Detection of Helicobacter pylori using PCR in dental plaque of patients with and without gastritis

Objectives: Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) accounts for gastritis, peptic ulcer and is a probable cause of gastric cancer. Since its detection in the oral cavity, concerns have been raised about dental plaque as a reservoir for reinfection. The aim of this study was to detect the organism in the dental plaque and to determine the association, if any, between H. pylori gastritis and dental plaque contamination causing H. pylori. Study design: A polymerase chain reaction-based method was used for detection of H. pylori in clinical specimens. Supra and subgingival samples were collected from 67 patients with chronic periodontitis, 23 of whom were also suffering from gastritis. The data were analyzed with Chi square and Fisher exact test and the statistical significance was set to 0.05. Results: H. pylori was scarce in patients with periodontitis(5.9%). There was a significant association between the presence of H. pylori in the dental plaque and gastritis (p=0.012). Conclusions: Although rarely seen, H. pylori infected dental plaque may be a source for reinfection. It is therefore suggested that professional plaque removal and oral hygiene procedures be performed, along with the antibiotic treatment of H. pylori

Palaeolithic occupation of the Mehran Plain in Southwestern Iran

In terms of Palaeolithic studies, the Mehran Plain is already known due to the discovery of the Amar Merdeg site in 1999. But in spite of the high potential for occupation in different periods, the prehistoric settlement patterns of the plain had not been identified until the present survey in 2010, which resulted in the discovery of 15 Palaeolithic sites. Of these, 9 sites contain both Lower and Middle Palaeolithic remains and 3 more sites are attributed to the Middle Palaeolithic as well 3 sites to Upper Palaeolithic period and beyond. The distribution pattern indicates that easy access to raw materials, which are now visible among the chert pebbles scattered over hillocks on the plains, was the main reason to establish settling.V paleolitskih študijah je ravnica Mehran znana po odkritju najdišča Amar Medreg leta 1999. Kljub velikemu potencialu poselitveni vzorci v ravnici niso bili prepoznani vse do najnovejših terenskih pregledov leta 2010, ko smo odkrili 15 paleolitskih najdišč. Od teh 9 najdišč vsebuje starejše in srednje paleolitske artefakte; 3 najdišča smo uvrstili v obdobje srednjega paleolitika in prav tako 3 najdišča v obdobje mlajšega paleolitika in kasnejših obdobij. Poselitveni vzorec kaže, da je bil glavni razlog za naselitev lažji dostop do kamnitih surovin, ki so danes vidne na površju kot roženi prodniki, razpršeni po vzpetinah v ravnici

A comparative study of the long term results of root coverage with connective tissue graft or enamel matrix protein: 24-month results

Background: The objective of this study was to compare the 24 month results of coronally advanced fl ap + enamel matrix derivates (EMD+CAF) and CAF+ connective tissue graft (CTG+CAF) in the treatment of Miller Class I recession defects.Methods: Twelve patients with bilateral gingival recessions were treated with EMD+CAF or CTG+CAF. Vertical recession depth (VRD), keratinized tissue width (KTW), clinical attachment level (CAL), and clinical probing depth (CPD) were measured preoperatively, 1 and 2 years post surgery. A paired t-test and independent t-test were used to compare differences for the measured characters within and between groups, respectively.Results: After 24 months a signifi cant decrease in VRD was observed in CAF + EMD (3.33±0.30 mm) and CAF + CTG (4.5 ± 0.28 mm) treated sites. There was also a signifi cant increase in KTW (0.83±0.23 mm versus 2.08±0.14 mm in EMD+CAF and CTG+CAF sites, respectively). The gain in CAL was 3.54 ± 0.38 mm and 4.45±0.30 mm in EMD+CAF and CTG+CAF group, respectively. There were signifi cant differences between the treatments for VRD, CAL, and KTW at the end of study.Conclusions: The CTG+CAF procedure seems to provide better long-term results than the EMD+CAF in obtaining root coverage, increasing the KTW and CAL gain

Persistent effects of early infant diet and associated microbiota on the juvenile immune system.

