Regenerative endodontic therapy (RET) for managing immature non-vital teeth: a national survey of UK paediatric dental specialists and trainees

Background: Several guidelines have been published advocating the use of regenerative endodontic therapy (RET) in managing non-vital immature permanent teeth. It is unclear, however, how many UK paediatric dental specialists routinely use this technique and their opinion of its outcomes, and barriers to its use. Aim: To assess the knowledge, experience and the opinion of UK based paediatric dental specialists/trainees (UKPDS/T) and practitioners working in the capacity of paediatric dental specialists on the use of RET. Design: A cross-sectional study using a 22-item questionnaire was developed using the Bristol Online Survey tool and circulated electronically to members of the British Society of Paediatric Dentistry between August and November 2016. Results: Ninety-eight UKPDS/T completed the survey. A quarter of respondents (N = 24, 24.5%) reported using RET. Reasons cited for not using RET included lack of: training (N = 48, 45%), materials (N = 28, 26%), evidence (N = 17, 16%) and suitable cases (N = 6, 6%). Different protocols in terms of disinfection, medicaments, scaffolds, and obturation material were identified. Conclusions: This survey highlights a low uptake of RET by current UKPDS and trainees with several barriers identified. Deviations from the current RET guidelines were identified. Recommendations addressing the use of RET in light of the findings of this survey were made

BfpI, BfpJ, and BfpK Minor Pilins Are Important for the Function and Biogenesis of Bundle-Forming Pili Expressed by Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli

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Guiding microscale swimmers using teardrop-shaped posts.

The swimming direction of biological or artificial microscale swimmers tends to be randomised over long time-scales by thermal fluctuations. Bacteria use various strategies to bias swimming behaviour and achieve directed motion against a flow, maintain alignment with gravity or travel up a chemical gradient. Herein, we explore a purely geometric means of biasing the motion of artificial nanorod swimmers. These artificial swimmers are bimetallic rods, powered by a chemical fuel, which swim on a substrate printed with teardrop-shaped posts. The artificial swimmers are hydrodynamically attracted to the posts, swimming alongside the post perimeter for long times before leaving. The rods experience a higher rate of departure from the higher curvature end of the teardrop shape, thereby introducing a bias into their motion. This bias increases with swimming speed and can be translated into a macroscopic directional motion over long times by using arrays of teardrop-shaped posts aligned along a single direction. This method provides a protocol for concentrating swimmers, sorting swimmers according to different speeds, and could enable artificial swimmers to transport cargo to desired locations

Review of multi-scale electromagnetic modeling

This paper reviews various methods to solve multiscale problems ranging from low-frequency methods to very high-frequency methods. ©2010 IEEE.published_or_final_versionThe 2010 International Conference on Electromagnetics in Advanced Applications (ICEAA), Sydney, N.S.W., 20-24 September 2010. In Proceedings of ICEAA'10, 2010, p. 641-64

Intermediate‐Depth Earthquakes Controlled by Incoming Plate Hydration Along Bending‐Related Faults

Intermediate‐depth earthquakes (focal depths 70–300 km) are enigmatic with respect to their nucleation and rupture mechanism and the properties controlling their spatial distribution. Several recent studies have shown a link between intermediate‐depth earthquakes and the thermal‐petrological path of subducting slabs in relation to the stability field of hydrous minerals. Here we investigate whether the structural characteristics of incoming plates can be correlated with the intermediate‐depth seismicity rate. We quantify the structural characteristics of 17 incoming plates by estimating the maximum fault throw of bending‐related faults. Maximum fault throw exhibits a statistically significant correlation with the seismicity rate. We suggest that the correlation between fault throw and intermediate‐depth seismicity rate indicates the role of hydration of the incoming plate, with larger faults reflecting increased damage, greater fluid circulation, and thus more extensive slab hydration

A one-year cost–utility analysis of REBOA versus RTACC for non-compressible torso haemorrhage

Introduction: Major trauma is a leading cause of death and disability in young adults, especially from massive noncompressible torso haemorrhage. The standard technique to control distal haemorrhage and maximise central perfusion is resuscitative thoracotomy with aortic cross-clamping (RTACC). More recently, the minimally invasive technique of resuscitative endovascular balloon occlusion of the aorta (REBOA) has been developed to similarly limit distal haemorrhage without the morbidity of thoracotomy; cost–utility studies on this intervention, however, are still lacking. The aim of this study was to perform a one-year cost–utility analysis of REBOA as an intervention for patients with major traumatic non-compressible abdominal haemorrhage, compared to RTACC within the U.K.’s National Health Service. Methods: A retrospective analysis of the outcomes following REBOA and RTACC was conducted based on the published literature of survival and complication rates after intervention. Utility was obtained from studies that used the EQ5D index and from self-conducted surveys. Costs were calculated using 2016/2017 National Health Service tariff data and supplemented from further literature. A cost–utility analysis was then conducted. Results: A total of 12 studies for REBOA and 20 studies for RTACC were included. The mean injury severity scores for RTACC and REBOA were 34 and 39, and mean probability of death was 9.7 and 54%, respectively. The incremental costeffectiveness ratio of REBOA when compared to RTACC was £44,617.44 per quality-adjusted life year. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio, by exceeding the National Institute for Health and Clinical Effectiveness’s willingness-to-pay threshold of £30,000/quality-adjusted life year, suggests that this intervention is not cost-effective in comparison to RTACC. However, REBOA yielded a 157% improvement in utility with a comparatively small cost increase of 31.5%. Conclusion: Although REBOA has not been found to be cost-effective when compared to RTACC, ultimately, clinical experience and expertise should be the main factor in driving the decision over which intervention to prioritise in the emergency context

The Ergogenic Potential of Arginine

Arginine is a conditionally essential amino acid that is involved in protein synthesis, the detoxification of ammonia, and its conversion to glucose as well as being catabolized to produce energy. In addition to these physiological functions, arginine has been purported to have ergogenic potential. Athletes have taken arginine for three main reasons: 1) its role in the secretion of endogenous growth hormone; 2) its involvement in the synthesis of creatine; 3) its role in augmenting nitric oxide. These aspects of arginine supplementation will be discussed as well as a review of clinical investigations involving exercise performance and arginine ingestion

Astrocytic Ion Dynamics: Implications for Potassium Buffering and Liquid Flow

We review modeling of astrocyte ion dynamics with a specific focus on the implications of so-called spatial potassium buffering, where excess potassium in the extracellular space (ECS) is transported away to prevent pathological neural spiking. The recently introduced Kirchoff-Nernst-Planck (KNP) scheme for modeling ion dynamics in astrocytes (and brain tissue in general) is outlined and used to study such spatial buffering. We next describe how the ion dynamics of astrocytes may regulate microscopic liquid flow by osmotic effects and how such microscopic flow can be linked to whole-brain macroscopic flow. We thus include the key elements in a putative multiscale theory with astrocytes linking neural activity on a microscopic scale to macroscopic fluid flow.Comment: 27 pages, 7 figure