Frequency of temporomandibular disorder signs and symptoms among call center employees

Objective: The current study aimed to investigate the frequency of signs and symptoms of temporomandibular disorders (TMD) among call center employees.

Methods: Workers from four call centers (CC) were invited to participate in this study. The examination was based on the Research Diagnostic Criteria for Temporomandibular Disorder (RDC/TMD). The tenderness of the masticator muscles was assessed on both sides by bilateral palpation. The mobility of the mandible was measured with a plastic millimeter ruler on opening, lateral excursions, and protrusion.

Results: In total, 124 call center employees with a mean age of 28.61 ± 4.71 (between 22 and 47 years of age) were enrolled in this study. There was no statistically significant relation between the numbers of calls answered in a day and teeth clenching, teeth grinding, earache, tinnitus, or pain on yawning/chewing. Only protrusive movement pain and joint noise were significantly higher among employees who answered more than 140 calls/day (p < 0.01). An evaluation of the TMD signs and symptoms in relation to job stress level revealed that job stress level significantly affected the incidence of headaches among call center employees (p < 0.01).

Conclusion: The present study demonstrated no statistically significant relation between TMD signs and symptoms and call center employees except protrusive movement pain and joint noise. This relation was seen only in the employees who answered more than 140 calls per day. Headache, teeth clenching, and TMJ noise were the signs and symptoms encountered most often in this study. Multicentered studies in different geographic locations should be conducted to eliminate the limitation of this study.     

The SIRPα–CD47 immune checkpoint in NK cells

Here we report on the existence and functionality of the immune checkpoint signal regulatory protein α (SIRPα) in NK cells and describe how it can be modulated for cell therapy. NK cell SIRPα is up-regulated upon IL-2 stimulation, interacts with target cell CD47 in a threshold-dependent manner, and counters other stimulatory signals, including IL-2, CD16, or NKG2D. Elevated expression of CD47 protected K562 tumor cells and mouse and human MHC class I–deficient target cells against SIRPα⁺ primary NK cells, but not against SIRPα⁻ NKL or NK92 cells. SIRPα deficiency or antibody blockade increased the killing capacity of NK cells. Overexpression of rhesus monkey CD47 in human MHC-deficient cells prevented cytotoxicity by rhesus NK cells in a xenogeneic setting. The SIRPα–CD47 axis was found to be highly species specific. Together, the results demonstrate that disruption of the SIRPα–CD47 immune checkpoint may augment NK cell antitumor responses and that elevated expression of CD47 may prevent NK cell–mediated killing of allogeneic and xenogeneic tissues.     

Xanthogranulomatous Cholecystitis: Analysis of 108 Patients

The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical and radiological features of xanthogranulomatous cholecystitis (XGC) and the results of surgical treatment. This retrospective study concerns clinical, radiological, and surgical data as well as histopathological findings and postoperative results of 108 patients with XGC who were identified after evaluating 7916 cholecystectomy specimens between 2004 and 2014 in a single institute. One hundred eight patients with XGC were evaluated (56 males and 52 females, mean age 62.3 years). Clinical findings at referral included acute and chronic cholecystitis, Mirizzi’s syndrome, choledocholithiasis, cholangitis, and acute pancreatitis. Ultrasound was performed in all patients, CT in 25, contrast-enhanced MRI in 29, and magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography (MRCP) in 25 patients. None of the patients were diagnosed preoperatively, but mild-moderate degrees of wall thickening were present in most. Fifty-four patients received open cholecystectomy, while 54 received laparoscopic intervention, among whom 23 were converted to open. Partial cholecystectomy was performed in 11 patients. Two patients with gallbladder adenocarcinoma were treated with radical cholecystectomy. XGC has nonspecific clinical and radiological findings; thus, preoperative diagnosis is generally absent. Open cholecystectomy is the recommended treatment modality. Conversion to open is frequently necessary after laparoscopy. Complete cholecystectomy is the ultimate goal; however, partial cholecystectomy may be preferred to protect the structures of the hepatic hilum.     

