A pilot clinical evaluation of oral mucosal dryness in dehydrated patients using a moisture-checking device.

This study included 30 patients (17 males and 13 females; mean age, 73.7 ± 13.1 years) who were diagnosed with dehydration based on vital signs, skin symptoms, and blood test findings by emergency medicine physicians. First, the attending physician of our department measured oral mucosal dryness. Subsequently, the emergency medicine physician blindly divided the severity of dehydration into three stages according to clinical findings and blood test results. In this study, the oral moisture-checking device (Mucus®; Life Co., Ltd., Saitama, Japan) was used to measure the oral mucosal dryness. We examined the oral moisture level for each dehydration severity level and the correlations of each severity level of dehydration with the measured values. Spearman's correlation coefficient (Medcalc version 11.3 for Windows) was used for statistical analysis. P < 0.05 indicated significant differences. Twenty-six patients were diagnosed with dry mouth, and a moderate negative correlation was found between the severity of dehydration and oral moisture degree (r = -0.686). The correlation coefficient for the relationship between oral moisture degree and severity of dehydration was -0.686, indicating a negative correlation (P < .05). These results suggest that the oral mucosal dryness may be a useful index of dehydration severity.

Embryonic expression patterns of Hox genes in the oligochaete annelid Tubifex tubifex.

We have cloned and characterized the expression of seven Hox genes (designated Ttu-lab, Ttu-Dfd, Ttu-Scr1, Ttu-Scr2, Ttu-Lox5, Ttu-Lox4 and Ttu-Lox2) from the oligochaete annelid Tubifex tubifex. RT-PCR analyses show that except for Ttu-Lox4 and Ttu-Lox2 which begin expression as early as cleavage stages, Tubifex Hox genes are expressed during stages 13-18 when embryos undergo germ band formation, segmentation and body elongation. In terms of combination of tissues (or organs) exhibiting positive cells, the Tubifex Hox genes examined in this study are classified into three groups. Ttu-lab, Ttu-Scr1 and Ttu-Lox5 are expressed only in the ventral nerve cord; Ttu-Scr2 and Ttu-Lox4 are expressed not only in the ventral nerve cord but also in distinct lateral segmental tissues; and Ttu-Dfd and Ttu-Lox2 are expressed not only in the segmental ectoderm along the length of the AP body axis but also in the prostomium. Anterior expression boundaries of Ttu-lab, Ttu-Scr1, Ttu-Lox5 and Ttu-Lox4 are at segments 3, 4, 5, and 9, respectively. Anterior expression boundary of Ttu-Scr2 is at segment 2, and Ttu-Dfd and Ttu-Lox2 are expressed even at the anteriormost portion, the prostomium. These observations suggest that as in other annelids, so-called "spatial colinearity" of anterior expression boundaries of Hox genes has been conserved in the oligochaetes. It is also evident that there are some oligochaete Hox genes which violate the spatial colinearity rule.