Experimental study of head shape effects on shear stress distribution around a single groyne

River hydrodynamicsInteraction with structure

Do symbiotic and vitamin e supplementation have favorite effects in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disease in the world. Oral administration of symbiotic and Vitamin E has been proposed as an effective treatment in NAFLD patients. This study was carried out to assess the effects of symbiotic and/or Vitamin E supplementation on liver enzymes, leptin, lipid profile, and some parameters of insulin resistance (IR) in NAFLD patients. Materials and Methods: We randomly assigned sixty NAFLD adult patients to receive (1) symbiotic twice daily + Vitamin E-like placebo capsule; (2) 400 IU/d Vitamin E + symbiotic-like placebo; (3) symbiotic twice daily + 400 IU/d Vitamin E; and (4) symbiotic-like placebo + Vitamin E-like placebo for 8 weeks. Results: Symbiotic plus Vitamin E supplementation led to a significant decrease in concentrations of liver transaminase (P � 0.05). Mean difference of apolipoprotein A-1 was more significant in symbiotic group compared to control. However, mean difference of apolipoprotein B100/A-1 was only significant in symbiotic group compared to control. At the end of the study, significant differences in total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) were seen between the symbiotic plus Vitamin E and control groups (P < 0.001). Furthermore, intake of symbiotic plus Vitamin E supplements led to a significant decrease in concentrations of triglycerides (TG) after the intervention. Significant differences in leptin, fasting blood sugar (FBS), and insulin levels were seen between the symbiotic plus Vitamin E and control groups at the end of the study (P < 0.001). In contrast, symbiotic and/or Vitamin E supplementation did not affect high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and homeostasis model assessment for IR levels. Conclusion: In our study, symbiotic plus Vitamin E supplementation was the most effective treatment in lowering liver enzymes, leptin, FBS, insulin, TG, TC, and LDL-C among NAFLD patients. © 2016 Journal of Research in Medical Sciences

Calorie restriction and synbiotics effect on quality of life and edema reduction in breast cancer-related lymphedema, a clinical trial

Background: Little evidence exists regarding the clinical value of synbiotics in the management of post-treatment complications of breast cancer especially breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL). This study aimed to investigate the effects of synbiotic supplementation along with calorie restriction on quality of life and edema volume in patients with BCRL. Methods: This randomized, placebo-controlled, clinical trial was conducted on 135 overweight and obese women with BCRL aged 18�65 years old. Participants were randomly allocated to receive a calorie-restricted diet plus 109 CFU synbiotic supplement (CRS group; n = 45) or placebo (CRP group; n = 45), daily for 10 weeks. Also, a control group (n = 45) with no intervention was included in the trial. All of the participants received Complete Decongestive Therapy for lymphedema treatment. The quality of life score, edema volume and body mass index (BMI) were measured at baseline and end of the trial. Results: A total of 121 subjects completed the trial. CRS group showed a significant decrease in the total quality of life score (P = 0.004), and it's psychosocial (P = 0.022) and functional (P = 0.002) domain scores, as well as edema volume (P = 0.002) and BMI (P &lt; 0.001) in comparison to the control. However, there were no significant differences in changes in trial outcomes between the CRS and CRP groups. Conclusion: Synbiotic supplementation along with a low-calorie diet was effective in quality of life, edema volume, and BMI improvement; mostly due to low-calorie diet. It seems that adding a dietitian consultation on the lymphedema management strategy may provide a better result in lymphedema control. © 2020 The Author(s

Modulation of the peripheral blood transcriptome by the ingestion of probiotic yoghurt and acidified milk in healthy, young men

The metabolic health benefits of fermented milks have already been investigated using clinical biomarkers but the development of transcriptomic analytics in blood offers an alternative approach that may help to sensitively characterise such effects. We aimed to assess the effects of probiotic yoghurt intake, compared to non-fermented, acidified milk intake, on clinical biomarkers and gene expression in peripheral blood. To this end, a randomised, crossover study was conducted in fourteen healthy, young men to test the two dairy products. For a subset of seven subjects, RNA sequencing was used to measure gene expression in blood collected during postprandial tests and after two weeks daily intake. We found that the postprandial response in insulin was different for probiotic yoghurt as compared to that of acidified milk. Moreover changes in several clinical biomarkers were associated with changes in the expression of genes representing six metabolic genesets. Assessment of the postprandial effects of each dairy product on gene expression by geneset enrichment analysis revealed significant, similar modulation of inflammatory and glycolytic genes after both probiotic yoghurt and acidified milk intake, although distinct kinetic characteristics of the modulation differentiated the dairy products. The aryl hydrocarbon receptor was a major contributor to the down-regulation of the inflammatory genesets and was also positively associated with changes in circulating insulin at 2h after yoghurt intake (p = 0.05). Daily intake of the dairy products showed little effect on the fasting blood transcriptome. Probiotic yoghurt and acidified milk appear to affect similar gene pathways during the postprandial phase but differences in the timing and the extent of this modulation may lead to different physiological consequences. The functional relevance of these differences in gene expression is supported by their associations with circulating biomarkers

