Cleaning ability and induced dentin loss of a magnetostrictive ultrasonic instrument at different power settings

Some laboratory studies have evaluated the oscillation mode of ultrasonic scalers. None of them recorded its influence on calculus removal and quantified dental hard tissue loss. This study aimed to compare the performance of a magnetostrictive ultrasonic instrument at different power settings in vitro in relation to the tip oscillation activity. The oscillation activity of the straight Slimline® insert in the Cavitron® ultrasonic scaling device was analyzed at five different power settings with the help of two laser vibrometers. The performance of this instrument was tested on 60 roots of human single-rooted teeth. Twelve roots each were randomly assigned to be instrumented at a given power setting. Every root was instrumented for 120s at a standardized instrumentation force of 0.1 ± 0.05N. In addition, another 30 periodontally involved roots with subgingival calculus were instrumented accordingly to assess the calculus removal potential. The surface characteristics after instrumentation were analyzed under scanning electron microscope. The instrumentation at minimum power setting resulted in an mean increase of the root surface roughness of 0.18 ± 0.28 compared to 0.51 ± 0.48 at maximum power setting (P = 0.0327). The loss of dental hard tissue amounted to 11.37 ± 3.64 at minimum compared to 23.37 ± 15.76 at maximum power (P = 0.0010). The higher the power setting, the more calculus was removed. The values of the latter ranged between 4.04 ± 1.87 and 11.26 ± 4.66mm2 of cleaned dentin surface area (P = 0.0065). At lower power settings, a more favorable relation between cleaning ability, loss of dentine, and surface roughness was foun

Smart Street Lights and Mobile Citizen Apps for Resilient Communication in a Digital City

Currently, nearly four billion people live in urban areas. Since this trend is increasing, natural disasters or terrorist attacks in such areas affect an increasing number of people. While information and communication technology is crucial for the operation of urban infrastructures and the well-being of its inhabitants, current technology is quite vulnerable to disruptions of various kinds. In future smart cities, a more resilient urban infrastructure is imperative to handle the increasing number of hazardous situations. We present a novel resilient communication approach based on smart street lights as part of the public infrastructure. It supports people in their everyday life and adapts its functionality to the challenges of emergency situations. Our approach relies on various environmental sensors and in-situ processing for automatic situation assessment, and a range of communication mechanisms (e.g., public WiFi hotspot functionality and mesh networking) for maintaining a communication network. Furthermore, resilience is not only achieved based on infrastructure deployed by a digital city's municipality, but also based on integrating citizens through software that runs on their mobile devices (e.g., smartphones and tablets). Web-based zero-installation and platform-agnostic apps can switch to device-to-device communication to continue benefiting people even during a disaster situation. Our approach, featuring a covert channel for professional responders and the zero-installation app, is evaluated through a prototype implementation based on a commercially available street light.Comment: 2019 IEEE Global Humanitarian Technology Conference (GHTC

Fine‐Tuning Blue‐Emitting Halide Perovskite Nanocrystals

Lead halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) with narrow, bright emission in the visible range are promising candidates for light-emitting applications. Near-unity quantum yields have been realized for green and red-emitting perovskites, but efficient, stable blue-emitting perovskite materials are scarce. Current methods to synthesize quantum-confined CsPbBr3 NCs with blue emission are limited to specific wavelength ranges and still suffer from inhomogeneously broadened emission profiles. Herein, anisotropic blue-green emitting CsPbBr3 NCs are synthesized in ambient atmosphere using a spontaneous crystallization method. Optical spectroscopy reveals a gradual, asymptotic photoluminescence (PL) redshift of pristine colloidal NCs after synthesis. During this process, the emission quality improves notably as the PL spectra become narrower and more symmetric, accompanied by a PL intensity increase. Electron microscopy indicates that the gradual redshift stems from an isotropic growth of the CsPbBr3 NCs in at least two dimensions, likely due to residual precursor ions in the dispersion. Most importantly, the growth process can be halted at any point by injecting an enhancement solution containing PbBr2 and organic capping ligands. Thus, excellent control over NC size is achieved, allowing for nanometer-precise tunability of the respective emission wavelength in the range between 475 and 500 nm, enhancing the functionality of these already impressive NCs

Doubly stabilized perovskite nanocrystal luminescence downconverters

Halide perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) have emerged as a promising material for applications ranging from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) to solar cells and photodetectors. Still, several issues impede the realization of the nanocrystals' full potential, most notably their susceptibility to degradation from environmental stress. This work demonstrates highly stable perovskite nanocrystals (NCs) with quantum yields as high as 95 % by exploiting a ligand-assisted copolymer nanoreactor-based synthesis. The organic ligands thereby serve a dual function by enhancing the uptake of precursors and passivating the NCs. The polymer micelles and ligands thus form a double protection system, shielding the encapsulated NCs from water-, heat- and UV-light-induced degradation. We demonstrate the optoelectronic integrability by incorporating the perovskite NCs as spectrally pure downconverters on top of a deep-blue-emitting organic LED. These results establish a way of stabilizing perovskite NCs for optoelectronics while retaining their excellent optical properties

