstructed images were made using the V-works program. From the three-dimensional reconstructed images of the maxillary sinus, six categories of maxillary sinus were created, categorized according to their lateral aspects and shapes of the inferior walls. In 55%, a flat inferior wall of the maxillary sinus was observed. All measurements (anterior-posterior length, height, width and volume) of the sinus were larger in males than in females. From the DentaScan reformatted panoramic images, the anterior limit of the maxillary sinus was located in the first premolar area (58%), and the posterior limit was in the third molar and maxillary tuberosity area (94%). We therefore offer a new virtual technique for manipulating three-dimensional reconstructed images easily on a personal computer. On the reconstructed images the three-dimensional morphology could be observed and the anatomical characteristics of the maxillary sinus and surrounding structures could be determined.
Summary
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic pruritic skin condition affecting as much as 15% of children in industrialized countries. While the underlying pathophysiology of AD is not entirely ...understood, several studies have suggested that AD may mediated by oxidative stress. Glutathione S‐transferases (GSTs) are a class of polymorphic enzymes that function to protect against oxidative stress. To identify any possible associations between GSTs polymorphisms and AD susceptibility, the prevalence of two specific polymorphisms –GSTM1 and GSTT1 (homozygous deletion vs. undeleted) – were quantified by multiplex PCR in 145 patients with AD and 267 healthy controls. In individuals with AD, GSTM1/GSTT1 polymorphisms were compared with family history of AD, age of disease onset, disease severity per SCORing Atopic Dermatitis (SCORAD), serum IgE level and presence of other allergic diseases. While the GSTM1‐null genotype was found to be significantly associated with AD (P = 0.033, OR = 1.579, 95% CI = 1.037–2.403), the correlation between the GSTT1‐null genotype and AD did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.577, OR = 1.125, 95% CI = 0.744–1.702). The GSTM1‐null genotype was also found to be significantly associated with a childhood onset of AD, the absence of other allergic diseases, and a family history of AD. In combination, these results suggest that GSTM1 is associated with AD susceptibility in Korean subjects.
SPIN90 regulates actin dynamics, which is important for cell migration control. CXCL13‐mediated B cell migration is essential for B cell immune responses. In this study, we investigated the role of ...SPIN90 in CXCL13‐mediated B cell migration using Spin90 gene‐deficient mice. Our chemokinesis analysis and transwell cell migration assay showed that SPIN90 is involved in CXCL13‐mediated B cell migration. Moreover, the level of CXCR5, which is CXCL13 receptor, was increased in SPIN90‐deficient B cells compared with wild‐type B cells. Overall, our data suggest that SPIN90 plays an important role in B cell immune responses through the regulation of CXCL13‐mediated B cell migration.
Summary
Introduction: Neonates with Down syndrome (DS) are predisposed to developing transient abnormal myelopoiesis (TAM) and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) associated with DS. However, there is a ...paucity of data on hematological aberrations and GATA1 mutations in neonates with DS in East Asian populations.
Methods: Total 109 patients with DS who had one or more CBCs obtained were enrolled. The molecular analysis of the GATA1 gene performed in 10 patients (three TAM, three AML associated with DS at diagnosis, one remission case of AML associated with DS and three DS without TAM or AML).
Results: East Asian DS neonates showed low frequency of thrombocytopenia, uncommon neutrophilia and higher prevalence rate of TAM compared to previous reports from western countries. GATA1 mutations were identified in almost all TAM and AML associated with DS samples, but were not detected in the samples from DS without TAM or AML associated with DS.
Conclusion: East Asian DS neonates and children showed distinctive spectrum of hematological abnormalities.
We report the development of a novel technique of thrombus preparation for use in a swine model for evaluation of thrombectomy devices. The experimental thrombus prepared using plain sedimentation ...showed mechanical stability due to its solid fibrin-rich component. The thrombus also showed histologic similarity to the typical thromboemboli recovered from patients with stroke in the course of therapeutic thrombectomy. This new technique may be beneficial for preclinical evaluation of thrombectomy devices.
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), a long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acid of
ω-3 type was evaluated for its antimicrobial action against the range of foodborne and food spoilage pathogens, using agar disc ...diffusion assay in Luria broth (LB) media. The EPA exhibited antimicrobial activity against
Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633,
Listeria monocytogenes ATCC 19166,
Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 6538,
S. aureus KCTC 1916 and
Pseudomonas aeruginosa KCTC 2004. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of the EPA against the tested bacterial strains were found in the range of 500–1350
μg/ml using broth dilution method. EPA reduced the viability of
S. aureus at 250, 125 and 62.5
μg/ml after 15
min exposure and a steep decline in colony forming units (CFUs) was observed at 125
μg/ml after 30
min exposure, while similar reduction in CFU rate was exhibited by EPA when treated with 62.5
μg/ml after 180
min. EPA also reduced the CFU numbers of
P. aeruginosa at all the concentrations used in this study after 15
min exposure. On the other hand, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) study of bacterial cells clearly exhibited the antibacterial effect of EPA as evidenced by the damages found in the outer membrane of the cells when treated with EPA. The results demonstrated that EPA exerted significant bactericidal and bacteriostatic effects against both
P. aeruginosa and
S. aureus.
Despite limiting elastic recoil and late vascular remodeling after angioplasty, coronary stents remain vulnerable to restenosis, caused primarily by neointimal hyperplasia. Paclitaxel, a ...microtubule-stabilizing drug, has been shown to inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell migration and proliferation contributing to neointimal hyperplasia. We tested whether paclitaxel-coated coronary stents are effective at preventing neointimal proliferation in a porcine model of restenosis.
