The oral health situation and treatment need of schoolchildren Afghanistan: a cross-sectional study.

AIM: The present study explores the treatment need for dental caries in schoolchildren in Herat, Afghanistan. METHODS: A convenience sample of 13 schools were selected for the study. All schools were located in the urban areas near Herat and were selected through allocation by the Ministry of Health, which also approved the study protocol. In the schools, classes were allocated by the principal of the school. All the children in the allocated classes were included in the survey. Data collection was performed in the school setting by trained Afghan dentist examiners. To measure caries experience, DMFT/dmft scores were used, counting the number of decayed (measured at both white spot (D≥1) and cavitation level (D≥3), according to WHO criteria), missing and filled teeth. CONCLUSION: Dental caries is a considerable oral health problem in the study population. The present sample has a high proportion of untreated carious lesions and a very low level of restorative care. Moreover, significant differences were shown in relation to gender and age groups. The present survey results confirm the need for professional operative and preventive oral health care in this region.

Short exposure to cadmium disrupts the olfactory system of zebrafish (Danio rerio) - Relating altered gene expression in the olfactory organ to behavioral deficits.

Fish strongly rely on olfaction as a variety of essential behaviors such as foraging and predator avoidance are mediated by the olfactory system. Cadmium (Cd) is known to impair olfaction and accumulate in the olfactory epithelium (OE) and bulb (OB) of fishes. In the present study, the acute toxicity of Cd on olfaction in zebrafish (Danio rerio) was characterized on the molecular and behavioral level. To this end, quantitative real-time PCR was performed in order to analyze the expression of selected genes in both the OE and OB. Moreover, the response of zebrafish to an alarm cue was investigated. Following 24 h of exposure to Cd, the expression of genes associated with olfactory sensory neurons was reduced in the OE. Furthermore, the antioxidant genes peroxiredoxin 1 (prdx1) and heme oxygenase 1 (hmox1), as well as the metallothionein 2 gene (mt2) were upregulated in the OE, whereas hmox1 and the stress-inducible heat shock protein 70 gene (hsp70) were upregulated in the OB upon exposure to Cd. Following stimulation with a conspecific skin extract, zebrafish displayed a considerable disruption of the antipredator behavior with increasing Cd concentration. Taken together, Cd impaired olfaction in zebrafish, thereby disrupting the antipredator response, which is crucial for the survival of individuals. Cellular stress followed by disruption of olfactory sensory neurons may have contributed to the observed behavioral deficits.

Do you smell the danger? Effects of three commonly used pesticides on the olfactory-mediated antipredator response of zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Fish are warned about the presence of predators via an alarm cue released from the skin of injured conspecifics. The detection of this odor inherently initiates an antipredator response, which increases the chance of survival for the individual. In the present study, we assessed the effect of three commonly used pesticides on the antipredator response of zebrafish (Danio rerio). For this, we analyzed the behavioral response of zebrafish to a conspecific skin extract following 24 h of exposure to the respective contaminants. Results demonstrate that fish exposed to 20 µg/L of the organophosphate insecticide chlorpyrifos significantly reduced bottom-dwelling and freezing behavior, suggesting an impairment of the antipredator response. For the urea-herbicide linuron and the pyrethroid insecticide permethrin, no statistically significant effects could be detected. However, linuron-exposed fish appeared to respond in an altered manner to the skin extract; some individuals failed to perform the inherent behaviors such as erratic movements and instead merely increased their velocity. Furthermore, we determined whether zebrafish would avoid the pesticides in a choice maze. While fish avoided permethrin, they behaved indifferently to chlorpyrifos and linuron. The study demonstrates that pesticides may alter the olfactory-mediated antipredator response of zebrafish in distinct ways, revealing that particularly fish exposed to chlorpyrifos may be more prone to predation.

Factors influencing fixed retention practices in German-speaking Switzerland: A survey.

AIM: Several surveys evaluate different retention approaches among orthodontists, but none exist for general dentists. The primary aim of this survey was to record the preferred fixed retainer designs and retention protocols amongst general dentists and orthodontists in Switzerland. A secondary aim was to investigate whether retention patterns were associated with parameters such as gender, university of graduation, time in practice, and specialist status. METHODS: An anonymized questionnaire was distributed to general dentists (n = 401) and orthodontists (n = 398) practicing in the German-speaking part of Switzerland. A total of 768 questionnaires could be delivered, 562 (73.2 %) were returned and evaluated. Descriptive statistics were performed and responses to questions of interest were converted to binary outcomes and analyzed using multiple logistic regression. Any associations between the answers and gender, university of graduation (Swiss or foreign), years in practice, and specialist status (orthodontist/general dentist) were assessed. RESULTS: Almost all responding orthodontists (98.0 %) and nearly a third of general dentists (29.6 %) reported bonding fixed retainers regularly. The answers were not associated with the practitioner's gender. The university of graduation and number of years in practice had a moderate impact on the responses. The answers were mostly influenced by specialist status. CONCLUSION: Graduation school, years in practice, and specialist status influence retention protocol, and evidence-based guidelines for fixed retention should be issued to minimize these effects. Based on the observation that bonding and maintenance of retainers are also performed by general dentists, these guidelines should be taught in dental school and not during post-graduate training.

Low dose of acyclovir may be an effective treatment against pityriasis rosea: a random investigator-blind clinical trial on 64 patients.

BACKGROUND: Pityriasis rosea (PR) is a papulosquamous disease with an unknown aetiology, but recently the role of two herpes viruses human herpes virus 6 and human herpes virus 7 was defined as being the aetiology of PR. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare a low dose (400 mg five times a day for a week) anti-viral agent, acyclovir, with follow-up protocol for the treatment of PR. METHODS: A randomized, investigator-blind, prospective, 4-week study was designed. Sixty-four patients with PR presenting at the outpatient clinic were randomly allocated to acyclovir (400 mg five times a day for 1 week) or follow-up group. Fifty-four of them completed the period of study and their clinical responses such as improvement rate of erythema, and scaling and occurrence of complications were evaluated by two dermatologists using weekly photographic records. RESULTS: Statistically, acyclovir was more effective than follow-up in reducing erythema at the end of the first, second, third and fourth week of treatment. Although the decrease in scaling was higher in the acyclovir group at the end of the first, second and third week of treatment, there was no statistical significance between two groups at the end of fourth week of treatment in the both groups. CONCLUSIONS: According to our study, acyclovir may be more effective than follow-up in reducing erythema and shortening of duration of PR even in lower doses than was applied in previous studies. So given the safety of acyclovir, we suggest to our colleagues to consider this treatment when facing a patient suffering from this conundrum, at least in extensive or having pruritus ones.