Mild self-etch adhesives demineralize dentin only partially, leaving hydroxyapatite around collagen within a submicron hybrid layer. We hypothesized that this residual hydroxyapatite may serve as a ...receptor for chemical interaction with the functional monomer and, subsequently, contribute to adhesive performance in addition to micro-mechanical hybridization. We therefore chemically characterized the adhesive interaction of 3 functional monomers with synthetic hydroxyapatite, using x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic absorption spectrophotometry. We further characterized their interaction with dentin ultra-morphologically, using transmission electron microscopy. The monomer 10-methacryloxydecyl dihydrogen phosphate (10-MDP) readily adhered to hydroxyapatite. This bond appeared very stable, as confirmed by the low dissolution rate of its calcium salt in water. The bonding potential of 4-methacryloxyethyl trimellitic acid (4-MET) was substantially lower. The monomer 2-methacryloxyethyl phenyl hydrogen phosphate (phenyl-P) and its bond to hydroxyapatite did not appear to be hydrolytically stable. Besides self-etching dentin, specific functional monomers have additional chemical bonding efficacy that is expected to contribute to their adhesive potential to tooth tissue.
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The word association (WA) technique was used to investigate the perception of two groups of consumers (72 celiac and 78 non-celiac individuals; 150 in total) to pizza dough (thick or thin) and the ...raw material used at the manufacture (cassava flour or rice flour). Different perceptions of the four stimuli were detected by Chi-square test (X2=314.393, p<0.0001) for both groups. Seven categories were used for both groups: food/composition, health, doubt/uncertainty, novelty, negative feelings, positive feelings, and sensory aspects. The stimulus ‘pizza dough made with cassava flour’ was associated with the category “food/composition” and the stimuli ‘pizza made with rice flour’, ‘pizza made with cassava flour’ and ‘thin dough’ were associated with “positive feelings”. The stimulus ‘thick dough’ was related only to the category “negative feelings”. WA indicated that gluten-free pizza should have thin dough and us cassava flour or rice flour as the raw material.
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•Nonceliac and celiac people perceptions about pizza.•Raw material was less important for both groups.•Thick pizza dough is preferred for pizza manufacture.
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MRI studies using the manual tracing method have shown a smaller-than-normal hippocampal volume in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, these studies have yielded ...inconsistent results, and brain structures other than the hippocampus have not been well investigated. A recently developed, fully automated method called voxel-based morphometry enables an exploration of structural changes throughout the brain by applying statistical parametric mapping to high-resolution MRI. Here we first used this technology in patients with PTSD. Participants were 9 victims of the Tokyo subway sarin attack with PTSD and 16 matched victims of the same traumatic event without PTSD. The voxel-based morphometry showed a significant gray-matter volume reduction in the left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in trauma survivors with PTSD compared with those without PTSD. The severity of the disorder was negatively correlated with the gray-matter volume of the left ACC in PTSD subjects. There were no significant differences in other gray-matter regions or any of the white-matter regions between two groups. The present study demonstrates evidence for structural abnormalities of ACC in patients with PTSD. Together with previous functional neuroimaging studies showing a dysfunction of this region, the present findings provide further support for the important role of ACC, which is pivotally involved in attention, emotional regulation, and conditioned fear, in the pathology of PTSD.
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Lysosomes have a central role in cellular catabolism, trafficking, and processing of foreign particles. Accumulation of endogenous and exogenous materials in lysosomes represents a common finding in ...nonclinical toxicity studies. Histologically, these accumulations often lack distinctive features indicative of lysosomal or cellular dysfunction, making it difficult to consistently interpret and assign adverse dose levels. To help address this issue, the European Society of Toxicologic Pathology organized a workshop where representative types of lysosomal accumulation induced by pharmaceuticals and environmental chemicals were presented and discussed. The expert working group agreed that the diversity of lysosomal accumulations requires a case-by-case weight-of-evidence approach and outlined several factors to consider in the adversity assessment, including location and type of cell affected, lysosomal contents, severity of the accumulation, and related pathological effects as evidence of cellular or organ dysfunction. Lysosomal accumulations associated with cytotoxicity, inflammation, or fibrosis were generally considered to be adverse, while those found in isolation (without morphologic or functional consequences) were not. Workshop examples highlighted the importance of thoroughly characterizing the biological context of lysosomal effects, including mechanistic data and functional in vitro readouts if available. The information provided here should facilitate greater consistency and transparency in the interpretation of lysosomal effects.
