A theory-based intervention to promote medication adherence in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: A randomized controlled trial

Clinical Rheumatology - Adherence to prescribed medication regimens is fundamental to the improvement and maintenance of the health of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. It is therefore important...     

Surfactant protein-A in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from neonates with RDS on conventional and high-frequency oscillatory ventilation

Surfactant protein-A (SP-A) was measured in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) samples from ventilated neonates in order to study the concentration of SP-A with regard to: 1) high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) vs. conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV); 2) the postnatal course and ontogeny of SP-A; and 3) the correlation with measurements of pulmonary function. Patients on HFOV had markedly lower BAL SP-A concentrations on days 1 and 2 compared to those on CMV, which may indicate influence of mode of ventilation on surfactant metabolism. The SP-A concentrations increased postnatally concurrent with resolution of acute respiratory distress syndrome. Finally, there were only weak correlations between BAL SP-A concentration and dynamic lung compliance and oxygen requirement.     

Correction to: Prenatal attachment: Using measurement invariance to test the validity of comparisons across eight culturally diverse countries

Archives of Women's Mental Health - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00737-021-01122-7     

Oral health effects of botulinum toxin treatment for drooling: a systematic review

Background Drooling is a major morbidity in several neurological diseases. Intraglandular botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) injections have been used to manage this condition. However, by decreasing salivary flow, BoNT injections may result in an increased risk of caries and other oral adverse effects. In this study, we aimed to assess whether, in patients with drooling, intraglandular BoNT injections are associated with increased dental caries development, modifications on salivary composition (oral pH, buffering capacity and osmolality) and cariogenic bacterial load. Material and Methods We performed a systematic review, searching PubMed, CENTRAL, Web of Science, and Scopus for all experimental and observational studies reporting on adverse effects of intraglandular BoNT injections in patients with drooling. Primary study selection, quality assessment, and data extraction were independently performed by two researchers. No studies were excluded based on their language, publication status or date of publication. Studies’ quality was based on revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tools. Meta-analysis was not performed. Results We retrieved 1025 studies, of which 5 were included. Two studies were two randomized controlled trials and three quasi-experimental studies. None of the included studies found BoNT injections to be associated with dental caries development or with significant reductions in oral pH. One of the included primary studies even observed an increase in salivary buffer capacity. One study found an increase in Lactobacilli counts. As for the risk of bias, two studies were classified as having a critical risk, two as high risk and one as having some concerns. Conclusions Currently, there is no evidence that, in patients with drooling, BoNT injections associate with increased risk of dental caries or disturbances in oral pH or salivary buffering capacity. However, the included primary studies had important limitations and differences in their methodologies. Key words:Neurological diseases, drooling, sialorrhea, botulinum toxin, oral health, caries, saliva.     

Reliability and validity of a new classification of MIH based on severity

To describe a new molar-incisor hypomineralization (MIH) severity scoring system (MIH-SSS) that focuses on the defects’ severity and to assess the sy     

Identification of potential inhibitors of Zika virus NS5 RNA-dependent RNA polymerase through virtual screening and molecular dynamic simulations

Zika virus (ZIKV) is one of the mosquito borne flavivirus with several outbreaks in past few years in tropical and subtropical regions. The non-structural proteins of flaviviruses are suitable active targets for inhibitory drugs due to their role in pathogenicity. In ZIKV, the non-structural protein 5 (NS5) RNA-Dependent RNA polymerase replicates its genome. Here we have performed virtual screening to identify suitable ligands that can potentially halt the ZIKV NS5 RNA dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp). During this process, we searched and screened a library of ligands against ZIKV NS5 RdRp. The selected ligands with significant binding energy and ligand-receptor interactions were further processed. Among the selected docked conformations, top five was further optimized at atomic level using molecular dynamic simulations followed by binding free energy calculations. The interactions of ligands with the target structure of ZIKV RdRp revealed that they form strong bonds within the active sites of the receptor molecule. The efficacy of these drugs against ZIKV can be further analyzed through in-vitro and in-vivo studies.