Classification and cyclic fatigue evaluation of new kinematics for endodontic instruments

This study evaluated the effect of new motions of the motor TriAuto ZX2 on the cyclic fatigue of endodontic instruments. Vortex Blue 35.06 instruments were divided into four groups (n = 10) and tested for fatigue in a curved artificial canal (90° and 2 mm radius) using the following motions: continuous rotation (CR), Optimum Torque Reverse (OTR) set at 180° and the Optimum Glide Path (OGP), which was tested at 90° and 240°. The time to fracture (TTF) and the lengths of the fractured fragments were recorded. The mean TTF was significantly different among the groups (anova , P < 0.05): OGP 90° (213.39 ± 27.45), OTR 180° (121.24 ± 17.03), OGP 240° (45.24 ± 5.61) and CR (8.43 ± 1.27). Weibull analysis confirmed the shortest life expectancy for CR and the longest survival for OGP at 90°. The resistance to fatigue was affected by motions and pre‐set angles. The proprietary movements that are currently available for endodontic instruments were classified according to their kinematics.     

Symptom profile of DSM-IV major and minor depressive disorders in first-ever stroke patients.

OBJECTIVE: Depressive disorders are very common in stroke patients. However, vegetative and cognitive symptoms primarily derived from brain damage could hypothetically be indistinguishable from those directly derived from neuropsychiatric disorders, and this could invalidate the diagnostic assessment. Thus, authors aimed to detect the frequency of clinically-rated DSM-IV depressive symptoms and the diagnostic validity of depressive disorders in stroke patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD), minor depressive disorder (MIND), and those free of any neuropsychiatric disorders (NODEP). METHODS: First-ever stroke patients (N=200) were approached within 3 months of the acute stroke and were interviewed with the SCID-P and administered the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (Ham-D), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI), the Barthel Index, and the Mini-Mental State Exam. RESULTS: Fifty patients (25%) had MDD, 62 (31%) had MIND, and 88 (44%) had NODEP. Global cognitive level, functional impairment, total scores, and psychic and somatic subscores of the Ham-D and the BDI were different among the three groups. The only symptom that did not differ among patients with MDD, MIND, and NODEP was Feelings of Guilt; all the other eight DSM-IV symptoms were significantly different. In particular, the frequency of Depressed Mood, Diminished Interest or Pleasure, Fatigue or Loss of Energy, Insomnia, and Psychomotor Agitation/Retardation was higher in MIND patients than in NODEP patients. CONCLUSIONS: During the diagnostic procedure for depressive disorders in stroke patients, clinicians should consider equally important vegetative, cognitive, and psychological depressive symptoms, despite their nature.     

Effects of cimetropium bromide on gallbladder contraction in response to oral and intraduodenal olive oil

Summary To evaluate the influence of the stomach and the cholinergic system on gallbladder contraction induced by physiological stimuli, the reduction in gallbladder volume in 7 healthy volunteers has been studied by real-time ultrasonography after the oral and intraduodenal administration of olive oil, preceded by pretreatment with cimetropium bromide or placebo. After an overnight fast, each subject swallowed 50 ml olive oil or it was administered through a naso-duodenal tube in the proximal duodenum. Cimetropium bromide 5 mg or placebo was given intravenously under double-blind control.After the placebo pretreatment, gallbladder contraction was greater and faster after intraduodenal oil than after oral oil. Cimetropium bromide decreased the extent, velocity and duration of gallbladder contraction induced by intraduodenal olive oil but it only reduced the velocity of the contraction induced by oil given orally.It is concluded that in normal human subjects the stomach modulates the extent and velocity of postprandial gallbladder contraction and that anticholinergic agents antagonize the gastric and duodenal phases of the response of the gallbladder to a meal.     

Inactivation of C3H 10T1/2 cells by monoenergetic high LET alpha-particles.

