Molecular and cellular organization of odorant binding protein genes in Drosophila.

Chemosensation is important for the survival and reproduction of animals. The odorant binding proteins (OBPs) are thought to be involved in chemosensation together with chemosensory receptors. While OBPs were initially considered to deliver hydrophobic odorants to olfactory receptors in the aqueous lymph solution, recent studies suggest more complex roles in various organs. Here, we use GAL4 transgenes to systematically analyze the expression patterns of all 52 members of the Obp gene family and 3 related chemosensory protein genes in adult Drosophila, focusing on chemosensory organs such as the antenna, maxillary palp, pharynx, and labellum, and other organs such as the brain, ventral nerve cord, leg, wing, and intestine. The OBPs were observed to express in diverse organs and in multiple cell types, suggesting that these proteins can indeed carry out diverse functional roles. Also, we constructed 10 labellar-expressing Obp mutants, and obtained behavioral evidence that these OBPs may be involved in bitter sensing. The resources we constructed should be useful for future Drosophila OBP gene family research.

Nanoporous MoS2 Field-Effect Transistor Based Artificial Olfaction: Achieving Enhanced Volatile Organic Compound Detection Inspired by the Drosophila Olfactory System.

Olfaction, a primal and effective sense, profoundly impacts our emotions and instincts. This sensory system plays a crucial role in detecting volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and realizing the chemical environment. Animals possess superior olfactory systems compared to humans. Thus, taking inspiration from nature, artificial olfaction aims to achieve a similar level of excellence in VOC detection. In this study, we present the development of an artificial olfaction sensor utilizing a nanostructured bio-field-effect transistor (bio-FET) based on transition metal dichalcogenides and the Drosophila odor-binding protein LUSH. To create an effective sensing platform, we prepared a hexagonal nanoporous structure of molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) using block copolymer lithography and selective etching techniques. This structure provides plenty of active sites for the integration of the LUSH protein, enabling enhanced binding with ethanol (EtOH) for detection purposes. The coupling of the biomolecule with EtOH influences the bio-FETs potential, which generates indicative electrical signals. By mimicking the sniffing techniques observed in Drosophila, these bio-FETs exhibit an impressive limit of detection of 10-6% for EtOH, with high selectivity, sensitivity, and detection ability even in realistic environments. This bioelectric sensor demonstrates substantial potential in the field of artificial olfaction, offering advancements in VOC detection.

Comparison of the quality of total mesorectal excision after robotic and laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer: a multicenter, propensity score-matched study.

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate and compare the quality of total mesorectal excision (TME) and disease-free and overall survival rates between robotic and laparoscopic surgeries for rectal cancer. Methods: From January 2015 to December 2018, 234 patients underwent curative robotic or laparoscopic surgery for rectal cancer at two centers. Ultimately, 201 patients were enrolled. To control for different demographic factors in the two groups, propensity score matching was used at a 1:1 ratio. Propensity scores were generated with the baseline characteristics, including age, sex, body mass index, American Society of Anesthesiologists score, previous abdominal surgery, tumor location, preoperative chemotherapy, and preoperative radiation. Finally, 134 patients were matched with 67 patients in the robotic surgery group and 67 patients in the laparoscopic surgery group. Results: There was no significant difference in the pathologic stages between the robotic and laparoscopic surgery groups. Distal margin involvement was only observed in the robotic surgery group (1/67, 1.5%). Circumferential resection margin involvement was not different between the robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery groups (3/67 [4.5%] and 4/67 [6.0%], respectively, P=1.000). The quality of TME (complete, nearly complete, and incomplete) was similar between the robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery groups (88.0%, 6.0%, 6.0% and 79.1%, 9.0%, 11.9%, respectively, P=0.358). The disease-free and overall survival rates were not significantly different between the groups. Conclusion: The quality of TME and disease-free and overall survival rates between the two surgeries were similar. There was no oncologic advantage of robotic surgery for rectal cancer compared to laparoscopic surgery.

A Two-Class Data Transmission Method Using a Lightweight Blockchain Structure for Secure Smart Dust IoT Environments.

