Appearance on face reading (cheek line) after orthognathic surgery.

The cheek line (face reading) is an aesthetic element of the facial profile. The purpose of our study was to investigate the changes in the cheek line after mandibular setback surgery. Forty patients (20 female and 20 male, mean (SD) age 22 (5) years) were diagnosed with mandibular prognathism and treated by intraoral vertical ramus osteotomy alone. Cephalograms were obtained before operation (T1), at least a year postoperatively (T2), and final surgical changes over a year (T2-T1). The cheek line and landmarks (soft and hard tissues) were compared using the paired t test. The hypothesis was that the cheek line did not change significantly after mandibular setback. At the time of the final follow-up (T2-T1), the mean (SD) horizontal setback of pogonion (Pog) was 12.3 (3.5) mm for women and 11.7 (4.3) mm for men. The ratios of soft:hard tissue, labrale inferius:incisor inferius, labiomental sulcus:point B, soft tissue Pog:Pog, and cheek point:Pog in women were 0.96, 0.98, 0.98, and 0.08, and in men 0.91, 1.01, 0.94, and 0.13, respectively. The nasolabial and cervicomental angles in women were significantly increased by 11.1° and 11.4°, respectively, and in men the nasolabial angle was significantly increased by 11.1° and the mentolabial angle reduced by 9.9°. The cheek line (T2-T1) was moved significantly forwards. The hypothesis was therefore rejected. In conclusion, the cheek line was advanced significantly after isolated mandibular setback.

Variants of ubiquitin-specific peptidase 24 play a crucial role in lung cancer malignancy.

Ubiquitin is a critical modifier regulating the degradation and function of its target proteins during posttranslational modification. Here we found that ubiquitin-specific peptidase 24 (USP24) is highly expressed in cell lines with enhanced malignancy and in late-stage lung cancer clinical samples. Studying single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of USP24 using genomic DNA of lung cancer patients revealed an increase in SNP 7656C/T. When using RNA specimens instead of the genomic DNA of lung cancer patients, we found significant increases in the ratios of variants 930C/T and 7656T/C, suggesting that variants at these two sites are not only caused by the SNP of DNA but also by the RNA editing. USP24-930T and USP24-7656C increase USP24 expression levels by increasing RNA stability. Knocking down USP24 increased Suv39h1 level through a decrease in mouse double-minute 2 homolog levels, thus enhancing lysine-9 methylation of histone H3, and resulting in the prevention of lung cancer malignancy. In conclusion, as USP24 variant analysis revealed a higher ratio of variants in blood specimens of lung cancer patients than that in normal individuals, USP24-930T and USP24-7656C might be useful as diagnostic markers for cancer detection.

Candidate tumor suppressor B-cell translocation gene 3 impedes neoplastic progression by suppression of AKT.

BTG3 (B-cell translocation gene 3) is a p53 target that also binds and inhibits E2F1. Although it connects two major growth-regulatory pathways functionally and is downregulated in human cancers, whether and how BTG3 acts as a tumor suppressor remain largely uncharacterized. Here we present evidence that BTG3 binds and suppresses AKT, a kinase frequently deregulated in cancers. BTG3 ablation results in increased AKT activity that phosphorylates and inhibits glycogen synthase kinase 3ß. Consequently, we also observed elevated ß-catenin/T-cell factor activity, upregulation of mesenchymal markers, and enhanced cell migration. Consistent with these findings, BTG3 overexpression suppressed tumor growth in mouse xenografts, and was associated with diminished AKT phosphorylation and reduced ß-catenin in tissue specimens. Significantly, a short BTG3-derived peptide was identified, which recapitulates these effects in vitro and in cells. Thus, our study provides mechanistic insights into a previously unreported AKT inhibitory pathway downstream of p53. The identification of an AKT inhibitory peptide also unveils a new avenue for cancer therapeutics development.

