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As part of the LBA-SMOCC (Large-Scale Biosphere-Atmosphere Experiment in Amazonia - Smoke, Aerosols, Clouds, Rainfall, and Climate) 2002 campaign, we studied the emission of carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), and aerosol particles from Amazonian deforestation fires using an instrumented aircraft. Emission ratios for aerosol number (CN) relative to CO (ERCN/CO) fell in the range 14-32 cm-3 ppb-1 in most of the investigated smoke plumes. Particle number emission ratios have to our knowledge not been previously measured in tropical deforestation fires, but our results are in agreement with values usually found from tropical savanna fires. The number of particles emitted per amount biomass burned was found to be dependent on the fire conditions (combustion efficiency). Variability in ERCN/CO between fires was similar to the variability caused by variations in combustion behavior within each individual fire. This was confirmed by observations of CO-to-CO2 emission ratios (ERCO/CO2), which stretched across the same wide range of values for individual fires as for all the fires observed during the sampling campaign, reflecting the fact that flaming and smoldering phases are present simultaneously in deforestation fires. Emission factors (EF) for CO and aerosol particles were computed and a correction was applied for the residual smoldering combustion (RSC) fraction of emissions that are not sampled by the aircraft, which increased the EF by a factor of 1.5-2.1. Vertical transport of smoke from the boundary layer (BL) to the cloud detrainment layer (CDL) and the free troposphere (FT) was found to be a very common phenomenon. We observed a 20% loss in particle number as a result of this vertical transport and subsequent cloud processing, attributable to in-cloud coagulation. This small loss fraction suggests that this mode of transport is very efficient in terms of particle numbers and occurs mostly via non-precipitating clouds. The detrained aerosol particles released in the CDL and FT were larger than in the unprocessed smoke, mostly due to coagulation and secondary growth, and therefore more efficient at scattering radiation and nucleating cloud droplets. This process may have significant atmospheric implications on a regional and larger scale.

The literature is inconsistent regarding associations between parental smoking and childhood leukemia, possibly because previous studies used self-reported smoking habits as surrogates for childrens true exposures to cigarette smoke. Here, the authors investigated the use of nicotine concentrations in house dust as measures of childrens exposure to cigarette smoke in 469 households from the Northern California Childhood Leukemia Study (1999–2007). House dust was collected by using high-volume surface samplers and household vacuum cleaners and was analyzed for nicotine via gas chromatography–mass spectrometry. Using multivariable linear regression, the authors evaluated the effects of self-reported parental smoking, parental demographics, house characteristics, and other covariates on house-dust nicotine concentrations. They observed that nicotine concentrations in house dust were associated with self-reported smoking for periods of months and years before dust collection. Furthermore, the authors found that the relation between nicotine dust levels and self-reported smoking varied by parental age and socioeconomic status. These findings suggest that house-dust nicotine concentrations reflect long-term exposures to cigarette smoke in the home and that they may be less biased surrogates for childrens exposures to cigarette smoke than self-reported smoking habits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Backgrounds: Antidepressants are widely used to treat major depressive disorder. First-line treatments with antidepressants are only successful in one-third of patients; however, evidence from randomized controlled trials on second-line treatments is limited. Moreover, recently acceptability is suggested to be a good indicator of overall treatment success., Methods: This is a multi-center two-arm, three-phased randomized controlled trial performed in Japan from December 2013 to March 2017 comparing the acceptability of escitalopram and duloxetine as a second-line drug. Patients, who failed to respond to antidepressants such as sertraline, paroxetine, fluvoxamine, milnacipran or mirtazapine for at least 3 weeks, were randomized to either escitalopram (Group A) or duloxetine (Group B) in Step 1 (8 weeks). In Step 2 (8 weeks), the drug was switched to the other if the first drug failed. The discontinuation rate at the end of Step 1 was the primary endpoint and non-inferiority of escitalopram vs duloxetine was tested. In addition, change in clinical measures from baseline were also assessed at the end of Step 1, 2 and up to 52 weeks., Results: At the end of Step 1, Group A (n = 82) was significantly superior to Group B (n = 78) in discontinuation rate (4.9% to 19.2%, P = 0.007). The change in clinical indices from baseline were not different between the groups at either timepoint., Limitations: As the major reason for discontinuation in Group B was the "withdrawal of consent" the concrete reason could not be verified., Conclusions: As a second-line treatment drug, escitalopram was suggested to be non-inferior to duloxetine in acceptability., Trial Registration: UMINCTR(UMIN000012367), registered on December 1st, 2013 and last updated on April 4th, 2017., (Copyright © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This in vitro study evaluated the fatigue strength of different ceramic materials indicated for monolithic restorations. Disc-shaped specimens were made according to ISO 6872 from five different ceramic materials: feldspathic ceramic (FC), polymer-infiltrated ceramic network (PIC), lithium disilicate glass-ceramic (LD), zirconia-reinforced lithium silicate glass-ceramic (ZLS), and high translucent tetragonal zirconia polycrystals doped by yttrium (YZ-HT). After obtaining the mean of each material (n = 5) from monotonic load-to-failure tests, specimens (n = 20) were subjected to fatigue tests (staircase method) using a biaxial flexural setup (piston-on-three-balls), to determine the fatigue strength. The parameters used for fatigue tests were: 100,000 cycles at 10 Hz, initial load of ~ 60% of mean load-to-failure, and step size of 5% of the initial load (specific for each ceramic material). Kruskal-Wallis and Bonferroni's test (α = 0.05) were used to analyze the fatigue strength data. Fatigue strength (MPa) of the materials was statistically different among each other as follows: YZ-HT (370.2 ± 38.7) > LD (175.2 ± 7.5) > ZLS (152.1 ± 7.5) > PIC (81.8 ± 3.9) > FC (50.8 ± 1.9). Thus, it can be concluded that, in terms of fatigue, high translucent polycrystalline zirconia is the best choice for monolithic restorations as it bears the highest load before cracking/fracturing.

