Knowledge of Brazilian dentists and students in treating dentine hypersensitivity

Objective: To evaluate knowledge of undergraduates and qualified dentists from a Brazilian Dental School in treating Dentine Hypersensitivity (DH). Methodology: Data obtained from a 22-item questionnaire were analysed and arranged in distribution figures. Results: Of 100 respondents, 66.3% indicated that up to 25% of their patients had DH; 41.7%, that the duration of discomfort was up to eight weeks; 78.4%, that they examined a patient with DH within the last two-four weeks; and 70.4%, that this was done after the patient initiated the conversation on DH. Most of participants responded DH affects patients’ quality of life, and its aetiology was attrition, exposed dentine, occlusal interference, gingival recession or abrasion. The most common ways to diagnose DH were sensitivity history analysis, clinical examination, clinical testing and probing; and conflicting conditions were fractured restoration, bleaching sensitivity, marginal leakage, chipped tooth and periodontal disease. Furthermore, 82.5% and 78.7% of respondents indicated they were confident in diagnosing DH and providing advice to patients, but only 38.8% identified hydrodynamic theory as its underlying mechanism. To evaluate pain from DH they considered self-assessment, dental examination, dietary analysis and thermal assessment; and as recommendations, the use of desensitizing dentifrices, education on toothbrushing, in-office application of desensitizing products, and restorations. Conclusion: There is still confusion concerning the aetiology, the diagnosis and the subsequent management of DH, and both students and qualified dentists need better education

Platelets of patients with chronic kidney disease demonstrate deficient platelet reactivity in vitro

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In patients with chronic kidney disease studies focusing on platelet function and properties often are non-conclusive whereas only few studies use functional platelet tests. In this study we evaluated a recently developed functional flow cytometry based assay for the analysis of platelet function in chronic kidney disease.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Platelet reactivity was measured using flow cytometric analysis. Platelets in whole blood were triggered with different concentrations of agonists (TRAP, ADP, CRP). Platelet activation was quantified with staining for P-selectin, measuring the mean fluorescence intensity. Area under the curve and the concentration of half-maximal response were determined.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We studied 23 patients with chronic kidney disease (9 patients with cardiorenal failure and 14 patients with end stage renal disease) and 19 healthy controls. Expression of P-selectin on the platelet surface measured as mean fluorescence intensity was significantly less in chronic kidney disease patients compared to controls after maximal stimulation with TRAP (9.7 (7.9-10.8) vs. 11.4 (9.2-12.2), P = 0.032), ADP (1.6 (1.2-2.1) vs. 2.6 (1.9-3.5), P = 0.002) and CRP (9.2 (8.5-10.8) vs. 11.5 (9.5-12.9), P = 0.004). Also the area under the curve was significantly different. There was no significant difference in half-maximal response between both groups.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>In this study we found that patients with chronic kidney disease show reduced platelet reactivity in response of ADP, TRAP and CRP compared to controls. These results contribute to our understanding of the aberrant platelet function observed in patients with chronic kidney disease and emphasize the significance of using functional whole blood platelet activation assays.</p

“El Sexo no es Malo”: Maternal Values Accompanying Contraceptive Use Advice to Young Latina Adolescent Daughters

In this study, we utilized observational methods to identify maternal values and concerns accompanying contraceptive use advice in Latina mother–daughter sexuality conversations. The sample included non-sexually active early adolescents around 12 years of age and their mostly Spanish-speaking Latina mothers. Videotaped conversations were coded for the prevalence of messages related to four sexual values (abstinence, delay sex until older, sex is “normal”, sex is “improper”) and concerns about pregnancy and STD transmission. We examined whether the duration of time spent conversing about these messages was associated with participant characteristics, general communication openness, and the amount of time the dyads spent discussing contraceptive use. Results indicated that Latina mothers who had fewer years of education and lower family income talked longer to their daughters about the need to delay sex, avoid risky situations that would increase their chances of getting pregnant or acquiring an STD, and engage in self-protective practices. Less perceived openness in general communication as reported by both the mothers and the daughters was associated with increased time discussing that sex is improper. Although the duration of contraceptive use messages was brief, mothers and daughters who discussed the fact that sex is normal, and who communicated more about the importance of delaying sex, talked longer about contraceptive use practices compared to mothers and daughters who engaged in minimal discussion of these sexual values

