Orthodontic Emergencies and Perspectives During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Italian Experience

Objective: To investigate the types of dental emergencies that occurred during the lockdown period in Italy (12th March—4th May) and to investigate future therapeutic preferences related to the use of different types of appliances. Material and Methods: A questionnaire dedicated to assessing dental emergencies during the lockdown period and surveying the resumption of orthodontic practice was submitted to clinicians in digital form. The first part of the questionnaire, focused on the orthodontic emergencies that were encountered in relation to the different types of orthodontic appliances and how these were resolved. The second part of the questionnaire was devoted to the resumption of clinical practice; in particular, it was designed to assess whether and what percentage of clinicians are willing to change the duration of appointments in relation to the different types of appliance used, asking them whether their approach to orthodontic treatment would change in the coming months as compared to the pre-COVID-19 era. Results: Results show that in most cases (82%), the percentage of patients who experienced a dental emergency was less than 5% and that far fewer emergencies were attributable to removable (5.7%) than to fixed appliances (94.3%). Looking ahead, clinicians expressed a greater preference for using removable (60.8%) rather than fixed appliances (39.2%). Conclusion: During the lockdown, there relatively few orthodontic emergencies, many of which were handled by telephone consultation. However, a far lower percentage of emergencies were generated by removable (e.g., clear aligners) as opposed to fixed appliances (e.g., multibracket equipment), likely influencing the decision of the majority of clinicians to opt for removable appliances in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

Orthodontic Emergencies and Perspectives During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Italian Experience

Objective: To investigate the types of dental emergencies that occurred during the lockdown period in Italy (12th March—4th May) and to investigate future therapeutic preferences related to the use of different types of appliances. Material and Methods: A questionnaire dedicated to assessing dental emergencies during the lockdown period and surveying the resumption of orthodontic practice was submitted to clinicians in digital form. The first part of the questionnaire, focused on the orthodontic emergencies that were encountered in relation to the different types of orthodontic appliances and how these were resolved. The second part of the questionnaire was devoted to the resumption of clinical practice; in particular, it was designed to assess whether and what percentage of clinicians are willing to change the duration of appointments in relation to the different types of appliance used, asking them whether their approach to orthodontic treatment would change in the coming months as compared to the pre-COVID-19 era. Results: Results show that in most cases (82%), the percentage of patients who experienced a dental emergency was less than 5% and that far fewer emergencies were attributable to removable (5.7%) than to fixed appliances (94.3%). Looking ahead, clinicians expressed a greater preference for using removable (60.8%) rather than fixed appliances (39.2%). Conclusion: During the lockdown, there relatively few orthodontic emergencies, many of which were handled by telephone consultation. However, a far lower percentage of emergencies were generated by removable (e.g., clear aligners) as opposed to fixed appliances (e.g., multibracket equipment), likely influencing the decision of the majority of clinicians to opt for removable appliances in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

Efficacy of swm appliance in the expression of first-, second- and third-order information in Class I and Class II

To assess the efficacy of a multibracket appliance?Straight-wire Mirabella (SWM) prescription?in terms of achieving the ideal first-, second- and third-order values proposed by Andrews. A total sample of 46 Caucasian subjects was divided into two groups: 23 with class I malocclusion (Group 1), and 23 with class II malocclusion (Group 2). The treatment protocol involved fixed multibracket appliances?SWM prescription?for both groups, with the addition of class II elastics for Group 2. Values for ?U1-PP, ?IMPA, in-out, tip and torque were measured on digital scans, and the results obtained were compared with the ideal values proposed by Andrews. Statistically significant differences were revealed between the entire sample and Andrews? values for: in-out on upper lateral incisors and upper canines; tip on the upper first premolars, upper second premolars, upper first molars and upper canines; and torque on the lower central incisors, lower lateral incisors, lower canines and lower first premolars. However, comparison of Groups 1 and 2 revealed statistically significant differences only at the lower lateral incisors. The use of class II elastics influenced ?IMPA values, but not ?U1-PP. The efficacy of the multibracket appliance?SWM prescription?in expressing first- second- and, to a lesser extent, third-order information was demonstrated in both class I and class II malocclusions. Class II elastics only influenced the third-order expression on the lower lateral incisors and the ?IMPA

A novel antisense RNA regulates at transcriptional level the virulence gene icsA of Shigella flexneri

The virulence gene icsA of Shigella flexneri encodes an invasion protein crucial for host colonization by pathogenic bacteria. Within the intergenic region virA-icsA, we have discovered a new gene that encodes a non-translated antisense RNA (named RnaG), transcribed in cis on the complementary strand of icsA. In vitro transcription assays show that RnaG promotes premature termination of transcription of icsA mRNA. Transcriptional inhibition is also observed in vivo by monitoring the expression profile in Shigella by real-time polymerase chain reaction and when RnaG is provided in trans. Chemical and enzymatic probing of the leader region of icsA mRNA either free or bound to RnaG indicate that upon hetero-duplex formation an intrinsic terminator, leading to transcription block, is generated on the nascent icsA mRNA. Mutations in the hairpin structure of the proposed terminator impair the RnaG mediated-regulation of icsA transcription. This study represents the first evidence of transcriptional attenuation mechanism caused by a small RNA in Gram-negative bacteria. We also present data on the secondary structure of the antisense region of RnaG. In addition, alternatively silencing icsA and RnaG promoters, we find that transcription from the strong RnaG promoter reduces the activity of the weak convergent icsA promoter through the transcriptional interference regulation

RAGE gene polymorphism in heart failure patients with and without angiographic evidence of significant coronary atherosclerosis.

