Preventive treatment of post-traumatic dental infraocclusion: study on the knowledge of dental decoronation in a sample of Italian dental students and dentists

AIM: The aim of the present work is to investigate whether dental decoronation is a procedure known by a sample of dental students and Italian dentists. Dental decoronation technique is performed in order to mitigate the outcomes which may occur after a delayed tooth replantation.MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cognitive survey about the knowledge of the dental decoronation technique was carried on two groups: a sample of 120 dental students (5th year of dental school), from University of Cagliari, Sassari and of Chieti-Pescara (60 males and 60 females), and a group which involved 200 Italian dentists (age comprised between 25 and 45, 130 females and 70 males) enrolled at pedodontics and orthodontics Masters and CE courses (University of Roma Sapienza, Chieti- Pescara, Cagliari). The latter group's main field of work was paediatric dentistry and orthodontics, two dental specialties often involved in treating Traumatic dental injuries.RESULTS: Only 20 dentists out of the 200 interviewed answered that they knew this technique and only 5 of them proved to know it and were able to describe it correctly. No students interviewed knew this technique.CONCLUSION: It is apparent from the results of this survey that there is very little information about the dental decoronation technique both during the Degree Course in Dentistry and Post Graduate specialty programmes (Continuing Education Courses and Masters)

Transformation of canine lymphoma/leukemia to more aggressive diseases : anecdotes or reality?

Transformation is the evolution of an indolent lymphoma/leukemia to an aggressive lymphoma, typically harboring a very poor prognosis. This phenomenon is well described in humans, but underestimated in dogs although recognized as a possible evolution of indolent lymphomas/leukemias. In canine chronic leukemias, blast crisis (mainly in myeloid) and Richter syndrome (transformation into a high grade lymphoma) (mainly in B-cell lymphocytic leukemia) have been reported. Transformation is a possible event also in canine low grade lymphomas, although rare. The increased knowledge has also generated new questions and posed challenges that need to be addressed to improve outcome, including the recognition of the clinical characteristics at diagnosis associated with a higher risk of transformation in an attempt of anticipating the typical evolution

Prognostic role of non-neoplastic lymphocytes in lymph node aspirates from dogs with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma treated with chemo-immunotherapy

Dogs with Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (DLBCL) benefit from the addition of active immunotherapy to traditional chemotherapy. We hypothesized that immune cells within neoplastic lymph nodes (LNs) may play a role in the tumor pathobiology and treatment response. The present study describes the composition and prognostic role of non-neoplastic lymphocytes in LNs of 59 dogs with treatment-naive DLBCL receiving chemo-immunotherapy. The percentage of small non-neoplastic cells and of CD5+, CD21+, CD4+ and CD8+ small cells was recorded via flow cytometry. CD4+/CD8+ and CD5+/large CD21+ cell ratios were calculated. The likelihood of progression significantly diminished with increasing percentage of small cells, CD5+ and CD8+ small cells, and CD5+/large CD21+ cell ratio, with decreasing CD4+/CD8+ ratio and in non-anemic dogs. Active immunotherapy is more effective in dogs with higher percentage of non-neoplastic lymphocytes at diagnosis. We lay the ground for future studies assessing the role of the immune system in the pathobiology of canine DLBCL

[OI] disk emission in the Taurus star forming region

The structure of protoplanetary disks is thought to be linked to the temperature and chemistry of their dust and gas. Whether the disk is flat or flaring depends on the amount of radiation that it absorbs at a given radius, and on the efficiency with which this is converted into thermal energy. The understanding of these heating and cooling processes is crucial to provide a reliable disk structure for the interpretation of dust continuum emission and gas line fluxes. Especially in the upper layers of the disk, where gas and dust are thermally decoupled, the infrared line emission is strictly related to the gas heating/cooling processes. We aim to study the thermal properties of the disk in the oxygen line emission region, and to investigate the relative importance of X-ray (1-120 Angstrom) and far-UV radiation (FUV, 912-2070 Angstrom) for the heating balance there. We use [OI] 63 micron line fluxes observed in a sample of protoplanetary disks of the Taurus/Auriga star forming region and compare it to the model predictions presented in our previous work. The data were obtained with the PACS instrument on board the Herschel Space Observatory as part of the Herschel Open Time Key Program GASPS (GAS in Protoplanetary diskS), published in Howard et al. (2013). Our theoretical grid of disk models can reproduce the [OI] absolute fluxes and predict a correlation between [OI] and the sum Lx+Lfuv. The data show no correlation between the [OI] line flux and the X-ray luminosity, the FUV luminosity or their sum. The data show that the FUV or X-ray radiation has no notable impact on the region where the [OI] line is formed. This is in contrast with what is predicted from our models. Possible explanations are that the disks in Taurus are less flaring than the hydrostatic models predict, and/or that other disk structure aspects that were left unchanged in our models are important. ..abridged..Comment: 9 pages, accepted for publication in A&

