<CLINICAL>Atraumatic restoration in amelogenesis imperfecta using flowable composite resin

Amelogenesis imperfecta causes defects in the tooth enamel. These defects can appear as small pits or dents in the tooth or can be so widespread as to make the entire tooth small in size and/or mis-shaped. This may result in tooth sensitivity, an unsightly appearance and/or increased susceptibility to dental caries. Here, we report a case of a patient exhibiting amelogenesis imperfecta, the treatment employed to treat the defects, and the result obtained. The affected teeth (all upper teeth) appeared white and the patient requested esthetic improvement of the appearance. We applied flowable composite resin to the hypomineralized defect. The result was dramatic improvement in tooth color of the upper incisors and first premolars. We conclude that atraumatic flowable composite resin restorations are useful in the treatment of amelogenesis imperfecta defects

Tbx2 and Tbx3 Regulate the Dynamics of Cell Proliferation during Heart Remodeling

BACKGROUND: The heart forms from a linear tube that is subject to complex remodeling during embryonic development. Hallmarks of this remodeling are the looping of the heart tube and the regionalization into chamber and non-chamber myocardium. Cardiomyocytes in the future chamber myocardium acquire different cellular and physiological characteristics through activation of a chamber-specific genetic program, which is in part mediated by T-box genes. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDING: We characterize two new zebrafish T-box transcription factors, tbx3b and tbx2a, and analyze their role during the development of the atrioventricular canal. Loss- and gain-of-function analyses demonstrate that tbx3b and tbx2a are necessary to repress the chamber-genetic program in the non-chamber myocardium. We also show that tbx3b and tbx2a are required to control cell proliferation in the atrioventricular canal and that misregulation of cell proliferation in the heart tube influences looping. Furthermore, we characterize the heart phenotype of a novel Tbx3 mutation in mice and show that both the control of cell proliferation and the repression of chamber-specific genetic program in the non-chamber myocardium are conserved roles of Tbx3 in this species. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Taken together, our results uncover an evolutionarily conserved role of Tbx2/3 transcription factors during remodeling of the heart myocardium and highlight the importance of controlling cell proliferation as a driving force of morphogenesis

Association of short term exposure to Asian dust with increased blood pressure

Air pollution causes hypertension, cardiovascular disease, and mortality. Asian dust (AD) reportedly induces asthma or acute myocardial infarction along with air pollution, but its impact on blood pressure (BP) is unknown. We investigated the association between short-term AD exposure and BP fluctuations in 300, 952 individuals whose BP was measured during April 2005–March 2015 and divided them into AD and non-AD groups based on visitation for AD-related events. AD’s occurrence, air pollutants’ concentration (suspended particulate matter, SO2, NO2, photochemical oxidants), and meteorological variables (mean ambient temperature, relative humidity) were obtained from a monitoring station; AD events correlated with decreased visibility (< 10 km). We observed 61 AD days, with 3897 participants undergoing medical check-ups. Short-term AD exposure at lag day-0 was significantly associated with higher systolic BP (SBP), diastolic BP (DBP), and pulse rate (PR) risk (β = 1.85, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.35–2.35 for SBP, β = 2.24, 95% CI 1.88–2.61 for DBP, β = 0.52, 95% CI 0.14–0.91 for PR) using multi-pollutant model. Population-attributable fractions exposed to AD were 11.5% for those with elevated SBP (SBP ≥ 120 mmHg) and 23.7% for those with hypertension (SBP ≥ 140 mmHg or DBP ≥ 90 mmHg). This study showed a strong association between short-term AD exposure and increased SBP and DBP

Characteristics of late-onset spondyloarthritis in Japan: A retrospective cohort study

Spondyloarthritis may be increasingly present in older patients as life expectancy increases. We investigated clinical differences between early-onset and late-onset spondyloarthritis in Japan.We retrospectively reviewed 114 patients consecutively diagnosed with spondyloarthritis. The clinical course of each patient was observed for ?1 year. We defined early-onset and late-onset spondyloarthritis as <57 or ?57 years at a median age of this study group,respectively. We compared clinical characteristics between these 2 groups.Disease duration was significantly shorter before diagnosis in the late-onset group (P?<?.01). Inflammatory back pain (IBP) was significantly more common in the early-onset group (P?<?.01), whereas dactylitis frequency was significantly higher in the late-onset group. Significantly more patients with early-onset spondyloarthritis were human leukocyte antigen (HLA) B27-positive (P?<?.01). Articular synovitis, particularly of the wrist, was significantly more common on power Doppler ultrasound (PDUS) in the late-onset group (P?<?.01). Tenosynovitis or peritendinitis, particularly in the finger and wrist flexors were also more frequent in the late-onset group (P?<?.001 and P?<?.05, respectively). Enthesitis of the finger collateral ligament and lateral collateral ligament were significantly more common in the late-onset group (both P?<?.05). Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that, comparatively, IBP was significantly and independently much more likely to occur in the early-onset group.The patients with late-onset spondyloarthritis had a lower frequency of IBP and HLA B27 and a higher frequency of dactylitis and PDUS findings in peripheral involvement