Prevalence of upper extremity symptoms and disorders among dental and dental hygiene students.

Context: Upper extremity musculoskeletal disorders are common among dental professionals. The natural history of these disorders is not well-understood. These disorders are more common in older workers, but the prevalence among younger workers has not been well-studied.

[Vestibular evoked muscle potentials dependency on neural origin and the location of an acoustic neuroma].

Introduction: Most acoustic neuromas (AN) originate from the inferior vestibular nerve (IVN). Vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (VEMP) are accepted as the only unilateral test for the function of the sacculus and the IVN.

Methods: The influence of the origin from the IVN and superior vestibular nerve (SVN), and the position of the AN in relation to the internal auditory canal on VEMPs was investigated.

Occupational allergens in dentistry.

Purpose Of Review: Dental professionals and their physicians frequently do not recognize, accurately diagnose or appropriately manage occupational allergies. Dental allergen identification, diagnostics and practical avoidance strategies are summarized in this review.

Recent Findings: Methacrylates, natural rubber latex proteins, rubber glove allergens, and glutaraldehyde are the predominant allergens in dentistry.

Serotonin and dopamine transporter availabilities correlate with the loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Brain monoaminergic function is involved in the pathophysiology of psychiatric disorders. The loudness dependence (LD) of the N1/P2 component of auditory evoked potentials has been proposed as a noninvasive indicator of central serotonergic function, whereas single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and [123I]beta-CIT can be used to visualize both serotonin (SERT) and dopamine transporters (DAT). The aim of the study was to correlate LD and SPECT measures in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a condition with evidence for a serotonergic dysfunction.

Diastereoselective synthesis of coordination compounds: a chiral tripodal ligand based on bipyridine units and its ruthenium(II) and iron(II) complexes.

The enantiomerically pure chiral tris-chelating ligand (+)-(7S,10R)-L(L) comprising three 4,5-pinenobipyridine subunits connected through a mesityl spacer has been synthesized. Complexes of L with RuII and FeII have been prepared and characterised. NMR spectroscopy indicates that only one diastereoisomer is formed, and the CD spectra show that the complexes have the [capital Lambda] configuration on the metal centre.

Effects of altering infusion parameters on intimal hyperplasia following local catheter-based delivery into the rabbit iliac artery.

Background: Efficient local gene or drug therapy requires optimized application modalities to avoid vessel damage, which might lead to increased neointimal hyperplasia. Aim of the study was to evaluate different application parameters for local delivery using the channeled balloon catheter in order to minimize vessel trauma induced by local application.

Methods And Results: Sixty cholesterol fed rabbits were randomly enrolled into twelve groups of different local application parameters: group I, application pressure 2atm/application volume 1ml physiologic saline; group II, 2atm/2ml; group III, 2atm/5ml; group IV, 4atm/1ml; group V, 4atm/2ml; group VI, 4atm/5ml.

Elevated brain serotonin transporter availability in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Background: A central serotonergic dysfunction is considered to be involved in the pathophysiology of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The aim of this study was to investigate the serotonin transporter availability in patients with OCD as an in vivo marker of the central serotonergic system.

Methods: Nine unmedicated (7 drug-naive) patients with OCD and 10 healthy control subjects were included and received single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) 20.

Synthesis of a copper [3]rotaxane able to function as an electrochemically driven oscillatory machine in solution, and to form SAMs on a metal surface.

Two new copper [3]rotaxanes have been synthesized. The axes are identical for both compounds and incorporate two bidentate chelates joined together by a disulfide bridge. The rings contain either the single phen (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) chelate or two different chelates (phen and terpy; terpy = 2,2',6',2' '-terpyridine, a tridentate chelate).

Zinc(II)-templated synthesis of a [2]-catenane consisting of a 2,2',6',2' '-terpyridine-incorporating cycle and a 1,10-phenanthroline-containing ring.

A nonsymmetrical [2]-catenane has been synthesized, with a 5-coordinated metal center (Zn(2+)) as template. One of the two rings contains a terdentate ligand (2,2',6',2' '-terpyridine) and the other one incorporates a bidentate chelate (1,10-phenanthroline). The first ring was prepared separately and, subsequently, Zn(2+) was used as the gathering and threading element to pass the stringlike component through the ring.

Allergic contact dermatitis in dental professionals: effective diagnosis and treatment.

Background: Like other health care workers, dental professionals are at risk of developing allergic contact dermatitis, or ACD, after exposure to allergenic chemicals. Common allergens include antimicrobials, preservatives, rubber additives and methacrylates.

Case Description: The authors describe an orthodontic assistant with severe skin disease, whose symptoms included redness, cracking and bleeding that persisted for 10 years.

Management of dental patients with allergies to natural rubber latex.

Reports of serious allergic reaction to natural rubber latex (NRL) are not uncommon in dentistry. The prevalence of Type I allergies in high-risk patient groups can range as high as 17% for health care professionals and over 50% in patients with spina bifida. A Type IV allergy to NRL chemical additives, also known as allergic contact dermatitis, is common in health care professions.

