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Introduction: Saliva is a reservoir for biologic indicators and has a diverse microflora, which is critical particularly for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) transmission. Notwithstanding, saliva also could be applied as a noninvasive method to COVID-19 diagnosis and disease evolution monitoring. The objective of this systematic review is to summarize the main findings regarding to the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection repercussion in saliva and/or salivary glands, addressing the following questions: What has been published regarding to the presence and implications of COVID-19 in saliva or salivary glands? and What are the researchers’ main results and conclusions?. Materials and Methods: A total of 31 published articles were included (27 research articles and 4 case reports). PubMed, Embase, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched till August 2020. The terms COVID-19, novel coronavirus, and SARS-CoV-2 were combined with the keywords salivary gland, saliva, sialadenitis, parotid gland, sublingual gland submandibular gland, salivary gland disease, and minor salivary gland using the Boolean operator “AND.” Results: In this study, researchers’ main results and conclusions were exposed in tables. The main subjects of the articles were detection and viral load of SARS-CoV-2 in saliva, the influence of mouthwashes in SARS-CoV-2, and the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in aerosols. Conclusion: Although deep throat saliva may be used as a diagnostic tool to SAR-CoV-2 diagnosis, researchers found that the viral load in saliva is lower than in respiratory secretions.

Background: Osteoporosis and periodontitis are both diseases that induce bone resorption. The objective of this study was to verify through panoramic radiography analysis whether patients with osteoporosis have a greater risk of periodontal disease (horizontal alveolar bone defect and vertical alveolar bone defect) when compared with patients without osteoporosis. Methods: In all, 100 women were selected: 50 with osteoporosis (T-score < -2.5 DP) and 50 without osteoporosis (T-score > -2.5 DP), using the T-score of proximal radius. Logistic regression test was performed to assess the risk of panoramic radiographic periodontal defects (horizontal and vertical bone defect), age, and bone mineral density influence. Results: Advanced age women were three times more likely to present osteoporosis. Patients with osteoporosis have significantly higher risk (4.46 times) of presenting horizontal alveolar bone defect. Vertical alveolar bone defect results were nonsignificant. Conclusion: Our study results corroborate the literature trend that osteoporosis may influence the progression of alveolar ridge height loss (horizontal alveolar bone defect). Panoramic radiography may be used as a screening tool to help the diagnosis of periodontal bone loss in patients with osteoporosis.

The Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition has conducted geomagnetic observations at Syowa Station, Antarctica, since 1966. Geomagnetic variation data measured with a fluxgate magnetometer are not absolute but are relative to a baseline and show drift. To enhance the importance of the geomagnetic data at Syowa Station, therefore, it is necessary to correct the continuous variation data by using absolute baseline values acquired by a magnetic theodolite and proton magnetometer. However, the database of baseline values contains outliers. We detected outliers in the database and then converted the geomagnetic variation data to absolute values by using the reliable baseline values.

This study aims to investigate the influence of lumbar spine disorders on the development of asymmetric hallux valgus (HV). Data from the fifth survey of the Osteoarthritis/Osteoporosis Against Disability (ROAD) study, a nationwide prospective study in Japan, were analyzed. HV severity was categorized into 4 grades based on the radiographic HV angle, and asymmetric HV was defined as having at least one HV on either side, with a difference of two or more severity grades between the left and right. Controls were matched from both the Normal group (without HV on both sides) and the Symmetric group (HV on at least one side with a difference of one or less severity grades). Univariate analysis assessed lumbar conditions, and multinomial logistic regression analysis explored the association between lumbar spine disorders and asymmetric HV. Among 1997 participants, 27 had asymmetric HV. Univariate analysis revealed a higher incidence of L5 spondylolisthesis and scoliosis in the Asymmetric group. Multinomial logistic regression analysis revealed that scoliosis independently increased the likelihood of asymmetrical HV (Odds ratio [OR] = 3.586, 95%Confidence interval [CI] 1.111-11.582), but showed no significant impact on symmetrical HV (OR 0.910, 95% CI 0.355-2.334). Asymmetric HV is rare but may be associated with lumbar spine disorders, particularly scoliosis., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

