Neurovascular anatomical variations in the anterior palate observed on CBCT images

Objective: This study aimed to assess the presence of additional foramina and canals in the anterior palate region, through cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) images, describing their location, direction, and diameter. Materials & Methods: CBCT exams of 178 subjects displaying the anterior maxilla were included and the following parameters were registered: gender; age group; presence of additional foramina in the anterior palate (AFP) with at least 1 mm in diameter; location and diameter of AFP; and direction of bony canals associated with AFP. Results: Twenty-eight patients (15.7%) presented AFP and in total 34 additional foramina were registered. No statistical differences between patients with or without AFP were found for gender or age. The average diameter of AFP was 1.4 mm (range from 1 to 1.9 mm). Their location was variable, with most of the cases occurring in the alveolar process near the incisors or canines (n = 27). In 18 cases, AFP was associated with bony canals with upward or oblique direction toward the anterior nasal cavity floor. In 14 cases, the canal presented as a direct extension of the canalis sinuosus, in an upward direction laterally to the nasal cavity aperture. In two cases, the canal was observed adjacent to the incisive and joined the nasopalatine canal superiorly. Discussion: CBCT images have a crucial role in the recognition of anatomical variations by allowing detailed tridimensional evaluations. Additional foramina and canals in the anterior region of the upper jaw are relatively frequent. Practitioners should be aware and trained to identify these variations. Conclusions: Over 15% of the population studied had additional foramina in the anterior palate, between 1 mm and 1.9 mm wide, with variable locations. In most cases the canals associated with these foramina either presented as a direct extension of the canalis sinuosus, or coursed towards the nasal cavity floor.

Variations in maternal care alter corticosterone and 17beta-estradiol levels, estrous cycle and folliculogenesis and stimulate the expression of estrogen receptors alpha and beta in the ovaries of UCh rats

Background: Variations in maternal care are associated with neonatal stress, hormonal disturbances and reproductive injuries during adulthood. However, the effects of these variations on sex hormones and steroid receptors during ovary development remain undetermined. This study aimed to investigate whether variations in maternal care are able to influence the hormonal profile, follicular dynamics and expression of AR, ER-alpha and ER-beta in the ovaries of UCh rat offspring. Methods: Twenty-four adult UCh rats, aged 120 days, were randomly divided into two groups (UChA and UChB) and mated. Maternal care was assessed from birth (day 0) to the 10th postnatal day (PND). In adulthood, twenty adult female rats (UChA and UChB offspring; n = 10/group), aged 120 days, were euthanized by decapitation during the morning estrus. Results: UChA females (providing high maternal care) more frequently displayed the behaviors of carrying pups, as well as licking/grooming and arched back nursing cares. Also, mothers providing high care had elevated corticosterone levels. Additionally, offspring receiving low maternal care showed the highest estrous cycle duration, increased corticosterone and 17beta-estradiol levels, overexpression of receptors ER-alpha and ER-beta, increased numbers of primordial, antral and mature follicles and accentuated granulosa cell proliferation. Conclusions: Our study suggests that low maternal care alters corticosterone and 17beta-estradiol levels, disrupting the estrous cycle and folliculogenesis and differentially regulating the expression of ER-alpha and ER-beta in the ovaries of adult rats.

Influence of spatial constraints in non-crystalline regions on the polymer dynamics in semi-crystalline polyethylene: a solid state NMR study

A broad variety of solid state NMR techniques were used to investigate the chain dynamics in several polyethylene (PE) samples, including ultrahigh molecular weight PEs (UHMW-PEs) and low molecular weight PEs (LMW-PEs). Via changing the processing history, i.e. melt/solution crystallization and drawing processes, these samples gain different morphologies, leading to different molecular dynamics. Due to the long chain nature, the molecular dynamics of polyethylene can be distinguished in local fluctuation and long range motion. With the help of NMR these different kinds of molecular dynamics can be monitored separately. In this work the local chain dynamics in non-crystalline regions of polyethylene samples was investigated via measuring 1H-13C heteronuclear dipolar coupling and 13C chemical shift anisotropy (CSA). By analyzing the motionally averaged 1H-13C heteronuclear dipolar coupling and 13C CSA, the information about the local anisotropy and geometry of motion was obtained. Taking advantage of the big difference of the 13C T1 relaxation time in crystalline and non-crystalline regions of PEs, the 1D 13C MAS exchange experiment was used to investigate the cooperative chain motion between these regions. The different chain organizations in non-crystalline regions were used to explain the relationship between the local fluctuation and the long range motion of the samples. In a simple manner the cooperative chain motion between crystalline and non-crystalline regions of PE results in the experimentally observed diffusive behavior of PE chain. The morphological influences on the diffusion motion have been discussed. The morphological factors include lamellar thickness, chain organization in non-crystalline regions and chain entanglements. Thermodynamics of the diffusion motion in melt and solution crystallized UHMW-PEs is discussed, revealing entropy-controlled features of the chain diffusion in PE. This thermodynamic consideration explains the counterintuitive relationship between the local fluctuation and the long range motion of the samples. Using the chain diffusion coefficient, the rates of jump motion in crystals of the melt crystallized PE have been calculated. A concept of "effective" jump motion has been proposed to explain the difference between the values derived from the chain diffusion coefficients and those in literatures. The observations of this thesis give a clear demonstration of the strong relationship between the sample morphology and chain dynamics. The sample morphologies governed by the processing history lead to different spatial constraints for the molecular chains, leading to different features of the local and long range chain dynamics. The knowledge of the morphological influence on the microscopic chain motion has many implications in our understanding of the alpha-relaxation process in PE and the related phenomena such as crystal thickening, drawability of PE, the easy creep of PE fiber, etc.

