Influence of Maternal Dysmetabolic Conditions During Pregnancy on Cardiovascular Disease

Pathogenic factors associated with maternal hypercholesterolemia, obesity, and diabetic conditions during pregnancy influence fetal development and predispose offspring to cardiovascular disease. Animal models have established cause–effect relationships consistent with epidemiological findings in humans and have demonstrated, in principle, that interventions before or during pregnancy can reduce or prevent pathogenic in utero programming. However, little is known about the mechanisms by which maternal dysmetabolic conditions enhance disease susceptibility in offspring. Identification of these mechanisms is rendered more difficult by the fact that programming effects in offspring may be latent and may require conventional risk factors and inherited genetic co-factors to become clinically manifest. Given the increasing prevalence of maternal risk factors, which is expected to lead to a wave of cardiovascular disease in the coming decades, and the length of prospective studies on developmental programming in humans, greater-than-usual emphasis on experimental models and translational studies is necessary

A: The impact of an erbium,chromium:yttrium-scandium-gallium-garnet laser with radial-firing tips on endodontic treatment.

Abstract Radial-firing tips should allow a more homogeneous laser irradiation of root canal walls. The aim of the study was to assess the effects of erbium, chromium: yttrium-scandium-gallium-garnet (Er,Cr:YSGG) laser irradiation in conjunction with those newly designed tips. The investigation comprised bacteriology, morphological evaluations and temperature measurements. Root canals were inoculated with two test strains and laser irradiated with power settings of 0.6 W and 0.9 W and a repetition rate of 20 Hz. Subsequently, the samples were subjected to microbiological evaluation. The morphological changes of the canal walls were assessed by scanning electron microscopy. To reveal possible thermal side effects, we carried out temperature measurements. The bacteriological evaluation revealed a decisive disinfectant effect. Scanning electron microscopy showed the homogeneous removal of smear layer from the root canal walls. The temperature rise at the root surface during the irradiation was moderate, yielding 1.3°C for the 0.6 W setting and 1.6°C for the 0.9 W setting. The investigations indicated that the Er,Cr: YSGG laser, in conjunction with radial-firing tips, is a suitable tool for the elimination of bacteria in root canals and for the removal of smear layer