Denture stomatitis with multiple intramucosal fistulae

Abstract – A hitherto undescribed clinical and histologic entity occurring in the palate of 13 denture-wearing patients is described. Clinically it is characterized by the presence of small yellowish areas in the hard palate, which on pressure yield a whitish creamy material through multiple openings. The surrounding mucosa may exhibit various degrees of erythema. The histologic changes are characterized by the presence of intramucosal fistulae lined with unkeratinized squamous epithelium. The content of the fistulae, which corresponds to the creamy material expelled, consists of desquamated epithelial cells. These changes have mostly been nodced in elderly females, all wearing maxillary dentures for many years. This entiPf is considered a type of demure stomatitis characterized by intramucosal proliferation of epithelium, possibly because of long-standing chronic irritation from dentures. The origin of the intramucosal fistulae is unknown. The fistulae are believed to originate either from the ductus of the minor salivary glands or from the surface epithelium of the palate.     

Intermediate lymphocytic lymphoma: immunophenotypic and cytogenetic findings

A detailed immunohistologic and cytogenetic analysis of 12 cases of intermediate lymphocytic lymphoma was performed. The characteristic immunophenotype of intermediate lymphocytic lymphoma was: surface IgM and IgD+, BA1+, B1+, BA2-, B2-, B4+, Leu 14+, Leu 1+, HLA-DR+, and common acute lymphocytic leukemia associated (CALLA) antigen negative. Clonal chromosome abnormalities were identified in ten cases, with structural or numerical abnormalities of chromosomes 11 or 12 in nine cases. Five cases had structural abnormalities involving the long arm of chromosome 11; three of these had translocations with chromosome 14 at band q32. Three cases had trisomy 12, and one case had a translocation involving the long arm of chromosome 12. The tenth case had a translocation involving the long arms of chromosomes 7 and 9. These characteristic immunophenotypic and cytogenetic findings suggest a close lineage relationship between intermediate lymphocytic lymphoma and small lymphocytic (well differentiated) lymphoma/chronic lymphocytic leukemia. Their differing clinical, cytologic, and architectural features suggest, however, that intermediate lymphocytic lymphoma should be considered a separate category of lymphocytic lymphoma in the International Working Formulation.     

Why should i comply? Sellers' accounts for (non-)compliance with legal age limits for alcohol sales

Background

Availability is an important predictor of early and excessive alcohol consumption by adolescents. Many countries have implemented age limits to prevent underage purchases of alcohol. However, shop-floor compliance with these age limits appears to be problematic. This study addresses the issue of non-compliance with age limits. Which measures do vendors take to avoid underage alcohol sales, and what do they report as important reasons to comply or not with age limits for alcohol sales?

Methods

Open-ended telephone interviews were conducted with store managers selling alcohol (N = 106). Prior to the interviews, all outlets were visited by an underage mystery shopper in order to measure compliance with the legal age limits on alcohol sales. The interview results are compared against actual compliance rates.

Results

Several measures have been taken to prevent underage sales, but the compliance level is low. Furthermore, open coding resulted in 19 themes, representing both valid and invalid arguments, that vendors mentioned as relevant to their decisions of whether to comply with the law. Compliance with age limits is dependent on the knowledge of the rules and the ability and motivation to follow the rules. The ability aspect in particular seems to be problematic, but in many cases, the motivation to actively comply with the age limits is lacking.

Conclusions

To enhance compliance, it is important to raise the awareness of the importance of age limits and to connect possible violations of the regulations to negative consequences.     

