Radiographic volume analysis as a novel tool to determine nasopalatine duct cyst dimensions and its association with presenting symptoms and postoperative complications

OBJECTIVES The aims of the study were to use cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images of nasopalatine duct cysts (NPDC) and to calculate the diameter, surface area, and 3D-volume using a custom-made software program. Furthermore, any associations of dimensions of NPDC with age, gender, presence/absence of maxillary incisors/canines (MI/MC), endodontic treatment of MI/MC, presenting symptoms, and postoperative complications were evaluated. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study comprised 40 patients with a histopathologically confirmed NPDC. On preoperative CBCT scans, curves delineating the cystic borders were drawn in all planes and the widest diameter (in millimeter), surface area (in square millimeter), and volume (in cubic millimeter) were calculated. RESULTS The overall mean cyst diameter was 15 mm (range 7-47 mm), the mean cyst surface area 566 mm(2) (84-4,516 mm(2)), and the mean cyst volume 1,735 mm(3) (65-25,350 mm(3)). For 22 randomly allocated cases, a second measurement resulted in a mean absolute aberration of ±4.2 % for the volume, ±2.8 % for the surface, and ±4.9 % for the diameter. A statistically significant association was found for the CBCT determined cyst measurements and the need for preoperative endodontic treatment to MI/MC and for postoperative complications. CONCLUSION In the hands of a single experienced operator, the novel software exhibited high repeatability for measurements of cyst dimensions. Further studies are needed to assess the application of this tool for dimensional analysis of different jaw cysts and lesions including treatment planning. CLINICAL RELEVANCE Accurate radiographic information of the bone volume lost (osteolysis) due to expansion of a cystic lesion in three dimensions could help in personalized treatment planning.

In Vitro and In Vivo Effects of the Bumped Kinase Inhibitor 1294 in the Related Cyst-Forming Apicomplexans Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum.

We report on the in vitro effects of the bumped kinase inhibitor 1294 (BKI-1294) in cultures of virulent Neospora caninum isolates Nc-Liverpool (Nc-Liv) and Nc-Spain7 and in two strains of Toxoplasma gondii (RH and ME49), all grown in human foreskin fibroblasts. In these parasites, BKI-1294 acted with 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50s) ranging from 20 nM (T. gondii RH) to 360 nM (N. caninum Nc-Liv), and exposure of intracellular stages to 1294 led to the nondisjunction of newly formed tachyzoites, resulting in the formation of multinucleated complexes similar to complexes previously observed in BKI-1294-treated N. caninum beta-galactosidase-expressing parasites. However, such complexes were not seen in a transgenic T. gondii strain that expressed CDPK1 harboring a mutation (G to M) in the gatekeeper residue. In T. gondii ME49 and N. caninum Nc-Liv, exposure of cultures to BKI-1294 resulted in the elevated expression of mRNA coding for the bradyzoite marker BAG1. Unlike in bradyzoites, SAG1 expression was not repressed. Immunofluorescence also showed that these multinucleated complexes expressed SAG1 and BAG1 and the monoclonal antibody CC2, which binds to a yet unidentified bradyzoite antigen, also exhibited increased labeling. In a pregnant mouse model, BKI-1294 efficiently inhibited vertical transmission in BALB/c mice experimentally infected with one of the two virulent isolates Nc-Liv or Nc-Spain7, demonstrating proof of concept that this compound protected offspring from vertical transmission and disease. The observed deregulated antigen expression effect may enhance the immune response during BKI-1294 therapy and will be the subject of future studies.

