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Objective To compare surgical outcomes of transcanal endoscopic ear surgery (TEES) for congenital ossicular anomalies with those of conventional microscopic surgery. Study Design Retrospective case review. Setting Tertiary referral academic center. Subjects and Methods From March 2012 to November 2018, 42 consecutive ears in 40 patients with congenital ossicular anomaly who underwent ossiculoplasty or stapes surgery using either ear endoscopes (TEES group) or an operating microscope (microscopic group) were included. Postoperative audiometric results, operation time, switch of approach, and complications were compared between the 2 groups. Results Twenty-four ears (66.1%) were in the microscopic group and 18 ears (33.9%) were in the TEES group. The mean (SD) preoperative air-bone gap was 31.8 (10.0) dB in the microscopic group and 35.2 (11.1) dB in the TEES group. The mean (SD) postoperative air-bone gap was 7.4 (6.5) dB in the microscopic group and 5.6 (5.0) dB in the TEES group. The differences in the preoperative and postoperative air-bone gaps between the 2 groups were not statistically significant ( P = .316 and P = .412, respectively). Average operation time in the TEES group was 24.6 minutes shorter than that in the microscopic group, which was statistically significant ( P = .019). None of patients in the TEES group did require a switch of approach. There was no significant difference in complication incidence between the 2 groups. Conclusions TEES for congenital ossicular anomaly has comparable audiometric results and complication rates to conventional microscopic surgery. TEES appears to have the advantages of shorter operation times.

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Despite of their outstanding axial strength, CFRP tendons necessitate special anchorage due to their low lateral shear strength. In order to cope with such CFRP tendon, the conventional bond type anchor needs to be improved. The results of bond tests executed on 10-mm diameter CFRP tendons coated with sand and oxide revealed that, even if the average bond strength increases by 3 times compared to the non-coated bare tendon, the coated CFRP tendon still requires excessively long anchored length for bonding. Therefore, this study applies a method enabling to shorten the bonded length and improving further the bond performance compared to sand or oxide coating. The improvement of the bond characteristics is achieved by splitting the ends of the CFRP tendon so as to widen the bonded area by 3.5 times. The test results showed that the anchor performance of the CFRP tendon reaches 95% of its tensile strength making it applicable for the bond type anchor.

Salsolinol (SAL), a compound derived from dopamine metabolism, is the most probable neurotoxin involved in the pathogenesis of Parkinson’s disease (PD). In this study, we investigated the modification and inactivation of human ceruloplasmin (hCP) induced by SAL. Incubation of hCP with SAL increased the protein aggregation and enzyme inactivation in a dose-dependent manner. Reactive oxygen species scavengers and copper chelators inhibited the SAL-mediated hCP modification and inactivation. The formation of dityrosine was detected in SAL-mediated hCP aggregates. Amino acid analysis post the exposure of hCP to SAL revealed that aspartate, histidine, lysine, threonine and tyrosine residues were particularly sensitive. Since hCP is a major copper transport protein, oxidative damage of hCP by SAL may induce perturbation of the copper transport system, which subsequently leads to deleterious conditions in cells. This study of the mechanism by which ceruloplasmin is modified by salsolinol may provide an explanation for the deterioration of organs under neurodegenerative disorders such as PD. [BMB Reports 2016; 49(1): 45-50]