'Staying Hot': Investigating the influence of overnight conditions on the penile skin temperature during male sexual arousal-A novel methodology for nocturnal erection detection.

Objective: The objective of this study is to assess the impact of overnight environmental conditions on erectile penile temperature within a controlled setting, with the aim of investigating the feasibility of using temperature measurements for nocturnal erection detection in erectile dysfunction diagnostics. Subjects/patients and methods: We conducted a proof-of-concept study involving 10 healthy male participants aged 20 to 25. The study was carried out at the Department of Urology, St. Antonius Ziekenhuis, the Netherlands. Penile temperature thermistor measurements were taken during visually aroused erections of participants in naked state and in simulated overnight condition (underwear and blankets). Main outcome variables were peak and baseline temperature during erectile periods. To minimize the impact of differences in erectile strength and duration between consecutive measurements, we applied randomization to the order of the environmental conditions. Results: We observed a significant increase in penile temperature during erection in both the naked (p < 0.01) and simulated overnight condition (p < 0.01). The mean temperature increase was 1.70 and 0.67°C, respectively. While penile temperature returned to baseline immediately after naked erections, the 'Staying Hot effect' was noted in the simulated overnight condition measurements, where the temperature remained elevated at peak temperature for the entire 30-min period following the erection. Conclusions: The findings from this study indicate that the penile temperature not only significantly increases during naked sexual arousal but is also detectable under simulated overnight conditions. This underscores the potential of using temperature measurements for nocturnal erection detection, representing a crucial initial step in developing a modernized, non-invasive sensor system for ambulatory erectile dysfunction diagnostics. Further research, including an overnight study, is needed to gain insights into the feasibility of utilizing penile temperature measurements for nocturnal erection detection and to assess the impact of the 'Staying Hot effect' on subsequent erection detection.

Shedding light on night-time erections: Determining the feasibility of nocturnal erection detection with penile transdermal light reflection of haemoglobin.

Objectives: Utilizing penile saturation and temperature measurements presents a promising avenue for the development of an innovative sensor system aimed at nocturnal erection detection. This study aims to determine the feasibility of erection detection with light reflection of haemoglobin (LRH), as a precursor for penile saturation measurements, as well as penile temperature by comparison with simultaneous overnight RigiScan measurements. Materials and Methods: This is a proof-of-concept observational study on 10 healthy volunteers with a cross sectional design. A penile transdermal haemoglobin and temperature sensor was developed to measure penile LRH through real-time monitoring with receiving photodiodes and emitting light-emitting diode (LED). Besides statistical analysis on LRH, temperature and RigiScan data, a visual assessment was done to determine detectability of changes in the LRH and temperature course during the RigiScan-annotated erections. Results: A total of 40 nocturnal erections from 10 healthy volunteers were annotated with the RigiScan. The LRH values significantly increase during a nocturnal erection (p < 0.01) and penile temperature (p < 0.01). The largest elevation of temperature was seen in the last erection, with an increase of 0.94°C. The corrected temperature shows an increase of 1.29°C in the last erection. Furthermore, visual detectability was feasible for 80% of the erections with LRH values and 90% with the temperature output. Conclusion: Penile LRH and temperature have the potential to serve as an alternative methodology for nocturnal erection detection compared with the currently applied circumference and rigidity measurements. This is an important step in the development of a patient-friendly and modernized tool for erectile dysfunction diagnostics. An improved sensor should be developed to allow for calculation of saturation percentage from LRH values. In combination with penile temperature measurements, this allows for conduction of further validity studies to work towards translation into clinical practice for non-invasive ED diagnostics.

'Feeling Hot': Exploring the feasibility of nocturnal erection detection through penile temperature measurements.

