Kinematic viscosity of unstimulated whole saliva in healthy young adults

To analyze kinematic viscosity and pH of unstimulated whole saliva, evaluate possible variations after sampling, identify any gender differences and detect possible correlations between them

Determination of breath alcohol value after using mouthwashes containing ethanol in healthy young adults.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate breath alcohol value and blood alcohol concentration after using mouthwashes containing ethanol in a panel of healthy young adults. To determine zeroing time of these values and if subjects\u2019 body mass index or gender influenced it. Breathalyzer test is a practice performed to detect alcohol-impaired-drivers that can be penalized. Sometimes Italian judges revoke the penalty justifying that the presence of residual ethanol in the oral cavity can cause false positive values. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Our study involved 40 young adult volunteers; the cohort was composed of University students aged between 21 and 30 years. They underwent a medical examination to evaluate BMI. We selected four alcoholic mouthwashes available on the market with a different ethanol amount and an ethanol/ water (10/90) mixture as a reference. Breath alcohol concentration values were collected using a portable breathalyzer immediately after the rinse (T0), after 10 and 20 minutes (T10 and T20). We evaluated blood alcohol concentration 5 minutes after the rinse. RESULTS: All T10 values are lower than 0.5 g/L (Italian BAC driving limit). Differences between average values at T0-T10 are statistically significant (p < 0.05). Correlations between BAV and BMI are not statistically significant respectively at T0 (A: p = 0.54. B: p = 0.96. C: p = 0.93. D: p = 0.53) and T10 (A: p = 0.42. C: p = 0.99. D: p = 0.66). Differences between male and female groups aren\u2019t statistically significant (A: p = 0.49; B: p = 0.79; C: p = 0.97; D: p = 0.06). CONCLUSIONS: High BAV values determined at T-0 are a consequence of residual ethanol present in the oral cavity, the zeroing time of these ones is very swift. Our study shows that rinsing with an alcoholic mouthwash before undergoing the breathalyzer test does not realistically influence the result

RESULTS OF TWO DECADES OF RESEARCH WORK ON STABILISATION AND AGRICULTURAL REVALUATION OF AN APPROPRIATED LANDSLIDE

Starting with 1976, a totally unproductive piece of land located in the Chinteni Valley, Cluj County, severely degraded by landslides, was used as an experimental field in order to study the actual possibilities of agricultural reinstatement of these lands. Out of a large range of problems studied since then, the present paper shows the most important experimental results concerning the gradual stabilisation and agricultural revaluation of landslides by means of hydro- and agroappropriative works applied. The presented results emphasise the fact that as a consequence of appropriation works applied to this landslide (drainage and levellment) as well as by using crop technologies specific for slopes, the horizontal and vertical displacements of ground have been significantly reduced. Gradually, there has been noted an obvious tendency of a long term land stabilisation followed by a natural incorporation of this land into the equilibrium condition of the slope to which it belongs

q-Deformed quaternions and su(2) instantons

We have recently introduced the notion of a q-quaternion bialgebra and shown its strict link with the SO_q(4)-covariant quantum Euclidean space R_q^4. Adopting the available differential geometric tools on the latter and the quaternion language we have formulated and found solutions of the (anti)selfduality equation [instantons and multi-instantons] of a would-be deformed su(2) Yang-Mills theory on this quantum space. The solutions depend on some noncommuting parameters, indicating that the moduli space of a complete theory should be a noncommutative manifold. We summarize these results and add an explicit comparison between the two SO_q(4)-covariant differential calculi on R_q^4 and the two 4-dimensional bicovariant differential calculi on the bi- (resp. Hopf) algebras M_q(2),GL_q(2),SU_q(2), showing that they essentially coincide.Comment: Latex file, 18 page

Atrial expression of the CCN1 and CCN2 proteins in chronic heart failure

Previous studies have reported the upregulation of CCN proteins early after acute heart injury. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the expression of the CCN1 and CCN2 proteins and their regulation by angiotensin II in the atrial myocardium of a chronically failing heart. Male adult mice were subjected to ligation of the left coronary artery to produce myocardial infarction (the MI group), and 16 of them were treated for 12 weeks with the AT1 receptor antagonist telmisartan (the MI-Tel group). Sham-operated mice served as controls. The expression of proteins was evaluated by immunohistochemistry 12 weeks after the operation. In shamoperated mice, stainings for CCN1 and CCN2 proteins were positive within atrial cardiomyocytes. CCN1-positive reaction revealed diffused cytoplasmic localization, while CCN2 was present mainly within the perinuclear cytoplasm. CCN1 was upregulated in the MI group, while CCN2 remained at basal level. Telmisartan prevented the upregulation of CCN1 and decreased CCN2 level. We compared the experimental data with the expression of CCN1 and CCN2 proteins in human right atrial appendages. We found an inverse, but not significant, relation between the level of either protein and the left ventricular ejection fraction. This suggests a similar atrial regulation of CCN1 and CCN2 expression also in humans. We conclude that in the murine atria, CCN1 and CCN2 proteins are expressed constitutively. In chronic heart failure, CCN proteins tend to be upregulated, which may be related to the action of angiotensin II

