Physiological concentration of human salivary histatins in glandular secretions and whole saliva

Includes bibliography: (leaves 114-124).Thesis (D.Sc.D.)--Boston University, Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, 1996 (Oral Biology).Histatins are a group of histidine-rich antimicrobial proteins present in human salivary secretions. Previous studies have shown that histatins play an important role in the maintenance of enamel integrity and defense against oral bacteria and fungal pathogens in the oral cavity. Because histatins differ in their ability to inhibit blastopore viability and germ tube formation, it is important to be able to quantitatively determine individual histatin concentrations. Such determinations would be essential for understanding and comparing the antibacterial activities of the saliva in healthy and diseased persons, and in finding a relation between individual histatin concentration and function. The present study is focused on determination of the physiological concentration of the major histatins 1, 3, and 5 in glandular secretions and whole saliva in order to evaluate the relationship of individual histatin concentrations to their functional capacity in the oral cavity. Human parotid and submandibular / sublingual secretions were collected from 19 healthy donors in the presence and absence of gustatocy stimulation. Whole saliva was collected from the same group of donors with masticatocy stimulation. A cationic polyaccylamide gel electrophoresis system (cationic PAGE) was used in combination with scanning densitometcy to measure the [TRUNCATED]

Interrelationship among magnesium, potassium and platelets in hypomagnesemic ewes

Sixteen Finnish cross bred ewes were used as models of cows on pasture in two experiments to investigate relationships between dietary magnesium (0.04 and 0.24% Mg), previous Mg status, potassium (0.7 and 3.5% K) and platelet function during pregnancy and lactation. In the first experiment, 12 ewes were assigned to four diets which contained either deficient or adequate Mg supplemented with adequate (diet 1 and 2) or high K (diet 3 and 4). In the second experiment eight ewes from the first experiment and eight ewe lambs born to ewes from the first experiment were fed either deficient (diet 1) or adequate Mg (diet 2) to investigate the effect of previous Mg status, either in utero or as an adult ewes, on later performance. Plasma Mg was higher (P\u3c.05) in ewes fed diet 2 than in those fed diet 1. Supplementing diets with high K (diet 3 and 4) increased (P\u3c.05) plasma K in ewes over those fed adequate K (diet 1 and 2) and lowered (P\u3c.05) plasma Mg in ewes fed Mg-adequate (diet 4) but not Mg-deficient diets (diet 3). Ewes fed adequate Mg plus adequate K (diet 2) had lower (P\u3c.05) systolic and diastolic blood pressure than those fed deficient Mg plus adequate K (diet 1). When K was high systolic, diastolic and mean arterial pressures were lower (P\u3c.05) in ewes fed a deficient Mg diet (diet 3) than in those fed the adequate Mg diet (diet 4). In vitro platelet delay time was longer and % aggregation velocity was higher (P\u3c.05) in ewes during the preliminary than the gestation periods. In vitro platelet reactivity measurements were not affected by Mg or K treatments in ewes after parturition or during lactation. Thromboxane B21α concentration was not affected. Previous Mg deficiency lowered (P\u3c.05) plasma K and increased (P\u3c.01) packed cell volume but had no effect on plasma Mg and Calcium (Ca). There was no effect of previous Mg deficiency in ewes on blood pressures or heart rate. In the second experiment feeding adequate Mg diets resulted in similar effects which were observed in the first experiment. Plasma K and blood glucose in ewes fed experimental diets were lower {P\u3c.01) during the second than in the first experiment and the ewes developed abnormal health problems before parturtion in the second experiment. The problem was recognized as copper (Cu) toxicity due to high Cu content of corn gluten meal and possibly low molybdenum (Mo) in the diets

