Objective: To compare the results of a subjective estimation of oral health through review of a set of intraoral photographs with those of an objective oral health scale of infectious potential. Method: The pool of patients was made up of 100 adults. Using an infectious-potential scale based on dental and periodontal variables, we assigned 1 of the 4 grades of the scale  to each subject. A total of 20 representative subjects were selected from the pool of patients, 5 subjects for each one of the grades of the scale, and a standardized photographic record was made. One thousand dentists practicing in Spain were sent the survey by e-mail and 174 completed forms were received. We then calculated the concordance of the oral health status indicated by the respondents after visualising the photographs on comparison with the results of the oral health scale of infectious potential; concordance was termed correct grade allocation (CGA). Results: The majority of respondents (69.1%) achieved a CGA in 8 to 12 cases and none achieved more than 15 CGAs. The poorest CGA rates were found with grades 1 and 2, with a mean of 1.74 ± 1.09 and 1.87 ± 1.18, respectively, out of a maximum of 5. The concordance in terms of CGA was high for grade 0 (70.5%), very low for grade 1 (10.8%), low for grade 2 (37.3%), and moderate for grade 3 (42.6%). Conclusion: In comparison with visual examination of the oral cavity, the use of objective scale that establishes a reliable diagnosis of oral health in terms of infectious potential was found to be advantageous. Key words:Diagnosis, intraoral photographies, oral health scale, objective estimation, visual examination. In recent years, numerous authors have suggested that there is a relationship between oral infections, in particular periodontal disease, and an increased risk of developing certain systemic diseases , most imThis adds a new perspective to epidemiological studies, particularly in terms of causality. These epidemiological studies are not always reproducible and it is therefore difficult to extrapolate their results to other populations . The objHowever, at the beginning of the 1990s, nursing textbooks started to make explicit reference to the importance of evaluation of the oral cavity. This led to the development of a simplified oral examination technique that only included procedures for the control of cross-infection and the use of an extraoral light source; this technique was elaborated mainly for nurses, doctors, auxiliary staff, and other health professionals . The tecIn 2007 we proposed a “global oral health scale”, which we applied to determine whether the oral health status could affect the development of bacteraemia caused by dental manipulation . That veThe objective of the present study was to compare the results of a subjective assessment of the oral health status achieved through review of a set of intraoral photographs with a new global oral health scale that establishes a single value for the infectious potential of the oral cavity.-Pool of patients and application of the oral health scale of infectious potentialThe pool of patients was formed of 100 adults aged between 25 and 65 years, with different levels of gingival inflammation and periodontal disease. Patients were examined in the Clinical Periodontics Unit of the Northern Higher Institute of Health Sciences .A single examiner reviewed the oral cavity (excluding the third molars) of all patients, inspecting 6 sites per tooth: mesiobuccal, mediobuccal, distobuccal, distolingual, mediolingual, and mesiolingual. The following variables were recorded in each patient: number of tooth surfaces with supragingival plaque ; number Combining objective information recorded using these reproducible dental and periodontal indices, we have developed a new global oral health scale that is applicable to the adult population. Both the grades of dental and periodontal health correspond to that achieved by at least 2 of the 3 variables analysed in each of these categories. If there are differences between the grades assigned to 3 variables of a category, the parameters for “caries” and “pathological pockets ≥ 4 mm” will be imposed. If the same grade is granted to 2 variables of a category and the third variable is 2 levels higher, one grade higher than the matching variables is assigned. The grade of global oral health is determined by the category , which has the highest grade. We assigned 1 of the 4 grades of the scale  to each subject .The project was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Instituto Superior de Ciências da Saúde Norte . Informed consent was obtained from all subjects before their participation in the study.-Selection of the cases included in the surveyTwenty representative cases were selected from the pool, 5 for each one of the grades of the scale (from 0 to 3) and a standardized photographic record was produced with frontal, left lateral and right lateral with the arches in occlusion, and superior and inferior occlusal views (1 photograph of each view). The photographs were processed and filed by patient in a PowerPoint file . A montage was then created with the photographs of each patient visible on a single screen. In order to perform a telematic survey, the 20 screens (corresponding to the 20 cases selected) were compressed into a single file managed using the LimeSurvey programme .