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Objective: While squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (HNSCC) most commonly affects individuals in the fifth to seventh decades of life, it occasionally arises in older patients. Biologic and epidemiologic factors of HNSCC in elderly patients have been investigated to shed light on the process of neoplastic transformation in that population. Design: The medical records of patients with new onset of HNSCC presenting between 1988 and 1993 were reviewed retrospectively. Setting: Tertiary-care hospital-based clinic. Patients: Eighty-one individuals who developed HNSCC of the upper aerodigestive tract after their 75th birthday constituted the study group. A control group consisting of 102 patients who developed HNSCC between the ages of 40 and 70 years was also analyzed. Main Outcome Measure: Information about each individual's tobacco and ethanol exposure, family history of cancer, history of second primary cancer, treatment provided, and current disease status were derived from the medical record. The presence or absence of p53 gene mutation was tabulated for a subset of individuals in both the elderly and the middle-aged groups. Results: The elderly patients had a significantly lower degree of alcohol and tobacco exposure, but a significantly higher rate of second primary cancers, especially in sites outside the upper aerodigestive tract. There was no difference in the incidence of cancer in first-degree relatives in the two groups. These findings were interpreted in light of results from our laboratory examining the incidence of p53 gene mutation in a large number of patients with HNSCC. A significantly higher percentage of tumors from the younger group contained a p53 gene mutation. Major surgery was an integral part of the treatment plan for most of the older patient group despite their advanced age. Conclusions: These findings suggest that HNSCC arising after the seventh decade of life less frequently involves a genetic change commonly found in younger patients. Heavy carcinogen exposure and p53 gene mutations are present less often in elderly individuals, whereas this group appears to be more susceptible to multiple cancers. The precise biologic factors involved in neoplastic transformation in this older population await discovery. Since aggressive therapy can be successfully tolerated by many elderly patients, an individualized approach to treatment is advocated. (Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 1995;121:262-265)

The area of micro strip antennas has seen some Inventive work in recent years and is currently one of the most dynamic fields of antenna theory. In this research, H-shape meandered micro strip patch antenna has been designed for multiband application. The design adopts meandered patch structure. Introducing the novel meandered square patch, offer a low profile, multiband, high gain, and compact antenna element. The proposed patch has a compact dimension. The design is suitable for applications in L-band, Sband, C-band and X-band Communications. Design results are obtained by a High Frequency Structure Simulator which is used for simulating microwave passive components.

The past two decades have witnessed the development of a new stream of research in the field of virtual reality. Its primary use was thought to be entertainment, but as research continued the applications to more practical areas, we see how all forms of businesses can and are benefiting from virtual reality research. Briefly discusses the research being conducted on behalf of various industries, and how that research will benefit and is benefiting those industries.

