[Retrospective analysis of dental trauma among soldiers in the Israel Defense Forces].

OBJECTIVE: Determination of the incidence, types and causes of traumatic dental incidents (TDIs) among Israel Defense Forces (IDF) soldiers. STUDY DESIGN: Dental trauma reports from all active IDF dental clinics between the years 2000-2010 were analyzed. A total of 1671 dental trauma reports were classified according to the incidence, causes and etiologies of the injuries, the number and type of traumatized teeth, and the types of dental injuries. Statistical associations between the number of trauma cases and gender, type of training of the soldier, and the month during which the injury occurred were analyzed. RESULTS: The incidence of dental injuries was 19.65 cases/10,000 soldiers/year. In basic training bases, 75.49 dental trauma cases/10,000 soldiers/year were found in comparison to 14.28 cases in all other bases. Male soldiers were 4.24 times more prone to dental injuries than female soldiers. Significantly more trauma cases occurred during the months of January and August (rate ratio 1.39 and 1.33 respectively), and significantly fewer cases occurred in July (rate ratio 0.59). The most frequent circumstances of TDIs were military training and work related injuries (29.5% and 15% respectively). The etiology of 56.3% of the injuries was trauma from blunt objects that are not a weapon. Of the injuries, 34.9% occurred as a result of trauma from the personal weapon of the soldier. Most trauma cases involved one or two injured teeth (73.2% and 20.1% respectively). Of the trauma cases, 33.8% involved the right maxillary central incisor and 32.5% involved the left maxillary central incisor. There was no significant difference between injuries on the right or left side. The most frequent type of dental injury was a crown fracture (72.8%). CONCLUSION: The risk factors for dental trauma found in this study were male soldiers during basic training in the months of January and August. Most TDIs resulted from blunt objects including personal weapons. Crown fracture was the most frequent type of injury.

[Root anatomy and root canal morphology of mandibular canines in Israeli population].

INTRODUCTION: Furcated root and root canal separation are anatomic variations of mandibular canines. Other studies found that up to 20% of mandibular canines have root canal separation and up to 6.8% are bifurcated teeth. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of two-rooted mandibular canines and the root canal morphology of mandibular canines. METHODS: A total of 1,020 Israeli patients' cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were screened and evaluated. A total of 1,981 mandibular canines were examined and the prevalence of furcated mandibular canines and root canal separation was recorded and analyzed. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of furcated mandibular canines and root canal separation in mandibular canines were 1.9% and 10.3% respectively. The bilateral prevalence of furcated mandibular canines was 22.5%. Statistically significant difference was detected by the side of occurrence (left vs right side, p < 0.05) and by gender in right mandibular canine (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: the prevalence of furcated roots and root canal separation in mandibular canines was not frequent. Clinicians should be aware of the special characteristic of those anatomic variations.

Simultaneous extension of both basic microstructural components in scleractinian coral skeleton during night and daytime, visualized by in situ 86Sr pulse labeling.

Using in situ (12 h) pulse-labeling of scleractinian coral aragonitic skeleton with stable 86Sr isotope, the diel pattern of skeletal extension was investigated in the massive Porites lobata species, grown at 5 m depth in the Gulf of Eilat. Several microstructural aspects of coral biomineralization were elucidated, among which the most significant is simultaneous extension of the two basic microstructural components Rapid Accretion Deposits (RAD; also called Centers of Calcification) and Thickening Deposits (TD; also called fibers), both at night and during daytime. Increased thickness of the 86Sr-labeled growth-front in the RADs compared to the adjacent TDs revealed that in this species RADs extend on average twice as fast as TDs. At the level of the individual corallite, skeletal extension is spatially highly heterogeneous, with sporadic slowing or cessation depending on growth directions and skeletal structure morphology. Daytime photosynthesis by symbiotic dinoflagellates is widely acknowledged to substantially increase calcification rates at the colony and the corallite level in reef-building corals. However, in our study, the average night-time extension rate (visualized in three successive 12 h pulses) was similar to the average daytime extension (visualized in the initial 12 h pulse), in all growth directions and skeletal structures. This research provides a platform for further investigations into the temporal calibration of coral skeletal extension via cyclic growth increment deposition, which is a hallmark of coral biomineralization.

Isolation rates of Brucella melitensis in an endemic area and implications for laboratory safety.

A retrospective study was conducted to assess the potential threat posed by processing blood cultures to clinical microbiology laboratory personnel working in an area endemic for Brucella melitensis in southern Israel. The computerized laboratory records for the 2002-2009 period were reviewed, and the proportion of aerobic vials from which Brucella organisms were isolated out of the total number of positive aerobic blood culture vials was determined. During the 8-year period, B. melitensis was isolated in 514 of 20,620 (2.5%) positive vials. Isolation rate increased at the end of the period reaching a peak of 5.3% in 2008. Between April 2008 and September 2009, the proportion of aerobic blood cultures from which B. melitensis was isolated was even higher than that positive for pneumococci (4.3% and 2.6%, respectively, P < 0.001). Although it has been recommended that processing of Brucella cultures should be confined to a Class II biologic safety cabinet, by the time the organism is identified, extensive manipulation of culture media has already been performed and inadvertent exposure of laboratory personnel may have already occurred. To reduce the risk of transmission, all positive blood culture vials in endemic areas should be processed in a safety cabinet.

