In search of the ideal nose

The proportions of the so-called ideal nasal shape and the operations designed to achieve this have been the subject of innumerable papers. The vast majority of patients in the authors' practices desire a more refined version of the nose and do not want the so-called nosejob look with ideal proportions. A total of 2930 cosmetic rhinoplasties performed over the past 20 years, based on the philosophy of refining the more unrefined features of the nose according to the patients' wishes, have been reviewed, and almost all of these patients were satisfied with the long-term shape of their nose, even though in many cases these noses would be considered less than ideal by some of the newer criteria.     

Olfactory,gas chromatographic and mass-spectral analyses of fecal volatiles traced to ingested licorice and apple

Volatile components of two foodstuffs with characteristic aromas, apple and licorice, and fecal samples obtained from subjects on high-apple and licorice diets, were analyzed by head-space gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometer. The volatile compounds characteristic of the odors of apple and licorice were detected by “sniffing” the GC effluent. The aromatic component of licorice was identified by GC-MS as anethole [1-methoxy-4-(2-propenyl) benzene]. The aromatic component of apple could not be chemically characterized by our GC-MS system even though readily detected by the nose. Head-space, GC-MS analysis of fecal volatiles offers a means of tracing odorous and non-odorous components to ingested foodstuffs with potential applications to clinical and forensic medicine and anthropology.     

Nose reconstruction by chondrocutaneous preauricular free flaps: anatomical basis and clinical results

Full-thickness defects of the nose result in considerable and distressing disfigurements. Ideally, reconstruction of such defects must be achieved in as few stages as possible and secondary, disfigurement kept to a minimum. In this study, the authors aimed to learn whether nose reconstruction could benefit from chondrocutaneous free flaps taken from the auricular tragus. In 72 ears, the vascular blood supply of the tragus was studied following injection of colored latex. Color-coded Duplex sonography served as a noninvasive method for demonstrating the blood supply of the target area. The procedure of nose reconstruction using the free chondrocutaneous tragus flap and the cosmetic results of this procedure in six patients are presented. Except for 2.8 percent of the anatomical specimens, the superficial temporal artery gave rise to the tragus and its overlying skin. The diameter of these branches ranged from 0.65 to 0.82 mm. Using the tragus composite free flap, the anatomical shape of the nose could be reconstructed successfully, and 6 months after surgery, the color and texture of the flap were very similar to those of the remaining nose. Using deeper parts of the tragus cartilage resulted in minimal scars and maintenance of the tragus anatomical shape. Free tragus flaps could be an alternative approach for nose reconstruction.     

云南巨蜥类物种多样性及其生境习性和现状的初步调查

巨蜥是世界上现存的一类最大的蜥蜴,隶爬行纲巨蜥科Varanidae,仅1科1属(Varanus)约36种,分布于澳洲、亚洲南部和非洲。中国历来记载仅有一种——V.salvator。然而,调查表明在云南边境地区实际分布着3种巨蜥,除V.salvator外,尚有V.irrawadicus和V.vietnamensis。本文讨论了这3种巨蜥的有效性,简要地报道了它们的生境、习性和生存现状,并就保护问题提出参考意见。     

Influenza C Virus Infection in Rats

Four-week-old rats (WKA/Hkm strain) were infected intranasally with the Ann Arbor/1/50 strain of influenza C virus and examined for clinical symptoms, virus replication, and serum antibody response. Although the animals showed no definite signs of illness, the virus replicated in the nose, and the hemagglutination-inhibiting (HI) and neutralizing antibodies were produced in their sera. When the inoculum sizes of 10^6.2 and 10^3.2 PFU were used, virus was recovered from nasal homogenates between days 1 and 10, and serum HI antibody became detectable by 10 days after infection. The rats infected with 10^1.2 PFU of the virus continued to shed virus until as late as day 20 without producing serum HI antibody. The amount of virus recovered from the nose was not affected significantly by either sex. age, or strain of the rat except that a slower virus growth was seen in the LE strain. It was also observed that the rats, previously inoculated with 10^3.2 PFU of the virus, showed no virus shedding when reinfected 7 weeks later but produced virus though in low titers when reinfected 50 to 55 weeks later. Virus was also recovered from rats once inoculated with 10^1.2 PFU of the virus when challenged 7 weeks later. Thus repeated infections characteristic of human influenza C can be produced in rats under the restricted conditions.     

