Demineralization of Enamel in Primary Second Molars Related to Properties of the Enamel

Enamel structure is of importance in demineralization. Differences in porosity in enamel effect the rate of demineralization, seen between permanent and deciduous teeth. Individual differences have been shown in the mean mineral concentration values in enamel, the role of this in demineralization is not thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to study variations of depths of artificial lesions of demineralization and to analyze the depth in relation to variations in the chemical and mineral composition of the enamel. A demineralized lesion was created in second primary molars from 18 individuals. Depths of lesions were then related to individual chemical content of the enamel. Enamel responded to demineralization with different lesion depths and this was correlated to the chemical composition. The carbon content in sound enamel was shown to be higher where lesions developed deeper. The lesion was deeper when the degree of porosity of the enamel was higher

Correctness of an STM Haskell implementation

A concurrent implementation of software transactional memory in Concurrent Haskell using a call-by-need functional language with processes and futures is given. The description of the small-step operational semantics is precise and explicit, and employs an early abort of conflicting transactions. A proof of correctness of the implementation is given for a contextual semantics with may- and should-convergence. This implies that our implementation is a correct evaluator for an abstract specification equipped with a big-step semantics

The conservation status of mammals and avifauna in the Montagne des Français massif, Madagascar

The Montagne des Français is a limestone massif in northern Madagascar, which is characterised by a wide range of biotopes including xerophytic karst, gallery forest, dry western forest, grassland and caves. It is situated only 12 km from the regional capital, Antsiranana, and few, if any areas of primary forest remain. In the first comprehensive study to have been carried out at this location we report the presence of 12 mammal species. We also report the presence of 63 bird species. We use data derived from both structured and semi - structured interviews to assess the conservation status of the mammals and birds within the massif. Our study shows that local beliefs are dominated by taboos or fady and that these vary within families and communities. Current anthropogenic pressures on biodiversity include zebu grazing, charcoal production, hunting and rice cultivation. The massif was afforded Temporary Protected Area Status in 2006 and our results suggest that this protection should be made permanent. We propose opportunities for further research and sustainable development initiatives that could contribute to the conservation of the biological resources within the massif. Success in conserving this area will only be achieved if the local communities are fully engaged. La Montagne des Français est un massif calcaire au nord de Madagascar, caractérisé par une vaste gamme de biotopes, y compris une formation calcaire connue localement sous le nom de ‘tsingy’ avec une végétation xérophyte, une forêt riveraine, une forêt sèche de l’ouest, des zones herbeuses et des grottes. Elle se trouve à 12 km seulement de la plus grande ville du nord, Antsiranana, et présente une couverture de forêts intactes extrêmement réduite. Le travail sur le terrain a été réalisé par des bénévoles de Frontier et des chercheurs de Frontier et de l’Université d’Antsiranana. Des inventaires on été effectués pendant une année, au cours de quatre périodes d’essais qui s’étalaient chacune sur une durée de l’ordre de neuf semaines. Les inventaires sur les mammifères ont fait appel à trois méthodes, dont les lignes de trous - pièges, l’emploi de pièges Sherman et des recherches nocturnes aléatoires. Un inventaire sur les oiseaux a été compilé, utilisant la technique de la liste de recensement McKinnon. Au cours de cette première étude détaillée portant sur cette localité, nous avons relevé la présence de 12 espèces de mammifères ainsi que la présence de 63 espèces d’oiseaux. Neuf des espèces de mammifères recensés sont endémiques à Madagascar et la plupart de ces espèces semblaient être représentées par des effectifs réduits sur la Montagne des Français au cours de la période d’étude. De toutes les espèces d’oiseaux reportées, 26 (41 % ) sont endémiques de Madagascar. Afin d’évaluer l’état de conservation des mammifères et des oiseaux rencontrés à la Montagne des Français, nous avons utilisé des données recueillies au cours d’entrevues formelles et semi - formelles. Notre étude montre que les croyances locales sont dominées par des tabous ou fady et que ceux - ci varient selon les familles et communautés. Les pressions anthropogéniques actuelles qui pèsent sur la biodiversité sont représentées par le pâturage des zébus, la production de charbon de bois, la chasse et la culture de riz. En 2006 le massif a bénéficié d’un statut d’Aire Protégée Temporaire mais nos résultats suggèrent qu’un statut de protection permanente serait justifié. Nous proposons de poursuivre les efforts en matière de recherche et encourageons toute entreprise de développement durable qui pourrait contribuer à la conservation des ressources biologiques à l’intérieur du massif. La réussite de la protection de cette région ne pourra se faire sans la totale adhésion de l’ensemble des communautés locales

Spontaneous regression in alveolar soft part sarcoma: case report and literature review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Sarcomas are a type of malignant tumors that arise from connective tissue. They are most of the time found in extremities</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We are presenting a case of adult male patient, who was found to have huge abdominal mass and multiple gastric and duodenal polyps. Pathological diagnosis for all lesions was Alveolar soft part sarcoma. Although he complained from metastasis to both lungs and right atrium, all these deposits regressed spontaneously. Patient stated that he used some herbs (Teucrium polium, Cat Thyme) prescribed for him. No chemotherapy or radiotherapy was given. The duration of regression was about 5 months before other lesions appeared. Later on, he died secondary to brain metastasis.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>ASPS is a rare type of sarcomas that affect primarily the lower limbs. This tumor does rarely metastasize to the gastrointestinal tract.</p

