Oral care of people with disability: a qualitative exploration of the views of nursing staff

This study aimed to identify influences, attitudes and actions of nursing staff in relation to oral care for people with disabilities. Individual in-depth interviews of twenty two nursing staff were conducted. Enabling and inhibiting factors in the reported attitudes, approaches and practices were identified. The main enabling factors were that nursing staff saw mouth care as part of their role and took an empathic and caring approach to its delivery. They aimed to make the residents socially acceptable, improve their self-esteem and make their mouths clean and breath fresher. Inhibiting factors were: a lack of training, time constraints associated with workload, and poor understanding of the processes causing dental disease. The study concludes that improvements in oral care by nursing staff can be encouraged by working with nurses'attitudes, values and beliefs. Once the desired behaviour change has occurred then the lack of knowledge can be addressed.     

Relationship between deterrence and toxicity of plant secondary compounds for the alfalfa weevil Hypera brunneipennis

A variety of plant secondary compounds, several of which are quite widespread in nature were tested for their deterrence to the specialist coleopteran Hypera brunneipennis (Boheman) in short-term behavioral assays. The compounds were nicotine, quinine, sparteine, hordenine, linamarin, amygdalin, sinigrin, morin, juglone, chlorogenic acid, digitonin, mimosine, diosgenin, rutin and ursolic acid. Nine of these were then tested for their post-ingestional effects over one to two weeks of adult life, using fecundity as a measure of the effects. In only one case was there any indication of a detrimental effect or any trend suggesting one. The evolutionary implications of these findings are discussed.     

Computational Oral Absorption Simulation for Low‐Solubility Compounds

Bile micelles play an important role in oral absorption of low‐solubility compounds. Bile micelles can affect solubility, dissolution rate, and permeability. For the pH–solubility profile in bile micelles, the Henderson–Hasselbalch equation should be modified to take bile‐micelle partition into account. For the dissolution rate, in the Nernst–Brunner equation, the effective diffusion coefficient in bile‐micelle media should be used instead of the monomer diffusion coefficient. The diffusion coefficient of bile micelles is 8‐ to 18‐fold smaller than that of monomer molecules. For permeability, the effective diffusion coefficient in the unstirred water layer adjacent to the epithelial membrane, and the free fraction at the epithelial membrane surface should be taken into account. The importance of these aspects is demonstrated here using several in vivo and clinical oral‐absorption data of low‐solubility model compounds. Using the theoretical equations, the food effect on oral absorption is further discussed.     

Insolubility of Cr2O3 in Bioaccessibility Tests Points to Requirement for a New Human Oral Reference Dose for Trivalent Chromium

Bioaccessibility measurements have the potential to improve the accuracy of risk assessments and reduce the potential costs of remediation when they reveal that the solubility of chemicals in a matrix (e.g., soil) differs markedly from that in the critical toxicity study (i.e., the key study from which a toxicological or toxicity reference value is derived). We aimed to apply this approach to a brownfield site contaminated with chromium, and found that the speciation was Cr^III, using a combination of alkaline digestion/diphenylcarbazide complexation and X-ray absorption near edge structure analysis. The bioaccessibility of Cr₂O₃, the compound on which a reference dose for Cr^III is based, was substantially lower (<0.1%) than that of the Cr^III in the soils, which was a maximum of 9%, giving relative bioaccessibility values of 13,000% in soil. This shows that the reference dose is based on essentially an insoluble compound, and thus we suggest that other compounds be considered for toxicity testing and derivation of reference dose. Two possibilities are CrCl₃·6H₂O and KCr(SO₄)₂·12H₂O, which have been used for derivation of ecological toxicity reference values and are soluble at a range of dosing levels in our bioaccessibility tests.     

