Effect of a ferrule and increased clinical crown length on the in vitro fracture resistance of premolars restored using two dowel-and-core systems

This study investigated the effect of a crown-lengthening ferrule on the fracture resistance of endodontically-treated teeth restored with two dowel-core systems. Thirty-two extracted mandibular first premolars were sectioned perpendicular to the long axis at a point 1.0 mm occlusal to the buccal cementoenamel junction. Following endodontic treatment, the teeth were randomly assigned to four groups: cast Ni-Cr alloy dowel-core with no ferrule (Group A1), cast Ni-Cr alloy dowel-core with 2.0 mm ferrule (Group A2), prefabricated carbon fiber-reinforced dowel-resin core with no ferrule (Group B1) and carbon fiber-reinforced dowel-resin core with 2.0 mm ferrule (Group B2). Each specimen was embedded in a self-cured acrylic resin block from 2.0 mm apical to the margins of a cast Ni-Cr alloy crown, then loaded at 150 degrees from the long axis in a universal testing machine at a crosshead speed of 1.0 mm/minute until fracture. The data were recorded and analyzed using ANOVA and Fisher's exact tests, with alpha = 0.05. Mean failure loads (kN) for the A1, A2, B1 and B2 Groups were: 1.46 (S.D. 0.45), 1.07 (0.21), 1.13 (0.30) and 1.02 (0.27). The teeth restored with cast Ni-Cr dowel-cores and 2.0 mm ferrules demonstrated significantly lower fracture strengths, p = 0.04. There were significant differences in the root fracture patterns between the two dowel systems, with the carbon fiber-reinforced dowel-resin core system, being the less severe p < 0.05. Crown lengthening with a 2.0 mm apical extended ferrule resulted in reduced fracture strengths for endodontically-treated teeth restored using two dowel-core systems and cast metal crowns. The carbon fiber-reinforced dowel-resin core system reduced the severity of the root fractures.     

Mechanisms Underlying the Effect of Acupuncture on Cognitive Improvement: A Systematic Review of Animal Studies

Acupuncture has been reported to be beneficial in treating cognitive impairment in various pathological conditions. This review describes the effort to understand the signaling pathways that underlie the acupunctural therapeutic effect on cognitive function. We searched the literature in 12 electronic databases from their inception to November 2013, with full text available and language limited to English. Twenty-three studies were identified under the selection criteria. All recruited animal studies demonstrate a significant positive effect of acupuncture on cognitive impairment. Findings suggest acupuncture may improve cognitive function through modulation of signaling pathways involved in neuronal survival and function, specifically, through promoting cholinergic neural transmission, facilitating dopaminergic synaptic transmission, enhancing neurotrophin signaling, suppressing oxidative stress, attenuating apoptosis, regulating glycometabolic enzymes and reducing microglial activation. However, the quality of reviewed studies has room for improvement. Further high-quality animal studies with randomization, blinding and estimation of sample size are needed to strengthen the recognition of group differences.     

如何提高农村基层医疗服务的效率和质量——宁夏新农合门诊按人头预付制改革设计与效果

本研究以宁夏回族自治区为案例,针对村医经济激励水平低下,按项目付费引发不恰当诊治行为,系统内缺乏引导供方提高自身服务效率和质量并促进服务与体系整合协调的经济激励等问题,从供方合理激励的角度出发,对新型农村合作医疗支付制度进行改革设计——以乡村为整体对乡镇卫生院和村卫生室提供的门诊服务实施基于绩效的按人头预付制。随后利用配对整群随机试验设计对改革效果进行评估和检验。研究发现,这一支付制度的实施有效降低了农村基本医疗服务中抗生素的使用率,优化了供方的处方行为,对降低村卫生室的单次门诊费用有一定作用,并且促进服务向村卫生室下沉。本文的政策分析和设计思路及严格的政策评估结果可以为我国支付制度的选择和发展提供政策参考和证据支持。     

Tumor necrosis factor: specific binding and internalization in sensitive and resistant cells.

Highly purified, Escherichia coli-derived recombinant human tumor necrosis factor (TNF) was labeled with 125I and employed to determine receptor binding, internalization, and intracellular degradation in murine L929 cells (highly sensitive to the cytotoxic action of TNF) and in diploid human FS-4 cells (resistant to TNF cytotoxicity). 125I-labeled TNF bound specifically to high-affinity receptors on both L929 and FS-4 cells. Scatchard analysis of the binding data indicated the presence of 2200 binding sites per L929 cell and 7500 binding sites per FS-4 cell. The calculated dissociation constants are 6.1 X 10(-10) M and 3.2 X 10(-10) M for L929 and FS-4 cells, respectively. In both L929 and FS-4 cells, incubation at 37 degrees C resulted in a rapid internalization of the bulk of the cell-bound TNF, followed by the appearance of trichloroacetic acid-soluble 125I radioactivity in the tissue culture medium, due to degradation of TNF. Degradation but not cellular uptake of TNF was inhibited in the presence of chloroquine (an inhibitor of lysosomal proteases) in both L929 and FS-4 cells, suggesting that degradation occurs intracellularly, probably within lysosomes. These results show that resistance of FS-4 cells to TNF cytotoxicity is not due to a lack of receptors or their inability to internalize and degrade TNF.