Dynamic Effects of Food Consistency on Chewing Motions

The purpose of the study was to find evidence of how different types of food consistency affect chewing motions, especially the forward, downward and sidewise extents of motion of the lower jaw. Nineteen individuals with intact tooth sequence, aged from 20 to 37 years, were asked to chew three types of food of different consistency (banana, bread, carrot). The motions of the lower jaw were recorded by ELITE system, i.e. the measurement instrument that by stereo-photo-grametric procedures calculates space co-ordinates of markers on faces of the study subjects. The system enables continuous recording of lower jaw motions in three dimensions, without any possibility of the study subjects’ influencing the operation of the instrument, which significantly decreases the possibility of error. Study results have shown that in all 19 subjects a greater food consistency increases the extent of chewing motion. In each individual study subject different average values were found for equal shifts of lower jaw when chewing the same type of food. Although varying from subject to subject, the chewing cycle depends to a great extent on food consistency. By increasing the consistency of a bite, the extent of lower jaw motion has increased in every single study subject

The Role of Parvalbumin-positive Interneurons in Auditory Steady-State Response Deficits in Schizophrenia

© The Author(s) 2019. This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Despite an increasing body of evidence demonstrating subcellular alterations in parvalbumin-positive (PV+) interneurons in schizophrenia, their functional consequences remain elusive. Since PV+ interneurons are involved in the generation of fast cortical rhythms, these changes have been hypothesized to contribute to well-established alterations of beta and gamma range oscillations in patients suffering from schizophrenia. However, the precise role of these alterations and the role of different subtypes of PV+ interneurons is still unclear. Here we used a computational model of auditory steady-state response (ASSR) deficits in schizophrenia. We investigated the differential effects of decelerated synaptic dynamics, caused by subcellular alterations at two subtypes of PV+ interneurons: basket cells and chandelier cells. Our simulations suggest that subcellular alterations at basket cell synapses rather than chandelier cell synapses are the main contributor to these deficits. Particularly, basket cells might serve as target for innovative therapeutic interventions aiming at reversing the oscillatory deficits.Peer reviewe

PURA syndrome : clinical delineation and genotype-phenotype study in 32 individuals with review of published literature

Background De novo mutations in PURA have recently been described to cause PURA syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterised by severe intellectual disability (ID), epilepsy, feeding difficulties and neonatal hypotonia. Objectives T o delineate the clinical spectrum of PURA syndrome and study genotype-phenotype correlations. Methods Diagnostic or research-based exome or Sanger sequencing was performed in individuals with ID. We systematically collected clinical and mutation data on newly ascertained PURA syndrome individuals, evaluated data of previously reported individuals and performed a computational analysis of photographs. We classified mutations based on predicted effect using 3D in silico models of crystal structures of Drosophila-derived Pur-alpha homologues. Finally, we explored genotypephenotype correlations by analysis of both recurrent mutations as well as mutation classes. Results We report mutations in PURA (purine-rich element binding protein A) in 32 individuals, the largest cohort described so far. Evaluation of clinical data, including 22 previously published cases, revealed that all have moderate to severe ID and neonatal-onset symptoms, including hypotonia (96%), respiratory problems (57%), feeding difficulties (77%), exaggerated startle response (44%), hypersomnolence (66%) and hypothermia (35%). Epilepsy (54%) and gastrointestinal (69%), ophthalmological (51%) and endocrine problems (42%) were observed frequently. Computational analysis of facial photographs showed subtle facial dysmorphism. No strong genotype-phenotype correlation was identified by subgrouping mutations into functional classes. Conclusion We delineate the clinical spectrum of PURA syndrome with the identification of 32 additional individuals. The identification of one individual through targeted Sanger sequencing points towards the clinical recognisability of the syndrome. Genotype-phenotype analysis showed no significant correlation between mutation classes and disease severity.Peer reviewe

