Cariogenic Diet Consumption

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Cariogenic Diet Consumption during Lockdown via Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics Abstract Background During stressful situations such as pandemic-associated lockdowns, individuals' diets may change towards (cariogenic) "comfort food". This study assessed the dietary patterns in lockdown in Colombia population. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was designed. A convenience sample 489 adults was drawn, with 50% of them being in COVID-19 lockdown and the other being not or only partially in lockdown. The questionnaire collected data about the type and frequency of food consumed, with a special focus on cariogenic (i.e. rich in free sugars and starches) food. Descriptive analyses were performed, and a Generalized Linear Model was estimated to predict the frequency of cariogenic diet consumption in this period of time. Results Sweet whole wheat bread (38.2%, P= 0.005), flavored milk (26.4%, P= 0.002), sugar-sweetened bubble gums (39.8%, P= 0.001), toffees (35.4%, P= 0.004), soft candies (e. g. gums, etc.) (35.4%, P= 0.018), chocolates (55.3%, P= 0.017) filled donuts (28.5%, P= 0.013) or grapes (51.2%, P= 0.002), among others were significantly more consumed in lockdown. Multivariable generalized linear modeling showed being single, having children and being in lockdown were significantly associated with higher frequency of cariogenic food consumption. Conclusions Lockdown was found to be associated with detrimentally altered food consumption patterns and, specifically, a more cariogenic diet. Healthcare professionals should consider this when re-opening services and political decision-makers may want to reflect on unwarranted side effect of lockdown. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View on Web

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Inhibiting Cardiac Autophagy Suppresses Zika Virus Replication

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Inhibiting Cardiac Autophagy Suppresses Zika Virus Replication via Journal of Medical Virology Abstract Zika Virus (ZIKV) infection is a global threat. Other than the congenital neurological disorders it causes, ZIKV infection has been reported to induce cardiac complications. However, the precise treatment plans are unclear. Thus, illustrating the pathogenic mechanism of ZIKV in the heart is critical to providing effective prevention and treatment of ZIKV infection. The mechanism of autophagy has been reported recently in Dengue virus infection. Whether or not autophagy participates in ZIKV infection and its role remains unrevealed. This study successfully established the in vitro cardiomyocytes and in vivo mouse models of ZIKV infection to investigate the involvement of autophagy in ZIKV infection. The results showed that ZIKV infection is both time and gradient-dependent. The key autophagy protein, LC3B, increased remarkably after ZIKV infection. Meanwhile, autophagic flux was detected by immunofluorescence. Applying autophagy inhibitors decreased the LC3B levels. F urthermore, the number of viral copies was quantified to evaluate the influence of autophagy during infection. We found that autophagy was actively involved in the ZIKV infection and the inhibition of autophagy could effectively reduce the viral copies, suggesting a potential intervention strategy for reducing ZIKV infection and the undesired complications caused by ZIKV. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View on Web

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Needle‐free injection system delivery of ZyCoV‐D DNA vaccine demonstrated improved immunogenicity and protective efficacy in Rhesus macaques against SARS‐CoV‐2

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Needle‐free injection system delivery of ZyCoV‐D DNA vaccine demonstrated improved immunogenicity and protective efficacy in Rhesus macaques against SARS‐CoV‐2 via Journal of Medical Virology Abstract The apprehension of needles related to injection site pain, risk of transmitting the blood borne pathogens and effective mass immunization have led to the development of needle free injection system (NFIS). Here, we evaluated the efficacy of the NFIS and needle injection system (NIS) for the delivery and immunogenicity of DNA vaccine candidate ZyCOV-D in Rhesus macaques against SARS-CoV-2 infection. Briefly, twenty rhesus macaques were divided into five groups (4 animals each) i.e., I (1 mg dose by NIS), II (2mg dose by NIS), III [1mg dose by NFIS], IV (2mg dose by NFIS) and V (phosphate-buffer saline). The macaques were immunized with the vaccine candidates/PBS intradermally on day 0, 28 and 56. Subsequently, the animals were challenged with live SARS-CoV-2 after 15 weeks of the first immunization. Blood, nasal swab, throat swab, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid specimens were collected on 0, 1, 3, 5 and 7 days post infection from each animal to determine immune response and vira l clearance. Amongst all the five groups, 2mg dose by NFIS elicited significant titers of IgG and neutralizing antibody after immunization with enhancement in their titers post virus challenge. Besides this, it also induced increased lymphocyte proliferation and cytokine response. The minimal viral load post-SARS-CoV-2 challenge and significant immune response in the immunized animals demonstrated efficiency of NFIS in delivering 2mg ZyCOV-D vaccine candidate. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View on Web

