The Medical Exclusion of an Immigrant to the United States of America in the Early Twentieth Century. The Case of Cristina Imparato.

The medical inspection of immigrants arriving in the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was framed by a need to rapidly process large numbers of people. Scientific medicine, such as it was then, was subordinate to the existing immigration laws which reflected the influences of the powerful anti-immigration forces of eugenics and nativism. The line, or single-file queues in which immigrants were arranged, facilitated rapid processing. The split-second medical gaze was hailed by the then leadership of the U.S. Public Health Service as scientifically sound, based as it was on the alleged exceptional disease detection skills of examining public health physicians. In reality, this system was seriously flawed, led to numerous diagnostic errors, and was free of any form of public outcomes assessment or accountability. In time, trachoma became the principal focus of line physicians because of the belief that it could be easily detected, and those diagnosed with it summarily deported. However, the diagnosis of the early stages of this disease is far more complex since it must be differentiated from other forms of benign conjunctivitis. Described here is the case of Cristina Imparato, a 46-year-old immigrant who arrived in New York from Italy on September 27, 1910, and who was given a diagnosis of trachoma which resulted in her summary deportation three days later on September 30, 1910. Her case serves to illustrate the complex forces at work at that time around the issue of immigration. These included a need to meet the labor needs of expanding industries while responding to the immigration restriction demands of eugenics supporters and nativists and the call to protect the country from imported disease threats.

Imperato PJ, Imperato GH.

State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, P.O. Box 43, Brooklyn, NY, 11203, USA, pascal.imperato@downstate.edu.

An Uncertain Dominion: Irish Psychiatry, Methadone, and the Treatment of Opiate Abuse.

This paper investigates some productive ambiguities around the medical administration of methadone in the Republic of Ireland. The tensions surrounding methadone maintenance therapy (MMT) are outlined, as well as the sociohistorical context in which a serious heroin addiction problem in Ireland developed. Irish psychiatry intervened in this situation, during a time of institutional change, debates concerning the nature of addiction, moral panics concerning heroin addiction in Irish society and the recent boom in the Irish economy, known popularly as the Celtic Tiger. A particular history of this sort illuminates how technologies like MMT become cosmopolitan, settling into, while changing, local contexts.

Saris AJ.

Department of Anthropology, National University of Ireland, Maynooth, Maynooth, Co. Kildare, Ireland, ajsaris@eircom.net.

Preparation and antibacterial characteristic of water-insoluble antibacterial material QPEI/SiO(2).

Polyethyleneimine (PEI) was grafted onto micron-sized silica gel particles via the coupling action of gamma-chloropropyl trimethoxy silane, and grafting particles PEI/SiO(2) was prepared. Then, polymeric reactions of two steps, tertiary amination reaction and quaterisation, were conducted for the grafted PEI. After quaterisation of the grafted polyethyleneimine, a composite particle, QPEI/SiO(2), was obtained. QPEI/SiO(2) is a water-insoluble antibacterial material. In this work, the antibacterial characteristic of QPEI/SiO(2) was mainly investigated using Escherichia coli (E. coli) as a disease-leading bacterium and adopting a colony count method. The effects of quaterisation degree of PEI and pH of the medium on the antibacterial ability of QPEI/SiO(2) were examined. The antibacterial mechanism of QPEI/SiO(2) was explored profoundly by using two enzyme activity determination methods, beta-D: -galactosidase activity determination and TTC-dehydrogenase activity determination. The experimental results indicates that the water-insoluble antibacterial material QPEI/SiO(2) possesses strong antibacterial ability, for the bacterial suspension with a concentration of 10(9) CFU/ml, the antibacterial ratio of QPEI/SiO(2) can reach about 100% only with a dosage of 15 g/l and only for a contact time of 10 min. The main factors influencing the antibacterial ratio of QPEI/SiO(2) are the quaterisation degree of the grafted PEI and pH value of the medium. QPEI/SiO(2) with higher quaterisation degree has stronger antibacterial ability. In a certain range of pH value, the higher the pH value of the medium is, the stronger the antibacterial ability of QPEI/SiO(2 )is. Enzyme activity determination results show that the antibacterial mechanism of the water-insoluble antibacterial material QPEI/SiO(2) is based on a sterilization process and not only is a bacteriostasis action.

Gao B, Zhang X, Wang J.

Department of Chemical Engineering, North University of China, Taiyuan, 030051, P.R. China, gaobaojiao@126.com.

A novel amphiphilic nano hydrogel using ketene based polyester with polyacrylamide for controlled drug delivery system.

