Calcification of the Atlanto-Occipital Ligament (Ponticulus Posticus) in Orthodontic Patients: A Retrospective Study.

Background: Ponticlus Posticus (PP) is a rare anomaly of the first cervical vertebra easily identifiable in lateral cephalometric radiograph and typically required for orthodontic diagnosis. The aim of this study is to evaluate the PP prevalence in lateral Cephalograms in a cohort of orthodontic patients treated at the Dental School of the University of Bari 'Aldo Moro', Italy, and to find possible connection between PP and other dental anomalies, as well as the patient's cephalometric characteristics.

Methods: A total of 150 panoramic radiographs and 150 lateral Cephalograms, obtained for orthodontic use only, were evaluated.

Functional MRI Correlates of Stroop N-Back Test Underpin the Diagnosis of Major Depression.

Introduction: In the current study, we used the Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT) combined with an n-back component in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in order to activate the working memory and cognitive interference in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) as compared to healthy controls. Our hypothesis was that there would be significant alterations in the selective visual attention processing regions of the brain which may identify mechanisms underlying major depression.

Materials And Methods: Fifty participants, of which 24 were patients with depression and 26 healthy controls were recruited.

The role of 18F-FDG PET/CT and single isotope 99mTc-tetrofosmin scintigraphy combined with SPECT in diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 syndrome.

We present a case of a 47-year-old woman with type 1 multiple endocrine neoplasia, primary hyperparathyroidism, insulinoma, and nonfunctioning pituitary adenoma. In July 2017, the patient was referred to the Department of Nuclear Medicine of St George University Hospital in Plovdiv for a PET/CT scan because of persistent hypoglycemic episodes and high serum insulin levels. A whole-body PET/CT examination was performed 65 min after intravenous application of 188 MBq 18F-FDG on a hybrid PET/CT scanner (Biograph mCT 64, Siemens).

Liquid Biopsy - Possibilities for Monitoring the Therapeutic Response in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from malignancy worldwide. Its heterogeneity and tumour biology make treatment considerably more difficult. The introduction of target molecules heralded the beginning of the personalized medicine which tailors medical treatments to the molecular and genetic profile of a patient.

A Comparative Clinical Study of Er:YAG Laser and Hand Instruments in the Treatment of Moderate Chronic Periodontitis.

Introduction: Moderate chronic periodontitis is the most common periodontal disease. The treatment of this condition should aim at achieving a biocompatible root surface and decontamination of the pocket, thereby restoring the health status.

Aim: In the present study, the aim was to examine the clinical effectiveness of fibreless Er:YAG laser used for scaling and root planing and to compare it with a conventional treatment with Gracey curettes.

Laser-Assisted Gingivectomy to Treat Gummy Smile.

Excessive gingival display (EGD) is the extensive exposure of the gingiva during a smile. It is a common concern among patients, which may compromise the esthetic outcome of the dental treatment. Dental lasers demonstrate several advantages for soft tissue dental surgery compared with conventional surgical methods related to their technical characteristics.

False dogmas in mood disorders research: Towards a nomothetic network approach.

The current understanding of major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder (BD) is plagued by a cacophony of controversies as evidenced by competing schools to understand MDD/BD. The DSM/ICD taxonomies have cemented their status as the gold standard for diagnosing MDD/BD. The aim of this review is to discuss the false dogmas that reign in current MDD/BD research with respect to the new, data-driven, machine learning method to model psychiatric illness, namely nomothetic network psychiatry (NNP).

Vitamin D3 Serum Levels in Periodontitis Patients: A Case-Control Study.

: Periodontitis is a multifactorial disease characterized by bacterial-dysbiosis-associated, host-mediated inflammation, which results in the loss of the tooth-supporting tissues. Vitamin D3 plays an important role in the tissue homeostasis and its deficiency might have a negative effect on the periodontitis progression and treatment outcomes. : The aim of the study was to evaluate the vitamin D3 serum levels among patients with periodontitis and healthy subjects.

Distress and Wellbeing among General Practitioners in 33 Countries during COVID-19: Results from the Cross-Sectional PRICOV-19 Study to Inform Health System Interventions.

Emerging literature is highlighting the huge toll of the COVID-19 pandemic on frontline health workers. However, prior to the crisis, the wellbeing of this group was already of concern. The aim of this paper is to describe the frequency of distress and wellbeing, measured by the expanded 9-item Mayo Clinic Wellbeing Index (eWBI), among general practitioners/family physicians during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify levers to mitigate the risk of distress.

Dietary Supplements as Source of Unintentional Doping.

Background: The substances used in sport could be divided into two major groups: those banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency and those which are not. The prohibited list is extremely detailed and includes a wide variety of both medicinal and nonmedicinal substances. Professional athletes are exposed to intense physical overload every day.

New 1-benzimidazole-2-yl hydrazones with combined antiparasitic and antioxidant activity.

Parasitic infections, caused mainly by the species (), are widespread around the world and lead to morbidity and mortality in the population. Meanwhile, some studies have showed that these parasites induce oxidative stress in the infected host. With the aim of developing a class of compounds combining anthelmintic with antioxidant properties, a series of new benzimidazolyl-2-hydrazones 5a-l, bearing hydroxyl- and methoxy-groups, were synthesized.