Inguinal hernia repair outcomes that utilized the modified Kugel patch without the optional onlay patch: a case series of 163 consecutive patients.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of the anterior Kugel herniorrhaphy approach when the onlay patch is omitted. METHODS: The study population comprised patients who underwent anterior Kugel herniorrhaphy without the onlay patch from 1 May 2009, to 31 June 2012. The onlay patch was omitted if the posterior wall defect did not exceed the inner Posiflex(®) ring diameter. After reviewing the clinical follow-up records and conducting telephone interviews, the postoperative results were recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 163 patients underwent 175 hernia repairs. One patient developed recurrence after undergoing our herniorrhaphy method. The most common postoperative complaints were mild soreness, indescribable discomfort, and foreign body sensations (11 patients). The mean operative time and hospital stay were 67 min and 2 days, respectively. More serious complications included one scrotal hematoma, one hydrocele, and one wound infection that resulted in epididymitis. CONCLUSIONS: The onlay patch can be omitted with low recurrence and complication rates if the posterior wall defects do not exceed the inner Posiflex(®) ring diameter.

Segregation analysis of microsatellite (SSR) markers in sugarcane polyploids.

No information is available on segregation analysis of DNA markers involving both pollen and self-progeny. Therefore, we used capillary electrophoresis- and fluorescence-based DNA fingerprinting together with single pollen collection and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to investigate simple sequence repeat (SSR) marker segregation among 964 single pollens and 288 self-progenies (S1) of sugarcane cultivar LCP 85-384. Twenty SSR DNA fragments (alleles) were amplified by five polymorphic SSR markers. Only one non-parental SSR allele was observed in 2392 PCRs. SSR allele inheritance was in accordance with Mendelian laws of segregation and independent assortment. Highly significant correlation coefficients were found between frequencies of observed and expected genotypes in pollen and S1 populations. Within the S1 population, the most frequent genotype of each SSR marker was the parental genotype of the same marker. The number of genotypes was higher in pollen than S1 population. PIC values of the five SSR markers were greater in pollen than S1 populations. Eleven of 20 SSR alleles (55%) were segregated in accordance with Mendelian segregation ratios expected from pollen and S1 populations of a 2n = 10x polyploid. Six of 20 SSR alleles were segregated in a 3:1 (presence:absence) ratio and were simplex markers. Four and one alleles were segregated in 77:4 and 143:1 ratios and considered duplex and triplex markers, respectively. Segregation ratios of remaining alleles were unexplainable. The results provide information about selection of crossing parents, estimation of seedling population optimal size, and promotion of efficient selection, which may be valuable for sugarcane breeders.

Molecular dynamics simulation of radiation damage in CaCd6 quasicrystal cubic approximant up to 10 keV.

Due to the peculiar nature of the atomic order in quasicrystals, examining phase transitions in this class of materials is of particular interest. Energetic particle irradiation can provide a way to modify the structure locally in a quasicrystal. To examine irradiation-induced phase transitions in quasicrystals on the atomic scale, we have carried out molecular dynamics simulations of collision cascades in CaCd6 quasicrystal cubic approximant with energies up to 10 keV at 0 and 300 K. The results show that the threshold energies depend surprisingly strongly on the local coordination environments. The energy dependence of stable defect formation exhibits a power-law dependence on cascade energy, and surviving defects are dominated by Cd interstitials and vacancies. Only a modest effect of temperature is observed on defect survival, while irradiation temperature increases lead to a slight increase in the average size of both vacancy clusters and interstitial clusters.

Effects of a preoperative simplified home rehabilitation education program on length of stay of total knee arthroplasty patients.

UNLABELLED: In patients with severe knee osteoarthritis (OA), total knee arthroplasty (TKA) is performed for both symptom relief and to achieve better function in daily life. Implementation of efficient TKA rehabilitation programs with shorter length of stay (LOS) and reduced medical expenditures is an important issue in clinical practice. However, the effectiveness of preoperative rehabilitation programs is still under debate. Most preoperative rehabilitation programs last many weeks and may be more expensive than TKA. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a simplified, easy-to-learn, and less time-consuming preoperative rehabilitation education program on TKA patients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In this randomized controlled study, we allocated all the patients into study and control group according to chart number. The study group, which comprised 126 patients, participated in a 40-min preoperative home rehabilitation education program 4 weeks prior to TKA. One hundred seventeen patients in the control group did not participate in this preoperative program. RESULTS: The study group required a shorter hospital LOS (mean: 7.12 days; P=0.027) and had less hospitalization-related medical expenditures (mean: 123726 New Taiwan dollars [NTD], equivalent to 4266.4 United States dollars [USD] or 3022.1 [Euros]), (P=0.001) than the control group. However, the study group showed no significant improvement in function when compared to the control group. DISCUSSION: Our study demonstrates that a simplified preoperative rehabilitation program can reduce LOS and increase cost savings. This program was recommended as a routine protocol for OA patients before admission for TKA.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor in association with RelA modulates IL-6 expression in non-smoking lung cancer.

Aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that is activated by cigarette smoke. Previously, we demonstrated that AhR is overexpressed in lung adenocarcinomas (ADs). In this study we observed that AhR expression is significantly correlated with nuclear RelA (a nuclear factor-κB (NFκB) subunit) and cytosolic interleukin-6 (IL-6) in 200 non-small cell lung cancer patients, especially among never smokers. Overexpression of AhR increased IL-6 expression in H1355 cells and immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells BEAS-2B. As NFκB inhibitor and knockdown RelA expression greatly reduced constitutive AhR-induced IL-6 expression, we hypothesized that AhR expression, in the absence of exogenous ligand, is able to modulate NFκB activity and subsequently upregulate IL-6 expression, thus promoting the development of lung AD. Specifically, AhR overexpression significantly increased NFκB activity, whereas interference with AhR expression significantly reduced NFκB activity and IL-6 expression in H1355 cells. We demonstrated that AhR associates with RelA in the cytosol and nucleus of human lung cells. Furthermore, AhR overexpression enhanced nuclear localization of AhR and RelA, and increased the association of AhR-RelA with the NFκB response element of the IL-6 promoter. However, p50 was not involved. Our results indicate that AhR, without exposure to a ligand, associates with RelA, which then positively modulates NFκB activity and then upregulates IL-6 expression in human lung cells. Thus we have identified a new mechanism for lung tumorigenesis in non-smokers.

Combined treatment with denbinobin and Fas ligand has a synergistic cytotoxic effect in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma BxPC-3 cells.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Human pancreatic carcinoma is a highly malignant cancer. Previous studies have shown that the decoy receptor 3 (DcR3) for Fas ligand (FasL) plays significant roles in tumour progression and immune suppression. In the present study, we evaluated the anti-cancer activity of a natural compound, denbinobin (5-hydroxy-3,7-dimethoxy-1,4-phenanthraquinone), through decreasing DcR3 levels in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cell lines. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: We used immunoprecipitation and ELISA assays to examine DcR3 levels, and used FACS to determine the percentage of cells with a sub-G1 DNA content. KEY RESULTS: AsPC-1 and BxPC-3 human pancreatic cancer cells express high levels of DcR3. Denbinobin concentration-dependently decreased DcR3 levels in BxPC-3 cells. MTT and flow cytometry assays indicated that BxPC-3 was FasL-resistant because high concentrations (100 ng.mL(-1)) of soluble FasL did not inhibit cell growth. However, combinations of denbinobin (3 micromol.L(-1)) with lower concentrations of soluble FasL (10, 30 and 50 ng.mL(-1)) or membrane-bound FasL, were synergistic on cell growth inhibition and apoptosis. Exogenous excess DcR3 reversed this synergistic effect. We observed no significant increase in the levels of surface Fas, cleaved forms of caspase-8, -3, -9, Bax, Bid, Bcl-xL, cytochrome c or mitochondrial membrane potentials following denbinobin treatment. However, denbinobin treatment increased the levels of apoptosis-inducing factor. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Denbinobin and FasL trigger a synergistic cytotoxic effect in human pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells. Denbinobin mediated a decrease in levels of DcR3, which played a major role in this synergistic effect, and also increased caspase-independent apoptosis, via apoptosis-inducing factor.

CBAP interacts with the un-liganded common beta-subunit of the GM-CSF/IL-3/IL-5 receptor and induces apoptosis via mitochondrial dysfunction.

The cytoplasmic domain of the common beta-chain (betac) of the granulocyte-macrophage-colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)/interleukin-3 (IL-3)/IL-5 receptor contains a membrane proximal region that is sufficient to mediate ligand-dependent mitogenic activity. Within this region two motifs, designated as box 1 and box 2, are highly conserved among members of the cytokine receptor superfamily. Whereas box 1 is required for the recruitment and phosphorylation of Janus kinase-2, the function of box 2 remains largely unknown. Here, we report the identification of a novel transmembrane protein (common beta-chain associated protein (CBAP)) which directly associated with betac via the box 2 motif. Interestingly, such an association only occurred in the absence of GM-CSF in vivo. Ectopic overexpression of CBAP triggered apoptosis of factor-dependent cells via mitochondrial dysfunction, which could be inhibited by Bcl-2 overexpression. Reduced expression of endogenous CBAP by small interfering RNA did not interfere GM-CSF-activated signaling molecules, but such treatment significantly inhibited apoptosis induced by GM-CSF deprivation, but not other death stimuli. Domain mapping studies indicated that one apoptogenic domain of CBAP correlated with its ability to interact with betac. Taken together, these results suggest that CBAP modulates GM-CSF-deprivation-induced apoptosis possibly via a novel mechanism involving interaction with an un-liganded betac molecule.

