CAD/CAM options in dental implant treatment planning.

Several software platforms are available that use computerized tomography files and proprietary 3-D reformatting to aid in diagnosis, plan implant location, and complete the surgical placement and restoration of dental implants. This article will review traditional versus computerized model of surgical planning, advantages and disadvantages of computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing planning, variability in treatment sequence, and a cost analysis of investment into this treatment modality.

Herpes simplex virus infection induces phosphorylation and delocalization of emerin, a key inner nuclear membrane protein.

The inner nuclear membrane (INM) contains specialized membrane proteins that selectively interact with nuclear components including the lamina, chromatin, and DNA. Alterations in the organization of and interactions with INM and lamina components are likely to play important roles in herpesvirus replication and, in particular, exit from the nucleus. Emerin, a member of the LEM domain class of INM proteins, binds a number of nuclear components including lamins, the DNA-bridging protein BAF, and F-actin and is thought to be involved in maintaining nuclear integrity.

Alpha1-adrenergic receptor signaling is localized to caveolae in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.

In neonatal rat cardiomyocytes, phosphatidylinositol(4,5)bisphosphate (PIP2) is a precursor of second messengers, a stabilizer of ion channels and exchangers, an anchor point for the cytoskeleton and, in addition, can serve as a signaling molecule in its own right. We examined the possibility that sarcolemmal PIP2 exists in different pools and that only one of these provides the substrate for alpha1-adrenergic receptor activated phospholipase C (PLC). Membranes were separated on the basis of buoyant density, and the light lipid raft fractions were further separated into caveolae and non-caveolar rafts using immunoprecipitation.

Regulation of the proapoptotic factor FOXO1 (FKHR) in cardiomyocytes by growth factors and alpha1-adrenergic agonists.

Apoptotic responses in cardiomyocytes are opposed by the protein kinase Akt (protein kinase B) and thus can be suppressed by a number of growth factors and cytokines. In some cell types, Akt phosphorylates and inactivates members of the forkhead box (FOXO) family of transcription factors that are active in regulating the expression of proapoptotic cytokines and signaling intermediates. In the current study, we investigated the possibility that FOXO1 (FKHR) was expressed, regulated, and functional in cardiomyocytes.

UTP transactivates epidermal growth factor receptors and promotes cardiomyocyte hypertrophy despite inhibiting transcription of the hypertrophic marker gene, atrial natriuretic peptide.

In neonatal rat ventricular myocytes, activation of receptors that couple to the G(q) family of heterotrimeric G proteins causes hypertrophic growth, together with expression of "hypertrophic marker" genes, such as atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) and myosin light chain 2 (MLC2). As reported previously for other G(q)-coupled receptors, stimulation of alpha(1)-adrenergic receptors with phenylephrine (50 microM) caused phosphorylation of epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptors as well as activation of ERK1/2, cellular growth, and ANP transcription. These responses depended on EGF receptor activation.

UTP but not ATP causes hypertrophic growth in neonatal rat cardiomyocytes.

Addition of ATP to neonatal rat cardiomyocytes has been reported to inhibit hypertrophic growth responses, even though G(q)-coupled receptors are activated. In the current study, we investigated hypertrophic responses to activation of G(q)-coupled-purinergic receptors on cardiomyocytes using UTP as an alternative agonist to ATP. UTP (100 microM) activated phospholipase C via G(q) similarly to ATP, and responses to the two agonists were not additive.

Psychological differences between children with and without chronic encopresis.

Objective: To validate a theoretical model of encopresis in terms of psychological factors that differentiates children with and without chronic encopresis and to identify scales that demonstrate these differences.

Methods: Eighty-six children with encopresis were compared to 62 nonsymptomatic children on five psychometric instruments. Differences in the mean scores and the percentages of children falling beyond preselected clinical thresholds were compared across the patient-control groups.