-Distribution of the surveyUsing the Puntex guide , 1000 dentists practicing in Spain were selected at random, and were sent the survey by e-mail. The survey consisted of 2 sections: a) a number of initial questions on the socio-occupational situation of the dentist and b) evaluation of the 20 cases selected. The initial questionnaire gathered the following information on the dentist: sex, qualification (dentist or stomatologist), area of specialization , institution ; and population of the town where the respondent worked .The time estimated to complete the survey was 5-10 minutes. Anonymity of the respondents was guaranteed by automatic allocation of a personal record number and all respondents gave their informed consent before accessing the survey.-Statistical analysisData were processed using the PASW Statistics package® (SPSS 18®) for Windows. We calculated the percentage of cases with overestimation, underestimation, and concordance of the oral health status indicated by the respondents after visualizing the photographs on comparison with the oral health status calculated using the oral health scale of infectious potential. Concordance was termed “correct grade allocation” (CGA). The mean number of CGAs in each grade was then calculated for the variables: sex, age, specialty, population of the town where the respondent worked, and institution, and the results were compared using the Kruskal-Wallis and the Mann-Whitney U tests, after confirming that the data did not have a normal distribution using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test. A P value less than .05 was considered statistically significant. For multiple comparisons  we applied the Bonferroni correction in order to control the type I error rate, obtaining significance levels of .003, .008, and .005, respectively. That is, 2 values of the variables specialties, population of the town in which the respondent worked, and institution differed significantly when the critical levels obtained were <.003, <.008, and <.005, respectively.The survey was open for 6 months, during which period 174 completed forms were received (17.4% of the requests for participation issued). Just over half the respondents were women (54.7%). The mean age of the respondents was 35.2 ± 11.2 years, with a range of 22 to 66 years. The most frequent qualification was dentistry (83.9%). The majority (62.4%) worked in general dentistry, 10% in orthodontics, and 9.4% in periodontics. The majority of the respondents practiced in private clinics, either exclusively (44.8%) or else part-time (34.3%), in which case they also worked in a health center/hospital or in a university. With regard to the place of work, 44.2% of respondents worked in towns with a population >100,000 and 27.9% in towns with a population of 20,000-100,000.After examining the photographs of the 20 cases included in the survey, the majority of the respondents (69.1%) made a CGA in 8 to 12 patients and none achieved CGAs in more than 15 cases.For grade 0, the mean number of CGAs was 3.52 ± 1.42, and more than half of the respondents (59.1%) achieved 4 or 5 CGAs. The poorest CGA values were observed in grades 1 and 2, with means of 1.74 ± 1.09 and 1.87 ± 1.18, respectively; none of the respondents achieved a CGA in all 5 cases of grade 1, and only 1 respondent achieved this in the grade 2 cases. The mean number of CGAs in grade 3 was 2.13 ± 1.05.Individual analysis of the cases included in the survey revealed significant discrepancies, such as overestimation by 94.2% of the respondents in case C11 (a patient with grade 1) or underestimation by 97.7% of respondents in case C14 (a patient with grade 3). To minimize this bias, the 5 cases of each grade were analyzed as a group. CGA concordance was high for grade 0 (70.5%), very low for grade 1 (10.8%), mainly due to overestimation, low for grade 2 (37.3%), also predominantly due to overestimation, and moderate for grade 3 (42.6%) .The CGA was not affected by the age or qualification of the respondents or the institution or the population of the town where the respondent worked . SignifiIn a systematic review published in 2005, Chalmers and Pearson  concludeIn the present study, clinical photographs were used as the instrument for an exclusively visual examination. This introduces a relevant bias, as the image is 2-dimensional, which can interfere with the interpretation of certain findings, and an image does not permit the use of instruments to optimize inspection of the oral cavity, such as cheek retractors and tongue depressors. Despite these limitations, series of clinical photographs of selected patients is a method frequently employed in surveys in the field of dentistry -19. The Apart from the methodological issues, there are certain limitations that must be taken into account when evaluating the results obtained in the present series. The first comes from the low response rate to the invitations to participate, as there may be a bias of personal or professional affinity between the respondents and the authors of the study; however, the predominance of dentists in general dental practice among the respondents is a true reflection of the current professional spectrum in Spain. The years of professional experience of the respondents was not specifically evaluated, although it may be assumed that their qualification (dentist/stomatologist) is a good indicator of this variable, as the Royal Decree establishing the qualification of Dental Specialist in Spain was passed in 1986, implying that the first dentists obtained their qualification in the early 