Correlation between dental vestibular-palatal inclination and alveolar bone remodeling after orthodontic treatment: A CBCT analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the correlation between dental vestibular-palatal inclination changes and the cortical bone remodeling after fixed orthodontic treatment using cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). Twenty-two patients with Angle Class I malocclusion, permanent dentition, and mild to moderate dental crowding were included in the present three-dimensional (3D) analysis. Bone dimensions were evaluated by CBCT scans obtained before and after orthodontic treatment, whereas the torque values were calculated by means of digital models using the 3D VistaDent software. A paired t-test was used to compare the changes between the pretreatment and post-treatment measurements. The correlations between variables were analyzed with linear regression analysis. A significant correlation between torque variations and bone thickness changes was observed for the apical buccal level of the anterior side (P < 0.05). Limited and not significant alveolar bone resorption for the apical thickness of anterior teeth occurred at \ub15 degrees of torque variation, while for tooth inclination exceeding +5 or-5 degrees, the bone remodeling was more evident. The present study demonstrated that anterior region was the most affected area by bone remodeling and that torque variation was highly related to apical bone thickness adaptation for maxillary and mandibular incisors and maxillary canines

A CBCT based analysis of the correlation between volumetric morphology of the frontal sinuses and the facial growth pattern in caucasian subjects. A cross-sectional study

open7noBackground: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between frontal sinus shape and facial growth pattern. Methods: The three-dimensional examination was carried out by means of 80 CBCT scans selected from a sample of 1247 records of patients treated, for different reason, at the Department of Biomedical Surgical and Dental Sciences at University of Milan, Fondazione IRCCS Ca’ Granda, Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico Milan. The sample (age ranges between 12 and 40 years) was divided according to gender and age in four groups (12-17, 18-20, 21-30, 31-40). Left and right frontal sinus volume (VOL), surface (SUP) and linear maximum width (XMAX), depth (ZMAX) and height (YMAX) were calculated using Mimics Research 17.0 (Materialise N.V., Leuven, Belgium). Cephalometric analysis has been performed for all subjects to categorize the patients depending on their facial growth pattern. Univariate and multivariate regression analysis were performed to investigate any association of frontal sinuses measurements (height, width, depth, volume and surface) and cephalometric variables. P value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: A total of 160 frontal sinuses were measures in 80 patients: 40 men and 40 women, average age of 23.5 ±14.6. Globally the frontal sinuses had the following average dimensions: volumes of 9055.8 ± 6505 mm3 and surfaces of 3820.3 ± 2125 mm2. The statistical analysis showed that frontal sinus volume was statistically significant (p=0.003) greater for male (11,425 mm3) than female (6597.5 mm3). Similarly, the surface showed to be greater in men than in women (p=0.005). No correlation between age and frontal sinuses characteristics has been found. A statistically significant (p<0.05) increase of frontal sinus depth, surface and volume was correlated with SNB angle. In addition, frontal sinus volume increased in subjects with greater anterior skeletal dimension values and with a superior length of the cranial base. Furthermore, a decrease of ANB has been found related to an increase in frontal sinus volume (p=0.04). Conclusions: The present study showed a correlation between frontal sinuses dimensions and craniofacial aspects, despite the inter-individual variability of their morphology. The results suggested that young adults in whom the frontal sinuses have reached their maximum size, while vertical growth continues, a larger frontal sinus may be associated with future vertical growth.openAbate A.; Gaffuri F.; Lanteri V.; Fama A.; Ugolini A.; Mannina L.; Maspero C.Abate, A.; Gaffuri, F.; Lanteri, V.; Fama, A.; Ugolini, A.; Mannina, L.; Maspero, C

