Parents' Perception of Fissure Sealant Therapy in 6-12 Year Old Children: Evaluating a theory-driven intervention.

BACKGROUND: Dental caries is considered a major global health issue and among the most challenging diseases worldwide. An effective way of preventing dental caries is the fissure sealant (FS) therapy. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention developed based on the health belief model (HBM) for parents' perception of FS therapy for their children. METHODS: Quasi-experiment among 300 parents of 6-12 year-old children, 150 in the intervention group (IG) and 150 in the control (CG), in the south of Iran recruited via both clustering and convenience sampling. Data were collected using a validated questionnaire collecting demographic information, knowledge and data on HBM constructs and FS behaviour. Eight intervention sessions, 40-60 minutes long, were held for over month. The primary outcome was child's receipt of fissure sealants 3 months after the intervention. RESULTS: The two groups had similar knowledge and the HBM constructs at baseline. After the intervention, the receipt of FS therapy was 65% and 12% in the IG and CG, respectively (p ⟨ 0.001, Chi Sq.). ANCOVA supported post-test differences between the intervention and control groups when accounting for baseline scores (p⟨0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The educational HBM-based intervention improved parents' perceptions and their children's receipt of FS therapy. The intervention affected the HBM constructs. Barriers to healthy oral/dental behaviours may be reduced by interventions at multiple layers (beyond the individual level).

Ceramic vs polymeric membrane implementation for potable water treatment.

The continued technological developments and decreased purchase costs of ceramic membranes have seen increased recent interest in the technology as an alternative to the more widely used polymeric membranes. This paper assesses the relative technical, practical and economic merits of the two membrane materials in the context of potable water production from surface water sources. The work focuses on phenomena of direct technoeconomic significance, namely cleaning efficacy (manifested as permeability recovery), membrane integrity and incurred labour effort. Topics reviewed thus comprise: (a) practical comparison of the two technologies challenged with the same feedwater, (b) comparative technoeconomic analyses, (c) membrane integrity studies of polymeric membranes - incorporating aged samples extracted from operating installations, (d) sludging incidents, and (e) pilot and full-scale data. Available relevant data reveal: (a) bench-scale comparative tests do not indicate a consistent significant difference in the net permeability between the two membranes; (b) polymeric membranes are subject to a decline in both mechanical strength and permeability from the loss of the hydrophilic agent over a period of years from the action of hypochlorite used for cleaning; (c) the decreased mechanical strength with age of polymeric membranes increases the manual repair requirement and shortens membrane life, respectively impacting on labour and membrane replacement costs where the latter is also determined by the permeability; (d) the chemical and mechanical robustness of ceramic membranes permits more aggressive chemical cleaning, which then affects the chemicals consumption cost; and (e) anecdotal evidence suggests that polymeric membranes challenged with pre-coagulated surface waters may be subject to sludging, the agglomeration of solids in the membrane channels, which may also be age-related. Notwithstanding the above, data from published comparative technoeconomic studies indicate a linear relationship between the overall cost benefit and the membrane module cost ratio mitigated by the relative membrane life and operating flux.

Immunity Evaluation of an Experimental Designed Nanoliposomal Vaccine Containing FMDV Immunodominant Peptides.

Foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals. The particular virus causing FMD disease is called FMD virus and is a member of the Aphthovirus genus in the Picornaviridae family. The FMD virus has an 8500 nt long single strain positive RNA genome with one open reading frame (ORF) trapped in an icosahedral capsid protein. This virus genome doesn't have proofreading property which leads to high mutagenesis. It has seven serotypes, including O, A, ASIA, SAT1, SAT2, and C serotypes, as well as many subtypes. Iran is an endemic region for foot-and-mouth disease. Vaccination of susceptible animals with an inactivated whole-virus vaccine is the only way to control the epidemic in many developing countries. Today, conventionally attenuated and killed virus vaccines are being used worldwide. In Iran, animals have been vaccinated every 105 days with an inactivated FMD vaccine. Although commercially available FMD vaccines are effective, they provide short-term immunity requiring regular boosters. A new FMD vaccine is needed to improve immunization, safety, and long-term immune responses. A synthetic peptide vaccine is one of the safe and important vaccines. Peptide vaccine has low immunogenicity, requiring strong adjuvants. Nanoliposomes can be used as new adjuvants to improve immune response. In the current study, nanoliposomal carriers were selected using Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC), dimyristoyl phosphoglycerol (DMPG), and Cholesterol (Chol) as an adjuvant containing two immunodominant synthetic FMDV peptides. The liposomal formulations were characterized by various physicochemical properties. The size, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency were optimized, and the obtained nanoliposome was suitable as a vaccine. The efficacy of vaccines has been evaluated in guinea pigs as animal models. Indirect ELISA was used to detect FMDV-specific IgG. The obtained results indicated that although antibody titer was observed, the amount was lower compared to the groups that received inactivated virus-containing liposomes. In addition, the results showed that liposome was an appropriate adjuvant, compared to other adjuvants, such as Alum and Freund, and can act as a depot and induce an immune response.

