Alcohol-based mouthwash as a risk factor of oral cancer: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Oral and pharynx cancer represent a serious global problem, reaching an incidence of half a million cases annually. The role of tobacco and alcohol have been studied and proven to be one of its risk factors. We also know that mouthwashes contain a variable percentage of alcohol, so there is a reasonable concern about their role in carcinogenesis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To answer the PICOS (Population; Intervention; Comparison; Outcomes; Study) question: Do patients (Population) who use alcohol-based mouthwashes (Intervention) compared to those who do not use them (Comparison) have higher acetaldehyde levels in saliva or higher risk of oral cancer development? (Outcomes) Meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized and non-randomized clinical trials, case-control studies, and prospective and retrospective cohort studies were included (Study). Two independent authors conducted literature screening through MEDLINE, Scopus and the Cochrane Library, and they also conducted article and data extraction to undertake quality analyses. The main outcome measures were salivary acetaldehyde levels or the risk of oral cancer development. The most relevant data was extracted and the risk of bias from the studies included was also evaluated. RESULTS: Out of 497 potentially eligible papers, 8 studies were included in the qualitative analysis which include a total of 43,499 subjects: two meta-analyses, a clinical trial, three case-control studies and two cohort studies. One study (n = 3,926) found a relationship between alcohol mouthwash and oral cancer, two studies (n = 25,033) found this relationship when a high frequency of mouthwash was present, three studies (n = 14,482) failed to find this relationship and 2 studies (n = 58) found a temporary increase of acetaldehyde levels in saliva after alcohol mouthwash. CONCLUSIONS: It cannot be guaranteed that the use of mouthwash represents an independent risk factor for the development of head and neck cancer. However, the risk does increase when it occurs in association with other carcinogenic risk factors.

Management of the oral hemangiomas in infants and children: Scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Pediatric oral hemangiomas are benign vascular tumors that can be seen from birth, particularly in females. Hemangiomas are most frequent located in the lips and usually regress spontaneously, thus they do not require any type of treatment in most cases. The present scoping review pretended to synthesize the most relevant and currently available information from the international dental literature published in the last 25 years, regarding the management of pediatric oral hemangiomas. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An exhaustive literature search was performed in four electronic databases (PubMed, Embase, Google Scholar, and Cochrane). Initially, 241 related titles and abstracts were found. After the duplication removal, screening, and assessment processes, 37 records were included for full-text reading. Finally, 20 articles in the English language were included in the scoping review for data extraction and assessment. RESULTS: We identified and subsequently discussed three fundamental issues associated to the management of pediatric oral hemangiomas: (i) clinical characteristics, differential diagnosis, and histopathological findings; (ii) evolution and complications; and (iii) current available treatment modalities. CONCLUSIONS: Although these like-tumor lesions are uncommon, pediatric dentistry practitioners must be familiar with the inherent clinical characteristics, diagnosis approaches, and currently available treatment options. Nowadays, surgical removal and non-invasive medical/pharmacologic therapies are the best management modalities for pediatric oral hemangiomas.

Human infection by a "fish tapeworm", Diphyllobothrium latum, in a non-endemic country.

We document a case of locally acquired "broad- or fish-tapeworm" infection caused by Diphyllobothrium latum in a 27-year-old Spanish man, confirmed by molecular analysis (COI gene). The patient had naturally expelled a worm of 110 cm in length, but the physical examination did not yield any remarkable findings, and the patient did not suffer from any particular symptoms. Laboratory test results were normal except for a remarkable increase in the red blood cell count, and an evident decrease in the mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin. Vitamin B12 and folic acid values were in the normal range without signs of anemia. It was suggested that these anomalies in erythrocyte formation might not be related to the parasite, and analysis of the patient's anamnestic data revealed that the infection could only have been caused by the ingestion of imported fish, although no light could be shed on the specific source of infection. From a public health viewpoint, this human case of fish-borne zoonosis is exemplary, suggesting that not only is control of fish and fish product quality essential, but also increased awareness of the general population with regard to changes in culinary habits.

Flake size-dependent cyto and genotoxic evaluation of graphene oxide on in vitro A549, CaCo2 and vero cell lines.

This study was carried out by varying both graphene oxide (GO) concentration (10 μg/mL, 50 μg/mL, 100 μg/mL) and flakes sizes of 1320 nm and 130 nm. Characterization by scanning electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy demonstrate that the area of GO flakes varies of one order of magnitude but their chemical structure remains unmodified. A 24-h cytotoxicity test showed, for A549, a loss in the viability, while the test exhibits overall a positive increase in the viability for CaCo2 and Vero. A 24-h comet assay shows a marked GO genotoxicity: for micrometer-sized GO flakes the genotoxicity is in positive correlation with the concentration, while for nanometer-sized GO flakes there was a high degree of genotoxicity at the lowest concentration tested.