Objectives: The observational 'Feeling Hot' study aims to evaluate the feasibility of employing overnight penile temperature measurements for the detection of nocturnal erections, thereby contributing to the advancement and modernization of a non-invasive diagnostic system for erectile dysfunction. Subjects/Patients and Methods: In this proof-of-concept study, 10 healthy men aged 20-25 were recruited, following the methodology outlined in the 'Staying Hot' study by Torenvlied et al. Participants underwent ambulatory overnight penile temperature measurements concurrent with RigiScan recordings. Key outcome measures included baseline and peak penile temperatures during RigiScan-annotated nocturnal erections. Reference measurements of the thigh temperature were also taken to assess nocturnal temperature variations. Results: Statistically significant penile temperature increases (p = 0.008, n = 9) were observed during nocturnal erections, with an average elevation of 1.47°C noted during the initial erections. This underscores the practical utility of penile temperature measurements in detecting erection onset. Challenges arose in accurately determining erection duration and subsequent erection onsets due to the persistence of elevated temperatures following initial erections, termed the 'Staying Hot effect'. Reference thigh temperature measurements aided in addressing this challenge. Conclusion: Examining overnight penile temperature alongside simultaneous RigiScan recordings has yielded valuable insights into the viability of using the temperature methodology for detecting nocturnal erections. The 'Feeling Hot' study findings demonstrate significant penile temperature elevation during nocturnal erections in healthy young men, highlighting the potential of integrating this measurement methodology into the design of a modernized tool for ambulatory erectile dysfunction diagnostics. Further development of an advanced sensor system to comprehensively assess erection duration and quality is essential for enhancing clinical applicability.

Early leaf senescence is associated with an altered cellular redox balance in Arabidopsis cpr5/old1 mutants.

Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are the inevitable by-products of essential cellular metabolic and physiological activities. Plants have developed sophisticated gene networks of ROS generation and scavenging systems. However, ROS regulation is still poorly understood. Here, we report that mutations in the Arabidopsis CPR5/OLD1 gene may cause early senescence through deregulation of the cellular redox balance. Genetic analysis showed that blocking stress-related hormonal signalling pathways, such as ethylene, salicylic acid, jasmonic acid, abscisic acid and sugar, did not affect premature cell death and leaf senescence. We took a bioinformatics approach and analysed publicly available transcriptome data of presymptomatic cpr5/old1 mutants. The results demonstrate that many genes in the ROS gene network show at least fivefold increases in transcripts in comparison with those of wild-type plants, suggesting that presymptomatic cpr5/old1 mutants are in a state of high-cellular oxidative stress. This was further confirmed by a comparative, relative quantitative proteomics study of Arabidopsis wild-type and cpr5/old1 mutant plants, which demonstrated that several Phi family members of glutathione s-transferases significantly increased in abundance. In summary, our genetic, transcriptomic and relative quantitative proteomics analyses indicate that CPR5 plays a central role in regulating redox balance in Arabidopsis.

The burden of oral malignancies in Zimbabwe 1988 to 1997: a population based study.

OBJECTIVE: Annual reports from the few cancer registries in Africa are the only reliable assessment of the burden of cancer using population-based data. Similar reports for oral malignancies have not been undertaken. The purpose of this study was to assess the burden of oral malignancies in Zimbabwe over a 10 year period using population-based data. DESIGN: A descriptive epidemiological study was undertaken to assess the burden of oral malignancies by determining the frequencies, incidence and cumulative rates, the lifetime risk and chances of developing an oral malignancy according to site (topography), gender, age, morphology and race/ethnic origin of the Zimbabwean population. A total of 873 incident cases of oral malignancies from the upper and lower lips, oral vestibule, retromolar area, floor of mouth, tongue, cheek mucosa, gums, hard and soft palate were accessed from the Zimbabwe National Cancer Registry (ZNCR). Cases from the skin, pharynx, larynx and the major salivary glands were excluded from the study. SETTING: This comprised the population of Zimbabwe during a 10 year period 1988 to 1997. The population figures used for this study were from the 1992 Census Zimbabwe National Report. The study population was standardised by the direct method against the world standard population to calculate the age standardized incidence rate (ASIR). The SPSS statistical software program (SPSS Inc.2001, USA) was used for the statistical analysis. RESULTS: Oral malignancies comprised 1.8% of total body malignancies with high histological confirmation of the diagnosis (77.3%). The 25 to 29 and 30 to 34 five-year age groups were the most and equally affected by oral malignancies. The mean age was 43.9 years and median age was 41 years [standard deviation (SD) = 17.7] excluding 53 cases of'unknown age'. Oral Kaposi's sarcoma (OKS) and oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) were the predominant forms of oral malignancy. The palate was the most commonly affected site by oral malignancy followed by, in descending order, the tongue, mouth, floor of mouth and the gum. Blacks were affected more than whites and males more than females (sex ratio = 1.97:1). The palate and the tongue were the most commonly affected sites in blacks and whites respectively. OKS affected mostly young adults while OSCC was the commonest malignancy of the elderly. The tongue had more OSCC (60.4%) than OKS (31%). CONCLUSIONS: Lip cancer was three times more common in whites than in blacks and affected mostly the elderly, though females irrespective of race had a higher lifetime risk for malignancy of the lower lip. The high incidence of OKS among young adults was due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

An easy and efficient procedure for the isolation of pure DNA restriction fragments from agarose gels.

