Impact of Physical Stress on Salivary Buffering Capacity

Background: Saliva has many properties and the buffering capacity is important for the neutralization of oral fluids. It is unclear whether stressful conditions directly affect salivary buffering capacity, and we investigated the impact of physical stress on salivary buffering capacity. Methods: Twelve participants were subjected to the physical stress of jogging and running. The salivary buffering capacity and flow rate of the participants were measured before and after exposure to stressful conditions. Salivary α-amylase activity was measured as a quantitative index of stress. Results: No change in buffering capacity was detected among each time point during the whole course under physically stressful conditions. Next, we examined the change in buffering capacity after jogging compared to baseline. Six participants showed an increase in buffering capacity (Group A), while the other six participants showed a decrease or no change (Group B) after jogging. Group B showed a decrease in flow rate and increases in α-amylase activity and protein level after jogging, whereas Group A showed no changes in these properties. Conclusions: The results suggest that salivary buffering capacity changes following exposure to physically stressful conditions, and that the changes are dependent on the stress susceptibility of individuals

The Economic Value of Hydrological Services in Mendalam Sub Watershed, Kapuas Hulu Regency, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Forest ecosystem supports almost all of the needs of human being through its contribution of tangible and intangible values. Currently, the intangible values have gained less attention than the tangible values that cause underestimation of the total value of the forest conversion into other more tangibly profitable USAges, and miss-management of the forest. One of the important intangible values is the hydrological value that has been hardly calculated until now. This research the intangible values of water for household, transportation, agriculture and fishing in Mendalam Sub Watershed, Kalimantan. The economic values calculated based on market prices, opportunity costs and consumer\u27s surplus methods. The results showed that based on the opportunity cost method the economic values of the hydrological services was about Rp 8,043,706,237.50 per year. Meanwhile, the economic values of the hydrological services based on the consumer\u27s surplus method gave lower value than the former method, i.e. Rp 8,031,351,664.60 per year. This study showed that the economic value of the hydrological services was very high, which has not been included in the calculation yet. However, without trees there would be no forest and all other values included water value would not exist. Consequently, current forest management should put forest ecosystem as important to consider

Evaluation of Step-Down Oral Antibiotic Therapy for Uncomplicated Streptococcal Bloodstream Infections on Clinical Outcomes

Background: Despite the severity and frequency of streptococcal bloodstream infections (BSIs), the effectiveness of oral definitive therapy remains unknown. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical outcomes of step-down oral antibiotics for the treatment of uncomplicated streptococcal BSIs. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, adult patients admitted with uncomplicated streptococcal BSI between June 2015 and June 2017 were included. Patients were excluded if they received \u3c48 h of antibiotic therapy; therapy was started \u3e48 h after first positive culture; had complicated infections of endocarditis, bone and joint infections, or central nervous system infections; Pitt bacteremia score (PBS) ⩾ 4; or failed to respond to effective therapy necessitating continued intravenous (IV) therapy. Patients were grouped by receipt of step-down oral antibiotic therapy (PO group) versus continued IV therapy (IV group). Outcomes included hospital length of stay (LOS), 30-day recurrence of BSI, 30-day readmission, 30-day all-cause mortality, and catheter-related or drug-related adverse events (AEs). Results: Of 244 patients included, 40% received step-down oral therapy (n = 98). Overall, the most common source of BSI was pneumonia (22%), followed by skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) (18%). Severity of illness measured by intensive care unit (ICU) admission and PBS was similar. The IV group had significantly longer LOS [median 10 (interquartile range [IQR] = 5– 21) versus 5 (4–6) days, p \u3c 0.01] compared with the PO group. BSI recurrence, readmission, all-cause mortality within 30 days, and AEs were similar between the groups (p = ns). Conclusion: In uncomplicated streptococcal BSI, patients treated with step-down oral antibiotic therapy had significantly shorter LOS compared with continued IV therapy without compromise of clinical outcomes

