Desquamative Gingivitis

Desquamative gingivitis (DG) is characterized by erythematous, epithelial desquamation, erosion of the gingival epithelium, and blister formation on the gingiva. DG is a clinical feature of a variety of diseases or disorders. Most cases of DG are associated with mucocutaneous diseases, the most common ones being lichen planus, mucous membrane pemphigoid, and pemphigus vulgaris. Proper diagnosis of the underlying cause is important because the prognosis varies, depending on the disease. This chapter presents the underlying etiology that is most commonly associated with DG. The current literature on the diagnostic and management modalities of patients with DG is reviewed

Mesoscopic Architectures Made of Electrically Charged Binary Colloidal Nanosheets in Aqueous System

Inorganic layered materials can be converted to colloidal liquid crystals through exfoliation into inorganic nanosheets, and binary nanosheet colloids exhibit rich phase behavior characterized by multiphase coexistence. In particular, niobate–clay binary nanosheet colloids are characterized by phase separation at a mesoscopic (∼several tens of micrometers) scale whereas they are apparently homogeneous at a macroscopic scale. Although the mesoscopic structure of the niobate–clay binary colloid is advantageous to realize unusual photochemical functions, the structure itself has not been clearly demonstrated in real space. The present study investigated the structure of niobate–clay binary nanosheet colloids in detail. Four clay nanosheets (hectorite, saponite, fluorohectorite, and tetrasilisic mica) with different lateral sizes were compared. Small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) indicated lamellar ordering of niobate nanosheets in the binary colloid. The basal spacing of the lamellar phase was reduced by increasing the concentration of clay nanosheets, indicating the compression of the liquid crystalline niobate phase by the isotropic clay phase. Scattering and fluorescence microscope observations using confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) demonstrated the phase separation of niobate and clay nanosheets in real space. Niobate nanosheets assembled into domains of several tens of micrometers whereas clay nanosheets were located in voids between the niobate domains. The results clearly confirmed the spatial separation of two nanosheets and the phase separation at a mesoscopic scale. Distribution of clay nanosheets is dependent on the employed clay nanosheets; the nanosheets with large lateral length are more localized or assembled. This is in harmony with larger basal spacings of niobate lamellar phase for large clay particles. Although three-dimensional compression of the niobate phase by the coexisting clay phase was observed at low clay concentrations, the basal spacing of niobate phase was almost constant irrespective of niobate concentrations at high clay concentrations, which was ascribed to competition of compression by clay phase and restoring of the niobate phase

Clinical outcomes of left atrial circumferential ablation and box ablation for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation

Left atrial circumferential ablation （LACa） and box ablation （BOXa） are two common treatments for paroxysmal atrial fibrillation （PAF）. However, only a few studies have compared these two approaches. This study aimed to compare the clinical outcomes of these two therapeutic modalities. Patients with PAF who underwent catheter ablation were randomly assigned to either the LACa or BOXa groups and were followed up for 6 months. The primary outcomes were the rate of atrial fibrillation （AF） recurrence after 6 months and changes in the left atrial ejection fraction （LAEF） measured via magnetic resonance imaging from baseline to follow-up. The secondary outcomes included the frequency of supraventricular premature beats （SPBs） and short supraventricular runs （SVRs） on a 24-h electrocardiogram at follow-up. A total of 40 patients were randomly assigned to the LACa （n＝21） or BOXa group （n＝19）. No significant between-group differences were observed in the patient characteristics and LAEF at baseline or the rate of AF recurrence at 6 months （LACa, 4.8％ ［1/21］ vs. BOXa, 5.3％ ［1/19］; P＝0.94） as well as changes in the LAEF at 3 and 6 months. However, the frequency of SPB and SVR at 6 months was significantly lower in the LACa group than in the BOXa group （0.2 ［−0.2, 0.50］/24h vs. 0.8 ［0.5, 1.2］/24h, P＝0.01; 2.2 ［−4.2, 8.7］/24h vs. 11.9 ［4.8, 18.9］/24h, P＝0.04, respectively）. Although the rates of AF recurrence and changes in the LAEF were comparable between the LACa and BOXa groups, the higher incidence of SPBs and SVRs at 6 months in the BOXa group suggests that BOXa provided no advantage in the treatment of PAF patients

