Influence of the final irrigation solution on the push-out bond strength of calcium silicate-based,epoxy resin-based and silicone-based endodontic sealers

Odontology - The aim was to evaluate the influence of different irrigation solutions on the push-out bond strength (POBS) of three different sealers (AH Plus, BioRoot RCS, GuttaFlow2). Root canals...     

P53 immunohistochemical expression does not correlate with clinical features in 207 carcinomas of the oral cavity and in the head and neck region

Objectives

The present study aims to investigate the relevance of immunohistochemical p53 expression in carcinomas of the oral cavity and of the head and neck region. Long-term clinical and histopathological follow-up findings as well as HPV status are correlated with the results of this examination.

Materials and methods

Sections made from two tissue arrays composed of 222 oral squamous cell carcinomas and 427 squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck region, respectively, were examined for p53 expression and Ki-67 index by means of immunohistochemistry. Correlation of long-term clinical findings of the patients and pathological features of tumours with laboratory results were examined statistically.

Results

No significant correlation was found between the p53 immunohistochemical expression in the 207 oral carcinomas and features of the tumours and patient outcomes. There was no significant association between the Ki-67 labelling index and the p53 expression.

Discussion

Our failure in detecting any association of the p53 immunohistochemical expression regardless of HPV status with clinical features of these tumours suggests it lacks a prognostic value for squamous cell carcinomas of the oral cavity.

Clinical relevance

The prognostic value of p53 immunostaining in oral squamous carcinoma is not clarified yet. In the present study, there is no impact on any prognostical item nor even a correlation with cell proliferation (Ki-67) regardless of HPV status.     

Participant Engagement and Reactance to a Short,Animated Video About Added Sugars: Web-based Randomized Controlled Trial

BackgroundShort, animated story-based (SAS) videos are a novel and promising strategy for promoting health behaviors. To gain traction as an effective health communication tool, SAS videos must demonstrate their potential to engage a diverse and global audience. In this study, we evaluate engagement with a SAS video about the consumption of added sugars, which is narrated by a child (a nonthreatening character), a mother (a neutral layperson), or a physician (a medical expert).ObjectiveThis study aims to (1) assess whether engagement with the sugar intervention video differs by narrator type (child, mother, physician) and trait proneness to reactance and (2) assess whether the demographic characteristics of the participants (age, gender, education status) are associated with different engagement profiles with the sugar intervention video.MethodsIn December 2020, after 4013 participants from the United Kingdom completed our randomized controlled trial, we offered participants assigned to the placebo arms (n=1591, 39.65%) the choice to watch the sugar intervention video (without additional compensation) as posttrial access to treatment. We measured engagement as the time that participants chose to watch the 3.42-minute video and collected data on age, gender, education status, and trait reactance proneness. Using ordinary least squares regression, we quantified the association of the demographic characteristics and trait reactance proneness with the sugar video view time.ResultsOverall, 66.43% (n=1047) of the 1576 participants in the 2 placebo arms voluntarily watched the sugar intervention video. The mean view time was 116.35 (52.4%) of 222 seconds. Results show that view times did not differ by narrator (child, mother, physician) and that older participants (aged 25-59 years, mean = 125.2 seconds) watched the sugar video longer than younger adults (aged 18-25 years, mean = 83.4 seconds). View time remained consistent across education levels. Participants with low trait reactance (mean = 119.3 seconds) watched the intervention video longer than high-trait-reactance participants (mean = 95.3 seconds), although this association did not differ by narrator type.ConclusionsThe majority of participants in our study voluntarily watched more than half of the sugar intervention video, which is a promising finding. Our results suggest that SAS videos may need to be shorter than 2 minutes to engage people who are young or have high trait proneness to reactance. We also found that the choice of narrator (child, mother, or physician) for our video did not significantly affect participant engagement. Future videos, aimed at reaching diverse audiences, could be customized for different age groups, where appropriate.Trial RegistrationGerman Clinical Trials Register DRKS00022340; https://www.drks.de/drks_web/navigate.do?navigationId=trial.HTML&TRIAL_ID=DRKS00022340International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)RR2-10.2196/25343     

Early commercial experience with a newly designed balloon-expandable transcatheter heart valve: 30-day outcomes and implications of preprocedural computed tomography

