Randomized Trial on the Effectiveness of Dexamethasone in TMJ Arthrocentesis

The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of dexamethasone administration following arthrocentesis of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) with a placebo (saline). Twenty-eight participants with TMJ arthralgia were randomly assigned to two groups of a parallel double-blind RCT. In both groups, an arthrocentesis procedure was carried out. In one group, the procedure was followed by the administration of a single-dose intra-articular dexamethasone. In the other group, saline was administered as a control. Follow-up visits were scheduled after 1, 3, and 24 weeks. During each visit, TMJ pain (on a 100-mm VAS) and jaw stiffness (mouth opening in mm) were scored. In the statistical analysis, generalized estimating equation (GEE) models showed no differences between the two study groups, although pain and jaw stiffness were both reduced over 24 weeks. In conclusion, intra-articular dexamethasone following arthrocentesis did not improve the procedure's effect in patients presenting with TMJ arthralgia (ClinicalTrials.gov number CT01275014)

Counterexamples to the discrete and continuous weighted Weiss conjectures

Counterexamples are presented to weighted forms of the Weiss conjecture in discrete and continuous time. In particular, for certain ranges of $\alpha$, operators are constructed that satisfy a given resolvent estimate, but fail to be $\alpha$-admissible. For $\alpha \in (-1,0)$ the operators constructed are normal, while for $\alpha \in (0,1)$ the operator is the unilateral shift on the Hardy space $H^2(\mathbb{D})$.Comment: 16 page

Ultrasound stimulation of mandibular bone defect healing

The conclusions of the experimental work presented in this thesis are: 1. Low intensity pulsed ultrasound is not effective in stimulating bone growth into a rat mandibular defect, either with or without the use of osteoconductive membranes. 2. Low intensity pulsed ultrasound does not seem to have an effect on the early bone formation in the vertically distracted, severely resorbed mandible. This thesis focused on a small area in the field of ultrasound and bone healing that had not been explored before. The animal experimental work indicates that ultrasound does not stimulate mandibular bone defect healing with or without the use of osteoconductive membranes in healthy animals. This may be related to the ultrasound field variables used, to an optimal healing tendency of the head and neck region, or to limitations of the animal model. To reveal which of these possibilities is the most plausible, additional research is needed. For now, it is not recommendable to apply ultrasound in maxillofacial surgery to stimulate bone defect healing. In situations where mechanical loading or blood perfusion is limited, as for example in the case of mandibular fractures or osteoradionecrosis, ultrasound might have an effect. More importantly, unravelling the mechanism of action as to how ultrasound stimulates bone healing in certain cases may eventually predict if, and if so, when, ultrasound may be of value in maxillofacial surgery.

Duality and distance formulas in spaces defined by means of oscillation

For the classical space of functions with bounded mean oscillation, it is well known that VMO∗∗=BMOVMO∗∗=BMO and there are many characterizations of the distance from a function f in BMOBMO to VMOVMO. When considering the Bloch space, results in the same vein are available with respect to the little Bloch space. In this paper such duality results and distance formulas are obtained by pure functional analysis. Applications include general Möbius invariant spaces such as QK-spaces, weighted spaces, Lipschitz–Hölder spaces and rectangular BMOBMO of several variables

The genera Melanothamnus Bornet & Falkenberg and Vertebrata S.F. Gray constitute well-defined clades of the red algal tribe Polysiphonieae (Rhodomelaceae, Ceramiales).

Polysiphonia is the largest genus of red algae, and several schemes subdividing it into smaller taxa have been proposed since its original description. Most of these proposals were not generally accepted, and currently the tribe Polysiphonieae consists of the large genus Polysiphonia (190 species), the segregate genus Neosiphonia (43 species), and 13 smaller genera (< 10 species each). In this paper, phylogenetic relationships of the tribe Polysiphonieae are analysed, with particular emphasis on the genera Carradoriella, Fernandosiphonia, Melanothamnus, Neosiphonia, Polysiphonia sensu stricto, Streblocladia and Vertebrata. We evaluated the consistency of 14 selected morphological characters in the identified clades. Based on molecular phylogenetic (rbcL and 18S genes) and morphological evidence, two speciose genera are recognized: Vertebrata (including the type species of the genera Ctenosiphonia, Enelittosiphonia, Boergeseniella and Brongniartella) and Melanothamnus (including the type species of the genera Fernandosiphonia and Neosiphonia). Both genera are distinguished from other members of the Polysiphonieae by synapomorphic characters, the emergence of which could have provided evolutionarily selective advantages for these two lineages. In Vertebrata trichoblast cells are multinucleate, possibly associated with the development of extraordinarily long, photoprotective, trichoblasts. Melanothamnus has 3-celled carpogonial branches and plastids lying exclusively on radial walls of the pericentral cells, which similarly may improve resistance to damage caused by excessive light. Other relevant characters that are constant in each genus are also shared with other clades. The evolutionary origin of the genera Melanothamnus and Vertebrata is estimated as 75.7-95.78 and 90.7-138.66 Ma, respectively. Despite arising in the Cretaceous, before the closure of the Tethys Seaway, Melanothamnus is a predominantly Indo-Pacific genus and its near-absence from the northeastern Atlantic is enigmatic. The nomenclatural implications of this work are that 46 species are here transferred to Melanothamnus, six species are transferred to Vertebrata and 13 names are resurrected for Vertebrata