Trend-analysis of dental hard-tissue conditions as function of tooth age

Objective This retrospective in-vitro study investigated tooth age effect on dental hard-tissue conditions. Methods Unidentified extracted premolars (n = 1500) were collected and their individual age was estimated (10–100 (±10) years old (yo)) using established dental forensic methods Dental caries, fluorosis and tooth wear (TW) were assessed using the International Caries Detection and Assessment System (ICDAS; 0–5 for crown and 0–2 for root), Thylstrup-Fejerskov (TFI; 0–9) and Basic Erosive Wear Examination (BEWE; 0–3) indices, respectively. Staining and color were assessed using the modified-Lobene (MLI) (0–3) and VITA shade (B1-C4) indices, respectively. Relationships between indices and age were tested using regression models. Results Starting at age ∼10yo, presence of caries increased from 35% to 90% at ∼50yo (coronal), and from 0% to 35% at ∼80yo (root). Caries severity increased from ICDAS 0.5 to 2 at ∼40yo and from ICDAS 0 to 0.5 at ∼60yo for coronal and root caries, respectively. Presence of TW increased from 25% (occlusal) and 15% (smooth-surfaces) to 100% at ∼80yo. TW severity increased from BEWE 0.5 to 2 at ∼50yo (occlusal) and ∼0.3 to 1.5 at ∼50yo (smooth-surfaces). Percentage and severity of fluorosis decreased from 70% to 10% at ∼80yo, and from TFI 1 to 0 at ∼90yo, respectively. Percentage of extrinsic staining increased from 0% to 85% at ∼80yo and its severity increased from MLI 0 to 2 at ∼70yo. Color changed from A3 to B3 at ∼50yo (crown), and from C2 to A4 at ∼85yo (root). Conclusions Aging is proportionally related to the severity of caries, TW, staining, and inversely to dental fluorosis. Teeth become darker with ag

Rapid decrease in titer and breadth of neutralizing anti-HCV antibodies in HIV/HCV-coinfected patients who achieved SVR

The main targets for neutralizing anti-hepatitis C virus (HCV) antibodies (HCV-nAbs) are the E1 and E2 envelope glycoproteins. We have studied the characteristics of HCV-nAbs through a retrospective study involving 29 HIV/HCV-coinfected patients who achieved sustained virological response (SVR) with pegIFNα+ribavirin anti-HCV therapy. Plasma samples at baseline and week 24 after SVR were used to perform neutralization assays against fve JFH1-based HCV recombinant viruses coding for E1 and E2 from genotypes 1a (H77), 1b (J4), 2a (JFH1), 3a (S52) and 4a (ED43). At baseline, the majority of plasma samples neutralized 1a, 1b, 2a, and 4a, but not 3a, genotypes. Twenty-four weeks following SVR, most neutralizing titers declined substantially. Furthermore, titers against 3a and 2a were not detected in many patients. Plasma samples with high HCV-nAb titers neutralized all genotypes, and the highest titers at the starting point correlated with the highest titers at week 24 after SVR. In conclusion, high titers of broad-spectrum HCV-nAbs were detected in HIV/HCV-coinfected individuals, however, those titers declined soon after SVRThis study was supported by grants from Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII; grant numbers PI14/01094 and PI17/00657 to JB, PI17/00903 to JGG, PI14CIII/00011 and PI17CIII/00003 to SR) and Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad (grant number EC11-241). Te study was also funded by the RD16CIII/0002/0002, RD16/0025/0018, and RD16/0025/0017 projects as part of the Plan Nacional R+D+I and co-funded by ISCIII- Subdirección General de Evaluación and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER

Borderline Personality Disorder With Cocaine Dependence: Impulsivity, Emotional Dysregulation and Amygdala Functional Connectivity

