Oral health status of adults in Southern Vietnam - a cross-sectional epidemiological study

Background

Dental caries is one of the primary causes of tooth loss among adults. It is estimated to affect a majority of Americans aged 55 and older, with a disproportionately higher burden in disadvantaged populations. Although a number of treatments are currently in use for caries prevention in adults, evidence for their efficacy and effectiveness is limited.

Methods/Design

The Prevention of Adult Caries Study (PACS) is a multicenter, placebo-controlled, double-blind, randomized clinical trial of the efficacy of a chlorhexidine (10% w/v) dental coating in preventing adult caries. Participants (n = 983) were recruited from four different dental delivery systems serving four diverse communities, including one American Indian population, and were randomized to receive either chlorhexidine or a placebo treatment. The primary outcome is the net caries increment (including non-cavitated lesions) from baseline to 13 months of follow-up. A cost-effectiveness analysis also will be considered.

Discussion

This new dental treatment, if efficacious and approved for use by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), would become a new in-office, anti-microbial agent for the prevention of adult caries in the United States.

Trial Registration Number

NCT00357877     

Smoking and coffee intake following alcohol withdrawal in alcoholic inpatients

The aim of this study was to assess alcoholic inpatients' smoking and coffee intake variation following withdrawal. Only moderate smokers (less than 30 cigarettes/day) showed a significant increase of cigarette consumption after alcohol withdrawal. However, their urinary cotinine level did not vary, suggesting a behavioral, and not biological, compensation through smoking following alcohol withdrawal. Heavy smokers (30 cigarettes/day or more) showed no significant clinical or biological variation of smoking behavior. Coffee consumption increased after alcohol withdrawal in all patients, irrespective of smoking habits.     

Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-positive cells in cerebrospinal fluid and development of overt CNS leukemia: a 5-year follow-up study in 113 children with a TdT-positive leukemia or non- Hodgkin's lymphoma

We investigated whether an indirect nuclear terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT) immunofluorescence (IF) assay on single cells present in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is more effective than conventional cytomorphology for early detection or exclusion of (minimal) meningeal leukemic infiltration in patients with a TdT+ malignancy. During a 5- year follow-up study, 1,661 consecutive CSF samples from 113 children with a TdT+ acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (n = 100), a TdT+ acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL) (n = 8), or a TdT+ non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) (n = 5) were analyzed. In 1,511 (91.9%) of 1,643 evaluable CSF samples, the positive and negative findings of both cytomorphology and the TdT-IF assay were concordant. In 47 (2.9%) samples from 28 patients, the cytomorphology was suspect while the TdT- IF assay was negative; follow-up as long as 58 months revealed no CNS leukemia in any patient. In 85 (5.2%) samples, cytomorphology was negative (n = 70) or suspect (n = 15) but TdT+ cells were detected. RBC contamination seriously hampered evaluation in 31 of these 85 samples. From the remaining 54 TdT+ samples from 29 patients, 40 samples preceded overt CNS leukemia in 20 patients. Two consecutive findings of TdT+ cells in the CSF were always followed by overt CNS leukemia. At initial diagnosis, 11 children had TdT+ cells in their RBC-free CSF. In one of these children, morphology was suspect; a repeated lumbar puncture was positive on both assays. Thus, initial CNS leukemia was diagnosed. In the other ten children, morphology was negative. In six of them, CNS leukemia was diagnosed 2 to 20 months later. In 32 other children examined at initial diagnosis, neither TdT+ cells nor blasts were observed in the CSF. In none of these patients was a CNS leukemia diagnosed after a follow-up of 2.5 to 57 months (median 24 months). In 207 control CSF samples from 58 children with TdT- oncologic, hematologic, or infectious diseases, no TdT+ cells could be detected. The TdT-IF assay is easy to perform and is a more reliable diagnostic tool for detection of CNS leukemia at an early stage than is cytomorphology. At initial diagnosis, the finding of Tdt+ cells in a RBC-free CSF sample with a negative cytomorphology is highly predictive for development of overt CNS leukemia.     

Establishment and characterization of an Epstein-Barr virus transformed cell line with strong phagocytic activity

An immunoglobulin M (IgM)-positive cell line, Ms 28, apparently spontaneously transformed by Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) was established from peripheral blood cells of a patient with immature myeloblastic leukemia. It has been characterized according to phenotype, cytochemistry, and membrane antigen pattern. The cell line expresses lymphoid markers like CD 19, CD 22, and CD 30 and synthesizes and secretes IgM. Monocyte markers CD 11c, CD 14, and CD 15 are absent. Neither interleukin-1 (IL-1), nor tumor necrosis factor (TNF-alpha) are produced. But Ms 28 cells show strong phagocytic activity and engulf Latex particles and sheep RBCs (SRBCs) that need not to be opsonized. The phagocytic activity can be inhibited by chloroquine. Both phagocytosis and EBV nuclear-antigen (EBNA) expression can be observed in one and the same cell. Ms 28 cells might be useful to study immunologic activities like antigen processing and presentation.     

