Augmentation rhinoplasty: observations on 1200 cases

Over the past 14 years, from January of 1975 to December of 1988, we have done 1263 aesthetic rhinoplasties using ear cartilage. In the field of augmentation rhinoplasty, many kinds of materials, such as bone, septal cartilage, ear cartilage, and prostheses, were used. In this paper, we limit discussion to our experience with the technique for the augmentation of the nasal dorsum using the ear cartilage and compare this with other materials. Patient ages ranged from 15 to 72 years, with an average of 24 years. Some 95 percent of patients (1199) were female, and only 5 percent (64) were male. Patients were followed for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 20 months, with average follow-up only 8 months. Of course, we know that this is a very short follow-up period, but we could not follow patients longer because if they had no complaint about the results at the 6-month visit, they never returned, despite our efforts. Five-hundred and ten of the 1263 patients (40 percent) had been augmented elsewhere, and the silicone prosthesis was already in place. However, 753 patients (60 percent) had no previous operation. For the 510 patients (secondary rhinoplasty patients), too-high or too-large a prosthesis was the largest complaint in number, totaling 378 cases (74 percent), and psychological dissatisfaction, such as pain or an uncomfortable sensation, was the second largest in number, totaling 104 cases (20 percent). For the 753 patients (primary rhinoplasty patients), the main complaint was too-short or too-flat a nose (100 percent).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Potassium channels cloned from neuroblastoma cells display slowly inactivating outward currents in Xenopus oocytes.

Messenger RNAs (mRNAs) specific for NGK1 and NGK2 potassium channels were synthesized from complementary DNAs (cDNAs) that had been cloned from mouse neuroblastoma x rat glioma hybrid NG108-15 cells. Outward pottasium currents were evoked by 5 s depolarizing voltage commands in Xenopus oocytes injected with NGK1- or NGK2-specific mRNAs. The NGK1 or NGK2 currents showed different activation and inactivation kinetics, and different pharmacological sensitivities. The threshold potential for activation of the NGK2 current (-14 mV) was more positive than that for the NGK1 (-36 mV). The NGK2 current showed faster inactivation during a 5 s depolarizing pulse than did the NGK1 current. Inactivation was best fit by time constants of 0.37, 1.5 and 19 s for the NGK2 current and 4.4 and 19 s for NGK1. Extracellularly applied tetraethylammonium chloride (TEA) was 1000 times more potent on the NGK2 current than the NGK1 current. Furthermore we examined outward current following co-injection of an equal amount of mRNAs for NGK1 and NGK2. The timecourse of inactivation differed from either alone or from a simple sum of the two individual currents. TEA sensitivity could not be explained by summation of the two homomultimeric channels. These findings suggest that both NGK1 and NGK2 proteins assemble to form heteromultimeric K+ channels in addition to homomultimeric K+ channels. NGK2 channels and the heteromultimeric channels may be responsible for the native transient outward current with slow inactivation in NG108-15 hybrid cells.     

Cervicovaginal and endometrial cytology in ovarian cancer

The clinical significance of cytologic examination was studied in 114 patients with ovarian cancer who had received preoperative cytologic examinations. The overall positive rate of the cytologic examinations was 26.3% (30 of 114): 22 (19.3%) of the 114 cases had positive cervicovaginal smears while 13 of 31 endometrial aspiration smears (41.9%) were positive. The positive rate was not related to the volume of ascites but rather to its presence or absence. Thus, if ascites was observed, the positive rate was about 2.1 times higher than if it was absent. In two of four cases of ovarian cancer with no endometrial invasion but a positive cytologic examination of ascitic fluid, fallopian tube specimens contained cancer cells; this suggests that ovarian cancer cells may reach the cervix and/or vagina by passing through the fallopian tube, particularly if ascites is present. Since cytologic examination, especially of endometrial aspiration smears, shows a high positive rate if ovarian cancer cells are observed in the abdominal cavity, cytology should be used as an important ancillary method for the assessment of ovarian cancer.     

