The Prevalence And Severity of Periodontal Disease in Different Stages of Pregnancy and in Women Taking Oral (Contraceptive Pills) in Sulaimani City, Kurdistan Region, Iraq

Background: Pregnant women   show an  increased  susceptibility to  periodontal diseases due to an exaggerated inflammatory response of gingival tissue to local irritant  factors such as ,dental plaque and calculus. Aim: The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence and the severity of periodontal disease at different stages of pregnancy. Subject and method: The sample consists of (125) women from  Private Clinic , Primary Health Care Centre and Maternity Hospital in Sulaimani city, Kurdistan Region, Iraq . They were divided into three main groups . Group one, which included (75) pregnant women and this group was  subdivided equally into three subgroups according to their trimester            (1st trimester , 2 nd trimester and 3 rd trimester). Group two, which included (25) women receiving oral contraceptives pills , and match in age with group1 . Group three ( control group), which included 25 women , and match in age with group 1 and group 2 , and the following parameters were measured : Plaque index ( PL1); Ginigival index ( G1) ; periodontal pocket depth ( PPD);Bleeding on probing(BOP); Gingival Crevicular fluid(GCF). Results: The  results showed high prevalence of gingivitis .The highest mean score of ( GI) was found in the pregnancy group ; less in oral contraceptive group, and finally the control group .Comparison between the (3) main groups showed significant difference.(p<0.05 ) . GCF showed the same pattern as PLI and GI, and the total mean score was highest in the pregnancy group ; less in oral contraceptive group and finally the control group. Comparison between the 3 main groups declared significant difference ( p<0.05) similar to the PLI and GI.       The highest percentage of PPD was mostly found in the pregnancy group and less in contraceptive group .Comparison between the( 3) main groups showed high significant difference, while between pregnancy and oral contraceptive decleared significant difference   ( P< 0.05 ). The   high percentage of bleeding on probing   ( score 1) was found in the pregnancy group, followed by oral contraceptive and finally the control group. There was no prevalence of pregnancy tumor ( pregnancy epulis ) in the three subgroups of pregnant women . Conclusion: Major changes in clinical parameters   ( PLI, GL, BOP, PPD, and GCF ) occurred during the 2nd and 3rd trimesters and to a lesser extent during contraceptio

Rabies Management Implications Based on Raccoon Population Density Indexes

An estimate or index of target species density is important in determining oral rabies vaccination (ORV) bait densities to control and eliminate specific rabies variants. From 1997–2011, we indexed raccoon (Procyon lotor) densities 253 times based on cumulative captures on 163 sites from Maine to Alabama, USA, near ORV zones created to prevent raccoon rabies from spreading to new areas. We conducted indexing under a common cage trapping protocol near the time of annual ORV to aid in bait density decisions. Unique raccoons (n = 8,415) accounted for 68.0% of captures (n = 12,367). We recaptured raccoons 2,669 times. We applied Schnabel and Huggins mark‐recapture models on sites with ≥3 years of capture data and ≥25% recaptures as context for raccoon density indexes (RDIs). Simple linear relationships between RDIs and mark‐recapture estimates supported application of our 2 index. Raccoon density indexes ranged from 0.0–56.9 raccoons/km . For bait density decisions, we evaluated RDIs in the following 4 raccoon density groups, which were statistically different: (0.0–5.0 [n = 70], 5.1–15.0 [n = 129], 15.1–25.0 [n = 31], and \u3e25.0 raccoons/km2 [n = 23]). Mean RDI was positively associated with a higher percentage of developed land cover and a lower percentage of evergreen forest. Non‐target species composition (excluding recaptured raccoons) accounted for 32.0% of captures. Potential bait competitors accounted for 76.5% of non‐targets. The opossum (Didelphis virginiana) was the primary potential bait competitor from 27°N to 44°N latitude, north of which it was numerically replaced by the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis). We selected the RDI approach over mark-recapture methods because of costs, geographic scope, staff availability, and the need for supplemental serologic samples. The 4 density groups provided adequate sensitivity to support bait density decisions for the current 2 bait density options. Future improvements to the method include providing random trapping locations to field personnel to prevent trap clustering and marking non‐targets to better characterize bait competitors

Persistence of dissolved organic matter explained by molecular changes during its passage through soil

Dissolved organic matter affects fundamental biogeochemical processes in the soil such as nutrient cycling and organic matter storage. The current paradigm is that processing of dissolved organic matter converges to recalcitrant molecules (those that resist degradation) of low molecular mass and high molecular diversity through biotic and abiotic processes. Here we demonstrate that the molecular composition and properties of dissolved organic matter continuously change during soil passage and propose that this reflects a continual shifting of its sources. Using ultrahigh-resolution mass spectrometry and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we studied the molecular changes of dissolved organic matter from the soil surface to 60 cm depth in 20 temperate grassland communities in soil type Eutric Fluvisol. Applying a semi-quantitative approach, we observed that plant-derived molecules were first broken down into molecules containing a large proportion of low-molecular-mass compounds. These low-molecular-mass compounds became less abundant during soil passage, whereas larger molecules, depleted in plant-related ligno-cellulosic structures, became more abundant. These findings indicate that the small plant-derived molecules were preferentially consumed by microorganisms and transformed into larger microbial-derived molecules. This suggests that dissolved organic matter is not intrinsically recalcitrant but instead persists in soil as a result of simultaneous consumption, transformation and formation

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection are often non-specific, and there is no definitive test for the accurate diagnosis of infection. The 'omics' approaches to identifying biomarkers from the host-response to bacterial infection are promising. In this study, lipidomic analysis was carried out with plasma samples obtained from febrile children with confirmed bacterial infection (n = 20) and confirmed viral infection (n = 20). We show for the first time that bacterial and viral infection produces distinct profile in the host lipidome. Some species of glycerophosphoinositol, sphingomyelin, lysophosphatidylcholine and cholesterol sulfate were higher in the confirmed virus infected group, while some species of fatty acids, glycerophosphocholine, glycerophosphoserine, lactosylceramide and bilirubin were lower in the confirmed virus infected group when compared with confirmed bacterial infected group. A combination of three lipids achieved an area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve of 0.911 (95% CI 0.81 to 0.98). This pilot study demonstrates the potential of metabolic biomarkers to assist clinicians in distinguishing bacterial from viral infection in febrile children, to facilitate effective clinical management and to the limit inappropriate use of antibiotics

Plasma lipid profiles discriminate bacterial from viral infection in febrile children

Fever is the most common reason that children present to Emergency Departments. Clinical signs and symptoms suggestive of bacterial infection ar

Thermal diffusion of iodine in UO2 and UO2+x

International audienceAn inter-laboratory comparison has provided enhanced confidence in a novel out-reactor method that has been developed for investigating the migration behaviour of fission products in oxide nuclear fuels. Changes in the distribution of ion-implanted fission products caused by thermal annealing or radiation damage are precisely determined using high-performance secondary ion mass spectrometry. Accurate measurements of iodine thermal diffusion in stoichiometric UO2on single-crystal as well as polycrystalline ceramic samples over the temperature range 1200DC to 1650DC for periods ranging from 1 h to 24 h have yielded a refined Arrhenius relationship. An increase in both the solubility and diffusion rate of iodine by two orders of magnitude compared to stoichiometric fuel was found when the annealing was performed at 1400DC under slightly oxidizing conditions sufficient to achieve a nominal O-U ratio of 2.02. These effects are consistent with the increase in the population of uranium lattice vacancies predicted by a thermodynamic model for the defect structure of UO2+x