summary  The assessment of bite forces on healthy single tooth appears essential for a correct quantification of the actual impact of single implant oral rehabilitations. In the present study, a new single tooth strain‐gauge bite transducer was used in 52 healthy young adults (36 men, 16 women) with a complete permanent dentition. The influences of tooth position along the dental arch, of side, and of sex, on maximum bite force were assessed by an anova. No significant left–right differences were found. On average, in both sexes the lowest bite force was recorded on the incisors (40–48% of maximum single tooth bite force), the largest force was recorded on the first molar. Bite forces were larger in men than in women (P < 0·002), and increased monotonically along the arch until the first or second permanent molar (P < 0·0001). The present data can be used as reference values for the comparison of dental forces in patients.

S U M M A R Y The aim of the present study was to evaluate the expression of innate immunity receptors belonging to the Toll-like family in the neural plexuses of the different tracts of murine intestine, of the human ileum, and in lower dorsal root ganglia (DRGs) from where extrinsic afferents to these plexuses originate. Results obtained by immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescence on paraffin-embedded tissue and whole-mount preparations show that Toll-like receptors (TLRs) -3 and -7, recognizing viral RNA, and TLR4, recognizing lipopolysaccharide (membrane component of Gram-negative bacteria), are expressed in the myenteric and submucous plexuses of murine intestine and human ileum, and in DRGs primary sensory neurons. They also show that TLR4 immunostaining is stronger in murine distal large bowel. In murine tissue, expression of TLRs was present in both neurons and glial cells. These observations indicate that the enteric neural network might be directly activated by bacterial and viral components and is therefore more in the forefront than previously envisaged in defense responses of the intestinal wall and in the cross-talk with intestinal microbiota. They also highlight the presence of a peripheral neural network that by way of hardwired neurotransmission could potentially convey to the central nervous system specific information on our microbial counterpart and invading or potentially invading pathogens. (J Histochem Cytochem

The analysis of the masticatory muscle activity in subjects with altered occlusal relationships could provide useful data of the functional impact of morphological discrepancies. Thirty subjects aged 16-18 years, with a sound, full permanent dentition, bilateral angle class I, and an overjet and overbite between 2 and 5 mm, were examined. The control group (10 male, 10 female) had no crossbite, while the crossbite group (four male, six female) had a posterior unilateral crossbite (five on the left side, five on the right side). The electromyographic activity of the left and right masseter and temporalis anterior muscles was recorded during 15 s of unilateral (left and right) chewing of gum, and expressed as a percentage of the maximum voluntary clench on cotton rolls. For each subject, the masticatory frequency, the confidence ellipse of the simultaneous differential left-right masseter and temporal activity (Lissajous figure), and an index of muscular symmetry, were computed to assess muscular coordination. In the crossbite subjects, the four analysed muscles appeared to contract with altered and asymmetric patterns. A large variability was found, and the confidence ellipses calculated for the chewing tests performed on the crossed sides were not significant, while the confidence ellipses of the uncrossed side chewing were different from the ellipses computed in the normal occlusion group. The altered occlusal relationship influenced the coordination of the masticatory muscles during chewing on both sides. The functional alteration was more apparent when the side with the altered morphology was directly involved, i.e. when chewing was performed on the crossbite side.

The normal growth, development, and aging of facial soft tissues was studied by three-dimensional (3D) computerized mesh diagram analysis. The 3D coordinates of 50 soft-tissue landmarks were collected from 591 healthy white northern Italians (351 males, 240 females) 6-40 years of age. For each gender and age class, mean values were computed, and a standardized mesh of equidistant horizontal, vertical, and anterior-posterior lines was constructed. Within each age group, male meshes were superimposed on female meshes. For each gender, the 6-year-old reference mesh was superimposed on the reference mesh of each age group. The global (size plus shape) difference was evaluated by calculating the relevant displacement vectors for each landmark. Consequently, a size normalization was carried out and the shape difference was evaluated by calculating new relevant displacement vectors for each landmark. Growth and development were different along the three spatial planes: the largest increment was observed in the vertical dimension, with major modifications in the soft-tissue profile. The vertical dimension in males increased even after 30 years of age: ear dimensions increased, trichion moved superiorly and posteriorly, and pogonion, menton, and gonion moved anteriorly and inferiorly. In all age groups, size-standardized shape differences were found in the forehead, lower-third facial profile, eyes, cheeks, and ears. In each age class, male dimensions were larger than female dimensions. During childhood, gender differences in size were limited; shape differences were even less manifest. Overall, the profile was more anterior and inferior, the gonia were more inferior and more lateral, the forehead was more anterior, and the ears were larger in males than in females of corresponding age.