Lampe1: An ENU-Germline Mutation Causing Spontaneous Hepatosteatosis Identified through Targeted Exon-Enrichment and Next-Generation Sequencing

Using a small scale ENU mutagenesis approach we identified a recessive germline mutant, designated Lampe1 that exhibited growth retardation and spontaneous hepatosteatosis. Low resolution mapping based on 20 intercrossed Lampe1 mice revealed linkage to a ∼14 Mb interval on the distal site of chromosome 11 containing a total of 285 genes. Exons and 50 bp flanking sequences within the critical region were enriched with sequence capture microarrays and subsequently analyzed by next-generation sequencing. Using this approach 98.1 percent of the targeted DNA was covered with a depth of 10 or more reads per nucleotide and 3 homozygote mutations were identified. Two mutations represented intronic nucleotide changes whereas one mutation affected a splice donor site in intron 11–12 of Palmitoyl Acetyl-coenzyme A oxygenase-1 (Acox1), causing skipping of exon 12. Phenotyping of Acox1Lampe1 mutants revealed a progression from hepatosteatosis to steatohepatitis, and ultimately hepatocellular carcinoma. The current approach provides a highly efficient and affordable method to identify causative mutations induced by ENU mutagenesis and animal models relevant to human pathology

Significant benefits of AIP testing and clinical screening in familial isolated and young-onset pituitary tumors

Context Germline mutations in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor-interacting protein (AIP) gene are responsible for a subset of familial isolated pituitary adenoma (FIPA) cases and sporadic pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs). Objective To compare prospectively diagnosed AIP mutation-positive (AIPmut) PitNET patients with clinically presenting patients and to compare the clinical characteristics of AIPmut and AIPneg PitNET patients. Design 12-year prospective, observational study. Participants & Setting We studied probands and family members of FIPA kindreds and sporadic patients with disease onset ≤18 years or macroadenomas with onset ≤30 years (n = 1477). This was a collaborative study conducted at referral centers for pituitary diseases. Interventions & Outcome AIP testing and clinical screening for pituitary disease. Comparison of characteristics of prospectively diagnosed (n = 22) vs clinically presenting AIPmut PitNET patients (n = 145), and AIPmut (n = 167) vs AIPneg PitNET patients (n = 1310). Results Prospectively diagnosed AIPmut PitNET patients had smaller lesions with less suprasellar extension or cavernous sinus invasion and required fewer treatments with fewer operations and no radiotherapy compared with clinically presenting cases; there were fewer cases with active disease and hypopituitarism at last follow-up. When comparing AIPmut and AIPneg cases, AIPmut patients were more often males, younger, more often had GH excess, pituitary apoplexy, suprasellar extension, and more patients required multimodal therapy, including radiotherapy. AIPmut patients (n = 136) with GH excess were taller than AIPneg counterparts (n = 650). Conclusions Prospectively diagnosed AIPmut patients show better outcomes than clinically presenting cases, demonstrating the benefits of genetic and clinical screening. AIP-related pituitary disease has a wide spectrum ranging from aggressively growing lesions to stable or indolent disease course

CMS physics technical design report : Addendum on high density QCD with heavy ions

Peer reviewe

The contribution of X-linked coding variation to severe developmental disorders

Abstract: Over 130 X-linked genes have been robustly associated with developmental disorders, and X-linked causes have been hypothesised to underlie the higher developmental disorder rates in males. Here, we evaluate the burden of X-linked coding variation in 11,044 developmental disorder patients, and find a similar rate of X-linked causes in males and females (6.0% and 6.9%, respectively), indicating that such variants do not account for the 1.4-fold male bias. We develop an improved strategy to detect X-linked developmental disorders and identify 23 significant genes, all of which were previously known, consistent with our inference that the vast majority of the X-linked burden is in known developmental disorder-associated genes. Importantly, we estimate that, in male probands, only 13% of inherited rare missense variants in known developmental disorder-associated genes are likely to be pathogenic. Our results demonstrate that statistical analysis of large datasets can refine our understanding of modes of inheritance for individual X-linked disorders

Bi-allelic Loss-of-Function CACNA1B Mutations in Progressive Epilepsy-Dyskinesia.

