Changes of cheek pressure during swallowing following expansion of the maxillary dental arch in repaired cleft palates

Cheek pressure during swallowing was measured on six operated complete cleft lip and palate cases (4-8 years of age) before and after expansion of buccal segments of maxillary arch. As control, seven non-cleft subjects with acceptable occlusion of the same age level were used. Before expansion, the pressures in the cleft cases were much higher than the controls. Immediately after expansion, increase in pressure was observed in cases which received rapid expansion. However, a few months after expansion, most cases showed a decrease in pressure. This is explained as being due to the adaptation of the perioral musculature to the expanded dental arch and/or the disappearance of hyperactivity of the perioral musculature during swallowing.

Ischemic heart disease and hyperlipidemia

Studies on lipid and lipoprotein abnormalities which are associable with ischemic heart disease were presented. None of the subjects studied for this report had clinical signs or symptoms characteristic to "familial or sporadic" hyperlipoproteinemia. Only few showed gross abnormalities in lipid chemistries which are compatible with these clinical entities. Lipid abnormalities characteristic to the majority of ischemic heart patients were modest to moderate increase of serum total and free cholesterol and triglyceride; either independent increase or combined increase of these lipid fractions. Determination of free cholesterol may favor to detect such minute abnormality in modest hyperlipidemia as seen in ischemic heart patients. As expressed by our lipoprotein PAG electrophoresis pattern, B and Bp pattern (Fig. 1) seemed to be important lipoprotein abnormalities because of high incidence of ischemic heart disease (60 to 65%). Another feature of these hyperbeta lipoproteinemic state without (B pattern) or with (Bp pattern) moderate prebeta lipoprotein is highly suggestive of premature onset of ischemic heart suggestive premature onset of ischemic heart disease in the subjects with these lipoprotein patterns. Pb battern (hyperpre-beta lipoproteinemic state) was the next, because of frequent occurrence of this pattern (approx. 30%) among the cardiovascular patients and relatively high incidence (approx. 40%) of ischemic heart disease. PB pattern (combine hyperpre-beta and hyperbeta lipoproteinemic state) occurred rarely but incidence of ischemic heart disease in the subject with this pattern was high (approx. 40%). Midband lipoprotein which is one of the unique lipoprotein species detected by PAG electrophoresis may possibly reflect disordered lipoprotein metabolism. However, its association with ischemic heart disease seemed highly unlikely. However, further studies on this and other unusual lipoproteins detectable with PAG electrophoresis seems productive. Extensive studies on cine coronary angiographically established subjects (well characterized study subjects) with this new method in addition to the others would be highly productive to obtain more reliable conclusion on this subject, and hence, to obtain more effective guide line for early identification or for prevention of coronary atherosclerosis.

Study of an intravenous fat tolerance test with Intralipid. II. The relation between K2 and PHLA with special reference to clinical data in human subjects

The relation between K2 and PHLA was studied in human subjects with special reference to clinical data determined by routine laboratory and physical examinations. The results obtained by Multiple Regression Analysis indicated that those factors which may contribute to K2 variation were fasting triglyceride level and age. There was an inverse partial correlation between K2 and fasting triglyceride level and between K2 and age. The first and second principal components calculated by Principal Component Analysis indicated that K2 is closely related to obesity and hyperlipidemia, especially hypertriglyceridemia, while PHLA related to albumin. These two components also suggested that K2 fibes different clinical information from that obtained by PHLA measurement. There was no partial correlation between K2 and PHLA. The various lipoprotein paper electrophoretic patterns, type IIa, type IIb, type IV and normal patterns, were clearly characterized by such factors as K2, plasma triglyceride and degree of obesity which has high coefficients in the first principal component.

Three forms of cytochrome b 559 and their relation to the photosynthetic activity of chloroplasts

Spinach chloroplasts were found to contain three forms of cytochrome b(559) that have the same alpha-peak at 559 nm, but are distinguished from one another by their oxidation-reduction potentials. The high-potential (H) form (E(m) about 330-350 mV) is reducible by hydroquinone, the middle-potential (M) form (E(m) about 50-80 mV) is reducible by ascorbate but not by hydroquinone, and the low-potential (L) form is reducible by dithionite but not by ascorbate. The H form was the predominant one in freshly prepared chloroplasts and was strongly correlated with Photosystem II activity. Chloroplast treatments such as aging, sonication, and mild heating, singly or in combination, brought about a shift of the H to the M form. More drastic treatments resulted in shifts of the H and M forms to the L form. The role of cytochrome b(559) as an electron carrier in System II of plant photosynthesis is discussed.

Role of RNA in the regulatory action of estrogen

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