Comparison of periodontal evaluation by cone-beam computed tomography,and clinical and intraoral radiographic examinations

Objectives

Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) has been widely used in many fields of dentistry. However, little is known about the accuracy of CBCT for evaluation of periodontal status. The objective of this study was to compare and correlate periodontal assessments among CBCT, clinical attachment loss (CAL) measurement, and periapical (PA)/bitewing (BW) radiography.

Methods

Eighty patients (28 males, 52 females; age range, 19–84 years) from the University of Texas School of Dentistry at Houston were evaluated retrospectively. Measurements were taken on the central incisors, canines, and first molars of the right maxilla and left mandible. CAL was extracted from periodontal charts. The radiographic distance from the cementum–enamel junction (CEJ) to the alveolar crest was measured for tooth mesial and distal sites on PA/BW and CBCT images using MiPacs software and Anatomage Invivo software, respectively. One-way ANOVA and Pearson analysis were performed for statistical analyses.

Results

The CEJ–crest distances for CBCT, PA/BW, and CAL were 2.56 ± 0.12, 2.04 ± 0.12, and 2.08 ± 0.17 mm (mean ± SD), respectively. CBCT exhibited larger values than the other two methods (p < 0.05). There were highly significant positive correlations among CBCT, PA/BW, and CAL measurements at all examined sites (p < 0.001). The Pearson correlation coefficient was higher for CBCT with CAL relative to PA/BW with CAL, but the difference was not significant (r = 0.64 and r = 0.55, respectively, p > 0.05).

Conclusions

This study validates the suitability of CBCT for periodontal assessment. Further studies are necessary to optimize the measurement methodology with CBCT.

     

新疆假龙胆中有效成分提取工艺的研究

目的：优选龙胆的最佳提取工艺。方法：比较冷浸提取、超声提取、加热回流提取、渗漉提取和煎煮提取等5种提取方式。采用L9（3^4）正交试验,以龙胆苦苷、龙胆总苷的提出率和干膏得率为考察指标,通过多指标综合评分法进行数据分析,对影响龙胆提取工艺的因素进行了研究。结果：龙胆的最佳提取工艺为：龙胆药材用70％乙醇徊热回流提取3次,每次1h．溶剂用量分别为10倍、8倍、8倍。结论：优选得到的提取工艺稳定可行,适合工业化生产。     

Renal malformations associated with mutations of developmental genes: messages from the clinic

Renal tract malformations (RTMs) account for about 40% of children with end-stage renal failure. RTMs can be caused by mutations of genes normally active in the developing kidney and lower renal tract. Moreover, some RTMs occur in the context of multi-organ malformation syndromes. For these reasons, and because genetic testing is becoming more widely available, pediatric nephrologists should work closely with clinical geneticists to make genetic diagnoses in children with RTMs, followed by appropriate family counseling. Here we highlight families with renal cysts and diabetes, renal coloboma and Fraser syndromes, and a child with microdeletion of chromosome 19q who had a rare combination of malformations. Such diagnoses provide families with often long-sought answers to the question “why was our child born with kidney disease”. Precise genetic diagnoses will also help to define cohorts of children with RTMs for long-term clinical outcome studies.     

An antibiotic produced by an insect-pathogenic bacterium suppresses host defenses through phenoloxidase inhibition

Photorhabdus is a virulent pathogen that kills its insect host by overcoming immune responses. The bacterium also secretes a range of antibiotics to suppress the growth of other invading microorganisms. Here we show that Photorhabdus produces a small-molecule antibiotic (E)-1,3-dihydroxy-2-(isopropyl)-5-(2-phenylethenyl)benzene (ST) that also acts as an inhibitor of phenoloxidase (PO) in the insect host Manduca sexta. The Photorhabdus gene stlA encodes an enzyme that produces cinnamic acid, a key precursor for production of ST, and a mutation in stlA results in loss of ST production and PO inhibitory activity, which are both restored by genetic complementation of the mutant and also by supplying cinnamic acid. ST is produced both in vitro and in vivo in sufficient quantities to account for PO inhibition and is the only detectable solvent-extractable inhibitor. A Photorhabdus stlA- mutant is significantly less virulent, proliferates slower within the host, and provokes the formation of significantly more melanotic nodules than wild-type bacteria. Virulence of the stlA- mutant is also rescued by supplying cinnamic acid. The proximate cause of the virulence effect, however, is the inhibition of PO, because the effect of the stlA- mutation on virulence is abolished in insects in which PO has been knocked down by RNA interference (RNAi). Thus, ST has a dual function both as a PO inhibitor to counter host immune reactions and also as an antibiotic to exclude microbial competitors from the insect cadaver.     

Allene formation by gold catalyzed cross-coupling of masked carbenes and vinylidenes

Addition of a sterically demanding cyclic (alkyl)(amino)carbene (CAAC) to AuCl(SMe(2)) followed by treatment with [Et(3)Si(Tol)](+)[B(C(6)F(5))(4)](-) in toluene affords the isolable [(CAAC)Au(eta(2)-toluene)](+)[B(C(6)F(5))(4)](-) complex. This cationic Au(I) complex efficiently mediates the catalytic coupling of enamines and terminal alkynes to yield allenes and not propargyl amines as observed with other catalysts. Mono-, di-, and tri-substituted enamines can be used, as well as aryl-, alkyl-, and trimethylsilyl-substituted terminal alkynes. The reaction tolerates sterically hindered substrates and is diastereoselective. This general catalytic protocol directly couples two unsaturated carbon centers to form the three-carbon allenic core. The reaction most probably proceeds through an unprecedented "carbene/vinylidene cross-coupling."     

