Immediate versus Delayed Attachment Incorporation Impact on Prosthetic Aftercare among Mandibular Implant-Supported Overdenture Wearers

Background: Substantial effort is dedicated to finding the most favorable parameters that will ensure low aftercare demands among edentulous patients wearing mandibular implant supported overdentures (MISODs). The purpose of this retrospective cohort study was to compare prosthetic aftercare between MISOD patients with a simultaneous (group A) vs. a three-week settling in period (group B) prior to attachment incorporation. Methods: Forty-five patients enrolled in this study. Two implants per patient were placed using a two-stage implant insertion protocol. Second-stage surgery was performed after three months. All patients received ball attachments using the direct (chairside) incorporation method. Twenty-two patients received their dentures with simultaneous attachment activation and the rest—twenty-three patients—after a three-week settling in period. Patients’ files were scanned for aftercare visits. Outcome parameters included sore spot relief, attachment incorporation, and denture repair. Additionally, gingival index measurements were compared. Confounding factors included age, gender, and implant dimensions. Results: The mean follow-up for the entire cohort was 84 ± 21 months, and the range 39–120 months. The mean number of visits for group A vs. B respectively: pressure sores relieve (3.63 ± 0.84 vs. 3.71 ± 0.61, p = 0.581), liner exchange due to loss of retention (2.09 ± 1.03 vs. 2.31 ± 1.04 p = 0.487), and gingival index (1.3 ± 0.3 vs. 1.03 ± 0.2, p = 0.653) exhibited no statistically significant differences between the tested groups. No statistically significant differences between the groups were also noted for the denture repair aftercare treatments (p = 0.318) and the independent variables including age, gender, and implant length. Conclusions: Prosthetic aftercare in MISOD wearers is similar whether a simultaneous or a three-week settling in period for attachment incorporation is applied.

Susceptibility of cyprinid cultured cells to cyprinid herpesvirus 3

Cyprinid herpesvirus 3 is a highly contagious and lethal virus that affects ornamental koi and common carp worldwide. However, it is not yet known whether other cyprinids are infected and/or harbor the virus. Here, we report that cultured cells derived from common carp, koi, silver carp and goldfish allow CyHV-3 propagation, while cyprinid cells derived from fathead minnow and non-cyprinid cells derived from the channel catfish ovary are resistant to CyHV-3 infection. Interestingly, the epithelioma papulosum Cyprini cells derived from Cyprinus carpio are restrictive to the virus. These results indicate that CyHV-3 is not restricted to common carp and koi, but other cyprinids are also vulnerable to the virus.

Detection of phytoplasma by polymerase chain reaction of insect feeding medium and its use in determining vectoring ability

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based method was developed for the detection of phytoplasma in insect feeding medium (sucrose). A correlation was established between the transmissibility of Flavescence dorée phytoplasma in the experimental leafhopper vector Euscelidius variegatus and its detection by PCR in the insect feeding medium. However, phytoplasma were detected in the insects' bodies 3 weeks before they began to transmit. Hence, PCR assays of the sucrose medium reflected phytoplasma vectoring ability probably by detecting it in the insect saliva, whereas detection of phytoplasma in the insect's body did not identify it as a vector. The assay was applied to two field-collected leafhoppers suspected of being phytoplasma vectors in Israel (Orosius albicinctus and Anaceratagallia laevis). The presence of phytoplasma in the body of specimens of the latter species was assayed by PCR in 1999. Phytoplasmas were detected in insects' bodies throughout the year, with no specific seasonal pattern. In the saliva, however, no phytoplasma could be detected in the autumn. This seasonal pattern supported the validity of the feeding-medium tests and their correlation to the insect's ability to transmit phytoplasma. Transmission assays indicated, to our knowledge for the first time, that O. albicinctus and A. laevis are vectors of phytoplasma in Israel. A simple PCR-based assay is thus provided, circumventing the need for tedious biological assays and enabling epidemiological studies of phytoplasma transmissibility on a large scale.

Relationship between neonatal excitability and respiratory habituation

The Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale was administered and analyzed in the cases of 25 full-term infants in order to assess the relationship between a behavioral measure of excitability and respiratory habituation. Sound and light stimuli were sequentially delivered, and prestimulus and poststimulus respiratory amplitude mean and standard deviation were analyzed. The stimulus with the least interperiod difference was considered as habituation. The correlation between arousal behavioral items and respiratory habituation ranged between 0.16 and 0.44. The two significant correlations were between peak of excitement and respiratory habituation to light (0.44) and between rapidity of buildup and respiratory habituation to sound (0.38). These results may indicate an interrelation in neonates between temperamental excitability attributes and respiratory regulation.