Impact of periodontal therapy on general health: evidence from insurance data for five systemic conditions.

Background: Treatment of periodontal (gum) disease may lessen the adverse consequences of some chronic systemic conditions.

Purpose: To estimate the effects of periodontal therapy on medical costs and hospitalizations among individuals with diagnosed type 2 diabetes (T2D); coronary artery disease (CAD); cerebral vascular disease (CVD); rheumatoid arthritis (RA); and pregnancy in a retrospective observational cohort study.

Methods: Insurance claims data from 338,891 individuals with both medical and dental insurance coverage were analyzed in 2011-2013.

Association of a common genetic factor, PTGER3, with outcome of periodontal therapy and preterm birth.

Background: Clinical evidence suggests an association between preterm birth and periodontal disease. This study explores whether specific genetic polymorphisms are associated with success of periodontal therapy in pregnant women with periodontal disease and, further, whether any of these same polymorphisms are also associated with spontaneous preterm birth (sPTB).

Methods: One hundred sixty high-risk pregnant women (6 to 20 weeks of gestation) with periodontal disease (≥ 3 sites with attachment loss ≥ 4 mm) were studied.

Disposition and metabolism of N,N-dimethylacetoacetamide in male F344 and Wistar-Han rats and female B6C3F1 mice.

N,N-dimethylacetoacetamide (DMAAm) is a β-dicarbonyl compound used as an industrial intermediate. This study investigated the disposition and metabolism of [¹⁴C]DMAAm in male rats and female mice. A single oral dose of [¹⁴C]DMAAm (target dose of 10 or 130 mg/kg) was administered to male F344 and Wistar-Han rats.

Comparative methodologies for measuring metabolizable energy of various types of resistant high amylose corn starch.

Energy values of high amylose corn starches high in resistant starch (RS) were determined in vivo by two different methodologies. In one study, energy values were determined according to growth relative to glucose-based diets in rats fed diets containing RS(2), heat-treated RS(2) (RS(2)-HT), RS(3), and amylase predigested versions to isolate the RS component. Net metabolizable energy values ranged from 2.

A meta-analytic approach to determine the state of the science on implant dentistry.

Meta-analyses have been widely used to estimate treatment effects in evidence-based dentistry. Few conferences, however, have used a systems approach to assure coherent data management and analysis. The purpose of this section is to describe the data management and statistical analysis for the State of the Science of Implant Dentistry (SSID) conference.

Reducing firearm violence: a research agenda.

In the United States, firearms are involved in tens of thousands of deaths and injuries each year. The magnitude of this problem prompted the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) to issue a report in 2004 detailing the strengths and limitations of existing research on the relationship between firearms and violence. In response, a multidisciplinary group of experts in the field of firearms and violence formed the National Research Collaborative on Firearm Violence.

Obesity - a perspective based on the biochemical interrelationship of lipids and carbohydrates.

Many factors affect the onset of obesity including satiety control, reduced levels of physical exercise as well as hormonal and genetic parameters which influence the metabolic pathways leading to the net accumulation of triacylglycerol (TAG). The predominant fatty acid of human adipose tissue TAGs is oleic acid, reflecting primarily the composition of the diet but also the product of de novo lipogenesis. Consequently, both carbohydrates and lipids are potential sources of these stored fats.

Postprandial carbohydrate metabolism in healthy subjects and those with type 2 diabetes fed starches with slow and rapid hydrolysis rates determined in vitro.

The objective of the present study was to investigate the effects of starches with differing rates of hydrolysis on exposure to pancreatin in vitro on postprandial carbohydrate metabolism in healthy subjects and in subjects with type 2 diabetes. Two test starches, prepared from uncooked native granular starch products, and naturally enriched with 13C, were consumed in a randomized crossover design by eight healthy and thirteen type 2 diabetic subjects. One starch was characterized in vitro as being rapidly hydrolysed (R, 94% after 180 min), and the other was more slowly hydrolysed (S, 51% after 180 min).

Lack of significant genotoxicity of purified soy isoflavones (genistein, daidzein, and glycitein) in 20 patients with prostate cancer.

Background: Genistein may be useful in the prevention or treatment of prostate cancer; however, it causes genetic damage in cultured human cells.

Objective: The objective was to assess the potential genotoxicity of a purified soy unconjugated isoflavone mixture in men with prostate cancer.

Design: Twenty patients with prostate cancer were treated with 300 mg genistein/d for 28 d and then with 600 mg/d for another 56 d.

Influence of implant geometry and surface characteristics on progressive osseointegration.

Purpose: Although no currently available technique for the measurement of osseointegration is entirely satisfactory, 3 clinical variables can be reasonably associated with the process: probing depth, micromobility, and crestal bone height. Micromobility can be quantified to some extent with the use of the Periotest, a commercially available instrument In this investigation, the influence of surface characteristics and geometry upon Periotest value (PTV) and probing depth measurements was studied.

Materials And Methods: In a multicenter trial, 120 healthy edentulous patients received 5 or 6 implants in the anterior mandible and were followed for 3 years.

Mandibular growth following implant restoration: does Wolff's law apply to residual ridge resorption?

This study measured bone height under a fixed detachable cantilever restoration supported by five or six endosseous implants in 60 consecutively treated patients. Panoramic films were made at surgery and 1, 2, 3, and 4 years postrestoration. A computer-enhanced method was used to measure mandibular height 5, 10, 15, and 20 mm distal to the last implant, which was used as a length.

