Highlights • Age estimation by radiological analysis has wide applications in scientific fields. • Bayesian calibration method appears to be suitable for assessing age. • Forensic age estimation is ...essential in resolving a variety of legal questions. • Age assessment is useful in diagnosis and in orthodontic treatment.
Our research focuses on the mineralogical characteristics of dark sediment deposits in Martian craters (dunes, dune fields, and sand sheets) and their local sediment sources, carried out on the basis ...of 70 selected localities. Morphological analyses reveal dark layers exposed in a number of crater walls, showing indications of material transport from the layers downwall to the intracrater deposits. Additional sites show dark sediment emerging from several craters floors, suggesting a dark material source beneath the crater floor. Spectral analyses of OMEGA and CRISM data showed for the first time that a direct mineralogical connection exists between the dark layers in the crater walls and the intracrater dune and sand sheet material. Based on these findings, it is shown that these layers are the local sources for the dark aeolian sediment inside the craters. Spectral analyses further indicate that all deposits are nearly of the same mafic mineralogical composition, hinting at a similar origin. We conclude that the mineralogical composition points to a volcanic origin of the material. The dark layers which we infer to be the material sources might represent layers of volcanic ash, almost globally deposited in Early Noachian times and subsequently covered by regolith. Groundwater, impact erosion, and crustal movement led to the highly fragmented situation of the dark layers today. However, burial protected the layers of dark sediment from chemical alteration caused by surficial fluvial processes. Impact erosion after the wet periods on Mars led to the exposure and mobilization of the material today.
The palatal rugae, which are anatomically described as folds or wrinkles of the palate, are located on the anterior third of the palate on each side of the palatal raphe and behind the incisive ...papilla. The use of palatal rugae for personal identification was suggested several years ago, and attracted interest from different researchers which created different classifications, still used in scientific literature. The "identity base" (IB) system has as its object a complex information system and a personal identification protocol by means of three-dimensional palatal scans in digital format. The usefulness of this system is based on the management needs of big data. For example, in the field of forensic odontology, IB can be useful in the identification of a living or cadaver subject; and can estimate the age of a human subject. Moreover, IB stores its associated biometric data. The IB system demonstrated to overcome the issues shown by other similar systems of digital image storage. Furthermore, its high accuracy in the identification process makes IB a reliable tool for institutions in the management of immigrants, as well as in the archiving of people under restrictive measures. Finally, IB is also a system for sharing and processing clinical images, useful in dental prosthetics to reduce the number of steps from the first visit to dental prosthesis. The next generation of big-data archiving will speak the same language as IB: the route has been already set out.
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are found in high concentrations in several tissues, such as umbilical cord, adipose tissue and dental tissue. Dental stem cells reside in many areas of the oral cavity. ...Thanks to their abilities, dental stem cells could be used to treat diseases and to understand the basic mechanisms of developmental pathologies. There are currently numerous ongoing clinical trials evaluating a broad spectrum of conditions and situations using different stem cell populations. However, stem cell studies are raising profound ethical questions that weigh on the world of scientific research. Stem cells are always a hot topic in the scientific community. Their use is related also to their banking, as cell manipulation is also often related to medical and ethical issues. Many biomedical studies aim to treat diseases that were previously considered incurable with MSCs. All this has created the need to quickly and safely storage stem cells, usually in a stem cell biobank (SCB). Regenerative medicine is the most important approach for achieving complete tissue regeneration using stem cells isolated from adult tissues, embryonic stem cells, but also through the application of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC). iPSCs are non-pluripotent cells that are engineered to acquire the ability to differentiate into all different types of cells. In conclusion, the daily use of stem cells in regenerative procedures is still far from being safe and predictable, especially because of the biomedical component, often requiring experienced biologists and complex technologies for cell manipulation and cell banking. .
Wind‐formed features are abundant in Oxia Planum (Mars), the landing site of the 2022 ExoMars mission, which shows geological evidence for a past wet environment. Studies of aeolian bedforms at the ...landing site were focused on assessing the risk for rover trafficability, however their potential in recording climatic fluctuations has not been explored. Here we show that the landing site experienced multiple climatic changes in the Amazonian, which are recorded by an intriguing set of ridges that we interpret as Periodic Bedrock Ridges (PBRs). Clues for a PBR origin result from ridge regularity, defect terminations, and the presence of preserved megaripples detaching from the PBRs. PBR orientation differs from superimposed transverse aeolian ridges pointing toward a major change in wind regime. Our results provide constrains on PBR formation mechanisms and offer indications on paleo winds that will be crucial for understanding the landing site geology.
