8); Group M (n=83, GRWR 0 8-1 0); Group L (n=73, GRWR > 1 0)

8); Group M (n=83, GRWR 0.8-1.0); Group L (n=73, GRWR > 1.0). Recovery of graft function, incidence of small-for-size syndrome and rate of complications were compared among the three groups. Results: There were no significant differences in the baseline characteristics in both the donors and recipients, nor in the intensive care unit stay hours, re-operation rate, hospital stay after operation, Clavien System score and recovery of graft function

after transplantation, VX-680 molecular weight among the three groups. The small-for-size syndrome rates were 13%, 7.23% and 11% in Groups S, M and B, and no significant difference was noted among the three groups. Conclusions: GRWR may not be the only factor affecting recipient prognosis after LDLT. Local graft dysfunction such as impaired venous outflow, severity of disease and portal hyperperfusion in the recipient, and fatty liver in donor may influence the graft and thus the prognosis of transplantation.”
“Obesity is accompanied by adipocyte death and

accumulation of macrophages and mast cells in expanding adipose tissues. Considering the differences in biological behavior of fat found in different anatomical locations, we explored the distribution of mast cells, solitary macrophages, and crown-like structures (CLS), the surrogates INCB28060 research buy for dead adipocytes, in subcutaneous and abdominal visceral fat of lean and diet-induced obese C57BL/6 mice. In fat depots of lean mice, mast cells were far less prevalent than solitary macrophages. Subcutaneous fat contained more mast cells, but fewer solitary macrophages and CLS, than visceral fat. Whereas no significant change in mast cell density of subcutaneous

fat was observed, obesity was accompanied by a substantial increase in mast cells in visceral fat. CLS became prevalent in visceral fat of obese mice, and the distribution paralleled mast cells. Adipose tissue mast cells XMU-MP-1 price contained and released preformed TNF-alpha, the cytokine implicated in the pathogenesis of obesity-linked insulin resistance.jlr In summary, subcutaneous fat differed from visceral fat by immune cell composition and a lower prevalence of CLS both in lean and obese mice. The increase in mast cells in visceral fat of obese mice suggests their role in the pathogenesis of obesity and insulin resistance.-Altintas, M. M., A. Azad, B. Nayer, G. Contreras, J. Zaias, C. Faul, J. Reiser, and A. Nayer. Mast cells, macrophages, and crown-like structures distinguish subcutaneous from visceral fat in mice. J. Lipid Res. 2011. 52: 480-488.”
“Background: Chronic pain affects nearly 116 million American adults at an estimated cost of up to $635 billion annually and is the No. 1 condition for which patients seek care at integrative medicine clinics. In our Study on Integrative Medicine Treatment Approaches for Pain (SIMTAP), we observed the impact of an integrative approach on chronic pain and a number of other related patient-reported outcome measures.

All patients received PJM of the dominant arm (shoulder, elbow, a

All patients received PJM of the dominant arm (shoulder, elbow, and wrist) for 4 sessions for 2 weeks. Pain severity was measured by visual analog scale, and pain sensitivity

was measured with pressure pain threshold (PPT) at CMC joint, at the tubercle of the scaphoid bone, and at the unciform apophysis of the hamate bone. Tip and tripod pinch strength were measured by a pinch gauge.\n\nResults: Passive joint mobilization reduced pain severity after the first follow-up by 30%, in addition to increased PPT by 13% in the hamate bone. Strength was enhanced after treatment. Tripod pinch increased by 18% in the dominant hand after treatment.\n\nConclusions: This case series provides preliminary evidence that PJM of upper extremity joints diminished pain and may increase PPT tip and tripod pinch in some participants 3-Methyladenine purchase with secondary CMC OA. (J Manipulative Physiol Ther 2012;35:735-742)”
“We studied the relationships among strength, muscle mass, and bone mineral density (BMD) with lifestyle change. Lifestyle therapy consisted of exercise, diet, and diet plus exercise. Diet was by caloric restriction to induce and maintain a weight loss of 10 % from baseline body weight. Exercise attenuated weight loss-induced muscle and bone losses. Exercise improved strength despite muscle loss in patients on diet and exercise. Changes in strength did not correlate with