A new procedure is developed to isolate DNA from agarose gels. Using a kind of blotting technique, DNA is isolated from the gel. It is shown that the isolated DNA can be used for fragmentation by restriction endonucleases, synthesis of complementary RNA by DNA-dependent RNA polymerase from Escherichia coli and nick translation. The procedure gives a high recovery and is easy to perform.

Purification of lysophospholipases. Application of a continuous spectrophotometric assay using thioester substrate analogs.

Purification of lysophospholipases was monitored with four analogs of the natural lysophosphatidylcholine substrate, including two analogs with an acylthioester bond. In all chromatographic procedures employed, peaks of enzymatic activity towards each of the substrates were coincidental; moreover, the ratio of thioester to oxyester hydrolysis rates remained essentially constant over a more than 500-fold purification. These findings strongly support the conclusion that the hydrolysis of the thioester substrates truly reflects the specificity of lysophospholipases, thus allowing the use of a convenient spectrophotometric assay for these enzymes.

Further aspects of the Ca2+-dependent polymorphism of bovine heart cardiolipin.

The influence of cations on the structure of aqueous dispersions of the sodium salt of bovine heart cardiolipin was investigated using binding experiments, 31P-NMR, freeze-fracture electron microscopy, small angle X-ray diffraction and batch calorimetry techniques. In the 1-3 mM concentration range, Ca2 induces a bilayer leads to hexagonal HII transition for the lipid. During this transition there is a marked increase in Ca2+ binding from a maximum of 0.35 Ca/cardiolipin in the bilayer to 1.0 Ca/cardiolipin in the hexagonal HII phase. Only when the cardiolipin liposomes are exposed to locally high Ca2+ concentrations is the bilayer leads to hexagonal HII transition accompanied by the appearance of an intermediate 'isotropic' structure characterized by an isotropic 31P-NMR signal and lipidic particles. In contrast, in mixed dioleoylphosphatidylcholine/cardiolipin (1:1) liposomes, Ca2+ concentrations as low as 100 microM will induce an 'isotropic' structure under conditions where no locally high Ca2+ concentrations can occur. In this system at higher Ca2+ concentrations (above 5 mM) the hexagonal HII phase formation occurs. At least 80% of the phosphatidylcholine can be incorporated into this phase. The Ca2+ -induced bilayer to hexagonal transition is an endothermic reaction with a delta H of approx. 1.8 kcal/mol. Removal of Ca2+ from the hexagonally organized calcium-cardiolipin (1:1) complex by dialysis is an extremely slow process with a half-time in excess of 80 h. After 23 h of dialysis at a Ca/cardiolipin ratio of 0.86 an 'isotropic' structure is observed, characterized by an isotropic 31P-NMR signal and the presence of lipidic particles. After 70 h of dialysis (Ca/cardiolipin = 0.7) a new phase is observed. This phase which is optically isotropic and highly viscous separates from a lipid-free aqueous phase and contains 111 mM cardiolipin (15.5% by weight). The phospholipid molecules undergo rapid isotropic motion and the freeze-fracture morphology indicates the presence of a highly curved interconnected bilayer network separating various aqueous compartments. No defined X-ray diffraction bands can be observed for this phase. These characteristics are typical for cubic phases. This phase is metastable as mechanical agitation immediately induces the formation of large bilayer vesicles.

Phase properties of the aqueous dispersions of n-octadecylphosphocholine.

Properties of the aqueous dispersions of n-octadecylphosphocholine are examined by differential scanning calorimetry, fluorescence depolarization, light scattering, 31P-NMR, pig pancreatic phospholipase A2 binding, and X-ray diffraction. On heating, these dispersions exhibit a sharp lamellar to micelle transition at 20.5 degrees C. The lamellar phase consists of frozen (gel-state) alkyl chains which do not bind phospholipase A2. The kinetics of the transition are asymmetric: the micelle to lamellar transition is very slow and the lamellar to micelle transition is fast. It is suggested that the lamellar phase is a frozen chain bilayer in which the chains interdigitate.

