Safety of laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with a cerebrospinal fluid shunt in the peritoneal cavity.

Introduction: The management of patients with a cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) shunt located in the peritoneal cavity undergoing laparoscopic surgery is an issue that has not yet been settled. These patients are at risk of increased intracranial pressure caused by peritoneal insufflation, shunt dysfunction, and shunt infection/retrograde meningitis. This study aimed to determine the need for perioperative shunt intervention in CSF shunt patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy.

Integration of enzyme-encapsulated mesoporous silica between nanohole array electrode and hydrogel film for flow-type electrochemical biosensor.

We herein propose a simple and sensitive electrochemical flow biosensor platform without an external flow device. The sensing unit comprises a platinum nanohole array electrode deposited on a nanoporous track-etched membrane (PtNH/NPM), a packed-layer of glucose oxidase-encapsulated mesoporous silica particles (GOD/MPS), and bovine serum albumin hydrogel film (BSA gel film). This sensing unit was fixed at the open window at the side of the plastic container with internal solution containing NaCl as osmotic reagent.

Novel Mode of Near-Infrared Spectroscopy as a Continuous Cerebral Physiological Monitoring Device during Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation: Four Case Reports.

Background: NIRO-Pulse is a novel mode of near-infrared spectroscopy that can be used to visually evaluate cerebral perfusion during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), providing real-time feedback as to the quality of the CPR. The aim of this report was to describe the several representative cases of NIRO-Pulse for physiological monitoring during CPR.

Methods: We present several cases from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients for whom NIRO-Pulse was attached to the forehead after hospital arrival.

Structural Characterization of Proteins Adsorbed at Nanoporous Materials.

A nanoporous material has been applied for the development of functional nanobiomaterials by utilizing its uniform pore structure and large adsorption capacity. The structure and stability of biomacromolecules, such as peptide, oligonucleotide, and protein, are primary factors to govern the performance of nanobiomaterials, so that their direct characterization methodologies are in progress. In this review, we focus on recent topics in the structural characterization of protein molecules adsorbed at a nanoporous material with uniform meso-sized pores.

A Systematic, Intensive Statistical Investigation of Data from the Comprehensive Analysis of Reported Drugs (CARD) for Compliance and Illicit Opioid Abstinence in Substance Addiction Treatment with Buprenorphine/naloxone.

Background: Buprenorphine and naloxone (bup/nal), a combination partial mu receptor agonist and low-dose delta mu antagonist, is presently recommended and used to treat opioid-use disorder. However, a literature review revealed a paucity of research involving data from urine drug tests that looked at compliance and abstinence in one sample.

Method: Statistical analysis of data from the Comprehensive Analysis of Reported Drugs (CARD) was used to assess compliance and abstinence during treatment in a large cohort of bup/nal patients attending chemical-dependency programs from eastern USA in 2010 and 2011.

A case of hepatitis C-associated osteosclerosis: accelerated bone turnover controlled by pulse steroid therapy.

Unlabelled: Hepatitis C-associated osteosclerosis (HCAO), a very rare disorder in which an extremely rapid bone turnover occurs and results in osteosclerosis, was acknowledged in 1990s as a new clinical entity with the unique bone disorder and definite link to chronic type C hepatitis, although the pathogenesis still remains unknown. Affected patients suffer from excruciating deep bone pains. We report the 19th case of HCAO with diagnosis confirmed by bone biopsy, and treated initially with a bisphosphonate, next with corticosteroids and finally with direct acting antivirals (DAA: sofosbuvir and ribavirin) for HCV infection.

Evaluation of resin infiltration using quantitative light-induced fluorescence technology.

Objectives: To determine whether quantitative light-induced fluorescence (QLF) technology can be used to classify the colour of teeth specimens before and after resin infiltration (RI) treatment, and calculate the correlation between the ΔF value and colour difference (ΔE) in fluorescence images of the specimens obtained using a QLF-digital (QLF-D) device.

Methods: Sixty sound bovine permanent teeth specimens were immersed in demineralized solution. Two exposed windows were formed in each specimen, and RI treatment was applied to one of them.