Plain Language Summary
Oxia Planum on Mars is the landing site for the ExoMars 2022 mission. The region likely hosted a standing body of water, but the effect of the wind was also important in shaping the landscape. In this study, we first describe a set of linear ridges that, in our interpretation, were sculpted by the wind in a more recent past. We also show that the wind that formed the ridges (Periodic Bedrock Ridges) was blowing from a different direction than the ones that formed younger ripples on top, suggesting a complex geological history of wind erosion and deposition that will be further investigated during the ExoMars mission.
Key Points
We present the first evidence for a periodic bedrock ridge (PBRs) pattern from the ExoMars 2022 landing site
Formative paleowind directions are extrapolated from PBRs and transverse aeolian ridges
Evidence for an Amazonian change in the wind regime are provided
Recently, Zirconia and polyaryletherketone (PEEK) have attracted increasing interest as reliable and safe materials in dental applications, mainly because of their good biomechanical characteristics. ...The aim of this study was to investigate the response to different loads by prosthetic frameworks for supported fixed partial dentures (FPDs), thus simulating osseointegrated implants.
The specimens were divided into two groups (n= 5 each). Group A: FDPs in zirconia-ceramic; Group B: FDPs in PEEK-composite. These 2 groups were subjected to vertical loads so to evaluate structural deformation; then, they have been analyzed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) at different magnifications.
In tested samples, different types of mechanical failures have been observed. In Zirconia-specimens, chipping is the main failure noticed in this study, mostly in distal margins of the structure. Also, peek-specimens show failure and fracture.
Zirconia and PEEK could be considered both good materials, but several investigations are needed to use these materials as an alternative to metals for fixed partial dentures.
Numerous studies in the literature confirm the importance of the use of probiotics in inflammatory states of the prostate in humans. Our pilot study aimed to test probiotics strains ability to ...improve urinary bacterial load in male subjects.
Twenty healthy men aged 55-65 years, with recurrent urinatory infections were enrolled and randomized into 2 groups. Urine culturing to detect Enterobacteriaceae (Escherichia Coli and Enterococcus faecalis) was performed at baseline and at 12 weeks after the starting of the study.
We found that taking the probiotic reduces the bacterial load of E. coli and E. faecalis in urine cultures. The use of the probiotic in these inflammatory states does not affect the change in weight in the tested subjects.
Our data confirm and improve the main results reported in the scientific literature on the importance of taking probiotics in prostatitis.
CHARGE is an acronym referring to the aspects of this rare syndromic condition. Patients with CHARGE association are today considered as subjects lacking in pathognomonic dental alterations. The ...present study is aimed at adding to the body of evidence of the cases reported in literature and the continuous clinical research which show a clinical picture which is strongly associated with patients afflicted by this syndrome.
We report a case-series of 8 patients with CHARGE syndrome. The dental features associated with CHARGE syndrome are from case-reports, but without a congruity that can lead to a definition of the dental condition typical of the CHARGE phenotype.
The systemic problems affecting these patients are predominant in compromising their quality of life: this is the reason for a frequent lack of a diagnostics and interceptive phase, relative to oral diseases. We report new oral pathological conditions affecting CHARGE patients. Knowledge of these pathological conditions may induce dentists to carry out specific diagnoses of these patients, thus, avoiding the deterioration of oral conditions.
Purpose. Implant therapy plays an important role in contemporary dentistry with high rates of long-term success. However, in recent years, the incidence of peri-implantitis and implant failures has ...significantly increased. The peripheral giant cell granuloma (PGCG) rarely occurs in peri-implant tissues and it is clinically comparable to the lesions associated with natural teeth. Therefore, the study of possible diseases associated with dental implants plays an important role in order to be able to diagnose and treat these conditions. Materials and Methods. This report described a 60-year-old Caucasian male who presented a reddish-purple pedunculated mass, of about 2 cm in diameter, associated with a dental implant and the adjacent natural tooth. Results. An excisional biopsy was performed and the dental implant was not removed. Histological examination provided the diagnosis of PGCG. After 19-month follow-up, there were no signs of recurrence of peri-implantitis around the implant. Conclusion. The correct diagnosis and appropriate surgical treatment of peri-implant giant cell granuloma are very important for a proper management of the lesion in order to preserve the implant prosthetic rehabilitation and prevent recurrences.
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