A 61-year-old woman, hospitalized for a persistent cough and dyspnea, had no history of bronchial asthma, but was undergoing chemotherapy for methotrexate-related lymphoproliferative disorder due to rheumatoid arthritis. Her peripheral blood eosinophil count was significantly increased, and chest CT revealed left lower lobe atelectasis and high-attenuation mucus. Bronchoscopy revealed mucous plugs and pathological examination revealed numerous eosinophils and filamentous fungi. Allergic bronchopulmonary mycosis (ABPM) caused by Scedosporium apiospermum was diagnosed using culture and genetic analyses. Treatment with corticosteroids and antifungal drugs led to improvement. ABPM caused by S. apiospermum is extremely rare, emphasizing the importance of species identification., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare., (© 2024 The Authors.)

This study aimed to compare second-line treatment outcomes for patients with unresectable pancreatic cancer previously treated with gemcitabine plus nab-paclitaxel (GnP) therapy. We conducted an integrated analysis of two retrospective studies included 318 patients receiving nanoliposomal irinotecan + 5-fluorouracil/folinic acid (NFF) (n = 102), S-1 (n = 57), or FOLFIRINOX (n = 14) as second-line treatment. Median overall survival (OS) in the NFF group was 9.08 months, significantly better than S-1 (4.90 months, P = 0.002). FOLFIRINOX had a median OS of 4.77 months, not statistically different from NFF. Subgroup analyses of OS indicated NFF was generally superior, however, a statistical interaction was observed between the treatment regimen in serum Alb < 3.5 g/dL (P = 0.042) and serum CRP ≥ 0.3 mg/dL (P = 0.006). Median progression-free survival (PFS) was 2.93 months for NFF, significantly better than S-1 (2.53 months, P = 0.024), while FOLFIRINOX had a comparable PFS (3.04 months, P = 0.948). Multivariate analysis identified the serum CRP, serum CA19-9, duration of first-line GnP therapy, and use (yes/no) of S-1 for second-line treatment as independent predictors for OS. This study concludes that second-line NFF therapy demonstrated a more favorable OS compared to S-1 therapy, however, it is still important to consider the patient background characteristics while selecting the most appropriate treatment., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Nanoliposomal irinotecan with fluorouracil and folinic acid (NFF) is a standard regimen after gemcitabine-based therapy for patients with unresectable or recurrent pancreatic cancer. However, there are limited clinical data on its efficacy and safety in the real-world. We therefore initiated a retrospective and prospective observational study (NAPOLEON-2). The results of the retrospective part were reported herein. In this retrospective study, we evaluated 161 consecutive patients who received NFF as second-or-later-line regimen. The main endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the other endpoints were response rate, disease control rate, progression-free survival (PFS), dose intensity, and adverse events (AEs). The median age was 67 years (range, 38-85 years). The median OS and PFS were 8.1 and 3.4 months, respectively. The objective response and disease control rates were 5% and 52%, respectively. The median relative dose intensity was 81.6% for nanoliposomal irinotecan and 82.9% for fluorouracil. Grade 3 or 4 hematological and nonhematological AEs occurred in 47 and 42 patients, respectively. Common grade 3 or 4 AEs included neutropenia (24%), anorexia (12%), and leukocytopenia (12%). Subanalysis of patients treated with second-line and third-or-later-line demonstrated no statistical significant difference in OS (7.6 months vs. 9.1 months, respectively; hazard ratio, 0.92; 95% confidence interval, 0.64-1.35; p = 0.68). In conclusion, NFF has acceptable efficacy and safety profile even in real-world clinical settings. The prospective study is in progress to validate these findings., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Crude glycerol (CG) is a major byproduct of biodiesel production. Most of it cannot be utilized due to major impurities. The CG generally contains alkalis, which generate the residual salts in a series of its purification stages. This study aims to obtain the optimum process conditions and acid molar ratio to produce a higher potassium salt yield while improving the purity of glycerol by a simple acidification procedure. The CG was obtained from the transesterification of palm oil using a catalyst based on potassium carbonate. A phosphoric acid (85%) is utilized at various molar ratios and the process temperature is 60-80 °C. The strong acid was slowly added to the CG and heated for 30 minutes with a mixing speed of 250 rpm. The optimum acidification process occurred at a temperature of 70 °C with a molar crude glycerol ratio to phosphoric acid of 1 : 0.5. The glycerol purity was increased from 43.3% to 67.63% (w/w). It effectively obtains a potassium phosphate salt with a yield of 6.78%. The functional group infrared (IR) and X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectra identified the salt residue as potassium dihydrogen phosphate (KH 2 PO 4 ). This is composed predominantly of potassium oxide (K 2 O) and phosphorus pentoxide (P 2 O 5 ), 50% and 47.9%, respectively., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts to declare., (This journal is © The Royal Society of Chemistry.)