Evaluation of penetration effect of resin infiltrant using optical coherence tomography.

Objective: The aims of this in vitro study were to investigate whether optical coherence tomography (OCT) could analyze infiltration of resin infiltrant (RI) into early dental caries (EC), and to confirm the correlation between the results of OCT and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) for evaluation of RI infiltration into EC.

Methods: Sound bovine permanent teeth were used to produce sixty specimens by making two windows on the teeth. Each 20 specimens were demineralized for 20, 30, and 40 days, and the RI was treated on one of the windows.

Validity of screening methods for periodontitis using salivary hemoglobin level and self-report questionnaires in people with disabilities.

Background: The aim of this study is to evaluate the validity of screening methods in predicting periodontitis in people with disabilities using the objective salivary hemoglobin level, a subjective self-report questionnaire, and a combined model of the two methods with demographic characteristics.

Methods: The participants were 195 patients with disabilities aged >18 years who were examined using the community periodontal index (CPI), salivary hemoglobin level, and answers to 10 self-report questions (n = 192). Multivariable logistic regression and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were performed to evaluate the validity of the methods and the combined model in predicting the prevalence of ≥CPI 3 (probing depth [PD] ≥4 mm) or CPI 4 (PD ≥6 mm).

Ror2/Frizzled complex mediates Wnt5a-induced AP-1 activation by regulating Dishevelled polymerization.

The receptor tyrosine kinase Ror2 acts as a receptor or coreceptor for Wnt5a to mediate Wnt5a-induced activation of the Wnt/JNK pathway and inhibition of the beta-catenin-dependent canonical Wnt pathway. However, little is known about how Ror2 cooperates with another receptor component(s) to mediate Wnt5a signaling. We show here that Ror2 regulates Wnt5a-induced polymerization of Dishevelled (Dvl) and that this Ror2-mediated regulation of Dvl is independent of the cytoplasmic region of Ror2.

Receptor tyrosine kinase Ror2 mediates Wnt5a-induced polarized cell migration by activating c-Jun N-terminal kinase via actin-binding protein filamin A.

The receptor tyrosine kinase Ror2 has recently been shown to act as an alternative receptor or coreceptor for Wnt5a and to mediate Wnt5a-induced migration of cultured cells. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism underlying this migratory process. Here we show by wound-healing assays that Ror2 plays critical roles in Wnt5a-induced cell migration by regulating formation of lamellipodia and reorientation of microtubule-organizing center (MTOC).

The analysis of characteristics of elderly people with high VSC level.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of elderly subjects who had objectionable levels of volatile sulfur compound (VSC).

Subjects And Method: In 2002, a total of 115 85-year-old persons in Japan were subjected to oral examinations, tongue coat collections, measurements of VSCs levels inside the mouth using a portable gas chromatography (Oral Chroma, Abilit, Japan), and assessments of quality of life (QOL) using an SF-36 questionnaire.

Results: Sixty-six of the subjects were edentulous and 49 were dentulous.

A determination of bite force in northern Japanese children.

The bite force of 2594 school children (1248 males and 1346 females) living in northern Japan was investigated during oral health examinations in May and June 2001, using a new type of occlusal force gauge. The subjects were recruited from a variety of educational institutes and comprised: 73 nursery (3-5 years old), 1019 primary (6-11 years old), 902 junior high (12-14 years old) and 600 high (15-17 years old) school children. The measuring apparatus consisted of a hydraulic pressure gauge, with a bite element encased in a plastic tube.

Relationship between electrical resistance measurements and microradiographic variables during remineralization of softened enamel lesions.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between electrical resistance (ECM) measurements and microradiographic variables during remineralization of softened enamel lesions. Sound bovine enamel blocks were demineralized and, subsequently, were remineralized for 3, 4, 5, 7 or 14 days. All the specimens were assessed by ECM and transversal microradiography.

Two different effects of transcranial magnetic stimulation to the human motor cortex during the pre-movement period.

