Wear-time recording during early Class III facemask treatment using TheraMon chip technology.

Successful intervention in a developing Class III malocclusion with facemask protraction therapy depends on a patient's ability to adhere to the recommendations for duration of appliance wear. In this article, we report the introduction of a novel approach for tracking of the duration of application of a protraction facemask, with the incorporation of a "FaceMon" sensor (TheraMon, microelectronic system; MC Technology GmbH, Hargelsberg, Austria) to track wear time. A 9-year-old boy with a Class III malocclusion was successfully treated with a modified alternate rapid maxillary expansion and constriction protocol and intermittent application of a hybrid hyrax-protraction facemask combination. The average duration of wear of the facemask was measured at 10.8 hours per day. The use of an objective measuring device may have implications for the development of treatment strategies, since patient responses may be able to calibrated in relation to compliance.

Mini-implant-anchored Mesialslider for simultaneous mesialisation and intrusion of upper molars in an anterior open bite case: a three-year follow-up.

BACKGROUND: The present case report describes the orthodontic treatment and long-term follow-up of an adult female patient (27 years) who was diagnosed with a mild Class III malocclusion characterised by an anterior and lateral open bite and three periodontally-compromised first permanent molars. AIM: The aim of treatment was to provide an acceptable aesthetic and functional occlusion while, at the same time, improving the periodontal prognosis. METHODS: The patient was treated with fixed orthodontic appliances utilising direct and indirect skeletal anchorage derived from two mini-screws placed in the palate and one mandibular buccal mini-screw. RESULTS: The objectives of good aesthetics, a functional occlusion, a healthy periodontium and a balanced profile were achieved. The total treatment time was 31 months, which comprised 13 months of maxillary fixed labial appliances and 25 months of mandibular fixed labial appliances. The three-year follow-up records showed stability of the Class ILL correction.

Closure of an open bite using the 'Mousetrap' appliance: a 3-year follow-up.

Recently, skeletal anchorage devices have been used as anchorage units for upper molar intrusion as a way of correcting an anterior open bite malocclusion. To avoid the surgical procedures associated with the placement of miniplates in the zygomatic area, mini-implants may be inserted palatally or buccally in the alveolar process. However, consideration must be given to the potential risks of root damage and a higher failure rate associated with the placement of temporary anchorage devices (TADs) in the interradicular area. The anterior hard palate provides a safer and more stable alternative for TAD placement. The current paper describes the biomechanical principles and the clinical procedures of 'Mousetrap' mechanics using mini-implants in the anterior palate for upper molar intrusion. The stomatognathic response of maxillary molar intrusion is an autorotation of the mandible and so the sagittal implications for each patient must be considered. The presented patient demonstrates successful correction and stability of the treatment result at a three-year review.

Prevalence of halitosis in young male adults: a study in swiss army recruits comparing self-reported and clinical data.

BACKGROUND: Sound epidemiologic data on halitosis are rare. We evaluated the prevalence of halitosis in a young male adult population in Switzerland using a standardized questionnaire and clinical examination. METHODS: Six hundred twenty-six Swiss Army recruits aged 18 to 25 years (mean: 20.3 years) were selected as study subjects. First, a standardized questionnaire focusing on dental hygiene, self-reported halitosis, smoking, and alcohol consumption was filled out by all participants. In the clinical examination, objective values for the presence of halitosis were gathered through an organoleptic assessment of the breath odor and the measurement of volatile sulfur compounds (VSCs). Additionally, tongue coating, plaque index, and probing depths were evaluated for each recruit. RESULTS: The questionnaire revealed that only 17% of all included recruits had never experienced halitosis. The organoleptic evaluation (grades 0 to 3) identified eight persons with grade 3, 148 persons with grade 2, and 424 persons with grade 1 or 0. The calculation of the Pearson correlation coefficient to evaluate the relationship among the three methods of assessing halitosis revealed little to no correlation. The organoleptic score showed high reproducibility (kappa = 0.79). Tongue coating was the only influencing factor found to contribute to higher organoleptic scores and higher VSC values. CONCLUSIONS: Oral malodor seemed to pose an oral health problem for about one-fifth of 20-year-old Swiss males questioned. No correlation between self-reported halitosis and organoleptic or VSC measurements could be detected. Although the organoleptic method described here offers a high reproducibility, the lack of correlation between VSC values and organoleptic scores has to be critically addressed. For further studies assessing new organoleptic scores, a validated index should always be included as a direct control.

A linear plasmid truncation induces unidirectional flagellar phase change in H:z66 positive Salmonella Typhi.

