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Notes: Abstract The non-secretor phenotype was significantly associated with the occurrence of renal scarring among patients with recurrent pyelonephritis. Girls (n= 77) with recurrent pyelonephritis were followed from the first known episode of infection for up to twelve years with repeated radiological investigations. They were divided into two categories: those with renal scars (n= 35) and those who did not develop scars (n= 42). There was a significant over-representation of non-secretors among the patients with scarring, (14/35, 40%) compared to the healthy controls (21.8%, P 〈 0.05). The frequency of non-secretors among the girls who did not develop scars in spite of repeated episodes of acute pyelonephritis was not significantly different from the healthy controls (9/42, 21%, n.s.). This study provides a basis for analysis of the influence of secretor state on host-parasite interaction in the urinary tract.

Notes: Background: Subjects with periodontal disease exist who either (i) respond poorly to initial mechanical therapy (“refractory” periodontitis) or (ii) fail to adopt adequate self-performed plaque control techniques and hence develop recurrent disease (“recurrent” periodontitis) at multiple sites during the supportive treatment phase (SPT). Various systemic antibiotic regimens have been tried as adjuncts to the mechanical (re-) treatment of such “difficult to treat”-patients. While most studies indicated a positive outcome of the adjunctive therapy, some clinical investigators reported that this additional measure provided little or no benefit.Aim: The aim of the present investigation was to study the more long term effect of adjunctive antibiotic therapy in the re-treatment of patients with a well defined history of recurrent periodontitis.Material and Methods: 17 subjects with recurrent advanced periodontal disease were, following a baseline examination, subjected to non-surgical therapy including the use of systemic antibiotics (amoxicillin and metronidazole). They were placed in a careful SPT program and re-examined after 1, 3 and 5 years. The examinations included both clinical and microbiological assessments.Results: It was demonstrated that in subjects with advanced and recurrent periodontitis, re-treatment including (i) comprehensive scaling and root planing (SRP), (ii) systemic administration of antibiotics and (iii) meticulous supragingival plaque control by both mechanical and chemical means established periodontal conditions that in the short term (3 years) and in the majority of subjects could be properly maintained by traditional SPT measures. Between 3 and 5 years, however, only 5 of the 17 subjects exhibited stable periodontal attachment levels.Conclusions: Some deep pockets and furcations were most likely inadequately instrumented during the active treatment phase. Microorganisms residing in biofilms left in such locations were probably not sufficiently affected by the 2 weeks of adjunctive antibiotic therapy. It is suggested that removal of certain subgingival deposits, therefore, may require surgical intervention.

Notes: Aim: The aim of the study was to evaluate disease progression during supportive periodontal therapy in (i) a group of 225 subjects with “normal” (NG) and (ii) a group with high susceptibility (HSG; n=109) to periodontal disease (based on their baseline disease status).Material and methods: The following variables were recorded at the baseline examination (1 year after they received non-surgical periodontal therapy) and at the re-examination after 12 years of maintenance: number of teeth, plaque, probing pocket depth, probing attachment level, bone level in full mouth radiographs. All assessments were performed in a standardized manner and by well-trained and calibrated examiners. Supportive periodontal therapy was delivered 3–4 × per year and included repeated oral hygiene instruction and debridement. In addition, sites that bled on probing and had a PPD value of 〈inlineGraphic alt="geqslant R: gt-or-equal, slanted" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:03036979:JCPE280307:ges" location="ges.gif"/〉5 mm received subgingival instrumentation.Results: A comparison between the findings at baseline and after 12 years revealed that in the NG, most subjects maintained their periodontal condition unchanged during the maintenance period; only a few subjects experienced tooth loss and the figures describing the mean amount of bone and attachment loss were small (0.5 mm and 0.3 mm respectively). The HSG patients experienced some tooth loss and also lost significant amounts of bone and attachment during the 12 years of SPT. Thus, in this group of subjects, the mean overall PAL loss amounted to 0.8 mm, i.e., 0.06 mm/tooth surface/year. In the NG, the overall attachment loss was significantly smaller: 0.5 mm, i.e. 0.04 mm/tooth surface/year.Conclusion: In subjects with a high susceptibility for periodontal disease who had been treated for this condition by non-surgical means, an SPT program including regularly repeated oral hygiene instruction and subgingival debridement, made it possible to maintain bone and attachment levels at a reasonably stable level over a 12-year period. A similar SPT provided to a group of subjects with normal susceptibility to periodontal disease, on the other hand, prevented almost entirely major tooth, bone and attachment loss.

