Brain microstructural alterations of depression in Parkinson's disease: A systematic review of diffusion tensor imaging studies

Depression, a leading cause of disability worldwide, is also the most prevalent psychiatric problem among Parkinson disease patients. Both depression and Parkinson disease are associated with microstructural anomalies in the brain. Diffusion tensor imaging techniques have been developed to characterize the abnormalities in cerebral tissue. We included 11 studies investigating brain microstructural abnormalities in depressed Parkinson''s disease patients. The included studies found alterations to essential brain structural networks, including impaired network integrity for specific cortical regions, such as the temporal and frontal cortices. Additionally, findings indicate that microstructural changes in specific limbic structures, such as the prefronto‐temporal regions and connecting white matter pathways, are altered in depressed Parkinson''s disease compared to non‐depressed Parkinson''s disease and healthy controls. There remain inconsistencies between studies reporting DTI measures and depression severity in Parkinson disease participants. Additional research evaluating underlying neurobiological relationships between major depression, depressed Parkinson''s disease, and non‐depressed Parkinson''s disease is required to disentangle further mechanisms that underlie depression and related somatic symptoms, in Parkinson disease.     

Long-term analysis of patients having surgical treatment for carpal tunnel syndrome

This retrospective study of 100 patients who had surgical treatment for their carpal tunnel syndrome was performed to determine what factors were associated with long-term success or failure. One hundred thirty hands were treated surgically with an average follow-up of 4 years (range, 2 to 6 years). All patients were given a course of conservative treatment that included steroid injection(s) and splinting until the patients were refractory to such therapy. Over 250 injections were given (117 wrists), with the average benefit time of 27 weeks (range 0 to 330). Most patients received two to three injections (maximum of nine). Variables associated with a failure to have long-term benefit after operation included weakness or atrophy of the abductor pollicis brevis muscle, presence of a predisposing condition, and failure to benefit from the initial steroid injection. Conversely, all 51 hands that had relief from median nerve paresthesia for more than 6 months by conservative therapy alone received long-term relief after surgery. Steroids were least effective in hands that had muscle involvement. Fifteen of the 40 hands with muscle involvement regained their muscle mass by the time of the final examination.     

In-vitro evaluation of the effect of canal curvature on adaptation of gutta-percha in canals obturated with HEROfill system by CBCT

A hermetic seal of the root canal space following canal preparation is important in endodontics. This study evaluated the effect of canal curve on adaptation of gutta-percha to dentinal walls of canals obturated using the Herofill system. For this in vitro study, 80 mesial roots of mature human first molars with length of 16 mm, curve between 5° and 45°, and no caries or resorption of the root surface were selected. A cone beam computed tomography system was used to evaluate the presence or absence of a gap in the samples. Photographs were taken in three sections: 2 mm above the curve, at the curve and 2 mm below the curve. The gap area was identified using Photoshop and AutoCAD software. Kruskal Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to analyze the data mounted in a castcurve. There were significant differences between the two lateral condensation groups with various curves; roots with more curve had more gaps. When the Herofill and lateral condensation groups were compared without considering the sections and curve, there was a significant difference between these groups and the Herofill group had less gaps. The Herofill system is an alternative to the lateral condensation technique in severely curved canals.     

Immunohistochemical expression of fibronectin and tenascin in human tooth pulp capped with mineral trioxide aggregate and a novel endodontic cement

Introduction

The purpose of the present study was the immunohistochemical study of fibronectin (FN) and tenascin (TN) in human tooth pulp capped with mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) and novel endodontic cement (NEC) (calcium enriched mixture cement) after 2 and 8 weeks.

