bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Dental hygiene residential care in a 3‐year dental hygiene education programme in Japan: towards dysphagia management based on the dental hygiene process of care
Authors: Nishimura T , Takahashi C , Takahashi E 
Published: July 2007

Abstract:  This paper reports an evaluation of a residential care practice, which was part of a ‘Dysphagia Management’ course introduced into a 3‐year dental hygiene curriculum in Japan. The clinical practice was performed at a care facility for the elderly people. Dental hygiene interventions, which consisted mainly of professional oral care, were implemented on a client who was bed‐bound after suffering from a stroke. As the client had severe tension in muscles around oral cavity, it was difficult for the facility care workers to provide daily oral hygiene care. The goals of the dental hygiene care plan included decreasing tension of oral muscles and reducing periodontal inflammation and halitosis. The dental hygiene interventions were given once a month for 5 months. Evaluation in the fifth month demonstrated relaxation of oral muscles, decrease in plaque accumulation, and improvements in levels of gingival inflammation, indicating the partial achievements of the initial goals. Possibilities for revision of the care plan could call for more active involvement of the facility care workers and client‐centered goal setting.This learning experience provided an opportunity for continuing intervention and evaluation of dental hygiene care for the same client. The positive results of our limited interventions further confirmed the importance of professional oral care in organic and functional improvements in oral health for the elderly people.
The Internet and the oral healthcare professionals: potential and challenges of a new era
Authors: Mattheos N 
Published: July 2007

Abstract:  The Internet is increasingly used as a means of continuous education for healthcare practitioners. At the same time, a rapidly growing number of patients rely on the Internet for the search and acquisition of healthcare‐related information and services. This fact has introduced new challenges for the oral healthcare personnel, which must not only often face the misperceptions of ill‐informed patients but also be able to redirect them to quality sources of healthcare‐related information.Consequently, there is a great need for the whole oral healthcare team to further understand the potential and dangers of Internet‐based information.The present paper aimed to briefly discuss the major implications of Internet use from two distinct points of view:

potential and risks of Internet use for lifelong learning and quality assessment of the oral healthcare team and
potential and dangers from the Internet as a means of patients’ education.

In particular this paper will review strategies of

generic Internet search;
search within healthcare‐related databases; and
principles quality assessment of information and resources.
Measurement of stain on extracted teeth using spectrophotometry and digital image analysis
Authors: Lath DL , Smith RN , Guan YH , Karmo M , Brook AH 
Published: July 2007

Abstract:  Aim:  The aim of this study was to assess the reliability and validate a customized image analysis system, designed for use within clinical trials of general dental hygiene and whitening products, for the measurement of stain levels on extracted teeth and to compare it with reflectance spectrophotometry.Method:  Twenty non‐carious extracted teeth were soaked in an artificial saliva, brushed for 1 min using an electric toothbrush and a standard toothpaste, bleached using a 5.3% hydrogen peroxide solution and cycled for 6 h daily through a tea solution. CIE L* values were obtained after each treatment step using the customized image analysis system and a reflectance spectrophotometer. A statistical analysis was carried out in SPSS.Results:  Fleiss’ coefficient of reliability for intra‐operator repeatability of the image analysis system and spectrophotometry was 0.996 and 0.946 respectively. CIE L* values were consistently higher using the image analysis compared with spectrophotometry, and t‐tests for each treatment step showed significant differences (P < 0.05) for the two methods. Limits of agreement between the methods were −27.95 to +2.07, with a 95% confidence of the difference calculated as −14.26 to −11.84. The combined results for all treatment steps showed a significant difference between the methods for the CIE L* values (P < 0.05).Conclusion:  The image analysis system has proven to be a reliable method for assessment of changes in stain level on extracted teeth. The method has been validated against reflectance spectrophotometry. This method may be used for pilot in vitro studies/trials of oral hygiene and whitening products, before expensive in vivo tests are carried out.
Longitudinal study of veterinary students and veterinarians: effects of growing up on a farm with animals
Authors: Heath TJ 
Published: July 2007