Teaching Subtitling at Jordanian Universities: An Untapped Territory

The impact of globalization and the advent of satellite channels and digital technology have played an instrumental role in changing the audiovisual translation scene in Jordan. During the last two decades, the subtitling industry has flourished at an exponential rate as manifested in the number of institutions engaged in this form of translation, the quantity of multimodal texts commissioned for translation and the widening remit of translation activities conducted under the rubric of subtitling. The marked development in the subtitling industry, however, has not received adequate support from the academic institutions in the country. Departments that award undergraduate degrees in translation rarely teach courses in subtitling, and research conducted on the pedagogy of this kind of translation is almost nonexistent. This paper argues that courses in subtitling should be incorporated in the translation studies curricula offered at Jordanian universities not because these courses are an embellishment but because the benefits accrued from teaching this mode of translation are multifaceted. The paper highlights these benefits and examines whether the feedback from students exposed to subtitling activities reflects the importance of integrating this mode of audiovisual translation in BA translation programs offered at Jordanian universities

Reconciliation or Alienation: The Representation of the Syrian Refugee Crisis in the Jordanian Print Media: Al-Ghad Newspaper as a Case Study

The influx of Syrian refugees to Jordan is considered one of the most serious social events that the country has witnessed in decades. The unprecedented flow of refugees that received extensive coverage by the Jordanian print media played an instrumental role in shaping the representation of both the event and the actors involved in the crisis. This paper departs from the premise that news reports are “elements of social events” and as such employ language to change, maintain or inculcate the knowledge, beliefs and social relations shared by members of a society. To this end, Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) is adopted to investigate how Al-Ghad Newspaper uses language to represent and frame the Syrian refugee crisis and the Syrian refugees and considers whether this portrayal has contributed to the reconciliation or alienation of the Syrian refugees in the Jordanian society

A priori study of subgrid-scale features in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

At the crossroad between flow topology analysis and turbulence modeling, a priori studies are a reliable tool to understand the underlying physics of the subgrid-scale (SGS) motions in turbulent flows. In this paper, properties of the SGS features in the framework of a large-eddy simulation are studied for a turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC). To do so, data from direct numerical simulation (DNS) of a turbulent air-filled RBC in a rectangular cavity of aspect ratio unity and p spanwise open-ended distance are used at two Rayleigh numbers Ra € (108, 1010) [Dabbagh et al.,Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Software Defined Networking Opportunities for Intelligent Security Enhancement of Industrial Control Systems

In the last years, cyber security of Industrial Control Systems (ICSs) has become an important issue due to the discovery of sophisticated malware that by attacking Critical Infrastructures, could cause catastrophic safety results. Researches have been developing countermeasures to enhance cyber security for pre-Internet era systems, which are extremely vulnerable to threats. This paper presents the potential opportunities that Software Defined Networking (SDN) provides for the security enhancement of Industrial Control Networks. SDN permits a high level of configuration of a network by the separation of control and data planes. In this work, we describe the affinities between SDN and ICSs and we discuss about implementation strategies

Combining serological and contact data to derive target immunity levels for achieving and maintaining measles elimination

AbstractBackgroundVaccination has reduced the global incidence of measles to the lowest rates in history. However, local interruption of measles virus transmission requires sustained high levels of population immunity that can be challenging to achieve and maintain. The herd immunity threshold for measles is typically stipulated at 90–95%. This figure does not easily translate into age-specific immunity levels required to interrupt transmission. Previous estimates of such levels were based on speculative contact patterns based on historical data from high-income countries. The aim of this study was to determine age-specific immunity levels that would ensure elimination of measles when taking into account empirically observed contact patterns.MethodsWe combined estimated immunity levels from serological data in 17 countries with studies of age-specific mixing patterns to derive contact-adjusted immunity levels. We then compared these to case data from the 10 years following the seroprevalence studies to establish a contact-adjusted immunity threshold for elimination. We lastly combined a range of hypothetical immunity profiles with contact data from a wide range of socioeconomic and demographic settings to determine whether they would be sufficient for elimination.ResultsWe found that contact-adjusted immunity levels were able to predict whether countries would experience outbreaks in the decade following the serological studies in about 70% of countries. The corresponding threshold level of contact-adjusted immunity was found to be 93%, corresponding to an average basic reproduction number of approximately 14. Testing different scenarios of immunity with this threshold level using contact studies from around the world, we found that 95% immunity would have to be achieved by the age of five and maintained across older age groups to guarantee elimination. This reflects a greater level of immunity required in 5–9 year olds than established previously.ConclusionsThe immunity levels we found necessary for measles elimination are higher than previous guidance. The importance of achieving high immunity levels in 5–9 year olds presents both a challenge and an opportunity. While such high levels can be difficult to achieve, school entry provides an opportunity to ensure sufficient vaccination coverage. Combined with observations of contact patterns, further national and sub-national serological studies could serve to highlight key gaps in immunity that need to be filled in order to achieve national and regional measles elimination.</jats:sec

