Publications by authors named "R Junges"
Saliva has emerged as a promising diagnostic fluid for viral infections, enabling the direct analysis of viral genetic material and the detection of infection markers such as proteins, metabolites, microRNAs, and immunoglobulins. This comprehensive review aimed to explore the use of saliva as a diagnostic tool for viral infections, emphasizing its advantages and limitations. Saliva stands out due to its simplicity and safety in collection, along with the convenience of self-collection without the need for healthcare supervision, while potentially being comparable to urine and blood in terms of effectiveness.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- Dentists play a crucial role in tackling the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) crisis, but little is known about dental students' perceptions of this issue in the Asia-Pacific region, which is crucial for AMR development and spread.
- A survey conducted across 15 dental schools in Australia, Sri Lanka, Japan, and Vietnam found that dental students had a high awareness of AMR (mean score 8.09), but the confidence to prescribe antibiotics was lower (mean score 6.01), with many feeling pressured to prescribe due to patient demand or time constraints.
- Final-year dental students involved in research had a higher priority for addressing AMR compared to their non-research peers, indicating the
Article Synopsis
- The study highlights the urgent need for new antimicrobials to tackle infections caused by biofilms and antimicrobial resistance.
- The researchers explored the effects of combining HAMLET, a milk protein complex, with amoxicillin on oral biofilms, showing that this combination significantly reduced biofilm viability compared to either treatment alone.
- Results indicate that the combination shifted the microbial composition toward beneficial probiotic bacteria, while also revealing a presence of resistance genes, suggesting that HAMLET can enhance antibiotic effects and change the microbiome positively.
Background: Torquetenovirus (TTV) is a small DNA virus constituting the human virome. High levels of TTV-DNA have been shown to be associated with immunosuppression and inflammatory chronic disorders.
Aim: To assess the possible association between the salivary viral load of TTV-DNA in patients hospitalised due to COVID-19 and disease severity.
Exploring ex vivo biofilm dynamics: consequences of low ampicillin concentrations on the human oral microbiome.
NPJ Biofilms Microbiomes
April 2024
Prolonged exposure to antibiotics at low concentration can promote processes associated with bacterial biofilm formation, virulence and antibiotic resistance. This can be of high relevance in microbial communities like the oral microbiome, where commensals and pathogens share a common habitat and where the total abundance of antibiotic resistance genes surpasses the abundance in the gut. Here, we used an ex vivo model of human oral biofilms to investigate the impact of ampicillin on biofilm viability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF