Influence of swallowing saliva repeatedly on oral moisture.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to examine the influence of repetitive saliva-swallowing for the level of oral moisture using an oral-moisture checking device.

Methods: Subjects were 24 healthy adults (HA) and 20 patients with oral dryness, 10 of whom had Sjögren syndrome or who had undergone radiation therapy (ODSR) and 10 who had not experienced ODSR (ODNSR). Oral moisture was measured before swallowing saliva (B), and after swallowing saliva once (F), twice (S), and three times (T).

Fixation conditions affect the immunoreactivity of gustducin in rat vallate taste buds.

This study aimed to examine gustducin immunoreactivities when adopting various immunostaining conditions in rat vallate taste buds. The occurrence and intensity of the immunoreactivities exhibited specific patterns in accordance with the fixation time. The immunoreactions were localized to only taste hairs, the upper part of the taste bud, after short fixation periods but then to the cell-body cytoplasm excluding the taste hairs after long fixation periods.

Influence of shovel-shaped incisors on the dental arch crowding in Mongolian females.

The aim of this study was to investigate the influences of shovel-shaped incisors on the dental arch crowding in the samples of modern young female adult Mongolians (belonging to the Khalkha-Mogol grouping) ranged between 18.5 and 25.0 years, with a mean age of 20.

Synchronous development of HCC and CCC in the same subsegment of the liver in a patient with type C liver cirrhosis.

As a result of having undergone computed tomography (CT), a 75-year-old woman with type-C liver cirrhosiswas shown to have two tumors on the ventral and dorsal sides of subsegment 3 (S3). The tumor on the ventral side was diagnosed as a classic hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), while that on the dorsal side was considered atypical for a HCC. Although the indocyanine green (ICG) findings indicated poor hepatic reserve, the prothrombin time (PT) was relatively good.

Modulation of the masseteric monosynaptic reflex by stimulation of the vestibular nuclear complex in rats.

The effect of stimulation of the vestibular nuclear complex (VN) on the masseteric monosynaptic reflex (MMR) was studied in anesthetized rats. The MMR was evoked by electrical stimulation of the mesencephalic trigeminal nucleus and was recorded, bilaterally, as the electromyographic responses of the masseter muscles. Conditioning electrical stimulation of the medial vestibular nucleus (MVN) facilitated the MMR bilaterally, as did microinjection of monosodium glutamate into the MVN.

Effects of attrition, prior acid-etching, and cyclic loading on the bond strength of a self-etching adhesive system to dentin.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of dentin attrition, phosphoric acid etching, and cyclic loading on the microtensile bond strength (microTBS) of a self-etching adhesive system to dentin. Flat dentin surfaces of human molars were assigned to eight experimental groups based on those with or without attrition, prior acid-etching, and cyclic loading. Resin composite paste was placed and polymerized after the bonding procedure according to manufacturer's instructions.

Modulation of the jaw-opening reflex by stimulation of the vestibular nuclear complex in rats.

The effect of stimulation of the vestibular nuclear complex (VN) on the jaw-opening reflex (JOR) was studied in anesthetized rats. The JOR was evoked by electrical stimulation of the inferior alveolar nerve, and was recorded as the electromyographic responses of the anterior belly of the digastric muscle, bilaterally. Conditioning electrical stimulation of the medial (MVN), lateral (LVN) and superior (SVN) vestibular nuclei facilitated the JOR bilaterally.

[Evaluation of small semiconductor gamma camera--simulation of sentinel lymph node biopsy by using a trial product of clinical type gamma camera].

This study was to verify the performance of three different collimators that were equipped to the clinical application type of small semiconductor gamma camera (SSGC) for radio-guided surgery. We also wanted to see if the clinical application type could be effective to detect sentinel nodes in simulation studies for sentinel lymph node biopsy. The camera head consisted of a pixelized CdTe module (32 x 32 individual elements, total of 1,024 pixels) (Acrorad Co.

Influence of oral appliances on craniocervical posture in obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome patients.

Purpose: The existence of a relationship between head posture and mandibular function has been discussed by several authors. However, the relationship between head posture and the cervical spine in patients with obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) who are using oral appliances (OAs) remains unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in the cervical spine associated with the use of OAs in patients with OSAHS.

