Combined effect of vestibular and craniomandibular disorders on postural behaviour.

Sebbene l’esistenza di una correlazione tra i disordini dell’articolazione temporo-mandibolare e le alterazioni dell’apparato muscolo-scheletrico sia stata più volte riportata in Letteratura in campo odontostomatologico, la questione se esista una correlazione tra questi disordini e le modificazioni della postura è ancora da definire. In questo studio il Cranio Mandibular Index è stato utilizzato per valutare il grado di disfunzione temporo-mandibolare ed i problemi ed essa corrrelati in 40 pazienti con funzionalità vestibolare nella norma, ed in 42 pazienti affetti da disordini vestibolari periferici. La valutazione dell’equilibrio è stata eseguita utilizzando la posturografia statica e la “body sway area” misurata in due condizioni: ad occhi aperti e ad occhi chiusi. Questi dati sono stati successivamente confrontati con quelli ottenuti nei 40 soggetti sani. Il controllo posturale ha evidenziato un comportamento significativamente differente tra i due gruppi con un aumento del “body sway” medio nei pazienti con disordini cranio-mandibolari rispetto ai controlli (p<0,005). Sebbene il coinvolgimento dell’apparato stomatognatico non risulti quantitativamente differente nei due campioni patologici, i pazienti affetti anche da sofferenza vestibolare periferica hanno presentato un “body sway” medio maggiore rispetto ai pazienti affetti solo da disordini craniomandibolari (p<0,005). Questi ultimi hanno presentato un “body sway” medio maggiore dei controlli solo nelle prove ad occhi chiusi (p<0,05). I risultati di questo studio hanno dimostrato che le alterazioni craniomandibolari possono essere alla base di una moderata instabilità posturale nei pazienti con funzionalità vestibolare nella norma. Al contrario tali alterazioni, se associate a disordini vestibolari periferici, possono determinare problemi nel mantenimento della stazione eretta, probabilmente a causa dell’effetto negativo di origine somatosensoriale sui riflessi vestibolo-spinali.A correlation has been reported in the dental literature between temporomandibular disorders and musculoskeletal abnormalities, however, the question whether they modify body postural sway remains controversial. In the present investigation, the Craniomandibular Index was used to evaluate the clinical extension of temporomandibular joint dysfunction and related problems in 40 patients with normal vestibular function and in 42 patients with peripheral vestibular disorders. Balance function was assessed by static posturography and body sway area was measured in two conditions: i) eye open, and g) eye closed. Data were compared to those of 40 healthy subjects. Postural control showed a significantly different behaviour between groups with an increase in average body sway in patients with craniomandibular disorders as opposed to controls (p < 0.005). Although the involvement of the stomatognathic apparatus was not quantitatively different in the two groups of patients, those also presenting a peripheral vestibular disorder exhibited greater average body sway than patients with only craniomandibular disorders (p < 0.005). The latter showed a greater average body sway than controls only in the trial with eyes closed (p < 0.05). The results demonstrated that craniomandibular alterations could produce moderate postural instability in patients with a normal vestibular function. Conversely, their association with peripheral vestibular disorders becomes a real challenge to the upright quiet stance probably due to a negative effect of somatosensory origin on the vestibulo-spinal reflex impairment

Ameloblastic fibroma in a 6-year old child:case report.

Ameloblastic fibroma (AF) is defined in WHO classification as a ''neoplasm composed of proliferating odontogenic epithelium embedded in a cellular ectomesenchymal tissue that resembles dental papilla, and with varying degrees of inductive change and dental hard tissue formation''. AF is a rather uncommon tumor, accounting for only 2.5% of all odontogenic tumors. AF is a true mixed tumor, in which the epithelial and ectomesenchymal elements are neoplastic. AF raises at any age, ranging from 6 months to 42 years (mean 14.6 to 15.5 years); it does not show sex predilection. The lesion occurs in nearly 70% of cases in posterior areas of the mandible. Patients exhibit swelling of the jaw; pain is not usually described. Authors present a clinical and surgical management of an early onset of a large mandibular ameloblastic fibroma in a 6-year-old girsl

Cellular senescence in vascular wall mesenchymal stromal cells, a possible contribution to the development of aortic aneurysm

Cellular senescence is a hallmark of ageing and it plays a key role in the development of age-related diseases. Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is an age related degenerative vascular disorder, characterized by a progressive dilatation of the vascular wall and high risk of rupture over time. Nowadays, no pharmacological therapies are available and the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that lead to AAA onset and development are poorly defined. In this study we investigated the cellular features of senescence in vascular mesenchymal stromal cells, isolated from pathological (AAA – MSCs) and healthy (h – MSCs) segments of human abdominal aorta and their implication in impairing the vascular repair ability of MSCs. Cell proliferation, ROS production, cell surface area, the expression of cyclin dependent kinase inhibitors p21CIP1 and p16INK4a, the activation of the DNA damage response and a dysregulated autophagy showed a senescent state in AAA - MSCs compared to h-MSCs. Moreover, a reduced ability to differentiate toward endothelial cells was observed in AAA – MSCs. All these data suggest that the accumulation of senescent vascular MSCs over time impairs their remodeling ability during ageing. This condition could support the onset and development of AAA

Roles of sorcin in drug resistance in cancer: one protein, many mechanisms, for a novel potential anticancer drug target

