Spanish version of the Oral Health Impact Profile (OHIP-Sp)

BACKGROUND: The need for appraisal of oral health-related quality of life has been increasingly recognized over the last decades. The aims of this study were to develop a Spanish version (OHIP-Sp) of the Oral Health Impact Profile and to evaluate its convergent and discriminative validity, and its internal consistency. METHODS: The original 49-items OHIP was translated to Spanish, revised for understanding and semantics by two independent dentists, and then translated back to English by an independent bilingual dentist. The data originated in a cross sectional study conducted among high school students from the Province of Santiago, Chile. The study group was sampled using a multistage random cluster procedure yielding 9,203 students aged 12–21 years. All selected students were invited to participate and all filled a questionnaire with information on socio-demographic factors; oral health related behaviors; and self-reported oral health status (good, fair or poor). From this group, 9,163 students also accepted to fill a detailed questionnaire on socio-economic indicators and to receive a clinical examination comprising direct recordings of clinical attachment levels (CAL) in molars and incisors, tooth loss, and the presence of necrotizing ulcerative gingival lesions. RESULTS: The participation rate and the questionnaire completeness were high with OHIP-Sp total scores being computed for 9,133 subjects. Self-perceived oral health status was associated with the total OHIP-Sp score and all its domains (Spearman rank correlation). The OHIP-Sp total score was also directly associated with the 4 dental outcomes investigated (Mann-Whitney test) and the largest impact was found for the outcomes, 'tooth loss' with a mean OHIP-Sp score = 13.5 and 'CAL >= 3 mm' with a mean OHIP-Sp score = 13.0. CONCLUSION: The OHIP-Sp revealed suitable convergent and discriminative validity and appropriate internal consistency (Cronbach's α). Further studies on OHIP-Sp warrant the inclusion of populations with a higher disease burden; and the use of test-retest reliability exercises to evaluate the stability of the test

Digital payments adoption research: A meta-analysis for generalising the effects of attitude, cost, innovativeness, mobility and price value on behavioural intention

yesThe rapid evolution of mobile-based technologies and applications has led to the development of several different forms of digital payment methods (DPMs) but with limited enthusiasm in consumers for adopting them. Hence, several academic studies have already been conducted to examine the role of various antecedents that determines consumers’ intention to adopt DPMs. The degree of effect and significance of several antecedents found to be inconsistent across different studies. This provided us a basis for undertaking a meta-analysis of existing research for estimating the cumulative effect of such antecedents. Therefore, this study aims to perform a meta-analysis of five antecedents (i.e. attitude, cost, mobility, price value and innovativeness) for confirming their overall influence on intentions to adopt DPMs. The results of this study suggest that the cumulative effect of four out of five antecedents found to be significant while influence of price value was found insignificant on behavioural intentions. The recommendations drawn from this research would help to decide if and when to use such antecedents for predicting consumer intention to adopt DPMs

An in vitro collagen perfusion wound biofilm model; with applications for antimicrobial studies and microbial metabolomics

BackgroundThe majority of in vitro studies of medically relevant biofilms involve the development of biofilm on an inanimate solid surface. However, infection in vivo consists of biofilm growth on, or suspended within, the semi-solid matrix of the tissue, whereby current models do not effectively simulate the nature of the in vivo environment. This paper describes development of an in vitro method for culturing wound associated microorganisms in a system that combines a semi-solid collagen gel matrix with continuous flow of simulated wound fluid. This enables culture of wound associated reproducible steady state biofilms under conditions that more closely simulate the dynamic wound environment. To demonstrate the use of this model the antimicrobial kinetics of ceftazidime, against both mature and developing Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms, was assessed. In addition, we have shown the potential application of this model system for investigating microbial metabolomics by employing selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) to monitor ammonia and hydrogen cyanide production by Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms in real-time. ResultsThe collagen wound biofilm model facilitates growth of steady-state reproducible Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms under wound like conditions. A maximum biofilm density of 1010 cfu slide-1 was achieved by 30 hours of continuous culture and maintained throughout the remainder of the experiment. Treatment with ceftazidime at a clinically relevant dose resulted in a 1.2 – 1.6 log reduction in biofilm density at 72 hours compared to untreated controls. Treatment resulted in loss of complex biofilm architecture and morphological changes to bacterial cells, visualised using confocal microscopy. When monitoring the biofilms using SIFT-MS, ammonia and hydrogen cyanide levels peaked at 12 hours at 2273 ppb (±826.4) and 138 ppb (±49.1) respectively and were detectable throughout experimentation. ConclusionsThe collagen wound biofilm model has been developed to facilitate growth of reproducible biofilms under wound-like conditions. We have successfully used this method to: (1) evaluate antimicrobial efficacy and kinetics, clearly demonstrating the development of antimicrobial tolerance in biofilm cultures; (2) characterise volatile metabolite production by P. aeruginosa biofilms, demonstrating the potential use of this method in metabolomics studies

Health and Oral Health Care Needs and Health Care-Seeking Behavior Among Homeless Injection Drug Users in San Francisco

