A tillering inhibition gene influences root-shoot carbon partitioning and pattern of water use to improve wheat productivity in rainfed environments.

Genetic modification of shoot and root morphology has potential to improve water and nutrient uptake of wheat crops in rainfed environments. Near-isogenic lines (NILs) varying for a tillering inhibition (tin) gene and representing multiple genetic backgrounds were phenotyped in contrasting, controlled environments for shoot and root growth. Leaf area, shoot and root biomass were similar until tillering, whereupon reduced tillering in tin-containing NILs produced reductions of up to 60% in total leaf area and biomass, and increases in total root length of up to 120% and root biomass to 145%. Together, the root-to-shoot ratio increased two-fold with the tin gene. The influence of tin on shoot and root growth was greatest in the cv. Banks genetic background, particularly in the biculm-selected NIL, and was typically strongest in cooler environments. A separate de-tillering study confirmed greater root-to-shoot ratios with regular tiller removal in non-tin-containing genotypes. In validating these observations in a rainfed field study, the tin allele had a negligible effect on seedling growth but was associated with significantly (P<0.05) reduced tiller number (-37%), leaf area index (-26%), and spike number (-35%) to reduce plant biomass (-19%) at anthesis. Root biomass, root-to-shoot ratio at early stem elongation, and root depth at maturity were all increased in tin-containing NILs. Soil water use was slowed in tin-containing NILs, resulting in greater water availability, greater stomatal conductance, cooler canopy temperatures, and maintenance of green leaf area during grain-filling. Together these effects contributed to increases in harvest index and grain yield. In both the controlled and field environments, the tin gene was commonly associated with increased root length and biomass, but the significant influence of genetic background and environment suggests careful assessment of tin-containing progeny in selection for genotypic increases in root growth.

The impact of playing in matches while injured on injury surveillance findings in professional football.

This study aimed to analyze the frequency, nature, and consequences of footballers playing matches while injured, and to examine the impact on injury surveillance findings. High levels of inter-rater reliability and content validity were established for a tool designed to document players who were already injured at the start of a match. The tool was implemented in three English football teams (a Championship, League 1, and League 2 team) for one season, using a "time loss" definition of injury. One hundred forty-three matches were surveyed, revealing 102 match appearances by players who were already injured. Almost half of all games featured at least one injured player, with episodes of playing with injury occurring more frequently and lasting longer in League 2 players compared with higher level players. No association was observed between the number of injured players starting matches and match outcome [χ(2) (4, N = 143) = 3.27, P = 0.514]. Fifteen percent of all injury episodes captured were only through prospective documentation of playing while injured. The findings show that both traumatic and overuse injuries are managed by footballers through competitive matches, and have important implications for aiding understanding of the epidemiology of injury in professional football.

Cardiovascular mortality and morbidity following radical radiotherapy for lung cancer: Is cardiovascular death under-reported?

BACKGROUND: Lung cancer is the most common malignancy worldwide. Radical radiotherapy is an essential treatment in the management of early and locally advanced lung cancer. Cardiac events are known to occur following radical radiotherapy for lung cancer. This study examines the burden of cardiac events post radiotherapy, and estimates the accuracy of death certification in patients who received radical radiotherapy for lung cancer. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective observational cohort study for all patients receiving radical radiotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at a large cancer centre between 01/01/2010 to 31/12/2016. Baseline cardiovascular disease and cancer status and treatment data were collected, along with hospital admission data and documented cause of death from the national registry for a median follow-up period of 34 months. RESULTS: Of 1224 patients included in the analysis, 378 (30.9%) patients had cardiovascular disease at baseline, including 140 (11.4%) with prior myocardial infarction. In the 846 patients without known cardiovascular disease, 451 (53.3%) had a QRISK2 predicted 10-year cardiovascular risk >20% over 10 years. During follow-up, 215 hospitalisations occurred (Incidence rate 6.2 per hundred patient years) which were classified as primarily cardiac, and 622 patients died (18 per 100 patient-years). However, death certificates stated a primary cardiac cause of death in only 33 cases (5.3% of deaths). Notably, 29% of patients dying out of hospital and certified as cancer death did not have documented cancer relapse prior to death, and 61% had no community palliative care input prior to death, implying these events may have been sudden and unexpected. CONCLUSION: There is a high prevalence of baseline cardiovascular disease in people undergoing radiotherapy for NSCLC, accompanied by significant rates of post-radiotherapy cardiovascular hospitalisation. However, only a small proportion of deaths are attributed to cardiovascular disease, together with the large amount of sudden deaths observed, this suggests that cardiovascular death is greatly under-reported in official statistics.