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Complete genome analyses of G12P[8] rotavirus strains from hospitalized children

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Complete genome analyses of G12P[8] rotavirus strains from hospitalized children in Surabaya, Indonesia, 2017–2018 via Journal of Medical Virology ABSTRACT Rotavirus A (RVA) is a major viral cause of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. G12 RVA strains have emerged globally since 2007. There has been no report of the whole genome sequences of G12 RVAs in Indonesia. We performed the complete genome analysis by the next-generation sequencing of five G12 strains from hospitalized children with acute gastroenteritis in Surabaya from 2017–2018. All five G12 strains were Wa-like strains (G12-P[8]-I1-R1-C1-M1-A1-N1-T1-E1-H1) and were clustered into lineage-III of VP7 gene phylogenetic tree. STM430 sample was observed as a mixed-infection between G12 and G1 strains: G12/G1-P[8]-I1-R1-C1-M1-A1-N1-T1-E1-H1. A phylogenetic tree analysis revealed that all five Indonesian G12 strains (SOEP379, STM371, STM413, STM430, and STM433) were genetically close to each other in all 11 genome segments with 98.0-100% nucleotide identities, except VP3 and NSP4 of STM430, suggesting that these strains have originated from a similar ancestral G12 RVA. The VP3 and NSP4 genome segments of STM430-G12P[8] were separated phylogenetically from those of the other four G12 strains, probably due to intra-genotype reassortment between the G12 and G1 Wa-like strains. The change from G12P[6] lineage-II in 2007 to G12P[8] lineage-III 2017–2018 suggests the evolution and diversity of G12 RVAs in Indonesia over the past approximately 10 years. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View on Web

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Machine learning‐driven blood transcriptome‐based discovery of SARS‐CoV‐2 specific severity biomarkers

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Machine learning‐driven blood transcriptome‐based discovery of SARS‐CoV‐2 specific severity biomarkers via Journal of Medical Virology ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by rapidly evolving variants of SARS-CoV-2, continues to be a global health threat. SARS-CoV-2 infection symptoms often intersect with other nonsevere respiratory infections, making early diagnosis challenging. There is an urgent need for early diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers to predict severity and reduce mortality when a sudden outbreak occurs. This study implemented a novel approach of integrating bioinformatics and machine learning algorithms over publicly available clinical COVID-19 transcriptome datasets. The robust seven-gene biomarker identified through this analysis can not only discriminate SARS-CoV-2 associated acute respiratory illness (ARI) from other types of ARIs but also can discriminate severe COVID-19 patients from nonsevere COVID-19 patients. Validation of the 7-gene biomarker in an independent blood transcriptome dataset of longitudinal analysis of COVID-19 patients across various stages of the disease showed that the dysregul ation of the identified biomarkers during severe disease is restored during recovery, showing their prognostic potential. The blood biomarkers identified in this study can serve as potential diagnostic candidates and help reduce COVID-19-associated mortality. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. View on Web

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The effects of cannabidiol on subjective states, cognition, and psychomotor function in healthy adults: A randomized clinical trial

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader The effects of cannabidiol on subjective states, cognition, and psychomotor function in healthy adults: A randomized clinical trial via Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology Abstract Background Despite being added to numerous products, little is known about cannabidiol. Drowsiness is a self-reported side effect, which could impact cognitive functioning. Objectives To determine whether cannabidiol impacts cognition and psychomotor function. Methods A volunteer sample of healthy, college students were recruited for this randomized, parallel-group, double-blind, feasibility trial from April-November 2021. Participants completed a baseline survey, the Stanford Sleepiness Scale, Visual Analog Mood Scale, Digit Symbol Substitution Test, Trail Making Test, Psychomotor Vigilance Test, and Simple Reaction Time tests. Participants were then randomized and allocated to receive 300mg cannabidiol oil (N=21) or placebo (N=19). After 120 minutes, participants retook the tests. Performance between groups was compared using Analysis of Covariance and multi-level Negative Binomial regression. Results Participants averaged 21 ± 3 years of age and 52% were female. Self-reported anxiety did not change post-treatment. Performances on the Stanford Sleepiness Scale, Visual Analog Mood Scale, and Psychomotor Vigilance test increased for both groups. After accounting for baseline scores, attention lapse duration significantly increased for those receiving cannabidiol compared to placebo in the Psychomotor Vigilance Test (76 msec vs. 66 msec; p=0.02). Auditory reaction time improved in the cannabidiol group versus placebo for one sound emitted during the Simple Reaction Time test (241 vs. 245 msec; p=0.02), but the number of early responses increased from 0.3 to 0.8 for those receiving cannabidiol. Conclusions While performance on most tests were similar between those receiving cannabidiol or placebo, cannabidiol might affect certain aspects of vigilance. More research and larger trials are needed. View on Web

