Fibroma of the tympanic membrane.

A primary tumor of the tympanic membrane is very rare. Herein, we describe a patient with a thick tympanic membrane that caused progressive hearing loss. The patient was treated with total resection of the tympanic membrane and was diagnosed with fibroma after histopathologic examination.

Necrotizing sialometaplasia accompanied by adenoid cystic carcinoma on the soft palate.

Necrotizing Sialometaplasia (NS) is a benign, self-limiting inflammatory disease of the mucus-secreting glands, and this illness mainly involves the minor salivary glands. The significance of NS resides in its clinical and histopathological resemblance to malignancy. We present here a case of necrotizing sialometaplasia on the soft palate, and this was accompanied by adenoid cystic carcinoma.

Functional benefit after modification of radial forearm free flap for soft palate reconstruction.

Objectives: To compare the velopharyngeal function, swallowing and speech of the conventional and modified radial forearm free flap (RFFF) for soft palate reconstruction.

Methods: Retrospective clinical study. Twenty-eight patients who underwent oropharyngeal reconstruction with RFFF were divided into two groups: 10 patients had conventional folded RFFF and 18 patients underwent modified method.

Synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering studies of the structure of porcine pepsin under various pH conditions.

Structural characteristics of various conformational states of porcine pepsin in solution under different pH conditions were investigated in terms of size and shape by small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS). Low-resolution structural models of porcine pepsin were reconstructed from SAXS data, which were made inside the search volume of maximum dimension (Dmax), calculated from the pair distance distribution function p(r). The reconstructed structural models were obtained without imposing any restrictions on the symmetry or anisometry of the pepsin molecule.

Case of regional lymphomatoid papulosis confined to the periorbital areas.

A localized form of lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) has been described very rarely. A 38-year-old Korean man presented with a single bean-sized, non-tender, erythematous nodule confined to periorbital areas with three recurrences over a 2-year duration. With findings of biopsy, immunohistochemical staining and T-cell receptor gene rearrangement, LyP was diagnosed.

pH-dependent structures of an i-motif DNA in solution.

We have investigated for the first time the structure of i-motif DNA in solution at various pH conditions by using synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering technique. To facilitate direct structural comparison between solution structures of i-motif DNA at various pH values, we created atomic coordinates of i-motif DNA from a fully folded to unfolded atomic model. Under mild acidic conditions, the conformations for i-motif DNA appeared to be similar to that of the partially unfolded i-motif atomic model in overall shape, rather than the fully folded i-motif atomic model.

Silencing of the CKII alpha and CKII alpha' genes during cellular senescence is mediated by DNA methylation.

Previously we reported that down-regulation of CKII activity is tightly associated with cellular senescence and that the mRNA and protein levels of CKII alpha decrease during senescence. The present study demonstrates that the mRNA and protein levels of CKII alpha' also decrease during senescence. Knockdown of CKII alpha' in IMR-90 cells by RNA interference induced the senescent phenotype.

Cortical network dynamics with time delays reveals functional connectivity in the resting brain.

In absence of all goal-directed behavior, a characteristic network of cortical regions involving prefrontal and cingulate cortices consistently shows temporally coherent fluctuations. The origin of these fluctuations is unknown, but has been hypothesized to be of stochastic nature. In the present paper we test the hypothesis that time delays in the network dynamics play a crucial role in the generation of these fluctuations.

Noise during rest enables the exploration of the brain's dynamic repertoire.

Traditionally brain function is studied through measuring physiological responses in controlled sensory, motor, and cognitive paradigms. However, even at rest, in the absence of overt goal-directed behavior, collections of cortical regions consistently show temporally coherent activity. In humans, these resting state networks have been shown to greatly overlap with functional architectures present during consciously directed activity, which motivates the interpretation of rest activity as day dreaming, free association, stream of consciousness, and inner rehearsal.

CT, MR, US,18F-FDG PET/CT, and their combined use for the assessment of cervical lymph node metastases in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the diagnostic value of four different imaging methods-computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, ultrasonography (US), and (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/CT-and their combined use for preoperative detection of cervical nodal metastases in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). Sixty-seven patients (58 men and 9 women; mean age, 60.1 years) with head and neck SCCs underwent CT, MR, US, and PET/CT before surgery.

The prevalence and significance of incidental thyroid nodules identified on computed tomography.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of incidental thyroid nodules (ITN) found on computed tomography (CT) of the neck and to determine whether CT characteristics could distinguish malignant from benign thyroid lesions.

Materials And Methods: We retrospectively reviewed CT scans in 734 patients without known thyroid disease (384 men and 350 women; mean age, 49.8 +/- 13.

Characterization of the InsP6-dependent interaction between CK2 and Nopp140.