WITHDRAWN: A radio frequency biosensor with gold nanoparticle probes.

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Clinical significance of cell differentiation in hepatocellular carcinoma.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Hepatocellular carcinoma is commonly found in Asian countries and prognosis still remains unsatisfactory due to recurrence after surgical tumor resection. METHODOLOGY: We try to demonstrate the recurrence and survival time in 99 surgical patients grading by tumor cellular differentiation from surgical specimen. RESULTS: The rates of well, moderate, and poor differentiation were encountered in 21 cases (21.2%), 61 cases (61.6%) and 17 cases (17.7%), respectively. Small tumor (< 3 cm) was found in only one (5.9%) in the poor differentiation group and 38.1% and 37.7% in the well and moderate differentiation groups. Capsular invasion was found in 13 (61.9%), 39 (63.9%) and 7 (41.1%) in the well, moderate and poor differentiation group, respectively. We found 41.9% (18/43) and 22.4% (13/58) to be tumor free in capsule invasion (-) and (+) after a period of 18.1 and 29.9 months, respectively. However, the recurrent time was 10.6 and 11.3 months, respectively with no significant difference (p > 0.05). Vascular invasion was more frequent in the poor differentiation group (76.5%) than the well (23.8%) and moderate (60.7%) differentiation groups (P < 0.05). We found 23.5% (4/17) and 35% (21/60) to be tumor free but the recurrence time was 6.5 and 14.1 months for the vascular invasion (-) and (+), respectively. The residual median survival times were 6.5 and 14 months after recurrence, respectively. The tumor recurrence rates were 52.7% (11/21), 52.4% (32/61), and 35.5% (6/17) and recurrence times were 11.7, 11.9, and 4.5 months for the well, moderate and poor differentiation group respectively totally. The recurrence time of young age group (< 39 years old) was shorter than the others and there was no patient of well differentiation less than 40 years old. The recurrence time was shorter in the poor differentiation group but there was no significant difference according to age group. The median survival times were 22.2, 22.9, and 9.5 months for each group, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma cell had a clinical significance and was found to be positively correlated with the invasive proclivity. The median survival time was longer in both the well and moderate differentiation group, but not in the poor differentiation group. The clinical data revealed that the extended operations performed upon the patients with poor differentiation effected the recurrence time but not the survival time.

Intravenous contrast-enhanced Doppler sonography and intra-arterial carbon dioxide-enhanced sonography in the assessment of hepatocellular carcinoma vascularity before and after treatment.

PURPOSE: To compare i.v. contrast-enhanced sonography (CEUS), power Doppler sonography (PDUS) and i.a. carbon dioxide-enhanced sonography (CO2US) in assessing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) vascularities before and after treatment. Differences between PDUS and CEUS with the aid of CO2US were also observed. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In all, 43 patients with 67 histologically proved HCCs were examined with PDUS, CEUS, and CO2US. Among these tumors, 36 were HCCs before treatment and 31 were HCCs treated by transcatheter arterial chemoembolization or percutaneous ethanol injection or a combination of these two treatments. CO2US was used as the gold standard when comparing the PDUS and CEUS. RESULTS: Of the 36 untreated HCC tumors, 20 (55.6%) were hypervascular compared with the liver parenchyma at PDUS, 28 (77.8%) at CEUS, 31 (86.1%) at the early phase of CO2US and 32 (88.9%) at the late phase of CO2US. Of the 31 post-treatment HCCs, 11 (35.5%) showed hypervascularity at PDUS, 25 (80.6%) at CEUS, 25 (80.6%) at the early phase of CO2US and 26 (83.9%) at the late phase of CO2US. CONCLUSION: CO2US was superior to CEUS and CEUS was superior to PDUS for the detection of tumor vascularity in both untreated and treated HCCs. The duration of enhancement at CEUS was shorter than at CO2US. The ability of CO2US to detect additional small tumors was not possible with PDUS and CEUS.