Biopolymers for a more sustainable leather

Content: A novel class of bio-based polymers have been developed within the LIFE BIOPOL European project aiming to replace traditional re-tanning and fat-liquoring products reducing environmental impacts and increasing the safety of leather. The purpose of the project is to enhance the recovery and reuse of different bio-derived by-products from leather and agro-industrial sector to produce eco-friendly and renewable bio-polymers with high re-tanning and fat-liquoring characteristics. The LIFE BIOPOL project aims to make bio-based polymers in order to reduce the following parameters in re-tanning phase: - 20-30% COD, - 50-60% of inorganic salts (Sulphates and Chlorides), - 90% of Cr (III) salts, - 20% of water used in the leather process. Other important goals of the project are: - reduction 70-90% of hazardous and environmental polluting substances normally found in conventional chemicals, - reactivity enhancement of 30-40% of the new biopolymers compared to the current leather - application technology, - reduction of 70-80% of the Product Environmental Footprint of the new biopolymers related to the state of the art. The vegetal biomasses and the tanned hides by-products were pretreated in order to obtain suitable building blocks for the production of bio-based polymers. Several protocols involving polymerization were used in order to achieve the synthesis of the biopolymers, which have been carried out at lab scale. Macromolecular characterization of the biopolymers was performed in order to rationalize the synthetic strategy and practical application of the products giving important parameters such as molecular weight and chemical composition of the new biopolymers. Performances of new bio-based polymers have been inspected and compared with traditional chemicals through application on different types of leather. The benefits of the new products within leather making process were evaluated through chemical analyses of re-tanning and fat-liquoring effluents. The upgrade of the developed chemistry will be performed within a new devised prototype plant specifically designed and built-up for producing the bio-based polymers at industrial scale Take-Away: Production of leather making biopolymers from biomasses and industrial by-products through Life Cycle Designed Processe

Reduction and reconstruction of stochastic differential equations via symmetries

An algorithmic method to exploit a general class of infinitesimal symmetries for reducing stochastic differential equations is presented and a natural definition of reconstruction, inspired by the classical reconstruction by quadratures, is proposed. As a side result the well-known solution formula for linear one-dimensional stochastic differential equations is obtained within this symmetry approach. The complete procedure is applied to several examples with both theoretical and applied relevance

Polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells limit antigen crosspresentation by dendritic cells in cancer

DCs are a critical component of immune responses in cancer primarily due to their ability to cross-present tumor-associated antigens. Cross-presentation by DCs in cancer is impaired, which may represent one of the obstacles for the success of cancer immunotherapies. Here, we report that polymorphonuclear myeloid-derived suppressor cells (PMN-MDSC) blocked crosspresentation by DCs without affecting direct presentation of antigens by these cells. This effect did not require direct cell-cell contact and was associated with transfer of lipids. Neutrophils (PMN) and PMN-MDSC transferred lipid to DCs equally well; however, PMN did not affect DC cross-presentation. PMN-MDSC generate oxidatively truncated lipids previously shown to be involved in impaired cross-presentation by DCs. Accumulation of oxidized lipids in PMN-MDSC was dependent on myeloperoxidase (MPO). MPO-deficient PMN-MDSC did not affect cross-presentation by DCs. Cross-presentation of tumor-associated antigens in vivo by DCs was improved in MDSC-depleted or tumor-bearing MPO-KO mice. Pharmacological inhibition of MPO in combination with checkpoint blockade reduced tumor progression in different tumor models. These data suggest MPO-driven lipid peroxidation in PMN-MDSC as a possible non–cell autonomous mechanism of inhibition of antigen cross-presentation by DCs and propose MPO as potential therapeutic target to enhance the efficacy of current immunotherapies for patients with cancer

Erucin exhibits vasorelaxing effects and antihypertensive activity by H2 S-releasing properties.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Hydrogen sulfide (H2 S)-releasing agents are viewed as potential antihypertensive drugs. Recently, natural isothiocyanates emerged as original H2 S-donor agents. Among them, erucin, present in some edible cruciferous plants, shows suitable H2 S-releasing properties and features of "druggability." The aim of this work was to investigate the erucin-mediated release of H2 S inside vascular cells, its vasorelaxing effects, and activity on BP of normo and hypertensive animals. EXPERIMENTAL APPROACH: Intracellular H2 S-release and the hyperpolarizing effect of erucin were tested using fluorescent dye, in human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs). Its direct vasorelaxing effect and ability to inhibit noradrenaline-induced vasoconstriction were evaluated on endothelium-intact or -denuded rat aortic rings. Its vasodilator properties were tested in coronary arteries using Langendorff-perfused rat hearts. Finally, erucin's antihypertensive activity was evaluated in vivo in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) by recording systolic BP using the tail-cuff method. KEY RESULTS: Erucin induced the release of H2 S inside HASMCs. Moreover, erucin hyperpolarized the membrane of HASMCs membrane in a concentration-dependent manner. It induced vasodilatation of rat aortic rings, in endothelium-denuded vessels. This effect was further improved by the presence of endothelial NO. When pre-incubated with rat aortic rings, erucin induced concentration-dependent inhibition of noradrenaline-induced vasoconstriction. Erucin did not affect basal coronary flow but restored the flow to normal in pre-contracted coronary vessels. Finally, in vivo, erucin decreased systolic BP in SHRs by about 25%, and restored the BP to values observed in normotensive rats. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Erucin is an H2 S donor endowed with vasorelaxing and antihypertensive effects

