Oral hygiene phase revisited: How different study designs have affected results in intervention studies

Every periodontal researcher have been taught, and every textbook in periodontics have advocated, that a phase in which the patient is meticulously motivated and instructed in proper oral hygiene—the oral hygiene phase—must be included in any periodontal intervention. However, how is this oral hygiene phase actually portrayed in periodontal intervention studies, and how much space have this important phase received in the planning and carry‐through of intervention studies? The purpose of this letter to the editor was to review current literature in the period 1975/01/01–2017/12/31 on periodontal, mechanical intervention studies in order to see what focus the oral hygiene phase had received in these articles. The result showed that the oral hygiene phase is variable in length and content, variable in claimed result, insufficiently described, and invariably amalgamated with the scaling and root planing which is the intervention or part of an intervention. The consequences of these findings are discussed and suggestions proposed for more harmonized and calibrated oral hygiene phase introduced to avoid biased and inflated results of interventions.     

c-Jun N-terminal kinase-dependent apoptotic photocytotoxicity of solvent exchange-prepared curcumin nanoparticles

Indian spice curcumin is known for its anticancer properties, but the anticancer mechanisms of nanoparticulate curcumin have not been completely elucidated. We here investigated the in vitro anticancer effect of blue light (470 nm, 1 W)-irradiated curcumin nanoparticles prepared by tetrahydrofuran/water solvent exchange, using U251 glioma, B16 melanoma, and H460 lung cancer cells as targets. The size of curcumin nanocrystals was approximately 250 nm, while photoexcitation induced their oxidation and partial agglomeration. Although cell membrane in the absence of light was almost impermeable to curcumin nanoparticles, photoexcitation stimulated their internalization. While irradiation with blue light (1–8 min) or nanocurcumin (1.25–10 μg/ml) alone was only marginally toxic to tumor cells, photoexcited nanocurcumin displayed a significant cytotoxicity depending both on the irradiation time and nanocurcumin concentration. Photoexcited nanocurcumin induced phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), mitochondrial depolarization, caspase-3 activation, and cleavage of poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase, indicating apoptotic cell death. Accordingly, pharmacologial inhibition of JNK and caspase activity rescued cancer cells from photoexcited nanocurcumin. On the other hand, antioxidant treatment did not reduce photocytotoxicity of nanocurcumin, arguing against the involvement of oxidative stress. By demonstrating the ability of photoexcited nanocurcumin to induce oxidative-stress independent, JNK- and caspase-dependent apoptosis, our results support its further investigation in cancer therapy.     

Ferrocenyl chalcones with <Emphasis Type="Italic">O</Emphasis>-alkylated vanillins: synthesis,spectral characterization,microbiological evaluation,and single-crystal X-ray analysis

O-alkylated vanillin derivatives 2a–f and acetylferrocene react under Claisen–Schmidt conditions, resulting in good-to-high yields of the corresponding ferrocene chalcones 3a–f. None of the resultant compounds 3b–f has been previously described in the literature. All synthesized compounds were characterized by spectral and physical data, whereas two of them, 1-ferrocenyl-3-(4-ethoxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one (3b) and 1-ferrocenyl-3-(4-buthoxy-3-methoxy-phenyl)-prop-2-en-1-one (3e), were crystalline substances, suitable for single-crystal X-ray analysis, which confirmed undoubtedly their structures. Chalcones 3a–f were tested for their biological activity and demonstrated relatively good in vitro antimicrobial activity towards different strains of bacteria and fungi. The best antibacterial activity is expressed by compounds 3b and 3c, while compound 3d shows the best antifungal activity.     

Structural insights into anticancer activity of D‐ring modified estrone derivatives using their lipophilicity in estimation of SAR and molecular docking studies

Many forms of breast carcinoma are hormone‐dependent and therefore development of novel aromatase inhibitors is of particular interest. Since brain metastases are frequent in patients with advanced breast carcinoma, one of the goals of modern drug development is the discovery of drugs with specific pharmacokinetic profile. High performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) is often used to determine lipophilicity of the molecules based on their retention constant. As a predictive analysis, multiple linear regression method was performed to connect pharmacokinetic‐dependent parameters with independent physicochemical properties such are: R_M⁰, TPSA and M_w of fourteen D‐ring modified oestrone derivatives. Additionally, docking studies were performed. Conducted correlation analysis indicates excellent dependence between experimental R _M parameter values and calculated values of pharmacokinetic parameters. Results show sufficient intestinal absorption of all the investigated molecules as well as moderate volumes of distribution and strong affinity for binding to plasma proteins. Crossing blood–brain barrier is predicted to be successful for 11 compounds. The created quantitative structure activity relationship model represents an excellent predictive tool and enables determination of pharmacokinetic properties of examined compounds. Docking analysis defined molecules I₃ and II₃ to be the best candidates; however, compound II₃ violates the Lipinski rule. It has been concluded that molecules with hydroxyl group at C‐3 more effectively pass through blood–brain barrier while structures with benzyloxy groups have stronger interactions with CYP1A19. Molecules II₂, II₄, II₆, and II₇ are regarded as most suitable candidates for further investigation considering their good pharmacokinetic and docking characteristics. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predictors of Healthcare Access and Utilization by Syrian Americans in the United States

Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health - There are currently no studies examining healthcare access and utilization by Syrian Americans. A better understanding of the determinants of healthcare...     

Erratum to: Superficial mycoses in the Nis region, Southeast-Serbia

The original version of the article was published in Central European Journal of Medicine Volume 6, Number 5, 665–671, DOI: 10.2478/s11536-011-0052-y. Unfortunately, the original version of this article contains mistakes in the Authors names section. There should be: Suzana Otasevic¹, Natasa Miladinovic-Tasic¹, Jovana Đorđević¹, Gordana Ranđelović¹, Aleksandra Ignjatović¹, Predrag Stojanović¹, Dragan Zdravković², Roberta Marković²