In the production of large-volume parenterals in Japan, equipment and devices such as tanks, pipework, and filters used in production processes are exhaustively cleaned and sterilized, and the cleanliness of water for injection, drug materials, packaging materials, and manufacturing areas is well controlled. In this environment, the bioburden is relatively low, and less heat resistant compared with microorganisms frequently used as biological indicators such as Geobacillus stearothermophilus (ATCC 7953) and Bacillus subtilis 5230 (ATCC 35021). Consequently, the majority of large-volume parenteral solutions in Japan are manufactured under low-heat sterilization conditions of F0 <2 min, so that loss of clarity of solutions and formation of degradation products of constituents are minimized. Bacillus oleronius (ATCC 700005) is listed as a biological indicator in "Guidance on the Manufacture of Sterile Pharmaceutical Products Produced by Terminal Sterilization" (guidance in Japan, issued in 2012). In this study, we investigated whether B. oleronius is an appropriate biological indicator of the efficacy of low-heat, moist-heat sterilization of large-volume parenterals. Specifically, we investigated the spore-forming ability of this microorganism in various cultivation media and measured the D-values and z-values as parameters of heat resistance. The D-values and z-values changed depending on the constituents of large-volume parenteral products. Also, the spores from B. oleronius showed a moist-heat resistance that was similar to or greater than many of the spore-forming organisms isolated from Japanese parenteral manufacturing processes. Taken together, these results indicate that B. oleronius is suitable as a biological indicator for sterility assurance of large-volume parenteral solutions subjected to low-heat, moist-heat terminal sterilization., (© PDA, Inc. 2016.)

