Search

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) may require early abduction treatment with infants sleeping on their back for the first few months of life. As sleeping on back is known to cause deformational plagiocephaly, we assessed school age children treated for dislocation or subluxation of the hip-joint in infancy. Plagiocephaly was analyzed by using cephalic index (CI) and oblique cranial length ratio (OCLR) as anthropometric measurements from 2D digital vertex view photographs. Six of the 58 (10.3%) DDH children and only one of the 62 (1.6%) control children had plagiocephaly (p = 0.041). Furthermore, cross bite was found in 14 (24.1%) of the DDH children and in 7 (10.3%) of the control children. Developmental dysplasia of the hip in infancy was associated with cranial asymmetries and malocclusions at school age. Preventive measures should be implemented.

The aim of this study is to explore the relationships between early dental wear patterns and preschool IQ (Intelligence Quotient, by Stanford-Binet) of the child to illuminate the historic relationship of mental queries and bruxism.The dental study participants were 864 Euro-American preschool and school children whose IQs were tested for school maturity purposes at the age of 4 years, followed by dental data in a cross-sectional manner at the mean age of 7.8 years. Worn dentitions were classified as "symmetric" or "right-" and "left-sided," based on the faceting of the teeth.In general, the relationships of tooth wear and intelligence were scarce, reflecting social background factors. Statistically significant results between asymmetric wear and gender groups suggest that direction of jaw function has a role in the regulation of processes responsible for individual mental performance in childhood.Increased left-side tooth wear and early advantage in the intelligence test in girls is intriguing due to the fact that they reach maturity earlier than boys in verbal articulation, controlled in most cases by the limited area on the left side of the brain.

This study was conducted to examine the regeneration process of hepatic nerves following surgical hepatic denervation in dogs. A denervation model was surgically created by removing all visible nerves around the hepatoduodenal ligament along with the peri-hepatic tissues. The hepatic nerves were examined on the hepatic specimens taken at 1 week, 1 month and 3 months post-denervation by means of immunohistochemical staining, and also electron microscopy. At 1 week post-denervation, the extrinsic hepatic nerves were observed not to have regenerated. However, at 1 month post-denervation, GAP-43-positive nerves were identified and regenerating axons were shown to be present on electron microscopic observation. The immunoreactivity for anti-GAP-43 antibody was not shown any longer at 3 months post-denervation, and the regenerated nerve axons were shown to be similar to those at pre-denervation on ultrastructural study. Results of the present study suggested that regeneration of the extrinsic hepatic nerves began to appear about 1 month after the hepatic denervation, and was completed by 3 months post-denervation.

Earth-pointing and polar-orbiting spacecraft, the Advanced Land Observing Satellite (ALOS), has a precision attitude determination system exploiting measurements of a precision star tracker and an inertial reference unit, and controls its attitude, based on the attitude estimates. The star tracker provides the positions and magnitudes of stars. The attitude control system's computer identifies stars which enter the star tracker's FOV and move across it, and applies the extended Kalman filter. The ALOS precision attitude determination system consisting of the star tracker and the onboard computer was tested at the Usuda Deep Space Center in the real night sky environment. The tests using a two-axis motion table demonstrated end-to-end performance, capability, and robustness of the attitude determination system. This paper presents the overview and results of the real sky tests. It also proposes test settings for Earth-pointing spacecraft and a method for alignment error assessment and calibration. Limit of performance due to the test site and configuration are also evaluated.

This paper describes design and implementation of a multi-bit delta-sigma (ΔΣ) Time-to-Digital Converter (TDC) with Data-Weighted-Averaging (DWA) algorithm on analog FPGA. I/O interfacing circuits such as double-data-rate (DDR) memory interfaces are very important, and their low-cost, high-quality test is challenging. We propose here simple test circuitry for measuring digital signal timing of I/O interfacing circuits with high resolution and good accuracy. We focus on TDC applications of ΔΣmodulators (for fine-timing-resolution, digital output, and simple circuitry) and with multi-bit architecture (for short testing time). However, the multi-bit ΔΣ TDC suffers from delay mismatches among delay cells. Then we propose to apply the DWA algorithm for the delay cells in order to solve this problem. Our experimental results showed that the DWA algorithm improved the overall multi-bitΔΣ TDC linearity.