Background: Borderline personality disorder is present in 19% of cocaine dependence cases; however, this dual pathology is poorly understood. We wished to characterize the dual pathology and find its functional connectivity correlates to better understand it.Methods: We recruited 69 participants divided into 4 groups: dual pathology (n = 20), cocaine dependence without borderline personality disorder (n = 19), borderline personality without cocaine dependence (n = 10) and healthy controls (n = 20). We used self-reported instruments to measure impulsivity and emotional dysregulation. We acquired resting state fMRI and performed seed-based analyses of the functional connectivity of bilateral amygdala.Results: Borderline personality disorder and cocaine dependence as factors had opposing effects in impulsivity and emotional dysregulation, as well as on functional connectivity between left amygdala and medial prefrontal cortex. On the other hand, in the functional connectivity between right amygdala and left insula, the effect of having both disorders was instead additive, reducing functional connectivity strength. The significant functional connectivity clusters were correlated with impulsivity and emotional dysregulation.Conclusions: In this study, we found that clinical scores of dual pathology patients were closer to those of borderline personality disorder without cocaine dependence than to those of cocaine dependence without borderline personality disorder, while amygdala-medial prefrontal cortex functional connectivity patterns in dual pathology patients were closer to healthy controls than expected

Measurement of the Crab Nebula Spectrum Past 100 TeV with HAWC

We present TeV gamma-ray observations of the Crab Nebula, the standard reference source in ground-based gamma-ray astronomy, using data from the High Altitude Water Cherenkov (HAWC) Gamma-Ray Observatory. In this analysis we use two independent energy-estimation methods that utilize extensive air shower variables such as the core position, shower angle, and shower lateral energy distribution. In contrast, the previously published HAWC energy spectrum roughly estimated the shower energy with only the number of photomultipliers triggered. This new methodology yields a much improved energy resolution over the previous analysis and extends HAWC's ability to accurately measure gamma-ray energies well beyond 100 TeV. The energy spectrum of the Crab Nebula is well fit to a log parabola shape $\left(\frac{dN}{dE} = \phi_0 \left(E/\textrm{7 TeV}\right)^{-\alpha-\beta\ln\left(E/\textrm{7 TeV}\right)}\right)$ with emission up to at least 100 TeV. For the first estimator, a ground parameter that utilizes fits to the lateral distribution function to measure the charge density 40 meters from the shower axis, the best-fit values are $\phi_o$=(2.35$\pm$0.04$^{+0.20}_{-0.21}$)$\times$10$^{-13}$ (TeV cm$^2$ s)$^{-1}$, $\alpha$=2.79$\pm$0.02$^{+0.01}_{-0.03}$, and $\beta$=0.10$\pm$0.01$^{+0.01}_{-0.03}$. For the second estimator, a neural network which uses the charge distribution in annuli around the core and other variables, these values are $\phi_o$=(2.31$\pm$0.02$^{+0.32}_{-0.17}$)$\times$10$^{-13}$ (TeV cm$^2$ s)$^{-1}$, $\alpha$=2.73$\pm$0.02$^{+0.03}_{-0.02}$, and $\beta$=0.06$\pm$0.01$\pm$0.02. The first set of uncertainties are statistical; the second set are systematic. Both methods yield compatible results. These measurements are the highest-energy observation of a gamma-ray source to date.Comment: published in Ap

The O3N2 and N2 abundance indicators revisited: improved calibrations based on CALIFA and T e-based literature data

