[Measuring and analysis of the shoulder circumferences of 840 adults' permanent teeth crown preparations].

Objective: To measure and analyze the shoulder circumferences of adults' permanent teeth crown preparations based on data collected through the intraoral scanning, so as to provide dental anatomy data for clinical diagnosis and analysis. Methods: Intraoral scanning data of 840 complete crown preparations were collected, and were entrusted to the World Dental Laboratory Co., Ltd. in Fuzhou between March 2021 and June 2022. Except the data of the third molar, the rest data were categorized in terms of 14 tooth positions in the upper and lower jaw (each category involved 30 samples from male group and 30 samples from female group). Image measurement software was used to measure the shoulder circumferences of permanent teeth crown preparations. And analysis was conducted to reveal the difference of shoulder circumference diameters between male and female groups. And then they were grouped according to the mean value at each tooth position, on the premise that the difference between the maximum and minimum values and the mean value of the entire group was≤±1.00 mm. Analysis were further conducted to determine the differences of shoulder circumference diameters between each dental position and the differences between male and female in the same groups. Results: Bivariate analysis of variance showed that gender had no effect on the shoulder circumference of full crown preparations (F=0.55, P=1.457), while tooth position had a significant impact on the shoulder circumference of full crown preparations (F=273.15, P<0.001). The samples were classified into 5 groups according to the mean values of shoulder circumference diameters relating to each tooth position. Statistical analysis showed that Group 1, covering maxillary lateral incisor, mandibular central incisor and mandibular lateral incisor, had shoulder circumference with diameters of (16.62±2.21) mm; Group 2, consisting of maxillary central incisor, maxillary cusp, mandibular cusp, mandibular first premolar and mandibular second premolar, had diameters of (20.78±2.48) mm; Group 3, consisting of maxillary first premolar and maxillary second premolar, had diamerters of (22.09±2.72) mm; Group 4, covering maxillary first molar, maxillary second molar and mandibular first molar, had diamerters of (30.21±2.67) mm; while group 5, with mandibular second molar alone its member, had diamerters of (31.34±3.18) mm. The difference among the 5 groups was statistically significant (P<0.05). Conclusions: Significant differences of shoulder circumference diameters could be found between different tooth positions, while at the same tooth position, the differences between male and female are not significant. The 14 tooth positions could be grouped into 5 groups according to their shoulder circumference diameters. Future research could take the grouping as reference.

Using social media for smoking cessation interventions: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that smoking tobacco significantly increases both incidence and mortality rates for many diseases. Social media has become one of the most influential platforms for various smoking cessation interventions. However, results from smoking cessation interventions have differed from study to study. Limited studies have summarised cessation outcomes from social media-based interventions. Therefore, the objective of this review is to explore the effectiveness of using social media for smoking cessation. METHODS: We searched PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and CINAHL for articles between June 2008 and June 2018, and also assessed the references of selected articles. We included studies that used social media as intervention platforms, provided a baseline assessment before the intervention, and provided smoking cessation outcomes after the intervention. RESULTS: We identified 13 original studies that enrolled between 16 and 1698 participants; 7-day Point Prevalence Abstinence (PPA) rate was the most frequently used measure of abstinence, with a range of 7%-75%, regardless of the measurement time, study design, and analysis methods. Social media-based smoking cessation interventions were effective, because (1) smokers reported higher 7-day PPA rates after intervention compared to baseline and (2) smokers reported higher 7-day PPA rates in intervention groups than in control groups. Moreover, at each time point, approximately half of all smokers in studies reporting abstinence were found to be biochemically abstinent. There were no significant differences in the effectiveness of smoking cessation outcomes between those that used existing popular social networking platforms (e.g. Pechmann et al's studies) and those that used individually designed interactive platforms (e.g. MyLastDip, iQuit system, Quitxt system). CONCLUSIONS: This review highlights the effectiveness of social media-based smoking cessation intervention studies. Due to the widespread use of social media, as well as its low cost, we suggest embedding smoking cessation interventions within existing popular social media platforms.

Management of colorectal anastomotic stricture with multidiameter balloon dilation: long-term results.

