Provision of Public Dental Services During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Experiences of Dental Staff in Greater Western Sydney, Australia.

Background And Aim: The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic led to significant changes in health service delivery. Despite the risk in high-exposure environments, frontline workers such as dental staff were expected to continue delivering essential services. This study specifically sought to explore the experiences of dental staff in New South Wales and determine their perceptions of dental care delivery during a pandemic.

The development of a new oral health patient reported outcome measure: the New South Wales public dental services approach.

Background: Addressing Patient Reported Outcomes (PROs) is essential for patient-centred care, shared decision making and improved health outcomes. Value-based health care systems in New South Wales (NSW) have a growing focus on collecting and using PROs that matter most to patients to improve their healthcare outcomes. Developing oral health patient reported outcomes measures (OH-PROM) is a first step towards value-based oral health care.

Parenting style in the NICU is stable, measurable, and predictive of 2-year parenting style.

Objective: To establish psychometric properties of Baby Care Questionnaire (BCQ) in preterm infants, individual level stability of BCQ scores from NICU to 2 years corrected gestational age (CGA), and to determine whether early BCQ scores predict 2-year parenting styles.

Study Design: In this prospective study, the BCQ assessed early parental structure and attunement at 4 time points between NICU and 2-years CGA. The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ) at 2-years evaluated authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive parenting styles.

Paired Transcriptomic Analyses of Atheromatous and Control Vessels Reveal Novel Autophagy and Immunoregulatory Genes in Peripheral Artery Disease.

Peripheral artery disease (PAD), a significant health burden worldwide, affects lower extremities due to atherosclerosis in peripheral vessels. Although the mechanisms of PAD have been well studied, the molecular milieu of the plaques localized within peripheral arteries are not well understood. Thus, to identify PAD-lesion-specific gene expression profiles precluding genetic, environmental, and dietary biases, we studied the transcriptomic profile of nine plaque tissues normalized to non-plaque tissues from the same donors.

A case for genetic testing: Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy presenting as myocarditis.

Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy (ACM) is an inherited cardiomyopathy associated with fibrofatty tissue replacement of the ventricular tissue. The disease can cause ventricular dysfunction and arrhythmias and can increase the risk of sudden cardiac death. This cardiomyopathy can have variable clinical presentations, especially in the pediatric and young adult populations.

A comparative study of fractional CO laser with topical triamcinolone acetonide versus intralesional triamcinolone acetonide in the treatment of alopecia areata.

Introduction: Alopecia areata (AA) is a non-scarring alopecia of chronic autoimmune etiology with heterogenous severity against the anagen hair follicle over the scalp, beard, or any part of the body and is associated with a significant psychological morbidity in the mental status of the patients leading the patients to seek treatment for cosmetic reasons. The management of AA is very unpredictable and is associated with various cosmetic adverse effects. This study aimed at comparing the efficacy and safety of a novel procedure of laser-assisted drug delivery system of steroids with the first-line procedure of intralesional steroids (ILS) for the treatment of patchy AA.

Verifiable Blind Quantum Computing with Trapped Ions and Single Photons.

We report the first hybrid matter-photon implementation of verifiable blind quantum computing. We use a trapped-ion quantum server and a client-side photonic detection system networked via a fiber-optic quantum link. The availability of memory qubits and deterministic entangling gates enables interactive protocols without postselection-key requirements for any scalable blind server, which previous realizations could not provide.

The perceptions of palliative care medical practitioners towards oral health: A descriptive qualitative study.

Background: Oral health problems are common, but often overlooked, among people receiving palliative care.

Aim: To better understand how oral health can be addressed in this population, this study aimed to explore the perceptions of oral health care among medical practitioners who provide palliative care to inform the development of a palliative oral health care program.

Design: A descriptive qualitative design was adopted.

Breaking the Entangling Gate Speed Limit for Trapped-Ion Qubits Using a Phase-Stable Standing Wave.

All laser-driven entangling operations for trapped-ion qubits have hitherto been performed without control of the optical phase of the light field, which precludes independent tuning of the carrier and motional coupling. By placing ^{88}Sr^{+} ions in a λ=674  nm standing wave, whose relative position is controlled to ≈λ/100, we suppress the carrier coupling by a factor of 18, while coherently enhancing the spin-motion coupling. We experimentally demonstrate that the off-resonant carrier coupling imposes a speed limit for conventional traveling-wave Mølmer-Sørensen gates; we use the standing wave to surpass this limit and achieve a gate duration of 15  μs, restricted by the available laser power.

Study of Cutaneous Manifestations in Alcohol Dependence Syndrome Patients in a Rural Tertiary Care Center in India.

Background: Chronic alcoholism is a multifactorial condition predisposed by environmental, social, and psychological factors. Alcohol dependence syndrome (ADS) can present with varied cutaneous and systemic manifestations. The effects of alcohol use include cutaneous infections, infestations, features of malnutrition, exacerbation of pre-existing dermatoses, and alcohol-related dermatoses.

Coherent Control of Trapped-Ion Qubits with Localized Electric Fields.

We present a new method for coherent control of trapped ion qubits in separate interaction regions of a multizone trap by simultaneously applying an electric field and a spin-dependent gradient. Both the phase and amplitude of the effective single-qubit rotation depend on the electric field, which can be localized to each zone. We demonstrate this interaction on a single ion using both laser-based and magnetic-field gradients in a surface-electrode ion trap, and measure the localization of the electric field.

A pharmacokinetic study to correlate the hypoglycemic effect of phlorizin in rats: Identification of metabolites as inhibitors of sodium/glucose cotransporters.