Coding sports injury surveillance data: has version 10 of the Orchard Sports Injury Classification System improved the classification of sports medicine diagnoses?

OBJECTIVES: To compare versions 8 and 10 of the Orchard Sports Injury Classification System (OSICS) to determine whether the revised version of OSICS has improved its use in a sports medicine setting, and to assess the inter-rater reliability of OSICS-10. METHODS: Injury surveillance data, gathered over a 2 year period in professional football, cricket and rugby union to produce 335 diagnoses, were coded with both OSICS-8 and OSICS-10. Code-diagnosis agreement was assessed for OSICS-8 in terms of whether a diagnosis was codeable or noncodeable, and for OSICS-10 by evaluating the highest available OSICS-10 tier of coding. Eight clinicians coded a list of 20 diagnoses, comprising a range of pathologies to all gross anatomical regions, which were compared to assess inter-rater reliability. RESULTS: All diagnoses could be assigned an appropriate code with OSICS-10, compared with 87% of diagnoses that could be assigned an OSICS-8 code. Contusions comprised almost half of OSICS-8 noncodeable diagnoses. OSICS-10 tier 2 codes accounted for 20% of diagnoses coded with the updated system. Of these 20%, almost half contained a more detailed diagnosis that did not have an available OSICS-10 tier 3 or 4 code. Inter-rater reliability increased with decreasing diagnostic detail, with an overall level shown to be moderate (k = 0.56). CONCLUSIONS: OSICS-10 is a more encompassing system than OSICS-8 to use in classifying sports medicine diagnoses, and has a moderate level of inter-rater reliability. Further minor revision may be required to address lack of detail in some strain, effusion and contusion codes.

Adrenergic regulation of blood pressure in chronic renal failure.

Previous investigations have suggested that significant hypotension during hemodialysis may result from abnormalities of sympathetic nervous system activity. To further evaluate these phenomena, plasma dopamine beta-hydroxylase (D beta H) and cold pressor test (proposed indexes of efferent sympathetic nervous system activity) and amyl nitrite inhalation (an index of the entire baroreceptor reflex arc) were studied in two groups of patients: group I, patients exhibiting a mean arterial pressure decrease to less than 70 mm Hg during less than 10% of dialyses; group II (hemodialysis hypotension), patients with a mean arterial pressure decrease to less than 70 mm Hg during more than 90% of dialyses. The groups were similar with respect to plasma renin activity, renin response to ultrafiltration, age, duration of dialysis, nerve conduction velocity, plasma protein concentration, hematocrit, dialysis weight change, resting heart rate, sex, race, blood pressure and heart rate response to cold pressor test, and 125I-albumin plasma volume. Supine mean arterial pressure was higher in patients with hemodialysis hypotension than in patients without hemodialysis hypotension (group I) both before and after dialysis. Plasma D beta H activity was significantly higher in patients with hemodialysis hypotension (group II) than in group I both before and after dialysis. Amyl nitrite inhalation, expressed as change in delta R-R interval/mean arterial pressure decrease, was less in hemodialysis hypotension patients. These results suggest that hemodialysis hypotension may result from a lesion in the baroreceptors, cardiopulmonary receptors, or visceral afferent nerves. Furthermore, elevated mean arterial pressure in patients with hemodialysis hypotension may be neurogenic in origin, as reflected by plasma D beta H activity, and appears similar to the hypertension that follows baroreceptor deafferentation of experimental animals.

Urinary kallikrein and plasma renin activity as determinants of renal blood flow. The influence of race and dietary sodium intake.

