Dental and oral trauma and mouthguard use during sport activities in Israel

Abstract – The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the occurrence of oral and dental injuries in young Israeli population engaged in diverse sport activities. The participants' awareness of the use of protective devices, such as mouthguards, during sport activities was also evaluated. A population of 943 young adults, 95% males and 5% females (ages 18–19), was surveyed. A questionnaire was distributed relating to the type of sport activity practised, past oral and dental injuries over their lifetime, specifying the time and type of sports in which the injury occurred and the use and awareness of the protective devices. Of the total population examined, 850 (90%) were active in at least one type of sport, either as professionals or as amateurs. The analysis included the population that regularly participated in at least one sporting activity. The most commonly practised sports were soccer (54% of all active participants) and basketball (50%). The total number of dental and oral injuries experienced during all sport activities was 229, affecting 27% of the participants of whom 73 (9%) suffered dental injuries. Most dental injuries occurred during the basketball and soccer training sessions and matches reaching 42 and 41% of the total number of injuries, respectively, and affected 7.2 and 6.6% of the basketball and soccer players. Traumatic dental injuries in other sports occurred in less than 7% of the participants in these activities. Only 27% of the participants were aware of the protective devices, such as a mouthguards, and only 3% actually used these devices. These results point to the high risk of potential dental and oral injury during sport activities, the little knowledge about the benefits of using mouthguards and their limited utilization. The importance of public health education to increase the awareness of protective measures and devices and their actual use in Israel is the main focus. It should be a combined duty of dentists and sports physicians and of the coaches to encourage the use of protective devices during training and games.     

蒿甲醚对大鼠肺泡Ⅱ型上皮细胞DNA的影响

目的:蒿甲醚除了具有良好的临床治疗作用外,对正常组织有极大的副作用。实验拟观察蒿甲醚对大鼠肺泡Ⅱ型上皮细胞的影响。方法:实验于2005-09-20/2007-03-10在山东省泰山医学院生命科学研究所、中心实验室和机能实验室完成。①实验材料:蒿甲醚购自昆明制药厂,分析纯,使用前先进行预处理,处理方法:研磨后用溶液配成1g/L的母液,超声助溶解后供实验用。Wistar大鼠70只,体质量(70±15)g,雌雄不拘,由山东大学医学院实验动物中心提供。实验过程中对动物处置符合动物伦理学标准。②实验方法:将大鼠随机分为普通饲料对照组(n=10)和实验组(n=60),实验组分6个亚组,分别在饲料中加入0.1,0.2,0.4,0.8,1.6,3.2mg/kg的蒿甲醚。采用单细胞凝胶电泳技术观察大鼠肺泡Ⅱ型上皮细胞DNA的改变。结果:70只大鼠,饲养过程中实验组死亡6只,死亡原因为饲料添加蒿甲醚造成。当饲料中的蒿甲醚浓度为0.1mg/kg时,大鼠肺泡Ⅱ型上皮细胞DNA损伤率与对照组相比,差异无统计学意义;饲料中的蒿甲醚浓度超过0.2mg/kg时,大鼠肺泡Ⅱ型上皮细胞DNA损伤率明显增加,与对照组相比,差异有统计学意义。且损伤程度与饲料中蒿甲醚含量呈正相关。结论:当饲料中的蒿甲醚浓度超过0.2mg/kg时,蒿甲醚可在一定程度上改变肺泡Ⅱ型上皮细胞的DNA生物学特性。且随着蒿甲醚浓度的升高,这种损害更为明显。     

Evaluation of a new device for noninvasive measurement of nonshunted pulmonary capillary blood flow in patients with acute lung injury

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the performance of a new device for noninvasive measurement of nonshunted pulmonary capillary blood flow (PCBF) by partial CO2 rebreathing. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective clinical trial in an intensive care unit of a university hospital. PATIENTS AND PARTICIPANTS: Twenty mechanically ventilated patients with acute lung injury. INTERVENTIONS: Variations in PEEP of +/-3 cmH2O. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Initially PCBF was measured invasively as cardiac output minus venous admixture (Q(VA)/Q(t)) flow, and by partial CO2 rebreathing at baseline PEEP (PEEP(b)). The PEEP was then reduced by 3 cmH2O (to PEEP(b-3)) and measurements were repeated after 30 min. PEEP was then increased by 6 cmH2O (to PEEP(b+3)), and measurements were repeated after 10, 20, and 30 min. The overall correlation coefficient between noninvasive and invasive PCBF measurements at PEEP(b) was high ( r=0.97), with close agreement between methods being observed (0.1+/-0.6 l/min, bias and precision, respectively). Accordingly, both the correlation coefficient and agreement between methods for changes in PCBF from PEEP(b-3) to PEEP(b+3) levels were satisfactory ( r=0.71; 0.2+/-0.5 l/min, bias and precision). The new device was able to detect the correct PCBF trend in 17 of 20 patients investigated and in all patients who showed invasive PCBF changes equal to or greater than 0.3 l/min ( n=12). Noninvasive PCBF changes were stable as early as 10 min after variation in PEEP, as compared to 30 min values. CONCLUSIONS: The new device appears to be clinically useful for the monitoring of PCBF in patients suffering from acute lung injury. Our results suggest that titration of PEEP aimed at improving PCBF can be performed with the new device.     