Purposc]. To define reference values for head-cervical range of motion (ROM) in healthy young adults, to assess the effect of sex, and to quantify the separate contribution of other body districts.Methods. Thirty women and 30 men performed maximal head and cervical spine flexion-extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation. Movements were detected using a digital optoelectronic instrument. Maximum headxervical spine and thoracic motions were separated.result.^. Flexion and extension were performed mainly in the sagittal plane. The movement was larger in women (1 36") than in men (130"). During flexion, both sexes moved the head-neck and the thorax in the same direction. During extension, men moved only the headxervical spine, while women moved the two analyzed districts in the opposite dircctions. Lateral bending was nearly symmetric, associated with head-cervical rotation and extension, and larger in women (91") than in men (77"). Adjunctive thoracic motion was limited in the sagittal and frontal planes, but larger in the horizontal plane (opposite motions of about 20'). Head-neck rotation was symmetric, and associated with concomitant movements in both the sagittal and frontal planes. It was larger in women (162") than in men (155O), and performed with limited adjunctive thoracic motions.Conclusirtr~s. The present values can be used as a first group of normative data for head-cervical ROM in young men and women.

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The objective of this study was to gain information about normal sex-related linear and angular dimensions of the orbital region; left-right symmetry; and growth changes between adolescence and mid-adulthood. The three-dimensional coordinates of several soft-tissue landmarks on the orbits and face were obtained by an electromagnetic digitizer in 40 male and 33 female adolescents aged 12 to 15 years, 73 female and 89 male young adults aged 19 to 30 years, and 41 male and 38 female adults aged 31 to 56 years. From the landmarks-binocular and intercanthal widths; paired height and inclination of the orbit relative to both the true horizontal (head in natural head position) and Frankfurt plane; length and inclination of the eye fissure; and the orbital height to eye fissure length ratio were calculated and averaged for age and sex. Comparisons were performed by factorial analysis of variance. Both the linear dimensions and the angular values were significantly larger in male subjects than in female subjects of corresponding age (p < 0.05). A significant effect of age was found (p < 0.05): while the linear distances and the orbital height-to-length ratio were greater in older people of the same sex, the inclination of the eye fissure decreased as a function of age. Both orbital inclinations were larger in the young adult group than in the adolescent and middle-aged groups. On average, the paired measurements were symmetrical, with similar values within each sex and age group. Data collected in this investigation could serve as a database for the quantitative description of human orbital morphology during normal adolescent and adult growth.

Enteroendocrine cells are known primarily for their production of hormones that affect digestion, but they might also be implicated in sensing and neutralizing or expelling pathogens. We evaluate the expression of TLRs and the response to specific agonists in terms of cytokines, defensins, and hormones in enteroendocrine cells. The mouse enteroendocrine cell line STC-1 and C57BL/6 mice are used for in vitro and in vivo studies, respectively. The presence of TLR4, 5, and 9 is investigated by RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunofluorescence analyses. Activation of these receptors is studied evaluating keratinocyte-derived chemokine, defensins, and cholecystokinin production in response to their specific agonists. In this study, we show that the intestinal enteroendocrine cell line STC-1 expresses TLR4, 5, and 9 and releases cholecystokinin upon stimulation with the respective receptor agonists LPS, flagellin, and CpG-containing oligodeoxynucleotides. Release of keratinocyte-derived chemokine and β-defensin 2 was also observed after stimulation of STC-1 cells with the three TLR agonists, but not with fatty acids. Consistent with these in vitro data, mice showed increased serum cholecystokinin levels after oral challenge with LPS, flagellin, or CpG oligodeoxynucleotides. In addition to their response to food stimuli, enteroendocrine cells sense the presence of bacterial Ags through TLRs and are involved in neutralizing intestinal bacteria by releasing chemokines and defensins, and maybe in removing them by releasing hormones such as cholecystokinin, which induces contraction of the muscular tunica, favoring the emptying of the distal small intestine.