Heart failure (HF) is a multifactorial disorder in which clinical, environmental and genetic components take part. For this reason it is possible that common gene variants could affect development, progression and response to pharmacological therapy. In recent years the role of AGEs in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases has become recognized but little is known about the role of the AGE-RAGE system in heart failure. The aim of the present study was to identify possible relationship between -374 T/A RAGE gene polymorphism with heart failure. The population in this study consists of 386 subjects with HF, selected according to the presence of depressed Left Ventricular Ejection Fraction (LVEF) <45%, and 639 patients with CAD documented at coronary angiography. Within the population with HF there are 228 patients with disease secondary to not ischemic cause and 158 with post-ischemic condition. The sample of AA genotype was significantly lower in patients with post-ischemic HF in respect to HF secondary to non-ischemic causes (p<0.001). A significant difference between the two groups was also observed regarding the allele frequency. In addition, differences in the allelic and the genotypic frequencies of homozygous genotypes were found between the HF patients free from evidence of coronary significant lesions and patients with at least one hemodynamically significant coronary lesion, both HF and CAD. In patients with at least one vessel compromised the presence of A allele and the homozygous AA genotype were significantly lower than in patients with lesion-free coronary. In conclusion, our research reveals that the -374 T/A polymorphism is related to the genesis of atherosclerotic coronary artery disease but not to its evolution. The protective role of AA genotype in respect to atheromatous disease is therefore confirmed also in the HF population with non-ischemic origin

Extruded linseed and linseed oil as alternative to soybean meal and soybean oil in diets for fattening lambs

The study evaluated the effects of replacing soybean meal and soybean oil respectively with extruded linseed and linseed oil on the productive performances and meat quality traits in lambs slaughtered at 90 days. Lambs weaned at 40 days were divided into 3 groups (N.=10) fed ad libitum for 6 weeks as follows: C (control, commercial feed containing soybean meal and soybean oil); LO (feed containing linseed oil instead of soybean oil); EL (feed containing extruded linseed). Meat quality traits were evaluated on the Longissimus lumborum (Ll) and Semimembranosus (Sm) muscles. The lambs' growth performances and the slaughtering and sectioning data did not differ between groups. The redness of meat was significantly higher (P<0.05) for the LO and EL groups compared to the control for both the muscles tested. Ll meat samples of the EL group showed a greater cooking loss compared to LO (P<0.01) and to the control (P<0.05). The amount of linoleic acid in raw Ll meat samples was significantly (P<0.01) lower in both LO and EL groups with respect to control. The concentration of α-linolenic acid was significantly (P<0.01) higher in the EL group and this positively affected the total content of ω3 as well as the ω6/ω3 ratio

Dietary supplementation of garlic and rosemary: effects on colour stability and lipid oxidation in lamb meat

The colour of fresh meat is an important criterion consumers take into consideration when purchasing meat. Meat colour depends on the occurrence of chemical and microbial deterioration processes. The role of vitamin E and other antioxidants on ruminant meat colour stability and prevention of lipid oxidation has been widely investigated (Macit et al., 2003; Realini et al., 2004). Many natural herbs and plant extracts exert antioxidant effects such as garlic (Yin and Cheng, 2003) and rosemary (Sánchez-Escalante et al., 2001). Their use as additives for animal feeding may be a valid alternative to synthetic antioxidants since they show beneficial effects also on animal welfare and other physiological functions (Tedesco, 2001). The aim of this study was to evaluate whether garlic and rosemary dietary supplementation as compared with vitamin E affects lamb meat colour and lipid stability during storage

Effect of dietary rosemary oil on growth performance and flesh quality of farmed seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax)

In order to assess the effect of a diet integrated with rosemary oil on growth perfor- mance and flesh quality of farmed Dicentrarchus labrax, a feeding trial was carried out. Seabass were fed with two different diets for 200 days, after that they were caught and stored in ice in a refrigerator cell (0-2°C) for 17 days. Then they were examinated on 1, 3, 10 and 17 day for sensory evaluation (fre- sh whole fish and cooked fillet) according to QIM and Torry Scheme. Specific growth rate (SGR) and feed conversion rate (FCR) were calculated, fillets were subjected to proximate analysis. No statistical differences were found in the final average body weight for both diets as well as SGR and FCR means. The sensory score (QIM) increased linearly with storage time. No significant difference was noticed between two diets. As for cooked fillet, Torry Scheme score decreased with storage time. At day 10 significant differences were displayed between the diets (7.44 vs. 8.67; P<0.05). Overall sensory accep- tability for consuming farmed seabass stored in ice was set in corrispondence of day 13 for control diet and day 14 for experimental diet. No difference was showed in the chemical composition

Conformational Ensembles Explored Dynamically from Disordered Peptides Targeting Chemokine Receptor CXCR4

This work reports on the design and the synthesis of two short linear peptides both containing a few amino acids with disorder propensity and an allylic ester group at the C-terminal end. Their structural properties were firstly analyzed by means of experimental techniques in solution such as CD and NMR methods that highlighted peptide flexibility. These results were further confirmed by MD simulations that demonstrated the ability of the peptides to assume conformational ensembles. They revealed a network of transient and dynamic H-bonds and interactions with water molecules. Binding assays with a well-known drug-target, i.e., the CXCR4 receptor, were also carried out in an attempt to verify their biological function and the possibility to use the assays to develop new specific targets for CXCR4. Moreover, our data indicate that these peptides represent useful tools for molecular recognition processes in which a flexible conformation is required in order to obtain an interaction with a specific target