BACKGROUND: Postoperative colorectal anastomotic strictures are quite common. As such, many techniques have been available to address such a problem, one of which is endoscopic dilation. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the long-term outcomes following endoscopic dilation using a multidiameter balloon. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted on patients with postoperative anastomotic stenosis treated with endoscopic dilation using a multidiameter balloon at our institution, in January 2005-December 2019 were retrospectively reviewed, excluding those with tumor recurrence. Perioperative factors, complications, and recurrence rates were analyzed. RESULTS: There were 40 patients, (22 males and 18 females, mean age 64.6 ± 10.7 years, range 33-84 years). The median follow-up period was 56 months (interquartile range 22.5-99 months). Only 1 complication occurred, micro-perforation due to guided wire injury, which was managed conservatively. Five (12.5%) patients developed restenosis and underwent repeat balloon dilation. None of the five recurrences required more aggressive management, such as redo anastomosis. CONCLUSIONS: Endoscopic multidiameter balloon dilation is a safe and effective method for treating benign colorectal anastomotic strictures.

Increased risk of hepatitis B virus reactivation in systemic lupus erythematosus patients receiving immunosuppressants: a retrospective cohort study.

Objective We aimed to investigate risk of hepatitis B virus reactivation in systemic lupus erythematosus patients with different hepatitis B virus infection statuses receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Methods We retrospectively analyzed systemic lupus erythematosus patients with positive hepatitis B surface antigen or anti-hepatitis B core IgG antibody who underwent immunosuppressive therapies from January 2001 to December 2012 at a medical center in Taiwan for evidence of hepatitis B virus reactivation. Results During this period, 906 out of 3125 patients who were diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus received screening tests for hepatitis B virus. Thirty-eight patients were identified as hepatitis B surface antigen-positive. Fifteen of 38 (39.5%) hepatitis B surface antigen-positive patients developed hepatitis B virus reactivation, and 53.3% of these patients experienced severe hepatitis flare. Three of 157 hepatitis B surface antigen-negative/anti-hepatitis B core IgG antibody-positive patients (1.9%) experienced hepatitis B surface antigen seroreversion after immunosuppressive therapy. Five patients received prophylactic or preemptive antiviral therapy and none of them developed hepatitis B virus flares. A daily dose of prednisolone greater than 5 mg was a risk factor for hepatitis B reactivation by multivariate logistic analysis. Conclusions The risk of hepatitis B virus reactivation is high in lupus patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Antiviral prophylaxis or preemption can effectively reduce the incidence of hepatitis B virus reactivation in lupus patients.

Surface Treatment on Physical Properties and Biocompatibility of Orthodontic Power Chains.

The conventional orthodontic power chain, often composed of polymer materials, has drawbacks such as a reduction of elasticity owing to water absorption as well as surface discoloration and staining resulting from food or beverages consumed by the patient. The goal of this study was to develop a surface treatment (nanoimprinting) for orthodontic power chains and to alleviate their shortcomings. A concave template (anodic alumina) was manufactured by anodization process using pure aluminum substrate by employing the nanoimprinting process. Convex nanopillars were fabricated on the surface of orthodontic power chains, resulting in surface treatment. Distinct parameters of the nanoimprinting process (e.g., imprinting temperature, imprinting pressure, imprinting time, and demolding temperature) were used to fabricate nanopillars on the surface of orthodontic power chains. The results of this study showed that the contact angle of the power chains became larger after surface treatment. In addition, the power chains changed from hydrophilic to hydrophobic. The power chain before surface treatment without water absorption had a water absorption rate of approximately 4%, whereas a modified chain had a water absorption rate of approximately 2%-4%. Furthermore, the color adhesion of the orthodontic power chains after surface modification was less than that before surface modification.

Clinical Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Atezolizumab in Metastatic Urothelial Carcinoma.

Atezolizumab, a humanized immunoglobulin G1 (IgG1) monoclonal antibody targeting human programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1), is US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved in metastatic urothelial carcinoma (MUC) and is being investigated in various malignancies. This analysis based upon 906 patients from two phase I and one phase II MUC studies, is the first report of the clinical pharmacokinetics (PK) and pharmacodynamics (PD) of atezolizumab. Atezolizumab exhibited linear PK over a dose range of 1-20 mg/kg, including the labeled 1,200 mg dose. The clearance, volume of distribution, and terminal half-life estimates from population pharmacokinetic (PopPK) analysis of 0.200 L/day, 6.91 L, and 27 days, respectively, were as expected for an IgG1. Exposure-response analyses did not identify statistically significant relationships with either objective response rate or adverse events of grades 3-5 or of special interest. None of the statistically significant covariates from PopPK (body weight, gender, antitherapeutic antibody, albumin, and tumor burden) would require dose adjustment.