The evaluation of DLCO changes in patients with relatively higher lung shunt fractions receiving TARE

Annals of Nuclear Medicine - Transarterial radioembolization (TARE) with Yttrium-90 (90Y) labeled microspheres is an effective locoregional treatment option for patients with primary and metastatic...     

Complete genome sequences and phylogenetic analysis of hepatitis delta viruses isolated from nine Turkish patients

Hepatitis delta virus (HDV) is a subviral agent of hepatitis B virus (HBV), and its life cycle is dependent on HBV. It is commonly accepted that HDV has eight distinct genotypes. In this study, the complete nucleotide sequences of HDV genomes isolated from nine Turkish patients were obtained by RT-PCR using two pairs of primers that cover the entire HDV genome. PCR products were sequenced directly. The results showed that these 9 isolates were approximately 1680 base pairs in length and clustered in the genotype HDV-1 branch when phylogenetic analysis was done with the sequences together with the complete sequences of HDV genomes representing each genotype retrieved from GenBank. Analysis of a portion of the large hepatitis D antigen (L-HDAg) gene showed that sequence similarity among these Turkish isolates is between 87.4 and 97.1%, and the Turkish isolates have the most sequence similarity to HDV-1 (90.5%), while they have the least sequence similarity to HDV-3 (64.1%). Full-genome analysis indicates that the sequence similarity is between 80.7 and 95.4%, and the highest sequence similarity is 84.8% (between the Turkish isolates and HDV-1). The lowest sequence similarity is 56.4% (between the Turkish isolates and HDV-3). In conclusion, phylogenetic analysis shows that the Turkish HDV isolates belong to HDV-1.     

Functional consequences of human lymphocyte cryopreservation: implications for subsequent interactions of cells with endothelium

In order to understand human inflammatory diseases and to develop and assess new therapeutic strategies targeting leukocyte recruitment to tissue, it is necessary to study human lymphocyte interactions with endothelium. It is often not practical to carry out assays on fresh human samples and therefore cells may be cryopreserved and batched for later study. Furthermore, many forms of adoptive cell therapy use cryopreserved cells that are required to migrate to tissue after infusion in vivo. The consequences of cryopreservation on the adhesion and migration of leukocytes is not known leading us to study the effects of cryopreservation on lymphocyte phenotype, migration, and adhesion. Cryopreservation and subsequent thawing did not alter the proportion of retrieved T cell subsets. Overall levels of expression of β1 or β2 integrins were unaffected but marked changes were observed in other relevant receptors. Expression of CD69, a transmembrane protein that plays a critical role in lymphocyte egress from tissues and the chemokine receptor CXCR4, increased on thawed populations and levels of CD62L and CXCR3 were reduced on thawed cells but restored if cells were allowed to recover after thawing. These changes were associated with modulation of the ability of lymphocytes to migrate across cytokine-stimulated monolayers of endothelium toward recombinant CXCL11 and CXCL12. Thus cryopreservation and thawing of lymphocytes induces changes in their adhesive phenotype and modulates their ability to migrate across endothelial monolayers. These findings have implications for in vitro experimentation and for cell therapy in which cryopreserved cells are expected to migrate when reinfused into patients.     

Nasal dorsal mucous cyst formation: a rare and preventable complication of rhinoplasty

Nasal dorsal mucous cyst formation after rhinoplasty is a rare and preventable complication in otorhinolaryngology literature. To prevent this complication bony, cartilage, and mucous remnants should be removed meticulously. Maintaining mucosal integrity during cartilage incisions and osteotomy and completing all osteotomies are very important in preventing mucous cyst formation. The treatment of this complication is the complete excision of the cyst with its capsule. In this article, we report a case of nasal dorsal cyst that developed within six months after rhinoplasty with a brief review of the literature.