Soft- and hard-tissue augmentation by orthodontic treatment in the esthetic zone

A technique that may effectively create a greater volume of available hard and soft tissue in the vertical plane without surgical intervention is reported and explained. Limitations of the forced eruption are also discussed. Creating an esthetic implant-supported restoration is a challenge in patients who have alveolar resorption and/or attachment loss, especially when they present with a high smile line. Many methods to augment this loss of tissue have been proposed; most involve surgical procedures to add bone or bone substitutes to compensate for the loss of alveolar tissue. This case report presents an alternative to bone augmentation procedures with the use of orthodontic tooth movement in the esthetic zone of a 62-year-old woman. The tooth movement facilitated implant placement by increasing soft-tissue volume and facial bony contours.     

Interferon Free Hepatitis C Treatment Regimens: The Beginning of Another Era

Hepatitis C is a virus affecting millions worldwide and is a major health risk. With the potentially severe adverse event profile of the current backbone of therapy, interferon, there is an impetus to discover interferon free treatment regimens. With the development of new oral direct acting antivirals, interferon free regimens may be available in the next few years. This article discusses some of the preliminary data from interferon free studies.     

Adhesives for the restoration of non-carious cervical lesions: a systematic review

ObjectivesTo establish whether simplified adhesives (self-etch) are as clinically effective as conventional adhesives (etch-and-rinse) with multiple application steps for treatment of non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs).Null hypothesis: there is no difference in the clinical effectiveness of the four different bonding strategies: Three-step etch-and-rinse; Two-step etch-and-rinse; Two-step self-etch; One-step self-etch for treatment of NCCLs.SourcesElectronic databases were searched including: Cochrane Oral Health Group Trials Register, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), MEDLINE and EMBASE. In addition, studies were identified by handsearching of selected journals.Study selectionRandomised controlled trials (RCTs) comparing at least two adhesives in non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs), with at least 18 months follow-up were selected. The primary outcome was loss of retention/restoration loss, with marginal adaptation and marginal discolouration as secondary outcomes. Criteria for quality assessment included: random sequence generation; allocation concealment; blinding of outcome assessment; and information on withdrawals. Twenty six studies were identified that met the inclusion criteria. In general, studies were not of sufficient quality to fully address the objectives of this review.ConclusionThere is not enough evidence to support one adhesive or bonding strategy over another for treatment of NCCLs. Consequently, the null hypothesis of no difference cannot be supported or rejected with the data currently available. There is a need for better standardisation and reporting of randomised controlled trials investigating adhesive performance.Clinical significanceStudies with low overall risk of bias demonstrated good clinical performance for adhesives with all four bonding strategies. However, included studies showed wide variation between adhesives of the same category.     

Language Matters: The Autism-Spectrum Quotient in English,Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders - The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) measures autistic traits and has been studied in different countries, sometimes with the English version, and...     

Correction to: Factors Contributing to Psychological Ill#Effects and Resilience of Caregivers of Children with Developmental Disabilities During a Nation#wide Lockdown During the COVID#19 Pandemic

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders -     

Nephrotoxicity and Kidney Transport Assessment on 3D Perfused Proximal Tubules

Proximal tubules in the kidney play a crucial role in reabsorbing and eliminating substrates from the body into the urine, leading to high local concentrations of xenobiotics. This makes the proximal tubule a major target for drug toxicity that needs to be evaluated during the drug development process. Here, we describe an advanced in vitro model consisting of fully polarized renal proximal tubular epithelial cells cultured in a microfluidic system. Up to 40 leak-tight tubules were cultured on this platform that provides access to the basolateral as well as the apical side of the epithelial cells. Exposure to the nephrotoxicant cisplatin caused a dose-dependent disruption of the epithelial barrier, a decrease in viability, an increase in effluent LDH activity, and changes in expression of tight-junction marker zona-occludence 1, actin, and DNA-damage marker H2A.X, as detected by immunostaining. Activity and inhibition of the efflux pumps P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and multidrug resistance protein (MRP) were demonstrated using fluorescence-based transporter assays. In addition, the transepithelial transport function from the basolateral to the apical side of the proximal tubule was studied. The apparent permeability of the fluorescent P-gp substrate rhodamine 123 was decreased by 35% by co-incubation with cyclosporin A. Furthermore, the activity of the glucose transporter SGLT2 was demonstrated using the fluorescent glucose analog 6-NBDG which was sensitive to inhibition by phlorizin. Our results demonstrate that we developed a functional 3D perfused proximal tubule model with advanced renal epithelial characteristics that can be used for drug screening studies.     

Rapid prenatal diagnosis of beta thalassemia using DNA amplification and nonradioactive probes

We used in vitro DNA amplification by the polymerase chain reaction and nonradioactive probes for prenatal diagnosis of beta thalassemia in Chinese from the Guangdong province. Exact molecular diagnoses were made in all 20 fetuses studied over a 6-month period. We conclude that this method of prenatal diagnosis for beta thalassemia is a viable approach in many parts of the world where this disease is common.