Adsorption of Toluidine blue dye from aqueous solutions onto Neem Leaf Powder (NLP) has been investigated. The surface characterization of this natural material was examined by Particle size analysis, Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-Ray Diffraction (XRD). The effects of process parameters such as initial concentration, pH, temperature and contact duration on the adsorption capacities have been evaluated, in which pH has been found to be most effective parameter among all. The data were analyzed using the Langmuir and Freundlich for explaining the equilibrium characteristics of adsorption. And kinetic models like pseudo first- order, second-order model and Elovich equation were utilized to describe the kinetic data. The experimental data were well fitted with Langmuir adsorption isotherm model and pseudo second order kinetic model. The thermodynamic parameters, such as Free energy of adsorption (AG"), enthalpy change (AH') and entropy change (AS°) were also determined and evaluated., {"references":["A. Alaton, G. Insel, G. Eremektar, F. G. Babuna and D. Orhon, \"Effect of textile auxiliaries on the biodegradation of dyehouse effluent in activated sludge\", Chemosphere, vol. 62, pp. 1549-1557, March 2006.","V. Jaikumar and V. Ramamurthi, \"Optimization of Batch Process Parameters by Response Surface Methodology for Colour Removal Using Spent Brewery Grains\", in Proc. ICERT 2008 conf. Penang, Malaysia 2008.","S. Kalyuzhnyi and V. Sklyar, \"Biomineralization of azo dyes and their breakdown products in anaerobic-aerobic hybrid and UASB reactor\", Wat. Sci. Technol., vol. 41, no. 12, pp. 23-30, 2000.","N. L. Nemerow, \"Industrial water pollution Origin, characteristics and Treatment\", Reading Mass, Adison-Wesley Publication Co., 1978, pp. 529-549.","H. F. 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Aysegul, \"Adsorption Equilibrium and Kinetics of Reactive Black 5 and Reactive Red 239 in Aqueous Solution onto Surfactant-Modified Zeolite\", J. Chem. Eng. Data., vol 53,vol. 1, pp. 322-323, 2008.\n[11] S. Wang, H. Li, S. Xie, S. Liu and L. Xu, \"Physical and chemical regeneration of zeolitic adsorbents for dye removal in wastewater treatment\", Chemosphere, vol 65, issue 1, pp. 82-87, September 2006. \n[12] S. Wang, Y. Boyjoo and A. Chouaib, \"A comparative study of dye removal using fly ash treated by different methods\", Chemosphere, vol. 60, issue 10, pp. 1401-1407, September 2005.\n[13] B. Armagan, 0. Ozdemir, M. Turan and M. S. Celik, \"Clay Mineral Batch Process for Color Removal of Textile Wastewaters\", J. Environ. Sci. Heal. A, vol. 38, issue 10, pp. 2251 - 2258, October 2003.\n[14] M. Wainwright, \"The development of phenothiazinium photosensitisers\", Photodiagn. Photodyn. Ther., vol. 2, issue 4, pp. 263¬272, December 2005.\n[15] S. K. Alpat, 0. Ozbayrak, S. Alpat and H. Akcay, \"The adsorption kinetics and removal of cationic dye, Toluidine Blue 0, from aqueous solution with Turkish Zeolite\", J. Hazard. Mater., vol. 151, issue 1, pp. 213-220, February 2008.\n[16] M. A. Rauf, S. M. Qadri, S. Ashraf and K. M. Al-Mansoori, \"Adsorption studies of Toluidine Blue from aqueous solutions onto gypsum\", Chem. Eng. J., vol. 150, issue 1, pp. 90-95, July 2009.\n[17] P. Venkateswarlu, R. M., Venkata, D. S. Rao and M. V. Rao, \"Removal of chromium from an aqueous solution using Azadirachta indica (neem) leaf powder as an adsorbent\", Int. J. Phys. Sci., vol. 2, issue 8, pp. 188¬195, August 2007\n[18] P. S. B. Immich, A. A. Mundim, U. De Souza and S. M. A. G. U. De Souza, « Color removal from textile effluent using Azadirachta indica leaf powder as an adsorbent\" Proc. of European Congress of Chemical Engineering (ECCE-6), Copenhagen, 2007.\n[19] Prahas, Y. Kartika, N. Indraswami and S. Ismadji, \"The Use of Activated Carbon Prepared from Jackfruit (Artocarpus heterophyllus) Peel Waste for Methylene Blue Removal\", J. Environ. Prot. Sci., vol 2, pp. 1-10, 2008.\n[20] V. Ponnusami, S. Vikram and S. N. Srivastava, \"Guava (Psidium guajava) leaf powder Novel adsorbent for removal of methylene blue from aqueous solutions\", J. Hazard. Mater., vol 152, issue 1, pp. 276¬286, March 2008.\n[21] Bulut, M. Ozacar and I. A. Sengil, \"Adsorption of malachite green onto bentonite Equilibrium and kinetic studies and process design\", Micropor. Mesopor. Mat., vol 115, issue 3, pp. 234-246, November 2008.\n[22] M. Ozacar, E Bulut, and I. A. Sengil, \"Equilibrium and kinetic data and process design for adsorption of Congo Red onto Bentonite\", J. Hazard. Mater., vol. 154, issue 1-3, pp. 613-622, June 2008.\n[23] A. Khenifi, Z. Bouberka, F. Sekrane, M. Kameche and Z. Derriche, \"Adsorption study of an industrial dye by an organic clay\", Adsorption, vol. 13, no 2, pp. 149-158, April 2007.\n[24] M. Ozacar and I. A Sengil, \"Adsorption of metal complex dyes from aqueous solutions by pine sawdust\", Bioresour. Technol., vol 96, issue 7, pp. 791-795, May 2005.\n[25] L. D'Ilario, I. Francolini, A. Martinelli and A. Piozzi, \"Insight into the Heparin-Toluidine Blue (C.I. Basic Blue 17) interaction\", Dyes Pigments, vol. 80, issue 3, pp. 343-348, March 2009.\n[26] G. K. Nagda and V. S. Ghole, \"Utilization of Lignocellulosic Waste from Bidi Industry for Removal of Dye from Aqueous Solution\", Int. J. Environ. Res., vol 2, no 4, pp. 385-390, 2008.\n[27] S. Venkata Mohan, N. C. Rao and J. Karthikeyan, \"Adsorptive removal of direct azo dye from aqueous phase onto coal based sorbents: a kinetic and mechanistic study\", J. Hazard. Mater., vol. 90, issue 2, pp. 189-204, March 2002."]}