In smart dust IoT environments, a large number of devices with low computing power/resources are deployed to collect surrounding information. There are many issues to consider for an efficient and secure smart dust IoT environment. Sometimes the urgent sensed data needs to be transmitted immediately. In addition, there are potential problems related to security issues since the smart dust IoT systems may be deployed in hard-to-access areas. In this paper, we propose an effective transmission method for two-class sensed data for secure smart IoT systems. We divide the sensed data into two classes which consist of the urgent sensed data class (requiring urgent data transmission) and the normal sensed data class (with a slight transmission delay due to yielding to the urgent data transmission). In addition, for security reasons, the proposed transmission method uses two kinds of blockchains with the following two ledgers: (1) the urgent sensed data ledger, which is a ledger of data that needs urgent transmission; and (2) the normal sensed data ledger, which is a ledger of data that allows some delay. To be specific, the lightweight blockchain based on our earlier work is used for the normal sensed data transmission, whereas the modified conventional blockchain is used for the normal sensed data transmission. The experiments show that the performance of the proposed transmission method is better than the conventional transmission method in almost all sections. There is a 53% performance increase on average with regard to the transmission time. When the ratio of urgent sensed data is 0% (i.e., no urgent sensed data at all), the proposed transmission method is greater improved by as much as about 96%. This means that the lightweight blockchain scheme used in the proposed transmission method for the normal sensed data is very efficient.

A Dynamic Plane Prediction Method Using the Extended Frame in Smart Dust IoT Environments.

Internet of Things (IoT) technologies are undeniably already all around us, as we stand at the cusp of the next generation of IoT technologies. Indeed, the next-generation of IoT technologies are evolving before IoT technologies have been fully adopted, and smart dust IoT technology is one such example. The concept of smart dust IoT technology, which features very small devices with low computing power, is a revolutionary and innovative concept that enables many things that were previously unimaginable, but at the same time creates unresolved problems. One of the biggest problems is the bottlenecks in data transmission that can be caused by this large number of devices. The bottleneck problem was solved with the Dual Plane Development Kit (DPDK) architecture. However, the DPDK solution created an unexpected new problem, which is called the mixed packet problem. The mixed packet problem, which occurs when a large number of data packets and control packets mix and change at a rapid rate, can slow a system significantly. In this paper, we propose a dynamic partitioning algorithm that solves the mixed packet problem by physically separating the planes and using a learning algorithm to determine the ratio of separated planes. In addition, we propose a training data model eXtended Permuted Frame (XPF) that innovatively increases the number of training data to reflect the packet characteristics of the system. By solving the mixed packet problem in this way, it was found that the proposed dynamic partitioning algorithm performed about 72% better than the general DPDK environment, and 88% closer to the ideal environment.

A Multilayer Secure Biomedical Data Management System for Remotely Managing a Very Large Number of Diverse Personal Healthcare Devices.

In this paper, a multilayer secure biomedical data management system for managing a very large number of diverse personal health devices is proposed. The system has the following characteristics: the system supports international standard communication protocols to achieve interoperability. The system is integrated in the sense that both a PHD communication system and a remote PHD management system work together as a single system. Finally, the system proposed in this paper provides user/message authentication processes to securely transmit biomedical data measured by PHDs based on the concept of a biomedical signature. Some experiments, including the stress test, have been conducted to show that the system proposed/constructed in this study performs very well even when a very large number of PHDs are used. For a stress test, up to 1,200 threads are made to represent the same number of PHD agents. The loss ratio of the ISO/IEEE 11073 messages in the normal system is as high as 14% when 1,200 PHD agents are connected. On the other hand, no message loss occurs in the multilayered system proposed in this study, which demonstrates the superiority of the multilayered system to the normal system with regard to heavy traffic.

The oncoprotein, gankyrin, is up-regulated in middle ear cholesteatoma.