A total of 107 cadaveric kidneys from non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) have been transplanted between 1974 and 2000 at Kitasato University Hospital, Sagamihara, Japan. The patient survival of the 107 recipients of cadaveric renal transplants at 1, 5 and 10 yr was 0.857, 0.770 and 0.746, respectively. The 50% graft survival was 3.8 yr. The 5 and 10-yr graft survival was 0.457 and 0.337, respectively. Twenty of the 107 recipients of non-heart-beating cadaveric renal transplantation had graft survival longer than 10 yr. Of these 20 patients, 14 survivors still maintain functioning renal grafts and two died with functioning graft, although the remaining four reverted to dialysis because of chronic rejection and nephropathy. The average graft survival of these 20 patients at the time of study was 13.3 yr and the longest was 21.4 yr. The average serum creatinine level at 10 yr after transplantation was 1.63 mg/dL, almost identical to that at 5 yr post-transplant. The donors aged on average 40.2 yr; 13 were male and seven were female. The youngest donor was 9-yr-old and the oldest was 66. The graft survival was significantly better in the group with donor age younger than 55 yr (Log-rank: p=0.007). The average weight of the renal graft was not different between the long and shorter graft survival groups. The average warm ischemic time and total ischemic time were 9.7 and 539.7 min, respectively. The duration of post-transplant acute tubular necrosis averaged 9.2 days. These parameters tended to be shorter than those in recipients with graft survival >10 yr, but with no statistical significance. The mean numbers of acute rejection (AR) episode within 3 months after transplantation were 0.25 +/- 0.66 and 0.92 +/- 0.90 (p=0.020) in long survival and shorter survival groups, respectively. Long survivors had a significantly lower incidence of AR. Two of 20 cases received conventional immunosuppression with prednisolone, azathioprine and mizoribin, and 18 had prednisolone and calcineurin inhibitor (CNI). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significant contribution of CNI to graft survival (p=0.036). However, the graft survival reduction rate after 1 yr post-transplant did not differ between conventional and CNI immunosuppression. These data suggest that renal grafts retrieved with proper organ procurement procedures from NHBDs may survive long-term and help to overcome donor shortage.

The purpose of this study was to establish cervical vertebral bone age as a new index for objectively evaluating skeletal maturation on cephalometric radiographs. Using cephalometric radiographs of 176 girls (ages 7.0-14.9 years), we measured cervical vertebral bodies and determined a regression formula to obtain cervical vertebral bone age. Next, using cephalometric and hand-wrist radiographs of another 66 girls (ages 8.0-13.9 years), we determined the correlation between cervical vertebral bone age and bone age using the Tanner-Whitehouse 2 method. The following results were obtained: (1) a regression formula was determined to obtain cervical vertebral bone age based on ratios of measurements in the third and fourth cervical vertebral bodies; (2) the correlation coefficient for the relationship between cervical vertebral bone age and bone age (0.869) was significantly (P

Background. Hemodynamic instability and endocrinologic alterations during brain death contribute to dysfunction of donor organs. The present study was conducted to examine the effect of cortisol administration on hepatic circulation in brain-dead hypotensive donors. Methods. Brain death was created by inflating a balloon catheter inserted into the epidural space in rabbits. In another set of experiments, non-brain-dead rabbits were bilaterally adrenalectomized. At 1 hour of equilibration after brain death or adrenalectomy, cortisol at a dose of either 0.05 or 5 mg/kg/hr was given intravenously for 5 hours. Results. The induction of brain death resulted in a significant decrease in mean arterial pressure (MAP), whereas MAP after adrenalectomy was maintained. Both brain death and adrenalectomy caused an approximately 40% decrease in the portal vein blood flow (PVF) and hepatic tissue blood flow (HTF) and a significant increase in serum hyaluronic acid (HA) level as well as alanine aminotransferase (ALT) level. These changes were associated with a substantial decrease in serum cortisol level. Transmission electron microscopic examination showed swollen Kupffer cells with phagocytosis. Cortisol supplement after brain death or adrenalectomy significantly increased PVF and HTF to prevalues without affecting MAP. Both dosing rates of cortisol also significantly decreased serum HA and ALT levels and attenuated Kupffer cell activation. Conclusions. These results suggest that cortisol administration exhibits beneficial effects on hepatic circulation in hemodynamically unstable brain-dead animals. (Surgery 2002;131:450-62.)

Mandibular growth prediction provides important information for planning treatment and for evaluating occlusal stability after treatment. At present, several methods can predict mandibular growth, but it is not clear which method is the most accurate. This study compared the predictive error of several methods by using skeletal maturity indicators. Twenty-two longitudinal cephalograms and hand-wrist radiographs of female subjects (average initial age, 8.3 years; final age, 18.4 years) were collected to construct the prediction formula. Another 22 female subjects (initial age, 10.8 years; final age, 18.6 years) were examined to compare differences between the predicted values and the actual values. Mandibular total length (condylion-gnathion) at the final stage can be accurately predicted by (1) the ossification events of the third middle phalanx and the radius, (2) the growth potential method, (3) the growth percentage method, (4) the multiple regression method, and (5) the growth chart method. Bone age as a parameter was calculated by both the Tanner-Whitehouse 2 (TW2) method and the computer-aided skeletal maturity assessment system (CASMAS) that we developed. The average error between the predicted length of condylion to gnathion and the actual length at the final stage for each method was (1) 3.0 mm; (2) 2.1 mm (TW2), 2.4 mm (CASMAS); (3) 2.3 mm (TW2), 2.6 mm (CASMAS); (4) 4.3 mm (TW2), 4.9 mm (CASMAS); and (5) 3.6 mm (TW2), 3.7 mm (CASMAS). The growth potential method and the growth percentage method were the most accurate predictors of mandibular growth potential.