Notes: Abstract The aim of the present trial was to study if carefully practiced supragingival plaque control influenced the subgingival microbiota at periodontal sites with suprabony, infrabony, or furcation pockets. 12 subjects, 5 males and 7 females aged 44 to 69 years (mean age 55 years) participated in the study. None of the participants had during the last 12 months received periodontal therapy, and none of the subjects had used antibiotics during a 3-month period preceding the study. Following a screening examination. 6 to 8 sites per subject were selected which had a probing depth of 〈inlineGraphic alt="geqslant R: gt-or-equal, slanted" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:03036979:JCPE934:ges" location="ges.gif"/〉5 mm. Among these sites. 1–3 sites had a supra-bony location. 1–3 sites had an infrabony location, and 1–3 sites were associated with a furcation defect. The selected sites were exposed to a baseline examination at which the following parameters were recorded: plaque, gingivitis, probing pocket depth and probing attachment level. A bacterial sample was obtained from each of the selected sites: 2 sterile paper points were inserted into the pocket and kept in place for 30 seconds. The paper point samples were removed, placed in a vial containing an anaerobically prepared transport medium, and processed using routine procedures. Following the baseline examination, each subject was given a case presentation, received thorough supragingival scaling and was instructed to practice proper plaque control with the use of toothbrush and dentifrice. During the subsequent 30 weeks they were recalled 2–3 × per week for professional tooth cleaning. Each session was handled by a dental hygienist and required about 15 min. Re-examinations were performed after 30 weeks. The findings indicated that professionally delivered and frequently repeated supragingival tooth cleaning, combined with careful self-performed plaque control had a marked effect on the subgingival microbiota of moderate to deep periodontai pockets. Thus, at sites with suprabony and infrabony pockets, as well as at furcation sites, the meticulous and prolonged supragingival plaque removal reduced the total number of microorganisms that could be harvested, as well as the % of sites with P. gingivalis.

Notes: Objective: The present study was performed to assess the effect of topically-applied PVP-iodine, used as an adjunct both during basic non-surgical therapy and at re-treatment during the long-term maintenance of patients with advanced periodontal disease.Material and Methods: 223 patients with advanced destructive periodontitis were recruited. The participants met the following inclusion criteria: (i) a minimum of 8 non-molar teeth, (ii) probing pocket depth of 〈inlineGraphic alt="geqslant R: gt-or-equal, slanted" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:03036979:JCPE281106:ges" location="ges.gif"/〉6 mm at 〈inlineGraphic alt="geqslant R: gt-or-equal, slanted" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:03036979:JCPE281106:ges" location="ges.gif"/〉2 teeth in each dentate quadrant, and radiographic bone loss exceeding 40% at the same teeth. A baseline I examination included assessment of plaque, gingivitis, probing pocket depth (PPD), probing attachment level (PAL) and radiographic bone height (R×BL). Following baseline I, the patients were stratified into 2 treatment groups; 2 subjects out of 3 were included in a control group and 1 in a test group. All participants, on an individual basis, received a case presentation and were instructed in proper self-performed plaque control measures. Non-surgical therapy was performed by the use of an ultrasonic device. The instrumentation in the test group was combined with the administration of 0.1% PVP-iodine. All subjects were recalled for comprehensive examinations 3, 6 and 12 months (baseline II) after baseline I and then after 3, 5 and 13 years of maintenance therapy. PAL determinations were performed annually. Subjects (losers) who at the re-examinations after 1, 2 and 3 years of maintenance demonstrated an annual further loss of PAL 〈inlineGraphic alt="geqslant R: gt-or-equal, slanted" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:03036979:JCPE281106:ges" location="ges.gif"/〉2 mm at 〈inlineGraphic alt="geqslant R: gt-or-equal, slanted" extraInfo="nonStandardEntity" href="urn:x-wiley:03036979:JCPE281106:ges" location="ges.gif"/〉4 teeth were exited from the study and referred for re-treatment. There were 9 losers in the test and 31 in the control group. In addition, 8 subjects in the test and 25 subjects in the control group withdrew from the trial for reasons unrelated to the study. These 73 subjects were not included in the data presentation from the various examinations.Results: It was demonstrated that non-surgical periodontal therapy resulted in (i) improved gingival conditions, (ii) reduced PPD, (iii) gain in PAL. It was also documented that the topical application of 0.1% PVP-iodine in conjunction with the mechanical root debridement established conditions which further improved the outcome of therapy. This was evidenced by the fact that at the 3, 6, and 12 months re-examinations after baseline I, the test group had significantly lower mean PPD values and significantly more gain of PAL than the control group. During the 12 years of SPT, it was possible for most subjects in both groups to maintain shallow pockets and to avoid marked further loss of PAL. There were, however, a larger number of losers in the control than in the test group.Conclusion: PVP-iodine, topically applied during subgingival instrumentation, may improve the outcome of non-surgical periodontal therapy.

