Emergency pulpotomy in relieving acute dental pain among Tanzanian patients

BACKGROUND: In Tanzania, oral health services are mostly in the form of dental extractions aimed at alleviating acute dental pain. Conservative methods of alleviating acute dental pain are virtually non-existent. Therefore, it was the aim of this study to determine treatment success of emergency pulpotomy in relieving acute dental pain. METHODS: Setting: School of Dentistry, Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Study design: Longitudinal study. Participants: 180 patients who presented with dental pain due to acute irreversible pulpitis during the study period between July and August 2001. Treatment and evaluation: Patients were treated by emergency pulpotomy on permanent posterior teeth and were evaluated for pain after one, three and six week's post-treatment. Pain, if present, was categorised as either mild or acute. RESULTS: Of the patients with treated premolars, 25 (13.9%) patients did not experience pain at all while 19 (10.6%) experienced mild pain. None of the patients with treated premolars experienced acute pain. Among 136 patients with treated molars 56 (31%) did not experience any pain, 76 (42.2%) experienced mild pain and the other 4 (2.2%) suffered acute pain. CONCLUSION: The short term treatment success of emergency pulpotomy was high being 100% for premolars and 97.1% for molars, suggesting that it can be recommended as a measure to alleviate acute dental pain while other conservative treatment options are being considered

Self-management of chronic pain in Malaysian patients: effectiveness trial with 1-year follow-up

Self-management of chronic illnesses has been widely recognised as an important goal on quality of life, health service utilisation and cost grounds. This study describes the first published account on the application of this approach to people suffering from chronic pain conditions in a Southeast Asian country, Malaysia. A heterogeneous sample of chronic pain patients in Malaysia attended a 2-week cognitive–behavioural pain management programme (PMP) aimed at improving daily functional activities and general psychological well-being. Complete datasets from 70 patients out of 102 patients who attended 11 programmes conducted from 2002 to 2007, as well as the 1-month and 1-year follow-up sessions at the hospital clinic, are reported. The pre- to post-treatment results on self-report measures indicate that significant gains were achieved on the dimensions of pain, disability and psychological well-being. These gains were maintained at both 1-month and 1-year follow-ups. The results mirror those reported from similar interventions in Europe and North America and indicate the concept of self-management of a chronic illness is acceptable and meaningful to Asian patients. Importantly, the achieved outcomes were independent of gender and ethnic group status

Age, sex, and setting in the etiology of stroke study (ASSESS): Study design and protocol

RATIONALE: Stroke etiology and risk factors vary by age, sex, setting (hospital or community-based) and by region. Identifying these differences would improve our understanding of stroke etiology, diagnosis, and treatment. AIM: The Age, Sex and Setting in the Etiology of Stroke Study (ASSESS) is a multicenter cohort study to assess differences in stroke etiology. METHODS AND DESIGN: Data from all centers will be categorized according to age, sex, setting, stroke subtypes. Centers with extensive hospital- or community-based data regarding stroke from Argentina, Australia, Canada, India, Iran, Italy, Ghana, Nigeria, Thailand, the United Kingdom and the United States have agreed to participate so far. STUDY OUTCOMES: The primary outcome includes differences in stroke etiology in study centers. The secondary outcomes include stroke incidence, risk factors, preventive strategies, and short- and long-term outcomes. CONCLUSION: ASSESS will enable comparisons of data from different regions to determine the age and sex distribution of the most common causes of stroke in each setting. This will help clinicians to tailor the assessment and treatment of stroke patients on the basis of their specific local characteristics. It will also empower stroke epidemiologists to design preventive measures by targeting the specific characteristics of each population

FMRFamide-Like Peptides (FLPs) Enhance Voltage-Gated Calcium Currents to Elicit Muscle Contraction in the Human Parasite Schistosoma mansoni

