Influence of chitosan coating on the oral bioavailability of gold nanoparticles in rats

Gold nanoparticles are one of the most extensively investigated metallic nanoparticles for several applications. It is less toxic than other metallic nanolattices. The exceptional electrical and thermal conductivity of gold make it possible to be administered as non-invasive radiofrequency irradiation therapy that produces sufficient heat to kill tumor cells. Nanoparticles are generally administered intravenously instead of orally due to negligible oral absorption and cellular uptake. This study evaluated the oral bioavailability of gold nanoparticles coated with chitosan (C-AuNPs), a natural mucoadhesive polymer. We employed traditional method of evaluating bioavailability that involve estimation of maximum concentrations and area under the curve of 3?nm chitosan coated gold nanoparticles (C-AuNPs) in the rat plasma following intravenous and oral administrations (0.8?mg and 8?mg/kg body weight respectively). The oral bioavailability of C-AuNPs was found to be 2.46% (approximately 25 folds higher than polyethylene glycol (PEG) coated gold nanoparticles, reported earlier). These findings suggest that chitosan coating could be better than PEG coating for the enhancement of oral bioavailability of nanoparticles.     

Validation of the Premature Infant Pain Profile-Revised (PIPP-R)

Objectives

To examine the construct validity, inter-rater reliability, and feasibility of the Premature Infant Pain Profile-Revised in infants of varying gestational ages, diagnoses, and procedures.

Methods

A prospective cross-over study with infants in three gestational age groups (26–31, 32–36, and ≥ 37 weeks) at three university-affiliated Neonatal Intensive Care Units in Canada. One hundred and ninety five bedside nurses and expert raters rated 202 hospitalized infants' pain during scheduled procedures using the measure. An expert rater and a nurse independently assessed infants' pain scores, using the Premature Infant Pain Profile-Revised, during 246 scheduled pairs of painful and non-painful procedures in the 202 infants. Nurses also completed a feasibility survey on using the measure in a clinical setting. To establish construct validity, pain scores were computed during painful and non-painful procedures. Inter-rater reliability between pain experts and nurses was calculated. A 5-point Likert scale was used to measure feasibility in terms of clarity, ease of use, and time to complete.

Results

Irrespective of gestational age, Premature Infant Pain Profile-Revised scores were significantly higher during painful procedures (mean 6.7 [SD 3.0]) compared to non-painful procedures (mean 4.8 [SD 2.9]). There was a high degree of correlation between nurses' and experts' ratings for painful (all R² = 0.92, p < 0.001) and non-painful (all R² = 0.87, p < 0.001) procedures. Mean scores on all feasibility indicators were equal to or higher than 3.8.

Discussion

The Premature Infant Pain Profile Revised has beginning construct validation, inter-rater reliability, and is considered feasible by clinicians. Concurrent validation studies should be considered.     

Noxious family environments in relation to adult and childhood caries

BackgroundThe authors tested hypotheses that more noxious family environments are associated with poorer adult and child oral health.MethodsA community sample of married or cohabiting couples (N = 135) and their elementary school–aged children participated. Dental hygienists determined the number of decayed, missing and filled surfaces via oral examination. Subjective oral health impacts were measured by means of questionnaires completed by the parents and children. The parents completed questionnaires about interparental and parent-to-child physical aggression (for example, pushing) and emotional aggression (for example, derision), as well as harsh discipline. Observers rated the couples’ hostile behavior in laboratory interactions.ResultsThe extent of women's and men's caries experience was associated positively with their partners’ levels of overall noxious behavior toward them. The extent of children's caries experience was associated positively with the level of their mothers’ emotional aggression toward their partners.ConclusionsNoxious family environments may be implicated in compromised oral health. Future research that replicates and extends these findings can provide the foundation to translate them into preventive interventions.Practical ImplicationsNoxious family environments may help explain the limitations of routine oral health preventive strategies. Interprofessional strategies that also address the family environment ultimately may prove to be more effective than are single modality approaches.     