Relationship Between Osteonecrosis of the Jaw and Bisphosphonate Treatment

Terapija bisfosfonatima i njezina etiopatogenetska povezanost s aseptičkom osteonekrozom čeljusti važan je javnozdravstveni problem današnjice. Svrha je rada pregledom suvremene znanstvene literature utvrditi posljedice višestrukog djelovanja bisfosfonata (antiosteoklastična aktivnost, citotoksičnost na meka i koštana tkiva, antiangiogeneza, genski čimbenici, poremećena ravnoteža između osteoklasta i osteoblasta). Terapija bisfosfonatima jedan je od najčešćih uzroka razvoja osteonekroze čeljusti. Epidemiološki podaci pokazuju da se javlja u bolesnika koji su uzimali jedan ili kombinanciju nitrogenih bisfosfonata. Najvažniji čimbenici rizika za ovu nuspojavu su vrsta bisfosfonata (napose visokopotentni pamidronat i zoledronat koji se daju intravenski), njihova doza i duljina medikacije te vrsta bolesti zbog koje se propisuje terapija. Pojava osteonekroze čeljusti zabilježena je uglavnom u onkoloških bolesnika i u samo 5 % bolesnika s osteoporozom koji su liječeni bisfosfonatima. U patogenezi osteonekroze povezane s bisfosfonatima važno je, sa stajališta dentalnomedicinske prakse, dobro opće oralno zdravlje jer se osteonekroza javlja napose nakon prethodnoga parodontološkog i oralnokirurškog zahvata.Bisphosphonate treatment and its aetiopathogenic association with aseptic osteonecrosis of the jaw is one of the more prominent public health issues today. The aim of this review is to see into the mechanisms of bisphosphonate effects on bones described in literature (anti-osteoclastic activity, cytotoxicity, antiangiogenesis, genetic factors, and imbalance between osteoclasts and osteoblasts). Bisphosphonate treatment is the dominant cause of jaw necrosis. Epidemiological data show an exclusive incidence of osteonecrosis of the jaw in patients who took one or a combination of nitrogen-containing bisphosphonates. Risk factors vary by the bisphosphonate potency (particularly risky are the highly potent pamidronate and zoledronate, which are given intravenously), dosage, duration of treatment, and the illness. Jaw necrosis is most common in oncology patients, and only 5 % in patients with osteoporosis. From a dental-medical point of view, a good oral health is important because osteonecrosis often appears after a periodontal or oral surgical procedure

Oral Health of Croatian Army Recruits

Uporabom DMFT (KEP indeks) i FST (zbroj zdravih zuba i zuba liječenih ispunom) indeksa prikazano je oralno zdravlje i oralne zdravstvene navike novaka Hrvatske vojske. Klinički je godine 2001. pregledano i o zdravstvenim navikama ispitano 505 19-godišnjih novaka iz vojarne u Koprivnici. Oralni status zuba (osim umnjaka) opisan je DMFT indeksom (decayed, filled, and missing teeth) i uspoređen s FS-T indeksom (filled and sound teeth). Utvrđen je broj pranja zuba u danu te razlog i broj posjeta novaka stomatologu tijekom godine. Ispitana je ovisnost rezultata o specifičnosti gradske i seoske socijalne zajednice. Izračunan je stupanj saniranosti zubi novaka izrazom FT x 100/DFT. Istraživanje je pokazalo prosječni DMFT indeks 7,32 (DT: 3,15, MT: 1,29 i FT: 2,88). Prosječna vrijednost FST indeksa iznosi 23,56, a saniranost zuba 47,8 %. Utvrđena je statistički znatna razlika prema prebivalištu kod DT, MT, FT i FST indeksa. Ispitanici iz seoskih sredina imaju više zuba zahvaćenih karijesom, a ispitanici iz gradskih sredina imaju veću saniranost zuba (66 %). Ispitanici koji tri ili više puta na dan peru zube te redovito posjećuju stomatologa imaju znatno više vrijednosti FT i FST indeksa. Bolje je zdravstveno stanje zuba ispitanika gradskih sredina (više vrijednosti FT indeksa te sporija kumulativna distribucija i statistička znatnost FST indeksa). Nema statistički znatne razlike u vrijednosti DMFT indeksa u usporedbi s ispitanicima seoskih sredina. U novaka Hrvatske vojske utvrđene su visoke vrijednosti DMFT indeksa. FST indeks prikladnije je od DMFT indeksa primjenjivati u populacijama s višim stupnjem zahvaćenosti zuba karijesom. Provedeno istraživanje pomaže da se utvrdi zdravlje zuba novaka Hrvatske vojske i pridonosi osmišljavanju optimalnih prevencijskih programa.DMFT index and FST index were used to determine the oral health and oral health care habits of Croatian Army recruits. In 2001 505 19- year-old recruits in the barracks in Koprivnica were clinically examined and asked about their health care habits. Oral status of all teeth (except wisdom teeth) was described by DMFT index (decayed, filled, and missing teeth) and compared withFST index (filled and sound teeth). The number of tooth brushing per day and the reason and number of visits to the dentist each year were determined. The dependence of results in the specific urban and rural community was tested. The level of teeth sanation of the recruits was calculated by the formula FT x 100/DFT. The study showed average DMFT index 7.32 (DT: 3.15, MT: 1.29 and FT: 2.88). The average value of FST index was 23.56 and teeth sanation 47.8 %. Statistically significant difference according to domicile in DT, MT, FT and FST index was determined. Subjects from the rural environment had more teeth affected by caries, and those from urban environment had better teeth sanation (66 %). Subjects who brushed their teeth three or more times per day and who regularly visited the dentist had significantlly higher values of FT and FST index. Health condition of subjects from urban environment, was better (higher values of FT index and slower cumulative distribution and statistical significance of FST index). There was no statistically significant difference in values of DMFT index in relation to subjects from rural environment. High values of DMFT index were determined in Croatian Army recruits. FST index is more adequate than DMFT index for application in a population with a higher level of dental caries. The conducted research contributes to determination of the dental health of Croatian Army recruits as well as to the organisation of optimal preventive programs