Genetic susceptibility to interstitial pulmonary fibrosis in mice induced by vanadium pentoxide (V2O5).

Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are characterized by injury, inflammation, and scarring of alveoli, leading to impaired function. The etiology of idiopathic forms of ILD is not understood, making them particularly difficult to study due to the lack of appropriate animal models. Consequently, few effective therapies have emerged. We developed an inbred mouse model of ILD using vanadium pentoxide (V2O5), the most common form of a transition metal found in cigarette smoke, fuel ash, mineral ores, and steel alloys. Pulmonary responses to V2O5, including dose-dependent increases in lung permeability, inflammation, collagen content, and dysfunction, were significantly greater in DBA/2J mice compared to C57BL/6J mice. Inflammatory and fibrotic responses persisted for 4 mo in DBA/2J mice, while limited responses in C57BL/6J mice resolved. We investigated the genetic basis for differential responses through genetic mapping of V2O5-induced lung collagen content in BXD recombinant inbred (RI) strains and identified significant linkage on chromosome 4 with candidate genes that associate with V2O5-induced collagen content across the RI strains. Results suggest that V2O5 may induce pulmonary fibrosis through mechanisms distinct from those in other models of pulmonary fibrosis. These findings should further advance our understanding of mechanisms involved in ILD and thereby aid in identification of new therapeutic targets.

Issues in access to oral health care for special care patients.

Access to oral health care for persons with special health care needs is quite limited. Psychologic, economic, and physical barriers exist that prevent these patients, who may have complex medical histories and physical or psychologic disabilities, from accessing appropriate continuing dental care. There are ways to surmount each of these barriers, typically with both positive and negative aspects that must be considered. Education of the health care professionals, the patients, government officials, third-party payers, and colleagues in all aspects of health care, is needed. The ultimate answer is education of and cooperation by all concerned, including the patients and caretakers.

Preferred treatment methods for primary tooth vital pulpotomies. A survey.

This investigation evaluated preferred treatment methods for primary tooth vital pulpotomies. One hundred and thirty surveys were sent to a randomly selected sample of board-certified pediatric dentists practicing in the United States. Ninety-two questionnaires were returned, for a 71% response rate. This yielded a sample group of 92 board-certified pediatric dentists. The most commonly used medicament was formocresol. Seventy-three percent using formocresol said they were not concerned about adverse side effects of formocresol and formaldehyde. Sixty-one percent of respondents used formocresol for primary tooth vital pulpotomies. Twenty-eight percent of respondents used undiluted, and 33% used diluted. The results of this survey suggest that the majority of dentists who used formocresol were not concerned with any adverse effects.

Impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth: a survey of forty-two cases.

The purpose of this retrospective study was to examine the location of impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth that subsequently were removed from pediatric patients at Children's Hospital of New York-Presbyterian. The study population consisted of 42 children diagnosed with impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth. The impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth were surgically removed by one faculty member in the hospital operating room with the aid of general anesthesia between 1994 and 2000. The total number of impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth was 51. All were located palatally on either side of the midline and were surgically removed from a palatal access. In the absence of clear imaging evidence to the contrary, it is recommended that the preferred surgical approach for the removal of impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth should be the palatal approach. Relatedly, the term mesiodens is misleading and is generally inaccurate for describing impacted maxillary anterior supernumerary teeth. Palatodens would be a more appropriate descriptive term.

Root fracture. Report of case supporting decreased splint times.

This is a case presentation of a root fracture that was treated and followed intermittently for 23 years. The treatment outcome supports the newly evolving protocol that root fractures are most successfully treated using a flexible splint over a relatively short duration.

The dental educator. An endangered species.

The dental educator is increasingly an endangered species. Part of the problem rests with the failure of dental educators themselves to convey to new graduates and to seasoned colleagues the variety, excitement and realities of reasonable income and fringe benefits associated with an academic career. Each of us in dental education must make a daily effort to convey this information through personal experience to our potential junior and new senior colleagues. Loan forgiveness protocols and unique training programs for those who choose to pursue full-time academic careers require collaborative financing from all of us in the profession, from our state and federal governments, and, ideally, from private industrial resources as well. The use of new educational technologies to relieve some of the more repetitive and burdensome aspects of education and to free the time of dental educators for more discussion in small groups, for problem-solving discussions, and for one-on-one interaction is imperative. If the current, clear and frightening decrease in the number of dental educators is ignored or even inadvertently fostered through ignorance or inaction, the entire profession will suffer directly. Practitioners, educators, industry and our government must cooperate in an intense and immediate effort to reverse this trend.

Partial pulpotomy for immature permanent teeth, its present and future.

Traumatic or carious exposure of a vital pulp in an immature permanent tooth presents a significant clinical challenge to maintain proper vitality. Currently available procedures include direct pulp capping, complete pulpotomy and partial pulpotomy. This paper reviews the application of partial pulpotomy in immature permanent teeth and provides prognostic and technique guidance.

Molecular Structure of 3,4-Dimethylenehexa-1,5-diene ([4]Dendralene), C(8)H(10), in the Gas Phase As Determined by Electron Diffraction and ab Initio Calculations.

The molecular structure of 3,4-dimethylenehexa-1,5-diene ([4]dendralene), C(8)H(10), has been determined in the gas phase. A single conformer with C(2) symmetry, having two almost planar, anti butadiene groups orientated with a dihedral angle C(2)C(3)C(4)C(5) of 71.7(19) degrees, is detected by electron diffraction employing flexible restraints derived from ab initio computations. Other experimental structural parameters (r(alpha)/pm, angle(alpha)/ degrees ) are: C(1)=C(2) 133.4(1), C(3)=C(7) (not in main chain) 134.0(1), C(2)-C(3) 147.4(2), C(3)-C(4) 149.6(3), C(1)C(2)C(3) 124.4(3), C(2)C(3)C(4) 119.2(5), C(4)C(3)C(7) 117.6(7), and C(7)C(3)C(2)C(1) -174.8(28). Ab initio computations at the MP2/6-311G level predict that the vapor consists of ca. 90% of the conformer found experimentally, the other 10% comprising four other conformers.

Near-Infrared Luminescence Spectroscopy of Nickelocene Doped into Single Crystals of Ruthenocene.

Single crystals of ruthenocene doped with nickelocene show a near-infrared luminescence band with a maximum at 13 100 cm(-1) and a width of 1100 cm(-1) at 5 K in addition to the ruthenocene luminescence. The band is symmetric and attributed to nickelocene on the basis of a comparison of luminescence and absorption spectra. Energy transfer from the ruthenocene host enhances the nickelocene luminescence intensity at temperatures between 50 and 100 K. An activation barrier of 306(18) cm(-1) is determined from luminescence decay measurements. The Stokes shift of 2200 cm(-1) and the large change of 0.16 Å in nickel-cyclopentadienyl distance in the emitting state confirm the assignment as (3)E(1g), arising from an electron configuration different from that of the ground state. The comparison of experimental and calculated spectra shows that only low-energy vibrational modes contribute to the luminescence band shape, in contrast to the case of cobaltocene doped in the same host lattice, where a distortion along a high-frequency, ligand-centered mode affects the luminescence band shape.