OBJECTIVESWe herein report a single-centre experience with the SAPIEN 3 Ultra balloon-expandable transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system.METHODSBetween March 2019 and January 2020, a total of 79 consecutive patients received transfemoral TAVI using the SAPIEN 3 Ultra device. Data were retrospectively analysed according to updated Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 definitions. Detailed analysis of multislice computed tomography data was conducted to identify potential predictors for permanent pacemaker (PPM) implantation and residual paravalvular leakage (PVL) post TAVI.Open in a separate windowGraphical AbstractRESULTSDevice success and early safety were 97.5% (77/79) and 94.9% (75/79) with resulting transvalvular peak/mean pressure gradients of 21.1 ± 8.2/10.9 ± 4.4 and PVL >mild in 0/79 patients (0%). Mild PVL was seen in 18.9% (15/79) of cases. Thirty-day mortality was 2.5% (2/79). The Valve Academic Research Consortium-2 adjudicated clinical end points disabling stroke, acute kidney injury and myocardial infarction occurred in 1.3% (1/79), 5.1% (4/79) and 0% (0/79) of patients. Postprocedural PPM implantation was necessary in 7.6% (6/79) of patients. Multislice computed tomography analysis revealed significantly higher calcium amounts of the right coronary cusp in patients in need for postprocedural PPM implantation and a higher eccentricity index in patients with postinterventional mild PVL.CONCLUSIONSFirst experience with this newly designed balloon-expandable-transcatheter heart valve demonstrates adequate 30-day outcomes and haemodynamic results with low mortality, low rates of PPM implantation and no residual PVL >mild. The herein-presented multislice computed tomography values with an elevated risk for PPM implantation and residual mild PVL may help to further improve outcomes with this particular transcatheter heart valve in TAVI procedures.     

Short timescale modulation of cortical and cerebellar activity in the early phase of motor sequence learning: an fMRI study

Brain Imaging and Behavior - Motor learning is a multi-stage process, in which the involvement of different brain regions is related to the specific stage. We aimed at characterising short...     

Volume loss in the deep gray matter and thalamic subnuclei: a longitudinal study on disability progression in multiple sclerosis

Journal of Neurology - Volume loss in the deep gray matter (DGM) has been reported in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) already at early stages of the disease and is thought to progress...     

Vascularization and expression of hypoxia-related tissue factors in intracranial ependymoma and their impact on patient survival

We investigated angiogenic patterns and expression of hypoxia-related tissue factors and their prognostic impact in 100 cases of intracranial ependymoma. Angiogenic patterns were evaluated by anti-CD34 immunolabeling. Hypoxia-related factors carbonic anhydrase 9 (CA9) and hypoxia-inducible factor 1 alpha (HIF-1) were visualized by immunohistochemistry, and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) mRNA by in situ hybridization. Expression patterns of VEGF and CA9 are similar with regard to distribution (perinecrotic) and extent. HIF-1 expression occurs in a significantly smaller fraction of cases and only in a few tumor cells without clear association with necrosis. Expression of VEGF and CA9, but not HIF-1, is associated with a bizarre angiogenic subtype. Combined expression of two or three hypoxia markers (high hypoxia score) associates with presence of necrosis, high proliferation index, bizarre vascular pattern, and increased cellularity. Univariate analysis indicated that patients with high hypoxia score had significantly shorter survival. On multivariate analysis, only proliferation index and extent of resection remained independent predictive factors. We conclude that bizarre vascular pattern, necrosis and high hypoxia score are frequently detectable in intracranial ependymoma, but seem less important for patient outcome than tumor cell proliferation.     

An extract of feverfew inhibits interactions of human platelets with collagen substrates

The interaction of platelets with surfaces coated with collagens of type III (C III) or IV (C IV) has been studied by measuring the deposition of 51-Cr-labeled platelets and by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Experiments were performed using platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and suspensions of gel-filtered platelets (GFP). Platelets were deposited on C III mainly as surface-bound aggregates. In contrast they were deposited on C IV mainly as spread forms of individual cells. Formation of aggregates on C III was more extensive for PRP than for GFP; in contrast platelet spreading on C IV was more extensive for GFP than for PRP. The effects of an extract of the plant feverfew on platelet-collagen interactions were determined. Feverfew extract inhibited the deposition of 51-Cr-labeled platelets on both C III and C IV in a dose-dependent way. Similar concentrations of extract were needed to inhibit the formation of surface-bound aggregates and to inhibit platelet spreading in both PRP and GFP.