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Ionic bonding between polyalkenoic acid and hydroxyapatite may explain the excellent bonding retention of glass-ionomers in clinical trials. We have here investigated the extent to which the ...self-adhesiveness of resin-modified glass-ionomers (RMGIs) can be attributed to this chemical bonding capacity. Therefore, the interaction of 3 RMGIs with tooth substrates was comprehensively characterized, with electron and atomic force microscopy correlated with x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Interfacial ultrastructural analysis for 2 RMGIs disclosed a shallow hybridization of hydroxyapatite-coated collagen, on which a submicron gel phase was deposited through reaction of the polyalkenoic acid with calcium extracted from the dentin surface. One RMGI, however, bonded to dentin without hybrid layer or gel phase formation. XPS indicated that polycarboxylic acids included in the RMGIs electrostatically interacted with hydroxyapatite. We conclude that the self-adhesiveness of RMGIs should be attributed to ionic bonding to hydroxyapatite around collagen, and to micro-mechanical interlocking for those RMGIs that additionally hybridize dentin.
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Purpose In Japan, conventional nursing care records are paper-based and consist of various types of documents. As some kinds of information should be transcribed into several documents, records take ...a long time to complete and this frequently leads to overtime work. Electronic nursing care record systems are expected to avoid such inefficiency'. No transcription is required and personal devices enable caregivers to keep records anytime and anywhere. Speech input systems even enable data input while doing other tasks. Wirelessly connected devices such as thermometer, blood-pressure monitor, or other sensing devices transfer data automatically. Effective utilization of recorded data would promote improvement of quality of care. For instance, a rich data and user-friendly data analysis module can make an accurate assessment of the care recipient. Based on the result of accurate assessment, a care plan can be properly revised. Recently, the application of artificial intelligence (Al) has started in the revision of care plans or support of handover. Although electronic nursing care record systems have various advantages, most of the current systems in operation do not take enough advantage of electronic systems. One reason may be that they manage conventional data in a manner similar to conventional paper-based systems. An electronic nursing care record system could promote not only looking at the care record retrospectively, but also providing care with proper timing, recording data without fail, and thinking about change in the care recipients' condition prospectively. Method We have developed a novel nursing care record system "Service Navigation System" (sNs). sNs has three major functions: (1) nursing care record combined with timeline of daily care plan, (2) support for taking measures in case of an accident, and (3) alert function of important matters. The first one is the greatest feature of sNs. Care services to be provided are indicated as icons in timelines of individual care recipients. When a caregiver has provided a certain nursing care, they click the icon of the care provided and input the related information (e.g., in the case of meal assistance, food and water intake and remarks). Icons of focused care services are highlighted so that caregivers make sure to provide the important care service. In case of an accident, caregivers should look back at the accident and identify the cause in order to avoid future similar accidents. In addition, caregivers should pay more attention to the care recipient involved in Ihe accident for a certain period of time. In such cases, the timeline of that care recipient is highlighted to promote their monitoring. The accident report sheet indicates all the required measures and aggregates the related data. If a measure is delayed, sNs alerts caregivers by a message on the opening screen. Another alert function informs, for example, noticeable weight decrease. By monthly checks of weight, a slow decrease is hard to find. Based on diagnostic criteria for malnutrition, sNs make caregivers aware of weight decrease and the risk of malnutrition. All these functions promote provision of proper care with proper timing Results & Discussion sNs has been introduced in approximately 180 out of 313 of our nursing homes. Various effects have already been observed in those homes. Most obvious is a reduction in time for information handling and sharing. The time required for transcription is shortened, as input data is automatically distributed over several documents. The time required for handover is also shortened. All the data is accessible by using a PC or personal mobile device so that only important information has to be shared in the handover meeting. For that, and through that, it is expected to develop caregivers' ability to determine such important information. Delay in provision of care or taking measure in case of an accident is tended to be decreased. In addition, awareness of focused care services is increased. Even if a new service is introduced, all the caregivers are informed about it by sNs and provide the new service without fail. We are going to observe the further effects of sNs on efficiency and quality in the provision of nursing care services, hoping sNs will serve as an effective human resource development tool.
