Ear Flaps Research Articles

Photogallery. HIV infection and neoplastic skin diseases

Malignant neoplasms constitute a group of the most important secondary diseases that develop in people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The first neoplastic disease described in HIV-infected patients is Kaposi's sarcoma. In contrast to other types of Kaposi's sarcoma, its epidemic (AIDS-associated) type is more common in young and middle-aged HIV-positive individuals, especially among men who have same-sex sex. Epidemic Kaposi's sarcoma does not have a favourite localisation. However, there is a tendency to lesions of the scalp (face, ear flaps), upper extremities, anogenital area, oral mucosa. On the trunk, the pathological process spreads along the Langer lines. Skin rashes are represented by spotty, papular, nodular elements of red-brown or purple colour. The aggressive course is characteristic: rapid dissemination and generalisation of rashes. Plasmoblastic lymphoma is associated with immunodeficiency states and is rare. The tumour lesion is usually located in the oral cavity. Few cases of plasmoblastic lymphoma with skin and soft tissue involvement have been described in the literature. Squamous cell skin cancer in the context of HIV infection is a dangerous disease. In people living with HIV, it manifests at a significantly earlier age and is associated with a high risk of local recurrence. The extent of invasion and the likelihood of metastasis are influenced by HIV-associated immunodeficiency. In the vast majority of cases, risk factors and clinical manifestations of basal cell skin cancer do not differ from those in immunocompetent individuals. Basal cell carcinomas rarely metastasise. Nevertheless, metastatic forms lead to unfavourable outcome. Here is a photo gallery of cases of neoplastic skin lesions developed in HIV-positive patients.

Novel method for high-density porous polyethylene ear reconstruction stent remodeling to achieve high satisfactory outcomes.

We aimed to explore a novel method for ear reconstruction stent remodeling to achieve high patient satisfactory outcomes. This study is a retrospective review of patients with congenital or acquired ear defects who were prepared for one-stage ear reconstruction with high-density porous polyethylene stent between May 2020 and May 2021. A standardized data collection template was used to collect related variables. In this study, the detailed reconstruction surgery process is carefully described, and the postoperative healing process of the ear reconstruction was closely observed. A total of 26 patients for one-stage ear reconstruction with high-density porous polyethylene stent or autogenous costal cartilage scaffolds were admitted to the department of plastic surgery in our hospital between May 2020 and May 2021. All patients were followed until their ear flaps were alive and details of the ear shape were revealed. The patients with new remolding method were no severe complications and only a patient had stent exposure, and were highly satisfied with both appearance and function. The application of novel remodeling method is a promising way for ear reconstruction stent shaping with little postoperative complication and excellent postoperative patient satisfaction.

The Role of Hyaluronidase for the Skin Necrosis Caused by Hyaluronic Acid Injection-Induced Embolism: A Rabbit Auricular Model Study.

Skin necrosis is considered the most serious complication of hyaluronic acid dermal filler injection procedures. To effectively treat skin necrosis, hyaluronidase injection is one of the essential preventative treatments, and yet optimal complication management remains an unmet need. Therefore, this paper investigates the effects of hyaluronidase injection timing on the treatment of skin necrosis. In an in vitro experiment, the carbazole method was used to determine the degradation time of hyaluronic acid gels in a large volume of hyaluronidase. In vivo experimental rabbit ear models were developed to simulate the skin necrosis caused by hyaluronic acid and the test animals distributed into five groups. Except one control group, the other four groups were injected with a large volume of hyaluronidase as treatment at 2h, 4h, 8h and 16h, respectively, after models were built. The necrosis degree of models was analyzed with necrotic area and histologic examination on the postoperative 7th day. Besides, temperatures of rabbit ears were observed to demonstrate the healing process of flap models. The average necrotic area of flaps in the 2-h and 4-h injection groups showed a significant difference compared with that of the control group (p < 0.05; p < 0.05). The histologic examination showed that there were HA embolisms, vascular thrombolytic recanalization and arteriovenous thromboses in the survival area. In addition, the mean temperatures of the rabbit ear flaps fluctuated over time and showed clear differences between distal and proximal parts. The area of flap necrosis positively correlates with injection timing of the large volume of hyaluronidase. More importantly, when injection timing is within 4h, treatment effectiveness will be significantly improved. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

