Intraosseous Hemangioma of the Inferior Turbinate

The nasal cavity harbors an enormous variety of neoplasms, including epithelial and mesenchymal tumors. Hemangioma is an infrequent mesenchymal tumor of the nasal cavity, mostly arising in the mucosa and rarely in the bones. We describe the case of a 73-year-old woman who was referred to our hospital with a tumor in her left nasal cavity. The tumor originated from the left inferior turbinate. Histological examination subsequent to complete excision revealed that the tumor was an intraosseous cavernous hemangioma. To our knowledge, this is the second case of intraosseous hemangioma of the inferior turbinate reported in the English literature

東シナ海産キアンコウにおけるトゲナシツブムシAcanthochondria spirigeraの寄生状況

東シナ海で漁獲されたキアンコウLophius litulonの口腔壁にカイアシ類ツブムシ科のトゲナシツブムシAcanthochondria spirigeraの寄生を認めた。キアンコウは本寄生虫の新宿主である。トゲナシツブムシを含むAcanthochondria属のカイアシ類は魚市場等で食品衛生的な問題を起こすことがあるため，その寄生状況を観察した。全検査魚における寄生率は72％で，キアンコウ1尾当たり普通1～2個体が寄生していた。寄生部位は口腔壁で，鰓への寄生は見られなかった。1尾当たり寄生数は魚体長が増すほど，また季節的には秋（9～11月）に多くなる傾向がみられた。Anglerfish Lophius litulon (Jordan) caught commercially in the East China Sea off western Japan were found to be infected with the chondracanthid copepod Acanthochondria spirigera Shiino, 1955. Lophius litulon is a new host for this copepod. We made an observation on the occurrence of A. spirigera on anglerfish because the copepods of the genus Acanthochondria cause food hygiene problems at fish markets in Japan. Overall prevalence of infection with A. spirigera was high (71% of 31 fish examined), and one or two copepods were usually found on an infected fish. Their attachment site was the roof and floor of the buccal cavity of the fish. The number of copepods per fish showed an increasing tread with fish size and during the fall months (September to November)

Structural and kinetic modification of aqueous hydroxypropylmethylcellulose(HPMC) induced by electron beam irration

Electron beam was irradiated on 10% and 20% hydroxypropylmethylcellulose (HPMC) aqueous solutions with different doses to make gel films. As increasing dose, the gel fraction of the film increased sharply above a critical dose and then decreased gradually after passing a maximum. The scission/cross-linking ratio and the critical dose were determined using the Charlesby-Rosiak equation as 0.52 and 9 kGy for 10% gel and 0.43 and 14 kGy for 20% gel, respectively. The gel fraction for 20% HPMC film was lower at low dose and higher at high dose than that for 10% film. The behavior of the swelling ratio of the gel film was just opposite to that of the gel fraction. The cross-linking density of the gel estimated from the Flory theory linearly increased with irradiation dose at low dose, passed a maximum around 100 and 160 kGy for 10% and 20% films, respectively, and decreased at high dose. These results suggest the competition of scission and cross-linking induced by indirect effect of irradiation. Dielectric relaxation measurement by time domain reflectometry and RF impedance/material analyzer revealed two characteristic relaxations of chain motions around 100MHz and of orientation of free water around 20GHz. From the dose dependence of the relaxation parameters determined by fitting to a combined equation of Cole-Cole type and KWW type, a coupling of motions of HPMC molecules and water molecules was strongly suggested. The critical dose for gelation was coincident with the dose for the maximum of t h and the minimum of Deh together with the minimum of t m and the maximum of Dem, where t h and Deh denote the relaxation time and the relaxation strength for free water molecular motion and t m and Dem the corresponding ones for HPMC molecular motion. The characteristic behavior was discussed in terms of the increase of affinity between HPMC and water and the constrained molecular motion in the gel network

Rational design of DNA sequence-specific zinc fingers

AbstractWe developed a rational scheme for designing DNA binding proteins. The scheme was applied for a zinc finger protein and the designed sequences were experimentally characterized with high DNA sequence specificity. Starting with the backbone of a known finger structure, we initially calculated amino acid sequences compatible with the expected structure and the secondary structures of the designed fingers were then experimentally confirmed. The DNA-binding function was added to the designed finger by reconsidering a section of the amino acid sequence and computationally selecting amino acids to have the lowest protein–DNA interaction energy for the target DNA sequences. Among the designed proteins, one had a gap between the lowest and second lowest protein–DNA interaction energies that was sufficient to give DNA sequence-specificity

Early postoperative evaluation of secondary bone grafting into the alveolar cleft and its effects on subsequent orthodontic treatment

Background : Alveolar bone grafting is a standard procedure used to achieve good occlusion for both functional and aesthetic purposes in patients with cleft lip and palate. At the past, main methods used to evaluate bone bridge formation after bone grafting are radiographs, such as dental, occlusal, and panoramic. Purpose : To evaluate bone bridge both qualitatively and quantitatively, we used CT scans (conventional and QCT). Quantitative computed tomography (QCT) has previously been used for measuring bone mineral density of the lumbar vertebrae. Patients and methods : The study comprised 26 male and 15 female patients who underwent alveolar bone grafting. We analyzed bone bridge with regard to four factors : marginal bone level, vertical height, anteroposterior bone width and bone mineral density using dental radiographs, and CT scans such as conventional and QCT. The clinical results of orthodontic treatment were evaluated more than 2 years postoperatively. Results : Orthodontic treatment was considered to be successful when the bone bridge satisfied the following criteria : marginal bone level≧3, vertical height≧6.5 mm, anteroposterior bone width≧5 mm, and bone mineral density<350 mg Ca5 (PO4) OH/mL. Conclusion : we could predict the prognosis of patients’ orthodontic treatment in early stage after bone grafting

Gram Staining for the Treatment of Peritonsillar Abscess

Objective. To examine whether Gram staining can influence the choice of antibiotic for the treatment of peritonsillar abscess. Methods. Between 2005 and 2009, a total of 57 cases of peritonsillar abscess were analyzed with regard to cultured bacteria and Gram staining. Results. Only aerobes were cultured in 16% of cases, and only anaerobes were cultured in 51% of cases. Mixed growth of aerobes and anaerobes was observed in 21% of cases. The cultured bacteria were mainly aerobic Streptococcus, anaerobic Gram-positive cocci, and anaerobic Gram-negative rods. Phagocytosis of bacteria on Gram staining was observed in 9 cases. The bacteria cultured from these cases were aerobic Streptococcus, anaerobic Gram-positive cocci, and anaerobic Gram-negative rods. The sensitivity of Gram staining for the Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative rods was 90% and 64%, respectively. The specificity of Gram staining for the Gram-positive cocci and Gram-negative rods was 62% and 76%, respectively. Most of the Gram-positive cocci were sensitive to penicillin, but some of anaerobic Gram-negative rods were resistant to penicillin. Conclusion. When Gram staining shows only Gram-positive cocci, penicillin is the treatment of choice. In other cases, antibiotics effective for the penicillin-resistant organisms should be used