Activity patterns of the suprahyoid muscles during swallowing of different fluid volumes.

Influences of bolus volumes on activity patterns of the suprahyoid muscles during swallowing were examined using the T(P) technique (which quantitatively evaluates muscle activity patterns and indicates a negatively skewed pattern at lower T(P) values) in healthy young adults (eight men and four women). One of six volumes of tea ranging from 10 to 32 mL was delivered randomly to each subject while recording an electromyogram of the suprahyoid muscles and a laryngeal mechanogram with a piezoelectric sensor. Each subject was asked to swallow the full volume of liquid in a gulp if possible. T(P) values were calculated as deciles from T(0) to T(100) during intervals that were defined by the trajectory of the laryngeal mechanogram recorded during swallowing. Seven significant differences were detected in the average T(P) values from T(30) to T(60): between 16 mL (e.g., 0.448 in T(30)) and 25 mL (0.408 in T(30)) and between 20 mL (0.453 in T(30)) and 25 mL. There were significant differences among the 12 subjects for all of the nine average T(P) values (Ps < 0.001), suggesting a notable intersubject variation in the suprahyoid (SH) activity patterns. The average peak amplitudes of the integrated suprahyoid activity differed significantly among the six volumes (P < 0.001), while the average durations measured by the laryngeal mechanogram did not. The present results suggest that the swallowing volume mainly affects SH activity patterns, which were evaluated by the T(P) technique, during the early period of each swallow.

Analysis of head movements coupled with trunk drift in healthy subjects.

Accelerometers were used to measure sequential head tilt and trunk drift in 14 healthy young subjects while they performed three kinds of head task. First, maximum inclination angles in anterior, posterior, right and left directions were measured to estimate cervical ranges of motion for flexion-extension and lateral bending. The inclination angles measured (61.2 degrees on average for flexion, 51.7 degrees for extension, 42.7 degrees for right bending and 43.9 degrees for left bending) were consistent with previous findings. Secondly, cross-correlation analysis was applied to evaluate the degree of functional coupling between the head and trunk during flexion-extension and lateral bending. Significantly higher correlation coefficients were found between head tilt and trunk drift when these movements were in the same (iso-) directional condition than in a different (allo-) directional condition. The coupled trunk drift in flexion-extension for the iso-directional condition (10.3 degrees on average) was much larger than for the allodirectional condition (2.3 degrees). Finally, head turning was recorded as oval traces in a biaxial plane. In both clockwise and counter-clockwise head turning conditions, the maximum inclination angles of the traces were larger in the anterior-posterior direction (59.8 degrees anterior and 58.2 degrees posterior, in the clockwise condition, and 47.4 degrees and 47.4 degrees in the counter-clockwise condition) than in the right-left direction (36.3 degrees right and 39.0 degrees left, in the clockwise condition, and 40.5 degrees and 36.7 degrees in the counter-clockwise condition), and the angles in the four directions were almost equal to flexion-extension and lateral bending. The characteristics of the traces recorded and a possible application of the present recording system are discussed.

Clinical evaluation of human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor in chemotherapy for ovarian cancer.

The clinical evaluation of human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) in 38 patients treated with chemotherapy for ovarian cancer stage III was investigated among 3 groups. G-CSF was not given in group A (19 courses), was administered from day 5 of chemotherapy in group B (53 courses), and was given when the WBC count decreased to below 2,000/mm3 in group C (29 courses). The time to nadir was significantly shorter in group B compared with groups A and C and revealed 10 days for the WBC count and 11 days for the neutrophil count (p <0.01), with mean nadir values of 2,896/mm3 and 982/mm3 respectively, and so the count of WBC and neutrophil have been kept during the course. The effect of G-CSF was not modified by age, body weight or the number of chemotherapy courses in groups B and C. These results demonstrate that early treatment with G-CSF may allow increased intensity of chemotherapy by using greater doses or by shortening of the interval between cycles.

[A case of uterine cervical cancer in which UFT was an effective preoperative treatment].

We report a case in which UFT was effective as a preoperative treatment for stage II b cervical cancer. The patient was a 66-year-old female whose chief complaint was brown vaginal discharge. Following cytological, histological and CT examinations, a diagnosis was made of papillary squamous cell carcinoma invading the vagina and left parametrium. We administered UFT (600 mg/day, for 5 days) as one course, and conducted two courses with an interval of 2 days. The tumor had shrunk 2 weeks later and a radical hysterectomy was performed after additional treatment with intraarterial cisplatin (120 mg/body) infusion. Thymidylate synthase (TS) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD), which are enzymes in 5-FU metabolism, and the labeling index (ID) of DNA fragmentation in the tumor were estimated before and after UFT. The results showed that TS was 0.69 pmol/g tissue and DPD 39.98 pmol/mg/min before UFT, and that LI of DNA fragmentation was 21.8 +/- 5.0% before UFT and 37.9 +/- 16.2% after UFT. We suggest that preoperative UFT administration is an effective treatment for cervical cancer, and that TS, DPD and LI of DNA fragmentation might be useful biomarkers to estimate the sensitivity of UFT.

