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Objectives: This study investigated the jaw functional status and severity of somatic/psychological symptoms in different Diagnostic Criteria for temporomandibular disorders (DC/TMD) diagnostic subtypes and established the correlates between jaw functional limitation, somatization, depression and anxiety. Methods: Data were accrued from consecutive 'first‐visit' patients seeking TMD treatment at a university‐based oral medicine/diagnosis clinic. Axis I physical TMD diagnoses were derived using the DC/TMD methodology and patients were categorized into pain‐related (PT), intra‐articular (IT) and combined (CT) TMD groups. Axis II measures were also administered and included the Jaw Functional Limitation Scale‐20 (JFLS‐20), Patient Health Questionnaire‐15 and 9 (PHQ‐15 and PHQ‐9) and General Anxiety Disorder Scale‐7 (GAD‐7). Chi‐square/Kruskal–Wallis tests and Spearman's correlation were employed for statistical evaluations (α =.05). Results: The final dataset consisted of 772 TMD patients (mean age of 37.7 ± 15.9 years; 70.2% females). The prevalence of PT, IT and CT was 11.9%, 15.7% and 72.4%, respectively. Significant differences in functional jaw limitations, somatization, depression (CT, PT > IT) and anxiety (CT > PT, IT) were observed. Moderate‐to‐severe somatization, depression and anxiety were detected in 12.6%–15.7% of patients. For all three TMD groups, JFLS global scale/subscale scores were weakly associated with somatization, depression and anxiety scores (rs < 0.4). Moderate‐to‐strong correlations were noted between somatization, depression and anxiety (rs = 0.50–0.74). Conclusions: Functional jaw limitations were associated with painful TMDs but appear to be unrelated to somatization and psychological distress. Somatization and depression/anxiety were moderately correlated, underscoring the importance of somatic symptom screening when managing TMD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Objectives Methods Results Conclusion The relationship of somatisation with facial pain duration/intensity, pain‐related interference/disability and psychological distress was investigated in East Asian temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients. Correlations between somatisation, facial pain and psychological characteristics were also explored alongside the demographic/physical factors associated with moderate‐to‐severe depression and anxiety.Anonymised data were acquired from records of consecutive ‘first‐time’ patients seeking TMD care at a tertiary oral medicine clinic. Axis I physical TMD diagnoses were established utilising the diagnostic criteria for TMDs (DC/TMD) protocol and patients with TMD pain were stratified into those with pain‐related (PT) and combined (CT) conditions. Axis II measures administered encompassed the Patient Health Questionnaire‐15 (PHQ‐15), Graded Chronic Pain Scale (GCPS), Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9) and General Anxiety Disorder Scale‐7 (GAD‐7). Individuals with PT and CT were further categorised into those without (Pain − Som/Comb − Som) and with somatisation (Pain + Som/Comb + Som). Statistical evaluations were performed with nonparametric and logistic regression analyses (α = 0.05).The final sample comprised 473 patients (mean age 36.2 ± 14.8 years; 68.9% women), of which 52.0% had concomitant somatisation. Significant differences in pain duration (Comb + Som > Pain − Som), pain‐related interference/disability (Comb + Som > Comb − Som) and depression/anxiety (Pain + Som, Comb + Som > Pain − Som, Comb − Som) were discerned. Depression/anxiety was moderately correlated with somatisation (rs = 0.64/0.52) but not facial pain characteristics. Multivariate modelling revealed that somatisation was significantly associated with the prospects of moderate‐to‐severe depression (OR 1.35) and anxiety (OR 1.24).Somatisation exhibited a strong association with psychological distress when contrasted with facial pain in East Asian TMD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inhabitation and parasitism of root-knot nematodes (RKNs) can be difficult to control, as its symptoms can be easily confused with other plant diseases; hence, identifying and controlling the occurrence of RKNs in plants remains an ongoing challenge. Moreover, there are only a few biological agents for controlling these harmful nematodes. In this study, Xenorhabdus sp. SCG isolated from entomopathogenic nematodes of genus Steinernema was evaluated for nematicidal effects under in vitro and greenhouse conditions. The cell-free filtrates of strain SCG showed nematicidal activity against Meloidogyne species J2s, with mortalities of > 88% at a final concentration of 10%, as well as significant nematicidal activity against the three other genera of plant-parasitic nematodes in a dose-dependent manner. Thymine was isolated as active compounds by assay-guided fractionation and showed high nematicidal activity against M. incognita . Greenhouse experiments suggested that cell-free filtrates of strain SCG efficiently controlled the nematode population in M. incognita -infested tomatoes ( Solanum lycopersicum L., cv. Rutgers). In addition, a significant increase in host plant growth was observed after 45 days of treatment. To our knowledge, this is the first to demonstrate the nematicidal activity spectrum of isolated Xenorhabdus species and their application to S. lycopersicum L., cv. Rutgers under greenhouse conditions. Xenorhabdus sp. SCG could be a promising biological nematicidal agent with plant growth-enhancing properties.

Objectives: The supine sleep position and the rapid eye movement (REM) stage are widely recognized to exacerbate the severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Position-dependent OSA is generally characterized by an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) that is at least twice as high in the supine position compared to other sleep positions. However, this condition can be misdiagnosed if a particular sleep stage-REM or non-REM (NREM)-predominates in a specific position. We explored the impact of the sleep stage on positional dependency in OSA., Methods: Polysomnographic data were retrospectively analyzed from 111 patients with OSA aged 18 years or older, all of whom had an AHI exceeding five events per hour and slept in both supine and non-supine positions for at least 5% of the total sleep time. The overall ratio of non-supine AHI to supine AHI (NS/S-AHI ratio) was compared between total, REM, and NREM sleep. Additionally, a weighted NS/S-AHI ratio, reflecting the proportion of time spent in each sleep stage, was calculated and compared to the original ratio., Results: The mean NS/S-AHI ratio was consistent between the entire sleep period and the specific sleep stages. However, the NS/S-AHI ratios for individual patients displayed poor agreement between total sleep and the specific stages. Additionally, the weighted NS/S-AHI ratio displayed poor agreement with the original NS/S-AHI ratio, primarily due to discrepancies in patients with mild to moderate OSA., Conclusion: The weighted NS/S-AHI ratio may help precisely assess positional dependency.

Objectives: The pattern of age distribution in East Asian temporomandibular disorder (TMD) patients and age-related differences in DC/TMD diagnostic subtypes/categories were evaluated., Subjects and Methods: TMD patients from two University-based centers in China and South Korea were enrolled. Axis I physical diagnoses were rendered according to DC/TMD. Patients were categorized into six age groups (15-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and 65-84 years; Groups A-F respectively)., Results: Youths/young adults (Groups A-C) formed 74.1% of TMD patients. TMJ disc displacements (74.9%), arthralgia (49.2%), and degenerative joint disease [DJD] (36.8%) were the most common TMD subtypes. The majority had combined (54.0%) and chronic (58.5%) TMDs. Youths/young adults and middle-aged/old adults had substantially lower frequencies of merely pain-related (6.2-14.5%) and intra-articular (13.8-16.8%) TMDs correspondingly. "Being female" increased the prospects of pain-related/combined TMDs by 96%/49%, respectively., Conclusions: East Asian TMD patients comprised mostly of youths/young adults who had an alarmingly high prevalence of TMJ DJD.