Differential Associations for Salivary Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, and Phosphate Levels with Carotid Intima Media Thickness, Heart Rate, and Arterial Stiffness

Salivary biomarkers may offer a noninvasive and easy sampling alternative in cardiovascular risk evaluation. The aim of the present study was to establish associations of salivary potassium, sodium, calcium, and phosphate levels with the cardiovascular phenotype determined by carotid ultrasound and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity and to identify possible covariates for these associations. samples of nonstimulated whole buccal saliva were obtained from subjects with (; 59%) or without (; 41%) hypertension. The potassium concentrations were 10-fold higher in saliva compared with plasma, whereas sodium concentrations exhibited the reverse relation between saliva and blood. There were no significant correlations between the levels of sodium, potassium, or calcium in saliva and plasma. All salivary electrolytes, except sodium, were significantly associated with age. In age-adjusted analyses, salivary potassium was significantly associated with carotid artery intima media thickness (cIMT) and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity, and these associations were at the limit of significance in multivariate analyses including prevalent cardiovascular disease and risk factors. Body mass index was a significant confounder for salivary potassium. Salivary phosphate was significantly associated with cIMT in the multivariate analysis. Salivary potassium, calcium, and phosphate levels were significantly associated with heart rate in the univariate age-adjusted as well as in two different multivariate models, whereas no significant associations between sodium and heart rate were observed. In conclusion, the differential association of salivary electrolytes with cardiovascular phenotypes indicates that these electrolytes should be further studied for their predictive value as noninvasive biomarkers for cardiovascular risk evaluation.

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Actor-specific risk perceptions and strategies for resilience building in different food systems in Kenya and Bolivia

Abstract

Food system sustainability depends, among other aspects, on the resilience of different components of food systems. By resilience, we mean the ability of a food system to withstand stress and shocks, recover, and adapt to change. In this study, we examined the resilience of food systems, firstly, by compiling the risks perceived by different food system actors in the Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia, and the northwestern Mount Kenya Region, Kenya—two regions that are important to their respective national food supply. Secondly, we evaluated whether and under what circumstances these perceptions translate into adaptive or preventive strategies that benefit food system resilience. Among all actors, the most frequently perceived risks relate to production levels. Further, the many (sometimes contradictory) perceptions of risk and uncertainty among different actor groups do not necessarily translate into adaptation strategies. Reasons for this include structural factors as well as the "risk perception paradox", particularly regarding preventive strategies. However, we also observed many implicit strategies illustrating how different actors develop responses within their possibilities. However, most such strategies were insufficient to mitigate, much less to adapt to, the perceived risks. To build resilience, existing innovative policies need to be enforced in both countries. These include disaster risk reduction programs and programs to reduce the vulnerability of marginalized groups who are crucial to food systems, such as smallholder farmers, pastoralists, and food workers.

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Serum Procalcitonin and Presepsin Levels in Patients with Generalized Pustular Psoriasis

Patients with generalized pustular psoriasis (GPP) often present with symptoms that must be differentiated from sepsis. Procalcitonin (PCT) and presepsin (P-SEP) are widely used as biomarkers for sepsis; therefore, we examined the serum PCT and P-SEP levels in patients with psoriatic diseases. The enrolled patients included 27 with psoriasis vulgaris (PV) (22 males, 5 females; mean age 47.7 years), 12 with psoriatic arthritis (PsA) (8 males, 4 females; mean age 51.3 years), and 15 with GPP (10 males, 5 females; mean age 63.7 years). The mean serum PCT levels in patients with PV, PsA, and GPP were 0.01 ng/mL (25th–75th percentile; 0.00–0.03), 0.013 ng/mL (0.00–0.03), and 0.12 ng/mL (0.05–0.18), respectively; the levels of PCT were higher for patients with GPP than with PV or PsA but were lower than the PCT cutoff value (0.5 ng/mL) for the diagnosis of infection. The mean serum P-SEP levels in patients with PV, PsA, and GPP were 144.9 pg/mL (25th–75th percentile; 78–181), 168.1 pg/mL (124–203), and 479.9 pg/mL (216–581), respectively. Unexpectedly, the levels of P-SEP in the patients with GPP were as high as the P-SEP cutoff value (317 to 647 pg/mL) used for the diagnosis of infection. We also found that neutrophils produced P-SEP, suggesting that the high serum P-SEP levels in patients with GPP might arise at least in part due to the P-SEP derived from neutrophils activated in GPP. Both serum PCT and P-SEP might therefore be useful as novel serum biomarkers for GPP because their levels were decreased by GPP treatments. However, the measurement of PCT might be more useful than the measurement of P-SEP for discriminating between GPP and sepsis.

