Multimodal molecular 3D imaging for the tumoral volumetric distribution assessment of folate-based biosensors

The aim of this study was to characterize the in vivo volumetric distribution of three folate-based biosensors by different imaging modalities (X-ray, fluorescence, Cerenkov luminescence, and radioisotopic imaging) through the development of a tridimensional image reconstruction algorithm. The preclinical and multimodal Xtreme imaging system, with a Multimodal Animal Rotation System (MARS), was used to acquire bidimensional images, which were processed to obtain the tridimensional reconstruction. Images of mice at different times (biosensor distribution) were simultaneously obtained from the four imaging modalities. The filtered back projection and inverse Radon transformation were used as main image-processing techniques. The algorithm developed in Matlab was able to calculate the volumetric profiles of ^99mTc-Folate-Bombesin (radioisotopic image), ¹⁷⁷Lu-Folate-Bombesin (Cerenkov image), and FolateRSense? 680 (fluorescence image) in tumors and kidneys of mice, and no significant differences were detected in the volumetric quantifications among measurement techniques. The imaging tridimensional reconstruction algorithm can be easily extrapolated to different 2D acquisition-type images. This characteristic flexibility of the algorithm developed in this study is a remarkable advantage in comparison to similar reconstruction methods.     

Blinded comparison of a direct immunofluorescent monoclonal antibody staining method and a Giemsa staining method for identification of Pneumocystis carinii in induced sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage specimens of patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus.

A new direct immunofluorescence monoclonal antibody (DFA) method (Genetic Systems, Inc., Seattle, Wash.) for identification of Pneumocystis carinii in induced sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage specimens was compared in a blinded study with an established Giemsa stain method. We evaluated 148 consecutive clinical specimens from 104 patients with the following results. For the 67 patients (64%) infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 49 were initially negative by both the DFA and the Giemsa methods, none were negative by DFA and positive by Giemsa, 6 were positive by DFA and negative by Giemsa, and 12 were positive by both methods, for a sensitivity and a negative predictive value of greater than 99%. For the six patients positive by DFA and negative by Giemsa, all were positive by both methods on evaluation of subsequently obtained clinical specimens, suggesting a specificity of greater than 99% and a false-positive rate of less than 1%. For 37 patients whose HIV status was negative or unknown, 35 were negative by both methods and 2 were positive by DFA and negative by Giemsa. The DFA method was simple to perform and required less time for scoring of stained slides than the Giemsa method, but care had to be taken to avoid false-positive readings due to extraneous fluorescence. This study indicates that the DFA method represents an advance as a sensitive, simple, and rapid way to identify P. carinii in induced sputum and bronchoalveolar lavage specimens from HIV-infected patients and suggests greater sensitivity of the DFA than the Giemsa method in this patient population.     

Usefulness of the Aesthetic Result as a Success Criterion for Implant Therapy: A Review

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to review the reported evaluation criteria of the aesthetic result in oral implant rehabilitation. Materials and Methods: A literature search of MEDLINE, the Cochrane Collaboration, and EMBASE was performed to retrieve studies published between January 1990 and December 2008 using the following key words: “dental implants,”“clinical trial,” and “aesthetic index” (and their synonyms). A manual search of the literature published in the same period was also carried out using the following publications: Clinical Oral Implant Research, The International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Implants, and The International Journal of Periodontics and Restorative Dentistry. The inclusion criteria of the published studies were the following: human clinical trial, oral implant rehabilitation, at least 10 implants, at least 6 months of follow‐up from insertion of the prosthesis, and evaluation of the aesthetic result by means of an index. Results: The literature search revealed 650 relevant bibliographic references, of which 89 were selected for further analysis. A final total of 29 articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria; these included 10 retrospective case series, 11 prospective case series, 1 retrospective controlled clinical trial, 1 prospective controlled clinical trial, and 6 randomized controlled clinical trials. In general, evaluations of aesthetic results appear only in the more recent studies and refer mostly to implant rehabilitation in the maxillary anterior zone; the index used, in most cases, was the Papilla Index of Jemt. Conclusions: Although there appears to be a growing interest in aesthetics in dental implantology, there are as yet no universally accepted evaluation criteria of the aesthetic result. Therefore, further research is necessary to establish a common, complete, and reproducible index for the evaluation of aesthetic outcome that can add in the success criteria for implant therapy in the maxillary and mandibular anterior areas.     

Impact of socio-demographic,socioeconomic, and water variables on dental fluorosis in adolescents growing up during the implementation of a fluoridated domestic salt program

The objective of this study is to determine the impact of socio-demographic, socioeconomic, and other risk indicators on dental fluorosis (DF) among Mexican adolescents. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 1,538 adolescents 12 and 15 years of age in semi-rural communities located at high altitude (>2,000 m) and with high concentration of fluoride in water (1.38–3.07 ppm) in Hidalgo, Mexico. DF was determined by means of Dean’s Index and all teeth were examined. Remaining variables were collected using a questionnaire. The adjusted final model was performed using ordered logistic regression. After adjusting for sex, the variables associated with DF were (p < 0.05): being 12 years old (OR = 1.10) versus 15 years old; having lived the first 6 years of life in El Llano (3.07 F ppm) (OR = 3.19) or San Marcos (1.38 F ppm) (OR = 1.63) versus Tula (1.42 F ppm); having public (OR = 1.35) or private health insurance (OR = 1.36) versus those without insurance; belonging to the lower quartiles of socioeconomic position (SEP) [1st quartile (OR = 2.48), 2nd quartile (OR = 1.81), 3rd quartile (OR = 1.49)] versus the highest quartile; having drunk tap water (OR = 1.83) or from a well or spring (OR = 2.30) versus those who drank water purchased in large containers or bottles. Demographic and socioeconomic variables were associated with DF. While better SEP appeared to play an important role in DF, a pattern of water intake associated with water purchased in large containers or bottles (which have different connotations to the use of bottled water in industrialized Western countries) did reduce DF risk in these high fluoride content, high altitude communities.