Development of a valid and reliable instrument for the assessment of quality of life in parents of children with clefts.

PURPOSE: Orofacial clefts are the most common congenital malformations that affect craniofacial structures. Studies show that they have a major influence on psychological development of the patient, and on their families. A review of the literature showed a lack of specific questionnaires for children and their parents. This study investigated the impact of orofacial clefts in children on the quality of life of their parents. In addition, the results of the treatment and the quality of work of the health team members involved in this process were evaluated. MATERIALS AND METHODS: For the purpose of this study, an original questionnaire was made to analyse the effect of orofacial clefts in children who had undergone surgery on the quality of life of 73 of their parents. The questionnaire consisted of 28 simple statements, which were evaluated with a 5-degree Likert scale (from 1-fully disagree to 5-fully agree), did not require any specific additional clarification, and were easy to complete. RESULTS: Analysis of areas of the questionnaire that applied to the parents, resulted in two subscales, parental social health and child social health, which had satisfactory Cronbach's coefficients (0.907 and 0.897, respectively). However, some issues had a relatively poor coefficient of internal consistency, which justified their expulsion from the final model of the parent questionnaire. CONCLUSION: The questionnaire developed for this study comprised two subscales concerned with the social health of parents/respondents and the social health of adolescents, as perceived by the parents. It was a valid and reliable instrument, and it showed satisfactory quality of life for parents of adolescents with clefts.

Comparison of the effectiveness of various rotary and reciprocating systems with different surface treatments to remove gutta-percha and an epoxy resin-based sealer from straight root canals.

AIM: To compare the Reciproc Blue, Reciproc and ProTaper Universal Retreatment systems with regard to the effective removal of epoxy resin-based sealer and gutta-percha during the retreatment of oval, straight root canals. METHODOLOGY: Forty-five extracted, human mandibular first premolars with single straight oval canals were selected on the basis of cone beam computed tomography evaluations. The root canals were instrumented with the ProTaper Next system up to the X2 file, and filled with gutta-percha and epoxy resin-based sealer using the cold lateral condensation technique. After 1 month, the samples were randomly divided into three groups (n = 15) according to the retreatment system used: Reciproc Blue R40, Reciproc R40 and ProTaper Universal. The specimens were scanned at the resolution of 1.2 µm by a microcomputed tomography device after the root filling and retreatment procedures, and the decrease in the volume of filling material after each retreatment protocol was measured. The results were analysed using the Kruskal-Wallis test and additional box-and-whisker plots. RESULTS: Although the volume of the filling material decreased significantly in all three groups (P < 0.05), none of the systems removed the material completely. The Reciproc system removed significantly more material than the ProTaper Universal (P < 0.001) and Reciproc Blue (P = 0.005) systems, with the latter two exhibiting equal volumes of remaining material (P = 0.068). CONCLUSION: The Reciproc system was more effective than the Reciproc Blue and ProTaper Universal Retreatment systems during the removal of filling material from oval, straight canals, although none of the systems completely removed the filling material.

Efficacy of removal of cariogenic bacteria and carious dentin by ablation using different modes of Er:YAG lasers.

The primary objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate the efficiency of removal of cariogenic bacteria and carious dentin by ablation using two lasers: fluorescence-feedback controlled (FFC) Er:YAG laser and different pulses of Er:YAG laser based on variable square pulse technology (VSPt). The secondary objective was to measure the temperature during laser ablation of carious tissue. Seventy-two extracted human molars were used in this study. Sixty teeth with carious dentin were randomly divided into four experimental groups according to the treatment for caries removal: group 1: 400 µs (FFC group); group 2: super short pulse (SSP group, 50 µs pulse); group 3: medium short pulse (MSP group, 100 µs pulse); group 4: short pulse (SP group, 300 µs pulse) and one positive control group with no treatment. Twelve teeth without carious lesion were used as a negative control group. After caries removal, swabs were taken with cotton pellets and real-time PCR analysis was performed. During caries ablation, a thermal infrared camera was used to measure the temperature changes. In all experimental groups, specimens were free of bacterial contamination after the treatment. In the SSP, MSP and SP groups, temperatures measured during caries ablation were significantly higher compared to temperatures in the FFC group (P<0.001). In this in vitro study, laser treatment for removal of carious dentin and cariogenic bacteria was an efficient treatment modality without causing excessive temperatures that might adversely affect pulp vitality.