The process by which bacteria regulate flagellar expression is known as phase variation and in Salmonella enterica this process permits the expression of one of two flagellin genes, fliC or fljB, at any one time. Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi) is normally not capable of phase variation of flagellar antigen expression as isolates only harbour the fliC gene (H:d) and lacks an equivalent fljB locus. However, some S. Typhi isolates, exclusively from Indonesia, harbour an fljB equivalent encoded on linear plasmid, pBSSB1 that drives the expression of a novel flagellin named H:z66. H:z66+S. Typhi isolates were stimulated to change flagellar phase and genetically analysed for the mechanism of variation. The phase change was demonstrated to be unidirectional, reverting to expression from the resident chromosomal fliC gene. DNA sequencing demonstrated that pBSSB1 linear DNA was still detectable but that these derivatives had undergone deletion and were lacking fljA(z66) (encoding a flagellar repressor) and fljB(z66). The deletion end-point was found to involve one of the plasmid termini and a palindromic repeat sequence within fljB(z66), distinct to that found at the terminus of pBSSB1. These data demonstrate that, like some Streptomyces linear elements, at least one of the terminal inverted repeats of pBSSB1 is non-essential, but that a palindromic repeat sequence may be necessary for replication.

A novel linear plasmid mediates flagellar variation in Salmonella Typhi.

Unlike the majority of Salmonella enterica serovars, Salmonella Typhi (S. Typhi), the etiological agent of human typhoid, is monophasic. S. Typhi normally harbours only the phase 1 flagellin gene (fliC), which encodes the H:d antigen. However, some S. Typhi strains found in Indonesia express an additional flagellin antigen termed H:z66. Molecular analysis of H:z66+ S. Typhi revealed that the H:z66 flagellin structural gene (fljB(z66)) is encoded on a linear plasmid that we have named pBSSB1. The DNA sequence of pBSSB1 was determined to be just over 27 kbp, and was predicted to encode 33 coding sequences. To our knowledge, pBSSB1 is the first non-bacteriophage-related linear plasmid to be described in the Enterobacteriaceae.

Virulence attenuation and live vaccine potential of aroA, crp cdt cya, and plasmid-cured mutants of Salmonella enterica serovar Abortusovis in mice and sheep.

Three live vaccine candidates of Salmonella enterica subspecies I serotype Abortusovis (aroA, cya crp cdt, and plasmid-cured strains) have been developed, and their efficacies in inducing humoral antibodies and protecting against abortion after challenge with wild-type strain SS44 were evaluated in sheep. Following estrus synchronization, animals were immunized 3 weeks after fertilization and boosted once 3 weeks later. Following challenge with wild-type SS44, pregnancy failure of vaccinated ewes was reduced compared to that of nonimmunized controls. Attenuation of each vaccine was also assessed in challenge experiments with nonimmunized pregnant ewes and in BALB/c mice. All three vaccine candidates appear to be safe for use in sheep and provide a model for the development of live vaccine candidates against naturally occurring ovine salmonellosis.

Diversity of genome structure in Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi populations.

The genomes of most strains of Salmonella and Escherichia coli are highly conserved. In contrast, all 136 wild-type strains of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi analyzed by partial digestion with I-CeuI (an endonuclease which cuts within the rrn operons) and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis and by PCR have rearrangements due to homologous recombination between the rrn operons leading to inversions and translocations. Recombination between rrn operons in culture is known to be equally frequent in S. enterica serovar Typhi and S. enterica serovar Typhimurium; thus, the recombinants in S. enterica serovar Typhi, but not those in S. enterica serovar Typhimurium, are able to survive in nature. However, even in S. enterica serovar Typhi the need for genome balance and the need for gene dosage impose limits on rearrangements. Of 100 strains of genome types 1 to 6, 72 were only 25.5 kb off genome balance (the relative lengths of the replichores during bidirectional replication from oriC to the termination of replication [Ter]), while 28 strains were less balanced (41 kb off balance), indicating that the survival of the best-balanced strains was greater. In addition, the need for appropriate gene dosage apparently selected against rearrangements which moved genes from their accustomed distance from oriC. Although rearrangements involving the seven rrn operons are very common in S. enterica serovar Typhi, other duplicated regions, such as the 25 IS200 elements, are very rarely involved in rearrangements. Large deletions and insertions in the genome are uncommon, except for deletions of Salmonella pathogenicity island 7 (usually 134 kb) from fragment I-CeuI-G and 40-kb insertions, possibly a prophage, in fragment I-CeuI-E. The phage types were determined, and the origins of the phage types appeared to be independent of the origins of the genome types.