Oral health and related factors in a group of children with cystic fibrosis in Istanbul, Turkey

Background: Cystic fibrosis (CF) patients can be considered as high caries risk patients because they frequently consume sugar.rich food between meals and they have a high intake of sugar containing syrups, aerosols, and salivary flow reducing medication. Variable caries prevalences were reported in CF patients in previous studies. There are no studies related to CF and salivary thromboplastic activity, which can be presented as a marker of wound healing and bleeding tendency of oral cavity.Objective: The aim of this study was to compare oral health status and salivary pH, flow rate, and thromboplastic activity in children with CF and healthy controls.Materials and Methods: Asample of 35 children with CF (23 girls and 12 boys), and 12 healthy control subjects (6 girls and 6 boys) were selected. Caries experience, oral hygiene, and dental erosion were assessed. Salivary flow rate, pH, thromboplastic activity, and total protein content were determined. Differences between the groups were evaluated using Chi.square test with a significance level set at 0.05.Results: The differences between children with CF and healthy controls in tooth brushing frequency, use of fluoride tablets, caries experience, dental erosion index, oral hygiene index, salivary flow rate and total protein levels were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Salivary thromboplastic activity of the CF group was significantly lower than the healthy controls (P < 0.01).Conclusion: Large population studies may be necessary to establish the role of salivary thromboplastic activity in children with CF considering our findings related to the decreased salivary thromboplastic activity, which  may indicate delayed oral wound healing process.Key words: Caries, children, cystic fibrosis, saliva, salivary thromboplastic activit

Analysis of subcellular metabolite levels of potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum) displaying alterations in cellular or extracellular sucrose metabolism

The expression of a heterologous invertase in potato tubers (Solanum tuberosum) in either the cytosol or apoplast leads to a decrease in total sucrose content and to an increase in glucose. Depending on the targeting of the enzyme different changes in phenotype and metabolism of the tubers occur: the cytosolic invertase expressing tubers show an increase in the glycolytic flux, accumulation of amino acids and organic acids, and the appearance of novel disaccharides; however, these changes are not observed when the enzyme is expressed in the apoplast [Roessner et al. (2001). Plant Cell, 13, 11-29]. The analysis of these lines raised several questions concerning the regulation of compartmentation of metabolites in potato tubers. In the current study we addressed these questions by performing comparative subcellular metabolite profiling. We demonstrate that: (i) hexoses accumulate in the vacuole independently of their site of production, but that the cytosolic invertase expression led to a strong increase in the cytosolic glucose concentration and decrease in cytosolic sucrose, whereas these effects were more moderate in the apoplastic expressors; (ii) three out of four of the novel compounds found in the cytosolic overexpressors accumulate in the same compartment; (iii) despite changes in absolute cellular content the subcellular distribution of amino acids was invariant in the invertase overexpressing tubers. These results are discussed in the context of current models of the compartmentation of primary metabolism in heterotrophic plant tissues

US and European Household Debt and Credit Constraints

This paper uses micro data from four OECD countries (the United States, Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands), to assess the determinants of household debt holding and to investigate whether or not credit constraints are important for household debt holding. We extend the existing literature in important ways. First, we present comparative evidence for four countries at the micro level, where we rely on household panel data for two countries; we are thus able to control for unobserved heterogeneity via individual household effects and to track changes in household behaviour over time. Second, by making data across countries as comparable as possible, we can explore the importance of the differences in institutional settings for debt incidence, debt outstanding and credit constraints. We also explore the implications for debt holding from consumption models, including a numerically solved precautionary savings model. We find that inter-country differences are substantial and remain even after controlling for a host of observable characteristics. This points to institutional differences between the countries being important

Is it adaptive to disengage from demands of social change? Adjustment to developmental barriers in opportunity-deprived regions

This paper investigates how individuals deal with demands of social and economic change in the domains of work and family when opportunities for their mastery are unfavorable. Theoretical considerations and empirical research suggest that with unattainable goals and unmanageable demands motivational disengagement and self-protective cognitions bring about superior outcomes than continued goal striving. Building on research on developmental deadlines, this paper introduces the concept of developmental barriers to address socioeconomic conditions of severely constrained opportunities in certain geographical regions. Mixed-effects methods were used to model cross-level interactions between individual-level compensatory secondary control and regional-level opportunity structures in terms of social indicators for the economic prosperity and family friendliness. Results showed that disengagement was positively associated with general life satisfaction in regions that were economically devastated and has less than average services for families. In regions that were economically well off and family-friendly, the association was negative. Similar results were found for self-protection concerning domain-specific satisfaction with life. These findings suggest that compensatory secondary control can be an adaptive way of mastering a demand when primary control is not possible