Astronomy and Astrophysics 559 (2013): A114 reproduced with permission from Astronomy and AstrophysicsThe use of integral field spectroscopy is since recently allowing to measure the emission line fluxes of an increasingly large number of star-forming galaxies, both locally and at high redshift. Many studies have used these fluxes to derive the gas-phase metallicity of the galaxies by applying the so-called strong-line methods. However, the metallicity indicators that these datasets use were empirically calibrated using few direct abundance data points (Te-based measurements). Furthermore, a precise determination of the prediction intervals of these indicators is commonly lacking in these calibrations. Such limitations might lead to systematic errors in determining the gas-phase metallicity, especially at high redshift, which might have a strong impact on our understanding of the chemical evolution of the Universe. The main goal of this study is to review the most widely used empirical oxygen calibrations, O3N2 and N2, by using newdirect abundance measurements. We pay special attention to (1) the expected uncertainty of these calibrations as a function of the index value or abundance derived and (2) the presence of possible systematic offsets. This is possible thanks to the analysis of the most ambitious compilation of Te-based H ii regions to date. This new dataset compiles the Te-based abundances of 603 H ii regions extracted from the literature but also includes new measurements from the CALIFA survey. Besides providing new and improved empirical calibrations for the gas abundance, we also present a comparison between our revisited calibrations with a total of 3423 additional CALIFA H ii complexes with abundances derived using the ONS calibration from the literature. The combined analysis of T e-based and ONS abundances allows us to derive their most accurate calibration to date for both the O3N2 and N2 single-ratio indicators, in terms of all statistical significance, quality, and coverage of the parameters space. In particular, we infer that these indicators show shallower abundance dependencies and statistically significant offsets compared to others'. The O3N2 and N2 indicators can be empirically applied to derive oxygen abundances calibrations from either direct abundance determinations with random errors of 0.18 and 0.16, respectively, or from indirect ones (but based on a large amount of data), reaching an average precision of 0.08 and 0.09 dex (random) and 0.02 and 0.08 dex (systematic; compared to the direct estimations), respectivelyR.A. Marino is funded by the Spanish program of International Campus of Excellence Moncloa (CEI). D. Mast thank the Plan Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo funding programs, AYA2012-31935 of the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, for the support given to this project. S.F.S thanks the the Ramón y Cajal project RyC-2011-07590 of the spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, for the support giving to this project. F.F.R.O. acknowledges the Mexican National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) for financial support under the program Estancias Postdoctorales y Sabáticas al Extranjero para la Consolidación de Grupos de Investigación, 2010-2012. We acknowledge financial support for the ESTALLIDOS collaboration by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación under grant AYA2010- 21887-C04-03. BG-L also acknowledges support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) under grant AYA2012- 39408-C02-02. J.F.-B. acknowledges financial support from the Ramón y Cajal Program and grant AYA2010-21322-C03-02 from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (MINECO), as well as to the DAGAL network from the People’s Program (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program FP7/2007-2013/ under REA grant agreement number PITN-GA-2011-289313. CK has been funded by project AYA2010-21887 from the Spanish PNAYA. P.P. acknowledges support by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) under project FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-029170 (Reference FCT PTDC/FIS-AST/3214/2012), funded by FCT-MEC (PIDDAC) and FEDER (COMPETE). R.M.G.D. and R.G.B. also acknowledge support from the Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (MINECO) under grant AyA2010-15081. V.S., L.G., and A.M.M. acknowledge financial support from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) under program Ciência 2008 and the research grant PTDC/CTE-AST/112582/200

Relationship of visceral adipose tissue with surrogate insulin resistance and liver markers in individuals with metabolic syndrome chronic complications