Postoperative changes in vaginal smears after vaginal reconstruction with a free skin graft

Surgical vaginal reconstruction was performed by a free skin graft in two patients without a vagina. The postoperative changes in vaginal smears collected from the artificial vaginas were observed for about two years. Marked operation-induced inflammatory changes were observed until the second postoperative month. After the third postoperative month, the background became relatively clear. Cyanophilic and eosinophilic superficial cells, intermediate cells and D?derlein bacilli were observed occasionally in addition to keratotic cells. Six to 12 months after surgery, the vaginal smears showed little abnormality, except for the presence of keratotic cells. The changes in the vaginal smears after the third month show that the artificial vaginal epithelium changed cytologically to an almost normal vaginal mucosa that, although not histologically complete, responded to hormones. The presence of D?derlein bacilli suggests that the regional environment of the artificial vagina was almost the same as that of the normal vagina.     

Effects of hypergravity environment of the ultrastructure of the golden hamster parathyroid gland

The fine structure of the parathyroid glands of golden hamsters exposed to 2, 5 or 10 g environment for 5 h was studied. In the centrifuged hamsters, many secretory granules are located in a peripheral position just beneath the plasma membrane of chief cells, and the Golgi complexes and cisternae of the granular endoplasmic reticulum are significantly increased compared with those of control animals. There are no significant differences between the control and centrifuged animals with regard to secretory granules, large secretory granules, lysosomes, vacuolar bodies and lipid droplets. These findings suggest that the secretory activity of the parathyroid gland may be stimulated in response to hypergravity environment.     

Innervation of the C cells of chicken ultimobranchial glands studied by immunohistochemistry, fluorescence microscopy, and electron microscopy

Innervation of the ultimobranchial glands in the chicken was investigated by immunohistochemistry, fluorescence microscopy and electron microscopy. The nerve fibers distributed in ultimobranchial glands were clearly visualized by immunoperoxidase staining with antiserum to neurofilament triplet proteins (200K-, 150K- and 68K-dalton) extracted from chicken peripheral nerves. The ultimobranchial glands received numerous nerve fibers originating from both the recurrent laryngeal nerves and direct vagal branches. The left and right sides of the ultimobranchial region were asymmetrical. The left ultimobranchial gland had intimate contact with the vagus nerve trunk, especially with the distal vagal ganglion, but was somewhat separated from the recurrent nerve. The right gland touched the recurrent nerve, the medial edge being frequently penetrated by the nerve, but the gland was separated from the vagal trunk. The left gland was innervated mainly by the branches from the distal vagal ganglion, whereas the right gland received mostly the branches from the recurrent nerve. The carotid body was located cranially near to the ultimobranchial gland. Large nerve bundles in the ultimobranchial gland ran toward and entered into the carotid body. By fluorescence microscopy, nerve fibers in ultimobranchial glands were observed associated with blood vessels. Only a few fluorescent nerve fibers were present in close proximity to C cell groups; the C cells of ultimobranchial glands may receive very few adrenergic sympathetic fibers. By electron microscopy, numerous axons ensheathed with Schwann cell cytoplasm were in close contact with the surfaces of C cells. In addition, naked axons regarded as axon terminals or "en passant" synapses came into direct contact with C cells. The morphology of these axon terminals and synaptic endings suggest that ultimobranchial C cells of chickens are supplied mainly with cholinergic efferent type fibers. In the region where large nerve bundles and complex ramifications of nerve fibers were present, Schwann cell perikarya investing the axons were closely juxtaposed with C cells; long cytoplasmic processes of Schwann cells encompassed large portions of the cell surface. All of these features suggest that C-cell activity, i.e., secretion of hormones and catecholamines, may be regulated by nerve stimuli.     