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Gut microbiome approaches to treat obesity in humans

Abstract

The rising worldwide prevalence of obesity has become a major concern having many implications for the public health and the economy. It is well known that many factors such as lifestyle, increased intake of foods high in fat and sugar and a host's genetic profile can lead to obesity. Besides these factors, recent studies have pointed to the gut microbiota composition as being responsible for the development of obesity. Since then, many efforts have been made to understand the link between the gut microbiota composition and obesity, as well as the role of food ingredients, such as pro- and prebiotics, in the modulation of the gut microbiota. Studies involving the gut microbiota composition of obese individuals are however still controversial, making it difficult to treat obesity. In this sense, this mini-review deals with obesity and the relationship with gut microbiota, summarising the principal findings on gut microbiome approaches for treating obesity in humans.

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Bacterial community activity and dynamics in the biofilm of an experimental hybrid wetland system treating greywater

Abstract

The objectives of this study were to determine the biofilm microbial activity and bacterial community structure and successions in greywater treatment filters and to relate the treatment efficiency to the bacterial community parameters. This 10-month study was performed in a newly established experimental system for domestic greywater treatment that consisted of three parallel vertical flow filters (VFs) followed by a horizontal flow filter (HF). A rapid increase in the bacterial community abundance occurred during the first 85 days of filter operations, followed by a short-term decrease and the stabilization of the 16S rRNA gene copy numbers at average levels of 1.2 × 10⁹ and 3.2 × 10⁸ copies/g dw in VFs and HF, respectively, until the end of the experiment. The dominant bacterial phyla and genera differed between the VFs and HF. The temporal variation in the bacterial community structure was primarily related to the species replacement, and it was significantly affected by the influent organic carbon and nitrogen compounds in the VFs and the ammonia and organic carbon in the HF filters. Despite the differences in the community structure and assembly mechanisms, the temporal dynamics of the bacterial community showed high congruence between the filter types. The treatment efficiency was related to the biofilm bacterial community diversity and abundance and the abundance of certain bacterial genera in the VF filters. The results suggest that the dominant pathway of nitrogen removal by greywater treatment VFs occurs via coupled heterotrophic nitrification and denitrification, while the contribution of aerobic denitrification is temporally variable in these filters.

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Imbalance of peripheral follicular helper T lymphocyte subsets in active vitiligo

Summary

Vitiligo is an autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of several autoantibodies, some of which are directed against melanocyte components and have been shown to be associated with the progression of the disease. However, the mechanism involved in the production of autoantibodies remains unclear. Follicular helper CD4⁺ T cells (TFH) are specialized in B cell activation and antibody production, especially the TFH cell subsets type 2 and type 17. To date, TFH cell subsets have not been studied in human vitiligo. This study in 44 vitiligo patients and 19 healthy controls showed an increase in circulating TFH cells associated with disease clinical progression. A more precise analysis of TFH cell phenotype demonstrated that vitiligo is characterized by populations of peripheral TFH cells responsible for helping B cell function, such as TFH type 2 and type 17 which produce Th2 and TH17‐related cytokines, respectively. These findings suggest a new mechanism involving TFH cell subsets in the pathogenesis of human vitiligo and leading to the production of autoantibodies and disease.

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Issue Information

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Cover Image

The cover image, by Ariyan Mottaghi et al., is based on the Review Article Is there a higher prevalence of tinnitus in patients with temporomandibular disorders? A systematic review and meta‐analysis DOI: 10.1111/joor.12706.