Release of a potent polymorphonuclear leukocyte chemoattractant is regulated by white-opaque switching in Candida albicans

Previous studies employing transmembrane assays suggested that Candida albicans and related species, as well as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, release chemoattractants for human polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs). Because transmembrane assays do not definitively distinguish between chemokinesis and chemotaxis, single-cell chemotaxis assays were used to confirm these findings and test whether mating-type or white-opaque switching affects the release of attractant. Our results demonstrate that C. albicans, C. dubliniensis, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, and C. glabrata release bona fide chemoattractants for PMNs. S. cerevisiae, however, releases a chemokinetic factor but not a chemoattractant. Characterization of the C. albicans chemoattractant revealed that it is a peptide of approximately 1 kDa. Whereas the mating type of C. albicans did not affect the release of chemoattractant, switching did. White-phase cells released chemoattractant, but opaque-phase cells did not. Since the opaque phase of C. albicans represents the mating-competent phenotype, it may be that opaque-phase cells selectively suppress the release of chemoattractant to facilitate mating.     

Dynamic flat panel detector versus image intensifier in cardiac imaging: dose and image quality

The practical aspects of the dosimetric and imaging performance of a digital x-ray system for cardiology procedures were evaluated. The system was configured with an image intensifier (II) and later upgraded to a dynamic flat panel detector (FD). Entrance surface air kerma (ESAK) to phantoms of 16, 20, 24 and 28 cm of polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and the image quality of a test object were measured. Images were evaluated directly on the monitor and with numerical methods (noise and signal-to-noise ratio). Information contained in the DICOM header for dosimetry audit purposes was also tested. ESAK values per frame (or kerma rate) for the most commonly used cine and fluoroscopy modes for different PMMA thicknesses and for field sizes of 17 and 23 cm for II, and 20 and 25 cm for FD, produced similar results in the evaluated system with both technologies, ranging between 19 and 589 microGy/frame (cine) and 5 and 95 mGy min(-1) (fluoroscopy). Image quality for these dose settings was better for the FD version. The 'study dosimetric report' is comprehensive, and its numerical content is sufficiently accurate. There is potential in the future to set those systems with dynamic FD to lower doses than are possible in the current II versions, especially for digital cine runs, or to benefit from improved image quality.     

Long-term observations on mouse strains experimentally infected with<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Angiostrongylus costaricensis</Emphasis>

BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice were experimentally infected with Angiostrongylus costaricensis and the parasitic parameters and antibody response during the acute and chronic phases of infection were analyzed. Following administration of six third-stage larvae (L3), there was no significant difference in the mean worm recovery or mean larval output. Coinciding with the maturation of worms in infected animals and with the egg output in mesenteric arteries, a strong increase in the humoral immune response was observed in both mouse strains. This response was characterized by a hypergammaglobulinemia, with a predominance of IgA and IgG1 during the acute phase of infection, and IgG1 and total IgE during the patent and post-patent periods. Significantly higher levels of IgM, IgG and IgG1 were found in BALB/c mice compared with C57BL/6 mice. On the other hand, a significantly higher concentration of IgA was detected at 6 and 7 weeks post-infection in C57BL/6 mice compared with BALB/c mice. Specific IgE could not be detected in any of the mouse strains. Our results suggest that immunoglobulins, mainly IgG1, contribute to the outcome of a primary A. costaricensis infection with respect to the period of patency and to mortality during the chronic phase.     

Technical note: Rationale, development, use and evaluation of an equipment management and image storage system

Lack of space and organization have become significant problems in the contemporary business world. Modern industries must eliminate mountains of paper and better organize themselves. With the incorporation of a fully automated equipment management system and image storage system, the Jacobi Medical Center has succeeded in correcting these problems. This technical note shows how the use of computer software and hardware components can be integrated to manage electronic patient care equipment. The adoption of this new technology was applied to equipment maintenance, tracking and record-keeping, thereby accomplishing the aims of space conservation and organization. As the components became more advanced, the technology included computer software products that could store more information and electronically effect a more rapid document retrieval. This will eventually allow for a paperless operation. The latest available equipment management software is supported by an image storage system that may contain important signature documents and outside vendor information. The applicability of these systems to the biomedical engineering field is obvious: (a) space efficiency eliminates folders and files; (b) simultaneous technician access to equipment history; and (c) rapid archive retrieval of data as well as vendor information and safety alerts.     

Human Y chromosome azoospermia factors (AZF) mapped to different subregions in Yq11

In a large collaborative screening project, 370 men with idiopathic azoospermia or severe oligozoospermia were analysed for deletions of 76 DNA loci in Yq11. In 12 individuals, we observed de novo microdeletions involving several DNA loci, while an additional patient had an inherited deletion. They were mapped to three different subregions in Yq11. One subregion coincides to the AZF region defined recently in distal Yq11. The second and third subregion were mapped proximal to it, in proximal and middle Yq11, respectively. The different deletions observed were not overlapping but the extension of the deleted Y DNA in each subregion was similar in each patient analysed. In testis tissue sections, disruption of spermatogenesis was shown to be at the same phase when the microdeletion occurred in the same Yq11 subregion but at a different phase when the microdeletion occurred in a different Yq11 subregion. Therefore, we propose the presence of not one but three spermatogenesis loci in Yq11 and that each locus is active during a different phase of male germ cell development. As the most severe phenotype after deletion of each locus is azoospermia, we designated them as: AZFa, AZFb and AZFc. Their probable phase of function in human spermatogenesis and candidate genes involved will be discussed.