CONCLUSION: Gankyrin seems to be a better biomarker for cholesteatoma compared with Ki-67. OBJECTIVE: Gankyrin is an oncoprotein, and occurs in cancers but not in benign diseases. The goal of this study was to compare expression of gankyrin, p53, and a proliferation marker (Ki-67) in cholesteatoma and retroauricular skin (RAS), and to evaluate their significance as clinical parameters. METHODS: The levels of expression of gankyrin, Ki-67, and p53 in 10 cholesteatoma and 10 paired samples of normal RAS were evaluated by immunohistochemical staining and Western blot. The results were compared with clinical profiles to investigate a correlation. RESULTS: The expression of gankyrin, Ki-67, and p53 proteins was observed in both basal and suprabasal layers of cholesteatoma. The intensity of gankyrin expression was 'positive' in two cases (20%) and 'strongly positive' in eight cases (80%); p53 expression in the suprabasal layer was 'positive' in 70% of cases; and the Ki-67 staining was 'focal' in 80% of cases. In RAS, these proteins were expressed dominantly in the basal layer. Western blot analysis showed that the gankyrin band was more intense in cholesteatoma than in RAS for three of four cases (p < 0.05). However, there was no significant difference in the expression of gankyrin, Ki-67, and p53 according to clinical variables.

Clinical Significance of ß-Tricalcium Phosphate and Polyphosphate for Mastoid Cavity Obliteration during Middle Ear Surgery: Human and Animal Study.

OBJECTIVES: Mastoid obliteration is used to obliterate the mastoid cavity following a mastoidectomy or to prevent the formation of a retraction pocket. This study evaluated the effectiveness of ß-tricalcium phosphate and polyphosphate (ß-TPP) for mastoid obliteration in middle ear surgeries in prospective human and animal studies. METHODS: Twenty patients with chronic otitis media underwent mastoid obliteration using ß-TPP after a intact canal wall mastoidectomy or simple mastoidectomy. The clinical data were prospectively evaluated including: the diagnosis, temporal bone computed tomography (TBCT), otoscopic findings, pure tone audiogram, and complications. In the animal experiment, ß-TPP was applied into the right bulla in five rats, and the opposite bulla was used as the control in the non-obliterated state. The skulls of five other rats were drilled out and the holes were obliterated with ß-TPP. TBCT were obtained at 3, 6, and 9 months after the obliteration and histologic analysis was done at 3 and 9 months after surgery. RESULTS: In the human study, fourteen TBCTs were obtained at 12 months after the surgery. All demonstrated no bone resorption in the obliterated mastoids. Among the 15 cases displaying retracted tympanic membranes preoperatively, 11 showed no retraction, 2 showed retraction postoperatively, 1 was lost to follow-up and 1 was a case of postoperative wound infection. Among 20 cases, one case developed a postoperative infection that necessitated a second operation. Sixteen underwent ossiculoplasty; hearing improvements were obtained in 15 cases and 1 case showed decreased hearing. In the animal study, new bone formation without significant bone resorption in the radiologic and histologic findings were noted in both the skull and bulla groups. CONCLUSION: Although ß-TPP is a foreign material having the possibility of infection, mastoid obliteration with it can be a treatment option in middle ear surgeries to prevent retraction pockets or the recurrence of diseases.

Clinical and histological characteristics of melanocytic nevus in external auditory canals and auricles.

Nevi, which consist of nevus cells arising from external auditory canals (EACs) and auricles, are rare and their characteristics are not thoroughly understood. The purpose of this study was to analyze the clinicopathological characteristics of melanocytic nevus (MN) in EACs and auricles. Medical records were reviewed in 35 cases with junctional, compound and intradermal nevi treated in Ajou University Hospital, Korea between 2001 and 2011. Patient demographic, location, shape, and diameter of nevi, and pathologic results were analyzed according to the location, EACs (23 cases) and auricles (12 cases). Female predominance was noted in both EAC (60.9 %, 14 cases) and auricular (75 %, 9 cases) nevi. The mean age of EAC nevi (37.1 years) was younger than that of auricular nevi (42.2 years). The chief complaint was a symptomless mass in both groups, mostly in dome-like gross appearances. The mean diameter of EAC and auricular nevi was 9.6 (3-16) mm and 12.2 (3-25) mm, respectively. Histological findings chiefly presented intradermal nevi in EACs (78.3 %) and auricles (83.3 %) which showed preference to older patients, in contrast to the compound type. All nevi including five cases with skin grafts were completely excised without any recurrence within the follow-up period (average 5.3 months). A possible dysplastic nevus was detected in only one case. All MNs in EACs or auricles reveal similar characteristics. Early and complete excision is recommended to avoid skin graft, functional problems, and the risk of malignant melanoma.