Modern diatom, cladocera, chironomid, and chrysophyte cyst assemblages as quantitative indicators for the reconstruction of past environmental conditions in the Alps. II. Nutrients

Surface sediments from 68 small lakes in the Alps and 9 well-dated sediment core samples that cover a gradient of total phosphorus (TP) concentrations of 6 to 520 μg TP l-1 were studied for diatom, chrysophyte cyst, cladocera, and chironomid assemblages. Inference models for mean circulation log10 TP were developed for diatoms, chironomids, and benthic cladocera using weighted-averaging partial least squares. After screening for outliers, the final transfer functions have coefficients of determination (r2, as assessed by cross-validation, of 0.79 (diatoms), 0.68 (chironomids), and 0.49 (benthic cladocera). Planktonic cladocera and chrysophytes show very weak relationships to TP and no TP inference models were developed for these biota. Diatoms showed the best relationship with TP, whereas the other biota all have large secondary gradients, suggesting that variables other than TP have a strong influence on their composition and abundance. Comparison with other diatom – TP inference models shows that our model has high predictive power and a low root mean squared error of prediction, as assessed by cross-validation.

Evaluation of Soybean Varieties Resistant to Soybean Cyst Nematode

Use of resistant soybean varieties is a very effective strategy for managing soybean cyst nematode (SCN), and numerous SCN-resistant soybean varieties are available for Iowa soybean growers. Each year, public and private SCN-resistant soybean varieties are evaluated in SCN-infested fields in Iowa by Iowa State University personnel. The research described in this report was performed to assess the agronomic performance of SCNresistant soybean varieties and to determine the effects of the varieties on SCN numbers or population densities.

Dinoflagellate cyst assemblages, oxygen isotope records of foraminifera, and alkenone and Mg/Ca-based SST estimates for the time interval 3.40-3.18 Ma (Late Pliocene) from five North Atlantic and Caribbean sediment cores

The early Late Pliocene (3.6 to ~3.0 million years ago) is the last extended interval in Earth's history when atmospheric CO2 concentrations were comparable to today's and global climate was warmer. Yet a severe global glaciation during marine isotope stage (MIS) M2 interrupted this phase of global warmth ~3.30 million years ago, and is seen as a premature attempt of the climate system to establish an ice-age world. Our geochemical and palynological records from five marine sediment cores along a Caribbean to eastern North Atlantic transect show that increased Pacific-to-Atlantic flow via the Central American Seaway weakened the North Atlantic Current (NAC) and attendant northward heat transport prior to MIS M2. The consequent cooling of the northern high latitude oceans permitted expansion of the Greenland ice sheet during MIS M2, despite near-modern atmospheric CO2 concentrations. Before and after MIS M2, heat transport via the NAC was crucial in maintaining warm climates comparable to those predicted for the end of this century.

Dinoflagellate cyst counts and age model from sediment samples of ODP Hole 175-1085A

Sediment samples from ODP Site 1085 were investigated in order to obtain more information on the initiation and development of the Benguela upwelling system during the middle and upper Miocene. In particular, our intent was to establish the causes of the upwelling as well as the response of the upwelling regime to the development of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. Based on changes in the calcareous dinoflagellate cyst association, we found an initial increase of the dinoflagellate cyst productivity, probably related to the initiation of upwelling about 11.8 Ma ago. Two distinct increases in cyst productivity in conjunction with temperature decreases of the upper water masses reflect upwelling pulses off Namibia and occur at the end of the Miocene cooling events Mi5 (about 11.5 Ma) and Mi6 (about 10.5 Ma). Both cooling events are associated with an ice volume increase in Antarctica and are thought to have led to an increase in southeasterly winds, possibly causing these two upwelling pulses. We demonstrate a decrease in dinoflagellate cyst productivity and enhanced terrigenous input via the Orange River after the Mi5 event. At about 11.1 Ma, the dinoflagellate cyst productivity increases again. The polar cyst species Caracomia arctica occurs here for the first time. This implies an influence of subantarctic mode water and therefore a change in the quality of the upwelling water which allowed the Benguela upwelling to develop into modern conditions. From about 10.4 Ma, C. arctica forms a permanent part of the association, pointing to an establishment of the upwelling regime.