changes in BMD. However, changes in thigh muscle volume correlated with, and predicted changes selleck screening library in hip BMD. Losses of hip BMD and lean body mass are major complications of lifestyle therapy in frail, obese older adults; however, the contribution of mechanical strain loss

from muscle loss is poorly defined. We determined the effect of changes in thigh muscle volume and muscle strength on BMD in frail, obese older adults undergoing lifestyle therapy aimed at intentional weight loss with or without exercise. One hundred seven obese older adults were randomized to control, diet, exercise, and diet-exercise groups for 1 year. Thigh muscle volume was measured by magnetic resonance imaging, BMD by DXA, knee strength by dynamometry, learn more total strength by one-repetition maximum (1-RM), and bone markers by immunoassay. Thigh muscle volume decreased in the diet group (-6.2 +/- 4.8 %) and increased in the exercise group (2.7 +/- 3.1 %), while it was not significantly different from the control in the diet-exercise group. Changes in hip BMD followed similar pattern as those in thigh muscle volume. Knee extension and flexion increased in the exercise group (23 +/- 20 %; 25 +/- 19 %) and diet-exercise group (20 +/- 19 %; 20.6 +/- 27 %) but were unchanged in the control and diet groups. Changes in thigh muscle volume correlated with changes in hip BMD (r = 0.55, P = smaller than 0.001) and were an independent predictor of changes in hip BMD (beta = 0.


“Introduction


“Introduction this website The Phillips Report on traumatic

brain injury (TBI) in Ireland found that injury was more frequent in men and that gender differences were present in childhood. This study determined when gender differences emerge and examined the effect of gender on the mechanism of injury, injury type and severity and outcome.\n\nMethods A national prospective, observational study was conducted over a 2-year period. All patients under 17 years of age referred to a neurosurgical service following TBI were included. Data on patient demographics, events surrounding injury, injury type and severity, patient management and outcome were collected from ‘on-call’ logbooks and find more neurosurgical admissions records.\n\nResults 342 patients were included. Falls were the leading cause of injury for both sexes. Boys’ injuries tended to involve greater energy transfer and involved more risk-prone behaviour resulting in a higher rate of other (non-brain) injury and a higher mortality rate. Intentional injury occurred only in boys. While injury severity was similar for boys and girls, significant gender differences in injury type were present;

extradural haematomas were significantly higher in boys (p=0.014) and subdural haematomas were significantly higher in girls (p=0.011). Mortality was 1.8% for girls and 4.3% for boys.\n\nConclusions Falls were responsible for most

TBI, the home is the most common place of injury and non-operable TBI was common. These findings relate to all children. Significant gender differences exist from infancy. Boys sustained injuries www.selleckchem.com/products/DAPT-GSI-IX.html associated with a greater energy transfer, were less likely to use protective devices and more likely to be injured deliberately. This results in a different pattern of injury, higher levels of associated injury and a higher mortality rate.”
“Brown rice malt from Indica and Japonica type rice were prepared and their nutrient composition as well as non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) contents and also some of the physico-chemical characteristics were determined. The activity of alpha- and beta-amylases in the ungermmated (native) rice was negligible but Increased considerably on germination Malting altered the chemical composition of both Indica and Japonica rice to a small extent but caused noticeable changes in the pasting characteristics The free sugars and water-soluble non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) contents of the malt samples were considerably higher than the native samples.


“A taxonomic and phylogenetic study based on morphological


“A taxonomic and phylogenetic study based on morphological characters revealed the type species of the genus Lucida Evans, 1955, Lucida lucia (Capronnier, 1874) to be paraphyletic to other species of the genus. As a result, a new genus, Ginungagapus gen. nov., is erected including four species previously placed in

Lucida: Ginungagapus schmithi (Bell, 1930) comb. nov., Ginungagapus bocus (Bell, 1947) comb. nov., Ginungagapus ranesus Selleck Combretastatin A4 (Schaus, 1902) comb. nov., and Ginungagapus rogan (Evans, 1955) comb. nov.; and four new species are added: Ginungagapus awarreni, sp. nov., Ginungagapus tangerinii, sp. nov., Ginungagapus fiedleri, sp. nov. and Ginungagapus brasilia, sp. nov. The new genus is taxonomically revised, genitalia are illustrated, except of the female of G. rogan (Evans, 1955) and GPCR Compound Library nmr of the male of G. brasilia, sp. nov., which are still unknown. An identification key is provided.”
“Ex vivo expansion of skin epithelial stem cells has long attracted great interest because of the potential utilization in transplantation and gene therapy. The use of cultured stem or progenitor cells was limited by the lack of applicable culturing system with both satisfactory expansion efficacy and well suppressed differentiation ex vivo. The p38 mitogen-activated

