Search

Dental plaque is the main cause leading to the dental caries and periodontal diseases. The main purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of oral spray containing the antimicrobial peptide P-113 on the reduction of oral bacteria number and dental plaque formation in a randomized clinical assessment. This study was divided into two parts. In Part A, we investigated the user experiences with the P-113 containing oral spray. In part B, 14 subjects in the experimental group used the P-113-containing oral spray, while 14 subjects in the control group used a placebo without the P-113 in a 4-week clinical trial. Participants were asked to use the P-113-containing oral spray or placebo 3 times per day and 5 times per use. Moreover, 3 check-ups and 2 washouts were carried out to evaluate the DMFT score, dental plaque weight, dental plaque index, and gingival index. In part A, up to 91.8% of the subjects in the experimental group were satisfied with the use of the P-113-containing oral spray. In part B, based on our PacBio SMRT sequencing platform and DADA2 analysis, the numbers of Streptococcus and Porphyromonas in the experimental group were lower than those in the control group. In addition, decreased dental plaque weight, dental plaque index, and gingival index were all observed in the experimental group. The P-113-containing oral spray has the potential to reduce the dental caries and periodontal disease-related bacteria and to control the dental plaque formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to evaluate the association between lipid‐lowering agent use and the risks of diagnosed dry eye disease (DED). Methods: This retrospective, case–control study included 780 786 patients who received lipid‐lowering agents in 2002–2016, of which 17 409 were newly diagnosed with DED during a ≥2‐year follow‐up period. These patients were matched 1:4 with control participants for age, sex, and comorbidities. Separate odds ratios (OR) were calculated for DED and each of statin and fibrate use. Results: Statin users had significantly higher odds of DED (adjusted OR = 1.12; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.08–1.16, p < 0.0001) than nonusers. Fibrate users did not show higher odds of DED than nonusers (adjusted OR = 1.04; 95% CI = 0.99–1.10, p = 0.125). The lipophilic statin users did not show higher odds of DED compared with the hydrophilic statin users (adjusted OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.93–1.06, p = 0.729). Among statin users, the odds of DED did not differ significantly between patients receiving statin therapy for >180 days vs. ≤90 days or patients receiving statin therapy for 91–180 days vs. ≤90 days (adjusted OR = 1.00, p = 0.922; adjusted OR = 0.94, p = 0.541, respectively). The odds of DED were not statistically different among patients receiving low‐intensity, moderate‐intensity, and high‐intensity of statin therapy. Conclusions: Patients receiving statin therapy had a higher DED risk than patients not receiving statin therapy. The type of statin, the duration, and the intensity of statin use were not significantly associated with DED risks. Further studies are required to identify the relevant factors related to DED risks with statin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a bridgeless-type ac-side continuous-conduction-mode (CCM) current-source (CS) charge-pump (CP) power-factor-correction (PFC) electronic ballast. The drawbacks of conventional dc-side discontinuous-conduction-mode (DCM) electronic ballasts include high di/dt, high current stress, and high switching losses. As a result, conventional dc-side DCM CS-CP-PFC electronic ballasts have low efficiency, due to the DCM operation, and the ballasts require a large input electromagnetic interference filter. Conventional dc-side CCM CS-CP-PFC electronic ballasts are able to solve these problems, but still require a higher component count. To efficiently reduce the cost of electronic components, a bridgeless-type ac-side CCM CS-CP-PFC electronic ballast is proposed. A 32-W rated power electronic ballast prototype circuit is designed and implemented. Experimental results verify that the input-current harmonics meet the IEC 61000-3-2 Class-C Standard, and the CP capacitor helps the PFC inductor current to achieve CCM and high power factor. Index Terms--Charge-pump (CP), continuous-conduction-mode (CCM), current-source (CS), discontinuous-conduction-mode (DCM), electromagnetic interference (EMI), power-factor-correction (PFC).