Jaw Osteonecrosis in Patients Receiving Oral Bisphosphonates Therapy

Abstract We describe the cases of three patients, under the care of the rheumatology service, who presented with osteonecrosis of the jaw whist on oral bisphosphonate therapy. The first case is of a 74-year-old woman with a 12 year history of sero-negative inflammatory arthritis, having been on oral steroids for 11 years, Methotrexate for the preceding 6 years, and oral bisphosphonates for 9 years. Clinical and radiographic examination revealed extensive jaw necrosis. The second patient was a 72-year-old woman with temporal arteritis, on long term oral steroids, and oral bisphosphonates presenting with jaw osteonecrosis. The third case is of an 81-year-old lady with a diagnosis of Polymyalgia Rheumatica on reducing dose of prednisolone along with calcium and vitamin D3 and oral bisphosphonate therapy as part of steroid induced prophylaxis guidelines. On reviewing the literature regarding bisphosphonate-associated osteonecrosis of the jaw, there is indeed recognition of this occurring with oral bisphosphonates. However, this is far less common than with intravenous preparations. Reports to the UK MHRA regarding adverse reactions have shown 53 cases of osteonecrosis of the jaw associated with oral bisphosphonates, but this is thought to represent under-reporting. We suggest consideration of patient counselling and consent, and preventive dental work prior to initiation of oral bisphosphonate therapy

Coupled Information Diffusion–Pest Dynamics Models Predict Delayed Benefits of Farmer Cooperation in Pest Management Programs

Worldwide, the theory and practice of agricultural extension system have been dominated for almost half a century by Rogers' “diffusion of innovation theory”. In particular, the success of integrated pest management (IPM) extension programs depends on the effectiveness of IPM information diffusion from trained farmers to other farmers, an important assumption which underpins funding from development organizations. Here we developed an innovative approach through an agent-based model (ABM) combining social (diffusion theory) and biological (pest population dynamics) models to study the role of cooperation among small-scale farmers to share IPM information for controlling an invasive pest. The model was implemented with field data, including learning processes and control efficiency, from large scale surveys in the Ecuadorian Andes. Our results predict that although cooperation had short-term costs for individual farmers, it paid in the long run as it decreased pest infestation at the community scale. However, the slow learning process placed restrictions on the knowledge that could be generated within farmer communities over time, giving rise to natural lags in IPM diffusion and applications. We further showed that if individuals learn from others about the benefits of early prevention of new pests, then educational effort may have a sustainable long-run impact. Consistent with models of information diffusion theory, our results demonstrate how an integrated approach combining ecological and social systems would help better predict the success of IPM programs. This approach has potential beyond pest management as it could be applied to any resource management program seeking to spread innovations across populations

Can volatile organic metabolites be used to simultaneously assess microbial and mite contamination level in cereal grains and coffee beans?

A novel approach based on headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) combined with comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GC×GC-ToFMS) was developed for the simultaneous screening of microbial and mite contamination level in cereals and coffee beans. The proposed approach emerges as a powerful tool for the rapid assessment of the microbial contamination level (ca. 70 min versus ca. 72 to 120 h for bacteria and fungi, respectively, using conventional plate counts), and mite contamination (ca. 70 min versus ca. 24 h). A full-factorial design was performed for optimization of the SPME experimental parameters. The methodology was applied to three types of rice (rough, brown, and white rice), oat, wheat, and green and roasted coffee beans. Simultaneously, microbiological analysis of the samples (total aerobic microorganisms, moulds, and yeasts) was performed by conventional plate counts. A set of 54 volatile markers was selected among all the compounds detected by GC×GC-ToFMS. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was applied in order to establish a relationship between potential volatile markers and the level of microbial contamination. Methylbenzene, 3-octanone, 2-nonanone, 2-methyl-3-pentanol, 1-octen-3-ol, and 2-hexanone were associated to samples with higher microbial contamination level, especially in rough rice. Moreover, oat exhibited a high GC peak area of 2-hydroxy-6-methylbenzaldehyde, a sexual and alarm pheromone for adult mites, which in the other matrices appeared as a trace component. The number of mites detected in oat grains was correlated to the GC peak area of the pheromone. The HS-SPME/GC×GC-ToFMS methodology can be regarded as the basis for the development of a rapid and versatile method that can be applied in industry to the simultaneous assessment the level of microbiological contamination and for detection of mites in cereals grains and coffee beans

Study on the solar radiations and their role in controlling the dynamics of ionospheric irregulations.

It studies the powers emitted by bremsstrahlung, synchorotron and inverse Compton mechanisms calculated from different proton densities and magnetic fields. The photon spectrum due to inverse Compton mechanism is also calculated with electron power index between 1.5 and 6.The photon spectrum due to the bremsstrahlung process is investigated for thermal and non-thermal electron distributions