protein kinase (MAPK) pathways are responsible for cell growth and differentiation process. We investigated the function of p38 inhibitor SB203580 in the ex vivo expansion of skin epithelial progenitor cells by comparing media with or without addition of this inhibitor. Our results showed that the culturing medium with murine this website 3T3 feeder layers added with 10 mu M SB203580 was more effective in promoting clonal growth of human skin epithelial progenitors or stem cells than

the conventional medium without SB203580. The clone initial day in cells treated with 10 mu M SB203580 came 2 d earlier with higher colony formation efficiency. The skin epithelial progenitor cells treated with 10 mu M SB203580 formed clones that were uniformly smaller in size, longer in sustained proliferation, shorter in clone doubling time, higher in S-phase cells percentage, and lower in levels of differentiation markers such as K10 along with higher levels of stem-cell-associated markers such as p63, K15, and ABCG2 than those cultured in the conventional medium. Collectively, these results indicate that the p38 MAPK pathways inhibitor SB203580 can be used as a culture medium additive that helps to achieve more effective ex vivo expansion of skin epithelial progenitor cells.”
“Five new triterpenes (1-5) and one new lignan (6) were isolated from the aerial parts of Maytenus apurimacensis. Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic studies, including homonuclear and heteronuclear correlation NMR experiments (COSY, ROESY, HSQC, and HMBC).

We report a series of six cases from a single institution During

We report a series of six cases from a single institution. During the past six years,

chylous ascites was diagnosed in six (35%) of 17 AIDS patients, all of whom had previously been diagnosed with intra-abdominal MAC immune reconstitution syndrome (MAC-IRS). A review of medical records identified no other cases of chylous ascites among HIV-positive patients over the past 13 years (1994-2007), and the incidence was estimated at one in 2248 HIV-positive admissions. The ascitic fluid had a milky appearance and a median triglyceride level of 4.07 mmol/L (range 3.19-29.6 mmol/L) (360 mg/dL, range 282-2620 mg/dL). After a median follow-up of 20 months, five (83%) of six https://www.selleckchem.com/products/epz004777.html patients survived. Chylous ascites is a late complication of intra-abdominal MAC-IRS, and is usually associated with a favourable prognosis.”
“A new

species of Meropeidae (Mecoptera) from Brazil, Austromerope brasiliensis sp. n., is described, representing only the 3rd extant species described in this family and the 1st record of the family from the Neotropical region. The distribution and biogeography of the family are discussed and we propose that Meropeidae originated before continental drift and then divided into two branches, northern and southern, with the breakup of Pangea. Identification keys for the Neotropical families of Mecoptera and for the LY2090314 species of Meropeidae are provided.”
“Baicalein (5,6,7-trihydroxy-2-phenyl-4H-chromen-4-one), a major flavonoid extracted from the root of Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi (Chinese name: Huangqin), showed potent anti-proliferative activity against a broad panel of human cancer cell lines both in vitro and in vivo. A novel series of baicalein derivatives were synthesized by introducing a group to C6-OH and a nitrogen-containing hydrophilic heterocyclic ring to C7-OH via a length of 3 or 4-carbon chain in this study. The in vitro antiproliferative

activities of the 30 derivatives against HepG2, A549, BCG-823 cancer cell lines were evaluated. Among them, 10 compounds exhibit more potent cytotoxicity than baicalein against the three cancer cell lines. The most potent compound 9b possesses highest anti-proliferative potency against HepG2, A549, and BCG-823 with an IC50 value of 2.0 mu M, 0.8 mu M and 3.2 Bioactive Compound Library mu M, respectively. Preliminary mechanism studies with compound 9b using Annexin V/PI double-staining assay and DAPI staining assay indicated that 9b inhibits tumor cell proliferation potentially through inducing apoptosis. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background: Analysis of data from multiple sources has the potential to enhance knowledge discovery by capturing underlying structures, which are, otherwise, difficult to extract. Fusing data from multiple sources has already proved useful in many applications in social network analysis, signal processing and bioinformatics.

