The aims of this investigation were to cephalometrically study the short-term skeletal and dental modifications induced by rapid palatal expansion in a sample of 20 patients (10 male, 10 female), aged 6–10 years (mean age 8 years) in mixed dentition with a uni- or bilateral posterior crossbite, a mild skeletal Class II malocclusion, and an increased vertical dimension (FMA, SN^GoGn), and to compare them with an untreated matched control group of 20 subjects (10 male and 10 female), mean age 8 years.Cephalometric analysis showed that the maxilla displayed a tendency to rotate downwards and backward, resulting in a statistically significant increase of the SN^PP angle (T0 = 9•95 degrees, T1 = 11•60 degrees, P < 0•01) and the SN–ANS linear value (T0 = 49•50 mm, T1 = 51•10 mm, P < 0•05). Table 1. Method error coefficientsVariablesRSNA (°)0•99SNB (°)0•98ANB (°)0•98AO–BO (mm)0•99N perp.–A (mm)0•99N perp.–Pg (mm)0•99PTM–A (mm)0•97FMA (°)0•98SN^GoGn (°)0•98PP^GoGn (°)0•99SN^PP (°)0•97P.occl. ^ FH (°)0•99A...
26 March 2002 in Diagnostic Microbiology and Infectious Disease
During foetal life, the liver plays the important roles of connection and transient hematopoietic function. Foetal liver cells develop in an environment called a hematopoietic stem cell niche composed of several cell types, where stem cells can proliferate and give rise to mature blood cells. Embryologically, at about the third week of gestation, the liver appears, and it grows rapidly from the fifth to 10th week under WNT/β-Catenin signaling pathway stimulation, which induces hepatic progenitor cells proliferation and differentiation into hepatocytes. Development of new strategies and identification of new cell sources should represent the main aim in liver regenerative medicine and cell therapy. Cells isolated from organs with endodermal origin, like the liver, bile ducts, and pancreas, could be preferable cell sources. Furthermore, stem cells isolated from these organs could be more susceptible to differentiate into mature liver cells after transplantation with respect to stem cells isolated from organs or tissues with a different embryological origin. The foetal liver possesses unique features given the co-existence of cells having endodermal and mesenchymal origin, and it could be highly available source candidate for regenerative medicine in both the liver and pancreas. Taking into account these advantages, the foetal liver can be the highest potential and available cell source for cell therapy regarding liver diseases and diabetes.