We investigated the relationship of the kallikrein-kinin system and the renin-angiotensin system in the regulation of blood pressure, salt and water excretion, and renal blood flow. Normotensive and hypertensive black and white men were studied during unresticted sodium intake as well as on a 10-meq/day sodium intake; potassium intake was held constant throughout the study (80 meq/day). During unrestricted sodium intake, urinary kallikrein activity was greater in white normotensives than white hypertensives or black normotensives. There was no difference (P greater than 0.05) between white and black hypertensives or between black normotensives and black hypertensives. All groups had greater urinary kallikrein activity on low sodium vs. unrestricted sodium intake, but the increase in black hypertensives was small, and they excreted significantly less kallikrein than the ogher groups on the low sodium diet. Plasma renin activity showed similar increments after sodium restriction in all groups. Urinary kallikrein activity correlated with renal blood flow in all groups except the black normotensives on low sodium intake. Renal blood flow could be correlated uniformly with log (urinary kallikrein activity/supine plasma renin activity) in all groups on either diet. Urinary sodium and potassium excretion and urine volume were not different among the groups. We conclude: (a) important racial differences exist in urinary kallikrein activity that are unrelated to sodium or potassium excretion or urine volume; (b) dietary sodium restriction further delineates racial differences and suggests alternative pathophysiologic mechanisms for huma hypertension; (c) urinary kallikrein activity correlates with renal blood flow; and (d) our data support the concept that the kallikrein-kinin system and the renin-angiotensin system contribute to the regulation of renal blood flow and may account for racial differences in renal vascular resistance.

Stereotactic Ablative Radiotherapy (SABR) in Patients with Medically Inoperable Peripheral Early Stage Lung Cancer: Outcomes for the First UK SABR Cohort.

AIMS: To report outcomes for the first UK cohort treated for early stage peripheral lung cancer using stereotactic ablative radiotherapy (SABR). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients were included who received SABR between May 2009 and May 2012. Electronic medical records were reviewed for baseline characteristics, treatment details and outcomes. Patients were treated according to the UK SABR Consortium Guidelines. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression was used to determine factors that influenced overall survival and local control. RESULTS: In total, 273 patients received SABR for 288 lesions in the time period examined. The median follow-up was 19.7 months. The median overall survival for all patients was 27.3 months, with 1, 2 and 3 year overall survival of 78.0, 54.9 and 38.6%, respectively. The 1, 2 and 3 year rates of local control were 98.2, 95.7 and 95.7%, respectively. All patients completed the planned course of treatment and rates of Common Toxicity Criteria grade 3+ toxicity were low. On multivariate analysis, patients with Medical Research Council (MRC) breathlessness scores of 3-5 had worse overall survival compared with patients with scores of 1-2 (hazard ratio: 2.10; 95% confidence interval: 1.25-3.59) and the presence of histological diagnosis conferred improved overall survival (hazard ratio: 0.54; 95% confidence interval: 0.31-0.93), probably reflecting that patients who are considered well enough to undergo biopsy are generally fitter overall. No factors were identified that significantly influenced local control. CONCLUSIONS: SABR is an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for patients with early stage peripheral lung cancer who are not suitable for surgery. No patient cohort was identified in whom SABR was considered inappropriate. This series adds to the existing positive data that support SABR for this patient group.

Toward gene therapy for Gaucher disease.

We are studying the transfer and expression by retroviral vectors of the human glucocerebrosidase (GC) gene into bone marrow cells as a model of gene therapy for genetic diseases of hematopoietic cells. A simple retroviral vector (G2) was developed that contains a normal human GC cDNA under the control of the Moloney murine leukemia virus long-terminal repeat (LTR) enhancer/promoter. Murine bone marrow was transduced with the G2 vector and maintained in long-term bone marrow culture (LTBMC). Expression of the human GC gene in the transduced murine LTBMC cells exceeded the level of endogenous murine GC mRNA. Murine bone marrow cells were also transduced with G2 and transplanted into irradiated syngeneic recipients. High levels of GC gene transfer and expression were seen in day-12 CFU-S foci, and to a lesser extent in the hematopoietic organs 4 months after gene transfer/bone marrow transplant (BMT). Human bone marrow, from a patient with Gaucher disease, was also used in studies of GC gene transduction. Gene transfer into 35-40% of the Gaucher hematopoietic progenitor cells was achieved, following prestimulation of the marrow with recombinant hematopoietic growth factors. Equal rates of gene transfer were obtained using either total marrow mononuclear cells or progenitor cells enriched 100-fold by immunomagnetic bead separation. GC gene transduction corrected the enzymatic deficiency of the Gaucher marrow. Our results demonstrate the potential utility of retroviral vector-mediated gene transfer for gene therapy of Gaucher disease. Current efforts are aimed at achieving more consistent in vivo GC expression in the murine BMT model and demonstrating transduction of pluripotent human hematopoietic stem cells.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Gastrointestinal absorption of aluminum is increased in Down's syndrome.

