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Laryngeal hemangiomas are classified into an adult and infantile forms. The incidence of laryngeal hemangioma in adults is rare. While infantile hemangiomas are more frequently found in subglottic regions and regress with age, adult hemangiomas occur commonly in supraglottic and glottic regions and they do not regress spontaneously. In this article, we report a case of laryngeal cavernous hemangioma in a 51-year-old male who was treated successfully with endolaryngeal microsurgical technique without any recurrence through one year follow up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protein-losing gastroenteropathy (PLGE), a rare manifestation of primary Sjögren’s syndrome (SS), is characterized by profound edema and severe hypoalbuminemia secondary to excessive serum protein loss from the gastrointestinal tract and is clinically indistinguishable from nephrotic syndrome. We report a case of a 30-year-old Taiwanese woman with PLGE-associated SS. In addition to a positive Schirmer’s test, she had eye-dryness, thirst, and high levels of anti-SSA antibodies, fulfilling SS criteria. PLGE diagnosis was highly appropriate given the clinical profile of hypoalbuminemia, hypercholesterolemia, pleural effusion, and ascites, with absent cardiac, hepatic, or renal disease. We were unable to perform technetium-99 m-labeled human serum albumin scintigraphy (99mTc-HAS). However, the patient’s edema and albumin level improved dramatically in response to a 3-month regime of oral prednisolone followed by oral hydroxychloroquine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Semiconductor Ge quantum-dot (QD) thermometry has been demonstrated based on extraordinary temperature-dependent oscillatory differential conductance (GD) characteristics of Ge-QD single-hole transistors (SHTs) in the few-hole regime. Full-voltage width-at-half-minimum, V1/2, of GD valleys appears to be fairly linear in the charge number (n) and temperature within the QD in a relationship of eV1/2≅(1-0.11n)×5.15kBT, providing the primary thermometric quantity. The depth of GD valley is also proportional to charging energy (EC) and 1/T via δGD EC/9.18kBT, providing another thermometric quantity. This experimental demonstration suggests our Ge-QD SHT offering effective building blocks for nanothermometers over a wide temperature range with a detection temperature as high as 155K in a spatial resolution less than 10nm and temperature accuracy of sub-kelvin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contents This study was to evaluate the combinatorial effect (14 treatments, A-N) of different Equex STM paste concentrations, cryoprotectants and the straw-freezing method on the post-thaw boar semen quality. Two ejaculates were collected from each of nine boars (three boars from each of three breeds). Semen was diluted in extenders with different concentrations of Equex STM paste and different cryoprotectants [glycerol or dimethylacetamide (DMA)] before cryopreserving via liquid nitrogen or dry ice. Motility, viability, percentage of spermatozoa with intense acrosomal staining and with normal morphology of post-thaw sperm were evaluated. The qualities of thawed semen were best preserved in treatment H (extender with 0.5% Equex STM paste and 5% glycerol and freezing by dry ice) and were worst in treatment B (extender with 0% Equex STM paste and 5% DMA and freezing by dry ice). Significant difference (p < 0.05) was present in post-thawed sperm motility (63% vs 27%), sperm viability (70% vs 33%) and sperm acrosomal integrity rate (68% vs 29%) between treatments H and B. However, sperm proportion with normal morphology showed no significant difference among treatments (66% vs 66%; p > 0.05). Moreover, statistical analysis suggests that no significant difference was present in semen quality among breed or individual donors (p > 0.05). These findings suggest that Equex STM paste improved the cryosurvival efficiency of boar sperm, and the favourable straw-freezing method changes between glycerol and DMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study was designed to examine whether different p53 haplotypes of exon 4-intron 3-intron 6 affect the frequency of mutations and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) of the p53 gene in male oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs) in Taiwan. We found that individuals without two Pro-W-G alleles had significantly higher frequency of p53 mutations than those with two Pro-W-G alleles (odds ratio (OR)=1.98; 95%confidence interval (CI), 1.10-3.56). Out of the 172 p53 gene exon 4 informative male OSCCs, 72 (41.9%) showed LOH. Among these 72 OSCCs with LOH, the frequency of Pro allele loss was 73.6%(53/72). It is notable that alcohol drinking increased the frequency of Arg allele loss (OR=10.56; 95%CI, 1.23-234.94) in OSCCs from patients who both smoked cigarettes and chewed areca quid (AQ). The frequency of LOH of p53 was not different between p53-mutated OSCCs and p53-normal OSCCs. Thus, the present study revealed that (a) the Arg allele is associated with p53 mutations, (b) the Pro allele is preferentially lost in OSCCs