Relationship between sleep bruxism and sleep respiratory events in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome

Purpose

Both obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) and sleep bruxism (SB) are commonly related to arousal events. In this study, we examined the effect of SB on the sleep architecture and investigated the relationship between SB and sleep respiratory events in patients with OSAS.

Methods

Patients with OSAS (n?=?67) in whom apnea/hypopnea occurred five or more times per hour were recruited to this study. Healthy volunteers (n?=?16) were recruited as controls. None of the healthy volunteers had any sleep disorders or medical disorders, nor had they taken any medication or alcohol. Data were collected by standard polysomnography during overnight sleep tests in a dark, quiet room.

Results

The frequency of SB was higher in the OSAS than in the control group. The risk of SB was significantly higher in the OSAS than in the control group (odds ratio, 3.96; 95 % confidence interval, 1.03–15.20; P?OSAS than in the control group.

Conclusions

We found that patients with OSAS have a high risk of SB. In particular, this is the first report relating phasic-type SB to obstructive apnea events. This relationship suggests that improvement in OSAS might prevent exacerbations of SB.     

Sociocultural Beliefs,As Well As Goodness of Fit,Influence the Effectiveness of Coping in Japanese Workers

Background

Although the goodness-of-fit hypothesis (GOFH) is one of the most important theories in research about the effect of coping on distress related to different stressful situations, there has been a mixed response to it in the literature.

Purpose

The present study examined whether the effect of the sociocultural context in stressful situations is consistent with the GOFH. The study investigated sociocultural beliefs about the appropriateness of different coping strategies in a given group as the sociocultural context.

Method

Japanese employees (N?=?1,156) of an information technology company reported their appraisal of stressors’ controllability, the coping strategies they employed for the stressors, their sociocultural beliefs about coping strategies, and their psychological distress in response to the stressors.

Results

The GOFH was supported only for problem-focused coping with task stressors and not for interpersonal stressors. The applicability of the GOFH differed by sociocultural beliefs about coping, namely an appraisal of what coworkers might think about the appropriateness of the coping method.

Conclusion

These results suggest that it is important for managing stress to consider the sociocultural context as well as the GOFH.     

The Effects of Annealing Temperatures on Composition and Strain in SixGe1?x Obtained by Melting Growth of Electrodeposited Ge on Si (100)

The effects of annealing temperatures on composition and strain in Si_xGe_1−x, obtained by rapid melting growth of electrodeposited Ge on Si (100) substrate were investigated. Here, a rapid melting process was performed at temperatures of 1000, 1050 and 1100°C for 1 s. All annealed samples show single crystalline structure in (100) orientation. A significant appearance of Si-Ge vibration mode peak at ~00 cm⁻¹ confirms the existence of Si-Ge intermixing due to out-diffusion of Si into Ge region. On a rapid melting process, Ge melts and reaches the thermal equilibrium in short time. Si at Ge/Si interface begins to dissolve once in contact with the molten Ge to produce Si-Ge intermixing. The Si fraction in Si-Ge intermixing was calculated by taking into account the intensity ratio of Ge-Ge and Si-Ge vibration mode peaks and was found to increase with the annealing temperatures. It is found that the strain turns from tensile to compressive as the annealing temperature increases. The Si fraction dependent thermal expansion coefficient of Si_xGe_1−x is a possible cause to generate such strain behavior. The understanding of compositional and strain characteristics is important in Ge/Si heterostructure as these properties seem to give significant effects in device performance.     

Exposure to intermittent hypoxia inhibits allergic airway inflammation in a murine model of asthma

Sleep and Breathing - Obesity increases the severity of asthma, and patients with severe asthma are often complicated with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS), a concomitant disease of obesity....     

A case of pancreatic schwannoma - The features in imaging studies compared with its pathological findings: Report of a case

Pancreatic schwannoma is a very rare tumor that tends to be confused with other pancreatic tumors preoperatively. We report a case of schwannoma of the pancreatic head. A 40-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for treatment of a pancreatic tumor which was found by medical checkup. It was a well-defined solid tumor exhibiting heterogeneous enhancement with some necrotic foci on contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) and on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Angiography and CT during arteriography revealed the main feeding arteries of the tumor to be the posterior and anterior superior pancreaticoduodenal arteries. Fluorine-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography/computed tomography (FDG-PET/CT) showed accumulation of FDG in the tumor with a maximum standardized uptake value of 3.6. We diagnosed a solid pseudopapillary neoplasm or a pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor preoperatively and performed pylorus-preserving pancreaticoduodenectomy. The tumor had well a well-defined capsule and was composed of a large solid portion containing spindle cells and a smaller hemorrhagic portion containing hypocellular stroma, and diagnosed as pancreatic schwannoma by immunohistochemistry. In this case, CT during arteriography was useful in determining the origin of the tumor. MRI reflected the pathological features of the tumor. The most important finding was that FDG-PET showed abnormal accumulation of FDG in the benign pancreatic schwannoma.     

Identification and gene expression analyses of ghrelin in the stomach of Pacific bluefin tuna (Thunnus orientalis)

Full length cDNA and gene encoding ghrelin precursor and mature ghrelin peptide were identified from the stomach of Pacific bluefin tuna, Thunnus orientalis, which has unique metabolic physiology and high commercial value at fishery markets. Quantitative expression analysis was conducted for the gastric ghrelin and pepsinogen 2 genes during the early stage of somatic growth from the underyearling to yearling fish. The full length cDNA of bluefin tuna ghrelin precursor has a length of 470bp and the deduced precursor is composed of 107 amino acids. The ghrelin gene is 1.9kbp in length and has a 4 exon-3 intron structure. The major form of mature ghrelin in the stomach was an octanoylated 20-amino acid peptide with C-terminal amidation, while overall 12 different forms of ghrelin peptides, including short form of 18-amino acid peptide and seven kinds of acyl modifications were identified. The expression profiles of the gastric ghrelin and pepsinogen 2 genes showed no significant changes related to the early growth stages. The present results suggest that digestive physiology has already been functional in this growth stage of the juvenile bluefin tuna and ghrelin may have a role in the sustained digestive and metabolic activities.