Background: Visceral adipose tissue (VAT) has a hazardous influence on systemic inflammation, insulin resistance and an adverse metabolic profile, which increases the risk of developing non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and chronic complications of diabetes. In our study we aimed to evaluate the association of VAT and the triglyceride glucose (TyG) as a proxy of insulin resistance surrogated with metabolic and liver risk factors among subjects diagnosed with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed including 326 participants with MetS (55-75 years) from the PREDIMED-Plus study. Liver-status markers, VAT and TyG were assessed. Participants were stratified by tertiles according to VAT (n = 254) and TyG (n = 326). A receiver operating characteristic curve was used to analyse the efficiency of TyG for VAT. Results: Subjects with greater visceral fat depots showed worse lipid profile, higher homeostatic model assessment for insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), TyG, alanine transaminase (ALT), fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF-21), fatty liver index (FLI) and hepatic steatosis index (HSI) compared with participants in the first tertile. The multi-adjusted linear-regression analyses indicated that individuals in the third tertile of TyG (>9.1-10.7) had a positive association with HOMA-IR [beta = 3.07 (95% confidence interval (CI) 2.28-3.86; p trend < 0.001)], ALT [beta = 7.43 (95% CI 2.23-12.63; p trend = 0.005)], gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT) [beta = 14.12 (95% CI 3.64-24.61; p trend = 0.008)], FGF-21 [beta = 190.69 (95% CI 93.13-288.25; p trend < 0.001)], FLI [beta = 18.65 (95% CI 14.97-22.23; p trend < 0.001)] and HSI [beta = 3.46 (95% CI, 2.23-4.68; p trend < 0.001)] versus participants from the first tertile. Interestingly, the TyG showed the largest area under the receiver operating curve (AUC) for women (AUC = 0.713; 95% CI 0.62-0.79) compared with men (AUC = 0.570; 95% CI 0.48-0.66). Conclusions: A disrupted VAT enlargement and impairment of TyG are strongly associated with liver status and cardiometabolic risk factors linked with NAFLD in individuals diagnosed with MetS. Moreover, the TyG could be used as a suitable and reliable marker estimator of VAT

Intentional replantation: case report

Intentional reimplantation is a procedure in which an intentional tooth extraction is performed followed by reinsertion of the extracted tooth. We present the case of a 50-year-old male patient who came to the consultation due to incrustation detachment in tooth #37, when performing the radiographic study an extensive apical lesion was observed in tooth #36 with a sinuous path and the presence of purulent exudate. The tooth #36 was extracted, apicoectomy, retro preparation and retrograde filling were carried out for later reimplantation, showing bone regeneration after one year of evolution

Facer visible o invisible: habilidades para aprender dos e das escolares nos colexios rurais agrupados de Ourense

O presente estudo céntrase na descrición do funcionamento cognitivo, dos procesos lectores e dos procesos matemáticos do alumnado dos centros rurais agrupados (CRA) da provincia de Ourense escolarizados nas etapas de educación infantil e primaria, comparando o seu desempeño cos iguais en idade e nivel educativo pero escolarizados en centros educativos da cidade. Participaron un total de 114 escolares, 57 dos CRA e 57 de centos urbanos con idades comprendidas entre os 5 anos e 0 meses e os 7 anos e 11 meses, dos que 64 eran nenos e 50 nenas. Aos e ás participantes aplicóuselles de xeito individual unha proba de avaliación dos procesos cognitivos (D. N.: CAS), outra de avaliación dos procesos lectores en cada nivel educativo (BIL 3-6; PROLEC-R) e outra de avaliación dos procesos matemáticos (TEDI-MATH). A través de análises descritivas e de varianza dun só factor (ANOVA) obtívose que o alumnado participante ten un nivel medio no funcionamento cognitivo e nos procesos lectores e matemáticos acorde coa súa idade e nivel educativo. No contraste de puntuacións obtidas polo alumnado dos CRA e o do ámbito urbano atopáronse diferenzas estatisticamente significativas, tanto na etapa de educación infantil coma na de educación primaria, nas tarefas lectoras de rima, comprensión de textos, comprensión de oracións, comprensión oral, precisión da lectura de pseudopalabras e velocidade de igual-diferente. Nos procesos matemáticos as diferenzas manifestáronse nas tarefas de contar, operacións lóxicas e estimación do tamaño. Na maioría das tarefas lectoras e matemáticas o alumnado dos CRA obtivo significativamente máis puntuación ca o alumnado dos centros urbanos. Estes resultados positivos do alumnado dos CRA da provincia de Ourense poñen de manifesto o valor das prácticas pedagóxicas que se levan a cabo nese tipo de centros, así como os beneficios achegados pola contorna rural, tal e como se soporta noutras investigacións realizadas

Effects of HCV Eradication on Bone mineral density in HIV/HCV Coinfected Patients

