Fluorescence-guided bone resection by using Visually Enhanced Lesion Scope in diffuse chronic sclerosingosteomyelitis of the mandible: clinical and pathological evaluation

Diffuse chronic sclerosingosteomyelitis (DCSO) is a refractory disease, becausethe etiology and pathogenesis remain poorly understood and to determine the border betweenunhealthy boneandhealthybone is difficult. However, progressive inflammation, clinical symptoms and a high recurrence rate of DCSO were the reasons for surgical treatment. We report a case of a 66-year old woman with DCSO of the right side of mandible who was treated with hemimandibulectomy and simultaneous reconstruction by vascularized free fibula flap. After preoperative administration of minocycline for 1 month, the bone fluorescence was successfully monitored by using a Visually Enhanced Lesion Scope (VELscope®). Intraoperatively, we could determine the resection boundaries. We investigated the clinical and histopathological findings. The fluorescence findings were well correlated with histopathological findings. Using a VELscope®was handy and useful to determine the border between DCSO lesion andhealthybone. The free fibula flap under the minocycline-derived bone fluorescence by using a VELscope®offered a good quality of mandibular bone and the successful management of an advanced and refractory DCSO

Pace running of a quadruped robot driven by pneumatic muscle actuators : An experimental study

Our goal is to design a neuromorphic locomotion controller for a prospective bioinspired quadruped robot driven by artificial muscle actuators. In this paper, we focus on achieving a running gait called a pace, in which the ipsilateral pairs of legs move in phase, while the two pairs together move out of phase, by a quadruped robot with realistic legs driven by pneumatic muscle actuators. The robot is controlled by weakly coupled two-level central pattern generators to generate a pace gait with leg loading feedback. Each leg is moved through four sequential phases like an animal, i.e., touch-down, stance, lift-off, and swing phases. We find that leg loading feedback to the central pattern generator can contribute to stabilizing pace running with an appropriate cycle autonomously determined by synchronizing each leg’s oscillation with the roll body oscillation without a human specifying the cycle. The experimental results conclude that our proposed neuromorphic controller is beneficial for achieving pace running by a muscle-driven quadruped robot

Alterations in 18F-FDG accumulation into neck-related muscles after neck dissection for patients with oral cancers

Background: 18 F-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose ( 18 F-FDG) accumulations are commonly seen in the neck-related muscles of the surgical and non-surgical sides after surgery with neck dissection (ND) for oral cancers, which leads to radiologists having difficulty in diagnosing the lesions. To examine the alterations in 18 F-FDG accumulation in neck-related muscles of patients after ND for oral cancer. Material and Methods: 18 F-FDG accumulations on positron emission tomography (PET)-computed tomography (CT) in neck-related muscles were retrospectively analyzed after surgical dissection of cervical lymph nodes in oral cancers. Results: According to the extent of ND of cervical lymph nodes, the rate of patients with 18 F-FDG-PET-positive areas increased in the trapezius, sternocleidomastoid, and posterior neck muscles of the surgical and/or non-surgical sides. In addition, SUVmax of 18 F-FDG-PET-positive areas in the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles were increased according to the extent of the ND. Conclusions: In evaluating 18 F-FDG accumulations after ND for oral cancers, we should pay attention to the 18 F-FDG distributions in neck-related muscles including the non-surgical side as false-positive finding

Advanced Clinical Usefulness of Ultrasonography for Diseases in Oral and Maxillofacial Regions

Various kinds of diseases may be found in the oral and maxillofacial regions and various modalities may be applied for their diagnosis, including intra-oral radiography, panoramic radiography, ultrasonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and nuclear medicine methods such as positron emission tomography. Of these modalities, ultrasound imaging is easy to use for the detection of noninvasive and soft tissue-related diseases. Doppler ultrasound images taken in the B-mode can provide vascular information associated with the morphology of soft tissues. Thus, ultrasound imaging plays an important role in confirming the diagnosis of many kinds of diseases in such oral and maxillofacial regions as the tongue, lymph nodes, salivary glands, and masticatory muscles. In the present article, we introduce three new applications of ultrasonography: guided fine-needle aspiration, measurement of tongue cancer thickness, and diagnosis of metastasis to cervical lymph nodes

A Case of Chronic Infectious Arthritis of the Temporomandibular Joint Associated with Osteomyelitis without Malocclusion

Infectious arthritis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is rare, and previous reports have identified malocclusion resulting from condylar deformity and displacement of the condyle as one of the clinical characteristics of the disease. Here we report the case of a 33-year-old man with chronic infectious arthritis of the TMJ without malocclusion associated with osteomyelitis of the right mandible. Based on radiological findings of more prominent inflammation at the TMJ than in other regions and on the observed efficacy of antibiotic administration, we made a diagnosis of suppurative arthritis of the TMJ. Based on our empirical experience, including the present case, we speculate that refusal to cooperate with medical care may be a factor in the development of infectious arthritis of the TMJ

The impact of environmental change on the use of early pottery by East Asian hunter-gatherers

The invention of pottery was a fundamental technological advancement with far-reaching economic and cultural consequences. Pottery containers first emerged in East Asia during the Late Pleistocene in a wide range of environmental settings, but became particularly prominent and much more widely dispersed after climatic warming at the start of the Holocene. Some archaeologists argue that this increasing usage was driven by environmental factors, as warmer climates would have generated a wider range of terrestrial plant and animal resources that required processing in pottery. However, this hypothesis has never been directly tested. Here, in one of the largest studies of its kind, we conducted organic residue analysis of >800 pottery vessels selected from 46 Late Pleistocene and Early Holocene sites located across the Japanese archipelago to identify their contents. Our results demonstrate that pottery had a strong association with the processing of aquatic resources, irrespective of the ecological setting. Contrary to expectations, this association remained stable even after the onset of Holocene warming, including in more southerly areas, where expanding forests provided new opportunities for hunting and gathering. Nevertheless, the results indicate that a broader array of aquatic resources was processed in pottery after the start of the Holocene. We suggest this marks a significant change in the role of pottery of hunter-gatherers, corresponding to an increased volume of production, greater variation in forms and sizes, the rise of intensified fishing, the onset of shellfish exploitation, and reduced residential mobility

Gait Transition from Pacing by a Quadrupedal Simulated Model and Robot with Phase Modulation by Vestibular Feedback

We propose a method to achieve autonomous gait transition according to speed for a quadruped robot pacing at medium speeds. We verified its effectiveness through experiments with the simulation model and the robot we developed. In our proposed method, a central pattern generator (CPG) is applied to each leg. Each leg is controlled by a PD controller based on output from the CPG. The four CPGs are coupled, and a hard-wired CPG network generates a pace pattern by default. In addition, we feed the body tilt back to the CPGs in order to adapt to the body oscillation that changes according to the speed. As a result, our model and robot achieve stable changes in speed while autonomously generating a walk at low speeds and a rotary gallop at high speeds, despite the fact that the walk and rotary gallop are not preprogramed. The body tilt angle feedback is the only factor involved in the autonomous generation of gaits, so it can be easily used for various quadruped robots. Therefore, it is expected that the proposed method will be an effective control method for quadruped robots