Histamine and substance P in synovial fluid of patients with temporomandibular disorders

Although psychosocial factors and malocclusion are regarded as potential causes of temporomandibular disorders (TMD), the underlying pathogenesis is poorly understood. Recent studies suggest that substance P (SP), which has been associated with both psychosocial factors and malocclusion, and histamine, whose release can be induced by SP, may be implicated in the pathogenetic process. This study was designed to measure the concentration of histamine and SP in synovial fluid (SF) of both 38 patients with TMD and 11 healthy controls, and analyse the correlation between histamine and SP. Patients with TMD were divided into three subgroups: displaced disc with reduction (DDR), displaced disc without reduction (DDNR) and osteoarthritis (OA), with 10, 13, 15 subjects in every subgroup, respectively. After collecting SF samples, histamine and SP levels were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay analysis (ELISA) and calibrated by bicinchoninic acid (BCA)-quantified protein level in the samples. The results suggest that OA group presented a significantly higher level of both histamine and SP than DDNR, DDR and healthy control groups. Histamine or SP in DDR and DDNR groups tend to be higher than control group, but no significance was found. Painful TMJs show higher histamine and SP than painless TMJs. Correlation analysis reveals a significant correlation between histamine and SP concentrations. Collectively, this study showed the changes of histamine and SP in the SF from different stages of TMD and found a significant correlation between the two substances, suggesting their potential implication in the pathogenesis of TMD.

Serotonin and sudden death: differential effects of serotonergic drugs on seizure-induced respiratory arrest in DBA/1 mice

In the DBA/1 mouse model of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), administration of a selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor (SSRI), fluvoxamine, completely suppressed seizure-induced respiratory arrest (S-IRA) at 30 min after administration (i.p.) in a dose-related manner without blocking audiogenic seizures (AGSz), but another SSRI, paroxetine, reduced S-IRA but with a delayed (24 h) onset and significant toxicity. A serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, venlafaxine, reduced S-IRA incidence, but higher doses were ineffective. A selective 5-HT7 agonist, AS-19, was totally ineffective in reducing S-IRA. In developing DBA/1 mice that had not previously experienced AGSz, administration of a nonselective 5-HT antagonist, cyproheptadine, induced a significantly greater incidence of S-IRA than that of saline. This study confirms that certain drugs that enhance the activation of 5-HT receptors are able to prevent S-IRA, but not all serotonergic drugs are equally effective, which may be relevant to the potential use of these drugs for SUDEP prevention. Serotonergic antagonists may be problematic in patients with epilepsy.

Lung intravascular large B-cell lymphoma with ground glass opacities on chest computed tomography: a case report

Intravascular large B-cell lymphoma (IVLBCL) is a rare type of extranodal large B-cell lymphoma characterized by the selective growth of lymphoma cells within the lumina of vessels, particularly within capillaries, with exception of larger arteries and veins. The authors reported a case of a 45-year-old woman who was admitted in hospital with refractory fever, cough and progressive dyspnea despite of receiving broad-spectrum antibiotics. Computed tomography (CT) of the lung showed bilateral patchy ground-glass opacities with some pleural effusion in the left lung. A CT-guided percutaneous lung biopsy was performed and primary pulmonary intravascular large B-cell lymphoma was diagnosed by histopathology, immunophenotype and fluorescence in situ hybridization. The patient's general status was improved after chemotherapy with R-CHOP. CT-guided percutaneous biopsy of lung is a safe and accurate diagnostic procedure in IVLBCL.

Changing patterns of basic household consumption in the Inner Mongolian grasslands: a case study of policy-oriented adoptive changes in the use of grasslands

Grassland ecosystems, as the basic natural resources in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, are becoming increasingly sensitive to human intervention, leading to deterioration in fragile ecosystems. The goal of this study was to describe the restoration policy-oriented adoptive changes to basic household consumption patterns of food, fuel, and water, and their spatial distribution by grassland types in the region. Basic household consumption data were collected in the meadow steppe (Hulun Buir), typical steppe (Xilin Gol), and semi-desert steppe (Ordos) ecosystems using structured questionnaires administered to 209 herders and farmers. In 2010, the householders’ intake comprised a low amount of agri-crops, including staple foods, vegetables and fruit with a high amount of meat, which still dominated the patterns of food consumption. However, the number of households preferring this pattern is decreasing and higher amounts of agri-crop and lower amounts of meat consumption pattern is increasing. From 1995 to 2010, fuel consumption patterns changed from being dominated by bio-fuels (dung) to being dominated mainly by electricity and gas. However, bio-fuel remains a major energy source for daily life in the meadow steppe ecosystem. In all three surveyed grassland types, the use of coal, electricity and gas increased from 1995 to 2010. The source of domestic water in all three surveyed areas is from groundwater, with an increasing trend to use tap water from a public supply rather than from privately owned wells.

