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Abstract. Skeletal asymmetry in patients who undergo orthognathic surgery is frequently associated with postoperative temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders caused by condylar rotation. This study was designed to elucidate the relation between changes in the condylar long axis and TMJ function after bisagittal split osteotomy (BSSO). A total of 42 patients with mandibular prognathism underwent BSSO. Split osseous fragments were secured by standard titanium plates in 22 patients; bent titanium plates were used to secure fragments in 20 patients. The angle of the bent plates was adjusted to avoid displacement of the condyle after osteotomy, as compared with condylar position on preoperative submental-vertical (S-V) cephalograms. The postoperative position of the condyle was assessed on X-ray film, and changes in TMJ function were evaluated. The condylar long axis differed significantly on X-ray film between patients using a standard titanium plate and those using a bent plate (P< 0.05), and no sign of TMJ functional impairment was noted in the bent-plate group. Although the use of bent plates requires further study, maintenance of a suitable position of the condyle relative to the condylar axis is one of the conditions for a successful outcome of BSSO. Copyright 2001 International Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons

Trigeminal neurosensory impairment is frequently observed following orthognathic surgery. The purpose of the present study is to visualize the degree of trigeminal nerve impairment following bilateral sagittal split osteotomy (BSSO). Twenty patients who underwent BSSO were in the present study. To record the modified somatosensory evoked potentials (SEP), two electrostimulation clips were applied. One clip was placed on the mucous surface of the lower lip and the other was placed on the skin surface. Each contact surface contained a separate 2 mm diameter silver anode and cathode attached to a 5 x 15 mm basement plate. The results obtained using this method revealed that complete recovery from neural impairment was observed in 7 cases (36.8%) on the right operative side and 4 (20.0%) on the left side at 6 months postoperatively. A definite delay in latency was observed on the left operative side at all the examination periods. The recovery period evaluated by the SEP method was longer than that of the objective two-point discrimination thresholds. Clinical records obtained showed considerable implications for trigeminal nerve function after BSSO.

Heating experiments on phantoms and miniature pigs were performed using two types of lens applicator and a conventional waveguide applicator fed by a 430 MHz microwave heating system (HTS-100, manufactured by Tokyo Keiki Co., Ltd). Temperature distributions in agar phantoms and miniature pigs were measured at regular intervals during heating. The following results were thus obtained: (1) The effective heating depth varied with the focal length, showing the lens effect. (2) Using a four-aperture lens applicator in miniature pigs, a heating depth of 6 cm was obtained. This almost doubles the depth of conventional waveguide applicator. The heating area was 12 × 6 cm at the depth of 4 cm. (3) Dielectric properties of the buttocks of the miniature pig were virtually identical to those of the agar phantom containing 0·35% NaCl and 0·05% NaN3.

Tumour growth depends on neovascularisation and tumour cell proliferation. Factor VIII-related antigen (F-VIII RA) localises to vascular endothelium. Expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) is correlated with cell proliferation. We investigated the correlation between the expression of these antigens and prognosis in gastric carcinoma. A total of 108 specimens resected from patients with gastric carcinoma were investigated by staining with monoclonal antibodies against F-VIII RA and PCNA. Microvessel count (MVC; the mean number of microvessels in the five areas of highest vascular density at 200 x magnification) and PCNA labelling index (PCNA LI; percentage of positive cells in more than 500 tumour cells) were determined. The results showed that prognosis was significantly worse in patients who had a tumour with a high MVC (16 or greater) or a high PCNA LI (42% or greater) than in those patients who had a tumour with a low MVC (less than 16) or a low PCNA LI (less than 42%). Furthermore, MVC was significantly associated with the risk of hepatic recurrence. In conclusion, both MVC and PCNA LI may be good prognostic indicators in patients with gastric carcinoma.

The clinical importance of microvessel quantitation as a prognostic indicator in invasive breast cancer was examined. This study included 155 patients with invasive breast cancer, with a median follow-up of 82 months. Microvessels were identified by immunohistochemical staining for factor VIII-related antigen in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded primary tumours. For each tumour, microvessels were counted within a 200 x magnification field in the area of highest microvessel density. Microvessel counts (MVCs) had no correlation with tumour size, lymph node status or histological grade. When patients were classified by MVC, higher counts were associated with shorter disease-free survival and overall survival (P < 0.025 and P < 0.01 respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that MCV is an independent prognostic factor. Microvessel quantitation may be a useful predictor for identifying breast cancer patients at high risk for relapse and death.

A human colon cancer cell line, OCUC-LM1(LM), was established from a liver metastasis in our laboratory. Intrasplenic injection of LM into nude mice was repeated three and five times, and the daughter cell lines were designated as LM-H3 and LM-H5 respectively. The level of sialyl Lewis A (SLA) in the supernatant of LM-H3 and LM-H5 was 3 and 4.5 times higher than that of LM respectively. Flow cytometric analysis of SLA expression showed that the peak channel for LM was 113; for LM-H3, 126; and for LM-H5, 146. The mean fluorescence intensity of LM was 102.3 +/- 43.5; for LM-H3, 126.2 +/- 28.4; and for LM-H5, 144.8 +/- 23.4. In endothelial cell adhesion assays, the percentages of adherent LM-H3 and LM-H5 cells were significantly higher than for LM. The activity of alpha1-->4 fucosyltransferase was higher in LM-H3 and LM-H5 than in LM, but there was no difference in alpha2-->3 sialyltransferase activities for type 1 chain among the cell lines. Our results suggest that SLA expression is associated with acquisition of a high capacity for liver metastasis of colon cancer; increased SLA expression is due mainly to increased fucosyltransferase activity.

It is known that angiogenesis plays an important role in the growth and metastasis of solid tumours. Several angiogenic factors have been identified and platelet-derived endothelial cell growth factor (PD-ECGF) is thought to be one such factor. Recently, it was reported that thymidine phosphorylase (dThdPase) is identical to PD-ECGF. Using immunohistochemical staining with an anti-dThdPase antibody, we investigated the correlation between dThdPase expression and the microvessel density in 120 gastric carcinomas. The microvessel density, determined by immunostaining for factor VIII-related antigen, was significantly higher in dThdPase-positive tumours than in dThdPase-negative tumors. There was a significant correlation between dThdPase expression and the increment of microvessel density. Moreover, regarding distant organ metastasis, the frequency of hepatic metastasis was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in patients with dThdPase-positive tumours than in those with dThdPase-negative tumors. In summary, it was suggested that dThdPase expression is closely associated with the promotion of angiogenesis and hepatic metastasis in gastric carcinoma.

A radiation-hardened CMOS sea-of-gates technology with 1.0- mu m geometry is developed which is fully compatible with commercial technologies. Total-dose and postirradiation effects are investigated in detail on transistors and circuits designed on a 2K-gate test chip. The data show that this technology is radiation hardened up to a total dose of 1 Mrad(SiO/sub 2/) and may be functional at 10 Mrad(SiO/sub 2/). Moreover, using a simple analytic model for switching of CMOS circuits, it is shown that the changes in circuit performance are well correlated with those in transistor characteristics.<>