The effects of artificial alum bathing and sodium bicarbonate bathing on the surface tension of skin and sweat were examined.
Before and after partial bathing in distilled water (control), alum solution, or sodium bicarbonate solution at 40°C for 10 minutes, the critical surface tension of skin was measured in a room in which the ambient temperature was maintained at 23°C and relative humidity at 50%. The mean value of critical surface tension decreased after the alum bathing at concentrations of 10, 100, and 1, 000ppm., but did not change after the control and sodium bicarbonate bathing.
Alum solution, sodium bicarbonate solution, or sodium hydroxide solution was added to the sweat collected from the arm skin surface. Its surface tension was then measured in the same room as mentioned above. The mean value of surface tension increased after the sodium bicarbonate preparation and the sodium hydroxide preparation accompanying the increase in the pH value, but did not change after the alum preparation. The surface tension of sweat at pH 7.0 was significantly higher in the sodium bicarbonate preparation than in the sodium hydroxide preparation (p<0.05).
These findings suggest that the alum bathing lowers the wettability of the skin surface and that the sodium bicarbonate bathing lowers the surface activity of sweat. It is suggested that both of these bathings change the skin surface condition and cutaneous function.

Hyaline ring granuloma (HRG) is a comparatively rare inflammatory condition occurring mainly in the oral region, and is characterized by hyaline rings (HRs) formed in the granulation tissue. This study describes a case of HRG occurring in the mandibular periosteum of an 18-year-old male. Histopathologic, histochemical and electron microscopic studies were performed on surgically excised materials. Histopathologically, ovoid bodies (OBs) surrounded by thin hyaline walls and HRs showing pale-stained eosinophilic thick hyaline walls were both detected. Histochemical study revealed that the OBs contained many granules chiefly composed of starch. Ultrastructurally, the HRs presented a stratiform structure due to the accumulation of cross-banded collagen fibrils with a basement membrane-like lining containing cellulose microfilaments. These results suggest that HRs are formed as follows: the exogenous vegetable materials are encapsulated by collagen, then the component is gradually degraded; the residual cellulose fraction adheres to the inner surface of the collagenous capsules, and the continuous deposition of collagen at the outer surface of the capsules increases its thickness. Finally, thick hyaline walls of HRs are formed. The possible pathogenesis of this curious lesion is discussed for stomatologists.

Purpose: Hiccups are a symptom that often appear in lung cancer patients during medical treatment. Although various drugs and non-pharmacologic therapies are used to treat them, they often are not effective. We report 2 cases of successful treatment for refractory hiccups due to chemotherapy for lung cancer using pregabalin. Case report: Both patients had advanced squamous lung cancer. That in case 1 was treated using chemotherapy with carboplatin and paclitaxel, while the case 2 received nedaplatin and irinotecan. Hiccups occurred and became exacerbated during chemotherapy in both, and were considered to be induced by the anticancer drugs. Separate treatments with metoclopramide, chlorpromazine, and gabapentin did not have any effect, whereas immediate improvement was seen after taking pregabalin in both cases. Conclusion: Pregabalin, often used as an adjuvant analgesic, controls excessive neuronal excitement. In the present cases, effective relief of refractory hiccups was seen.

Y-graft replacement was successfully performed in a patient aged 93 years with ruptured infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm. The patient was in shock on arrival and underwent an emergency operation with the administration of cathecholamines. The ruptured infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm with a large hematoma, which was located in the area of the left common iliac artery, was 10cm in the maximum diameter. The bilateral common iliac arteries were strongly calcified and occluded. The distal end of the graft was anastomosed to the external iliac artery. The patient's postoperative course was uneventful.