Depiction of vasculature in small hepatocellular carcinoma, and dysplastic nodules evaluated with carbon dioxide ultrasonography and angiography.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the vascularity in dysplastic nodules and well-differentiated and moderately to poorly differentiated hepatocellular carcinomas (HCCs) less than 2 cm using carbon-dioxide (CO2) US and angiography. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 115 pathologically proven small liver tumors (0.7 approximately 2.0 cm) were included in the study. There were 31 dysplastic nodules, 49 well-differentiated HCCs and 35 moderately to poorly differentiated HCCs. A comparative study of angiography and CO2 US was carried out. RESULTS: Of the dysplastic nodules, 28 out of 31 tumors were hypo- or isovascular at CO2 US. Twenty-seven out of 31 tumors were hypovascular at angiography. Of the well-differentiated HCCs, 38/49 showed hypervascularity at CO2 US while 24/49 tumors were hypervascular at angiography. All moderately to poorly differentiated HCCs showed hypervascularity at CO2 US, compared to 30/35 tumors at angiography. CONCLUSION: Most of the dysplastic nodules were hypovascular and most of the moderately to poorly differentiated HCCs were hypervascular. The vascularity of well-differentiated HCCs was in between the above tumors. Both CO2 US and angiography were equally effective in demonstrating the vascularities in dysplastic nodules and moderately to poorly differentiated HCCs. CO2 US was significantly superior to angiography when identifying the vascularity in well-differentiated HCCs.

Predictors of smoking cessation from adolescence into young adulthood.

Although smoking cigarettes is hazardous to health and cessation has positive health benefits, few smokers are able to successfully quit. The purpose of this study was to examine the predictors of smoking cessation in a nonclinical sample of 134 male and 190 female, young adult, regular (daily) smokers within a social learning and maturing-out framework. Four waves of prospective, longitudinal data from a community sample followed from adolescence into young adulthood were analyzed. Logistic regression analyses were used to test the effects of differential associations, definitions, differential reinforcement, and changes in adult role status on smoking cessation in young adulthood. Becoming married to a nonsmoker and decreases in the proportion of friends who smoked were significant predictors of cessation. Current smokers and stoppers did not differ significantly in terms of prior intensity of cigarette use or alcohol abuse/dependence. They also did not differ in terms of psychological characteristics, including depression and prior coping use of cigarettes. Social networks were more important than social roles for predicting cessation in young adulthood. Thus, smoking cessation programs should focus on social learning processes.

Interference of the simian virus 40 origin of replication by the cytomegalovirus immediate early gene enhancer: evidence for competition of active regulatory chromatin conformation in a single domain.

Replication origins are often found closely associated with transcription regulatory elements in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. To examine the relationship between these two elements, we studied the effect of a strong promoter-enhancer on simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA replication. The human cytomegalovirus (CMV) immediate early gene enhancer-promoter was found to exert a strong inhibitory effect on SV40 origin-based plasmid replication in Cos-1 cells in a position- and dose-dependent manner. Deletion analysis indicated that the effect was exerted by sequences located in the enhancer portion of the CMV sequence, thus excluding the mechanism of origin occlusion by transcription. Insertion of extra copies of the SV40 origin only partially alleviated the inhibition. Analysis of nuclease-sensitive cleavage sites of chromatin containing the transfected plasmids indicate that the chromatin was cleaved at one of the regulatory sites in the plasmids containing more than one regulatory site, suggesting that only one nuclease-hypersensitive site existed per chromatin. A positive correlation was found between the degree of inhibition of DNA replication and the decrease of P1 cleavage frequency at the SV40 origin. The CMV enhancer was also found to exhibit an inhibitory effect on the CMV enhancer-promoter driving chloramphenicol acetyltransferase expression in a dose-dependent manner. Together these results suggest that inhibition of SV40 origin-based DNA replication by the CMV enhancer is due to intramolecular competition for the formation of active chromatin structure.

An appliance to replace prematurely lost maxillary anterior teeth using double stainless steel crowns on abutment teeth.

This paper describes an appliance to replace prematurely lost maxillary anterior teeth. The prosthesis is different from previous appliance designs, since it uses double stainless steel crowns on abutment teeth, and uses a donor cast to fabricate artificial teeth. A case is presented describing laboratory and office procedures.