Mounting evidence indicates that periodontitis-related oral bacteria may contribute to gut microbial dysbiosis. This clinical study aimed to explore the oral–gut microbial signatures associated with ...periodontitis and to longitudinally evaluate the effect of periodontal treatment on the oral and gut microbial composition. Stool and saliva samples from generalized stage III/IV periodontitis patients (n = 47) were collected and analyzed by 16S ribosomal RNA gene amplicon sequencing, before and 3 mo after steps I to II of periodontal therapy. Periodontally healthy matched subjects (n = 47) were used as controls. Principal component analysis was carried out to identify oral–gut microbial profiles between periodontitis patients at baseline and healthy subjects; periodontitis samples were longitudinally compared before and after treatment. β-Diversity of gut microbial profiles of periodontitis patients before treatment significantly differed from healthy controls (P < 0.001). Periodontal therapy was associated with a significant change in gut microbiota (P < 0.001), with post-treatment microbial profiles similar to healthy volunteers. A higher abundance of Bacteroides, Faecalibacterium, Fusobacterium, and Lachnospiraceae was noted in fecal samples of periodontitis patients at baseline compared to healthy controls. In contrast, Lactobacillus was the only genus more abundant in the latter. Additionally, periodontal therapy led to a parallel reduction in the salivary carriage of periodontal pathobionts, as well as gut Bacteroides, Lachnoclostridium, Lachnospiraceae, Oscillospiraceae, and Ruminococcaceae, to levels similar to healthy controls. Collectively, discriminating oral–gut microbial signatures of periodontitis were found. Periodontal treatment both mitigated oral dysbiosis and altered gut microbial composition, signifying potential broader implications for gastrointestinal health and disease.
The chemical coupling of a protoplasmatic antigen from Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratubeculosis onto core-shell carboxylated particles was investigated with the aim of producing latex-protein ...complexes to be used in immunoagglutination assays capable of detecting bovine paratuberculosis disease. For this purpose, sensitizations were carried out using both colored and not colored carboxylated latexes as well as the protoplasmatic antigen at pH close to its isoelectric point to favor the antigenic protein to approach the particle surface. In all cases, higher fractions of proteins were chemically-bound to carboxyl groups on the surface of the particles. The assessment of the performance of the visual immunoagglutination assays consisted of evaluating 111 sera from healthy and infected bovines with Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis. Complexes obtained from the colored latex allowed an acceptable visual discrimination between the studied positive and negative sera. Most of the positive samples showed strong to very strong agglutination and only a few samples reacted weakly, i.e. a sensitivity of 70%. The specificity of the assay, on the other hand, was 86%. Therefore, this rapid detection technique allows an easy and inexpensive identification of animals possibly infected with paratuberculosis “in situ” in the herds.
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•A visual immunoagglutination assay for the diagnosis of bovine paratuberculosis was developed.•The reagent is based on colored latex particles and a commercial paratuberculosis protoplasmic antigen.•The agglutination can be read after 5 min “in situ” in the herds and it is easy to implement.•The agglutination test may be a rapid and inexpensive diagnostic strategy to control PTB.
This work addresses the ability of the tube model to describe the rheological response of partially entangled, ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW-PE) chains both in and out of ...equilibrium. It uses the tube model, in its usual form, to quantitatively describe the linear rheology of equilibrated UHMW-PE melts. Using a unique parameterization set for the tube model parameters, the molecular weight distribution of several samples has been determined. Concerning the transition to equilibrium, that is, entanglement recovery of the heterogeneous melt, this work examines the following two possibilities: (1) re-entanglement via ordinary reptation in dilated tubes and (2) re-entanglement by means of activated reptation. The former approach confines the chains into dilated tubes, that is, to tubes with a larger diameter than that at equilibrium, taking into account their partially entangled nature. Essentially, the model homogenizes φe, the initial (volume) fraction of entangled melt and permits molecular motions such as reptation in tubes that decrease in diameter with increasing time. This homogenization appears to work when φe is below a threshold value, which is about 0.4. For values larger than the threshold value, the proposed model performs poorly. Compared to the model prediction, the actual re-entanglement time is considerably longer, presumably because of the long time required for disentangled domains to maneuver themselves through the entangled fraction of the melt. In this regime, the activated reptation picture is more realistic. Further, the activated reptation picture appears to be applicable even below the threshold φe value, suggesting that re-entanglement occurs through activated reptation.
