Genotypic variation in the response of pepper to salinity

Using 102 pepper (Capsicum annuum) genotypes, a greenhouse experiment has been conducted to study genotypic variation in tolerance to 100 mM sodium chloride (NaCl) in nutrient solution. Based on the severity of leaf symptoms caused by the NaCl treatment there was a substantial genotypic variation in salt tolerance. From this screening experiment, six sensitive and six tolerant genotypes were chosen to study dry matter production and root and shoot concentrations of sodium (Na), potassium (K) and calcium (Ca) in a growth chamber experiment in a nutrient solution with and without 150 mM NaCl. The genotypes selected as sensitive were highly damaged and developed severe chlorosis and necrosis under NaCl treatment, while the genotypes selected as tolerant were slightly affected. On average, decreases in shoot dry matter production caused by NaCl were greater in the sensitive than the tolerant genotypes. Application of salt increased shoot Na concentration at greater amount in the sensitive than the tolerant genotypes. Of the tolerant genotypes, the genotype Cac (Capsicum annuum var. cerasiforme) and 1245 F1 had around 2.45% Na in shoot while the sensitive genotypes Kandil and Pazarcik contained, on average, 5.4% Na. All sensitive and tolerant genotypes exhibited more or less similar shoot concentrations of K and Ca. There was very significant and positive correlation between severity of leaf symptoms and shoot Na concentration, but no correlation could be found in the case of K or Ca concentrations with the severity of leaf symptoms. The results indicate existence of substantial genotypic variation in tolerance to NaCl stress in pepper. It seems very likely that exclusion of Na from roots into growth medium plays a critical role in expression of high Na tolerance in pepper

Effectiveness of three different types of educational methods on implementation of proper oral hygiene behaviour prior to orthodontic treatment

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare three teaching methods’ time and personnel requirements, and their effects on plaque and gingival indices. Methods: This study was a single-blind randomized controlled trial on fixed orthodontic appliance candidates (n = 90), assigned into a control group (n = 30) and two different study groups (n = 30 each). The control group received standard printed educational material and was assisted with verbal information. The study groups either received video-assisted or hands-on training about fixed orthodontic appliance and oral hygiene. The time requirements for all three educational interventions was recorded during the initial visit. The adequacy of oral hygiene was documented through plaque and gingival indices during the initial visit and eighth week of the treatment. The continuous variables were analyzed using 1-way ANOVA. Tukey HSD and Student t-tests were used for post-hoc comparisons (α?#8197;= 0.05). Also, a chi-square test was used for the analysis of categorical variables. Results: Standard education failed to maintain the plaque and gingival indices at the eighth week of the treatment. Although both video-assisted and hands-on training took a considerable amount of time, they served well in preserving both of the indices at the eighth week. The longer the educational intervention was, the better the preservation of the plaque and gingival indices. Conclusion: Educational intervention, either with video-assisted or hands-on programs, provided better results in oral hygiene depending on the time and personnel constraints of the orthodontist

Large Differences in Small RNA Composition Between Human Biofluids.

Extracellular microRNAs (miRNAs) and other small RNAs are implicated in cellular communication and may be useful as disease biomarkers. We systematically compared small RNAs in 12 human biofluid types using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). miRNAs and tRNA-derived RNAs (tDRs) accounted for the majority of mapped reads in all biofluids, but the ratio of miRNA to tDR reads varied from 72 in plasma to 0.004 in bile. miRNA levels were highly correlated across all biofluids, but levels of some miRNAs differed markedly between biofluids. tDR populations differed extensively between biofluids. Y RNA fragments were seen in all biofluids and accounted for >10% of reads in blood plasma, serum, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Reads mapping exclusively to Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) were very rare, except in seminal plasma. These results demonstrate extensive differences in small RNAs between human biofluids and provide a useful resource for investigating extracellular RNA biology and developing biomarkers

The role of oligohydramnios and fetal growth restriction in adverse pregnancy outcomes in preeclamptic patients

Objectives: We aimed to compare perinatal outcomes of oligohydramnios or fetal growth restriction with normal amniotic fluid index and fetal growth in preeclampsia and to compare the outcomes of only oligohydramnios, only fetal growth restriction and oligohydramnios with fetal growth restriction preeclamptic groups. Material and methods: A total of 743 preeclamptic patients were evaluated between June 2016 and 2020. Patients were divided into two groups: preeclampsia with oligohydramnios or fetal growth restriction (n = 237) and preeclampsia with normal amniotic fluid index and fetal growth (n = 506). Then, the first group was divided subgroups as only oligohydramnios (n = 55), only fetal growth restriction (n = 125) and oligohydramnios with fetal growth restriction (n = 57). Demographic characteristics and perinatal outcomes were recorded. Results: Gestational age at delivery (p < 0.001), birth weight (p < 0.001), Apgar scores (p < 0.001) and eclampsia (p < 0.001) were lower whereas impaired doppler findings (p < 0.001), cesarean rates (p < 0.001), preterm delivery (p < 0.001), abruptio placenta (p < 0.001), acute fetal distress (p < 0.001), RDS (p < 0.001), NICU requirement (p < 0.001) and neonatal death (p < 0.001) were higher in oligohydramnios or fetal growth restriction preeclamptic group. In subgroup analysis, there were differences between three groups according to the gestational age (p < 0.001), cesarean rates (p = 0.002), preterm delivery (p < 0.001), intensive care unit requirement (p = 0.039), birth weight (p < 0.001), Apgar scores (p < 0.001), RDS (p < 0.001) and NICU requirement (p < 0.001). In pairwise comparison, there was significant difference between only oligohydramnios and only fetal growth restriction group and between only oligohydramnios and oligohydramnios with fetal growth restriction group according to birth weight, Apgar scores, preterm delivery and cesarean rates, presence of RDS, maternal and neonatal intensive care unit requirement. No significant difference was detected between only fetal growth restriction group and oligohydramnios with fetal growth restriction group in terms of all parameters. Conclusions: We suggest that patients with only oligohydramniosis have more favorable pregnancy outcomes than pregnants with only fetal growth restriction and coexistence of two conditions in preeclamptic patients. We claim that it could be appropriate to recommend close monitorization in preeclamptic patients with only fetal growth restriction and oligohydramniosis and fetal growth restriction

