Bone growth is impaired by uranium intoxication

Acute and chronic uranium intoxication leads to the inhibition of bone formation and impaired bone modeling and remodeling. As these are processes directly involved in bone growth the aim of this paper is to present a biometric study of bone growth--tibiae and mandibles of rats intoxicated with uranium. Wistar ratios weighing 60-80 g were used as follows, a) one intraperitoneal injection (IPI, 2 mg/Kg of body weight)) of uranyl nitrate; b) 30 daily applications on the dorsal skin of aliquots of a mixture of U308, concentrated at 2

and at 4

--percutaneous absorption(PA)-. Tibia and mandible length were smaller in both experimental groups than in their respective controls. Some of the mandibular parameters were lower in intoxicated animals than their controls which in turn results in the alteration of the mandibular shape. We conclude that impairment in bone growth can be achieved by uranium intoxication.

Scientific presentations and their publication. Experience over a 10-year period in the Argentine Division of the I.A.D.R

At present the [quot ]Impact Factor[quot ] developed by the Scientific Information Institute (Philadelphia), is an indicator of the quality of the journals in terms of the quality of the papers which are published. The results of odontological research which are presented and discussed at the annual meetings of the DAAIIO are proof of the quality and quantity of scientific production in this area in Argentina. Presentations are undoubtedly numerous. However, their diffusion and qualitative evaluation are of utmost importance. One way to estimate these parameters would be to monitor the ratio between number of presentations and their publication as full papers in journals with a system of referees (Ratio Publ./Pres.). With this aim in mind the presentations at DAAIIO over the 1980-1989 period were considered. Employing the author index of the DAAIIO meetings, we searched for possible publications in the Index Dental and the Index Medicus. The references were compared with the results presented to disregard publications which had not been previously presented at DAAIIO meetings. The data obtained were grouped according to subject area and Research Center. A total of 747 presentations led to 94 publications, the Publ./Pres. Ratio being 1/8 (12.5

). The ratio for each research center was the following: Univ. Buenos Aires 1/7; Natl. Univ. La Plata 1/8; Natl. Univ. Córdoba 1/15. The research groups with the highest publication ratios were Dent. Mat., Natl. Univ. La Plata 1/3; Clinical Pathol., Univ. Bs. As. 1/4; Oral Pathol., Univ. Bs. As. 1/4; Physiol. and Pharmacol., Univ. Bs. As. 1/4; Natl. Univ. Córdoba 1/7. The majority of the publications within 2 years of presentation were in English (69

). These results suggest that an acceptable number of presentations are published, particularly in the area of basic research. We should hope for an increase in the publication/presentation ratio in the future, particularly in the area of applied clinical research since publication would imply technical-scientific quality evaluation of the work by the experts who condition publication.