Involvement of protein kinase C in the regulation of Na+/Ca2+ exchanger in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells.

1. The Na(+)/Ca(2+) exchanger (NCX) exchanges Na+ and Ca(2+) bidirectionally through the forward mode (Ca(2+) extrusion) or the reverse mode (Ca(2+) influx). The present study was undertaken to clarify the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in the regulation of NCX in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells.

Thyroid lesions in the great cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) of Niigata, central Japan: a possible association with dioxin accumulation.

Necropsy and histopathologic examination of three Great Cormorants (Phalacrocorax carbo) shot in Niigata, central Japan, revealed goitrous changes in the thyroids. Thyroids had a hypertrophic follicular epithelium, loss or deficiency of luminal colloid, occasional small follicles suggesting hyperplasia, and occasional collapsed follicles. Irregularly shaped follicles were frequent, and hyperemia, deposition of dark pigment, and sporadic lymphoid aggregates were also seen.

Advanced gastric cancer patient with peritonitis carcinomatosa successfully treated with a combination therapy of paclitaxel and TS-1, but relapsed with multiple bone metastasis and died from rapidly progressive meningitis carcinomatosa--advanced gastric cancer with metachronous peritonitis carcinomatosa and meningitis carcinomatosa.

A 59-year-old man diagnosed as gastric cancer with peritonitis carcinomatosa was treated with paclitaxel and TS-1; 60 mg/m(2)/day of paclitaxel was given on days 1 and 8, and 60-80 mg/m(2)/day of TS-1 was given for 2 weeks. Six courses of combination therapy were administered, and the ascites disappeared completely. Because multiple bone metastases occurred, we attempted combination therapy with cisplatin and irinotecan hydrochloride; 50 or 30 mg/m(2)/day of cisplatin was given on day 1 or day 15, and 70 mg/m(2)/day of irinotecam hydrochloride was given on days 1 and 15.

Features of hepatocellular carcinoma in cases with autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary cirrhosis.

Aim: To characterize the clinical features of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) associated with autoimmune liver disease, we critically evaluated the literature on HCC associated with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) and primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC).

Methods: A systematic review of the literature was conducted using the Japana Centra Revuo Medicina database which produced 38 cases of HCC with AIH (AIH-series) and 50 cases of HCC with PBC (PBC-series). We compared the clinical features of these two sets of patients with the general Japanese HCC population.

Receptosecretory nature of type III cells in the taste bud.

Type III cells in taste buds form chemical synapses with intragemmal afferent nerve fibers and are characterized by the presence of membrane-bound vesicles in the cytoplasm. Although the vesicles differ in shape and size among species, they are primarily categorized into small clear (40 nm in diameter) and large dense-cored (90-200 nm) types. As such vesicles tend to be closely juxtaposed to the synaptic membrane of the cells, it is reasonable to consider that the vesicles include transmitter(s) towards the gustatory nerve.

Relationship between medicine and stimulated saliva and oral moisture.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between medicine and stimulated saliva and oral moisture.

Methods: Fourteen patients with subjective oral dryness and 13 healthy adults were enrolled in this study. Disease, medicine, and medicines that had a side effect of oral dryness were investigated.

Evaluation of the masticatory part and the habitual chewing side by wax cube and bite force measuring system (dental prescale).

Purpose: This study evaluated the masticatory side as well as which side was the habitual chewing side by the use of wax cubes and a bite force measuring system in normal dentate subjects (ND) and complete denture wearers (CD).

Methods: Forty two ND subjects (29 males, 13 females; mean age, 24.8 +/- 2.

[Thickness of mouthguard sheet material after vacuum forming process depending on the thickness of mouthguard sheet].

Purpose: Mouthguards are available to provide protection from stomatognathic injury during sports. The aim of this study was to examine the thickness of each part of mouthguard sheet depending on the thickness of mouthguard sheet material.

Methods: Cross stripes (10 x 10 mm) were printed in mouthguard sheets.

Immunohistochemical analysis of type III collagen expression in the lingual mucosa of rats during organogenesis of the tongue.