Selective method based on negative electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometry for direct analysis of salivary thiocyanate.

This study describes a novel technique for direct analysis of thiocyanate in human saliva using negative electrospray-ion mobility spectrometry (ESI-IMS) and without any considerable sample pretreatment. The ESI-IMS system with nearly complete desolvation cannot be useful for salivary thiocyanate analysis because complete overlapping occurs between the format peak of the solvent and the thiocyanate peak. In addition, the chloride ions existing in saliva produce a very broad peak, which has a drastically interfering effect on SCN(-) determination. In this study, with a little change in the operation conditions of the apparatus (lowering the flow rate of the drift gas), it was possible to overcome these problems. The desolvation process was decreased in the lower flow of drift gas, and this caused the SCN(-) peak to be separated completely from other interference peaks such as chloride ions. The results obtained in this proposed methodology provide the detection limit of 0.003 microg/mL and the linear dynamic range from 0.01 to 1.00 microg/mL for the thiocyanate. Several human saliva samples were analyzed with the proposed negative ESI-IMS, and the satisfactory results confirm the capability of the method for direct analysis of salivary thiocyanate.

Ion mobility spectrometry as a detector for molecular imprinted polymer separation and metronidazole determination in pharmaceutical and human serum samples.

Application of ion mobility spectrometry (IMS) as the detection technique for a separation method based on molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) was investigated and evaluated for the first time. On the basis of the results obtained in this work, the MIP-IMS system can be used as a powerful technique for separation, preconcentration, and detection of the metronidazole drug in pharmaceutical and human serum samples. The method is exhaustively validated in terms of sensitivity, selectivity, recovery, reproducibility, and column capacity. The linear dynamic range of 0.05-70.00 microg/mL was obtained for the determination of metronidazole with IMS. The recovery of analyzed drug was calculated to be above 89%, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was lower than 6% for all experiments. Various real samples were analyzed with the coupled techniques, and the results obtained revealed the efficient cleanup of the samples using MIP separation before the analysis by IMS as a detection technique.

[Early postoperative hyperamylasemia after parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism]. / Early postoperative hyperamylasemia after parathyroidectomy for primary hyperparathyroidism.

AIM: The postoperative pancreatitis was a classical complication in the historical series of primary hyperparathyroidism (HPT), but the causal association was never demonstrated and even recent studies denied it. The aim of this study was to determine the augmentation of postoperative amylasemia, and its possible clinical traduction in patients operated for primary HPT. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Fifty consecutive patients operated for cure of a primary HPT were included in this study. Total amylase, as well as isoenzyme fractions P (pancreatic) and S (salivary), calcium, phosphorus and intact PTH serum concentrations were determined on the days prior and after parathyroidectomy. Fifteen normocalcemic patients operated for secondary HPT constituted the control group. RESULTS: The study deals with 42 female and eight male patients, their mean age was 58.5 years (range 19-89 years). All patients underwent parathyroidectomy for adenoma or hyperplasia. No patient had pancreatitis before parathyroidectomy. Postoperative amylasemia developed in four patients (8%), one with increased total amylase and P fraction, one with only increased total amylase, and two with increased total amylase and S fraction. No patients exhibited abdominal symptoms suggesting acute pancreatitis in the postoperative period. There was no correlation between pre- and post-operative calcium serum levels and pre- and post-operative amylasemia. In the secondary HPT group no significant diminution of the total amylasemia or of P and S fractions were observed. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that acute pancreatitis is an exceptional postoperative complication of primary HPT nowadays. The 8% incidence reported in the present study matches the incidence of hyperamylasemia reported postoperatively in non-abdominal or non-parathyroid surgery.

A new approach to determine salicylic acid in human urine and blood plasma based on negative electrospray ion mobility spectrometry after selective separation using a molecular imprinted polymer.

This paper deals with a method based on negative electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometry (ESI-IMS) as a detection technique. The method was used to determine the salicylic acid in human urine and plasma after selective separation of salicylic acid (SA) via molecular imprinted polymer (MIP). The ion mobility spectrum of salicylic acid in negative mode and the reduced mobility value for its ion peak is reported in this paper for the first time. In order to combine the technique with negative ESI-IMS, suitable experimental conditions related to MIP (e.g., Soxhlet extraction) were selected. The method was exhaustively validated in terms of sensitivity, imprinting factor, enrichment factor, and sorption capacity. The linear dynamic range of 0.02-2.00 µg mL(-1) and the relative standard deviation (RSD) below 6% were obtained for the analysis of SA through this method. The average recovery was calculated about 92% for the analyzed drug. Finally, human urine and plasma were analyzed and the feasibility of the proposed method was successfully verified by the efficient clean-up of the samples using MIP separation before the analysis by ESI-IMS.

