Facial approximation: evaluation of dental and facial proportions with height

Background

Fabrication of complete dentures requires the use of certain guidelines which are placed on the bite blocks to assist the clinician to have the maxillary anterior teeth restored to optimal dento-labial relations, in harmony with the overall facial appearance.

Objective

To explore if any relationship exists between dental and facial proportions as well as the height of the individuals.

Methods

Two hundred and four dental students of the Obafemi Awolowo University volunteered to participated in the study. The lower facial height, inter incisal, inter canine, and intercommisure distances, as well as the height of the participants were measured. The data were imputed, analyzed, and reported as simple frequency, means and standard deviations using the SPSS vs 11. Statistical significance was inferred at p<0.05.

Result

The mean values of all the parameters measured were significantly higher in males than females. None of the mean values measured were coincident. However, a significant correlation exists between intercanine and interincisal distances(r=0.8) while a weak but significant negative correlation exists between the intercanine distance and the difference of the intercommisural and intercanine distances (r=−0.4)

Conclusion

The study showed no relationship between intercanine distance, interincisal distance, lower facial height, and the height of the participants with the intercommissural distance. Hence, intercommissural distance may not be used in marking canine line during bite registration procedure. At best, 1.75–2.45 cm should be subtracted from the intercommissural distance to determine the intercanine distance.     

Helicobacter pylori acquistion of metronidazole resistance by natural transformation in vitro

AIM: To study whether Helicobacter pylori is naturally transformable.METHODS: Transformation was performed in BHI broth supplemented with horse serum and yeast extract. Genomic DNA extracted from a metronidazole resistant H.pylori strain was added to H. pylori broth culture. The mixture was incubated at microaerophilic atmosphere. The DNA-treated cells were plated on blood agar containing 8 mg/L metronidazole to select for transformants. Sterile distilled water was used as a negative DNA control. The DNA profiles of transformants were compared with that of their parent strains by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) fingerprinting.RESULTS: Transformation of H. pylori with DNA from a metronidazole resistant strain as a marker was demonstrated. Out of the 12 strains of H. pylori tested, 9 (75%) strains were found to be transformable. The transformation frequencies ranged from 3.4 × 10^-6 to 2.4 × 10^-4. By RAPD, DNA fingerprints of the transformants and their parent strains showed no change in DNA profiles though transformants were all resistant to metronidazole as compared with their metronidazole-sensitive parent strains.CONCLUSION: Helicobacter pylori is naturally transformable which might be one of the ways that H. pylori develops resistance to metronidazole.     

Outcome of severely injured trauma patients at a designated trauma centre in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Background The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region （HKSAR） of the People＇s Republic of China （PRC） has seen significant changes in its trauma service over the last ten years including the implementation of a regional trauma system. The author＇s institution is one of the five trauma centres designated in 2003. This article reports our initial clinical experience. Methods A prospective single-centre trauma registry from January 2004 to December 2008 was reviewed. The primary clinical outcome measure was hospital mortality. The Trauma and Injury Severity Score （TRISS） methodology was used for bench-marking with the North America Major Trauma Outcome Study （MTOS） database. Results There were 1451 patients. The majority （83.9%） suffered from blunt injury. The overall mortality rate was 7.8%. Severe injury, defined as the Injury Severity Score 〉15, occurred in 22.5% of patients, and was associated with a mortality rate of 31.6%. A trend of progressive improvement was noted. The M-statistic was 0.99, indicating comparable case-mix with the MTOS. The Z- and W-statistics of each individual year revealed fewer, but not significantly so, number of survivors than expected. Conclusions Trauma centre designation was feasible in the HKSAR and was associated with a gradual improvement in patient care. Trauma system implementation may be considered in regions equipped with the necessary socio-economic and organizational set-up.     

Relationships of sleep duration with sociodemographic and health‐related factors,psychiatric disorders and sleep disturbances in a community sample of Korean adults

The aim of this study is to examine relationships of sleep duration with sociodemographic and health‐related factors, psychiatric disorders and sleep disturbances in a nationwide sample in Korea. A total of 6510 subjects aged 18–64 years participated in this study. Logistic regression was used to calculate the odd ratios and 95% confidence intervals of the covariates, psychiatric disorders and sleep disturbances across the following sleep duration categories: 5 h or less, 6, 7, 8 and 9 h or more per day. Low levels of education, unemployment and physical illness were associated with sleeping for 5 h or less and 9 h or more. Being older and widowed/divorced/separated, high levels of physical activity, pain/discomfort, obesity and high scores on the General Health Questionnaires were associated with sleeping for 5 h or less. Female, being younger and underweight were associated with sleeping for 9 h or more. Alcohol dependence, anxiety disorder and social phobia were associated significantly with sleeping for 5 h or less and 9 h or more. Other psychiatric disorders were more common in subjects who slept for 5 h or less (e.g. alcohol use disorder, mood disorder, major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, obsessive‐compulsive disorder and specific phobia) or 9 h or more (e.g. post‐traumatic stress disorder). In addition, subjects who slept for 5 h or less reported more sleep disturbances than did subjects who slept for 7 h. Short or long sleep is associated with psychiatric disorders and/or sleep disturbance, therefore attention to the mental health of short or long sleepers is needed.     

浅析天然乳胶避孕套监管中的注意事项

天然乳胶避孕套冒牌贴牌多,监管部门多,监管难度大,本文详细阐述了避孕套监管的现状及加强监管的建议。     

335例慢性前列腺炎中西药治疗效果的对比

目的　慢性前列腺炎是目前常见而又难治愈的一种男性疾病 ,为寻求一种治疗快、经济高效的方案。作者随机设置了三组 (中药栓剂肛门给药治疗组、西药前列腺穿刺局部封闭治疗组、中西结合治疗组 )共 335例患者进行治疗对比。结果　中药治疗组治疗 5 8人 ,平均年龄 2 9 6 4岁 ,治愈 5例 ,治愈率 5 1%;西药治疗组治疗 196人 ,平均年龄 2 9 5 8岁 ,治愈 184人 ,治愈率 93 9%,中西结合治疗组治疗 81人 ,平均年龄 30 6 7岁 ,治愈 78人 ,治愈率 96 3%。经统计学t检验 ,中药组与西药组、中西药组差异具有显著性意义 (P <0 0 0 1) ,西药组与中西药组差异无显著性 (P >0 0 5 )。结论　三组的平均年龄无明显差异 ,从治愈率看 ,中药组明显偏低 ,西药组与中西结合组治愈率高而无明显差异 ,所以从治愈率和经济方面考虑单用西药局封前列腺治疗是一种较理想的手段。     

Graft-versus-host reaction affecting lesional skin but not normal skin in a patient with piebaldism

Summary A case of graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) arising solely within an area affected by piebaldism is described. The patient, a 35-year-old woman with a single hypopigmented patch on the right leg present since birth, had received an allogeneic bone marrow transplant (BMT) from an HLA-identical sibling donor, for treatment of a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS). Beginning on day + 38 post-BMT, the patch developed changes which were histologically consistent with GVHD. Syngeneic mixed epidermal cell-lymphocyte reaction (MECLR) testing of tissue from the patch, and from adjacent normal skin, showed differences which suggest that piebaldism-affected skin is immunologically different from normal skin. These findings may offer new insight into the pathophysiology of this disorder.