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Purpose: To examine the prevalence of complications and characterize the associated clinical findings in patients undergoing surgically assisted rapid palatal expansion (SARPE)., Materials and Methods: A retrospective evaluation was conducted of all patients who underwent SARPE from January 2004 through December 2008 at Kaiser Permanente Oakland Medical Center. Medical records were abstracted, and demographic factors and relevant comorbidities were identified. Clinical features of patients with complications (surgical and/or dental) after SARPE were characterized., Results: One hundred thirty-one patients comprised the study sample and 11 patients were excluded. Of the remaining 120 patients (median age, 29.5 yrs; interquartile range, 22.0 to 39.0 yrs), 51.7% were women, 41 developed at least 1 complication, 33 had surgical complications, 18 had dental and/or periodontal problems, and 10 developed both surgical and dental or periodontal problems. Asymmetric and/or inadequate expansion was the most frequent surgical complication, found in 13.3% of the study cohort, and gingival recession (8.3%) was the most common dental complication. Two patients developed catastrophic periodontal bone defects resulting in loss of the central incisors; these patients had eccentric interdental osteotomies that caused separation of the bone from the root surface of the central incisors followed by postoperative osteotomy site infections., Conclusions: Overall, the present findings suggest that, although major complications after SARPE were rare, asymmetric or inadequate expansion and dental and/or periodontal problems primarily involving the central incisors accounted for most complications. Future prospective and long-term follow-up studies are needed to identify individual risk factors that may predispose patients to adverse outcomes after SARPE., (Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

The complexity of organic composition and temporal variability of atmospheric aerosols presents an extreme analytical challenge. Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) has been used on time integrated filter samples to reveal the presence of thousands of individual organic compounds in aerosols, but without defining the temporal variability in composition ideal for providing information on source resolution and human exposure to specific pollutants. We hereby introduce a new instrument, 2D-TAG, which combines our in-situ thermal desorption aerosol GC (TAG) instrument with GC x GC allowing for dramatically improved separation of organics with automated measurements at hourly timescales.

Laboratory records of bacterial urine cultures from 383 dogs with recurrent or persistent urinary tract infections (UTI) diagnosed at the University of California Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (VMTH) between 1969 and 1995 were reviewed retrospectively to characterize the bacteria involved and their association with age, gender, and breed of dogs affected. Sixty-eight breeds and a mixed-breed group were represented. Escherichia coli was the most common isolate, although mixed-bacterial infections were seen in 58% of the female and 55% of the male dogs. Recurrent and persistent UTI were most prevalent in middle-aged to older German shepherd dogs, miniature/toy poodles, and Labrador retrievers, with no apparent sex predilection. Criteria fitting recurrent and persistent UTI were present in 0.3% of all dogs seen at the VMTH during this 26-year period.