Tag: nevin manimala

J Oral Sci. 2021 Sep 2. doi: 10.2334/josnusd.21-0044. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate and compare the effects of some whitening toothpastes on the surface roughness and coloration susceptibility of a composite resin, as well as their whitening effectiveness.

METHODS: This study was carried out in two different stages. In experiment A, samples were divided into 7 subgroups to compare the surface roughness and coloration susceptibility of the composite resin: distilled water, conventional toothpaste, and 5 different whitening toothpastes. In experiment B, samples were divided into 8 subgroups to compare the whitening effectiveness of the whitening toothpastes: conventional toothpaste, 5 other whitening toothpastes, and two bleaching groups. After toothbrushing simulation, the color and surface roughness of the samples were measured. Data were subjected to one-way analysis of variance, paired t-test and Tukey post-hoc test (α = 0.05).

RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences among the surface roughness values for the groups for any period before and after brushing (P > 0.05). In terms of the coloration susceptibility of the composite resin and the whitening effects of the toothpastes, no statistically significant differences were evident among the groups for any period before and after brushing (P > 0.05).

CONCLUSION: The results of this study indicate that effective toothbrushing is more important than the type of toothpaste employed.

PMID:34470987 | DOI:10.2334/josnusd.21-0044

Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2021 Sep 1:CJN.03850321. doi: 10.2215/CJN.03850321. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Background and objectives Whether iron supplementation in hemodialysis patients could be delivered by less-frequent but higher single doses compared to the currently more common higher-frequency schedules of lower single iron doses is unknown. Design, setting, participants, and measurements We carried out an open label randomized, controlled non-inferiority trial over 40 weeks in prevalent hemodialysis patients (n=142). We administered in total two grams of iron as 100 mg iron sucrose biweekly in a continuous (20 x 100 mg) or 500 mg ferric carboxymaltose every 10 weeks in a periodic (4 x 500 mg) fashion. Primary endpoint was the change in hemoglobin at week 40 from baseline with a non-inferiority margin of -0.8 g/dl. Secondary endpoints were changes in ferritin, transferrin, transferrin saturation and erythropoiesis stimulating agent use. Results 108 patients completed the study. At 40 weeks hemoglobin changed by -0.27 g/dl (95% CI: -0.64 to 0.09) in the iron sucrose arm and by -0.74 g/dl (95% CI: -1.1 to -0.39) in the ferric carboxymaltose arm compared to baseline. Non-inferiority was not established in the per-protocol population as hemoglobin changes compared to baseline differed by -0.47 g/dl (95% CI: -0.95 to 0.01) in the ferric carboxymaltose compared to the iron sucrose arm. Proportional changes from baseline to week 40 differed by -31% (98.3% CI: -52 to -0.1) for ferritin, by 1% (98.3% CI: -7 to 10) for transferrin and by -27% (98.3% CI: -39 to -13) for transferrin saturation in the ferric carboxymaltose compared to the iron sucrose arm. Erythropoiesis stimulating agent dosing did not differ between groups. The overall number of adverse events was similar; however, more infections were observed in the iron sucrose arm. Conclusions An equal cumulative dose of ferric carboxymaltose administered less frequently did not meet non-inferiority for maintaining hemoglobin levels compared to iron sucrose administered more frequently.

PMID:34470831 | DOI:10.2215/CJN.03850321

Saudi Med J. 2021 Sep;42(9):994-1001. doi: 10.15537/smj.2021.42.9.20210163.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: To analyze the prognostic value of serum presepsin value in community-acquired pneumonia focal sepsis using sepsis-3 criteria and its relationship with other biomarkers and clinical severity scores.

METHODS: For this prospective observational study, 176 patients above 18 years old, diagnosed with community-acquired pneumonia, pneumonia focal sepsis and septic shock were included. It was performed in a tertiary hospital between May 2020 and December 2020. Blood samples were obtained from patients for presepsin levels at the time of diagnosis in the emergency room. The serum presepsin levels of 3 groups were statistically compared with each other.

RESULTS: The sepsis group had significantly higher serum presepsin levels than the pneumonia group (p=0.004).The septic shock group had serum presepsin levels than sepsis group; however, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.25). Non survivor patients had significantly higher serum presepsin levels than survivors (p=0.001). Significant correlation determined between serum presepsin level and procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, lactate, pneumonia severity index, and quick sequential organ failure assessment (qSOFA).

CONCLUSION: Serum presepsin level is a new biomarker that can be used an indicator of sepsis and mortality in community-acquired pneumonia. However, for determining the prognosis of sepsis, there was no superiority detected over other biomarkers and clinical severity scores.

PMID:34470838 | DOI:10.15537/smj.2021.42.9.20210163

Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2021 Sep 7;118(36):e2113732118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2113732118.

