SUMMARY The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the occurrence of chromosomal abnormalities through the frequency of micronuclei and other genomic damage markers in patients with chronic generalized periodontitis and without periodontal disease. Micronucleus assay was performed in exfoliated gingival epithelial cells of 35 patients with generalized chronic periodontitis and 30 control subjects with healthy periodontium. Full mouth clinical examination was performed to define periodontal condition. The mean number of cells with micronuclei observed in chronic periodontitis and control groups was 1.8 (±1.49) and 2.0 (±1.34), respectively. Differences between the groups were not significant (p=0.574). Compared to control subjects, patients with chronic periodontitis showed a significant increase in the number of binucleated cells (p≤0.001) and number of cells with nucleoplasmic bridges (p=0.042). Study results indicated that chronic periodontitis was not associated with higher occurrence of chromosomal damage in gingival cells compared to individuals with healthy periodontium.

We show a case of endophthalmitis presenting 7 weeks after intravitreal aflibercept injection. An unusual species of viridans streptococci, S. intermedius, was isolated. The case highlights the need to consider infection even in cases of very delayed-onset postinjection inflammation, and the potential wide variability in severity of Streptococcus viridans endophthalmitis. Purpose: Endophthalmitis following intravitreal anti–vascular endothelial growth factor injections is frequently caused by Streptococcus viridans organisms and tends to be aggressive. Herein, we present a case of postinjection Streptococcus viridans endophthalmitis presenting in an atypically delayed fashion with good visual outcome. Methods: Single clinical case report. Results: A 91-year-old woman treated with aflibercept for exudative age-related macular degeneration of the left eye presented to the emergency department with mild pain and visual acuity decline to counting fingers, pigmented anterior chamber cells and vitreous haze 7 weeks after her most recent intravitreal injection. She had no symptoms of systemic infection. The presumptive diagnosis initially was vitreous hemorrhage. Over 10 days of observation, she developed worsening pain and vitritis suggestive of endophthalmitis, leading us to perform vitrectomy with intravitreal vancomycin and ceftazidime. Vitreous biopsy was culture positive for Streptococcus intermedius, a type of viridans streptococcus typically associated with head and neck abscesses. The infection resolved and the patient's visual acuity returned to her baseline of 20/100, with no recurrence of infection after 4 months of follow-up. Conclussion: The virulence of viridans streptococci capable of producing postinjection endophthalmitis may vary widely. Infection ought to be suspected even in cases of delayed-onset intraocular inflammation.

ABSTRACT This study evaluated the accuracy of Cameriere’s method based on normalized measurement of open apices of developing permanent teeth (xi ) and a number of teeth with closed apices (N0 ) in a sample of 121 cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans of children (60 males and 61 females), aged between 5 and 13 years from Krakow, Poland. Intra-class correlation coefficient on randomly selected 30 CBCT scans showed good to exceptional intra-observer, and inter-observer agreement of normalized open apices, while Kappa score showed an absolute agreement of the number of teeth with complete maturation. Dental age overestimated by 0.17 years (p = 0.120) and 0.18 years (p = 0.149) in males and females, respectively. The mean absolute errors between dental and chronological age of MAE between dental and chronological age of the complete sample were 0.73 years and 0.77 years in males and females, respectively. In conclusion, the present results support usage of Cameriere’s method for age estimation in Polish children in cases where CBCT scans are available and previously taken for a specific clinical indication and taking into account the more demanding procedure of measuring variables in a non-orthogonal projection of teeth compared to a panoramic image.

BACKGROUND/AIMS With the growing popularity of water polo across the world, there has been rising awareness of the risks for orofacial injures in water polo. The aim of this study was to evaluate knowledge and attitudes of water polo coaches regarding dental trauma, dental emergency procedures and awareness about prevention of such injuries. MATERIALS AND METHODS A specific questionnaire comprising 25 questions regarding knowledge, experiences and behaviors following dental trauma was distributed to 62 water polo coaches during the license renewal seminar held by the Croatian Water Polo Federation, in February 2018 in Split, Croatia. Chi-square with Yates correction when necessary, and Fisher's exact tests were used in statistical analysis, and the results were considered statistically significant when P < 0.05. RESULTS There were 51 water polo coaches who participated in this study. Their ages ranged from 19 to 60 years. Most of the coaches (90.2%) have seen a dental injury in their players during their coaching careers. Concerning the procedure with handling an avulsed tooth, there were 68.6% coaches who would maintain the avulsed tooth in a handkerchief or gauze along with four coaches (7.8%) who would rinse the avulsed tooth under water and wrap it in a handkerchief or gauze afterwards. Only one participant (2%) would maintain the avulsed tooth in saline solution before its replantation. None of the coaches would use milk for maintaining the avulsed tooth. Only seven coaches (13.7%) have previously had education about sports-related dental injuries, dental emergency procedures and prevention of such injuries. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study demonstrated poor level of knowledge of water polo coaches about dental injuries and dental emergency procedures. Their knowledge and attitudes could be improved by educational programs on dental injuries and dental emergency procedures, as well as sports-related dental injuries management.