构建以少突胶质细胞前体为主与人类早产儿脑室周围白质软化病理相似的动物模型

目的:建立以晚期少突胶质细胞前体为主、与人类早产儿脑室周围白质软化病理相似的可靠动物模型。方法:实验于2005-10/2006-06在上海交通大学医学院附属新华医院科研中心完成。2d龄和7d龄SD同窝清洁级新生大鼠各43只,雌雄不拘,以随机数字表法分为4组,即2d龄模型组(n=25)、2d龄假手术组(n=18)、7d龄模型组(n=25)和7d龄假手术组(n=18),脑室周围白质软化动物模型建立:结扎双侧颈总动脉,手术时间短于10～15min,术后将新生大鼠送入缺氧箱缺氧30min,混合气体为体积分数0.08的O2和0.92的N2,输入流量为1～2.5mL/min。假手术组游离双侧颈总动脉,但不予结扎和缺氧。将各组大鼠分别于术后1d测定脑梗死体积,术后2d进行少突胶质细胞系列免疫组织化学染色分析、脑片TTC染色观察脑梗死情况以及光镜下脑病理研究,术后21d进行电镜下病理研究。结果:实验86只新生大鼠,14只制作脑室周围白质软化模型死亡,余72只计入统计。①术后1d各组脑片大体观察:模型组脑内呈现大面积白色梗死区,多为大脑前、中动脉供血区域,2,7d龄模型组梗死体积分别为(53.45±33.90),(68.78±20.22)mm3,梗死百分比分别为(24.98±15.44)%,(11.84±4.14)%;假手术组脑片颜色鲜红,未见白色梗死区。②新生大鼠少突胶质细胞系列标志物免疫组织化学结果:2d龄新生大鼠脑白质内以少突胶质细胞前体为主,7d龄新生大鼠则以成熟少突胶质细胞为主。模型大鼠的相应少突胶质细胞系列阳性标记物的积分吸光度值均显著低于同日龄对照新生大鼠(P<0.05～0.01)。③各组大鼠术后2d光镜下脑病理检查结果:2d龄模型组新生大鼠的脑室周围以及皮层下白质呈现囊性坏死和细胞凋亡,而皮质神经元损伤轻微;而7d龄模型组在白质和皮质部位均呈明显损伤。④术后21d电镜下各组幼鼠脑病理检查结果:2d龄模型组幼鼠的脑白质内未见髓鞘形成,7d龄模型组幼鼠中见少量髓鞘形成,而同日龄假手术对照幼鼠的脑白质内则髓鞘形成正常。结论:通过对2d龄新生大鼠双侧颈总动脉结扎伴缺氧30min缺氧缺血法创建的脑室周围白质软化新生大鼠模型中存在少突胶质细胞前体和少突胶质细胞的明显受损和丢失,成功建立了2d龄新生大鼠以少突胶质细胞前体为主、与人类早产儿脑室周围白质软化病理相似的脑室周围白质软化动物模型。     

聚乙二醇在猪组织工程瓣膜制备中的应用

目的:观察聚乙二醇法在组织工程瓣膜准备中的应用价值,比较聚乙二醇去细胞前后组织工程瓣膜的物理特性。方法:实验于2005-10/2006-03在华中科技大学同济医学院基础医学院生物化学系实验室完成。①实验分组:取猪10只,由于猪主动脉瓣为三叶瓣结构,共取得瓣叶组织30个,麻醉后宰杀取其心脏动脉瓣膜,分为去细胞组和对照组,每组各15个。②实验方法:去细胞组用聚乙二醇和DNase I处理;瓣叶组织放入1kg/L聚乙二醇,室温下浸泡30～45min,振荡器加以振荡;含抗生素磷酸盐缓冲液浸泡24h,反复3次洗脱;以5×104U/L DNase I液浸泡处理1h;对照组仅以含抗生素磷酸盐缓冲液浸泡24h,反复3次洗脱。③实验评估:苏木精-伊红染色、扫描电镜观察去细胞情况,吸光度(A)值,计算去细胞率(%)=(对照组A值-去细胞组A值)/对照组A值×100%。猪去细胞瓣膜条置于力学测试仪测定最大负荷、最大应力、最大应变和弹性模量。结果:纳入猪10只,均进入结果分析。①去细胞组织形态学观察:去细胞组猪瓣膜组织中看不到细胞成分,且细胞外基质结构保存完整,胶原纤维排列整齐,无明显断裂,仍呈波浪状平行排列,结构紧凑,弹性纤维结构清晰,组织无明显水肿。②DNA含量分析:聚乙二醇处理后去细胞百分率为95.32%。③生物力学检测:与对照组比较,去细胞组瓣膜组织最大负荷[(12.586±1.693),(10.242±1.435)N,P>0.05]、最大应力[(2.346±0.342),(1.877±0.572)N/mm,P>0.05]、弹性模量(15.152±1.579,14.549±0.678,P>0.05)、最大应变[(31.685±7.533),(28.118±6.045)mm/N,>0.05]等均无显著差异。P结论:聚乙二醇法去除细胞完全,细胞外基质保存完整,对组织机械性能无明显影响,适于构建组织工程瓣膜。