Effects of periodontal disease on the proteomic profile of the periodontal ligament.

Periodontal disease affects over 1 billion people globally. This study investigated how periodontitis affects the protein profile of the periodontal ligament (PDL) in rats. Eight Holtzman rats were divided into the control and experimental periodontitis groups.

Homogenous catalysis of peroxynitrite conversion to nitrate by diaryl selenide: a theoretical investigation of the reaction mechanism.

Quenching peroxynitrite (a reactive oxidant species) is a vital process in biological systems and environmental chemistry as it maintains redox balance and mitigates damaging effects in living cells and the environment. In this study, we report a systematic analysis of the mechanism of transforming peroxynitrite into nitrate using diaryl selenide in water. Through quantum mechanical calculations, we investigate the dynamic isomerization of peroxynitrite in a homogeneous catalytic environment.

Biophysical contrast sources for magnetic susceptibility and R2* mapping: A combined 7 Tesla, mass spectrometry and electron paramagnetic resonance study.

Iron is the most abundant trace metal in the human brain and consistently shown elevated in prevalent neurological disorders. Because of its paramagnetism, brain iron can be assessed in vivo by quantitative MRI techniques such as R* mapping and Quantitative Susceptibility Mapping (QSM). While Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS) has demonstrated good correlations of the total iron content to MRI parameters in gray matter, the relationship to ferritin levels as assessed by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) has not been systematically analyzed.

In Vivo Neural Tract Tracing Procedures: Unravelling Neural Hodology Using Fluorescent and Non-fluorescent Neural Tract Tracers, Optogenetic Approach, and Diffusion Tensor Neurotractography Protocols.

Fluorescent and non-fluorescent neural tract tracers enable the investigation of neural pathways in both peripheral and central nervous systems in laboratory animals demonstrating images with high resolution and great anatomic precision. Anterograde and retrograde viral tracers are important cutting-edge tools for neuroanatomical mapping. The optogenetic consists of an advanced alternative for in vivo neural tract tracing procedures, fundamentally considering the possibility to dissect and modulate pathways either exciting or inhibiting neural circuits in laboratory animals.

Disparate effects of sclerostin deletion on alveolar bone and cellular cementum in mice.

Background: Cellular cementum (CC) includes cementocytes, cells suspected to regulate CC formation or resorption as osteocytes do in bone. Sclerostin (SOST) is a secreted negative regulator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling expressed by osteocytes and cementocytes. Osteocyte SOST expression reduces bone formation.

Ectopic fat in muscle and poor glycemic control are negatively associated with trabecular bone score in type 2 diabetes.

Introduction: Type 2 Diabetes (T2D) is associated with fractures, despite preserved Bone Mineral Density (BMD). This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between BMD and trabecular bone score (TBS) with the reallocation of fat within muscle in individuals with eutrophy, obesity, and T2D.

Methods: The subjects were divided into three groups: eutrophic controls paired by age and sex with the T2D group (n = 23), controls diagnosed with obesity paired by age, sex, and body mass index with the T2D group (n = 27), and the T2D group (n = 29).

Assessment of U-Net in the segmentation of short tracts: Transferring to clinical MRI routine.

Accurately studying structural connectivity requires precise tract segmentation strategies. The U-Net network has been widely recognized for its exceptional capacity in image segmentation tasks and provides remarkable results in large tract segmentation when high-quality diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) data are used. However, short tracts, which are associated with various neurological diseases, pose specific challenges, particularly when high-quality DWI data acquisition within clinical settings is concerned.

Translational validity of neuropsychological tasks of sustained attention between rodents and humans: A systematic review of three rodent tasks.

Atypical sustained attention is a symptom in a number of neurological and psychological conditions. Investigations into its neural underpinnings are required for improved management and treatment. Rodents are useful in investigating the neurobiology underlying atypical sustained attention and several rodent tasks have been developed for use in touchscreen testing platforms that mimic methodology used in human clinical attention assessment.

Brain morphometry and estimation of aging brain in subjects with congenital untreated isolated GH deficiency.

Purpose: Individuals with isolated GH deficiency (IGHD) due to a mutation in the GHRH receptor gene have a normal life expectancy and above 50 years of age, similar total cognitive performance, with better attention and executive function than controls. Our objectives were to evaluate their brain morphometry and brain aging using MRI.

Methods: Thirteen IGHD and 14 controls matched by age, sex, and education, were enrolled.