associated with cigarette smoking and AQ chewing, while the frequency of Arg allele loss is increased with alcohol drinking, and (c) haploinsufficiency of p53 is in itself likely to contribute to tumour progression in Taiwanese OSCCs.British Journal of Cancer (2005) 92, 30-35. doi:10.1038/sj.bjc.6602271 www.bjcancer.com Published online 7 December 2004 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although several studies have found overexpression of epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) proteins EGFR and Her-2 in head and neck cancers, the clinical relevance of the finding varies. We examined the expression and clinical association of these molecules with oral squamous cell carcinoma in an area where betel chewing is prevalent. EGFR and Her-2 proteins were measured in 59 paired (grossly normal and cancer) tissues by an enzyme immunoassy method. The cutoff value for gene overexpression was defined as the level of mean expression in normal tissue plus two s.d. A total of 59% of the patients consumed alcohol, 90% smoked tobacco, and 90% chewed betel quid. Of the patients assayed, 34 (58%) and 24 (41%) had EGFR and Her-2 overexpression, with average 3.5- and 1.5-fold elevations. EGFR overexpression has been shown to be statistically associated with T stage, N stage, overall TMN stage, primary tumour depth, lymph node extra-capsular spread, and poor survival. Her-2 overexpression, however, did not demonstrate a similar association with clinicopathological parameters or therapeutic outcome. On multivariant analysis, EGFR overexpression (P=0.041) and N stage (P=0.024) were the only independent factors for overall survival. These results indicate that the molecular targeting therapy to EGFR may be a treatment for oral cavity cancer in the betel quid-chewing prevalent area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary Background Photodynamic therapy (PDT) using topical application of 5-aminolaevulinic acid (ALA) has been widely reported for the treatment of a variety of neoplastic and non-neoplastic cutaneous diseases. Although different formulations containing variable amounts of ALA have been applied in PDT, the dose–response relationships between transdermal ALA delivery and cutaneous protoporphyrin IX (PpIX) accumulation have not been studied. Objectives and methods The objectives of this study were to investigate the effect of permeability barrier function, ALA concentration and formulation on the in vitro penetration of ALA through nude mouse skin and cutaneous PpIX formation at 2 h following a 2-h application of ALA to nude mouse skin in vivo , and to delineate the relationships in between. Results Results demonstrated that variations in barrier integrity, in addition to ALA concentration, profoundly influenced ALA delivery to generate PpIX. Saturable correlations were found to exist between PpIX concentrations in both the epidermis and dermis in vivo and its transdermal flux in vitro , and the relationships were well described by the E max model. The established correlations based on pure aqueous solutions were applicable to different formulations containing hydroxypropylmethylcellulose as the gelling agent and ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid as the iron chelator. Moreover, incorporation of desferrioxamine, another iron chelator, in the formulation prolonged cutaneous PpIX accumulation in the skin in comparison with 3% ALA aqueous solution, but the peak PpIX levels were not increased. Application of a liposomal formulation resulted in similar prolongation in ALA-induced PpIX accumulation, as well as better epidermal targeting. Conclusions Knowledge of the dose–response relationships and the effect of formulation is important for designing optimal formulations and treatment schedules for topical ALA-PDT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary tuberculosis (TB) of the hard palate is very rare. A 74-year-old man was presented with 6-month history of dysphagia along with an irregular mass in the hard and soft palate. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed thickened and increased signal intensity within hard and soft palate. Tissue biopsy showed focal caseating granulomatous-like lesion and the histochemical staining using Ziehl-Neelsen stain for acid-fast bacilli was positive. Positive histochemical studies provided evidences that the hard palate mass was most likely due to TB. Thus, the patient was started on antituberculous therapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is rare in most countries but occurs with relatively high frequency among southern Chinese populations throughout the world. A case-control study of NPC was conducted in Taiwan to investigate the importance of active and passive cigarette exposure and alcohol consumption as risk factors for this disease.Methods: 375 histologically confirmed incident NPC cases (99% response rate) were prospectively identified from two hospitals in Taipei between July 1991 and December 1994 and administered a detailed questionnaire. 