Hmong Adults Self-Rated Oral Health: A Pilot Study

Since 1975, the Hmong refugee population in the U.S. has increased over 200%. However, little is known about their dental needs or self-rated oral health (SROH). The study aims were to: (1) describe the SROH, self-rated general health (SRGH), and use of dental/physician services; and (2) identify the factors associated with SROH among Hmong adults. A cross-sectional study design with locating sampling methodology was used. Oral health questionnaire was administered to assess SROH and SRGH, past dental and physician visits, and language preference. One hundred twenty adults aged 18–50+ were recruited and 118 had useable information. Of these, 49% rated their oral health as poor/fair and 30% rated their general health as poor/fair. Thirty-nine percent reported that they did not have a regular source of dental care, 46% rated their access to dental care as poor/fair, 43% visited a dentist and 66% visited a physician within the past 12 months. Bivariate analyses demonstrated that access to dental care, past dental visits, age and SRGH were significantly associated with SROH (P \u3c 0.05). Multivariate analyses demonstrated a strong association between access to dental care and good/excellent SROH. About half of Hmong adults rated their oral health and access to dental care as poor. Dental insurance, access to dental care, past preventive dental/physician visits and SRGH were associated with SROH

Characterizations of how species mediate ecosystem properties require more comprehensive functional effect descriptors

The importance of individual species in mediating ecosystem process and functioning is generally accepted, but categorical descriptors that summarize species-specific contributions to ecosystems tend to reference a limited number of biological traits and underestimate the importance of how organisms interact with their environment. Here, we show how three functionally contrasting sediment-dwelling marine invertebrates affect fluid and particle transport - important processes in mediating nutrient cycling - and use high-resolution reconstructions of burrow geometry to determine the extent and nature of biogenic modification. We find that individual functional effect descriptors fall short of being able to adequately characterize how species mediate the stocks and flows of important ecosystem properties and that, in contrary to common practice and understanding, they are not substitutable with one another because they emphasize different aspects of species activity and behavior. When information derived from these metrics is combined with knowledge of how species behave and modify their environment, however, detailed mechanistic information emerges that increases the likelihood that a species functional standing will be appropriately summarized. Our study provides evidence that more comprehensive functional effect descriptors are required if they are to be of value to those tasked with projecting how altered biodiversity will influence future ecosystems

Transduction of SIV-Specific TCR Genes into Rhesus Macaque CD8+ T Cells Conveys the Ability to Suppress SIV Replication

The SIV/rhesus macaque model for HIV/AIDS is a powerful system for examining the contribution of T cells in the control of AIDS viruses. To better our understanding of CD8(+) T-cell control of SIV replication in CD4(+) T cells, we asked whether TCRs isolated from rhesus macaque CD8(+) T-cell clones that exhibited varying abilities to suppress SIV replication could convey their suppressive properties to CD8(+) T cells obtained from an uninfected/unvaccinated animal.We transferred SIV-specific TCR genes isolated from rhesus macaque CD8(+) T-cell clones with varying abilities to suppress SIV replication in vitro into CD8(+) T cells obtained from an uninfected animal by retroviral transduction. After sorting and expansion, transduced CD8(+) T-cell lines were obtained that specifically bound their cognate SIV tetramer. These cell lines displayed appropriate effector function and specificity, expressing intracellular IFNγ upon peptide stimulation. Importantly, the SIV suppression properties of the transduced cell lines mirrored those of the original TCR donor clones: cell lines expressing TCRs transferred from highly suppressive clones effectively reduced wild-type SIV replication, while expression of a non-suppressing TCR failed to reduce the spread of virus. However, all TCRs were able to suppress the replication of an SIV mutant that did not downregulate MHC-I, recapitulating the properties of their donor clones.Our results show that antigen-specific SIV suppression can be transferred between allogenic T cells simply by TCR gene transfer. This advance provides a platform for examining the contributions of TCRs versus the intrinsic effector characteristics of T-cell clones in virus suppression. Additionally, this approach can be applied to develop non-human primate models to evaluate adoptive T-cell transfer therapy for AIDS and other diseases

The impact of emotional well-being on long-term recovery and survival in physical illness: a meta-analysis

This meta-analysis synthesized studies on emotional well-being as predictor of the prognosis of physical illness, while in addition evaluating the impact of putative moderators, namely constructs of well-being, health-related outcome, year of publication, follow-up time and methodological quality of the included studies. The search in reference lists and electronic databases (Medline and PsycInfo) identified 17 eligible studies examining the impact of general well-being, positive affect and life satisfaction on recovery and survival in physically ill patients. Meta-analytically combining these studies revealed a Likelihood Ratio of 1.14, indicating a small but significant effect. Higher levels of emotional well-being are beneficial for recovery and survival in physically ill patients. The findings show that emotional well-being predicts long-term prognosis of physical illness. This suggests that enhancement of emotional well-being may improve the prognosis of physical illness, which should be investigated by future research