Design optimization of multi-pinhole micro-SPECT configurations by signal detection tasks and system performance evaluations for mouse cardiac imaging.

An optimized configuration of multi-pinhole aperture can improve the spatial resolution and the sensitivity of pinhole SPECT simultaneously. In this study, an optimization strategy of the multi-pinhole configuration with a small detector is proposed for mouse cardiac imaging. A 14 mm-diameter spherical field-of-view (FOV) is used to accommodate the mouse heart. To accelerate the optimization process, the analytic models are applied to rapidly obtain the projection areas of the FOV, the sensitivities and the spatial resolutions of numerous system designs. The candidates of optimal multi-pinhole configuration are then decided by the preliminary evaluations with the analytic models. Subsequently, the pinhole SPECT systems equipped with the designed multi-pinhole apertures are modeled in GATE to generate the imaging system matrices (H matrices) for the system performance assessments. The area under the ROC curves (AUC) of the designed systems is evaluated by signal-known-exactly/background-known-statistically detection tasks with their corresponding H matrices. In addition, the spatial resolutions are estimated by the Fourier crosstalk approach, and the sensitivities are calculated with the H matrices of designed systems, respectively. Furthermore, a series of OSEM reconstruction images of synthetic phantoms, including the hot-rod phantom, mouse heart phantom and Defrise phantom, are reconstructed with the H matrices of designed systems. To quantify the sensitivity and resolution competition in the optimization process, the AUC from the detection tasks and the resolution estimated by the Fourier crosstalk are used as the figure of merits. A trade-off function of AUC and resolution is introduced to find the optimal multi-pinhole configuration. According to the examining results, a 22.5° rotated detector plus a 4-pinhole aperture with 22.5° rotation, 20% multiplexing and 1.52X magnification is the optimized multi-pinhole configuration for the micro pinhole-SPECT applied to mouse cardiac imaging with a camera of 49  ×  49 mm(2) active area.

Pulsed radiofrequency inhibited activation of spinal mitogen-activated protein kinases and ameliorated early neuropathic pain in rats.

Background: Pulsed radiofrequency (PRF) has been widely used to treat chronic pain, but the effectiveness and mechanisms in preventing early neuropathic pain have not been well explored. Even fewer knowledge is available in its impact on glia-mediated nociceptive sensitization. This study aims to elucidate the modulation of PRF on nerve injury-induced pain development and activation of spinal mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Methods: In a rat spinal nerve ligation (SNL) model, a low-volt PRF treatment was applied to the L5 dorsal root ganglion after nerve injury. Nociceptive behaviours were measured by von Frey and heat withdrawal tests at multiple time points. MAPK activations, including p-ERK and p-p38, as well as TNF-á level in the spinal dorsal horn were assessed and the cell types that expressed MAPK activation were identified by double immuno fluorescence staining.Results: We found that SNL promptly induced neuropathic pain in the affected hind limb for over 1 week as well as increased p-ERK and p-p38 in the spinal dorsal horn. PRF significantly attenuated SNL-induced mechanical allodynia and thermal hyperalgesia for 5­7 days. PRF also inhibited ERK and p38 activations, which were found majorly located within neurons and microglia, respectively. Besides, PRF significantly suppressed expression of TNF-á in the spinal dorsal horn throughout the course. Conclusions: Low-volt PRF significantly ameliorated SNL-induced acute pain. Inferentially, PRF may inhibit spinal sensitization by down-regulating spinal MAPK activations and activation-mediated cytokine release.We demonstrated that early PRF treatment in acute nerve injury helps to ameliorate neuropathic pain development.

Ratcheting and transitions: short granular chain in a gradient of vibration.

We report our experimental work on a one-dimensional gradient of vibration with a short granular chain. The system exhibits transitions of ratcheting dynamics from passive monotonic creeping against the gradient, to rapid stochastic head swinging with a reversed bias in its direction, and to seemingly random fluctuations. The spontaneously emerged spatial pattern reflects bifurcations of the state of the chain. Evidence from counterpart experiments using uniform vibrations confirms a nonmonotonic development of accessible modes behind the transitions, whereas the reversed ratcheting reflects an interesting dialogue between the size of the object and the spatial gradient.