Rhabdomyosarcoma in adrenal region of a child with hypertension and fever: a case report and literature review

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children but rarely involves the adrenal. We describe a case of alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma (ARMS) of the right adrenal in a 5-year-old boy with a characteristic history of hypertension and recurrent fever. On surveillance imaging, a right adrenal mass was incidentally detected, and a right adrenalectomy was subsequently performed. After the surgery, the fever disappeared simultaneously, and the blood pressure gradually returned to normal level. This is the first reported case in children.

Structural heterogeneity and diffuse scattering in morphotropic lead zirconate-titanate single crystals

Complementary diffuse and inelastic synchrotron x-ray scattering measurements of lead zirconate-titanate single crystals with composition near the morphotropic phase boundary (x=0.475) are reported. In the temperature range 293 K<T<400 K a highly anisotropic quasielastic diffuse scattering is observed. Above 400 K this scattering disappears. Its main features can be reproduced by the model of inhomogeneous lattice deformations caused by inclusions of a tetragonal phase into a rhombohedral or monoclinic phase. This observation supports the idea that PZT at its morphotropic phase boundary is essentially structurally inhomogeneous.

Physical mechanism underlying temperature effects on phase retardation

We report on the physical mechanism underlying the temperature dependence of phase retardation. Changes in refractive index and thickness of the wave plate are the two main contributions to phase retardation variations. Temperature-dependent changes in refractive index are described by Sellmeier's equation. Constants in this equation need to be determined by fits to experimental data. A new high-precision instrument was used to measure phase retardation at various temperatures. Once determined, the fitting equation can be used to calculate the phase retardation at any temperature, and thus has implications for wave-plate industrial manufacturing.

Insulin-like growth factor-1 boosts the developing process of condylar hyperplasia by stimulating chondrocytes proliferation

OBJECTIVE

The etiology of Condylar hyperplasia (CH) of human temporomandibular joint (TMJ) remains largely unknown. Our previous study has demonstrated that enriched insulin-like growth factor-1(IGF-1) was expressed in the proliferation and hypertrophic layers of CH cartilage. Accordingly, this study was aimed to investigate whether IGF-1 regulates CH chondrocytes proliferation in condylar cartilage overgrowth and explore the molecular mechanism of IGF-1 involved in.

METHODS

Chondrocytes were isolated from 6 CH and 3 normal cartilage (NC) specimens and cultured in alginate beads or monolayer, treated with IGF-1 or specific inhibitors such as 7-[trans-3-[(azetidin-1-yl)methyl]cyclobutyl]-5-(3-benzyloxyphenyl)-7H-pyrrolo[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4-amine (NVP-AEW541), U0126, and LY294002. Thereafter, cellular proliferation capacity was evaluated by Cell Viability Analyzer (alginate beads culture) or 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazo(-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) (monolayer culture). Gene expression levels of IGF-1, IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R), collagen type II, type X and those genes associated with proliferation were evaluated by realtime PCR. Protein levels of IGF-1 and IGF-1R synthesized by CH chondrocytes were accessed by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and western blotting.

RESULTS

CH chondrocytes enhanced cellular proliferation capacity and expressed significantly higher levels of messenger RNA (mRNA) and protein expressions of IGF-1 and IGF-1R, as compared with NC chondrocytes. Furthermore, enriched IGF-1 enhanced CH chondrocytes proliferation, up-regulated the expressions of specific genes associated with cellular proliferation and elevated the gene expression of collagen type II A1 (COL2A1). Besides, IGF-1-mediated CH chondrocytes proliferation mainly depended on the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK)-ERK pathway.

CONCLUSIONS

IGF-1 promotes human TMJ cartilage overgrowth in the developing process of CH by enhancing chondrocytes proliferation via MAPK-ERK pathway.

Cone beam CT sialography of Stafne bone cavity

Stafne bone cavity (SBC) was mostly described as a small oval radiolucency in the posterior mandibular region. To the best of our knowledge, the literature does not contain any report of the use of cone beam CT (CBCT) sialography for the diagnosis of this entity. The aim of this paper is to present a large, irregular and expanded atypical SBC, which made diagnosis difficult. A CBCT sialography was performed to get a definite diagnosis of this rare entity.

[Bayes analysis in clinical decision-making for solitary pulmonary nodules]

OBJECTIVE

To explore the feasibility and the value of Bayes analysis in clinical decision-making for solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs).

