Notes

Hemp ubiquitin-conjugating chemical OsUBC26 is crucial with regard to defense for the boost fungus Magnaporthe oryzae.
INTRODUCTION Following allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (alloHCT), excessive immunosuppression can be complicated by infection, while inadequate immunosuppression can result in graft-vs-host disease (GVHD). An accurate method to assess overall immune status post HCT is lacking. The QuantiFERON Monitor® (QFM) assay measures interferon gamma (IFN-γ) release from whole blood following incubation with both innate (Toll-like receptor 7, TLR7) and adaptive (CD3 antibody) stimulants and may result in a more complete assessment of the immune system. METHODS Whole blood samples were prospectively collected from alloHCT recipients at conditioning followed by days 10, 30, 60, 90, 120, and 180 post-transplant and assayed by the QFM test. IFN-γ levels were correlated to time post HCT and episodes of infection and GVHD. RESULTS Forty patients were enrolled in the study (68% male; median age 47 years; 58% matched related donors, 42% unrelated; 33% myeloablative). Post-stimulation IFN-γ levels rose steadily over the first 180 days post transplantation. IFN-γ levels were significantly lower in those with active infection compared to those without during the neutropenic period (P 1000 copies/mL) post alloHCT (P = .001). CONCLUSION This is a promising assay to demonstrate immune recovery and predict risk of infection after alloHCT and may allow tailoring of immunosuppression, antimicrobial treatment, and prophylaxis. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.BACKGROUND Smoking is one of the world's major health problems and dental professionals are in a unique position to promote smoking cessation. However, according to the current literature, neither dental students nor dentists feel adequately prepared to counsel smokers. The purpose of this study was to develop and implement a teaching intervention on smoking cessation for fourth-year dental students and assess its effectiveness in terms of learning outcome on knowledge, communication skills and attitudes. MATERIALS AND METHODS In this prospective intervention study, students in the intervention group (n = 28) participated in a teaching module consisting of a podcast, an interactive lecture, a seminar, and small-group sessions with role-play interactions. Knowledge, communication skills and attitudes were measured using written examinations and an objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) at the end of the module and 6 months later. Results were compared with data from a historical control group (n = 27) receiving standard teaching. RESULTS Compared with the control group, students in the intervention group had higher scores in the knowledge test (67.1% vs 41.8%; P less then .001; d = 2.8) as well as in the OSCE (74.9% vs 44.7%; P less then .001; d = 2.3) and also retained more knowledge (52.7% vs 36.5%; P less then .001; d = 2.0) and skills (71.8% vs 47.6%; P less then .001; d = 2.5) over a period of 6 months. Attitudes were similar across groups and time-points. CONCLUSION The teaching intervention equipped dental students with specific knowledge and skills required to effectively counsel smoking patients. Further research is required to assess the transfer of these skills to the clinical setting. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.OBJECTIVE To identify a polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) biomarker able to detect which women with singleton pregnancies are most likely to benefit from omega-3 supplementation to reduce their risk of early preterm birth. DESIGN Exploratory analysis of a randomised controlled trial. SETTING Six Australian hospitals. POPULATION Women with a singleton pregnancy enrolled in the ORIP trial. METHODS Using maternal capillary whole blood collected ~14 weeks' gestation, the fatty acids in total blood lipids were quantified using gas chromatography. Interaction tests examined whether baseline PUFA status modified the effect of omega-3 supplementation on birth outcomes. I-BET-762 research buy MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Early preterm birth ( less then 34 weeks' gestation). RESULTS A low total omega-3 PUFA status in early pregnancy was associated with a higher risk of early preterm birth. Among women with a total omega-3 status ≤4.1% of total fatty acids, omega-3 supplementation substantially reduced the risk of early preterm birth compared with control (0.73 versus 3.16%; relative risk = 0.23, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.07-0.79). Conversely, women with higher total omega-3 status in early pregnancy were at lower risk of early preterm birth. Supplementing women with a baseline status above 4.9% increased early preterm birth (2.20 versus 0.97%; relative risk = 2.27, 95% CI 1.13-4.58). CONCLUSIONS Women with singleton pregnancies and low total omega-3 PUFA status early in pregnancy have an increased risk of early preterm birth and are most likely to benefit from omega-3 supplementation to reduce this risk. Women with higher total omega-3 status are at lower risk and additional omega-3 supplementation may increase their risk. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT Low total omega-3 fat status helps identify which women benefit from extra omega-3 to reduce early prematurity. © 2020 Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.AIM To determine the most effective DNA extraction method for bacteria in faecal samples. MATERIALS AND RESULTS This study assessed five commercial methods, that is, NucliSens easyMag, QIAamp DNA Stool Mini kit, PureLink Microbiome DNA purification kit, QIAamp PowerFecal DNA kit and RNeasy PowerMicrobiome kit, of which the latter has been optimized for DNA extraction. The DNA quantity and quality were determined using Nanodrop, Qubit and qPCR. The PowerMicrobiome kit recovered the highest DNA concentration, whereby this kit also recovered the highest gene copy number of Gram positives, Gram negatives and total bacteria. Furthermore, the PowerMicrobiome kit in combination with mechanical pre-treatment (bead beating) and with combined enzymatic and mechanical pre-treatment (proteinase K+mutanolysin+bead beating) was more effective than without pre-treatment. CONCLUSION From the five DNA extraction methods that were compared, the PowerMicrobiome kit, preceded by bead beating, which is standard included, was found to be the most effective DNA extraction method for bacteria in faecal samples.
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