The slopes of sub-barrier heavy-ion fusion excitation functions shed light on the dynamics of quantum tunnelling.

Quantum tunnelling plays a crucial role in heavy-ion fusion reactions at sub-barrier energies, especially in the context of nuclear physics and astrophysics. The nuclear structure of the colliding nuclei and nucleon transfer processes represent intrinsic degrees of freedom. They are coupled to the relative ion motion and, in general, increase the probability of tunnelling. The influence of couplings to nucleon transfer channels relatively to inelastic excitations, on heavy-ion fusion cross sections, is one of the still open problems in this field. We present a new analysis of several systems, based on the combined observation of the energy-weighted excitation functions E σ in relation to their first energy derivatives d ( E σ ) / d E . The relation between d ( E σ ) / d E and E σ removes the basic differences due to the varying Coulomb barrier when comparing different systems. We show that, depending on the nuclear structure and/or the presence of strong transfer channels, this representation reveals characteristic features below the barrier. The possible presence of cross section oscillations makes this analysis less clear for light- or medium-light systems.

Effect of hydrogen peroxide and hyaluronic acid in mouth rinse after third molar extraction: a triple-blind parallel randomized controlled clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: The study aimed to investigate the potential beneficial role of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and hyaluronic acid (HA) combination formulation in socket healing after third molar surgery. Biomaterials, including mouthwash formulations, were hypothesized to contribute to improved socket healing and reduced post-operative complications. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A triple-blinded parallel randomized controlled clinical trial was conducted at a single-center dental hospital in Milan, Italy. The trial included 114 patients who underwent extraction of impacted, partially erupted, and completely erupted third molars. Patients were randomly assigned to three parallel groups: Group 1 (H2O2 and HA), Group 2 (placebo), and Group 3 (0.2% chlorhexidine). The trial was registered at ClinicalTrial.gov (registration number NCT04438434). The main outcome measures included various parameters related to socket healing, such as pain, inflammation, swelling, plaque index, bleeding index, granulation tissue, suppuration, re-epithelialization, bleeding upon palpation, odor, and taste alteration. Patients were followed up for 7 days. RESULTS: All 114 enrolled patients completed the study, with no dropouts or loss to follow-up. The mean age of patients in the three groups differed (H2O2 and HA: 30.9±14.9; placebo: 27.6±13.1; 0.2% chlorhexidine: 23.05±10.16). Significant reductions (p<0.001) in visual analog scale (VAS) pain levels and other outcome measures were observed in the H2O2 and HA group compared to the placebo group. These findings suggest a positive effect of the H2O2 and HA combination on socket healing after the third molar surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The study concludes that the combination of hydrogen peroxide and hyaluronic acid can be considered a potential mouthwash with beneficial effects on socket healing following third molar surgery. However, additional clinical trials are recommended to validate its effectiveness further and provide additional evidence supporting its use in clinical settings. CLINICALTRIAL: gov: NCT04438434.

Quality of life in oncologic patients after maxillectomy operations: clinical case series on different rehabilitation protocols.

OBJECTIVE: The study's purpose was to compare the quality of life (QoL) in oncologic patients treated with different rehabilitation protocols following maxillary tumor resections. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The patients were divided into three groups. Group A: 18 Patients with maxillary obturator prosthesis. Group B: 17 Patients with simultaneous autologous tissue reconstruction. Group C: 12 Patients with prosthesis on zygomatic implants. The post-operative QoL was compared using standard questionnaires, investigating items like pain, mood, social relations, and specific functions that could potentially compromise the post-operative QoL. A secondary analysis compared reconstructed vs. non-reconstructed patients. RESULTS: Most questionnaire items did not show significant differences among groups. Statistically significant outcomes were found in two parameters (social contact and sexuality), in which patients treated with zygomatic implants had the best satisfaction, and patients with obturator prostheses showed the lowest satisfaction. Patients belonging to the non-reconstructed group showed better moods than those in the reconstructed group, while taste problem complaints and pain were lower in the reconstructed group. CONCLUSIONS: Although the type of reconstruction procedure depends on the type of maxillectomy to be performed and on the general health situation of each patient, the impact of the rehabilitation protocol on the patients' QoL should be accounted for when planning the treatment.

SALIVA-based diagnostic approach for diabetes mellitus: a step towards non-invasive detection - a scoping review.

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a chronic autoimmune disease whose main feature is chronic hyperglycemia. The causes of DM are impaired insulin secretion, impaired insulin action, or both. Saliva is a biofluid that can be considered as a "mirror" reflecting our body's health status; with the rapid advancement in salivaomics, saliva, being a non-invasive and safe source, could be a substitute for blood in the diagnosis and prognosis of diseases. As there are no precise guidelines about the salivary biomarkers correlated with the diagnosis of diabetes, a review was conducted to verify whether saliva analysis can be feasible and which biomarkers are more reliable, for the diagnosis of this disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A literature search was performed through PubMed, Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, LILACS, Open Grey, and Cochrane Library databases. The "PRISMA" guidelines were used for the following review, and thirty-three studies were analyzed. RESULTS: Almost all salivary glucose studies suggest that the estimation of this biomarker can be used as a potential indicator. Furthermore, studies that considered other biomarkers such as 1,5-anhydroglucitol, alpha-amylase, N-acetyl-ß-D-hexosaminidase, asprosin, resistin, and fructosamine reported that these biomarkers resulted to be potentially useful for diabetes screening and diagnosis, with the exception of the cystatin SA. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, several salivary biomarkers could be useful for monitoring DM, but it would be necessary to further expand the research and define precise values for each marker in order to predict with reasonable confidence if an individual is healthy or suffering from diabetes. Finally, standardized saliva collection and processing techniques are key to minimizing interindividual variability in saliva composition.

Salivary proteomic profile of young healthy subjects.

Background: The incidence of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) has been rapidly ramped up worldwide. Hence, there is an urgent need to non-invasively detect NCDs possibly by exploiting saliva as a 'liquid biopsy' to identify biomarkers of the health status. Since, the absence of standardized procedures of collection/analysis and the lack of normal ranges makes the use of saliva still tricky, our purpose was to outline a salivary proteomic profile which features healthy individuals. Methods: We collected saliva samples from 19 young blood donors as reference population and the proteomic profile was investigated through mass-spectrometry. Results: We identified 1,004 proteins of whose 243 proteins were shared by all subjects. By applying a data clustering approach, we found a set of six most representative proteins across all subjects including Coronin-1A, F-actin-capping protein subunit alpha, Immunoglobulin J chain, Prosaposin, 78 kDa glucose-regulated protein and Heat shock 70 kDa protein 1A and 1B. Conclusion: All of these proteins are involved in immune system activation, cellular stress responses, proliferation, and invasion thus suggesting their use as biomarkers in patients with NCDs.

Litiasis biliar en niños: reporte de un caso clínico / Biliary lithiasis in children: report of the case clinic

Del estudio de 256 traumatismos maxilo faciales, se concluye que estos traumatismos son más frecuentes en el sexo masculino (75%), en edades que fluctuan entre 21-30 años (51%) y en personas procedentes de zonas urbanas (80%). De este total 23 casos (9%) tuvieron repercusión directa sobre la órbita y su componente. El autor utiliza como tratamiento la reducción cruenta y osteosítesis con alambre quirúrgico, complementando con antrotomía maxilar y uso de balón antral o taponamiento del seno, según se trate de fractura simple o conminuta. En algunos casos deberá recurrir al uso de injertos naturales (hueso-cartílago) cuando la destrucción del piso de la órbita es grande y existe la posibilidad de que el globo caiga en el interior del seno maxilar