Maxillary expansion in an animal model with light, continuous force

Objectives: Maxillary constriction is routinely addressed with rapid maxillary expansion (RME). However, the heavy forces delivered by most RME appliances to expand the palate may lead to deleterious effects on the teeth and supporting tissues. The objective of this study was to explore a more physiologic maxillary expansion with light continuous force. Materials and Methods: Twenty 6-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats were equally divided into experimental (EXPT) and control (CTRL) groups. A custom-fabricated archwire expansion appliance made from 0.014-inch copper-nickel-titanium wire was activated 5 mm and bonded to the maxillary molar segments of animals in the EXPT group for 21 days. The force applied to each maxillary segment was 5 cN. Microfocus x-ray computed tomography and histological analyses were used to compare the tooth movement and bone morphology in the midpalatal suture and buccal aspect of the alveolar process between the EXPT and CTRL groups. Descriptive statistics (mean ± standard error of the mean) and nonparametric statistical tests were used to compare the outcomes across groups. Results: Compared to the CTRL group, there was a statistically significant increase in buccal tooth movement and expansion of the midpalatal suture in the EXPT group. There was no difference in the bone morphologic parameters between groups. The mineral apposition rate was increased on the buccal surface of the alveolar process in the EXPT group. Conclusions: Application of light, continuous force resulted in maxillary osseous expansion due to bilateral sutural apposition and buccal drift of the alveolar processes. This animal experiment provides a more physiologic basis for maxillary expansion

Policy substance or simplified politics?: how the healthcare reform public option was portrayed in newspaper editorials

This thesis examined the portrayal of the public option proposal for healthcare reform in newspaper editorials during the height of Congressional debate and media attention, June through December 2009. Using a mixed-methods approach, a quantitative content analysis determined editorial stance and compared different United States regions to one another, and a qualitative textual analysis identified and illustrated frames in editorials. Overall, 62% of editorials supported the public option, 21% opposed it, and 17% remained balanced. Social, ethical and political values applicable to healthcare reform guided the qualitative analysis. Cost control, greediness and pure politics were the primary themes. The social and ethical frames considered healthcare provision remedies and societal rights while the political frame was concerned with characterizations, drama and strategy about the public option. Divergent perspectives about individual freedom and responsibility for the provision of health insurance marked the debate. Editorials contained both policy substance and simplified politics

Removal of arsenic and metals from groundwater impacted by mine waste using zero-valent iron and organic carbon:Laboratory column experiments

Acid mine drainage and the associated contaminants, including As and metals, are ongoing environmental issues. Passive remediation technologies have the potential to remove As from mine waste effluents. A series of laboratory column experiments was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of varying mixtures of organic carbon (OC), zero-valent iron (ZVI), and limestone for the treatment of As, metals, SO42− , and acidity in groundwater from an abandoned gold mine. The onset of bacterially-mediated SO42− reduction was indicated by a decrease in Eh, a decline in aqueous SO42− concentrations coupled with enrichment of δ34S, and the presence of sulfatereducing bacteria and H2S. Removal of As was observed within the first 3 cm of reactive material, to values below 10 µg L− 1, representing > 99.9% removal. An increase in pH from 3.5 to circumneutral values and removal of metals including Al, Cu, and Zn was also observed. Synchrotron results suggest As was removed through precipitation of As-crystalline phases such as realgar and orpiment, or through adsorption as As(V) on ferrihydrite. The results indicate the potential for a mixture of OC and ZVI to remove As from acidic, mine-impacted water

Candida albicans Hypha Formation and Mannan Masking of β-Glucan Inhibit Macrophage Phagosome Maturation

Received 28 August 2014 Accepted 28 October 2014 Published 2 December 2014 This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We thank Janet Willment, Aberdeen Fungal Group, University of Aberdeen, for kindly providing the soluble Dectin-1-Fc reporter. All microscopy was performed with the assistance of the University of Aberdeen Core Microscopy & Histology Facility, and we thank the IFCC for their assistance with flow cytometry. We thank the Wellcome Trust for funding (080088, 086827, 075470, 099215, 097377, and 101873). E.R.B. and A.J.P.B. are funded by the European Research Council (ERC-2009-AdG-249793), and J.L. is funded by a Medical Research Council Clinical Training Fellowship.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The frequency of detection of unexpected diabetes mellitus during haemoglobinopathy investigations