The results of renal transplantation have improved due to advances in immunosuppression techniques of preservation, and pre- and postoperative treatments; however, both morbidity and mortality remain serious problems. To decrease the morbidity and mortality rates we analyzed the causes of death after renal transplantation in our hospital. Between 1972 and 1999, we performed 364 renal transplantations, 257 of which were living-related and 107, cadaveric. There were 178 patients given azathioprine and 186 given ciclosporin. The survival rate of the patients on ciclosporin therapy was much better than that of those on azathioprine therapy. Of the total 364 renal transplant patients, 59 (16.2%) died, and 28 (47.5%) of these 59 deaths occurred within 1 year after renal transplantation. The causes of death were infection in 19 (32.2%) patients, gastrointestinal diseases in 16 (27.1%), cardiovascular diseases in 11 (18.6%), cerebrovascular diseases in 6 (10.2%), suicide in 3 (5.1%), and other causes in 4 (6.8%). These findings reinforce that early diagnosis and treatment are essential to decrease the morbidity and mortality rates assoiated with renal transplantation.

The "Tanner-Whitehouse 2" method is the most popular in evaluating skeletal maturation, but this method has some inherent weak points. We therefore developed the new system to automatically evaluate the skeletal maturation of Japanese children by means of a personal computer. The subjects of this study were 318 healthy Japanese boys and 199 girls ranging from 2 to 15 years of age. The bone age was calculated by multiple regression analysis with parameters for the epiphysis and metaphysis. Successful automatic evaluation was about 80-90% on each phalanx. There was a significant correlation between chronological age and the ratio of epiphyseal width to metaphyseal width. The system developed in this study was useful for evaluating the skeletal maturation.

The therapeutic effect of probucol on hypercholesterolemia in cyclosporine A (CyA)-treated renal transplant patients was prospectively studied. Twelve posttransplantation patients aged 34.2+/- 2.5 years with serum total cholesterol (t-CHL) of 250 mg/dL or greater, whose serum creatinine was 2.9 mg/dL or less, and who had no diabetes mellitus or hypoproteinemia, were treated with probucol, 250 mg twice daily for 3 months. Seventeen age-matched (36.8+/-1.6 years) normal volunteers served as control. Blood was drawn after at least a 12-hour fast to measure lipids in serum and lipoprotein fractions, apoproteins (apo), lipoprotein fractions, lethicin cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT), free fatty acids (FFA), and CHL-ester. Serum t-CHL, triglycerides (TG), and phospholipids (PL) in posttransplantation patients before treatment were significantly higher compared with normal control subjects. Very-low-density lipoprotein (VLDL) and low- density lipoprotein (LDL) fractions in these patients were significantly expanded. The pretreatment levels of serum apo AII, B, CII, and CIII were significantly increased compared with those of normal controls. After treatment with probucol, serum t-CHL, LDL-CHL, high-density lipoprotein (HDL)-CHL, PL, LDL-PL, and apo AI were significantly decreased, and CHL-ester significantly increased compared with the pretreatment levels. These data suggest that although probucol causes a decrease in HDL-CHL, it may act anti-atherogenically by modulating HDL metabolism and stimulating reverse transfer of CHL from peripheral tissue. (Am J Kidney Dis 1998 Feb;31(2):356-9)

保存的治療が奏効した特発性食道破裂の1例を報告した.症例は59歳の男性で, 嘔吐した直後の心窩部痛で発症した.発症から約7時間で来院し, 全身状態も安定していたが保存的治療を行った.来院時胸部単純X線写真やCTでは縦隔気腫と少量の胸水を認めたのみで気胸はなく, 同日の上部消化管X線検査 (以下, UGI) で造影剤の管外漏出を認めなかった.第3病日のUGIで下部食道から造影剤の管外漏出を認めたが, これは縦隔内に留まり胸腔内に流入しなかったため, 保存的治療を続行した.UGIと内視鏡で破裂部の治癒傾向を確認したうえで第64病日に食事を開始し, 第78病日に退院した.従来の特発性食道破裂に対する保存的治療報告例は, ほとんどが診断遅延例や, 全身状態不良例であったが, 発症後早期でも食道からの内容物の漏出が縦隔内の小範囲に留まり, 縦隔膿瘍や膿胸の合併がなければ, 本症に対する保存的治療が可能な症例もあると考えた.

