Effect of Tongue-Hold Swallow on Pharyngeal Contractile Properties in Healthy Individuals.

Tongue-hold swallow (THS) is a swallow exercise in which an individual swallows saliva while holding the anterior portion of the tongue between the front teeth. The effect of THS on pharyngeal contractile vigor is still unclear. The purpose of this study was to quantify THS using high-resolution manometry with a contractile integral analysis. Twenty-two healthy participants performed three different saliva swallow tasks: normal swallow, weak THS (in which the tongue was protruded 1 cm outside the upper incisors), and strong THS (in which the tongue was protruded 2 cm outside the upper incisors). The participants repeated each task twice randomly. Pharyngeal and upper esophageal sphincter metrics, including the pharyngeal contractile integral, were analyzed. Both weak and strong THS enhanced the velopharyngeal contractile integral and peak pressure compared with normal swallow (P < 0.01). THS also prolonged mesopharyngeal contraction (P < 0.01). Holding the tongue anteriorly during swallow requires significant biomechanical changes to pharyngeal contractile properties at the superior and middle pharyngeal constrictor levels; thus, it may serve as a resistance exercise for the muscles that are involved in bolus propulsion.

Retrieval of Retained Capsule Endoscopy at Small Bowel Stricture by Double-Balloon Endoscopy Significantly Decreases Surgical Treatment.

GOALS: The aim is to elucidate the efficacy and safety of double-balloon endoscopy (DBE) for small bowel capsule endoscopy (SBCE) retrieval from small bowel stricture and to follow the outcome of the stricture where the SBCE was entrapped. BACKGROUND: The retention of SBCE is a serious adverse event and most retained capsules are retrieved by surgery. There is still no report analyzing the follow-up of patients with stricture after retrieval of entrapped SBCEs by DBE. METHODS: This study was designed a retrospective cohort study. Subjects were 12 consecutive patients with small bowel stricture where retrieval of entrapped SBCE was attempted using DBE. Success rate of the SBCE retrieval by DBE, surgical rate of the small bowel stricture, adverse events of DBE, and outcomes in the follow-up period were evaluated. RESULTS: Diagnoses were Crohn's disease, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs-induced enteropathy, ischemic enteritis, and carcinoma in 8, 2, 1, and 1 patients, respectively. SBCE was successfully retrieved in 11 of the 12 patients (92%). No adverse events were encountered in all endoscopic procedures such as retrieval of SBCEs and dilation of the strictures. Nine of the 12 patients (75%) did not undergo surgical treatment for the stricture where SBCE was entrapped through the follow-up period (mean, 1675±847 d). CONCLUSIONS: Retrieval of SBCEs using DBE was safe, had a high success rate, and was useful to evaluate the need for surgery. Seventy-five percent of patients with small bowel stricture where the SBCE was entrapped did not require surgery through approximately 5 years.

DNA adsorption characteristics of hollow spherule allophane nano-particles.

To understand the propensity of natural allophane to adsorb the DNA molecules, the adsorption characteristics were assessed against natural allophane (AK70), using single-stranded DNA (ss-DNA) and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (5'-AMP) as a reference molecule. The adsorption capacity of ss-DNA on AK70 exhibited one order of magnitude lower value as compared with that of 5'-AMP. The adsorption capacity of ss-DNA decreased with increasing pH due to the interaction generated between phosphate groups of ss-DNA and functional Al-OH groups on the wall perforations through deprotonating, associated with higher energy barrier for the adsorption of ss-DNA. The adsorption morphologies consisting of the individual ss-DNA with mono-layer coverage of the clustered allophane particle were observed successfully through transmission electron microscopy analysis.

Preparation and characterization of DNA/allophane composite hydrogels.

The preparation and characterization of the composite hydrogels based on double-stranded deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and natural allophane (AK70) were reported. To understand the propensity of the natural allophane to adsorb the DNA molecules, using zeta potential measurement, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and electrophoresis analyses assessed the adsorption characteristics. The freeze-dried DNA/AK70 hydrogels were demonstrated that the DNA bundle structure with a width of ∼2µm and a length of ∼15-20µm was wrapped around the clustered allophane particles as revealed by FE-SEM/EDX analysis. The incorporation of AK70 in hydrogels induced the increase in the enthalpy of the helix-coil transition of DNA duplex due to the restricted molecular motions of the DNA duplex facilitated by the interaction between the phosphate groups of DNA and the protonated (+)(OH2)Al(OH2) groups on the wall perforations of the allophane.

Biomineralization of hydroxyapatite on DNA molecules in SBF: morphological features and computer simulation.

The hydroxyapatite (HA) formation on the DNA molecules in SBF was examined. After immersion for four weeks in SBF at 36.5 °C, the HA crystallites of ~1-14 µm in diameter grew on the surface of DNA molecules. Various morphologies were successfully observed through scanning electron microscopy analysis. The Ca/P mol ratio (1.1-1.5) in HA was estimated by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. Original peaks of both of DNA and HA were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. The molecular orbital computer simulation has been used to probe the interaction of DNA with two charge-balancing ions, i.e., CaOH(+) and CaH2PO4(+). The adsorption enthalpy of the two ions on ds-DNA and/or ss-DNA having large negative value (~ -60 kcal/mol per charge-balancing ion) was the evidence for the interface in mineralization of HA in SBF.

First total synthesis of (+/-)-Linderol A, a tricyclic hexahydrodibenzofuran constituent of Lindera umbellata bark, with potent inhibitory activity on melanin biosynthesis of cultured B-16 melanoma cells.

The first total synthesis of (+/-)-Linderol A, a hexahydrodibenzofuran constituent of Lindera umbellata bark, with potent inhibitory activity on the melanin biosynthesis of cultured B-16 melanoma cells, was achieved through 19 steps of reaction in 6.6% overall yield, in which the critical step was a tandem reaction of a 3-ethoxycarbonylcoumarin derivative with dimethylsulfoxonium methylide to yield the 2-ethoxycarbonylcyclopenta[b]benzofuran-3-ol derivative.