Neutrophils mediate lipid peroxidation in human red cells

Activated neutrophils (ANs) are known to release reactive oxygen species that may cause oxidative damage to surrounding tissues. We determined if ANs could induce lipid peroxidation (LP) in human red cells and investigated the mechanism involved in this interaction. We studied neonatal glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficient, and sickle red cells, since each of these are known to be susceptible to oxidant injury. Neutrophils were isolated from whole blood and activated by incubation with opsonized zymosan. Mixtures of such neutrophils and red cells at a ratio of 1:100 were incubated for two hours at 37 degrees C, after which the malonyldialdehyde content in red cells was measured as an index of LP. All red cells underwent LP after AN treatment, and the degree of LP was proportional to the amount of AN in the mixture. Superoxide dismutase and catalase partially inhibited LP. When compared to normal red cells, only sickle cells demonstrated a significant increase in AN-mediated LP. Conversion of hemoglobin to carboxy-hemoglobin increased AN-mediated LP, whereas conversion to met- hemoglobin decreased AN-mediated LP. The protective effect of met- hemoglobin on LP was less in sickle cells than in normal cells. We conclude that AN can induce LP in red cells in vitro and that sickle cells are more susceptible to this process than normal cells. Hemoglobin can serve as an electron trap and protect the cell against peroxidative damage, but this mechanism is impaired in sickle cells. We speculate that the pathogenesis of hemolysis associated with infectious disease may include AN-induced red cell LP.     

International Salmonella Typhimurium DT104 infections, 1992-2001

The incidence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) Salmonella Typhimurium infections in humans, and in particular MDR definitive phage type 104 (DT104), has increased substantially in many countries in the last 2 decades, often associated with increased illness. To examine the magnitude of this problem, a survey was conducted among countries with available antimicrobial resistance or phage typing surveillance data. A total of 29, primarily industrialized, countries participated in the survey, which covered the years 1992-2001. Overall, the incidence of MDR S. Typhimurium and DT104 increased continuously during this period, although the problem affected primarily Europe and North America. The increase appeared to have peaked in the United Kingdom but not in other countries. Also, the incidence of quinolone-resistant S. Typhimurium was increasing. This survey implies that MDR S. Typhimurium constitutes an increasing public health problem in large parts of the world and emphasizes the importance of surveillance and control programs.     

Vertebral bone density in children: effect of puberty

To determine changes in bone density during growth, trabecular vertebral density and an index of spinal cortical bone were measured with quantitative computed tomography in 101 children. The children were divided by age into three groups: prepubertal, indeterminate, and pubertal. Compared with prepubertal children, pubertal adolescents had significantly higher trabecular bone density and more compact bone in the spine (P less than .001). After controlling for puberty, vertebral bone density failed to correlate significantly with age, sex, weight, height, surface area, and body mass index. The results indicate that bone density increases markedly during puberty.     

Acrylic resin-fiber composite—part I: The effect of fiber concentration on fracture resistance

This study tested the effect on the fracture resistance of acrylic resin test specimens when different amounts of fibers were incorporated in the resin matrix. The fibers used included glass, carbon, and aramid fibers, with 30 test specimens of each concentration of fibers. Transverse sections of the specimens were studied by scanning electron microscope to establish how the fibers behave in the polymerization process. The results indicated that an increase in the amount of fibers enhanced the fracture resistance of the test specimens (p < 0.001). The SEM micrographs of transverse sections of test polymerized specimens revealed void spaces of different sizes inside the fiber roving.     

Discoid lupus erythematosus-like lesions and stomatitis in female carriers of X-linked chronic granulomatous disease

The skin and oral mucosa were studied in an unselected series of carriers of X-linked chronic granulomatous disease, a hereditary condition in which phagocytic cells display a pronounced functional defect. Three carriers had discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE)-like skin lesions which histopathologically were consistent with DLE of the hypertrophic and profundus type. Four patients had experienced photosensitivity in childhood. Seven patients had recurrent aphthous-like stomatitis which should be distinguished from the recurrent aphthous stomatitis seen in otherwise healthy individuals. The remarkably high incidence of DLE-like symptoms in heterozygous carriers might be related to the presence of mixed populations of defective and normal phagocytes. The variable expression of skin symptoms may be related to uneven distribution of abnormal to normal phagocytes. Female patients with these clinical symptoms, especially the combination of DLE-like skin lesions and aphthous-like stomatitis, should be suspected of being carriers of chronic granulomatous disease and studies of phagocyte function in vitro should be performed, since the diagnosis of the carrier state is of utmost importance for genetic counselling before pregnancy. In order to describe in greater detail the clinicopathological findings and their frequency of expression in the skin and oral mucosa, we have undertaken a prospective study of nine unselected known carriers of X-linked CGD.