Background: Rhabdomyosarcoma is the most common soft tissue sarcoma in children, but rare in adults. Para-meningeal rhabdomyosarcoma in head and neck (PM-HNRMS) is less applicable for surgery due to the anatomic reason. PM-HNRMS has a poor prognosis in children. However, its clinical outcomes remain unclear in adults due to the rarity. Further, there is almost no detailed data about salvage therapy., Methods: We retrospectively examined the adult patients with PM-HNRMS treated at institutions belonging to the Kyushu Medical Oncology Group from 2009 to 2022. We evaluated the overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) of the patients who received a first-line therapy. We also reviewed the clinical outcomes of patients who progressed against a first-line therapy and received salvage therapy., Results: Total 11 patients of PM-HNRMS received a first-line therapy. The characteristics were as follows: median age: 38 years (range 25 - 63 years), histology (alveolar/spindle): 10/1, and risk group (intermediate/high): 7/4. As a first-line therapy, VAC and ARST0431-based regimen was performed in 10 and 1 patients, respectively. During a first-line therapy, definitive radiation for all lesions were performed in seven patients. The median PFS was 14.2 months (95%CI: 6.0 - 25.8 months): 17.1 months (95%CI: 6.0 - not reached (NR)) for patients with stage I-III and 8.5 months (95%CI: 5.2 - 25.8 months) for patients with stage IV. The 1-year and 3-year PFS rates were 54.5% and 11.3% for all patients. Median OS in all patients was 40.8 months (95%CI: 12.1 months-NR): 40.8 months (95%CI: 12.1 - NR) for patients with stage I-III and NR for patients with stage IV. The 5-year OS rate was 48.5% for all patients. Among seven patients who received salvage therapy, three are still alive, two of whom remain disease-free for over 4 years after completion of the last therapy. Those two patients received multi-modal therapy including local therapy for all detected lesions., Conclusion: The cure rate of adult PM-HNRMS is low in spite of a first-line therapy in this study. Salvage therapy might prolong the survival in patients who received the multi-modal therapy including local therapy for all detected lesions., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Introduction: During the COVID-19 crisis, researchers had to collect data remotely. Telephone surveys and interviews can quickly gather data from a distance without heavy expense. Although interviewer-administered telephone surveys (IATS) can accommodate the needs of international public health research, the literature on their use during infectious disease outbreaks is scarce. This scoping review aimed to map the characteristics of IATS during infectious disease outbreaks., Methods: IATS conducted principally during infectious disease outbreaks and answered by informants at least 18 years old were searched from PubMed and EBSCO. There was a manual addition of relevant documents identified during an initial search. Overall trends were reported using different groupings, including WHO regions, and study details were compared before and during the COVID-19 pandemic., Results: 70 IATS published between 2003 and 2022 were identified. 57.1% were conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among 30 IATS conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic in the world, only 3.3% were carried out in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). This percentage of studies in LMICs out of all the IATS rose to 32.5% during the pandemic. The share of qualitative studies grew from 6.7% before the COVID-19 outbreak to 32.5% during the outbreak. IATS performed during the COVID-19 pandemic focused on more diverse, specific population groups, such as patients and healthcare professionals. Mobile phones are increasingly used for IATS over time., Conclusion: IATS are used globally with high frequency in the Western Pacific Region and high-income countries. Technical and financial challenges continue to exist, and assessments of inclusiveness and representativeness should be carefully conducted. A lack of details related to methods was observed, and this scoping review urges researchers using this data collection method in the future to specify how they executed IATS for better use and more efficient deployment., Competing Interests: Competing interests: CloudlyYours is a for-profit business, which provides data management solutions, including technological support for telephone surveys, with its expertise in digital transformation and development. SA, as a paid master of public health intern, conducted this scoping review with other authors to produce insights into telephone-based surveys, which CloudlyYours could use to determine areas of improvement. Therefore, the theme of this scoping review aligns with one type of service that CoudlyYours provides, telephone surveys., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Human immunodeficiency virus type-1 (HIV-1) protease is essential for viral propagation, and its inhibitors are key anti-HIV-1 drug candidates. In this study, we discovered a novel HIV-1 protease inhibitor (compound 16 ) with potent antiviral activity and oral bioavailability using a structure-based drug design approach via X-ray crystal structure analysis and improved metabolic stability, starting from hit macrocyclic peptides identified by mRNA display against HIV-1 protease. We found that the improvement of the proteolytic stability of macrocyclic peptides by introducing a methyl group to the α-position of amino acid is crucial to exhibit strong antiviral activity. In addition, macrocyclic peptides, which have moderate metabolic stability and solubility in solutions containing taurocholic acid, exhibited desirable plasma total clearance and oral bioavailability. These approaches may contribute to the successful discovery and development of orally bioavailable peptide drugs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2022 American Chemical Society.)