Effects of low amplitude pulsed radiofrequency stimulation with different waveform in rats for neuropathic pain.

Pulsed-radiofrequency (PRF) electrical stimulation has been widely used for chronic pain treatment. It has been demonstrated with advantages of low temperature over traditional continuous radiofrequency (CRF) lesions with higher amplitude and mono polar electrode to treat pain in clinics (frequency 500 KHz, Pulse duration 20 msec, Amplitude 45 V, Treatment 2 min). We compare the effects of different pulse waveforms and PRF parameters (Pulse duration 25 ms, Treatment duration 5 min, low amplitude of 2.5/1.25 V) with a miniature bi-polar electrode on Dorsal root ganglion (DRG). The pain relief effect due to PRF is evaluated by using Von Frey method for the pain threshold index based on behavior response to mechanical stimulus of various strengths. Experimental results of Von Frey Score show that the sinusoidal group has higher responses than the square wave one. Both fast and secondary expressed proteins of c-fos and pp38 are measured from spinal cord tissue sectioning slides to characterize the pain associated inflammatory responses and their responses due to PRF stimulation.

The use of antimicrobial-impregnated PMMA to manage periprosthetic infections: controversial issues and the latest developments.

Despite improvements in intraoperative antimicrobial procedures, in surgical techniques and in implant design for joint replacement, periprosthetic infection after arthroplasty is still one of the most challenging problems encountered by orthopedic surgeons. Systemic antibiotics are not sufficiently effective to eradicate such deep infections because of the impaired blood circulation and low antibiotic concentration at the implantation site. As a local drug delivery system, antibiotic-impregnated PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) bone cements have been widely used for prophylaxis or treatment of deep infections after total joint replacement. However, the effectiveness of antibiotic-loaded PMMA in preventing infections after arthroplasty is still controversial. Furthermore, the outcomes of established deep infections treated with this technique are not consistent. The local use of antibiotics has led to the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains and has adverse effects on the function of osteogenic cells. Recently, many efforts have been made to identify new antibacterial agents that can be loaded into PMMA. These antimicrobial agents should exhibit good antibacterial activity against antibiotic-resistant strains and should simultaneously enhance osteointegration between the PMMA and the bone tissue. PMMA loaded with chitosan or chitosan derivatives has been demonstrated to induce improved osteogenic activity and to exhibit antibacterial activity in a preclinical study.

Noninvasive cutaneous blood flow as a response predictor for visible light therapy on segmental vitiligo: a prospective pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Visible light is a treatment option for segmental vitiligo (SV), and visible light-induced repigmentation is associated with normalization of sympathetic dysfunction. Currently, it is difficult to predict individual patients' response to visible light therapy. OBJECTIVES: To test whether cutaneous blood flow can serve as a response predictor for visible light on treating SV. METHODS: Fourteen patients with SV were recruited in this prospective pilot study. Laser Doppler flowmetry was used to evaluate the cutaneous blood flow over SV lesions and contralateral normal skin. The pretreatment blood flow evaluation consisted of two stages: stage 1, following cold stress without prior visible light irradiation, and stage 2, following cold stress with prior visible light irradiation. Subsequently, the patients received regular visible light treatment for 3months, and a comparison of the pretreatment blood flow patterns between the visible light responding and nonresponding groups was carried out at the end of the study period. RESULTS: The SV lesions showed different blood flow profiles as compared with the contralateral normal skin. At the end of the 3-month study period, seven (50%) patients showed clinical repigmentation of >25%. The visible light responding group showed a more consistent occurrence of increased blood flow after stage 2 of the pretreatment evaluation while the nonresponding counterpart showed no significant changes. CONCLUSIONS: Normalization of sympathetic dysfunction may account for the efficacy of visible light in treating SV. Evaluation of cutaneous blood flow with and without prior visible light irradiation on cold-stressed SV lesions may serve as a treatment response predictor.

Event-by-event fluctuations of azimuthal particle anisotropy in Au+Au collisions at square root(sNN) = 200 GeV.