Objective: The aim of this study was to extract the factors possibly associated with sertraline treatment response and elucidate their interactions and extent of influence., Methods: Demographic state, stress state, personality, and eight genetic polymorphisms at baseline and clinical symptoms at baseline and 8 weeks were analyzed and examined by logistic regression and a structural equation model in sertraline treatment study of 96 Japanese patients with major depressive disorder., Results: Non-responders were associated with higher scores of harm avoidance in Temperament and Character Inventory, higher scores (≥24) of 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression at baseline, recurrence, and 12/12 genotype of the serotonin transporter variable number of tandem repeat polymorphism in intron 2 (5HTTSTin2). When we calculated the response index using four factors extracted, the mean response index value of non-responders was significantly higher than that of responders. The symptoms at baseline, personality, recurrence, and polymorphism of 5HTTSTin2 showed significantly direct and positive influences on the symptoms at 8 weeks in our final structural equation model with a good model fit., Conclusion: Considering the combination of four factors extracted may be useful for predicting a worse response to sertraline treatment and selecting different treatment other than sertraline., (Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a non-invasive approach used for stimulating the brain, and has proven effective in the treatment of depression, however the mechanism of its antidepressant action is unknown. Recently, we have reported the induction of kf-1 in rat frontal cortex and hippocampus after chronic antidepressant treatment and repeated electroconvulsive treatment (ECT). In this study, we demonstrated the induction of kf-1 after rTMS in the rat frontal cortex and hippocampus, but not in hypothalamus. Our data suggest that kf-1 may be a common functional molecule that is increased after antidepressant treatment, ECT and rTMS. In conclusion, it is proposed that induction of kf-1 may be associated with the treatment induced adaptive neural plasticity in the brain, which is a long-term target for their antidepressant action.

It has been proposed that signaling pathways involved in adaptive neural plasticity are long-term targets for the action of electroconvulsive treatment (ECT), which is widely used in the treatment of drug-resistant depression. We have previously performed EST analysis to identify some molecular machinery responsible for antidepressant effect. One of the cDNA fragments identified as antidepressant related genes/ESTs was identified as kf-1 which has a RING-H2 finger motif at the carboxy-terminus. In the present study, we have demonstrated the induction of kf-1 in rat frontal cortex and hippocampus not only after chronic antidepressant treatment, but also after a single and repeated ECT. RING finger proteins are proposed to play some important roles in the ubiquitin-proteasome system. In conclusion, the current investigation has identified kf-1 as a novel molecular target for antidepressants and ECT.

The biological basis for the therapeutic mechanisms of depression is still unknown. We have previously performed expressed-sequence tag (EST) analysis to identify some molecular machinery responsible for antidepressant effect. Then, we developed our original cDNA microarray, on which cDNA fragments identified as antidepressant-related genes/ESTs were spotted. In this study, with this microarray followed by Western blot analysis, we have demonstrated the induction of vesicle-associated membrane protein 2(VAMP2/synaptobrevin-2) in rat frontal cortex not only after chronic antidepressant treatment, but also after repeated electroconvulsive treatment. On the other hand, expression of SNAP-25 and syntaxin-1 was not changed by these treatments. These components make a soluble N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive fusion protein attachment protein receptor complex with VAMP2 and mediate the synaptic vesicle docking/fusion machinery. In conclusion, it is suggested that VAMP2/synaptobrevin-2 plays important roles in the antidepressant effects. Our results may contribute to a novel model for the therapeutic mechanism of depression and new molecular targets for the development of therapeutic agents.

Previously, we have identified 200 cDNA fragments as antidepressant related genes/ESTs. In this study, using these cDNAs, we developed our original cDNA microarray for rapid secondary screening of candidate genes as the novel therapeutic targets. With this microarray, we found that the expression of a novel gene, ADRG34, was significantly increased in rat hippocampus which had been chronically treated with a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant, sertraline. RT-PCR analysis also demonstrated the induction of ADRG34 at mRNA levels in rat hippocampus and the frontal cortex. This cDNA encoded 685 amino acid residues containing a RING-H2 finger motif at the carboxy-terminal. Sequence analysis of ADRG34 with the EMBL/GenBank database showed significant homology to mouse and human kf-1 gene. Our data suggest that ADRG34, a possible rat homologue of kf-1, may be one of the common functional molecules induced after chronic antidepressant treatment., (Copyright 2000 Academic Press.)

Augmentation with malar implants has traditionally relied on fixation techniques such as creation of a precise pocket, external taping, and transcutaneous fixation techniques with bolsters. We present an alternate technique that fixates the implants to the rigid facial skeleton rather than to the dynamic active facial soft tissues. To avoid the use of expensive drills, we describe use of self-drilling screws for fixation of malar implants. The technique avoids transconjunctival incisions, allows wide exposure, and is presented as an alternative to traditional fixation techniques.

