Persisting Salivary IgG Against SARS-CoV-2 at 9 Months After Mild COVID-19: A Complementary Approach to Population Surveys.

BACKGROUND: Declining humoral immunity in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and possible reinfection have raised concern. Mucosal immunity, particularly salivary antibodies, may be short lived although long-term studies are lacking. METHODS: Using a multiplex bead-based array platform, we investigated antibodies specific to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) proteins in 256 saliva samples from convalescent patients 1-9 months after symptomatic COVID-19 (n = 74, cohort 1), undiagnosed individuals with self-reported questionnaires (n = 147, cohort 2), and individuals sampled prepandemic (n = 35, cohort 3). RESULTS: Salivary IgG antibody responses in cohort 1 (mainly mild COVID-19) were detectable up to 9 months postrecovery, with high correlations between spike and nucleocapsid specificity. At 9 months, IgG remained in blood and saliva in most patients. Salivary IgA was rarely detected at this time point. In cohort 2, salivary IgG and IgA responses were significantly associated with recent history of COVID-19-like symptoms. Salivary IgG tolerated temperature and detergent pretreatments. CONCLUSIONS: Unlike SARS-CoV-2 salivary IgA that appeared short lived, specific saliva IgG appeared stable even after mild COVID-19, as for blood serology. This noninvasive saliva-based SARS-CoV-2 antibody test with home self-collection may be a complementary alternative to conventional blood serology.

Oral Health Among Swedish Patients with Substance Use Disorders - A Comparative, Cross-Sectional Study.

PURPOSE: This study explored the oral health of individuals with substance use disorders and examined the relationship between oral health and type and number of years of substance use disorder. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This comparative cross-sectional study comprised patients with one of four groups of substance use disorders - alcohol, cannabis, central nervous system stimulants (CNSS), and opiates. All participants underwent a dental examination and were included in the study based on their clinical findings. RESULTS: Of 95 participants, 79 (83%) were male and 37 (39%) were homeless. Statistically significant difference between the groups was observed in 6-12-mm periodontal pocket depths (p <0.05), as were differences in oral mucosal changes (p <0.001). Statistically significantly lower proportions were observed in the cannabis group for Mob G:0 and Mob G:1 and Furcation G:1 compared to the CNSS and opiate groups; the proportion of Furcation G:0 was significantly lower in the alcohol group compared to the cannabis group. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) revealed statistically significant between-group differences in age, number of years of substance use disorder, number of teeth, and decayed, missing and filled teeth (DMFT). When controlling for age and gender, substance type was found to be a statistically significant predictor of number of teeth (B = -4.4; 95% CI: -8.1 to -0.38; p = 0.03) and DMFT (B = 2.1; 95% CI: 0.86 to 3.3; p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate poor oral health among individuals with substance use disorders. It seems that oral health problems are lower among abusers of cannabis than of CNSS, alcohol and opiates.

TNF-alpha and Notch signaling regulates the expression of HOXB4 and GATA3 during early T lymphopoiesis.

During the early thymus colonization, Notch signaling activation on hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPCs) drives proliferation and T cell commitment. Although these processes are driven by transcription factors such as HOXB4 and GATA3, there is no evidence that Notch directly regulates their transcription. To evaluate the role of NOTCH and TNF signaling in this process, human CD34+ HPCs were cocultured with OP9-DL1 cells, in the presence or absence of TNF. The use of a Notch signaling inhibitor and a protein synthesis inhibitor allowed us to distinguish primary effects, mediated by direct signaling downstream Notch and TNF, from secondary effects, mediated by de novo synthesized proteins. A low and physiologically relevant concentration of TNF promoted T lymphopoiesis in OP9-DL1 cocultures. TNF positively modulated the expression of both transcripts in a Notch-dependent manner; however, GATA3 induction was mediated by a direct mechanism, while HOXB4 induction was indirect. Induction of both transcripts was repressed by a GSK3ß inhibitor, indicating that activation of canonical Wnt signaling inhibits rather than induces their expression. Our study provides novel evidences of the mechanisms integrating Notch and TNF-alpha signaling in the transcriptional induction of GATA3 and HOXB4. This mechanism has direct implications in the control of self-renewal, proliferation, commitment, and T cell differentiation.