1990s, after the elimination of stomatology as a university qualification. Nor were respondents asked about the socio-economic setting of their professional practice, and the population of the town in which the respondents worked probably does not accurately reflect this variable; however, there are no indicators that the socio-economic setting could affect the results of the survey.Taking into account that less than 1% of the respondents achieved an overall CGA rate equal to or greater than 75%, the initial impression is that this is a poor result. However, we have not been able to find any study in the literature in which the infectious potential is evaluated on the basis of clinical photographs, and we therefore have nothing with which to compare our results. The highest CGA values corresponded to grades 0 and 3, indicating that it was possible to identify patients with an excellent or very poor oral health status in a photographic image. Poorer CGA concordances, on the other hand, were found among patients with grades 1 and 2, with a tendency to overestimation. An explanation of this result is based on the parameters that make up the oral health scale we used as reference, which included the presence of supragingival plaque, caries, gingivitis, and pathological periodontal pockets.The clinical quantification of the accumulation of dental plaque is performed using tested indices that frequently involve the application of a dye to highlight the plaque . This isIt has been stated that visual-tactile examination is more effective for establishing a diagnosis of caries than exclusively visual examination, though both methods underestimate non-cavitated lesions . Some auIt has been demonstrated that self-perception of periodontal disease correlates with the presence of pathological pockets , but theThe only parameters that affected the CGA were sex and the area of specialization of the professionals surveyed, particularly orthodontics, although these 2 parameters probably overlap. Among general dentists, the proportion of men and women was similar and therefore this condition would not have affected the results. However, 11 (84.6%) of the 13 oral surgeons among the respondents were men and 15 (88.2%) of the 17 orthodontists were women. This tendency of male dentists to favor surgical activities and of women to favor orthodontics and pediatric dentistry has already been reported in the literature . It coulIn comparison with visual examination of the oral cavity, the use of objective scale that establishes a reliable diagnosis of oral health in terms of infectious potential was found to be advantageous.


Statistics on occupational accidents are based on data from registered employees. With the increasing number of immigrants employed illegally and/or without regular working visas in many developed countries, it is of interest to estimate the injury rate among such unregistered workers.The current study was conducted in an area of North-Eastern Italy. The sources of information employed in the present study were the Accidents and Emergencies records of a hospital; the population data on foreign-born residents in the hospital catchment area ; and the estimated proportion of illegally employed workers in representative samples from the Province of Verona and the Veneto Region. Of the 419 A&E records collected between January and December 2004 among non European Union (non-EU) immigrants, 146 aroused suspicion by reporting the home, rather than the workplace, as the site of the accident. These cases were the numerator of the rate. The number of illegally employed non-EU workers, denominator of the rate, was estimated according to different assumptions and ranged from between 537 to 1,338 individuals. The corresponding rates varied from 109.1 to 271.8 per 1,000 non-EU illegal employees, against 65 per 1,000 reported in Italy in 2004.The results of this study suggest that there is an unrecorded burden of illegally employed immigrants suffering from work related injuries. Additional efforts for prevention of injuries in the workplace are required to decrease this number. It can be concluded that the Italian National Institute for the Insurance of Work Related Injuries (INAIL) probably underestimates the incidence of these accidents in Italy. The absolute number of adult immigrants with a regular visa in Italy was approximately 2,300,000 in 2004 . In the According to the National Institute for the Insurance of Work Related Injuries , the number of work related accidents among foreign-born employees was nearly 116,000 in 2004. The corresponding incidence rate was approximately 65 injuries per 1,000 insured persons as compared with 40 among all workers .The present study adopts a more accurate methodological approach to update the findings of a previously published analysis based on some of the data analysed here. In particular, despite using the same numerator of the injury rate, the present study uses an estimate of the denominator which is more precise than that employed in the previous paper .The source of information was the patients' records from the Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department of San Bonifacio Hospital, located in the Health Care District (HCD) 4, Primary Care Trust (PCT) 20, in the Province of Verona, Veneto Region, North-Eastern Italy. This area has a large number of small/medium size industrial plants and agricultural activities. We selected all the A&E discharge forms (n = 419) between January and December 2004 belonging to migrants from non European Union (non-EU) countries, who declared their injury as having occurred in a non-occupational setting. 