한국광복군의 군모와 모표에 관한 연구

The Korean Independence Army founded by the Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea played pivotal roles in the history of armed strife for independence by waging joint operations with the united forces until the moment of liberation from the Japanese colonial rule. Despite proactive historical research on the army’s organization and activities, there is a lack of research findings in the apparel study on their military uniform. And yet, considering the prestigious position of the Korean Independence Army in the independence history of Korea and frequent appearance of the military uniform in diverse media, it would be significant to conduct systematic research on what they wore. This study aims to devise basic materials for the appraisal standard for relics and representations by looking into the military cap and the emblem attached as components of the military uniform worn by the army. The military cap of Nationalist Army worn by the Korean Independence Army, the military cap along with the emblem prescribed in Yukgun Jebok Doan(Protocol of Army Uniform) were researched for this study based on relevant laws, literature and photography. The military cap used at Nationalist Army worn by the Korean Independence Army originated from the ski cap of the Germany troops. It has ear flaps to protect the face in cold winter. They also wore peaked caps and garrison caps as prescribed in Yukgun Jebok Doan. The military cap of the Korean Independence Army protected the head of its users, and its emblem distinguished them from soldiers active in China by indicating their affiliation and rank. The Taegeuk (meaning

Spit on the great cities

Spit on the great cities Mary Marbourg (bio) The zucchini's frying, and your mother's sniffing her hair. The eggplant's been sliced; the bits where the worms bored dark holes in the white fibers, cut out.Lapland thumps his tail in the mudroom. You're getting him to participate in a no-no.Your father stands at the picture window, wearing a brown cap with the ear flaps down.On the chessboard is a thumb-sized space that can hold a rook, a knight, or a bishop; he hasn't discovered which shape will fill the space and is playing through the variations.There's a patch of pink light on the snow; your mother cranes over the cutting board to make out the source. ________ You became aware of your breathing and her breathing.You're both collapsed on the neighbor's linoleum floor, your backs against the cabinets. You're inclined toward each other, two poles of a tent.Your hair's stuck on a round knob.The linoleum's mint-and-mauve repeating diamond motif's gouged around the kitchen chairs' legs in a crude petal pattern.The neighbor's wool-socked feet cross in front of you; the faucet turns on; the water's pitch changes as it first hits the metal sink, then the bottom of the metal kettle;the feet cross in front of you again; a match is struck; click, click, click; the burner whooshes. [End Page 82] The kettle shakes and shudders, vibrates and rattles right before whistling; you count the round petal impressions in the linoleum.It will be okay; it will not be okay; it will be okay. You're handed a cup of tea. You wrap your fingers around the hot, white ceramic.It will not be okay. Out the picture window, your footprints are visible in the snow; a black mutt huddles near a woodpile covered with a flapping, fraying blue tarp; a bird feeder hangs from a cedar tree's spindly branch, the red outcrop of plastic perches, birdless; a greasy smudge, the size of the side of a palm, makes the glass also part of what you're seeing. So often when you're with your mother, you're an ear that sprouts lines of hearing: her pencils rapidly moving across her notebook as she shades a Rufus hummingbird's rust-red neck, her wedding ring chiming against her coffee mug, her high-pitched hum while she cuts vegetables.Now, walking the dirt path back to the house, there are no errant dings, rattles, rustles, no throat clearances or colorful things being plucked and pocketed;she's a great blue heron, stock-still in a sycamore's blanched branches. You see your father chasing a page the snow's made cream colored; it's page one hundred ninety-six of Thus Spake Zarathustra.When he catches it, he waves it at you like a flag. [End Page 83] Mary Marbourg Mary Marbourg grew up in the Ozarks. She attended the University of Iowa and the University of Arizona. She has taught creative writing at the University of Arizona and written children's books for a publishing house in Seoul. Currently, she lives in North India where she edits books on the Yoga and Vedânta. Copyright © 2018 University of Nebraska Press

A Tip of My Hat

A Tip of My Hat

The effect of recombinant hirudin on rabbit ear flaps with venous insufficiency.

