Effects of lingual strength training on lingual strength and articulator function in stroke patients with dysarthria.

[Purpose] This study investigated the effects of lingual strength training (LST) on lingual strength and articulator function in stroke patients with dysarthria. [Subjects and Methods] 16 stroke patients with dysarthria were randomly assigned into two groups: the experimental group (n=8) or the control group (n=8). Both groups received the conventional rehabilitation therapy at 30 min/day, 5 times for week, and during 4 weeks, and the experimental group received an additional 30 min of LST using the Iowa Oral Performance Instrument (IOPI). The Maximum Isometric Tongue Pressures (MIPs) was used to assess the lingual strength and the Alternating-Motion Rate (AMR) and Sequential-Motion Rate (SMR) were used to measure the articulator function. [Results] After the intervention, the experimental group showed a significant improvement in MIPs and AMR (/tə/) than the control group. [Conclusion] Findings of this study suggest that LST provides positive effects on lingual strength and articulator function, and thus can be used as an interventional method in stroke patients with dysarthria.

Effects of pH and temperature on benzo[a]pyrene-DNA, -protein, and -lipid adducts in primary rat hepatocytes.

The effects of pH and temperature on benzo[a]pyrene(BaP)-DNA, -protein, and -lipid adducts were compared in rat hepatocytes treated with [3H]-BaP. In primary rat hepatocytes, BaP-DNA, -protein, and -lipid adducts were formed in a concentration-dependent manner (0.31-2.80 mmol BaP), and the formation of BaP-lipid adducts, specifically triglyceride (TG) adducts, correlated well with that of DNA or protein adducts. As incubation time increased (1-24 h), the formation of DNA or protein adducts was also elevated, while BaP-TG adducts decreased after 3 h of reaction. pH had no effect on the formation of [3H]-BaP-DNA, and -protein adducts, and the TG adducts decreased with increasing pH (3.4-11.4). With an increase in incubation temperature (30-45 degrees C), on the other hand, the adduct formation was increased with increasing temperature up to 40 degrees C and then decreased sharply. These results suggest that the physicochemical properties of BaP-DNA, -protein, and -TG adducts might be important to consider when cells or humans who have been exposed to BaP are monitored for biomarkers.

Genotoxicity evaluation of Isaria sinclairii (ISE) extract.

The mutagenic potential Isaria sinclairii, a traditional Chinese medicine composed of the fruiting bodies of I. sinclairii and its parasitic host larva, was evaluated using short-term genotoxicity tests, namely, the Ames test, chromosome aberration (CA), and micronuclei (MN) tests. In a Salmonella typhimurium assay, I. sinclairii extract (ISE) did not produce any mutagenic response in the absence or presence of 59 mix with TA98, TA100, TA1535, and TA1537. In the chromosome aberration (CA) test, ISE induced no significant effect on Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells compared with control. In the MN test, no significant change in the occurrence of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes was observed in male ICR mice intraperitoneally administered ISE at doses of 15, 150, or 1500 mg/kg. These results indicate that ISE has no mutagenic potential in these in vitro and in vivo systems.

Ras transgene expression in TG-AC mice treated with benzo[a]pyrene.

Transgene expression and skin tumorigenicity were investigated in transgenic TG-AC mice carrying the v-Ha-ras after treatment with benzo[a]pyrene (BP). Animals treated with 40 microg BP (x2/week/mouse) showed 100% tumor response after 25 weeks, as did 40% of the mice treated with 20 microg BP but 10 microg BP did not produce a tumor response. In the case of animals treated with 40 microg BP for 25 weeks, most of the tumors were proven to be carcinomas (80%, 4 out of 5 mice), and all tumors were shown to be positive in terms of transgene expression detected by in situ hybridization. These data suggest that BP was tumorigenic in a dose-dependent manner in TG-AC mice and that TG-AC mice were dependent on transgene expression during BP carcinogenesis.