3D CAD/reverse engineering technique for assessment of Thai morphology: Proximal femur and acetabulum

Purpose

To assess morphological parameters of proximal femur and acetabulum in Thai population with three-dimensional measurement technique, and to analysis of collateral side symmetric, gender difference, and correlation between morphometric parameters.

Standardization of choroidal thickness measurements using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography

AIM:To describe and evaluate a standardized protocol for measuring the choroidal thickness (ChT) using enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography (EDI OCT).METHODS:Single 9 mm EDI OCT line scans across the fovea were used for this study. The protocol used in this study classified the EDI OCT images into four groups based on the appearance of the choroidal-scleral interface and suprachoroidal space. Two evaluation iterations of experiments were performed:first, the protocol was validated in a pilot study of 12 healthy eyes. Afterwards, the applicability of the protocol was tested in 82 eyes of patients with diabetes. Inter-observer and intra-observer agreements on image classifications were performed using Cohen’s kappa coefficient (k). Intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and Bland-Altman’s methodology were used for the measurement of the ChT.RESULTS:There was a moderate (k=0.42) and perfect (k=1) inter- and intra-observer agreements on image classifications from healthy eyes images and substantial (k=0.66) and almost perfect (k=0.86) agreements from diabetic eyes images. The proposed protocol showed excellent inter- and intra-observer agreements for the ChT measurements on both, healthy eyes and diabetic eyes (ICC>0.90 in all image categories). The Bland-Altman plot showed a relatively large ChT measurement agreement in the scans that contained less visible choroidal outer boundary.CONCLUSIONS:A protocol to standardize ChT measurements in EDI OCT images has been developed; the results obtained using this protocol show that the technique is accurate and reliable for routine clinical practice and research.     

Antifungal activity of lawsone methyl ether in comparison with chlorhexidine

J Oral Pathol Med (2011) 40 : 90–96 Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the antifungal activity of lawsone methyl ether mouthwash (LME) in comparison with chlorhexidine mouthwash (CHX) in vitro and in vivo. Materials and methods: For in vitro study, each mouthwash preparation was added into the inoculum of Candida. The turbidity was recorded after incubation at 37°C for 48 h. Candidal culture was performed and the number of colony of Candida albicans was recorded. For in vivo study, a crossover clinical trial was conducted in 22 HIV‐infected subjects and 32 denture wearers. Clinical examination was performed and oral rinse technique was carried out immediately before and 0, 1, 2 h after using each mouthwash. Allergy and subjective assessment of the mouthwashes were recorded. Statistical analysis was performed using one‐way ANOVA and linear mixed effect modeling. Results: In vitro, antifungal activity of 0.25% LME was significantly greater than that of 0.12% CHX (P < 0.05) and comparable with that of 0.2% CHX. In vivo, antifungal activity up to 2 hours of 0.025% LME mouthwash was evidenced in both groups of subjects, although significantly lower than that of 0.12% CHX. No allergic reaction was reported. LME mouthwash was graded to have less bitter taste than that of CHX. Subjects’ satisfaction on taste and smell of LME mouthwash was significantly greater than that of CHX (P < 0.05). Conclusions: Lawsone methyl ether mouthwash possesses potent antifungal activity both in vitro and in vivo. However, concentration of the mouthwash needs to be adjusted in addition to further clinical trials on long‐term use.     

EGFR mediates LPA-induced proteolytic enzyme expression and ovarian cancer invasion: Inhibition by resveratrol

Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) augments proliferation and metastasis of various cancer cells. We recently identified a critical role of the Rho/ROCK pathway for LPA-induced proteolytic enzyme expression and cancer cell progression. In the present study, we elucidate the underlying mechanisms by which LPA induces Rho activation and subsequent cellular invasion, and the reversal of these effects by resveratrol. We observed that both Gi and G13 contribute to LPA-induced EGFR activation. The activated EGFR in turn initiates a Ras/Rho/ROCK signaling cascade, leading to proteolytic enzyme secretion. Further we provide evidence that resveratrol inhibits EGFR phosphorylation and subsequent activation of a Ras/Rho/ROCK signaling. Therefore, we demonstrate a mechanistic cascade of LPA activating EGFR through Gi and G13 thus inducing a Ras/Rho/ROCK signaling for proteolytic enzyme expression and ovarian cancer cell invasion, as well as interference of the cascade by resveratrol through blocking EGFR phosphorylation.     

Geometric mismatch analysis of retrograde nail in the Asian femur

The geometric mismatch analysis of the retrograde nail was performed in 108 Asian cadaveric adult femora. The insertion was done virtually based on a three-dimensional geometric model derived from computed tomographic images. The investigation was performed at eight levels located at 120, 140, 160, 180, 200, 220 and 240 mm above the condylar surface. The evaluation of each level included: (1) the diameter of the intramedullary canal, (2) the percentage of area filled by the nail in the unreamed intramedullary canal, (3) the minimal reamer diameter that required enlargement of the canal to accommodate retrograde nail insertion, (4) the minimal inner cortical reaming thickness that needed to be removed, (5) the percentage of the cortical bone area that needed to be removed prior to nail insertion and (6) the deviation of the nail center from the center of the intramedullary canal. The result showed significant mismatch of the nail to most of the study specimens (94 femora, 87%), which the intramedullary canal needed extensive reaming to accommodate the nail insertion. This may lead to a high possibility of clinical complications. Redesign for proper shape and size of retrograde nail should be considered for the use in Asian population.     

Effort discounting and its association with negative symptoms in schizophrenia

Introduction. Deficits in the initiation and persistence of goal-directed behaviour are key aspects of schizophrenia. In this study, the association between these motivational deficits and discounting of reward value in function of increasing physical effort costs was investigated.

Methods. Effort-based decision-making was investigated in 40 patients with a DSM-IV diagnosis of schizophrenia and 30 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects by means of an effort discounting task. To assess negative symptom severity, we made use of the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms as well as objective measurements of hedonic response to stimuli and motor activity levels.

Results. Patients as well as control subjects discounted the subjective value of rewards significantly with increasing physical effort costs. However, we failed to find a difference in the discounting curves between patients and controls. Furthermore, effort discounting was not associated with any of the negative symptoms measures.

Conclusions. Physical effort discounting was not found to be associated with motivational symptoms in schizophrenia if other decision costs are constant. However, recent findings show that more cognitive effort and/or an interaction between effort and other decision costs (e.g. temporal delay or uncertainty) are associated with negative symptoms in schizophrenia. This should be investigated further in future research.