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Quorum sensing between Gram-negative bacteria responsible for methane production in a complex waste sewage sludge consortium

Abstract

Quorum sensing (QS) plays a key role in activating bacterial functions through small molecules called autoinducers. In this study, the QS of Gram-negative bacteria in waste sewage sludge (WSS) was downregulated by adding the quorum quenching enzyme, AiiM lactonase, which cleaved the acyl-homoserine lactone (AHL) autoinducer signals from Gram-negative bacteria, and subsequently methane production was inhibited by over 400%. The pH was lowered after 2 days in the anaerobic fermentation whereas protease activity at the hydrolysis step was almost the same with or without AiiM. The production of acetic acid significantly increased during the fermentation in the presence of AiiM. The bacterial community at day 2 indicated that the population of Gram-positive bacteria increased in the presence of AiiM, and the percentage of Gram-negative bacteria decreased in the WSS containing AiiM. The change in the bacterial community in the presence of AiiM may be due to the different antimicrobial agents produced in the WSS because some of the Gram-positive bacteria were killed by adding the solid-phase extraction (SPE) fraction from the WSS without AiiM. In contrast, the SPE fraction with AiiM had reduced bactericidal activity against Gram-negative bacteria. Thus, bacterial signaling between Gram-negative bacteria is critical for methane production by the microbial consortia.

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Development of a model for food waste composting

Abstract

Worldwide, large amounts of food are wasted every year. Reducing of food waste at European level is taken very seriously and it has been adopted even a target of reducing the amount of food waste in half until 2030. In many countries of the European Union, food wastes are composted, while in countries like Romania, the composting is too little used or not at all, but efforts are being made to apply this process. Food waste composting should take place both at the composting plants and housing level. An important step before starting the composting process is to establish an appropriate recipe. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to develop a composting recipe starting from investigation of food waste like peel and pomace of fruits (apple, banana, orange, and kiwi) and vegetables (potato, cabbage, and carrots) which are very common in waste generated at the housing level. The most important physical-chemical parameters were investigated in this study. Results show that pH of fruit waste is acid (4.0–5.0), while for vegetable waste, the pH is slightly higher (between 6.0 and 6.5). For all types of food waste, a very high moisture content (80–90%) was registered, while the nitrogen content is below 1%. Considering that C/N ratio is one of the most essential parameters, for the process to be carried out in good conditions, we have used regression analysis in order to determine the amounts of fruits and vegetable waste necessary to obtain different C/N ratios.

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Unraveling the sources and fluorescence compositions of dissolved and particulate organic matter (DOM and POM) in Lake Taihu, China

Abstract

Organic matter (OM), a complex entity with diverse functional groups and molecular sizes, has important effects on aquatic systems. We studied the optical compositions and sources of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and particulate organic matter (POM) in Lake Taihu, a large, shallow and eutrophic lake in China. Significant differences in optical compositions and sources occurred between the POM and DOM. The temporal–spatial distribution of the fluorescence indices suggested that the POM in Lake Taihu was mainly from autochthonous sources, but more exogenous characteristics were shown in POM in the river mouths compared with other regions. The chromophoric DOM in Lake Taihu mainly displayed autochthonous characteristics. The POM–DOM PARAFAC model was used to examine OM optical composition and five components were identified, which contained three protein-like components (C1, C2, and C5), a microbial humic-like component (C3), and a terrestrial humic-like component (C4). The POM was dominated by C5 in summer and autumn and C3 in winter and spring, and the DOM was dominated by protein-like components (C1, C2, and C5) through the entire year. The algae-dominated region had a relative higher contribution of tryptophan-like components of POM compared with the macrophyte-dominated region. A conceptual model based on the theory of "four phases of cyanobacteria bloom development" was proposed to fully describe the relationship between POM–DOM exchanges and cyanobacteria bloom development.

