A review of oral and maxillofacial surgery journals’ contribution to undergraduate surgical education

We searched the Medline database of 4 leading international journals of oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) for all articles containing the terms “undergraduate”, “medical student”, or “dental student” in the abstract, title, or keywords, from the earliest paper to 2013, to identify and review publications that related to the education of undergraduate medical and dental students. We found 130 articles, of which 22 (17%) met the inclusion criteria. Most were published by teams based in the United States, followed by those from the United Kingdom and Germany. The earliest was published in 1986. Since then, most have been published in the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (0.33/year) and the least in the International Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery (0.11/year). Eleven original research articles concerned dental students and 4 concerned medical students. Three studies looked at both groups and compared them with their qualified counterparts. There is a relative paucity of articles relating to the education of undergraduates, particularly medical students, in OMFS journals, although the number has increased over the last decade. There is a need for more educational papers to be aimed at students interested in pursuing OMFS as a career.     

A highly selective pyridoxal-based chemosensor for the detection of Zn(ii) and application in live-cell imaging; X-ray crystallography of pyridoxal-TRIS Schiff-base Zn(ii) and Cu(ii) complexes

In a simple, one-step reaction, we have synthesized a pyridoxal-based chemosensor by reacting tris(hydroxymethyl)aminomethane (TRIS) together with pyridoxal hydrochloride to yield a Schiff-base ligand that is highly selective for the detection of Zn(ii) ion. Both the ligand and the Zn(ii) complex have been characterized by ¹H & ¹³C NMR, ESI-MS, CHN analyses, and X-ray crystallography. The optical properties of the synthesized ligand were investigated in an aqueous buffer solution and found to be highly selective and sensitive toward Zn(ii) ion through a fluorescence turn-on response. The competition studies reveal the response for zinc ion is unaffected by all alkali and alkaline earth metals; and suppressed by Cu(ii) ion. The ligand itself shows a weak fluorescence intensity (quantum yield, Φ = 0.04), and the addition of zinc ion enhanced the fluorescence intensity 12-fold (quantum yield, Φ = 0.48). The detection limit for zinc ion was 2.77 × 10⁻⁸ M, which is significantly lower than the WHO''s guideline (76.5 μM). Addition of EDTA to a solution containing the ligand–Zn(ii) complex quenched the fluorescence, indicating the reversibility of Zn(ii) binding. Stoichiometric studies indicated the formation of a 2 : 1 L₂Zn complex with a binding constant of 1.2 × 10⁹ M⁻² (±25%). The crystal structure of the zinc complex shows the same hydrated L₂Zn complex, with Zn(ii) ion binding with an octahedral coordination geometry. We also synthesized the copper(ii) complex of the ligand, and the crystal structure showed the formation of a 1 : 1 adduct, revealing 1-dimensional polymeric networks with octahedral coordinated Cu(ii). The ligand was employed as a sensor to detect zinc ion in HEK293 cell lines derived from human embryonic kidney cells grown in tissue culture which showed strong luminescence in the presence of Zn(ii). We believe that the outstanding turn-on response, sensitivity, selectivity, lower detection limit, and reversibility toward zinc ion will find further application in chemical and biological science.

The synthesis, characterization, X-ray crystallography, and live-cell imaging of pyridoxal-TRIS Schiff-base ligand which is selective as a luminescence sensor to detect Zn(ii) ion, and the corresponding Zn(ii) and Cu(ii) complexes are described.     

Alcohol Consumption and Its Influence on the Clinical Picture of Puumala Hantavirus Infection

Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) causes hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome. Characteristic clinical findings include acute kidney injury (AKI), thrombocytopenia, and capillary leakage. Smoking increases the risk of severe AKI, but it is not known whether alcohol consumption predisposes patients to a more severe infection. Liver and pancreatic enzymes, as well as biomarkers of alcohol consumption (gamma-glutamyl transferase, GGT; carbohydrate-deficient transferrin, CDT; GGT-CDT combination; and ethyl glucuronide, EtG), were measured from 66 patients with acute PUUV infection during hospitalization and at the convalescence phase. Alcohol consumption was present in 41% of the study population, 15% showing signs of heavy drinking. Alcohol use did not affect the severity of PUUV induced AKI nor the overall clinical picture of the infection. Liver enzyme levels (GGT or alanine aminotransferase, ALT) were elevated in 64% of the patients, but the levels did not associate with the markers reflecting the severity of the disease. Serum amylase activities at the convalescent stage were higher than those at the acute phase (p < 0.001). No cases with acute pancreatitis were found. In conclusion, our findings indicate that alcohol consumption does not seem to affect the clinical course of an acute PUUV infection.