Carcinosarcoma is a highly malignant tumor characterized by dual malignant histologic differentiation of epithelial and mesenchymal components, which rarely occurs in the maxillary sinus. We experienced a case of carcinosarcoma mixed with a keratinizing squamous cell carcinoma and an osteosarcoma arising from the right maxillary sinus recently. A 55-year-old male patient presented with right nasal obstruction and epistaxis. The initial punch biopsy revealed a high-grade sarcoma, favoring an osteosarcoma. After general evaluation, the patient was staged as cT4aN0M0. The patient was treated by right total maxillectomy, radiotherapy, and chemotherapy. We present with a review of the literature a case of a carcinosarcoma originating from the right maxillary sinus that had invaded into the orbital cavity and protruded into the nasal cavity.

BACKGROUND: Recently, many studies have reported that university students have been suffering from stress because of their the uncertainty of their future and employment. Eating habits have often been considered as one of health-related behaviors that may be affected by life stress. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between stress and eating habits in university students. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was designed. The subjects were 282 university students which assessed their eating habits and stresses. The total numbs of students in the study 263. Eating habits were scored using a questionnaire consisting of three categories-regularity, balance, and preference. The stress was assessed by modified Korean version of BEPSI. RESULTS: The stress score was 2.4 and the total score of eating habits was 44.2. The regularity among the domains of eating habits was 14.1, the balance score was 16.1, and the preference was 14.0. In multiple regression after adjustment with confounding variables, stress had a negative relationship with eating habits. CONCLUSION: The relationship between stress and eating habits was statistically significant, especially in regularity and balance. It is important to know not only the health status, but also the factors associated with health such as stresses and eating habits in order to improve the health status of the university students. Further research needs to uncover causality and make a generalization.
Confounding Factors (Epidemiology) ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Eating* ; Employment ; Generalization (Psychology) ; Humans ; Stress, Psychological ; Uncertainty ; Surveys and Questionnaires

Purpose: Cluster analysis on pediatric asthma identifying a cluster characterized by obesity, females, and puberty showed that obesity is an independent risk factor for severe asthma in this cluster. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of overweight/obesity on lung function and asthma severity in prepubertal asthmatic children. Methods: One hundred fifty-five prepubertal children (aged 6–10) with asthma were enrolled and divided into 2 groups: the overweight/obese group (body mass index [BMI] ≥ 85th percentile, n = 44) and the normal BMI group ( < 85th percentile, n = 111). We reviewed their medical records and analyzed whether there were any differences in clinical features, lung function and degree of bronchial hyperresponsiveness (BHR) between the 2 groups. The clinical factors associated with asthma severity were also investigated. Results: There was no difference in clinical features between the 2 groups. Pulmonary function tests showed that only forced vital capacity in 1 second/forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) was significantly lower in the overweight/obese group than in the normal BMI group (P = 0.032). There was no difference in dysanapsis and BHR between the 2 groups. There were significantly more children with moderate-to-severe asthma in the overweight/obese group compared to the normal BMI group (P = 0.018). In multivariate logistic regression analysis, overweight/obesity has been identified as an independent risk factor of affecting asthma severity (odds ratio, 2.44; P = 0.018), in addition to the already known risk factor, FEV1. Conclusion Our study showed that overweight/obese prepubertal asthmatic children had lower FEV1/FVC than those with normal BMI. It also suggests that overweight/obesity may be an independent risk factor for severe asthma before puberty.

Background and Objectives: Vitamin D modulates immunity, including that of allergic diseases, and plays its roles through contact with vitamin D receptors (VDR). Recent studies have shown that patients with allergic rhinitis have low systemic serum vitamin D level. However, the expression of VDR in local tissue such as human nasal mucosa has not been investigated. Our study demonstrated that, in nasal mucosa of normal controls and patients with allergic rhinitis. Materials and Methods: Nasal mucosa were harvested from twenty-five patients who had normal nasal mucosa and twenty-five patients with allergic rhinitis. After the total RNA isolation, we performed reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemical staining and western blot analysis. Results: VDR were expressed in submucosal glands and the superficial layer of epithelial cell, and that inflammatory cells are expressed more highly in the nasal mucosa of patients with allergic rhinitis compared to those without. In the mucosa of patients with allergic rhinitis, VDR expression level was upregulated compared to that in normal nasal mucosa. Conclusion This findings suggest that VDR plays a role in the pathogenesis of allergic rhinitis. Additional research is needed to determine the mechanism and consequences of VDR upregulation.

PURPOSE: L-asparaginase is a crucial chemotherapeutic agent for the treatment of acute lymphoblastic leukemia. However, hypersensitivity to L-asparaginase is common which limits its clinical use. METHODS: We performed 44 cases of premedication and 3 cases of desensitization in 16 patients with hypersensitivity to L-asparaginase. RESULTS: With premedication, 33 cases completed L-asparaginase injection with no hypersensitivity reactions. Eleven cases showed mild hypersensitivity reactions, such as urticaria. Desensitization was performed in 3 cases: in 2 cases, desensitization was successful, and in 1 case the medication was switched to Erwinia asparaginase. CONCLUSION: Premedication and desensitization appear to be useful in helping patients receive desired doses of L-asparaginase in pediatric patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
Asparaginase ; Desensitization, Immunologic ; Drug Hypersensitivity ; Erwinia ; Humans ; Hypersensitivity* ; Precursor Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma ; Premedication* ; Urticaria

