Sex and Age Differences in Bone Density in the Palatal Region, Analyzed using CT Scans to Aid in Oral Mini-Implant Success

Mini-implants are titanium alloy rods implanted in the bone of the hard palate to help secure dental prostheses like dentures, fixed crowns, and bridge installations. Recent research suggests pre-surgical determination of bone density quality provides increased mini-implant surgical success rates. In replication of these methods (Moon et al.), we evaluated 19 living individual CT scans from Saint Mary’s Hospital, using Osirix 8.5 imaging software. Bone density was recorded at 90 separate coordinates using Hounsfield units, measured at three millimeter intervals (mediolaterally and anteroposteriorly starting at the incisive foramen.) The data was then analyzed for age differences and average bone density throughout different regions of the hard palate. Sex differences were closely investigated in this study because prior research has indicated that women may have a higher palatal bone density than men

Estudio de la dieta del guanaco durante el invierno en el ecotono fueguino

Introducción: El guanaco (Lama guanicoe) es un herbívoro generalista y el mayor de los camélidos distribuido en el continente sudamericano (Franklin et al., 1997). Presenta diferentes adaptaciones anatómicas y fisiológicas que le permiten soportar condiciones extremas y adaptarse a una gran variedad de hábitat con marcadas diferencias. Actualmente, en el ecotono fueguino se plantea la necesidad de conocer como el guanaco utiliza los recursos naturales y su impacto sobre las a actividades ganaderas y forestales. El objetivo de este trabajo es evaluar el uso de los recursos de ítems alimentarios por parte del guanaco, teniendo en cuenta la presencia/ausencia del ganado doméstico, a fin de brindar una herramienta para evaluar proyectos de manejo y conservación de recursos.Resultados y Discusión Figura 1. Comparación de los ítems vegetales identificados en las heces de guanaco. Se presentan los porcentajes promedios (%) y sus DE. Barras negras EBA. Barras blancas ELC. En ambos sitios, el grupo principal consumido fue el de las gramíneas. Si bien la composición florística de las estancias fue similar, se encontraron diferencias en la frecuencia de ingesta. En ELC los microrestos encontrados incluyen menos especies vegetales que en EBA, encontrándose diferencias significativas en las frecuencias de Deschampsia sp. (EBA: 7%; ELC: 25%; p< 0,05), Carex sp. (EBA: 8%; ELC: 3.5%, p< 0,05), Acaena sp. (EBA: 26%; ELC: 18%, p< 0,05) y Cerastium sp. (EBA: 6,3%; ELC: 1,7%, p< 0,05) (Fig.1). Considerando que en condiciones invernales, disminuye la oferta y calidad de las especies vegetales, observamos que el guanaco en presencia del ganado doméstico (oveja) modifica su dieta, incorporando otras especies, principalmente de gramíneas y otras dicotiledóneas herbáceas, en muy bajas frecuencias (Fig.1). Si bien estos resultados son preliminares y no se han realizado estudios de dietas invernales en la zona, la tendencia de ampliar los ítems alimentarios en presencia de otros herbívoros coincide con trabajos previos realizados en el ecotono fueguino (Fernández Pepi et al., 2018 b).Conclusiones: Estos resultados aportan datos novedosos sobre la dieta del guanaco durante el invierno en el ecotono fueguino, teniendo en cuenta la presencia/ausencia del ganado doméstico. Falta ampliar el número de muestras y sitios de muestreo, como así también analizar la dieta de los herbívoros domésticos, para evaluar el posible solapamiento trófico.Fil: Fernández Pepi, María Gabriela. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Vanni, P.. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Agronomía. Departamento de Producción Animal; ArgentinaFil: Flores, Celina Eliana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Moretto, Alicia Susana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Escobar, Julio Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina42º Congreso Argentino de Producción AnimalBahioa BlancaArgentinaAsociacion Argentina de Producción Anima

Mice Deficient in T-bet Form Inducible NO Synthase-Positive Granulomas That Fail to Constrain Salmonella.

Clearance of intracellular infections caused by Salmonella Typhimurium (STm) requires IFN-γ and the Th1-associated transcription factor T-bet. Nevertheless, whereas IFN-γ-/- mice succumb rapidly to STm infections, T-bet-/- mice do not. In this study, we assess the anatomy of immune responses and the relationship with bacterial localization in the spleens and livers of STm-infected IFN-γ-/- and T-bet-/- mice. In IFN-γ-/- mice, there is deficient granuloma formation and inducible NO synthase (iNOS) induction, increased dissemination of bacteria throughout the organs, and rapid death. The provision of a source of IFN-γ reverses this, coincident with subsequent granuloma formation and substantially extends survival when compared with mice deficient in all sources of IFN-γ. T-bet-/- mice induce significant levels of IFN-γ- after challenge. Moreover, T-bet-/- mice have augmented IL-17 and neutrophil numbers, and neutralizing IL-17 reduces the neutrophilia but does not affect numbers of bacteria detected. Surprisingly, T-bet-/- mice exhibit surprisingly wild-type-like immune cell organization postinfection, including extensive iNOS+ granuloma formation. In wild-type mice, most bacteria are within iNOS+ granulomas, but in T-bet-/- mice, most bacteria are outside these sites. Therefore, Th1 cells act to restrict bacteria within IFN-γ-dependent iNOS+ granulomas and prevent dissemination

