Correlation between the extent of smoking,salivary protein profiles,and dental caries in young adult smokers

Context.Proteins in the saliva are one of the defense mechanism factors that can protect the oral cavity from disease. However, smoking might affect the properties of saliva.AimTo determine the differences in salivary protein profiles and total concentrations in smokers and non-smokers and their correlation with dental caries severity as indicated by the Decayed, Missing, Filled-Teeth (DMF-T) scores.Methods and materialThis cross-sectional study included 25 smokers and 25 non-smokers. The DMF-T scores were recorded. The total salivary protein was measured by the Bradford method, and the profile proteins were determined by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE).ResultsThe average of salivary protein concentration in smokers was lower than that in non-smokers (551.486 µg/mL versus 765.361 µg/mL), but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Further correlation analyses showed a negative correlation between the concentration of proteins based on the extent of smoking. A weak negative correlation was found between protein concentration and DMF-T scores (r = −0.239). Dominant salivary protein bands of 11.6 kDa and 54.5 kDa were found in smokers and 27 kDa, 60 kDa, and 94.5 kDa were found in non-smokers.ConclusionDifferent protein bands appeared in smokers and non-smokers. There was a weak correlation between protein concentration, DMF-T scores, and the extent of smoking.     

Evaluation of five circulating strains of variant infectious bursal disease virus (varIBDV) for their immunogenicity as broiler breeder vaccines and protective efficacy in neonatal broiler chicks

The majority of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV) strains circulating in the broiler chicken industry in Canada are variant strains (varIBDV). Despite high levels of maternally derived antibodies (MtAb), the circulating varIBDVs can establish infection and cause severe immunosuppression in broiler chicks. The objective of this study was to evaluate circulating varIBDVs as broiler breeder vaccine candidates and investigate their protective efficacy against varIBDV challenge in their progeny chicks. Six groups of breeders (20 females/group) were vaccinated with varIBDV strains, SK09, SK10, SK11, SK12, and SK13 or saline at the age of 13 weeks and antibody response was determined by ELISA at 3–7-, and 20- weeks post-vaccination. We also included commercial chicks for the comparison. Results showed that SK-09 is the most antigenic strain, followed by SK-10, SK-12, and SK-13. In contrast, SK-11 showed the lowest antibody response, and over time, antibody titers steadily decreased. Eggs from breeders were collected at 21-week post-vaccination and incubated to produce their respective progenies. The serum antibody titer in day-old chicks showed a successful MtAb transfer. Progeny chicks (n = 40/group) were orally challenged with varIBDV-SK-09 strain at 6 days of age and serum antibody titer (19 d and 35 d of age), bursa to body weight ratio (19 d and 35 d of age), bursal viral load (9 d and 19 d of age) was examined to assess the protection against IBDV. Following the challenge, we found a significant increase in the antibody titers in MtAb-free and commercial vaccine groups than in the varIBDV groups, both at 19 d and 35 d of age. The BBW ratio and viral load data indicated a significant homologous and heterologous protection against varIBDV-SK-09 challenge by SK-09 and SK-10 MtAbs, respectively. Overall, this study demonstrated the feasibility of developing breeder vaccines using circulating varIBDV as candidate vaccine antigens.     

阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停中环路增益的测量方法及其临床意义

阻塞性睡眠呼吸暂停（OSA）的发病由解剖学因素与非解剖学因素共同参与，以往认为OSA与上气道解剖学相关的阻塞关系最为密切，近年来，非解剖学因素的作用越来越受到研究者重视。OSA治疗效果的非解剖学因素包括咽部临界压、低觉醒阈值、高环路增益（LG）和上气道扩张肌功能异常4个方面，即著名的PALM理论。通过监测分析PALM各项因素在发病中的权重有利于指导个体化治疗。LG即PALM中的"L"，是一种测量呼吸控制系统负反馈回路的增益或灵敏度的方法，旨在计算增加一定的呼吸驱动力能带来多大通气量。高LG可诱发低碳酸血症和抑制上气道呼吸驱动力，从而加重OSA的严重程度。本文详细介绍了OSA中LG的测量方法及其临床意义。     

Thirteen week toxicity study of dietary l‐tryptophan in rats with a recovery period of 5 weeks

