Corrosion of copper nickel titanium archwire in chlorhexidine, sodium fluoride, and chitosan mouthwashes.

Background: Copper (Cu), nickel (Ni), chromium (Cr) ion release, and surface topography change from the orthodontic wire are the initial processes of corrosion that may affect the mechanical properties of the archwire. In this study, we aim to evaluate the effect of CHX, NaF, and chitosan on the corrosion of CuNiTi wire nickel and copper ions released, surface roughness change, and archwire deflection.

Methods: Ninety samples of CuNiTi Tanzo™ archwires were divided into five groups according to their immersion solution: Artificial Saliva, CHX, NaF, CHX-NaF, and chitosan group.

The non-canonical mechanism of ER stress-mediated progression of prostate cancer.

Background: The development of persistent endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress is one of the cornerstones of prostate carcinogenesis; however, the mechanism is missing. Also, alcohol is a physiological ER stress inducer, and the link between alcoholism and progression of prostate cancer (PCa) is well documented but not well characterized. According to the canonical model, the mediator of ER stress, ATF6, is cleaved sequentially in the Golgi by S1P and S2P proteases; thereafter, the genes responsible for unfolded protein response (UPR) undergo transactivation.

Teaching pediatric otoscopy skills to the medical student in the clinical setting: preceptor perspectives and practice.

Background: Acute otitis media (AOM) is the most frequent indication for antibiotic treatment of children in the United States. Its diagnosis relies on visualization of the tympanic membrane, a clinical skill acquired through a deliberate approach. Instruction in pediatric otoscopy begins in medical school.

The Decline in Community Preceptor Teaching Activity: Exploring the Perspectives of Pediatricians Who No Longer Teach Medical Students.

Purpose: Difficulty in recruiting and retaining community preceptors for medical student education has been described in the literature. Yet little, if any, information is known about community outpatient preceptors who have stopped or decreased teaching time with students. This study aimed to examine these preceptors' perspectives about this phenomenon.

Recruiting and Retaining Community-Based Preceptors: A Multicenter Qualitative Action Study of Pediatric Preceptors.

Purpose: The recruitment and retention of community preceptors to teach medical students is difficult. The authors sought to characterize the underlying motivational factors for becoming a preceptor and to identify strategies for recruiting and retaining community-based pediatric preceptors.

Method: This multicenter qualitative action study included semistructured interviews with community-based pediatric preceptors affiliated with 12 institutions from August to December 2015.

Closed-form solution for a cantilevered sectorial plate subjected to a tip concentrated force.

A closed-form solution is presented for a cantilevered sectorial plate subjected to a tip concentrated force. Since the particular solution for this problem was not found in the literature, it is derived here. Deflections from the total solution (particular plus homogeneous solutions) are compared to those from a finite element analysis and are found to be in excellent agreement, producing an error within approximately 0.

A rare case of verrucous carcinoma of penis in an human immunodeficiency virus- infected patient.

Cancer is a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in human immunodeficiency virus-infected subjects. Verrucous carcinoma is a peculiarly slow evolving, but relentlessly expanding variant of epidermoid carcinoma that is extremely reluctant to metastasize. A 60-year-old unmarried male patient presented with urethral discharge of 3 weeks duration.

Is there a correlation between breast cancer molecular subtype using receptors as surrogates and mammographic appearance?

Background: The identification of distinct molecular subtypes has changed breast cancer management. The correlation between mammographic appearance and molecular subtype for invasive breast cancer has not been extensively studied.

Methods: A retrospective review of our prospectively collected database was performed to evaluate the mammographic appearance and molecular subtypes of all cases of invasive breast cancers diagnosed between 2003 and 2010.

The efficacy of HSV-2 vaccines based on gD and gB is enhanced by the addition of ICP27.

DNA vaccines expressing HSV-2 gD, gB, ICP27, VP22 and VP13/14 were shown to be immunogenic in mice; gD and gB elicited neutralising antibody, and all five antigens induced T cell responses measured by IFNγ ELISPOT. In murine HSV-2 challenge studies, gD and gB provided moderate to high levels of protection while ICP27 provided a lower level of protection depending on the model (intravaginal or intranasal) and the challenge dose. Combining vaccines expressing gB or gD with vaccines expressing ICP27 provided greater protection than any antigen alone.

Vaccination with cancer- and HIV infection-associated endogenous retrotransposable elements is safe and immunogenic.

The expression of endogenous retrotransposable elements, including long interspersed nuclear element 1 (LINE-1 or L1) and human endogenous retrovirus, accompanies neoplastic transformation and infection with viruses such as HIV. The ability to engender immunity safely against such self-antigens would facilitate the development of novel vaccines and immunotherapies. In this article, we address the safety and immunogenicity of vaccination with these elements.

