Subcutaneous emphysema: how can we prevent and treat it?

Subcutaneous emphysema is described as an uncommon complication resulting from the passage of compressed air to the fascial planes and is associated, in dentistry, with restorative, endodontic treatments, periodontal surgery and extractions, the latter with a higher incidence. Early diagnosis, appropriate approach and ordering of imaging tests prevent secondary complications, such as local infection and progression to deep cervical and thoracic fascial spaces. Thus, the present clinical case reports the transoperative occurrence of subcutaneous emphysema during extraction of the lower third molar, its indicated treatment and how we can avoid this type of complication

The isolation and characterization of Taphrina betulina and other yeasts residing in the Betula pendula phylloplane.

The phylloplane is an important microbial habitat and a reservoir of organisms that affect plant health, both positively and negatively. Taphrina betulina is the causative agent of birch witches′ broom disease. Taphrina are dimorphic, invading theirs hosts in a filamentous form and residing in the host phyllosphere in their non-infectious yeast form. As such, they are widely accepted to be found a resident yeasts on their hosts, even on healthy tissues; however, there is little experimental data to support this. With the aim of exploring the local infection ecology of T. betulina, we have isolated yeasts from the phylloplane of birch, using three classes of samples; from infected symptom bearing leaves inside brooms, healthy leaves from branches away from brooms on broom bearing trees, and symptom-free leaves from symptom-free trees. Isolations yielded 224 yeast strains, representing 11 taxa, including T. betulina, which was the most common isolate and was found in all sample classes, including asymptomatic leaves. Genotyping with two genetic markers revealed genetic diversity among these T. betulina isolates, with seven distinct genotype differentiated by the markers used. Of the 57 T. betulina strains, 22 representative strains were selected for further studies and preliminarily characterized, revealing differences in size and the ability to produced compounds with activity to activate the signalling pathway for the plant hormone auxin.

Odontological Drugs and Their Action on Some Biological Organisms

Odontology is the study of teeth, of theirs diseases and treatment of these. Many odontological drugs are commonly used in dental practice. Antibiotics are indicated for the treatment of odontogenic infections, oral non-odontogenic infections, as prophylaxis against focal infection, and as prophylaxis against local infection and spread to neighboring tissues and organs. In addition to antibiotic, antifungals (drugs for classes azoles, imidazoles and polyenes), antiviral such as antimicrobial mouthwashes and nucleases inhibitors are also indicated for the treatment. These drugs prescription is almost invariably associated with the prescription of Nonsteroidal Antiinflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs), topical corticoids, local anaesthesic for odontological pain and/or Sodium Fluoride for dental caries. Odontalogical drugs act on several levels of metabolism either of microorganisms’ constitutive material (e.g. wall, membrane, cytoplasm and nuclear materials for antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and oxidizing substances) to destroys them or of humans system cells (receptors, enzymes, hormones for painful, inflammation, local anaesthesic and dental building drugs) to inhibit or stimulate them for the best functioning.

Acute Sub temporal and Infratemporal Dumbbell Abscess Secondary to Tooth Extraction: Case Report

To present a case of acute temporal and infratemporal dumbbell abscess following tooth extraction and discuss the possible anatomic pathways of spread of odontogenic infections. This is a case of right maxillary tooth extraction following which he developed local infection that spread to the temporal and sub temporal space. The history and examination revealed the infection spreading to the buccal and sub temporal space with trismus and feeding problems. Intraoral and external drainage along with antibiotics led to the resolution of the abscess. Of the many complications of tooth extraction infection spreading along the temporalis with formation of a dumbbell abscess can lead to severe discomfort and septicemia if not detected and treated early. A case with successful management and result are discussed.

Role of Interventional Radiology in the Management of Acute Cholangitis

Acute cholangitis presents with a wide severity spectrum and can rapidly deteriorate from local infection to multiorgan failure and fatal sepsis. The pathophysiology, diagnosis, and general management principles will be discussed in this review article. The focus of this article will be on the role of biliary drainage performed by interventional radiology to manage acute cholangitis. There are specific scenarios where percutaneous drainage should be preferred over endoscopic drainage. Percutaneous transhepatic and transjejunal biliary drainage are both options available to interventional radiology. Additionally, interventional radiology is now able to manage these patients beyond providing acute biliary drainage including cholangioplasty, stenting, and percutaneous cholangioscopy/biopsy.