Few existing studies have examined health and oral health needs and treatment-seeking behavior among the homeless and injection drug users (IDUs). This paper describes the prevalence and correlates of health and oral health care needs and treatment-seeking behaviors in homeless IDUs recruited in San Francisco, California, from 2003 to 2005 (N = 340). We examined sociodemographic characteristics, drug use patterns, HIV status via oral fluid testing, physical health using the Short Form 12 Physical Component Score, self-reported needs for physical and oral health care, and the self-reported frequency of seeking medical and oral health care. The sample had a lower health status as compared to the general population and reported a frequent need for physical and oral health care. In bivariate analysis, being in methadone treatment was associated with care-seeking behavior. In addition, being enrolled in Medi-Cal, California’s state Medicaid program, was associated with greater odds of seeking physical and oral health care. Methamphetamine use was not associated with higher odds of needing oral health care as compared to people who reported using other illicit drugs. Homeless IDUs in San Francisco have a large burden of unmet health and oral health needs. Recent cuts in Medi-Cal’s adult dental coverage may result in a greater burden of oral health care which will need to be provided by emergency departments and neighborhood dental clinics

A Review on Automatic Analysis of Human Embryo Microscope Images

Over the last 30 years the process of in vitro fertilisation (IVF) has evolved considerably, yet the efficiency of this treatment remains relatively poor. The principal challenge faced by doctors and embryologists is the identification of the embryo with the greatest potential for producing a child. Current methods of embryo viability assessment provide only a rough guide to potential. In order to improve the odds of a successful pregnancy it is typical to transfer more than one embryo to the uterus. However, this often results in multiple pregnancies (twins, triplets, etc), which are associated with significantly elevated risks of serious complications. If embryo viability could be assessed more accurately, it would be possible to transfer fewer embryos without negatively impacting IVF pregnancy rates. In order to assist with the identification of viable embryos, several scoring systems based on morphological criteria have been developed. However, these mostly rely on a subjective visual analysis. Automated assessment of morphological features offers the possibility of more accurate quantification of key embryo characteristics and elimination of inter- and intra-observer variation. In this paper, we describe the main embryo scoring systems currently in use and review related works on embryo image analysis that could lead to an automatic and precise grading of embryo quality. We summarise achievements, discuss challenges ahead, and point to some possible future directions in this research field

Synergids and filiform apparatus in the sexual and apomictic dandelions from section Palustria (Taraxacum, Asteraceae)

An evolutionary trend to reduce “unnecessary costs” associated with the sexual reproduction of their amphimictic ancestors, which may result in greater reproductive success, has been observed among the obligatory apomicts. However, in the case of the female gametophyte, knowledge about this trend in apomicts is not sufficient because most of the ultrastructural studies of the female gametophyte have dealt with amphimictic angiosperms. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that, in contrast to amphimictic plants, synergids in apomictic embryo sacs do not form a filiform apparatus. We compared the synergid structure in two dandelions from sect. Palustria: the amphimictic diploid Taraxacum tenuifolium and the apomictic tetraploid, male-sterile Taraxacum brandenburgicum. Synergids in both species possessed a filiform apparatus. In T. brandenburgicum, both synergids persisted for a long time without any degeneration, in spite of the presence of an embryo and endosperm. We propose that the persistent synergids in apomicts may play a role in the transport of nutrients to the embryo

The Werner Syndrome Protein Suppresses Telomeric Instability Caused by Chromium (VI) Induced DNA Replication Stress

Telomeres protect the chromosome ends and consist of guanine-rich repeats coated by specialized proteins. Critically short telomeres are associated with disease, aging and cancer. Defects in telomere replication can lead to telomere loss, which can be prevented by telomerase-mediated telomere elongation or activities of the Werner syndrome helicase/exonuclease protein (WRN). Both telomerase and WRN attenuate cytotoxicity induced by the environmental carcinogen hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)), which promotes replication stress and DNA polymerase arrest. However, it is not known whether Cr(VI)-induced replication stress impacts telomere integrity. Here we report that Cr(VI) exposure of human fibroblasts induced telomeric damage as indicated by phosphorylated H2AX (γH2AX) at telomeric foci. The induced γH2AX foci occurred in S-phase cells, which is indicative of replication fork stalling or collapse. Telomere fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) of metaphase chromosomes revealed that Cr(VI) exposure induced an increase in telomere loss and sister chromatid fusions that were rescued by telomerase activity. Human cells depleted for WRN protein exhibited a delayed reduction in telomeric and non-telomeric damage, indicated by γH2AX foci, during recovery from Cr(VI) exposure, consistent with WRN roles in repairing damaged replication forks. Telomere FISH of chromosome spreads revealed that WRN protects against Cr(VI)-induced telomere loss and downstream chromosome fusions, but does not prevent chromosome fusions that retain telomere sequence at the fusion point. Our studies indicate that environmentally induced replication stress leads to telomere loss and aberrations that are suppressed by telomerase-mediated telomere elongation or WRN functions in replication fork restoration