Although l ‐tryptophan is nutritionally important and widely used in medical applications, toxicity data for its oral administration are limited. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential toxicity of an experimental diet containing added l ‐tryptophan at doses of 0 (basal diet), 1.25%, 2.5% and 5.0% when administered to Sprague–Dawley rats for 13 weeks. There were no toxicological changes in clinical signs, ophthalmology, urinalysis, hematology, necropsy, organ weight and histopathology between control rats and those fed additional l ‐tryptophan. Body weight gain and food consumption significantly decreased throughout the administration period in males in the 2.5% group and in both sexes in the 5.0% group. At the end of the dosing period, decreases in water intake in males in the 5.0% group and in serum glucose in females in the 5.0% group were observed. The changes described above were considered toxicologically significant; however, they were not observed after a 5 week recovery period, suggesting reversibility. Consequently, the no‐observed‐adverse‐effect level of l ‐tryptophan in the present study was 1.25% for males and 2.5% for females (mean intake of l ‐tryptophan: 779 mg kg^–1 body weight day^–1 [males] and 1765 mg kg^–1 body weight day^–1 [females]). As the basal diet used in this study contained 0.27% of proteinaceous l ‐tryptophan, the no‐observed‐adverse‐effect level of overall l ‐tryptophan was 1.52% for males and 2.77% for females (mean intake of overall l ‐tryptophan: 948 mg kg^–1 body weight day^–1 (males) and 1956 mg kg^–1 body weight day^–1 (females)). We conclude that l ‐tryptophan has a low toxicity profile in terms of human use.     

Extended thromboprophylaxis in the acutely ill medical patient after hospitalization – a paradigm shift in post-discharge thromboprophylaxis

Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is a significant healthcare burden with approximately 900,000 events annually in the United States, over half of which are healthcare-associated. This number is anticipated to double by 2050. Group prophylaxis strategies confined to the inpatient setting appear to have minimal impact on the reduction of post-discharge VTE in medically ill patients due to shortened lengths of stay and a heterogenous population that includes patients at low risk for VTE. In accordance with current guideline recommendations, very few (<5%) medically ill patients are discharged with extended prophylaxis, which potentially creates a clinical gap for at-risk patients as VTE risk has been shown to persist for up to 90 days. Initial studies of extended thromboprophylaxis in acutely ill medical patients with enoxaparin, rivaroxaban and apixaban showed little to no benefit towards VTE reduction that was consistently outweighed by increased bleeding. The more recent APEX study that compared betrixaban to enoxaparin in an enriched patient population at high-risk for VTE was the first study of extended thromboprophylaxis that showed similar efficacy in VTE prevention without an increase in major bleeding. Based on the APEX results, betrixaban recently gained FDA approval for extended thromboprophylaxis in acutely ill medical patients. Recognition that up to half of medically ill patients are not at sufficient risk to warrant thromboprophylaxis has driven extensive research towards development of scientifically derived and validated VTE risk assessment models intended to identify patients who do not warrant prophylaxis, as well as those at high risk who may derive benefit from extended thromboprophylaxis. This article will review prior and ongoing extended thromboprophylaxis studies, VTE and bleed risk assessment models, incorporation of biomarkers in VTE risk assessment and key issues in the paradigm shift towards individualized VTE prophylaxis in acutely ill medical patients.     

Added Sugar Intake among Pregnant Women in the United States: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2012

Background

Despite associations of dietary added sugar with excess weight gain and chronic disease risk, intake among most Americans exceeds the recommended limits (<10% total energy). Maternal diet plays an important role in pregnancy-related outcomes, but little is known about the extent of added sugar intake during pregnancy.

The Influence of In Vivo Metabolic Modifications on ADMET Properties of Green Tea Catechins–In Silico Analysis

The health effects of green tea are associated with catechins: (?)-epigallocatechin-3-O-gallate (EGCG), (?)-epigallocatechin, (?)-epicatechin-3-O-gallate, and (?)-epicatechin. An understanding of compound absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity characteristics is essential for explaining its biological activities. Herein, absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion, and toxicity properties of in vivo detected metabolites of green tea catechins (GTCs) have been analyzed in silico. The influence of metabolic transformations on absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion profiles of GTCs corresponds to the effects of size, charge, and lipophilicity, as already observed for other small molecules. Mutagenic, carcinogenic, or liver toxic effects were predicted only for a few metabolites. Similar to galloylated GTCs EGCG and (--)-epicatechin-3-O-gallate, the sulfo-conjugates were predicted to bind at the warfarin binding site. The low free plasma concentration of these derivatives may be consequential to their serum albumin binding. The activity cliff detected for methylated conjugates of EGCG indicates that GTCs' pro-oxidative activity in bound state comes primarily from free hydroxyl groups of the pyrogallol ring B.