Marginal Adaptation of Indirect Composite, Glass-Ceramic Inlays and Direct Composite: An In Vitro Evaluation

Objective: This experimental in vitro study compared marginal adaptation of indirect composite, glass-ceramic inlays and direct composite.Materials and Methods: Seventy-five recently extracted human molars were randomly divided into three groups (n=25) and mesio-occluso-distal cavities with the same dimensions were prepared in the teeth. Indirect composite and glass-ceramic inlays were fabricatedfollowing manufacturer's instructions and the marginal gap was measured by a stereomicroscope at magnification 40× before cementation. After cementation of inlays and restoring the third group by direct composite, all the specimens were thermocycled and the marginal gaps were measured exactly as previously described. Repeated measure ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey test were used for pairwise comparison of occlusal, proximal, and gingival marginal gaps in each group. One-way ANOVA and post-hoc Tukey test wereused for comparison of mean marginal gap in the three groups and for comparison of marginal gap before and after cementation in inlays, paired T-test was used.Results: The marginal gap of direct composite (19.96 μm) was significantly lower than that of indirect composite inlay (48.47 μm), which in itself was significantly lower than that of glass-ceramic inlay (60.96 μm). In all the restorations, marginal gap in the gingival margin was significantly higher than occlusal and proximal margins. The marginal gap of inlays did not change after cementation and thermocycling.Conclusion: This study indicated that the marginal gaps of the evaluated restorations are less than 100 μm, which is clinically acceptable

The role of tinting and characterization of denture base in removable prostheses

Esthetic is a natural necessity among all human beings, and the reconstruction of the natural features of prosthesis is considered an important aspect in dentistry. Reconstruction of the natural features in removable prosthesis by characterization of denture base is one of the most important factors. In this regard esthetic, in removable prostheses, is achieved through different techniques such as: tooth selection and arrangement, designing the denture base and acrylic base color. The final goal for ail these effects is to achieve a natural appearance for denture. However, other factors such as treatment limitations, different personal needs and general health principles, should be taken into consideration. This article not only reviews the natural appearance of oral mucosa that is replaced by the denture base, but also discusses about the materials used in tinting acrylic denture base and their application techniques

Immune responses in DNA vaccine formulated with PMMA following immunization and after challenge with Leishmania major

Leishmaniasis is a major infectious disease caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania. Despite of many efforts toward vaccine against Leishmania no effective vaccine has been approved yet. DNA vaccines can generate more powerful and broad immune responses than conventional vaccines. In order to increase immunity, the DNA vaccine has been supplemented with adjuvant. In this study a new nano-vaccine containing TSA recombinant plasmid and poly(methylmethacrylate) nanoparticles (act as adjuvant) was designed and its immunogenicity tested on BALB/c mouse. After three intramuscular injection of nano-vaccine (100 μg), the recombinant TSA protein (20 μg) was injected subcutaneously. Finally as a challenge animals were infected by Leishmania major. After the last injection of nano-vaccine, after protein booster injection, and also after challenge, cellular immune and antibody responses were evaluated by ELISA method. The findings of this study showed the new nano-vaccine was capable of induction both cytokines secretion and specific antibody responses, but predominant Th1 immune response characterized by IFN-γ production compared to control groups. Moreover, results revealed that nano-vaccine was effective in reducing parasite burden in the spleen of Leishmania major-infected BALB/c mice. Base on results, current candidate vaccine has potency for further studies. © 2014, Indian Society for Parasitology

Clinical evaluation of isolated abutment teeth in removable partial dentures

&quot;nBackground and Aims: Nowadays, removable partial dentures are applied to patients who are not able to use dental implants or fixed prosthesis. Although based on the studies the users of removable partial dentures are in the risk of plaque accumulation and unacceptable changes such as gingivitis, periodontitis and mobility in abutment tooth. It is not clear whether the negative effects of removable partial dentures are more on the isolated teeth which are a kind of abutment adjacent to endentulous area in both sides. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical condition of isolated abutment teeth without splinting in comparison to control abutment from the aspects of B.O.P (bleeding on probing), mobility, pocket depth and gingivitis.&quot;nMaterials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, the prepared questionnaires were filled out by 50 patients who received removable partial dentures in department of removable prosthodontics of dental school of Tehran University of Medical Sciences. The patients had isolated abutment tooth and did not have any systemic disease. The obtained data were analyzed. Using Wilcoxon, exact Fisher and Kruskal-Wallis test.&quot;nResults: B.O.P (P=0.004), pocket depth (P=0.035), and mobility (P&amp;lt;0.001) in isolated abutments were more than those in control abutments, but there were not significant differences in the degree of caries (P=0.083) and gingivitis (P=0.07).&quot;nConclusion: This study showed that clinical condition of isolated abutments is worse than that of control abutments. More attention should be paid to healthiness of isolated teeth without splinting and periodic follow ups should be done in these cases