Strict hand hygiene and other practices shortened stays and cut costs and mortality in a pediatric intensive care unit.

Efforts to reduce infections acquired during a hospital stay through improvements in the quality of care have had measurable results in many hospital settings. In pediatric intensive care units, the right quality interventions can save lives and money. We found that improving practices of hand hygiene, oral care, and central-line catheter care reduced hospital-acquired infections and improved mortality rates among children admitted to a large pediatric intensive care unit in 2007-09.

Single and combination herpes simplex virus type 2 glycoprotein vaccines adjuvanted with CpG oligodeoxynucleotides or monophosphoryl lipid A exhibit differential immunity that is not correlated to protection in animal models.

Despite several attempts to develop an effective prophylactic vaccine for HSV-2, all have failed to show efficacy in the clinic. The most recent of these failures was the GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) subunit vaccine based on the glycoprotein gD with the adjuvant monophosphoryl lipid A (MPL). In a phase 3 clinical trial, this vaccine failed to protect from HSV-2 disease, even though good neutralizing antibody responses were elicited.

What do breast surgeons do?

Background: There are an increasing number of fellowship-trained breast surgeons and surgical oncologists who dedicate their clinical practice exclusively to breast disease. However, there are little published data regarding characteristics of a breast surgical practice.

Methods: All patient visits at a university-based breast surgery practice were reviewed for calendar years 2006 and 2007.

Pharmacological properties of 2-((R-5-chloro-4-methoxymethylindan-1-yl)-1H-imidazole (PF-3774076), a novel and selective alpha1A-adrenergic partial agonist, in in vitro and in vivo models of urethral function.

2-((R-5-chloro-4-methoxymethyl-indan-1-yl)-1H-imidazole (PF-3774076) is a central nervous system (CNS) penetrant, potent, selective, partial agonist at the human alpha1(A)-adrenoceptor, demonstrating efficacy and selectivity in a range of binding and functional assays. In vivo, PF-3774076 increases peak urethral pressure in anesthetized female dogs in a dose-dependent manner, inducing changes in both the proximal and distal portions of the urethra via a central mechanism of action. The profile of this compound suggests that a CNS penetrant partial agonist at the alpha1(A)-adrenoceptor may offer significant benefit in stress urinary incontinence (SUI).

Preoperative chemotherapy decreases the need for re-excision of breast cancers between 2 and 4 cm diameter.

Introduction: It is accepted that preoperative chemotherapy can result in increased breast preservation for breast cancers greater than 4 cm. The benefits of preoperative chemotherapy are less clear, however, for patients who present with smaller tumors and are already candidates for breast-preserving surgery. The goal of this study is to assess the effect of preoperative chemotherapy on breast cancers between 2 and 4 cm diameter.

Breast sentinel lymph node dissection before preoperative chemotherapy.

Hypothesis: Timing of sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND), before or after preoperative chemotherapy (PC), for breast cancer is controversial.

Design: Single-institution experience with SLND before PC.

Setting: Data from prospectively collected Yale-New Haven Breast Center Database.

Probiotic administration and the incidence of nosocomial infection in pediatric intensive care: a randomized placebo-controlled trial.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of probiotics in reducing the rates of nosocomial infection in pediatric intensive care.

Design: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

Setting: A 16-bed pediatric intensive care unit in a university-affiliated children's hospital.

Teaching patient communication skills to medical students: a review of randomized controlled trials.

Tools to examine the effects of teaching interventions across a variety of studies are needed. The authors perform a meta-analysis of 24 randomized controlled trials evaluating the effects of teaching on medical students' patient communication skills. Study quality is rated using a modified Jadad score, and standardized mean difference effect size (d) measures are calculated.

Effectiveness of influenza vaccine for the prevention of asthma exacerbations.

Background: There is a lack of clinical evidence that annual vaccination against influenza prevents asthma exacerbations in children.

Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 800 children with asthma, where one half did, and the other half did not receive the influenza vaccine. The two groups were compared with respect to clinic visits, emergency department (ED) visits, and hospitalisations for asthma.

11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 2 in mouse aorta: localization and influence on response to glucocorticoids.

Both isozymes of 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase, which interconvert active and inactive glucocorticoids, are expressed in the mouse aortic wall. Mice deficient in 11HSD type 2 (which converts active corticosterone into inert 11-dehydrocorticosterone) have hypertension and impaired endothelial nitric oxide activity. It has been suggested that 11HSD2 influences vascular function directly by limiting glucocorticoid-mediated inhibition of endothelium-derived nitric oxide.