Laughter as a social rejection cue: Gelotophobia and transient cardiac responses to other persons' laughter and insult

Other persons' laughter, normally perceived as a signal that persons are friendly and inviting others to approach, can also be perceived as a cue of social rejection. In this study, prerecorded laughter was placed in a realistic and personally relevant context, and participants' responses were related to gelotophobia, a trait predisposing to perceiving laughter as a cue of social rejection. Individuals with gelotophobia showed marked heart rate deceleration in response to the laughter stimulus, possibly indicating a “freezing‐like” response. Moreover, cardiac responses to anger provocation by overtly insulting statements indicated heightened aggressive anger in response to cumulated social threat. The study adds to recent research showing specific cardiac responses to social rejection and to the literature on social rejection sensitivity by demonstrating the value of using well interpretable physiological measures in this research context.     

Is auditory function affected after Le Fort I osteotomy?

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes to the Eustachian tube and middle ear function and hearing level in individuals undergoing Le Fort I osteotomy. 20 consecutive patients underwent Le Fort I maxillary osteotomy with advancement, impaction or a combination of both. All individuals underwent hearing sensitivity tests, including pure tone audiometry and acoustic impedance measurements (middle ear pressure and compliance), which were carried out by an audiologist 1 week before surgery (t(0)), and then again 1 week (t(1)) and 4 weeks (t(2)) after surgery. Regarding pure tone audiometry, the differences between t(0) and t(2) at a frequency of 125Hz (P=.002), between t(0) and t(1) and between t(0) and t(2) at a frequency of 250Hz, and between t(0) and t(1) at a frequency of 1000Hz (P=.006) were statistically significant. There was no statistically significant difference at any other frequency. Regarding middle ear pressure, no statistically significant difference was observed between t(0) and t(1), and t(0) and t(2). Following Le Fort I osteotomy, mild changes in hearing sensitivity and middle ear pressure are possible, but these changes were clinically insignificant.     

Atypical presentation of primary giant nasal septal mucopyocele

Mucoceles are expansile, encapsulated, benign cystic lesions with the potential for adjacent bony remodeling and resorption. Previous nasal surgery, recurrent infections, allergies, and facial traumas are all possible causes of mucoceles involving mainly paranasal sinuses. When the mucocele is infected, it is referred to as mucopyocele. Nasal septal mucoceles seen in only very seldom cases might develop from pneumatized and infected nasal septa. In the current article, we present an interesting primary giant septal mucopyocele that destroys all paranasal cells as a tumoral lesion. The perpendicular plate of ethmoidal bone, vomer, and bilateral anterior and posterior ethmoidal cells were destroyed by mucopyocele. The nasal cavity was totally obstructed by lesions on both sides. On the left side, the lesion also eroded the left lateral nasal wall causing external swelling at the medial canthal region. This is the first case of a giant septal mucopyocele of its kind in the literature. Although nasal septal mucocele is very rare, it should be considered in differential diagnosis of intranasal masses.     

Idiopathic synchronous central giant cell granulomas involving both the maxilla and mandible: a case report

The central giant cell granuloma is a well-defined lesion of the jaws and reports of multiple lesions are very uncommon. The authors report the case of a patient with idiopathic synchronous multiple central giant cell granulomas involving both the maxilla and the mandible. Surgical curettage of the lesions was performed. At the end of the 24 months follow-up, no recurrence was detected.     

Ectopic Primary B Cell Lymphoma of the Thyroid Presenting as an Anterior Mediastinal Mass. A Case Report

Ectopic thyroid tumours arising in the mediastinum without connection to the cervical thyroid gland are very rare. Follicular adenoma, papillary carcinoma and follicular carcinoma in the mediastinum has been reported, but primary ectopic thyroid B cell lymphoma has not been reported previously. We report mediastinal primary ectopic thyroid large B cell lymphoma in an 80-year-old man. Differential diagnosis from primary mediastinal large B cell lymphoma and clinicopathologic features are discussed.     

Mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis in familial Mediterranean fever patient with E148Q mutation: the first case report

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive hereditary disease characterized by recurrent attacks of fever, usually accompanied by sterile polyserositis. Although amyloidosis is the most common renal involvement, non-amyloid renal lesions, such as glomerulonephritis, have been described in patients with FMF. In this report, we present the first case of an FMF patient with heterozygous mutation of E148Q, mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis, and no amyloidosis. While the association of mutation E148Q with renal involvement is still obscure, colchicine treatment is useful in mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis with FMF.     

Effects of impaired fasting glucose on aortic elasticity

The pathophysiology of atherosclerosis development in patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) is similar to that in nondiabetics. However, atherosclerosis develops earlier and runs a rapid course in patients with diabetes. Aortic stiffness, strain and distensibility are the parameters used to assess an increase in arterial stiffness and can be measured by invasive and non-invasive methods.Aortic elastic properties were compared among patients with normal oral glucose tolerance test but impaired fasting glucose and healthy individuals. The study group consisted of 50 subjects with impaired fasting glucose who had no known risk factors for atherosclerosis. The control group was composed of the same number of volunteers.It was found that aortic strain and distensibility were reduced (8.78±4.3 vs. 10.65±2.6 p<0.01 and 4.1±2.1 vs. 5.1±1.7 p<0.01 respectively) and aortic stiffness index was significantly increased (6.9±3.2 vs. 5.01±1.6, p<0.0001) in patients with impaired fasting glucose compared to those in the control group.It was demonstrated that aortic elasticity was impaired in those with impaired fasting glucose, which indicates that these patients should be kept under close follow-up for cardiovascular events.     

Cord blood nesfatin-1 and apelin-36 levels in gestational diabetes mellitus

To assess maternal serum and cord blood apelin-36 and nesfatin-1 concentrations in pregnant women with and without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). Thirty pregnant women with GDM and 30 gestational age matched healthy pregnant subjects participated to the study. Maternal serum and cord blood nesfatin-1 and apelin-36 levels were measured with ELISA, at the time of birth. The relationships between maternal serum and cord blood nesfatin-1 and apelin-36 levels, anthropometric and metabolic parameters were also assessed. Maternal serum apelin-36 levels were found higher (13.5?±?8.3 vs. 9.6?±?5.9?ng/ml, P?=?0.001) and nesfatin-1 levels were found lower (5.5?±?8.1 vs. 8.1?±?23.9?ng/ml, P?=?0.001) in patients with GDM compared with control pregnant women. However, the cord blood apelin-36 levels (8.8?±?4.3 and 8.2?±?1.9?ng/ml, P?=?0.618) and nesfatin-1 levels (5.4?±?4.0 and 6.2?±?10.3?ng/ml, P?=?0.688) were similar in the GDM and control groups, respectively. Maternal serum apelin-36 and nesfatin-1 levels correlated positively with their respective cord blood levels. Maternal serum and cord blood apelin-36 levels correlated negatively with the gestational age and birth weight. Similarly maternal serum and cord blood nesfatin-1 levels correlated negatively with the gestational age, but there was no correlation with the birth weight. We did not find a correlation between maternal serum apelin-36 and nesfatin-1 levels, maternal age, BMI, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR. Also cord blood apelin-36 and nesfatin-1 levels did not correlate with the maternal age, BMI, HOMA-IR, cord blood glucose, and cord blood insulin levels. Our results indicate that apelin-36 concentrations increase and nesfatin-1 concentrations decrease in maternal serum of women with GDM.