Myomucosal shunt following total laryngectomy: a report of 31 cases

An original technique of voice rehabilitation following total laryngectomy based on the concept of a myomuscosal unit was originally described by Strome. Thirty-one cases of myomucosal shunts (MMS) are analyzed in the present report. The 14 initial cases failed because of a lack clinical and surgical experience and insufficient selection of the patients. Among the last 17 cases, 1 was lost to follow-up, 1 had an insufficient follow-up, and 2 patients refused to speak with the MMS instead of a patent shunt; 5 of the remaining patients had voices evaluated as excellent, 7 had voices interpreted as good and only 1 patient had a voice evaluated as poor. Aspiration was not a problem. Eleven patients were found to stenose their shunt, but fistula were recalibrated successfully. The MMs can be used safely in oncological surgery and only 1 of 31 deaths in our total experience was due to a local recurrence. These findings show that the MMS is a reliable procedure for voice restoration following total laryngectomy; a prosthesis is not required and there are currently no oncological limits to the procedure. However, a very close follow-up of the patients is required after surgery.     

Opioid receptors are involved in an NMDA receptor-independent mechanism of LTP induction at hippocampal mossy fiber-CA3 synapses.

Long-term potentiation (LTP) of mossy fiber responses in area CA3 of the rat hippocampus in vivo is blocked by naloxone, an opioid receptor antagonist, in a stereospecific and dose-dependent manner. LTP of commissural afferents to the same population of CA3 pyramidal cells is not attenuated by naloxone. This suggests that opioid receptors are involved in a mechanism of LTP induction that is specific to mossy fiber synapses, and that endogenous opioid receptors are involved in a mechanism of LTP induction that is specific to mossy fiber synapses, and that endogenous opioid peptides, presumably released as a result of mossy fiber stimulation, may be necessary for the induction of mossy fiber LTP. The naloxone sensitivity is limited to the induction phase of LTP, since naloxone does not reverse previously established LTP. These data suggest that LTP at the mossy fiber-CA3 synapse constitutes an NMDA receptor-independent, opioid receptor-dependent, form of hippocampal synaptic plasticity.     

Structural analysis of poly(3-alkylthiophene)s

Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (PT6), poly(3-octylthiophene) (PT8), poly(3-decylthiophene) (PT10) and poly(3-dodecylthiophene) (PT12) were synthesized by electrochemical and chemical polymerization. Investigation of these polymers by means of gel permeation chromatography indicates that the polymers prepared from the different monomers under similar conditions do not differ substantially considering molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. Bimodal distributions were found for electropolymerized polymers, and with increasing polymerization time, the high-molecular-weight and probably highly branched fraction increased relatively to the low-molecular-weight fraction. The microstructure of the polymers was investigated by nuclear magnetic resonance, and it has been found that the polymers exhibit more types of structural units than expected from a simple coupling of adjacent thiophene moieties in 2,5′-positions. Chemical oxidation with iron trichloride in chloroform gave soluble, high-molecular-weight poly(3-alkyl-thiophene)s with a rather low amount of irregular couplings, and these more regular polymers exhibited a higher degree of crytallinity. Room temperature conductivities of the oxidized polymers were between 0,1 and 30 S/cm depending on the polymerization conditions, but these values were rather independent of the length of the alkyl substituent.     

Test-retest reliability of audio-taped phallometric stimuli with adolescent sexual offenders

Twenty adolescent male sexual offenders were evaluated by penile plethysmography on two separate occasions. Stimuli consisted of 19, two-minute audiotaped cues. Test-retest reliability was demonstrated for 15 of the 19 audiotaped vignettes. The highest correlations were found for those sexual behaviors in which the adolescents had engaged.     

Flow cytometric analysis of induced human graafian follicles. I. Demonstration and sorting of two luteinized cell populations.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To test the hypothesis that induced human graafian follicles consist of different steroidogenic cell types on the basis of their light scatter characteristics as determined by flow cytometry. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, observational study. SETTING: Flow cytometry laboratory. PATIENTS: Thirty-six follicular aspirates from nine consecutive patients undergoing in vitro fertilization for tubal factor infertility were evaluated. RESULTS: Two distinct luteal cell populations were recovered. Both populations were positive by Oil Red O staining, suggesting the presence of intracellular lipid. Neither population stained positively for the presence of HLe-1/CD45, an antigen present on all human leukocytes. CONCLUSIONS: Cellular heterogeneity exists within the granulosa cell compartment.     

Sudden infant death syndrome and small airway occlusion: facts and a hypothesis

Respiratory failure is almost certainly the cause of death in the majority of cases of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), but the mechanisms leading to it have not been elucidated. SIDS shares many environmental and socioeconomic risk factors with severe forms of bronchiolitis, and the age distribution of incident cases is similar. Present knowledge of lung and airway development during infancy, determinants of peripheral airway patency, changes in lung surface activity in infants with SIDS, and fluid film dynamics in small airways are reviewed. It is hypothesized that many cases of SIDS may be due to a final episode of progressive peripheral bronchial occlusion in infants with preceding critically diminished conductance of the smaller airways.     

Simultaneous Pulmonary Leiomyosarcoma and Leiomyoma in Pediatric HIV Infection

The case of a 7-year-old girl with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome treated for 5 years with AZT and intravenous gamma globulin is reported. Shortly before her demise she developed a pulmonary leiomyosarcoma and leiomyoma. Does prolonged survival in pediatric acquired immune deficiency syndrome increase the incidence of secondary malignancies?     

Dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging assessment of vascularized free fibular grafts

Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging may be a noninvasive method for assessing perfusion of vascularized bone grafts placed for treatment of avascular necrosis. One proximal femur of seven beagles was devascularized, with insertion of a vascularized fibular graft. MR imaging at 1 week (seven dogs) and 6 weeks (five dogs) after surgery included pre- and postcontrast spin-echo sequences, unenhanced twodimensional time-of-flight (TOF) vascular imaging, and dynamic gradient-echo imaging during infusion of gadolinium. Relative signal intensity values of selected regions obtained from the dynamic gradientecho images were plotted as percent enhancement versus time. In the operated hip, MR imaging did not show enhancement in six of seven femoral heads and greater trochanters at 1 week after surgery, with similar results after 6 weeks. MR imaging of fibular grafts 6 weeks after surgery showed an initial rapid increase in enhancement and a subsequent slower increase in five of five dogs, although no enhancement was seen in six of seven dogs at 1 week. These findings contrasted with a rapid initial increase in enhancement followed by slow decline in non-operated hips. Two-dimensional TOP imaging did not show the vascular pedicle of the graft in any dog. Findings of radionuclide bone scanning performed 1 week after surgery were consistent with devascularization of the operated femur and fibular graft. However, tetracycline distribution and histologic findings confirmed the viability of five of five grafts within the devascularized femurs 6 weeks after surgery. Thus, dynamic contrast-enhanced MR imaging at 6 weeks after surgery is valuable for assessing vascular bone graft perfusion, while similar imaging at 1 week may suggest otherwise.