Evaluation of young smokers and non-smokers with Electrogustometry and Contact Endoscopy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Smoking is the cause of inducing changes in taste functionality under conditions of chronic exposure. The objective of this study was to evaluate taste sensitivity in young smokers and non-smokers and identify any differences in the shape, density and vascularisation of the fungiform papillae (fPap) of their tongue.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Sixty-two male subjects who served in the Greek military forces were randomly chosen for this study. Thirty-four were non-smokers and 28 smokers. Smokers were chosen on the basis of their habit to hold the cigarette at the centre of their lips. Taste thresholds were measured with Electrogustometry (EGM). The morphology and density of the fungiform papillae (fPap) at the tip of the tongue were examined with Contact Endoscopy (CE).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There was found statistically important difference (<it>p </it>< 0.05) between the taste thresholds of the two groups although not all smokers presented with elevated taste thresholds: Six of them (21%) had taste thresholds similar to those of non-smokers. Differences concerning the shape and the vessels of the fungiform papillae between the groups were also detected. Fewer and flatter fPap were found in 22 smokers (79%).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The majority of smokers shown elevated taste thresholds in comparison to non-smokers. Smoking is an important factor which can lead to decreased taste sensitivity. The combination of methods, such as EGM and CE, can provide useful information about the vascularisation of taste buds and their functional ability.</p

Synthesis of a Novel Adsorbing Agent by Coupling Chitosan, β-Cyclodextrin, and Cerium Dioxide: Evaluation of Hexavalent Chromium Removal Efficacy from Aqueous Solutions

The present study aimed at synthesizing a novel adsorbing agent by coupling chitosan, β-cyclodextrin, and cerium dioxide (Chit/β-CyD/Ce). Its efficiency towards the removal of hexavalent chromium from aqueous solutions was studied and compared to an adsorbent comprising of only chitosan and cerium dioxide. Batch water purification experiments in varying experimental conditions (initial adsorbent concentration 5–100 mg/L, adsorbate concentration 0.1–2 g/L, pH 2–11, and temperature 15–50 °C) were carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of both adsorbents. In all the experimental cases, the Chit/β-CyD/Ce adsorbent exhibited the higher efficacy. The optimum operating conditions were found to be at an initial adsorbent concentration of 2 g/L, pH = 3, and temperature of 50 °C, with the Chit/β-CyD/Ce adsorbent being able to fully remove Cr(VI) from solutions with up to 50 mg/L Cr(VI) at these conditions. The adsorption of hexavalent chromium onto both adsorbents occurs in a multilayer pattern of a heterogeneous surface following the Freundlich isotherm model. Furthermore, the adsorption process was exothermic and obeyed the pseudo-second-order kinetic model, thus indicating the occurrence of chemisorption. Finally, FTIR, XRD, and SEM analyses were performed to characterize the synthesized adsorbents and verify the adsorption process

Contribution of Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAEs) to the study of aminoglycoside induced ototoxicity

Objectives: The ototoxic effects of aminoglycosides, such as gentamicin and amikacin, are well-established. Otoacoustic emissions have been reported to be more sensitive in early detection of hearing loss than other methods, such as the conventional pure tone audiometry. This study aimed to investigate the ability of the Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAEs) to detect early changes of the cochlear activity following administration of aminoglycosides.Materials and method: This is a prospective experimental study. Eight rabbits were included in the study. Three of the subjects were injected intramuscularly with amikacin and another three with gentamicin. One rabbit from each group was injected with a combination of aminoglycoside and fourosemide. All the animals were subjected to DPOAEs every two days since the beginning of the experiment for 14 days. Two animals were used as a control group.Results: Differences in the time of detection of changes of cochlear function were noticed between the animals that received gentamicin, gentamicin and furosemide, amikacin or amikacin and furosemide. The control animals did not present changes of cochlear function over the 14 days of the experiment.Conclusions: DPOAEs are objective, noninvasive and rapid measures used to determine cochlear function. As a method it has the ability to detect abnormal cochlear activity in early stages when hearing impairment caused by ototoxic drugs, such as aminoglycosides has not been established