Functional profile of oral plaque microbiome: Further insight into the bidirectional relationship between type 2 diabetes and periodontitis.

Increasing evidence support the association between the oral microbiome and human systemic diseases. This association may be attributed to the ability of many oral microbes to influence the inflammatory microenvironment. Herein, we focused our attention on the bidirectional relationship between periodontitis and type 2 diabetes using high-resolution whole metagenomic shotgun analysis to explore the composition and functional profile of the subgingival microbiome in diabetics and non-diabetics subjects with different periodontal conditions.

Reconstruction of Acinetobacter johnsonii ICE_NC genome using hybrid de novo genome assemblies and identification of the 12α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase gene.

Aims: The role of a Acinetobacter johnsonii strain, isolated from a soil sample, in the biotransformation of bile acids (BAs) was already described but the enzymes responsible for these transformations were only partially purified and molecularly characterized.

Methods And Results: This study describes the use of hybrid de novo assemblies, that combine long-read Oxford Nanopore and short-read Illumina sequencing strategies, to reconstruct the entire genome of A. johnsonii ICE_NC strain and to identify the coding region for a 12α-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (12α-HSDH), involved in BAs metabolism.

Tumor Necrosis Factor Receptor SF10A (TNFRSF10A) SNPs Correlate With Corticosteroid Response in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.

Background: Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a rare and severe X-linked muscular dystrophy in which the standard of care with variable outcome, also due to different drug response, is chronic off-label treatment with corticosteroids (CS). In order to search for SNP biomarkers for corticosteroid responsiveness, we genotyped variants across 205 DMD-related genes in patients with differential response to steroid treatment.

Methods And Findings: We enrolled a total of 228 DMD patients with identified dystrophin mutations, 78 of these patients have been under corticosteroid treatment for at least 5 years.

Whole metagenomic shotgun sequencing of the subgingival microbiome of diabetics and non-diabetics with different periodontal conditions.

Objective: The aim of this study was to use high-resolution whole metagenomic shotgun sequencing to characterize the subgingival microbiome of patients with/without type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and with/without periodontitis.

Design: Twelve subjects, falling into one of the four study groups based on the presence/absence of poorly controlled type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and moderate-severe periodontitis, were selected. For each eligible subject, subgingival plaque samples were collected at 4 sites, all representative of the periodontal condition of the individual (i.

VDR, RANKL and OPG polymorphisms as possible predisposing cofactors of postmenopausal osteoporosis: explorative study in Italian population.

Postmenopausal osteoporosis (PO) has a strong genetic component. Presently, the published evidence on the association between the main single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the receptor activator of nuclear factor-kb ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and vitamin D receptor (VDR) and bone mass density (BMD) are scarce, mostly considering Italian population. This study sought to determine whether OPG (rs2073618), RANKL (rs9525641) and the VDR (rs2228570) SNPs were associated with BMD in a sample of 139 North-Italian postmenopausal women.

Surnames in Honduras: A study of the population of Honduras through isonymy.

In this work, we investigated surname distribution in 4,348,021 Honduran electors with the aim of detecting population structure through the study of isonymy in three administrative levels: the whole nation, the 18 departments, and the 298 municipalities. For each administrative level, we studied the surname effective number, α, the total inbreeding, FIT , the random inbreeding, FST , and the local inbreeding, FIS . Principal components analysis, multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis were performed on Lasker's distance matrix to detect the direction of surname diffusion and for a graphic representation of the surname relationship between different locations.

Surnames in Albania: a study of the population of Albania through isonymy.

In order to describe the isonymic structure of Albania, the distribution of 3,068,447 surnames was studied in the 12 prefectures and their administrative subdivisions: the 36 districts and 321 communes. The number of different surnames found was 37,184. Effective surname number for the entire country was 1327, the average for prefectures was 653.

A study of the population of Paraguay through isonymy.

In order to describe the isonymic structure of Paraguay, the distribution of 4,843,868 surnames of 2,882,163 persons was studied in the 18 departments and 237 districts of the nation. The correlations between isonymic and geographic distances for departments were r = 0.713 ± 0.

Prevalence of bleeding on probing: a cohort study in a specialist periodontal clinic.

Objectives: to assess the prevalence and distribution of bleeding on probing (BoP) in a cohort of periodontally diseased patients, evaluate the influence of patient-related predictors on BoP variability, and characterize two subgroups of patients with a significantly different BoP score.

Method And Materials: six hundred and one patients were retrospectively included. The percentage of BoP-positive sites was calculated for the entire dentition (%BoPtotal) and within different areas of the dentition.

Surnames in Bolivia: a study of the population of Bolivia through isonymy.

In Bolivia, the Hispanic dual surname system is used. To describe the isonymic structure of Bolivia, the surname distribution of 12,139,448 persons registered in the 2006 census data was studied in 9 districts and 112 provinces of the nation, for a total of 23,244,064 surnames. The number of different surnames found was 174,922.

Interleukin-1 beta levels in gingival crevicular fluid and serum under naturally occurring and experimentally induced gingivitis.

Aims: To evaluate the interleukin-1 beta (IL-1 beta) levels in gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) and serum in either naturally occurring (N-O) or experimentally induced (E-I) plaque-associated gingivitis.

Material And Methods: Thirty-seven periodontally healthy subjects were evaluated in real life conditions (N-O gingivitis) as well as after 21 days of experimental gingivitis trial (E-I gingivitis). During the experimental gingivitis trial, in one maxillary quadrant (test quadrant), gingival inflammation was induced by oral hygiene abstention, while in the contralateral (control) quadrant, oral hygiene was routinely continued.

Age-related treatment response following non-surgical periodontal therapy.

Background: To date, no studies have evaluated the effect of patient age on the treatment response following non-surgical periodontal therapy (NSPT).

Aim: To evaluate the outcomes of NSPT in two cohorts of patients with a substantial age difference.

Materials And Methods: Two groups of periodontitis patients with a substantial age difference (younger group, Y, and older group, O) were retrospectively selected.

Experimental gingivitis: reproducibility of plaque accumulation and gingival inflammation parameters in selected populations during a repeat trial.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess whether and to what extent the experimental gingivitis clinical parameters are reproducible within selected populations with different gingival inflammatory response (high or low) to plaque accumulation. In addition, the consistency in developing a high or low gingival inflammatory response within the selected populations was evaluated.

Material And Methods: Thirty-seven subjects previously identified as high (HR, n=20) or low responders (LR, n=17) during an experimental gingivitis trial (first trial) were enrolled in a "repeat" experimental gingivitis trial.

Surnames in Western Europe: a comparison of the subcontinental populations through isonymy.

We studied the isonymic structure of Western Europe using the distributions of 26.2 million surnames in 8 countries, 125 regions and 2094 towns of the Subcontinent. We found that, for the whole of Western Europe, Nei's distance was correlated with geographic distance (r=0.