Latent adrenal Ewing sarcoma family of tumors: A case report

Ewing sarcoma family of tumors (ESFT) is derived from the neural crest, which originates from basal embryo cells in the primitive neural tube. ESFT often arises at the bone, chest wall, and soft tissues of the thoracic region. However, ESFT that arises from the adrenal gland is much rarer and it is usually revealed by clinical symptoms. We report an autopsy case of suicidal hanging, in which adrenal ESFT was incidentally revealed. To our knowledge, this is the first case of latent ESFT arising from the adrenal gland. Autopsy can sometimes reveal latent disease. Some of these latent diseases are very rare and we would not be able to detect them without a complete autopsy. As forensic pathologists, we should attempt to perform a complete autopsy and report new discoveries for the development of medicine

Inward or Outward Costophrenic Angles: A Simple Sign on Chest X-ray for the Screening of Metabolic Syndrome

Prevention of cardiovascular diseases is a top-priority issue in Japan. To this end, we have developed a new screening method for metabolic syndrome (MetS) using chest X-ray. We recruited 200 patients who visited our outpatient cardiology clinic from March 2014 to August 2014. Patients with severe lung disease, acute coronary syndrome, and end-stage renal failure were excluded. We collected data on each patient\u27s medical history, laboratory results, waist circumference (WC), body weight, and height. Additionally, we measured two parameters from the chest X-ray: (A) width at the level of right dome of diaphragm and (B) width between the costophrenic (CP) angles. We classified the CP angles as either inward (A≥B) or outward (A<B). Increased WC was defined as ≥85cm in males and ≥90cm in females. Patients with outward CP angles had a significantly larger WC compared to those with inward CP angles (92.3±8.9 vs. 80.5±7.8cm, P<0.001). In particular, the percentage of male patients with increased WC (≥ 85cm) was significantly higher in patients with outward CP angles than in those with inward CP angles (89.2% vs. 41.3%, P<0.001). Body weight and BMI were both significantly higher in patients with outward CP angles than in those with inward CP angles in both gender groups. When laboratory data and risk factors were compared, patients with outward CP angles and those with positive WC criteria consistently tended toward high morbidity from hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes. The inward/outward CP identified candidates for MetS, especially in the male subjects. Chest X-ray could become a useful screening tool for the detection of increased WC and coronary risk factors

The Japanese space gravitational wave antenna; DECIGO

DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory (DECIGO) is the future Japanese space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to open a new window of observation for gravitational wave astronomy especially between 0.1 Hz and 10 Hz, revealing various mysteries of the universe such as dark energy, formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and inflation of the universe. The pre-conceptual design of DECIGO consists of three drag-free spacecraft, whose relative displacements are measured by a differential Fabry– Perot Michelson interferometer. We plan to launch two missions, DECIGO pathfinder and pre- DECIGO first and finally DECIGO in 2024

DECIGO pathfinder

DECIGO pathfinder (DPF) is a milestone satellite mission for DECIGO (DECi-hertz Interferometer Gravitational wave Observatory) which is a future space gravitational wave antenna. DECIGO is expected to provide us fruitful insights into the universe, in particular about dark energy, a formation mechanism of supermassive black holes, and the inflation of the universe. Since DECIGO will be an extremely large mission which will formed by three drag-free spacecraft with 1000m separation, it is significant to gain the technical feasibility of DECIGO before its planned launch in 2024. Thus, we are planning to launch two milestone missions: DPF and pre-DECIGO. The conceptual design and current status of the first milestone mission, DPF, are reviewed in this article