Prevalence and molecular characterization of Giardia intestinalis isolated from children and calves in Babylon province, Iraq

Background and Aim: Giardia intestinalis is one of the most prevalent intestinal parasites in humans and animals, and children in close contact with livestock are particularly at risk of infection. This study aimed to detect assemblages of G. intestinalis and determine the origin of zoonotic transmission of Giardia in children and calves in different parts of Babylon province, Iraq. Materials and Methods: One hundred stool samples from children (68 boys and 32 girls) and 100 fecal samples from calves (46 males and 54 females) of different ages were randomly collected. Molecular techniques were used to estimate the prevalence of G. intestinalis in children and calves. A nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed by targeting the triose phosphate isomerase gene in the samples to detect G. intestinalis assemblages. Results: The overall rates of infection with G. intestinalis in children and calves were 21% and 34%, respectively, using the conventional microscopic method. The results illustrated that 61.90% (13/21) and 38.09% (8/21) of positive samples from children were allocated to assemblages A and B, respectively (p > 0.05). In calves, assemblages A and B were detecte in 82.35% (28/34) and 17.64% (6/34) of positive samples from calves, respectively (p ≤ 0.001). Ten PCR products were sequenced and submitted to the GenBank database. Phylogenetic analysis detected five human sequences each belonging to G. intestinalis assemblages A (OM850335–OM850339) and B (OM850340–OM850344). Similarly, five calf sequences each belonged to G. intestinalis assemblages A (ON75756–ON757660) and B (ON757661–ON757665). Conclusion: The detection of large numbers of G. intestinalis assemblage A in both humans and cattle indicated that cattle could be a main source of zoonotic G. intestinalis infection in children in Babylon province, Iraq

Where Next for Microbiome Research?

The development of high-throughput sequencing technologies has transformed our capacity to investigate the composition and dynamics of the microbial communities that populate diverse habitats. Over the past decade, these advances have yielded an avalanche of metagenomic data. The current stage of “van Leeuwenhoek”–like cataloguing, as well as functional analyses, will likely accelerate as DNA and RNA sequencing, plus protein and metabolic profiling capacities and computational tools, continue to improve. However, it is time to consider: what’s next for microbiome research? The short pieces included here briefly consider the challenges and opportunities awaiting microbiome research

IL-22 mediates goblet cell hyperplasia and worm expulsion in intestinal helminth infection.

Type 2 immune responses are essential in protection against intestinal helminth infections. In this study we show that IL-22, a cytokine important in defence against bacterial infections in the intestinal tract, is also a critical mediator of anti-helminth immunity. After infection with Nippostrongylus brasiliensis, a rodent hookworm, IL-22-deficient mice showed impaired worm expulsion despite normal levels of type 2 cytokine production. The impaired worm expulsion correlated with reduced goblet cell hyperplasia and reduced expression of goblet cell markers. We further confirmed our findings in a second nematode model, the murine whipworm Trichuris muris. T.muris infected IL-22-deficient mice had a similar phenotype to that seen in N.brasiliensis infection, with impaired worm expulsion and reduced goblet cell hyperplasia. Ex vivo and in vitro analysis demonstrated that IL-22 is able to directly induce the expression of several goblet cell markers, including mucins. Taken together, our findings reveal that IL-22 plays an important role in goblet cell activation, and thus, a key role in anti-helminth immunity