Faculty Bibliography

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Aging has a profound effect on all the body organs and quality of life. One of the appropriate interventions is exercises such as walking. Nevertheless, the risk of falling and its complications are lower in stationary walking than walking on ground. Due to the higher life expectancy in women than men, the increasing number of elderly, and the low quality of life of women compared to men, this study aimed to assess the impact of stationary walking on the quality of life of the elderly women. METHODS:In this clinical trial, 66 household elderly women covered by health centers of Maragheh were randomly selected and divided into experimental and control groups. Six weeks exercise intervention was conducted. The participants completed the quality of life questionnaire of the elderly, before and after the intervention. SPSS software was used to analyze the data. RESULTS:Mean scores of quality of life, in various aspects of the experimental group, before and after intervention, showed significant difference; there was no statistically significant difference in the control group. In addition, there was a significant difference in the mean and standard deviation of different aspects of quality of life in pre- and post-test of experiment and control groups. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:Using regular and constant exercise program such as stationary walking can increase the quality of life of the elderly women. It can improve healthy aging and having a healthy life at this age, too. Therefore, it is recommended to have stationary walking program in daily lives of the elderly.

INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND:Some studies showed that magnesium has anticonvulsive effect in some animal models. Despite of the availability of well-studied anticonvulsant drugs, this evaluation was not carried on new kind of magnesium supplement, magnesium oxide nanoparticles (nMgO). According to the association between magnesium and convulsion and high prevalence of seizure and epilepsy in diabetics, this study was designed to evaluate the effect of nMgO compared to conventional MgO (cMgO) on strychnine-induced convulsion model in diabetic and non-diabetic mice. METHODS:Healthy male albino mice were divided into 10 groups. Diabetes mellitus was induced by streptozotocin in 5 groups. Conventional and nanoparticle MgO (5 and 10mg/kg) were administered to diabetic and non-diabetic mice, then strychnine were injected and onset of convulsions and time of death measured after strychnine administration. RESULTS:There were no significant differences between normal and diabetic groups in onset of convulsions and time of death. Pretreatment of cMgO did not have anticonvulsant effect in strychnine-induced convulsion in normal and diabetic mice. But nMgO significantly changed convulsion onset and death time after strychnine administration in normal and diabetic status (p < 0.05). DISCUSSION/CONCLUSIONS:According to our results, it seems that acute administration of nMgO may be important in prevention of convulsion and is more effective than its conventional form in showing anticonvulsive effect that probably is related to the physicochemical properties of nMgO, especially in diabetic subjects, a point that need further investigations.

The pharyngeal arch arteries (PAAs) are transient embryonic blood vessels that make indispensable contributions to the carotid arteries and great vessels of the heart, including the aorta and pulmonary arteries. During embryogenesis, the PAAs appear in a craniocaudal sequence to connect pre-existing segments of the primitive circulation after de novo vasculogenic assembly from angioblast precursors. Despite the unique spatiotemporal characteristics of PAA development, the embryonic origins of PAA angioblasts and the genetic factors regulating their emergence remain unknown. Here, we identify the embryonic source of PAA endothelium as nkx2.5(+) progenitors in lateral plate mesoderm long considered to adopt cell fates within the heart exclusively. Further, we report that PAA endothelial differentiation relies on Nkx2.5, a canonical cardiac transcription factor not previously implicated in blood vessel formation. Together, these studies reveal the heart field origin of PAA endothelium and attribute a new vasculogenic function to the cardiac transcription factor Nkx2.5 during great vessel precursor development.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: In response to the Commission of Dental Accreditation (CODA) mandate of a competency in the "replacement of teeth including fixed, removable and implant" prostheses, a predoctoral implant curriculum was implemented at New York University College of Dentistry. The assessment of the success or failure of a program should include an assessment of patient satisfaction with the treatment received in the predoctoral clinics. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to measure patient satisfaction with the mandibular 2-implant-retained overdenture therapy received in the predoctoral program at New York University College of Dentistry. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A telephone survey of patients who received an implant-retained overdenture in the predoctoral clinics at New York University, College of Dentistry (n=101) was conducted. Two of the authors contacted patients for participation in the survey and, using a prepared script, asked about their satisfaction with items such as function, comfort, and esthetics in addition to their overall satisfaction with the treatment they received. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics. RESULTS: The study revealed that 79% of participants were satisfied with their masticatory ability, 84% were satisfied with the comfort of the prosthesis, and 89% were satisfied with the esthetics of their new prosthesis. Additionally, 85% of participants reported satisfaction with the overall treatment experience, and 90% would recommend that a friend receive the same treatment. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study support the incorporation of treatment with an implant-retained mandibular overdenture as part of the routine care provided in the predoctoral education program to meet the mandates of CODA.