The significance of 180-degree head rotation in supine roll test for horizontal canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

OBJECTIVE: The relatively low success rate of the treatment maneuver for horizontal semicircular canal (HSC) benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) may be caused by the difficulty determining the affected side. We developed a 180-degree supine roll test (SRT) by modifying the 90-degree SRT to increase diagnostic accuracy and evaluated its significance. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: A total of 122 patients with HSC-BPPV performed both the 90- and 180-degree SRTs. INTERVENTIONS: The affected side was determined by the 90- and 180-degree SRTs. The bow and lean (BL) test was also performed in cases with ambiguous or opposite results on both SRTs. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: A comparison of the difference in slow phase velocity (SPV) of nystagmus among the 90- and 180-degree SRTs and BL test. RESULTS: The maximum SPV of nystagmus during the 180-degree SRT was significantly greater than that during the 90-degree SRT. The SPV difference was less in the 180-degree SRT than that in the 90-degree SRT. Although the 180-degree SRT showed fewer meaningful results (n = 65) than the 90-degree SRT (n = 71), the affected side was determined by the 180-degree SRT in 15 cases with ambiguous results on the 90-degree SRT. Among 10 cases showing opposite results, 7 were identified by the BL test. Five (71.4%) of 7 cases had consistent affected sides with the 180-degree SRT. CONCLUSION: The 180-degree SRT can be an additional method when it is difficult to determine the affected side from the 90-degree SRT.

Spontaneous nystagmus in horizontal canal benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

OBJECTIVE: Benign paroxysmal positional vertigo of horizontal semicircular canal (HSC-BPPV) is characterized by either geotropic or apogeotropic nystagmus induced by head roll test. Some patients also present with spontaneous nystagmus. The aim of this study is to examine the clinical manifestation of spontaneous nystagmus in HSC-BPPV and evaluate the effect on the treatment outcome. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Electronystagmography and video eye movement recordings of 125 patients diagnosed as HSC-BPPV were reviewed retrospectively. Presence of spontaneous nystagmus was analyzed and treatment outcome after repositioning therapy was compared. RESULTS: Overall, spontaneous nystagmus was observed in 19 patients (15.2%) with HSC-BPPV at initial presentation. In canalolithiasis group (n=64), the treatment outcome did not differ between patients with or without spontaneous nystagmus. However, in cupulolithiasis group (n=61), patients presenting with spontaneous nystagmus (n=10) required more repositioning therapy sessions. CONCLUSION: The presence of spontaneous nystagmus at initial presentation may implicate poorer treatment outcome in cupulolithiasis HSC-BPPV patients.

Efficacy of 3 different steroid treatments for sudden sensorineural hearing loss: a prospective, randomized trial.

OBJECTIVES: We treated patients with idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSNHL) with several protocols on an outpatient department (OPD) basis. The study compared the efficacy of 3 different steroid treatments for ISSNHL. STUDY DESIGN: A prospective randomized controlled study. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. METHODS: A total of 60 patients diagnosed with ISSNHL were treated through OPD. They were randomly and equally divided into 3 groups based on therapy: oral steroid for 10 days (group I), intratympanic dexamethasone injection (ITDI) 4 times (group II), and both (group III). Pure-tone average (PTA) was measured by taking 4 frequencies (0.5, 1, 2, and 3 kHz). Hearing change was evaluated by comparing pre- and posttreatment PTAs. Recovery rate was assessed by American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery (AAO-HNS) Clinical Practice Guidelines. RESULTS: The hearing gain was 12.8 ± 15.4 decibels (dB) in group I, 12.1 ± 14.6 dB in group II, and 21.9 ± 26.2 dB in group III. The recovery rate was 60% in groups I and III and 55% in group II. The overall recovery rate was 58.3% (35 of 60 patients). There was no significant difference in hearing gain and recovery rates for the 3 groups. Frequency-specific hearing gain also did not differ significantly among groups. CONCLUSION: Three different treatment protocols (oral steroid, ITDI, or the combination) resulted in similar hearing recovery rates. Therefore, OPD-based systemic and/or local steroid therapy can be recommended as an initial treatment in ISSNHL.

