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Journal of Pharmacy & Bioallied Sciences Jul 2022By creating a precise access cavity (AC) and finishing the pulp chamber, less invasive endodontic therapy attempts to improve conventional endodontic therapy. The... (Review)
Review
By creating a precise access cavity (AC) and finishing the pulp chamber, less invasive endodontic therapy attempts to improve conventional endodontic therapy. The cingulum, oblique ridge, and roof of the pulp chamber, which all play a vital role in functional activity, might be preserved to increase fracture resistance. To reduce tooth structure loss, endodontic new ACs have recently been created. The preparation of the conservative access opening had advanced to a new level with the advent of microscopes and improved root canal equipment. The conservation of the cervical dentin is the most essential factor in preserving the restored tooth's normal function and lifespan. In recent years, minimally invasive endodontics has posed a challenge to the traditional method.
PubMed: 36110825
DOI: 10.4103/jpbs.jpbs_668_21 -
The Plant Cell Apr 2022Flowering is a critical agricultural trait that substantially affects tomato fruit yield. Although drought stress influences flowering time, the molecular mechanism...
Flowering is a critical agricultural trait that substantially affects tomato fruit yield. Although drought stress influences flowering time, the molecular mechanism underlying drought-regulated flowering in tomato remains elusive. In this study, we demonstrated that loss of function of tomato OPEN STOMATA 1 (SlOST1), a protein kinase essential for abscisic acid (ABA) signaling and abiotic stress responses, lowers the tolerance of tomato plants to drought stress. slost1 mutants also exhibited a late flowering phenotype under both normal and drought stress conditions. We also established that SlOST1 directly interacts with and phosphorylates the NAC (NAM, ATAF and CUC)-type transcription factor VASCULAR PLANT ONE-ZINC FINGER 1 (SlVOZ1), at residue serine 67, thereby enhancing its stability and nuclear translocation in an ABA-dependent manner. Moreover, we uncovered several SlVOZ1 binding motifs from DNA affinity purification sequencing analyses and revealed that SlVOZ1 can directly bind to the promoter of the major flowering-integrator gene SINGLE FLOWER TRUSS to promote tomato flowering transition in response to drought. Collectively, our data uncover the essential role of the SlOST1-SlVOZ1 module in regulating flowering in response to drought stress in tomato and offer insights into a novel strategy to balance drought stress response and flowering.
Topics: Abscisic Acid; Droughts; Flowers; Gene Expression Regulation, Plant; Solanum lycopersicum; Protein Kinases
PubMed: 35099557
DOI: 10.1093/plcell/koac026 -
The British Journal of Surgery Sep 2021Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling.
BACKGROUND
Preoperative SARS-CoV-2 vaccination could support safer elective surgery. Vaccine numbers are limited so this study aimed to inform their prioritization by modelling.
METHODS
The primary outcome was the number needed to vaccinate (NNV) to prevent one COVID-19-related death in 1 year. NNVs were based on postoperative SARS-CoV-2 rates and mortality in an international cohort study (surgical patients), and community SARS-CoV-2 incidence and case fatality data (general population). NNV estimates were stratified by age (18-49, 50-69, 70 or more years) and type of surgery. Best- and worst-case scenarios were used to describe uncertainty.
RESULTS
NNVs were more favourable in surgical patients than the general population. The most favourable NNVs were in patients aged 70 years or more needing cancer surgery (351; best case 196, worst case 816) or non-cancer surgery (733; best case 407, worst case 1664). Both exceeded the NNV in the general population (1840; best case 1196, worst case 3066). NNVs for surgical patients remained favourable at a range of SARS-CoV-2 incidence rates in sensitivity analysis modelling. Globally, prioritizing preoperative vaccination of patients needing elective surgery ahead of the general population could prevent an additional 58 687 (best case 115 007, worst case 20 177) COVID-19-related deaths in 1 year.
