Odontoma: a clinicopathologic study of 81 cases.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Odontoma is the most common odontogenic tumor. It includes 2 types, the compound and complex odontomas. There has not been a series study of the clinical and histologic features of odontomas from Taiwan. This study evaluated the clinicopathologic features of odontoma in Taiwanese. METHODS: Cases of odontoma treated from 1998 to 2002 identified from medical records were included. The microscopic features, radiographic features, and clinical history of the patients were reviewed and analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 81 odontomas in 81 patients (36 males and 45 females) were included. There were 62 compound and 19 complex odontomas. The mean age of the patients was 18 years with the majority of odontomas occurring in the first (32%) and second decade (38%) of life. Odontomas had a marked predilection for the maxilla (70%) and for the anterior region of the jaw (83%), particularly for the anterior maxilla (62%). Sixty four (79%) of the 81 odontomas were associated with 80 impacted teeth, including 71 permanent teeth, 2 deciduous teeth, and 7 supernumerary teeth. Of the 71 impacted permanent teeth, the maxillary central incisor (27%) was most commonly affected, followed by the maxillary canine (26%) and mandibular canine (24%). Histologic examination revealed enamel matrix in 90%, dentin in 100%, cementum in 88%, pulp tissue in 96%, fibrous capsule in 93%, ghost cells in 83%, reduced enamel epithelium in 86%, and nests of odontogenic epithelium in 58% of odontomas. Dentigerous cyst was associated with 9% of odontomas. CONCLUSIONS: In this series, odontomas occurred most often in the first and second decade of life. Although complex odontomas are usually found in the posterior jaw, in this Taiwanese series they were most commonly found in the anterior maxilla. Odontoma is frequently associated with an impacted tooth and occasionally with a dentigerous cyst. No recurrence of odontomas was found after surgical excision with follow-up of 1 to 15 years.     

Reversal of basic fibroblast growth factor-mediated autocrine cell transformation by aromatic anionic compounds.

NIH-3T3 cells transfected with basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) fused to a signal peptide sequence (spbFGF cells) are transformed in vitro and tumorigenic in vivo. Treatment of spbFGF cells with low and nontoxic concentrations (0.5-2.5 micrograms/ml) of negatively charged, nonsulfated aromatic compounds (e.g., aurin tricarboxylic acid, 4-hydroxyphenoxyacetic acid) resulted in restoration of their normal proliferative rate, morphological appearance, and adhesion properties. Binding and cross-linking experiments using 125I-labeled bFGF revealed that these alterations were associated with an up-regulation of high affinity receptors bFGF receptors was induced by these compounds in spbFGF cells that were seeded on fibronectin to enforce a firm cell attachment and flattening. Thus, induction of spbFGF cell adhesion and spreading may not be related to restoration of normal bFGF-receptor interactions. Although the negatively charged aromatic compounds mimic many of the effects of heparin in other systems (e.g., release of heparin- and heparan sulfate-bound proteins, inhibition of heparanase), heparin, heparan sulfate, and dextran sulfate were not effective at the low concentrations of the anionic compounds used in the present study. Likewise, suramin, a sulfated aromatic molecule, was effective at toxic concentrations, 400-600-fold higher than the nonsulfated aromatic compounds. The development of defined, nontoxic anionic compounds may provide a new strategy to interfere with the autonomous and anchorage independent mode of cell growth involved in autocrine cell transformation and cancer.     

一种新的正交参数选优法及其在非线性回归分析中的应用

非线性回归分析是工程中经常采用的一种用来估计数学模型参数的方法，该方法能否顺利运用与参数初始值的选择有极大关系。本研究提出一种新的正交参数选优法——阻尼正交表法，它不仅可以保证非线性回归分析算法的顺利收敛，而且能够显著提高后者的收敛速度，进而极大改善非线性回归分析算法的应用性能。本研究的数值试验及心肌造影超声心动图定量分析应用实例表明，作为对传统正交参数选优法的一种改进，阻尼正交表法在科学与工程计算或信号与信息处理领域有着很好的应用前景。     

Prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders in an assisted reproductive technique clinic

Hum. Reprod., 19, 2313–2318, 2004 The following mistake     

Mechanisms of the inhibition by neostigmine of tetanic contraction in the mouse diaphragm.