High-resolution record of climate stability in France during the last interglacial period.

The last interglacial period (127-110 kyr ago) has been considered to be an analogue to the present interglacial period, the Holocene, which may help us to understand present climate evolution. But whereas Holocene climate has been essentially stable in Europe, variability in climate during the last interglacial period has remained unresolved, because climate reconstructions from ice cores, continental records and marine sediment cores give conflicting results for this period. Here we present a high-resolution multi-proxy lacustrine record of climate change during the last interglacial period, based on oxygen isotopes in diatom silica, diatom assemblages and pollen-climate transfer functions from the Ribains maar in France. Contrary to a previous study, our data do not show a cold event interrupting the warm interglacial climate. Instead, we find an early temperature maximum with a transition to a colder climate about halfway through the sequence. The end of the interglacial period is clearly marked by an abrupt change in all proxy records. Our study confirms that in southwestern Europe the last interglacial period was a time of climatic stability and is therefore still likely to represent a useful analogue for the present climate.

A 3000-year climatic record from biogenic silica oxygen isotopes in an equatorial high-altitude lake

A record of oxygen isotopes in biogenic opal, 4200 to 1200 calibrated years before the present, from a high-altitude proglacial lake on Mount Kenya, East Africa, exhibits short-term fluctuations on a time scale of centuries as well as long-term variations. The short-term fluctuations are attributed to changes in the glacier meltwater input, and the long-term variations are related to changes in lake temperature. The record indicates that the climate was warm in Equatorial East Africa from 2300 to 1500 years before the present.

The use of restraint on patients in Israeli psychiatric hospitals.

This first-ever study of the use of restraint on psychiatric patients in Israel sought to determine the dominant motivations in the decision to use restraint, which patients were most likely to be restrained, and whether there was a consistent policy on the matter. A survey of the official records of every instance of restraint during one month in the closed wards of all government psychiatric hospitals, supplemented with interviews, revealed that 14.2% of the study population had undergone restraint. The declared reasons were conventional, i.e. violence, disturbed behaviour, etc. Undeclared was an interaction between patients and staff, both the most professional and the less skilled, which surprised the authors and requires more investigation. Some subgroups, e.g. women and certain immigrant groups, were restrained markedly more frequently than other groups. No consistency of policy was found. Overall, much of the restraint applied is deemed unnecessary and recommendations are made for its reduction.

Meltwater input to the southern ocean during the last glacial maximum.

Three records of oxygen isotopes in biogenic silica from deep-sea sediment cores from the Atlantic and Indian sectors of the Southern Ocean reveal the presence of isotopically depleted diatomaceous opal in sediment from the last glacial maximum. This depletion is attributed to the presence of lids of meltwater that mixed with surface water along certain trajectories in the Southern Ocean. An increase in the drainage from Antarctica or extensive northward transport of icebergs are among the main mechanisms that could have produced the increase in meltwater input to the glacial Southern Ocean. Similar isotopic trends were observed in older climatic cycles at the same cores.

[Visits to emergency rooms and hospital ownership categories].

Trends in emergency room (ER) visits in Israeli general hospitals were analyzed and differences were found according to category of hospital ownership, Data for 1986-90 were gathered from 23 hospitals which included 90% of the country's acute care beds. An upward trend in ER visits in the 1970's and early 1980's ended in 1987. Despite a 7% increase in population during 1987-90, total ER visits decreased by 4%. In Jerusalem's public hospitals ER visits decreased by 13%, in government and government-municipal hospitals by 7%, while in Kupat Holim Clalit hospitals there was a 2% increase. The proportion of ER visits resulting in hospital admissions also varied by hospital ownership and also among individual hospitals within any given ownership category. Factors which might influence ER visits include size and composition of populations, development of alternative sources of care in the communities, price of services, changes in hospital admission policies, nature of the competition between hospitals, supply of physicians, and the use of ER's for primary care.

Isotopic evidence for reduced productivity in the glacial southern ocean.

Records of carbon and nitrogen isotopes in biogenic silica and carbon isotopes in planktonic foraminifera from deep-sea sediment cores from the Southern Ocean reveal that the primary production during the last glacial maximum was lower than Holocene productivity. These observations conflict with the hypothesis that the low atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations were introduced by an increase in the efficiency of the high-latitude biological pump. Instead, different oceanic sectors may have had high glacial productivity, or alternative mechanisms that do not involve the biological pump must be considered as the primary cause of the low glacial atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations.

[Stages in the licensing process for immigrant physicians in Israel].

The latest wave of immigration, mostly from the former Soviet Union, has brought with it a large number of physicians. They are required to go through various stages of a licensing process in order to practice medicine in Israel. This overview describes the process, from arrival in Israel to the issuing of the license to practice medicine. From September 1989 to December 1991 some 9,800 of arriving immigrants identified themselves as physicians to Ministry of Absorption officials. However, only about 7,000 submitted requests for a medical license to the Ministry of Health. Physicians with at least 20 years of experience need not take an examination, but are required to work under supervision for 6 months in order to receive a license. Of those requesting a license, 1/3 had 20 years or more of professional experience, while the others had to take licensing examinations. By the end of December 1991, some 2,900 physicians had received licenses to practice medicine. This indicates that many immigrant physicians have yet to complete the licensing process.

Novel parameters of human sperm hypoosmotic swelling test and their correlation to standard spermatogram, total motile sperm fraction, and sperm penetration assay.

OBJECTIVE: To improve the accuracy of human sperm hypoosmotic swelling test by introducing new morphological evaluation parameters for this test. DESIGN: Individual semen samples were processed, and the standard spermatogram, total motile sperm fraction, sperm penetration assay (SPA), and hypoosmotic swelling test were performed. SETTING: Male infertility clinic and andrologic laboratory in a university medical center. PATIENTS: One hundred eighteen subfertile men undergoing an infertility work-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The results of hypoosmotic swelling test were subdivided into four groups (hypoosmotic swelling test 1, 2, 3, 4) according to the different shapes of hypoosmotically affected spermatozoa tails. RESULTS: The hypoosmotic swelling test 3 had the best correlation with the different sperm parameters: motility, total motile sperm fraction, concentration, and SPA. The hypoosmotic swelling test 1 showed a satisfactory interrelation for concentration and for total motile sperm fraction but no correlation for motility and SPA. The hypoosmotic swelling test 2 and the hypoosmotic swelling test 4 demonstrated no correlation at all with motility, concentration, morphology and SPA. CONCLUSIONS: The precision of hypoosmotic swelling test may be improved by using the hypoosmotic swelling test 3 type of spermatozoa tail shape as the parameter for a normally functioning spermatozoa.

Psychiatric hospitalization of immigrants to Israel from the former USSR: assessment of demand in future waves of immigration.

In the years 1970-1990 approximately half a million immigrants from the former USSR arrived in Israel. Experts predict that new waves of immigration are likely to happen. This paper presents an attempt to forecast the need for appropriate psychiatric services in future waves of immigration. The study compares hospitalization patterns of immigrants arriving in Israel between 1972-1980 with those arriving in 1990. The rates of admission were compared to the rates for Israelis in the specified periods and an estimate for the future need for psychiatric services was calculated. The central finding in this study was that former Soviet immigrants were admitted to psychiatric hospitals within the first year of their arrival at a higher rate than Israelis in the 1970s and in 1990. In the 1970s the admission rate for immigrants was 33 per 10,000, while the rate for Israelis was 20 per 10,000. In 1990 the admission rate for immigrants was 31 per 10,000, while the rate for Israelis was 20 per 10,000. The forecast for the next years is for 320 first admissions within a year after arrival for every 100,000 immigrants. Planning for new waves of immigrations from the former USSR should therefore include a serious consideration of the provision of appropriate psychiatric services.

Oxygen isotopes in biogenic silica: global changes in ocean temperature and isotopic composition.

A record of oxygen isotopes in biogenic silica from a deep-sea sediment core from the Southern Ocean reveals that marine diatoms retain their primary isotopic composition after burial. As a result, the marine diatom record can be combined with data on coexisting planktonic foraminifera to monitor past surface temperature and isotopic composition of seawater. The coupling of these two records allows the solution of two paleotemperature equations for each core interval. Data from a South Atlantic core show that the average delta(18)O during the glacial period at this site was higher by about 1.3 per mil than average Holocene values, and that average glacial-age temperatures were not significantly different from average Holocene values.

[Intervention program for prevention of premature deliveries in Beit Shemesh].

Programs for the prevention of premature births have been developed world-wide to reduce perinatal mortality and child morbidity and handicaps. The Beit Shemesh intervention program focused on locating and improving socio-economic conditions, in addition to medical-nursing aspects. Beit Shemesh (located 30 km SW of the nearest Jerusalem hospital; population 14,000; 350-400 births per year) was chosen because its rates for preterm delivery (36 weeks or less) and for low birthweight neonates were higher than the national rates, it was of low socio-economic status, and because of its well-developed and accessible local health services infrastructure. The main goals of the intervention program were to reduce significantly the rates of preterm deliveries and that of low birthweight neonates to at least the national rates. Pregnant women who received treatment at family health centers were interviewed and classified according to a preterm birth-risk screening scale. The scale was constructed for this project to measure the degree of risk according to medical, nursing and socioeconomic criteria. Women identified as at-risk were invited for more intensive medical, nursing and social follow-up, according to their individual needs. The intervention of a social worker was a special part of the project. The findings, after 4 years of project intervention, showed a significant decrease in the rate of preterm births: 8.6% in the control group before the program was implemented as compared to 5.4% in the case group (p less than 0.01). There was a decrease in the percentage of low birthweight neonates to 7.9% near the average rate for the Jewish population in Israel.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)