Multi-sensor global compilation of mid-Holocene sea surface temperatures, based on Mg/Ca and alkenone palaeothermometry and reconstructions obtained using planktonic foraminifera and organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst

We present and examine a multi-sensor global compilation of mid-Holocene (MH) sea surface temperatures (SST), based on Mg/Ca and alkenone palaeothermometry and reconstructions obtained using planktonic foraminifera and organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst census counts. We assess the uncertainties originating from using different methodologies and evaluate the potential of MH SST reconstructions as a benchmark for climate-model simulations. The comparison between different analytical approaches (time frame, baseline climate) shows the choice of time window for the MH has a negligible effect on the reconstructed SST pattern, but the choice of baseline climate affects both the magnitude and spatial pattern of the reconstructed SSTs. Comparison of the SST reconstructions made using different sensors shows significant discrepancies at a regional scale, with uncertainties often exceeding the reconstructed SST anomaly. Apparent patterns in SST may largely be a reflection of the use of different sensors in different regions. Overall, the uncertainties associated with the SST reconstructions are generally larger than the MH anomalies. Thus, the SST data currently available cannot serve as a target for benchmarking model simulations.

Barremian-Aptian dinoflagellate cyst assemblages

Quantified organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) assemblages are presented for two sedimentary successions deposited in neritic environments of the Tethys Ocean during the Barremian and Aptian in an attempt to reconcile established dinocyst biostratigraphic schemes for Tethyan and Austral regions. One section is at Angles, southeast France (the Barremian stratotype section); the other is at Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 263, off northwest Australia. We also construct a carbon isotope record for Site 263 using bulk organic carbon. Both sections contain abundant, well-preserved dinocyst assemblages. These are diverse, with 89 taxa identified at Angles and 103 taxa identified at Site 263. Of these, more than 93% are cosmopolitan. When combined with other work at Angles and Site 263, we found that nine dinocysts have their first occurrence (FO) or last occurrence (LO) at both locations. These dinocyst events are, in alphabetical order: LO of Cassiculosphaeridia magna, FO of Criboperidinium? tenuiceras, LO of Kleithriasphaeridium fasciatum, LO of Muderongia staurota, FO of Odontochitina operculata, LO of Phoberocysta neocomica, FO of Prolixosphaeridium parvispinum, FO of Pseudoceratium retusum var. securigerum, and FO of Tehamadinium sousense. Although these events support a Barremian-Aptian age for both sections, their stratigraphic order is not the same in the sections. The d13Corg record at Site 263 displays a characteristic series of changes that have also been recorded in other carbon isotope curves spanning the Late Barremian-Early Aptian. Such independent dating (along with ammonite zones at Angles) suggests that three of the nine dinocyst events are approximately isochronous at Angles and Site 263: the LO of K. fasciatum in the mid Barremian, the FO of P. retusum var. securigerum and the FO of C.? tenuiceras in the earliest Aptian; the other six dinocyst events are diachronous. Dinocyst assemblages at Site 263 can be loosely placed within existing Australian zonation schemes, providing much-needed calibration. Our data suggest that the Muderongia testudinaria Zone ends in sediments of mid Barremian age, the succeeding Muderongia australis Zone extends into the Early Aptian, and the younger Odontochitina operculata Zone begins in Early Aptian deposits. The boundary between the M. australis and O. operculata zones, and the Ovoidinium cinctum (as Ascodinium) Subzone, positioned at the top of the M. australis Zone when present, could not be recognized incontrovertibly. Interestingly, however, this horizon broadly correlates with the onset and extent of the Selli Event, a time of major biogeochemical change.