ABSTRACT Aims To establish the frequency of detection of previously undiagnosed diabetes mellitus as a result of detection of an increased glycated fraction of haemoglobin during high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for haemoglobinopathy diagnosis. Methods A prospective study was carried out over a 3-month period. During that period a total of 2094 patient samples were received for haemoglobinopathy investigation and were included in the study. Results Fifty samples were found to have an apparent increase in the glycated haemoglobin fraction and of these 38 were found to be from patients with known diabetes. Previously undiagnosed diabetes was discovered in 11 patients and it is likely that the twelfth patient also had diabetes. Conclusions The detection of evidence of undiagnosed diabetes during HPLC haemoglobinopathy investigations is not rare, there being four cases per month in this study. This incidental observation should be reported to clinical staff. A proportion of haemoglobin A undergoes posttranslational modification including glycosylation (non-enzymatic addition of glucose to the aminoterminal valine of the b chain) or glycation (less specifically, addition of carbohydrate to a protein). 1 Glycosylation occurs throughout the life-span of the red cell, at a rate determined by the ambient glucose concentration. Glycated haemoglobin is known as haemoglobin A 1 , of which 60e80% is glycosylated haemoglobin, haemoglobin A 1c . 1 In patients with diabetes mellitus, the proportion of haemoglobin that is haemoglobin A 1c has been found to be useful as an indication of the degree of hyperglycaemia during the preceding 3 months. In addition, since there are few other causes of an elevated haemoglobin A 1c , the finding of an elevated proportion can be useful in diagnosis. Glycated haemoglobin includes a labile fraction, which responds rapidly and transiently to raised blood glucose levels, and a stable fraction, to which the labile fraction is converted. 1 It is the stable fraction that is useful in judging long-term control of diabetes. Haemoglobin A 1c can be quantified by a variety of methods, of which high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is increasingly used. When suspected haemoglobinopathies are investigated by cellulose acetate electrophoresis, the glycated fraction is not resolved and no specific abnormality is apparent in diabetic patients. However, when the technique used for such investigations is HPLC, the presence of a glycated fraction may be apparent. Our laboratory has previously drawn attention to the possibility that this may lead to the diagnosis of previously unsuspected diabetes mellitus. 2 Early diagnosis and good control of diabetes mellitus is important in reducing the end-organ damage that is characteristic of this disease, and it is therefore important for haematologists to alert clinical staff to the probability of this diagnosis when an increased proportion of glycated haemoglobin is observed. We therefore carried out a study to determine the frequency with which this is observed, and as a result of this study we developed a policy for notification of an increased glycated fraction to clinical staff. MATERIALS AND METHODS All tests were performed on peripheral blood samples anticoagulated with EDTA. HPLC for establishing relevant reference ranges and for haemoglobinopathy investigations was performed on a Bio-Rad Variant II instrument (Bio-Rad Laboratories, Hemel Hempstead, UK) using the b-Thalassaemia Short Program. Haemoglobin A 1c was quantified by HPLC using a Tosoh A1c 2.2 instrument. One hundred and two samples were obtained from fully informed young healthy volunteers of north European origin, in order to establish a reference range for haemoglobin A 2 . Data from the same samples were used to establish a reference range for peak 2 (P2), this being the peak with a retention time slightly longer than that of haemoglobin F, which we had previously noted to be increased in patients with an increased proportion of haemoglobin A 1c . The instruction manual of the Variant II states 'Diabetic specimens typically exhibit an elevated P2 peak'. In order to investigate the relationship between P2 on the Bio-Rad Variant II and haemoglobin A 1c on the Tosoh A1c 2.2, 93 samples from either healthy volunteers or patients with an elevated glycated fraction were studied in parallel on the two instruments. Results of all patients investigated by our haemoglobinopathy laboratory were surveyed over a 3-month period and when a sample was found to have a P2 fraction of 6% or greater, haemoglobin A 1c was measured and we investigated whether or not a diagnosis of diabetes mellitus had previously been established. If a review of request forms and laboratory records did not disclose this diagnosis, we contacted relevant clinical staff and requested review of clinical notes. If the patient had not been identified previously as suffering from diabetes mellitus, further tests were advised in order to confirm the diagnosis. Subsequently we followed-up the results of these confirmatory tests. Tests done were those usually carried out by the relevant clinical staff in order to confirm a diagnosis of diabetes