Association between COVID-19 infection rates by region and implementation of non-pharmaceutical interventions: A cross-sectional study in Japan

Background: During a pandemic, non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) play an important role in protecting oneself from infection and preventing the spread of infection to others. There are large regional differences in COVID-19 infection rates in Japan. We hypothesized that the local infection incidence may affect adherence to individual NPIs. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted online among full-time workers in Japan in December 2020. Data from a total of 27,036 participants were analyzed. The questionnaire asked the respondents to identify their habits regarding seven well-known NPIs. Results: Compared to the region with the lowest infection rate, the odds ratios for the region with the highest infection rate were 1.24 (p<0.001) for wearing a mask in public, 1.08 (p=0.157) for washing hands after using the bathroom, 1.17 (p=0.031) for disinfecting hands with alcohol sanitizers when entering indoors, 1.54 (p<0.001) for gargling when returning home, 1.45 (p<0.001) for ventilating the room, 1.33 (p<0.001) for disinfecting or washing hands after touching frequently touched surfaces, and 1.32 (p<0.001) for carrying alcohol sanitizers when outdoors. Five of the seven NPIs showed statistically significant trends across regional infection levels, the two exceptions being wearing a mask in public and washing hands after using the bathroom. Multivariate adjustment did not change these trends. Conclusions: This study found that NPIs were more prevalent in regions with higher incidence rates of COVID-19 in Japanese workers. The findings suggest that the implementation of NPIs was influenced not only by personal attributes but also by contextual effects of the local infection level.

Assessment of COVID-19 risk and prevention effectiveness among spectators of mass gathering events

There is a need to evaluate and minimise the risk of novel coronavirus infections at mass gathering events, such as sports. In particular, to consider how to hold mass gathering events, it is important to clarify how the local infection prevalence, the number of spectators, the capacity proportion, and the implementation of preventions affect the infection risk. In this study, we used an environmental exposure model to analyse the relationship between infection risk and infection prevalence, the number of spectators, and the capacity proportion at mass gathering events in football and baseball games. In addition to assessing risk reduction through the implementation of various preventive measures, we assessed how face-mask-wearing proportion affects infection risk. Furthermore, the model was applied to estimate the number of infectors who entered the stadium and the number of newly infected individuals, and to compare them with actual reported cases. The model analysis revealed an 86%-95% reduction in the infection risk due to the implementation of face-mask wearing and hand washing. Among the individual measures, face-mask wearing was particularly effective, and the infection risk increased as the face-mask-wearing proportion decreased. A linear relationship was observed between infection risk at mass gathering events and the infection prevalence. Furthermore, the number of newly infected individuals was also dependent on the number of spectators and the capacity proportion independent of the infection prevalence, confirming the importance of considering spectator capacity in infection risk management. These results highlight that it is beneficial for organisers to ensure prevention compliance and to mitigate or limit the number of spectators according to the prevalence of local infection. Both the estimated and reported numbers of newly infected individuals after the events were small, below 10 per 3-4 million spectators, despite a small gap between these numbers.

The evolution of disgust for pathogen detection and avoidance

The behavioral immune system posits that disgust functions to protect animals from pathogen exposure. Therefore, cues of pathogen risk should be a primary driver influencing variation in disgust. Yet, to our knowledge, neither the relationship between current pathogen risk and disgust, nor the correlation between objective and perceived pathogen risk have been addressed using ecologically valid measures in a global sample. The current article reports two studies addressing these gaps. In Study 1, we include a global sample (n = 361) and tested the influence of both perceived pathogen exposure and an objective measure of pathogen risk—local communicable infectious disease mortality rates—on individual differences in pathogen and sexual disgust sensitivities. In Study 2, we first replicate Study 1’s analyses in another large sample (n = 821), targeting four countries (US, Italy, Brazil, and India); we then replaced objective and perceived pathogen risk with variables specific to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. In Study 1, both local infection mortality rates and perceived infection exposure predicted unique variance in pathogen and sexual disgust. In Study 2, we found that perceived infection exposure positively predicted sexual disgust, as predicted. When substituting perceived and objective SARS-CoV-2 risk in our models, perceived risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2 positively predicted pathogen and sexual disgust, and state case rates negatively predicted pathogen disgust. Further, in both studies, objective measures of risk (i.e., local infection mortality and SARS-CoV-2 rates) positively correlated with subjective measures of risk (i.e., perceived infection exposure and perceived SARS-CoV-2 risk). Ultimately, these results provide two pieces of foundational evidence for the behavioral immune system: 1) perceptions of pathogen risk accurately assay local, objective mortality risk across countries, and 2) both perceived and objective pathogen risk explain variance in disgust levels.

A literature review on different types of surface treatment in implants

In a present scenario, dental implants are becoming very popular in day to day practice and is one of the most promising treatment modality in the procedure of replacement of missing tooth or teeth in the oral cavity. There are various factors over which the success of implant therapy depends, such as local as well as systemic factors, like age, bone availability in terms of height and width, bone density, any local infection present, systemic disease, and some other factors like implant design, implant surface, which plays an important role in the process of osseointegration.