Rapid Alleviation of Parkinson’s Disease Symptoms via Electrostimulation of Intrinsic Auricular Muscle Zones

Background: Deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN-DBS) and the pedunculopontine nucleus (PPN) significantly improve cardinal motor symptoms and postural instability and gait difficulty, respectively, in Parkinson’s disease (PD).Objective and Hypothesis: Intrinsic auricular muscle zones (IAMZs) allow the potential to simultaneously stimulate the C2 spinal nerve, the trigeminal nerve, the facial nerve, and sympathetic and parasympathetic nerves in addition to providing muscle feedback and control areas including the STN, the PPN and mesencephalic locomotor regions. Our aim was to observe the clinical responses to IAMZ stimulation in PD patients.Method: Unilateral stimulation of an IAMZ, which includes muscle fibers for proprioception, the facial nerve, and C2, trigeminal and autonomic nerve fibers, at 130 Hz was performed in a placebo- and sham-controlled, double-blinded, within design, two-armed study of 24 PD patients.Results: The results of the first arm (10 patients) of the present study demonstrated a substantial improvement in Unified Parkinson’s Disease Ratings Scale (UPDRS) motor scores due to 10 min of IAMZ electrostimulation (p = 0.0003, power: 0.99) compared to the placebo control (p = 0.130). A moderate to large clinical difference in the improvement in UPDRS motor scores was observed in the IAMZ electrostimulation group. The results of the second arm (14 patients) demonstrated significant improvements with dry needling (p = 0.011) and electrostimulation of the IAMZ (p < 0.001) but not with sham electrostimulation (p = 0.748). In addition, there was a significantly greater improvement in UPDRS motor scores in the IAMZ electrostimulation group compared to the IAMZ dry needling group (p < 0.001) and the sham electrostimulation (p < 0.001) groups. The improvement in UPDRS motor scores of the IAMZ electrostimulation group (ΔUPDRS = 5.29) reached moderate to high clinical significance, which was not the case for the dry needling group (ΔUPDRS = 1.54). In addition, both arms of the study demonstrated bilateral improvements in motor symptoms in response to unilateral IAMZ electrostimulation.Conclusion: The present study is the first demonstration of a potential role of IAMZ electrical stimulation in improving the clinical motor symptoms of PD patients in the short term

Effect of Scanner Type and Scan Body Location on the Accuracy of Mandibular Complete-Arch Digital Implant Scans: An In Vitro Study.

PURPOSE To compare the accuracy (trueness and precision) of scans of a newly introduced intraoral scanner (IOS) (Virtuo Vivo) and a widely used IOS (Trios 3) to a laboratory scanner (LBS) (Cares 7 SERIES) for 6 implants placed in an edentulous mandible, and to investigate the effect of scan body location on trueness. MATERIAL AND METHODS Scanbodies were tightened on 6 implants placed in an edentulous polymethylmethacrylate mandibular model. An industrial scanner was utilized to generate a master reference model STL file. Three different scanners were used to scan the model (2 IOSs and 1 LBS), and the scans (n = 10) were exported into STL files. Best-fitting algorithm was used to superimpose test scans over the MRM-STL (nominal). ANOVA and Tukey HSD tests were performed to analyze the data (α = 0.05). RESULTS The distance deviations in Car7-LBS scans were the highest (p < 0.001), whereas those in Tri-IOS scans were the lowest (p < 0.001). Vir-IOS had lower angular deviations than those of Tri-IOS (p = 0.031). In Vir-IOS scans, SB5 had higher distance deviations than SB2 (p = 0.029) and SB3 (p = 0.044). In Car7-LBS scans, SB1 had higher distance deviations than SB3 (p = 0.015) and SB5 (p = 0.005). In Tri-IOS scans, SB1 had higher mean distance deviations than SB2 and SB5 (p = 0.005). Vir-IOS had lower precision than Car7-LBS (distance deviation data) (p = 0.01). No difference was found among scanners for the precision of angular deviation data (p = 0.840). CONCLUSION When trueness and precision were considered, distance and angular deviations depended on the scanner type. None of the scanners outperformed others in accuracy considering all distance and angular deviations. Scan body location affected only the trueness (distance deviations)