Microbiological and geochemical characterization of As-bearing tailings and underlying sediments

Over the past 100 years, extensive oxidation of As-bearing sulfide-rich tailings from the abandoned Long Lake Gold Mine (Canada) has resulted in the formation of acid mine drainage (pH 2.0-3.9) containing high concentrations of dissolved As (∼400 mg L ), SO , Fe and other metals. Dissolved As is predominantly present as As(III), with increased As(V) near the tailings surface. Pore-gas O is depleted to < 1 vol% in the upper 30-80 cm of the tailings profile. The primary sulfides, pyrite and arsenopyrite, are highly oxidized in the upper portions of the tailings. Elevated proportions of sulfide-oxidizing prokaryotes are present in this zone (mean 32.3% of total reads). The tailings are underlain by sediments rich in organic C. Enrichment in δ S-SO in pore-water samples in the organic C-rich zone is consistent with dissimilatory sulfate reduction. Synchrotron-based spectroscopy indicates an abundance of ferric arsenate phases near the impoundment surface and the presence of secondary arsenic sulfides in the organic-C beneath the tailings. The persistence of elevated As concentrations beneath the tailings indicates precipitation of secondary As sulfides is not sufficient to completely remove dissolved As. The oxidation of sulfides and release of As is expected to continue for decades. The findings will inform future remediation efforts and provide a foundation for the long-term monitoring of the effectiveness of the remediation program. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A cross scale investigation of galena oxidation and controls on mobilization of lead in mine waste rock.

Abstract Galena and Pb-bearing secondary phases are the main sources of Pb in the terrestrial environment. Oxidative dissolution of galena releases aqueous Pb and SO4 to the surficial environment and commonly causes the formation of anglesite (in acidic environments) or cerussite (in alkaline environments). However, conditions prevalent in weathering environments are diverse and different reaction mechanisms reflect this variability at various scales. Here we applied complementary techniques across a range of scales, from nanometers to 10 s of meters, to study the oxidation of galena and accumulation of secondary phases that influence the release and mobilization of Pb within a sulfide-bearing waste-rock pile. Within the neutral-pH pore-water environment, the oxidation of galena releases Pb ions resulting in the formation of secondary Pb-bearing carbonate precipitates. Cerussite is the dominant phase and shannonite is a possible minor phase. Dissolved Cu from the pore water reacts at the surface of galena, forming covellite at the interface. Nanometer scale characterization suggests that secondary covellite is intergrown with secondary Pb-bearing carbonates at the interface. A small amount of the S derived from galena is sequestered with the secondary covellite, but the majority of the S is oxidized to sulfate and released to the pore water

Hypoxia Promotes Immune Evasion by Triggering β-glucan Masking on the Candida albicans Cell Surface via Mitochondrial and cAMP-Protein Kinase A Signaling

We are very grateful to the members of our Iain Fraser Cytometry Centre and Microscopy and Histology Core Facility for their superb help, advice and support. We also thank our generous colleagues in the Candida community, and in particular Ana Traven, Jan Quinn, Guanghua Huang, Suzanne Noble, Donna MacCallum, Liz Johnson, Karl Kuchler, Patrick van Dijck, Rich Calderone and Malcolm Whiteway for providing strains used in this study. This work was funded by grants from the UK Medical Research Council [www.mrc.ac.uk], to AJPB, NARG, LPE, MN (MR/M026663/1), and by PhD studentships from the University of Aberdeen to AP, DL. The work was also supported by the Wellcome Trust [www.wellcome.ac.uk], NARG, GDB, AJPB (097377) and GDB (102705); and by the Medical Research Council Centre for Medical Mycology and the University of Aberdeen (MR/N006364/1). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD