Clinicians should be aware of the implications of Alzheimer's disease in oral health, in order to stablish the effective preventive measures and the optimal treatment plan.

ABSTRACTBrucella ovisis a rough bacterium—lacking O-polysaccharide chains in the lipopolysaccharide—that is virulent in its natural host and whose virulence mechanisms remain almost unexplored. In a search for additional traits that distinguishB. ovisfrom smoothBrucella, which require O-polysaccharide chains for virulence, we have analyzed the significance inB. ovisof the main virulence factors described for smoothBrucella. Attempts to obtain strains of virulentB. ovisstrain PA that are mutated in the BvrR/BvrS two-component regulatory system were unsuccessful, suggesting the requirement of that system forin vitrosurvival, while the inactivation ofbacA—in contrast to the results seen with smoothBrucella—did not affect splenic colonization in mice or behavior in J774.A1 murine macrophages. Defects in the synthesis of cyclic ß-1,2 glucans reduced the uptake ofB. ovisPA in macrophages and, although the intracellular multiplication rate was unaffected, led to attenuation in mice. Growth of strains with mutations in the type IV secretion system (encoded by thevirBoperon) and the quorum-sensing-related regulator VjbR was severely attenuated in the mouse model, and although the mutant strains internalized like the parental strain in J774.A1 murine macrophages, they were impaired for intracellular replication. As described forB. melitensis, VjbR regulates the transcription of thevirBoperon positively, and theN-dodecanoyl-dl-homoserine lactone (C12-HSL) autoinducer abrogates this effect. In contrast, no apparent VjbR-mediated regulation of thefliFflagellar gene was observed inB. ovis, probably due to the two deletions detected upstream offliF. These results, together with others reported in the text, point to similarities between rough virulentB. ovisand smoothBrucellaspecies as regards virulence but also reveal distinctive traits that could be related to the particular pathogenicity and host tropism characteristics ofB. ovis.

No abstract

BackgroundThe WHO has recently published the FRAX® tool to determine the absolute risk of osteoporotic fracture at 10 years. This tool has not yet been validated in Spain.Methods/designA prospective observational study was undertaken in women in the FRIDEX cohort (Barcelona) not receiving bone active drugs at baseline. Baseline measurements: known risk factors including those of FRAX® and a DXA. Follow up data on self-reported incident major fractures (hip, spine, humerus and wrist) and verified against patient records. The calculation of absolute risk of major fracture and hip fracture was by FRAX® website. This work follows the guidelines of the STROBE initiative for cohort studies. The discriminative capacity of FRAX® was analyzed by the Area Under Curve (AUC), Receiver Operating Characteristics (ROC) and the Hosmer-Lemeshow goodness-of-fit test. The predictive capacity was determined using the ratio of observed fractures/expected fractures by FRAX® (ObsFx/ExpFx).ResultsThe study subjects were 770 women from 40 to 90 years of age in the FRIDEX cohort. The mean age was 56.8 ± 8 years. The fractures were determined by structured telephone questionnaire and subsequent testing in medical records at 10 years. Sixty-five (8.4%) women presented major fractures (17 hip fractures). Women with fractures were older, had more previous fractures, more cases of rheumatoid arthritis and also more osteoporosis on the baseline DXA. The AUC ROC of FRAX® for major fracture without bone mineral density (BMD) was 0.693 (CI 95%; 0.622-0.763), with T-score of femoral neck (FN) 0.716 (CI 95%; 0.646-0.786), being 0.888 (CI 95%; 0.824-0.952) and 0.849 (CI 95%; 0.737-0.962), respectively for hip fracture. In the model with BMD alone was 0.661 (CI 95%; 0.583-0.739) and 0.779 (CI 95%; 0.631-0.929). In the model with age alone was 0.668 (CI 95%; 0.603-0.733) and 0.882 (CI 95%; 0.832-0.936). In both cases there are not significant differences against FRAX® model. The overall predictive value for major fracture by ObsFx/ExpFx ratio was 2.4 and 2.8 for hip fracture without BMD. With BMD was 2.2 and 2.3 respectively. Sensitivity of the four was always less than 50%. The Hosmer-Lemeshow test showed a good correlation only after calibration with ObsFx/ExpFx ratio.ConclusionsThe current version of FRAX® for Spanish women without BMD analzsed by the AUC ROC demonstrate a poor discriminative capacity to predict major fractures but a good discriminative capacity for hip fractures. Its predictive capacity does not adjust well because leading to underdiagnosis for both predictions major and hip fractures. Simple models based only on age or BMD alone similarly predicted that more complex FRAX® models.

No abstract

Objectives. To create a virtual laboratory system in which experimental science students could learn required skills and competencies while overcoming such challenges as time limitations, high cost of resources, and lack of feedback often encountered in a traditional laboratory setting. Design. A blended learning experience that combines traditional practices and e-learning was implemented to teach microbiological methods to pharmacy students. Virtual laboratory modules were used to acquire nonmanual skills such as visual and mental skills for data reading, calculations, interpretation of the results, deployment of an analytical protocol, and reporting results. Assesment. Learning achievement was evaluated by questions about microbiology case-based problems. Students' perceptions were obtained by assessment questionnaire. Conclusion. By combining different learning scenarios, the acquisition of the necessary but otherwise unreachable competences was achieved. Students achieved similar grades in the modules whose initiation was in the virtual laboratory to the grades they achieved with the modules whose complete or partial initiation took place in the laboratory. The knowledge acquired was satisfactory and the participants valued the experience.

Analysis of the occurrence and distribution of the Omp25/Omp31 family of surface proteins in the six classical Brucella species. Veterinary Microbiology, Elsevier, 2009, 137 (1-2) This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Page 1 of 30A c c e p t e d M a n u s c r i p t proteins of this family among species could be related to the difference in pathogenicity and 5 host preference they exhibit. Accordingly, in this work we have analyzed the expression of 6 the genes coding for the Omp25/Omp31 family in the six classical Brucella species and a set 7 of B. ovis mutant strains with each omp gene inactivated. Immunoblot of whole cell lysates 8 with antibodies raised against the purified recombinant outer membrane proteins (OMPs) did 9 not show the simultaneous presence of the seven OMPs in any of the Brucella strains studied, 10 but different Omp25/Omp31 profiles were detected, in our experimental conditions, between 11the Brucella strains representative of the six classical species. Transcripts for omp31, omp25 12 and omp25c were, in general, the most abundant of the family and some hits were found in B. 13 ovis for a posttranscriptional regulation mechanism and for a compensatory mechanism 14 increasing the synthesis of a protein to compensate for the absence of another one.

No abstract