Training in different brushing techniques in relation to efficacy of oral hygiene in young adults: a randomized controlled trial.

AIM: This study aims to assess plaque scores after oral hygiene in an unselected sample of young German adults and to compare the effects of computer-based training of the Fones versus the modified Bass technique on these scores. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Seventy 18- to 19-year olds received computer-based training of the Fones technique, the modified Bass technique or basic instructions of oral hygiene alone (control group). The marginal plaque index (MPI; percentage of sections adjacent to the gingiva showing plaque) and BOP were assessed at baseline and after 6, 12 and 28 weeks. MPI was assessed immediately after participants had been asked to perform oral hygiene to the best of their abilities. RESULTS: At baseline, MPI levels of 83.3% ± 12.5 (mean ± SD) were observed. After 12 weeks, groups differed significantly (p < 0.05) with respect to MPI: Fones group: 70.3% ± 14.7; Bass group: 77.91 ± 14.37; control group: 79.3% ± 9.2. No differences in BOP were found. CONCLUSIONS: High plaque levels at gingival margins after oral hygiene were observed in an unselected sample of young German adults. After 12 weeks, plaque levels after oral hygiene were slightly reduced in the group who had received training of the Fones technique but effects trailed off afterwards. The study failed to prove effects of the training on signs of gingival inflammation.

AB0 incompatible kidney transplantation using unspecific immunoadsorption.

BACKGROUND: A protocol for ABO-incompatible kidney transplantation with antigen specific immunoadsorption, rituximab and conventional immunosuppression has been successfully implemented in many European centers. We report an alternative method for the elimination of isoagglutinins with a number of advantages - large amount of treatable plasma, parallel removal of other rejection-inducing antibodies, long operating life, favorable cost-benefit ratio. METHOD: We report our first successfully treated case of an ABO-incompatible living donor kidney transplantation using Immunoadsorption with Ig-TheraSorb. We performed 5 sessions preoperatively and one after transplantation. Per treatment session twice the calculated plasma volume (4400 ml in this patient) was treated. RESULTS: Per treatment session the IgM- isoagglutinin-titers were reduced from 1:16 to 1:1 and the IgG- isoagglutinin-titers from 1:32 to 1:2. There were no side effects and the procedure was well tolerated with good renal function 500 days post transplantation. CONCLUSION: Ig-TheraSorb-Immunoadsorption is an alternative method of elimination of harmful antibodies and it enables successful integration of ABO-incompatible transplantation into regular transplantation programs.

Isolation, identification, synthesis, and field evaluation of the sex pheromone of the Brazilian population of Spodoptera frugiperda.

Several studies have shown intraspecific geographical variation in the composition of sex pheromones. Pheromone lures from North America and Europe were not effective against the fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith, 1797) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Brazil, so we examined the composition of the sex pheromone produced by females from Brazilian populations. Virgin female gland extracts contained (Z)-7-dodecenyl acetate (Z7-12:Ac), (E)-7-dodecenyl acetate (E7-12:Ac), dodecyl acetate, (Z)-9-dodecenyl acetate, (Z)-9-tetradecenyl acetate (Z9-14:Ac), (Z)-10-tetradecenyl acetate, tetradecyl acetate/(Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (Z11-16:Ac), and (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate. The relative proportions of each acetate were 0.8:1.2:0.6:traces:82.8:0.3:1.5:12.9, respectively. This is the first time that E7-12:Ac has been reported from the pheromone gland of S. frugiperda. Only three compounds, Z9-14:Ac, Z7-12:Ac, and E7-12:Ac, elicited antennal responses, and there were no differences in catch between traps baited with either Z7-12:Ac + Z9-14:Ac or Z7-12:Ac + Z9-14:Ac + Z11-16:Ac blends. However, the Z7-12:Ac + Z9-14:Ac + E7-12:Ac blend was significantly better than Z7-12:Ac + Z9-14:Ac, indicating that E7-12:Ac is an active component in the sex pheromone of the Brazilian populations of S. frugiperda.

Electrophysiological studies and identification of possible sex pheromone components of Brazilian populations of the sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis.

Virgin female gland extracts of sugarcane moth Diatraea saccharalis (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), from three locations in Brazil, have been analyzed. By GC-MS analysis and comparison of the chromatographic retention time of the components of the pheromone gland with those retention times of synthetic standards, we observed the presence of (Z)-hexadec-11-enal (1), hexadecanal (2), (9E,11Z)-hexadecadienal (4), (9Z,11Z)-hexadecadienal (5) and (9E,11E)-hexadecadienal (6), as minor components besides the major constituent (9Z,11E)-hexadecadienal (3) already reported. We found no variations in the composition of the gland extracts deriving from the three Brazilian populations and only two compounds, (Z)-hexadec-11-enal (1) and (9Z,11E)-hexadecadienal (3), elicited antennal responses (GC-EAD). In electroantennography (EAG), however, pure compounds 1 and 3, a binary mixture containing 1 and 3, and a mixture containing all of the six synthetic compounds 1-6 elicited a depolarization in male antennae of D. saccharalis, without any statistically different delay. The EAG responses to the other isomers of 9,11-hexadecadienal were small and not significantly different from the control, except for the (9Z,11Z)-isomer (5) which showed an relatively strong electroantennal activity.