Comparative Analysis of Carrier-Based Obturation and Lateral Compaction: A Retrospective Clinical Outcomes Study

The purpose of this retrospective study was to compare the outcome of primary endodontic treatment using a standardized cleaning and shaping technique and obturation with either lateral compaction or carrier-based obturation. Patients received primary endodontic treatment in the predoctoral dental clinic using a standardized cleaning and shaping protocol. All root canals were obturated using AH PlusTM sealer with lateral compaction of gutta-percha (LC) or carrier-based obturation (CBO). A total of 205 cases met the inclusion criteria. 71 teeth in 60 patients were recalled after 2 years and evaluated both clinically and radiographically by two independent examiners. Success was defined as a lack of clinical symptoms and a normal periodontal ligament space or reduction in size of a previously existing periapical radiolucency. Chi-square and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis with a significance level of P < 0.05. There was no difference in success rates between cases obturated with LC or CBO (P = 0.802); overall success rate was 83%. Molars had a significantly lower success rate (53%) than premolar and anterior teeth (89%) (P = 0.005), irrespective of the obturation technique used. When a standardized cleaning and shaping protocol was used by predoctoral dental students in a controlled university setting, there was no difference in success rates between cases obturated with LC or CBO

Literatura de Hispanoamérica (Part 1)

This is a blended course which aims to enable 3rd and 4th year university students of Spanish to find desired information on the beginnings of Spanish American literature, to hone their thought processes, and to communicate their findings efficiently in written and oral form. It also assists instructors in evaluating the work that students submit and communicating their judgments in such a way as to help students substantially enhance their abilities. By presenting an Introduction to the work of each author, the online Program provides the students with a model of how to approach a new subject and extract meaningful information from the masses of data that are publicly available. By embarking on a research subject by themselves and doing a variety of online and classroom exercises, the students learn the essential methods of research, discover how to weigh the accuracy and value of their findings, become skilled at editing their conclusions, and utilize the space available for written and oral communication to best effect

Genome-wide mapping of the distribution of CarD, RNAP σA, and RNAP β on the Mycobacterium smegmatis chromosome using chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing

CarD is an essential mycobacterial protein that binds the RNA polymerase (RNAP) and affects the transcriptional profile of Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium tuberculosis [6]. We predicted that CarD was directly regulating RNAP function but our prior experiments had not determined at what stage of transcription CarD was functioning and at which genes CarD interacted with the RNAP. To begin to address these open questions, we performed chromatin immunoprecipitation sequencing (ChIP-seq) to survey the distribution of CarD throughout the M. smegmatis chromosome. The distribution of RNAP subunits β and σA were also profiled. We expected that RNAP β would be present throughout transcribed regions and RNAP σA would be predominantly enriched at promoters based on work in Escherichia coli [3], however this had yet to be determined in mycobacteria. The ChIP-seq analyses revealed that CarD was never present on the genome in the absence of RNAP, was primarily associated with promoter regions, and was highly correlated with the distribution of RNAP σA. The colocalization of σA and CarD led us to propose that in vivo, CarD associates with RNAP initiation complexes at most promoters and is therefore a global regulator of transcription initiation. Here we describe in detail the data from the ChIP-seq experiments associated with the study published by Srivastava and colleagues in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science in 2013 [5] as well as discuss the findings from this dataset in relation to both CarD and mycobacterial transcription as a whole. The ChIP-seq data have been deposited in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo (accession no. GSE48164)

Development and Clinical Evaluation of a Root Coverage Procedure Using a Collagen Barrier Membrane

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141360/1/jper0770.pd

Evaluation of a Collagen Membrane With and Without Bone Grafts in Treating Periodontal Intrabony Defects

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141006/1/jper0838.pd

Initial experience and outcome of a new hemodialysis access device for catheter-dependent patients

ObjectiveThe effects of a new long-term subcutaneous vascular access device were studied in access-challenged patients who were poor candidates for fistulas or grafts due to venous obstruction. Bacteremia rates, patency, and function of the Hemodialysis Reliable Outflow (HeRO) Vascular Access Device (Hemosphere Inc, Minneapolis, Minn) were evaluated.MethodsThe HeRO device consists of a 6-mm expanded polytetrafluoroethylene graft attached to a 5-mm nitinol-reinforced silicone outflow component designed to bypass venous stenoses and enter the internal jugular vein directly, providing continuous arterial blood flow into the right atrium. The HeRO device was studied in a multicenter clinical trial to test the hypothesis that access-challenged patients would experience a statistically significant reduction in bacteremia rates compared with a tunneled dialysis catheter (TDC) literature control of 2.3/1000 days. HeRO-related bacteremia rates, adequacy of dialysis, patency, and adverse events were analyzed.ResultsThe HeRO device was implanted in 36 access-challenged patients who were followed for a mean 8.6 months (9931 HeRO days). The HeRO-related bacteremia rate was 0.70/1000 days. All HeRO-related bacteremias occurred during the bridging period when a TDC was still implanted before HeRO graft incorporation. HeRO adequacy of dialysis (mean Kt/V) was 1.7. HeRO primary patency was 38.9%, and secondary patency was 72.2%.ConclusionsIn access-challenged patients, a statistically significant reduction in HeRO-related bacteremia was noted compared with TDC literature. The device had similar function and patency compared with conventional arteriovenous graft literature

