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A new multi-port irradiator, designed to facilitate the study of the effects of low fluences of alpha particles on monolayer cultures, has been developed. The irradiator consists of four individual planar (241)Am alpha-particle sources that are housed inside a helium-filled Lucite chamber. Three of the radioactive sources consist of 20 MBq of (241)Am dioxide foil. The fourth source, used to produce higher dose rates, has an activity of 500 MBq. The four sources are mounted on rotating turntables parallel to their respective 1.5-microm-thick Mylar exit windows. A stainless steel honeycomb collimator is placed between the four sources and their exit windows by a cantilever attachment to the platform of an orbital shaker that moves its table in an orbit of 2 cm. Each exit window is equipped with a beam delimiter to optimize the uniformity of the beam and with a high-precision electronic shutter. Opening and closing of the shutters is controlled with a high-precision timer. Custom-designed stainless steel Mylar-bottomed culture dishes are placed on an adapter on the shutter. The alpha particles that strike the cells have a mean energy of 2.9 MeV. The corresponding LET distribution of the particles has a mean value of 132 keV/microm. Clonogenic cell survival experiments with AG1522 human fibroblasts indicate that the RBE of the alpha particles compared to (137)Cs gamma rays is about 7.6 for this biological end point.

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In conclusion, the present study reveals lack of association of MTHFR C677T and ACE I/D polymorphisms in RPL in South Indian women. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that other polymorphisms of ACE and MTHFR genes could be associated with the disease and might be clinically useful as a marker to assess risk for RPL.

The present study tested the hypothesis that the amount and severity of preoperative pain will affect the anesthetic efficacy of inferior alveolar nerve block (IANB) in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. One-hundred seventy-seven adult volunteer subjects, actively experiencing pain in a mandibular molar, participated in this prospective double-blind study carried out at 2 different centers. The patients were classified into 3 groups on the basis of severity of preoperative pain: mild, 1-54 mm on the Heft-Parker visual analog scale (HP VAS); moderate, 55-114 mm; and severe, greater than 114 mm. After IANB with 1.8 mL of 2% lidocaine, endodontic access preparation was initiated. Pain during treatment was recorded using the HP VAS. The primary outcome measure was the ability to undertake pulp access and canal instrumentation with no or mild pain. The success rates were statistically analyzed by multiple logistic regression test. There was a significant difference between the mild and severe preoperative pain group (P = .03). There was a positive correlation between the values of preoperative and intraoperative pain (r = .2 and .4 at 2 centers). The amount of preoperative pain can affect the anesthetic success rates of IANB in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.

Mechanisms underlying the role of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generated by flavin-containing oxidases in regulating cell cycle progression were examined in human and rodent fibroblasts. Incubation of confluent cell cultures with nontoxic/nonclastogenic concentrations of the flavoprotein inhibitor, diphenyleneiodonium (DPI), reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NAD(P)H) oxidase activity and basal ROS levels, but increased proteolysis of cyclin D1, p21 Waf1 and phospho-p38 MAPK . When these cells were allowed to proliferate by subculture in DPI-free medium, an extensive G 1 delay was observed with concomitant activation of p53/p21 Waf1 signaling and reduced phosphorylation of mitogen-activated kinases. Compensation for decreased oxidant generation by simultaneous exposure to DPI and nontoxic doses of the ROS generators, c-radiation or t-butyl-hydroperoxide, attenuated the G 1 delay. Whereas the DPI-induced G 1 checkpoint was completely dependent on PHOX91, ATM and WAF1, it was only partially dependent on P53. Interestingly, G 1 to S progression was not affected when another flavin-containing enzyme, nitric oxide synthase, was inhibited nor was it associated with changes in mitochondrial membrane potential. Proliferating cells treated with DPI also experienced a significant but attenuated delay in G 2 . We propose that ATM performs a critical function in mediating normal cellular proliferation that is regulated by nonphagocytic NAD(P)H oxidase enzymes activity, which may serve as a novel target for arresting cancer cells in G 1 .

Chronic apical periodontitis can drain through a sinus tract, which may be intra-oral or extra-oral, though an intra-oral drainage is more common. Though such cases can be treated in a single visit, there is no report on a single visit endodontic treatment for a chronic apical periodontitis with a draining sinus. This case report demonstrates that the apical periodontitis with a cutaneous sinus tract can be successfully treated endodontically as a single visit procedure, if the patient is in good systemic health.

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