Effect of a Er, Cr:YSGG laser and a Er:YAG laser treatment on oral biofilm-contaminated titanium

Implant surface decontamination is a challenging procedure for therapy of peri-implant disease. Objective: This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of decontamination on oral biofilm-contaminated titanium surfaces in Er:YAG laser, Er, Cr:YSGG laser, and plastic curette. Methodology: For oral biofilms formation, six participants wore an acrylic splint with eight titanium discs in the maxillary arch for 72 hours. A total of 48 contaminated discs were distributed among four groups: untreated control; decontamination with plastic curettes; Er, Cr:YSGG laser; and Er:YAG laser irradiation. Complete plaque removal was estimated using naked-eye and the time taken was recorded; the residual plaque area was measured and the morphological alteration of the specimen surface was observed by scanning electron microscopy. The total bacterial load and the viability of adherent bacteria were quantified by live or dead cell labeling with fluorescence microscopy. Results: The mean treatment time significantly decreased based on the treatment used in the following order: Er:YAG, Er, Cr:YSGG laser, and plastic curettes (234.9±25.4 sec, 156.1±12.7 sec, and 126.4±18.6 sec, P=0.000). The mean RPA in the Er, Cr:YSGG laser group (7.0±2.5%) was lower than Er:YAG and plastic curettes groups (10.3±2.4%, 12.3±3.6%, p=0.023). The viable bacteria on the titanium surface after Er, Cr:YSGG laser irradiation was significantly lower compared to the decontamination with plastic curette (P=0.05) but it was not significantly different from the Er:YAG laser irradiation. Conclusion: We found that Er:YAG laser and Er, Cr:YSGG laser irradiation were effective methods for decontaminations without surface alterations

Conditions for the differentiation of melanocyte-precursor cells from human cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells

The loss of skin pigmentation can induce compromised cutaneous immunity, which can result in conditions such as vitiligo. In this study, we evaluated various agents that are able to induce the differentiation of stem cells into melanocytes. We found that a mixture of forskolin (FK), stem cell factor (SCF) and endothelin-3 (EDN-3) induced melanocyte-like morphology in human cord blood-derived mesenchymal stem cells (CB-MSCs). In addition, significant expression of microphthalmia-associated transcription factor-M and tyrosinase-related protein-1 genes was observed. These results suggest that a mixture of FK, SCF and EDN-3 induces the differentiation of melanocyte-precursor cells (MPCs) from CB-MSCs.Keywords: mesenchymal stem cells, melanocyte-precursor cells, forskolin, microphthalmia-associated transcription factor-M, tyrosinase-related protein-1African Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 9(36), pp. 5975-5977, 6 September, 201

Spin cast ferroelectric beta poly(vinylidene fluoride) thin films via rapid thermal annealing

We describe a method of fabricating ferroelectric beta-type poly(vinylidene fluoride) (PVDF) thin films on Au substrate by the humidity controlled spin casting combined with rapid thermal treatment. Our method produces thin uniform ferroelectric PVDF film with ordered beta crystals consisting of characteristic needlelike microdomains. A capacitor with a 160 nm thick ferroelectric PVDF film exhibits the remanent polarization and coercive voltage of similar to 7.0 mu C/cm(2) and 8 V, respectively, with the temperature stability of up to 160 degrees C. A ferroelectric field effect transistor also shows a drain current bistablility of 100 at zero gate voltage with +/- 20 V gate voltage sweep. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physicsopen485

Effect of alcohol use on emergency department length of stay among minimally injured patients based on mechanism of injury: multicenter observational study

Objective This study aimed to evaluate the effect of alcohol use on emergency department (ED) length of stay (LOS) among minimally injured patients by mechanism of injury. Methods This was a retrospective study of injury surveillance data for injured patients (except poisoning), aged over 18 years, discharged home from the ED, and treated at seven academic EDs in Korea during 2008 to 2012. Patients were divided into alcohol-related and alcohol-unrelated groups based on self-report. We used multivariable quantile regression models for the analysis and adjusted covariates including age, sex, consciousness status, severity of injury, emergency medical service use, the season, day and time of visit, and hospital. To determine if there were different effects of alcohol use across mechanism of injury, all analyses were stratified by each mechanism. Results Among 192,200 patients, 95,807 patients were analyzed. The number of participants in the alcohol-related group was 16,249 (17.0%). In the multivariable quantile regression model, the alcohol-related group had significantly longer ED LOS at the 10th (7 minutes; 95% confidence interval [CI], 6 to 8), 50th (21 minutes; 95% CI, 19 to 23), and 90th (81 minutes; 95% CI, 74 to 87) percentiles when compared to the alcohol-unrelated group. The effect of alcohol use on increased ED LOS was most prominent in motor vehicle injuries. Conclusion We found that alcohol use was associated with increased emergency ED LOS. Furthermore, if we limited our attention to the effect of alcohol use on the number of patients, the burden of alcohol use on the ED would have been underestimated

Antioxidant and neuroprotective effects of caffeine against Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease: insight into the role of Nrf-2 and A2AR signaling

