The Effect of Tooth Presence on Identification of Tooth Socket Lamina Dura Surface: A CBCT Study

Aim: The accuracy in identifying anatomical landmarks on CBCT images can be affected by the presence of surrounding anatomical structures with similar radiodensity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the presence of tooth structure on the accuracy in identifying the lamina dura surface, facial bone surface, facial and lingual bone margins, socket apex, as well as in facial bone thickness measurement. Materials & Methods: Three fresh cadaver heads were scanned using a NewTom 5G CBCT at 0.100 mm voxel size at three time-points: before extraction (T1), after extraction and reinsertion (T2), and after tooth removal (T3). Only single rooted teeth were extracted in a minimally traumatic fashion. The volumes were superimposed (Invivo 5.2) in pairs (T1-T2, T1-T3, T2-T3) and mid-sagittal images of each socket were produced. The lamina dura and facial bone surfaces were plotted at 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 mm apical to the CEJ. In addition, the facial and lingual bone margins, and the socket apex were plotted. The point coordinates were recorded and the facial bone thickness calculated. The discrepancies of all parameters between time-points were compared using Wilcoxon Signed Rank test (α = 0.05). Results: Although there were statistically significant differences (p \u3c 0.05) in time-point discrepancy in 5 of 21 parameters evaluated, the measured discrepancies were low and likely clinically inconsequential. Conclusions: At 0.100 mm voxel size, the ability to accurately identify socket lamina dura, and measure the facial bone thickness on CBCT images does not seem to be clinically affected by the presence of tooth structure, nor by the minimally traumatic extraction procedure

CU4Health: Clemson University\u27s Employee Wellness Program

The nurse-managed Joseph F. Sullivan Center of Clemson University operates an incentive based employee wellness program called CU4Health. In order to determine the effectiveness of the program, researchers from Clemson University’s School of Nursing analyzed the return on investment from the program, defined by the improvement of participants’ health, which was scored by eight biomarkers. This research displays evidence that participation in Clemson University’s employee wellness program is associated with overall healthier biomarkers, therefore supporting the implementation and continuance of the CU4Health

Human gastrin- releasing peptide receptor expression in women with uterine cervix cancer

Introduction212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 is a pharmaceutical radioimmunoconjugate consisiting of an α-particle-emitting radionuclide lead-212 (212Pb), a metal chelator DOTAM (1,4,7,10-tetrakis(carbamoylmethyl)-1,4,7,10-tetraazacyclododecane), and a gastrin-releasing peptide receptor (GRPR)-targeted antagonist currently being evaluated as therapy in uterine cervix and other cancer types. Previous studies have revealed that a variable proportion of uterine cervix cancer tumors overexpress the radiopharmaceutical target GRPR when assessed by cell proportion and staining intensity immunoreactive scores (IRS). Tumor response to 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 strongly associates with GRPR overexpression, and therefore, it seems reasonable to assess uterine cervix cancer GRPR immunoreactivity for greater insight into the feasibility of using 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 as a radiopharmaceutical treatment.MethodsWe examined a series of 33 uterine cervix cancer paraffin-embedded tumors in order to establish whether this tumor type overexpresses GRPR at an IRS score of 6 or higher, as 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 is currently being evaluated in clinical trials against tumors showing such a level of expression.ResultsThe results show that five of five (100%) primary adenocarcinomas and 10 of 16 (63%) primary squamous cell tumors overexpress GRPR at an IRS score of 6 or higher.DiscussionThe frequency of overexpression in this study suggests that 212Pb-DOTAM-GRPR1 radiopharmaceutical treatment may be useful in the management of persistent, recurrent, or metastatic uterine cervix cancer patients. A phase I clinical trial involving patients with metastatic uterine cervix cancer is currently underway (NCT05283330)

A Genetic Screen for Anchorage-Independent Proliferation in Mammalian Cells Identifies a Membrane-Bound Neuregulin

Anchorage-independent proliferation is a hallmark of oncogenic transformation and is thought to be conducive to proliferation of cancer cells away from their site of origin. We have previously reported that primary Schwann cells expressing the SV40 Large T antigen (LT) are not fully transformed in that they maintain a strict requirement for attachment, requiring a further genetic change, such as oncogenic Ras, to gain anchorage-independence. Using the LT-expressing cells, we performed a genetic screen for anchorage-independent proliferation and identified Sensory and Motor Neuron Derived Factor (SMDF), a transmembrane class III isoform of Neuregulin 1. In contrast to oncogenic Ras, SMDF induced enhanced proliferation in normal primary Schwann cells but did not trigger cellular senescence. In cooperation with LT, SMDF drove anchorage-independent proliferation, loss of contact inhibition and tumourigenicity. This transforming ability was shared with membrane-bound class III but not secreted class I isoforms of Neuregulin, indicating a distinct mechanism of action. Importantly, we show that despite being membrane-bound signalling molecules, class III neuregulins transform via a cell intrinsic mechanism, as a result of constitutive, elevated levels of ErbB signalling at high cell density and in anchorage-free conditions. This novel transforming mechanism may provide new targets for cancer therapy

Academic dishonesty among Italian nursing students: A longitudinal study

Considering the ethical issues related to nursing and that Ethics is an integral part of the nursing education in the degree course, one would suppose that academic dishonesty might be less frequent in nursing students than in students of other disciplines. However, several studies show that this trend of deceitful behaviour seems to be similar among the university nursing students and those of other disciplines. The aim of this study is to investigate the phenomenon of academic dishonesty in the classroom from a longitudinal perspective within a cohort of Italian nursing students. A non-experimental longitudinal design was used. All nursing students were recruited from the Nursing Science Bachelor Degree Program of a big Italian university in the centre of Italy and participants were part of an ongoing longitudinal research project which started in 2011 on nursing students' wellbeing. The results show that students get accustomed to taking academically deceitful actions. They come to consider their behaviours acceptable and normal, thereby stabilizing them, which increases the probability of stabilizing subsequent deceitful behaviours. The stability through time of academic cheating behaviours committed during higher education, within the study's timeframe, provides important perspectives into the establishment of rigorous standards of ethical and moral behaviours by the student