CONCLUSION
As global roll out of SARS-CoV-2 vaccination proceeds, patients needing elective surgery should be prioritized ahead of the general population.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; COVID-19; COVID-19 Vaccines; Comorbidity; Elective Surgical Procedures; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Postoperative Complications; Preoperative Period; Prospective Studies; SARS-CoV-2; Vaccination; Young Adult
PubMed: 33761533
DOI: 10.1093/bjs/znab101 -
Royal Society Open Science Jun 2021This paper presents a graphical method for determining the linearized stiffness and stability of prestressed trusses consisting of rigid bars connected at pinned joints...
This paper presents a graphical method for determining the linearized stiffness and stability of prestressed trusses consisting of rigid bars connected at pinned joints and which possess kinematic freedoms. Key to the construction are the rectangular areas which combine the reciprocal form and force diagrams in the unified Maxwell-Minkowski diagram. The area of each such rectangle is the product of the bar tension and the bar length, and this corresponds to the rotational stiffness of the bar that arises due to the axial force that it carries. The prestress stability of any kinematic freedom may then be assessed using a weighted sum of these areas. The method is generalized to describe the out-of-plane stability of two-dimensional trusses, and to describe three-dimensional trusses in general. The paper also gives a graphical representation of the 'product forces' that were introduced by Pellegrino and Calladine to describe the prestress stability of trusses.
PubMed: 34113449
DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201970 -
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental... 2022Crushing and eating hard prey (durophagy) is mechanically demanding. The cartilage jaws of durophagous stingrays are known to be reinforced relative to non-durophagous...
Crushing and eating hard prey (durophagy) is mechanically demanding. The cartilage jaws of durophagous stingrays are known to be reinforced relative to non-durophagous relatives, with a thickened external cortex of mineralized blocks (tesserae), reinforcing struts inside the jaw (trabeculae), and pavement-like dentition. These strategies for skeletal strengthening against durophagy, however, are largely understood only from myliobatiform stingrays, although a hard prey diet has evolved multiple times in batoid fishes (rays, skates, guitarfishes). We perform a quantitative analysis of micro-CT data, describing jaw strengthening mechanisms in (Bowmouth Guitarfish) and (White-spotted Wedgefish), durophagous members of the Rhinopristiformes, the sister taxon to Myliobatiformes. Both species possess trabeculae, more numerous and densely packed in , albeit simpler structurally than those in stingrays like and . and exhibit impressively thickened jaw cortices, often involving >10 tesseral layers, most pronounced in regions where dentition is thickest, particularly in . Age series of both species illustrate that tesserae increase in size during growth, with enlarged and irregular tesserae associated with the jaws' oral surface in larger (older) individuals of both species, perhaps a feature of ageing. Unlike the flattened teeth of durophagous myliobatiform stingrays, both rhinopristiform species have oddly undulating dentitions, comprised of pebble-like teeth interlocked to form compound "meta-teeth" (large spheroidal structures involving multiple teeth). This is particularly striking in , where the upper/lower occlusal surfaces are mirrored undulations, fitting together like rounded woodworking finger-joints. Trabeculae were previously thought to have arisen twice independently in Batoidea; our results show they are more widespread among batoid groups than previously appreciated, albeit apparently absent in the phylogenetically basal Rajiformes. Comparisons with several other durophagous and non-durophagous species illustrate that batoid skeletal reinforcement architectures are modular: trabeculae can be variously oriented and are dominant in some species (e.g. , ), whereas cortical thickening is more significant in others (e.g. ), or both reinforcing features can be lacking (e.g. , ). We discuss interactions and implications of character states, framing a classification scheme for exploring cartilage structure evolution in the cartilaginous fishes.
PubMed: 36313571
DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2022.932341 -
Lancet (London, England) Nov 2022The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the...
BACKGROUND
The 2015 Lancet Commission on global surgery identified surgery and anaesthesia as indispensable parts of holistic health-care systems. However, COVID-19 exposed the fragility of planned surgical services around the world, which have also been neglected in pandemic recovery planning. This study aimed to develop and validate a novel index to support local elective surgical system strengthening and address growing backlogs.