146 of them raised suspicion because the accident was reported to have happened at home, and the type of injury did not correspond with the actual description.Several sources were scrutinized:A); and the percentage of employed workers among immigrants in North-Eastern Italy in 2006 (1B). This percentage was set at 100% in a separate estimation (2B);• tables from the Italian Office for National Statistics  ,6 showinC) and the whole of Veneto (D).• the reports of inspections of workplaces in 2004  providinFour different estimates of illegally employed immigrants in this area were obtained:1 = 1 × CA × B• estimate2 = 2 × CA × B• estimate3 = 1 × DA × B• estimate4 = 2 × DA × B• estimateThis study was developed in the context of a bigger project approved and approved by the Veneto Region aiming at the surveillance of occupational diseases in the Region. Moreover all data were collected and stored anonymously. For these reasons ethical approval was not required.The 146 suspected cases were divided into three groups for descriptive purposes.Group 1 (88 cases). Information on the employer was reported although such information was not necessary. In the majority of cases, the injury was industry specific such as foreign body in the cornea - engineering industry; neck strain - textile industry; and hand wound/injury sustained by a glass-bartender.• Group 2 (47 cases). Although no information on the employer was provided, the nature of the injury  suggested it more likely occurred at work rather than in a domestic environment.• Group 3 (11 cases). Diagnoses were incomplete because the patient never returned after the first medical examination, probably to avoid further enquiries being made as to the circumstances surrounding the accident.• Therefore, the above 146 cases were considered as the numerator of the injury rate. Table 1); 744 (estimate2); 996 (estimate3); and 1,338 (estimate4). The corresponding injury rates were: 271.8, 196.2, 151.1 and 109.1 per 1,000 illegal employees.In the hospital catchment area, the foreign residents of working age were 6,409. The employment rate among legal immigrants was 72%. The proportion of illegal employment was 11.6% in the Province of Verona and 20.9% in the whole of Veneto. Estimated numbers of illegally employed immigrants were: 537 (estimateThis study is based on the same source of information presented in a previously published paper (estimating the injury rate among unregistered workers) to determine the estimate of the injury rate of these unregistered workers. We believe the denominators employed in the present study have by far improved the accurateness of the analysis. Particularly, in this study, the number of legally employed immigrants has been provided directly by ISTAT. Whereas, in the previous study, this number was estimated on the basis of the whole population of the HCD 4 and the percentages of legally employed immigrants as well as on residents aged 15-64 years in a Municipality of the same area. Furthermore in our study the number of foreign workers without a regular working visa or with illegal employment status was estimated according to the percentage of illegally employed immigrants specifically in the Veneto Region and the Province of Verona (part of the Veneto Region). By contrast, the study by Marchiori et al. obtained these estimates on the basis of the percentage of illegally employed immigrants of North-Eastern Italy  [There are, however, some methodological shortcomings to consider.Although the classification was made by physicians with substantial experience in occupational medicine, the judgment on workplace versus home related injuries was subjective.Furthermore, a misclassification cannot be excluded. An under-reporting is possible since an illegal worker who claims his work-related injury as being a domestic accident can be treated at a health care centre that is not an "emergency" department associated with a hospital; rather, a non-reporting clinic or office. Moreover underreporting of work-related injury or illness is also an area of concern for immigrants. It is hypothesized that immigrant workers are reluctant to complain to their employers due to fear of losing their jobs, and employers hiring huge number of immigrants, especially if unregistered, might be less likely to report their workplace injuries. Finally it may be more difficult to verify a death as work-related for an immigrant worker, especially for an unregistered immigrant ,9. In adThe accident rate among illegal workers was higher than the 65 per 1,000 reported by INAIL among legally employed non-EU immigrants . One reaTo the best of our knowledge, no similar studies exist for a comparison.The results of the present study suggest that there is currently an unrecorded burden of illegally employed immigrants suffering from work related injuries. Additional preventive and regulatory efforts in the workplace are required in order to reduce this number. INAIL probably underestimate the incidence of work related injuries in Italy.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.GM conceived the study and performed the statistical analysis, LC and RR drafted the paper, GM contributed to the development of the idea, UF and AB provided epidemiological support. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.