Dinoflagellate cyst assemblages, Mg/Ca based reconstructed temperatures, stable carbon isotopes, and geochemical parameters of sediment core GeoB9508-5

In order to investigate a possible connection between tropical northeast (NE) Atlantic primary productivity, Atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC), and drought in the Sahel region during Heinrich Stadial 1 (HS1), we used dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) assemblages, Mg/Ca based reconstructed temperatures, stable carbon isotopes (d13C) and geochemical parameters of a marine sediment core (GeoB 9508-5) from the continental slope offshore Senegal. Our results show a two-phase productivity pattern within HS1 that progressed from an interval of low marine productivity between ~ 19 and 16 kyr BP to a phase with an abrupt and large productivity increase from ~ 16 to 15 kyr BP. The second phase is characterized by distinct heavy planktonic d13C values and high concentrations of heterotrophic dinocysts in addition to a significant cooling signal based on reconstructions of past sea surface temperatures (SST). We conclude that productivity variations within HS1 can be attributed to a substantial shift of West African atmospheric processes. Taken together our results indicate a significant intensification of the North East (NE) trade winds over West Africa leading to more intense upwelling during the last millennium of HS1 between ~ 16 and 15 kyr BP, thus leaving a strong imprint on the dinocyst assemblages and sea surface conditions. Therefore, the two-phase productivity pattern indicates a complex hydrographic setting suggesting that HS1 cannot be regarded as uniform as previously thought.

Age determinations, dinoflagellate cyst and subpolar foraminifera measurements from sediment core HH11-134-BC, from the west Spitsbergen slope

Three marine sediment cores distributed along the Norwegian (MD95-2011), Barents Sea (JM09-KA11-GC), and Svalbard (HH11-134-BC) continental margins have been investigated in order to reconstruct changes in the poleward flow of Atlantic waters (AW) and in the nature of upper surface water masses within the eastern Nordic Seas over the last 3000 yr. These reconstructions are based on a limited set of coccolith proxies: the abundance ratio between Emiliania huxleyi and Coccolithus pelagicus, an index of Atlantic vs. Polar/Arctic surface water masses; and Gephyrocapsa muellerae, a drifted coccolith species from the temperate North Atlantic, whose abundance changes are related to variations in the strength of the North Atlantic Current. The entire investigated area, from 66 to 77° N, was affected by an overall increase in AW flow from 3000 cal yr BP (before present) to the present. The long-term modulation of westerlies' strength and location, which are essentially driven by the dominant mode of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), is thought to explain the observed dynamics of poleward AW flow. The same mechanism also reconciles the recorded opposite zonal shifts in the location of the Arctic front between the area off western Norway and the western Barents Sea-eastern Fram Strait region. The Little Ice Age (LIA) was governed by deteriorating conditions, with Arctic/Polar waters dominating in the surface off western Svalbard and western Barents Sea, possibly associated with both severe sea ice conditions and a strongly reduced AW strength. A sudden short pulse of resumed high WSC (West Spitsbergen Current) flow interrupted this cold spell in eastern Fram Strait from 330 to 410 cal yr BP. Our dataset not only confirms the high amplitude warming of surface waters at the turn of the 19th century off western Svalbard, it also shows that such a warming was primarily induced by an excess flow of AW which stands as unprecedented over the last 3000 yr.

Pollen and organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst assemblages of sediment core GeoB9503-5

Pollen and organic-walled dinoflagellate cyst assemblages from core GeoB 9503-5 retrieved from the mud-belt ( 50 m water depth) off the Senegal River mouth have been analyzed to reconstruct short-term palaeoceanographic and palaeoenvironmental changes in subtropical NW Africa during the time interval from ca. 4200 to 1200 cal yr BP. Our study emphasizes significant coeval changes in continental and oceanic environments in and off Senegal and shows that initial dry conditions were followed by a strong and rapid increase in humidity between ca. 2900 and 2500 cal yr BP. After ca. 2500 cal yr BP, the environment slowly became drier again as indicated by slight increases in Sahelian savannah and desert elements in the pollen record. Around ca. 2200 cal yr BP, this relatively dry period ended with periodic pulses of high terrigenous contributions and strong fluctuations in fern spore and river plume dinoflagellate cyst percentages as well as in the fluxes of pollen, dinoflagellate cysts, fresh-water algae and plant cuticles, suggesting "episodic flash flood" events of the Senegal River. The driest phase developed after about 2100 cal yr BP.