Effectiveness of mixture of aspirin and ethanol regimen in the management of geographic tongue: a prospective study.

Geographic tongue is usually an asymptomatic inflammatory disorder of the tongue; however, symptomatic cases do occur and require treatment. Several management strategies have been reported yet they are neither specific nor curative. Objective: The objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of an aspirin-ethanol mixture in the management of geographic tongue. Methods: In this prospective study, an analysis of medical reports of symptomatic cases of geographic tongue managed using an aspirin-ethanol mixture was done. The treatment regimen involved dissolving 3 mg of aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid) into 1 ml of 70% v/v ethanol. Then a sterile gauze is soaked in the prepared mixture and is topically used to clean the tongue with gentle pressure for 2-3 min. Results: The records of 23 patients were analyzed. There were more females (19, 82.6%), and the age range of patients was 15-43 years (mean age of 23.4 years). The symptoms that the patient described included: oral discomfort, burning sensations of the tongue, pain, and loss of taste. Only 21 (91.3%) patients were asymptomatic at 3 months of follow-up. Conclusions: Short-term topical application of the aspirin-ethanol mixture was shown to be effective in treating symptomatic geographic tongue.

Magnitude and Determinants of Dental Anxiety among Adult Patients Attending Public Dental Clinics in Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania.

INTRODUCTION: It is estimated that, about 40% of the population suffer from dental anxiety. Dental anxiety is considered to be complex and multifactorial with a wide range of provoking factors which may be patient, provider, or environment-related. AIM: This study aimed to assess the magnitude and determinants of dental anxiety among adult patients attending public dental clinics in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Methodology. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study carried out in 4 public hospitals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. It included 300 adult patients who had dental caries, periodontal diseases, or dental trauma. Data were collected using a self-administered Modified Dental Anxiety Scale (MDAS) questionnaire. Data were analyzed using the SPSS computer software version 23. A one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to assess the association between variables, and the significance level was set at p < 0.05. RESULTS: The mean age of participants was 32.18 years (±11.06 SD) with a male-to-female ratio of 1 : 1.43. The means MDAS score was 12.84 ± 4.99. Tooth extraction had the highest mean MDAS score. The majority (261, 87%) of participants had mild-to-severe anxiety. The most common (72.2%) anxiety-provoking factor was an unsympathetic dentist; others included unawareness of the procedure to be carried out (58.3%) and the presence of apprehensive patients (52.0%). The level of anxiety was found to be statistically significantly associated (p < 0.05) with young age [p=0.009, AOR 3.06 (95% CI, 1.32, 7.09), female patients [p < 0.001, AOR 4.45 (95% CI, 2.05, 9.70)], and a higher education level [p < 0.05, AOR 2.32 (95% CI, 1.03, 5.25)]. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of dental anxiety was high among the participants of this study. Female gender, young age, and a higher level of education constituted determinants of dental anxiety. An unsympathetic practitioner, unawareness of the procedure, and presence of apprehensive patients were the common anxiety-provoking factors.

Cervicofacial necrotizing fasciitis among patients attending the Muhimbili National Hospital, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

BACKGROUND: Cervicofacial necrotizing fasciitis (NF) is a rare life-threatening infection in the head and neck region that characteristically spreads along the fascial planes to involve subcutaneous tissues, fascia and fat, however, in late stages it can involve muscles and skin. The aim of this study was to determine the occurrence of cervicofacial NF among patients attending treatment at the Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH). METHODS: This was a prospective descriptive cross-sectional hospital-based study which was carried at Muhimbili National Hospital (MNH) from May 2013 to April 2014. It included 42 patients with cervicofacial NF. They were interviewed for demographic information, chief complaints, symptoms, duration and treatment received before reporting at MNH. A thorough assessment of general health condition of the patients and laboratory investigations were followed by management according to MNH protocol. Data obtained from these patients were analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS 20. RESULTS: During the study period, 151 patients reported at MNH with odontogenic infections. A total of 42 (27.8%) patients satisfied our diagnostic criteria for cervicofacial NF. The age range was 15 years to 83 years (mean 43.95, SD +/- 16.16). Greater (35.7%) proportion was in the age group of 30-39 years with 31 (73.8%) males and 11 (27.2%) females making a male to female ratio of 2.8:1. Fifteen (35.7%) patients had at least one co-existing systemic condition, which included anaemia in 5 (11.9%) patients, followed by diabetes mellitus (DM) and malnutrition 4 (9.5%) patients each and HIV infection 2 (4.8%) patients. Others were combination of; HIV infection and malnutrition, HIV infection and anaemia and diabetes mellitus and anaemia each in one (2.4%) patient. There was a mortality of 42.9% comprising of 14 (33.3%) males and 4 (9.6%) females. CONCLUSIONS: Cervicofacial NF is a polymicrobial infection, requiring surgery, antibiotics and management of co-existing systemic conditions. Anaemia, diabetes mellitus and malnutrition were the main co-existing systemic conditions. The rather high mortality was mainly attributable to late reporting.