Schistosomes are amongst the most important and neglected pathogens in the world, and schistosomiasis control relies almost exclusively on a single drug. The neuromuscular system of schistosomes is fertile ground for therapeutic intervention, yet the details of physiological events involved in neuromuscular function remain largely unknown. Short amidated neuropeptides, FMRFamide-like peptides (FLPs), are distributed abundantly throughout the nervous system of every flatworm examined and they produce potent myoexcitation. Our goal here was to determine the mechanism by which FLPs elicit contractions of schistosome muscle fibers. Contraction studies showed that the FLP Tyr-Ile-Arg-Phe-amide (YIRFamide) contracts the muscle fibers through a mechanism that requires Ca2+ influx through sarcolemmal voltage operated Ca2+ channels (VOCCs), as the contractions are inhibited by classical VOCC blockers nicardipine, verapamil and methoxyverapamil. Whole-cell patch-clamp experiments revealed that inward currents through VOCCs are significantly and reversibly enhanced by the application of 1 µM YIRFamide; the sustained inward currents were increased to 190% of controls and the peak currents were increased to 180%. In order to examine the biochemical link between the FLP receptor and the VOCCs, PKC inhibitors calphostin C, RO 31–8220 and chelerythrine were tested and all produced concentration dependent block of the contractions elicited by 1 µM YIRFamide. Taken together, the data show that FLPs elicit contractions by enhancing Ca2+ influx through VOCC currents using a PKC-dependent pathway

Menu labelling and food choice in obese adults: a feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: To date research examining the benefits of menu labelling in the UK is sparse. The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of menu labelling in a UK obese population. METHODS: Using a repeated measures design, 61 patients at a tier 3 weight management service completed four questionnaires to assess their food choice (control) and behaviour change when presented with 3 menu labelling formats (calorie content; nutrient content; and energy expenditure). RESULTS: All three forms of labelling increased participants weight control concerns compared to the control condition. There was a significant difference in content of food ordered in the three menu labelling formats compared to the control condition. The calorie condition had the largest percentage decrease in calories selected followed by energy expenditure and nutrient content. However, no difference was observed between the three conditions in the desire for menu labelling in restaurants to be introduced in the UK. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that menu labelling should be enforced in the UK as it is both beneficial to promoting healthy eating and in demand. This study is the first to examine menu labelling in a UK obese population using energy expenditure equivalents to provide nutritional information

Do New Drugs Increase Life Expectancy? A Critique of a Manhattan Institute Paper

A recent study published by the Manhattan Institute “Why Has Longevity Increased More in Some States than in Others? The Role of Medical Innovation and Other Factors,” purported to show that the more rapid adoption of new drugs has substantial benefits in the form of increased life expectancy, higher productivity and lower non-drug health care expenditures. This study has been cited as evidence supporting the more rapid acceptance of new drugs in Medicaid, Medicare, and other public programs and has helped to shape public debate on the value of new drugs. This analysis questions the key conclusions of the study. It points out that the key statistical regressions appear to be misspecified, since they show anomalies such as a negative correlation between income growth and life expectancy and find no relationship between education and productivity growth. Methodological flaws addressed include lack of adjustment for infant mortality rates; inadequate proxy measures of health status; lack of adjustment for ages of individuals and other sociodemographic factors; inherent problems with the definition of drug age, or ‘vintage;’ and the failure to consider reverse causation as an obvious explanation for several findings. The Manhattan Institute study does not provide reliable evidence for favoring adoption of newer drugs in either public or private health care programs

Measurement of the Forward-Backward Asymmetry in the B -> K(*) mu+ mu- Decay and First Observation of the Bs -> phi mu+ mu- Decay