Individuals with Down's Syndrome (DS) develop the neuropathological features of senile dementia of the Alzheimer's type (SDAT) by early middle age. Because of recent evidence that gastrointestinal (GI) aluminum (Al) absorption is increased in patients with SDAT, and that Al may contribute to associated neuropathological changes, we have investigated the GI uptake of Al in patients with DS by two methods. The first measured the absorption of 27Al at concentrations associated with antacid use, in the presence of citrate, using atomic absorption spectrometry. There was no difference between basal blood concentrations of 27Al in 15 DS subjects (36-46 years) and 15 age-matched controls. The mean increase in 27Al blood concentrations 60 minutes after the dose of Al was four times greater in the DS group than in controls (p < 0.001). The second measured GI absorption of 26Al under normal dietary conditions using accelerator mass spectrometry. With 26Al the mean Al absorption in DS subjects (n = 5) exceeded that of controls (n = 4) by a factor of 6 (p < 0.02). Although the mechanisms of enhanced absorption are unknown, the data indicate that similar abnormalities in the GI handling of Al occur in both SDAT and DS suggesting that it may be advisable to minimize dietary exposure to Al in subjects at risk of developing Alzheimer-type pathology.

Physiologic and pharmacologic influences on adrenergic regulation of renin release.

Changes in hemodynamic variables and plasma renin activity (PRA) induced by short-term alteration of blood pressure and sympathetic nervous system activity were studied in normotensive and hypertensive men on high-sodium and low-sodium intake. Blood pressure and heart rate alterations caused by standard cold pressor tests, amyl nitrite inhalation, phentolamine infusion, and phenylephrine infusion were recorded. PRA was measured at time 0, 5, 15, and 30 min. No change in PRA occurred in either group following cold pressore test and amyl nitrite inhalation. Phenylephrine suppressed PRA in normal but not hypertensive subjects, and phentolamine elevated PRA in normotensive and hypertensive subjects regardless of diet. Short-term stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system does not appear to elevate PRA in man. Suppression of PRA by an alpha agonist was not observed in hypertensives and may reflect barorecptor insensitivity in this group of subjects.

Expression of human glucocerebrosidase following retroviral vector-mediated transduction of murine hematopoietic stem cells.

The human glucocerebrosidase (GC) gene has been expressed in the progeny of murine hematopoietic stem cells following transduction of marrow with a retroviral vector (G2) containing the human GC cDNA. Murine marrow was transduced via co-cultivation following prestimulation in the presence or absence of recombinant IL-3 and IL-6. A high rate of gene transfer and expression (95%) was demonstrated in primary day 12 CFU-S foci following bone marrow transplantation (BMT) of G2-transduced marrow into lethally irradiated syngeneic recipient mice. Immunoreactive human GC protein was also documented in the CFU-S foci. Primary recipient mice were examined 4-6 months following BMT. A higher rate of gene transfer (87%) was seen in hematopoietic organs of recipients of prestimulated donor marrow compared with organs from initially unstimulated marrow (25%). A high rate of expression of human GC was also documented in the prestimulated organs (50%) when compared with the unstimulated group (25%). Secondary BMT was performed using marrow from the long-lived primary recipients. The human GC gene was present in 88% of secondary day 12 CFU-S foci examined in the prestimulated group versus 23% in the unstimulated group. Expression of the human GC gene was documented in secondary day 12 CFU-S foci, providing strong evidence of initial hematopoietic stem cell transduction.

Retrograde cerebral perfusion: clinical experience in emergency and elective aortic operations.

