Dietary factors in oral leukoplakia and submucous fibrosis in a population-based case control study in Gujarat, India

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the relationship of specific nutrients and food items with oral precancerous lesions among tobacco users.
DESIGN: A population-based case-control study. SETTING: Villages in Palitana taluk of Bhavnagar district, Gujarat, India.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS: An interviewer-administered food frequency questionnaire, developed and validated for this population, was used to estimate nutrient intake in blinded, house-to-house interviews. Among 5018 male tobacco users, 318 were diagnosed as cases. An equal number of controls matched on age (±5 years), sex, village, and use of tobacco were selected.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Odds ratios (OR) from multiple logistic regression analysis controlling for relevant variables (type of tobacco use and economic status).
RESULTS: A protective effect of fibre was observed for both oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) and leukoplakia, with 10% reduction in risk per g day^-1 ( P < 0.05). Ascorbic acid appeared to be protective against leukoplakia with the halving of risk in the two highest quartiles of intake (versus the lowest quartile: OR = 0.46 and 0.44, respectively; P < 0.10). A protective effect of tomato consumption was observed in leukoplakia and a suggestion of a protective effect of wheat in OSF.
CONCLUSION: In addition to tobacco use, intake of specific nutrients may have a role in the development of oral precancerous lesions.     

树突状细胞与肝脏疾病

免疫反应的产生首先是由抗原提呈细胞(antigenpresenting cells,APC)捕获抗原,经其加工处理后将抗原信息传递给T,B淋巴细胞,从而引发一系列的特异性免疫应答.APC包括树突状细胞(dendritic cells,DC)、巨噬细胞(MΦ)、B细胞等,其中DC是人体内最具潜能的抗原提呈细胞(APC),能在体内外直接激活纯真(naive)T细胞,提呈抗原给MHC-Ⅰ类限制性CD8+和MHC-Ⅱ类限制性CD4+T淋巴细胞,诱导特异性免疫应答[1-6].     

Reference Intervals and Age‐related Changes for Platelet Count,Mean Platelet Volume and Plateletcrit in Healthy Pre‐weaning Piglets in Italy

Platelet count (PLT) mean platelet volume (MPV) and plateletcrit (PCT) were determined for 117 Landrace × Large White piglets aged 3–21 days; counts were performed with an automated blood cell counter (ABX Pentra 120). Reference values were estimated following the guidelines of the International Federation of Clinical Chemistry (IFCC) and the International Committee for Standardization in Haematology (ICSH). The calculated central 95% reference limits for PLT was 49.9–516.2 × 10⁹/l, for MPV 6.71–9.91 fl and for PCT 0.009–0.395%. When observations are divided into three age groups (about 1 week each) there is an increase in mean PLT count and PCT in 2‐week piglets, and a decrease in MPV from the first to the third week of life. These reference values provide guidelines for interpreting for experimental and clinical observations, as well as for monitoring of the health status of similar aged piglets determined using automated impedance‐light focusing methodology.     

3-Acetyl-2,5-diaryl-2,3-dihydro-1,3,4-oxadiazoles: a new scaffold for the selective inhibition of monoamine oxidase B

3-Acetyl-2,5-diaryl-2,3-dihydro-1,3,4-oxadiazoles were designed, synthesized, and tested as inhibitors against human monoamine oxidase (MAO) A and B isoforms. Several compounds, obtained as racemates, were identified as selective MAO-B inhibitors. The enantiomers of some derivatives were separated by enantioselective HPLC and tested. The R-enantiomers always showed the highest activity. Docking study and molecular dynamic simulations demonstrated the putative binding mode. We conclude that these 1,3,4-oxadiazoles derivatives are promising reversible and selective MAO-B inhibitors.     

Regenerated silk fibroin scaffold and infrapatellar adipose stromal vascular fraction as feeder-layer: a new product for cartilage advanced therapy

Articular cartilage has limited repair and regeneration potential, and the scarcity of treatment modalities has motivated attempts to engineer cartilage tissue constructs. The use of chondrocytes in cartilage tissue engineering has been restricted by the limited availability of these cells, their intrinsic tendency to lose their phenotype during the expansion, as well as the difficulties during the first cell adhesion to the scaffold. Aim of this work was to evaluate the intra-articular adipose stromal vascular fraction attachment on silk fibroin scaffold to promote chondrocytes adhesion and proliferation. Physicochemical characterization has demonstrated that three-dimensionally organized silk fibroin scaffold is an ideal biopolymer for cartilage tissue engineering; it allows cell attachment, scaffold colonization, and physically cell holding in the area that must be repaired; the use of adipose-derived stem cells is a promising strategy to promote adhesion and proliferation of chondrocytes to the scaffold as an autologous human feeder layer.     

Vacuum-assisted closure as a surgical assistant in life-threatening necrotizing fasciitis in children

Necrotizing fasciitis is a severe soft tissue infection that can involve skin, subcutaneous fat, fascia and muscle. It can result in devastating sequelae including tissue necrosis, sepsis, toxic shock syndrome, cardiopulmonary collapse and death. To control rapidly spreading necrosis, early diagnosis and aggressive surgical treatment with extensive radical debridement of the affected areas is necessary, as well as systemic administration of broad-spectrum antimicrobials and, very often, intensive care support.The subatmospheric negative pressure dressing has been previously used in acute and complex wounds management. The concept of using vacuum-assisted closure dressing as another management component is presented in the current article.     

Adriamycin dose and time effects on cell cycle, cell death, and reactive oxygen species generation in leukaemia cells

We investigate the relative importance of the different mechanisms of Adriamycin, an anthracycline, and their interrelations, in particular the link between cell cycle arrest, cell death, and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that is suspected to be the origin of cardiotoxic side-effects. We introduced a lifetime fluorescence based technology and used videomicrofluorometry, two efficient analytical methods. We show that depending on the doses and time after incubation, ADR will not reach the same compartments (nucleus, mitochondria, cytosol) in the cells, having consequences on the production of ROS, growth arrest pathways and cell death pathways.     

Morbidity associated with heroin overdose presentations to an emergency department: A 10‐year record linkage study

Introduction: To examine hospitalizations in a cohort of 224 patients who presented with non‐fatal heroin overdose to an ED. Methods: A record linkage study, using the morbidity, mental health and mortality databases in the Data Linkage Unit of the Department of Health, Western Australia. The main outcome measures were hospital separations 5 years before and after entry into the cohort. Results: Before entry into the cohort, 199 (89%) patients had an admission to mental health services. These 199 had a combined total of 1367 separations, most commonly for a mental health condition, injury or poisoning. Women had more than twice the relative risk (RR) of men for all separations (RR 2.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.96–2.82, P < 0.001) and for injury and poisoning separations (RR 2.04, 95% CI 1.56–2.66, P < 0.001). The highest concentrations of separations occurred within 1 year before and 1 year after entry into the cohort. There were 12 (5.4%, 95% CI 2.9–9.4%) deaths, most commonly from overdose. Conclusion: Non‐fatal heroin overdose ED presentations are associated with a cluster of hospitalizations around that episode, likely to be related to heroin availability. Presentation to hospital by heroin users represents an opportunity to counsel less risky behaviour.