Assessment of the accuracy of 3D printed teeth by various 3D printers in forensic odontology

Additive manufacturing technology has benefited many sectors, and its use in forensic sciences has opened up a variety of new opportunities for analysing and exhibiting forensic materials. However, to perform analytical procedures on 3D printed bones and teeth in forensic odontology, the metric and morphological precision of the printed replicas must first be validated. To address this, the present study was undertaken using 12 extracted human teeth that were 3D printed using five different techniques. Manual measurements and a digital mesh comparison were used to evaluate the metric precision of all samples. The findings showed that the printed replicas were accurate to within 0.5 mm of the actual teeth. It was suggested that Digital Light Processing (DLP) prints be used for potential forensic odontology applications based on measurements, digital comparison, and ease of use

Upregulation of the Coagulation Factor VII Gene during Glucose Deprivation Is Mediated by Activating Transcription Factor 4

Background: Constitutive production of blood coagulation proteins by hepatocytes is necessary for hemostasis. Stressful conditions trigger adaptive cellular responses and delay processing of most proteins, potentially affecting plasma levels of proteins secreted exclusively by hepatocytes. We examined the effect of glucose deprivation on expression of coagulation proteins by the human hepatoma cell line, HepG2. Methodology/Principal Findings: Expression of coagulation factor VII, which is required for initiation of blood coagulation, was elevated by glucose deprivation, while expression of other coagulation proteins decreased. Realtime PCR and ELISA demonstrated that the relative percentage expression +/− SD of steady-state F7 mRNA and secreted factor VII antigen were significantly increased (from 100+/−15% to 188+/−27% and 100+/−8.8% to 176.3+/−17.3% respectively, p<0.001) at 24 hr of treatment. The integrated stress response was induced, as indicated by upregulation of transcription factor ATF4 and of additional stress-responsive genes. Small interfering RNAs directed against ATF4 potently reduced basal F7 expression, and prevented F7 upregulation by glucose deprivation. The response of the endogenous F7 gene was replicated in reporter gene assays, which further indicated that ATF4 effects were mediated via interaction with an amino acid response element in the F7 promoter. Conclusions/Significance: Our data indicated that glucose deprivation enhanced F7 expression in a mechanism reliant on prior ATF4 upregulation primarily due to increased transcription from the ATF4 gene. Of five coagulation protein genes examined, only F7 was upregulated, suggesting that its functions may be important in a systemic response to glucose deprivation stress

Demonstration of improved sensitivity of echo interferometers to gravitational acceleration

We have developed two configurations of an echo interferometer that rely on standing wave excitation of a laser-cooled sample of rubidium atoms that measures acceleration. For a two-pulse configuration, the interferometer signal is modulated at the recoil frequency and exhibits a sinusoidal frequency chirp as a function of pulse spacing. For a three-pulse stimulated echo configuration, the signal is observed without recoil modulation and exhibits a modulation at a single frequency. The three-pulse configuration is less sensitive to effects of vibrations and magnetic field curvature leading to a longer experimental timescale. For both configurations of the atom interferometer (AI), we show that a measurement of acceleration with a statistical precision of 0.5% can be realized by analyzing the shape of the echo envelope that has a temporal duration of a few microseconds. Using the two-pulse AI, we obtain measurements of acceleration that are statistically precise to 6 parts per million (ppm) on a 25 ms timescale. Using the three-pulse AI, we obtain measurements of acceleration that are statistically precise to 0.4 ppm on a timescale of 50 ms. A further statistical enhancement is achieved by analyzing the data across the echo envelope to improve the statistical precision to 75 parts per billion (ppb). We discuss methods for reducing prominent systematic effects due to a magnetized vacuum chamber and improving the signal-to-noise ratio. Simulations of both AI configurations with a timescale of 300 ms reached in a non-magnetic vacuum chamber suggest that an optimized experiment with improved vibration isolation and atoms selected in the mF = 0 state can result in measurements of g statistically precise to 0.3 pbb for the two-pulse AI and 0.6 ppb for the three-pulse AI.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures, 3 table

The Ebola crisis and people with disabilities' access to healthcare and government services in Liberia

BACKGROUND: There has been little research on the impact of the 2014-2015 West African Ebola crisis on people with disabilities. This paper outlines the way in which the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak in Liberia in 2015 highlighted existing inequalities and exclusion of people with disabilities and their households. METHODS: The results presented here are part of a larger ESRC/DFID-funded mixed methods research project in Liberia (2014-2017) which included a quantitative household survey undertaken in five counties, complemented by qualitative focus group discussions and interviews with people with disabilities and other key stakeholders. Uniquely, this research gathered information about people with disabilities' experience of the EVD outbreak, as well as additional socioeconomic and inclusion data, that compared their experience with non-disabled community members. RESULTS: Reflections by people with disabilities themselves show knowledge, preparation, and responses to the EVD epidemic was often markedly different among people with disabilities due to limited resources, lack of inclusion by many mainstream public health and medical interventions and pre-existing discrimination, marginalisation and exclusion. Interviews with other key stakeholder revealed a lack of awareness of disability issues or sufficient training to include this population systematically in both Ebola response activities and general health services. Key findings include the need to understand and mitigate direct and indirect health consequences of unequal responses to the epidemic, as well as the limited capacity of healthcare and social services to respond to people with disabilities. CONCLUSION: There are lessons to be learned from Ebola outbreak around inclusion of people with disabilities, relevant to the current COVID-19 pandemic. Now is the time to undertake measures to ensure that people with disabilities do not continue to be marginalised and excluded during global public health emergencies