OBJECTIVE: Imaging studies of schizophrenia have repeatedly demonstrated global abnormalities of cerebral and ventricular volumes. However, pathological changes at more local levels of brain ...organization have not yet been so clearly characterized because of the few brain regions of interest heretofore included in morphometric analyses as well as heterogeneity of patient samples. METHOD: Dual echo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were acquired at 1.5 T from 27 right-handed patients who met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia with enduring negative symptoms and from 27 healthy comparison subjects. Between-group differences in gray and white matter volume were estimated at each intracerebral voxel after registration of the images in standard space. The relationship between clinical symptom scores and brain structure was also examined within the patient group. Spatial statistics and permutation tests were used for inference. RESULTS: Significant deficits of gray matter volume in the patient group were found at three main locations: 1) the left superior temporal gyrus and insular cortex, 2) the left medial temporal lobe (including the parahippocampal gyrus and hippocampus), and 3) the anterior cingulate and medial frontal gyri. The volume of these three regions combined was 14% lower in the patients relative to the comparison subjects. White matter deficits were found in similar locations in the left temporal lobe and extended into the left frontal lobe. The patient group showed a relative excess of gray matter volume in the basal ganglia. Within the patient group, basal ganglia gray matter volume was positively correlated with positive symptom scores. CONCLUSIONS: Anatomical abnormalities in these schizophrenic patients with marked negative symptoms were most evident in left hemispheric neocortical and limbic regions and related white matter tracts. These data are compatible with models that depict schizophrenia as a supraregional disorder of multiple, distributed brain regions and the axonal connections between them.
Objective: MicroRNAs, small molecules of 22-25 nt, inhibit translation of target mRNAs and with transcription factors comprise two major layers of gene regulatory networks with strictly ...interconnected activities. Tbx5, a dosage sensitive gene, is a pivotal player involved in heart/limbs development and its mutations are responsible of the Holt-Oram syndrome (HOS) in human, characterized by upper limb malformations and congenital heart defects (CHD)s both in morphology and electrophysiology. Methods: With the hypothesis that Tbx5 and miRNAs can work cooperatively trough mutual cross-regulation, we performed miRNA-profiling on RNA extracted from E11.5-E12.0 hearts isolated from WT and HOS mice. By a bioinformatic approach we selected the miR-182 resulted differentially expressed in HOS and able to putatively target evolutionary conserved genes related to heart development. The miR-182 was functionally tested in vivo in zebrafish with experiments of transient and stable mis-expression and by in situ hybridization analysis. Results: miR-182 was found to be up-regulated in HOS mouse phenotype. In line with this data, miR-182 overexpression in zebrafish embryos resulted in a dose-dependent cardiac defects. miR-182 overexpression decreases the pool of cardiac progenitor cells by reducing their proliferation rate during early stages of development, affects myocardial cell morphology and ventricular muscle fiber at 48 hpf. By digital droplet PCR analysis we observed that miR-182 overexpression determines the downregulation of some calcium channel genes which were putative miR-182 targets. In Tg(myl7:gCaMP) zebrafish line the miR-182 overexpression caused an alteration of calcium wave across the heart suggesting an impact of miRNA activity on calcium handling. Both transient and stable overexpression of miR-182 caused events of strong arrhythmias and a reduction of heart rate on the whole. Finally, the downregulation of miR-182 was able to partially rescue HOS phenotype in zebrafish Tbx5 knockdown embryos and in Tbx5 mutants. Conclusion: Our approach further support the importance of microRNA regulation in HOS pathology and demonstrate that miR-182 is a conserved Tbx5 effector with implications both in heart development and functions.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
The formation of heavy-fermion bands can occur by means of the conversion of a periodic array of local moments into itinerant electrons via the Kondo effect and the huge consequent Fermi-liquid ...renormalizations. Leggett predicted for liquid (3)He that Fermi-liquid renormalizations change in the superconducting state, leading to a temperature dependence of the London penetration depth Λ quite different from that in BCS theory. Using Leggett's theory, as modified for heavy fermions, it is possible to extract from the measured temperature dependence of Λ in high quality samples both Landau parameters F(0)(s) and F(1)(s); this has never been accomplished before. A modification of the temperature dependence of the electronic specific heat C(el), related to that of Λ, is also expected. We have carefully determined the magnitude and temperature dependence of Λ in CeCoIn(5) by muon spin relaxation rate measurements to obtain F(0)(s) = 36 ± 1 and F(1)(s) = 1.2 ± 0.3, and we find a consistent change in the temperature dependence of C(el). This, the first determination of F(1)(s) with a value ≪ F(0)(s) in a heavy-fermion compound, tests the basic assumption of the theory of heavy fermions, that the frequency dependence of the self-energy is much more important than its momentum dependence.
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