Our previous principal component analysis conducting on reference points, lines and angles, and a vectordeveloped polar coordinate system has elucidated that the components of eigenvectors had positive relationships in the curvature of anterior teeth segment, between the protrusion of canines and degree of arch roundness, and in the length-to-width ratio of 62 maxillary dentitions, which were preliminarily classified with reference to the conventional Thompson's morphological descriptions for dental arch forms. In the present study on morphological characters of the maxillary dentitions, we conducted a Fourier analysis on the previously obtained data. We observed that the amplitude of 2nd, 3rd and 4th Fourier harmonics were closely correlated with the length-to-width ratio, curvature of the anterior teeth segment, and the curvilinear contour of maxillary dental arches. In addition, the relationships between previously estimated data and the constant value and the amplitude of the Fourier series were examined by analysis of correlation coefficients (p<0.01). The results of the present study suggest that the morphology of maxillary dentitions consists of three essentials-the length-to-width ratio, the curvature of anterior teeth and the curvilinear contour of dental arches.
Dental Arch ; Dentition ; Fourier Analysis ; Principal Component Analysis ; Tooth

OBJECTIVETo observe the ultrastructure of bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) cultured in coralline hydroxyapatite (CHA) and evaluate their biocompatibility.

METHODSBMSCs isolated from dogs were cultured with CHA as the scaffold, and the morphologies of the cells were observed with phase-contrast microscope and scanning electron microscope.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONBMSCs grew well with good attachment to the CHA scaffold and performed normal function, demonstrating CHA as one of useful biocarrier materials for bone tissue engineering.

Animals ; Bone Marrow Cells ; cytology ; ultrastructure ; Bone Substitutes ; chemistry ; Cell Culture Techniques ; Cells, Cultured ; Ceramics ; chemistry ; Dogs ; Hydroxyapatites ; chemistry ; Male ; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning ; Microscopy, Phase-Contrast ; Stromal Cells ; cytology ; ultrastructure ; Tissue Engineering ; methods ; Tissue Scaffolds ; chemistry