Efficacy of removal of cariogenic bacteria and carious dentin by ablation using different modes of Er: YAG lasers

The primary objective of this in vitro study was to evaluate the efficiency of removal of cariogenic bacteria and carious dentin by ablation using two lasers: fluorescence-feedback controlled (FFC) Er:YAG laser and different pulses of Er:YAG laser based on variable square pulse technology (VSPt). The secondary objective was to measure the temperature during laser ablation of carious tissue. Seventy-two extracted human molars were used in this study. Sixty teeth with carious dentin were randomly divided into four experimental groups according to the treatment for caries removal: group 1: 400 µs (FFC group); group 2: super short pulse (SSP group, 50 µs pulse); group 3: medium short pulse (MSP group, 100 µs pulse); group 4: short pulse (SP group, 300 µs pulse) and one positive control group with no treatment. Twelve teeth without carious lesion were used as a negative control group. After caries removal, swabs were taken with cotton pellets and real-time PCR analysis was performed. During caries ablation, a thermal infrared camera was used to measure the temperature changes. In all experimental groups, specimens were free of bacterial contamination after the treatment. In the SSP, MSP and SP groups, temperatures measured during caries ablation were significantly higher compared to temperatures in the FFC group (P<0.001). In this in vitro study, laser treatment for removal of carious dentin and cariogenic bacteria was an efficient treatment modality without causing excessive temperatures that might adversely affect pulp vitality.

The effectiveness of acupuncture versus clonazepam in patients with burning mouth syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: Burning mouth syndrome (BMS) is a chronic oral condition, characterised by burning symptoms, which mainly affects perimenopausal and postmenopausal women. Neuropathy might be the underlying cause of the condition. There are still insufficient data regarding successful therapy. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of acupuncture and clonazepam. METHODS: Forty-two patients with BMS (38 women, 4 men) aged 66.7±12.0 years were randomly divided into two groups. Acupuncture was performed on 20 participants over 4 weeks, 3 times per week, on points ST8, GB2, TE21, SI19, SI18 and LI4 bilaterally as well as GV20 in the midline, each session lasting half an hour. Twenty-two patients took clonazepam once a day (0.5 mg in the morning) for 2 weeks and, after 2 weeks, two tablets (0.5 mg in the morning and in the evening) were taken for the next 2 weeks. Prior to and 1 month after either therapy, participants completed questionnaires: visual analogue scale, Beck Depression Inventory, Leeds Assessment of Neuropathic Symptoms and Signs (LANSS) pain scale, 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA). RESULTS: There were significant improvements in the scores of all outcome measures after treatment with both acupuncture and clonazepam, except for MoCA. There were no significant differences between the two therapeutic regimens regarding the scores of the performed tests. CONCLUSIONS: Acupuncture and clonazepam are similarly effective for patients with BMS.

Shelf life of packaged bakery goods--a review.

Packaging requirements for fresh bakery goods are often minimal as many of the products are for immediate consumption. However, packaging can be an important factor in extending the shelf life of other cereal-based goods (toast, frozen products, biscuits, cakes, pastas). Some amount of the texture changes and flavor loss manifest over the shelf life of a soft-baked good can usually be minimized or delayed by effective use of packaging materials. The gains in the extension of shelf life will be application specific. It is recognized that defining the shelf life of a food is a difficult task and is an area of intense research for food product development scientists (food technologists, microbiologists, packaging experts). Proper application of chemical kinetic principles to food quality loss allows for efficiently designing appropriate shelf-life tests and maximizing the useful information that can be obtained from the resulting data. In the development of any new food product including reformulating, change of packaging, or storage/distribution condition (to penetrate into a new market), one important aspect is the knowledge of shelf life.

