A dental myth bites the dust--no observable relation between the incidence of dental abscess and the weather and lunar phase: an ecological study.

Background: Anecdotal reports assert a relationship between weather and lunar activity and the odontogenic abscess (OA) incidence, but this relationship has not been validated. Therefore, the present study investigated the relationship between oral pain caused by OA and a variety of meteorological parameters and cyclic lunar activity.

Methods: The records of all dental emergency patients treated at the AllDent Zahnzentrum Emergency Unit in Munich, Germany during 2012 were retrospectively reviewed.

Edge effects in an electrochemical reaction: HCOOH oxidation on a Pt ribbon.

The use of a ribbon-shaped Pt electrode gives rise to edge effects of the interfacial potential, as is predicted from the potential theory in the form of the corresponding reaction-migration equation. They are studied in the bistable region of formic acid oxidation. Essentially, the edges tend to be more passive than the bulk of the electrode, which also causes a passivation (activation) transition to originate from the edges (center) of the ribbon.