Gut microbial features and dietary fiber intake predict gut microbiota response to resistant starch supplementation.

Resistant starch (RS) consumption can have beneficial effects on metabolic health, but the response, in terms of effects on the gut microbiota and host physiology, varies between individuals. Factors predicting the response to RS are not yet established and would be useful for developing precision nutrition approaches that maximize the benefits of dietary fiber intake. We sought to identify predictors of gut microbiota response to RS supplementation.

Stemming the Tide: The Proactive Role of Allied Health Therapy in Parkinson's Disease.

Motor and nonmotor symptoms occur in early Parkinson's disease (PD), or even in the prodromal stage. Many of these symptoms can be addressed by allied health therapies, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychological therapies. However, referrals to these services early in the disease are low.

A meta-analysis of microbial thermal inactivation in low moisture foods.

Microbial thermal inactivation in low moisture foods is challenging due to enhanced thermal resistance of microbes and low thermal conductivity of food matrices. In this study, we leveraged the body of previous work on this topic to model key experimental features that determine microbial thermal inactivation in low moisture foods. We identified 27 studies which contained 782 mean D-values and developed linear mixed-effect models to assess the effect of microorganism type, matrix structure and composition, water activity, temperature, and inoculation and recovery methods on cell death kinetics.

The efficacy of sleep lifestyle interventions for the management of overweight or obesity in children: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Background: Childhood obesity remains a significant public health concern. Sleep duration and quality among children and youth are suboptimal worldwide. Accumulating evidence suggests an association between inadequate sleep and obesity risk, yet it is unclear whether this relationship is causal.

Effect of Hand and Ultrasonic Scaling-Root Planing Methods on Tooth Surface Topography: An In-Vitro Atomic Force Microscopy Study.

Purpose: Any instrumentation on the tooth surface for plaque or calculus removal will cause some amount of roughness on the tooth surface. Hence, this study was proposed to investigate the effects of hand and ultrasonic scaling and root planing on enamel and cementum, respectively.

Materials And Methods: Forty tooth samples were prepared from extracted maxillary and mandibular first pre-molars and were divided randomly into four groups of 10 samples each.

Impact of periodontitis on oral health-related quality of life of patients with psoriatic arthritis.

Background: Since oral health issues can have a negative influence on a person's physical functioning, social status, and wellbeing, oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) becomes an indispensable part of overall health. Previous published studies report that periodontitis (PD) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) have a significant negative impact on OHRQoL. Based on these findings, it would be reasonable to assume that patients with coexisting PsA and PD would see a comparable or maybe synergistic effect on their OHRQoL.

Ultrasonographic criteria in the diagnosis of polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and diagnostic meta-analysis.

Background: Polycystic ovary morphology (PCOM) on ultrasonography is considered as a cardinal feature of polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS). Its relevance as a diagnostic criterion for PCOS was reaffirmed in the most recent International Evidence-Based Guideline for the Assessment and Management of PCOS. However, there remains a lack of clarity regarding the best practices and specific ultrasonographic markers to define PCOM.

A Comparative Analysis of the Occluding Effects on Dentinal Tubules With the Use of Er:YAG Laser and a Commercially Available Desensitizing Agent: An In Vitro Scanning Electron Microscopic Study.

Objective This in vitro scanning electron microscopic (SEM) study aimed to compare the effect of Er:YAG laser and a commercially launched dental product namely 8% arginine-calcium carbonate on exposed dentinal tubules. Materials and methods A total of 120 tooth samples prepared from healthy maxillary first premolars extracted due to orthodontic reasons were grouped randomly into four groups of 30 samples each - Group I: control group (C); Group II: laser group (LG); Group III: toothpaste group (TP) and Group IV: laser + toothpaste group (LT). The samples in Group II-IV were treated with the respective test agents and were placed under SEM to study the changes in the dentinal tubule number and diameter.

Effect of Commercially Available Nano-Hydroxyapatite Containing Desensitizing Toothpaste and Mouthwash on Dentinal Tubular Occlusion: A SEM Analysis.

The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate and compare the dentinal tubule occlusion using nano-hydroxyapatite (n-HAP) containing toothpaste and mouthwash under a scanning electron microscope. The specimens were randomly divided into two groups with five specimens each: group 1-toothpaste group and group 2-mouthwash group. The percentage of the occluded dentinal tubules was assessed at the baseline, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days under a scanning electron microscope.

Gut microbial features and dietary fiber intake predict gut microbiota response to resistant starch supplementation.

Resistant starch (RS) consumption can have beneficial effects on human health, but the response, in terms of effects on the gut microbiota and host physiology, varies between individuals. Factors predicting the response to RS are not yet established and would be useful for developing precision nutrition approaches that maximize the benefits of dietary fiber intake. We sought to identify predictors of gut microbiota response to RS supplementation.

Biomineralogical signatures of breast microcalcifications.

Microcalcifications, primarily biogenic apatite, occur in cancerous and benign breast pathologies and are key mammographic indicators. Outside the clinic, numerous microcalcification compositional metrics (e.g.