A ketene based Low molecular weight polymer (LMKP) having ester functional group was prepared using glycine through surface initiated anionic polymerization. NMR, ATR-FTIR & SEC were used to characterize the LMKP. The LMKP and acrylamide (AAm) were co-polymerised in methyl ethyl ketone to yield semi-IPN nanohydrogels (NHG). Benzoyl peroxide (BPO) was used as an initiator and N,N-methylene bisacrylamide (MBA) as crosslinking agent. Formation of NHG was confirmed through frequency shift in LMKP and poly acrylamide (PAAm) in FTIR spectroscopy. Photon correlation spectroscopy reveals that the sizes of the NHG were in the range of 140-225 nm and Transmission Electron Micrograph (TEM) also confirms the nano dimension of NHG. Biocompatibility of the NHG was confirmed through the cytotoxicity analysis. The swelling and diffusion behaviour of NHG, prepared under various formulations, were evaluated. The swelling pattern of NHG was studied at different pH conditions. The drug delivery capacity of NHG was investigated using ciprofloxacin as a model drug. The drug release kinetics of NHG suggested their anomalous (non-fickian) behaviour.

Swarnalatha S, Gopi R, Ganesh Kumar A, Selvi PK, Sekaran G.

Department of Environmental Technology, Central Leather Research Institute, Adyar, Chennai, 600 020, Tamil Nadu, India.

Dental casting alloys behaviour during power toothbrushing with toothpastes of various abrasivities. Part II: corrosion and ion release.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long term effect of abrasivity of toothpastes normally used over the corrosion behavior and ion release of the different dental casting alloys. Three dental casting alloys (Ni-Cr, Co-Cr and commercially pure Ti) were studied. Four specimens of each material were immersed, brushed without paste or brushed with one of four toothpastes of different Relative Dentine Abrasivity (RDA 50, 52, 80, and 114). An electric toothbrush with a load of 250 g was used for 420 min. Corrosion behavior was determined by means a potenciostat with high sensitivity and the ion release determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma-Mass Spectrometry. Two-way ANOVA and non-parametric tests were used to detect significant differences. Titanium specimens exhibited the best corrosion behavior after and before the toothbrushed, being the worst of the three alloys the Cr-Ni. Titanium oxide produced spontaneously on the Ti surface is the main cause of the high corrosion resistance of the material. However, the eutectoid of the CrNi with chemical composition between different phases produces pitting on the phases boundaries with an important decrease of the corrosion resistance. Besides, the CrNi produces high values of the Ni and Cr release. Slight increment in roughness were observed after toothbrushing and depended on the material but not on the toothpaste used. The increase of the microhardness (residual stresses) provokes a decrease of the corrosion resistance and an increase of the ion release.

Molina C, Nogués L, Martinez-Gomis J, Peraire M, Salsench J, Sevilla P, Gil FJ.

Faculty of Dentistry, Department of Prosthodontics, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Dental casting alloys behaviour during power toothbrushing with toothpastes with various abrasivities. Part I: wear behavior.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long term effect of abrasivity of toothpastes normally used over the surface and mechanical properties of dental casting alloys. Three dental casting alloys (Ni-Cr, Co-Cr, c.p. Ti) and one ceramic were chosen. Four specimens of each material were immersed in artificial saliva, brushed without or with one of four toothpastes of different Relative Dentine Abrasivity (RDA 50, 52, 80, and 114). An electric toothbrush with a load of 250 g was used for 420 min. Mass loss was determined by difference in weight, microhardness and surface roughness were also measured. Two-way ANOVA and non-parametric tests were used to detect significant differences. Titanium specimens (478 mug/cm(2)) exhibited the most mass loss, whereas ceramic (282 mug/cm(2)) and Co-Cr (262 mug/cm(2)) exhibited the least. However, ceramic demonstrated the most volume loss (0.239 mm(3)). The abrasivity effect of the toothpaste correlated with the RDA values. Slight variations in microhardness were observed after toothbrushing and depended on the material but not on the toothpaste used. Material surfaces were slightly smoothed by toothbrushing but no significant differences were detected. Dental casting alloys and ceramic are susceptible to abrasion by brushing with an electric toothbrush depending on the RDA value of the toothpaste. Variations in microhardness and surface roughness were not clinically relevant.

Nogués L, Martinez-Gomis J, Molina C, Peraire M, Salsench J, Sevilla P, Gil FJ.

Department of Prosthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.

Preparation of hydroxyapatite spheres with an internal cavity as a scaffold for hard tissue regeneration.