Functional status and oral health in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease affecting upper and lower motor neurons. The current practice of caring for patients affected by ALS involves a multidisciplinary team without any indication about oral health care. OBJECTIVE: We sought to investigate the functional status and oral health in patients with ALS to define a specific multidisciplinary management. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, we included patients affected by ALS, evaluating their functional status, using the Revised ALS Functional Rating Scale (ALSFRS-R) and their oral health status through specific parameters, including Brief Oral Health Status Examination (BOHSE), Winkel Tongue Coating Index (WTCI), and Oral Food Debris Index (OFDI). RESULTS: All 37 patients (mean age: 61.19±11.56 years) showed a poor oral status, independent from the functional status and strictly correlated to the severity of sialorrhea (p=0.01). OFDI index was negatively correlated with the ALSFRS-R upper limb (p=0.03). Patients with bulbar onset had significantly lower ability to perform adequate tongue movements in terms of protrusion (p=0.006) and lateralization (p&lt;0.001). Significant negative correlations between survival rate and BOHSE (p=0.03) was found. CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings showed that a poor oral health status might be correlated to a worse functional status and survival time. Thus, an adequate oral health care and rehabilitation should be considered as crucial in the multidisciplinary management of patients with ALS

Evidence for the progression through S-phase in the ectopic cell cycle re-entry of neurons in Alzheimer disease

Aberrant neuronal re-entry into the cell cycle is emerging as a potential pathological mechanism in Alzheimer disease (AD). However, while cyclins, cyclin dependent kinases (CDKs), and other mitotic factors are ectopically expressed in neurons, many of these proteins are also involved in other pathological and physiological processes, generating continued debate on whether such markers are truly indicative of a bona fide cell cycle process. To address this issue, here we analyzed one of the minichromosome maintenance (Mcm) proteins that plays a role in DNA replication and becomes phosphorylated by the S-phase promoting CDKs and Cdc7 during DNA synthesis. We found phosphorylated Mcm2 (pMcm2) markedly associated with neurofibrillary tangles, neuropil threads, and dystrophic neurites in AD but not in aged-matched controls. These data not only provide further evidence for cell cycle aberrations in AD, but the cytoplasmic, rather than nuclear, localization of pMcm2 suggests an abnormal cellular distribution of this important replication factor in AD that may explain resultant cell cycle stasis and consequent neuronal degeneration

Czy obecność zmian w tętnicach wieńcowych predysponuje do migotania przedsionków?

Cel pracy: Rola niedokrwienia jako czynnika sprzyjającego migotaniu przedsionków (AF, atrial fibrillation) nie jest w pełni ustalona. Celem pracy było porównanie częstości występowania AF u pacjentów ze zmianami w naczyniach wieńcowych i bez nich. Szczególną uwagę zwrócono na duże naczynia zaopatrujące przedsionki serca, tzn. prawą tętnicę wieńcową i gałąź okalającą lewej tętnicy wieńcowej. Materiał i metody: Dokonano retrospektywnej analizy badania koronarograficznego, które przeprowadzono u 1314 pacjentów. Wydzielono 191 chorych ze zmianami miażdżycowymi w prawej tętnicy wieńcowej oraz gałęzi okalającej &#8212; grupa I, oraz 278 osób, u których nie stwierdzono zmian miażdżycowych w powyższych naczyniach &#8212; grupa II. W obu grupach określono częstość AF i uwzględniono jedynie tych chorych, u których niemiarowość całkowitą stwierdzono podczas hospitalizacji oraz osoby z napadowym AF w wywiadzie udokumentowanym elektrokardiograficznie. Prześledzono obecność innych czynników ryzyka wystąpienia AF, takich jak wady zastawki dwudzielnej, niewydolność serca, przebyty zawał serca. Analizy statystycznej dokonano przy użyciu testu c2 i testu t-Studenta. Wyniki: Migotanie przedsionków występowało u 11 pacjentów (5,2%) z grupy I oraz u 30 (10,8%) z grupy II (różnica nieistotna statystycznie). Jednocześnie niedomykalność mitralną stwierdzono u 61% chorych z AF oraz u 14,5% z rytmem zatokowym (p < 0,001). U 42,5% pacjentów z AF występowały objawy niewydolności serca. Wnioski: Badanie nie potwierdziło faktu, że niedokrwienie przedsionków predysponuje do migotania przedsionków. Uzyskane dane wskazują na związek AF z wadami zastawki dwudzielnej oraz niską frakcją wyrzutową