Little is known about the effects of eradication of HCV on bone mineral density (BMD) and biomarkers of bone remodeling in HIV/HCV coinfected patients. We prospectively assessed standardized BMD (sBMD) at the lumbar spine and femoral neck, World Health Organization (WHO) BMD categories at both sites, and plasma concentrations of soluble receptor activator of nuclear factor-kappaβ ligand (sRANKL), and osteoprotegerin (OPG) at baseline (the date of initiation of anti-HCV therapy) and at 96 weeks. A total of 238 patients were included, median age 49.5 years, 76.5% males, 48.3% with cirrhosis, 98.3% on antiretroviral therapy, median CD4+ cell count 527 cells/mm 3, 86.6% with HIV-1 RNA < 50 copies/mL. The prevalence of osteoporosis at baseline at the lumbar spine (LS) and femoral neck (FN) was 17.6% and 7.2%, respectively. Anti-HCV therapy comprised pegylated interferon and ribavirin (PegIFN-RBV) plus one direct-acting antiviral in 53.4%, PegIFN-RBV in 34.5%, and sofosbuvir/RBV in 12.2%. A total of 145 (60.9%) patients achieved sustained viral response (SVR). No significant effect of SVR was observed on sBMD for the interaction between time and SVR either in the LS (P=0.801) or the FN (P=0.911). Likewise, no significant effect of SVR was observed in plasma levels of sRANKL (P=0.205), OPG (P=0.249), and sRANKL/OPG ratio (P=0.123) for the interaction between time and SVR. No significant correlation was found between fibrosis by transient elastography, and LS and FN sBMD, at baseline, and week 96. SVR was not associated with significant changes in BMD nor biomarkers of bone remodeling in HIV/HCV-coinfected persons.This study was supported by Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCII), grant numbers PI11/01556, PI14/01094, PI14/01581, and PI14CIII/00011, and by Ministerio de Sanidad, Servicios Sociales e Igualdad, grant number EC11-241. The study was also funded by the RD16/0025/0017, RD16/0025/0018 and RD16CIII/0002/0002 projects as part of the Plan Nacional R + D + I and cofunded by ISCIII-Subdirección General de Evaluación and the Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER).S

Radiographers supporting radiologists in the interpretation of screening mammography: a viable strategy to meet the shortage in the number of radiologists.

BackgroundAn alternative approach to the traditional model of radiologists interpreting screening mammography is necessary due to the shortage of radiologists to interpret screening mammograms in many countries.MethodsWe evaluated the performance of 15 Mexican radiographers, also known as radiologic technologists, in the interpretation of screening mammography after a 6 months training period in a screening setting. Fifteen radiographers received 6 months standardized training with radiologists in the interpretation of screening mammography using the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) system. A challenging test set of 110 cases developed by the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium was used to evaluate their performance. We estimated sensitivity, specificity, false positive rates, likelihood ratio of a positive test (LR+) and the area under the subject-specific Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) for diagnostic accuracy. A mathematical model simulating the consequences in costs and performance of two hypothetical scenarios compared to the status quo in which a radiologist reads all screening mammograms was also performed.ResultsRadiographer's sensitivity was comparable to the sensitivity scores achieved by U.S. radiologists who took the test but their false-positive rate was higher. Median sensitivity was 73.3 % (Interquartile range, IQR: 46.7-86.7 %) and the median false positive rate was 49.5 % (IQR: 34.7-57.9 %). The median LR+ was 1.4 (IQR: 1.3-1.7 %) and the median AUC was 0.6 (IQR: 0.6-0.7). A scenario in which a radiographer reads all mammograms first, and a radiologist reads only those that were difficult for the radiographer, was more cost-effective than a scenario in which either the radiographer or radiologist reads all mammograms.ConclusionsGiven the comparable sensitivity achieved by Mexican radiographers and U.S. radiologists on a test set, screening mammography interpretation by radiographers appears to be a possible adjunct to radiologists in countries with shortages of radiologists. Further studies are required to assess the effectiveness of different training programs in order to obtain acceptable screening accuracy, as well as the best approaches for the use of non-physician readers to interpret screening mammography