In vivo investigation of ear canal pulse oximetry during hypothermia

Pulse oximeters rely on the technique of photoplethysmography (PPG) to estimate arterial oxygen saturation (SpO(Formula presented.)). In conditions of poor peripheral perfusion such as hypotension, hypothermia, and vasoconstriction, the PPG signals detected are often weak and noisy, or in some cases unobtainable. Hence, pulse oximeters produce erroneous SpO(Formula presented.) readings in these circumstances. The problem arises as most commercial pulse oximeter probes are designed to be attached to peripheral sites such as the finger or toe, which are easily affected by vasoconstriction. In order to overcome this problem, the ear canal was investigated as an alternative site for measuring reliable SpO(Formula presented.) on the hypothesis that blood flow to this central site is preferentially preserved. A novel miniature ear canal PPG sensor was developed along with a state of the art PPG processing unit to investigate PPG measurements from the bottom surface of the ear canal. An in vivo study was carried out in 15 healthy volunteers to validate the developed technology. In this comparative study, red and infrared PPGs were acquired from the ear canal and the finger of the volunteers, whilst they were undergoing artificially induced hypothermia by means of cold exposure (10 (Formula presented.)C). Normalised Pulse Amplitude (NPA) and SpO(Formula presented.) was calculated from the PPG signals acquired from the ear canal and the finger. Good quality baseline PPG signals with high signal-to-noise ratio were obtained from both the PPG sensors. During cold exposure, significant differences were observed in the NPA of the finger PPGs. The mean NPA of the red and infrared PPGs from the finger have dropped by >80%. Contrary to the finger, the mean NPA of red and infrared ear canal PPGs had dropped only by 0.2 and 13% respectively. The SpO(Formula presented.)s estimated from the finger sensor have dropped below 90% in five volunteers (failure) by the end of the cold exposure. The ear canal sensor, on the other hand, had only failed in one volunteer. These results strongly suggest that the ear canal may be used as a suitable alternative site for monitoring PPGs and arterial blood oxygen saturation at times were peripheral perfusion is compromised

How to Select Replacement Grafts for Various Periodontal and Implant Indications

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141520/1/cap0167.pd

Parkinsonism caused by adverse drug reactions: a case series

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Parkinsonism puts a high direct cost burden on both patient and caregiver. Several reports of drug-induced parkinsonism have been published, but to the best of our knowledge, there has not been any report of quinine or halothane inducing parkinsonism.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We describe two cases of parkinsonism possibly caused by adverse drug reaction to quinine in a 29-year-old black Nigerian woman and to halothane in a 36-year-old black Hausa (Nigerian) man who received it as general anaesthesia for appendicectomy in our teaching hospital.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These are two unusual cases of parkinsonism caused by adverse drug reactions to high-dose quinine and to halothane as general anaesthesia. We consider that these two cases are important in bringing this potential side-effect to the attention of both pharmacologists and primary care physicians as these are two of the most commonly used medications in our clinics. We conclude that parkinsonism should be included among the adverse drug reactions to high-dose quinine and halothane general anaesthetic.</p

Emotional intelligence buffers the effect of physiological arousal on dishonesty

We studied the emotional processes that allow people to balance two competing desires: benefitting from dishonesty and keeping a positive self-image. We recorded physiological arousal (skin conductance and heart rate) during a computer card game in which participants could cheat and fail to report a certain card when presented on the screen to avoid losing their money. We found that higher skin conductance corresponded to lower cheating rates. Importantly, emotional intelligence regulated this effect; participants with high emotional intelligence were less affected by their physiological reactions than those with low emotional intelligence. As a result, they were more likely to profit from dishonesty. However, no interaction emerged between heart rate and emotional intelligence. We suggest that the ability to manage and control emotions can allow people to overcome the tension between doing right or wrong and license them to bend the rules

Cell surface properties of Pseudomonas stutzeri in the process of diesel oil biodegradation

Pseudomonas stutzeri, isolated from crude oil-contaminated soil, was used to degrade diesel oil. Of three surfactants, 120 mg rhamnolipids 1−1 significantly increased degradation of diesel oil giving 88% loss after 14 days compared to 54% loss without the surfactant. The system with rhamnolipids was characterised by relatively high particle homogeneity. However, the addition of saponins to diesel oil caused the cells to aggregate (the polydispersity index: 0.542) and the biodegradation of diesel oil was only 46%. The cell yield was 0.22 g l−1