Adhesion of contemporary glass ionomer cements used in sound dentin

Abstract no. 848published_or_final_versio

Ultrastructure and bonding of high strength GIC to dentin

Abstract no. 1700published_or_final_versio

Fabrication and characterization of Ni-Ce-Zr ternary disk-shaped catalyst and its application for low-temperature CO2 methanation

© 2019 Elsevier Ltd This study optimized a Ni-Ce-Zr catalyst and its contents for a CO2 methanation reaction by selecting a disk shape with a high mechanical strength, good durability, and thermal emission resistance. The physical and chemical properties of the obtained catalysts were determined by X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, Brunauer–Emmett–Teller, hydrogen temperature-programmed reduction, and temperature-programmed desorption of CO2 analyses. In addition, the activity and stability of the obtained catalysts were then evaluated and compared. It was determined that the combined Ni-Ce-Zr catalyst positively affects the conversion of CO2 to CH4. Furthermore, a CO2 methanation experiment was performed under atmospheric pressure conditions at 200–350 °C. The CO2 conversion was 82% at 300 °C, and the CH4 selectivity was 100%. A durability test revealed a difference in the conversion of approximately 6% for 1000 h, which indicates that the catalytic performance was maintained for a significant period

Trends in healthcare utilization among older Americans with colorectal cancer: A retrospective database analysis

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Analyses of utilization trends (cost drivers) allow us to understand changes in colorectal cancer (CRC) costs over time, better predict future costs, identify changes in the use of specific types of care (eg, hospice), and provide inputs for cost-effectiveness models. This retrospective cohort study evaluated healthcare resource use among US Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with CRC between 1992 and 2002.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Cohorts included patients aged 66+ newly diagnosed with adenocarcinoma of the colon (n = 52,371) or rectum (n = 18,619) between 1992 and 2002 and matched patients from the general Medicare population, followed until death or December 31, 2005. Demographic and clinical characteristics were evaluated by cancer subsite. Resource use, including the percentage that used each type of resource, number of hospitalizations, and number of hospital and skilled nursing facility days, was evaluated by stage and subsite. The number of office, outpatient, and inpatient visits per person-year was calculated for each cohort, and was described by year of service, subsite, and treatment phase. Hospice use rates in the last year of life were calculated by year of service, stage, and subsite for CRC patients who died of CRC.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>CRC patients (mean age: 77.3 years; 44.9% male) used more resources than controls in every category (<it>P </it>< .001), with the largest differences seen in hospital days and home health use. Most resource use (except hospice) remained relatively steady over time. The initial phase was the most resource intense in terms of office and outpatient visits. Hospice use among patients who died of CRC increased from 20.0% in 1992 to 70.5% in 2004, and age-related differences appear to have evened out in later years.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Use of hospice care among CRC decedents increased substantially over the study period, while other resource use remained generally steady. Our findings may be useful for understanding CRC cost drivers, tracking trends, and forecasting resource needs for CRC patients in the future.</p

Supporting new product commercialization through managerial social ties and market knowledge development in an emerging economy

University of Tasmania, Australi

The N-Terminal Domain and Glycosomal Localization of Leishmania Initial Acyltransferase LmDAT Are Important for Lipophosphoglycan Synthesis

Ether glycerolipids of Leishmania major are important membrane components as well as building blocks of various virulence factors. In L. major, the first enzyme of the ether glycerolipid biosynthetic pathway, LmDAT, is an unusual, glycosomal dihydroxyacetonephosphate acyltransferase important for parasite's growth and survival during the stationary phase, synthesis of ether lipids, and virulence. The present work extends our knowledge of this important biosynthetic enzyme in parasite biology. Site-directed mutagenesis of LmDAT demonstrated that an active enzyme was critical for normal growth and survival during the stationary phase. Deletion analyses showed that the large N-terminal extension of this initial acyltransferase may be important for its stability or activity. Further, abrogation of the C-terminal glycosomal targeting signal sequence of LmDAT led to extraglycosomal localization, did not impair its enzymatic activity but affected synthesis of the ether glycerolipid-based virulence factor lipophosphoglycan. In addition, expression of this recombinant form of LmDAT in a null mutant of LmDAT did not restore normal growth and survival during the stationary phase. These results emphasize the importance of this enzyme's compartmentalization in the glycosome for the generation of lipophosphoglycan and parasite's biology

Differences in the Population Structure of Invasive Streptococcus suis Strains Isolated from Pigs and from Humans in the Netherlands

Streptococcus suis serotype 2 is the main cause of zoonotic S. suis infection despite the fact that other serotypes are frequently isolated from diseased pigs. Studies comparing concurrent invasive human and pig isolates from a single geographical location are lacking. We compared the population structures of invasive S. suis strains isolated between 1986 and 2008 from human patients (N = 24) and from pigs with invasive disease (N = 124) in the Netherlands by serotyping and multi locus sequence typing (MLST). Fifty-six percent of pig isolates were of serotype 9 belonging to 15 clonal complexes (CCs) or singleton sequence types (ST). In contrast, all human isolates were of serotype 2 and belonged to two non-overlapping clonal complexes CC1 (58%) and CC20 (42%). The proportion of serotype 2 isolates among S. suis strains isolated from humans was significantly higher than among strains isolated from pigs (24/24 vs. 29/124; P<0.0001). This difference remained significant when only strains within CC1 and CC20 were considered (24/24 vs. 27/37,P = 0.004). The Simpson diversity index of the S. suis population isolated from humans (0.598) was smaller than of the population isolated from pigs (0.765, P = 0.05) indicating that the S. suis population isolated from infected pigs was more diverse than the S. suis population isolated from human patients. S. suis serotype 2 strains of CC20 were all negative in a PCR for detection of genes encoding extracellular protein factor (EF) variants. These data indicate that the polysaccharide capsule is an important correlate of human S. suis infection, irrespective of the ST and EF encoding gene type of S. suis strains

Biphasic Synaptic Ca Influx Arising from Compartmentalized Electrical Signals in Dendritic Spines

Dendritic spines compartmentalize synaptically-evoked biochemical signals. The authors show that electrical compartmentalization provided by a spine endows the associated synapse with additional modes of calcium signaling by shaping the kinetics of synaptic calcium currents