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Effects of biochar and dicyandiamide combination on nitrous oxide emissions from Camellia oleifera field soil

Abstract

Greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural soils contribute substantially to global atmospheric composition. Nitrous oxide (N₂O) is one important greenhouse gas induces global warming. Nitrification inhibitors (NI) or biochar can be effective soil N₂O emission mitigation strategies for agricultural soils. However, due to differences in crop physiological traits or agricultural management, the effectiveness of mitigation strategies varies among agricultural systems. Camellia oleifera is a woody oil plant widely grown and requires intensive N input, which will potentially increase N₂O emissions. Thereby, mitigation of N₂O emissions from C. oleifera field soil is vital for sustainable C. oleifera development. Besides NI, incorporation of C. oleifera fruit shell-derived biochar into its soil will benefit waste management and simultaneous mitigation of N₂O emissions but this has not been investigated. Here, we conducted two studies to examine effects of biochar addition and NI (dicyandiamide, DCD) application on N₂O emissions from C. oleifera field soil with different N (urea or NH₄NO₃) and incubation temperatures. Biochar effects on nitrification rates varied among N treatments. Biochar applied in combination with DCD further reduced nitrification rates (for urea treatment, decreased from 1.1 to 0.3 mg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹). Biochar addition consistently increased soil N₂O emissions (for urea treatment, increased from 0.03 to 0.08 ng g⁻¹ h⁻¹) and their temperature sensitivity. DCD application reduced soil N₂O emissions with greater reductions with urea application. In future cultivation of intensively managed C. oleifera gardens, NI should be applied to mitigate N₂O emissions if biochar is added, especially when urea is used.

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Potential Induced Fine‐tuning the Enantioaffinity of Chiral Metal Phases

Concepts leading to single enantiomers of chiral molecules are of crucial importance for many applications, including pharmacology and biotechnology. Recently, mesoporous metal phases encoded with chiral information have been developed. We propose here to fine‐tune the enantioaffinity of such structures by imposing an electric potential, which can influence the electrostatic interactions between the chiral metal and the target enantiomer. This allows increasing the binding affinity and thus the discrimination between two enantiomers. The concept is illustrated by generating chiral encoded metals in a microfluidic channel via the reduction of a platinum salt in the presence of a liquid crystal and L‐tryptophan as a chiral model template. After removal of the template molecules, the modified microchannel retains a pronounced chiral character. Its chiral recognition efficiency can be fine‐tuned by applying a suitable potential to the metal phase. This enables the separation of both components of a racemate flowing through the channel. The approach constitutes a promising and complementary strategy in the frame of chiral discrimination technologies.

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Nucleus‐targeted organoiridium‐albumin conjugate for photoactivated cancer therapy

: A highly phosphorescent organoiridium‐albumin conjugate (Ir1‐HSA) was synthesized by reacting an organo‐iridium complex (Ir1) containing a pendant maleimide with human serum albumin. The phosphorescence of the Ir1‐HSA conjugate is much stronger than the parent iridium complex. Real‐time cellular imaging shows that the conjugate mainly accumulates in the nucleus of cancer cells. The long phosphorescence lifetime and high 1O2 quantum yield of Ir1‐HSA make it a strong candidate for photoactivated cancer therapy. Ir1‐HSA shows remarkable photocytotoxicty in a range of cancer cell lines and tumor spheroids (IC50; 0.8‐5 μM) with an excellent photo‐cytotoxicity index (C50 (dark) / IC50 (light) = 40‐60) while remaining non‐toxic to normal cells and normal‐cell spheroids, even after photo‐irradiation. This organoiridium‐albumin photosensitizer has potential for application in both photoactivated therapy and nucleus staining.

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Salivary Nickel and Chromium Levels in Orthodontic Patients with and Without Periodontitis: a Preliminary Historical Cohort Study

Abstract

Many periodontal patients may need orthodontic treatment. Alterations in oral environment particularly the reduction of pH in periodontal patients could affect metal ion release from orthodontic appliances. However, there is no study on metal ion release in periodontal patients. The aim of this preliminary study was to comparatively evaluate, for the first time, salivary levels of nickel and chromium in periodontal patients (versus healthy controls) under orthodontic treatment for 2 months. In this in vivo study, 40 subjects were evaluated. Patient selection and standardization of orthodontic treatment protocols were prospectively designed and performed. Two groups of n = 20 each (control: healthy orthodontic patients, cohort: orthodontic patients with periodontitis) underwent similar protocols of fixed orthodontic treatment for 2 months. After 2 months, salivary nickel and chromium concentrations of the case and cohort groups were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). The values were compared between the two groups using t test. There were 10 men and 10 women in each group. The mean age of patients was 34.6 ± 3.6 years old. The salivary level of nickel was 338.2 ± 235.5 ng/ml and 182.8 ± 116.5 ng/ml in the cohort and control groups, respectively (P = 0.0118). The salivary level of chromium was 7.4 ± 3.15 ng/ml in the cohort and 6.35 ± 2.39 ng/ml in the control group (P = 0.2214). Salivary level of nickel might be considerably higher in periodontal patients undergoing 2 months of orthodontic treatment compared to orthodontic patients with healthy gingivae.

