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Objective: The oral screen is a device commonly used for treatment of orofacial disorders. The objective of this exploratory study was to examine the effect of oral screen exercise on the muscle activity in the lips, submental complex, masseter muscle, and kinematic activity of the tongue base, soft palate, pharynx, and larynx in healthy adults. This was compared with the kinematic activity during a dry swallow. It was hypothesized that not only the lip musculature but also other structures in the oral and pharyngeal cavities are activated while using an oral screen device., Method: Ten healthy subjects used an oral screen during examination with videofluoroscopy and surface electromyography (EMG). Three different instructions for oral screen application and a dry swallow were examined., Results: The lip muscles showed the highest activity during oral screen exercise. The other muscle groups were activated to a lesser degree. The pattern of activation differed between individuals. Compared with a dry swallow, the range of motion of the tongue base, posterior pharyngeal wall, and the larynx was significantly smaller during oral screen activation. No major differences were found between three different instructions., Conclusion: This study indicates that the lips and submental complex and, to a lesser degree, oral, pharyngeal, and laryngeal structures are activated with the oral screen, but the pattern of activation varied between individuals. In comparison to the activity during a dry swallow, range of motion during oral screen exercise is small., (© 2022 The Authors. Clinical and Experimental Dental Research published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Loss of emerin, a nuclear membrane protein, causes Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy (EDMD), characterized by muscle weakening, contractures of major tendons and potentially lethal cardiac conduction system defects. Emerin has a LEM-domain and therefore binds barrier-to-autointegration factor (BAF), a conserved chromatin protein essential for cell division. BAF recruits emerin to chromatin and regulates higher-order chromatin structure during nuclear assembly. Emerin also binds filaments formed by A-type lamins, mutations in which also cause EDMD. Other partners for emerin include nesprin-1alpha and transcriptional regulators such as germ cell-less (GCL). The binding affinities of these partners range from 4nM (nesprin-1alpha) to 200 nM (BAF), and are physiologically significant. Biochemical studies therefore provide a valid means to predict the properties of emerin-lamin complexes in vivo. Emerin and lamin A together form stable complexes with either BAF or GCL in vitro. BAF, however, competes with GCL for binding to emerin in vitro. These and additional partners, notably actin and nuclear myosin II, suggest disease-relevant roles for emerin in gene regulation and the mechanical interity of the nucleus.

A technique is described for studying endometrial or decidual blood flow by introducing a thermistor, mounted in a flexible catheter, into the uterus. The technique was first tested in model experiments and in the pregnant rabbit and was then used to study the blood flow of the human uterus. In pregnant women, the thermistor was introduced between the decidua and fetal membranes, and in non-pregnant women, it was applied to the endometrium of the fundus. Intra-uterine pressure was recorded simultaneously. No complications were encountered in either pregnant or non-pregnant patients. Decidual or endometrial blood flow remained steady over long periods. There were transient fluctuations about the mean level, usually associated with myometrial contractions, but these could easily be distinguished from changes in the level of blood flow evoked by administration of vasoactive drugs.

In two nonpregnant women with cranial diabetes insipidus, myometrial activity under different hormonal conditions was studied by intrauterine pressure recording. Recordings were performed when the women were under the influence of their regular treatment with desaminocys1-D-arg8-vasopressin (DDAVP), and when they had fully developed symptoms of their disease. Uterine activity was similar to that found in normal women under the same hormonal conditions, and generally did not change when symptoms of lack of vasopressin appeared. Both DDAVP (15-20 microgram), given intranasally, and lysin vasopressin (0.2 IU), given intravenously, stimulated uterine activity, particularly in late secretory menstrual phase. It is suggested that endogenous vasopressin is of minor importance for the induction of spontaneous uterine activity in nonpregnant women.