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) has been associated with other congenital postural deformities and associated with asymmetric features in the body. The aim of this study was to examine the associations between developmental DDH and malocclusions in preschool and school children. The subjects were 60 children (40 girls and 20 boys) born during 1997–2001 in Northern Ostrobothnia Hospital District and having developmental DDH and treated by Von Rosen method. The control group consisted of 71 Finnish children (46 girls and 25 boys) matched by age and gender. Children participated the cross-sectional study at the age of 5–10 years; the mean age of the DDH children was 8.0 (SD 1.4) and controls 7.9 (SD 1.4) years. Dental examinations, intra-oral photographs, and clinical examination including growth measurements were carried out. The DDH children had significantly more lateral crossbites than controls (30/9.9 per cent; P < 0.003). Overall, 77.8 per cent of cases were unilateral crossbites and found more on the right side (50 per cent) compared to the left side (22.2 per cent). Girls had more crossbite compared to boys (77.8/22.2 per cent; odds ratio 2.53). Children with congenital hip dislocation are more predisposed to the asymmetric growth of occlusion and the development of crossbite. The genetic and environmental factors including intrauterine conditions in addition to the splint therapy may be possible influencing factors. This study will give additional information of the development of occlusal asymmetries and the multifactorial nature of the aetiology of lateral malocclusions.

A total of 88 patients on maintenance hemodialysis due to chronic renal failure underwent laparotomy during the 18-year period from September 1971 to August 1989. Of these patients, 62 received an operation in the first 13-year period (group 1) and 26 in the second five-year period (group 2). Comparison of the groups showed that the mean age of group 2 (50.6 years) was older than that of group 1 (43.5 years). Both incidences of emergency operation and postoperative death increased in group 2 (32.3% vs 57.6% and 16.9% vs 19.2% respectively). The profile of diseases treated by surgery differed between the groups. The incidence of small and large bowel diseases increased in group 2, and these patients had a high incidence of emergency operations.In order to assess the correlations between various preoperative factors and postoperative death, 14 factors were analyzed in group 2. Emergency operation, shock, gastrointestinal bleeding and abnormalities of cardiac function were found to correlated significantly with postoperative death. When these risk factors were expressed as scores for the individual patients, the death rate was 0% for patients with a score of less than four. However, the fatality rate reached 100% for patients with a score of seven or more.

BoneXpert, an automated method for analysis of hand radiographs of children, has recently been developed and validated in European children. It determines Tanner-Whitehouse (TW) and Greulich Pyle (GP) bone ages (BA). The purpose of this work is to validate BoneXpert BA in Japanese children and determine the following two properties of the method: (1) The accuracy of the BA, i.e. the standard deviation from an experienced Japanese TW BA rater. (2) The precision of the BA, i.e. BoneXpert’s ability to yield the same BA value on a repeated radiograph. The data consist of two studies: 185 radiographs of 22 normal children followed longitudinally from approximately 7 years to full maturity, and 284 radiographs of 22 patients with growth hormone deficiency treated with growth hormone and gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue followed from an age of 4–11 years to almost full maturity. All radiographs were rated manually according to the TW-Japan system. BoneXpert processed all images, and the accuracy (SD) of TW-Japan BA was 0.72 years (95% CI 0.68–0.76). The precision error (SD) on a single determination of GP BA was 0.17 years (95% CI 0.15–0.19). It is concluded that BoneXpert performs as well in Japanese children as it does in Caucasian children. This study accomplishes a calibration of BoneXpert to the TW-Japan standard, which performs well for the entire BA range from 4 years up to full maturity.

雑種成犬42頭を用い膵十二指腸移植同種移植を行い, 膵十二指腸移植に対する免疫抑制剤Ciclosporin (CsA), FK506 (FK) の効果につき検討し, 以下の結果を得た.1) 生存日数は免疫抑制剤非投与群では8～14日, 平均12.1±1.1日 (M±SE), CsA投与群は26～185日, 平均81.3±14.1日, FK投与群は22～79日, 平均53.2±10.2日であり, CsAならびにFK投与群で免疫抑制剤非投与群と比較し有意に生存日数の延長がみられた.2) FK投与群では, 食欲不振, 嘔吐などの消化器症状が著明にみられた.3) 各群の死因は免疫抑制剤非投与群は全例急性拒絶反応であり, CsA投与群は2頭が急性拒絶反応, 8頭が慢性拒絶反応であり, FK投与群は2頭が急性拒絶反応, 4頭が慢性拒絶反応であった.

