Early childhood caries in preschool children of Kosovo - a serious public health problem

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Even though it has been widely studied, early childhood caries (ECC) remains a serious public health problem, especially in countries where there is no national program of oral health assessment and no genuine primary oral health care, such as in Kosovo. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of ECC and analyze caries risk factors.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The subjects were 1,008 preschool children, selected by stratified random cluster sampling, in the municipality of Prishtina, capital of Kosovo. Data were collected through clinical examination and interviews. Dmft data were recorded according to WHO criteria. Bacterial examination (CRT bacteria test) and plaque test of Greene-Vermillion were used.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The mean dmft of preschool children was found to be 5.8. The prevalence of ECC was 17.36%, with a mean dmft of 11 ± 3.6. Streptococcus mutans prevalence in ECC children was 98%. A significant correlation between dmft and S mutans counts (≥10⁵CFU/mL saliva) was demonstrated. A correlation was also found between daily sweets consumption and dmft in children with ECC (<it>P </it>< 0.001). Comparing the dmft of ECC children and duration of bottle feeding showed a statistical correlation (<it>P </it>< 0.001). The mean plaque test was 1.52. None of the examined children had ever used fluoride.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The prevalence of ECC was high among preschool children in the municipality of Kosovo. We recommend increasing parents' knowledge of proper feeding habits and oral health practices, and increasing preschool children's accessibility to dental services.</p

Guidelines for the use and interpretation of assays for monitoring autophagy (4th edition)1.

In 2008, we published the first set of guidelines for standardizing research in autophagy. Since then, this topic has received increasing attention, and many scientists have entered the field. Our knowledge base and relevant new technologies have also been expanding. Thus, it is important to formulate on a regular basis updated guidelines for monitoring autophagy in different organisms. Despite numerous reviews, there continues to be confusion regarding acceptable methods to evaluate autophagy, especially in multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we present a set of guidelines for investigators to select and interpret methods to examine autophagy and related processes, and for reviewers to provide realistic and reasonable critiques of reports that are focused on these processes. These guidelines are not meant to be a dogmatic set of rules, because the appropriateness of any assay largely depends on the question being asked and the system being used. Moreover, no individual assay is perfect for every situation, calling for the use of multiple techniques to properly monitor autophagy in each experimental setting. Finally, several core components of the autophagy machinery have been implicated in distinct autophagic processes (canonical and noncanonical autophagy), implying that genetic approaches to block autophagy should rely on targeting two or more autophagy-related genes that ideally participate in distinct steps of the pathway. Along similar lines, because multiple proteins involved in autophagy also regulate other cellular pathways including apoptosis, not all of them can be used as a specific marker for bona fide autophagic responses. Here, we critically discuss current methods of assessing autophagy and the information they can, or cannot, provide. Our ultimate goal is to encourage intellectual and technical innovation in the field

The photocatalytic decomposition of chloroform by tetrachloroaurate(III)

Near-UV irradiation of solutions of (Bu4N)AuCl4 in aerated ethanol-stabilized chloroform causes the continuous decomposition of chloroform, as evidenced by the production of many equivalents of HCl and peroxides. At the outset of irradiation, most of the AuCl4 − is reduced to AuCl2 −, but the reduction stops and is reversed. The same experiments done in ethanol-free chloroform cause chloroform decomposition only until the irreversible reduction of the gold is complete. In deoxygenated ethanol-free chloroform, irreversible reduction to AuCl2 − is accompanied by the formation of HCl and CCl4, while the main decomposition products in deoxygenated ethanol-stabilized chloroform are HCl and C2Cl6. It is proposed that, in ethanol-free chloroform, photoreduction of AuCl4 − begins with the concerted elimination of HCl from an association complex of CHCl3 with AuCl4 −, and that ethanol suppresses{CHCl3⋅AuCl−4}{CHCl3⋅AuCl4−} complex formation, leaving a slower radical process to carry out the photoreduction of AuCl4 − in ethanol-stabilized chloroform. In the presence of oxygen, the radical process causes a build-up of CCl3OOH, which reoxidizes AuCl2 − to AuCl4 − and allows the photodecomposition of CHCl3 to continue indefinitely