Phlorizin (PRZ) is a natural product that belongs to a class of dihydrochalcones. The unique pharmacological property of PRZ is to block glucose absorption or reabsorption through specific and competitive inhibitors of the sodium/glucose cotransporters (SGLTs) in the intestine (SGLT1) and kidney (SGLT2). This results in glycosuria by inhibiting renal reabsorption of glucose and can be used as an adjuvant treatment for type 2 diabetes.

Bayley trajectories predict school readiness better than single assessments in formerly very preterm preschoolers.

Background: Development of children born very preterm (VPT) is evaluated using the Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Early Bayley scores may not predict later outcomes. We studied whether VPT Bayley trajectories in the early years predicted school readiness better than single assessments.

Robust Quantum Memory in a Trapped-Ion Quantum Network Node.

We integrate a long-lived memory qubit into a mixed-species trapped-ion quantum network node. Ion-photon entanglement first generated with a network qubit in ^{88}Sr^{+} is transferred to ^{43}Ca^{+} with 0.977(7) fidelity, and mapped to a robust memory qubit.

Oral health-care needs among clients receiving alcohol and other drugs treatment-A scoping review.

Issues: Poor oral health is a significant problem among people who access alcohol and other drugs (AOD) health services, yet little is known about their oral health-care needs and whether any interventions and guidelines are implemented within AOD treatment services.

Approach: A scoping review was conducted to identify scientific literature in three focus areas: oral health knowledge, attitudes and practices of clients and clinicians at AOD-related services; oral health guidelines for AOD clinicians; and interventions that describe clinicians promoting oral health among clients.

Key Findings: Thirty-two reports were identified.

Risk factors for extended length of stay and non-home discharge in adults treated with multi-level fusion for lumbar degenerative pathology and deformity.

Purpose: To identify independent risk factors, including the Risk Assessment and Prediction Tool (RAPT) score, associated with extended length of stay (eLOS) and non-home discharge following elective multi-level instrumented spine fusion operations for diagnosis of adult spinal deformity (ASD) and lumbar degenerative pathology.

Methods: Adults who underwent multi-level ([Formula: see text] segments) instrumented spine fusions for ASD and lumbar degenerative pathology at a single institution (2016-2021) were reviewed. Presence of a pre-operative RAPT score was used as an inclusion criterion.

Modification of α-Tocopherol Succinate with a Tumor-targeting Peptide Conjugate Enhances the Antitumor Efficacy of a Paclitaxel-loaded Lipid Aggregate.

Paclitaxel (PTX) is a widely used chemotherapeutic agent in the clinic. However, its clinical benefit is limited due to its low water solubility, off-target toxicity, and for being a multidrug-resistant (MDR) substrate. To overcome these limitations in this study, a tumor-targeting peptide (CRGDK peptide, a ligand for NRP-1 receptor) conjugate of α-tocopheryl succinate (α-TOS) was synthesized and modified on PTX-loaded lipid aggregate (TL-PTX) to leverage the benefits of α-TOS, which include a) anti-cancer activity, b) increased PTX loading, and c) inhibition of MDR activity.

Validation of antioxidant, antiproliferative, and in vitro anti-rheumatoid arthritis activities of epigallo-catechin-rich bioactive fraction from Camellia sinensis var. assamica, Assam variety white tea, and its comparative evaluation with green tea fraction.

The epigallocatechin-rich polyphenolic fraction of Assam variety white tea, traditionally used for the management of diverse inflammatory ailments and health drink, was investigated through eco-friendly green aqueous extraction, TLC, and HPLC characterization, phytochemical screening, in vitro DPPH assay, anti-proteinase, MTT assay on synovial fibroblast and colon cancer cells, apoptotic FACS analysis, cytokine ELISA, p-STAT3 western blotting, and in silico docking analysis. HPLC-TLC standardized white tea fraction (WT-F) rendered higher extractive-yield (21%, w/w), than green tea fraction(GT-F) (12%, w/w). WT-F containing flavonoids and non-hydrolysable polyphenols showed better antioxidant activity, rather than equivalent GT-F.

An elementary quantum network of entangled optical atomic clocks.

Optical atomic clocks are our most precise tools to measure time and frequency. Precision frequency comparisons between clocks in separate locations enable one to probe the space-time variation of fundamental constants and the properties of dark matter, to perform geodesy and to evaluate systematic clock shifts. Measurements on independent systems are limited by the standard quantum limit; measurements on entangled systems can surpass the standard quantum limit to reach the ultimate precision allowed by quantum theory-the Heisenberg limit.

Long-term effectiveness of the midwifery initiated oral health-dental service program on maternal oral health knowledge, preventative dental behaviours and the oral health status of children in Australia.

Background: The Midwifery Initiated Oral Health-Dental Service was developed to train midwives to promote maternal oral health, and a large trial showed it substantially improved the oral health, knowledge and behaviours of pregnant women.

Aim: Evaluate the long-term effectiveness of the program (post-trial) on maternal oral health knowledge, dental behaviours, and early childhood caries in offspring.

Methods: A prospective cohort study involving 204 women and children 3-4 years (followed after trial) was conducted in Sydney, Australia from 2017 to 2019.

Managing nitrate-nitrogen in the intensively drained upper Mississippi River Basin, USA under uncertainty: a perennial path forward.

The upper Mississippi River basin has been identified as the most significant contributor of excessive nutrients to the hypoxic zone in the Gulf of Mexico. The land-use changes from an internally drained prairie-wetland complex to an intensively managed corn-soybean production system drained by subsurface tile drainage system in the north-central Iowa and south-central Minnesota are the primary cause of nutrient loads into the Mississippi River and many other environmental stresses. The present study summarizes the water-quality degradation from land-use change and offers a fuzzy logic-based decision support for assessing degree of suitability of the four recommended perennial plant options for managing water and nitrate-nitrogen export.