Compliance of Jordanian dentists with infection control strategies

Objectives : To assess whether dentists in Jordan are employing recommended infection techniques in their clinics and to identify the level of compliance of dentists with the recommended infection techniques commonly found in western countries. Participants : Dentists in Jordan (n=300). Methods : A questionnaire incorporating information regarding: infection control practices, vaccination, personal barrier protection, instrument sterilisation and disinfection, were distributed to 300 dentists in private and public practices. Results : A (93%) response rate (n=279) was available for analysis. Gloves were used by 73.3% of dentists; masks by 69.5%, protective eye wear by 43.8% and white coats worn by 75.9%. About 25% recorded patient medical histories. Offices in Jordan were found to be in compliance with respect to the use of disposable anaesthetic needles and carpules but only 27% use plastic containers for sharps; 72.6% of dentists had been vaccinated against hepatitis B viruses; approximately 70% use an autoclave for sterilisation but only 15% always use plastic bags for packing sterilised instruments. Conclusions : The majority of dental practitioners were found to be in compliance with most of the recommended infection control regulations. In this study the overall compliance with infection control procedures was 61.17% among dentists in Jordan. Further education may be appropriate in taking a medical history of each patient before treatment, wearing of masks and protective glasses and the use of plastic bags to wrap sterilised instruments.     

The effect of fish oil on bone resorption following pulp exposure in rats

Abstract  – The aim of this study was to determine whether treatment with fish oil may alter the periapical bone resorption following pulp exposure in rats. Untreated and pulp-exposed animals served as the negative and positive control, respectively. Other pulp-exposed animals were orally treated with fish oil at different concentrations and frequencies. Periapical tissue sections were stained with tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP), and then the numbers of both periapical osteoclasts and preosteoclasts were determined. The levels of bone resorption were assessed using the osteoclast–bone interface (OBI) index. The results showed that no differences between the numbers of both osteoclasts and preosteoclasts in the fish oil-treated animals and the negative control at day 14 could be found. Similarly, the periapical bone resorption in the animals treated with fish oil for 14 days significantly reduced to the levels of that in the negative control. The results of the present study, therefore, suggest that oral treatment with fish oil may inhibit bone resorption following pulp exposure in rats and hence, may have a therapeutic modality for inflamed periradicular tissue.     

Structure-activity relationships of a series of analogues of the RFamide-related peptide 26RFa

26RFa is a new member of the RFamide peptide family that has been identified as the endogenous ligand of the orphan GPCR GPR103. As the C-terminal heptapeptide (26RFa((20-26))) mimics the action of the native peptide on food intake and gonadotropin secretion in rodents, we have synthesized a series of analogues of 26RFa((20-26)) and measured their potency to induce [Ca(2+)](i) mobilization in Gα(16)-hGPR103-transfected CHO cells. Systematic replacement of each residue by an alanine (Ala scan) and its D-enantiomer (D scan) showed that the last three C-terminal residues were very sensitive to the substitutions while position 23 tolerated rather well both modifications. Most importantly, replacement of Ser(23) by a norvaline led to an analogue, [Nva(23)]26RFa((20-26)), that was 3-fold more potent than the native heptapeptide. These new pharmacological data, by providing the first information regarding the structure-activity relationships of 26RFa analogues, should prove useful for the rational design of potent GPR103 receptor ligands with potential therapeutic application.     

Feasibility of a lifestyle intervention in early pregnancy to prevent deterioration of glucose tolerance

Background  

In conjunction with the growing prevalence of obesity and the older age of pregnant women gestational diabetes (GDM) is a major health problem.     

Association between administered oxygen, arterial partial oxygen pressure and mortality in mechanically ventilated intensive care unit patients

Introduction

The aim of this study was to investigate whether in-hospital mortality was associated with the administered fraction of oxygen in inspired air (FiO₂) and achieved arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO₂).

Methods

This was a retrospective, observational study on data from the first 24 h after admission from 36,307 consecutive patients admitted to 50 Dutch intensive care units (ICUs) and treated with mechanical ventilation. Oxygenation data from all admission days were analysed in a subset of 3,322 patients in 5 ICUs.

