Publications by authors named "Pfeifer C"

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  • The study evaluated low-stress resin-based composites (RBCs) and their stress relaxation mechanisms, comparing them to an experimental low-stress thiourethane (TU) material.
  • The experimental composites included a mix of different dimethacrylates and barium aluminosilicate filler, with tests on polymerization kinetics and stress relaxation conducted using advanced analytical techniques.
  • Results indicated that TU-modified RBCs exhibited significantly higher polymerization conversion rates and stress reduction capabilities compared to traditional materials, with the TU composites and SDR Flow+ showing the most effective stress relaxation.
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  • The review focuses on understanding how to improve adhesion to tooth surfaces like enamel and dentin, addressing common challenges in maintaining strong bonds over time.
  • It discusses recent advancements in dental materials that enhance durability and reduce sensitivity for dentists, making high-quality adhesion more accessible for practitioners.
  • The study highlights innovative strategies inspired by nature that aim to strengthen the hybrid layer in dental applications, though there are still hurdles in bringing these techniques from research to everyday clinical use.
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  • Dental caries remains a significant public health challenge, particularly in underserved communities in the U.S., leading to frequent replacements of resin composite restorations due to recurring decay and fractures.
  • New material development should focus on innovative antibiofilm strategies that target harmful bacteria rather than traditional inert fillings, along with stabilization of dental structures to enhance restoration longevity.
  • The review emphasizes the necessity of testing these materials under realistic oral conditions to create durable restorations that can effectively withstand both mechanical stress and biological challenges.
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  • The study developed a new dimethacrylate isomer (PG6EMA) for potential use in dental adhesives and composites.
  • The synthesis of PG6EMA involved testing its performance against a standard mixture (BisGMA/TEGDMA), highlighting differences in polymerization kinetics, viscosity, and mechanical properties.
  • Results indicated that while PG6EMA had slower polymerization rates, it achieved higher degrees of conversion and reduced polymerization stress, suggesting it could be a viable alternative to traditional materials in dentistry.
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  • Dental resin composites often fail due to microcracks that can lead to larger cracks and restoration issues.
  • The study focuses on enhancing self-healing dental resins through the optimization of microcapsules that release healing agents when damaged.
  • Functionalized microcapsules with silanizing agents showed better healing efficiency, particularly the bilayer approach using TEOS and MPTMS, achieving up to 35% toughness recovery compared to standard microcapsules.
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  • A study investigated the properties of acrylamides in self-etching primers, focusing on their stability at acidic pH and compatibility with total etch adhesives.
  • The experimental materials included various acidic primers and adhesives, all designed to bond a commercial dental composite to human dentin while measuring bond strength, flexural strength, viscosity, and other characteristics.
  • Results indicated that HEMA-based materials displayed lower contact angles and higher water sorption compared to DEBAAP, with some performance metrics showing statistical significance, suggesting differences in their bonding abilities.
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Purpose: Dysregulated cholesterol metabolism is critical in the pathogenesis of AMD. Cellular senescence contributes to the development of numerous age-associated diseases. In this study, we investigated the link between cholesterol burden and the cellular senescence of photoreceptors.

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  • The study aims to create adaptable collagen scaffolds to better understand and enhance cell interactions for tissue regeneration, focusing on specific properties like fibril size and porosity.
  • Researchers found that the biophysical characteristics of these collagen scaffolds significantly influence the behavior and development of muscle, bone, and vascular cells.
  • This work introduces a new method for customizing collagen materials, paving the way for improved design of regenerative biomaterials tailored to specific tissue types.
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Introduction: Non-operative treatment (NOT) of proximal humerus fractures (PHF) has regained significance due to recent evidence. Additionally, positive outcomes of plate osteosynthesis and fracture arthroplasty prompt a reassessment of the role of intramedullary nailing (IMN). While favorable short and medium-term results have been documented following IMN, little is known regarding functional outcomes and quality of life in the long-term.

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is an amoeba that causes an uncommon but deadly encephalitis, referred to as granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE). The highest incidence reported worldwide has occurred in America, and within the United States, it has been highest in the Southwest affecting predominantly children and young men of Hispanic ethnicity. Clinical presentation of GAE includes fever, headache, nausea, vomiting, lethargy, irritability, stiff neck, hallucinations, photophobia, and seizures.

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Efforts to resolve the functional impact of variants of uncertain significance (VUS) have lagged behind the identification of new VUS; as such, there is a critical need for scalable VUS resolution technologies. Computational variant effect predictors (VEPs), once trained, can predict pathogenicity for all missense variants in a gene, set of genes, or the exome. Existing tools have employed information on known pathogenic and benign variants throughout the genome to predict pathogenicity of VUS.

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This article explores the practice of immobilization during fluoroscopy procedures for infants, discussing its advantages and disadvantages. The authors examine contrasting policies and thoughts on immobilization across different medical institutions. While some advocate for its routine use to minimize patient motion, enhance imaging quality, and decrease radiation exposure, others question its necessity and raise concerns about patient consent and parental distress.

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Orbital disorders in children consist of varied pathologies affecting the orbits, orbital contents, visual pathway, and innervation of the extraocular or intraocular muscles. The underlying etiology of these disorders may be traumatic or nontraumatic. Presumed location of the lesion along with the additional findings, such as eye pain, swelling, exophthalmos/enophthalmos, erythema, conjunctival vascular dilatation, intraocular pressure, etc, help in determining if imaging is needed, modality of choice, and extent of coverage (orbits and/or head).