Tumors carrying BRAF-mutations over-express NAMPT that is genetically amplified and possesses oncogenic properties

Background: Nicotinamide phosphoribosyltransferase (NAMPT), the rate-limiting enzyme in nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) biosynthesis, is up-regulated in several cancers, including metastatic melanoma (MM). The BRAF oncogene is mutated in different cancer types, among which MM and thyroid carcinoma (THCA) are prominent. Drugs targeting mutant BRAF are effective, especially in MM patients, even though resistance rapidly develops. Previous data have linked NAMPT over-expression to the acquisition of BRAF resistance, paving the way for therapeutic strategies targeting the two pathways. Methods: Exploiting the TCGA database and a collection of MM and THCA tissue microarrays we studied the association between BRAF mutations and NAMPT expression. BRAF wild-type (wt) cell lines were genetically engineered to over-express the BRAF V600E construct to demonstrate a direct relationship between over-activation of the BRAF pathway and NAMPT expression. Responses of different cell line models to NAMPT (i)nhibitors were studied using dose–response proliferation assays. Analysis of NAMPT copy number variation was performed in the TCGA dataset. Lastly, growth and colony forming assays were used to study the tumorigenic functions of NAMPT itself. Results: The first finding of this work is that tumor samples carrying BRAF-mutations over-express NAMPT, as demonstrated by analyzing the TCGA dataset, and MM and THC tissue microarrays. Importantly, BRAF wt MM and THCA cell lines modified to over-express the BRAF V600E construct up-regulated NAMPT, confirming a transcriptional regulation of NAMPT following BRAF oncogenic signaling activation. Treatment of BRAF-mutated cell lines with two different NAMPTi was followed by significant reduction of tumor growth, indicating NAMPT addiction in these cells. Lastly, we found that several tumors over-expressing the enzyme, display NAMPT gene amplification. Over-expression of NAMPT in BRAF wt MM cell line and in fibroblasts resulted in increased growth capacity, arguing in favor of oncogenic properties of NAMPT. Conclusions: Overall, the association between BRAF mutations and NAMPT expression identifies a subset of tumors more sensitive to NAMPT inhibition opening the way for novel combination therapies including NAMPTi with BRAFi/MEKi, to postpone and/or overcome drug resistance. Lastly, the over-expression of NAMPT in several tumors could be a key and broad event in tumorigenesis, substantiated by the finding of NAMPT gene amplification

Complement activation in the plasma and placentas of women with different subsets of antiphospholipid syndrome

Problem: As antiphospholipid antibody\u2010positive women with adverse pregnancy outcomes have higher plasma complement activation product levels, and the placentas of women with antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) exhibit C4d complement component deposition, complement activation involvement has been hypothesized in APS pregnancy complications. Method of study: Plasma levels of C5a and C5b\u20109 complement components of 43 APS non\u2010pregnant patients and 17 pregnant APS women were measured using enzyme\u2010 linked immunosorbent assay. The results were compared with those of 16 healthy non\u2010pregnant women and eight healthy pregnant women, respectively. Placenta samples of five APS patients at high risk of pregnancy complications and of five healthy controls were subjected to immunoblotting analysis with specific antibodies to C5b\u20109 and CD46, CD55, CD59 complement regulators. Results: The mean plasma C5a and C5b\u20109 levels were significantly higher in the nonpregnant APS patients with previous thrombosis \ub1 pregnancy morbidity (P = .0001 and P = .0034, respectively) and in the pregnant APS women with adverse outcomes (P = .0093 for both). Similarly, C5b\u20109 amounts were significantly higher in the adverse pregnancy outcome placenta (P = .0115) than in those associated to a favorable outcome. The mean CD46, CD55 and CD59 amounts were, instead, lower, although not always significantly, in the placentas of all the high\u2010risk APS women with respect to the control placentas. Conclusion: Data analysis demonstrated that there was significant complement activation in the more severe subset of APS patients and in only the adverse pregnancy outcome APS women. Further studies will clarify whether the lower CD46, CD55, and CD59 expressions in the APS placentas are limited to only high\u2010risk APS patients

Findley Lake lysimeter leachate, precipitation inflow, outflow, and throughfall data, June 1973-January 1974

Data on soil leachate at three sites and four depths, throughfall, precipitation, and lake inflow and outflow are presented in this report