We recently have used retrograde cerebral perfusion via the superior vena cava in association with hypothermic circulatory arrest as an adjunct to cerebral protection during aortic arch operations. Between April 1993 and March 1994, 23 patients (14 male; 9 female; median age, 64 years; age range, 25 to 76 years; 14 emergency, 9 elective) underwent operation on the ascending aorta, aortic arch, or both for acute dissection (11) or aneurysm (12). Aortic root replacement was performed in 13 patients (7 with arch replacement), ascending aortic replacement in 7 (4 with arch replacement), isolated aortic arch replacement in 2, and repair of sinus of Valsalva aneurysm in 1. Coronary artery bypass grafting was performed in 4 patients. Hypothermic circulatory arrest (15 degrees C) and retrograde cerebral perfusion were implemented in all cases (median circulatory arrest time, 21 minutes; range, 13 to 51 minutes; median retrograde cerebral perfusion time, 20 minutes; range, 12 to 50 minutes). Three hospital deaths occurred (atheromatous embolic stroke, sepsis, rupture of infrarenal aortic aneurysm). The remaining patients had no neurologic damage (median intensive therapy unit stay, 1 day; range, 1 to 5 days). Retrograde cerebral perfusion is easy to establish and safe, and may improve brain protection during hypothermic circulatory arrest.

Food safety knowledge and practice among elderly people living at home.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the food storage knowledge and practice of elderly people living at home. METHODS: Three phase survey data collection: face to face interviews; dietary diaries with a food frequency questionnaire; and follow up interviews. SETTING: Urban Nottingham. PARTICIPANTS: 809 elderly people (aged 65+) randomly selected from general practitioner lists. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Respondent's refrigerator temperature; knowledge of freezer star rating; understanding of "use by" and "sell by" dates; reported ability to read food product safety labels. RESULTS: From a weighted total of 645 refrigerators measured, 451 (70%) were too warm for the safe storage of food (> or = 6 degrees Celsius). Only 41% of respondents (n = 279) knew the star rating of their freezer. Within a smaller sub-sample knowledge of the "use by" and "sell by" dates was good, but 45% of these respondents reported difficulty reading food labels. The storage of foods at inappropriate temperatures was not independent of socioeconomic or demographic status, and tended to be more likely among the poorer and those not living alone. CONCLUSIONS: Food storage practices among the majority of elderly people interviewed in this study do not meet recommended safety standards to minimise the risk of food poisoning.

Abscesses secondary to parenteral abuse of drugs. A study of demographic and bacteriological characteristics.

Seventy-seven patients (eighty-six lesions) who had been seen over a fifteen-month period because of an abscess at the site of injection due to parenteral abuse of drugs were identified in a retrospective review. Forty-one patients (forty-five abscesses) had had cultures before antibiotic therapy. Thirty (73 per cent) of the forty-one patients had isolation of a streptococcal species on culture, with microaerophilic streptococci identified in sixteen. Twenty (49 per cent) of the forty-one patients had isolation of a staphylococcal species. Four of the staphylococcal organisms were identified as oxacillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Two patients who had three abscesses each had different organisms in each abscess. Gram-negative bacilli were identified in the cultures of ten (24 per cent) of the forty-one patients; patients who were forty years old or more had a sixfold greater risk of having gram-negative bacilli. Specimens of the abscess had been obtained from thirty-six patients for culture from twelve to seventy-two hours after the first dose of antibiotics had been given. The microbiological findings in these cultures were similar to those in the cultures of specimens obtained from patients before antibiotics had been given. Five (14 per cent) of thirty-five patients who had been tested for the human immunodeficiency virus had a positive result. This finding emphasizes the importance of surveillance for and precautions against the human immunodeficiency virus in people who abuse drugs parenterally.

An investigation of spinal bone mineral density measured laterally: a normal range for UK women.

A UK normal range for 250 volunteers was established for bone mineral density (BMD) of the lumbar spine (L2-L4) measured laterally in the decubitus position. Two software defined regions of interest ("Body" and "Mid") within the vertebral body were analysed throughout. As expected, a negative correlation of BMD with age was found for Body (r = -0.55, p < 0.001) and Mid (r = -0.56, p < 0.001). The age related bone loss from young to old (20-80 years) was 40% in L3 (Body) and 45% in L3 (Mid). In 22% of the cases only L3 could be measured owing to the influence of rib over L2 and interference of the iliac crest over L4. Age related normal ranges (+/- 2 standard deviations) for the three lumbar vertebra L2, L3, L4 for young normals (age 19-39 years) were found to be 0.54 to 1.02, 0.49 to 1.05 and 0.5 to 1.14 g cm-2 respectively for the Body region and 0.49 to 0.97, 0.45 to 1.01 and 0.45 to 1.13 g cm-2 respectively for the Mid region. These ranges can now be used as reference values for patients with suspected osteoporosis and possibly for future fracture prediction. The in vivo precision in 19 volunteers was found to be 4.2% and 5.6% on Body and Mid respectively. The short term (less than 1 week) in vitro precision was 3.1% and 2.7% respectively. From these data it appears that there is a greater measured age related drop in BMD in the vertebral body (measured laterally) than in the entire vertebra (measured anterior-posteriorly) indicating that the lateral measurement may prove to be more sensitive in predicting fracture. The precision of these results indicates that lateral measurements of the spine are not yet useful for monitoring individuals over short term periods and are less useful for studying the effects of drug treatment than the more traditional anterior-posterior measurement of the spine and femur.