Currently available treatments for moderate to severe psoriasis are either incompletely effective in some patients, or are associated with toxic effects. Since tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α) is ...thought to have a role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, we did a double-blind, randomised trial to assess the clinical benefit and safety of infliximab-a monoclonal antibody against TNF-α.
33 patients with moderate to severe plaque psoriasis were randomly assigned intravenous placebo (n=11), infliximab 5 mg/kg (n=11), or infliximab 10 mg/kg (n=11) at weeks 0, 2, and 6. Patients were assessed at week 10 for the primary endpoint (score on the physician's global assessment PGA). Analysis was by intention to treat.
Of the 33 patients enrolled, three dropped out. Nine of 11 (82%) patients in the infliximab 5 mg/kg group were responders (good, excellent, or clear rating on PGA), compared with two of 11 (18%) in the placebo group (difference 64% 95% CI 20–89, p=0·0089), and ten of 11 (91%) patients in the infliximab 10 mg/kg group were responders (difference from placebo 73% 30-94, p=0·0019). The median time to response was 4 weeks for patients in both infliximab groups. There were no serious adverse events, and infliximab was well tolerated.
In this controlled trial, patients receiving the anti-TNF-α agent infliximab as monotherapy experienced a high degree of clinical benefit and rapid time to response in the treatment of moderate to severe plaque psoriasis compared with patients who received placebo. These findings suggest that TNF-α has a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis.
Background
To evaluate efficacy and safety of Trans-Radial Approach (TRA) in cerebral angiography for diagnostic and therapeutic purpose.
Methods
We retrospectively included consecutive patients ...eligible for TRA cerebral angiography at our Institution between September 2019 and January 2020. Cerebral DSA was classified in
diagnostic
(one-vessel imaging) or
therapeutic
(emergency/elective). Technical and clinical outcome were recorded for each group.
Results
A total of 61 TRA angiographies were evaluated. Right-sided TRA was obtained in 85,2% of all cases. Interventional procedures included 11 strokes, 2 ruptured aneurysms, 2 unrupted aneurysms, 1 DAVF and 3 symptomatic atheromatous intracranial stenosis. Successful TRA angiographies were obtained in 97,6% and 94,7% for diagnostic and therapeutic group, respectively. No major radial artery complications were recorded. Mean puncture-to-final angiogram was 11 and 62 min for diagnostic and therapeutic groups, respectively. Mean radial compression maintenance was 4 h, allowing patients discharge within 6 h in all cases undergone diagnostic angiography.
Conclusions
TRA could be a valid technique in terms of efficacy and safety both for diagnostic and therapeutic cerebral angiographies, with low complication rate.
Intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma is not always a straightforward procedure, and it may require an adaptable approach. This study illustrates strategies used when the ophthalmic artery ...is difficult to catheterize or not visible, and it ascertains the effectiveness and safety of these strategies.
A retrospective study was performed on a series of 108 eyes affected by intraocular retinoblastoma and selected for intra-arterial chemotherapy (follow-up range, 6-82 months). We recognized 3 different patterns of drug delivery: a fixed pattern through the ophthalmic artery, a fixed pattern through branches of the external carotid artery, and a variable pattern through either the ophthalmic or the external carotid artery.
We performed 448 sessions of intra-arterial chemotherapy, 83.70% of them through the ophthalmic artery and 16.29% via the external carotid artery. In 24.52% of eyes, the procedure was performed at least once through branches of the external carotid artery. In 73 eyes, the pattern of drug delivery was fixed through the ophthalmic artery; for 9 eyes, it was fixed through branches of the external carotid artery; and for 17 eyes, the pattern was variable. Statistical analysis did not show any significant difference in the clinical outcome of the eyes (remission versus enucleation) treated with different patterns of drug delivery. Adverse events could not be correlated with any particular pattern.