Monitoring growth of the methanogenic archaea Methanobacterium formicicum using an electronic nose

Growth of the methanogenic archaea, Methanobacterium formicicum, in pure culture was monitored by analysing samples from the gas phase with an array of chemical gas sensors (an `electronic nose'). Analyses of the methane and protein formation rates were used as independent parameters of growth, and the data obtained from the electronic nose were evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA). We found that different growth phases can be distinguished with the electronic nose followed by PCA evaluation. The fast response of the sensors in combination with the high correlations with other parameters measuring growth show that the electronic nose can be a useful tool to rapidly determine methanogenic growth.     

Morphologic and genetic studies of the nose

The aim of this paper is to find metrical and morphological shape variants of the nose, which are highly determined by heredity. For this, 67 monozygotic and 59 dizygotic twins were measured and the morphological details of the nasal region were recorded and documented by taking photographs in the three standard views of the nose. The study of shape variants in our population was based on 160 control persons, who were not related. Out of this group 61 control pairs were put together by random selection with regard to sex and age. From every examined person data of 9 metrical and 43 well distinguishable morphological variants of the nose were gathered. They had been worked out of numerous observable forms. It could be shown that two measures (breadth of the nose, breadth of the tip of the nose) and eight other morphological features of the nose are of good heredity.     

Qualitative real-time schlieren and shadowgraph imaging of human exhaled airflows: an aid to aerosol infection control

Using a newly constructed airflow imaging system, airflow patterns were visualized that were associated with common, everyday respiratory activities (e.g. breathing, talking, laughing, whistling). The effectiveness of various interventions (e.g. putting hands and tissues across the mouth and nose) to reduce the potential transmission of airborne infection, whilst coughing and sneezing, were also investigated. From the digital video footage recorded, it was seen that both coughing and sneezing are relatively poorly contained by commonly used configurations of single-handed shielding maneuvers. Only some but not all of the forward momentum of the cough and sneeze puffs are curtailed with various hand techniques, and the remaining momentum is disseminated in a large puff in the immediate vicinity of the cougher, which may still act as a nearby source of infection. The use of a tissue (in this case, 4-ply, opened and ready in the hand) proved to be surprisingly effective, though the effectiveness of this depends on the tissue remaining intact and not ripping apart. Interestingly, the use of a novel 'coughcatcher' device appears to be relatively effective in containing coughs and sneezes. One aspect that became evident during the experimental procedures was that the effectiveness of all of these barrier interventions is very much dependent on the speed with which the user can put them into position to cover the mouth and nose effectively.From these qualitative schlieren and shadowgraph imaging experiments, it is clear that making some effort to contain one's cough or sneeze puffs is worthwhile. Obviously, there will be a large amount of variation between individuals in the exact hand or tissue (the most common methods) configuration used for this and other practical factors may hinder such maneuvers in daily life, for example, when carrying shopping bags or managing young children.     

Components of resistance to Aphis craccivora in some cowpea cultivars

Experiments were conducted to determine in six cowpea cultivars the modalities of resistance to the cowpea aphid. The resistance modality in IT82D-812 is mainly due to antixenosis, even though reproduction was minimal on this cultivar. Both antixenosis and antibiosis were found to operate in ICV 12, with antibiosis operating in the area of high nymphal mortality and low reproduction. It is suggested that when studying the modality of resistance among crop cultivars, studies of both antixenosis and antibiosis be made in order to determine where the resistance modality lies.

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Résumé Les expériences avaient pour but de découvrir les causes de la résistance de 6 cultivars de niébé à A. craccivora. La résistance du cultivar IT82D-812 est due principalement à une antixénose, bien que la reproduction du puceron ait été minimale sur ce cultivar. Antixénose et antibiose interviennent toutes deux chez le cultivar ICV 12, l'antibiose provoquant une trés forte mortalité larvaire et une reproduction faible. On en déduit que l'étude des modalités de résistance de différents cultivars, doit comprendre l'examen de l'antixénose et de l'antibiose, de façon à déterminer où se situent les causes de la résistance.