Nopp140, a highly phosphorylated nucleolar protein, negatively regulates CK2, a kinase essential for cell proliferation. We quantitatively analyzed the interaction between two subunits of CK2 and Nopp140 and characterized the mechanism by which InsP(6) inhibits the interaction. Nopp140 specifically binds to the catalytic subunit of CK2 (CK2alpha) with a dissociation constant of (K(d)) of 4nM, which interferes with the catalytic activity of CK2.

The Korean traditional medicine Gyeongshingangjeehwan inhibits obesity through the regulation of leptin and PPARalpha action in OLETF rats.

Gyeongshingangjeehwan (GGEx), which comprises Liriope platyphylla F.T. Wang & T.

Small-angle X-ray scattering studies on structures of an estrogen-related receptor alpha ligand binding domain and its complexes with ligands and coactivators.

We have investigated the structure of the mouse estrogen-related receptor alpha ligand binding domain (mERRalpha LBD) with a flexible hinge region (including more than 30 residues) in solution and the variations of its structure in response to binding with various ligands and coactivators by using synchrotron small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and biochemical analysis. The mERRalpha LBD alone and in complex with the domain containing all three leucine-rich repeats of human peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (hPGC-1alpha) were both cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli and purified to homogeneity. We also synthesized steroid receptor coactivator-1 (SRC-1), a 15-mer peptide corresponding to the leucine-rich repeat 4 of human SRC-1.

Dynamical response of multi-patch, flux-based models to the input of infected people: Epidemic response to initiated events.

The time course of an epidemic can be modeled using the differential equations that describe the spread of disease and by dividing people into "patches" of different sizes with the migration of people between these patches. We used these multi-patch, flux-based models to determine how the time course of infected and susceptible populations depends on the disease parameters, the geometry of the migrations between the patches, and the addition of infected people into a patch. We found that there are significantly longer lived transients and additional "ancillary" epidemics when the reproductive rate is closer to 1, as would be typical of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) and bird flu, than when is closer to 10, as would be typical of measles.

Novel cardiovascular risk factors in premature coronary atherosclerosis associated with systemic lupus erythematosus.

Objective: Several mediators of inflammation are associated with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease in the general population, but their relationship to accelerated atherosclerosis associated with an inflammatory disease such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is not known.

Methods: We compared concentrations of cytokines (TNF-alpha, IL-1alpha, and VEGF), inflammatory enzymes (MPO and MMP-9), acute-phase reactants (ESR, CRP, and SAA) and adhesion molecules (VCAM, ICAM, and E-selectin) in 109 patients with SLE and 78 controls. The relationship between inflammatory markers and coronary atherosclerosis detected as calcified plaque by electron beam CT was determined in patients with SLE.

Drugs to Treat Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: Relationship between Current Use and Cardiovascular Risk Factors.

OBJECTIVES: Cardiovascular risk is increased in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Drugs used to treat SLE can modify traditional cardiovascular risk factors. We examined the effect of selected drugs used in the treatment of SLE on cardiovascular risk factors.

Comparison of sensory recovery and morphologic change between sensate and nonsensate flaps in oral cavity and oropharyngeal reconstruction.

Background: Sensory recovery after oral cavity and oropharyngeal reconstruction is 1 of the most important goals of free flap reconstruction. The aim of this study was to compare sensory recovery of sensate and nonsensate free flaps and to evaluate the morphologic differences between sensate and nonsensate free flaps.

Methods: A total of 27 cases of radial forearm free flap reconstruction after oral cavity and oropharyngeal cancer resection were included in this study.

A case of ceruminous adenocarcinoma of the external auditory canal presenting as an aural polyp.

Ceruminous adenocarcinoma is a rare malignant tumor arising from the ceruminous gland of the external auditory canal ceruminous gland. Usually it displays no specific clinical symptoms or signs, so most reported cases have involved an advanced tumor and the treatment results have been disappointing. It is important to make an early diagnosis to improve the treatment's outcome.

Solution structures of RseA and its complex with RseB.

The bacterial envelope stress response, which is responsible for sensing stress signals in the envelope and for turning on the sigma(E)-dependent transcription, is modulated by the binding of RseB to RseA. In this study, the solution structures of RseA and its complex with RseB were analyzed using circular dichroism and small-angle X-ray scattering. The periplasmic domain of RseA is unstructured and flexible when it is not bound to RseB.

Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma: computed tomographic differentiation from other thyroid masses.

Background: Anaplastic thyroid carcinoma is rare but is one of the most aggressive malignancies. Therefore, accurate diagnosis is important in order to provide appropriate therapy.

Purpose: To establish useful computed tomographic (CT) criteria for differentiating anaplastic carcinoma from other thyroid masses.