The relationship between second-year medical students' OSCE scores and USMLE Step 1 scores.

The relationship between objective structured clinical examinations (OSCEs) and standardized tests is not well known. We linked second-year medical students' physical diagnosis OSCE scores from 1998, 1999 and 2000 (n = 355) with demographic information, Medical College Admission Test (MCAT) scores, and United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 scores. The correlation coefficient for the total OSCE score with USMLE Step 1 score was 0.

Cross-reactivity between gutta-percha and natural rubber latex: assumptions vs. reality.

Background: Immunological cross-reactivity between gutta-percha and natural rubber latex, or NRL, has not been demonstrated clearly despite recent concerns and several suspected cases reported in the literature.

Methods: The authors analyzed aqueous extracts of commercial gutta-percha points and raw gutta-percha samples for cross-reactivity to NRL by radioallergosorbent test, or RAST, inhibition; immunoblot inhibition; direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, or ELISA; and ELISA inhibition using sera from NRL-allergic people as the source of anti-NRL immunoglobulin E, or IgE, antibodies. To confirm in vitro results, the authors conducted skin prick testing, or SPT, on a patient with type I NRL allergy using aqueous extracts from raw gutta-percha, ammoniated gutta-percha and gutta-percha points.

Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome and upper extremity tendinitis among dental hygienists.

Purpose: This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) and upper extremity (UE) tendinitis among dental hygienists.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study dental hygienists (n = 305) were screened using sensory nerve conduction, a focused physical examination of the UE, and a symptom questionnaire. CTS was diagnosed if the subject had slowing of the median nerve at the wrist and symptoms of numbness, tingling of pain in the median distribution.

Disulfide- and thiol-incorporating copper catenanes: synthesis, deposition onto gold, and surface studies.

Two new copper-complexed [2]catenanes have been prepared, both of which consist of two different interlocking rings. In both cases, one of the rings incorporates a disulfide bridge. The other ring contains either a single chelate (phen=1,10-phenanthroline, a bidentate ligand) or two different chelates (phen and terpy, 2,2',6',2"-terpyridine, a tridentate chelate).

How well do second-year students learn physical diagnosis? Observational study of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE).

Background: Little is known about using the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in physical diagnosis courses. The purpose of this study was to describe student performance on an OSCE in a physical diagnosis course.

Methods: Cross-sectional study at Harvard Medical School, 1997-1999, for 489 second-year students.

Reduction of enteric microorganisms at the Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority Water Reclamation Plant.

The Upper Occoquan Sewage Authority (UOSA) Water Reclamation Plant, Centreville, Virginia, is a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant that was created to treat area wastewater and provide protection for the Occoquan Reservoir. This study investigated UOSA's unit processes as barriers to pathogenic as well as altemative and traditional-indicator microorganisms. Samples were collected once a month for 1 year from eight sites within UOSA's advanced wastewater reclamation plant.

[Otolith-ocular reflex in linear acceleration of low frequencies].

Background: During constant velocity rotation about the earth's vertical axis, eccentric displacement of the head can be used to generate adequate stimulation of the otolith organs. More recently, studies have been performed with a variable radius rotatory chair, which permits a controlled modulation of the centripetal or radial acceleration, to achieve linear acceleration frequencies much lower than with a conventional linear sled.

Methods: In the present study, frequency response and threshold testing was performed using sinusoidal modulation of the chair radius.

Measuring unilateral otolith function via the otolith-ocular response and the subjective visual vertical.

In the present study, attention is directed to the unilateral response of the otolith system to static and dynamic tilt, as reflected by subjective estimation of the visual vertical (oculogravic perception). Measurements were performed with a variable radius rotary chair, which permits controlled modulation of the centripetal, or radial, acceleration. By limiting the radius, i.

2-Arylindole-3-acetamides: FPP-competitive inhibitors of farnesyl protein transferase.

A series of 2-arylindole-3-acetamide farnesyl protein transferase inhibitors has been identified. The compounds inhibit the enzyme in a farnesyl pyrophosphate-competitive manner and are selective for farnesyl protein transferase over the related enzyme geranylgeranyltransferase-I. A representative member of this series of inhibitors demonstrates equal effectiveness against HDJ-2 and K-Ras farnesylation in a cell-based assay when geranylgeranylation is suppressed.

Prevalence of carpal tunnel syndrome and median mononeuropathy among dentists.

Background: The authors undertook a study to determine the prevalence in dentists of abnormal sensory nerve conduction and/or symptoms of carpal tunnel syndrome, or CTS, the most common nerve entrapment syndrome.

Methods: In a cross-sectional study, dentists (n = 1,079) were screened during the American Dental Association's Annual Health Screening Program in 1997 and 1998 by means of standard electrodiagnostic measures in the dominant hand and a self-reported symptom questionnaire. The authors diagnosed a median mononeuropathy from a 0.