BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Extrusion of the ossicular prosthesis into the eardrum has been a persisting a problem accompanying ossiculoplasty. There are several factors concerning extrusion of the prosthesis, for instance, eardrum retraction, infection and the figure of the prosthesis, etc. Recently, many studies have been performed to evaluate the cause of extrusion; however, there have not been any attempts to analyze the extrusion cause from the viewpoint of biomechanics. The purpose of this study is to calculate the stress and strain of the eardrum and the prosthesis and to find the ideal model that prevents extrusion. MATERIALS AND METHOD: Three kinds of the imaginary total ossicular replacement prosthesis (TORP) were designed and biomechanically analyzed using the 3 dimensional finite element method. Equivalent stress and strains were measured and compared between the each group. The distribution of equivalent stress and strain on the eardrum and TORP were also observed. RESULTS: The concave disc shows the smallest in value of the maximum equivalent stress & the maximum equivalent strain. In all eardrums, the stress was concentrated along the contact area with the disc margin, especially toward the center of the eardrum. In all TORPs, the upper 1/4 of the shaft and margin of the disc toward center of the eardrum was the most stress-concentrated area. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that concave disc could be the most suitable for preventing extrusion.

The emergence of a new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic has become a significant health concern worldwide. Undoubtedly, a better understanding of the innate and adaptive immune responses against SARS-CoV-2 and its relationship with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pathogenesis will be the sole basis for developing and applying therapeutics. This review will summarize the published results that relate to innate immune responses against infections with human coronaviruses including SARS-CoV-1 and SARS-CoV-2 in both humans and animal models. The topics encompass the innate immune sensing of the virus to the dysregulation of various innate immune cells during infection and disease progression.

In the era of immunotherapeutic control of cancers, many advances in biotechnology, especially in Ab engineering, have provided multiple new candidates as therapeutic immunooncology modalities. Bispecific Abs (BsAbs) that recognize 2 different antigens in one molecule are promising drug candidates and have inspired an upsurge in research in both academia and the pharmaceutical industry. Among several BsAbs, T cell engaging BsAb (TCEB), a new class of therapeutic agents designed to simultaneously bind to T cells and tumor cells via tumor cell specific antigens in immunotherapy, is the most promising BsAb.Herein, we are providing an overview of the current status of the development of TCEBs. The diverse formats and characteristics of TCEBs, in addition to the functional mechanisms of BsAbs are discussed. Several aspects of a new TCEB-Blinatumomab-are reviewed, including the current clinical data, challenges of patient treatment, drawbacks regarding toxicities, and resistance of TCEB therapy. Development of the next generation of TCEBs is also discussed in addition to the comparison of TCEB with current chimeric antigen receptor-T therapy.