Mild reductions in cytosolic NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase activity result in lower amino acid contents and pigmentation without impacting growth

Transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants were generated targeting the cytosolic NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase gene (SlICDH1) via the RNA interference approach. The resultant transformants displayed a relatively mild reduction in the expression and activity of the target enzyme in the leaves. However, biochemical analyses revealed that the transgenic lines displayed a considerable shift in metabolism, being characterized by decreases in the levels of the TCA cycle intermediates, total amino acids, photosynthetic pigments, starch and NAD(P)H. The plants showed little change in photosynthesis with the exception of a minor decrease in maximum photosynthetic efficiency (Fv/Fm), and a small decrease in growth compared to the wild type. These results reveal that even small changes in cytosolic NADP-dependent isocitrate dehydrogenase activity lead to noticeable alterations in the activities of enzymes involved in primary nitrate assimilation and in the synthesis of 2-oxoglutarate derived amino acids. These data are discussed within the context of current models for the role of the various isoforms of isocitrate dehydrogenase within plant amino acid metabolism

A multidisciplinary consensus on the morphological and functional responses to immunotherapy treatment

The implementation of immunotherapy has radically changed the treatment of oncological patients. Currently, immunotherapy is indicated in the treatment of patients with head and neck tumors, melanoma, lung cancer, bladder tumors, colon cancer, cervical cancer, breast cancer, Merkel cell carcinoma, liver cancer, leukemia and lymphomas. However, its efficacy is restricted to a limited number of cases. The challenge is, therefore, to identify which subset of patients would benefit from immunotherapy. To this end, the establishment of immunotherapy response criteria and predictive and prognostic biomarkers is of paramount interest. In this report, a group of experts of the Spanish Society of Medical Oncology (SEOM), the Spanish Society of Medical Radiology (SERAM), and Spanish Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SEMNIM) provide an up-to-date review and a consensus guide on these issues

What Is New for an Old Molecule? Systematic Review and Recommendations on the Use of Resveratrol

Stilbenes are naturally occurring phytoalexins that generally exist as their more stable E isomers. The most well known natural stilbene is resveratrol (Res), firstly isolated in 1939 from roots of Veratrum grandiflorum (white hellebore) (1) and since then found in various edible plants, notably in Vitis vinifera L. (Vitaceae) (2). The therapeutic potential of Res covers a wide range of diseases, and multiple beneficial effects on human health such as antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer activities have been suggested based on several in vitro and animal studies (3). In particular, Res has been reported to be an inhibitor of carcinogenesis at multiple stages via its ability to inhibit cyclooxygenase, and is an anticancer agent with a role in antiangiogenesis (4). Moreover, both in vitro and in vivo studies showed that Res induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in tumor cells (4). However, clinical studies in humans evidenced that Res is rapidly absorbed after oral intake, and that the low level observed in the blood stream is caused by a fast conversion into metabolites that are readily excreted from the body (5). Thus, considerable efforts have gone in the design and synthesis of Res analogues with enhanced metabolic stability. Considering that reduced Res (dihydro- resveratrol, D-Res) conjugates may account for as much as 50% of an oral Res dose (5), and that D-Res has a strong proliferative effect on hormone-sensitive cancer cell lines such as breast cancer cell line MCF7 (6), we recently devoted our synthetic efforts to the preparation of trans-restricted analogues of Res in which the E carbon-carbon double bond is embedded into an imidazole nucleus. To keep the trans geometry, the two aryl rings were linked to the heteroaromatic core in a 1,3 fashion. Based on this design, we successfully prepared a variety of 1,4-, 2,4- and 2,5-diaryl substituted imidazoles including Res analogues 1, 2 and 3, respectively, by procedures that involve transition metal-catalyzed Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reactions and highly selective N-H or C-H direct arylation reactions as key synthetic steps. The anticancer activity of compounds 1–3 was evaluated against the 60 human cancer cell lines panel of the National Cancer Institute (NCI, USA). The obtained results, that will be showed and discussed along with the protocols developed for the preparation of imidazoles 1–3, confirmed that a structural optimization of Res may provide analogues with improved potency in inhibiting the growth of human cancer cell lines in vitro when compared to their natural lead. (1) Takaoka,M.J.Chem.Soc.Jpn.1939,60,1090-1100. (2) Langcake, P.; Pryce, R. J. Physiological. Plant Patology 1976, 9, 77-86. (3) Vang, O.; et al. PLoS ONE 2011, 6, e19881. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0019881 (4) Kraft, T. E.; et al. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 2009, 49, 782-799. (5) Walle, T. Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 2011, 1215, 9-15. doi: 10.1111/j.1749-6632.2010.05842.x (6) Gakh,A.A.;etal.Bioorg.Med.Chem.Lett.2010,20,6149-6151