The effect of recombinant hirudin, which is the most powerful antithrombotic agent, on flaps with venous insufficiency was investigated. Oedema and congestion are frequent on flaps, causing necrosis unpredictably. Venous insufficiency and thrombosis are experimentally and clinically more frequent than arterial occlusion. Twenty-one adult New Zealand rabbits were used in this study. Skin flaps (3 × 6 cm) were elevated on a 1-cm-wide pedicle on rabbit ears. The artery, nerve, and vein were exposed and examined with the aid of a surgical microscope. Venous insufficiency was established by cutting the vein and nerve. In the control group, no additional surgical or medical procedures were performed and the ear flap was inset to its original location. Subcutaneous low molecular weight heparin (LMWH; 320 IU/kg) was administered to a second group of rabbits after the same surgery, and recombinant hirudin (2 μg) was administered via the pedicle artery 5 minutes after the vein and nerve were bound and cut in a third group of rabbits. Compared with control and LMWH groups on day 3 and 7, the hirudin-treated group had less hair loss, lower oedema scores and less haematoma formation. Furthermore, a lower size of necrotic areas and an increase in the circulating area on day 7 was found in the hirudin-treated group. In addition, angiography revealed new vessel development (neovascularisation) only in the hirudin group. On histologic sections, hirudin-treated animals had lower oedema, inflammation and congestion scores than animals in the other two groups. Thus, when administered into the ear flap through the pedicle as a pure recombinant preparation, hirudin increased flap survival by its antithrombotic effects and by accelerating neoangiogenesis. Recombinant hirudin may be used in clinical practice to treat flaps with venous problems and to increase survival rates.

The peculiar nemertean larva pilidium recurvatum belongs to Riserius sp., a basal heteronemertean that eats Carcinonemertes errans, a hoplonemertean parasite of Dungeness crab

AbstractA typical nemertean pilidium larva resembles a hat with ear flaps. But one type, called pilidium recurvatum, looks more like a sock, swimming heel first. This distinctive larva was discovered in 1883 off the coast of Rhode Island and subsequently found in plankton samples from other parts of the world. Despite the long time since discovery, and its significance in discussions of larval evolution, this larva remained unidentified even to the family level. We collected pilidium recurvatum larvae from plankton samples in Coos Bay, OR, and identified them as belonging to the heteronemertean genus Riserius based on juvenile morphology and DNA sequence data. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that two distinct types of pilidium recurvatum from Oregon represent two new species within this currently monotypic genus. We describe the morphology of pilidium recurvatum using confocal microscopy and compare it to that of the typical pilidium, discussing possible implications for larval feeding. We also report our surprising discovery that juveniles of Riserius sp. from Oregon prey on another nemertean, Carcinonemertes errans, an egg predator of Cancer magister (Dungeness crab), a commercially important species. We speculate that the species‐level diversity and geographic distribution of Riserius may be much greater than currently appreciated.

흉노(匈奴)의 복식문화에 관한 연구

Xiognu people were the first of the Central-Asian nomads to establish a nation in 209 B.C. They always moved around looking for places to breed their animals and fertile grounds, so they wore clothes made of fur and leather and covered their tents with felt from the livestock. This research studies on the literatures, costumes and the achievement of archaeological excavation. Furthermore, to investigate on costumes excavated of Xiongnu, we visited the Mongolian National Museum and the Hermitage Museum. A corn-hat made of felt, a felt hat with ear flaps and a golden crown with a bird on the top were unearthed from a tomb of Xiongnu in Inner mongolia. Women usually wore pigtails, and men wore pigtails or ponytails but they cut their hair short when holding a funeral. Many pigtails discovered in Noyon uul tombs can be considered as their funeral customs. The Xiongnu wore a round or v-neck caftan attached straight sleeves reaching knees in the left folded style, and because they always rode horses, having the length of the caftan not go past their buttocks would have made it more convenient for them. During the period of Western Han, Ho refered to Xiongnu and it became a common name for northern races. They used leather belts and an animal-designed buckle was found. Women commonly rouged their cheeks for a vivid and cute look, and many ornaments were excavated including bracelets, rings and decorations made of gold, silver, copper and jade, among which there were hair ornaments used to identify one`s class. A horse pattern with wings and a horn of Golmod T20 was substitution for the Schythian use of deer. Patterns or shape of unearthed articles present in the Xiongnu culture in Noyon uul had a close relationship with Altaic, Greek and Persian cultures. The Xiongnu clothing was made of animals` skin and fur, woolen textiles and felt. It was folded to the left for upper garments, and the pants were adjusted using a belt and shoes were made of leather, which was very suitable for protection against the cold and horse riding. Mobility played a significant role in their clothing.

