Prevalence and side preference for tooth grinding in twins

The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.Background: Estimates of the prevalence of tooth grinding in children range considerably, reflecting different methods of recording. The main aims of this study were to determine the prevalence of tooth grinding in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) twin pairs by assessing wear faceting on the primary canines, and to compare the faceting on the right and left to determine whether children have a side preference for grinding. Methods: The sample consisted of 116 MZ twin pairs and 124 dizygous DZ twin pairs, all participants in an ongoing study of dento-facial development at the dental schools in Adelaide and Melbourne. Evidence of wear faceting on primary maxillary and mandibular canine tips was recorded from dental casts, and the side with the larger wear facet recorded. Types of occlusal relationship, handedness, zygosity and gender were also recorded, and associations between variables analysed statistically. Results: Canine tip wear facets were found in 100 per cent of the sample, and grinding was lateralized in 59 per cent of children. MZ twin pairs showed a higher discordance for grinding side preference than DZ twin pairs (33.8 per cent compared with 16.8 per cent), providing evidence of a mirror-imaging effect for grinding side preference. There was no strong evidence that individuals had the same preference for grinding side and handedness, although right-handers (RH) showed a preference for a grinding side more often than non-righthanders (NRH) (63.6 per cent compared with 51.2 per cent), consistent with previous findings that RHs display more cerebral lateralization than NRHs. Conclusions: Tooth grinding appears to be a universal phenomenon in children and is commonly expressed more on one side than the other. The significantly higher discordance for grinding side preference in MZ twin pairs compared with DZ twin pairs may reflect a mirror-imaging effect in the former. However, at present we have no evidence to suggest that handedness and preferred tooth grinding side are associated.K V Dooland, G C Townsend, J A Kaidoni

Rescuing human fetal tissue research in the United States: A call for additional regulatory reform

Research using human fetal tissue has saved millions of lives through vaccines and other advances, but was markedly restricted by federal regulations in 2019. Although the restrictions were partially reversed in 2021, additional regulatory changes are needed to prevent further damage to essential research programs while preserving protection for human subjects

Electroanalytical point-of-care detection of gold standard and emerging cardiac biomarkers for stratification and monitoring in intensive care medicine - a review

Determination of specific cardiac biomarkers (CBs) during the diagnosis and management of adverse cardiovascular events such as acute myocardial infarction (AMI) has become commonplace in emergency department (ED), cardiology and many other ward settings. Cardiac troponins (cTnT and cTnI) and natriuretic peptides (BNP and NT-pro-BNP) are the preferred biomarkers in clinical practice for the diagnostic workup of AMI, acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and other types of myocardial ischaemia and heart failure (HF), while the roles and possible clinical applications of several other potential biomarkers continue to be evaluated and are the subject of several comprehensive reviews. The requirement for rapid, repeated testing of a small number of CBs in ED and cardiology patients has led to the development of point-of-care (PoC) technology to circumvent the need for remote and lengthy testing procedures in the hospital pathology laboratories. Electroanalytical sensing platforms have the potential to meet these requirements. This review aims firstly to reflect on the potential benefits of rapid CB testing in critically ill patients, a very distinct cohort of patients with deranged baseline levels of CBs. We summarise their source and clinical relevance and are the first to report the required analytical ranges for such technology to be of value in this patient cohort. Secondly, we review the current electrochemical approaches, including its sub-variants such as photoelectrochemical and electrochemiluminescence, for the determination of important CBs highlighting the various strategies used, namely the use of micro- and nanomaterials, to maximise the sensitivities and selectivities of such approaches. Finally, we consider the challenges that must be overcome to allow for the commercialisation of this technology and transition into intensive care medicine. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.

Nano-molecularly imprinted polymers for serum creatinine sensing using the heat transfer method

Serum creatinine concentration is an important clinical measure of kidney function. However, standard methods of detection, such as the Jaffe method or enzymatic assays, suffer several disadvantages, including non-specificity and procedural complexity, or high cost, respectively. In this work, we propose the use of nano-molecularly imprinted polymers (nMIPs) in conjunction with the novel Heat Transfer Method (HTM) as a promising alternative sensing platform to these existing methods for measuring serum creatinine concentration. More specifically, it is shown that creatinine-imprinted nMIPs can be produced using a solid-phase templating method, and that simple drop-casting onto a cheap, disposable substrate can be used in conjunction with HTM to detect creatinine with a limit-of-detection of (7.0 ± 0.5) μM in buffer solutions. Furthermore, the nMIPs are shown to selectively bind creatinine in comparison to several similar molecules, and the sensing platform is demonstrated to be able to detect changes in creatinine concentration in complex blood plasma samples

Cold stored platelets in the management of bleeding: is it about bioenergetics?

When platelet concentrates (PCs) were first introduced in the 1960s as a blood component therapy, they were stored in the cold. As platelet transfusion became more important for the treatment of chemotherapy-induced thrombocytopenia, research into ways to increase supply intensified. During the late 1960s/early 1970s, it was demonstrated through radioactive labeling of platelets that room temperature platelets (RTP) had superior post-transfusion recovery and survival compared with cold-stored platelets (CSP). This led to a universal switch to room temperature storage, despite CSP demonstrating superior hemostatic effectiveness upon being transfused. There has been a global resurgence in studies into CSP over the last two decades, with an increase in the use of PC to treat acute bleeding within hospital and pre-hospital care. CSP demonstrate many benefits over RTP, including longer shelf life, decreased bacterial risk and easier logistics for transport, making PC accessible in areas where they have not previously been, such as the battlefield. In addition, CSP are reported to have greater hemostatic function than RTP and are thus potentially better for the treatment of bleeding. This review describes the history of CSP, the functional and metabolic assays used to assess the platelet storage lesion in PC and the current research, benefits and limitations of CSP. We also discuss whether the application of new technology for studying mitochondrial and glycolytic function in PC could provide enhanced understanding of platelet metabolism during storage and thus contribute to the continued improvements in the manufacturing and storage of PC

