Submandibular Cavernous Hemangiomas with Multiple Phleboliths Masquerading as Sialolithiasis

Vasoformative tumors (almost exclusively hemangiomas) are the most common lesions of the major salivary glands during infancy and early childhood. They are more common in the parotid gland but are particularly rare in the submandibular gland. Changes in blood flow dynamics within hemangiomas result in thrombus formation and phleboliths. Hemangiomas of the salivary glands in adults are histologically unlike those in infants, the former being characteristically of the cavernous variant. Most cavernous hemangiomas require surgery since they do not show a tendency to regress. A case of an adult man with cavernous hemangioma affecting the submandibular salivary gland that clinically simulated sialolithiasis is presented to alert surgeons to the possibility of such a lesion. We describe the clinical course and review the literature

Fuzzy TOPSIS for Multiresponse Quality Problems in Wafer Fabrication Processes

The quality characteristics in the wafer fabrication process are diverse, variable, and fuzzy in nature. How to effectively deal with multiresponse quality problems in the wafer fabrication process is a challenging task. In this study, the fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to an ideal solution (TOPSIS), one of the fuzzy multiattribute decision-analysis (MADA) methods, is proposed to investigate the fuzzy multiresponse quality problem in integrated-circuit (IC) wafer fabrication process. The fuzzy TOPSIS is one of the effective fuzzy MADA methods for dealing with decision-making problems under uncertain environments. First, a fuzzy TOPSIS methodology is developed by considering the ambiguity between quality characteristics. Then, a detailed procedure for the developed fuzzy TOPSIS approach is presented to show how the fuzzy wafer fabrication quality problems can be solved. Real-world data is collected from an IC semiconductor company and the developed fuzzy TOPSIS approach is applied to find an optimal combination of parameters. Results of this study show that the developed approach provides a satisfactory solution to the wafer fabrication multiresponse problem. This developed approach can be also applied to other industries for investigating multiple quality characteristics problems

Engulfing cells promote neuronal regeneration and remove neuronal debris through distinct biochemical functions of CED-1

Two important biological events happen coincidently soon after nerve injury in the peripheral nervous system in C. elegans: removal of axon debris and initiation of axon regeneration. But, it is not known how these two events are co-regulated. Mutants of ced-1, a homolog of Draper and MEGF10, display defects in both events. One model is that those events could be related. But our data suggest that they are actually separable. CED-1 functions in the muscle-type engulfing cells in both events and is enriched in muscle protrusions in close contact with axon debris and regenerating axons. Its two functions occur through distinct biochemical mechanisms; extracellular domain-mediated adhesion for regeneration and extracellular domain binding-induced intracellular domain signaling for debris removal. These studies identify CED-1 in engulfing cells as a receptor in debris removal but as an adhesion molecule in neuronal regeneration, and have important implications for understanding neural circuit repair after injury

Intercellular calcium signaling in a gap junction-coupled cell network establishes asymmetric neuronal fates in C. elegans

The C. elegans left and right AWC olfactory neurons specify asymmetric subtypes, one default AWC(OFF) and one induced AWC(ON), through a stochastic, coordinated cell signaling event. Intercellular communication between AWCs and non-AWC neurons via a NSY-5 gap junction network coordinates AWC asymmetry. However, the nature of intercellular signaling across the network and how individual non-AWC cells in the network influence AWC asymmetry is not known. Here, we demonstrate that intercellular calcium signaling through the NSY-5 gap junction neural network coordinates a precise 1AWC(ON)/1AWC(OFF) decision. We show that NSY-5 gap junctions in C. elegans cells mediate small molecule passage. We expressed vertebrate calcium-buffer proteins in groups of cells in the network to reduce intracellular calcium levels, thereby disrupting intercellular communication. We find that calcium in non-AWC cells of the network promotes the AWC(ON) fate, in contrast to the autonomous role of calcium in AWCs to promote the AWC(OFF) fate. In addition, calcium in specific non-AWCs promotes AWC(ON) side biases through NSY-5 gap junctions. Our results suggest a novel model in which calcium has dual roles within the NSY-5 network: autonomously promoting AWC(OFF) and non-autonomously promoting AWC(ON)

Microyielding of Core-Shell Crystal Dendrites in a Bulk-metallic-glass Matrix Composite

