Starch grains from dental calculus reveal ancient plant foodstuffs at Chenqimogou site, Gansu Province

National Natural Science Foundation of China [40771205]; National Science Fund for Distinguished Young Scholars [40625002]; Chinese Academy of Sciences [KZCX2-YW-315]

Coal-burning roasted corn and chili as the cause of dental fluorosis for children in southwestern China

To find the pathologic cause of the children's dental fluorosis in southwestern China, diet structure before the age of 6 and prevalence rate of dental fluorosis (DF) of 405 children were investigated, and the fluorine and arsenic content of several materials were determined. The prevalence rate of DF of children living on roasted corn before the age of 6 is 100% with nearly 95% having the mild to severe DF; while that of children living on non-roasted corn or rice is less than 5% with all having very mild DF. The average fluorine and arsenic concentration are 20.26 mg/kg and 0.249 mg/kg in roasted corn, which are about 16 times and 35 times more than in non-roasted corn, respectively. The average fluorine concentration is 78 mg/kg in coal, 1116 mg/kg in binder clay and 313 mg/kg in briquette (coal mixed with clay). The average arsenic concentration of coal is 5.83 mg/kg, the binder clay is 20.94 mg/kg, with 8.52 mg/kg in the briquette. Living on roasted corn and chili is the main pathologic cause of endemic fluorosis in southwestern China. The main source of fluorine and arsenic pollution of roasted corn and chill is the briquette of coal and binder clay. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Effect of immersion in various media on the sorption, solubility, elution of unreacted monomers, and flexural properties of two model dental composite compositions

Immersion in various media has different effect on the properties of dental composites, such as sorption, solubility, elution of unreacted monomers, flexural strength, and flexural elastic modulus. In the present work, the effect of immersion in various media and the relationship between the variation of these properties and the components of dental composite were investigated.

High-efficiency and low-cost hybrid nanomaterial as enhancing electrocatalyst: Spongelike AWN core/shell nanomaterial with hollow cavity

A high-efficiency and low-cost spongelike Au/Pt core/shell electrocatalyst with hollow cavity has been facilely obtained via a simple two-step wet chemical process. Hollow gold nanospheres were first synthesized via a modified galvanic replacement reaction between Co nanoparticles in situ produced and HAUCl(4). The as-prepared gold hollow spheres were employed as seeds to further grow spongelike Pt shell. It is found that the surface of this hybrid nanomaterial owns many Pt nanospikes, which form a spongelike nanostructure. All experimental data including scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV-vis-near-infrared spectroscopy have been employed to characterize the obtained Au/Pt hybrid nanomaterial. The rapid development of fuel cell has inspired us to investigate the electrocatalytic properties for dioxygen and methanol of this novel hybrid nanomaterial. Spongelike hybrid nanomaterial mentioned here exhibits much higher catalytic activity for dioxygen reduction and methanol oxidation than the common Pt electrode.

Study of alpha-, beta- and gamma-cyclodextrin/C-60 supramolecular complexes: Influence of the cavity dimension toward the host-guest complexes

Herein we report the spectroscopic, electrochemical, TEM and DLS characterizations Of C-60 supramolecular inclusion complexes with alpha-, beta- and gamma-cyclodextrins prepared using anionic C-60. The results indicate that the cyclodextrin itself has little effect on the encapsulated C-60 or on the properties of the inclusion complex. Instead, the cyclodextrin has a significant influence on the aggregation behavior of individual complex in aqueous solution, which in turn affects the property of the supramolecular complex of cyclodextrin and C-60 greatly, As the cavity dimension of cyclodextrin becomes smaller as it changes from gamma-CD to beta-CD, and finally to alpha-CD, it is observed that more aggregation occurs for the corresponding inclusion complex in aqueous solution.

Cloud Computing - health care's silver lining.

Cloud computing is the technology prescription that will help the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) beat the budget constraints imposed as a consequence of the credit crunch. The internet based shared data and services resource will revolutionise the management of medical records and patient information while saving the NHS millions of pounds.

Sinusite odontogénica

Monografia apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa para obtenção do grau de Licenciada em Medicina Dentária.