Neostigmine (0.5-2 microM) caused fade of tetanic contractions (Wedensky inhibition) evoked by repetitive nerve stimulation. The mechanism underlying this action was studied in intact and cut isolated phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparations of mice. The fade was brought about by failure to elicit muscle action potentials. During fade, the muscle was unable to conduct directly evoked action potentials across the central endplate zone. Recovery of excitability occurred in 5 s with continued stimulation. In the presence of neostigmine, the resting membrane potential at endplate areas during repetitive stimulation decreased from -80 mV to less than -50 mV within the first 10 pulses at 75-200 Hz and thereafter recovered gradually to about -60 mV in the following 5 s during continuous stimulation. The quantal content of endplate potentials evoked by single stimulation was not reduced by neostigmine whereas that evoked by high frequency stimuli (75 Hz) was reduced to about 1/3 in 10 pulses. It is concluded that the fade of tetanic contraction caused by inhibition of acetylcholinesterase is induced by the inactivation of sodium channels in the area surrounding the endplates and that the sustained fade is due to a decrease of transmitter release. Both effects are the result of acetylcholine accumulation.     

PNH者患红细胞膜结构损伤及膜脂与膜蛋白关系的探索

本文分析了20例PNH患者红细胞膜总脂,Ch/PIM比及磷脂组分,并比较了10例PNH红细胞膜AChE在PBS系统和生理盐水中的酶活性。发现PNH红细胞膜脂缺失严重,比正常少22％,但Ch/PIM比值及各磷脂相对含量均无明显改变。在PBS中AChE活性接近正常红细胞,但在生理盐水中明显低于正常红细胞,仅为正常的40％。表明PNH红细胞对补体敏感而溶血可能是由于补体导致膜脂缺失,进而破坏了红细胞膜结构的完整性而引起的,这也是AChE活性在低pH环境中酶活性比正常红细胞低的原因。     

Cross-cultural validation of the Japanese version of the lung cancer subscale on the functional assessment of cancer therapy-lung.

BACKGROUND: The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Lung (FACT-L) questionnaire, which consists of a core questionnaire (the General Measure of FACT [FACT-G]) and a 9-item Additional Concerns comprised of a 7-item Lung Cancer Subscale (LCS), was developed in an English-speaking culture. The validation of the Japanese FACT-G was reported previously, and this report describes the cross-cultural validation of the LCS. METHODS: The Japanese version of the LCS was developed through an iterative forward-backward translation sequence used throughout the FACT Multilingual Translation Project. In evaluating psychometric performance, its construct validity was investigated with Cronbach's alpha coefficient and factor analysis. Clinical validities of a known-groups comparison and longitudinal validity were also investigated. RESULTS: The FACT-L was administered twice to 180 patients with lung cancer within 2 weeks. The Japanese LCS had borderline values for Cronbachs alpha coefficients (0.62-0.67). Factor analysis indicated that the LCS had the three dimensions of respiratory symptoms, appetite plus body weight, and clear thinking. For clinical validity, a known-groups comparison showed that the LCS could differentiate patients according to truth disclosure, as Japanese doctors sometimes do not fully inform terminally ill patients. However, responsiveness was not proved when performance status was used as an anchor, probably owing to the short interval between the administration of the two measures. CONCLUSION: The Japanese version of the LCS asked questions about multiple symptoms of patients with lung cancer, as did the original English LCS. The longitudinal clinical validity of the Japanese version should be investigated in future clinical trials.     

Multitest skin testing values of cell-mediated immunity among healthy individuals in Taiwan

The multitest CMI system, a disposable device that simultaneously applies seven standardized preloaded antigens and diluent control, is a major advance for measurement of delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) in assessment of cell-mediated immunity (CMI). The system was tested in 84 healthy volunteers, 42 in each sex, aged 4-62 years, to determine normal values for incidence and size of DTH responses to each of seven antigens. Incidence of positive responses to individual antigens varied from 84.5% to 11%, more than half of volunteers were reactive to Tuberculin, Candida and Diphtheria, and a third to Tetanus, Streptococcus and Tricophyton. 95.3% of volunteers to one or more antigens, and about two thirds to three or more. To better assess CMI, a two-part score based on 48-hour readings was employed. The mean number of positive antigens ranged between 2.2 and 3.3, the mean sum of their millimeter induration ranged between 10.8 and 18.2, the average sum of diameters were 16.7 mm in males and 15.2 mm in females. There was no statistic significance to sex and age during scoring, although there was somewhat higher in males, young and mature age groups. In our series, Tuberculin reaction is the highest one in this seven antigens, about 4.76% of volunteers are anergy. A statistical zone (95% confidence limits) of reduced DTH scores (hypoergy) was identified, it reveals sum of diameters less than 9mm in males and 7mm in females, number of positive antigens are less than 2 in each sex.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)