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Association between exposure to combustion-related air pollution and multiple sclerosis risk

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader Association between exposure to combustion-related air pollution and multiple sclerosis risk via International Journal of Epidemiology - Advance Access Abstract Background Smoking and occupational pulmonary irritants contribute to multiple sclerosis (MS) development. We aimed to study the association between ambient air pollution and MS risk and potential interaction with the human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DRB1*15:01 allele. Methods Exposure to combustion-related air pollution was estimated as outdoor levels of nitrogen oxides (NOx) at the participants' residence locations, by spatially resolved dispersion modelling for the years 1990–18. Using two population-based case-control studies (6635 cases, 8880 controls), NOx levels were associated with MS risk by calculating odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using logistic regression models. Interaction between high NOx levels and the HLA-DRB1*15:01 allele regarding MS risk was calculated by the attributable proportion due to interaction (AP). In addition, a register study was performed comprising al l MS cases in Sweden who had received their diagnosis between 1993 and 2018 (n = 22 173), with 10 controls per case randomly selected from the National Population register. Results Residential air pollution was associated with MS risk. NOx levels (3-year average) exceeding the 90th percentile (24.6 µg/m3) were associated with an OR of 1.37 (95% CI 1.10–1.76) compared with levels below the 25th percentile (5.9 µg/m3), with a trend of increasing risk of MS with increasing levels of NOx (P <0.0001). A synergistic effect was observed between high NOx levels (exceeding the lower quartile among controls) and the HLA-DRB1*15:01 allele regarding MS risk (AP 0.26, 95% CI 0.13–0.29). Conclusions Our findings indicate that moderate levels of combustion-related ambient air pollution may play a role in MS development. View on Web

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A comprehensive evaluation of an animal model for Helicobacter pylori‐associated stomach cancer: Fact and controversy

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader A comprehensive evaluation of an animal model for Helicobacter pylori‐associated stomach cancer: Fact and controversy via Helicobacter Abstract Even though Helicobacter pylori infection was the most causative factor of gastric cancer, numerous in vivo studies failed to induce gastric cancer using H. pylori infection only. The utilization of established animal studies in cancer research is crucial as they aim to investigate the coincidental association between suspected oncogenes and pathogenesis as well as generate models for the development and testing of potential treatments. The methods to establish gastric cancer using infected animal models remain limited, diverse in methods, and showed different results. This study investigates the differences in animal models, which highlight different pathological results in gaster by literature research. Electronic databases searched were performed in PubMed, Science Direct, and Cochrane, without a period filter. A total of 135 articles were used in this study after a full-text assessment was conducted. The most frequent animal models used for gastric ca ncer were Mice, while Mongolian gerbils and Transgenic mice were the most susceptible model for gastric cancer associated with H. pylori infection. Additionally, transgenic mice showed that the susceptibility to gastric cancer progression was due to genetic and epigenetic factors. These studies showed that in Mongolian gerbil models, H. pylori could function as a single agent to trigger stomach cancer. However, most gastric cancer susceptibilities were not solely relying on H. pylori infection, and numerous factors are involved in cancer progression. Further study using Mongolian gerbils and Transgenic mice is crucial to conduct and establish the best models for gastric cancer associated H. pylori. View on Web

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Porphyromonas gingivalis bacteremia increases the permeability of the blood-brain barrier via the Mfsd2a/Caveolin-1 mediated transcytosis pathway

alexandrossfakianakis shared this article with you from Inoreader <i>Porphyromonas gingivalis</i> bacteremia increases the permeability of the blood-brain barrier via the Mfsd2a/Caveolin-1 mediated transcytosis pathway via International Journal of Oral Science - Issue International Journal of Oral Science, Published online: 12 January 2023; doi:10.1038/s41368-022-00215-y Porphyromonas gingivalis bacteremia increases the permeability of the blood-brain barrier via the Mfsd2a/Caveolin-1 mediated transcytosis pathway View on Web

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