Serum profiles of insulin-like growth factors and their binding proteins in adults with growth hormone receptor deficiency treated with insulin like growth factor I

Six adult patients with growth hormone receptor deficiency (GHRD) (2 men, 4 women) with an identical defect in the growth hormone receptor (GHR) gene, were treated with recombinant human insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), 40 μgikg S.C. twice daily, for 7 days. Serum concentrations of IGF peptide and IGF binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3) were measured by specific radioimmunoassays; serum IGFBPs were also measured by Western ligand blotting. The size distribution of both IGF-I and IGF-II was measured in serum following size-exclusion fast-performance liquid chromatography. IGF-I treatment resulted in a normalization of serum IGF-I levels on days 1–7 of treatment and a decrease in serum IGF-II levels. The fall in IGF-II levels and the simultaneous rise in IGF-I levels, however, resulted in an unchanged total serum IGF level. The low IGFBP-3 values did not significantly change during treatment, whereas there was a slight increase in IGFBP-2 levels. Preliminary analysis of size-fractionated sera suggested an increase in IGF-I levels in the 40 and 150 kDa regions at the expense of IGF-II levels. The results suggest that despite the failure of IGF-I treatment to increase IGFBPs significantly, serum IGFBP concentrations were sufficient to maintain normal levels of IGF-I. 0 Laron syndrome, growth hormone receptor deficiency, insulin-like growth factors, insulin-like growth factor binding protein     

Amhezole,A Novel Fungal Secondary Metabolite from Aspergillus terreus for Treatment of Microbial Mouth Infection

Bio‐guided fractionation of Aspergillus terreus extract leads to isolation of a novel terpenoidal secondary metabolite. The isolated compound and the total alcoholic extract of Aspergillus terreus showed a remarkable activity against microbial mouth infections; namely, Candida albicans, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Streptococcus gordonii, and S. mutan. Moreover, the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration of the isolated compound was determined and showed low values. The combination of each of the alcoholic extract of A. terreus and the isolated compound Coe‐Comfort tissue conditioner inhibited the growth of Candida albicans at concentrations of 500 and 7.81 µg/mL, respectively, Lactobacillus acidophilus at concentrations of 250 and 7.81 µg/mL, respectively, Streptococcus gordonii at concentrations of 1000 and 62.50 µg/mL, respectively, and S. mutans at concentrations of 1000 and 125 µg/mL, respectively. The oral dosing of the extract and the isolated compound did not show any significant effect on the activity of alanine aminotransferase, aspirate aminotransferase, and the levels of blood urea and serum creatinine. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quality of life in a real-world cohort of advanced breast cancer patients: a study of the SONABRE Registry

Quality of Life Research - We aimed to evaluate quality of life (QoL) using the European Quality of Life Five-Dimensions questionnaire (EQ-5D-3L) in a real-world cohort of Dutch advanced breast...     

Cholera in India: an analysis of reports, 1997�C2006

Objective

To more accurately define the annual incidence of cholera in India, believed to be higher than reported to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Methods

We searched the biomedical literature to extract data on the cases of cholera reported in India from 1997 to 2006 and compared the numbers found to those reported annually to WHO over the same period. The latter were obtained from WHO’s annual summaries of reported cholera cases and National health profile 2006, published by India’s Central Bureau of Health Intelligence.

Findings

Of India’s 35 states or union territories, 21 reported cholera cases during at least one year between 1997 and 2006. The state of West Bengal reported cases during all 10 years, while the state of Maharashtra and the union territory of Delhi reported cases during nine, and Orissa during seven. There were 68 outbreaks in 18 states, and 222 038 cases were detected overall. This figure is about six times higher than the number reported to WHO (37 783) over the same period. The states of Orissa, West Bengal, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Assam and Chhattisgarh accounted for 91% of all outbreak-related cases.

Conclusion

The reporting of cholera cases in India is incomplete and the methods used to keep statistics on cholera incidence are inadequate. Although the data are sparse and heterogeneous, cholera notification in India is highly deficient.     

Factors Affecting Job Satisfaction and Their Correlation with Educational Standards among Dental Assistants

A disparity exists in the educational qualifications of dental assistants working in various public and private institutions in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of professional and personal characteristics on job satisfaction among dental assistants. A cross-sectional survey was performed among dental assistants using a 24-item self-administered questionnaire. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between overall job satisfaction and other variables. The overall response rate was 72.1%. Factor analysis suggested that five underlying factors were related to job satisfaction. The mean score for overall job satisfaction was 3.86 (satisfied) out of 5. Among the work environment factors, the highest mean score, 4.26 (satisfied), was obtained for quality of service, and the lowest mean score, 2.78 (neutral), was obtained for the perception of income. The income and general prospects of the profession was significantly associated with overall job satisfaction. This study suggests that for dental assistants, professional and personal life, quality of service, perception of income and prestige and self-respect are important factors for job satisfaction. Despite differences in professional formation standards, in general, the study participants were considerably satisfied with their jobs.     

Food intake and inflammation in European children: the IDEFICS study

Purpose

This cross-sectional study assesses the relationship between consumption frequencies of food items and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in European children.

Methods

Out of the baseline sample (N = 16.228) of the IDEFICS study, 6.403 children (1.315 boys aged 2 to <6, 1.908 boys aged 6 to <10, 1.204 girls aged 2 to <6 and 1.976 girls aged 6 to <10 years) had hs-CRP measured and the Children’s Eating Habits Questionnaire filled, including a food frequency questionnaire. Logistic regression adjusted for body mass index z-score, education of the mother, breast-feeding and self-reported hours of physical activity in a sport club per week was conducted.

Results

Mean frequency intake of raw vegetable was lower in boys (p = 0.022 in young and p = 0.020 in old) and older girls (p = 0.026) with high hs-CRP concentration, while in younger girls (p = 0.008) the same occurred with the cooked vegetables. The probability of having higher hs-CRP concentration was significantly associated with having low consumption frequency of vegetables (p = 0.004 in older boys, raw vegetables; and p = 0.0032 in younger girls, cooked vegetables). Also, honey/jam intake decreased the probability of having higher concentration of hs-CRP, whereas soft drinks with sugar, mayonnaise and cereals milled increased this probability.

Conclusions

Out of all food items associated with hs-CRP, frequency intake of vegetables presented more associations across all the analysis. Findings suggest that a high-frequency intake of vegetables is inversely related to an inflammatory status in children. More studies are needed to assess the association between diet and inflammation.