Sleep medicine and dentistry

Many health care professionals and patients are unclear of the role that dentists may play in the management of Obstructive Sleep Apnoea-Hypopnoea Syndrome (OSAHS.) The dentists’ role is primarily in the construction of appliances for OSAHS but in the United States of America some dentists have practices limited to “Sleep dentistry”. However, in the United Kingdom there is limited training for dentists in this field. This thesis aims to review the relevant literature that pertains to OSAHS and dentistry and then, through three studies, to look at the past, present and future involvement of dentists in OSAHS. Assessing outcome is clearly important and this thesis firstly presents patient-based findings of the long term success of mandibular advancement appliances. Secondly, the experience and views of dentists and sleep specialists, assessed by questionnaire, is presented. Finally, a prospective study of a promising screening tool (the Kushida Index) for the diagnosis of sleep apnoea is carried out

Molecular pathology, oxidative stress, and biomarkers in obstructive sleep apnea

Obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (OSAS) is characterized by intermittent hypoxia (IH) during sleep due to recurrent upper airway obstruction. The derived oxidative stress (OS) leads to complications that do not only concern the sleep-wake rhythm but also systemic dysfunctions. The aim of this narrative literature review is to investigate molecular alterations, diagnostic markers, and potential medical therapies for OSAS. We analyzed the literature and synthesized the evidence collected. IH increases oxygen free radicals (ROS) and reduces antioxidant capacities. OS and metabolic alterations lead OSAS patients to undergo endothelial dysfunction, osteoporosis, systemic inflammation, increased cardiovascular risk, pulmonary remodeling, and neurological alterations. We treated molecular alterations known to date as useful for understanding the pathogenetic mechanisms and for their potential application as diagnostic markers. The most promising pharmacological therapies are those based on N-acetylcysteine (NAC), Vitamin C, Leptin, Dronabinol, or Atomoxetine + Oxybutynin, but all require further experimentation. CPAP remains the approved therapy capable of reversing most of the known molecular alterations; future drugs may be useful in treating the remaining dysfunctions

Evaluation of Barley Varieties against Russian Wheat Aphid (Diuraphis noxia M.) under Greenhouse Condition

Russian wheat aphid (RWA), (Diuraphis noxia M.) is the major insect of barley in many areas in the world. It was reported in the Wukro (Atsbi) and Adigrat regions of northern Ethiopia in 1972/73 and western Welo region of northwestern Ethiopia in 1974. RWA causes severe damage to barley in the highlands of Ethiopia. Few information is available on the control of this pest in the country. An experiment was conducted in the 2013/2014 off-season at South Gondar Zone (Debretabor). The experiment aimed at evaluating some resistant sources of barley varieties against RWA was conducted in greenhouse conditions of the university site. Five barley varieties (Burton, RWA-1758, 3296-15, Holker and local susceptible) were studied in complete randomized design. The number of aphids per tiller decreased on the resistant varieties as compared to the control; this is probably due to their own inherent resistant character. There were also significant differences(p<0.001) in mean chlorosis, leaf rolling, RWA population, leaf number per tiller and tiller number per plant among the resistant and the susceptible varieties. Severe plant damage (36.6%) was observed on the local barley variety while the least damage was observed on Burton, followed by RWA-1758. Burton and RWA-1758 were therefore highly resistant and moderately resistant, respectively. The damage to barley lines 3296-15 and Holker was greater than to Burton and RWA-1758 and highly lower than the local one. From the result resistant varieties provided much lower damaged plants and population of RWA per tiller and much higher yield components than the susceptible varieties. This indicates that the most effective approach in managing the RWA is the use of resistant variety. Hence it is concluded that use of host plant resistance is an important avenue for RWA management, and is one of the favored control options for aphids. Keywords: Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia, barley, Hordem vulgare, host resistanc

Znaczna poprawa kliniczna u chorego z niewydolnością serca i zespołem obturacyjnego bezdechu sennego po właściwym ustaleniu stałego, dodatniego ciśnienia w drogach oddechowych

Zaburzenia oddychania w czasie snu często towarzyszą niewydolności krążenia i mogą przybierać postać zespołu obturacyjnego i ośrodkowego bezdechu sennego. Użycie aparatów wytwarzających stałe dodatnie ciśnienie w drogach oddechowych (CPAP, continuous positive airway pressure) u chorych na niewydolność krążenia ze współistniejącym zespołem obturacyjnego bezdechu sennego prowadzi do poprawy profilu neuroendokrynnego i polepszenia funkcji serca. Obturacja dróg oddechowych (jak również ciśnienie CPAP konieczne do jej pokonania) u chorego na niewydolność krążenia może podlegać dużym zmianom spowodowanym zmiennym obrzękiem dróg oddechowych. W niniejszej pracy przedstawiono opis pacjenta z niewydolnością krążenia, którego objawy sercowo-naczyniowe znacząco poprawiły się w czasie leczenia współistniejacego zespołu obturacyjnego bezdechu sennego po właściwym ustaleniu ciśnienia przy użyciu aparatu automatycznie dostosowującego dodatnie ciśnienie w drogach oddechowych (AutoPAP). Pneumonol. Alergol. Pol. 2011; 79, 1: 48-51Sleep disordered breathing (SDB) is frequently present in heart failure (HF), and it may take the form of obstructive (OSA) and central (CSA) sleep apnea. The use of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) in patients with OSA and HF is associated with an improved neuroendocrine profile and cardiac function. The degree of upper airway obstruction and the airway closing pressure (and the PAP pressure used to relieve it) may all be highly variable in a setting of uncontrolled HF, mostly due to variable airway oedema. We present a case of a man with HF whose cardiac symptoms radically improved after adequate treatment of his OSA with an auto-adjusting PAP device. Pneumonol. Alergol. Pol. 2011; 79, 1: 48-5

Locus of Control: Effects on the Reported Gains Made in Assertion Training

Forty-nine Cache Valley residents, between the ages of 18 and 45, who volunteered to participate in an assertion training class were assigned to one of seven groups. Subjects were administered pre- and posttests and a two month follow-up evaluation. Measures included Rotter\u27s Internal-External Locus of Control Scale, the Rathus Assertive Scale, and the Berger Self-Acceptance Scale. The results obtained indicate that self-acceptance and assertiveness changed as a result of assertion training and that these changes were maintained at follow-up. No difference between internals and externals was observed as a result of semi-structured assertion training

Search for squarks and gluinos using final states with jets and missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector in √s = 7 TeV proton–proton collisions

A search for squarks and gluinos in final states containing jets, missing transverse momentum and no electrons or muons is presented. The data were recorded by the ATLAS experiment in √s = 7 TeV proton–proton collisions at the Large Hadron Collider. No excess above the Standard Model background expectation was observed in 35 pb^(−1) of analysed data. Gluino masses below 500 GeV are excluded at the 95% confidence level in simplified models containing only squarks of the first two generations, a gluino octet and a massless neutralino. The exclusion increases to 870 GeV for equal mass squarks and gluinos. In MSUGRA/CMSSM models with β = 3, A_0 = 0 and μ > 0, squarks and gluinos of equal mass are excluded below 775 GeV. These are the most stringent limits to date