Surface characteristics of tooth-colored restoratives polished utilizing different polishing systems

With more than 2000 wound care products on the market, choosing an appropriate dressing for the geriatric patient can prove to be a difficult task. Age-related changes in skin structure and decreased resistance to noxious stimuli in the environment place the elderly patient at higher risk for wound complications. Understanding the principles of moist wound healing and how dressing materials can be used to promote healing outcomes gives the clinician a foundation upon which to base treatment decisions. Assigning products to generic dressing categories further facilitates dressing selection, allowing the treatment protocol to be individualized to the patient, the wound, and the setting.     

Antiplasmodial triterpene from Vernonia brasiliana

The hexane extract from leaves of Vernonia brasiliana (L.) Druce (Compositae) was active in vitro against Plasmodium falciparum and in vivo in mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. This extract was subjected to a bioassay-guided fractionation protocol based on the in vitro model. Lupeol was identified as a compound responsible for the activity, inhibiting the P.falciparum growth by 45% when tested at 25 micrograms/ml. However, this triterpene was inactive in vivo when 15 mg/kg were administered per os during four consecutive days to mice infected with P.berghei. beta-Amyrin and germanicol, isolated from the same fraction that yielded lupeol, were inactive in the in vitro assay.     

Distribution of median nerve to muscles of the anterior compartment of the arm

Distribution of the median nerve in the arm is not normally subjected to variation. This report represents a case of complete absence of the musculocutaneous nerve from the lateral cord of the brachial plexus. The innervation of the muscles of the anterior (flexor) compartment of the arm was by direct branches from the median nerve. This variation was present in both the right and left limbs.     

Mediastinitis due to Mycobacterium fortuitum infection following Fontan operation in a child

Here we report a case of mediastinitis due to Mycobacterium fortuitum infection in a child after a Fontan operation. To our knowledge this is the first report of atypical mycobacterial mediastinal infection after congenital heart surgery. Atypical mycobacteria can be the cause of "culture negative" sternal and thoracotomy wound infections. A brief review of the literature is included in the discussion.     

活性炭工艺去除水中典型药品的效能与机理

药品和个人护理品（PPCPs）因其潜在的环境和健康风险受到了广泛关注。实验选取8种典型药品为对象,采用中试规模的活性炭工艺研究了其去除效果和影响因素。结果表明,活性炭工艺对安替比林、达舒平、舒必利、磺胺甲口恶唑、泰妙菌素和氧苄胺嘧啶等的去除率为50%～90%,对林肯霉素和氨糖美辛的去除率均小于35%。典型药品的去除率受到滤速、有机物和pH等因素的影响,其中,氨糖美辛、林肯霉素和泰妙菌素等的去除率受滤速影响较大;磺胺甲口恶唑的去除率受pH影响较大。有机物对典型药品去除率的影响既有促进作用,又有抑制作用。典型药品的物化性质对其去除行为有重要影响,这有利于从分子水平上认识活性炭工艺对典型药品的去除机理。     

Acute respiratory distress syndrome: CT abnormalities at long-term follow-up

Photochemical thrombotic ischemia model was used to study the possible roles of excision repair cross-complementing group 6 (ERCC6), a DNA repair gene, in the neuroprotection of dextromethorphan (DM), a NMDA antagonist, in ischemic brain injury. The results showed that no obvious ERCC6 mRNA expression was found in the perifocal area of irradiated cerebral cortex before 24 h postischemia. Then, the number of ERCC6 mRNA positive cells gradually enhanced, and attained a peak value at 72 h after light irradiation, which followed a declined tendency at 7-day postlesion. These results suggest that DNA repair gene ERCC6 mRNA expression in the perifocal area may be involved in the pathophysiological processes following the photochemical thrombotic cerebral ischemia. By the administration of DM, we observed that it can significantly upregulate the expression of ERCC6 mRNA in the perifocal area at 48 h after ischemic event. The neuroprotective mechanisms of DM may be related to the upregulation of DNA repair gene ERCC6 mRNA.     