A posterior petrous meningioma with recurrent vertigo.

Meningioma's account for around 15% of all primary brain tumors with some 10% of meningiomas arising in the posterior fossa. In rare cases, a meningioma can form around the endolymphatic sac. When formed in the posterior fossa, meningioma tumors can produce vague, non-specific vertiginous symptoms. Research has observed that a subset of these lesions could produce symptoms indistinguishable from those of Meniere's disease. Therefore, we described the clinical features of a case of posterior petrous meningioma with recurrent vertigo as well as the substantial resolution of symptoms after tumor removal via transmastoid approach.

Construction of a smart medication dispenser with high degree of scalability and remote manageability.

We propose a smart medication dispenser having a high degree of scalability and remote manageability. We construct the dispenser to have extensible hardware architecture for achieving scalability, and we install an agent program in it for achieving remote manageability. The dispenser operates as follows: when the real-time clock reaches the predetermined medication time and the user presses the dispense button at that time, the predetermined medication is dispensed from the medication dispensing tray (MDT). In the proposed dispenser, the medication for each patient is stored in an MDT. One smart medication dispenser contains mainly one MDT; however, the dispenser can be extended to include more MDTs in order to support multiple users using one dispenser. For remote management, the proposed dispenser transmits the medication status and the system configurations to the monitoring server. In the case of a specific event such as a shortage of medication, memory overload, software error, or non-adherence, the event is transmitted immediately. All these operations are performed automatically without the intervention of patients, through the agent program installed in the dispenser. Results of implementation and verification show that the proposed dispenser operates normally and performs the management operations from the medication monitoring server suitably.

An integrated gateway for various PHDs in U-healthcare environments.

We propose an integrated gateway for various personal health devices (PHDs). This gateway receives measurements from various PHDs and conveys them to a remote monitoring server (MS). It provides two kinds of transmission modes: immediate transmission and integrated transmission. The former mode operates if a measurement exceeds a predetermined threshold or in the case of an emergency. In the latter mode, the gateway retains the measurements instead of forwarding them. When the reporting time comes, the gateway extracts all the stored measurements, integrates them into one message, and transmits the integrated message to the MS. Through this mechanism, the transmission overhead can be reduced. On the basis of the proposed gateway, we construct a u-healthcare system comprising an activity monitor, a medication dispenser, and a pulse oximeter. The evaluation results show that the size of separate messages from various PHDs is reduced through the integration process, and the process does not require much time; the integration time is negligible.

Nitric oxide mediates TNF-α-induced apoptosis in the auditory cell line.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS: Tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is released in a variety of pathological states in the inner ear. Inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) can be induced by cytokines and other inflammatory factors, and is generally thought to be associated with inflammation and other pathological processes in the cochlea. The purpose of the present study was to reveal that TNF-α could induce apoptosis in the auditory cell line and to investigate the role of nitric oxide (NO) in TNF-α-induced auditory cell death. STUDY DESIGN: Experimental study. METHODS: UB-OC1 cells and zebrafish were exposed to TNF-α. Flow cytometry, terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay, assay of mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), and electron microscopy were used to show that TNF-α could induce apoptosis. Western blot was used to measure iNOS expression and mitogen-activated protein kinase pathway. RESULTS: Flow cytometric analysis, TUNEL assay, MMP, and electron microscopy all demonstrated that TNF-α could induce apoptosis in UB-OC1 cells. TNF-α significantly increased NO generation and iNOS expression. Pretreatment with iNOS blocker NG-methyl-L-arginine (NMA) attenuated TNF-α-induced cell death and caspase-3 activation. Also, TNF-α treatment increased p-p38 and p-ERK, and pretreatment of NMA reduced this increased expression of p-p38 and p-ERK. CONCLUSIONS: TNF-α can induce apoptosis in the auditory cell line, and NO production in response to TNF-α is essential for apoptosis.

