Suicide in Chinese myths and legends-Some familiar themes.

AIM: To expand our understanding of suicide by examining reports of this behavior from the Chinese mythical era (commencing circa 1200 BCE) and drawing comparisons with subsequent eras. METHOD: Four hundred recently published accounts of Chinese myths and folk tales were examined, along with supplementary material. Lists were created including one focused on attempted suicide and another on completed suicide. Comparisons were drawn with the suicide of a later era China and the current west. RESULTS: No evidence was located of suicide resulting from mental disorder. Six accounts of attempted suicide and 13 of completed suicide were located. Triggers included the death of a loved one, the loss of a valued possession, complicated relationships, and the avoidance of guilt and disgrace. These accord with current western behavior. CONCLUSION: There is at least fair agreement in the triggers of suicide in past eras in China and the current western era. This supports the view that suicide may be, in some instances, a customary response to circumstances.

Transformative engagement with community music-making for older adults: a scoping review protocol.

OBJECTIVE: This scoping review has 3 objectives: to identify the literature on older adults' engagement with community music-making in which an experience of transformative change is noted; to explore the different ways transformation is described; and to identify factors that enable this experience. INTRODUCTION: Music has been shown to stimulate transformation (positive change) in individuals. Documented experiences of transformation fall into 3 broad areas: self-perception, quality of life, and personal growth. Yet the specific elements of musical experience that enable such effects remain little understood. Identifying the literature on this topic will enable deeper understanding and identify gaps in knowledge. INCLUSION CRITERIA: The review will include peer-reviewed publications, systematic and scoping reviews, and gray literature, including theses and reports. Studies will focus on older community-dwelling adults (60 years or over) engaged in group music-making in community settings. The studies must include enquiry into transformative effects. Music used therapeutically in health settings; individual music-making; and listening (rather than active music-making) will be excluded. Any empirical methodology will be accepted. METHODS: The review will follow the JBI guidelines for scoping reviews. Databases to be searched will include MEDLINE (Ovid), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), PsycINFO (Ovid), Scopus, Embase (Ovid), Informit, Cochrane Library, Campbell Collaboration, JBI EBP, Web of Science, JSTOR, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCOhost), ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global, and Google Scholar. Studies must be published in English, from 2000 until the present. Retrieved studies will be independently screened by at least 2 reviewers. Data will be extracted using a data extraction tool developed by the research team. The findings will be presented in tabular format, supported by a narrative summary. DETAILS OF THE REVIEW ARE AVAILABLE IN OPEN SCIENCE FRAMEWORK: https://osf.io/ftuhx.

The effects of manuka honey on plaque and gingivitis: a pilot study.

UNLABELLED: Research has shown that manuka honey has superior antimicrobial properties that can be used with success in the treatment of wound healing, peptic ulcers and bacterial gastro-enteritis. Studies have already shown that manuka honey with a high antibacterial activity is likely to be non-cariogenic. The current pilot study investigated whether or not manuka honey with an antibacterial activity rated UMF 15 could be used to reduce dental plaque and clinical levels of gingivitis. A chewable "honey leather" was produced for this trial. Thirty volunteers were randomly allocated to chew or suck either the manuka honey product, or sugarless chewing gum, for 10 minutes, three times a day, after each meal. Plaque and gingival bleeding scores were recorded before and after the 21-day trial period. Analysis of the results indicated that there were statistically highly significant reductions in the mean plaque scores (0.99 reduced to 0.65; p=0.001), and the percentage of bleeding sites (48% reduced to 17%; p=0.001), in the manuka honey group, with no significant changes in the control group. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that there may be a potential therapeutic role for manuka honey confectionery in the treatment of gingivitis and periodontal disease.

Antibacterial potential of Manuka honey against three oral bacteria in vitro.

Honey is an ancient natural remedy for the treatment of infected wounds. It has regained attention in the medical profession, as it has recently been reported to have a broad-spectrum inhibitory effect against bacteria. Data concerning Manuka honey of New Zealand origin, which is claimed to provide additional non-peroxide antimicrobial activity (so-called standard NPA) against oral pathogens, is still scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to screen for the antibacterial efficacy of different Manuka honey products against S. mutans (OMZ 918), P. gingivalis (OMZ 925) and A. actinomycetemcomitans (OMZ 299). Chlorhexidine and saline served as positive and negative controls, respectively, whereas a Swiss multifloral honey served as control honey without intrinsic non-peroxide activity. Chlorhexidine showed the highest inhibiting potential against all specimens tested. Manuka honey below an NPA value of 15 showed the least bacterial growth-inhibiting potential, even less – although not significantly so – than multifloral Swiss honey. Manuka honey above an NPA value of 15 showed a significantly higher antibacterial effect compared to the other honeys tested. All Manuka honey preparations were more effective in inhibiting the growth of P. gingivalis and A. actinomycetemcomitans, rather than S. mutans. In conclusion, the study showed an NPA dose-dependent antibacterial efficacy of Manuka honey. Further investigations of this natural product are now open for scrutiny.

Drug-associated gingival enlargement: case report and review of aetiology, management and evidence-based outcomes of treatment.

"Gingival enlargement" is the term now used to describe medication-related gingival overgrowth or gingival hyperplasia (AAP, 2004), a condition commonly induced by three main classes of drugs: anticonvulsants, antihypertensive calcium antagonists and the immunosuppressant cyclosporin. It is important that the health practitioner is aware of the potential aetiologic agents and characteristic features in order to be able to accurately diagnose and successfully manage patients who present with a condition such as outlined in the following case presentation.