Epinephrine's effect in varying concentrations on the end artery organ in an animal model.

To determine the concentration of epinephrine that causes end artery necrosis and ischemia. An experimental study. Animal Laboratory of Khordad Hospital, Tehran, Iran, from September 2007 to June 2008. This study was done on 54 ear flaps from 9 rabbits [9 (rabbits) x2 (ears) x3 (splits) =54] divided into three groups of 18 ear flaps each. Nine of the ear flaps were randomized as control and nine of them were randomized as study group. The different concentrations of epinephrine and lidocaine 1% were injected in study groups but only 1% lidocaine was injected in control groups. Study group 1 received 1/200000, group 2 received 1/100000 and group 3 received 1/500000 concentration of epinephrine respectively. There was no evidence of necrosis in the control and study groups 1 and 2. However, 4 out of 9 of the ear flaps showed clear evidence of tissue necrosis in group 3. Injecting epinephrine in 1/200000 and 1/100000 concentrations had no side effect for the end artery of the rabbit ear flaps, but 1/50000 concentration is shown that it can cause tissue necrosis. Further studies need to be done in order to find out the effects of epinephrine with the same concentrations on the human end artery.

Why do elephants have big ear flaps?

In this essay we shall try to answer the question in the title with some geometry and heat transfer thrown in for effect. For doing so, as the joke goes, allow me to assume the elephant as a sphere. The reason will be apparent soon.

A Special Case of Anencephaly in an Early-Born Baby with an Exagerated Prognastic Face: Further Example for Human Devolution

A 7-month-old baby was born in a village near Iskenderun (Turkey) where “Unertan Syndrome” with quadrupedality and primitive cognitive abilities was discovered. The clinical diagnosis was anencephaly. However, his head did not show the classical symptoms of anencephaly because it was covered with bony structures. The baby has an ape-like, prognasthic head with low-set ears and flapped ear flaps. The other parts of the body were similar to humans with broad shoulders and a short neck. This may be a further example of human devolution, which was first reported by ). A genetic defect affecting the head development including brain may be responsible for the reappearance of the ape-like head in a human being. This human devolution, or evolution in reverse, suggests that the same gene or gene-pool as well as the interactions between genes may be responsible for the transition from our ancestors into human beings with regard to an orthognasthic head, and brain development.

Professor Andrews Goes to Warsaw: December 1980

Professor Andrews represented one of the very important, very profound schools of psychology that had a real future ahead of it. Like almost all such schools, it had grown out of psychoanalysis, but had torn away from its roots and now practiced according to its own methods. It had its own history, its own phenomenology, its own dream imagery, and its own theories on raising children. Professor Andrews was at this moment flying to Poland with a bag full of books and a suitcase full of warm clothes-he had been told that Poland in December is exceptionally cold and unpleasant. Everything was going smoothly: airplanes took off, people were talking to each other in different languages, heavy December clouds hung in the sky, ready to send winter's communion to earth, millions of white flakes of snow, each one unique. An hour earlier he had looked at himself in the mirrors at Heathrow and it had seemed to him that he looked like a traveling salesman-he remembered them from his childhood, they would go door to door selling Bibles. No matter-the school of psychology he represented warranted this kind of sales trip. Poland was a country of intelligent people. He just had to plant the seed and he would be home in a week. He would leave them the books-after all, they read English-and then they would be able to consult the authority of the Founder himself. Sipping his drink of fine Polish vodka the stewardess brought him, he remembered the dream he'd had the night before his trip (according to the school of psychology he represented, dreams were the litmus test of reality). He had dreamed of a crow, and in the dream he had played with the big black bird. One could say-yes, he had the courage to admit it to himself-that he had petted the bird, like a little puppy. In his school's symbological system, the crow represented change, something new and good. He ordered another drink. The airport in Warsaw was surprisingly small and breezy. He congratulated himself for wearing his fur cap with the ear flaps, which he had gotten as a souvenir on a trip to Asia. He saw his Beatrice at once. Small and pretty, she was standing at the exit holding up a card with his name on it. They got into a miniature, beat-up car and she told him the plan for the coming week while nervously driving him around the sad, sprawling space of the city. Today was Saturday, a free day on the schedule. They would have dinner together and he could rest. Tomorrow was Sunday-a meeting at the university with students. (Yes, she said suddenly, it's a little nerve-wracking right here. He looked out the window but didn't notice anything in particular.) Then a lecture at the psychology journal, then dinner. On Monday, if he wanted, a tour of the city. On Tuesday he had a meeting with psychiatrists at some institute; he was in no state of mind to remember the specific names of these places. On Wednesday they would drive to the university in Krak6w. Professor Andrews' school of psychology enjoyed great respect there. On Thursday, Auschwitzhe had requested that himself. To be in Poland and not go to Auschwitz... Then on Thursday evening they would return to Warsaw. On Friday and Saturday there were all-day workshops for practical psychologists. On Sunday, the flight home. Only then did he realize he didn't have his suitcase with the books. They hurried back to the airport, but the bag had disappeared. The girl, her name was Gosha, went somewhere and didn't come back for half an hour. She returned without the bag. Perhaps it had been sent back to London. No problem, she said. She would come back tomorrow, it would probably turn up. Looking out the car window, he didn't hear her agitated chatter. He thought about the other things in the suitcase-underwear, clean shirts, books, xeroxes of articles. They had a pleasant dinner with her boyfriend. His face was covered by a thick beard and glasses. He didn't speak English, which made him seem somewhat gloomy to the Professor. …