Methods

Thirty-two premolar teeth that were scheduled for extraction for orthodontic reasons were exposed and capped with either MTA or NEC. The teeth were randomly divided into 4 groups: group 1 (NEC for 2 weeks), group 2 (NEC for 8 weeks), group 3 (MTA for 2 weeks), and group 4 (MTA for 8 weeks). After capping the exposed pulps with either NEC (groups 1 and 2) or MTA (groups 3 and 4), half of the specimens underwent extraction and were prepared for histologic and immunohistochemical evaluation for FN and TN after 2 weeks, and the remaining half were assessed after 8 weeks. FN and TN expression was scored by a blinded pathologist on a scale of I-IV, and the results were analyzed by the Wilcoxon and Mann-Whitney U statistical tests.

Results

FN and TN staining was observed in all 4 experimental groups, and there was no significant difference between expression of FN and TN in any groups. FN and TN staining was observed in the dentinal bridge matrix after 2 weeks under MTA. Expression of both markers reduced significantly after 8 weeks under MTA, and staining was observed only in unmineralized parts of dentinal bridge. FN and TN expression was observed in the matrix of the dentinal bridge after 2 weeks under NEC, and staining of both markers was reduced after 8 weeks compared with 2 weeks. The staining pattern of TN in NEC groups was higher than in MTA groups in both time intervals. However, the difference was not significant.

Conclusions

The present study demonstrated that both MTA and NEC are suitable biomaterials for direct pulp capping and are able to stimulate dentinal bridge formation. Moreover, the role of FN and TN as 2 major components of the matrix of a reparative dentinal bridge was observed.     

Automatic identification of biological microorganisms using three-dimensional complex morphology

We propose automated identification of microorganisms using three-dimensional (3-D) complex morphology. This 3-D complex morphology pattern includes the complex amplitude (magnitude and phase) of computationally reconstructed holographic images at arbitrary depths. Microscope-based single-exposure on-line (SEOL) digital holography records and reconstructs holographic images of the biological microorganisms. The 3-D automatic recognition is processed by segmentation, feature extraction by Gabor-based wavelets, automatic feature vector selection by graph matching, training rules, and a decision process. Graph matching combined with Gabor feature vectors measures the similarity of complex geometrical shapes between a reference microorganism and unknown biological samples. Automatic selection of the training data is proposed to achieve a fully automatic recognition system. Preliminary experimental results are presented for 3-D image recognition of Sphacelaria alga and Tribonema aequale alga.     

Personal autonomy in health settings and Shi’i Islamic Jurisprudence: a literature review

Respect for personal autonomy in decision-making is one of the four ethical principles in medical circumstances. This paper aims to present evidence that can be considered good exemplars in the clarification of the ethical viewpoints of the western and Shi’i Islamic perspectives on this issue. The method followed was originally a search in international indexing services in April 2016. Our findings point towards various controversies on individuals’ autonomy lead to different decision making outcomes by health workers in both different traditions. We concluded that although Shi’i Islamic jurisprudence does not seem to allow for personal autonomy in the sense it is understood in a western context, evidence indicates that Shi’i Islamic jurisprudence respects personal autonomy.     

Epidemiologic and genetic characteristics of alopecia areata (part 2)

Alopecia areata (AA) is hypothesized to be an organ-specific autoimmune disease mediated by T cells to the hair follicles. Despite the fact that most cases of AA are sporadic, there is an accumulation of evidence that AA is a complex multigenetic trait with components of inherited predisposition. In the last decade, rapid progress in molecular genetics and biotechnology has led to the identification of many candidate genes in humans that confer susceptibility to AA. The first part of this review focused on the association of HLA genes with the disease. The second part reviews non-HLA and other genes associated with AA, including the autoimmune regulator (AIRE) gene. Recently, the lymphoid-specific protein tyrosine phosphatase, non-receptor type 22 (PTPN22) gene was found to be an additional immunoregulatory gene associated with AA. In addition, alleles of genes coding for cytokines and their receptors, such as the interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL1RN) and chemokines (MCP-1), have also been associated with AA. Some studies have hypothesized that filaggrin gene mutations (FLG) may also play a role in AA, particularly in patients with comorbid atopic disease. MX1 is another new candidate gene in AA. Thus, this second part of the review completes the overview of current knowledge about the molecular genetics of AA begun in the first part.