Synovial sarcoma of the hard palate.

Synovial sarcoma is a rare soft tissue tumour of uncertain histogenesis and intraorally they occur mainly in young adults. We present a case of synovial sarcoma of the hard palate in a 68-year-old woman. To our knowledge, there is no previously reported instance of this tumour at this site.

Expression in Escherichia coli and purification of biologically active L proteinase of foot-and-mouth disease virus.

The foot-and-mouth disease virus (FMDV) Lb gene was cloned into bacterial expression vectors under the control of a T7 RNA polymerase promoter. The Lb protein was expressed in both an in vitro transcription-translation system and in Escherichia coli. In vitro expression of a construct containing the Lb gene fused to a portion of the VP4 and 3D genes demonstrated cis cleavage activity that could be blocked by the thiol protease inhibitor E-64. Lb expressed in E. coli was purified from the soluble fraction by metal chelation chromatography. Purified Lb had trans cleavage activity at the L/P1 junction and cleaved the p220 component of the cap-binding protein complex.

Sequence analysis of putative E3 and fiber genomic regions of two strains of canine adenovirus type 1.

The nucleotide sequences of the genomes of two strains of canine adenovirus, type 1 (Glaxo and CLL) have been determined within the region spanning approximately 0.80-0.91 map unit. Homology comparisons with other adenoviral DNAs indicate that this region contains part of the hexon-associated protein (pVIII) precursor gene on the left, and a 57-kDa fiber-encoding gene on the right. In both viral strains, the sequences of these genes are identical. Accepting the generally highly conserved nature of the genetic organization of adenoviral genomes, the 1136-bp sequence between them would include the canine equivalent of the human adenoviral E3 region. In the Glaxo strain, which is nonattenuated, this sequence contains only two R-strand open reading frames capable of coding for polypeptides of 60 residues or more. One of these appears to code for a transmembrane glycoprotein of 194 amino acid residues. Neither ORF, however, shows significant homology with any other known adenoviral DNA or protein sequence. The corresponding region in the attenuated strain CLL is almost identical with that of the Glaxo, but with a 325-bp deletion resulting in a fusion of the two ORFs. It seems, therefore, that neither ORF is essential for viral replication in vitro, since the CLL strain replicates just as efficiently as the Glaxo. The suggestion is made that the attenuation of the CLL strain may be related to the nonfunctionality of its E3 gene product(s).

Incomplete particles of canine adenovirus type 1: occurrence and structure.

Replication of canine adenovirus (CAV) type 1 in dog kidney (DK) cells has been found to generate particles containing double-stranded DNA molecules of size 6-9 kbp with protein moieties at their 5' termini. The particles formed a discrete band in CsCl gradients at a density intermediate to that of intact virions and empty capsids. Electron microscopy demonstrated that they were morphologically similar to intact virions. Restriction enzyme digests and hybridization experiments revealed the existence of DNA molecules consisting of sequences extending from left and right termini of the intact genome. The subgenomic DNAs, therefore, appear to be viral DNA with the majority (24-26 kbp) of its internal sequences deleted. Agarose gels of viral DNA isolated from DK cells infected with plaque-purified CAV revealed, in addition to the intact viral genome, one or more sharp, well-defined subgenomic DNA bands, the sizes of which varied from approximately 6 to 9 kbp among individual isolates. Incomplete particles of this sort were found in the two strains of CAV type 1 tested (Connaught ICHV and Glaxo), but not in a strain of CAV type 2 (Manhattan).