Effects of tumor necrosis factor alpha and vascular permeability factor on neovascularization of the rabbit ear flap.

The survival of compromised skin flaps depends on neovascularization for their nutrition and metabolic waste removal. Our study investigated the effectiveness of angiogenic factors in accelerating peripheral neovascularization and in increasing skin flap viability. We elevated pedicled dorsal skin flaps on the ears of 23 New Zealand white rabbits, and the vascular pedicle was ligated to achieve partial flap necrosis. Fifteen flaps were treated with 0.1 micrograms/mL vascular permeability factor, and eight flaps were treated with 1.0 micrograms/mL tumor necrosis factor alpha. The ear flaps that were not treated with growth factor functioned in each rabbit as a normal saline control. The viability of skin flaps was observed visually and was measured by Cartesian planimetry using templates. Neovascularization was documented by microangiography and by histologic analysis of the flaps. Although the angiogenic factors accelerated neovascularization, increased flap survival was demonstrated only in those animals treated with vascular permeability factor that was supplied by an absorbable gelatin sponge. This experimental model, despite different levels of controls, contains multiple variables, including the use of an absorbable gelatin sponge, seroma formation, bioactivity of the angiogenic factors, optimal dosages and dosimetry, the need for a "blinded" format, and the validity of the histologic analysis. Additional investigation must be done and the experimental model itself must be improved before these apparently positive results may be accepted as clinically useful.

Nasal mucosal vasodilatation in response to passive hyperthermia in humans.

The present study was conducted to measure nasal mucosal blood flow (NMBF) during body warming. Five subjects [mean (SD) 24 (2) years], wearing only shorts and a thick felt hat with ear flaps, were immersed to the neck in a bath at 40 (0.5) degrees C. Tympanic (Tty), esophageal (Tes), mean unweighted skin (Tsk), nose skin and ear pinna skin were recorded at 1-min intervals. NMBF on the lower septal wall was estimated using a laser Doppler flow meter. At rest Tty and Tes were both 36.5 degrees C. Tty dropped significantly below Tes during body warming, despite impeded heat loss from the head due to the felt hat. Tty increased to 37.3 degrees C and Tes increased to 37.5 degrees C during the immersion. During the immersion all skin temperatures were steady or increasing, ruling out the possibility of a contamination of Tty from Tsk. Body warming significantly (P = 0.001) increased NMBF by approximately three times from resting values at the end of immersion. During the period of increasing core temperatures NMBF was significantly correlated to Tty (r = 0.93, P = 0.0001) and Tes (r = 0.97, P = 0.0001), suggesting the blood flow change in this tissue was a thermoregulatory response. The increased NMBF during hyperthermia supports the hypothesis of respiratory cooling involvement in selective brain cooling of humans.