Early infant diet has significant impacts on the gut microbiota and developing immune system. We previously showed that breast-fed and formula-fed rhesus macaques develop significantly different gut microbial communities, which in turn are associated with different immune systems in infancy. Breast-fed animals manifested greater T cell activation and proliferation and harbored robust pools of T helper 17 (TH17) cells. These differences were sustained throughout the first year of life. Here we examine groups of juvenile macaques (approximately 3 to 5 y old), which were breast-fed or formula-fed in infancy. We demonstrate that juveniles breast-fed in infancy maintain immunologic differences into the fifth year of life, principally in CD8(+) memory T cell activation. Additionally, long-term correlation networks show that breast-fed animals maintain persistent relationships between immune subsets that are not seen in formula-fed animals. These findings demonstrate that infant feeding practices have continued influence on immunity for up to 3 to 5 y after birth and also reveal mechanisms for microbial modulation of the immune system

Impact of β-Globin Mutations on Outcome of Matched Related Donor Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Patients with β-Thalassemia Major

AbstractThe clinical outcome of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for patients with β-thalassemia major (β-TM) can be affected by several factors. We investigated the influence of β-globin gene mutation in patients with β-TM on the clinical outcome of HSCT and conducted a prospective study of consecutive β-TM patients who underwent allogeneic HSCT at our center. Among 87 included patients, 62 (71%) had homozygous and 25 (29%) had compound heterozygous β-globin gene mutations. Intervening sequence II-1 appeared to be the most common mutation, with an occurrence rate of 33% in β-globin alleles. With a median follow-up of 12 months, the thalassemia-free survival and overall survival probabilities were 83% (standard error, 4%) and 90% (standard error, 3%), respectively. Overall survival was not found to be associated with the β-globin gene mutation status, but thalassemia-free survival was significantly improved in patients with homozygous mutations compared with patients with compound heterozygous mutations in univariate (91.2% versus 64.0%, P = .009) and multivariable (hazard ratio, 3.83; P = .014) analyses. This is the first report on the impact of β-globin mutation status on the outcome of β-TM after allogeneic HSCT and helps to better illustrate the course and prognosis of β-TM after transplantation

Degenerate Wave and Capacitive Coupling Increase Human MSC Invasion and Proliferation While Reducing Cytotoxicity in an In Vitro Wound Healing Model

Non-unions pose complications in fracture management that can be treated using electrical stimulation (ES). Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMMSCs) are essential in fracture healing; however, the effect of different clinical ES waveforms on BMMSCs cellular activities remains unknown. We compared the effects of direct current (DC), capacitive coupling (CC), pulsed electromagnetic field (PEMF) and degenerate wave (DW) on cellular activities including cytotoxicity, proliferation, cell-kinetics and apoptosis by stimulating human-BMMSCs 3 hours a day, up to 5 days. In addition, migration and invasion were assessed using fluorescence microscopy and by quantifying gene and protein expression. We found that DW had the greatest proliferative and least apoptotic and cytotoxic effects compared to other waveforms. DC, DW and CC stimulations resulted in a higher number of cells in S phase and G2/M phase as shown by cell cycle analysis. CC and DW caused more cells to invade collagen and showed increased MMP-2 and MT1-MMP expression. DC increased cellular migration in a scratch-wound assay and all ES waveforms enhanced expression of migratory genes with DC having the greatest effect. All ES treated cells showed similar progenitor potential as determined by MSC differentiation assay. All above findings were shown to be statistically significant (p<0.05). We conclude that ES can influence BMMSCs activities, especially DW and CC, which show greater invasion and higher cell proliferation compared to other types of ES. Application of DW or CC to the fracture site may help in the recruitment of BMMSCs to the wound that may enhance rate of bone healing at the fracture site

Magnetic Dual-Template Molecularly Imprinted Polymer Based on Syringe-To-Syringe Magnetic Solid-Phase Microextraction for Selective Enrichment Of P-Coumaric Acid and Ferulic Acid from Pomegranate, Grape, And Orange Samples

Magnetic dual-template molecularly imprinted polymer (Fe3O4@SiO2-MDMIP) was prepared to enrich and determine both p-Coumaric acid (p-CA) and ferulic acid (FA) based on syringe-to-syringe magnetic solid-phase microextraction (SS-MSPME). The obtained MDMIP was characterized and recognized, and then its adsorbing performance was studied. Based on the results, the Fe3O4@SiO2-MDMIP indicated selective recognition towards p-CA and FA with large adsorption capacity. The optimization of MDMIP–SS-MSPME conditions (pH, Fe3O4@SiO2-MDMIP mass, NaCl concentration, number of cycle, and elution volume) were conducted using the central composite design (CCD). Under the optimum conditions, an effectual and a convenient method was established to determine p-CA and FA in pomegranate, grapes, and orange samples based on SS-MSPME coupling with high-performance liquid chromatography-ultraviolet (HPLC-UV). Our developed method showed the limit of detection (LOD) of 0.08 ng mL−1 for p-CA and 0.07 ng mL−1 for FA. The method also indicated good linearity with R2 \u3e 0.99 and good recoveries of 85.12–94.96% with RSDs ≤ 5.58% spiked at three various concentration levels in pomegranate, grapes, and orange samples