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been used experimentally for treating inflammatory disorders, partly owing to their immunosuppressive properties. The goal of the study was to determine whether TLR ligands can enhance the therapeutic efficacy of bone marrow-derived MSCs for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease. Mice (C57BL6) were administered with 4% dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) in drinking water for 7 days and injected with MSCs on days 1 and 3 following DSS ingestion. Our results demonstrated that among various TLR ligands, MSCs treated with polyinosinic-polycytidylic acid [poly(I:C)], which is a TLR3 ligand, more profoundly induced IDO, which is a therapeutically relevant immunosuppressive factor, without any observable phenotype change in vitro. The poly(I:C)-treated MSCs attenuated the pathologic severity of DSS-induced murine colitis when injected i.p. but not i.v. In summary, preconditioning MSCs with poly(I:C) might improve their efficacy in treating DSS-induced colitis, and this effect at least partly depends on the enhancement of their immunosuppressive activity through increasing their production of IDO.
Animals ; Colitis* ; Dextran Sulfate ; Drinking Water ; Eating ; In Vitro Techniques ; Indoleamine-Pyrrole 2,3,-Dioxygenase* ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Ligands ; Mesenchymal Stromal Cells ; Mice ; Phenotype ; Poly I-C ; Toll-Like Receptors

Objective: Adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience significant difficulties with executive functioning (EF) and related adaptive skills, yet the lack of interventions in South Korea targeting these areas has resulted in a heightened need to develop an evidence- based program. Therefore, we developed a novel intervention aiming to enhance everyday EF and daily adaptive skills in adults with high-functioning ASD and conducted a pilot study to evaluate the validity and feasibility of the program. Methods: A behavioral intervention of 10-weekly sessions was developed based on literature searches and focus group interviews. Seven adults with high-functioning ASD (mean age=20.29) participated in a single-group pilot trial. We used self and parent-report questionnaires as well as skills measured by assessment instruments to analyze differences before and after the intervention. Results: Significant improvements were shown in everyday EF, including time management, organization, self-restraint, and regulation of emotions. Additionally, results demonstrated an enhancement in adaptive functioning, especially in the subdomains of daily living skills. Analyses of parental outcomes only revealed a significant decrease in the scores of emotion regulation. Conclusion The current study provides good evidence for the validity and feasibility of an intervention to improve everyday EF and adaptive skills in adults with ASD.

Objective: Adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience significant difficulties with executive functioning (EF) and related adaptive skills, yet the lack of interventions in South Korea targeting these areas has resulted in a heightened need to develop an evidence- based program. Therefore, we developed a novel intervention aiming to enhance everyday EF and daily adaptive skills in adults with high-functioning ASD and conducted a pilot study to evaluate the validity and feasibility of the program. Methods: A behavioral intervention of 10-weekly sessions was developed based on literature searches and focus group interviews. Seven adults with high-functioning ASD (mean age=20.29) participated in a single-group pilot trial. We used self and parent-report questionnaires as well as skills measured by assessment instruments to analyze differences before and after the intervention. Results: Significant improvements were shown in everyday EF, including time management, organization, self-restraint, and regulation of emotions. Additionally, results demonstrated an enhancement in adaptive functioning, especially in the subdomains of daily living skills. Analyses of parental outcomes only revealed a significant decrease in the scores of emotion regulation. Conclusion The current study provides good evidence for the validity and feasibility of an intervention to improve everyday EF and adaptive skills in adults with ASD.

Paramolar tubercle is a rare developmental dental anomaly defined as an additional cusp occurring on the buccal or lingual sur-faces of the molar. Permanent molar fused with paramolar tubercles can be a cause of difficulty in root canal treatment. Therefore, proper understanding of these variations is important in order to ensure successful endodontic treatment. Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) can be helpful to understand anatomy of complicated cases. This case report describes nonsurgical endodontictreatment of maxillary second premolar fused with paramolar tubercle.

Objectives: . Facial nerve monitoring (FNM) can be used to identify the facial nerve, to obtain information regarding its course, and to evaluate its status during parotidectomy. However, there has been disagreement regarding the efficacy of FNM in reducing the incidence of facial nerve palsy during parotid surgery. Therefore, instead of using electromyography (EMG) to identify the location and state of the facial nerve, we applied an intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) system using a surface pressure sensor to detect facial muscle twitching. The objective of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using the IONM system with a surface pressure sensor to detect facial muscle twitching during parotidectomy. Methods: . We evaluated the stimulus thresholds for the detection of muscle twitching in the orbicularis oris and orbicularis oculi, as well as the amplitude and latency of EMG and the surface pressure sensor in 13 facial nerves of seven rabbits, using the same stimulus intensity. Results: . The surface pressure sensor detected muscle twitching in the orbicularis oris and orbicularis oculi in response to a stimulation of 0.1 mA in all 13 facial nerves. The stimulus threshold did not differ between the surface pressure sensor and EMG. Conclusion . The application of IONM using a surface pressure sensor during parotidectomy is noninvasive, reliable, and feasible. Therefore, the IONM system with a surface pressure sensor to measure facial muscle twitching may be an alternative to EMG for verifying the status of the facial nerve.