In-situ synchrotron x-ray experiments have been used to follow the evolution of the diffraction peaks for crystalline dendrites embedded in a bulk metallic glass matrix subjected to a compressive loading-unloading cycle. We observe irreversible diffraction-peak splitting even though the load does not go beyond half of the bulk yield strength. The chemical analysis coupled with the transmission electron microscopy mapping suggests that the observed peak splitting originates from the chemical heterogeneity between the core (major peak) and the stiffer shell (minor peak) of the dendrites. A molecular dynamics model has been developed to compare the hkl-dependent microyielding of the bulk metallic-glass matrix composite. The complementary diffraction measurements and the simulation results suggest that the interface, as Maxwell damper, between the amorphous matrix and the (211) crystalline planes relax under prolonged load that causes a delay in the reload curve which ultimately catches up with the original path

2-O-Methylmagnolol Induces Apoptosis and Inhibits IL-6/STAT3 Signaling in Oral Squamous Cell Carcinoma

Background/Aims: 2-O-methylmagnolol (MM1), a derivative of magnolol bearing one methoxy moiety, has been shown to display improved anti-tumor activity against skin cancers. In this study, we examined the anti-tumor effects of magnolol and MM1 on oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Methods: Trypane blue staining and clonogenic assays were performed to determine the cytotoxic effects of magnolol and MM1 in OSCC cells. Migration and matrigel invasion assays were carried out to examine the metastasis effects of magnolol and MM1 in OSCC cells. IL6-stimulation, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry were used to investigate the IL-6/STAT3 signaling and apoptosis. A bioluminescent mouse model of orthotopically implanted SAS cells was used to determine the anti-tumor activity of MM1 in vivo. Results: MM1 displays greater activity than magnolol on affecting the cytotoxicity, migration, and invasion of OSCC cells cultured in vitro. The improved anti-tumor activity of MM1 was shown to associate with its greater activity to inhibit STAT3 signaling and to induce apoptosis in the OSCC. In addition, we presented evidence that MM1 is effective in inhibiting the growth of orthotopic implanted OSCC cells in vivo. Conclusion: Our data indicate that MM1 displays greater anti-tumor activity than magnolol in OSCC and is an attractive agent to be further explored for its potential clinical application

Glycogen synthase kinase 3α and 3β have distinct functions during cardiogenesis of zebrafish embryo

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Glycogen synthase kinase 3 (GSK3) encodes a serine/threonine protein kinase, is known to play roles in many biological processes. Two closely related GSK3 isoforms encoded by distinct genes: GSK3α (51 kDa) and GSK3β (47 kDa). In previously studies, most GSK3 inhibitors are not only inhibiting GSK3, but are also affecting many other kinases. In addition, because of highly similarity in amino acid sequence between GSK3α and GSK3β, making it difficult to identify an inhibitor that can be selective against GSK3α or GSK3β. Thus, it is relatively difficult to address the functions of GSK3 isoforms during embryogenesis. At this study, we attempt to specifically inhibit either GSK3α or GSK3β and uncover the isoform-specific roles that GSK3 plays during cardiogenesis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We blocked <it>gsk3α </it>and <it>gsk3β </it>translations by injection of morpholino antisense oligonucleotides (MO). Both <it>gsk3α</it>- and <it>gsk3β</it>-MO-injected embryos displayed similar morphological defects, with a thin, string-like shaped heart and pericardial edema at 72 hours post-fertilization. However, when detailed analysis of the <it>gsk3α</it>- and <it>gsk3β</it>-MO-induced heart defects, we found that the reduced number of cardiomyocytes in <it>gsk3α </it>morphants during the heart-ring stage was due to apoptosis. On the contrary, <it>gsk3β </it>morphants did not exhibit significant apoptosis in the cardiomyocytes, and the heart developed normally during the heart-ring stage. Later, however, the heart positioning was severely disrupted in <it>gsk3β </it>morphants. <it>bmp4 </it>expression in <it>gsk3β </it>morphants was up-regulated and disrupted the asymmetry pattern in the heart. The cardiac valve defects in <it>gsk3β </it>morphants were similar to those observed in <it>axin1 </it>and <it>apc</it>^{<it>mcr </it>}mutants, suggesting that GSK3β might play a role in cardiac valve development through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. Finally, the phenotypes of <it>gsk3α </it>mutant embryos cannot be rescued by <it>gsk3β </it>mRNA, and vice versa, demonstrating that GSK3α and GSK3β are not functionally redundant.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We conclude that (1) GSK3α, but not GSK3β, is necessary in cardiomyocyte survival; (2) the GSK3β plays important roles in modulating the left-right asymmetry and affecting heart positioning; and (3) GSK3α and GSK3β play distinct roles during zebrafish cardiogenesis.</p