31; injury 1 45; failure 1 56) Early AKI is common in septic

31; injury 1.45; failure 1.56).\n\nEarly AKI is common in septic shock. Delays to appropriate antimicrobial therapy may contribute to significant increases in the incidence of AKI. Survival was considerably lower for septic shock associated with early AKI, with increasing severity of AKI, and with increasing delays to appropriate antimicrobial therapy.”
“Two experiments were conducted to study the effect of cereal source on the in vitro digestibility of pig feeds. Dry matter and organic matter digestibilities were evaluated selleck products using the multi-enzymatic method described by Boisen and Fernandez (1997). The rate at which the different diets were digested, was estimated at 3 different time points:

(1) after incubation with pepsin for 75 min; (2) after incubation with pepsin for 75 min and pancreatin for 3.5 hand: (3) after incubation with pepsin for 75 min, pancreatin for 3.5 h and carbohydrases for 18 h. In the

first experiment, digestibility was evaluated in six diets containing 60% of rice (R), rice supplemented with wheat bran (RW), barley (B), maize (M), oats (0), or naked oats (NO). Diets containing NO and 0 had the highest digestibility after Cytoskeletal Signaling inhibitor pepsin incubation, M, R and RW had the lowest and that of B was intermediate. After incubation with pepsin and pancreatin, digestibility was highest for R. RW and NO diets and lowest for M and 0 diets, B being intermediate. With the complete in vitro digestion procedure (pepsin, pancreatin and carbohydrases), R presented the highest digestibility followed by NO, M, B and O. In the second experiment, the effect of cereal extrusion was also evaluated in diets containing 60% of R, NO or B.

either in raw or in extruded form (total of six diets). Following pepsin incubation, R presented a lower digestibility than B and NO; with pepsin and pancreatin Salubrinal research buy incubations, NO presented the highest digestibility followed by R and B; and after incubation with pepsin, pancreatin and carbohydrases, R presented the highest digestibility followed by NO and B. It is concluded that cereals present differences in their in vitro digestion kinetics. This may be a useful tool to estimate possible differences in digestibility kinetics between cereals in the proximal gastrointestinal tract of the pig. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.”
“Chitin and sepia ink hybrid hemostatic sponge (CTSH sponge), a new biomedical material, was extensively studied for its beneficial biological properties of hemostasis and stimulation of healing. However, studies examining the safety of CTSH sponge in the blood system are lacking. This experiment aimed to examine whether CTSH sponge has negative effect on blood systems of mice, which were treated with a dosage of CTSH sponge (135 mg/kg) through a laparotomy. CTSH sponge was implanted into the abdominal subcutaneous and a laparotomy was used for blood sampling from abdominal aortic.

This measure includes Wolpaw’s information transfer rate as a spe

This measure includes Wolpaw’s information transfer rate as a special case, but addresses the latter’s limitations including its restriction to item-selection tasks. To validate our approach and address challenge (III), we compared four healthy subjects’ performance using an EEG-based BCI, a ‘Direct Controller’ (a high-performance hardware input device), and a ‘Pseudo-BCI Controller’ (the same input device, but with control signals processed by the BCI signal processing pipeline). Main results. Our results confirm the repeatability

and validity of our measures, and indicate that our BCI signal processing pipeline reduced attainable performance by about Sapanisertib purchase 33% (21 bits min(-1)). Significance. Our approach provides a flexible basis for evaluating BCI performance and its limitations, across a wide range of tasks and task difficulties.”
“We present the first recorded case of a remote extradural haematoma following extended transsphenoidal surgery (eTSS) for craniopharyngioma. We believe that this is a unique complication related to rapid and excessive intracranial hypotension caused by acute overdrainage of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) during the eTSS procedure.”
“Heterozygous missense mutations of transient receptor potential

vanilloid 4 channel (TRPV4) cause a spectrum of skeletal disorders, including brachyolmia, spondylometaphyseal dysplasia Kozlowski type, metatropic dysplasia, parastremmatic dysplasia, and spondyloepimetaphyseal dysplasia Maroteaux type. Similarly, heterozygous missense mutations CA4P Cytoskeletal Signaling inhibitor of TRPV4 cause a spectrum of