Fuel contamination is a major issue that comes with the utilization of biodiesel. Microbial growth is one of the primary causes of contamination during fuel handling and storage. This work attempts to identify the types, shapes, and growth profiles of microorganisms on fuel samples. The morphology of microbial colonies is presented in order to analyze the potential of fuel contamination. The diesel, biodiesel, and blends are stored in stainless steel (SS) and glass tanks, where each is placed indoors and outdoors during the 90 days of storage time. The morphology of microbial colonies is observed through a microscope with a magnification of 1000× and the quantity is calculated by a digital colony counter. Microbial contamination in all samples is considered as high contamination where the Colony Forming Unit (CFU) is greater than 10 5 L -1 . Colony forms are far more assorted in blends than in pure diesel (B0) and neat biodiesel (B100). The transformation of microbial colonies accelerates after 60 days of storage time. The results reveal that the number of bacterial colonies that grow in B20 is higher and more varied, nevertheless, the contamination in B100 is significantly higher. This is indicated by a 1.5-fold rise in B20 acidity and a 2.5-fold increase in water content compared to the initial condition., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© 2022 The Author(s).)

Objectives: This prospective study aimed to determine the association between radiographic lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) and the quality of life (QOL) in the general Japanese population., Methods: The severity of radiographic LSS was qualitatively graded on axial magnetic resonance images as follows: no stenosis, mild stenosis with ≤1/3 narrowing, moderate stenosis with a narrowing between 1/3 and 2/3, and severe stenosis with > 2/3 narrowing. Patients less than 40 years of age and those who had undergone previous lumbar spine surgery were excluded from the study. The Oswestry Disability Index (ODI), which includes 10 sections, was used to assess the QOL. One-way analysis of variance was performed to determine the statistical relationship between radiographic LSS and ODI. Further, logistic regression analysis adjusted for gender, age, and body mass index was performed to detect the relationship., Results: Complete data were available for 907 patients (300 men and 607 women; mean age, 67.3±12.4 years). The prevalence of severe, moderate, and non-mild/non-radiographic were 30%, 48%, and 22%, respectively. In addition, the mean values of ODI in each group were 12.9%, 13.1%, and 11.7%, respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference between the three groups in logistic analysis (P = 0.55). In addition, no significant differences in any section of the ODI were observed among the groups. However, severe radiographic LSS was associated with low back pain in the "severe" group as determined by logistic analysis adjusted for gender, age, and body mass index (odds ratio: 1.53, confidence interval: 1.13-2.07) compared with the non-severe group., Conclusion: In this general population study, severe radiographic LSS was associated with low back pain (LBP), but did not affect ODI., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.