Ecotoxicological impact of MSW landfills: assessment of teratogenic effects by means of an adapted FETAX assay.

The introduction of chemical products into the environment can cause long-term effects on the ecosystems. Increasing efforts are being made to determine the extent of contamination in particularly affected areas using diverse methods to assess the ecotoxicological impact. We used a modified Frog Embrio Toxicity Assay-Xenopus method to determine the extent of toxicological load in different sample soils obtained near three municipal solid waste landfills in Catalonia (Spain). The results show that the Garraf landfill facility produces more embryotoxic damage to the surroundings, than the others ones: Can Mata landfill and Montferrer-Castellbó landfill. The aim of this work is to demonstrate how different management of complex sources of contamination as the controlled dumping sites can modulate the presence of toxics in the environment and their effects and through this, help determine the safer way to treat these wastes. To this effect some conceptual modifications have been made on the established American Society for Testing and Materials protocol. The validity of the new model, both as to model of calculation as to protocol, has been demonstrated in three different sites with complex sources of contamination.

Infection control in long term care institutions for the elderly: A reflection document on the situation in Spain.

A progressively increasing percentage of the elderly live during the last years of their lives in nursing homes. Although these institutions are intended to mimic life at home as much as possible, they have characteristics that make them quite similar to a "nosocomiun", i.e. an establishment for the treatment of the sick. The very coexistence among the elderly, the fact of sharing caregivers and the very significant exposure to third parties, together with the frequent predisposing diseases to infection in this population, make infection frequent among residents and also easily transmissible. This leads us to ask what can be done to prevent infection in this environment and more specifically what is the state of the art of the matter in a Western European nation such as ours. The Board of Trustees of the Health Sciences Foundation has asked itself a series of questions on the subject of infection prevention in Nursing Homes, the structure of procedures, the legislation available, compliance with the measures indicated, the best indicators of the processes and therefore, the need to promote in Spain a document of recommendations to avoid infections in this poplation whose morbidity and mortality need not be highlighted. To this end, a multidisciplinary group of experts in different aspects of this problem has been convened and asked the proposed questions. The questions were discussed by the group as a whole and led to a series of conclusions agreed upon by the participants. The results of the meeting are reported below.

[Usefulness of imaging techniques and novel biomarkers in the prediction of cardiovascular risk in patients with chronic kidney disease in Spain: the NEFRONA project]. / Utilidad de las técnicas de imagen y biomarcadores en la predicción del riesgo cardiovascular en pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica en España: Proyecto NEFRONA.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Cardiovascular risk assessment in this population is hampered by the failure of traditional risk factors to fully account for the elevated CVD risk, mainly due to the reverse epidemiology effect, and the presence of risk factors specifically related to uremia. Hereby, we present the protocol of a prospective study aimed to assess the predictive value of imaging techniques and biomarkers for CVD in patients with CKD. METHODS: From November 2009, 2.661 asymptomatic adult patients with stages 3-5D CKD will be recruited from nephrology services and dialysis units throughout Spain. Eight hundred forty-three participants without CKD (control group) will be also recruited. During the follow-up, CVD events and mortality will be recorded from all CKD patients. One trained itinerant team will carry out a carotid ultrasound to assess intima-media thickness and presence of plaques. A composite atherosclerosis score will be constructed based on carotid ultrasound data and ankle-brachial index. Presence and type of calcifications will be assessed in carotid, femoral and brachial arteries, and in cardiac valves, by ultrasound. Finally, blood samples will be collected from all participants to study biomarkers. DISCUSSION: The NEFRONA study will allow us to examine the usefulness of imaging techniques and biomarkers to assess atherosclerosis development and their predictive value in a Spanish population with CKD.

High chrome exhaustion in a non-float tanning process using a sulphonic aromatic acid.

Tanning processes performed in drums consume large amounts of water and chemicals, most of which end up in the wastewater. This study explores an alternative approach at an industrial scale to the traditional pickle-chrome tanning method. The new method replaces formic and sulphuric acids with sulphonic aromatic acid. Because it is done without float, there is a sizeable reduction in the amount of added salt and chrome salt as well as an increase in temperatures at the end of the tanning process. From an environmental perspective, the new method offers important advantages. For instance, there is no float addition in the tannage. Also, there are reductions of 94% and 99%, respectively, in the discharge of chlorides and chrome, as well as a 75% reduction in the residual float. Our financial assessment demonstrated that the new method is 42% cheaper than a traditional approach.

