A retrospective clinical study on the longevity of posterior Class II cast gold inlays/onlays.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the longevity and reasons for failure of posterior cast Class II gold inlays and onlays among a group of Norwegian adults. The term inlay was used for both inlays and onlays. METHODS: A cohort of 138 patients regularly attending a general practice for check-up were examined in 2016. The patients had a total of 391 posterior gold inlays placed in the period 1970-2015. The inlays were categorized as successful, repaired or failed. Reasons for failure were classified as either "secondary caries", "fractures", "lost inlay" or "other". Participation was voluntary and no compensation was given. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients at placement was 50.8 years (SD: 12.7 yr). Most gold inlays were placed in molars (85.9%) and 14.1% in premolars; 49.4% of the inlays were in the maxilla and the 50.6% in the mandibula. Average length of follow-up was 11.6 years (range: 1-46 years, SD: 7.9); 82.9% were classified as successful, 10.7% as repaired and 6.4% as failed. Reasons for failure were secondary caries (41.3%), lost inlay (25.4%), fractures (23.8%) and other (9.5%). Mean annual failure rate (AFR) was 1.69% for repaired and failed inlays combined. However, if repaired inlays were considered as success, the AFR decreased to 0.57%. Multi-level Cox regression analyses identified low age of the patient and high number of restored surfaces as risk factors for failure. CONCLUSION: The present retrospective clinical study demonstrated an acceptable annual failure rate for Class II cast gold inlays.

Analysing the natural population growth of a large marine mammal after a depletive harvest.

An understanding of the underlying processes and comprehensive history of population growth after a harvest-driven depletion is necessary when assessing the long-term effectiveness of management and conservation strategies. The South American sea lion (SASL), Otaria flavescens, is the most conspicuous marine mammal along the South American coasts, where it has been heavily exploited. As a consequence of this exploitation, many of its populations were decimated during the early 20th century but currently show a clear recovery. The aim of this study was to assess SASL population recovery by applying a Bayesian state-space modelling framework. We were particularly interested in understanding how the population responds at low densities, how human-induced mortality interplays with natural mechanisms, and how density-dependence may regulate population growth. The observed population trajectory of SASL shows a non-linear relationship with density, recovering with a maximum increase rate of 0.055. However, 50 years after hunting cessation, the population still represents only 40% of its pre-exploitation abundance. Considering that the SASL population in this region represents approximately 72% of the species abundance within the Atlantic Ocean, the present analysis provides insights into the potential mechanisms regulating the dynamics of SASL populations across the global distributional range of the species.

Autonomic and psychological responses to an acute psychological stressor and relaxation: the influence of hypnotizability and absorption.

This study examined the influence of hypnotizability and absorption on psychological and autonomic responses to an experimental stressor and a relaxation procedure of 13 high and 13 low hypnotizable subjects. Heart-rate variability was the measure of autonomic reactivity. Absorption was found to be the only significant predictor of autonomic reactivity in both experimental conditions. Expectation and previous relaxation training, but not absorption or hypnotizability, predicted perceived relaxation in the relaxation condition. The results suggest that in a nonhypnotic context the influence of hypnotizability on responses to experimental conditions may be less prominent than the influence of absorption. Absorption may be associated with greater awareness of internal physical and psychological processes, and the results support previous clinical findings of positive correlations between absorption, subjective perception of autonomic arousal, and somatic symptom reporting.

Ultrasound investigation of port wine stains.

Congenital capillary malformation, or port wine stains (PWS), have been treated with the pulsed dye laser since the late 1980s. Some studies have shown better results when the malformation has been located on the lateral face, forehead, neck, trunk or shoulder and inferior results, with more treatments required, when it is located on the central face area, dermatome V2 or the extremities. The purpose of this study was to determine the depth of the lesion in various locations. A total of 55 patients with untreated PWS were investigated with a high-resolution 20 MHz ultrasound system. The mean maximum depth of all PWS that were measurable (45 out of 55) was 1.00 mm (+/- 0.50 SD), with a range of 0.2-3.7 mm. Lesions located on the forehead (1.26 +/- 0.44 mm) and on the medial face (1.23 +/- 0.65 mm), were deeper than lesions on the trunk and extremities. PWS involving areas that respond poorly to treatment were on average 0.14 mm deeper than PWS involving areas that responded well. The depth of the PWS, as determined with high-resolution ultrasound, seems to correlate only to some degree with the response to pulsed dye laser treatment. Since this treatment, with its superficial penetration, cannot reach the deeper vessels of a PWS, skin ultrasound could be a good complement in the prognostic investigation as well as for planning treatment.

Estrogenic activity of flavonoids in mice. The importance of estrogen receptor distribution, metabolism and bioavailability.

The in vivo estrogenic potential of the flavonoids apigenin, kaempferol, genistein and equol was investigated in immature female mice. Genistein and equol, administered by gavage for 4 consecutive days [post-natal day (PND) 17-20, 100 mg/kg body weight], was found to significantly increase uterine weights and the overall uterine concentration of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha). In kaempferol- and equol-exposed mice the cytosolic ERalpha concentration was significantly increased as compared to the solvent control, which is speculated to result in an increased sensitivity of the uterus to subsequently encountered estrogens. Oral administration of equol, genistein, biochanin A and daidzein to 6-week-old female mice revealed a great variation in their systemic bioavailability. The urinary recovery of equol was thus over 90% of a single gavage administered dose, whereas the urinary recoveries of biochanin A, genistein and daidzein were 16, 11 and 3%, respectively. Most of the metabolites were either hydroxylated or dehydrogenated forms of the parent compounds. The in vitro estrogenic potency of some of the metabolites was greater than that of the parent compounds, whereas others were of similar or lower potency. Bioavailability, metabolism, the ability to alter ERalpha distribution in the uterus and the estrogenic potential of parent compound and metabolites may thus contribute to the differences in in vivo estrogenicity of dietary flavonoids.

Castor sacs and anal glands of the north american beaver (Castor canadensis): their histology, development, and relationship to scent communication.

Both sexes of beavers possess a pair of castor sacs and a pair of anal glands located in paired subcutaneous cavities between the pelvis and the base of the tail. The castor sacs are not glandular in the histological sense, hence references to these structures as preputial glands or castor glands are misnomers. The wall of the castor sacs is plicate and comprised of three distinct zones: an outer layer of vascular connective tissue, a two-to five-cell-thick layer of mitotic epithelial cells, and several densely packed layers of cornified epithelium which grade into more widely separated sheets toward the lumen. Monocultures of a gram-positive facultatively anaerobic bacterium were present in the lumen of all castor sac preparations. Differences in the frequency of castoreum deposition were not attributable to differences in the structure of the castor sacs. The anal glands of beavers are holocrine sebaceous glands. These glands develop more rapidly than the castor sacs. Anal gland tissue from embryos exhibited cellular characteristics associated with the production of sebum. Secretory activity was evident in all preparations. The relationship of castoreum and anal gland secretion to scent communication among beavers is discussed.