Statistical Assessment Service

Catholic schools achieved the greatest social transformation in American history, pulling impoverished Irish immigrants out of the underclass and into the working and middle classes, writes Patrick McCloskey, author of The Street Stops Here —an account of a year in the life of a Catholic school in Harlem. These schools now provide a lifeline for disadvantaged, non-Catholic minorities in urban America, boosting graduation and college acceptance rates, and outperforming many equivalent public schools. But they are also disappearing from the very neighborhoods that need them most. McCloskey reports on how one diocese has bucked the trend, what it means to one family, and what it could mean for America.

Purpose: This study investigated the influence of nanohydroxyapatite-containing (nanoHAP) lozenge on plaque pH following sucrose intake. Patients and Methods: Sixteen adult subjects were enrolled in this double-blind crossover study composed of four interventions: (1) 10% w/v sucrose solution, (2) 10% w/v sorbitol solution, (3) nanoHAP lozenge, and (4) 10% w/v sucrose solution challenge followed by nanoHAP lozenge. Following the determination of each subject’s resting plaque pH, the pH was measured at different time intervals from 3 to 30 minutes from the start of intervention, with 7 days interval between the applications of different interventions. The data were analyzed using the analysis of variance and Tukey’s test (α < 0.05). Results: While sorbitol produces no change in plaque pH, nanoHAP-lozenge increased the plaque pH from a baseline of 7.0 ± 0.3 (mean ± sd) to 7.8 ± 0.2 (mean ± sd) within 30 minutes. Sucrose lowered the plaque pH from a baseline of 7.0 ± 0.4 (mean ± sd) to the lowest minimum of 5.1 ± 0.1 (mean ± sd) at the 7 th minute, rising above the critical pH of enamel dissolution (5.5) at 12 th minute and the baseline pH in more than 30 minutes. With lozenge intervention following sucrose challenge, plaque pH rose to 5.5 in 8 min, and to the baseline pH in 24 min. The cH area (Hydrogen ion concentration area) produced by sucrose (1.82 sq. units) was significantly (p < 0.05) greater than that produced when sucrose was challenged with lozenge (0.48 sq. units). Conclusion: Nanohydroxyapatite-containing lozenge increased plaque pH, reduced plaque pH drop in the presence of sucrose, and facilitated the rapid recovery of plaque pH after sucrose intake. Keywords: dental plaque, nanohydroxyapatite, demineralization, buffering, lozenge

The proportion of new HIV cases among intravenous drug users is increasing steadily. One proposed solution is a federally funded and coordinated needle-exchange program (NEP). Recent developments in the needle-exchange debate highlight the difficulties in answering questions about NEP's effectiveness and appropriateness. Often needle-exchange studies are complicated by political issues, politicians who were thought to be sympathetic to advocates of needle-exchange find NEP's too controversial or risky to support. There is a lack of tangible evidence of NEPs' effectiveness and legal, ethical, and logistical restrictions preclude the type of studies that would yield definitive conclusions. For Federal funds to be expended, there must be proof that NEPs both reduce transmission of HIV and do not lead to increased drug use. Differences in basic approach and moral perspective can yield opposite conclusions from the same study.