Core temperature thresholds for hyperpnea during passive hyperthermia in humans

Humans have higher ventilation when they are hyperthermic but it is not known whether core temperature thresholds for ventilation exist, nor has a physiological rationale been presented for this response. To examine this question, ventilation was studied in relation to core temperatures in humans rendered hyperthermic in a warm bath. Seven subjects [mean (SE), 23.3 (1.4) years] wearing only shorts and a thick felt hat with ear flaps were immersed to the neck in a bath at 41 (0.5) degrees C for 25 min. Tympanic (Tty), esophageal (Tes), thigh skin and forehead skin temperatures, heart rate, inspired minute ventilation (V1 at body temperature and pressure, saturated), ventilation frequency and oxygen consumption (VO2 at standard temperature and pressure, dry) were recorded at 30-s intervals. At immersion V1 briefly increased to 18.6 (3.0) l.min-1, returned to about the pre-immersion value, and significantly increased to 19.3 (3.0) l.min-1 by the end of immersion. VO2 increased significantly from the pre-immersion value of 0.27 l.min-1 to 0.67 l.min-1 by the first 0.5 min of immersion, but then returned to its pre-immersion value. Tty increased to 38.7 (0.2) degrees C and Tes increased to 39.0 (0.2) degrees C by the end of immersion. Core temperature thresholds for increases in V1 were evident at 38.1 degrees C when expressed against Tty and at 38.5 degrees C when expressed against Tes. The results indicated that during body warming core temperature thresholds for V1 are reached and subsequently a hyperpnea was evident, despite VO2 remaining at a resting value.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

The Telegraph Relay Station

THE TELEGRAPH RELAY STATION /Norman havers THREE DAYS BEYOND the fort on the stage, following the line of telegraph poles like a spider slowly clambering its web. The dry grass prairie is sere and burned looking, like brown skin with a worn ghost of hair on it, the buffalo far to the south at this time of year—Thanksgiven day—but packs of white wolves standing and looking at us curiously. What can they find to eat? All morning long we look forward to seeing the telegraph relay station, mainly because there is utterly nothing else to see. That is the place where I will depart from my two fellow passengers and wait for the stage that comes through from the north, and will take me south to my destination. There 't is! Curly hollers back down to us, and we bump each other to be first to crane our heads out the window, squinting our eyes into the dust and bits of broke-off dry grass. It's a low cabin of adobe, the same color of the bare dirt, but with a steep peaked roof to shrug off the winter snows, no trees or bushes about it. When we get closer, we see extra poles at the front, where the telegraph wire we are following goes into the building, then comes back out on the other side and rejoins the line of poles continuing straight ahead. But it is a crossroads, and the wire from the line of poles coming down from the north also enters the building, then reemerges and continues south, following the southern road. Well before we reach it, a man has emerged from the front door, a fur cap with ear flaps, buttoning his coat as he runs and stumbles towards us. He reaches us, shouting happily up at Curly, then walks alongside, directly in our dust, escorting us to the station. He is looking in the window at us, face gawped in grin, waving to us repeatedly, so that we must answer his wave half a dozen times. I see that tears are streaming his joyful face. We crawl out, patting the trip dust off our coats, out of our beards, beating our hats against our legs, unkinking our stiff backs, stamping our frozen feet on the hard ground. He ushers us in to the welcome of a hot stove, takes our coats from us, thrusts steaming tin cups of coffee at us, burning our hands and our lips The Missouri Review · 9 on the metal, the whole room filled with the savory smell of fresh buffalo steaks cooking. Thanksgiven, he says. He sits us at the rough table, neatly set, and while we eat he stands and watches us, thrilled, like a child looking at his new Christmas presents, though the only gift we have for him is our brief human presence, before we carry on in our different directions. I bid Curly, and my two fellow passengers—friends now, after two weeks of travel—adieu. And the coach, which seemed to roll so slowly when we were in it, is out of sight and hearing within minutes, and there is no sound but the steady wind whistling in the overhead wires. I turn to my host—I will be staying overnight, my connecting coach arriving the next day noon—and he is not looking down the now empty road. He is frankly staring at me, a smile hovering about his mouth, with something of the expectancy of a new groom regarding his fresh bride. I feel a little stirring of alarm, though I am certain the man is quite harmless. Will you have more to eat? he asks eagerly. I couldn't force in another bite, thank you very much. My pleasure, my pleasure. No need to thank me. More coffee, then? Yes, that would be lovely, I say (I am already sloshing). We sit across from each other at the table. With his bulky cap and coat off, my host is a small slight mostly bald man. He watches me for any least chance to serve me, leaps to the stove to set a straw ablaze to light my cigar...