In vitro generation and characterization of acute myeloid leukemia-reactive CD8 + cytotoxic T-lymphocyte clones from healthy donors

Donor-derived CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) eliminating host leukemic cells mediate curative graft-versus-leukemia (GVL) reactions after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The leukemia-reactive CTLs recognize hematopoiesis-restricted or broadly expressed minor histocompatibility and leukemia-associated peptide antigens that are presented by human leukocyte antigen (HLA) class I molecules on recipient cells. The development of allogeneic CTL therapy in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is hampered by the poor efficiency of current techniques for generating leukemia-reactive CTLs from unprimed healthy donors in vitro. In this work, a novel allogeneic mini-mixed lymphocyte/leukemia culture (mini-MLLC) approach was established by stimulating CD8+ T cells isolated from peripheral blood of healthy donors at comparably low numbers (i.e. 10e4/well) with HLA class I-matched primary AML blasts in 96-well microtiter plates. Before culture, CD8+ T cells were immunomagnetically separated into CD62L(high)+ and CD62L(low)+/neg subsets enriched for naive/central memory and effector memory cells, respectively. The application of 96-well microtiter plates aimed at creating multiple different responder-stimulator cell compositions in order to provide for the growth of leukemia-reactive CTLs optimized culture conditions by chance. The culture medium was supplemented with interleukin (IL)-7, IL-12, and IL-15. On day 14, IL-12 was replaced by IL-2. In eight different related and unrelated donor/AML pairs with complete HLA class I match, numerous CTL populations were isolated that specifically lysed myeloid leukemias in association with various HLA-A, -B, or -C alleles. These CTLs recognized neither lymphoblastoid B cell lines of donor and patient origin nor primary B cell leukemias expressing the corresponding HLA restriction element. CTLs expressed T cell receptors of single V-beta chain families, indicating their clonality. The vast majority of CTL clones were obtained from mini-MLLCs initiated with CD8+ CD62L(high)+ cells. Using antigen-specific stimulation, multiple CTL populations were amplified to 10e8-10e10 cells within six to eight weeks. The capability of mini-MLLC derived AML-reactive CTL clones to inhibit the engraftment of human primary AML blasts was investigated in the immunodeficient nonobese diabetic/severe combined immune deficient IL-2 receptor common γ-chain deficient (NOD/SCID IL2Rγnull) mouse model. The leukemic engraftment in NOD/SCID IL2Rγnull was specifically prevented if inoculated AML blasts had been pre-incubated in vitro with AML-reactive CTLs, but not with anti-melanoma control CTLs. These results demonstrate that myeloid leukemia-specific CTL clones capable of preventing AML engraftment in mice can be rapidly isolated from CD8+ CD62L(high)+ T cells of healthy donors in vitro. The efficient generation and expansion of these CTLs by the newly established mini-MLLC approach opens the door for several potential applications. First, CTLs can be used within T cell-driven antigen identification strategies to extend the panel of molecularly defined AML antigens that are recognizable by T cells of healthy donors. Second, because these CTLs can be isolated from the stem cell donor by mini-MLLC prior to transplantation, they could be infused into AML patients as a part of the stem cell allograft, or early after transplantation when the leukemia burden is low. The capability of these T cells to expand and function in vivo might require the simultaneous administration of AML-reactive CD4+ T cells generated by a similar in vitro strategy or, less complex, the co-transfer of CD8-depleted donor lymphocytes. To prepare clinical testing, the mini-MLLC approach should now be translated into a protocol that is compatible with good manufacturing practice guidelines.

Socio-Spatial Relationships in Dairy Cows

Farm animals may serve as models for evaluating social networks in a controlled environment. We used an automated system to track, at fine temporal and spatial resolution (once per minute, +/- 50 cm) every individual in six herds of dairy cows (Bos taurus). We then analysed the data using social network analyses. Relationships were based on non-random attachment and avoidance relationships in respect to synchronous use and distances observed in three different functional areas (activity, feeding and lying). We found that neither synchrony nor distance between cows was strongly predictable among the three functional areas. The emerging social networks were tightly knit for attachment relationships and less dense for avoidance relationships. These networks loosened up from the feeding and lying area to the activity area, and were less dense for relationships based on synchronicity than on median distance with respect to node degree, relative size of the largest cluster, density and diameter of the network. In addition, synchronicity was higher in dyads of dairy cows that had grown up together and shared their last dry period. This last effect disappeared with increasing herd size. Dairy herds can be characterized by one strongly clustered network including most of the herd members with many non-random attachment and avoidance relationships. Closely synchronous dyads were composed of cows with more intense previous contact. The automatic tracking of a large number of individuals proved promising in acquiring the data necessary for tackling social network analyses.