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Abiotic stress limits crop productivity worldwide, making stress-resistant crops a major goal for improving food security. Stress resistance is often assessed by comparing genotypes under a single control and stressed level of an abiotic factor, then ranking the genotypes' overall performance, using a metric like geometric mean productivity ( GMP). However, abiotic stress is rarely a presence/absence phenomenon, but often varies continuously. Here, we tested whether the common practice of assessing performance using a single control and stress level is predictive of performance across a range of stress levels. Twelve sunflower genotypes were grown in the greenhouse under one of eight nutrient levels (from non-limiting to severely limiting) and assessed for performance (shoot dry mass at the budding stage) and related traits at both seedling and budding stages. Contrary to expectations, genotype rankings for GMP were consistent regardless of the two nutrient levels used to calculate GMP. This suggests that, for nutrient stress in sunflower, studies using an arbitrary control and stress level are broadly representative: genotypes with high GMP exhibit high GMP regardless of the nutrient levels used. In addition, GMP values were highly correlated with performance in the respective nutrient levels from which they were calculated; thus, higher GMP for a given genotype indicates that it performed well (relative to other genotypes) under both stressed and non-stressed conditions. Together, these findings strongly support the current paradigm of comparing genotypes at a single control and stress level as a valid strategy for screening for nutrient stress resistance in sunflower. However, few traits were consistently associated with performance (shoot dry mass) at either high- or low-nutrient availability, and seedling traits were rarely predictive of budding-stage traits and performance, suggesting further studies are needed to determine the mechanisms underlying nutrient stress resistance in this important oilseed crop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Frey's syndrome is characterised as sweating, redness and warmth of the parotideal area and is often treated with botulinum toxin A. The objective of this retrospective study was to prove whether the toxin dosage and time-to-treatment intervals change after repeated botulinum toxin injections. Study design/methods The charts of patients, who were treated for Frey′s syndrome during the last 16 years, were assessed. Three brands of botulinum toxin A were available for therapy. The Minor test was used to confirm the sweating before each treatment and to determine the toxin dosage. Constant amount of botulinum toxin was injected per cm2 of the affected area. Patients consulted our department for the next treatment as soon as they felt disturbed by recurring sweating and when the sweating was objectively evident in the Minor test. Time intervals between treatments and injected toxin dosages were assessed. Results In total, 100 patients received 440 treatments in 16 years. Repeated injections, median 4.0, were carried out in 70.5% of patients. Median time interval to the first injection was 2.8 years. Median time interval between treatments was 12.0 months and showed to be steady ( anova, P = .49, F = 1.01). Conclusion Duration of effect of botulinum toxin on Frey's syndrome was long-lasting and stable with no significantly different time intervals between treatments. The extent of the sweating area did not vary significantly after repeated treatments and required a constant dose of botulinum toxin A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

By 2020, it is estimated that 2.1 billion people will be presbyopic, and the demand for spectacle independence in this group is growing. This review article provides an overview of the three commercially available corneal inlays for the correction of presbyopia. Safety, efficacy, visual outcomes, and complications are analyzed for all three inlays according to published peer-reviewed data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Data on the dose-dependent effects of smoking and smoking cessation on tooth loss are scarce. We hypothesized that smoking has both dose- and time-dependent effects on tooth loss incidence. We used longitudinal data on tobacco use and incident tooth loss in 43,112 male health professionals, between 1986 and 2002. In multivariate Cox models, current smokers of 5 to 14 and 45+ cigarettes daily had a two-fold (HR, 1.94; 95% CI, 1.72, 2.18) and three-fold (HR, 3.05; 95% CI, 2.38, 3.90) higher risk of tooth loss, respectively, compared with never-smokers. Risk decreased with increasing time since cessation, but remained elevated by 20% (95% CI, 16%, 25%) for men who had quit 10+ years before. Current pipe/cigar smokers had a 20% (95% CI, 1.11, 1.30) increased risk of tooth loss compared with never- and former smokers of pipes/cigars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A paucity of epidemiologic research exists regarding systemic health consequences of endodontic disease. This study evaluated whether incident radiographically evident lesions of endodontic origin were related to development of coronary heart disease (CHD) among 708 male