METHODS
First, we performed an international consultation through a four-stage consensus process to develop a multidomain index for hospital-level assessment (surgical preparedness index; SPI). Second, we measured surgical preparedness across a global network of hospitals in high-income countries (HICs), middle-income countries (MICs), and low-income countries (LICs) to explore the distribution of the SPI at national, subnational, and hospital levels. Finally, using COVID-19 as an example of an external system shock, we compared hospitals' SPI to their planned surgical volume ratio (SVR; ie, operations for which the decision for surgery was made before hospital admission), calculated as the ratio of the observed surgical volume over a 1-month assessment period between June 6 and Aug 5, 2021, against the expected surgical volume based on hospital administrative data from the same period in 2019 (ie, a pre-pandemic baseline). A linear mixed-effects regression model was used to determine the effect of increasing SPI score.
FINDINGS
In the first phase, from a longlist of 103 candidate indicators, 23 were prioritised as core indicators of elective surgical system preparedness by 69 clinicians (23 [33%] women; 46 [67%] men; 41 from HICs, 22 from MICs, and six from LICs) from 32 countries. The multidomain SPI included 11 indicators on facilities and consumables, two on staffing, two on prioritisation, and eight on systems. Hospitals were scored from 23 (least prepared) to 115 points (most prepared). In the second phase, surgical preparedness was measured in 1632 hospitals by 4714 clinicians from 119 countries. 745 (45·6%) of 1632 hospitals were in MICs or LICs. The mean SPI score was 84·5 (95% CI 84·1-84·9), which varied between HIC (88·5 [89·0-88·0]), MIC (81·8 [82·5-81·1]), and LIC (66·8 [64·9-68·7]) settings. In the third phase, 1217 (74·6%) hospitals did not maintain their expected SVR during the COVID-19 pandemic, of which 625 (51·4%) were from HIC, 538 (44·2%) from MIC, and 54 (4·4%) from LIC settings. In the mixed-effects model, a 10-point increase in SPI corresponded to a 3·6% (95% CI 3·0-4·1; p<0·0001) increase in SVR. This was consistent in HIC (4·8% [4·1-5·5]; p<0·0001), MIC (2·8 [2·0-3·7]; p<0·0001), and LIC (3·8 [1·3-6·7%]; p<0·0001) settings.
INTERPRETATION
The SPI contains 23 indicators that are globally applicable, relevant across different system stressors, vary at a subnational level, and are collectable by front-line teams. In the case study of COVID-19, a higher SPI was associated with an increased planned surgical volume ratio independent of country income status, COVID-19 burden, and hospital type. Hospitals should perform annual self-assessment of their surgical preparedness to identify areas that can be improved, create resilience in local surgical systems, and upscale capacity to address elective surgery backlogs.
FUNDING
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery, NIHR Academy, Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel Research UK, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, and Medtronic.
Topics: Male; Humans; Female; Pandemics; COVID-19; Elective Surgical Procedures; Global Health; Hospitals
PubMed: 36328042
DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(22)01846-3 -
The Southern Medical Record Jan 1878
PubMed: 36021462
DOI: No ID Found -
The Hospital Apr 1897
PubMed: 29832531
DOI: No ID Found -
The Hospital Feb 1897
PubMed: 29837303
DOI: No ID Found -
Urologia Internationalis 2019Werner Forssmann (1904-1979) was awarded the Nobel Prize for his self-experiments in catheterization of the heart and thus entered the annals of medicine. But he had... (Review)
Review
Werner Forssmann (1904-1979) was awarded the Nobel Prize for his self-experiments in catheterization of the heart and thus entered the annals of medicine. But he had turned to urology long before he received the Nobel Prize. Who was this person associated with both cardiology and urology? It is precisely this question that the present article explores with the help of both new and reevaluated primary sources. In 1999 Truss et al. already published an article in the World Journal of Urology about the many and varied facets of Forssmann's life and work. Our article ties in with that of Truss et al. and expands the body of knowledge concerning Forssmann and his work. Werner Forssmann as one of the 2 urologists besides Charles B. Huggins who have ever won the Nobel Prize deserves a complete and comprehensive analysis of his life and his life's work. Within -German Urology, the culture of remembrance on Werner Forssmann is an important component and with every newly revealed and interpreted source we get to know better who this urologist was and what role he played in the scientific community.
Topics: Cardiology; Germany; History, 20th Century; Humans; Nobel Prize; Urology
PubMed: 30917372
DOI: 10.1159/000499093