Nonviral approach for targeted nucleic acid delivery.

Despite their relatively lower efficiency, nonviral approaches are emerging as safer alternatives in gene therapy to viral vectors. Delivery of nucleic acids to the target site is an important factor for effective gene expression (plasmid DNA) or knockdown (siRNA) with minimal side effects. Direct deposition at the target site by physical methods, including ultrasound, electroporation and gene gun, is one approach for local delivery. For less accessible sites, the development of carriers that can home into the target tissue is required. Cationic peptides, lipoplexes, polyplexes and nanoplexes have been used as carriers for delivery of nucleic acids. Targeting ligands, such as cell targeting peptides, have also been applied to decorate delivery vehicles in order to enhance their efficacy. This review focuses on delivery strategies and recent progress in non-viral carriers and their modifications to improve their performance in targeting and transfection.

Selective pretreatment and determination of phenazopyridine using an imprinted polymer-electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometry system.

In this research, selective separation and determination of phenazopyridine (PAP) is demonstrated using molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) coupled with electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometry (ESI-IMS). In the non-covalent approach, selective MIP produced using PAP and methacrylic acid (MAA) as a template molecule and monomer, respectively. The created polymer is utilized as a media for solid-phase extraction (SPE), revealing selective binding properties for the analyte from pharmaceutical and serum samples. A coupled MIP-IMS makes it possible to quantitize PAP in the range of 1-100 ng mL(-1) and with a 0.2 ng mL(-1) detection limit. Furthermore, the MIP selectivity is evaluated by application of some substances with analogous and different molecular structures to that of PAP. This method is successfully applied for the determination of PAP in pharmaceutical and serum samples.

Selective separation and determination of primidone in pharmaceutical and human serum samples using molecular imprinted polymer-electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometry (MIP-ESI-IMS).

Application of electrospray ionization ion mobility spectrometry (ESI-IMS) as the detection technique for separation method based on molecular imprinted polymer (MIP) was investigated and evaluated. The method is exhaustively validated, including sensitivity, selectivity, recovery, reproducibility, and column capacity. The linear dynamic range of 0.02-2.00 microg mL(-1) was obtained for primidone analysis with ESI-IMS. The recovery of drug analyzed was calculated to be above 90% and the relative standard deviation (RSD), was below 3% for all experiments. Various real samples were analyzed with the coupled techniques, and the results obtained revealed the efficient clean-up of the samples using MIP separation before the analysis by ESI-IMS as a detection technique.

The effect of Pleurotus spp. fungi on chemical composition and in vitro digestibility of rice straw.

This study was carried out to test the potentially of using rice straw substrate for the cultivation of four Pleurotus species including Pleurotus florida, Pleurotus djamor, Pleurotus sajor-caju and Pleurotus ostreatus and the effect of these species on the chemical composition, cell wall degradation and digestibility of rice straw. Rice straw soaked in water for 24 h and then it was pasteurized at 100 degrees C for 6 h. Rice straw was inoculated with spawns of four Pleurotus fungi (Pleurotus florida, Pleurotus djamor, Pleurotus sajor-caju and Pleurotus ostreatus) and packed in the plastic bags and incubated in a fermentation chamber at 23-27 degrees C and 75-85% relative humidity. After 60th day, rice straw samples from all groups were taken and analyzed for chemical composition and in vitro digestibility. The data obtained were analyzed according to the complete randomized design model consisting of four treatments plus one control and four replicates. The results of this study showed that fungal treatment increased (p<0.05) the Crude Protein (CP), silica, Ca and P contents of the rice straw but the hemicellulose, Organic Matter (OM), Acid Detergent Fiber (ADF), Neutral Detergent Fiber (NDF) and Acid Detergent Lignin (ADL) contents decreased. However, the ability of the fungi to degrade these components varied among the species. The ability of Pleurotus sajor-caju and Pleurotus ostreatus were higher than the other species in decreasing the hemicellulose, NDF, ADF and ADL contents. The highest Biological Efficiency (BE) was produced by sajor-caju species with 56.02 and the lowest was belong to Pleurotus djamor species with an average 51.17%. All species of fungi incubated on rice straw showed increased (p<0.05) the in vitro dry mater and organic matter digestibility. Rice straw treated with sajor-caju fungus had the highest in vitro dry matter digestibility (IVDMD) and in vitro organic matter digestibility (IVOMD) with 80.10 and 82.18%, respectively. In general this experiment cleared that treatment with sajor-caju can improve the quality of rice straw to be useful feed for ruminant nutrition.