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Objective: The Kay Pentax nasometer uses a separator plate that touches the philtrum of a patient to separate the nasal and oral sound energies for nasalance measurement. However, the separator plate can restrict the natural movement of the patient’s upper lip and generate unpleasant pressure on the patient’s philtrum. The present study was intended to measure nasalance scores without touching the philtrum for better comfort during speech assessment and therapy.Methods: Nasalance scores of 10 males and 10 females having no speech disorders were measured under 4 levels (0, 5, 10, and 15 mm) of the gap between the plate and the philtrum (denoted as plate-to-philtrum gap) using Nasometer II 6450 for nasal (Nasal Sentences) and oral (Zoo Passage) stimuli. Regression formulas were established to examine the relationships between nasalance score and plate-to-philtrum gap for the stimuli. To provide nasalance scores equivalent to those measured for the contact condition, compensation factors for the 5 mm plate-to-philtrum gap measurement condition were identified for the stimuli.Results: The nasalance scores were significantly different between the 4 different plate-to-philtrum gaps for the stimuli. Compensation factors for the Nasal Sentences and the Zoo Passage were identified as 1.17 and 0.71, respectively.Conclusions: The 5 mm plate-to-philtrum gap condition after multiplying the compensation factors can provide equivalent nasalance scores to the conventional contact measurement condition which may provide better comfort in speech assessment and therapy.

Abstract: We examined levels of soil contamination by trichloroethylene (TCE) at an industrial complex in Wonju, Korea. The examination was focused on the surrounding area of an asphalt laboratory where TCE had been used as a solvent for testing the asphalt quality. TCE contamination in soil was found at depths of 1∼5 m and ranged between 0.13 and 14,702.82 mg/kg. However, the soil contamination was restricted in immediate proximity of the laboratory. Batch isotherm experiments showed that there was a linear relationship between the sorbed concentration and the aqueous TCE concentration, which is typical for non-polar organic chemicals such as TCE. The distribution coefficient (Kd) ranged between 0.375 and 0.639 L/kg and increased with depth. Considering TCE concentration in deep soil, Kd and higher groundwater level, TCE concentration in groundwater can reach up to 19.36 mg/L. In addition, highly weathered and fractured rocks, where groundwater level formed, underlain by the contaminated soil zone can facilitate vertical TCE movement and form an extensive groundwater plume in the downgradient area. As a source removal measure, the contaminated soil at the presumably hot source zone had been remediated in 2004.

Castleman disease (CD) was recently classified as a unicentric hyaline vascular variant, unicentric plasma cell variant, and multicentric plasma cell variant. It is rare that unicentric CD is presented as multiple retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy. The clinical manifestations and prognosis depends on histologic type. We report an unusual case of CD with multiple retroperitoneal lymphadenopathy, which had unicentric hyaline vascular variant histologically but was clinically multicentric. The patient experienced anemia, weight loss, elevated C-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), POEMS (polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, monoclonal gammopathy, and skin changes syndrome), and plasmacytosis in bone marrow without human herpesvirus—8 or HIV. After exploratory laparotomy and lymphadenectomy under presumptive diagnosis of CD, the patient's symptoms recovered, and CRP and ESR decreased. Therefore, we suggest that unicentric CD is not clearly distinguished from multicentric, the type in this report, focusing on the useful role of CRP, ESR, and positron emission tomography/computed tomography in the disease activity of CD.

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