Adaptación de la Escala de Afectividad Positiva y Negativa (PANAS) a la población de adultos de la ciudad de Córdoba: análisis psicométricos preliminares / Adaptation of Positive and Negative Affectivity Scale (PANAS) to adults in Cordoba city: Preliminary psychometric analysis

El afecto o emoción como tema de investigación científica ha despertado un gran interés en los últimos años, sin embargo, en nuestro medio no se cuenta con instrumentos psicométricos que permitan una medición válida y confiable. El presente trabajo tuvo por objetivo realizar una adaptación psicométrica de la Escala de Afectividad Positiva y Negativa ([PANAS], Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988) a la población de adultos de la ciudad de Córdoba, Argentina. Los estudios de estructura interna sugieren la existencia de dos dimensiones subyacentes homogéneas (α= 0.73; α= 0.82) que explican un 39 % de la variabilidad de la prueba. Asimismo, los estudios de correlación ítem-total, de discriminación de ítem y de contrastación de grupos resultaron semejantes a los reportados por trabajos antecedentes. En conjunto, los resultados obtenidos son promisorios y avalan el uso del PANAS en el contexto cordobés.

The affect or emotion as a topic of scientific investigation has been of great interest in recent years, however in our environment there are no psychometric instruments which allow a valid and reliable measurement. The object of this work was to create a psychometric adaptation of the Positive and Negative Affectivity Scale ([PANAS], Watson, Clark & Tellegen, 1988) for the adult population of the city of Cordoba, Argentina. The internal structure studies suggest the existence of two subjacent homogenous dimensions (α= 0.73; α= 0.82) which explain 39% of the variability of the test. Studies of the correlation item total, of item discrimination and contrasted groups resulted similar to those reported in previous works. Altogether, the results obtained are promising and support the use of PANAS in Cordoba.

Increased levels of NOTCH1, NF-kappaB, and other interconnected transcription factors characterize primitive sets of hematopoietic stem cells.

As previously shown, higher levels of NOTCH1 and increased NF-kappaB signaling is a distinctive feature of the more primitive umbilical cord blood (UCB) CD34+ hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), as compared to bone marrow (BM). Differences between BM and UCB cell composition also account for this finding. The CD133 marker defines a more primitive cell subset among CD34+ HSC with a proposed hemangioblast potential. To further evaluate the molecular basis related to the more primitive characteristics of UCB and CD133+ HSC, immunomagnetically purified human CD34+ and CD133+ cells from BM and UCB were used on gene expression microarrays studies. UCB CD34+ cells contained a significantly higher proportion of CD133+ cells than BM (70% and 40%, respectively). Cluster analysis showed that BM CD133+ cells grouped with the UCB cells (CD133+ and CD34+) rather than to BM CD34+ cells. Compared with CD34+ cells, CD133+ had a higher expression of many transcription factors (TFs). Promoter analysis on all these TF genes revealed a significantly higher frequency (than expected by chance) of NF-kappaB-binding sites (BS), including potentially novel NF-kappaB targets such as RUNX1, GATA3, and USF1. Selected transcripts of TF related to primitive hematopoiesis and self-renewal, such as RUNX1, GATA3, USF1, TAL1, HOXA9, HOXB4, NOTCH1, RELB, and NFKB2 were evaluated by real-time PCR and were all significantly positively correlated. Taken together, our data indicate the existence of an interconnected transcriptional network characterized by higher levels of NOTCH1, NF-kappaB, and other important TFs on more primitive HSC sets.

Oral health of homeless adults in Stockholm, Sweden.

The aim of the present study was to record and describe the oral condition of homeless adults in Stockholm, Sweden. There have been no clinical studies of the oral health of the homeless in Sweden since the 1970s. The study population comprised 147 homeless individuals (110 M, 37 F) in the age range 22-77 years. All underwent oral examination, including registration of periodontal status and caries data. The results show that homeless adults in Stockholm have fewer remaining teeth than the general population. Because conservative periodontal treatment is expensive and time-consuming, teeth with doubtful prognoses are usually extracted and only those with optimal periodontal health are retained. Another consequence of inadequate periodontal treatment, including insufficient oral hygiene instruction, is the high percentage of tooth surfaces with plaque accumulation. Heavy plaque accumulation will also have an effect on caries progression, expressed in this study as high DMFT values. Loss of teeth is likely to create dental and chewing problems, possibly resulting in increased dental and medical treatment needs.

The perceptions of homeless people in Stockholm concerning oral health and consequences of dental treatment: a qualitative study.

This study investigated the perceptions of Swedish homeless people concerning their oral health and perceived consequences of dental treatment. Candid, tape-recorded interviews were conducted in a conversational style. A phenomenological-hermeneutical method was used to analyze the subjects' stories. New participants were recruited into the study, until the interviews provided no additional new information, which occurred after eight interviews. All narratives revealed expressions of loss as well as recovery in the informants' life. Both aspects highlighted the fact that homelessness equated to "loss" not only of a permanent residence but also of many values. Similarly, oral health was described and interpreted in terms of loss and recovery. During periods of drug abuse, study participants ranked oral health as a low priority and generally received only emergency dental attention. In more rehabilitative phases of life, however, they perceived oral health and dental treatment as a function to restore their human dignity and as a key to their holistic recovery of total body health.