Photos vs silhouettes for evaluation of profile esthetics between white and black evaluators

Objective:To determine whether photos or silhouettes are adequate methods for evaluating the esthetic profiles of black subjects and whether black and white evaluators have different preferences for esthetic profiles.Materials and Methods:One photographic record of the profile of a black female patient with accentuated dental bimaxillary dentoalveolar protrusion was randomly selected. The image of the patient''s profile was altered to produce a series of seven photos and seven silhouettes (a total of 14 images) with different lip positions but uniform distances in relation to the esthetic plane created by Ricketts (line E). Fifty black and 50 white lay evaluators were invited to enumerate the photos and silhouettes, produced according to the lip position, in the order in which they considered most esthetically pleasing.Results:The number of preferences found to be within the esthetic norm was slightly higher among the photographs than among the silhouettes; the esthetic profile with a deviation of −2 mm from line E was elected as the most attractive, and the esthetic pattern with a deviation of +6 mm from the normal line E was considered the least attractive. There were no statistically significant differences between the preferences related to the variables race, sex, and educational background.Conclusions:The esthetic attractiveness of the facial profiles of black subjects in photos and silhouettes was evaluated in a similar manner among black and white evaluators. Among both black and white evaluators, the greatest preference was for the slightly concave profile, which was within the limit considered standard.     

Health Related Quality of Life in Diabetic Patients Measured by the Nottingham Health Profile

The aim of the present study was to assess the health related quality of life of adult diabetic patients using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP) as a measure. A further aim was to describe different Quality of Life (QOL) outcomes in different treatment groups of diabetes. The target population consisted of all registered adult (18 years or older) diabetic patients (n = 2519) in the district of Oulu, a city of 100000 inhabitants in Northern Finland. All these persons were invited to participate in a screening examination for diabetic retinopathy, and the NHP questionnaire was mailed along with this invitation. A total of 1804 patients (72 %) returned the NHP questionnaire when they came to the fundus photography session. The data were analysed by using mean values of NHP dimensions with the 95 % confidence intervals (CI) and the logistic regression analysis to predict the risk (OR) for having at least one health problem in a particular dimension. The results indicated that patients with tablet treatment had significantly lower QOL levels than the ‘general population’ in all NHP dimensions. The diet treatment group patients had lower QOL levels than the ‘general population’ only in the ‘Sleep’ and ‘Social isolation’ dimensions. The diet group had a significantly better QOL level in all six dimensions of QOL of NHP than the tablet treatment or combined treatment (patients treated with tablets and insulin) groups. The tablet treatment and combined treatment groups did not differ significantly in any of the NHP dimensions. The logistic models testing the presence of at least one problem in the NHP dimensions showed that the number of other diseases increased the risk of having QOL problems in all dimensions and duration of the diabetes and the age of the patient had risk increasing effects in four NHP dimensions while the gender had only a small effect on the QOL in diabetic patients. The study shows that the NHP questionnaire as a general measure of the QOL reveals differences in the QOL between the different treatment groups and between diabetic patients and general population.     

日本汉方药产业管理现状概况

中医药传入日本后,经过漫长的历史进程和社会实践,逐渐形成了具有日本特色的汉方药产业.日本重视汉方药产业的发展,目前已经建立了完善的汉方药研发、生产、质量和销售管理体系.目前日本汉方药产品受到了国际上的好评,在国际中医药市场占有重要地位.目前我国的中医药产业开发和产品质量管理与日本还有很大差距,需要学习和借鉴日本的经验,...     

护士职业疲劳现况及其影响因素研究

目的 调查护士职业疲劳现况,分析护士职业疲劳潜在剖面并探讨不同类别的影响因素.方法 基于付出-回报失衡模型,采用便利抽样法于2020年12月选取上海市2所三级甲等医院551名护士作为调查对象.采用一般资料调查表、职业疲劳衰竭恢复量表、付出回报失衡问卷进行调查,以职业疲劳衰竭恢复量表3个外显指标进行潜在剖面分析.并通过单...     

与骨性安氏Ⅱ类错殆矫治后侧貌美观程度相关的硬组织指标的研究

目的筛选与安氏Ⅱ类错骀矫治后侧貌美观程度密切相关的硬组织指标。方法选取141名恒牙期安氏Ⅱ类错骀患者,通过对患者矫治后侧貌美观程度的评价得出高分组与低分组,将两组患者的19项硬组织指标进行独立样本的t检验,判断两组间是否存在统计学意义的显著性差异,并通过logistic相关回归分析判断有显著性差异的指标与侧貌美观程度的相关关系。结果侧貌美学评价高分组的ANB角、NA-PA角等9项指标与低分组的相应指标存在高度显著性差异（P〈0．01）。Logistic相关回归分析显示UI-AP突距、NA-PA角与安氏Ⅱ类错胎矫治后侧貌美观程度密切相关。结论UI-AP突距、NA-PA角与安氏Ⅱ类错骀矫治后侧貌美观程度密切相关,UI-AP突距、NA-PA角越小,侧貌美观程度越好。