Inactivation of mouse C3H 10T1/2 cells in plateau-phase (7.8 x 10(4) cells/cm2) was studied by using alpha-particles from the irradiation facility installed for radiobiological experiments at the 3 MV Tandem accelerator, University of Naples. Silicon detectors and CR39 plastic track detectors were employed for dosimetric purposes. The cells were exposed to high LET monoenergetic alpha-particles (energy of 1.8 MeV at the centre of the cell nucleus, track-averaged LET of 177 keV/micron and dose-rate of 1.1 Gy/min) and low-LET 80 kVp X-rays. The X-ray survival curve showed a significant shoulder (alpha/beta = 9 Gy) while the survival curve for alpha-particles was close to exponential. The mean lethal dose of alpha-particles was 0.77 +/- 0.02 Gy and the RBE was 5.2 at 80% survival and 3.0 at 5% survival. Survival of exponentially growing cells (2 x 10(4) cells/cm2) following irradiation with the alpha-particle beam is also reported. The nuclear areas of 10T1/2 cells were measured as 299 +/- 9 micron 2 and 250 +/- 8 micron 2 for cells in log phase and plateau phase, respectively. The inactivation cross-section, obtained from the mean lethal dose, was 34 micron 2 and 37 micron 2 for cells in log phase and plateau phase, respectively. These values appear to be the maximum measured values for the inactivation cross-section of 10T1/2 cells as a function of the alpha-particle LET. This saturation cross-section is very similar to the saturation values reported in the literature for other mammalian cell lines.     

Effect of the 5-HT1 agonist sumatriptan on oesophageal motor pattern in patients with ineffective oesophageal motility

The 5-HT1 agonist sumatriptan (SUM) elicits an increase in amplitude of oesophageal motor waves and of lower oesophageal sphincter (LOS) tone in healthy subjects. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether such an effect occurs also in patients with ineffective oesophageal motility (IOM). 16 patients (nine males and seven females, age range 34-55 years) with chest pain and mild to moderate dysphagia were studied; all had undergone previous cardiologic, radiologic and upper gastrointestinal endoscopic exams that were normal. An oesophageal manometry was performed using an electronic probe to record swallows, oesophageal, LOS and gastric motility. The patients whose motor pattern were compatible with IOM (>30% of motor waves with amplitude <30 mmHg and/or non-transmitted) received SUM or placebo 6 mg s.c., injected in the morning and in the afternoon in a random order. The data analysis was limited to 1 h before and 1 h after the drug injections. Ten out of the 16 patients showed an IOM motor pattern. The administration of SUM caused a significant increase in the number of swallows (SUM 99.5 +/- 15.4 vs 78.6 +/- 16.1 basal, P = 0.03) and of primary oesophageal motor waves (SUM 89.6 +/- 13.4 vs 67.2 +/- 12.9 basal, P = 0.04) with no significant changes in the percentage of swallows associated with propagation. Placebo was not associated with increase in the number of swallows (80.3 +/- 14.6, P = 0.9) or of primary oesophageal motor waves (70.1 +/- 12.3, P = 0.7). The amplitude and the percentage of propagated oesophageal motor waves as well as the mean basal LOS tone were unaltered by SUM. There was no change in the symptoms reported after SUM. Although effective in healthy subjects, SUM 6 mg s.c. improves only the numbers but not the amplitude or propagation of oesophageal motility of patients with IOM. The 5-HT1 pathway and its acute stimulation seem to play only a minor role in the pathogenesis of such a disease.     

Mortality study of asbestos cement workers

The present study describes cause-specific mortality of asbestos cement workers in the Emilia Romagna region of Italy. The cohort included workers in ten factories, most of which started operating between 1955 and 1965. Asbestos, mainly chrysotile, constituted 10%–20% of the dry component of the mixture. Crocidolite range between 5% and 50% of total asbestos. Asbestos concentrations up to 44 ff/cc were reported prior to 1975, while in recent years they have usually been below 0–1 ff/cc. The cohort included 3341 workers who had at some time been employed in the ten factories under study. Their mortality experience was compared with that of the population resident in Emilia Romagna. Vital status was ascertained at 1989. Seventy-three subjects were lost to followup (2.2%). Mortality from all causes and from all types of cancer was increased in the cohort. Malignant neoplasms of the respiratory tract showed a significant increase (SMR: 134; 90% confidence interval: 101–175; 40 observed) due to lung cancer (SMR: 124; 90% confidence interval: 91–166; 33 observed) and neoplasms of the pleura, mediastinum, and other parts of the respiratory tract (SMR: 602; 90% confidence interval 237–1267; 5 observed). The discrepancy between observed and expected mortality mainly concerned subjects with at least 20 years of employment in the factories. Five more cases of histologically confirmed mesothelioma occurred after the end of follow-up.