Outbreak of Human Trichinellosis in Northern California Caused by Trichinella murrelli

Abstract. In October of 2008, an outbreak of trichinellosis occurred in northern California that sickened 30 of 38 attendees of an event at which meat from a black bear was served. Morphologic and molecular testing of muscle from the leftover portion of bear meat revealed that the bear was infected with Trichinella murrelli, a sylvatic species of Trichinella found in temperate North America. Clinical records revealed a high attack rate for this outbreak: 78% for persons consuming any bear meat and 100% for persons consuming raw or undercooked bear meat. To our knowledge, this report is the first published report of a human trichinellosis outbreak in the United States attributed to T. murrelli, and it is the second such outbreak reported worldwide.     

Genetic Characterization of Atypical Mansonella (Mansonella) ozzardi Microfilariae in Human Blood Samples from Northeastern Peru

Abstract. DNA sequence comparisons are useful for characterizing proposed new parasite species or strains. Microfilariae with an atypical arrangement of nuclei behind the cephalic space have been recently described in human blood samples from the Amazon region of Peru. Three blood specimens containing atypical microfilariae were genetically characterized using three DNA markers (5S ribosomal DNA, 12S ribosomal DNA, and cytochrome oxidase I). All atypical microfilariae were clustered into the Mansonella group and indistinguishable from M. ozzardi based on these DNA markers.     

Microscopic evaluation of induced tooth movement in traumatized teeth: an experimental study in rats

Abstract – The clinical management of orthodontic patients with dental trauma before or during the treatment is mainly founded on clinical experience, expert opinions, and individual case reports. It is proposed in the literature that teeth sustaining mild trauma with minor damage to the periodontium (e.g. subluxation) should be followed for a period of time before being subjected to orthodontic forces. A minimum period of 3 months has been proposed. In this study, we used an animal model to investigate whether shorter observation periods could be established in case of mild trauma. The periradicular region of rat molars was examined microscopically to determine the biological events of tooth movement started 15 and 30 days after intentional subluxation using an experimental method to induce dentoalveolar trauma. Thirty adult male Wistar rats were assigned to 6 groups (n = 5): Group 1 (control – no trauma/orthodontic movement); Group 2: the animals received an orthodontic device and were sacrificed after 7 days; Groups 3 and 4: dentoalveolar trauma (subluxation) was experimentally induced by the application of an axial force of 900 cN on the occlusal surface of the maxillary right first molar, and the animals were sacrificed after 22 and 37 days, respectively; and Groups 5 and 6: 15 and 30 days, respectively, after force application, an orthodontic device was installed and the rats were sacrificed 7 days later. In G5 and G6, the periodontal ligament and pulp tissue were rich in cellular elements and blood vessels, the alveolar bone was preserved, and the root surface presented only very small areas of surface resorption (cementum), maintaining the characteristics of normality. In conclusion, the microscopic alterations in the gingival and periodontal tissues in response to an experimentally induced mild dentoalveolar trauma simulating subluxation were not sufficient to contraindicate starting the orthodontic movement 15 and 30 days after trauma.     

Correlation of different cephalometric measurements to define facial type

The aim of this study was to analyze a possible correlation of different cephalometric measurements to define facial type and to evaluate the best measurement for diagnosis. The sample consisted of 95 lateral cephalograms of caucasian patients with normal occlusion, aged between 15 years and two months and 21 years and four months, of which 54 were male and 41 female. The facial types were divided into dolichofacial, mesofacial and brachyfacial, according to the standards stated by different authors, and a relationship among them was investigated using the Kappa and Total agreement methods. The highest agreement found was between FMA and SN.GoGn; the lowest was between SN. Gn and VERT index. According to literature review and the interpretation of the results, SN.GoGn appears to be the best measurement to define facial type.     

Automatic Apnea Identification by Transformation of the Cepstral Domain

A new approach based on the transformation of the Cepstral domain is developed on this work. This approach reaches an automatic diagnosis for the syndrome of obstructive sleep apnea that includes a specific block for the removal of electrocardiogram (ECG) artifacts and the R wave detection. The system is modeled by a transformation of the Cepstral domain sequence using hidden Markov model (HMM). The final decision is done with two different approaches: one based on HMM as a classifier and a second one based on support vector machines classification and a parameterization based on the transformation of HMM by a kernel. The later approach reached results up to 99.23 %, using all test samples from Physionet Apnea-ECG Database.