MMP-2 and TIMP-2 expression,quantitative analysis and biomechanical changes in scar hypertrophy after autologous free transplantation of rabbit oral mucosa and scrotal skin

This study aimed to investigate the long-term scar hypertrophy in the rabbit transplanted oral mucosa and scrotal skin with changed matrix environment, as well as the scar location expression, quantitative analysis of matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2) and tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase-2 (TIMP-2) and biomechanical changes in the transplanted tissues. The split-thickness skin grafts were collected from the oral mucosas and scrotal skins of 30 male rabbits, and prepared into reelpipes for autologous transplantation into the rabbit back muscular tissues. Samples were collected to carry out elastic tensile mechanical detection and histological observation. The maximum longitudinal tensile displacement of scrotal skin before 8 weeks of transplantation was greater than that after 8 weeks of transplantation (P < 0.05). The expression intensities of MMP-2 and TIMP-2 in the oral mucosa and in scrotal skin at 2 W time point were higher than those at T_o time point (P < 0.05). The expression quantities of TIMP-2 in oral mucosa and scrotal skin during 8–24 W were higher than those of MMP-2 (P < 0.05). At 8 W time point, the TIMP-2/MMP-2 ratio in scrotal skin was higher than that in oral mucosa (P < 0.05). MMP-2 and TIMP-2 expression in normal oral mucosa and scrotal skin is weak, but their expression is remarkably up-regulated after 2 weeks of transplantation, revealing that scar formation was related to the high expression of MMP-2 and TIMP-2. At the 8th–24th weeks, the AOD values of TIMP-2 in oral mucosa and scrotal skin are apparently higher than those of MMP-2; moreover, the TIMP-2/MMP-2 ratio in scrotal skin at the 8th week was higher than that in oral mucosa, which can well explain the earlier scar formation in scrotal skin than in oral mucosa, and it also suggests that the different expression levels between TIMP-2 and MMP-2 may account for the important cause of scar formation.     

The use of biochemical parameters for a qualitative and quantitative assessment of ischemic damage to the small-intestinal mucosa

Lactate dehydrogenase has been measured in the small-intestinal mucosa in order to assess its value as a marker for the effects of ischemia and of reperfusion. The decrease in specific activity of the enzyme illustrates the deleterious effect of reperfusion on the quality of the remaining epithelial cells. However, this parameter fails to detect the loss of epithelial cells, which is the major event during ischemia as well as during reperfusion. In contrast, the expression of enzyme activity per g protein of the underlying intestinal muscle allowed us, in addition, to assess quantitatively the loss of epithelial cells, in good agreement with the histological data.     

Up- and down-regulation of membrane receptors as possible mechanisms related to the antiulcer actions of milk in rat gastric mucosa

The effects of a cow's milk diet on receptor activity and histamine metabolism in gastric glands and mucosa isolated from adult rats were examined. The milk diet was associated with (1) a decreased mobilization of H₂ receptors by histamine and (2) an increased mobilization of PGE₂ (prostaglandin E₂) receptors in mucous cells (cytoprotective effect) and parietal cells (antiacid effect). These changes are not observed for the receptors reducing pentagastrin- and histamine-induced gastric acid secretion (pancreatic/enteroglucagons, somatostatin) and stimulating mucus, bicarbonate and pepsin secretions in the rat (secretin). Cimetidine produced a parallel displacement of the histamine dose-response curve, suggesting competitive inhibition between this classical H₂ receptor antagonist and histamine in the two experimental groups. Prostaglandins and other components in milk such as EGF (epidermal growth factor) and somatostatin might therefore protect gastric mucosa by a differential control of PGE₂ and histamine H₂ receptor activity eitherdirectly (PGE₂ in milk) orindirectly (inhibition of endogeneous histamine synthesis/release and stimulation of PGE-I synthesis/release).     

Oral ontogeny of the Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis and comparisons with the jaws of other salmoniform fishes

The Japanese Ayu, Plecoglossus altivelis Temminck & Schlegel is the sole representative of the salmoniform family Plecoglossidae. The Ayu is remarkable for its dentition which in adults comprises groups of diagonally arranged comb-like teeth in the outer tissue of the jaws. In juveniles (below 63 mm SL) the teeth are attached normally to the jaws. The transition of tooth form is correlated with a switch from zooplanktivory to algal or aufwuchs grazing. The present study follows the development of the teeth, jaws, oral cavity ethmoid and suspensorial elements in specimens ranging in size from 41–70 mm SL. The possible mode of function of the adult dentition is discussed. Comparisons are made with the jaws of other salmoniform fishes and a suite of supposed apomorphic characters are identified which are also shared with certain genera of the family Osmeridae, thus supporting the ideas of others that the Osmeridae is a paraphyletic assemblage.