This paper reviews the results of studies conducted on the role of caffeine in the management of different neurological disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). To highlight the potential role of caffeine in managing different neurodegenerative diseases, we identified studies by searching PubMed, Web of Science, and Google Scholar by scrutinizing the lists of pertinent publications. According to the collected overall findings, caffeine may reduce the elevated oxidative stress; inhibit the activation of adenosine A2A, thereby regulating the accumulation of Aβ; reduce the hyperphosphorylation of tau; and reduce the accumulation of misfolded proteins, such as α-synuclein, in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. The studies have suggested that caffeine has promising protective effects against different neurodegenerative diseases and that these effects may be used to tackle the neurological diseases and/or their consequences. Here, we review the ongoing research on the role of caffeine in the management of different neurodegenerative disorders, focusing on AD and PD. The current findings suggest that caffeine produces potent antioxidant, inflammatory, and anti-apoptotic effects against different models of neurodegenerative disease, including AD, PD, and other neurodegenerative disorders. Caffeine has shown strong antagonistic effects against the adenosine A2A receptor, which is a microglial receptor, and strong agonistic effects against nuclear-related factor-2 (Nrf-2), thereby regulating the cellular homeostasis at the brain by reducing oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, regulating the accumulation of α-synuclein in PD and tau hyperphosphorylation, amyloidogenesis, and synaptic deficits in AD, which are the cardinal features of these neurodegenerative diseases

Self-assembled adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells as an extracellular matrix component- and growth factor-enriched filler

The clinical application of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) is attracting attention due to their excellent safety, convenient acquisition, multipotency, and trophic activity. The clinical effectiveness of transplanted MSCs is well-known in regenerative and immunomodulatory medicine, but there is a demand for their improved viability and regenerative function after transplantation. In this study, we isolated MSCs from adipose tissue from three human donors and generated uniformly sized MSC spheroids (∼100 µm in diameter) called microblocks (MiBs) for dermal reconstitution. The viability and MSC marker expression of MSCs in MiBs were similar to those of monolayer MSCs. Compared with monolayer MSCs, MiBs produced more extracellular matrix (ECM) components, including type I collagen, fibronectin, and hyaluronic acid, and growth factors such as vascular endothelial growth factor and hepatocyte growth factor. Subcutaneously injected MiBs showed skin volume retaining capacity in mice. These results indicate that MiBs could be applied as regenerative medicine for skin conditions such as atrophic scar by having high ECM and bioactive factor expression

Enhancement of phase separation in the InGaN layer for self-assembled In-rich quantum dots

The enhancement of phase separation in the InGaN layer grown on a GaN layer with a rough surface was investigated for the formation of self-assembled In-rich quantum dots(QDs) in the InGaN layer. Transmission electron microscopy images showed that In-rich QDs with a size of 2–5 nm were formed even in an InGaN layer with a low indium content, and a layer thickness less than the critical thickness. The room-temperature photoluminescence(PL) spectrum of this layer showed emission peaks corresponding to In-rich QDs. The temperature-dependent PL spectra showed dominant peak shifts to the lower energy side, indicating that the self-assembled In-rich QDs are formed in the InGaN layer grown on a rough GaNsurface and that the carriers are localized in In-rich QDs

Sebaceous Hyperplasia of the Scrotum and Penile Shaft

Sebaceous hyperplasia (SH) is a proliferative abnormality of sebaceous glands, most often seen in elderly individuals. It consists of single or multiple, asymptomatic, small yellow papules with a central depression. The face is most commonly affected, but there have been reports of SH on the chest or genitalia. A lobular array of well-differentiated mature sebaceous lobules is noted on histological preparations. In this report, we describe a patient with SH on the penile shaft and parts of the scrotum

Relationship Between Earlobe Crease and Brachial-ankle Pulse Wave Velocity in Non-hypertensive, Non-diabetic Adults in Korea

OBJECTIVES: Several studies have found a significant association between the presence of earlobe crease (ELC) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Brachial-ankle Pulse Wave Velocity (baPWV) is a non-invasive and useful measure of arterial stiffness predicting cardiovascular events and mortality. However, few studies have reported the relationship between ELC and baPWV as a new measure of arterial stiffness. the purpose of this study was to determine whether ELC is related to baPWV in non-diabetic, non-hypertensive, and apparently healthy Korean adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 573 non-hypertensive, non-diabetic Korean adults aged 20-80 yr. Subjects were stratified into three groups according to gender and menopausal status. baPWV was measured by an automatic waveform analyser. the association between ELC and baPWV was assessed by multiple linear regression analysis after adjusting for conventional cardiovascular disease risk factors including age, gender, blood pressure, lipid profile, and smoking status etc. RESULTS: the overall frequency of ELC was 19.02% and the subjects with ELC showed significantly higher mean baPWV (p<0.0001). Multiple linear regression of subjects revealed that the presence of ELC was independently associated with baPWV (male, p<0.0001; premenopausal female p=0.0162; postmenopausal female p=0.0208). CONCLUSION: ELC had a significant correlation with baPWV, independently controlling for other classical cardiovascular risk factors in adults aged 20 yr or older. ELC is an important surrogate marker of increased arterial stiffness as measured by baPWV in Korean adults.ope