The purpose of this study was to compare the biomechanical effects of the incisor movement in three different types of traction by the miniscrew implants as an anchorage using 2D finite element method (FEM). The FEM model was made by tracing the maxilla including tooth, the wire, and the bracket. Three different types of hooks were set up in the model. We suggested that controlled incisor retraction is possible by changing the length and the position of the hooks soldered to the archwire when using miniscrew implants.

The mastication is not only related with the peripheral function, but also the central control system. The purpose of this study was to clarify the interface between the brain function and the occlusion by investigating the stimulation of the frontal association cortex, which relates to the function of the human nature. Subjects were healthy right-handed young adult volunteers with acceptable normal occlusion and class III malocclusion. Near-infrared spectroscopic topography (NIRS) was used to investigate the stimulation of the frontal association cortex during chewing gum without flavors. It was proved that the frontal association cortex was also stimulated by chewing gum. However, the behavior of the stimulation depended on the individual occlusion type. This study suggests that orthodontic treatment would improve the quality of life (QOL) of patients from the point of healthy brain function.

The present study examined the effect of urinary trypsin inhibitor (UTI) on liver injury in hypotensive brain-dead rats.Brain death was induced by inflating a balloon catheter placed in the epidural space. UTI (100,000 units/kg/hour) was intravenously administered from 30 min until 6 hours after the induction of brain death. Systemic hemodynamics and hepatic tissue flow (HTF) were measured, and blood samples and hepatic tissue specimens for morphological examinations were obtained during the experiments.The induction of brain death caused a 30% decrease in both mean arterial pressure and HTF, and an increase in the serum transaminase level in comparison with sham-operated rats. Brain death also increased the serum concentration of cytokine-induced neutrophil chemoattractant (CINC) (4.4-fold), as well as the number of CINC-positive cells (4.4-fold) and sequestered neutrophils in the sinusoids (3.1-fold). Post-treatment of brain-dead rats with UTI restored the HTF and reduced serum transaminase level. UTI decreased plasma CINC level and the number of neutrophils and CINC-positive cells in the sinusoids.The results suggest that treatment with UTI after the establishment of brain death improved the viability of the liver in hypotensive brain-dead rats by inhibiting CINC production.

We evaluated the usefulness of tumor budding, defined as the morphology of infiltration by small clusters of undifferentiated adenocarcinoma into the invasive front of the lesion, for the prediction of metastasis to the lung and liver after curative excision of colorectal cancer.The subjects were 491 patients with a single colorectal cancer lesion, in whom follow-up observation was performed for more than 5 years, consisting of 278 patients without recurrence, 155 patients with the first metastasis to the liver alone, and 58 patients with the first metastasis to the lung alone. The invasive front was histologically re-examined using sections with the largest diameter of the primary colorectal cancer lesion, and the tumor budding was classified into 3 grades based on the morphology of infiltration. The usefulness of this factor for the prediction of metastasis to the lung and liver was examined by multivariate analysis together with conventional clinicopathological factors such as age, sex, tumor location, tumor size, histological type, tumor depth, invasion of lymph ducts, venous invasion, and metastasis to lymph nodes.Comparisons of the no-recurrence and lung metastasis groups by multivariate analysis indicated that moderate to severe tumor budding (odds ratio=0.1291, P0.0001) and positive metastasis to lymph nodes (odds ratio=0.1142, P0.0001) were extracted as the independent prediction factors of metastasis to the lung. Comparisons of the no-recurrence and liver metastasis groups indicated that infiltration over the proper muscular tunics (odds ratio=0.0284, P0.0001) and positive metastasis to lymph nodes (odds ratio=0.3289, P=0.0002) were extracted as the independent prediction factors of metastasis to the liver.Tumor budding in the invasive front of the lesion was considered to be a simple and useful pathohistological factor for the prediction of metastasis to the lung in patients with colorectal cancer after curative excision. It was suggested that this factor is important for the prediction of metastasis to the lung after surgery and for the planning of treatment methods.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between muscle conduction velocity (MCV) of the masseter muscle and the direction of mandibular growth. Methods: Longitudinal cephalometric X-rays taken at the prepubertal and postpubertal periods of 16 Japanese girls were analyzed. MCV was calculated from the delay in myoelectric signals obtained by using multiple surface electrode arrays placed along the fibers of the left masseter muscle in the postpubertal period. The direction of mandibular growth was evaluated by superimposition of the lateral cephalometric X-rays at the prepubertal and postpubertal periods. The relationship between MCV and the direction of mandibular growth was analyzed statistically. Results: MCV was significantly correlated with the vertical facial height at the postpubertal period and the direction of mandibular condyle growth. Conclusions: If the relationship between prepubertal and postpubertal of MCV is clarified, it might be possible to predict the direction of mandibular growth and the vertical facial proportions at the postpubertal period from MCV of the masseter muscle at the prepubertal period.

