Many disorders present with characteristic abnormalities of the craniofacial complex. Precise descriptions of how and when these abnormalities emerge and change during childhood and adolescence can inform our understanding of their underlying pathology and facilitate diagnosis from craniofacial shape. In this paper we develop a framework for analysing how anatomical differences between populations emerge and change over time, and for binary group classification that adapts to the age of each participant. As a proxy for a disease-control comparison we use a database of 3D photographs of normally developing boys and girls to examine emerging sex-differences. Essentially we define 3D craniofacial ‘growth curves’ for each sex. Differences in the forehead, upper lip, chin and nose emerge primarily from different growth rates between the groups, whereas differences in the buccal region involve different growth directions. Differences in the forehead, buccal region and chin are evident before puberty, challenging the view that sex differences result from pubertal hormone levels. Classification accuracy was best for older children. This paper represents a significant methodological advance for the study of facial differences between growing populations and comprehensively describes developing craniofacial sex differences.

PURPOSE Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) is an infrequent but morbid and potentially serious condition associated with antiresorptive and antiangiogenic therapies. Although MRONJ can be prevented by optimizing oral health, management of established cases is supportive and remains challenging. Teriparatide, an osteoanabolic agent that improves bone healing in preclinical studies and in chronic periodontitis, represents a potential treatment option. PATIENTS AND METHODS In a double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, 34 participants with established MRONJ, with a total of 47 distinct MRONJ lesions, were allocated to either 8 weeks of subcutaneous teriparatide (20 µg/day) or placebo injections, in addition to calcium and vitamin D supplementation and standard clinical care. Participants were observed for 12 months, with primary outcomes that included the clinical and radiologic resolution of MRONJ lesions. Secondary outcomes included osteoblastic responses as measured biochemically and radiologically and changes in quality of life. RESULTS Teriparatide was associated with a greater rate of resolution of MRONJ lesions (odds ratio [OR], 0.15 v 0.40; P = .013), and 45.4% of lesions resolved by 52 weeks compared with 33.3% in the placebo group. Teriparatide was also associated with reduced bony defects at week 52 (OR, 8.1; P = .017). The incidence of adverse events was balanced between groups, including nausea, anorexia, and musculoskeletal pain, most of mild severity. CONCLUSION Teriparatide improves the rate of resolution of MRONJ lesions and represents an efficacious and safe treatment for it.

The present study investigates how sexual dimorphism in the human mandible develops in three-dimensionally during adolescence. A cross-sectional sample of mandibular meshes of 268 males and 386 females, aged between 8.5 and 19.5 years of age, were derived from cone beam computed tomography and were analysed using geometric morphometric methods. Growth trajectories of the mandible in males and females were modelled separately using a recently developed non-linear kernel regression framework. Growth rate and direction at a dense array of points all over the mandibular surface were visualized within each group and compared between groups. We found that mandibular sexual dimorphism already exists at 9 years of age, but this is mostly in size not in shape. The differential growth rate and duration between the sexes during pubertal growth largely explained by adult sexual dimorphism: the growth direction in both males and females is similar but the male mandible changed more quickly and over a longer period than the female mandible, where the growth rate peaked and declined earlier. This results in increasing dimorphism in form, which is evident in both size and shape. The development of dimorphic features, concentrated in the chin and ramus, were further visualized. The dense morphometric approach provides detailed three-dimensional quantitative assessment of the development of sexual dimorphism of the mandible.

No abstract

BACKGROUND.The secretory acini of the adult human prostate contain basal, luminal, and intermediate types of exocrine cells. Intermediate cells are thought to play an important role in normal growth and neoplastic transformation. In this study we investigated whether this cell type is present in early stages of prostate development, using keratin antibodies specific for them. METHODS. Autoptic tissue from 11 prepubertal and 5 normal adult prostates was immunohistochemically stained with four keratin antibodies capable of specifically detecting basal, luminal, or intermediate cell types. RESULTS. Morphologically, in fetal prostate cells differentiation was often not evident. However, basally located cells usually displayed a basal-cell keratin-phenotype. Morphologically similar cells with more luminal localization expressed keratins typical of luminal cells, or of intermediate cells. CONCLUSIONS. 1) In early stages of prostate development, cells with intermediate keratinphenotype can be identified. 2) Their large numbers comply with a hierarchical pathway of cellular differentiation from basal to luminal cells. 3) The presence of intermediate cells at such an early fetal age may reflect their regulatory function in prostate development.

Study on the criteria for assessing skull-face correspondence in craniofacial superimposition, Legal Medicine (2016), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.legalmed.2016.09.009 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. AbstractCraniofacial superimposition has the potential to be used as an identification method when other traditional biological techniques are not applicable due to insufficient quality or absence of ante-mortem and post-mortem data. Despite having been used in many countries as a method of inclusion and exclusion for over a century it lacks standards. Thus, the purpose of this research is to provide forensic practitioners with standard criteria for analysing skull-face relationships. Thirty-seven experts from 16 different institutions participated in this study, which consisted of evaluating 65 criteria for assessing skull-face anatomical consistency on a sample of 24 different skull-face superimpositions. An unbiased statistical analysis established the most objective and discriminative criteria. Results did not show strong associations, however, important insights to address lack of standards were provided. In addition, a novel methodology for understanding and standardizing identification methods based on the observation of morphological patterns has been proposed.

Background The prevalence of radicular defects after root canal instrumentation is unresolved. This study used micro‐CT to assess the relationship between the formation of radicular defects and chemo‐mechanical instrumentation in a cadaver model. Methods Maxillary and mandibular molars (n = 24) were sectioned from cadaver specimens as a tissue block containing the teeth, alveolar bone and attached mucogingival tissues. After a baseline micro‐CT scan (13.45 μm), the specimens were distributed into 3 groups (n = 8 molars): Reciproc®, ProTaper Next™ and Mtwo®. Micro‐CT scans of each specimen were obtained after access, glide path and preparation with each instrument. The pre‐operative and final post‐operative micro‐CT cross‐sectional images of the roots were screened by two blinded examiners to identify any pre‐existing and new radicular defects. Pre‐existing and new radicular defects were examined histologically. Results Overall, 16 pre‐existing radicular defects were identified in 12 of the 24 molars (50%). Most of these were cemental tears (87.5%), and not true dentinal microcracks. New dentinal microcracks were observed in the post‐operative micro‐CT scans of only 3 canals (3.9%; 3/77). However, only one of these defects was found to be present histologically. Conclusions Within the limitations of the study, chemo‐mechanical instrumentation did not routinely promote the formation of radicular defects.

No abstract