     

Recent advances in the development of bioelectronic nose

The olfactory system has the ability to discriminate and identify thousands of odorant compounds at very low concentrations. Recently, many researchers have been trying to develop artificial sensing devices that are based on the olfactory system. A bioelectronic nose, which uses olfactory receptors (ORs) as sensing elements, would benefit naturally optimized molecular recognition. Accordingly, ORs can be effectively used as a biological element in bioelectronic noses. Bioelectronic nose can be classified into cell-based and protein-based biosensors. The cell-based biosensor uses living cells that express olfactory receptors as the biological sensing elements and the protein-based biosensor uses the olfactory receptor protein. The binding of odorant molecules to the ORs can be measured using various methods such as piezoelectric, optic, and electric devices. Thus, bioelectronic nose can be developed by combining the biological sensing elements with these non-biological devices. The application of bioelectronic nose in a wide range of different scientific and medical fields is essentially dependent on the development of highly sensitive and selective biosensors. These sensor systems for the rapid detection of specific odorants are crucial for environmental monitoring, anti-bioterrorism, disease diagnostics, and food safety. In this article, we reviewed recent advances in the development of bioelectronic nose.     

Lung cancer identification by the analysis of breath by means of an array of non-selective gas sensors

Previous finding shown that the composition of the breath of patients with lung cancer contains information that could be used to detect the disease. These volatiles are mainly alkanes and aromatic compounds. Sensor arrays technology (electronic nose) proved to be useful to screen samples characterised by different headspace composition. Here we investigated the possibility of using an electronic nose to check whether volatile compounds present in expired air may diagnose lung cancer. Breath samples were collected and immediately analysed by an electronic nose. A total of 60 individuals were involved in the experiment. 35 of them were affected by lung cancer, 18 individuals were measured as reference and nine were measured after the surgical therapy. Two individuals were measured twice, before and after the surgical therapy, for a total of 62 measurements. An electronic nose, composed by eight quartz microbalance (QMB) gas sensors, coated with different metalloporphyrins, was used. These sensors show a good sensitivity towards those compounds previously indicated as possible lung cancer markers in breath. The application of a 'partial least squares-discriminant analysis' (PLS-DA) found out a 100% of classification of lung cancer affected patients, 94% of reference was correctly classified. The class of post-surgery patients were correctly individuated in 44% of the cases, while the other samples were classified as healthy references. The alteration of breath composition induced by the presence of lung cancer was enough to allow a complete identification of the sample of diseased individuals. Extended studies are necessary to evaluate the resolution of the method, namely the stage at which the disease may be identified in order to use this instrument for early diagnosis.     

Rapid Identification of Rice Samples Using an Electronic Nose

Four rice samples of long grain type were tested using an electronic nose (Cyranose-320).Samples of 5 g of each variety ofrice were placed individually in vials and were analyzed with the electronic nose unit consisting of 32 polymer sensors.TheCyranose-320 was able to differentiate between varieties of rice.The chemical composition of the rice odors for differentiatingrice samples needs to be investigated.The optimum parameter settings should be considered during the Cyranose-320 trainingprocess especially for multiple samples,which are helpful for obtaining an accurate training model to improve identificationcapability.Further,it is necessary to investigate the E-nose sensor selection for obtaining better classification accuracy.A re-duced number of sensors could potentially shorten the data processing time,and could be used to establish an application pro-cedure and reduce the cost for a specific electronic nose.Further research is needed for developing analytical procedures thatadapt the Cyranose-320 as a tool for testing rice quality.     

Bioelectronic nose and its application to smell visualization

There have been many trials to visualize smell using various techniques in order to objectively express the smell because information obtained from the sense of smell in human is very subjective. So far, well-trained experts such as a perfumer, complex and large-scale equipment such as GC-MS, and an electronic nose have played major roles in objectively detecting and recognizing odors. Recently, an optoelectronic nose was developed to achieve this purpose, but some limitations regarding the sensitivity and the number of smells that can be visualized still persist. Since the elucidation of the olfactory mechanism, numerous researches have been accomplished for the development of a sensing device by mimicking human olfactory system. Engineered olfactory cells were constructed to mimic the human olfactory system, and the use of engineered olfactory cells for smell visualization has been attempted with the use of various methods such as calcium imaging, CRE reporter assay, BRET, and membrane potential assay; however, it is not easy to consistently control the condition of cells and it is impossible to detect low odorant concentration. Recently, the bioelectronic nose was developed, and much improved along with the improvement of nano-biotechnology. The bioelectronic nose consists of the following two parts: primary transducer and secondary transducer. Biological materials as a primary transducer improved the selectivity of the sensor, and nanomaterials as a secondary transducer increased the sensitivity. Especially, the bioelectronic noses using various nanomaterials combined with human olfactory receptors or nanovesicles derived from engineered olfactory cells have a potential which can detect almost all of the smells recognized by human because an engineered olfactory cell might be able to express any human olfactory receptor as well as can mimic human olfactory system. Therefore, bioelectronic nose will be a potent tool for smell visualization, but only if two technologies are completed. First, a multi-channel array-sensing system has to be applied for the integration of all of the olfactory receptors into a single chip for mimicking the performance of human nose. Second, the processing technique of the multi-channel system signals should be simultaneously established with the conversion of the signals to visual images. With the use of this latest sensing technology, the realization of a proper smell-visualization technology is expected in the near future.     