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Effects of Selenium-Enriched Yeast Improved Aflatoxin B1-Induced Changes in Growth Performance, Antioxidation Capacity, IL-2 and IFN-γ Contents, and Gene Expression in Mice

Abstract

Sixty Kunming mice were randomly assigned into three groups. Mice in a control group were fed a basal diet, while mice in AFB1 group and AFB1-Se group were fed the basal diet supplemented with 250 μg/kg AFB1 or the basal diet supplemented with 250 μg/kg AFB1 and 0.2 mg/kg selenium as selenium-enriched yeast, respectively. On day 30 of the experiment, growth performance, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) levels, and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents in liver, interleukin-2 (IL-2), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) contents in serum, and cytochrome P3a11 (Cyp3a11), IL-2, IFN-γ, and GSH-Px1 mRNA levels in liver were determined. The results showed that final weights, weight gains, T-AOC levels, GSH-Px1, and IFN-γ mRNA levels in AFB1-Se group and control group were higher or significantly higher than those in AFB1 group (P < 0.05 or P < 0.01), respectively. Body length gains in AFB1 group were lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05), while there was no significant difference between the AFB1-Se and control groups (P > 0.05). IL-2 contents and liver IL-2 mRNA levels in AFB1-Se group were significantly higher than those in the AFB1 group and control group (P < 0.01), and IL-2 contents in the control group were also significantly higher than those in the AFB1 group (P < 0.01). IFN-γ contents in AFB1-Se group and AFB1 group were significantly higher than those in control group (P < 0.01), while IFN-γ contents in AFB1-Se group were significantly lower than those in AFB1 group (P < 0.01). Cyp3a11 mRNA levels in AFB1-Se group and AFB1 group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P < 0.01). The results indicated that selenium-enriched yeast could partly reduce the toxicity induced by AFB1 in mice, including improving growth performance, antioxidation capacity, IL-2 and IFN-γ contents, and enhancing IL-2, IFN-γ, and GSH-Px1 mRNA levels.

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Occupational cannabis exposure and allergy risks

Objectives

Cannabis allergy has mainly been described following recreational use but some cases also point to cannabis sensitisation as a result of occupational exposure. As a consequence, little is known on the prevalence and clinical phenotype of occupational cannabis allergy. Therefore, this study aims to explore the allergy-associated health risks of occupational cannabis exposure in Belgian police force personnel.

Methods

81 participants, active in the police force, reporting regular occupational cannabis exposure during the past 12 months, were included. History was combined with a standardised questionnaire on allergies and cannabis exposure.Basophil activation tests (BATs) with a crude cannabis extract and rCan s 3 were performed. In addition, specific (s)IgE rCan s 3 as well as sIgE to house dust mite, six pollen and three mould allergens were quantified.

Results

Although 42% of the participants reported respiratory and/or cutaneous symptoms on occupational cannabis exposure, all cannabis diagnostics were entirely negative, except one symptomatic case demonstrating a borderline result. Furthermore, there is no significant difference between the groups with and without symptoms on cannabis exposure in terms of allergenic sensitisations.

Conclusions

The origins of the reported respiratory and cutaneous symptoms during cannabis exposure remain elusive but are probably due to non-immune reactions. It should be noted that the study was volunteer-based possibly reflecting an excessive number of symptomatic individuals. Nevertheless, as only one participant reported using fully protective gear, much improvement is needed for reducing the number of symptoms reported on duty, independent of their origin.

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Classification of the superior angle of the scapula and its correlation with the suprascapular notch: a study on 303 scapulas

Abstract

Purpose

The aims of this study had been to classify the superior angle of the scapula based on morphological features, and to investigate its correlation with the suprascapular notch.

