Evidence for new Neanderthal teeth in Tabun Cave (Israel) by the application of self-organizing maps (SOMs)

Morphological and metrical study suggested that seven human teeth from Tabun Cave, Israel were part of the upper dentition of a single, probably Neanderthal, individual renumbered as Tabun BC7. An enamel fragment gave ESR age estimates of 82+/-14 ka (early U-uptake) and 92+/-18 ka (linear uptake) and an age estimate of 90(+30)(-16) ka using U-series disequilibrium. Although metrical analyses suggested Neanderthal affinities, definitive assessment was difficult as the values often fell into the ranges of both Neanderthal and Levantine early modern human samples. Therefore, two further classification analyses were conducted (neural networks using self-organizing maps and homogeneity analysis). Both identify Tabun BC7 as a Neanderthal. Neural networks are a promising tool for paleoanthropological studies as they can provide reliable classifications even with incomplete data.     

中国明对虾大颚器的组织学及孕酮和雌二醇的检测

LeRoux于1968年首次描述了甲壳动物十足类的大颚器,并认为它与Y-器官是两个不同的腺体,Byard等在研究了美洲龙螯虾（Homarus americnus）大颚器的超微结构后指出,甲壳动物大颚器是类似于昆虫咽侧体的内分泌器官。Hinsch研究了蜘蛛蟹（Libinia emarginata）大颚器的结构和功能,指出该器官与甲壳动物的蜕皮和生殖均有密切联系。     

bFGF/BMP/ 胶原膜加速颌骨骨折愈合的大体及X 线观察

目的:了解胶原膜作为生长因子缓释材料治疗颌骨骨折的应用前景。方法:将100μg的rhBMP-2用1ml的bFGF溶液完全溶解;用移液器移出40μl的该溶液,滴加到面积为0.5cm×1cm的胶原膜组织块中,冻干后制成生长因子缓释系统;在12只新西兰大白兔两侧制成人工下颌骨骨折模型,左侧置放bFGF/BMP/胶原膜;右侧均为空白对照;术后2、4、12周行临床大体观察及X线片观察。结果:实验组骨折愈合速度明显快于对照组。术后2周,X线结果显示bFGF/BMP/胶原膜组骨折断端边缘模糊。对照组骨折线明显。术后4周,X线结果显示bFGF/BMP/胶原膜骨折线基本不可见,骨折对位良好,断端边缘基本消失,骨折无错位。对照组骨折下缘可见纤维性骨痂形成,骨折线模糊。术后12周,各组X线结果无差异,骨折部位接近正常骨组织。结论:bFGF/BMP/胶原膜能加速骨折愈合,提高骨折愈合效果。     

拔除阻生智齿患者牙科焦虑的调查及分析

目的:了解综合医院口腔科拔除阻生智齿患者牙科焦虑的患病情况并进行相关因素分析。方法:采用牙科焦虑一般因素调查表、改良牙科焦虑量表(MDAS)及状态焦虑量表(S-AI)对300例口腔颌面外科门诊的拔除阻生智齿患者进行调查及评定,同时对引起牙科焦虑的相关因素进行分析。结果:拔除阻生智齿患者牙科焦虑的发生率为56.00%,有6项因素对牙科焦虑症的患病率有影响,差异有统计学意义(P<0.05),其中5项因素对MDAS得分影响较大。结论:牙科焦虑在拔除阻生智齿的患者中较普遍,有多种因素影响患者牙科焦虑的程度。     

Relationship of number of remaining teeth to health-related quality of life in community-dwelling elderly

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between number of remaining teeth and health‐related quality of life in community‐dwelling elderly. Subjects: A total of 207 participants who were community‐dwelling, 85 years of age. Data were from a population‐based study of age‐related general and oral health in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. Measurements: The Japanese version of the Short Form 36 Health Survey (SF‐36). Results: The mental component score for the participants, from the SF‐36, was higher than the Japanese national norm for those aged ≥70 years. There were no significant differences in the mean of any scores on the SF‐36 by having spouse, living with family, or education level. The mean of the SF‐36 scores of physical functioning (PF) and of the physical component scores were significantly higher in the 85‐year‐old participants with ≥20 teeth than in those with ≤19 teeth (p < 0.05 and p < 0.01 respectively). In addition, a significant difference (p < 0.05) was observed between the mean of participants with ≥20 teeth and those with ≤19 teeth after adjustment for region where the participant lived, activities of daily living (ADL), and sex. The PF (p < 0.001), role‐physical (p < 0.005), bodily pain (p < 0.001), vitality (p < 0.001), social functioning (p < 0.05), and physical component (p < 0.001) scores were significantly higher in participants with a good activities of daily living (ADL) assessment. However, ADL was not associated with the number of teeth. Conclusions: The findings of the present study indicated that 85‐year‐old participants with ≥20 teeth had better subjective physical health than those with ≤19 teeth.     