We examined the distribution of immunofluorescence due to immunostaining of type III collagen, differential interference contrast (DIC) images and images obtained in the transmission mode after toluidine blue staining by laser-scanning microscopy of semi-ultrathin sections of epoxy resin-embedded samples, during morphogenesis of the filiform papillae, keratinization of the lingual epithelium, and myogenesis of the rat tongue. Immunoreactivity specific for type III collagen was distributed widely in the mesenchymal connective tissue in fetuses on day 15 after conception (E15), at which time the lingual epithelium was composed of one or two layers of cuboidal cells and the lingual muscle was barely recognizable. Immunoreactivity specific for type III collagen was clearly detected on the lamina propria in fetuses on E17 and E19, and it was relatively distinct just beneath the lingual epithelium.

A new method for denture identification.

Three denture marking methods were performed on specimen plates which were prepared using a heat-cured acrylic resin. The first method (LA) was to place a label into a suitable space on the specimen, and then cover it with autopolymerizing acrylic resin. The second method (DA) was to print the mark directly on the specimen, and then cover it with autopolymerizing acrylic resin.

Micro-CT analysis of experimental Candida osteoarthritis in rats.

Experimental osteoarthritis induced by Candida albicans in rats was studied using micro-computed tomography (micro-CT). When C. albicans cells at a nonlethal dose were intravenously injected into 40 rats, joint swelling was induced in 24 rats.

Evaluation of the efficacy of a small CdTe gamma-camera for sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Unlabelled: We previously reported the basic performance of a prototype small cadmium telluride (CdTe) gamma-camera (SSGC) intended for use in radioguided surgeries. In this study, we sought to confirm the favorable previous results and to extend the preliminary findings to examine the efficacy of the SSGC in an animal study and a clinical setting for sentinel lymph node biopsy.

Methods: The prototype SSGC (1,024 pixels; field of view, 44.

Existence of subtypes of gustducin-immunoreactive cells in the vallate taste bud of guinea pigs.

Vallate taste buds in the guinea-pig tongue were immunohistochemically investigated with regard to the colocalization of gustducin with calbindin-D28K (=spot 35 protein) and type III inositol triphosphate receptor (IP(3)R-3) in order to characterize gustducin-immunoreactive cells. Individual taste bud cells ranged from totally immunopositive to totally immunonegative for these three molecules. Among the immunoreactive cells, gustducin-immunoreactive cells were divided into two cell populations: one immunopositive and the other immunonegative for calbindin-D28K.

Newly developed technique for dual localization of keratins 13 and 14 by fluorescence immunohistochemistry.

It is difficult to visualize histological details on semi-ultrathin sections by light microscopy after immunohistochemical labeling because the histological structures in such sections cannot be distinguished by standard counterstaining. To solve this problem and to visualize the immunoreactivity of keratins 13 (K13) and 14 (K14), we used a newly developed technique for dual localization of antigens by fluorescence immunohistochemistry and confocal laser-scanning microscopy in transmission mode, after staining specimens with toluidine blue. Using this approach, we examined the immunolocalization of K13 and K14 on the lingual epithelium of fetal and juvenile rats by immunofluorescence while monitoring morphological changes in the filiform papillae by laser-scanning microscopy, in transmission mode, of the same sections.

Effects of genistein and herbimycin, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, on catecholamine release in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells.

1 The effects of genistein and herbimycin, tyrosine kinase inhibitors, on catecholamine (CA) release were examined in bovine adrenal chromaffin cells. 2 In intact cells, genistein (10-100 microm) and herbimycin (3-30 microm) inhibited CA release induced by acetylcholine (ACh; 100 microm) or the nicotinic receptor stimulant 1,1-dimethyl-4-phenyl-piperazinium (DMPP; 10 microm), but did not affect CA release induced by high K+ (40 mm). 3 Genistein and herbimycin inhibited (45)Ca2+ uptake induced by ACh (100 microm).

Pelioid-type hepatocellular carcinoma with numerous eosinophilic infiltrations in a patient with primary biliary cirrhosis.

A 65-year-old woman with liver injury was referred to our hospital in 1992. She was diagnosed with primary biliary cirrhosis (PBC) of Scheuer's histological classification stage IV. She was treated with 600 mg/day of ursodeoxycholic acid.