NO ABSTRACT

PMID:34470827 | DOI:10.1073/pnas.2113732118

J Rheumatol. 2021 Sep 1:jrheum.210046. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.210046. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to study the importance of baseline Body Mass Index (BMI), smoking and alcohol consumption (AC) for disease activity (DA) over one year in early axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), stratified by sex.

METHODS: In the SPondyloArthritis Caught Early cohort (patients with chronic back pain for ≥3 months, ≤2 years and onset <45 years), ASDAS was recorded at inclusion, 3 and 12 months. All patients included in the analysis had axSpA based on a high physician’s level of confidence at baseline. Differences in ASDAS over 1 year by BMI (normal <25, overweight 25-29.9, obese ≥30 kg/m²), smoking history (never/previous/current) and AC (none, 0.1-2, 3-5, ≥6 units/week) at baseline were estimated using mixed linear regression models.

RESULTS: There were 344 subjects (mean age 30 years; 49% men). In women, obesity was associated with 0.60 (95% CL 0.28, 0.91) higher ASDAS compared to normal BMI. In both sexes, AC tended to be associated with lower DA over one year, with a significant association only in women with the highest AC (mean difference -0.55 (96% CL-1.05, -0.04). Smoking was associated with higher ASDAS over one year compared to never smoking in both sexes, albeit the difference reached statistical significance only in female former smokers. Results were similar in multivariable analysis, adjusted for all lifestyle factors and other confounders.

CONCLUSION: In early axSpA, BMI and smoking are associated with higher DA over one year, and AC with lower DA. The magnitude of the modest associations may differ between men and women.

PMID:34470793 | DOI:10.3899/jrheum.210046

J Rheumatol. 2021 Sep 1:jrheum.210476. doi: 10.3899/jrheum.210476. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: The patient experience of gout flares is multidimensional with several contributing factors, including pain intensity, duration and frequency. There is currently no consistent method for reporting gout flare burden in long-term studies. This study aimed to determine which factors contribute to patient perceptions of treatment efficacy in long-term studies of gout flare prevention.

METHODS: This study involved face-to-face interviews with people with gout using visual representations of gout flare patterns. Participants were shown different flare scenarios over a hypothetical 6-month treatment period portraying varying flare frequency, pain intensity and flare duration. The participants were asked to indicate and discuss which scenario they believed was most indicative of successful treatment over time. Quantitative data relating to the proportion of participants selecting each scenario were reported using descriptive statistics. A qualitative descriptive approach was used to code and categorize the data from the interview transcripts.

RESULTS: Twenty-two people with gout participated in the semi-structured interviews. All three factors of pain intensity, flare duration and flare frequency influenced participants’ perception of treatment efficacy. However, a shorter flare duration was the most common indicator of successful treatment, with half of participants (n = 11, 50%) selecting the scenario with a shorter flare duration over those with less painful flares.

CONCLUSION: Flare duration, flare frequency, and pain severity are all considered by patients with gout when considering treatment efficacy over time. Long term studies of gout should ideally capture all of these factors to better represent patients’ experience of treatment success.

PMID:34470799 | DOI:10.3899/jrheum.210476

BMJ. 2021 Sep 1;374:n2060. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n2060.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To determine the risk of hospital admission with covid-19 and severe covid-19 among teachers and their household members, overall and compared with healthcare workers and adults of working age in the general population.

DESIGN: Population based nested case-control study.

SETTING: Scotland, March 2020 to July 2021, during defined periods of school closures and full openings in response to covid-19.

PARTICIPANTS: All cases of covid-19 in adults aged 21 to 65 (n=132 420) and a random sample of controls matched on age, sex, and general practice (n=1 306 566). Adults were identified as actively teaching in a Scottish school by the General Teaching Council for Scotland, and their household members were identified through the unique property reference number. The comparator groups were adults identified as healthcare workers in Scotland, their household members, and the remaining general population of working age.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome was hospital admission with covid-19, defined as having a positive test result for SARS-CoV-2 during hospital admission, being admitted to hospital within 28 days of a positive test result, or receiving a diagnosis of covid-19 on discharge from hospital. Severe covid-19 was defined as being admitted to intensive care or dying within 28 days of a positive test result or assigned covid-19 as a cause of death.

RESULTS: Most teachers were young (mean age 42), were women (80%), and had no comorbidities (84%). The risk (cumulative incidence) of hospital admission with covid-19 was <1% for all adults of working age in the general population. Over the study period, in conditional logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, general practice, race/ethnicity, deprivation, number of comorbidities, and number of adults in the household, teachers showed a lower risk of hospital admission with covid-19 (rate ratio 0.77, 95% confidence interval 0.64 to 0.92) and of severe covid-19 (0.56, 0.33 to 0.97) than the general population. In the first period when schools in Scotland reopened, in autumn 2020, the rate ratio for hospital admission in teachers was 1.20 (0.89 to 1.61) and for severe covid-19 was 0.45 (0.13 to 1.55). The corresponding findings for household members of teachers were 0.91 (0.67 to 1.23) and 0.73 (0.37 to 1.44), and for patient facing healthcare workers were 2.08 (1.73 to 2.50) and 2.26 (1.43 to 3.59). Similar risks were seen for teachers in the second period, when schools reopened in summer 2021. These values were higher than those seen in spring/summer 2020, when schools were mostly closed.

