Current Issue : October - December Volume : 2019 Issue Number : 4 Articles : 5 Articles
Periodontitis is a highly prevalent infectious disease that affects to 50% of the adults in the USA alone. Two Gram-positive anaerobic oral bacteria, Filifactor alocis and Peptoanaerobacter stomatis, have emerged as important periodontal pathogens. Neutrophils are a major component of the innate host response in the gingival tissue, and the contribution of neutrophil-derived cytokines and chemokines plays a central role in disease progression. The pattern of cytokines and chemokines released by human neutrophils upon stimulation with newly appreciated periodontal bacteria compared to the keystone oral pathogen Porphyromonas gingivalis was investigated. Our results showed that both F. alocis and P. stomatis triggered TLR2/6 activation. F. alocis induced significant changes in gene expression of cytokines and chemokines in human neutrophils compared to unstimulated cells. However, except for IL-1ra, neutrophils released lower levels of cytokines and chemokines in response to F. alocis compared to P. stomatis. Furthermore, bacteria-free conditioned supernatant collected from neutrophils challenged with P. stomatis, but not from P. gingivalis or F. alocis, was chemotactic towards both neutrophils and monocytes. Elucidating stimuli-specific modulation of human neutrophil effector functions in the context of dysbiotic microbial community constituents provides valuable information for understanding the pathogenesis of periodontal diseases....
Background: Although surgical site infection after craniotomy (SSI-CRAN) is a serious complication, risk factors for\nits development have not been well defined. We aim to identify the risk factors for developing SSI-CRAN in a large\nprospective cohort of adult patients undergoing craniotomy.\nMethods: A series of consecutive patients who underwent craniotomy at a university hospital from January 2013 to\nDecember 2015 were prospectively assessed. Demographic, epidemiological, surgical, clinical and microbiological\ndata were collected. Patients were followed up in an active post-discharge surveillance programm e for up to one\nyear after surgery. Multivariate analysis was carried out to identify independent risk factors for SSI-CRAN.\nResults: Among the 595 patients who underwent craniotomy, 91 (15.3%) episodes of SSI-CRAN were recorded, 67\n(73.6%) of which were organ/space. Baseline demographic characteristics were similar among patients who developed\nSSI-CRAN and those who did not. The most frequent causative Gram-positive organisms were Cutibacterium acnes (23.1%)\nand Staphylococcus epidermidis (23.1%), whereas Enterobacter cloacae (12.1%) was the most commonly isolated Gramnegative\nagent. In the univariate analysis the factors associated with SSI-CRAN were ASA score > 2 (48.4% vs. 35.5% in\nSSI-CRAN and no SSI-CRAN respectively, p = 0.025), extrinsic tumour (28.6% vs. 19.2%, p = 0.05), and re-intervention (4.4%\nvs. 1.4%, p = < 0.001). In the multivariate analysis, ASA score > 2 (AOR: 2.26, 95% CI: 1.32â??3.87; p = .003) and re-intervention\n(OR: 8.93, 95% CI: 5.33â??14.96; p < 0.001) were the only factors independently associated with SSI-CRAN.\nConclusion: The risk factors and causative agents of SSI-CRAN identified in this study should be considered in the design\nof preventive strategies aimed to reduce the incidence of this serious complication....
Background: Cholera increases the risk of harmful effects on foetuses. We prospectively followed pregnant women\nunaware of their pregnancy status who received a study agent in a clinical trial evaluating the association between\nexposure to an oral cholera vaccine (OCV) and foetal survival.\nMethods: Study participants were selected from a randomized placebo-controlled trial conducted in Dhaka, Bangladesh.\nThe vaccination campaign was conducted between January 10 and February 4, 2014. We enrolled women who were\nexposed to an OCV or placebo during pregnancy (Cohort 1) and women who were pregnant after the vaccination was\ncompleted (Cohort 2). Our primary endpoint was pregnancy loss (spontaneous miscarriage or stillbirth), and\nthe secondary endpoints were preterm delivery and low birth weight. We employed a log-binomial regression\nto calculate the relative risk of having adverse outcomes among OCV recipients compared to that among\nplacebo recipients.\nResult: There were 231 OCV and 234 placebo recipients in Cohort 1 and 277 OCV and 299 placebo recipients\nin Cohort 2. In Cohort 1, the incidence of pregnancy loss was 113/1000 and 115/1000 among OCV and placebo\nrecipients, respectively. The adjusted relative risk for pregnancy loss was 0.97 (95% CI: 0.58â??1.61; p = 0.91) in Cohort 1.\nWe did not observe any variation in the risk of pregnancy loss between the two cohorts. The risks for preterm delivery\nand low birth weight were not significantly different between the groups in both cohorts.\nConclusions: Our study provides additional evidence that exposure to an OCV during pregnancy does not increase\nthe risk of pregnancy loss, preterm delivery, or low birth weight, suggesting that pregnant women in cholera-affected\nregions should not be excluded in a mass vaccination campaign....
Background: Despite the undeniable significance of blood transfusion in saving a millions life in emergencies and\nmedical treatment, the quality of blood faced challenges from transfusion-transmitted infections (TTIs) such as HIV\n(human immunodeficiency virus), HBV (hepatitis B virus) and HCV (hepatitis C virus). This cross-sectional study was\nundertaken with the aim of determining the seroprevalence and risk factors of HIV, HBV, and HCV among blood\ndonors.\nMethods: An institutional based cross-sectional study was conducted at Debre Tabor district hospital from January\n2017 to February 2018. Blood samples from volunteer donors collected; serum separated and screened with ELISA\ntests for detection of anti-HIV, hepatitis-B surface antigen (HBsAg) and anti-HCV. Fishersâ?? exact test was employed to\nsee the association between variables as well logistic regression tests were applied to identify potential risk factors.\nP-value of less than 0.05 was considered as statistically significant.\nResult: A total of 310 volunteer donors were included in the study. The proportion of blood donors having at least\none viral-TTI was 12.6% while the magnitudes of HIV, HBV, and HCV were 2.6, 5.8 and 4.2%, respectively. Educational\nstatus and multiple sexual behaviors are significantly associated with HIV acquisition whilst marital status was\nsignificantly associated with HBsAg seropositivity.\nConclusion: Seroprevalence of transfusion-transmissible infections was high and alarming therefore proper\nscreening of donated blood with test methods having better diagnostic performance should be employed. Also\nencouragement of blood donation from voluntary donors and creating awareness on the general public regarding\nHIV, HBsAg and HCV transmission and prevention should be strengthen....
Background: Over the past decades there have been outbreaks of mumps in many countries, even in populations\nthat were vaccinated. Some studies suggest that the incidence of mumps is related to meteorological changes, but\nthe results of these studies vary in different regions. To date there is no reported study on correlations between\nmumps incidence and meteorological parameters in Beijing, China.\nMethods: A time series analysis incorporating selected weather factors and the number of mumps cases from 1990\nto 2012 in Beijing was performed. First, correlations between meteorological variables and the number of mumps\ncases were assessed. A seasonal autoregressive integrated moving average model with explanatory variables\n(SARIMAX) was then constructed to predict mumps cases.\nResults: Mean temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, vapor pressure, and wind speed were significantly associated\nwith mumps incidence.................
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