Labor management in a patient with von Willebrand disease

von Willebrand disease (VWD) is an inherited bleeding disorder involving a deficiency or abnormal function of a blood clotting protein called von Willebrand factor (VWF). Deficiency of VWF, therefore, shows primarily in organs with small blood vessels such as the skin, the gastrointestinal tract and the uterus. This case report describes management of a patient presenting with type II von Willebrand disease in labor. She had history of life-threatening hemorrhage from an operation for deviated nasal septum and had a risk of severe postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) within 48 hors of delivery, which was avoided by appropriate planning and timely management.     

Controlled Evaluation of Bactec Peds Plus/F and Bactec Lytic/10 Anaerobic/F Media for Isolation of Salmonella enterica Serovars Typhi and Paratyphi A from Blood

We compared anaerobic lytic (AL) and pediatric aerobic resin-containing (Peds Plus/F) blood culture media for the isolation of Salmonella enterica serotype Typhi or Paratyphi A from children. The yields from AL and Peds Plus/F media were the same with equal volumes of blood, but recovery was faster from AL medium than Peds Plus/F medium (10.7 and 16.4 h, respectively) (P < 0.001).     

Pathogenic variants in PIDD1 lead to an autosomal recessive neurodevelopmental disorder with pachygyria and psychiatric features

The PIDDosome is a multiprotein complex, composed by the p53-induced death domain protein 1 (PIDD1), the bipartite linker protein CRADD (also known as RAIDD) and the proform of caspase-2 that induces apoptosis in response to DNA damage. In the recent years, biallelic pathogenic variants in CRADD have been associated with a neurodevelopmental disorder (MRT34; MIM 614499) characterized by pachygyria with a predominant anterior gradient, megalencephaly, epilepsy and intellectual disability. More recently, biallelic pathogenic variants in PIDD1 have been described in a few families with apparently nonsydnromic intellectual disability. Here, we aim to delineate the genetic and radio-clinical features of PIDD1-related disorder. Exome sequencing was carried out in six consanguineous families. Thorough clinical and neuroradiological evaluation was performed for all the affected individuals as well as reviewing all the data from previously reported cases. We identified five distinct novel homozygous variants (c.2584C>T p.(Arg862Trp), c.1340G>A p.(Trp447*), c.2116_2120del p.(Val706Hisfs*30), c.1564_1565delCA p.(Gln522fs*44), and c.1804_1805del p.(Gly602fs*26) in eleven subjects displaying intellectual disability, behaviorial and psychiatric features, and a typical anterior-predominant pachygyria, remarkably resembling the CRADD-related neuroimaging pattern. In summary, we outlin`e the phenotypic and molecular spectrum of PIDD1 biallelic variants supporting the evidence that the PIDD1/CRADD/caspase-2 signaling is crucial for normal gyration of the developing human neocortex as well as cognition and behavior.Subject terms: Clinical genetics, Medical research     

Development and characteristics of a human cell assay for screening agents for melanoma prevention

This paper describes the development and initial evaluation of a human cell assay to identify potentially efficacious agents for preventing melanoma. Four human cell lines were used: normal melanocytes, a radial growth-phase-like melanoma cell line (WM3211), a vertical growth-phase-like melanoma cell line (Lu1205), and 83-2c, a cell strain cloned from metastatic melanoma. Four endpoints were evaluated in ultraviolet B-treated cells: annexin V, human leukocyte antigen-DR; E-cadherin, and N-cadherin. Annexin V was induced by nimesulide, 4-hydroxyphenylretinamide, and difluoromethylornithine in ultraviolet-B-treated radial growth-phase-like melanoma cells. None of the agents inhibited human leukocyte antigen-DR expression in ultraviolet-B-treated radial growth-phase-like melanoma cells, the only cells that strongly expressed human leukocyte antigen-DR. E-cadherin was overexpressed only in radial growth-phase-like melanoma cells relative to melanocytes, and ultraviolet B exposure dramatically reduced this expression. E-cadherin was only induced by difluoromethylornithine in ultraviolet-B-treated radial growth-phase-like melanoma cells. N-cadherin was over- expressed in all melanoma cell lines relative to melanocytes. In this study, all candidate preventive agents inhibited N-cadherin in ultraviolet B-treated radial growth-phase-like melanoma cells. Four agents inhibited N-cadherin in ultraviolet B-treated vertical growth-phase-like melanoma cells. The mean ratios of N-cadherin to E-cadherin levels and specific endpoint responses for both the radial growth-phase-like melanoma and vertical growth-phase-like melanoma cells were used to rank the agents. Agents were evaluated at clinically relevant concentrations. The rankings were difluoromethylornithine>4-hydroxyphenylretinamide>nimesulide>9-cis-retinoic acid>polyphenon E. Diphenylhydramine, D-mannitol, and nordihydroguaiaretic acid were inactive. The results of these initial studies suggest that ultraviolet-B-treated radial growth-phase-like melanoma cells are the most responsive to chemopreventive agents, and may be the cell line of choice for screening melanoma prevention agents.