Production of a freeze-thaw-stable potato starch by antisense inhibition of three starch synthase genes.

The use of unmodified starches in frozen foods is severely limited by the undesirable textural changes that occur after freezing and thawing. Retrogradation of glucan chains leads to syneresis, a separation of the starch gel and water phases. Stabilization of the starch structure is normally achieved by chemical modification to prevent these changes from occurring.

Dynamic behavior of implants as a measure of osseointegration.

Research into the formation, destruction, and adaptation of bone around implants would benefit from a sensitive, nondestructive, noninvasive, and quantitative technique to assess the bone-implant interface. It is hypothesized that osseointegration can be quantified by sensing the mechanical impedance (or micromobility) of the implant when it is subjected to minute vibratory forces superimposed upon a quasi-static preload. To test this hypothesis, a total of 24 identical threaded, titanium root-form implants (10 x 3.

Periodontal disease progression.

Background: The objective of this investigation is to use noninvasive, state-of-the-art, diagnostic techniques to measure periodontal disease progression and model periodontal disease activity over time. In this investigation, digital subtraction radiography and an electronic controlled force periodontal probe capable of attachment level measurement were used to measure bone loss and attachment loss, respectively. The use of these nearly continuous measures of attachment and bone loss allowed detection of small amounts of disease activity and provided data to be used in modeling of the disease process over time.

Production of very-high-amylose potato starch by inhibition of SBE A and B.

High-amylose starch is in great demand by the starch industry for its unique functional properties. However, very few high-amylose crop varieties are commercially available. In this paper we describe the generation of very-high-amylose potato starch by genetic modification.

Assessment of osseointegration by nonlinear dynamic response.

Quantitative assessment of osseointegration remains a goal of researchers and clinicians alike. In this study, an instrument was designed for this purpose and tested in an animal model. Effective mechanical impedance, linearized for quasi-static force, was measured in 22 implants placed in the hind tibiae of 2 large hounds.

A minor form of starch branching enzyme in potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) tubers has a major effect on starch structure: cloning and characterisation of multiple forms of SBE A.

Full length cDNAs encoding a second starch branching enzyme (SBE A) isoform have been isolated from potato tubers. The predicted protein has a molecular mass of 101 kDa including a transit peptide of 48 amino acids. Multiple forms of the SBE A gene exist which differ mainly in the length of a polyglutamic acid repeat at the C-terminus of the protein.

Colonic bacterial activity and serum lipid risk factors for cardiovascular disease.

Antibiotics are being proposed for the treatment of cardiovascular disease. In the past, antibiotics were advocated for the control of hypercholesterolemia. We have therefore investigated the relation between colonic bacterial activity and serum lipids.

Physiological effects of resistant starches on fecal bulk, short chain fatty acids, blood lipids and glycemic index.

Objective: To assess the effects on fecal bulking, fecal short chain fatty acid (SCFA) production, blood lipids and glycemic indices of two different forms of resistant starch (RS2 and RS3) from a high-amylose cornstarch.

Methods: Twenty-four healthy subjects (12 men; 12 women) consumed four supplements taken for 2 weeks in random order separated by 2-week washout periods. The supplements were a low-fiber (control) and supplements providing an additional 30 g dietary fiber as wheat bran (high-fiber control) or the equivalent amount of resistant starch analyzed gravimetrically as dietary fiber from RS2 or RS3.

Comparison of lead bioavailability in F344 rats fed lead acetate, lead oxide, lead sulfide, or lead ore concentrate from Skagway, Alaska.

An animal model using rats was developed to initiate investigations on the bioavailability of different sources of environmental lead. Lead must be absorbed and transported to target organs like brain, liver, kidney, and bone, before susceptible cells can be harmed. The bioavailability and therefore the toxicity of lead are dependent upon the route of exposure, dose, chemical structure, solubility, particle size, matrix incorporation, and other physiological and physicochemical factors.

Planning interactive implant treatment with 3-D computed tomography.

Treatment planning for dental implants presents special challenges to the dentist. The authors review the conventional radiographic and non-radiographic methods for the assessment of the implant site. A new dental interactive treatment planning program under development at the University of Alabama School of Dentistry Department of Periodontics is described.

A periodontal probe with automated cemento--enamel junction detection-design and clinical trials.

An automated periodontal probe has been developed to measure pocket depth and attachment loss in a single measurement under controlled force conditions. A natural anatomic landmark, the cemento-enamel junction (CEJ), is used as a reference for attachment level measurements. The CEJ is detected automatically by immediate digital postprocessing of simultaneous measurements of probe tip acceleration and displacement during probing.

Synthesis and possible applications of biotin-linked copper clusters.

The trifunctional aziridine XAMA-7 (CAS 57116-45-7) has been used to form crosslinks between a deep red-violet copper cluster of the type Cu(I)8Cu(II)6pen12Cl5- (pen=penicillamine) and molecules with biological activity such as d-biotin and proteins. A complex containing biotin, bovine serum albumin and the copper cluster displayed activity toward affinity columns of avidin on Agarose, and the red-violet pigment was immobilized on the gel. This interaction was completely blocked in gels which had been pretreated with d-biotin carboxylic acid.