Essential surgery delivery in the Northern Kivu Province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Introduction: Surgical services are an essential part of a functional healthcare system, but the Lancet Commission of Global Surgery (LCoGS) indicators of surgical capacity such as perioperative workforce and surgical volume are unknown in many low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). We aimed to determine the surgical capacity and its associated factors within the DRC.

Methods: Hospitals were assessed in the North Kivu province of the DRC.

Student Perceived Confidence with Complex Patients Before and After a Simulated Case-Based Course.

Purpose: This study compared Doctor of Physical Therapy students' perceived confidence with evaluating/treating complex patients before and after a case-based patient management course. The impact of simulated learning and prior clinical exposure were explored.

Methods: A longitudinal, pretest-posttest design was used across 4 university campuses.

Robotic versus Electromagnetic bronchoscopy for pulmonary LesIon AssessmeNT: the RELIANT pragmatic randomized trial.

Background: Robotic-assisted bronchoscopy has recently emerged as an alternative to electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy for the evaluation of peripheral pulmonary lesions. While robotic-assisted bronchoscopy is proposed to have several advantages, such as an easier learning curve, it is unclear if it has comparable diagnostic utility as electromagnetic navigational bronchoscopy.

Methods: Robotic versus Electromagnetic bronchoscopy for pulmonary LesIon AssessmeNT (RELIANT) is an investigator-initiated, single-center, open label, noninferiority, cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in two operating rooms at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Social network risk factors and COVID-19 vaccination: A cross-sectional survey study.

Background: Social networks have an important impact on our health behaviours, including vaccination. People's vaccination beliefs tend to mirror those of their social network. As social networks are homogenous in many ways, we sought to determine in the context of COVID-19 which factors were most predictive of belonging to a mostly vaccinated or unvaccinated social group.

Low-Dose Antithymocyte Globulin: A Pragmatic Approach to Treating Stage 2 Type 1 Diabetes.

Objective: Low-dose antithymocyte globulin (ATG) (2.5 mg/kg) preserves C-peptide and reduces HbA1c in new-onset stage 3 type 1 diabetes, yet efficacy in delaying progression from stage 2 to stage 3 has not been evaluated.

Research Design And Methods: Children (n = 6) aged 5-14 years with stage 2 type 1 diabetes received off-label, low-dose ATG.

Navigational Bronchoscopy versus Computed Tomography-guided Transthoracic Needle Biopsy for the Diagnosis of Indeterminate Lung Nodules: protocol and rationale for the VERITAS multicenter randomized trial.

Background: Lung nodule incidence is increasing. Many nodules require biopsy to discriminate between benign and malignant etiologies. The gold-standard for minimally invasive biopsy, computed tomography-guided transthoracic needle biopsy (CT-TTNB), has never been directly compared to navigational bronchoscopy, a modality which has recently seen rapid technological innovation and is associated with improving diagnostic yield and lower complication rate.

Cultural tightness-looseness and normative social influence in eight Asian countries: Associations of individual and collective norms with vaccination intentions.

Rationale: Countries worldwide faced the same public health crisis that required promoting the same health behavior-vaccinations-during the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, scholars have a unique opportunity to test behavioral change theories across countries with different cultural backgrounds.

Objective: Employing the extended theory of social normative behavior, this study examines the influence of individual and collective norms on COVID-19 vaccination intention across eight Asian countries.

Defining quality of preventive oral health services in a northern First Nations community: a concept mapping study.

Introduction: In partnership with the Norway House Cree Nation (NHCN) in Manitoba, Canada, this study developed a framework based on how Indigenous parents/caregivers of young children and community-based oral health decision-makers perceive 'quality of preventive oral health services'.

Methods: Concept mapping was used to develop the 'quality of preventive oral health services' framework. This involved brainstorming/idea generation, sorting and rating, visual representation, and interpretation sessions with parents/caregivers (CG) and decision-makers (DM) in Norway House, Manitoba.

Prosocial motives underlie scientific censorship by scientists: A perspective and research agenda.

Science is among humanity's greatest achievements, yet scientific censorship is rarely studied empirically. We explore the social, psychological, and institutional causes and consequences of scientific censorship (defined as actions aimed at obstructing particular scientific ideas from reaching an audience for reasons other than low scientific quality). Popular narratives suggest that scientific censorship is driven by authoritarian officials with dark motives, such as dogmatism and intolerance.