Digital Dilemma 2018

In October 2018 a one-day conference was held at the UCL Institute of Archaeology focussing on the ‘Digital Dilemma’ in biological archaeology —specifically human remains research where the use of digitisation methods have increased exponentially over the last decade while comparatively little discussion of the ethical and legal considerations of these data has taken place. Papers presented at Digital Dilemma 2018 explored the use of digital data in human remains research, discussing both the benefits provided by these data, areas of ethical or methodological concern and suggestions for future research. This paper and the following conference proceedings will discuss this research demonstrating the importance that this Digital Dilemma in archaeology continues to be discussed and considered in future research

Auditory perception in individuals with Friedreich’s Ataxia

INTRODUCTION: Friedreich's ataxia (FRDA) is an inherited ataxia with a range of progressive features including axonal degeneration of sensory nerves. The aim of this study was to investigate auditory perception in affected individuals. METHODS: Fourteen subjects with genetically defined FRDA participated. Two control groups, one consisting of healthy, normally hearing individuals and another comprised of subjects with sensorineural hearing loss, were also assessed. Auditory processing was evaluated using structured tasks designed to reveal the listeners' ability to perceive temporal and spectral cues. Findings were then correlated with open-set speech understanding. RESULTS: Nine of 14 individuals with FRDA showed evidence of auditory processing disorder. Gap and amplitude modulation detection levels in these subjects were significantly elevated, indicating impaired encoding of rapid signal changes. Electrophysiologic findings (auditory brainstem response, ABR) also reflected disrupted neural activity. Speech understanding was significantly affected in these listeners and the degree of disruption was related to temporal processing ability. Speech analyses indicated that timing cues (notably consonant voice onset time and vowel duration) were most affected. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that auditory pathway abnormality is a relatively common consequence of FRDA. Regular auditory evaluation should therefore be part of the management regime for all affected individuals. This assessment should include both ABR testing, which can provide insights into the degree to which auditory neural activity is disrupted, and some functional measure of hearing capacity such as speech perception assessment, which can quantify the disorder and provide a basis for interventio

Rational cotargeting of HDAC6 and BET proteins yields synergistic antimyeloma activity

Inhibition of bromodomain and extra terminal (BET) protein family members, including BRD4, decreases the expression of c-MYC and other key oncogenic factors and also significantly induces histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6) expression. On the basis of the role of HDAC6 in malignant pathogenesis, we hypothesized that rational cotargeting of HDAC6 and BET family proteins may represent a novel approach that yields synergistic antimyeloma activity. We used genetic and pharmacologic approaches to selectively impair HDAC6 and BET function and evaluated the consequential impact on myeloma pathogenesis. These studies identified HDAC6 upregulation as an efficacy reducing mechanism for BET inhibitors because antagonizing HDAC6 activity synergistically enhanced the activity of JQ1 in a panel of multiple myeloma (MM) cell lines and primary CD138+ cells obtained from patients with MM. The synergy of this therapeutic combination was linked to significant reductions in c-MYC expression and increases in apoptosis induction. Administration of the clinical HDAC6 inhibitor ricolinostat was very well tolerated and significantly augmented the in vivo antimyeloma activity of JQ1. Ex vivo pharmacodynamic analyses demonstrated that the combination of JQ1 and ricolinostat led to significantly lower MM cell proliferation and increased apoptosis and diminished expression of c-MYC and BCL-2. These data demonstrate that cotargeting of HDAC6 and BET family members is a novel and clinically actionable approach to augment the efficacy of both classes of agents that warrants further investigation.National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute [R01CA190789, R01CA172443]; University of Arizona Cancer Center Support Grant [P30CA023074]This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

The participation of pyridoxal phosphate, carnosine and calcium in the reversal of contraction in muscle fiber systems

A relaxing system requiring phosphocreatine as the relaxant may be restored to glycerinated psoas fibers by incubation in a reaction mixture containing pyridoxal phosphate, calcium, carnosine, magnesium, ATP, and sodium maleate at pH 6.5. The capacity to relax, once established, persists after elution in buffer of the diffusible fraction of the reactants. The relaxation by phosphocreatine is reversed by calcium. The restored relaxing system is also subject to relaxation by the dialyzable fraction of the microsomal-free crude muscle extract, but in this case carnosine is not required in the reaction medium.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32245/1/0000307.pd

Middle Holocene environmental change and archaeology in coastal wetlands: further implications for our understanding of the history of Taxus woodland

A radiocarbon-dated multi-proxy palaeoenvironmental record from Beckton in the Lower Thames Valley, Southern England, has permitted a detailed reconstruction of human activities and environmental change during the middle-Holocene. Peat accumulation occurred over river terrace gravels from ca. 7200 to 6600 until at least 3450–3240 cal. BP, and in the later period a trackway and platform structure provide unequivocal evidence for human exploitation of the floodplain environment during the Bronze Age. The site is unique in offering the first certain evidence of the utilisation of Taxus in the construction of a wooden prehistoric platform. Across north-west Europe during the middle-Holocene, the colonisation of Taxus on peat is well documented; at Beckton, it occurred between ca. 5220–4940 and 4410–4220 cal. BP. This research provides important insights into the former distribution of Taxus, and reasons for its expansion and decline during the Holocene, which has relevance to present-day concerns over the conservation and management of Taxus woodland. Abandonment of the site occurred in response to environmental change to wetter conditions. The study employed multi-proxy analyses, including pollen, plant and wood macrofossils, and uniquely Coleoptera; Coleopteran analysis has significant potential to enhance understandings of environmental change and human–environment interactions in coastal wetland research