Gross-Neveu Models, Nonlinear Dirac Equations, Surfaces and Strings

Recent studies of the thermodynamic phase diagrams of the Gross-Neveu model (GN2), and its chiral cousin, the NJL2 model, have shown that there are phases with inhomogeneous crystalline condensates. These (static) condensates can be found analytically because the relevant Hartree-Fock and gap equations can be reduced to the nonlinear Schr\"odinger equation, whose deformations are governed by the mKdV and AKNS integrable hierarchies, respectively. Recently, Thies et al have shown that time-dependent Hartree-Fock solutions describing baryon scattering in the massless GN2 model satisfy the Sinh-Gordon equation, and can be mapped directly to classical string solutions in AdS3. Here we propose a geometric perspective for this result, based on the generalized Weierstrass spinor representation for the embedding of 2d surfaces into 3d spaces, which explains why these well-known integrable systems underlie these various Gross-Neveu gap equations, and why there should be a connection to classical string theory solutions. This geometric viewpoint may be useful for higher dimensional models, where the relevant integrable hierarchies include the Davey-Stewartson and Novikov-Veselov systems.Comment: 27 pages, 1 figur

Gene Expression Dynamics During Bone Healing and Osseointegration

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141010/1/jper1007.pd

Observation of associated near-side and away-side long-range correlations in √sNN=5.02 TeV proton-lead collisions with the ATLAS detector

Two-particle correlations in relative azimuthal angle (Δϕ) and pseudorapidity (Δη) are measured in √sNN=5.02  TeV p+Pb collisions using the ATLAS detector at the LHC. The measurements are performed using approximately 1  μb-1 of data as a function of transverse momentum (pT) and the transverse energy (ΣETPb) summed over 3.1<η<4.9 in the direction of the Pb beam. The correlation function, constructed from charged particles, exhibits a long-range (2<|Δη|<5) “near-side” (Δϕ∼0) correlation that grows rapidly with increasing ΣETPb. A long-range “away-side” (Δϕ∼π) correlation, obtained by subtracting the expected contributions from recoiling dijets and other sources estimated using events with small ΣETPb, is found to match the near-side correlation in magnitude, shape (in Δη and Δϕ) and ΣETPb dependence. The resultant Δϕ correlation is approximately symmetric about π/2, and is consistent with a dominant cos⁡2Δϕ modulation for all ΣETPb ranges and particle pT

Search for R-parity-violating supersymmetry in events with four or more leptons in sqrt(s) =7 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for new phenomena in final states with four or more leptons (electrons or muons) is presented. The analysis is based on 4.7 fb−1 of $\sqrt{s}=7\;\mathrm{TeV}$ proton-proton collisions delivered by the Large Hadron Collider and recorded with the ATLAS detector. Observations are consistent with Standard Model expectations in two signal regions: one that requires moderate values of missing transverse momentum and another that requires large effective mass. The results are interpreted in a simplified model of R-parity-violating supersymmetry in which a 95% CL exclusion region is set for charged wino masses up to 540 GeV. In an R-parity-violating MSUGRA/CMSSM model, values of m 1/2 up to 820 GeV are excluded for 10 < tan β < 40

Search for high-mass resonances decaying to dilepton final states in pp collisions at s√=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to search for high-mass resonances decaying to an electron-positron pair or a muon-antimuon pair. The search is sensitive to heavy neutral Z′ gauge bosons, Randall-Sundrum gravitons, Z * bosons, techni-mesons, Kaluza-Klein Z/γ bosons, and bosons predicted by Torsion models. Results are presented based on an analysis of pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.9 fb−1 in the e + e − channel and 5.0 fb−1 in the μ + μ −channel. A Z ′ boson with Standard Model-like couplings is excluded at 95 % confidence level for masses below 2.22 TeV. A Randall-Sundrum graviton with coupling k/MPl=0.1 is excluded at 95 % confidence level for masses below 2.16 TeV. Limits on the other models are also presented, including Technicolor and Minimal Z′ Models