METHODS

We collected 352 consecutive SPN patients (malignancy, n=135; benignity, n=217) retrospectively to form the training set. Utilizing Bayes analysis, the prior odds of malignant SPNs and the likelihood ratios of clinical and CT findings were derived from the training set, which were then used to calculate the probability of malignancy in each SPN. Bayes analysis was also tested prospectively for its diagnostic validation and precision of predictive probability on the test set of 132 SPN patients (malignancy, n=61; benignity, n=71), and compared with the performance of physicians using routine judgment. The actual results of patients diagnosis were analyzed according to the scale of calculated malignant probability in SPNs.

RESULTS

The sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of Bayes analysis for the training samples were 88.9%, 93.1%, and 91.5%, respectively. In the test set, the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value of Bayes analysis were 88.5%, 85.9%, 87.1%, 84.4%, and 89.7%, respectively. The accuracy of Bayes analysis had no statistically significant difference with that of senior physician A (80.3%, chi2=2.37, P=0.122) and B (79.5%, chi2=3.12, P=0.076), and was higher than that of junior physician C (74.2%, chi2=7.05, P=0.012) and D (74.2%, chi2=6.56, P=0.009); The Brier score was 0.099, 0.140, 0.137,0.154, and 0.179 for Bayes analysis,senior physician A, senior physician B, junior physician C, and junior physician D, respectively. Excluding the solitary metastasis (n=11) misclassified, the false negative rate of Bayes analysis was 1.0% (5/484) for SPNs with <20% estimated probability of malignancy.

CONCLUSION

Bayes analysis is accurate in qualitative diagnosis, precise in forecasting the malignant probability, and has low false negative rate for SPNs. It is feasible to use Bayes analysis for the management of SPNs.

Primary typical carcinoid tumour in the retromolar region with prominent squamous differentiation: a case report

Primary carcinoid tumours of the oral cavity are rare, with only one case of atypical carcinoid tumour reported in the literature. In this article, a case of primary typical carcinoid tumour in the retromolar region in a 46-year-old woman is described. Histologically, the tumour was characterized by submucosal proliferation of medium-sized monomorphous epithelioid cells with an organoid and nesting pattern of growth. Mitoses and necrosis were not found. Prominent squamous differentiation was present. Immunohistochemically, the tumour was diffuse positive for cytokeratin (CK) (AE1/AE3), CK7, p63, neurone-specific enolase, synaptophysin, and chromogranin. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of primary typical carcinoid tumour in the oral cavity.

Influence of season on some skin properties: winter vs. summer, as experienced by 354 Shanghaiese women of various ages

The facial skin of 354 women, aged 18-80, living in Shanghai, was investigated over two successive 6-month periods, summer and winter. Results from clinical assessments indicate that aging signs, such as wrinkling and sagging, are unaffected over such period. However, physical measurements revealed alterations in some functional criteria of the skin, such as sebum output, skin colour, melanin content of pigmented spots, skin hydration, all being increased during summer. The relationships between all criteria, as well as technical or applied inferences/consequences from this study, are discussed.

Single crystal study of competing rhombohedral and monoclinic order in lead zirconate titanate

Neutron diffraction data obtained on single crystals of PbZr(1-x)Ti(x)O3 with x=0.325 and x=0.460, which lie on the pseudorhombohedral side of the morphotropic phase boundary, suggest a coexistence of rhombohedral (R3m/R3c) and monoclinic (Cm) domains and that monoclinic order is enhanced by Ti substitution. A monoclinic phase with a doubled unit cell (Cc) is ruled out as the ground state.

Non-recurrent laryngeal nerve related to thyroid surgery: a report of 5 cases and literature review

BACKGROUND

Non-recurrent laryngeal nerve, a rare anomaly, passes transversely into larynx with or without its recurrent branches directly arising from the vagus nerve. The paper investigates clinical significance of non-recurrent laryngeal nerve during thyroid surgery. Clinical data from 5 cases of non-recurrent laryngeal nerve and related literature reviews were made to acknowledge its incidence, variant types and matters concerned during thyroid operations.

CASE REPORT

821 recurrent laryngeal nerves were anatomized during 2496 thyroid operations, from which 5 were confirmed to hold non-recurrent laryngeal nerves (0.61%). 3 patients were found to have non-recurrent laryngeal nerves during re-operation because of voice horse after the first operation which improved much after re-operation. The other two patients were recognized during the first operation. All 5 cases were not diagnosed preoperatively.

CONCLUSIONS

Non-recurrent laryngeal nerve, a rare anomaly, is very vulnerable during thyroid surgery. It is helpful to avoid injuring non-recurrent laryngeal nerve that identification of the non-recurrent laryngeal nerve and its types.