The relationship between dietary intake and the number of teeth in elderly Japanese subjects

Objective: This study used a precise weighing method to assess whether tooth loss was related to nutrient intake in elderly Japanese subjects. Material and methods: Fifty‐seven subjects aged 74 years were randomly selected from a longitudinal interdisciplinary study of ageing. Complete 3‐day food intake data were obtained by a precise weighing method. The dietary intakes of energy and nutrients were calculated based on the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan (5th ed.). A clinical evaluation of the number of teeth present was carried out. Multiple regression standardised coefficients for each nutrient was estimated based on a continuous scale adjusted for gender, smoking habits, and educational level. After dividing the subjects into two groups according to the number of teeth present (0–19, 20+), the difference in the intake of nutrients and the amount of food consumed per day was evaluated. Results: The number of teeth present had a significant relationship with the intake of several nutrients. In particular, total protein, animal protein, sodium, vitamin D, vitamin B₁, vitamin B₆, niacin, and pantothenic acid were significantly associated with the number of teeth present and with the two groups (0–19, 20+). The intake of vegetables and fish, shellfish, and their products was significantly lower among subjects with fewer teeth. Conclusion: This study suggests that there was a significant relationship between nutrient intake, such as minerals and vitamins from food, and tooth loss.     

Dental microwear in anubis and hybrid baboons (Papio hamadryas, sensu lato) living in Awash National Park, Ethiopia

We describe dental microwear in baboons (Papio hamadryas sensu lato) from the anubis-hamadryas hybrid zone of Awash National Park, Ethiopia, outline its variation with sex and age, and attempt to relate the observed microwear pattern to environment and diet. Casts of the maxillary second molar of 52 adult and subadult individuals of both sexes were examined with a scanning electron microscope at x 500. Digitized micrographs were taken at a consistent location on facet 9, and microwear was recorded with an image analysis software package. Univariate and multivariate statistics were used to investigate the shape, size, and density of microwear features. The overall pattern of microwear exhibits an unusual combination of high feature density, with numerous small pits and relatively wide striations, and a high correlation between width of pits and striations across individuals. We interpret this pattern as predominantly the consequence of abrasion by relatively small-caliber environmental grit when accidentally ingested with tough foods such as dried seeds and fruits, as expected in a terrestrial omnivore living in a dusty habitat. Statistical analysis revealed no significant differences between groups defined by sex, age, or troop membership, a result consistent with qualitative observations of feeding habits in this population, and which lends no support to the hypothesis that the longer jaws of adult males should result in longer striations. A trend towards greater feature density in females, however, might be due to limited sexual dinichism, and merits further investigation.     

不同类型的下颌骨骨折的手术治疗

目的：评估不同类型的下颌骨骨折的手术入路及固定方法。方法：对于52例不同类型下颌骨骨折患者采用不同的口外或口内切口及相应的固定方法。结果：52例患者伤口全部一期愈合,51例咬合关系恢复到伤前咬合关系,1例出现咬合关系不良,X线检查骨折线队位良好。结论：对于不同部位的下颌骨骨折应采用相应的手术切口及固定方法,以获得最好的疗效。     

Tracking down human contamination in ancient human teeth

DNA contamination arising from the manipulation of ancient calcified tissue samples is a poorly understood, yet fundamental, problem that affects the reliability of ancient DNA (aDNA) studies. We have typed the mitochondrial DNA hypervariable region I of the only 6 people involved in the excavation, washing, and subsequent anthropological and genetic study of 23 Neolithic remains excavated from Granollers (Barcelona, Spain) and searched for their presence among the 572 clones generated during the aDNA analyses of teeth from these samples. Of the cloned sequences, 17.13% could be unambiguously identified as contaminants, with those derived from the people involved in the retrieval and washing of the remains present in higher frequencies than those of the anthropologist and genetic researchers. This finding confirms, for the first time, previous hypotheses that teeth samples are most susceptible to contamination at their initial excavation. More worrying, the cloned contaminant sequences exhibit substitutions that can be attributed to DNA damage after the contamination event, and we demonstrate that the level of such damage increases with time: contaminants that are >10 years old have approximately 5 times more damage than those that are recent. Furthermore, we demonstrate that in this data set, the damage rate of the old contaminant sequences is indistinguishable from that of the endogenous DNA sequences. As such, the commonly used argument that miscoding lesions observed among cloned aDNA sequences can be used to support data authenticity is misleading in scenarios where the presence of old contaminant sequences is possible. We argue therefore that the typing of those involved in the manipulation of the ancient human specimens is critical in order to ensure that generated results are accurate.     

Bonding acrylic teeth to acrylic resin denture bases: a review

Partial or complete dentures are more commonly constructed for the elderly group of the population. Teeth debonding from the dentures can be frustrating to the patients as well as the dentist. Research has been carried out and is continuing to study the issue of bonding acrylic teeth to the denture base resin. The present review takes into account the majority of research papers published in the last five decades for determining the bond strength. Selection of more compatible combinations of denture base resins and acrylic teeth may reduce the number of prosthesis fractures and the resultant repairs.