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Hydrolytically and enzymatically-stable multi-acrylamides have been proposed to increase the long-term durability of dental adhesive interfaces as alternatives to methacrylates. The aim of this study was to investigate the mechanical and biochemical properties of experimental adhesives containing multi-functional acrylamides concerning collagen reinforcement and metalloproteinases (MMP) activity. Multi-functional acrylamides, TMAAEA (Tris[(2-methylaminoacryl) ethylamine) and DEBAAP (N,N-Diethyl-1,3-bis(acrylamido) propane), along with the commercially available DMAM (N,N-dimethylacrylamide) (monofunctional acrylamide) and HEMA (2-Hydroxyethyl methacrylate) (monofunctional methacrylate - control) were tested for stability against enzymatic hydrolysis by cholesterol esterase/pseudocholinesterase (PC/PCE) solutions for up to 30 days.

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  • Pathologies of the long head of the biceps tendon often lead to anterior shoulder pain, with anatomical variations in the intertubercular groove being a potential factor.
  • This study analyzed MRI scans of 35 patients to measure the relationship between the size of the biceps tendon and the groove it runs through, introducing the concept of a tendon-to-groove ratio.
  • Results showed a consistent reduction in this ratio at different points in the groove, but it did not significantly vary between patients with or without additional shoulder injuries like pulley or SLAP lesions.
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Objectives: Acrylamides were shown to significantly improve bonding stability in adhesive restorations, but the reinforcement mechanism has not been fully elucidated. We tested the hypothesis that hydrogen bonding reinforcement of the collagen network (with secondary or tertiary acrylamides), as well as degree of crosslinking of the polymer network (with di- or tri-functional acrylamides), can be two of the factors at play.

Methods: Two-step total etch adhesives comprising UDMA (60 wt%) and 40 wt% of: TAAEA, TMAAEA (secondary, tertiary tri-acrylamides), BAAP, DEBAAP (secondary, tertiary di-acrylamides) or HEMA (mono-methacrylate - control) were formulated.

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Distracted biking can have serious repercussions for the rider such as accidents. The purpose of the present experiment was to determine the effect of visually monitoring two parameters, the cadence, and the heart rate on a bike computer fixed on a racing bike, and simultaneously detect hazardous traffic situations. Individuals (n = 20) were instructed to ride a racing bike that was fitted onto a roller trainer.

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  • Methylation analysis was conducted on methylated alditol acetate standards and extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from different strains of Streptococcus mutans, including both wild-type and Gtf knockout strains.
  • The methylated alditol acetate standards helped to calibrate the GC-MS system and establish the molar response factor required for accurate quantitative analysis.
  • The study found that while FID response factors aligned with previous literature and were the best option for quantitative results, TIC response factors also provided a valuable alternative for researchers lacking access to an FID detector, ultimately enabling the analysis of linkage types in biofilms.
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Although dysregulated cholesterol metabolism predisposes aging tissues to inflammation and a plethora of diseases, the underlying molecular mechanism remains poorly defined. Here, we show that metabolic and genotoxic stresses, convergently acting through liver X nuclear receptor, upregulate CD38 to promote lysosomal cholesterol efflux, leading to nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD) depletion in macrophages. Cholesterol-mediated NAD depletion induces macrophage senescence, promoting key features of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), including subretinal lipid deposition and neurodegeneration.

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  • - Headache is a common and serious complication after an aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (aSAH), but there's limited evidence on how effective opioids are for treating this pain.
  • - In a study of adult patients with aSAH, opioids were used in nearly all cases, resulting in a minimal average pain reduction that was not significantly related to opioid dosage.
  • - A large number of patients continued using opioids after discharge, raising concerns about ongoing opioid use and the need for better pain management strategies specifically for aSAH headaches.
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The risk of iatrogenic disease is often underestimated as a concern in contemporary medical procedures, encompassing tissue and organ transplantation, stem cell therapies, blood transfusions, and the administration of blood-derived products. In this context, despite the prevailing belief that Alzheimer's disease (AD) manifests primarily in familial and sporadic forms, our investigation reveals an unexpected transplantable variant of AD in a preclinical context, potentially indicating iatrogenic transmission in AD patients. Through adoptive transplantation of donor bone marrow stem cells carrying a mutant human amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgene into either APP-deficient knockout or normal recipient animals, we observed rapid development of AD pathological hallmarks.

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Cell-based cancer immunotherapy has achieved significant advancements, providing a source of hope for cancer patients. Notwithstanding the considerable progress in cell-based immunotherapy, the persistently low response rates and the exorbitant costs associated with their implementation still present a formidable challenge in clinical settings. In the landscape of cell-based cancer immunotherapies, an uncharted territory involves Type 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) and interleukin-33 (IL-33) which promotes ILC2 functionality, recognized for their inherent ability to enhance immune responses.

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This study examined the attentional demands of movement sequence representations at different temporal points after single- or dual-task practice. The visual-spatial representation encodes the movement based on visual-spatial coordinates such as the target locations. The motor representation encodes the movement in motor coordinates including joint angles and muscle activation patterns.

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