The development of drug resistance is one of the main causes of failure in anti-cancer treatments. Tumor cells adopt many strategies to counteract the action of chemotherapeutic agents, e.g., enhanced DNA damage repair, inactivation of apoptotic pathways, alteration of drug targets, drug inactivation, and overexpression of ABC (Adenosine triphosphate-binding cassette, or ATP-binding cassette) transporters. These are broad substrate-specificity ATP-dependent efflux pumps able to export toxins or drugs out of cells; for instance, ABCB1 (MDR1, or P-glycoprotein 1), overexpressed in most cancer cells, confers them multidrug resistance (MDR). The gene coding for sorcin (SOluble Resistance-related Calcium-binding proteIN) is highly conserved among mammals and is located in the same chromosomal locus and amplicon as the ABC transporters ABCB1 and ABCB4, both in human and rodent genomes (two variants of ABCB1, i.e., ABCB1a and ABCB1b, are in rodent amplicon). Sorcin was initially characterized as a soluble protein overexpressed in multidrug (MD) resistant cells and named “resistance-related” because of its co-amplification with ABCB1. Although for years sorcin overexpression was thought to be only a by-product of the co-amplification with ABC transporter genes, many papers have recently demonstrated that sorcin plays an important part in MDR, indicating a possible role of sorcin as an oncoprotein. The present review illustrates sorcin roles in the generation of MDR via many mechanisms and points to sorcin as a novel potential target of different anticancer molecules

Folded Radial Forearm Free Flap for the Reconstruction of Total Soft Palate Defects: Operative Technique

Background: The surgical plan to reconstruct the palate must be carefully prepared given the morphological peculiarity of the soft palate forming both the roof of the mouth and the floor of the nasal cavity. This article focuses on the use of folded radial forearm free flaps to manage isolated defects of the soft palate in the absence of tonsillar pillar involvement. Methods: Three patients affected by squamous cell carcinoma of the palate underwent resection of the soft palate and immediate reconstruction with a folded radial forearm free flap. Results: All three patients showed good short-term morphological-functional outcomes as far as swallowing, breathing, and phonation were concerned. Conclusions: The folded radial forearm free flap seems to be an efficacious way to manage localized defects of the soft palate, given the positive outcomes of the three patients treated, and in accordance with other authors. In general, the radial forearm free flap was confirmed to be a versatile solution for those intraoral defects of the soft tissue requiring a limited quantity of volume as in the case of the soft palate

Cryopreservation of pheasant semen: effect of dilution ratio and cooling time on spermatozoa viability and mobility

Aim of the present study was to investigate the cryopreservation of pheasant semen by adopting the freezing/thawing protocol by Tselutin et al. (1999) with some modifications. Semen was collected by abdominal massage twice a week. Evaluations were performed on pooled semen from fifteen males (Phasianus colchicus mongolicus). Two semen dilutions (DIL) with Lake diluent (1:2 and 1:3, v/v; Lake, 1968) and two equilibration times (ET) at 5°C (10min and 30min) before dimethylacetamide (DMA) addition, were tested. Assessment of sperm mobility was performed by Accudenz methodology according to Froman’s procedure (1997) and viability by eosin/nigrosin staining. As expected, viability and mobility were strongly affected by the freezing/thawing procedure. ET did not affect mobility while influenced live sperm percentage during the DMA equilibration (DMA-Eq). Semen/diluent ratio significantly (p<0.001) modified the mobility parameter and the highest progressive movements of spermatozoa were obtained with the most diluted semen in each critical step of the cryopreservation procedure. In conclusion, for pheasant semen cryopreservation, the 1:3 dilution ratio can be considered appropriate and the cooling time up to 30 minutes not crucial for the spermatozoa mobility and viability. Nevertheless, the deleterious effect of freezing/thawing procedure reduced live thawed spermatozoa to 24% and forward motility to 89% of the initial movement capacity

The 4 K outer cryostat for the CUORE experiment: construction and quality control

The external shell of the CUORE cryostat is a large cryogen-free system designed to host the dilution refrigerator and the bolometers of the CUORE experiment in a low radioactivity environment. The three vessels that form the outer shell were produced and delivered to the Gran Sasso underground Laboratories in July 2012. In this paper, we describe the production techniques and the validation tests done at the production site in 2012.Comment: 11 pages, 13 figures; to appear in NIM

Effectiveness of a training course on smoking cessation knowledge and behaviour for health profession students. The SISMA project

Introduction. University students are at risk of starting smoking or continuing and increasing the consumption of tobacco products. The aim of the study was to assess the impact of the training course, Sisma Project, about smoking in healthcare degree courses, in terms of knowledge, behaviour and to evaluate the course. Methods. SISMA project was a pre- post study about an intervention delivered to healthcare profession students about smoking and smoking cessation. It had a before-after design and was an online optional course available on the eLearning platform Moodle 2. The course was structured in four lessons of sixty minutes, a debate among experts and a final test of evaluation. The McNemar test was used to measure the effectiveness of Sisma on smoking behaviour of students after the intervention. Students rated the course assigning a score from one to ten, and expressed free comments about point of strength and weakness of Sisma project. Results. The participants were 365 students, 28.5% males and 71.5% females, most were nursing 194 (53.2%) and dental hygienists students 105 (28.8%). Current smokers were 161 (44.1%) before and 142 (38.9%) after the course, there was statistical significant difference in smoking status after attending the course (p &lt; 0.001). Students evaluated the course giving a high score with a mean of 8.13 (SD: 1.1); the main points of strength were the content (33.2%), the structure (15.6%) and knowledge given by the course (12.6%). The main point of weakness were the online structure 62 (37%), problem related to length and time 17 (10%) and the final test 15 (9%). Discussion. Given the central role health professionals play in patient care, students need to be aware and trained in tobacco cessation techniques. Our results indicate that smoking behaviour significantly changed after attending a university course for smoking cessation and students appreciated its contents and structure