Yang-Lee Edge Singularity on a Class of Treelike Lattices

The density of zeros of the partition function of the Ising model on a class of treelike lattices is studied. An exact closed-form expression for the pertinent critical exponents is derived by using a couple of recursion relations which have a singular behavior near the Yang-Lee edge.Comment: 9 pages AmsTex, 2 eps figures, to appear in J.Phys.

Queratoquiste odontogénico con cartílago en la pared: presentación de un caso

Existen siete casos publicados en la literatura médica referentes a la presencia de cartílago en la pared de un queratoquiste. Presentamos un nuevo caso con inclusiones de queratina y cartílago en la pared quística. Incluimos imágenes clínicas, radiográficas e histopatológicas, así como sus posibilidades etiopatogénicas.There are seven published cases in world literature on cartilage in the walls of odontogenic keratocysts. Herein is presented one further case with keratin inclusions in the cystic wall, which also bears a cartilaginous component. X-rays, clinical images and pathohistological images are included

Salivary enzymes and periodontal disease

Background: Host responses to periodontal disease include the production of different enzymes that are released by stromal, epithelial or inflammatory cells. There are important enzymes associated with cell injury and cell death like: aspartate and alanine aminotransferase (AST, ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), creatine cinase (CK), alkaline and acidic phosphatase (ALP, ACP), gama glutamil transferase (GGT). Changes in enzymatic activity reflect metabolic changes in the gingiva and periodontium in inflammation. Design of Study: In this paper we have examined the activity of CK, LDH, AST, ALT, GGT, ALP and ACP in saliva from patients with periodontal disease before and after periodontal treatment (experimental group ? 30 samples) and in saliva from healthy patients (control group ? 20 samples). Periodontal disease was determined based on clinical parameters (gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD)). Patients with periodontal disease were under conventional periodontal treatment. Results: Obtained results were shown statistically significant increases of activity of CK, LDH, AST, ALT, GGT, ALP, ACP in saliva from patients with periodontal disease in relation to control group. There is positive correlation between the activity of examined salivary enzymes and value of the gingival index. After conventional periodontal therapy the activity of all salivary enzymes was significantly decreased. Conclusions: Based on these results, it can be assume that activity of these enzymes in saliva, as biochemical markers for periodontal tissue damage, may be useful in diagnosis, prognosis and evaluation of therapy effects in periodontal disease

Bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw : a proposal for conservative treatment

The use of bisphosphonates (BPs) has proven effective in the treatment of bone-related diseases, despite the potential risk of developing osteonecrosis of the jaw (ONJ). So far, results for the treatment of ONJ have not been satisfactory. In our study, we have treated two patients diagnosed with ONJ. In addition to local treatments a hydrogel was applied, with promising results. The fistulae disappeared 2-3 weeks into the treatment. After a six-month follow-up period there has been no sign of recurrence. The extent of maxillary bone exposure has diminished notably, although not entirely disappeared. In all cases, the patients exhibit no other symptoms (they suffer from no pain or swelling or functional impotence). For this reason we believe this protocol might be useful in the case of patients who suffer from pain and fistulation secondary to BP-associated ONJ to improve the state of their lesions until definitive treatment can be undertaken. Although these findings are not conclusive, given that we are reporting data on two patients only, we believe that this might be an alternative treatment in refractory cases where other therapies are counter-indicated. A controlled randomized and prospective study would be required to confirm our findings

Work ability as a major determinant of clinical nurses’ quality of life.

Aims and objectives. To examine quality of life determinants among clinical nurses in Croatia with an emphasis on their work ability. Background. An important personnel management challenge is to explore factors that stimulate or hinder the development of individual work ability and quality of life throughout a career. Design. A cross-sectional study. Methods. The study was performed during [2007][2008] 3) for the environmental domain. Conclusions. Satisfactory work ability was a major quality of life determinant in all WHOQL-BREF domains with the highest odds ratio for the physical domain. Maintaining clinical nurses' work ability is an important issue, because it is foundational for the quality of life of the workforce. Relevance to clinical practice. Our study provides quantified estimates of the extent to which a satisfactory WAI score predicts a better score in physical, psychosocial, social relationships and environmental domain of nurses' quality of life. Therefore, maintaining or improving nurses' work ability remains the essential aim of hospital managers

The efficacy of acupuncture and decompression splints in the treatment of temporomandibular joint pain-dysfunction syndrome