Effects of positive social comparative feedback on motor sequence learning and performance expectancies.

Introduction: Positive social comparative feedback indicates to the learner that they are performing better than others. While this type feedback supports motor skill learning in some tasks, the effect of social comparative feedback on implicit motor sequence learning remains unknown. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of positive social comparative feedback on the learning of and expectancies for a motor sequence task.

Rapid Sterility Test Systems in the Pharmaceutical Industry: Applying a Structured Approach to Their Evaluation, Validation and Global Implementation.

The current compendial sterility test has a 14-day incubation time and is often the time-limiting step in the Assess and Release Process of pharmaceutical products. There is an ever-increasing number of technologies available on the market that have benefits in addition to faster Time to Result, such as standardization and automation of readout (eliminating analyst subjectivity) and improved data integrity (including eliminating the need for contemporaneous verification of the result by another analyst). Regulators have been encouraging the pharmaceutical industry to adopt these innovative systems; however, it has taken a considerable time before receiving the first approvals from various health authorities (including both the European Medicines Agency and Food and Drug Administration) for the use of an alternative and rapid sterility test for the release of sterile drug product lots.

Systemic immune-inflammation index in patients with generalized stage III grade C periodontitis.

Objectives: Systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) is a novel, inflammatory biomarker whose role in predicting several chronic systemic diseases has been recently identified. However, its association with generalized stage III grade C periodontitis in young adults remains unknown.

Material And Methods: The study is a multicentered, double-blind, hospital-based case-control clinical study.

A multiple alignment workflow shows the effect of repeat masking and parameter tuning on alignment in plants.

Alignments of multiple genomes are a cornerstone of comparative genomics, but generating these alignments remains technically challenging and often impractical. We developed the msa_pipeline workflow (https://bitbucket.org/bucklerlab/msa_pipeline) to allow practical and sensitive multiple alignment of diverged plant genomes and calculation of conservation scores with minimal user inputs.

A randomized trial of iron- and zinc-biofortified pearl millet-based complementary feeding in children aged 12 to 18 months living in urban slums.

Background & Aims: Biofortification of staple crops with higher levels of micronutrients via traditional breeding methods is a sustainable strategy and can possibly complement fortification and other interventions to target micronutrient deficiencies in low resource settings, particularly among vulnerable populations such as children. We aimed to determine if iron- and zinc-biofortified pearl millet (FeZnPM, Dhanashakti, ICTP-8203Fe)-based complementary feeding improves nutritional status, including iron biomarkers and growth, in children living in urban slums of Mumbai.

Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial of FeZnPM among 223 children aged 12-18 months who were not severely anemic at baseline (hemoglobin ≥9.

A Systematic Approach for the Evaluation, Validation, and Implementation of Automated Colony Counting Systems.

For several years, automated colony counting systems have been available with varying degrees of automation. Ever more sophisticated instruments are now increasingly used in microbiological laboratories of pharmaceutical quality control. In addition to the colony counting device, the instruments are now also equipped with robotic systems performing the entire handling of the petri dishes, e.

A Comparative Evaluation of Efficacy of BioMin F and Propolis Containing Toothpastes on Dentinal Tubule Occlusion with and Without Use of an Adjunct 810 nm Diode Laser: An Scanning Electron Microscope Study.

Introduction: Dentinal hypersensitivity (DH) is a common chronic condition that affects a high proportion of the adult population and is one of the main reasons why patients seek dental opinion and treatment. Despite considerable success in reducing DH, unfortunately, most of the present methods can provide only temporary and unpredictable desensitization. Therefore, new treatment methods that are effective for long periods and at the same time do not have the complications are needed.

Immediate impact of bringing a school to the community with a new community-based clinical education program.

Objectives: To examine the implementation of a community-based clinical education (CBCE) program at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Dentistry (SOD) and the preliminary outcomes on dental students and affiliated clinics.

Methods: A retrospective review was carried out of SOD CBCE program implementation and program data between March 2018 and June 2019 related to patient encounters, pre- and post-rotation student self-assessments, student exit surveys and surveys administered to faculty within affiliate clinics.

Results: In five academic quarters, 133 students delivered care for 7556 patients and completed 12,467 procedures in underserved communities.

AnchorWave: Sensitive alignment of genomes with high sequence diversity, extensive structural polymorphism, and whole-genome duplication.

Millions of species are currently being sequenced, and their genomes are being compared. Many of them have more complex genomes than model systems and raise novel challenges for genome alignment. Widely used local alignment strategies often produce limited or incongruous results when applied to genomes with dispersed repeats, long indels, and highly diverse sequences.

Moderate evidence for heritability in the duet contributions of a South American primate.

Acoustic signals are ubiquitous across mammalian taxa. They serve a myriad of functions related to the formation and maintenance of social bonds and can provide conspecifics information about caller condition, motivation and identity. Disentangling the relative importance of evolutionary mechanisms that shape vocal variation is difficult, and little is known about heritability of mammalian vocalizations.