Mineral metabolism influences pulse pressure increase provoked by chronic kidney disease.

BACKGROUND: Pulse pressure (PP) increase has been associated with hypertension, ageing and chronic kidney disease. Although hyperparathyroidism and phosphate imbalance have been suspect in PP increase in hemodialysis patients, the link between these parameters and pulse pressure, in renal disease before dialysis, has not been established. METHODS AND PATIENTS: 1966 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. STATISTICS: ANOVA, Student's t-and Chi-square, rank correlations (Spearman) and multivariate analysis, with PP as the dependent variable, while adjusting for other covariables. RESULTS: There was an increase of pulse pressure parallel to renal function deterioration, and a significant influence of age, diabetes, hypertension, phosphate and PTH on pulse pressure in the whole population, as well as in patients with glomerular filtration rate < 60 ml/min. The impact of phosphate was particularly high after the age of 50. CONCLUSION: PP increase present in renal disease patients might be primarily due to the underlying mineral metabolism disturbances.

Anticancer effect of a new benzophenanthridine isolated from Zanthoxylum madagascariense (Rutaceline).

Fractionation of the cyclohexane extract from the stem bark powder of Zanthoxylum madagascariense led to the isolation of a new benzophenanthridine-type alkaloid, hydrochloride of 2,3-methylendioxy-8-hydroxy- 7-methoxy-benzo[C]phenanthridine (Rutaceline), characterized on the basis of its spectral data. Rutaceline was evaluated for its antiproliferative capacity on the human colorectal adenocarcinoma (Caco-2) and the African green monkey kidney (Vero) cell lines. The 50% inhibition of cell growth (IC50) obtained after 24 h incubation was similar for both cells lines (110-115 microg/ml, i.e. 269-281 microM), but at 48 h the IC50 value for the Caco-2 cells was lower than for the Vero cells (20 microg/lml, i.e. 49 microM versus 90 microg/ml, i.e. 220 microM) indicating a higher cell growth inhibitory effect on the colon adenocarcinoma cells. At the respective IC50 concentrations, Rutaceline did not significantly induce apoptosis but induced cell cycle arrest in the GO/G1 phase, as well as a decrease of cells in S phase. Rutaceline also induced DNA fragmentation in both cell lines, as revealed by agarose gel electrophoresis, and a dose-dependent clastogenic effect in both cell lines as revealed by the Comet assay.

Rationalizing the relative abundances of trimetallic nitride template-based endohedral metallofullerenes from aromaticity measures.

The synthesis of endohedral metallofullerenes (EMFs) from a carbon soot sample of an arc discharge leads to a variety of EMFs that are obtained in different relative abundances. In the present work, we show that these abundances can be predicted from aromaticity calculations. In particular, we use the normalized Additive Local Aromaticity (ALAN) index. Our results show that the most abundant Sc3N-based and Y3N-based EMFs in fullerene soot are the most aromatic. This study reinforces the idea that aromaticity plays a key role in determining the stability of EMFs.

Effect of pretreatments and air-frying, a novel technology, on acrylamide generation in fried potatoes.

This paper investigated the effect of air-frying technology, in combination with a pretreatment based of soaking the samples in different chemical agent solutions (citric acid, glycine, calcium lactate, sodium chloride, or nicotinic acid [vitamin B3]), on the generation of acrylamide in fried potatoes. The influence of reducing sugars on the development of surface's color was also analyzed. The experiments were conducted at 180 °C by means of air-frying and deep-oil-frying, as a reference technology. Based on the evolution of color crust with frying time, it could be concluded that the rate of Maillard reaction decreased as the initial reducing sugars content increased in the raw material, and was also lower for deep-oil-frying than for air-frying regardless of pretreatments applied. Air-frying reduced acrylamide content by about 90% compared with conventional deep-oil-frying without being necessary the application of a pretreatment. However, deep-oil fried potatoes pretreated with solutions of nicotinic acid, citric acid, glycine at 1%, and NaCl at 2% presented much lower acrylamide levels (up to 80% to 90% reduction) than nonpretreated samples.

Investigation of cyano-bridged coordination nanoparticles Gd(3+)/[Fe(CN)6](3-)/D-mannitol as T1-weighted MRI contrast agents.

Cyano-bridged Gd(3+)/[Fe(CN)6](3-) coordination polymer nanoparticles of 3-4 nm stabilized with D-mannitol presenting a high r1 relaxivity value of 11.4 mM(-1) s(-1) were investigated in vivo as contrast agents (CA) for Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). They allow an increase of the MR image contrast and can act as an efficient intravascular T1 CA with a relatively long blood-circulation lifetime (60 min) without specific toxicity.

