Investigating salience strategies to counteract obesity.

The investigation of the characteristics and attributes that make a brand prominent for shoppers is known as salience research. This line of study concentrates on influencing buying behaviors via the manipulation of shopping environments and food products. Such promotional strategies successfully attract massive food sales and therefore have been associated with changes in dietary patterns and the epidemic expansion of non-communicable diseases, like obesity. Marketers have empirically proven that global buying patterns are influenced by their salience strategies and techniques. However, despite the significance of such methods, empirical salience investigations have rarely been extended beyond their primary business focus to the field of health promotion. Therefore, this study is presenting a way of transferring the salience knowledge to the health promotion field in order to track dietary choices and possibly gain information to identify buying and eating behaviors connected to obesity. The salience literature from various disciplines permits to hypothesize that consumers are more likely to have unhealthy diets when food-choices and conditions are saliently manipulated. A quasi-experimental method (combining salience measures with Bayesian analysis) was used to test this proposition. The results support the hypothesis and endorse the introduced research tool. As predicted, data reflect the latest national overweight and obesity statistics and suggest that habitual unhealthy diets are more likely when salience strategies link food products to taste, social and emotional attributes. These preliminary findings encourage further investigation to enhance the method as a possible epidemiological tool.

First evidence of the presence of adenovirus type 8 in myocardium of patients with severe idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy.

Previous studies have detected adenovirus and cytomegalovirus (CMV) in cardiac tissue of patients with myocarditis. Therefore, in this study, we investigated the frequency of these viruses, which may be involved in the development of severe dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Myocardial tissue from of 23 cardiac transplant candidates with acute idiopathic DCM below the age of 40 years were analyzed by amplification of adenovirus and CMV DNA and subsequent sequencing. Adenovirus was detected in four (17.4%) and CMV in one (4.3%) of the patients. All controls were negative for the presence of both viruses. Our study shows that myocardial infection with adenovirus may play an important role in the pathogenesis of severe DCM and suggests that vaccination against adenovirus might be helpful in decreasing the prevalence of severe idiopathic DCM. This is the first study in which adenovirus type 8 has been detected in the hearts of patients with DCM.

Effects of Transfer Energy Capacitive and Resistive On Musculoskeletal Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis:.

The use of transfer energy capacitive and resistive (TECAR) therapy to treat musculoskeletal pain has not been clearly established. Hence, this study was conducted to combine the available results. We searched the main databases, including PubMed (January 1950), Web of Knowledge (January 1945), Scopus (January 1980), and ProQuest (January 1983) until December 2021, to find the related studies. Only those studies were included that assessed the pain in participants who received TECAR therapy and compared it with a control group. Using the random effect model, standardized mean difference (SMD) was calculated at a 95% confidence interval (CI). The differences between patients and control group were -1.04 after four weeks of intervention (95% CI: -1.59 to -0.48, I2=86.9%) and -1.80 after eight weeks (95% CI: -2.15 to -1.46, I2=87%), which was significant (P0.001). The intra-group pain comparison before and after two, four, and eight weeks of TECAR therapy obtained SMD levels of -3.96 (95% CI: -5.28 to -2.65, I2=96.9%), -4.12 (95% CI: -5.98 to -2.26, I2=97.3), and -5.03 (95% CI: -7.23 to -2.83, I2=92.2%), respectively. Despite some limitations, our findings may assist clinicians in decision-making about TECAR therapy for the approach to musculoskeletal pain based on evidence-based medicine.

Knowledge of Iranian Parents of Elementary School Children about Traumatic Dental Injuries and its Management.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBELM: Traumatic dental injuries (TDIs) are frequent events during childhood, and emergency management of these injuries has positive outcomes. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of parents of school-aged children about dental trauma and to identify the effect of demographic variables such as age, gender, and education on their responses. MATERIALS AND METHOD: 300 parents of elementary school children were selected through cluster sampling from July 2012 to January 2013 in Yazd, Iran. A questionnaire was designed to collect the data on parents' knowledge about emergency management of dental trauma, and their demographic characteristics and previous experiences. Statistical analysis of data was performed by SPSS software version 11 using T-test and ANOVA. P-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. RESULTS: 296 out of 300 participants returned their questionnaires (mean age 33.8± QUOTE ± 5). The parents' knowledge about TDI managements was inadequate (average score = 7.03). According to T-test and ANOVA statistical tests, there was no significant relationship between knowledge and age (p= 0.155), gender of parents (p= 0.113), gender of children (p= 0.776), occupation (p= 0.112), and the information source (p= 0.160). The relationship between parents' knowledge and parental educational level was statistically significant (p= 0.010), and least significant difference (LSD) test showed that knowledge score of parents with Bachelor's degree or higher educational levels (7.83±4) was significantly more than other parents who were not educated (6.97±4), or had high school diploma (6.70±4). CONCLUSION: Majority of parents had little knowledge about TDI and emergency management of avulsed permanent teeth in children. Therefore, it seems that educational programs are necessary to improve parents' knowledge.

