Critical size defect in the canine mandible.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the minimum size defect in a canine mandible that would not spontaneously heal during the dog's natural life (the critical size defect). STUDY DESIGN: Sixteen adult female mongrel dogs underwent continuity resection on both sides of the mandible to create bilateral defects. In 8 dogs, mandibular defects ranging from 5 to 20 mm were created with periosteal resection. In the other 8 dogs, mandibular defects ranging from 30 to 60 mm were created preserving the periosteum. The dogs were then killed at 6 months and the defects examined using radiographs and histologic analysis. RESULTS: When the periosteum was removed, mandibular defects greater than 15 mm failed to heal across the entire defect. However, when the periosteum was preserved, mandibular defects needed to be greater than 50 mm in order to fail to heal. CONCLUSION: The critical size defect in a canine mandible model is 15 mm when the periosteum is removed and 50 mm when the periosteum is preserved.     

Teaching scholars programs: faculty development for educators in the health professions.

OBJECTIVE: This article 1) provides an overview of formal Health Sciences Teaching Scholars Programs as presented in medical education literature and 2) presents information about an innovative multidiscipline Teaching Scholars Program. METHOD: Health Sciences Teaching Scholars Programs and similar programs were reviewed in the medical education literature to identify similar and dissimilar characteristics. The WVU Teaching Scholars Program highlighted in this article is presented with a discussion of goals, objectives, target audiences, course length, session frequency, program topics, learning methods, and assessments of the programs. A summary of the WVU Teaching Scholars Program and two Teaching Scholars Programs at McGill University and the University of Toronto were presented at the Association for American Medical Colleges (AAMC) annual meeting in 2006 for input from the general medical education audience. RESULTS: Comparisons of Health Sciences Teaching Scholars Programs reveal that successful programs are uniquely shaped by their educational environments. Scholars report that they value learning new teaching methods and improving their educational careers. CONCLUSION: Teaching Scholars Programs are valuable for the development of enhancing both teaching and scholarship in Health Sciences Programs and must adapt to the uniqueness of their respective educational environments and must continue to nurture scholars beyond graduation.     

Discussing options between patients and health care professionals in genetic diagnosis: ethical and legal criteria

The specific characteristics of genetic data lead to ethical-legal conflicts in the framework of genetic diagnosis. Several international organisations, including UNESCO and the Council of Europe, have enacted rules referring to the use of genetic information. This paper discusses possible legal and ethical criteria that could be used in genetic testing.     

Controlled release of lidocaine hydrochloride from the surfactant-doped hybrid xerogels.

We investigate the controlled release of lidocaine hydrochloride from the doped silica-based xerogels. In the xerogel preparation, tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), methyltriethoxysilane (MTES), and propyltriethoxysilane (PTES) are used as precursors, and a nonionic surfactant Igepal CO 720 is used as a dopant. The experimental results suggest that the release of lidocaine hydrochloride can be easily controlled by partially substituting TEOS with the organosilanes, and/or by adding the dopant. Adding the organosilane precursors lowers the release of both the drug and the surfactant in the order of TEOS, MTES/TEOS, and PTES/TEOS xerogels. The release from the PTES/TEOS xerogels is much lower than that from the other xerogels. The release of lidocaine hydrochloride is obviously suppressed by the addition of Igepal CO 720, while the release of Igepal CO 720 is slightly promoted by the addition of the drug. The overall release process is found to be diffusion-controlled, and the release behaviors can be well explained by considering the effects of the textual properties of the xerogels and the interactions among the drug, the surfactant, and the xerogel matrices.     

Behavioral state-specific changes in human hippocampal theta activity

Although there has been extensive examination of the behavioral and physiologic correlates of hippocampal theta activity in animals, the human literature consists of a single case study. We investigated the differential effects of four behavioral states on human hippocampal theta activity in 16 epilepsy surgery patients. Behavioral conditions included resting eyes closed (RC), resting eyes open (RO), eyes open with auditory word activation (AW), and eyes open with visuospatial activation (VS). Hippocampal theta activity decreased during both RO and VS compared to both RC and AW. There were reciprocal changes in delta activity. Comparisons of RO to VS and of RC to AW were nonsignificant. The results demonstrate state-specific changes in human hippocampal theta and are consistent with the animal literature that relates hippocampal theta to sensorimotor integration and forebrain volitional mechanisms.     

A Spanish version of the Family Assessment Device

Introduction  

This paper presents the results of a study on the psychometric properties of an authorized Spanish version of the McMaster Family Assessment Device, a self-report measure of family functioning.     

Syringomatous adenoma of the nipple occurring within a supernumerary breast: a case report

Originally described by Rosen in 1983, syringomatous nipple adenoma (SAN) is a tumor of disputed histogenesis, which can be problematic both diagnostically and therapeutically. ¹ It is a benign primary tumor of breast epithelium with histology similar to that of the syringoma. In the current case, we describe a 40-year-old female with this lesion occurring within a supernumerary breast. This case represents, to our knowledge, the first such reported case, and represents a significant finding as its presence could lend some confusion as to whether or not this represents a benign primary process of breast or a potentially infiltrative tumor of the skin.