Baroreflex function in uremic and hypertensive man.

Human hypertension has been related to abnormalities of autonomic blood pressure regulation. In order to characterize a possible defect, we have studied several aspects of reflex autonomic circulatory control in normal subjects, patients with primary hypertension, and two types of subjects with uremia and elevated blood pressure. Phenylephrine infusion (a measurement of baroreceptor response to high pressure stimulus) resulted in similar hemodynamic changes in all types of subjects. However, all groups of patients exhibited significantly different hemodynamic responses to amyl nitrite inhalation (an index of baroreceptor response to low pressure stimulus). These results suggest that patients with uremia and those with primary hypertension differ from each other and normal subjects regarding baroreceptor reflex function. Furthermore, one type of uremic patient may have a neurogenic component to their hypertension similar to experimental animals following surgical section of afferent baroreceptor nerves.

The interaction of physical, psychological, socioeconomic and sociodemographic variables on the Body Mass Index (MINDEX) of the community-dwelling elderly.

Two cohorts of older people 65-74, and 75 or more years of age living at home in Nottingham or in a nearby rural area in the UK were interviewed and anthropometric measurements were taken (n=1037). Bivariate analyses showed significant relationships between mindex and variables previously associated with food choice. Those with a mindex above the 95th percentile were more likely to live in a rural area, and were less likely to smoke than those between the 5th and 95th percentiles. Those with a low mindex, below the 5th percentile, were more likely to smoke than those between the 5th and 95th percentiles (45% compared to 17%), and were also more likely to live in an urban area, to have difficulty carrying shopping bags, not to use a car for shopping, to have a poorer appetite, and to live alone. Those overweight and underweight had lower levels of social engagement and were more likely to be of a lower social class. In multivariate analysis, socioeconomic variables and psychosocial variables were not significantly associated with mindex, when controlling for physical and sociodemographic variables. Advancing age, female gender, smoking and decreased appetite were significantly associated with decreased mindex (Adjusted R2 = .168).

Clinical significance of dental root canal microflora.

OBJECTIVES: Previous work by this group has shown that a significant association exists between pain and the presence of either Prevotella or Peptostreptococcus spp. in dental root canals. The aim of this study was to examine a more extensive series of canals microbiologically, to determine whether any other particular endodontic symptoms or clinical signs showed specific associations with individual bacterial species. METHODS: Seventy root canals were examined microbiologically and clinical data collected to investigate in detail such associations. RESULTS: Of the canals studied, 37 were associated with pain, 49 with tenderness to percussion, 23 with swelling, six with purulent exudate and 57 presented with wet root canals. Anaerobes were isolated from 70.3% of painful canals and from 29.7% of pain-free canals. Significant associations were found between (a) pain and either Prevotella spp. or peptostreptococci, both with P < 0.01; (b) tenderness to percussion and Prevotella spp. (P < 0.01) or anaerobes (P < 0.05); (c) swelling and Eubacterium spp. (P < 0.01), or with Prevotella spp. or Pstr. micros, both with P < 0.05; (d) purulent exudate and any one of F. necrophorum (P < 0.01), Prev. loescheii, Streptoccoccus constellatus or Bacteroides spp. (each P < 0.05); (e) wet canal and facultative anaerobes (P < 0.01), and any one of the genera of Eubacterium, Peptostreptococcus, Prevotella or Propionibacterium (each P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: It was concluded that several different endodontic clinical signs and symptoms are significantly associated with specific bacterial species.