CONCLUSION: Compared with adults of working age who are otherwise similar, teachers and their household members were not found to be at increased risk of hospital admission with covid-19 and were found to be at lower risk of severe covid-19. These findings should reassure those who are engaged in face-to-face teaching.

PMID:34470747 | DOI:10.1136/bmj.n2060

BMJ. 2021 Sep 1;374:n1904. doi: 10.1136/bmj.n1904.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations between air pollution and mortality, focusing on associations below current European Union, United States, and World Health Organization standards and guidelines.

DESIGN: Pooled analysis of eight cohorts.

SETTING: Multicentre project Effects of Low-Level Air Pollution: A Study in Europe (ELAPSE) in six European countries.

PARTICIPANTS: 325 367 adults from the general population recruited mostly in the 1990s or 2000s with detailed lifestyle data. Stratified Cox proportional hazard models were used to analyse the associations between air pollution and mortality. Western Europe-wide land use regression models were used to characterise residential air pollution concentrations of ambient fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and black carbon.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Deaths due to natural causes and cause specific mortality.

RESULTS: Of 325 367 adults followed-up for an average of 19.5 years, 47 131 deaths were observed. Higher exposure to PM_2.5, nitrogen dioxide, and black carbon was associated with significantly increased risk of almost all outcomes. An increase of 5 µg/m³ in PM_2.5 was associated with 13% (95% confidence interval 10.6% to 15.5%) increase in natural deaths; the corresponding figure for a 10 µg/m³ increase in nitrogen dioxide was 8.6% (7% to 10.2%). Associations with PM_2.5, nitrogen dioxide, and black carbon remained significant at low concentrations. For participants with exposures below the US standard of 12 µg/m³ an increase of 5 µg/m³ in PM_2.5 was associated with 29.6% (14% to 47.4%) increase in natural deaths.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study contributes to the evidence that outdoor air pollution is associated with mortality even at low pollution levels below the current European and North American standards and WHO guideline values. These findings are therefore an important contribution to the debate about revision of air quality limits, guidelines, and standards, and future assessments by the Global Burden of Disease.

PMID:34470785 | DOI:10.1136/bmj.n1904

Chemosphere. 2021 Jun 19;283:131286. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131286. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

This study compares the differences between the distribution of trace elements and rare-earth elements (REEs) formed under reducing and oxidizing soil conditions during pedogenesis on carbonate bedrock. Terra rossa (TR) soils, representing pedogenesis under oxic conditions, and Cretaceous palaeosols (CP), representing pedogenesis under reducing conditions, were sampled on the Istrian peninsula. They were studied by ICP-MS, ICP-OES, XRF, XRD, sequential extraction and statistical analyses. The differences in trace-element behaviour between the TR and CP stem from different redox conditions, but the most remarkable difference was observed in the behaviour of the REEs. Statistical analyses revealed that in TR soils all the REEs showed a very positive correlation, while in CPs the light REEs and heavy REEs showed an internal, very positive correlation. TR soils have almost twice as much REEs as CPs. This difference is pedogenetic, as both materials have a very similar amount of REEs in the residual fraction. While TR soils have the same amount of REEs in fractions other than the residual fraction, CPs have almost no REEs in these fractions. Different REE patterns obtained from sequential extraction, such as a middle-REE enrichment and a positive Ce anomaly in TR soils and light-REE depletion, heavy-REE enrichment, positive Ce and Eu anomalies in CPs, contributed to an understanding of the redox and pedogenetic processes. This study successfully emphasized the influence of different redox conditions on the behaviour of trace and rare-earth elements during pedogenesis on a carbonate bedrock and the ability of the REEs to track pedogenetic processes.

PMID:34470733 | DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2021.131286

Stat Med. 2021 Sep 1. doi: 10.1002/sim.9179. Online ahead of print.

ABSTRACT

Many studies, including self-controlled case series (SCCS) studies, are being undertaken to quantify the risks of complications following infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). One such SCCS study, based on all COVID-19 cases arising in Sweden over an 8-month period, has shown that SARS-CoV-2 infection increases the risks of AMI and ischemic stroke. Some features of SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19, present in this study and likely in others, complicate the analysis and may introduce bias. In the present paper we describe these features, and explore the biases they may generate. Motivated by data-based simulations, we propose methods to reduce or remove these biases.

PMID:34470078 | DOI:10.1002/sim.9179