Studies with a plant fungicide,imazalil, with vapor-phase activity,in the therapy of human alternariosis

The use of a plant fungicide, the imidazole imazalil, in the therapy of human alternariosis is described. The patient's disease involved the palate, nose and sinuses, and had been unresponsive to conventional therapy. Imazalil has been used to treat Alternaria infections of plant materials. The patient's isolate was susceptible in vitro. We also showed that the drug was inhibitory to fungi in vitro as a vapor, not requiring contact by diffusion through agar or broth. The drug was used topically, by installation and irrigation, in this case and administered orally in doses of up to 1 200 mg daily, for 6 months. Peak serum concentrations exceeded 4 meg/ml. The infection was arrested but not cured. The drug was tolerated without evident toxicity, though an unpleasant taste and nausea at high doses were limiting.     

Age-dependent replication of respiratory syncytial virus in the cotton rat

Despite the documented disease burden of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in the elderly, little is known about the underlying risk factors or pathogenesis of RSV in a geriatric population. This report describes an age-dependent change of RSV clearance in the lung and nose of the cotton rat. Six days postinfection with RSV, lung and nose viral titers were significantly higher in all older age groups as compared with 4- to 6-week old cotton rats (P < 0.05). When comparing the 4- to 6-week old animals to the 15- to 16-month old animals 6 days postinfection, there was over an 800- and 100-fold increase in lung and nose viral titers, respectively. The cotton rat may prove to be a useful model in eliciting mechanisms of severe RSV disease in the elderly.     

Human nasal protrusion,latitude, and climate

Relationships between morphological features of human skeletal nasal protrusion, latitude, and climate were investigated. Craniofacial dimensions and indices determined by Woo and Morant (1934) on a world sample of 55 skeletal populations were used as dependent variables. Sample sizes were as low as 39 in some calculations because either skeletal or geographic data were missing. Thirteen climatically related averaged variables, for each population's provenience, were the independent variables. Multivariate techniques of bivariate correlation, multiple regression, and partial correlation were applied. A strong, statistically significant cline of increasing nose protrusion, with decreasing absolute humidity and with increasing latitude, was found. Cold climatic variables appeared to be of greater importance than warm measures. Similarly, absolute humidity was found to be a much better predictor of nose protrusion than was relative humidity.     

Normal embryonic development of the greater horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum,with special reference to nose leaf formation

The order Chiroptera (bats) is the second largest group of mammals, composed of more than 1,300 species. Although powered flight and echolocation in bats have attracted many biologists, diversity in bat facial morphology has been almost neglected. Some bat species have a “nose leaf,” a leaf-like epithelial appendage around their nostrils. The nose leaf appears to have been acquired at least three times independently in bat evolution, and its morphology is highly diverse among bats species. Internal tissue morphology of nose-leaves has been investigated through histological analyses of late-stage fetuses of some bat species possessing the nose leaf. However, the proximate factors that bring about chiropteran nose-leaves have not been identified. As an initial step to address the question above, we describe the normal embryonic development of the greater horseshoe bat Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, and examine development of the tissues associated with their nose leaf during embryogenesis through histological analyses. We found that the nose leaf of R. ferrumequinum is formed through two phases. First, the primordium of the nose leaf appears as two tissue bulges aligned top and bottom on the face at embryonic stages 15–16. Second, the sub-regions of the nose leaf are differentiated through ingrowth as well as outgrowth of the epithelium at stage 17. In embryogenesis of Carollia perspicillata, a phyllostomid species with a nose leaf, the nose leaf primordium is formed as a small tissue bulge on the nostril at stage 17. This tissue bulge grows into a dorsally projected thin epithelial structure. Such differences in the nose leaf developmental process between chiropteran lineages may suggest that distinct developmental mechanisms have been employed in each lineage's nose leaf evolution.     