Highly sensitive and specific non-radioactive biotinylated probes for dot-blot, Southern and colony hybridizations.

We describe a simple method for the incorporation of biotin into nucleic acid probes. This method has been improved and optimized to produce biotinylated DNA probes for the detection of DNA by dot-blot, Southern and colony hybridization techniques. The sensitivity of this method has been particularly improved to allow detection of DNA quantities under one femtogram. Probes prepared by this method are highly specific for target DNA even in crude bacterial lysates.

Characterization of the genome of a vaccine strain of canine adenovirus type 1.

Restriction endonuclease cleavage maps have been constructed for the genome of a canine adenovirus type 1 (CAV-1) vaccine strain (CLL; Connaught Laboratories, Ltd., Willowdale, Ontario). Restriction enzyme analyses were also carried out on CAV-1 (CLL) genomes isolated from viral stocks over 8 serial passages in a dog kidney cell line (DK 6722). The right hand 20% of the genome became more heterogeneous in size with increasing passage in DK 6722 cells due to deletions up to 3-4 kb, whereas the left terminal region was stable throughout these passages. A comparative study of CAV-1(CLL) and a virulent strain of CAV-1, Glaxo, revealed that the genome of CAV-1(CLL) was the shorter, by about 480 bp, within the region covering 0.83-0.91 map units. By virtue of its location within the genome and its dispensable nature for viral growth, this region would appear to encompass a genetic sequence corresponding to the E3 region of human adenoviruses. In terms of viral attenuation, the possible importance of the observed differences between CAV-1(CLL) and CAV-1(Glaxo) is discussed.

Multiple reiteration of a 40-bp nucleotide sequence in the inverted terminal repeat of the genome of a canine adenovirus.

The DNA of a vaccine strain of canine adenovirus type 1 [ICHV vaccine; Connaught Laboratories, Ltd.; CAV-1(CLL)] has been cloned in plasmid pAT153 in the form of subgenomic BamHI digestion fragments. Analysis of the nucleotide sequences of cloned terminal fragments has revealed an inverted terminal repeat (ITR) with a minimum length of 198 nucleotides, including a tandem reiteration of the 40-bp nucleotide sequence from positions 14 to 53. The ITRs had the 5'-CATCATCAAT ... sequence typical of adenoviruses and the highly conserved sequence ATAATATAC (nucleotides 9-17) of human strains. Additionally, one BamHI A clone (left terminus) contained three sequential copies of the 40-bp sequence, and two BamHI C clones (right terminus) contained at least seven. These did not appear to be artifacts of cloning, since evidence was obtained that the multiple reiterations also occurred in DNA isolated from intact virus. By analogy with human adenoviruses, the repetitive sequence in the CAV-1(CLL) genome encompasses the entire nuclear factor I (NFI) binding site of the origin of DNA replication. Additionally, the 40-bp nucleotide sequence was found to contain the sequence AGG(N)4GCCTAA (nucleotides 27-39), which closely resembles the concensus sequence of the human adenovirus NFI binding site [TGG(N)6-7GCCAA; nucleotides 25-38]. It appears, therefore, that the Connaught CAV-1 vaccine contains reiterated copies of an essential part of the adenoviral origin of DNA replication. A mechanism is proposed for the generation of multiple reiterations of sequences in the right ITR, given an initial single tandem repeat in the left ITR.

The problem of catheter encrustation.

Catheter encrustation was studied in a group of long-stay hospital patients using both latex and silicone catheters. Moisture accounted for 80% by weight of the encrusted material with both catheters. Of the dry weight 90% was composed of protein, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium and uric acid. No relationship was found between the amounts of these substances in the urine and in the encrusted material. High levels of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium were found in the encrusted material from patients infected with Proteus organisms. No direct relationship was found between the duration of catheter drainage and the degree of encrustation, and there was a variation in patient susceptibility to encrustation irrespective of the catheter material. There was significantly less encrustation associated with silicone catheters.