Notes: From 1996 to 1999, back pain and radiological changes in the thoraco-lumbar spine were investigated in 134 former top athletes, representing wrestling, gymnastics, soccer and tennis (age 27–39 years) and a group of 28 non-athletes of comparable age. This is a long-term follow-up investigation of a previous radiological study of the spine with clinical correlation. Despite significantly more radiological abnormalities among the athletes, they did not report higher frequency of back pain than the non-athletes. A decrease in disc height or new disc height reduction in one or more of the intervertebral discs between the two examinations correlated significantly with back pain at follow-up.

Notes: Abstract. Beta-decay experiments are a primary source of information for nuclear-structure studies and at the same time complementary to in-beam investigations of nuclei far from stability. Although both types of experiment are mainly based on $\gamma$ -ray spectroscopy, they face different experimental problems. The so-called Pandemonium effect is a critical problem in $\beta$ -decay if we are to test theoretically calculated transition probabilities. In this contribution we will present a solution to this problem using total absorption spectroscopy methods. We will also present some examples of experiments carried out with the Total Absorption Spectrometer (TAS) at GSI an describe a new device LUCRECIA recently installed at CERN.

Notes: Abstract The effect on tumour and prostate volumes of a 3-month course of neo-adjuvant hormone therapy was studied using computerised planimetry on serially sectioned specimens obtained by radical prostatectomy. Fifty-four specimens from patients not receiving pre-treatment were compared to 38 specimens from patients given the gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue triptorelin for 3 months before the operation. Glandular volume and volume of the index tumour was determined. To determine the position of the index tumour within the gland, the centre of mass of the tumour was identified and the distance to the gland margin calculated. This value (M 1) represents the sum of the tumour radius and the various amounts of normal tissue. The amount of surrounding tissue could be approximated by correlating M1 to the corresponding tumour volume. Results: The two groups differed significantly in total gland volumes, but not in tumour volumes.M 1 was strongly correlated to the tumour volume in the treatment group (r = 0.'73), whereas in the control group the correlation was found to be significantly weaker (r = 0.44), indicating that there was less tissue surrounding the tumour in the pre-treated group. In a multiple regression analysis of all 92 patients, index tumour volume was found to be associated with total gland volume, DNA ploidy pattern, tumour grade but not whether or not pre-treatment was given. This study found that the volumes of the single largest tumour focus were not significantly affected by hormonal pretreatment, and that “the prostate condenses around the tumour rather than that the tumour shrinks back into the prostate”. However, the precise relationship between tumour epithelial volume and stroma with or without neo-adjuvant hormonal pre-treatment remains to be clarified.

Notes: Abstract: Decay-spectroscopy study of the 67mFe isomer has been performed at GANIL. This isomer is found to have an energy of 387 keV and a half-life of 75(21) μs. An intermediate excited state is introduced at 367 keV. The results are interpreted in terms of various nuclear models, and a deformed shape is inferred for 67Fe.

Notes: Abstract: The very neutron-deficient isotope 93Pd was produced in fusion-evaporation reactions of a 40Ca beam on a 58Ni target. The reaction products were separated at the GSI Online Mass Separator, using ion sources of the FEBIAD type. The -decay properties of 93Pd were studied by detecting -delayed protons and -delayed -rays. The feeding of excited levels in the daughter nucleus 93Rh and the -decay half-life of 93Pd were determined. The experimental results are discussed in comparison to shell model predictions.