Role of the nose in resistive load detection

Previous resistive load detection (RLD) studies have ignored the nose, the usual route of breathing. Weber's law predicts the delta R50 (the added load detectable on 50% of presentations) to be a fixed percent of the background resistance (R0) and thus the delta R50/R0 ratio (the Weber fraction) is constant. We have noted the nose to be sensitive to added load, we wondered if the nose might play a role in RLD. To determine whether this was true and to characterize the effects of changes in R0 in the range of normal nasal resistance (RN), we determined R0 and delta R50 using standard techniques under the following conditions: nose vs. decongested nose, nose vs. nose with added external R0 (3.0 and 8.0 cmH2O X l-1 X s), nose vs. anesthetized nose, nose vs. mouth, and mouth vs. mouth with added load (3 cmH2O X l-1 X s). We found that decongestant decreased RN [4.3 +/- 0.6 (SE) to 3.1 +/- 0.5 cmH2O X l-1 X s, P less than 0.05] and delta R50 (1.7 +/- 0.5 to 1.1 +/- 0.3 cmH2O X l-1 X s, P less than 0.05). When an external load of 3 cmH2O X l-1 X s was added to the nose, delta R50 did not change significantly (1.4 +/- 0.2 to 1.1 +/- 0.2 cmH2O X l-1 X s), but the Weber fraction decreased (0.28 +/- 0.05 to 0.15 +/- 0.03, P less than 0.02).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Adults scan own- and other-race faces differently

It is well established that individuals show an other-race effect (ORE) in face recognition: they recognize own-race faces better than other-race faces. The present study tested the hypothesis that individuals would also scan own- and other-race faces differently. We asked Chinese participants to remember Chinese and Caucasian faces and we tested their memory of the faces over five testing blocks. The participants' eye movements were recorded with the use of an eye tracker. The data were analyzed with an Area of Interest approach using the key AOIs of a face (eyes, nose, and mouth). Also, we used the iMap toolbox to analyze the raw data of participants' fixation on each pixel of the entire face. Results from both types of analyses strongly supported the hypothesis. When viewing target Chinese or Caucasian faces, Chinese participants spent a significantly greater proportion of fixation time on the eyes of other-race Caucasian faces than the eyes of own-race Chinese faces. In contrast, they spent a significantly greater proportion of fixation time on the nose and mouth of Chinese faces than the nose and mouth of Caucasian faces. This pattern of differential fixation, for own- and other-race eyes and nose in particular, was consistent even as participants became increasingly familiar with the target faces of both races. The results could not be explained by the perceptual salience of the Chinese nose or Caucasian eyes because these features were not differentially salient across the races. Our results are discussed in terms of the facial morphological differences between Chinese and Caucasian faces and the enculturation of mutual gaze norms in East Asian cultures.     

Management of the bulbous nose

"Bulbous nose" is a term patients often use to describe a "ball" on the end of their nose. This ball can be caused by the abnormal anatomy of alar cartilage or by the overlying soft-tissue coverage. The purpose of this article is to analyze the different causes of bulbous noses and their treatment options. An analysis was done based on four decades of experience and long-term follow-up. We included 10 patients for our discussion. The relationship of the tip to the vault must be analyzed, because it can create optical illusions. For instance, a low bridge makes the tip appear larger; therefore, a bulbous nose may be relative. Similarly, excessive narrowing of the nasal base by alar wedges makes the tip appear wider. Intrinsic causes of a bulbous nose include skin, subcutaneous tissue (including the nasal superficial musculoaponeurotic system, ligaments, and fat), and the shape and direction of the individual crus. Nasal skin varies as to volume and ability to contract; therefore, the shape, direction, or divergence of the individual crura cannot undergo unlimited modifications. There are several surgical possibilities for a given problem. Making the diagnosis of the underlying abnormal anatomy is the most important step; then the most appropriate operation can be selected. Struts, sutures, resection, dome division, and/or dorsal augmentation are all viable options for the management of the bulbous nose.