​Residential mobility:Towards progress in mobility health research

Research into health disparities has long recognized the importance of residential mobility as a crucial factor in determining health outcomes. However, a lack of connectivity between the health and mobility literatures has led to a stagnation of theory and application on the health side, which lacks the detail and temporal perspectives now seen as critical to understanding residential mobility decisions. Through a critical re-think of mobility processes with respect to health outcomes and an exploitation of longitudinal analytical techniques, we argue that health geographers have the potential to better understand and identify the relationship that residential mobility has with health.“The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Research Council under the European Union's Seventh Framework Programme (FP/2007-2013) / ERC Grant Agreement n. 615159 (ERC Consolidator Grant DEPRIVEDHOODS, Socio-spatial inequality, deprived neighbourhoods, and neighbourhood effects)”OLD Urban Renewal and Housin

Learning in the European Union: Theoretical Lenses and Meta-Theory

notes: This paper is based on research carried out with the support of the European Research Council grant on Analysis of Learning in Regulatory Governance, ALREG http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/ceg/research/ALREG/index.php. The authors wish to express their gratitude to the other authors in this special edition and in particular its editor, Nikos Zaharaidis and X anonymous referees.publication-status: AcceptedThe European Union may well be a learning organization, yet there is still confusion about the nature of learning, its causal structure and the normative implications. In this article we select four perspectives that address complexity, governance, the agency-structure nexus, and how learning occurs or may be blocked by institutional features. They are transactional theory, purposeful opportunism, experimental governance, and the joint decision trap. We use the four cases to investigate how history and disciplinary traditions inform theory; the core causal arguments about learning; the normative implications of the analysis; the types of learning that are theoretically predicted; the meta-theoretical aspects and the lessons for better theories of the policy process and political scientists more generally

Pediatric melanoma: Analysis of an international registry

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/101810/1/cncr28289.pd

Upregulation of Circulating PD-L1/PD-1 Is Associated with Poor Post-Cryoablation Prognosis in Patients with HBV-Related Hepatocellular Carcinoma

BACKGROUND: The programmed cell death-1 receptor/programmed cell death-1 ligand (PD-1/PD-L1) pathway plays a crucial role in tumor evasion from host immunity. This study was designed to evaluate the association between circulating PD-L1/PD-1 and prognosis after cryoablation in patients with HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In the present study, 141 HBV-related HCC patients were enrolled and of those 109 patients received cryoablation. Circulating PD-L1/PD-1 expression was tested by flow cytometry, and 23 patients were simultaneously evaluated for intratumoral PD-L1 expression by immunohistochemical staining. Circulating PD-1/PD-L1 expression was associated with severity of diseases in patients with HCC, and the circulating PD-L1 expression was closely correlated with intratumoral PD-L1 expression. Of the clinical parameters, PD-1/PD-L1 expression was associated with tumor size, blood vessel invasion and BCLC staging. Moreover, PD-1/PD-L1 expression dropped after cryoablation while being elevated at the time of tumor recurrence. Patients with higher expression of circulating PD-L1, as well as circulating PD-1, had a significantly shorter overall survival and tumor-free survival than those with lower expression. Multivariate analysis confirmed that circulating PD-L1 could serve as an independent predictor of overall survival and tumor-recurrence survival in HCC patients after cryoablation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Upregulation of circulating PD-L1/PD-1 is associated with poor post-cryoablation prognosis in patients with HBV-related hepatocellular carcinoma

Subjects, Topics, and Anchoring to the Context

The article discusses the connection between the syntactic and semantic properties of weak, strong, and referential DP subjects. In particular, I argue that nominal expressions possess a situation argument and that their interpretation and their distribution follow from the presuppositional requirements that the determiner imposes on the individual argument and situation argument of its complement nominal. These presuppositional requirements, I then argue, are embodied by local relations of the subject to a distinct head in the C domain, Fin(0) in the system of Rizzi 1997, where specific referential values of discourse antecedents are accessible

Structured reporting of x-rays for atraumatic shoulder pain: advantages over free text?

Background: To analyse structured and free text reports of shoulder X-ray examinations evaluating the quality of reports and potential contributions to clinical decision-making. Methods: We acquired both standard free text and structured reports of 31 patients with a painful shoulder without history of previous trauma who received X-ray exams. A template was created for the structured report based on the template ID 0000154 (Shoulder X-ray) from radreportorg using online software with clickable decision trees with concomitant generation of structured semantic reports. All reports were evaluated regarding overall quality and key features: content, information extraction and clinical relevance. Results: Two experienced orthopaedic surgeons reviewed and rated structured and free text reports of 31 patients independently. The structured reports achieved significantly higher median ratings in all key features evaluated (P< 0.001), including facilitation of information extraction (P< 0.001) and better contribution to subsequent clinical decision-making (P<0.001). The overall quality of structured reports was significantly higher than in free text report (P< 0.001). Conclusions: A comprehensive structured template may be a useful tool to assist in clinical decision-making and is, thus, recommended for the reporting of degenerative changes regarding X-ray examinations of the shoulder