Lanosterol 14 alpha-demethylase (P45014DM) is the cytochrome P450 enzyme complex responsible for an early step in cholesterol biosynthesis, namely the 14 alpha-demethylation of lanosterol. We have synthesized a novel series of steroidal substrate analogues, designed to be specific and potent inhibitors of P45014DM. We describe here the effects of these compounds on sterol biosynthesis downstream from lanosterol, focusing ultimately on their efficacy as inhibitors of cholesterol biosynthesis. Results using a radio-high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) assay show that in rat liver microsomal preparations, with [24,25-3H]dihydrolanosterol as substrate, the compounds do indeed inhibit the biosynthesis of sterols downstream from lanosterol. A range of inhibitory potencies was observed, and the key enzyme being inhibited was believed to be P45014DM. Inhibitor efficacy was readily correlated with non-metabolized [24,25-3H]dihydrolanosterol, formation of 4,4-dimethyl-cholest-8-en-3 beta-ol, and formation of lathosterol, a sterol believed to be an excellent indicator of whole body cholesterol biosynthesis in humans.

Icodextrin is a glucose polymer osmotic agent used to achieve sustained ultrafiltration during long peritoneal dialysis dwells. Previous assays for icodextrin in plasma and dialysate samples involved laborious methods, such as gel permeation chromatography with post-column derivatization of the eluted glucose polymers. We developed and validated a simple and more rapid assay for icodextrin using amyloglucosidase to hydrolyze all glucose polymers to glucose. Glucose was determined pre- and post-hydrolysis using a glucose hexokinase assay, and icodextrin concentration was calculated as the difference between glucose levels before and after hydrolysis. The complete hydrolysis of icodextrin to glucose was confirmed using anion exchange chromatography. Recovery studies using icodextrin powder added to plasma or dialysate showed 100% +/- 15% recovery for plasma concentrations from 10 mg/dL to 800 mg/dL and for dialysate concentrations from 50 mg/dL to 800 mg/dL. The percent relative standard deviation (%RSD) based on multiple replicates was within 6%, except at plasma icodextrin concentrations of 10 mg/dL and below. This simple and reliable assay has been used routinely in our laboratory to analyze thousands of plasma and dialysate samples from patients using Extraneal peritoneal dialysis solution (Baxter Healthcare Corporation, Deerfield, IL, U.S.A.).

Background: Vitiligo is a common skin disease; however it still remains a difficult disease to treat. Not all patients respond to current forms of treatment. Surgical techniques offer a potential solution for patients with vitiligo who fail to respond to medical treatments. Aims: Aims of the study were to evaluate response of transplantation of melanocyte keratinocyte cell suspension in patients of stable vitiligo. Materials and Methods: Total 10 patients of stable localized vitiligo were included in the study and were treated with transplantation of autologous melanocyte keratinocyte suspension after motor/manual dermabrasion. Results: Out of total 10 patients, 40% [4 patients] had excellent [95 to 100%] response, 30% [3 patients] had good [65 to 94%] response, 20% [2 patients] had fair [20 to 64%] response and 10% [1 patient] had poor response [0 to 19%]. Age and sex of the patients and size and location of lesions, did not show significant influence on results of transplantation. Conclusion: Autologus melanocyte keratinocyte suspension combined with motor/manual dermabrasion is an effective affordable treatment for patients with stable vitiligo who fail to respond to medical treatments.