The development of a 14-day non-viral engineered CAR T-cell process

Immunotherapy utilizing chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T cells is a promising strategy for the treatment of several types of cancer. Many preclinical and clinical studies engineer CAR T cells through a viral vector, presenting the potential for genotoxicity or insertional mutagenesis. We propose a 14-day non-viral process where we introduce the gene of interest via electroporation; integration can be achieved with the Sleeping Beauty transposon system. Minicircle (MC) DNA constructs containing the CAR, a surface marker (EGFRt), and a double mutant of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFRdm) are electroporated into previously frozen, unstimulated CD4/CD8 T cells with an RNA construct coding for the Sleeping Beauty transposase. After electroporation, cells are bead-stimulated with CD3/CD28 without the use of feeder cells throughout the process. CAR+ cells expressing DHFRdm are rendered insensitive to an FDA-approved small molecule drug, methotrexate (MTX), which allows for chemical selection of the cells of interest while avoiding a magnetic bead sort. The entire process is completed in 2 weeks with a media formulation that contains a serum-free replacement. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Effect of V and N on the microstructure evolution during continuous casting of steel

Low Carbon (LC) steel is not expected to be sensitive to hot tearing and/or cracking while microalloyed steels are known for their high cracking sensitivity during continuous casting. Experience of the Direct Sheet Plant caster at Tata Steel in Ijmuiden (the Netherlands), seems to contradict this statement. It is observed that a LC steel grade has a high risk of cracking alias hot tearing, while a High Strength Low Alloyed (HSLA) steel has a very low cracking occurrence. Another HSLA steel grade, with a similar composition but less N and V is however very sensitive to hot tearing. An extreme crack results in a breakout. A previous statistical analysis of the breakout occurrence reveals a one and a half times higher possibility of a breakout for the HSLA grade compared to the LC grade. HSLA with extra N, V shows a four times smaller possibility of breakout than LC. This study assigns the unexpected effect of the chemical composition on the hot tearing sensitivity to the role of some alloying elements such as V and N as structure refiners.This research was carried out under project number M41.5.08320 within the framework of the Research Program of the Materials innovation institute M2i (www.m2i.nl)

Evaluasi Toleransi Tanaman Kedelai (Glycine Max (L.) Merrill) Generasi M3 Hasil Radiasi Sinar Gamma Terhadap Salinitas

The objective of the research is to know the tolerance of M3 soybean generation radiated by gamma ray to salinity. The research was conducted on the Experimental Farm Faculty of Agriculture, University of North Sumatra,, from December 2011 – March 2012. Randomized block design was used with two treatments i.e : population of M3 soybean (0, 10, 20, 30 krad per plant) and NaCl concentration (0, 1500, 3000, 4500 ppm). Parameters measured were plant germination, viability, high of plant, the number of node per plant, the number of branch, root longth, weigh of dry root, weigh of dry leaves, the number of pods per plant, the number of empty pods per plant and weigh of 100 seed. M3 soybeans showed significant diffrent on root longth and weigh of dry root. NaCl concentration affect were significantly to plant germination and viability.The interaction between population M3 soybeans and NaCl concentration were significantly to the number of node per plant, the number of branch, weigh of dry leaves, the number of pods per plant, the number of empty pods per plant and weigh of 100 seed

Analisis Faktor Penentu Daya Saing Komoditas Pangan di Provinsi Jawa Tengah

This study identifies and analyzes competitiveness factors of food commodities in Central Java. The research data covers primary data with 245 respondents of food commodities sellers. The research method was using the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). AHP calculation results show that food competitivesness factors involve: a) the agricultural sector investment with a value of 0.28; b) agricultural infrastructure with a value of 0.24; c) government program of food security and safety with a value of 0.20; d) government\u27s active role in supervision of food with a value of 0.18; e) the accessibility of local food commodities with a value of 0.06; and f) the high demand for domestic food with a value of 0.05