Some effects of hippocampal lesions on the behavior of mongolian gerbils

Adult male gerbils (Meriones unguiculatus) were subjected to one of three surgical procedures: aspiration of the hippocampus and overlying cortex, aspiration of the cortex overlying the hippocampus alone, or a sham operation. Hippocampal lesions increased the frequency of certain home cage behavior patterns (locomotion, rearing, sniffing and drinking), decreased the frequency of other patterns (sleeping/lying and shredding of nest materials) and left unchanged a third set of measures (alert inactivity, grooming and burrowing). In those cases where increments in occurrence of a given behavior were observed, there were lesion-induced shifts in frequency of initiation of certain behavior patterns (locomotion and sniffing) rather than in the duration of those patterns. This finding argues against a simple perservation view of the increment in frequency of these patterns. Lesion effects on reactivity to novel stimulation varied with the test procedure. Locomotor activity in an open field was enhanced, manipulatory and biting contacts with novel stimulus objects were reduced, and social reactions to unfamiliar visitor gerbils were relatively unaffected.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/32726/1/0000094.pd

Evaluation of a Bioactive Glass Alloplast in Treating Periodontal Intrabony Defects

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141993/1/jper1346.pd

Multilayered Epithelium in a Rat Model and Human Barrett's Esophagus: Similar Expression Patterns of Transcription Factors and Differentiation Markers

Background: In rats, esophagogastroduodenal anastomosis (EGDA) without concomitant chemical carcinogen treatment leads to gastroesophageal reflux disease, multilayered epithelium (MLE, a presumed precursor in intestinal metaplasia), columnar-lined esophagus, dysplasia, and esophageal adenocarcinoma. Previously we have shown that columnar-lined esophagus in EGDA rats resembled human Barrett's esophagus (BE) in its morphology, mucin features and expression of differentiation markers (Lab. Invest. 2004;84:753–765). The purpose of this study was to compare the phenotype of rat MLE with human MLE, in order to gain insight into the nature of MLE and its potential role in the development of BE. Methods: Serial sectioning was performed on tissue samples from 32 EGDA rats and 13 patients with established BE. Tissue sections were immunohistochemically stained for a variety of transcription factors and differentiation markers of esophageal squamous epithelium and intestinal columnar epithelium. Results: We detected MLE in 56.3% (18/32) of EGDA rats, and in all human samples. As expected, both rat and human squamous epithelium, but not intestinal metaplasia, expressed squamous transcription factors and differentiation markers (p63, Sox2, CK14 and CK4) in all cases. Both rat and human intestinal metaplasia, but not squamous epithelium, expressed intestinal transcription factors and differentiation markers (Cdx2, GATA4, HNF1α, villin and Muc2) in all cases. Rat MLE shared expression patterns of Sox2, CK4, Cdx2, GATA4, villin and Muc2 with human MLE. However, p63 and CK14 were expressed in a higher proportion of rat MLE compared to humans. Conclusion: These data indicate that rat MLE shares similar properties to human MLE in its expression pattern of these markers, not withstanding small differences, and support the concept that MLE may be a transitional stage in the metaplastic conversion of squamous to columnar epithelium in BE

An inventory of human light exposure behaviour

Light exposure is an essential driver of health and well-being, and individual behaviours during rest and activity modulate physiologically relevant aspects of light exposure. Further understanding the behaviours that influence individual photic exposure patterns may provide insight into the volitional contributions to the physiological effects of light and guide behavioural points of intervention. Here, we present a novel, self-reported and psychometrically validated inventory to capture light exposure-related behaviour, the Light Exposure Behaviour Assessment (LEBA). An expert panel prepared the initial 48-item pool spanning different light exposure-related behaviours. Responses, consisting of rating the frequency of engaging in the per-item behaviour on a five-point Likert-type scale, were collected in an online survey yielding responses from a geographically unconstrained sample (690 completed responses, 74 countries, 28 time zones). The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) on an initial subsample (n = 428) rendered a five-factor solution with 25 items (wearing blue light filters, spending time outdoors, using a phone and smartwatch in bed, using light before bedtime, using light in the morning and during daytime). In a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) performed on an independent subset of participants (n = 262), we removed two additional items to attain the best fit for the five-factor solution (CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.06). The internal consistency reliability coefficient for the total instrument yielded McDonald’s Omega = 0.68. Measurement model invariance analysis between native and non-native English speakers showed our model attained the highest level of invariance (residual invariance CFI = 0.95, TLI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.05). Lastly, a short form of the LEBA (n = 18 items) was developed using Item Response Theory on the complete sample (n = 690). The psychometric properties of the LEBA indicate the usability for measuring light exposure-related behaviours. The instrument may offer a scalable solution to characterise behaviours that influence individual photic exposure patterns in remote samples. The LEBA inventory is available under the open-access CC-BY license. Instrument webpage: https://leba-instrument.org/ GitHub repository containing this manuscript: https://github.com/leba-instrument/leba-manuscript