Bacillus subtilis is an effective probiotic product for prevention of enteric infections both in humans and animals. We hypothesized that a mouth rinse containing Bacillus subtilis should adhere to and colonize part of the oral bacteria on periodontal tissue. The rinsing ability of Extraction 300E (containing Bacillus subtilis: E-300) was compared with that of a mouth wash liquid , Neosteline Green (benzethonium chloride; NG) that is commonly used in Japan. Compared with NG rinsing, E-300 rinsing resulted in a marked change in the BANA-score. The mean BANA values (score +/- SD) over the course of the study from 0 to 30 days were 1.52 +/- 0.51 (p < or = 0.1) and 0.30 +/- 0.47 (p < or = 0.01) for E-300, and 1.56 +/- 0.51 and 0.93 +/- 0.68 for NG, respectively. Gingival Index also had improvement, while probing pocket depth and bleeding on probing showed small improvements. Mouth rinsing with E-300 significantly reduced periodontal pathogens compared with NG. These results suggest that Bacillus subtilis is an appropriate mouth rinse for patients with periodontitis.
IntroductionSarcopenia, the age-related loss of muscle mass and function, frequently accompanies chronic kidney disease. The aim of this study was to clarify the prevalence and the risk factors for sarcopenia among patients with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (NDD-CKD), focusing on the use of drugs.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional analysis on a cohort of 260 patients with NDD-CKD in a university hospital, recruited between June 2016 and March 2017. We extracted data on patient gender, age, cause of chronic kidney disease, use of drugs, and comorbidities that could potentially affect the prevalence of sarcopenia. Sarcopenia was diagnosed using the criteria of the Asian Working Group for Sarcopenia. Logistic regression analysis was performed to analyze the association of each factor on the prevalence of sarcopenia.Results25.0% of our study subjects had sarcopenia. Multivariable analysis revealed that an increased risk of sarcopenia was significantly associated with age, male gender, body mass index, diabetes mellitus, and loop diuretic use (odds ratio, 4.59: 95% confidence interval, 1.81–11.61: P-value 0.001).ConclusionsIn our cohort, the prevalence of sarcopenia in patients with NDD-CKD was high, and diuretics use, particularly loop diuretic use, was suggested to be a risk factor of sarcopenia. Although loop diuretics are commonly used in patients with CKD, careful consideration of the risk of sarcopenia may be necessary.
We have performed first-principles calculations in order to understand the binding mechanism of Li atoms in disordered carbon materials that are used for negative electrodes of rechargeable lithium batteries. We used pyrene, anthracene, and phenanthrene molecules as parts of disordered carbon. We examined several binding sites for two Li atoms in these aromatics and found that they are bound with substantial negative binding energies. The most negative one was -142.8 kJ/mol for Li-containing pyrenes, -211.0 kJ/mol for anthracenes, and -146.2 kJ/mol for phenanthrenes at the B3LYP/6-31G*//HF/6-31G* level of calculation. Li atoms are bound to interstitial (ring-over) and edge sites. In addition to these binding mechanisms, we found that Li atoms could be bound, forming a Li dimer in anthracene and phenanthrene. Their binding energies are -200.5 and -146.2 kJ/mol, respectively, being larger in magnitude than Li 2 dissociation energy. These aromatics lose their planarity when they accommodate Li atoms. We found that larger distortion brings more strong interaction between the aromatics and Li atoms. The amount of energy required for the distortion increases in the order the interstitial, edge, and Li-dimerized sites. The highest occupied molecular orbital energy, which is closely related to the electrode potential during discharge process, decreases in that order. This energy lowering may be related to the origin of the hysteresis observed during the charge/discharge cycles.
Besides anti-drug antibodies, anti-nuclear antibodies and anti-DNA antibodies are often induced in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with tumor necrosis factor inhibitors. We examined the association between immunogenicity, autoantibody production, and serum cytokine profiles in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with infliximab. Japanese patients with rheumatoid arthritis (n = 57) were retrospectively examined. Serum trough levels of infliximab, anti-drug antibody, anti-nuclear antibody, and anti-DNA (Farr), anti-single-stranded DNA and anti-double-stranded DNA antibodies were measured. Interleukin-6, interferon-γ, interferon-α, and B-cell activating factor levels were also measured in the same sera. Then, we validated the association between anti-drug antibody and these serum markers along with clinical response to infliximab. Anti-drug antibodies developed in twenty-one patients (36.8%), whose serum trough levels of infliximab were significantly lower than those in anti-drug antibody-negative patients (0.09 ± 0.03 vs. 2.48 ± 0.326 μg/mL, p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in clinical backgrounds between the two groups. The anti-drug antibody-positive patients were more likely to develop anti-nuclear antibody titers of ≥ ×160 compared to the negative patients (14 to 57% vs. 17 to 33%). In addition, anti-DNA antibodies (Farr) (from 1.5 ± 0.4 to 35 ± 17 IU/mL, p = 0.0001), especially IgM-anti-double stranded DNA antibody (from 5.1 ± 0.7 to 41 ± 8.9 IU/mL, p < 0.0001), and IgG-anti-single stranded DNA antibody (from 13 ± 1.1 to 35 ± 13, p = 0.0145) were significantly increased in anti-drug antibody-positive but not in negative patients. Moreover, the anti-drug antibody-positive, but not the negative patients, showed significant increased levels of interferon-α (from 248.7 ± 102.3 to 466.8 ± 135.1 pg/mL, p = 0.0353) and B-cell activating factor (from 1073 ± 75.1 to 1387 ± 136.5 pg/mL, p = 0.0208) following infliximab treatment. The development of anti-drug antibody against infliximab and lupus-like autoantibody production in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with infliximab can be linked each other along with increased lupus-associated cytokine levels including type I interferons.
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