Array-based comparative genomic hybridization analysis reveals chromosomal copy number aberrations associated with clinical outcome in canine diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Canine Diffuse Large B-cell Lymphoma (cDLBCL) is an aggressive cancer with variable clinical response. Despite recent attempts by gene expression profiling to identify the dog as a potential animal model for human DLBCL, this tumor remains biologically heterogeneous with no prognostic biomarkers to predict prognosis. The aim of this work was to identify copy number aberrations (CNAs) by high-resolution array comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) in 12 dogs with newly diagnosed DLBCL. In a subset of these dogs, the genetic profiles at the end of therapy and at relapse were also assessed. In primary DLBCLs, 90 different genomic imbalances were counted, consisting of 46 gains and 44 losses. Two gains in chr13 were significantly correlated with clinical stage. In addition, specific regions of gains and losses were significantly associated to duration of remission. In primary DLBCLs, individual variability was found, however 14 recurrent CNAs (>30%) were identified. Losses involving IGK, IGL and IGH were always found, and gains along the length of chr13 and chr31 were often observed (>41%). In these segments, MYC, LDHB, HSF1, KIT and PDGFR alpha are annotated. At the end of therapy, dogs in remission showed four new CNAs, whereas three new CNAs were observed in dogs at relapse compared with the previous profiles. One ex novo CNA, involving TCR, was present in dogs in remission after therapy, possibly induced by the autologous vaccine. Overall, aCGH identified small CNAs associated with outcome, which, along with future expression studies, may reveal target genes relevant to cDLBCL

Prognostic significance of peripheral blood and bone marrow infiltration in newly-diagnosed canine nodal marginal zone lymphoma

Canine nodal marginal zone lymphoma (nMZL) is infrequent and is typically diagnosed at an advanced disease stage. However, it is currently unknown whether different levels of peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) infiltration may provide prognostic stratification in dogs with nMZL. The aims of the present prospective study were to assess the influence of PB and BM infiltration detected by flow cytometry (FC) on time to progression (TTP) and lymphoma-specific survival (LSS) in dogs with newly-diagnosed multicentric nMZL, and to establish a cut-off value of prognostic significance. Forty-five completely staged and treatment-na\ueff dogs with histologically-confirmed nMZL were enrolled. After staging, dogs received chemo-immunotherapy or chemotherapy. PB infiltration was significantly associated with TTP (p = 0.001): dogs with PB infiltration <30% had a median TTP of 186 days, whereas dogs with PB infiltration 6530% had a median TTP of 43 days. Additionally, vaccinated dogs had a significantly (p = 0.012) longer TTP (399 days) compared with dogs receiving chemotherapy only (211 days). BM infiltration was significantly associated with LSS (p < 0.001): dogs with BM infiltration <1% had a median LSS of 1403 days, those with BM infiltration 1\u201320% of 337 days, and those with BM infiltration 6520% of 188 days. Normal LDH levels and the administration of chemo-immunotherapy also significantly improved LSS (560 vs 211 days, and 399 vs 211 days, respectively; p < 0.001). PB and BM flow cytometric evaluation is an integral part of staging work-up in dogs with nMZL and has prognostic relevance

Effects of pre-analytical variables on flow cytometric diagnosis of canine lymphoma : A 3 retrospective study (2009-2015)

Flow cytometry (FC) is increasingly being used for immunophenotyping and staging of canine lymphoma. The aim of this retrospective study was to assess pre-analytical variables that might influence the diagnostic utility of FC of lymph node (LN) fine needle aspirate (FNA) specimens from dogs with lymphoproliferative diseases. The study included 987 cases with LN FNA specimens sent for immunophenotyping that were submitted to a diagnostic laboratory in Italy from 2009 to 2015. Cases were grouped into 'diagnostic' and 'non-diagnostic'. Pre-analytical factors analysed by univariate and multivariate analyses were animal-related factors (breed, age, sex, size), operator-related factors (year, season, shipping method, submitting veterinarian) and sample-related factors (type of sample material, cellular concentration, cytological smears, artefacts). The submitting veterinarian, sample material, sample cellularity and artefacts affected the likelihood of having a diagnostic sample. The availability of specimens from different sites and of cytological smears increased the odds of obtaining a diagnostic result. Major artefacts affecting diagnostic utility included poor cellularity and the presence of dead cells. Flow cytometry on LN FNA samples yielded conclusive results in more than 90% of cases with adequate sample quality and sampling conditions