Simultaneous Evaluation of Three-Dimensional Lip Kinetics and Tongue Pressure during Swallowing

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the amount of lip movement and simultaneous tongue pressure changes on an artificial palatal plate during swallowing. Methods: Subjects were 9 healthy males (25.4 ± 2.1 years of age). Three-dimensional lip movement was measured by a wireless optoelectronic system, and tongue pressure was simultaneously recorded by a sensor sheet attached to the incisive papilla of an artificial palatal plate. Reflective markers were attached to the right and left corners of the mouth to measure the distance between them. All subjects were instructed to swallow 5 mL and 20 mL samples of water at will. The maximum change of distance between the corners of mouth, the maximum tongue pressure, and the time interval between the two maxima (lip-tongue interval) were calculated. Wilcoxon’s test was used to detect significant differences in these measurements between the two volumes. Results: Maximum tongue pressure did not differ significantly between swallowed volumes. The maximum change of distance between the corners of mouth was larger and the lip-tongue interval was significantly shorter with the larger volume. Conclusions: We suggest that swallowing a larger volume is accomplished by larger lip movement rather than larger tongue movement. These results indicate that lip movement during swallowing can be evaluated objectively

Relationships between nasal resistance, adenoids, tonsils, and tongue posture and maxillofacial form in Class II and Class III children

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to clarify the relationships between upper airway factors (nasal resistance, adenoids, tonsils and tongue posture) and maxillofacial form in Class II and III children Methods: Sixty-four subjects (mean age, 9.3 years) with malocclusion were divided into Class II and Class III groups by ANB angle. Nasal resistance was calculated using computational fluid dynamics from cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) data. Adenoids, tonsils and tongue posture were evaluated in CBCT images. The groups were compared using Mann-Whitney U-tests and Student t-tests. Spearman’s rank test assessed the relationships between upper airway factors and maxillofacial form. Results: Nasal resistance of the Class II group was significantly larger than that of the Class III group (P = 0.005). Nasal resistance of the Class II group was significantly correlated with inferior tongue posture (P < 0.001), and negatively correlated with intermolar width (P = 0.028). Tonsil size of the Class III group was significantly correlated with anterior tongue posture (P < 0.001) and mandibular incisor anterior position (P = 0.007). Anterior tongue posture of the Class III group was significantly correlated with mandibular protrusion. Conclusions: The relationships of upper airway factors differed between Class II and Class III children

HERBST EFFECTS ON PHARYNGEAL AIRWAY VENTILATION

Objective: To evaluate the effect of a Herbst appliance on ventilation of the pharyngeal airway (PA) using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). Materials and Methods: Twenty-one Class II patients (10 boys; mean age, 11.7 years) who required Herbst therapy with edgewise treatment underwent cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) before and after treatment. Nineteen Class I control patients (8 boys; mean age, 11.9 years) received edgewise treatment alone. The pressure and velocity of the PA were compared between the groups using CFD based on three-dimensional CBCT images of the PA. Results: The change in oropharyngeal airway velocity in the Herbst group (1.95 m/s) was significantly larger than that in the control group (0.67 m/s). Similarly, the decrease in laryngopharyngeal airway velocity in the Herbst group (1.37 m/s) was significantly larger than that in the control group (0.57 m/s). Conclusion: The Herbst appliance improves ventilation of the oropharyngeal and laryngopharyngeal airways. These results may provide a useful assessment of obstructive sleep apnea treatment during growth

Results of the search for inspiraling compact star binaries from TAMA300's observation in 2000-2004

We analyze the data of TAMA300 detector to search for gravitational waves from inspiraling compact star binaries with masses of the component stars in the range 1-3Msolar. In this analysis, 2705 hours of data, taken during the years 2000-2004, are used for the event search. We combine the results of different observation runs, and obtained a single upper limit on the rate of the coalescence of compact binaries in our Galaxy of 20 per year at a 90% confidence level. In this upper limit, the effect of various systematic errors such like the uncertainty of the background estimation and the calibration of the detector's sensitivity are included.Comment: 8 pages, 4 Postscript figures, uses revtex4.sty The author list was correcte

Observation results by the TAMA300 detector on gravitational wave bursts from stellar-core collapses

We present data-analysis schemes and results of observations with the TAMA300 gravitational-wave detector, targeting burst signals from stellar-core collapse events. In analyses for burst gravitational waves, the detection and fake-reduction schemes are different from well-investigated ones for a chirp-wave analysis, because precise waveform templates are not available. We used an excess-power filter for the extraction of gravitational-wave candidates, and developed two methods for the reduction of fake events caused by non-stationary noises of the detector. These analysis schemes were applied to real data from the TAMA300 interferometric gravitational wave detector. As a result, fake events were reduced by a factor of about 1000 in the best cases. The resultant event candidates were interpreted from an astronomical viewpoint. We set an upper limit of 2.2x10^3 events/sec on the burst gravitational-wave event rate in our Galaxy with a confidence level of 90%. This work sets a milestone and prospects on the search for burst gravitational waves, by establishing an analysis scheme for the observation data from an interferometric gravitational wave detector

Dual-time-point FDG-PET/CT Imaging of Temporal Bone Chondroblastoma: A Report of Two Cases

Temporal bone chondroblastoma is an extremely rare benign bone tumor. We encountered two cases showing similar imaging findings on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and dual-time-point 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT. In both cases, CT images revealed temporal bone defects and sclerotic changes around the tumor. Most parts of the tumor showed low signal intensity on T2- weighted MRI images and non-uniform enhancement on gadolinium contrast-enhanced T1-weighted images. No increase in signal intensity was noted in diffusion-weighted images. Dual-time-point PET/CT showed markedly elevated 18F-FDG uptake, which increased from the early to delayed phase. Nevertheless, immunohistochemical analysis of the resected tumor tissue revealed weak expression of glucose transporter-1 and hexokinase II in both tumors. Temporal bone tumors, showing markedly elevated 18F-FDG uptake, which increases from the early to delayed phase on PET/CT images, may be diagnosed as malignant bone tumors. Therefore, the differential diagnosis should include chondroblastoma in combination with its characteristic findings on CT and MRI