327 healthy community controls individually matched to cases on sex, age and residence were selected (88% response rate).Results: After multivariate adjustment, the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) was 1.7 (1.1-2.9 with p = 0.03 for increasing dose-response) for those who smoked for > or = 25 years compared with non-smokers. Passive smoking during childhood or adult life was not associated with an increased risk of disease. Alcohol consumption was not associated with NPC risk. The OR for subjects with > or = 15 grams of ethanol per day compared to non-drinkers was 1.1 (95% CI = 0.7-1.7).Conclusions: Our results suggest that long term cigarette smoking is associated with NPC but that low level exposure to cigarette smoke via passive exposure and alcohol consumption are not associated with disease risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to use thermal image technology which could obtain the temperature of dairy cow with non-intrusive, accurately and quickly to assess the health management of dairy cows. There were 40 milking cows in this trial. At the height of 2.2 m above the entrance of the milking passageway, 1 dual-lens infrared thermal image camera was installed, with a resolution of 384 x 288 pixels, and a temperature measurement range of -20°C to +150°C. Another visible light lens was used to identify the eye socket of individual cow, and the thermal camera lens was focus to detect the temperature of the eye socket automatically and recorded the temperature information in the computer management software system for 5 months. When the temperature of the cows exceeds the threshold set by the system, the red warning light will light up immediately. The results showed that the average temperature of the thermal image of the cow's eye sockets was 36.4 ± 2.0°C (n = 2,168), and the average temperature of the eye sockets of the cow with fever was 40.0 ± 0.5°C (n = 12). From these results showed using thermal imaging technology to monitor the health of dairy cows were very potential for dairy industry in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to apply the AI recognition technology of thermal imaging to monitor mastitis in dairy cows. There were 40 milking cows in this trial. At 1.8 m in front of the milking passageway, 2 dual-lens infrared thermal image camera was installed, with a resolution of 384 x 288 pixels, and a temperature measurement range of -20°C to +150°C. Another visible light lens was used to AI identify the udder of individual cow, and the thermal camera lens was focus to detect the temperature of the udder automatically and recorded the temperature information in the computer management software system for 5 months. When the temperature of the cows exceeds the threshold set by the system, the red warning light will light up immediately. The results showed that the average temperature of the udder thermal image of healthy cows was 35.2 ± 2.7°C (n = 910), and the average temperature of the udder of cows with mastitis was 40.8 ± 1.1°C (n = 156). From these results showed using the AI recognition technology of thermal imaging to monitor bovine mastitis was very potential for dairy industry in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polycrystalline silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) incorporating germanium (Ge) quantum dots (QDs) in the gate oxide were fabricated as efficient blue to near ultraviolet phototransistors for light detection and amplification. Under 405–450 nm light illumination, Ge QDs poly-Si TFTs exhibit not only strong photoresponses in the drive current but also much improved subthreshold characteristics than that measured in darkness. This originates from the fact that only photoexcited holes within Ge QDs are injected into the active channel via vertical electric field and contribute excess mobile carriers for photocurrent but without the associated photogenerated electron induced junction barrier lowering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From 1984 to 1992 15 consecutive cases of normal pressure hydrocephalus were included in this pilot study. A series of tests included CT of the brain, grading of the cognitive mental state with the mini-mental state examination; urodynamic studies, and gait evaluation. These tests were carried out on admission, and repeated on day 1, day 3, and day 5 after controlled-resistance, continuous lumbar drainage (CRCLD). During this period, eight patients showed significant improvements of cognitive mental state, urodynamic studies, or gait and were regarded as CRCLD responders; the remaining seven patients were regarded as CRCLD non-responders. The CRCLD was routinely removed on day 6 after the drainage procedure and a ventriculoperitoneal (VP) or a lumboperitoneal (LP) shunt was randomly selected for each patient. The tests were repeated one week after shunting and a year later. All the CRCLD responders continued to benefit from shunting at one week and one year after the procedure irrespective of the type of shunting they received. By comparison, none of the CRCLD non-responders showed any improvement a year after the shunting. In conclusion, CRCLD proved to be a safe and effective way to predict the effectiveness of shunting in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]