The bean bug, Riptortus pedestris, is one of major hemipteran pests against the soybean, Glycine max in Korea. In previous study, it was suggested that water-taking in the first instar nymphal stage of R. pedestris is certainly necessary for successful ecdysis and their survival. To investigate water-taking behavior of the first instar nymphs of R. pedestris on plant, electrical penetration graphic patterns were analysed while R. pedestris fed on the napa cabbage leaf, Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis by using EPG system. In the result, a X-waveform was dominantly observed for average 42.0 min out of total recording time (120 min). There was significant positive correlation (r = 0.457, P = 0.000452, n = 55) between body weight increase and cumulative durations of X-waveform. In addition, histological observation of cross-sections indicated that stylet tip in the plant tissue during X-waveform period is located nearby xylem cells, suggesting that X-waveform is closely related to xylem sap feeding behavior of R. pedestris in plant.

A 57 years old female complained of severe pain on the right temporomandibular joint (TMJ) area. Her right condyle had been partly resected under surgical operation 13 years ago due to condyle hypertrophy, thereafter she felt dull pain on TMJ area and recently the lesion became severely swelled and painful leading to cancer phobia. The present radiological views showed slightly enlarged and sclerosed condyle with increased radiopacity, but its articular sliding function was almost disable during mouth opening. The patient’s TMJ lesion was carefully managed with conservative physiotherapy and pain treatment. The microsection of condyle head obtained from the previous operation was re-evaluated histologically, and it was finally diagnosed as osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD), exhibiting hyperplastic proliferation of cartilage in condyle head and marked vascular dilatation in epiphyseal zone. This abnormal cartilage tissue was distinguishable from normal cartilage tissue found in the peripheral cartilaginous cap of the same microsection. The involved cartilage cap showed thick hypertrophic chondrocyte zone with horizontal and vertical clefts accompanying diffuse hyaline degeneration. The superficial fibrous zone of cartilage cap was thickened and frequently peeled off, while lower hypertrophic zone of cartilage cap was highly cellular and proliferative. Consequently, the endochondral ossification became aberrant and resulted pre-mature apoptosis of many hypertrophic chondrocytes, followed by diffuse and mild inflammatory reaction in the underlying marrow tissue. Therefore, it was suggested that this hypertrophic condyle lesion, OCD, be differentiated depending on radiological and histological features from ordinary condyle hyperplasia, osteochondroma, and osteoarthritis, and that the pathological confirmation of OCD may provide a reliable modality for dental and medical treatment of chronic and painful TMJ lesion.

With the multiple practices of bone graft using different artificial bone regenerative substitutes, the bone graft procedures have been widely performed to increase the bony stabilization of dental implant. Xenogenic bone graft materials have been well developed because of their good biocompatibility and abundant source of bone materials. The present study demonstrated the histological findings from excellent bony remodeling in xenogenic bone graft biopsies compared to those findings in autogenous bone graft. For the graft bone biopsies which were usually done in 5-9 months after graft bone insertion, five types of histological grades including excellent, favorable, partial, degenerative, and poor bony remodeling could be assessed to give prognostic information for dental implant. However, recently the xenograft bone materials have been much improved and produced strong osteogenic effect. Among 239 cases of trephine bur-supported core bone biopsy the excellent bony remodeling was found in 20 cases (13.1%) out of 153 xenogenic bone grafts and in 13 cases (43.3%) out of 30 autogenous bone grafts. They produced abundant new bones on the surface of the graft bones in 5–9 months, and the graft bones were partly resorbed and also surrounded by the repetitive deposition of new bone. The osteophytic new bones showed strong birefringence under polarizing microscope, and were gradually elongated and anastomosed with each other to form trabecular bony networks which became proper stress-baring structures for dental implant. Their marrow stromal tissues were composed of loose connective tissue which was well vascularized but rarely infiltrated with inflammatory cells. The present study compared the histological features of excellent bony remodeling between xenogenic and autogenous bone grafts. Although the ratio of excellent bony remodeling in xenogenic bone graft was still low, 13.1%, the recent advance of xenogeic bone products was remarkable in biological aspect and almost comparable to the autogenous bones. Therefore, it was suggested that the xenogenic bone graft will be applicable to the bone regeneration procedures for dental implant with beneficial output in the near future.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of pulsed ultrasound on wound healing and observe during the wound healing process the distribution of mast cells according to histopathologic findings. Eighty Sprague Dawley rats which were divided into 4 groups received full thickness skin wounds on the back. Each of the 5 animals was sacrificed immediately and then sacrificed again 1, 3, 6, and 12 days after injury. Specimens from the wounds were removed during healing and routinely processed with a hematoxylin-eosin stain and a toluidine blue stain. The authors then observed the distribution of mast cells under a light microscope. The results of this study were as follows: The rate of wound healing and the length of the wounds of the pulsed ultrasound group II was significantly faster than group I on day 6 and day 12 (p<.001). Group III showed the most significant effect after12 days (p<.001). Group IV also showed a significant effect at 12 days (p<.01). A low-intensity ultrasound .5 resulted in a fast healing rate. During the wound healing process mast cells had a tendency to decrease in the acute inflammatory phase. During the wound healing process mast cells were thought to contribute to the healing of the wound.

Red spotted grouper (Epinephelus akaara) is one of the most popular and important grouper species for aquaculture in South-East and East Asia thanks to its fast growth and high market value. This species is known as a protogynous hermaphrodite which first differentiates into females and changes to males later. Natural sex change in this species occurs at 2 or 3 years of age. Many studies have been conducted, so far, to develop standardized methods for artificial sex reversal by treatment with sex steroid hormones (Bhandari et al., 2005; Lee et al., 2014). However, sex-changed male groupers showed testes with ovarian cavity, and their sperm production was very low. Induction of primary sex differentiation directly into males would be an alternative approach. Identification of the exact primary sex differentiation period is the prerequisite for this approach. Red spotted grouper were reared in indoor tanks and acclimatized at 25±2℃ under natural photoperiod. Fish were sampled at 60 days after hatching. The samples were processed for histological analysis using standard techniques in an automatic tissue processor, sectioned at 8 μm in thickness and stained with haematoxylin and eosin. The result of this study shows the morphological characteristics of gonadal primordium, and suggests that the timing of gonadal differentiation in red spotted grouper is at least 10 days earlier than the previous study of Lee et al. (2014) which observed gonadal primordium at 70 days after hatching.