A single-pulse TMS to the human motor cortex (M1) influences reaction time (RT). We may summarize from previous studies where different groups of subjects participated in various types of RT tasks that TMS above motor threshold (MT) delays RT, whereas TMS below MT shortens RT and that these RT changes depends on TMS timings during RT period. However, these effects have never been systematically investigated in a single study where an identical group of subjects participated.

Enamel fluoride uptake from mouthrinse solutions with different NaF concentrations.

Objectives: The influence on enamel fluoride uptake of reducing the NaF concentration of a mouthrinse solution by half, from 0.05-0.025%, was examined in elementary school children.

Major topics in quantitative microradiography of enamel and dentin: R parameter, mineral distribution visualization, and hyper-remineralization.

Three aspects of quantitative transverse microradiography are described and discussed: (1) the average mineral loss parameter of enamel or dentin lesions (R) in vol%; (2) mineral distribution visualization of lesions by means of a computer-assisted videodensitometric (CAV) method; and (3) the microradiography of hyper-remineralized lesions. "R", defined as the average amount of mineral lost (or gained) in a lesion per unit lesion length, is a useful parameter in dental caries. The results show that, in vitro, R is about constant over the demineralization period for enamel and dentin.

A computer-assisted videodensitometric method to visualize mineral distributions in in vitro and in vivo formed root caries lesions.

A computer-assisted videodensitometry (CAV) method is presented for the microradiographical mineral determination and mineral visualization of in vitro and in vivo formed dentin lesions. The method employs as essential steps (1) image digitizing by a CCD camera, (2) conversion of gray values to equivalent aluminium thicknesses and (3) conversion of aluminium thickness to vol% of mineral. Procedure and accuracy are described.

Effect of sodium hypochlorite treatment on remineralization of human root dentine in vitro.

Dentine consists simplified of mineral and of several organic components. Sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) is a well-known nonspecific proteolytic agent capable to remove organic material. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of organic material removal from artificial dentine lesions by means of NaOCl pretreatment on subsequent remineralization with and without fluoride.

The effects of a sodium hypochlorite treatment on demineralized root dentin.

The effects of a 10% NaOCl treatment for 2 min on demineralized human root dentin were investigated by means of: microradiography (MR), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and secondary ion mass spectroscopy (SIMS). MR measurements revealed that NaOCl caused a tissue contraction not related to water loss but to removal of organic substance(s), resulting in reductions of the lesion depth and mineral loss values by 15% and 42%, respectively. CLSM observations on wet dentin showed that the dentinal tubules underneath the surface are clearly observable and not deformed substantially by the NaOCl, except near the outermost surface.

The influence of air-drying on hyper-remineralization of demineralized dentine: a study on bulk as well as on thin wet section of bovine dentine.

The influence of air-drying on the remineralization of demineralized bovine dentine was examined in wet bulk samples, in dried bulk samples as well as in wet thin sections. Bulk samples of bovine dentine were first demineralized in an acidic gel (pH = 5) at 37 degrees C for 3 weeks. After 24-hour pre-treatment of either air-drying or immersion in water, the bulk samples were remineralized in a solution containing 1.

Shame, guilt, and depression in men and women in recovery from addiction.

Men and women in recovery from addiction were compared on levels of depression and self-conscious affect including proneness to shame, guilt, externalization, detachment, and pride. The sample consisted of 130 subjects (88 men and 42 women; mean age 33.04), 90 of whom were active participants in a 12-step recovery program, and 40 of whom were in a residential treatment community.

An impingement plate method to detect deposits of pyrethroid insecticides.

A silica gel impingement plate for monitoring pyrethroid deposits in environmentally sensitive areas is described. The plate is simple, commercially available, and inexpensive. A residue analysis method is given for deltamethrin deposits with 83.

Persian heroin in the San Francisco Bay area: 1977-1980.

A new type of heroin has increased in frequency in the San Francisco Bay Area in the past three years. "Persian" heroin, coming to this country from Southwest Asia, differs from commonly-seen heroin in several ways: (1) distinctive marketing channels, (2) different routes of administration, (3) increased purity, (4) more severe withdrawal, and (5) different demographic characteristics of users. "Persian" heroin users tend to be younger and more likely to be White and unemployed as compared to other heroin users.