Methods

303 samples of Chinese dried scapular specimens were collected from the Department of anatomy, Southwest Medical University. According to the anatomical morphological characteristics of the superior angle of the scapula, the morphological classification was performed to explore its correlation with the suprascapular notch (SSN).

Results

The superior angle of the scapula was classified into three types (Hilly shape, Mountain Peak shape and Chimney shape). There were 143 cases of Hilly shape (47.20%), 144 cases of Mountain shape (47.52%), and 16 cases of Chimney shape (5.28%). The angle of Hilly shape (93.36° ± 7.76°) was significantly larger than the Mountain Peak shape (86.60° ± 6.61°) and the Chimney shape (86.22° ± 7.20°), and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.05). The type I–III of Rengachary's classification to SSN was low risk of suprascapular nerve entrapment, while the type IV–VI was high risk of suprascapular nerve entrapment. Compared with the Mountain Peak shape and the Chimney shape, the Hilly shape corresponds to more types I–III of suprascapular notch but to fewer types IV–VI (P < 0.05).

Conclusions

The superior angle of the scapula was divided into three types: Hilly shape (47.20%), Mountain Peak shape (47.52%) and Chimney shape (5.28%). The Mountain Peak shape might be more likely to result in inability of the levator muscle with acute or chronic overload mechanisms, and the risk of suprascapular nerve entrapment in Mountain peak shape was higher than that of Hilly shape. And, it might have a potential effect on neck pain.

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Induction of apoptosis-like death by periplanetasin-2 in Escherichia coli and contribution of SOS genes

Abstract

Periplanetasin-2 is a 15-mer antimicrobial peptide (AMP), derived from the American cockroach Periplaneta americana. This novel AMP exhibits potent antibacterial effect against several pathogenic bacteria including Escherichia coli. Distinct from the targeting cell membrane, which is the general antibacterial mechanism of AMP, periplanetasin-2 exerts its antibacterial activity via apoptosis-like death, which is physiologically and mechanistically similar to eukaryotic apoptosis. E. coli cells treated with periplanetasin-2 showed features of apoptosis in a concentration-dependent manner, such as membrane depolarization, DNA fragmentation, caspase-like protein activation, and phosphatidylserine externalization. These physiological changes were attenuated by pretreatment with the reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenger, which demonstrates that periplanetasin-2 induced apoptosis-like death in E. coli by generating ROS. In addition, periplantasin-2-induced apoptotic death was affected by SOS response components. In the absence of RecA, an essential protein for SOS response, apoptosis did not occur and the antibacterial activity of periplanetasin-2 was decreased. In contrast, deletion of the SOS gene dinF caused higher ROS accumulation and apoptotic features were detected. Collectively, these results indicate that the antibacterial mechanism of periplanetasin-2 is ROS-induced apoptosis-like death, which requires RecA for proceeding it, and the role of DinF is assumed to contribute to the ROS defense SOS response.

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Explore the influence mechanism of carbon emissions decline on energy intensity with two-layer factor decomposition method in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region

Abstract

Understanding the intrinsic mechanism behind changes on energy intensity provides insights about reducing carbon emissions and promoting the sustainable development of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region. Although various studies have found a causal relationship between energy intensity and energy-related carbon emissions, the internal mechanisms are still unclear. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the impact of energy intensity on carbon emissions from 2005 to 2015. With an association established between logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI) and generalized Fisher index (GFI), two-layer factor decomposition model is proposed to explore the factor analysis in-depth. (1) LMDI method proves that energy intensity is the main contributor that reduces carbon emissions in BTH. (2) GFI model further decomposes energy intensity into five effects, namely energy substitution, technology progress, labor productivity, capital substitution, and labor-capital resources allocation. (3) The results reveal that the effect of capital-energy substitution in declining energy intensity surpasses technology progress. (4) Energy-labor substitution has increased energy intensity, while energy-energy substitution is negligible. For the coordinate development of BTH, the government should aim at energy intensity and attach importance to encouraging entrepreneurship, accelerating the construction of carbon trading market, allocating resources rationally, and guiding the capital flow into energy-efficient direction.

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