Objectives/hypothesis: Reconstruction of the nasalis muscle in the unilateral cleft lip nasal deformity improves surgical results., Study Design: A retrospective analysis of a series of 112 consecutive procedures., Methods: Chart review and analysis of standardized preoperative and postoperative clinical photographs., Results: Patients treated with this technique had improved contour of the alar base compared with historical controls., Conclusion: Nasalis muscle reconstruction should be considered in the repair of the moderate to severe unilateral cleft nose deformity.

Analysis of sleep in 5 severe bruxists revealed consistent sleep abnormalities. These abnormalities consisted of decreased REM latency (90%), decreased percentage of REM sleep (85%), and increased number of sleep stage transitions (75%). This sleep pattern suggests that bruxing can have a deleterious effect on sleep in otherwise healthy individuals. This effect on sleep can in the long run lead to difficulty in daytime functioning similar to the effects of sleep apnea or nocturnal myoclonus. These data also reveal a significant first night effect, hence future attempts at replicating and expanding these findings should take that into consideration. The small number of subjects studied, the lack of a standardized assessment of their daytime functioning, the lack of information regarding the degree of teethware and daytime bruxing activity limit the generalizability of our findings. A controlled study with a larger sample size can help further delineate the nature of such sleep changes as well as their impact on the patient's overall functioning.

Curvularia lunata is a saprobic dematiaceous mould that resides primarily in soil (Ellis, 1966). Reports of human disease caused by this organism are rare but include: endocarditis, brain abscess, skin infections, onychomycosis, keratitis, pneumonia, disseminated disease, mycetoma, allergic bronchopulmonary disease, and one case of sinusitis. Since 1983, we have encountered five cases of paranasal sinusitis due to C. lunata. None of the patients suffered from known immunologic disorders or underlying debilitating diseases. These five cases are presented and the literature of human phaeohyphomycosis caused by Curvularia spp. is reviewed.

Recently, reports have surfaced in which saprobic fungi, as well as fungi pathogenic for plants, seem to be evolving as human pathogens. While the bulk of infected patients are immunocompromised, many individuals appear to be immunocompetent. To our knowledge, this is the second known published case of maxillary sinusitis caused by Curvularia lunata in an immunocompetent patient. An interesting feature of this case is that the patient was treated with only surgery (débridement and irrigation) with complete resolution and no recurrence.

The case is presented of a 54-year-old black man with a mass apparently involving only the soft tissue retromolar trigone on panoramic and mandibular series radiographs. A granulocytic sarcoma involving the mandible was diagnosed on biopsy with the aid of histochemical stains, immunologic cell surface markers, and electron microscopy. The autopsy also revealed involvement of the ribs and liver.

Succinylcholine is traditionally used as the muscle relaxant of choice for rapid induction sequence intubation. There are, however, many absolute and relative contraindications for the use of succinylcholine necessitating the need for an alternative muscle relaxant. This study was undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of pancuronium bromide for muscle relaxation in the rapid induction sequence in comparison to succinylcholine. A double-blind study was undertaken in 90 patients divided into two groups: One group was intubated at 60 seconds and the other at 90 seconds. Each group was divided into four subgroups by random selection and received of the following regimens: (a) succinylcholine, 1.5 mg/kg preceded by 3 mg of d-tubocurarine; (b) pancuronium bromide, 0.1 mg/kg; (c) pancuronium bromide, 0.125 mg/kg; and (d) pancuronium bromide, 0.15 mg/kg as relaxants in rapid sequence intubation. A rapid sequence intubation was performed with each intubation by a staff member or experienced house officer. Pre- and postinduction blood pressure and heart rate were taken. Postinduction blood gases were taken. The times to completion of intubation were recorded. Cord position, ease of intubation and overall relaxation were evaluated. The results indicate that in experienced hands pancuronium bromide in a dose of 0.1-0.15 mg/kg is as an effective muscle relaxant for rapid induction sequence intubation as is succinylcholine. It is an acceptable alternative when succinylcholine is contraindicated. Intubating conditions are best 90 seconds after the administration of pancuronium bromide.