Clinical features of recurrent or persistent benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.

OBJECTIVES: To identify clinical features and causes of recurrent or persistent benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV) and to analyze the effectiveness of frequently repeated canalith repositioning procedures (CRPs). STUDY DESIGN: Case series with chart review. SETTING: Academic university hospital. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of 120 patients who were diagnosed with BPPV at the Dizziness Clinic in Ajou University Hospital, Korea, between 2004 and 2008. "Persistent" and "recurrent" BPPV were respectively defined as BPPV continuing more than 2 weeks and recurring BPPV in the same canals after at least 2 weeks of a symptom-free interval following previous successful treatments. The authors treated patients with frequently repeated CRPs such as the modified Epley maneuver or a barbecue rotation every 2 or 3 days in the outpatient clinic. RESULTS: Among 120 patients with BPPV, 93 (77.5%) were typical, 15 (12.5%) were persistent, and 12 (10.0%) were recurrent. Although the most common cause was idiopathic in both recurrent and persistent BPPV, secondary causes, including trauma, were much more common in recurrent and persistent BPPV than in typical BPPV. Typical and recurrent BPPV developed most commonly in the posterior semicircular canals. Persistent BPPV was most commonly detected in the lateral semicircular canals. After frequently repeated CRPs, 91.7% and 86.7% of the patients with recurrent or persistent BPPV, respectively, had resolution of nystagmus and vertigo. CONCLUSION: Recurrent and persistent BPPV are not rare diseases and occur with a higher incidence than expected, especially in patients with secondary causes. However, they can be successfully treated with frequently repeated CRPs.

UbiMMS: an ubiquitous medication monitoring system based on remote device management methods.

Medication adherence is one of the most important factors in treating chronic diseases. However, current medication dispensers, which are devices that deliver medication to chronic disease patients according to predetermined schedules, are not equipped with internal remote management functions. Here, we propose a ubiquitous medication monitoring system (UbiMMS) that provides remote functions for medication status transmission, configuration management, software management, and real-time error management. We provide an overview and performance evaluation of the UbiMMS, and show that the proposed system is adequate for remotely monitoring and managing a medication dispenser in real time.

Diagnostic efficiency of the cochlear hydrops analysis masking procedure in Ménière's disease.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether cochlear hydrops analysis masking procedure (CHAMP) has diagnostic value in patients with definite Ménière's disease (MD) comparing the diagnostic validity index of CHAMP with those of electrocochleography (ECoG). STUDY DESIGN: A prospective study. SETTING: Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: One hundred eight patients were classified into 3 groups: the "definite MD" group (MD group, n = 47); the "non-MD" group (n = 41) of other vestibular diseases including vestibular neuritis, and benign paroxysmal positional vertigo; and the control group (n = 20), which included patients without dizziness. INTERVENTIONS: CHAMP and extratympanic ECoG were performed in all patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Sensitivity, specificity, and definitions of abnormal values were less than 0.3 ms in latency delay (0.5 kHz high pass noise [HPN]-click alone) and less than 0.95 in compound amplitude ratio (click alone-0.5 kHz HPN/click alone) in CHAMP and 0.4 for the summating potential/action potential ratio in ECoG. RESULTS: The mean latency delay and amplitude ratio of CHAMP in the MD group significantly differed from these values for other groups, whereas the mean summating potential/action potential ratio of ECoG did not. In ECoG, sensitivity was as low as 21%, specificity was 97%, and diagnostic accuracy was 62%. Sensitivity, specificity, and diagnostic accuracy of CHAMP were 64%, 98%, and 80%, respectively, in latency delay and 91%, 83%, and 88%, respectively, in amplitude ratio. The sensitivity and diagnostic accuracy of CHAMP were significantly higher than the corresponding values for ECoG. CONCLUSION: CHAMP is more valuable in detection of definite MD than extratympanic ECoG.