A second gene at the tomato Cf-4 locus confers resistance to cladosporium fulvum through recognition of a novel avirulence determinant

The tomato Cf-4 and Cf-9 genes confer resistance to the leaf mould pathogen Cladosporium fulvum and map at a complex locus on the short arm of chromosome 1. It was previously shown that the gene encoding Cf-4, which recognizes the Avr4 avirulence determinant, is one of five tandemly duplicated homologous genes (Hcr9-4s) at this locus. Cf-4 was identified by molecular analysis of rare Cf-4/Cf-9 disease-sensitive recombinants and by complementation analysis. The analysis did not exclude the possibility that an additional gene(s) located distal to Cf-4 may also confer resistance to C. fulvum. We demonstrate that a number of Dissociation-tagged Cf-4 mutants, identified on the basis of their insensitivity to Avr4, are still resistant to infection by C. fulvum race 5. Molecular analysis of 16 Cf-4 mutants, most of which have small chromosomal deletions in this region, suggested the additional resistance specificity is encoded by Hcr9-4E. Hcr9-4E recognizes a novel C. fulvum avirulence determinant that we have designated Avr4E.

Most AAL toxin-sensitive Nicotiana species are resistant to the tomato fungal pathogen Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici.

The phytopathogenic fungus Alternaria alternata f. sp. lycopersici produces AAL toxins required to colonize susceptible tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) plants. AAL toxins and fumonisins of the unrelated fungus Fusarium moniliforme are sphinganine-analog mycotoxins (SAMs), which are toxic for some plant species and mammalian cell lines. Insensitivity of tomato to SAMs is determined by the Alternaria stem canker gene 1 (Asc-1), and sensitivity is associated with a mutated Asc-1. We show that SAM-sensitive species occur at a low frequency in the Nicotiana genus and that candidate Asc-1 homologs are still present in those species. In Nicotiana spp., SAM-sensitivity and insensitivity also is mediated by a single codominant locus, suggesting that SAM-sensitive genotypes are host for A. alternata f. sp. lycopersici. Nicotiana umbratica plants homozygous for SAM-sensitivity are indeed susceptible to A. alternata f. sp. lycopersici. In contrast, SAM-sensitive genotypes of Nicotiana spegazzinii, Nicotiana acuminata var. acuminata, Nicotiana bonariensis, and Nicotiana langsdorffii are resistant to A. alternata f. sp. lycopersici infection concomitant with localized cell death. Additional (nonhost) resistance mechanisms to A. alternata f. sp. lycopersici that are not based on an insensitivity to SAMs are proposed to be present in Nicotiana species.

Relief of polarity caused by transposon Tn5: application in mapping a cloned region of the Escherichia coli uvrB locus essential for UV resistance.

The structure and function of recombinant plasmid pNP5, which consists of vector pMB9 and a 2.5 kb EcoRI fragment harbouring the Escherichia coli uvrB gene, has been investigated. Insertional inactivation with the transposons Tn1 (Apr) or Tn5 (Kmr) has been used to determine the region on pNP5 DNA that is essential for UV resistance in uvrB deletion strains. This region spans approx. 1.8 kb and is separated by at least 280 bp from the pMB9 promoter to which it has been fused. Furthermore, a procedure is described to eliminate the polarity exerted by the transposon Tn5. A combination of in vitro digestion of pNP5::Tn5 DNA with restriction endonuclease XHoI, followed by ligation and subsequent in vivo propagation of the resulting plasmid DNA yields predominantly pNP5 molecules with a site-specific nonpolar mutation. The method allows an investigation of cloned complex genetic units, such as operons.

Molecular analysis of a new cytoplasmic male sterile genotype in sunflower.

Mitochondrial DNA from 1 fertile and 6 cytoplasmic male sterile (CMS) sunflower genotypes was studied. The CMS genotypes had been obtained either by specific crosses between different Helianthus species or by mutagenesis. CMS-associated restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) were found in the vicinity of the atpA locus, generated by various restriction enzymes. The organization of the mitochondrial genes 26S rRNA, 18S + 5S rRNA and coxII was investigated by Southern blot analysis. These genes have similar structures in fertile and all studied sterile sources. Using the atpA probe, 5 from the 6 investigated CMS genotypes showed identical hybridization patterns to the Petiolaris CMS line, which is used in all commercial sunflower hybrids. Only 1 cytoplasm derived from an open pollination of Helianthus annuus ssp. texanus, known as ANT1, contained a unique mitochondrial DNA fragment, which is distinguishable from the fertile and sterile Petiolaris genotypes and from all investigated CMS genotypes. Male fertility restoration and male sterility maintenance of the ANT1 line are different from the Petiolaris CMS system, which is a confirmation that a novel CMS genotype in sunflower has been identified.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma: a clinicopathologic study of 80 patients with special reference to histological grading.