A new analytical methodology using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was applied to study the presence of possible degradation products in levothyroxine tablets. The analytical methodology takes advantage of the element-specific and highly-sensitive I detection provided by ICP-MS and is applied to the speciation of: 3,3′,5,5′-tetraiodothyronine (T4); 3,3′,5-triiodothyronine (T3); 3,5-diiodothyronine (T2); 3,3′,5,5′-tetraiodothyroacetic acid (TTAA4); 3,3′,5-triiodothyroacetic acid (TTAA3); and 3,5-diiodothyroacetic acid (TTAA2). Chromatographic conditions were optimized by using UV absorption at 225 nm and ICP-MS detection of 127I. Complete chromatographic resolution of the levothyroxine degradation products within 25 min was obtained using 22% (v/v) acetonitrile at pH 2.3, adjusted with 0.08% (v/v) trifluoroacetic acid. The introduction of the mobile phase containing acetonitrile was performed by post column on-line dilution (1∶3.3) of the chromatographic eluent with a 2% (v/v) nitric acid solution using a PTFE tee. The separations with either detector were good with little detector effect on the resolution. The peak broadening caused by on-line dilution was insignificant. The detection limits obtained with UV detection ranged from 28.9 to 34.5 µg l−1, whereas those obtained with the plasma detector were about 175–375 times better (lower). Finally, the analytical methodology was applied to the determination of possible iodine species originated by degradation of T4 in synthetic and commercial levothyroxine sodium tablets.

The application of the concepts of continuum mechanics and of the numerical techniques of the finite element method permits the development of a new and potentially clinically useful method of describing craniofacial skeletal growth. This new method differs from those associated with customary roentgenographic cephalometry in that its descriptions and analyses are invariant; that is, they are independent of any method of registration and superimposition. Such invariance avoids the principal geometric constraint explicit in all analytical methods associated with conventional roentgenographic cephalometry. The conceptual and mathematical bases of the finite element method (FEM) are presented and illustrated by the numerical and graphic descriptions of the two-dimensional growth of the rat skull, for which two sets of longitudinal growth data are used. In practice, the FEM permits analysis of the skull at a scale significantly finer than previously possible, by considering cranial structure as consisting of a relatively large number of contiguous finite elements. For each such element, independently, it is then possible to describe and depict both the magnitude and the direction of temporal size and shape changes occurring in that element relative to itself at some initial time. It is emphasized that such descriptions are completely independent of any local reference frame.

An allometric centered model of craniofacial growth was tested by several computer-assisted statistical methods on the pure longitudinal growth data of twenty-four close-bred female rats and on cross-sectional human cranial growth data. The study demonstrated that such a model was heuristic and, being incapable of exact definition, was deemed inappropriate for further use in modeling of craniofacial skeletal growth. The necessity for vigorous testing of any hypothesis concerning the modeling of craniofacial growth is stressed.

This study of cranial skeletal growth kinematics details the conceptual principles underlying the development of an allometric network model of such growth. This model is tested by the analysis of longitudinal rat and cross-sectional human growth data and by comparison of this model with a previously described allometric centered model. It is shown that the network model is superior to the centered model in three ways: (1) The allometric network model permits growth prediction when allometric constants are known; (2) the network model has significantly smaller errors than the centered model; and (3) the network model is capable of displaying growth kinematics of both the neural and facial skulls while in time there are marked transformations, such as relative rotations of two sets of cranial anatomic points.

Mechanical stress states that develop in the buttock during sitting may exceed tissue tolerance and lead to decubitus ulcer formation in susceptible patients, such as those with spinal cord injury. The danger of this complication can be reduced by using suitable cushions to minimize stress magnitudes and gradients within soft tissues. In this investigation, a two-dimensional physical model of the buttock-cushion system was developed to aid in cushion design. The model consists of PVC gel simulating flesh, cast around a wooden core simulating the ischium bone. A grid etched on the gel permits measurement of strains via photographs of the underformed and deformed model buttock supported by various cushion materials. The displacement field is analyzed, using a finite strain theory and a strain energy function, to obtain the ‘tissue stresses’. In this manner, the performances of five clinically used cushion materials were compared with respect to the high stress regimes developed in the model buttock.

Studies have shown acute aortic dissection (AAD) pts ≥70 years of age have higher in-hospital mortality and less Type A (TA) surgical management (mgmt). These differences may also hold true within the elderly cohort. We studied 1139 elderly pts from the International Registry of Acute Aortic