peripheral neuropathy, including hereditary motor and sensory neuropathy type IIC, congenital spinal muscular atrophy, SN-38 and scapuloperoneal spinal muscular atrophy. There are no apparent differences in the amino acid positions affected or type of change predicted by the TRPV4 mutations responsible for the two disease spectrums; nevertheless, no fundamental phenotypic overlap has been shown between the two spectrums. Here, we report on three patients who had both skeletal dysplasia and peripheral neuropathy caused by heterozygous TRPV4 missense mutations. The skeletal and neurologic phenotypes of these patients covered the wide spectrum of reported TRPV4-pathies (disease caused by TRPV4 mutations). The molecular data are complementary, proving that “neuropathic” mutations can cause skeletal dysplasia but also the “skeletopathic” mutations can lead to neuropathies. Our findings suggest that pathogenic mechanisms of TRPV4-pathies in skeletal and nervous systems are not always mutually exclusive and provide further evidence that there is no clear genotype-phenotype correlation for either spectrum.

A distinctive Vancouver Island morphotype is very weakly differen

A distinctive Vancouver Island morphotype is very weakly differentiated, and does not appear to be reproductively https://www.selleckchem.com/products/citarinostat-acy-241.html isolated from plants of the normal morphotype. The intercontinental geographical range of S.miyabeanum reflects recent and probably ongoing migration, facilitated by the production of tiny spores capable of effective long distance dispersal. The results of the present study are consistent with Pleistocene survival of S.miyabeanum in unglaciated Beringia, although we cannot eliminate the possibility that the species recolonized Alaska from Asia more recently.(c) 2013 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society,

2014, 111, 17-37.”
“Airway management relates to the period of tracheal intubation, maintenance of endotracheal tube in situ, and finally extubation. Problems related to difficult extubation still pose significant challenge for both anesthesiologists and intensivists. This article reviews current approach to extubation strategy following difficult

intubation. Guidelines and algorithm may be helpful in order to ensure safe management of the patient during this delicate period of airway management.”
“Nuclear pore complexes (NPCs) are composed of several copies of similar to 30 different proteins Crenigacestat called nucleoporins (Nups). NPCs penetrate the nuclear envelope (NE) and regulate the nucleocytoplasmic trafficking of macromolecules. Beyond this vital role, NPC components influence genome functions in a transport-independent manner. Nups play an evolutionarily conserved role in gene expression regulation that, in metazoans, extends into the nuclear interior. Additionally, in proliferative cells, Nups play a crucial role in genome integrity

maintenance and mitotic progression. PI3K inhibitor Here we discuss genome-related functions of Nups and their impact on essential DNA metabolism processes such as transcription, chromosome duplication, and segregation.”
“All current metallic vascular prostheses, including stents, exhibit suboptimal biocompatibility. Improving the re-endothelialization and reducing the thrombogenicity of these devices would substantially improve their clinical efficacy. Tropoelastin (TE), the soluble precursor of elastin, mediates favorable endothelial cell interactions while having low thrombogenicity. Here we show that constructs of TE corresponding to the first 10 (“N10″) and first 18 (“N18″) N-terminal domains of the molecule facilitate endothelial cell attachment and proliferation equivalent to the performance of full-length TE. This N-terminal ability contrasts with the known role of the C-terminus of TE in facilitating cell attachment, particularly of fibroblasts. When immobilized on a plasma-activated coating (“PAC”), N10 and N18 retained their bioactivity and endothelial cell interactive properties, demonstrating attachment and proliferation equivalent to full-length TE. In whole blood assays, both N10 and N18 maintained the low thrombogenicity of PAC.

9, standard deviation = 4 7 years; range 18-45) with sexual exper

9, standard deviation = 4.7 years; range 18-45) with sexual experience.\n\nMain Outcome Measures.\n\nCalculations of allelic effects were computed using the Generalized Estimating Equations module of SPSS 17.\n\nResults.\n\nCarriers

of the 10R10R genotype had scores indicating a lower threshold to ejaculate on each of the indicators compared to the combined 9R9R/9R10R carrier group. The differences were significant both for the composite score and for anteportal ejaculation, number of thrusts, and feeling of control over ejaculation, but not for ejaculation latency time. The effect of the polymorphism remained significant after controlling for age, homosexual experience, having a regular sexual partner, level of sexual desire, and frequency of sexual activity, hence suggesting selleckchem that it is not secondary to an association between the studied polymorphism and some other aspect of sexual behavior, but due to a specific influence of DA on ejaculation.\n\nConclusions.\n\nThe findings of the present study support results of previous studies indicating involvement of dopaminergic neurotransmission in ejaculation. Santtila P, Jern P, Westberg L, Walum H,