The occurrence of non-epileptic hyperkinetic movements in the context of developmental epileptic encephalopathies is an increasingly recognized phenomenon. Identification of causative mutations provides an important insight into common pathogenic mechanisms that cause both seizures and abnormal motor control. We report bi-allelic loss-of-function CACNA1B variants in six children from three unrelated families whose affected members present with a complex and progressive neurological syndrome. All affected individuals presented with epileptic encephalopathy, severe neurodevelopmental delay (often with regression), and a hyperkinetic movement disorder. Additional neurological features included postnatal microcephaly and hypotonia. Five children died in childhood or adolescence (mean age of death: 9 years), mainly as a result of secondary respiratory complications. CACNA1B encodes the pore-forming subunit of the pre-synaptic neuronal voltage-gated calcium channel Cav2.2/N-type, crucial for SNARE-mediated neurotransmission, particularly in the early postnatal period. Bi-allelic loss-of-function variants in CACNA1B are predicted to cause disruption of Ca2+ influx, leading to impaired synaptic neurotransmission. The resultant effect on neuronal function is likely to be important in the development of involuntary movements and epilepsy. Overall, our findings provide further evidence for the key role of Cav2.2 in normal human neurodevelopment.MAK is funded by an NIHR Research Professorship and receives funding from the Wellcome Trust, Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital Charity, and Rosetrees Trust. E.M. received funding from the Rosetrees Trust (CD-A53) and Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity. K.G. received funding from Temple Street Foundation. A.M. is funded by Great Ormond Street Hospital, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), and Biomedical Research Centre. F.L.R. and D.G. are funded by Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre. K.C. and A.S.J. are funded by NIHR Bioresource for Rare Diseases. The DDD Study presents independent research commissioned by the Health Innovation Challenge Fund (grant number HICF-1009-003), a parallel funding partnership between the Wellcome Trust and the Department of Health, and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute (grant number WT098051). We acknowledge support from the UK Department of Health via the NIHR comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre award to Guy's and St. Thomas' National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust in partnership with King's College London. This research was also supported by the NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre. J.H.C. is in receipt of an NIHR Senior Investigator Award. The research team acknowledges the support of the NIHR through the Comprehensive Clinical Research Network. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, Department of Health, or Wellcome Trust. E.R.M. acknowledges support from NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, an NIHR Senior Investigator Award, and the University of Cambridge has received salary support in respect of E.R.M. from the NHS in the East of England through the Clinical Academic Reserve. I.E.S. is supported by the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (Program Grant and Practitioner Fellowship)

Networked Wireless Sensor Systems for Ecological Monitoring

Due to the climate catastrophe, spatially and temporally comprehensive monitoring of the environment is becoming increasingly important to detect changes quickly. The problem is that human work, due to the limited number of experts, can only be scaled to a limited extent, and humans are not really suitable for performing permanent monitoring. In addition, there are possible cognitive limitations during data collection. If such data is collected almost simultaneously, it can no longer be perceived in its entirety by humans, resulting in data loss. Furthermore, data can be distorted by human assumptions (bias), or observations can be disturbed by the mere presence of humans. Considering these problems, a shift to automated monitoring methods seems inevitable. This dissertation presents a new approach to create networked wireless sensor systems for ecological monitoring. Especially forested areas often have difficult conditions for humans and material, i.e., the proposed approach must also be able to deal with these real-world problems. The main field of investigation chosen in this dissertation is the observation of bats. According to the "IUCN Red List of Threatened Species", one-third of them is either considered to be threatened or there is not enough data about them to make a statement. In addition, bats are good indicators of ecosystem health, i.e., monitoring bats can also provide information about the entire ecosystem’s health. Nevertheless, the considerations and practical design ideas presented in this thesis can be applied to other fields of environmental monitoring. The thesis introduces a novel approach to comprehensively monitor bats, divided into the components of monitoring the ecosystem and monitoring the bats themselves. In these areas, scientific work is presented and concluded with a view of a concrete overall system. In the area of ecosystem monitoring, approaches on monitoring trees, insects, birds, and human disturbances are presented. In this context, new networked sensor nodes are developed and combined to form a complete system. A novel approach is proposed for equipping existing unchangeable systems and devices with new functions and thus integrating them into existing networked sensor systems. This novel approach is presented using the concrete integration of an existing system into the overall monitoring system. In the area of bat monitoring, approaches are presented that enable the tracking of bats with different sensors and provide an automatic evaluation. New evaluation methods using machine learning techniques and the development of an operating system for particular sensor nodes are used. As a combination of newly developed hardware and software, a sensor node is presented that enables multi-sensory monitoring of bats triggered by bat activity. As a result of this, video, audio and VHF data can be collected, and ultimately one sensor’s findings can be transferred to different other sensors