Comparison of chemotherapy and hematopoietic stem cell transplantation pre and postterm DMFT scores: A preliminary study

Aims: Chemotherapy is frequently used as a conditioning regimen to destroy malignant marrow cells before transplantation. Xerostomia, dysphagia, altered taste perception, mucositis, soft‑tissue ulceration, and infection are common adverse oral effects of chemotherapy. The study was aimed to compare decayed, missing, filled teeth (DMFT) scores before and after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and chemotherapy.Materials and Methods: Thirty‑six patients undergoing HSCT were included in the study. Apre‑HSCT dental treatment protocol was implemented that consisted of restoration of all active carious lesions, treatment of periodontal infections, and extraction of all teeth with advanced periodontal disease. Upon completion of dental treatment, the importance of rigorous and effective oral hygiene was reemphasized, and patients were recalled 6 months later. DMFT scores were calculated prior to the initiation of HSCT treatment and 6 months after transplantation.Statistical Analysis Used: Regression analysis was used to evaluate the effects of HSCT and chemotherapy on DMFT scores.Results: Wilcoxon T test showed a statistically significant difference in DMFT scores before and after HSCT (P < 0.001). Conclusions: DMFT scores were found to increase after chemotherapy and HSCT, suggesting that the risk of infection is higher among HSCT patients when compared to other individuals. The results emphasize the need for dental examinations as an integral part of examination and treatment planning for patients undergoing HSCT and chemotherapy.Key words: Chemotherapy, decayed missing filled teeth scores, hematopoietic stem cell transplantatio

A Complete Classification of Higher Derivative Gravity in 3D and Criticality in 4D

We study the condition that the theory is unitary and stable in three-dimensional gravity with most general quadratic curvature, Lorentz-Chern-Simons and cosmological terms. We provide the complete classification of the unitary theories around flat Minkowski and (anti-)de Sitter spacetimes. The analysis is performed by examining the quadratic fluctuations around these classical vacua. We also discuss how to understand critical condition for four-dimensional theories at the Lagrangian level.Comment: 20 pages, v2: minor corrections, refs. added, v3: logic modified, v4: typos correcte

Noncritical Einstein-Weyl Gravity and the AdS/CFT Correspondence

We explore four-dimensional Einstein-Weyl gravity and supergravity on anti-de Sitter spacetime. For a specific range of the coupling with appropriate boundary conditions, we show the effective equivalence of the theory with Einstein gravity and AdS supergravity at the quadratic Lagrangian level. Furthermore we show that these equivalences can be promoted to the full nonlinear level. We also show that the similar behavior holds for the generalized Gibbons-Hawking terms. From this we find that the correlation functions in the dual conformal field theory of Einstein-Weyl gravity and supergravity can be readily read off from corresponding ones from Einstein gravity and AdS supergravity. We also give comments on some issues in critical gravity and supergravity as well as conformal gravity and supergravity.Comment: 20 pages, 1 figure: v2, references and footnote added, typos correcte

In Vivo Quantitative Study of Sized-Dependent Transport and Toxicity of Single Silver Nanoparticles Using Zebrafish Embryos

Nanomaterials possess distinctive physicochemical properties (e.g., small sizes and high surface area-to-volume ratios) and promise a wide variety of applications, ranging from the design of high quality consumer products to effective disease diagnosis and therapy. These properties can lead to toxic effects, potentially hindering advances in nanotechnology. In this study, we have synthesized and characterized purified and stable (nonaggregation) silver nanoparticles (Ag NPs, 41.6 ± 9.1 nm in average diameter) and utilized early developing (cleavage-stage) zebrafish embryos (critical aquatic and eco- species) as in vivo model organisms to probe the diffusion and toxicity of Ag NPs. We found that single Ag NPs (30-72 nm diameters) passively diffused into the embryos through chorionic pores via random Brownian motion and stayed inside the embryos throughout their entire development (120 hours-post-fertilization, hpf). Dose-and size-dependent toxic effects of the NPs on embryonic development were observed, showing the possibility of tuning biocompatibility and toxicity of the NPs. At lower concentrations of the NPs (≤0.02 nM), 75-91% of embryos developed into normal zebrafish. At the higher concentrations of NPs (≥0.20 nM), 100% of embryos became dead. At the concentrations in between (0.02-0.2 nM), embryos developed into various deformed zebrafish. Number and sizes of individual Ag NPs embedded in tissues of normal and deformed zebrafish at 120 hpf were quantitatively analyzed, showing deformed zebrafish with higher number of larger NPs than normal zebrafish and size-dependent nanotoxicity. By comparing with our previous studies of smaller Ag NPs (11.6 ± 3.5 nm), we found striking size-dependent nanotoxicity that, at the same molar concentration, the larger Ag NPs (41.6 ± 9.1 nm) are more toxic than the smaller Ag NPs (11.6 ± 3.5 nm)

Activated platelets in patients suffering from inflammatory bowel disease

Background: There is an increased risk of thromboembolic complications in inflammatory bowel disease. Activated platelets play a crucial role in the pathogenesis of this disease