We sought to review our experience with salivary mucoepidermoid carcinoma (MEC) over two decades to confirm the validity and reproducibility of histologic grading and to investigate MIB-1 index as a prognosticator. Diagnosis was confirmed on 80 cases, and chart review or patient contact was achieved for 48 patients, with follow-up from 5 to 240 months (median 36 months). Immunohistochemistry with citrate antigen retrieval for MIB-1 was performed on a subset of cases. Kaplan-Meier survival curves were generated for each stage, site, and grade according to our proposed grading system. To address the issue of grading reproducibility, 20 slides were circulated among five observers, without prior discussion; slides were categorized as low-, intermediate-, or high-grade according to one's "own" criteria, and then according to the AFIP criteria proposed by Goode et al.10 Weighted kappa (kappa) estimates were obtained to describe the extent of agreement between pairs of rating. The Wilcoxon signed rank test or the Friedman test as appropriate tested variation across ratings. There was no gender predominance and a wide age range (15-86 years, median 49 years). The two most common sites were parotid and palate. All grade 1 MECs presented as Stage I tumors, and no failures were seen for this category. The local disease failure rates at 75 months for grades 2 and 3 MEC were 30% and 70%, respectively. Tumor grade, stage, and negative margin status all correlated with disease-free survival (DFS) (p = 0.0091, 0.0002, and 0.048, respectively). The MIB index was not found to be predictive of grade. Regarding the reproducibility of grading, the interobserver variation for pathologists using their "own" grading, as expressed by the kappa value, ranged from good agreement (kappa = 0.79) to poor (kappa = 0.27) (average kappa = 0.49). A somewhat better interobserver reproducibility was achieved when the pathologists utilized the standardized AFIP criteria (average kappa = 0.61, range 0.38-0.77). This greater agreement was also reflected in the Friedman test (statistical testing of intraobserver equality), which indicated significant differences in using one's own grading systems (p = 0.0001) but not in applying the AFIP "standardized" grading (p = 0.33). When one's own grading was compared with the AFIP grading, there were 100 pairs of grading "events," with 46 disagreements/100 pairs. For 98% of disagreements, the AFIP grading "downgraded" tumors. This led us to reanalyze a subset of 31 patients for DFS versus grade, for our grading schema compared with the AFIP grading. Although statistical significance was not achieved for this subset, the log rank value revealed a trend for our grading (p = 0.0993) compared with the Goode schema (p = 0.2493). This clinicopathologic analysis confirms the predictive value of tumor staging and three-tiered histologic grading. Our grading exercise confirms that there is significant grading disparity for MEC, even among experienced ENT/oral pathologists. The improved reproducibility obtained when the weighted AFIP criteria were used speaks to the need for an accepted and easily reproducible system. However, these proposed criteria have a tendency to downgrade MEC. Therefore, the addition of other criteria (such as vascular invasion, pattern of tumor infiltration [i.e., small islands and individual cells vs cohesive islands]) is necessary. We propose a modified grading schema, which enhances predictability and provides much needed reproducibility.

Progressive changes of Kaposi's sarcoma of the gingiva and palate. Case report in an AIDS patient.

As the incidence of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases is rapidly increasing, it is expected that the oral lesions of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) related to AIDS will be encountered more frequently. The progressive changes of KS of the gingiva and palate are described in an AIDS patient who has been monitored for 7 months. In the initial stage, the oral manifestations of KS can be confused with various other lesions. The histopathological appearance includes proliferating slit-like vascular channels and scattered macrophages containing numerous hyaline, eosinophilic granules. Rapid neoplastic proliferation seems to be related to cyclical episodes of impaired immunity.

Clinico-pathological conference 2002.

INTRODUCTION: Six cases are reported, each presented at the 11th Biennial Congress of the International Association of Oral Pathologists as an instructive case for differential diagnosis on the basis of clinical, imaging or histological features. CLINICAL PICTURE: Case diagnoses included a large, possibly intraosseous, myofibroma presenting with an oral mass; Langerhans cell histiocytosis with facial skin lesions; an intraosseous vascular hamartoma of the maxilla with worrying radiological features; an unusual mixed radiolucency of the jaw caused by cemento-ossifying fibroma; an osteosarcoma of the posterior mandible causing a well-defined radiolucency and an intraoral squamous cell carcinoma in a child.