Low NKp30, NKp46 and NKG2D expression and reduced cytotoxic activity on NK cells in cervical cancer and precursor lesions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Persistent high risk HPV infection can lead to cervical cancer, the second most common malignant tumor in women worldwide. NK cells play a crucial role against tumors and virus-infected cells through a fine balance between activating and inhibitory receptors. Expression of triggering receptors NKp30, NKp44, NKp46 and NKG2D on NK cells correlates with cytolytic activity against tumor cells, but these receptors have not been studied in cervical cancer and precursor lesions. The aim of the present work was to study NKp30, NKp46, NKG2D, NKp80 and 2B4 expression in NK cells from patients with cervical cancer and precursor lesions, in the context of HPV infection.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>NKp30, NKp46, NKG2D, NKp80 and 2B4 expression was analyzed by flow cytometry on NK cells from 59 patients with cervical cancer and squamous intraepithelial lesions. NK cell cytotoxicity was evaluated in a 4 hour CFSE/7-AAD flow cytometry assay. HPV types were identified by PCR assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We report here for the first time that NK cell-activating receptors NKp30 and NKp46 are significantly down-regulated in cervical cancer and high grade squamous intraepithelial lesion (HGSIL) patients. NCRs down-regulation correlated with low cytolytic activity, HPV-16 infection and clinical stage. NKG2D was also down-regulated in cervical cancer patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results suggest that NKp30, NKp46 and NKG2D down-regulation represent an evasion mechanism associated to low NK cell activity, HPV-16 infection and cervical cancer progression.</p

Augmented serum level of major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A (MICA) protein and reduced NKG2D expression on NK and T cells in patients with cervical cancer and precursor lesions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Cervical cancer is the second most common cancer in women worldwide. NK and cytotoxic T cells play an important role in the elimination of virus-infected and tumor cells through NKG2D activating receptors, which can promote the lysis of target cells by binding to the major histocompatibility complex class I-related chain A (MICA) proteins. Increased serum levels of MICA have been found in patients with epithelial tumors. The aim of this study was to compare the levels of soluble MICA (sMICA) and NKG2D-expressing NK and T cells in blood samples from patients with cervical cancer or precursor lesions with those from healthy donors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Peripheral blood with or without heparin was collected to obtain mononuclear cells or sera, respectively. Serum sMICA levels were measured by ELISA and NKG2D-expressing immune cells were analyzed by flow cytometry. Also, a correlation analysis was performed to associate sMICA levels with either NKG2D expression or with the stage of the lesion.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Significant amounts of sMICA were detected in sera from nearly all patients. We found a decrease in the number of NKG2D-expressing NK and T cells in both cervical cancer and lesion groups when compared to healthy donors. Pearson analysis showed a negative correlation between sMICA and NKG2D-expressing T cells; however, we did not find a significant correlation when the analysis was applied to sMICA and NKG2D expression on NK cells.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our results show for the first time that high sMICA levels are found in sera from patients with both cervical cancer and precursor lesions when compared with healthy donors. We also observed a diminution in the number of NKG2D-expressing NK and T cells in the patient samples; however, a significant negative correlation between sMICA and NKG2D expression was only seen in T cells.</p

Latin American Consensus: Children Born Small for Gestational Age

72-87Cuatrimestra

Minimal information for studies of extracellular vesicles 2018 (MISEV2018):a position statement of the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and update of the MISEV2014 guidelines

The last decade has seen a sharp increase in the number of scientific publications describing physiological and pathological functions of extracellular vesicles (EVs), a collective term covering various subtypes of cell-released, membranous structures, called exosomes, microvesicles, microparticles, ectosomes, oncosomes, apoptotic bodies, and many other names. However, specific issues arise when working with these entities, whose size and amount often make them difficult to obtain as relatively pure preparations, and to characterize properly. The International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) proposed Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles (“MISEV”) guidelines for the field in 2014. We now update these “MISEV2014” guidelines based on evolution of the collective knowledge in the last four years. An important point to consider is that ascribing a specific function to EVs in general, or to subtypes of EVs, requires reporting of specific information beyond mere description of function in a crude, potentially contaminated, and heterogeneous preparation. For example, claims that exosomes are endowed with exquisite and specific activities remain difficult to support experimentally, given our still limited knowledge of their specific molecular machineries of biogenesis and release, as compared with other biophysically similar EVs. The MISEV2018 guidelines include tables and outlines of suggested protocols and steps to follow to document specific EV-associated functional activities. Finally, a checklist is provided with summaries of key points

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Optimasi Portofolio Resiko Menggunakan Model Markowitz MVO Dikaitkan dengan Keterbatasan Manusia dalam Memprediksi Masa Depan dalam Perspektif Al-Qur`an

Risk portfolio on modern finance has become increasingly technical, requiring the use of sophisticated mathematical tools in both research and practice. Since companies cannot insure themselves completely against risk, as human incompetence in predicting the future precisely that written in Al-Quran surah Luqman verse 34, they have to manage it to yield an optimal portfolio. The objective here is to minimize the variance among all portfolios, or alternatively, to maximize expected return among all portfolios that has at least a certain expected return. Furthermore, this study focuses on optimizing risk portfolio so called Markowitz MVO (Mean-Variance Optimization). Some theoretical frameworks for analysis are arithmetic mean, geometric mean, variance, covariance, linear programming, and quadratic programming. Moreover, finding a minimum variance portfolio produces a convex quadratic programming, that is minimizing the objective function ðð¥with constraintsð ð 𥠥 ðandð´ð¥ = ð. The outcome of this research is the solution of optimal risk portofolio in some investments that could be finished smoothly using MATLAB R2007b software together with its graphic analysis