Comparison of video-recorded laryngeal movements during swallowing by normal young men with piezoelectric sensor and electromyographic signals.

The movement of the larynx in five young men during the swallowing of a liquid was examined by simultaneously recording a video-movie, the trajectory of a piezoelectric sensor, and the surface electromyogram of the suprahyoid muscles (SH). The movies revealed swallowing was associated with four characteristic spatial points of laryngeal movement: (1) a slight movement in the superior posterior direction (1.9 +/- 1.2 s; mean +/- SD of the time elapsed after the command to swallow was issued); (2) the initiation of anterosuperior elevation (2.3 +/- 1.3 s); (3) the turn at the highest position (3.2 +/- 1.2 s); and (4) the return to the initial position (4.1 +/- 1.4 s). The piezoelectric sensor and the SH electromyogram also detected characteristic temporal points that closely corresponded to the characteristic temporal points captured by the video. The advantages of using movies in swallowing research are discussed.

Applicability of piezoelectric sensors for speech rehabilitation.

The applicability of piezoelectric sensors for speech rehabilitation was examined by setting vocalizing tasks for seven healthy young adults (four men and three women). A piezoelectric sensor was attached to the front of the neck and each seated subject was instructed to vocalize /a/ with subjective low and high tones and /pa/, /ta/, and /ka/ with a subjective middle tone. The three major findings were: (1) slow potential changes recorded at the start of these tasks were followed by rapid changes; (2) the tasks did not differ in the average range of the slow changes; (3) female subjects had higher average frequencies of rapid changes than male subjects. The frequencies and phases of the rapid changes paralleled the sound waves recorded in the neck during the tasks. Swallowing tasks verified the appropriateness of the recording system. The advantages of using piezoelectric sensors in the clinic are discussed.

Head movement associated with performance of mandibular tasks.

The present study was designed to examine the hypothesis that the motor system controlling phonation is functionally coupled with the motor system controlling posture of the head and neck, as previously suggested (U. Haddar, T.J. Steiner, E.C. Grant and F.C. Rose Human Movement Science 2: 35 and Language and Speech 26: 117). Head tilt and trunk drift in the antero-posterior and right-left directions were measured simultaneously for 20 s before and during three types of speech sounds (/pa/, /ta/ and /ka/) as well during a maximum jaw open-close task in 14 healthy young subjects. The major findings obtained in all of the four tasks were: (i) the trunk drift measured in both directions was negligible in comparison with the head tilt; (ii) the head tilt in the antero-posterior direction was much larger than in the right-left direction and (iii) the head tilt during performance of the four tasks consisted of 'initial' and 'sustained' phases. In the initial phase, the head tilted posteriorly in association with the start of individual tasks. In the sustained phase, the head tilted either anteriorly or posteriorly when the task progressed. The magnitude of the net head tilt in the sustained phase negatively correlated with that of the initial head tilt. These findings indicate that phonation, in the form of jaw open-close, accompanies head movement in two consecutive phases.

Micropruina glycogenica gen. nov., sp. nov., a new Gram-positive glycogen-accumulating bacterium isolated from activated sludge.

A new Gram-positive non-spore-forming bacterium, strain Lg2T, was isolated from an activated sludge reactor showing enhanced biological phosphorus removal activity. The new isolate was a slowly growing organism and was capable of accumulating large amounts of intracellular glycogen from substrate taken up. Both oxidase and catalase were produced. The new isolate contained meso-diaminopimelic acid (DAP) in the cell wall. Complex fatty acid patterns with iso-C14:0, anteiso-C15:0, C16:0, iso-C16:0 and four other minor saturated or unsaturated straight-chain fatty acids were detected. The isolate contained a high genomic G+C content (70.5 mol%). Phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene sequence placed the isolate in the high G+C Gram-positive group with Microlunatus phosphovorus and Friedmanniella antarctica as the closest relatives (sequence similarities are 93 and 92 %, respectively). These three organisms shared common features in morphology, but strain Lg2T could be differentiated from the other species by its peptidoglycan type (meso-DAP), fatty acid composition, carbon source utilization profile and G+C content. On the basis of these findings, it is proposed that a new genus and species, Micropruina glycogenica, should be created for the new isolate; the type strain is strain Lg2T (= JCM 10248T).