Identification of two groups of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis strains by restriction endonuclease analysis and DNA hybridization.

Genomic DNA was prepared from four reference strains of Mycobacterium paratuberculosis and 46 isolates of this organism from New Zealand, Australia, Canada, and Norway and also from two mycobactin-dependent "wood pigeon" strains. The DNA was characterized by restriction endonuclease analysis, both with and without DNA hybridization, with a probe specific to a repetitive DNA sequence in M. paratuberculosis. Both techniques differentiated M. paratuberculosis strains into two groups, but DNA hybridization revealed more differences between strains within the larger group. All the strains from cattle and many strains from other animals belonged to this group. The second group of nine strains included the Faroe Islands strain, all New Zealand sheep strains, and one New Zealand goat strain. Primary isolation of strains belonging to this group was difficult to achieve. DNA from acid-fast organisms harvested directly from intestinal tissues of sheep with Johne's disease was shown to have restriction and hybridization patterns identical to those of DNA obtained from M. paratuberculosis isolates cultured from the same tissues. Two Norwegian goat strains and the wood pigeon strains did not hybridize to the M. paratuberculosis probe and had restriction patterns very different from those of other M. paratuberculosis strains. The wood pigeon strains had restriction patterns very similar to those of strains of Mycobacterium avium, indicating that they should be classified as that species. The presence of two distinct groups of M. paratuberculosis strains and their predominant distribution in different host animals may be significant in management of mixed-animal farming operations.

Identification of a repetitive DNA sequence specific to Mycobacterium paratuberculosis.

A 0.2-kb DNA sequence specific to Mycobacterium paratuberculosis, the causative organism of Johne's disease, was isolated from a partial genomic library. The sequence was part of a larger repetitive DNA element and was present in strains of M. paratuberculosis from cattle, sheep, goat, deer and also a woman with Crohn's disease but not in M. paratuberculosis strain 18. The sequence was not present in strains of 19 other mycobacterial species including 31 reference serotype strains of the M. avium-M. intracellular-M. scrofulaceum (MAIS) complex, some strains of which are closely related to M. paratuberculosis. The sequence may be useful for developing a diagnostic test for Johne's disease.

Geographic distribution of restriction types of Mycobacterium bovis isolates from brush-tailed possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) in New Zealand.

DNA restriction endonuclease analysis was used for intra-specific typing of Mycobacterium bovis isolates from 83 brush-tailed possums (Trichosurus vulpecula) obtained between 1982 and 1984 from the three major regions in New Zealand with endemic bovine tuberculosis. All the isolates were found to be genetically very similar. Differentiation of the isolates into 33 restriction types was achieved by using high-resolution electrophoresis and the combined results from separate digestions with the restriction enzymes Bst EII, Pvu II and Bcl I. The typing system was entirely reproducible. Isolates of the same type were usually found in adjacent localities and were always limited to one of the three major regions. In some cases, isolates of the same type were found in both 1982 and 1984. The phenotypic significance of the small genetic differences identified between different isolates is unknown. The typing system will be useful for monitoring the transmission of M. bovis to other species and the future spread of different M. bovis types through possum populations.

Effect of gonadectomy on taste preference for glucose solutions in rats.

Mature male and female rats maintained on an ad lib diet were given a choice between tap water and glucose solutions of different concentrations (1, 5 and 12 percent). Both sexes exhibited a definite preference for the 12 percent glucose solution, but the females drank significantly more than males. Gonadectomy produced neither quantitative nor qualitative changes in the choice made by male rats. On the contrary, gonadectomized females showed a depression of the 12 percent glucose solution intake and an increase in the 5 percent glucose solution intake, resulting in a decrease of the total fluid intake. A comparison of ovariectomized and intact female rats in regard to the self-selection of tap water and a 5 percent glucose solution confirmed the stimulatory effect of ovariectomy on the 5 percent glucose solution intake. When a choice between tap water and 12 percent glucose solution was permitted the ovariectomized rats showed a weaker positive response to the sweet solution than the intact female rats.