Results

Mean PaO₂ and FiO₂ in the first 24 h after ICU admission were 13.2 kPa (standard deviation (SD) 6.5) and 50% (SD 20%) respectively. Mean PaO₂ and FiO₂ from all admission days were 12.4 kPa (SD 5.5) and 53% (SD 18). Focusing on oxygenation in the first 24 h of admission, in-hospital mortality was shown to be linearly related to FiO₂ value and had a U-shaped relationship with PaO₂ (both lower and higher PaO₂ values were associated with a higher mortality), independent of each other and of Simplified Acute Physiology Score (SAPS) II, age, admission type, reduced Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score, and individual ICU. Focusing on the entire ICU stay, in-hospital mortality was independently associated with mean FiO₂ during ICU stay and with the lower two quintiles of mean PaO₂ value during ICU stay.

Conclusions

Actually achieved PaO₂ values in ICU patients in The Netherlands are higher than generally recommended in the literature. High FiO₂, and both low PaO₂ and high PaO₂ in the first 24 h after admission are independently associated with in-hospital mortality in ICU patients. Future research should study whether this association is causal or merely a reflection of differences in severity of illness insufficiently corrected for in the multivariate analysis.     

IgH AND TcR-γ GENE REARRANGEMENTS IDENTIFIED IN HODGKIN'S DISEASE BY PCR DEMONSTRATE LACK OF CORRELATION BETWEEN GENOTYPE,PHENOTYPE, AND EPSTEIN–BARR VIRUS STATUS

Analysis of IgH and TcR-γ genes using consensus primers identifying junctional regions of rearranged genes by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed on tissues involved by Hodgkin's disease (HD) in 90 cases and was correlated with the immunophenotype of Hodgkin and Reed–Sternberg (HRS) cells and the presence of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) within these cells. Clonal IgH gene rearrangements were found in 1/5 cases of lymphocyte predominance (LP) subtype and none was positive for EBV. In 85 cases of classic HD, no IgH or TcR-γ gene rearrangements were found in 51 (60 per cent) cases. A similar percentage, but not the same cases, were of null (non-B, non-T) phenotype. Of 30 cases where a B phenotype was assigned to HRS cells, nine had IgH gene rearrangements, three had TcR-γ gene rearrangements, and two had both genes rearranged. None of the five cases assigned to T phenotype of HRS cells showed rearrangement of TcR-γ genes, but two cases showed rearranged IgH genes. Among 41 cases of null phenotype, ten had IgH gene rearrangements, five had TcR-γ gene rearrangements, and three cases had both genes rearranged. Whereas EBV was detectable in HRS cells in 17/43 classic HD cases of assigned B phenotype, EBV was also detectable in 2/5 cases of assigned T phenotype and in 21 cases with the null phenotype. Furthermore, there was no correlation of EBV with the presence or lack of IgH or TCR-γ gene rearrangements. Of the remainder, half (30 per cent) expressed antigens associated with lymphocytes without an appropriate genotype. The results confirm lymphocyte-lineage committed cells at the origin of HRS cells in 40 per cent of cases. Any hypothesis of a non-lymphocytic origin of HRS cells will require the inducibility of CD30 on candidate precursors and the methodology for probing genetic events in such cells to be addressed. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RNA-Based COVID-19 vaccine candidates with clinical phase trials in progress

Due to the COVID-19 infection, which was recognized as a global pandemic by the WHO on March 11, 2020, the number of cases and disease-related deaths increases day by day globally. For this reason, antiviral agents used in treatment and vaccines, the most effective weapon in prevention, continue to be the most popular topic of the plan. Several situations are expected to affect the course of the pandemic. The loss of the ability of the virus to mutate and cause disease, the fact that those who become immunized by having the disease in the society reach a critical rate and create social immunity (herd immunity), and the provision of social immunity with effective vaccination can be counted as some of these situations.Candidate vaccines in the clinical phase among RNA-based vaccines: This review aimed to examine COVID-19 vaccine candidates using RNA technology and compile its current data. We used PubMed, Google Scholar, and World Health Organization (WHO) databases. Also, we followed up on the latest news and developments on vaccine companies’ websites.Conclusion: Vaccination trials, which started due to the seriousness and urgency of the situation that we are in, continue exceptionally quickly and effectively. As per the WHO›s data on July 9, 2021, there have been 291 vaccine trials, 107 of which are in the clinical phase, and 18 (16%) of the vaccine candidates in the clinical phase are RNA-based vaccines. Also, the number of RNA-based vaccines with ongoing preclinical trials is 2