Objective  To compare the career paths of veterinarians who had grown up on farms with animals with those of veterinarians from other backgrounds, during the first 15 years after they graduated.Procedure  Questionnaires were completed by veterinary students in their first and fifth year, and after 1, 5, 10 and 15 years after they graduated. The most recent questionnaires were returned by 134 of 137 graduates, 20% of whom had grown up, or lived for at least two years, on farms where animals were a primary source of income. This paper includes findings from that questionnaire but also contains comparisons with previous ones.Results  Fifteen years after they graduated, veterinarians who had grown up on farms with animals were more likely than those of other backgrounds to be living in centres with < 10,000 people (58% farm, 20% other), irrespective of the type of work they were doing. Although they were more likely to be doing no veterinary work (42% farm, 21% other), they were also more likely to be working in mixed practice (15% farm, 9% other) and with cattle and sheep generally (11% full time equivalent farm, 5% full time equivalent other). However, > 80% of those who had started their careers in mixed practice were no longer in mixed practice after 15 years. Veterinarians of farm origin who were in private practice were more likely to be sole or part owners (93% farm, 46% other) and less likely to be employees (7% farm, 54% other).Conclusions  In this study, veterinarians who had grown up on farms with animals seemed slightly more likely than those from other backgrounds to continue working in mixed practice and to work with cattle or sheep, although the numbers were small and the differences not significant. Whatever their background, the majority who started their careers in mixed practice left over the next few years, and by 15 years only 15% remained.
Fucosylated fraction of alpha‐fetoprotein, L3, as a useful prognostic factor in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma with special reference to low concentrations of serum alpha‐fetoprotein
Authors: Kobayashi Makoto , Kuroiwa Takashi , Suda Takeshi , Tamura Yasushi , Kawai Hirokazu , Igarashi Masato , Fukuhara Yasuo , Aoyagi Yutaka 
Published: July 2007

Background:  The aim of the present study was to establish L3 fraction before initial treatment as a useful prognostic factor in a prospective fashion in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) where the alpha‐fetoprotein (AFP) was very low.Methods:  From 1990 to 2004, 298 HCC patients in whom L3 could be measured were examined in the present study. Enrolled patients with HCC underwent operation, transcatheter arterial chemoembolization and percutaneous ablation therapy. The current patient status was confirmed as of the end of March 2005. L3 was determined by crossed immuno‐affinoelectrophoresis when AFP was ≥30 ng/mL. It was carried out by liquid‐phase binding assay system on cases where AFP < 30 ng/mL. The tentative discriminating line of L3 was set at 15%.Results:  The HCC group included four subgroups: 110 patients with AFP concentrations ≤100 ng/mL, 70 with AFP≤ 50 ng/mL, 38 with AFP ≤ 30 ng/mL and 29 with AFP ≤ 25 ng/mL. The mean survival rate in the HCC group, whose L3 was >15% (high L3), was significantly lower than that in the HCC group whose L3 was ≤15% (low L3). There were also statistically significant differences in survival rates between high and low L3 in the four HCC subgroups. The statistically significant differences were more distinct in the subgroups with low AFP concentrations.Conclusions:  The present study indicates that the L3 fraction before treatment serves as a useful prognostic indicator when the serum concentrations of AFP were very low.
Validation of a Microsphere-Based Immunoassay for Detection of Anti-West Nile Virus and Anti-St. Louis Encephalitis Virus Immunoglobulin M Antibodies
Authors: Johnson Alison J. , Cheshier Ronald C. , Cosentino Giorgio , Masri Heather P. , Mock Valerie , Oesterle Rebecca , Lanciotti Robert S. , Martin Denise A. , Panella Amanda J. , Kosoy Olga , Biggerstaff Brad J. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACTA microsphere-based immunoassay (MIA) was previously developed that is capable of determining the presence of anti-West Nile (WN) virus or anti-St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) virus immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies in human serum or cerebrospinal fluid. The original data set on which the classification rules were based comprised 491 serum specimens obtained from the serum bank at the Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (DVBID). The classification rules were used to provide a result and to determine whether confirmatory testing was necessary for a given sample. A validation study was coordinated between the DVBID and five state health laboratories to determine (i) the reproducibility of the test between different laboratories, (ii) the correlation between the IgM-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (MAC-ELISA) and the MIA, and (iii) whether the initial nonspecific parameters could be refined to reduce the volume of confirmatory testing. Laboratorians were trained in the method, and reagents and data analysis software developed at the DVBID were shipped to each validating laboratory. Validating laboratories performed tests on approximately 200 samples obtained from their individual states, the collections of which comprised approximately equal numbers of WN virus-positive and -negative samples, as determined by MAC-ELISA. In addition, 377 samples submitted to the DVBID for arbovirus testing were analyzed using the MIA and MAC-ELISA at the DVBID only. For the specimens tested at both the state and the DVBID laboratories, a correlation of results indicated that the technology is readily transferable between laboratories. The detection of IgM antibodies to WN virus was more consistent than detection of IgM antibodies to SLE virus. Some changes were made to the analysis software that resulted in an improved accuracy of diagnosis.
Microsporidian Infection Is Prevalent in Healthy People in Cameroon
Authors: Nkinin Stephenson W. , Asonganyi Tazoacha , Didier Elizabeth S. , Kaneshiro Edna S. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT

Most studies of opportunistic infections focus on those with weak immune systems, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/AIDS patients and children. However, there is a lack of information on these infectious agents in healthy people worldwide. In the present study, stool samples from both HIV patients and healthy people were examined to begin filling in this serious gap in the understanding of human microsporidiosis, particularly the enteric parasite
Enterocytozoon bieneusi
. Specimens were obtained from 191 individuals living in Yaoundé, the capital city of Cameroon, in sub-Sahara Africa, including 28 HIV-positive patients who also had tuberculosis (TB).
E. bieneusi
prevalence was 35.7% among the HIV
+
TB patients, whereas it was only 24.0% among 25 HIV
−
TB patients in the same hospital. Unexpectedly, the prevalence (67.5%) of microsporidiosis was found to be even higher for 126 immunocompetent individuals than for those with TB (healthy people compared to HIV
+
TB and HIV
−
TB patients;
P
< 0.001). The immunocompetent group included people ranging from 2 to 70 years of age living in four different neighborhoods in Yaoundé. The highest prevalence (81.5%) was among teenagers, and the highest mean infection score (+2.5) was among children. Additional studies of immunocompetent people in other parts of Cameroon, as well as in other countries, are needed to better understand microsporidiosis epidemiology. There is still much more to be learned about the natural history of microsporidia, the pathogenicity of different strains, and the role of enteric microsporidia as opportunistic infections in immunodeficient people.
Bacteriology of Moderate-to-Severe Diabetic Foot Infections and In Vitro Activity of Antimicrobial Agents
Authors: Citron Diane M. , Goldstein Ellie J. C. , Merriam C. Vreni , Lipsky Benjamin A. , Abramson Murray A. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT

As part of a United States-based multicenter clinical trial, conducted from 2001 to 2004, that compared ertapenem to piperacillin-tazobactam for the treatment of moderate-to-severe diabetic foot infections (DFIs), we obtained 454 pretreatment specimens from 433 patients. After debridement, the investigators collected wound specimens, mostly by curettage or biopsy, and sent them to the R. M. Alden Research Laboratory for aerobic and anaerobic culture. Among the 427 positive cultures, 83.8% were polymicrobial, 48% grew only aerobes, 43.7% had both aerobes and anaerobes, and 1.3% had only anaerobes. Cultures yielded a total of 1,145 aerobic strains and 462 anaerobic strains, with an average of 2.7 organisms per culture (range, 1 to 8) for aerobes and 2.3 organisms per culture (range, 1 to 9) for anaerobes. The predominant aerobic organisms were oxacillin-susceptible
Staphylococcus aureus
(14.3%), oxacillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
(4.4%), coagulase-negative
Staphylococcus
species (15.3%),
Streptococcus
species (15.5%),
Enterococcus
species (13.5%),
Corynebacterium
species (10.1%), members of the family
Enterobacteriaceae
(12.8%), and
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
(3.5%). The predominant anaerobes were gram-positive cocci (45.2%),
Prevotella
species (13.6%),
Porphyromonas
species (11.3%), and the
Bacteroides fragilis
group (10.2%). Pure cultures were noted for 20% of oxacillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus
cultures, 9.2% of
Staphylococcus epidermidis
cultures, and 2.5% of
P. aeruginosa
cultures. Two or more species of
Staphylococcus
were present in 13.1% of the patients. Ertapenem and piperacillin-tazobactam were each active against >98% of the enteric gram-negative rods, methicillin-sensitive
S. aureus
, and anaerobes. Among the fluoroquinolones, 24% of anaerobes, especially the gram-positive cocci, were resistant to moxifloxacin; 27% of the gram-positive aerobes but only 6% of the members of the family
Enterobacteriaceae
were resistant to levofloxacin. Moderate-to-severe DFIs are typically polymicrobial, and almost half include anaerobes. Our antibiotic susceptibility results can help to inform therapeutic choices.
Replication-Competent Variants of Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 2 Lacking the V3 Loop Exhibit Resistance to Chemokine Receptor Antagonists
Authors: Lin George , Bertolotti-Ciarlet Andrea , Haggarty Beth , Romano Josephine , Nolan Katrina M. , Leslie George J. , Jordan Andrea P.-O. , Huang Chih-chin , Kwong Peter D. , Doms Robert W. , Hoxie James A. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT
Entry of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and HIV-2 requires interactions between the envelope glycoprotein (Env) on the virus and CD4 and a chemokine receptor, either CCR5 or CXCR4, on the cell surface. The V3 loop of the HIV gp120 glycoprotein plays a critical role in this process, determining tropism for CCR5- or CXCR4-expressing cells, but details of how V3 interacts with these receptors have not been defined. Using an iterative process of deletion mutagenesis and in vitro adaptation of infectious viruses, variants of HIV-2 were derived that could replicate without V3, either with or without a deletion of the V1/V2 variable loops. The generation of these functional but markedly minimized Envs required adaptive changes on the gp120 core and gp41 transmembrane glycoprotein. V3-deleted Envs exhibited tropism for both CCR5- and CXCR4-expressing cells, suggesting that domains on the gp120 core were mediating interactions with determinants shared by both coreceptors. Remarkably, HIV-2 Envs with V3 deletions became resistant to small-molecule inhibitors of CCR5 and CXCR4, suggesting that these drugs inhibit wild-type viruses by disrupting a specific V3 interaction with the coreceptor. This study represents a proof of concept that HIV Envs lacking V3 alone or in combination with V1/V2 that retain functional domains required for viral entry can be derived. Such minimized Envs may be useful in understanding Env function, screening for new inhibitors of gp120 core interactions with chemokine receptors, and designing novel immunogens for vaccines.
Induction of Potent CD8
+
T-Cell Responses by Novel Biodegradable Nanoparticles Carrying Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 gp120
Authors: Wang Xin , Uto Tomofumi , Akagi Takami , Akashi Mitsuru , Baba Masanori 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT

The mainstream of recent anti-AIDS vaccines is a prime/boost approach with multiple doses of the target DNA of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) and recombinant viral vectors. In this study, we have attempted to construct an efficient protein-based vaccine using biodegradable poly(γ-glutamic acid) (γ-PGA) nanoparticles (NPs), which are capable of inducing potent cellular immunity. A significant expansion of CD8
+
T cells specific to the major histocompatibility complex class I-restricted gp120 epitope was observed in mice intranasally immunized once with gp120-carrying NPs but not with gp120 alone or gp120 together with the B-subunit of cholera toxin. Both the gp120-encapsulating and -immobilizing forms of NPs could induce antigen-specific spleen CD8
+
T cells having a functional profile of cytotoxic T lymphocytes. Long-lived memory CD8
+
T cells could also be elicited. Although a substantial decay in the effector memory T cells was observed over time in the immunized mice, the central memory T cells remained relatively constant from day 30 to day 238 after immunization. Furthermore, the memory CD8
+
T cells rapidly expanded with boosting with the same immunogen. In addition, γ-PGA NPs were found to be a much stronger inducer of antigen-specific CD8
+
T-cell responses than nonbiodegradable polystyrene NPs. Thus, γ-PGA NPs carrying various HIV-1 antigens may have great potential as a novel priming and/or boosting tool in current vaccination regimens for the induction of cellular immune responses.
Role of the Cytoplasmic Tail Domains of Bunyamwera Orthobunyavirus Glycoproteins Gn and Gc in Virus Assembly and Morphogenesis
Authors: Shi Xiaohong , Kohl Alain , Li Ping , Elliott Richard M. 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT

The M RNA genome segment of Bunyamwera virus (BUNV), the prototype of the
Bunyaviridae
family, encodes a precursor polyprotein that is proteolytically cleaved to yield two structural proteins, Gn and Gc, and a nonstructural protein called NSm. Gn and Gc are type I integral transmembrane glycoproteins. The Gn protein contains a predicted cytoplasmic tail (CT) of 78 residues, and Gc has a shorter CT of 25 residues. Little is known about the role of the Gn and Gc CT domains in the virus replication cycle. We generated a series of mutant glycoprotein precursor constructs containing either deletions or alanine substitutions in the CT domains of Gn and Gc. We examined the effects of these mutations on glycoprotein maturation, cell surface expression, and low pH-induced syncytium formation. In addition, the effects of these mutations were also assessed using a reverse genetics-based virus assembly assay and a virus rescue system. Our results show that the CT domains of both Gn and Gc play crucial roles in BUNV-mediated membrane fusion, virus assembly, and morphogenesis.
The Role of WWP1-Gag Interaction and Gag Ubiquitination in Assembly and Release of Human T-Cell Leukemia Virus Type 1
Authors: Heidecker Gisela , Lloyd Patricia A. , Soheilian Ferri , Nagashima Kunio , Derse David 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT

The PPPY motif in the matrix (MA) domain of human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) Gag associates with WWP1, a member of the HECT domain containing family of E3 ubiquitin ligases. Mutation of the PPPY motif arrests particle assembly at an early stage and abolishes ubiquitination of MA. Similar effects are seen when Gag is expressed in the presence of a truncated form of WWP1 that lacks the catalytically active HECT domain (C2WW). To understand the role of ubiquitination in budding, we mutated the four lysines in MA to arginines and identified lysine 74 as the unique site of ubiquitination. Virus-like particles produced by the K74R mutant did not contain ubiquitinated MA and showed a fourfold reduction in the release of infectious particles. Furthermore, the K74R mutation rendered assembly hypersensitive to C2WW inhibition; K74R Gag budding was inhibited at significantly lower levels of expression of C2WW compared with wild-type Gag. This finding indicates that the interaction between Gag and WWP1 is required for functions other than Gag ubiquitination. Additionally, we show that the PPPY
−
mutant Gag exerts a strong dominant-negative effect on the budding of wild-type Gag, further supporting the importance of recruitment of WWP1 to achieve particle assembly.
Interactions between Brome Mosaic Virus RNAs and Cytoplasmic Processing Bodies
Authors: Beckham Carla J. , Light Heather R. , Amar Nissan T. , Ahlquist Paul , Parker Roy , Noueiry Amine 
Published: July 2007

ABSTRACT

Cytoplasmic processing bodies are sites where nontranslating mRNAs accumulate for different fates, including decapping and degradation, storage, or returning to translation. Previous work has also shown that the Lsm1-7p complex, Dhh1p, and Pat1p, which are all components of P bodies, are required for translation and subsequent recruitment to replication of the plant virus brome mosaic virus (BMV) genomic RNAs when replication is reproduced in yeast cells. To better understand the role of P bodies in BMV replication, we examined the subcellular locations of BMV RNAs in yeast cells. We observed that BMV genomic RNA2 and RNA3 accumulated in P bodies in a manner dependent on
cis
-acting RNA replication signals, which also directed nonviral RNAs to P bodies. Furthermore, the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase coimmunoprecipitates and shows partial colocalization with the P-body component Lsm1p. These observations suggest that the accumulation of BMV RNAs in P bodies may be an important step in RNA replication complex assembly for BMV, and possibly for other positive-strand RNA viruses.