Clinical Evaluation of Small Diameter Straumann Implants in Partially Edentulous Patients: A 5-Year Retrospective Study

Objective: The aim of the present study was to retrospectively evaluate small-diameter (3.3 mm) Straumann® dental implants placed in the maxilla or the mandible over a period of 5 years in function.Materials and Methods: Twenty- eight partially edentulous patients received a total of 48 implants over a 5-year period. After the standard healing period (3 to 6 months), the implants were restored with single-tooth prostheses or fixed partial dentures. All patients were followed according to a strict maintenance program with regular recalls. The cumulative survival rates of implants were analyzed and prosthetic complications were assessed.Results: After 5 years of function, one single 10-mm-long implant in the maxillary premolar region was lost because of recurrent peri-implant infection in a female patient. Two single 10-mm-long maxillary implants placed in the posterior region were lost due to body fracture. The cumulative 5-year survival rate of the implants was 93.75 %. The most common prosthetic complication was loosening of the occlusal screw.Conclusion: Within the limited observation period and the number of patients included in this study, it may be concluded that the use of small-diameter implants appears to be predictable if clinical guidelines are followed and appropriate prosthetic restorations are provided. However, it should be noted that fatigue fracture may occur

On the profile of frequency dependent dielectric properties of (Ni/Au)/GaN/Al0.3Ga0.7N heterostructures

The voltage (V) and frequency (f) dependence of dielectric characteristics such as dielectric constant (ε′), dielectric loss (ε″), dielectric loss tangent (tan δ) and real and imaginary part of electrical modulus (Μ′ and M″) of the (Ni/Au)/GaN/Al0.3Ga 0.7N heterostructures have been investigated by using experimental admittance spectroscopy (capacitance-voltage (C-V) and conductance-voltage (G/w-V)) measurements at room temperature. Experimental results show that the values of the ε′, ε″, tan δ and the real and imaginary parts of the electric modulus (M′ and M″) obtained from the C and G/w measurements were found to be strong function of frequency and applied bias voltage especially in depletion region at low frequencies. These changes in dielectric parameters can be attributed to the interfacial GaN cap layer, interface polarization and a continuous density distribution of interface states and their relaxation time at metal/semiconductor interface. While the values of the ε ′ decrease with increasing frequencies, tan δ,M′ and M″ increase with the increasing frequency. Also, the dielectric loss (ε″) have a local maximum at about frequency of 100 kHz. It can be concluded that the interface polarization can occur more easily at low frequencies with the number of interface states located at the metal/semiconductor interface. © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health: An international study

Background The COVID-19 pandemic triggered vast governmental lockdowns. The impact of these lockdowns on mental health is inadequately understood. On the one hand such drastic changes in daily routines could be detrimental to mental health. On the other hand, it might not be experienced negatively, especially because the entire population was affected. Methods The aim of this study was to determine mental health outcomes during pandemic induced lockdowns and to examine known predictors of mental health outcomes. We therefore surveyed n = 9,565 people from 78 countries and 18 languages. Outcomes assessed were stress, depression, affect, and wellbeing. Predictors included country, sociodemographic factors, lockdown characteristics, social factors, and psychological factors. Results Results indicated that on average about 10% of the sample was languishing from low levels of mental health and about 50% had only moderate mental health. Importantly, three consistent predictors of mental health emerged: social support, education level, and psychologically flexible (vs. rigid) responding. Poorer outcomes were most strongly predicted by a worsening of finances and not having access to basic supplies. Conclusions These results suggest that on whole, respondents were moderately mentally healthy at the time of a population-wide lockdown. The highest level of mental health difficulties were found in approximately 10% of the population. Findings suggest that public health initiatives should target people without social support and those whose finances worsen as a result of the lockdown. Interventions that promote psychological flexibility may mitigate the impact of the pandemic

To Help or Not to Help? Prosocial Behavior, Its Association With Well-Being, and Predictors of Prosocial Behavior During the Coronavirus Disease Pandemic

Funding Information: This work was supported by grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation awarded to ATG (PP00P1_ 163716/1 and PP00P1_190082). The funder provided support in the form of salaries for authors (EH and ATG) but did not have any additional role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: Copyright © 2022 Haller, Lubenko, Presti, Squatrito, Constantinou, Nicolaou, Papacostas, Aydın, Chong, Chien, Cheng, Ruiz, García-Martín, Obando-Posada, Segura-Vargas, Vasiliou, McHugh, Höfer, Baban, Dias Neto, da Silva, Monestès, Alvarez-Galvez, Paez-Blarrina, Montesinos, Valdivia-Salas, Ori, Kleszcz, Lappalainen, Ivanović, Gosar, Dionne, Merwin, Karekla, Kassianos and Gloster.The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic fundamentally disrupted humans’ social life and behavior. Public health measures may have inadvertently impacted how people care for each other. This study investigated prosocial behavior, its association well-being, and predictors of prosocial behavior during the first COVID-19 pandemic lockdown and sought to understand whether region-specific differences exist. Participants (N = 9,496) from eight regions clustering multiple countries around the world responded to a cross-sectional online-survey investigating the psychological consequences of the first upsurge of lockdowns in spring 2020. Prosocial behavior was reported to occur frequently. Multiple regression analyses showed that prosocial behavior was associated with better well-being consistently across regions. With regard to predictors of prosocial behavior, high levels of perceived social support were most strongly associated with prosocial behavior, followed by high levels of perceived stress, positive affect and psychological flexibility. Sociodemographic and psychosocial predictors of prosocial behavior were similar across regions.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Integrated analysis of environmental and genetic influences on cord blood DNA methylation in new-borns

Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation (DNAm), are among the mechanisms allowing integration of genetic and environmental factors to shape cellular function. While many studies have investigated either environmental or genetic contributions to DNAm, few have assessed their integrated effects. Here we examine the relative contributions of prenatal environmental factors and genotype on DNA methylation in neonatal blood at variably methylated regions (VMRs) in 4 independent cohorts (overall n = 2365). We use Akaike’s information criterion to test which factors best explain variability of methylation in the cohort-specific VMRs: several prenatal environmental factors (E), genotypes in cis (G), or their additive (G + E) or interaction (GxE) effects. Genetic and environmental factors in combination best explain DNAm at the majority of VMRs. The CpGs best explained by either G, G + E or GxE are functionally distinct. The enrichment of genetic variants from GxE models in GWAS for complex disorders supports their importance for disease risk

Integrated analysis of environmental and genetic influences on cord blood DNA methylation in new-borns

Epigenetic processes, including DNA methylation (DNAm), are among the mechanisms allowing integration of genetic and environmental factors to shape cellular function. While many studies have investigated either environmental or genetic contributions to DNAm, few have assessed their integrated effects. Here we examine the relative contributions of prenatal environmental factors and genotype on DNA methylation in neonatal blood at variably methylated regions (VMRs) in 4 independent cohorts (overall n = 2365). We use Akaike's information criterion to test which factors best explain variability of methylation in the cohort-specific VMRs: several prenatal environmental factors (E), genotypes in cis (G), or their additive (G + E) or interaction (GxE) effects. Genetic and environmental factors in combination best explain DNAm at the majority of VMRs. The CpGs best explained by either G, G + E or GxE are functionally distinct. The enrichment of genetic variants from GxE models in GWAS for complex disorders supports their importance for disease risk.Peer reviewe

Nave Barrier Arrangements and Flank Elements of Panel Implementation at the Olympos Episcopal Church

The Olympos Episcopal Church is the most monumental building within the episkopeion (Episcopal palace) complex located in the north side of the city (Fig. 1). To its south is a reliquary chapel with a trikonchos plan, whereas to its north is a three-nave baptistery. Lacking an atrium, the entrance of the church is from the south side of the narthex near the entrance of the episkopeion. Featuring an abbreviated version of the cross transept plan, the church has three naves. The side naves open to the corner rooms with doors located on the east wall of the church. The corner rooms are connected by the corridor behind the apse. Access to the corridor running along the south side of the church is provided by the door in the south part of the southern corner room. This corridor reaches the entrance section that also provides access to the narthex at the west orientation.Excavations have revealed that different architectural arrangements have been applied in the nave divisions. While a 1.35 m-high barrier whose purpose was only to obstruct the passage had been created in the northern arm of the transept, a higher type of barrier (height 1.95 m) obstructing both the view and the passage was used in the western part of the nave (Figs. 2-3, 8). When taken as a whole with the doors to the left of the naves, it appears that the western part of the nave was designated for the catechumens, whereas the eastern part was reserved for the Christians who had completed the baptismal ceremony.Excavations conducted at the church identified panels, panel bases, and upper elements of panels used in the high nave barriers have been identified. Apart from these, the excavations have also yielded parts previously unidentified in the literature, which we have designated as "flank elements of panels" (Figs. 6 and 7). It is evident that the flank element pieces were designed along with the panel bases and the upper elements in terms of size, cross-section, motif, and composition. Hence, the panels are framed on all four sides by trapezoidal elements. The most distinctive feature distinguishing the flank elements of panels from the others is that their broad surfaces feature a concave profile in line with the body of the columns.Architectural elements and small finds allow us to date the construction of the church to the second half of 5th century A.D. When the high nave barrier design featuring flank elements of panels is considered in relation with the planimetric structure, it becomes possible to say that this arrangement was present in the initial construction of the building.Walls between the columns of stylobates and flank elements of panel applications at the Olympos Episcopal Church have facilitated the use of panels in nave divisions without leaving any marks on the column bases or panels. This particular implementation suggests that assessments on nave divisions at churches based solely on the marks found on column bases and panels may fall short and that churches with nave divisions may be increase in number