We reconstruct the rare decays $B^+ \to K^+\mu^+\mu^-$, $B^0 \to K^{*}(892)^0\mu^+\mu^-$, and $B^0_s \to \phi(1020)\mu^+\mu^-$ in a data sample corresponding to $4.4 {\rm fb^{-1}}$ collected in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at $\sqrt{s}=1.96 {\rm TeV}$ by the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. Using $121 \pm 16$ $B^+ \to K^+\mu^+\mu^-$ and $101 \pm 12$ $B^0 \to K^{*0}\mu^+\mu^-$ decays we report the branching ratios. In addition, we report the measurement of the differential branching ratio and the muon forward-backward asymmetry in the $B^+$ and $B^0$ decay modes, and the $K^{*0}$ longitudinal polarization in the $B^0$ decay mode with respect to the squared dimuon mass. These are consistent with the theoretical prediction from the standard model, and most recent determinations from other experiments and of comparable accuracy. We also report the first observation of the $B^0_s \to \phi\mu^+\mu^- decay and measure its branching ratio${\mathcal{B}}(B^0_s \to \phi\mu^+\mu^-) = [1.44 \pm 0.33 \pm 0.46] \times 10^{-6}$using$27 \pm 6$signal events. This is currently the most rare$B^0_s$ decay observed.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Let

Users and non-users of web-based health advice service among Finnish university students – chronic conditions and self-reported health status (a cross-sectional study)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Internet is increasingly used by citizens as source of health information. Young, highly educated adults use the Internet frequently to search for health-related information. Our study explores whether reported chronic conditions or self-reported health status differed among Finnish university students using the Finnish Student Health Services web-based health advice service compared with those not using the service.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cross-sectional study performed by a national postal survey in 2004. Material: A random sample (n = 5 030) of a population of 101 805 undergraduate Finnish university students aged 19–35. The response rate: 63% (n = 3 153). Main outcome measures: Proportion of university students reporting use a of web-based health advice service, diagnosed chronic conditions, and self-reported health status of users and non-users of a web-based health advice service. Statistical methods: Data were presented with frequency distributions and cross-tabulations and the χ²test was used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>12% (n = 370) of Finnish undergraduate students had used the web-based health advice service and were identified as 'users'. The proportion of male students reporting allergic rhinitis or conjunctivitis was greater among users than non-users (24%, n = 22 vs. 15%, n = 154, χ², P = .03). The proportion of female students reporting chronic mental health problems was greater among users than non-users (12%, n = 34 vs. 8%, n = 140, χ², P = .03). There was no statistical significance between the group differences of male or female users and non-users in self-reported health status (good or fairly good, average, rather poor or poor).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Among young, highly educated adults the use of a web-based health advice service is not associated with self-reported health status. However, a web-based health advice service could offer support for managing several specific chronic conditions. More research data is needed to evaluate the role of web-based health advice services that supplement traditional forms of health services.</p

Measurements of the properties of Lambda_c(2595), Lambda_c(2625), Sigma_c(2455), and Sigma_c(2520) baryons

We report measurements of the resonance properties of Lambda_c(2595)+ and Lambda_c(2625)+ baryons in their decays to Lambda_c+ pi+ pi- as well as Sigma_c(2455)++,0 and Sigma_c(2520)++,0 baryons in their decays to Lambda_c+ pi+/- final states. These measurements are performed using data corresponding to 5.2/fb of integrated luminosity from ppbar collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV, collected with the CDF II detector at the Fermilab Tevatron. Exploiting the largest available charmed baryon sample, we measure masses and decay widths with uncertainties comparable to the world averages for Sigma_c states, and significantly smaller uncertainties than the world averages for excited Lambda_c+ states.Comment: added one reference and one table, changed order of figures, 17 pages, 15 figure

Search for a New Heavy Gauge Boson Wprime with Electron + missing ET Event Signature in ppbar collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV

We present a search for a new heavy charged vector boson $W^\prime$ decaying to an electron-neutrino pair in $p\bar{p}$ collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 1.96\unit{TeV}. The data were collected with the CDF II detector and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 5.3\unit{fb}^{-1}. No significant excess above the standard model expectation is observed and we set upper limits on $\sigma\cdot{\cal B}(W^\prime\to e\nu)$. Assuming standard model couplings to fermions and the neutrino from the $W^\prime$ boson decay to be light, we exclude a $W^\prime$ boson with mass less than 1.12\unit{TeV/}c^2 at the 95\unit{%} confidence level.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures Submitted to PR