Human recombinant interleukin-1 alpha-mediated stimulation of procollagenase production and suppression of biosynthesis of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases in rabbit uterine cervical fibroblasts

Influence of human recombinant interleukin-1 (hrIL-1) on collagen metabolism was investigated with rabbit uterine cervical fibroblasts. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays for collagenase and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinases (TIMP) indicated that hrIL-1 participates in both stimulation of procollagenase production and suppression of TIMP synthesis by uterine cervical cells. IL-1 did not modulate collagen synthesis. In addition, the sensitivity to IL-1 of uterine cervix from ovariectomized rabbits was augmented by estradiol-17 beta treatment. Thus it is proposed that IL-1 accelerates collagenolysis in the cervical tissue and its effect on uterine cervix is hormonally regulated.     

Pyruvic-acid-containing polysaccharide in the cell wall of Bacillus polymyxa AHU 1385

Three acidic polymer fractions with molecular masses of about 16 kDa, 35 kDa and 70 kDa were isolated from lysozyme digests of N-acetylated cell walls of Bacillus polymyxa AHU 1385 by ion-exchange chromatography and gel chromatography. These fractions, containing mannosamine, glucosamine and pyruvic acid in a molar ratio of about 1:1:1 together with glycopeptide components, were characterized as polysaccharide-linked glycopeptides with one, two and more polysaccharide chains. On the other hand, treatment of the cell walls with glycine/HC1 buffer, pH 2.5, at 100 degrees C for 10 min followed by separation of water-soluble products on ion-exchange chromatography gave three polysaccharide fractions, PS-I-III, which contained different amounts of pyruvic acid (0,0.6 and 0.9 residue/mannosamine residue) along with equimolar amounts of mannosamine and glucosamine. Pyruvate-free polysaccharides similar to PS-I were also obtained from PS-II, PS-III and polysaccharide-linked glycopeptides by treatment with 10 mM HC1 at 100 degrees C for 1 h. Results of analyses of these polysaccharide preparations by 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR measurement and methylation, together with data from characterization of fragments obtained by hydrogen fluoride hydrolysis, lead to the most likely structure, ----3)[4,6-O-(1-carboxyethylidene)]ManNAc(beta 1----4)GlcNac(beta 1----, for the acidic polysaccharide of this strain.     

Effects of monoenergetic X-rays with resonance energy of bromine K-absorption edge on bromouracil-labelled E. coli cells

In order to examine enhanced killing that might be induced by Auger cascades in the incorporated atoms in cells, bromouracil(BrU)-labelled E. coli cells were irradiated with monoenergetic X-rays at 13.49 and 12.40keV, just above and below the K-absorption edge of bromine. In both cases BrU-labelled cells were more sensitive for killing than were normal cells. However, when the degree of BrU-sensitization was compared between the two energies of X-rays, the enhanced killing at 13.49 keV was only small, 2 +/- 8 per cent based on the D0 value in saline. By the addition of DMSO, which is believed to suppress radical-mediated effects, killing of BrU-labelled cells was enhanced at 13.49 keV by 8 +/- 4 per cent as compared with 12.40 keV, based on D0. These results have been examined in terms of absorbed energy in BrU-labelled cells and in terms of the number of induced Auger events.     

Physarum myosin light chain interacts with actin in a Ca2+-dependent manner

Actin-modulating activity was analysed with the 16,131-dalton calcium-binding light chain (CaLc, Kobayashi et al. (1988) J. Biol. Chem. 263, 305-313) of Physarum myosin, which is under an inhibitory Ca-control (Kohama and Kendrick-Jones (1986) J. Biochem. 99, 1433-1446). When skeletal muscle actin was polymerized in the presence of CaLc and Ca2+, increases in both viscosity and birefringence were reduced under high shear conditions. However, CaLc did not inhibit actin polymerization under no or low shearing forces, which was demonstrated by a variety of methods including fluorescence intensity measurements using pyrenyl actin. We propose that actin polymerized in the presence of CaLc and Ca2+ is easily fragmented under high shearing forces to produce the changes in viscosity and birefringence.