Oral exercises significantly improve oral functions in people with mild and moderate dementia: A randomised controlled study.

Background: There have been no standard protocols of oral exercises for maintaining and improving oral function for people with dementia.

Objective: This study aimed to determine the effects of home-based oral exercises on the oral function of people with mild to moderate dementia.

Methods: Twenty-two participants at King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital were randomly assigned to the exercise group (n = 11) or control group (n = 11).

Polysaccharides and Their Derivatives as Potential Antiviral Molecules.

In the current context of the COVID-19 pandemic, it appears that our scientific resources and the medical community are not sufficiently developed to combat rapid viral spread all over the world. A number of viruses causing epidemics have already disseminated across the world in the last few years, such as the dengue or chinkungunya virus, the Ebola virus, and other coronavirus families such as Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS-CoV) and severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS-CoV). The outbreaks of these infectious diseases have demonstrated the difficulty of treating an epidemic before the creation of vaccine.

A Study of IFN-α-Induced Chemokines CCL2, CXCL10 and CCL19 in Patients with Systemic Lupus Erythematosu.

Unlabelled: The role of IFN-α-induced chemokines CCL2, CXCL10 and CCL19 in different forms of SLE has not been studied in Bulgaria, with worldwide sources attributing varying degrees of importance. The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between IFN-induced chemokines CCL2, CXCL10 and CCL19 and disease activity in patients with SLE over 24 months.

Materials And Methods: This study used data from 70 patients with SLE (age range 24-62 years) and a control group of 30 healthy volunteers matched for age and gender.

Application of Mass Multivariate Analysis on Neuroimaging Data Sets for Precision Diagnostics of Depression.

We used the Mass Multivariate Method on structural, resting-state, and task-related fMRI data from two groups of patients with schizophrenia and depression in order to define several regions of significant relevance to the differential diagnosis of those conditions. The regions included the left planum polare (PP), the left opercular part of the inferior frontal gyrus (OpIFG), the medial orbital gyrus (MOrG), the posterior insula (PIns), and the parahippocampal gyrus (PHG). This study delivered evidence that a multimodal neuroimaging approach can potentially enhance the validity of psychiatric diagnoses.

Differentiation of Benign and Malignant Breast Lesions Using ADC Values and ADC Ratio in Breast MRI.

Unlabelled: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the breast has been increasingly used for the detailed evaluation of breast lesions. Diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) gives additional information for the lesions based on tissue cellularity. The aim of our study was to evaluate the possibilities of DWI, apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) value and ADC ratio (the ratio between the ADC of the lesion and the ADC of normal glandular tissue) to differentiate benign from malignant breast lesions.

The lncRNAs/miR-30e/CHI3L1 Axis Is Dysregulated in Systemic Sclerosis.

Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune disease with completely undefined etiology and treatment difficulties. The expression of both protein coding and non-coding RNAs is dysregulated during disease development. We aimed to examine a possible regulatory axis implemented in the control of chitinase-3 like protein 1 (CHI3L1) or YKL-40, an inflammation-associated glycoprotein, shown to be elevated in SSc.

Assessment of hepatitis E seropositivity among HIV-infected patients in Bulgaria.

It is debatable whether HIV-infected patients are at greater risk for hepatitis E virus (HEV) infection compared with healthy subjects. The reported anti-HEV seroprevalence among different groups in Bulgaria varied from 9.04% to 25.

Endothelial inflammation and dysfunction in COVID-19.

The biggest challenge in the COVID-19 pandemic besides the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is to reduce mortality rates. As the number of cases continues to rise and new variants, some with at least partial resistance to vaccines, emerge, the need for better understanding of the underlying pathology of the disease and for improved therapeutic strategies grows urgently. The endothelium is a main target of most viral infections in the body.

Higenamine in Plants as a Source of Unintentional Doping.

Background: Higenamine is a β agonist of plant origin. The compound has been included in WADA's prohibited list since 2017. Higenamine may be detected in different plants and many food supplements of natural origin.

The role of teamwork and non-technical skills for improving emergency surgical outcomes: an international perspective.

The assurance of patient safety in emergency general surgery remains challenging due to the patients' high-risk underlying conditions and the wide variability in emergency surgical care provided around the globe. The authors of this article convened as an expert panel on patient safety in surgery at the 8 International Conference of the World Society of Emergency Surgery (WSES) in Edinburgh, Scotland, on September 7-10, 2021. This review article represents the proceedings from the expert panel discussions at the WSES congress and was designed to provide an international perspective on optimizing teamwork and non-technical skills in emergency general surgery.

Case Report: Digital analysis of occlusion with T-Scan Novus in occlusal splint treatment for a patient with bruxism.

Bruxism is a disease with a multifactorial etiology. Its clinical manifestations are most often an unaesthetic smile with abraded tooth surfaces, temporomandibular disorders and muscle hyperactivity. Here we present a case of bruxism where proper articulation of the occlusal splint was performed using the T-scan Novus system.

Comparison between the Biological Active Compounds in Plants with Adaptogenic Properties (, , and ).

Background: In the 1960s, research into plant adaptogens began. Plants with adaptogenic properties have rich phytochemical compositions and have been used by humanity since ancient times. However, it is not still clear whether the adaptogenic properties are because of specific compounds or because of the whole plant extracts.