Author Correction: Antimicrobial activity of Ti-ZrN/Ag coatings for use in biomaterial applications.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper

Toward the Rapid Diagnosis of Sepsis: Detecting Interleukin-6 in Blood Plasma Using Functionalized Screen-Printed Electrodes with a Thermal Detection Methodology

This paper reports the detection of the inflammatory and sepsis-related biomarker, interleukin-6 (IL-6), in human blood plasma using functionalized screen-printed electrodes (SPEs) in conjunction with a thermal detection methodology, termed heat-transfer method (HTM). SPEs are functionalized with antibodies specific for IL-6 through electrodeposition of a diazonium linking group and N'-ethylcarbodiimide hydrochloride (EDC) coupling, which was tracked through the use of cyclic voltammetry and Raman spectroscopy. The functionalized SPEs are mounted inside an additively manufactured flow cell and connected to the HTM device. We demonstrate the ability to detect IL-6 at clinically relevant concentrations in PBS buffer (pH = 7.4) with no significant interference from the similarly sized sepsis-related biomarker procalcitonin (PCT). The limit of detection (3s) of the system is calculated to correspond to 3.4 ± 0.2 pg mL-1 with a working range spanning the physiologically relevant concentration levels in both healthy individuals and patients with sepsis, indicating the sensitivity of the sensor is suitable for the application. Further experiments helped provide a proof-of-application through the detection of IL-6 in blood plasma with no significant interference observed from PCT or the constituents of the medium. Due to the selectivity, sensitivity, straightforward operation, and low cost of production, this sensor platform has the potential for use as a traffic light sensor for the multidetection of inflammatory biomarkers for the diagnosis of sepsis and other conditions in which the rapid testing of blood biomarkers has vital clinical application

The effects of blood conditioning films on the antimicrobial and retention properties of zirconium-nitride silver surfaces

External bone fixation devices provide support and rehabilitation for severely damaged/broken bones, however, this invasive procedure is prone to infection. Zirconium nitride/silver (Ti-ZrN/Ag) coatings were characterised for surface topography, chemical composition, physicochemistry and antimicrobial efficacy (against Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis), in the presence of a blood conditioning film. The conditioning film altered the width of the microtopography of the surfaces however, the depth of the features remained relatively constant. The conditioning film also altered the coatings from hydrophobic to hydrophilic/partially hydrophilic surfaces. Following the MATH assay, the presence of a conditioning film reduced affinity towards the hydrocarbons for both microorganisms. The addition of a blood conditioning film reduced the antimicrobial efficacy of the Ti-ZrN/Ag coatings but also reduced the number of retained bacteria. This study suggests that the presence of a pre-defined blood conditioning film may result in surfaces with anti-adhesive properties, potentially leading to a reduction in bacterial retention. This, combined with the antimicrobial efficacy of the coatings, could reduce the risk of infection on biomaterial surfaces

Effectiveness of titanium nitride silver coatings against Staphylococcus spp. in the presence of BSA and whole blood conditioning agents

Implanted medical devices are at risk of developing an infection at the surgical site. Once a medical implant is inserted, it initially becomes coated by a conditioning film, followed by bacterial retention. In the present study, medical grade stainless steel substrata were coated with titanium nitride (TiN) or titanium nitride/silver (TiN/14.94 at.%Ag or TiN/19.04 at.%Ag). Surface analysis determined that with increased silver concentration, silver nanoparticles were heterogeneously distributed throughout the coatings. The effect of bovine serum albumin or whole blood conditioning agents on the antimicrobial activity and microbial retention were determined using Staphylococcus aureus or Staphylococcus epidermidis. The presence of the conditioning agents reduced the antimicrobial effect of the surfaces against S. aureus. When the cells and conditioning agents were applied together, a reduction in bacterial retention and conditioning film was observed. These results suggest that the impact of conditioning agents should be considered since conditioning films may reduce bacterial retention but may also decrease the antimicrobial properties of the surface coatings

Low-cost, facile droplet modification of screen-printed arrays for internally validated electrochemical detection of serum procalcitonin

This manuscript presents the design and facile production of screen-printed arrays (SPAs) for the internally validated determination of raised levels of serum procalcitonin (PCT). The screen-printing methodology produced SPAs with six individual working electrodes that exhibit an inter-array reproducibility of 3.64% and 5.51% for the electrochemically active surface area and heterogenous electrochemical rate constant respectively. The SPAs were modified with antibodies specific for the detection of PCT through a facile methodology, where each stage simply uses droplets incubated on the surface, allowing for their mass-production. This platform was used for the detection of PCT, achieving a linear dynamic range between 1 and 10 ng mL−1 with a sensor sensitivity of 1.35 × 10−10 NIC%/ng mL−1. The SPA produced an intra- and inter-day %RSD of 4.00 and 5.05%, with a material cost of £1.14. Internally validated human serum results (3 sample measurements, 3 control) for raised levels of PCT (>2 ng mL−1) were obtained, with no interference effects seen from CRP and IL-6. This SPA platform has the potential to offer clinicians vital information to rapidly begin treatment for “query sepsis” patients while awaiting results from more lengthy remote laboratory testing methods. Analytical ranges tested make this an ideal approach for rapid testing in specific patient populations (such as neonates or critically ill patients) in which PCT ranges are inherently wider. Due to the facile modification methods, we predict this could be used for various analytes on a single array, or the array increased further to maintain the internal validation of the system