To present a method for correction of an extruded maxillary second molar.A female patient, 16 years of age, presented with an impacted mandibular second molar and an extruded opposing maxillary second molar. After placement of appliances in the maxilla, an elastic was hooked between the distal end of the extended lingual arch and the lingual button of the maxillary second molar.After sufficient intrusion of the maxillary second molar was achieved, the conventional method for traction of an impacted mandibular second molar was used. Neither root resorption nor undesirable periodontal problems were observed.The approach used in the present case is simple and efficient for both traction and retention of a maxillary molar.

To quantify relevant cephalometric parameters for Filipinos according to age and sex.A total of 157 Filipino subjects (78 males, 79 females) who fulfilled specific criteria were selected from elementary, high school, and college students affiliated with Manila Central University. They were divided into comparison groups (GI, GII, GIII, and GIV) on the basis of chronological age and sex. Lateral cephalograms were taken for all subjects, and the mean and standard deviation for each parameter was recorded and compared among groups.The male group had a longer anterior cranial base (S-N), total facial height (N-Me), longer lower anterior facial height (N-ANS), longer ramus height (Cd-Go), longer lower posterior dentoalveolar height (Mo-Mi'), and total mandibular length (Gn-Cd) than the female group. All these linear measurements were statistically significantly different between males and females in GI, GIII, and GIV. On the other hand, SNB angle showed significant differences (P = .0271) in GIV only. In the lower third of the face, significant opposite tendencies were found in GIV. The female group showed a clockwise rotation, whereas the male counterpart had a counterclockwise rotation of the mandibular plane. The denture pattern of both groups was characterized by a proclination of both lower incisor (Ii to MP) and upper incisor (Is to SN).Convexity due to dentoalveolar protrusion is the naturally occurring facial profile for Filipinos. The adult females showed steeper mandibular and occlusal plane angles than the male samples.

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the asymmetry of the sphenoid bone and to determine its suitability as a reference for analyzing asymmetry of the skull. Thirty-seven dry skulls from India were divided into group A (n = 18), with a right-left length discrepancy of less than 2 mm for both the external acoustic meatus-frontozygomatic suture and external acoustic meatus-subspinale, and group B (n = 19), with a right-left length discrepancy of more than 2 mm for either of these 2 parameters. The skulls were then examined with regard to the percentage of asymmetry of the sphenoid bone, the angles between the cranial base and the facial axis, and the distance between reference surfaces of the sphenoid bone and facial landmarks by 3-dimensional measurement system. The following results were obtained: 1. Asymmetry of the sphenoid bone, while slight, was found in both groups. There were no significant differences between the 2 groups. 2. The cranial base and the facial axis did not form a right angle in group A, and there were no significant differences between the 2 groups. 3. The distances between reference surfaces of the sphenoid bone and the lower landmarks of the facial bone were greater than those of the upper landmarks. 4. The external acoustic meatus was the most suitable reference for analysis of craniofacial asymmetry.

This study assessed the possibility of using cervical vertebral bone age determined from cephalometric radiographs to predict mandibular growth potential. The subjects were 2 groups of 20 Japanese girls and young women: one group to derive a formula for predicting mandibular growth potential, the other to compare predicted values with actual values. Each group included subjects in the initial stage of the pubertal growth period and the final stage of growth in early adulthood. A formula for predicting mandibular growth potential that included cervical vertebral bone age and the actual growth of the mandible (condylion-gnathion) was determined with regression analysis. Cervical vertebral bone age, bone age on hand-wrist radiographs, and chronological age were inserted into the formula, and actual values and values predicted with these parameters of the formula for mandibular growth potential were compared. The formula found mandibular growth potential (in millimeters) = -2.76 x cervical vertebral bone age + 38.68. The average error between the value predicted by cervical vertebral bone age and the actual value (1.79 mm) was significantly less (P

This case report describes the treatment of a patient with unerupted maxillary right central incisor, lateral incisor, and canine in a Class III malocclusion with asymmetry of the lower face. Sequential traction of the 3 unerupted teeth with a light force system was used in the treatment. The results remained stable during the 4-year retention period.