Knowledge and Attitudes of Elementary Schoolteachers on Dental Trauma and its Management in Yazd, Iran.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM: School is one of the places with the greatest prevalence of occurrence of traumatic dental injuries. PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge levels and attitudes of elementary school teachers towards dental trauma and its management. MATERIALS AND METHOD: In this cross-sectional study, 281 elementary school teachers were selected through cluster sampling to answer the prepared questionnaire. The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed in SPSS software by using ANOVA test and t-test. p Value<0.05 was considered to be significant. RESULTS: The total knowledge and attitude were low and normal, respectively. No previous exposure to or close observation of a dental trauma was reported by 61.2% of teachers; while, 12.5% were trained on dental traumas first aid management. There was statistically significant relationship between the teacher's knowledge and previous first aids training. CONCLUSION: The knowledge of schoolteachers on emergency management of dental trauma is poor. Therefore, it seems to be helpful to consider the management of dental injuries especially avulsed teeth as a part of teachers' education.

Quetiapine reverses paclitaxel-induced neuropathic pain in mice: Role of alpha2- adrenergic receptors.

OBJECTIVES: Paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy is a common adverse effect of cancer chemo -therapy. This neuropathy has a profound impact on quality of life and patient's survival. Preventing and treating paclitaxel-induced peripheral neuropathy is a major concern. First- and second-generation antipsychotics have shown analgesic effects both in humans and animals. Quetiapine is a novel atypical antipsychotic with low propensity to induce extrapyramidal or hyperprolactinemia side effects. The present study was designed to investigate the effects of quetiapine on the development and expression of neuropathic pain induced by paclitaxel in mice and the role of α2-adrenoceptors on its antinociception. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Paclitaxel (2 mg/kg IP) was injected for five consecutive days which resulted in thermal hyperalgesia and mechanical and cold allodynia. RESULTS: Early administration of quetiapine from the 1st day until the 5th day (5, 10, and 15 mg/kg PO) did not affect thermal, mechanical, and cold stimuli and could not prevent the development of neuropathic pain. In contrast, when quetiapine (10 and 15 mg/kg PO) administration was started on the 6th day after the first paclitaxel injections, once the model had been established, and given daily until the 10th day, heat hyperalgesia and mechanical and cold allodynia were significantly attenuated. Also, the effect of quetiapine on heat hyperalgesia was reversed by pretreatment with yohimbine, as an alpha-2 adrenergic receptor antagonist. CONCLUSION: These results indicate that quetiapine, when administered after nerve injury can reverse the expression of neuropathic pain. Also, we conclude that α2-adrenoceptors participate in the antinociceptive effects of quetiapine.

Socket preservation using freeze-dried bone allograft with and without plasma rich in growth factors in dogs.

BACKGROUND: Plasma rich in growth factors (PRGF) and freeze-dried bone allograft (FDBA) are shown to promote bone healing. This study was aimed to histologically and histomorphometrically investigate the effect of combined use of PRGF and FDBA on bone formation, and compare it to FDBA alone and control group. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The distal roots of the lower premolars were extracted bilaterally in four female dogs. Sockets were randomly divided into FDBA + PRGF, FDBA, and control groups. Two dogs were sacrificed after 2 weeks and two dogs were sacrificed after 4 weeks. Sockets were assessed histologically and histomorphometrically. Data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test followed by Mann-Whitney U-tests utilizing the SPSS software version 20. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. RESULTS: While the difference in density of fibrous tissue in three groups was not statistically significant (P = 0.343), the bone density in grafted groups was significantly higher than the control group (P = 0.021). The least decrease in all socket dimensions was observed in the FDBA group. However, these differences were only significant in coronal portion at week 4. Regarding socket dimensions and bone density, the difference between FDBA and FDBA+PRGF groups was not significant in middle and apical portions. CONCLUSION: The superiority of PRGF+FDBA overFDBA in socket preservation cannot be concluded from this experiment.

A comparative study of Candida albicans mean colony counts and blood group antigens in the saliva of healthy subjects.

BACKGROUND: Candida albicans is the most common opportunistic fungal species in the oral cavity. Various factors associated with C. albicans infection have been evaluated so far. In some studies, the relationship between the blood group antigens and C. albicans has been discussed. The aim of this study was to assess mean C. albicans colony counts in the saliva of healthy subjects and its relationship with ABO blood groups. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cross-sectional/analytical study was performed in the Oral Medicine Department, School of Dentistry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. Unstimulated whole saliva samples were obtained from 300 healthy subjects, including 100 individuals with blood group O, 100 with blood group A and 100 with blood group B. The samples were cultured on Sabouraud's dextrose agar media to determine the means of C. albicans colonies. Data were analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney statistical tests and SPSS 16. Statistical significance was defined at P < 0.05. RESULTS: The samples included 156 males and 144 females with a mean age of 27.52 years. The mean colony counts in the saliva of individuals with blood groups O, A, and B were 26.4, 19.84, and 21.23, respectively. There were no significant differences between the three groups (P = 0.280). CONCLUSION: Although the mean C. albicans colony counts in individuals with blood group O were more than those with other blood groups, the differences were not statistically significant. More research studies are needed in order to prove the role of blood groups in susceptibility to candidiasis.