Palmaz-Schatz stents were dip-coated with paclitaxel (0, 0.2, 15, or 187 microgram/stent) by immersion in ethanolic paclitaxel and evaporation of the solvent. Stents were deployed with mild oversizing in the left anterior descending coronary artery (LAD) of 41 minipigs. The treatment effect was assessed 4 weeks after stent implantation. The angiographic late loss index (mean luminal diameter) decreased with increasing paclitaxel dose (P<0.0028 by ANOVA), declining by 84.3% (from 0.352 to 0.055, P<0.05) at the highest level tested (187 microgram/stent versus control). Accompanying this change, the neointimal area decreased (by 39.5%, high-dose versus control; P<0.05) with increasing dose (P<0.040 by ANOVA), whereas the luminal area increased (by 90.4%, high-dose versus control; P<0.05) with escalating dose (P<0.0004 by ANOVA). Inflammatory cells were seen infrequently, and there were no cases of aneurysm or thrombosis.
Paclitaxel-coated coronary stents produced a significant dose-dependent inhibition of neointimal hyperplasia and luminal encroachment in the pig LAD 28 days after implantation; later effects require further study. These results demonstrate the potential therapeutic benefit of paclitaxel-coated coronary stents in the prevention and treatment of human coronary restenosis.
This study compared the ability of juvenile non-transgenic (NT) and transgenic growth hormone (T; gene construct OnMTGH1) coho salmon (
Oncorhynchus kisutch) to metabolically utilize energy from ...lipid and carbohydrate for growth at two dietary protein concentrations. Triplicate groups of size-matched (initial weight, 28.2–29.1 g) NT and T salmon held in 10.5–10.8 °C well water on a natural phototocycle (12.25 h → 8.25 h) were each fed one of four isoenergetic (~
17.5 MJ of digestible energy (DE)/kg) dry diets twice daily to satiation for 83 days. These diets contained 340 g (LP) or 430 g (HP) of estimated digestible protein (DP)/kg and either 123 g (LL) or 164 g (HL) of estimated digestible lipid (DL)/kg at each DP level (dry weight basis). Estimated digestible carbohydrate (DCHO) concentrations ranged from 45 to 269 g/kg to equalize dietary DE. Under the preceding conditions 46–66% of NT and 18.7–27.5% of T coho, depending upon diet treatment, exhibited no growth or lost weight during the study. NT coho are known to grow slowly or lose weight between the fall equinox and winter solstice but this was unexpected for T coho. Considering all fish T coho, regardless of diet treatment, exhibited significantly higher specific growth rates (SGR) than NT fish due to enhanced feed intake, feed and protein (gross and available deposited) utilization and generally improved available energy utilization. Diet treatment did not affect the growth performance of T fish. Within NT fish, the HP diets supported best gross and available protein and energy utilization. SGR values for growing fish (F
G) only followed identical trends to those for all fish in relation to diet treatment. Regardless of fish genotype, terminal hepatosomatic indices for F
G were directly related to dietary DCHO content and maximum values were noted in NT fish fed LP–LL (significantly higher than observed in NT or T fish fed HP–HL). Final whole body protein concentrations adjusted for dissimilar fish size were higher in T fish fed HP–HL than in T fish fed LP diets and NT fish fed LP–LL. This was also true for T fish fed HP–LL versus T fish fed the LP diets. Within HP groups, whole body lipid and energy contents were generally higher in NT versus T fish whereas within the LP groups energy content was significantly higher in T versus NT fish and was highest in T fish fed LP–LL. Terminal plasma titres for GH and IGF–1 (all fish) were significantly higher in T than in NT fish and were generally uninfluenced by diet treatment. Non-growing NT and T fish had elevated GH relative to NT and T fish that grew. Also, GH was higher in growing T fish relative to growing NT fish whereas the opposite was true in non-growing fish. Plasma IGF-1 levels were higher in growing NT and T fish than in their respective non-growing counterparts. Within F
G only, IGF-1 levels were higher in T versus NT fish.
It is concluded that T coho have enhanced ability to effectively utilize DE from DCHO relative to NT fish especially when DP is near the bottom of the optimal range and DL is concurrently suboptimal for NT fish. This is likely due to the elevated titres of GH, IGF-1 and 3,5,3′-triiodo-
l-thyronine (measured in another study) in T fish. Also, the enhanced ability of T fish to store energy under these dietary conditions suggests enzymatic improvements in their anaerobic and aerobic metabolism of glucose.
Cu-coated W nanocomposite powder was prepared by a combination of high-energy ball-milling of a WO
3
and CuO mixture in a bead mill and its two-stage reduction in a H
2
atmosphere with a slow heating ...rate of 2 °C/min. STEM-EDS and HR-TEM analyses revealed that the microstructure of the reduced W–Cu nanocomposite powder was characterized by ~50-nm W particles surrounded by a Cu nanolayer. Unlike conventional W–Cu powder, this powder has excellent sinterability. Its solid-phase sintering temperature was significantly enhanced, and this led to a reduction in the sintering temperature by 100 °C from the 1,200 °C required for conventional nanocomposite powder. In order to clarify this enhanced sintering behavior of Cu-coated W–Cu nanocomposite powder, the sintering behavior during the heating stage was analyzed by dilatometry. The maximum peak in the shrinkage rate was attained at 1,073 °C, indicating that the solid-phase sintering was the dominant sintering mechanism. FE-SEM and TEM characterizations were also made for the W–Cu specimen after isothermal sintering in a H
2
atmosphere. On the basis of the dilatometric analysis and microstructural observation, the possible mechanism for the enhanced sintering of Cu-coated W composite powder in the solid phase was attributed to the coupling effect of solid-state sintering of nanosized W particle packing and Cu spreading showing liquid-like behavior. Homogeneous and fully densified W–20 wt% Cu alloy with ~180 nm W grain size and a high hardness of 498 Hv was obtained after sintering at 1,100 °C.
PDF