Objectives: The goal of the present study was to evaluate the results of applying acupuncture or occlusal decompression splints in the treatment of patients diagnosed with the temporomandibular joint pain-dysfunction syndrome. Design of the study: We conducted a randomized clinical trial including 20 patients to whom the mentioned treatments were applied. Results were evaluated through an analogue pain scale, measurements of mouth opening and jaw lateral deviation in millimetres, and assessment of sensitivity to pressure on different points: preauricular, masseter muscle, temporal muscle and trapezius. Parameters were evaluated before and 30 days after the treatment. For standardized pressure, we used a pressure algometer. Results: Patients treated with decompression splints showed reductions in subjective pain and pain upon pressure on temporal, masseter and trapezius muscles, as well as increased mouth opening after the treatment. Patients treated with acupuncture showed pain reduction in the short term and improvements in all of the evaluated para- meters (stronger pressure was required to produce pain; mouth opening was improved). Conclusion: Acupuncture was an effective complement and/or an acceptable alternative to decompression splints in the treatment of myofascial pain and temporomandibular joint pain-dysfunction syndrome

On directed interacting animals and directed percolation

We study the phase diagram of fully directed lattice animals with nearest-neighbour interactions on the square lattice. This model comprises several interesting ensembles (directed site and bond trees, bond animals, strongly embeddable animals) as special cases and its collapse transition is equivalent to a directed bond percolation threshold. Precise estimates for the animal size exponents in the different phases and for the critical fugacities of these special ensembles are obtained from a phenomenological renormalization group analysis of the correlation lengths for strips of width up to n=17. The crossover region in the vicinity of the collapse transition is analyzed in detail and the crossover exponent $\phi$ is determined directly from the singular part of the free energy. We show using scaling arguments and an exact relation due to Dhar that $\phi$ is equal to the Fisher exponent $\sigma$ governing the size distribution of large directed percolation clusters.Comment: 23 pages, 3 figures; J. Phys. A 35 (2002) 272

The Changing Landscape for Stroke\ua0Prevention in AF: Findings From the GLORIA-AF Registry Phase 2

Background GLORIA-AF (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients with Atrial Fibrillation) is a prospective, global registry program describing antithrombotic treatment patterns in patients with newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation at risk of stroke. Phase 2 began when dabigatran, the first non\u2013vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulant (NOAC), became available. Objectives This study sought to describe phase 2 baseline data and compare these with the pre-NOAC era collected during phase 1. Methods During phase 2, 15,641 consenting patients were enrolled (November 2011 to December 2014); 15,092 were eligible. This pre-specified cross-sectional analysis describes eligible patients\u2019 baseline characteristics. Atrial fibrillation disease characteristics, medical outcomes, and concomitant diseases and medications were collected. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results Of the total patients, 45.5% were female; median age was 71 (interquartile range: 64, 78) years. Patients were from Europe (47.1%), North America (22.5%), Asia (20.3%), Latin America (6.0%), and the Middle East/Africa (4.0%). Most had high stroke risk (CHA2DS2-VASc [Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age  6575 years, Diabetes mellitus, previous Stroke, Vascular disease, Age 65 to 74 years, Sex category] score  652; 86.1%); 13.9% had moderate risk (CHA2DS2-VASc = 1). Overall, 79.9% received oral anticoagulants, of whom 47.6% received NOAC and 32.3% vitamin K antagonists (VKA); 12.1% received antiplatelet agents; 7.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. For comparison, the proportion of phase 1 patients (of N = 1,063 all eligible) prescribed VKA was 32.8%, acetylsalicylic acid 41.7%, and no therapy 20.2%. In Europe in phase 2, treatment with NOAC was more common than VKA (52.3% and 37.8%, respectively); 6.0% of patients received antiplatelet treatment; and 3.8% received no antithrombotic treatment. In North America, 52.1%, 26.2%, and 14.0% of patients received NOAC, VKA, and antiplatelet drugs, respectively; 7.5% received no antithrombotic treatment. NOAC use was less common in Asia (27.7%), where 27.5% of patients received VKA, 25.0% antiplatelet drugs, and 19.8% no antithrombotic treatment. Conclusions The baseline data from GLORIA-AF phase 2 demonstrate that in newly diagnosed nonvalvular atrial fibrillation patients, NOAC have been highly adopted into practice, becoming more frequently prescribed than VKA in Europe and North America. Worldwide, however, a large proportion of patients remain undertreated, particularly in Asia and North America. (Global Registry on Long-Term Oral Antithrombotic Treatment in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation [GLORIA-AF]; NCT01468701