Isolation and characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci from RAPD product in half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) and a test of cross-species amplification

Eleven polymorphic microsatellite loci have been isolated and characterized from random amplified polymorphic DNA product in half-smooth tongue sole, Cynoglossus semilaevis. Twenty-one microsatellites were selected for designing microsatellite primers, of which 11 gave working primer pairs. They had between three and 12 alleles. Observed and expected heterozygosities varied from 0.53 to 0.93, and from 0.52 to 0.80, respectively. Five additional fish species assessed for cross-species amplification revealed between one and three positive amplifications and between zero and three polymorphic loci per species.     

Prevalence of periodontopathic bacteria on the tongue dorsum of elderly people

Objectives: The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of oral bacteria on the dorsum of the tongue. In addition, the relationship between the number of teeth and the microflora present on the coating of the tongue in a population of 85‐year‐old people was assessed. Subjects and methods: Two hundred and five individuals (89 males, 116 females) from the same geographical area who were 85 years of age were examined. Five periodontopathic bacteria (Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, Fusobacterium nucleatum, and Treponema denticola) and one cariogenic bacterium (Streptococcus mutans) were analysed using a polymerase chain reaction assay of tongue samples from the population. Results: Periodontal bacteria‐positive individuals have more teeth than that of periodontal bacteria‐negative people. Between the periodontal bacteria‐positive and ‐negative individuals, there were significant differences in the mean number of teeth for P. gingivalis (p < 0.0001), T. denticola (p < 0.001), F. nucleatum (p = 0.002), and T. forsythia (p = 0.005), while there were no significant differences for A. actinomycetemcomitans (p = 0.998) or S. mutans (p = 0.147). Conclusions: A wide range of species, including anaerobes, was detected in 85‐year‐old subjects. It was found that the detection of periodontal bacteria on the tongue coating increased with the number of teeth. There was a positive relationship between the tooth number and periodontopathic bacteria, except for A. actinomycetemcomitans.These results suggest that tongue care is essential for preventing oral disease and needs to be part of any oral care programme in elderly people.     

New method for determining surface roughness of tongue

doi: 10.1111/j.1741‐2358.2011.00509.x New method for determining surface roughness of tongue Objective: The degree of atrophy of the lingual papillae in elderly individuals was evaluated using a quantitative method. Subjects and methods: One hundred and eighty‐two subjects living in nursing homes and 20 healthy adults as controls were studied. To express the degree of atrophy of the lingual papillae quantitatively, lingual surface roughness was determined by taking an impression with silicone dental material. Based on the impressions obtained from the elderly subjects, they were classified by three expert dentists into three groups: Normal, Smooth and Rough. The same determinations were also performed in the 20 healthy controls and compared with 38 of the elderly subjects who had agreement from all of the experts and without the presence of fissures (Normal, n = 6; Smooth, n = 12; Rough, n = 20). Results: The roughness average value for the controls was 65.0 μm, while that for the elderly subjects in the Normal, Smooth and Rough groups was 73.9 μm, 42.2 μm and 94.1 μm, respectively, which were significantly different. Conclusion: The present results indicate that the present technique of obtaining an impression of the tongue surface is simple and reliable for routine evaluation and quantification of the degree of atrophy as well as morphology of the lingual papillae.     

Tongue coating microbiome as a potential biomarker for gastritis including precancerous cascade

The development of gastritis is associated with an increased risk of gastric cancer. Current invasive gastritis diagnostic methods are not suitable for monitoring progress. In this work based on 78 gastritis patients and 50 healthy individuals, we observed that the variation of tongue-coating microbiota was associated with the occurrence and development of gastritis. Twenty-one microbial species were identified for differentiating tongue-coating microbiomes of gastritis and healthy individuals. Pathways such as microbial metabolism in diverse environments, biosynthesis of antibiotics and bacterial chemotaxis were up-regulated in gastritis patients. The abundance of Campylobacter concisus was found associated with the gastric precancerous cascade. Furthermore, Campylobacter concisus could be detected in tongue coating and gastric fluid in a validation cohort containing 38 gastritis patients. These observations provided biological evidence of tongue diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine, and indicated that tongue-coating microbiome could be a potential non-invasive biomarker, which might be suitable for long-term monitoring of gastritis.     

CA9 transcriptional expression determines prognosis and tumour grade in tongue squamous cell carcinoma patients

CA9 is a member of the carbonic anhydrases’ family, that is often expressed in cancer cells under hypoxic condition. However, the role of CA9 in the molecular mechanisms of tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) pathogenesis remains unclear. CA9 expression was analysed using the TCGA database, and its influence on survival was performed using Kaplan-Meier, LASSO and COX regression analyses. The correlation between CA9 and immune infiltration was investigated by CIBERSORT and ESTIMATE. Moreover, the relationship between CA9 expression and downstream molecular regulation pathways was analysed by GSEA, GO and WGCNA. CA9 expression correlated with clinical prognosis and tumour grade in TSCC. Moreover, CA9 expression potentially contributes to the regulation of cancer cell differentiation and mediates tumour-associated genes and signalling pathways, including apoptosis, hypoxia, G2M checkpoint, PI3K/AKR/mTOR signalling and TGF-beta signalling pathways. However, the follicular helper T cells, regulatory T cells, immune and stromal scores showed no significance between high and low CA9 expression groups. These findings suggested that CA9 plays a critical role of TSCC prognosis and tumour grade. CA9 expression significantly correlated with the regulation of cell differentiation, various oncogenes and cancer-associated pathways.     

From dusk till dawn: camera traps reveal the diel patterns of flower feeding by hawkmoths

1. Diel rhythms of foraging activity by animal flower visitors can reflect niche partitioning and are considered an important component of selection on floral traits. However, it has been notoriously difficult to obtain objective information on the patterns of flower visitation by crepuscular and nocturnal insects. 2. Motion-activated cameras were used for field-based studies of hawkmoth foraging behaviour on six African plant species. 3. The results showed that short-tongued hawkmoth species forage mainly around dusk and then sporadically throughout the night, whereas long-tongued hawkmoth species feed consistently throughout the night, with a peak shortly before midnight. 4. These results provide the first quantitative estimates of diel patterns of interactions between multiple hawkmoth and plant species and, when combined with qualitative reports from other studies, suggest that differences in diel activity between the two main hawkmoth functional groups (short- and long-tongued) are consistent across the Old and New Worlds.     

Comparison of Solea solea macroparasites between two nursery-continental shelf systems in the Bay of Biscay and the Portuguese coast

Digenean metacercariae of 0 year group common sole Solea solea ( n = 70) were more abundant in the embayed nursery of the Pertuis Charentais than in the Tagus estuary nursery. Macroparasite assemblages of adult sole ( n = 119) displayed only one species in common between the Bay of Biscay and the Portuguese coast continental shelves. These data highlighted the potential use of macroparasites as biological tags in various aspects of common sole ecology.     

Positive effects of plantar vibration training for the treatment of diabetic peripheral neuropathy: A pilot study

Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of 8-week low-frequency plantar vibration training on patients with sensorimotor diabetic peripheral neuropathy (DPN).

Participants: Twelve patients took part in the investigation.

Results: An increase of the nerve conductive velocity of soral and peroneal nerves of feet, increased postural stability, and disappearance of the pain and tingling were observed.

Conclusion: The obtained results provide evidence for beneficial effects of 8-week plantar vibration training in patients with DPN.