A total of 107 cadaveric kidneys from non-heart-beating donors (NHBDs) have been transplanted between 1974 and 2000 at Kitasato University Hospital, Sagamihara, Japan. The patient survival of the 107 recipients of cadaveric renal transplants at 1, 5 and 10 yr was 0.857, 0.770 and 0.746, respectively. The 50% graft survival was 3.8 yr. The 5 and 10-yr graft survival was 0.457 and 0.337, respectively. Twenty of the 107 recipients of non-heart-beating cadaveric renal transplantation had graft survival longer than 10 yr. Of these 20 patients, 14 survivors still maintain functioning renal grafts and two died with functioning graft, although the remaining four reverted to dialysis because of chronic rejection and nephropathy. The average graft survival of these 20 patients at the time of study was 13.3 yr and the longest was 21.4 yr. The average serum creatinine level at 10 yr after transplantation was 1.63 mg/dL, almost identical to that at 5 yr post-transplant. The donors aged on average 40.2 yr; 13 were male and seven were female. The youngest donor was 9-yr-old and the oldest was 66. The graft survival was significantly better in the group with donor age younger than 55 yr (Log-rank: p=0.007). The average weight of the renal graft was not different between the long and shorter graft survival groups. The average warm ischemic time and total ischemic time were 9.7 and 539.7 min, respectively. The duration of post-transplant acute tubular necrosis averaged 9.2 days. These parameters tended to be shorter than those in recipients with graft survival10 yr, but with no statistical significance. The mean numbers of acute rejection (AR) episode within 3 months after transplantation were 0.25 +/- 0.66 and 0.92 +/- 0.90 (p=0.020) in long survival and shorter survival groups, respectively. Long survivors had a significantly lower incidence of AR. Two of 20 cases received conventional immunosuppression with prednisolone, azathioprine and mizoribin, and 18 had prednisolone and calcineurin inhibitor (CNI). Kaplan-Meier analysis showed a significant contribution of CNI to graft survival (p=0.036). However, the graft survival reduction rate after 1 yr post-transplant did not differ between conventional and CNI immunosuppression. These data suggest that renal grafts retrieved with proper organ procurement procedures from NHBDs may survive long-term and help to overcome donor shortage.

Eight secondary malignancies developing after renal transplantation were investigated in terms of a possible role of the Epstein-Barr virus (EBV). In five cases, four gastric cancers and one colonic cancer, the presence of EBV was proven by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), all four gastric lesions being confirmed to have a massive EBV infection by in situ hydridization. Two cases demonstrated monoclonal infection with EBV, as indicated by a single band of the lymphocyte-defined membrane antigen tandem-repeat gene using PCR, and were immunohistochemically positive for the latente membrane protein 1. Our series suggests that gastrointestinal cancer predominates as a secondary malignancy in states of induced severe immunosuppression, and that EBV may play an important role in tumorigenesis as an oncovirus.

Background: In the treatment of patients with pancreatic injury, the focus of attention is usually on main ductal injuries. Methods: To develop a classification system for pancreatic ductal injuries, we retrospectively analyzed blunt pancreatic injuries in 40 patients. We assessed the relationships between findings on pancreatography (36 endoscopic retrograde procedures and 4 transduodenal procedures), the treatment modality, and the clinical course. Results: Patients with class 1 injuries (radiographically normal ducts, n = 13) could be treated nonsurgically without major complications. Patients with class 2 injuries (branch injuries, n = 7), in whom contrast medium from ductal branches did not leak from the pancreatic parenchyma (class 2a, n = 3), could be treated nonsurgically. Patients with leaks into the retroperitoneal space (class 2b, n = 4) required at least a drainage laparotomy. Patients with class 3 injuries (main duct injuries, n = 20), including two patients in whom conservative treatment resulted in severe complications, required laparotomy. Conclusion: This classification system for pancreatic ductal injuries may facilitate the selection of appropriate therapeutic modalities for patients with blunt pancreatic injury.

The aim of this study was to compare a series of X-rays from the mid–1990s with another taken in the mid–1980s in order to test the possibility that environmental causes affect the skeletal maturation. The first group of subjects included a total of 1,057 girls and 1,055 boys participating in a project for Japan and China health research in 1986. The second group of subjects included a total of 382 girls and 629 boys participating in a project for bone mineral density research in 1996. The skeletal maturity score using the Tanner-Whitehouse 2-RUS method was used as the fundamental datum. This score was used to represent each group. The Wilcoxon’s rank sum test was applied to examine the significance of the difference between the 1986 and the 1996 groups. The 1996 children had not matured more than the 1986 children; children in both groups reached the given scores at almost the same ages. In girls, there was little difference between the groups at 7 years of age, but it declined from 8 years of age onward. Some apparent differences arose at ages 14 and 15, but ceased by age 16 in girls. In boys, no differences were found in those aged from 7 to 17 years, except for 12-year-olds. We did not detect much of a difference in bone maturation between the 1986 and 1996 groups of children, and no differences in height during the same period. Our findings suggest that bone maturation reflects the secular trend in growth.