Pedersen CT, Eriksson E, and Sandnabba NK. The dopamine transporter gene (DAT1) polymorphism is associated with premature ejaculation. J Sex Med 2010;7:1538-1546.”
“The role of lymph node assessment for patients with clinically localized prostate cancer has significantly evolved over the last 20 years. The status Autophagy Compound Library in vivo of pelvic lymph nodes primarily served as a prognostic marker for prostate cancer. Improved methods in assessing the risk for cancer progression and metastasis have enhanced our ability to identify patients who require pelvic lymphadenectomy during radical prostatectomy. The status of pelvic lymph nodes is also being used to guide further LY2835219 in vitro treatments after Surgery. Also, recent data has shown possible therapeutic benefit of lymphadenectomy in improving cancer specific survival. J.

Surg. Oncol. 2009; 99: 215-224. (C) 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc.”
“Bias dependence of the admittance spectroscopy of GaInNAsSb based solar cell structure has been performed to identify and characterize the type of defects, for example interface and/or bulk type defects in a moderately Si doped GaInNAsSb (n-GaInNAsSb) layer in the structure. From the zero bias admittance spectrum, three peaks namely E1, E2, and E3 corresponding to the localized level at 0.03 eV, 0.07 eV, and 0.16 eV below the conduction band edge (E-C) of n-GaInNAsSb material, respectively, were found. Constant position of E2 and E3 peak in the admittance spectra in response to the various applied DC reverse bias suggests that E2 and E3 are related to the bulk type defects being spatially homogeneous throughout the bulk of the n-GaInNAsSb film.

Upon secretion, we show that RON8 within the MJ localizes to the

Upon secretion, we show that RON8 within the MJ localizes to the cytoplasmic face of the host plasma membrane. To examine GSK3326595 order interactions between RON8 and the host cell, we expressed RON8 in mammalian cells and show that it targets to its site of action at the periphery in a manner dependent on the C-terminal portion

of the protein. The discovery of RON5 and RON8 provides new insight into conserved and unique elements of the MJ, furthering our understanding of how the MJ contributes to the intricate mechanism of Apicomplexan invasion.”
“Activity-dependent, bidirectional control of synaptic efficacy is thought to contribute to many forms of experience-dependent plasticity, including learning and memory. Although most excitatory synapses contain both AMPA and N-methyl-d-aspartate receptors (AMPARs and NMDARs), most studies have focused on the plasticity of synaptic AMPARs, and on the pivotal role of NMDA receptors for its induction. Here we review evidence that synaptic NMDARs themselves are subject to long-term activity-dependent changes

by mechanisms that may differ from that of synaptic AMPARs. The bidirectional modulation of NMDAR-mediated synaptic responses is likely to have important functional implications for NMDAR-dependent forms of synaptic plasticity.”
“Polarization-sensitive GS-1101 nmr optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT) and near-infrared (NIR) imaging are promising new technologies under development for monitoring early carious lesions. Fluorosis is a growing problem in the United States, and the more prevalent mild fluorosis can be visually mistaken for early enamel demineralization. Unfortunately, there is little quantitative information available regarding the differences in optical properties of sound enamel, enamel

developmental defects, and caries. Thirty extracted human teeth with various degrees selleck of suspected fluorosis were imaged using PS-OCT and NIR. An InGaAs camera and a NIR diode laser were used to measure the optical attenuation through transverse tooth sections (similar to 200 mu m). A digital microradiography system was used to quantify the enamel defect severity by measurement of the relative mineral loss for comparison with optical scattering measurements. Developmental defects were clearly visible in the polarization-resolved OCT images, demonstrating that PS-OCT can be used to nondestructively measure the depth and possible severity of the defects. Enamel defects on whole teeth that could be imaged with high contrast with visible light were transparent in the NIR. This study suggests that PS-OCT and NIR methods may potentially be used as tools to assess the severity and extent of enamel defects. (C) 2008 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.