X-Ray Microanalysis of Dentin: A Review

The aim of this review was to present a condensed summary of the literature on X-ray microanalysis of dentin, including both energy-dispersive (EDS) and wavelength-dispersive (WDS) analysis. Estimations of concentrations by XMA of dentin should be regarded as semiquantitative values. The Ca level in rat odontoblasts was elevated in the secreting end of the cell body. In predentin Ca accumulated at a concentration of 2% that of mineralized dentin. In coronal dentin the peritubular areas were hypermineralized (Ca, P, Mg). Primary caries lesions showed a decrease of Ca, P, Mg and Cl, and usually an increase of S and Zn. The mineralized surface often present contained especially high concentrations of F and K. Considerable uptake of various ions in cavity walls exposed to filling materials was assessed: from silver amalgam, Zn and Sn, from silicate cement and glassionomer cement F, Al and Zn, and from zinc oxide-eugenol cement, Zn. The highest F concentrations following topical application were found with solutions of TiF4 and with the varnishes Duraphat® and FluorProtector®. Dentin wall lesions adjacent to amalgam fillings exhibited considerably reduced Ca and P values, but concomitantly considerable amounts of Zn and Sn, that explained the increased radiopacity seen in some microradiographs

Making sense, discovering what works... Cross-agency collaboration in Child Welfare and Protection in Norway and Quebec

<p>This paper addresses the enabling and constraining factors that underpin inter-organizational collaboration in Child Welfare and Protection services in Norway and Quebec. Characterized by different regulatory systems, but with a common drive to hierarchically promote cross-agency collaboration, these jurisdictions provide the basis for two instructive and contrasting case studies on the subject. The paper builds on meta-ethnography as a means to synthesize and translate results from separate qualitative research undertakings carried out in each place. It argues that although a core set of properties may be identified as necessary for collaboratives to operate in a successful, sustainable manner; greater attention should be paid to how these properties interact with one another on the ground, given schemes’ particular scope and scale of objectives. Moreover, regulatory provisions aimed at stimulating or mandating cross-agency networks may align with collaborative capacity in various ways, occasionally in a mutually reinforcing, but sometimes antagonistic manner. The conclusions drawn have implications for both research and policy.</p

Implementation of uniform information on fetal movement in a Norwegian population reduced delayed reporting of decreased fetal movement and stillbirths in primiparous women - a clinical quality improvement

Background. Delayed maternal reporting of decreased fetal movement (DFM) is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes. Inconsistent information on fetal activity to women during the antenatal period may result in delayed reporting of DFM. We aimed to evaluate an intervention of implementation of uniform information on fetal activity to women during the antenatal period. Methods. In a prospective before-and-after study, singleton women presenting DFM in the third trimester across 14 hospitals in Norway were registered. Outcome measures were maternal behavior regarding reporting of DFM, concerns and stillbirth. In addition, cross-sectional studies of all women giving birth were undertaken to assess maternal concerns about fetal activity, and population-based data were obtained from the Medical Birth Registry Norway. Results. Pre- and post-intervention cohorts included 19 407 and 46 143 births with 1 215 and 3 038 women with DFM respectively. Among primiparous women with DFM, a reduction in delayed reporting of DFM (48 hrs) OR 0.61 (95% CI 0.47-0.81) and stillbirths OR 0.36 (95% CI 0.19-0.69) was shown in the post-intervention period. No difference was shown in rates of consultations for DFM or maternal concerns. Stillbirth rates and maternal behavior among women who were of non-Western origin, smokers, overweight or >34 years old were unchanged. Conclusions. Uniform information on fetal activity provided to pregnant women was associated with a reduction in the number of primiparous women who delayed reporting of DFM and a reduction of the stillbirth rates for primiparous women reporting DFM. The information did not appear to increase maternal concerns or rate of consultation. Due to different imperfections in different clinical settings, further studies in other populations replicating these findings are required

Making sense, discovering what works…

This paper addresses the enabling and constraining factors that underpin inter-organizational collaboration in Child Welfare and Protection services in Norway and Quebec. Characterized by different regulatory systems, but with a common drive to hierarchically promote cross-agency collaboration, these jurisdictions provide the basis for two instructive and contrasting case studies on the subject. The paper builds on meta-ethnography as a means to synthesize and translate results from separate qualitative research undertakings carried out in each place. It argues that although a core set of properties may be identified as necessary for collaboratives to operate in a successful, sustainable manner; greater attention should be paid to how these properties interact with one another on the ground, given schemes’ particular scope and scale of objectives. Moreover, regulatory provisions aimed at stimulating or mandating cross-agency networks may align with collaborative capacity in various ways, occasionally in a mutually reinforcing, but sometimes antagonistic manner. The conclusions drawn have implications for both research and policy

Expression of cyclin D1a and D1b as predictive factors for treatment response in colorectal cancer.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to investigate the value of the cyclin D1 isoforms D1a and D1b as prognostic factors and their relevance as predictors of response to adjuvant chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil and levamisole (5-FU/LEV) in colorectal cancer (CRC). METHODS: Protein expression of nuclear cyclin D1a and D1b was assessed by immunohistochemistry in 335 CRC patients treated with surgery alone or with adjuvant therapy using 5-FU/LEV. The prognostic and predictive value of these two molecular markers and clinicopathological factors were evaluated statistically in univariate and multivariate survival analyses. RESULTS: Neither cyclin D1a nor D1b showed any prognostic value in CRC or colon cancer patients. However, high cyclin D1a predicted benefit from adjuvant therapy measured in 5-year relapse-free survival (RFS) and CRC-specific survival (CSS) compared to surgery alone in colon cancer (P=0.012 and P=0.038, respectively) and especially in colon cancer stage III patients (P=0.005 and P=0.019, respectively) in univariate analyses. An interaction between treatment group and cyclin D1a could be shown for RFS (P=0.004) and CSS (P=0.025) in multivariate analysis. CONCLUSION: Our study identifies high cyclin D1a protein expression as a positive predictive factor for the benefit of adjuvant 5-FU/LEV treatment in colon cancer, particularly in stage III colon cancer

Variability of Exposure and Estimation of Cumulative Exposure in a Manually Operated Coal Mine

This study aims at estimating variability in exposure to respirable dust and assessing whether the a priori grouping by job team is appropriate for an exposure-response study on respiratory effects among workers in a manually operated coal mine in Tanzania. Furthermore, estimated exposure levels were used to calculate cumulative exposure. Full-shift personal respirable dust samples (n = 204) were collected from 141 randomly chosen workers at underground and surface work sites. The geometric mean exposure for respirable dust varied from 0.07 mg m À3 for office workers to 1.96 mg m À3 for the development team. The analogous range of respirable quartz exposure was 0.006-0.073 mg m À3 . Variance components were estimated using random effect models. For most job teams the within-worker variance component was considerably higher than the between-worker variance component. For respirable dust the estimated attenuation of the linear exposure-response relationship was low (5.9%) when grouping by job team. Grouping by job team was considered appropriate for studying the association between current dust exposure and respiratory effects. Based on the estimated worker-specific mean exposure in the job teams, the arithmetic mean cumulative exposure for the 299 workers who participated in the epidemiological part of the study was 38.1 mg · yr m À3 for respirable dust and 2.0 mg · yr m À3 for quartz