Second heart field (SHF) progenitors perform essential functions during mammalian cardiogenesis. We recently identified a population of cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) in zebrafish expressing latent TGFbeta-binding protein 3 (ltbp3) that exhibits several defining characteristics of the anterior SHF in mammals. However, ltbp3 transcripts are conspicuously absent in anterior lateral plate mesoderm (ALPM), where SHF progenitors are specified in higher vertebrates. Instead, ltbp3 expression initiates at the arterial pole of the developing heart tube. Because the mechanisms of cardiac development are conserved evolutionarily, we hypothesized that zebrafish SHF specification also occurs in the ALPM. To test this hypothesis, we Cre/loxP lineage traced gata4(+) and nkx2.5(+) ALPM populations predicted to contain SHF progenitors, based on evolutionary conservation of ALPM patterning. Traced cells were identified in SHF-derived distal ventricular myocardium and in three lineages in the outflow tract (OFT). We confirmed the extent of contributions made by ALPM nkx2.5(+) cells using Kaede photoconversion. Taken together, these data demonstrate that, as in higher vertebrates, zebrafish SHF progenitors are specified within the ALPM and express nkx2.5. Furthermore, we tested the hypothesis that Nkx2.5 plays a conserved and essential role during zebrafish SHF development. Embryos injected with an nkx2.5 morpholino exhibited SHF phenotypes caused by compromised progenitor cell proliferation. Co-injecting low doses of nkx2.5 and ltbp3 morpholinos revealed a genetic interaction between these factors. Taken together, our data highlight two conserved features of zebrafish SHF development, reveal a novel genetic relationship between nkx2.5 and ltbp3, and underscore the utility of this model organism for deciphering SHF biology.

This qualitative research study identified criteria for clinical teacher quality preferences as perceived by dental students. Third and fourth year dental students at New York University College of Dentistry were given a two question, open-ended survey asking what qualities they liked most and least in a clinical teacher. Responses were collected until data saturation was achieved. A total of 157 respondents provided a total of 995 written comments. Descriptive words within the responses were coded and grouped into key words, according to similar relationships, and further refined into 17 defined categories. Three core themes, Character, Competence and Communication, emerged from these 17 categories, which were validated according to specific references found in the existing educational literature. 'Character' comprised nine of the 17 defined categories: (caring, motivation, empathy, patience, professionalism, available, fairness, happiness, patient-centred) and yielded 59.1% of total student responses; 'Competence' consisted of five categories: knowledgeable, expertise, efficient, skilful, effective (29.2%); and 'Communication' represented the remaining three categories: feedback, approachable and interpersonal communication (11.7%). Positive and negative responses related to the defined category of caring were cited by 59.2% of all students. Motivation was the next highest category, cited by 45.9% of students. Non-cognitive attributes, especially those in the Character theme, comprised the majority of student comments. Because students' perceptions are so critical to understanding clinical teaching effectiveness in dental education, these findings can be used to develop assessments to measure clinical teaching effectiveness, to create criteria for the hiring and promotion of clinical faculty and to plan faculty development programming.