In silico modelling to differentiate the contribution of sugar frequency versus total amount in driving biofilm dysbiosis in dental caries

Dental caries is the most prevalent infection globally and a substantial economic burden in developed countries. Dietary sugars are the main risk factor, and drive increased proportions of acid-producing and acid-tolerating (aciduric) bacterial species within dental bio lms. Recent longitudinal studies have suggested that caries is most strongly correlated with total sugar intake, contrasting with the prevailing view that intake frequency is the primary determinant. To explore this possibility, we employed a computational model for supragingival plaque to systematically sample combinations of sugar frequency and total amount, allowing their independent contributions on the ratio of aciduric (i.e. cariogenic) to non-aciduric bacteria to be unambiguously determined. Sugar frequency was found to be irrelevant for either very high or very low daily total amounts as the simulated bio lm was predicted to be always or never cariogenic, respectively. Frequency was a determining factor for intermediate total amounts of sugar, including the estimated average human consumption. An increased risk of caries (i.e. high prevalence of aciduric/non-aciduric species) was predicted for high intake frequencies. Thus, both total amount and frequency of sugar intake may combine to in uence plaque cariogenicity. These ndings could be employed to support public guidance for dietary change, leading to improved oral healthcare

Diffusion patterns of new anti-diabetic drugs into hospitals in Taiwan: the case of Thiazolidinediones for diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diffusion of new drugs in the health care market affects patients' access to new treatment options and health care expenditures. We examined how a new drug class for diabetes mellitus, thiazolidinediones (TZDs), diffused in the health care market in Taiwan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Assuming that monthly hospital prescriptions of TZDs could serve as a micro-market to perform drug penetration studies, we retrieved monthly TZD prescription data for 580 hospitals in Taiwan from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database for the period between March 1, 2001 and December 31, 2005. Three diffusion parameters, time to adoption, speed of penetration (monthly growth on prescriptions), and peak penetration (maximum monthly prescription) were evaluated. Cox proportional hazards model and quantile regressions were estimated for analyses on the diffusion parameters.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Prior hospital-level pharmaceutical prescription concentration significantly deterred the adoption of the new drug class (HR: 0.02, 95%CI = 0.01 to 0.04). Adoption of TZDs was slower in district hospitals (HR = 0.43, 95%CI = 0.24 to 0.75) than medical centers and faster in non-profit hospitals than public hospitals (HR = 1.79, 95%CI = 1.23 to 2.61). Quantile regression showed that penetration speed was associated with a hospital's prior anti-diabetic prescriptions (25%Q: 18.29; 50%Q: 25.57; 75%Q: 30.97). Higher peaks were found in hospitals that had adopted TZD early (25%Q: -40.33; 50%Q: -38.65; 75%Q: -32.29) and in hospitals in which the drugs penetrated more quickly (25%Q: 16.53; 50%Q: 24.91; 75%Q: 31.50).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Medical centers began to prescribe TZDs earlier, and they prescribed more TZDs at a faster pace. The TZD diffusion patterns varied among hospitals depending accreditation level, ownership type, and prescription volume of Anti-diabetic drugs.</p

Diffusion patterns of new anti-diabetic drugs into hospitals in Taiwan: the case of Thiazolidinediones for diabetes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diffusion of new drugs in the health care market affects patients' access to new treatment options and health care expenditures. We examined how a new drug class for diabetes mellitus, thiazolidinediones (TZDs), diffused in the health care market in Taiwan.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Assuming that monthly hospital prescriptions of TZDs could serve as a micro-market to perform drug penetration studies, we retrieved monthly TZD prescription data for 580 hospitals in Taiwan from Taiwan's National Health Insurance Research Database for the period between March 1, 2001 and December 31, 2005. Three diffusion parameters, time to adoption, speed of penetration (monthly growth on prescriptions), and peak penetration (maximum monthly prescription) were evaluated. Cox proportional hazards model and quantile regressions were estimated for analyses on the diffusion parameters.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Prior hospital-level pharmaceutical prescription concentration significantly deterred the adoption of the new drug class (HR: 0.02, 95%CI = 0.01 to 0.04). Adoption of TZDs was slower in district hospitals (HR = 0.43, 95%CI = 0.24 to 0.75) than medical centers and faster in non-profit hospitals than public hospitals (HR = 1.79, 95%CI = 1.23 to 2.61). Quantile regression showed that penetration speed was associated with a hospital's prior anti-diabetic prescriptions (25%Q: 18.29; 50%Q: 25.57; 75%Q: 30.97). Higher peaks were found in hospitals that had adopted TZD early (25%Q: -40.33; 50%Q: -38.65; 75%Q: -32.29) and in hospitals in which the drugs penetrated more quickly (25%Q: 16.53; 50%Q: 24.91; 75%Q: 31.50).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Medical centers began to prescribe TZDs earlier, and they prescribed more TZDs at a faster pace. The TZD diffusion patterns varied among hospitals depending accreditation level, ownership type, and prescription volume of Anti-diabetic drugs.</p

320-row CT: does beat-to-beat motion of the coronary arteries affect image quality?

Vascular Biology and Interventio

Uncovering the Importance of Selenium in Muscle Disease

A connection between selenium bioavailability and development of muscular disorders both in humans and livestock has been established for a long time. With the development of genomics, the function of several selenoproteins was shown to be involved in muscle activity, including SELENON, which was linked to an inherited form of myopathy. Development of animal models has helped to dissect the physiological dysfunction due to mutation in the SELENON gene; however the molecular activity remains elusive and only recent analysis using both in vivo and in vitro experiment provided hints toward its function in oxidative stress defence and calcium transport control. This review sets out to summarise most recent findings for the importance of selenium in muscle function and the contribution of this information to the design of strategies to cure the diseases

Is the karyotype of neotropical boid snakes really conserved? Cytotaxonomy, chromosomal rearrangements and karyotype organization in the Boidae family

Boids are primitive snakes from a basal lineage that is widely distributed in Neotropical region. Many of these species are both morphologically and biogeographically divergent, and the relationship among some species remains uncertain even with evolutionary and phylogenetic studies being proposed for the group. For a better understanding of the evolutionary relationship between these snakes, we cytogenetically analysed 7 species and 3 subspecies of Neotropical snakes from the Boidae family using different chromosomal markers. The karyotypes of Boa constrictor occidentalis, Corallus hortulanus, Eunectes notaeus, Epicrates cenchria and Epicrates assisi are presented here for the first time with the redescriptions of the karyotypes of Boa constrictor constrictor, B. c. amarali, Eunectes murinus and Epicrates crassus. The three subspecies of Boa, two species of Eunectes and three species of Epicrates exhibit 2n = 36 chromosomes. In contrast, C. hortulanus presented a totally different karyotype composition for the Boidae family, showing 2n = 40 chromosomes with a greater number of macrochromosomes. Furthermore, chromosomal mapping of telomeric sequences revealed the presence of interstitial telomeric sites (ITSs) on many chromosomes in addition to the terminal markings on all chromosomes of all taxa analysed, with the exception of E. notaeus. Thus, we demonstrate that the karyotypes of these snakes are not as highly conserved as previously thought. Moreover, we provide an overview of the current cytotaxonomy of the group. © 2016 Viana et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

The skin prick test - European standards

Peer reviewe