Varying sensitivity of human mammary carcinoma cells to the toxic effect of parvovirus H-1.

We have previously demonstrated lysis of non-established cultures of human mammary carcinoma cells by parvovirus H-1, which has little effect on the proliferation of corresponding normal cultures. In the present study, we examined this effect in a number of breast-tumour specimens and found them to differ as to the amplitude of their response to parvoviral attack. We first investigated whether the differences in cell sensitivity to parvovirus infection reflected the differentiation level of the initial tumour. Among the biochemical and anatomopathological indicators of original tumour differentiation, the presence of oestrogenic receptors (ER) was found to have a predictive value as to the sensitivity of derived cultures to the cytopathic effect of H-1 virus. The ER+ tumour-derived cultures showed an increased sensitivity to the lytic effect of H-1 virus compared with the ER-tumour-derived cultures, in spite of similar average proliferation rates for the two types of cultures. The proliferation rate was more heterogeneous among ER+ tumour-derived cultures and, in this group, the faster growing cultures were also the most sensitive. This observation was corroborated by the study of established cell lines retaining ER expression under in vitro culture conditions. Oestradiol was found to increase the sensitivity of these cells to the parvovirus in parallel with induction of proliferation. This effect appeared to be mediated by ER activation, since it was not observed in the ER-negative cell line MDA-MB-231. These data point to the importance of hormonal influences and cellular parameters, notably differentiation and proliferation, in determining the extent to which human cancer cells can be targets for the cytopathic effect of parvoviruses.

Effects of time of storage, albumin, and osmolality changes on outflow facility (C) of bovine anterior segment in vitro.

PURPOSE: To analyze the influence of time of storage, the presence of albumin at physiological concentrations, and the perfusion with anisosmotic media on the aqueous humor outflow facility (C) of isolated bovine anterior segments (AS). METHODS: Anterior segments dissected from cow eyes were perfused at a constant pressure of 10 mm Hg with Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM; osmolality 300 mOsm/kg), with hyposmotic media (150, 210, and 270 mOsm/kg), or with hyperosmotic media (360, 420, and 480 mOsm/kg). Outflow facility was calculated every 5 seconds as the ratio between average inflow from the reservoir (in microliters per minute) and the perfusion pressure (in millimeters of mercury). Three groups were studied: a 0-hour group, with AS perfused with DMEM 1 to 3 hours after enucleation; a 0-hour alb-group, with AS perfused with DMEM plus 0.1 mg/ml albumin 1 to 3 hours after enucleation; and a 24-hour group, with AS perfused after storage for 24 hours in DMEM. In the 0-hour groups, perfusion with increasingly hyposmotic or hyperosmotic media was also made in 30-minute steps, followed by a return to isosmotic medium for 90 minutes. RESULTS: Perfusion of AS with DMEM for 9 hours caused a progressive increase in C that was statistically significant at 225 minutes in the 0-hour group perfused with DMEM and at 195 minutes in the 24-hour group perfused with DMEM. The 0-hour alb-group perfused with DMEM did not show changes in C throughout the 9-hour perfusion period. Perfusion with increasingly hyposmotic media induced a progressive decrease in C that did not recover on return to isotonic medium. Hyperosmotic media caused a progressive increase in C that returned to control values when isotonic medium was again perfused. CONCLUSIONS: Preservation of tissue for C measurements is best achieved with short storage time (1 to 3 hours). Physiological concentrations of albumin (0.1 mg/ml) prevent development of washout, suggesting that albumin or an albumin-bound factor in aqueous humor may play a role in the maintenance of outflow resistance. Outflow facility also may be influenced by volume changes in the trabecular meshwork.

Estrogen receptor-negative/progesterone receptor-positive Evsa-T mammary tumor cells: a model for assessing the biological property of this peculiar phenotype of breast cancers.

In 1986 we reported the appearance of a progestin binding protein in the human breast cancer cell line Evsa-T, originally described as lacking both estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER and PR). In this report we show that PR of this cell line displays a binding affinity for [3H]ORG 2058 and a sucrose gradient sedimentation profile similar to those ascribed to PR from MCF-7 or T47D breast cancer cell lines. PR from Evsa-T cells is down-regulated by the progestin R-5020 as well as by the two antiprogestins, ZK 112.993 and ZK 98.299, but does not confer growth sensitivity to these compounds. ER remains undetectable by ligand binding assay, enzyme immunoassay and northern blotting. Our Evsa-T clone could be a valuable model for assessing the mechanisms leading the ER-/PR+ phenotype occurring occasionally in breast cancers and frequently in meningiomas.