Biomimetic mineralization of partially bioresorbable glass fiber reinforced composite

The aim of this study was to investigate the biomimetic mineralization on the surface of a glass fiber reinforced composite with partially resorbable biopolymer matrix. The E-glass fibers were preimpregnated with a novel biopolymer of poly(hydroxyproline) amide, and further impregnated in the monomer system of bis-phenyl glycidyl dimethacrylate (Bis-GMA)—triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA), which formed interpenetrating polymer networks (IPN) with the preimpregnation polymer. After light-initiated polymerization of the monomer system, the rhombic test specimens (n = 6) were immersed in the simulated body fluid (SBF) with the bioactive glass for 24 h, and then the apatite nuclei were allowed to grow for 1, 3, 5 and 7 days in the SBF. The control test specimens (n = 3) were immersed in SBF without the bioactive glass. According to the scanning electron microscope (SEM), a mineral layer was formed on the surface of all the specimens, which were immersed with bioactive glass. The layer was thickened by the prolonged immersion time to a uniform layer. The Ca/P atomic ratio of the mineral varied between 1.30 and 1.54 as analyzed by the energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDXA). The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra gave signals for the mineral, which are characteristic of both bone-like apatite and orthocalciumphosphate. In conclusion, the mineral layer was formed on the surfaces of the specimens by biomimetic mineralization, the mineral being a mixture of bone-like apatite, orthocalciumphosphate and other calcium phosphates.     

Auditory and somatosensory evoked potentials in coma following spontaneous cerebral hemorrhage: early prognosis and outcome

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT), or Rendu-Osler-Weber disease, is an autosomal dominant disorder of localized angiodysplasia, although it is sometimes mistakenly identified as a hemostatic disorder due to its associated characteristic bleeding. The vascular lesions that develop consist of direct arteriovenous connections without an intervening capillary bed. Germline mutations in one of two different genes, endoglin or ALK-1, can cause HHT. Both are members of the transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta receptor family of proteins, and are expressed primarily on the surface of endothelial cells. They are associated together in a receptor complex on the cell surface. Biochemical studies suggest that endoglin modulates TGF-beta signaling through ALK-1 and the type I TGF-beta receptor. Most mutations identified in endoglin and ALK-1 create null alleles, which lead to reduced message or protein levels. A model of haploinsufficiency is proposed, in which inheritance of a mutation predisposes an individual to develop HHT-associated vascular lesions. The factors that initiate lesion formation are unknown, but disruption of these genes in mice should provide animal models to address these and other important questions about the pathogenesis of HHT.     

Adenine nucleotides modulate epithelial wound healing in vitro

BACKGROUND: Adenine nucleotides have been demonstrated to enhance structural and functional regeneration in experimental renal injury in rats. The mechanism of adenine nucleotide action have not been elucidated. The aim of this study was to characterize the effects of adenine nucleotides on intestinal epithelial wound healing in vitro. METHODS: The effects of adenine nucleotides on cell migration, cell proliferation and cell adhesion were studied in the non-transformed small intestinal epithelial cell line IEC-6 using an in vitro wounding model, a colorimetric BrdU assay and a hexosaminidase adhesion assay. RESULTS: The adenine nucleotides ADP and ATP were found to significantly stimulate epithelial cell restitution (migration) in vitro. Stimulation of epithelial restitution averaged 42% for ADP and 57% for ATP. In addition, adenine nucleotides inhibited the proliferation of rat small intestinal epithelial cells, averaging 56% for ADP and 74% for ATP. Enhancement of intestinal epithelial restitution and inhibition of epithelial cell proliferation by adenine nucleotides were mediated through transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta-independent pathways. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that adenine nucleotides exert functional effects on intestinal epithelial cell populations and may play a role in the morphogenesis of the gastrointestinal tract and its remodeling after injury.     

Heart rate-dependence of arterial distensibility in vivo

OBJECTIVES: Viscous and inertial components contribute to arterial distensibility and compliance in vitro. The purpose of our study was to determine whether this phenomenon is of relevance in vivo, namely, whether arterial compliance is altered by an increase in heart rate. DESIGN: Arterial diameter was assessed by an echo-Doppler device in a common carotid and femoral artery, namely, in a large elastic and a muscle artery. The studies were performed in 12-week-old pentobarbitone-anaesthetized Wistar-Kyoto rats subjected to atrial pacing via a transjugular unipolar catheter at five different randomly sequenced rates (280, 310, 340, 370 and 400 beats/min). After each stage, spontaneous sinus rhythm was allowed to return. Blood pressure was measured via a catheter inserted into the carotid or femoral artery contralateral to the vessels in which the diameter was measured. Arterial compliance and distensibility values were derived according to the Langewouters formula. RESULTS: A progressive increase in heart rate caused by pacing was accompanied by progressive and marked reductions in carotid artery compliance and distensibility. When quantified by the area under the distensibility-pressure or compliance-pressure curve the reduction was in the range 15-43%. Although a tendency to a similar phenomenon was observed in the femoral artery, in the latter vessel the reduction in distensibility and compliance was less marked and statistically insignificant. CONCLUSIONS: In the anaesthetized rat acute increases in heart rate are accompanied by reductions in arterial compliance and distensibility. The effect is greater in elastic than in muscle arteries.