Key Points Question Does a treat-and-extend approach with potentially less frequent anti-vascular endothelial growth factor injections and visits provide visual outcomes not worse than monthly ranibizumab injections in patients with neovascular acute macular degeneration? Findings In this randomized clinical trial of 580 patients with treatment-naive choroidal neovascularization secondary to acute macular degeneration, at month 24, visual acuity outcomes in the treat-and-extend group were not worse than those in the monthly group. This outcome occurred despite a mean of 17.6 injections and visits in the treat-and-extend group compared with 23.5 in the monthly group. Meaning These 2-year outcomes, combined with those of 1-year trials, appear to support the hypothesis that treat-and-extend regimens are not worse than monthly treatment with ranibizumab for patients with neovascular acute macular degeneration similar to patients enrolled and treated in this trial.

Introduction: Stress is currently ubiquitous in the modern world and dentists are very susceptible to stress. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate subjective perception of stress in dentists, confirm known correlations between stress and various factors, such as gender, age, socioeconomic level, work seniority, and specialization. Material and methods: The research was conducted through an electronic survey, which was sent via email to 800 addresses of actively working dentists in the Republic of Croatia. The survey was completed by 432 respondents. Results: 91.9% of participants considered dentistry a stressful occupation, 46.1% of respondents believed that practicing dentistry may cause problems in mental health, 93% of participants thought that practicing dentistry can endanger their general health. Regarding working experience, the participants’ group with less than 10 years of experience identified fear of unsuccessful outcomes more frequently compared to their colleagues with more experience. Specialists perceived their health risks as lesser than expected. We found that 77.1% of participants were smokers. Conclusions: Chronic stress remains one of the principal factors contributing to the decline in overall health and mental health among dental professionals. No association was found between gender and stress, or stressor perceptions. In regard to working experience, we found that younger dentists with up to 10 years of experience presented with more fear from unsuccessful outcomes. It was also found that general dentists perceived health risks as greater in contrast to specialists. Male participants reported a much greater frequency of consumption of alcoholic beverages than female counterparts. Also, specialists reported consuming strong alcoholic beverages more than expected.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different percentage of seminal plasma proteins with different molecular weight on sperm motility and fertility parameters (farrowing rate (FR), number of live-born pigs (PBA) per litter and percentage of unsuccessful insemination). A total of 50 sperm-rich ejaculate fractions were collected (one per boar) using the gloved hand method. The quality parameters of the semen samples were first evaluated at the farm. Further assessment of sperm quality was performed on a CASA - computer assisted semen analysis by two competent operators. Seminal plasma protein fractions were obtained by AOAC - Association of Official Analytical Chemists as a chemical method. The assessment of reproductive performance was carried out based on collected data of three parameters in selected 9696 sows: FR, PBA per litter and percentage of unsuccessful insemination. Protein fractions were divided in to three groups (10 – 20kDa, 21 – 30kDa and 31 – 40kDa) Proteins with 10 – 20kDa did not have significant effect and correlation with analyzed parameters. Significant differences were recorded in farrowing rate between samples with up to 80 % compared to samples with 10% of proteins with 21 – 30kDa. Significant differences were recorded in unsuccessful insemination between samples with different percentage of proteins with 31 – 40kDa. Results of this study have shown the effect of different percentage of certain fraction of seminal plasma proteins on boar ejaculates fertility potential. Key words: boars; semen quality; seminal plasma proteins; reproductive results VPLIV VSEBNOSTI BELJAKOVIN SEMENSKE PLAZME RAZLICNIH MOLEKULARNIH TEŽ NA NEKATERE PARAMETRE PLODNOSTI V EJAKULATIH MERJASCEV Povzetek: Cilj opisane raziskave je bil prouciti vpliv prisotnosti beljakovin semenske plazme z razlicno molekulsko maso na gibljivost semencic in parametre plodnosti kot so: stopnja prasitev, stevilo živorojenih prasicev na leglo in odstotek neuspesnih osemenitev. Po metodi z orokaviceno roko je bilo zbranih 50 frakcij ejakulata, bogatih s semencicami (1 na merjasca). Na kmetiji smo najprej ocenili parametre kakovosti vzorcev semena. Nadaljnja ocena kakovosti semencic je bila izvedena z racunalnisko podprto analizo semena (CASA), ki sta jo izvedla dva usposobljena operaterja. Semenske frakcije beljakovin v plazmi so bile pridobljene s pomocjo AOAC - metode. Ocena reproduktivne ucinkovitosti je bila izvedena na podlagi zbranih podatkov treh parametrov pri izbranih 9696 svinjah. Proteinske frakcije so bile razdeljene v tri skupine (10 – 20 kDa, 21 – 30 kDa in 31 – 40 kDa). Beljakovine velikosti 10 - 20 kDa niso imele znacilnega ucinka in soodvisnosti z analiziranimi parametri. Ugotovili pa smo statisticno znacilne razlike v stopnji prasitve med vzorci z do 80 % beljakovin velikosti 21 - 30kDa v primerjavi z vzorci s samo 10 % beljakovin velikosti 21 - 30kDa. Statisticno znacilne razlike so bile ugotovljene tudi pri uspesnosti osemenitev med vzorci z razlicnim odstotkom beljakovin velikosti 31 - 40kDa. Rezultati te studije kažejo vpliv razlicnega odstotka dolocenega deleža beljakovin iz semenske plazme na potencial plodnosti merjascev. Kljucne besede: merjasci; kakovost semena; semenske beljakovine v plazmi; reprodukcijski rezultati