Microparticulates are currently regarded as a useful matrix for the delivery of bioactive molecules and tissue cells. Herein, hydroxyapatite (HA) spherical microparticulates with an internal cavity were produced using an oil-in-water emulsion technique. The HA slurry in the organic solvent was formulated into spherical particles in a water bath containing a surfactant. Rapid evaporation of the solvent helped create a cavity within the microparticulates. The microparticulates were heat-treated at 1,200 degrees C to produce bioactive HA particles with a mean size of approximately 363 mum. Osteoblastic cells were observed to spread and grow favorably over the surface as well as within the cavity of the microparticulates. The currently developed HA microparticulates with an internal cavity are considered to be useful as a scaffolding matrix for bone tissue engineering and direct filling skeletal defects.

Lee HH, Hong SJ, Kim CH, Kim EC, Jang JH, Shin HI, Kim HW.

Department of Biomaterials Science, School of Dentistry, Dankook University, Cheonan, 330-714, South Korea.

Biodistribution of titanium dioxide from biologic compartments.

The layer of titanium dioxide (TiO(2)) of the implant is chronically exposed to the internal electrolyte milieu in the peri-implant biological compartment. Corrosion results from electrochemical attack and ensuing gradual degradation of the metallic materials and is thus of biological interest when these biomaterials are employed in clinical implantology. Herein we evaluated and compared the chronic effect and the biodistribution of TiO(2) administered subcutaneously or intraperitoneally. We propose that the compartmentalization of titanium in the area of subcutaneous injection would reproduce the biological compartment of the implant and its microenvironment from which metal ions could be released and migrate systemically. Potential TiO(2) deposits were identified and characterized in skin, liver and lung by histological and EDX analyses. After both treatments, the skin, liver, and lungs exhibited histological evidence of TiO(2) deposits. In order to characterize in situ macrophage-like cells, tissue sections were immunohistochemically stained for CD68. Tissue specimens from all organs assayed showed positive staining for anti-macrophage monoclonal antibody CD68 (PGM1). Despite the compartmentalization of titanium within nodular areas in rats treated subcutaneously, systemic migration occurred. We concluded that systemic migration of TiO(2) occurred regardless of the administration route.

Olmedo DG, Tasat DR, Guglielmotti MB, Cabrini RL.

Department of Oral Pathology, School of Dentistry, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina, dolmedo@argentina.com.

The interaction of zinc oxide-based dental cements with aqueous solutions of potassium fluoride.

The ability of zinc oxide-based dental cements (zinc phosphate and zinc polycarboxylate) to take up fluoride from aqueous solution has been studied. Only zinc phosphate cement was found to take up any measurable fluoride after 5 h exposure to the solutions. The zinc oxide filler of the zinc phosphate also failed to take up fluoride from solution. The key interaction for this uptake was thus shown to involve the phosphate groups of the set cement. However, whether this took the form of phosphate/fluoride exchange, or the formation of oxyfluoro-phosphate groups was not clear. Fluoride uptake followed radicaltime kinetics for about 2 h in some cases, but was generally better modelled by the Elovich equation, dq(t)/dt = alpha exp(-betaq(t)). Values for alpha varied from 3.80 to 2.48 x 10(4), and for beta from 7.19 x 10(-3) to 0.1946, though only beta showed any sort of trend, becoming smaller with increasing fluoride concentration. Fluoride was released from the zinc phosphate cements in processes that were diffusion based up to M(t)/M(infinity) of about 0.4. No further release occurred when specimens were placed in fresh volumes of deionised water. Only a fraction of the fluoride taken up was re-released, demonstrating that most of the fluoride taken up becomes irreversibly bound within the cement.

Pawluk K, Booth SE, Coleman NJ, Nicholson JW.

Department of Environmental, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences, School of Science, University of Greenwich, Medway Campus, Chatham, Kent, ME4 4TB, UK.

A novel COL3A1 gene mutation in patient with aortic dissected aneurysm and cervical artery dissections.

A considerable proportion of aortic aneurysms are shown to have genetic backgrounds. The COL3A1 gene, which encodes type III procollagen and causes Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) type IV, is one of the candidate genes associated with aortic aneurysms. The COL3A1 gene is also associated with cervical artery dissections (CAD) mostly as a part of manifestations of EDS type IV. We describe a 34-year-old Korean woman with both abdominal dissected aortic aneurysm and CAD accompanying atrial septal defect and multiple cysts in ovary and thyroid glands. She lacked cardinal manifestations of EDS type IV other than the vascular abnormalities, but molecular analyses of the COL3A1 gene confirmed a de novo heterozygous missense mutation that has not been reported before (c. 781G > A; Gly261Ser). This case suggested that the COL3A1 gene could be one of etiologically linked genes in isolated vasculopathies such as aortic dissected aneurysm or CAD, although being rare.

Lee ST, Kim JA, Jang SY, Kim DK, Kim JW, Ki CS.

Department of Laboratory Medicine, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, 50 Irwon-Dong, Gangnam-Gu, Seoul, 135-710, South Korea.