Alternative routes of intra-arterial chemotherapy for intraocular retinoblastoma appear in the short term as effective and safe as the traditional drug infusion through the ophthalmic artery.
Abstract The Solimões and Acre basins are complex geological units related to the Andean uplift, covering the Northwestern region of Brazil, being one of the most important units due to their fossil ...diversity. In order to produce a document that integrates part of the fossil records of this region, we compiled/georeferenced localities from literature on which tetrapods are described, focusing on Solimões Formation but not restricted to this unit. We were able to recognize 208 localities, documented in over two centuries of reports of fossils from several taxonomic groups from the proto-Amazonia, 199 new entries in Paleobiology Database. We summarize, for each locality, its geographical position, geological information, age, and data of the paleodiversity. Most outcrops in the Amazonia region are located on river banks (~96%), while road cuts and other non-riverside outcrops represent the remainder (~4%). Most tetrapod are Mammalia, followed by Testudinata, and Crocodyliformes. This work reinforces the need for a more controlled and refined prospecting at the Solimões/Acre Basins, especially in the Solimões Formation, which represents the majority of fossiliferous records, to help answer old questions, such as dating, and new ones, here discussed, such as the paleodiversity patterns and temporal distribution among the mapped localities.
Neurofibromatosis type 2 NF2; MIM # 101000 is an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by the occurrence of vestibular schwannomas (VSs), schwannomas of other cranial, spinal and cutaneous ...nerves, cranial and spinal meningiomas and/or other central nervous system (CNS) tumours (e.g., ependymomas, astrocytomas). Additional features include early onset cataracts, optic nerve sheath meningiomas, retinal hamartomas, dermal schwannomas (i.e., NF2-plaques), and (few) café-au-lait spots. Clinically, NF2 children fall into two main groups: (1) congenital NF2 - with bilateral VSs detected as early as the first days to months of life, which can be stable/asymptomatic for one-two decades and suddenly progress; and (2) severe pre-pubertal (Wishart type) NF2- with multiple (and rapidly progressive) CNS tumours other-than-VS, which usually present first, years before VSs vs. the classical adult (Gardner type) NF2, with bilateral VSs presenting in young adulthood, sometimes as the only disease feature. Some individuals can develop unilateral VS associated with ipsilateral meningiomas or multiple schwannomas localised to one part of the peripheral nervous system i.e., mosaic NF2 or multiple non-VS, non-intradermal cranial, spinal and peripheral schwannomas (histologically proven) schwannomatosis. NF2 is caused by mutations in the NF2 gene at chromosome 22q12.1, which encodes for a protein called merlin or schwannomin, most similar to the exrin-readixin-moesin (ERM) proteins; mosaicNF2 is due to mosaic phenomena for the NF2 gene, whilst schwannomatosis is caused by coupled germ-line and mosaic mutations either in the SMARCB1 gene SWNTS1; MIM # 162091 or the LZTR1 gene SWNTS2; MIM # 615670 both falling within the 22q region and the NF2 gene. Data driven from in vitro and animal studies on the merlin pathway e.g., post-translational and upstream/downstream regulation allowed biologically targeted treatment strategies e.g., Lapatinib, Erlotinib, Bevacizumab aimed to multiple tumour shrinkage and/or regression and tumour arrest of progression with functional improvement.
A candidate gene for the chromosome 1 Alzheimer's disease (AD) locus was identified (STM2). The predicted amino acid sequence for STM2 is homologous to that of the recently cloned chromosome 14 AD ...gene (S182). A point mutation in STM2, resulting in the substitution of an isoleucine for an asparagine (N141l), was identified in affected people from Volga German AD kindreds. This N141l mutation occurs at an amino acid residue that is conserved in human S182 and in the mouse S182 homolog. The presence of missense mutations in AD subjects in two highly similar genes strongly supports the hypothesis that mutations in both are pathogenic.
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