This Letter presents the first measurement of event-by-event fluctuations of the elliptic flow parameter v(2) in Au+Au collisions at square root(s(NN))=200 GeV as a function of collision centrality. The relative nonstatistical fluctuations of the v(2) parameter are found to be approximately 40%. The results, including contributions from event-by-event elliptic flow fluctuations and from azimuthal correlations that are unrelated to the reaction plane (nonflow correlations), establish an upper limit on the magnitude of underlying elliptic flow fluctuations. This limit is consistent with predictions based on spatial fluctuations of the participating nucleons in the initial nuclear overlap region. These results provide important constraints on models of the initial state and hydrodynamic evolution of relativistic heavy ion collisions.

High transverse momentum triggered correlations over a large pseudorapidity acceptance in Au + Au collisions at square root(s(NN)) = 200 GeV.

A measurement of two-particle correlations with a high transverse momentum trigger particle (p(T)(trig) > 2.5 GeV/c) is presented for Au+Au collisions at square root(s(NN)) = 200 GeV over the uniquely broad longitudinal acceptance of the PHOBOS detector (-4 < Delta eta < 2). A broadening of the away-side azimuthal correlation compared to elementary collisions is observed at all Delta eta. As in p+p collisions, the near side is characterized by a peak of correlated partners at small angle relative to the trigger particle. However, in central Au+Au collisions an additional correlation extended in Delta eta and known as the "ridge" is found to reach at least |Delta eta| approximately = 4. The ridge yield is largely independent of Delta eta over the measured range, and it decreases towards more peripheral collisions. For the chosen (p(T)(trig) cut, the ridge yield is consistent with zero for events with less than roughly 100 participating nucleons.

System size, energy, and centrality dependence of pseudorapidity distributions of charged particles in relativistic heavy-ion collisions.

We present the first measurements of the pseudorapidity distribution of primary charged particles in Cu+Cu collisions as a function of collision centrality and energy, sqrt[s_{NN}]=22.4, 62.4, and 200 GeV, over a wide range of pseudorapidity, using the PHOBOS detector. A comparison of Cu+Cu and Au+Au results shows that the total number of produced charged particles and the rough shape (height and width) of the pseudorapidity distributions are determined by the number of nucleon participants. More detailed studies reveal that a more precise matching of the shape of the Cu+Cu and Au+Au pseudorapidity distributions over the full range of pseudorapidity occurs for the same N{part}/2A rather than the same N_{part}. In other words, it is the collision geometry rather than just the number of nucleon participants that drives the detailed shape of the pseudorapidity distribution and its centrality dependence at RHIC energies.

Direct effect of statins on homocysteine-induced endothelial adhesiveness: potential impact to human atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Although homocysteine (HCY) is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases, recent clinical trials failed to show the benefits by reducing plasma HCY. Alternative strategy with 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, statins, might be feasible. This study investigated HCY-induced endothelial adhesiveness with mononuclear cells (MNCs) from patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). The direct endothelial protective effects of statins were also examined. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Circulating MNCs were isolated from 14 stable CAD patients and 7 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects. Superoxide production of MNCs was determined by Ultra-weak and luminol-enhanced chemiluminescence. Human aortic endothelial cells (HAECs) were used for endothelial adhesiveness to MNCs or U937 human monocytic cells. Endothelial expression of vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) were examined by Western blot. RESULTS: Superoxide production of MNCs and plasma HCY and high-sensitive CRP levels were significantly increased in CAD patients than in healthy subjects. Stimulation with HCY enhanced the endothelial adhesiveness to MNCs from CAD patients or to U937 cells in a dose-dependent manner, whereas it was obscure with MNCs from healthy subjects. HCY stimulated endothelial VCAM-1 but not ICAM-1 expression in a dose-dependent manner. Monoclonal antibodies to VCAM-1 attenuated HCY-induced endothelial adhesiveness. Simvastatin or pravastatin significantly reduced HCY-induced VCAM-1 expression and endothelial adhesiveness to MNCs from CAD patients. CONCLUSION: Circulating MNCs were activated in CAD patients, which was critical to HCY-induced endothelial adhesiveness. Statins could directly reduce HCY-induced endothelial-MNC adhesion via VCAM-1 inhibition, suggesting its potential implication in HCY-related atherosclerosis disease.