participants in the VA Dental Longitudinal Study. At baseline and every three years for up to 32 years, participants (who were not VA patients) received complete medical and dental examinations, including full-mouth radiographs. Cox regression models estimated the relationship between incident lesions of endodontic origin and time to CHD diagnosis. Among those ≤ 40 years old, incident lesions of endodontic origin were significantly associated with time to CHD diagnosis (p < 0.05), after adjustment for covariates of interest, with hazard ratios decreasing as age increased. Among those > 40 years old, no statistically significant association was observed. These findings are consistent with research that suggests relationships between chronic periodontal inflammation and the development of CHD, especially among younger men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Few studies have investigated smoking as a risk factor for root canal treatment. We studied the effect of smoking on the incidence of root canal treatment, controlling for recognized risk factors, in 811 dentate male participants in the VA Dental Longitudinal Study. Participants were not VA patients. Follow-up ranged from 2 to 28 years. Root canal treatment was verified on radiographs and evaluated with proportional hazards regression models. Compared with never-smokers, current cigarette smokers were 1.7 times as likely to have root canal treatment (p < 0.001), but cigar and/or pipe use was not significantly associated with root canal treatment. The risk among cigarette smokers increased with more years of exposure and decreased with length of abstinence. These findings suggest that there is a dose-response relationship between cigarette smoking and the risk of root canal treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recombinant human parathyroid hormone (PTH [1-34]; teriparatide) is a new treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis that can be systemically administered for the primary purpose of increasing bone formation. Because several studies have described the enhancement of fracture-healing and osteointegration in animals after use of PTH, we sought to critically analyze this skeletal effect.Methods: Two hundred and seventy male Sprague-Dawley rats underwent standard, closed femoral fractures and were divided into three groups that were administered daily subcutaneous injections of 5 or 30 mug/kg of PTH (1-34) or vehicle (control). The dosing was administered for up to thirty-five days. Groups were further divided into three subgroups and were killed on day 21, 35, or 84 after the fracture. The bones were subjected to mechanical torsion testing, histomorphometric analysis, or microquantitative computed tomography.Results: By day 21, calluses from the group treated with 30 mug of PTH showed significant increases over the controls with respect to torsional strength, stiffness, bone mineral content, bone mineral density, and cartilage volume. By day 35, both groups treated with PTH showed significant increases in bone mineral content and density and total osseous tissue volume, and they demonstrated significant decreases in void space and cartilage volume (p < 0.05). Torsional strength was significantly increased at this time-point in the group treated with 30 mug of PTH (p < 0.05). While dosing was discontinued on day 35, analyses performed after eighty-four days in the group treated with 30 mug of PTH showed sustained increases over the controls with respect to torsional strength and bone mineral density. No change was noted in osteoclast density at the time-points measured, suggesting that treatment with PTH enhanced bone formation but did not induce bone resorption.Conclusions: These data show that daily systemic administration of PTH (1-34) enhances fracture-healing by increasing bone mineral content and density and strength, and it produces a sustained anabolic effect throughout the remodeling phase of fracture-healing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between periodontitis and systemic bone mineral density in Japanese women is undetermined. We tested the hypothesis that periodontitis was more frequent in women with low metacarpal bone mineral density (m-BMD). Subjects were 190 Japanese women (89 pre-menopausal, 101 post-menopausal). Periodontal status was evaluated according to the Community Periodontal Index of Treatment Need (CPITN). M-BMD was measured by computed x-ray densitometry. The proportion of subjects with periodontitis (CPITN ≥ 3) increased as m-BMD decreased in pre-menopausal (18.2%, 36.9%, and 66.6% in the normal, borderline, and very low m-BMD groups, p < 0.02) and post-menopausal women (41.5%, 54.8%, 60%, and 68.4% in the normal, borderline, low, and very low m-BMD groups, p < 0.05). Among post-menopausal women, those with very low m-BMD had fewer teeth present than women with normal m-BMD (19.9 ± 7.2 vs. 25.1 ± 4.1, p > 0.01). These results indicate that m-BMD loss is associated with periodontitis in Japanese women, and with tooth loss after menopause. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sarah Moussa, Alois K Dexl, Eva M Krall, Eva M Arlt, Günther Grabner, Josef Ruckhofer Department of Ophthalmology, Paracelsus Medical University Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the visual, refractive, and aberrometric outcomes as well as the level of patient satisfaction and photic phenomena after myopic laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) surgery using wavefront-guided (WFG) ablations based on measurements obtained with a high-resolution aberrometer. Patients and methods: This study was a prospective analysis including 253 eyes of 127 patients (aged between 19 years and 54 years) undergoing WFG LASIK using the STAR S4 IR Excimer Laser System combined with the iDesign System and iFS Femtosecond Laser. Visual, refractive, and aberrometric outcomes during a 2-month follow-up as well as patient satisfaction and photic phenomena were evaluated by means of a questionnaire. Results: A total of 85% (215/253) and 99% (251/253) of eyes achieved a postoperative (Postop) uncorrected distance visual acuity of 20/16 and 20/20, respectively, and all eyes achieved an uncorrected distance visual acuity of 20/25. Postop spherical equivalent values were within ±0.25 D and ±0.50 D in 97% and 100% of eyes, respectively. Likewise, manifest cylinder was

Objectives: To determine whether relative vitamin D deficiency during the winter months contributes to age-related bone loss and whether rates of change in hard- and soft-tissue mass vary during the year.Design: Double-blind, placebo-controlled, 1-year trial in 249 women in which equal numbers of women were randomized to either placebo or 400 IU of vitamin D daily. All women received 377 mg/d of supplemental calcium largely as calcium citrate malate.Patients: Healthy, ambulatory postmenopausal women with usual intakes of vitamin D of 100 IU/d.Measurements: Duplicate spine and whole-body scans were done by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry at 6-month intervals that were timed to periods when 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were highest and lowest. Period 1 was June-July to December-January and period 2 was December-January to the next June-July. Serum parathyroid hormone and plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were measured during periods 1 and 2.Main Results: In the placebo group, spinal bone mineral density increased in period 1, decreased in period 2, and sustained no net change. Women treated with vitamin D had a similar spinal increase in period 1 (1.46% compared with 1.40% in placebo), less loss in period 2 (-0.54% compared with -1.22%, CI for the difference, 0.05% to 1.31%, P = 0.032) and a significant overall benefit (0.85% compared with 0.15%, CI for the difference, 0.03% to 1.37%, P = 0.04). In period 2, 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels were lower and parathyroid hormone levels were higher in the placebo than in the vitamin D group. Whole-body lean and fat tissue and bone mineral density varied during the year but did not change overall.Conclusions: At latitude 42 degrees, healthy postmenopausal women with vitamin D intakes of 100 IU daily can significantly reduce late wintertime bone loss and improve net bone density of the spine over one year by increasing their intake of vitamin D to 500 IU daily. A long-term benefit of preventing vitamin D insufficiency in the winter seems likely although it remains to be shown. Observed changes in bone as well as in fat and lean tissue appear to be related to season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Smoking is associated with an increased risk of tooth loss, but it is not known if this risk decreases significantly when individuals quit smoking. The objectives of this study were to describe the rates of tooth loss by smoking status in two populations of medically healthy men and women. Among the men, rates of tooth loss and edentulism in relation to smoking cessation were also evaluated. The subjects were drawn from a group of 584 women (aged 40 to 70) recruited from the Boston, MA, area and a separate population of 1231 male veterans (aged 21 to 75) who participated in the VA Dental Longitudinal Study in Boston. In cross-sectional baseline analyses, current cigarette smokers of either sex had significantly more missing teeth than never-smokers or former smokers. Former smokers and pipe or cigar smokers tended to have an intermediate number of missing teeth. Current male smokers had more teeth with calculus, but the differences in plaque, tooth mobility, probing depth > 2 mm, filled and decayed teeth, and bleeding on probing by smoking history were not significant. Prospective observations of 248 women (mean follow-up time = 6 ± 2 years) and 977 men (mean = 18 ± 7 years) indicated that individuals who continued to smoke cigarettes had 2.4-fold (men) to 3.5-fold risk (women) of tooth loss compared with non-smokers. The rates of tooth loss in men were significantly reduced after they quit smoking cigarettes but remained higher than those in non-smokers. Men who smoked cigarettes had a 4.5-fold increase in risk of edentulism, and this risk also decreased upon smoking cessation. These findings indicate that the risk of tooth loss is greater among cigarette smokers than among non-smokers. Smoking cessation significantly benefits an individual's likelihood of tooth retention, but it may take decades for the individual to return to the rate of tooth loss observed in non-smokers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]