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The term desquamative gingivitis (DG) refers to a clinical manifestation that can be caused by several disorders. Many of them are immunologically mediated; in addition to the oral cavity, they can affect extraoral mucocutaneous sites, e.g., larynx, conjunctiva, esophagus, nasal and genital mucosa, and the skin. The degree of oral, periodontal, and systemic involvement determines the overall morbidity and, sometimes, the mortality of these disorders. We comprehensively review disorders commonly associated with DG and highlight diagnostic pathways, guidelines for differential diagnosis, and oral, periodontal, and systemic implications. More rare conditions are reviewed as well. Mucous membrane pemphigoid, oral lichen planus, and pemphigus vulgaris are responsible for the majority of cases of DG. In addition, other uncommon disorders should be considered. Accurate clinical, histologic, and serologic investigations are often required to differentiate among DG-associated disorders, provide adequate therapy, and improve the prognosis of patients.

Human papillomaviruses (HPVs) are a group of host-specific DNA viruses, with a remarkable epithelial cell specificity: they have been reported principally in the ano-genital tract, urethra, skin, larynx, tracheo-bronchial and oral mucosa. More than 100 different HPV types have been identified and classified as high (e.g. 16, 18, 31) or low (e.g. 11, 42, 36) -risk (HR and LR), based on their association with cervical carcinoma. The carcinogenic role of HR-HPV revolves mainly around two of its oncoproteins: HPV-E6 which promotes degradation of the p53 tumour suppressor gene product and HPV-E7 which modifies the pRb tumour suppressor gene product, inhibiting the activity of TGF-beta2. Since these viral oncoproteins are capable of transforming primary human keratinocytes from either genital or upper respiratory tract epithelia, they have been considered to play a role in disrupting cell-cycle regulatory pathways leading to a genetic progression to ano-genital cancer and, possibly, also to oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Recently, the oncogene HPV-E5 has also been found to transform cells by modulating growth factor receptors. On the basis of the high, although very variable, frequency of HR-HPV in OSCC, an oral malignant potential of HPV infection has been hypothesised but not definitively confirmed. Major aims of this review are to update the understanding of HPV activities with respect to oral oncology and to comment on the HPV DNA reported frequencies in OSCC and potentially malignant oral lesions. A computer database search was performed, through the use of MEDLINE (PubMED) and Cochrane Library, for the last three decades. Search key words used were: human papillomavirus, HPV and cancer, HPV and oral lesions, HPV and oral premalignant lesions, HPV and oral cancer, HPV and HNSCC, HPV and oral mucosa. The search was of all fields, all languages and all dates available.

Severe gingival overgrowth is one of the most frequent side effects in renal transplant patients associated with assumption of cyclosporine A. Several associations with age, sex, dosage, duration of therapy or interval since transplantation have been hypothesized. The introduction of alternative immunosuppressant drugs have been suggested to permit better long-term transplant outcomes and a decrease in incidence of gingival overgrowth. The aim of the present paper is to summarize current knowledge regarding aetiology, pathogenesis and management of gingival overgrowth induced by Cyclosporine A. El sobrecrecimiento gingival severo es uno de los efectos adversos más frecuentes en los pacientes con transplante renal asociado al suministro de ciclosporina A. Se han realizado hipótesis sobre diversas asociaciones con la edad, sexo, dosis, duración de la terapia o intervalo desde el transplante. Se ha propuesto la introducción de la alternativa de drogas inmunosupresoras para permitir mejores resultados a largo plazo del transplante y la disminución en la incidencia de sobrecrecimiento gingival. El objetivo del presente estudio es resumir el conocimiento actual, observando la etiología, patogénesis y dirección del sobrecrecimiento gingival inducido por la ciclosporina A.

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Dysphagia, defined as a difficulty in swallowing of fluids and/or solid foods, is one of the most frequent symptoms of esophageal, gastrointestinal, ear, nose and throat diseases. As such, it poses a diagnostic challenge and an interdisciplinary clinical problem. Of particular importance in diagnosis is to distinguish between esophageal and oropharyngeal dysphagia. Oropharyn-geal dysphagia is often associated with neuromuscular disorders and is treated with rehabilitative protocols, while esophageal dysphagia may be due to anatomical alterations and esophageal motility difficulties. While the former can be adequately treated with endoscopic or surgical therapy, the latter are currently treated only pharmacologically. Interestingly, dysphagia may present as the initial symptom of a wide spectrum of oral conditions, including traumatic ulcerations, neuromuscular diseases, systemic and local immuno-mediated or infectious lesions, malignant neoplastic diseases or mucositis following chemo-radiotherapy for head and neck cancers: in these cases it is called oral dysphagia. Dysphagia, with or without evident oral lesions, suggests the presence of an oropharyngeal disease and requires adequate diagnostic-therapeutic management. This paper describes the major oral and systemic diseases that may manifest themselves with oral manifestations inducing dysphagia. Clinical management guidelines in dysphagia triggered by neuromyogenic pathogenesis are discussed.

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The study of bituminous mixes can be related to tyre rubber material recycling. Encouraging scrap tyre disposal and cutting down on pit employment are the environmental aims. In the field of railways, technological processes involved in the use of crumb rubber are the wet-dry processes. In the mechanical characterisation of the asphalt concrete in terms of both the fatigue resista recycled waste tires nce and the stiffness modulus it is necessary to use a design method for the sub-ballast railway material, even more so if the asphalt concrete investigated is an innovative material such as a dry asphalt rubber concrete (DARC) (i.e. a bituminous mixture with crumb rubber formed by a dry process). Such material is less known and investigated than the wet process, even if its application implies peculiar economic and environmental advantages such as no specialized equipment or significant plant modifications and a large quantity of recycled waste tires compared to the wet process. Different kinds of test are usually used in the experimental work such as bending tests or uni-axial tests, but they do not give the same answer. In the work, described in this paper, mechanical characterization was carried out by means of fatigue tests for asphalt material: a two point bending (2PB) test and four point bending (4PB) test, focused on the mechanical behaviour of DARCs with different rubber content by weight of the aggregates. Different strain controlled tests were undertaken for the same material under the same loading conditions, frequency and temperature (15Hz, 20 degrees centigrade), in particular an experimental survey was carried out in order to determine the stiffness modulus by means of the four point bending test on prismatic specimens (UNI EN 12697-26, 2004). This paper reports the experimental results for rubberized asphalt mechanical properties for a sub-ballast layer performed in a laboratory using the dry process.