Fetal tissues are generally considered to express weaker antigenic cell-surface molecules than adult tissues. We have reported that transplantation of porcine fetal liver tissue (fragments) is useful for acute and chronic hepatic failure in rats. We further investigated, in the present study, whether transplantation of a porcine fetal liver has the advantage of delayed hyperacute xenograft rejection (HAR) in comparison with that of an adult liver. Porcine fetal liver heterotopically transplanted into dogs was compared. Haematoxylin-eosin (HE) and immunohistochemical studies using IgM, C3, IgG antibodies were performed in serial biopsies of the liver grafts. Lectin binding to target antigen epitopes on pig and dog tissues was studied by flow cytometry. Carbohydrate expression on the liver was also studied by immunohistochemistry. The macroscopic and HE section findings indicate that HAR started 15 min postgraft in fetal and adult liver grafts. Thereafter, vascular changes and parenchymal damage progressed more rapidly in the adult grafts. The final HAR time in adult liver transplantation was determined to be 60 min, while it was determined to be 180 min in fetal liver transplantation. IgM, C3 and IgG were deposited more strongly in the adult grafts than in the fetal grafts up until 60 min after xenografting. Phaseolus vulgaris erythroagglutinin lectin competitively blocked dog sera binding to porcine PBLs. The fetal liver expressed oligosaccharide at a significantly lower level than the adult liver. We conclude that porcine fetal liver xenografts had a significantly delayed HAR.

This paper presents design and performance of a high- precision star tracker which has been developed for use in the attitude determination and control system of MUSES-B spacecraft; the space segment of space VLBI program called VSOP (equals VLBI Space Observation Program). The MUSES-B is being prepared for launch in September 1996. The attitude control system is required to fulfill an overall pointing accuracy of 0.01 degrees (3 sigma) of an 8 meter-diameter VLBI antenna mounted on the spacecraft. The onboard attitude determination system is based on a reset type Kalman filter that assures the overall attitude determination accuracy of 19 arcseconds, using outputs from the star trackers and the gyroscope-based inertial sensors. For this purpose, the star tracker is designed to provide star position detection accuracy of 4 arcsec random (1 sigma) plus 15 arcsec bias error. This paper describes the design of the STTs, the performance analyses, and ground test results of the Protoflight Model.

This study deals with the growth changes of the Japanese face associated with mandibular prognathism during 3 years after the pubertal growth peak. The investigation was based on the serial lateral cephalometric roentgenograms of prognathic and normal males and females, respectively. Maturational stages of the pubertal growth were determined individually by the ossification events taken from hand-wrist radiographs. Results indicate that the morphologic characteristics of the mandibular prognathism, which are established before the pubertal growth peak, are strongly maintained during the period studied. However, mandibular prognathism seems to show a manner of growth change fairly similar to that of the normal after the pubertal growth peak.

In this study we measured bone age ultrasonically with Sunlight BonAge (SBA) and report the results of comparisons with radiographs. The subjects were 37 children, who examined at the Pediatric Department of Dokkyo University Hospital, for whom it was thought necessary to measure bone age because of suspicions of body height and pubertal abnormalities. The measurements of bone age were made with SBA during examinations in the outpatient department. In addition, one experienced physician interpreted bone age by the Japanese standard TW2 method (RUS method) and the CASMAS from radiographs taken of their left hands. The results of SBA and TW2 (RUS), and SBA and CASMAS estimations correlated well (r=0.89, r=0.85). The inter-measurer error and inter-measurement error were 0.54 ± 0.36 yr and 0.51 ± 0.42 yr, respectively. SBA calculates bone maturity by an algorithm based on measurements of the width (distance) and speed of sound (SOS) in bones in the wrist. The results of this study show good correlations between the data obtained by SBA and both the RUS method and the CASMAS method. The SBA ultrasound-based skeletal development measurement device is non-invasive, quick and accurate at assessing the bone age of children aged 5 to 15 yr old.

A new temperature-sensitive pattern deficient mutation, umbrella (uba) (1-43.9±1.6) is described. This mutation causes pleiotropy and phenotypic variation in malformed wing margins and veins at 25°C. The temperature-sensitive period was during the late half of the third larval stage (96 to 120 hr after egg laying at 25°C). Aldehyde oxidase activity decreased in the presumptive wing margin and anterior compartment of the presumptive wing blades. Cell death, expressed disc-autonomously, occurred from the early third instar and became prominent in presumptive wing blade regions at the mid-third instar. The number of wing disc cells decreased to 68% and 78% those of the wild-type at the mid- and late third instars, respectively. Consequently, the pattern abnormalities of uba flies can be ascribed to localized disc cell death. The relationships between uba and other wing mutations causing pattern abnormalities are discussed.