Two days later, another Sargent Jump Test was performed simultaneously assessed by 2 evaluators. In all tests, three jumps were performed and the highest one was registered. In order to check the validity, the first Sargent Jump Test results were compared to those from the jump platform, considered the gold standard. To evaluate intra- and inter-evaluator reproducibility, results from the first, second and third Sargent Jump Tests were analyzed. The validity and reproducibility were evaluated by intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), and by the Bland and Altman test , with a significance level set at p<0.05. The values found for validity , for intra-evaluator reproducibility  and for inter-evaluator reproducibility , permitted us to conclude that the Sargent Jump Test is a valid and reproducible instrument for measuring the explosive strength in homogeneous groups, such as those used in the present study.The purpose of this study was to check the validity and the intra- and inter-evaluators reproducibility of the Sargent Jump Test, as an instrument of explosive strength measurement of soccer players of the sub-15 class. Forty-five soccer players were randomly selected from different clubs competing in the local soccer championship. All subjects performed one test on the same jump platform model Jumptest Explosive strength is an ability which varies according to the ratio between movement velocity and the developed strength by the specific muscle groups . RegardiDuring the decades of the 60’s and 70’s, several investigators  establisAccording to This cross-sectional study included 45 soccer players from several clubs from the sub-15 soccer class in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, randomly selected among approximately 500 athletes who comprised this class. The subjects aged 14.3 ± 0.66 years old, body mass of 59.5 ± 6.5 kg and body height equal to 168.4 ± 7.4 cm), agreed to participate in the study, and had to fulfill the following criteria: a) to be affiliated to the Soccer Federation of Rio de Janeiro for at least 1 year, b) to be participating in the soccer championship in Rio de Janeiro, and c) not to present any influential problems in obtaining and interpreting the data. After having been thoroughly informed about the experimental protocol, the parents (or guardians) of the athletes signed an informed consent, according to the Resolution 196/96 of the National Council of Health about research involving humans. The study was approved by the local institutional ethics committee under the number 0174/2008.As preliminary procedures, body height and body mass of the volunteers were measured in order to assess sample homogeneity. Subjects were then randomly selected for the sequence of test performance. This sequence was maintained in the following tests. After receiving instructions about the test protocol, the volunteers participated in a 10-minute warm-up, which included moderate intensity running and jumping exercises of low intensity. Subjects performed four jump tests: one JP (JP1) and three SJTs. The first and second SJTs (SJT1 and SJT2) were performed on the same day as JP1, separated by an interval of at least two hours, based on suggestions by ® model  was used, as validated by height = 1/8 gt2, where g is the gravity acceleration (9.81m/s2); and t is the actual time in the air (s). Photoelectric receptors distributed evenly on the inner area of the jump platform, counted the flight time from the moment the athlete left contact with the ground, when the light beam activated the receptors, to the time the subject’s feet landed on the platform and deactivated the light beam.According to the protocol described by In order to assess the SJT performance, according to the protocol of Continuous data was described as means and standard deviations (SD) when normally distributed. To assess the normality of data distribution, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used. The validity and the intra- and inter-evaluator reproducibility were evaluated by the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and the Bland-Altman graphic method . The staThe correlations between the results of the JP1 and SJT1 jumps were used to assess the validity of the SJT. The intra-observer reproducibility of the SJT was evaluated by correlating the SJT1 and SJT2 results; and for examing the inter-evaluator reproducibility of the SJT the results of each independent evaluator in the SJT3 were used.The ICC between JP1 and SJT1, which reflects the validity of the SJT in relation to the JP test, was 0.99 . The ICC between SJT1 and SJT2, which reflects intra-evaluator reproducibility of the test, was 0.99 . The ICC between SJT3 results by different independent evaluators, which reflects inter-evaluator reproducibility of the test, was 1.00 . The validation process of a measurement instrument should meet many criteria. Among them, we can consider that the reproducibility may be one of the most important and, thus, several authors have been testing this characteristic by similar protocols . In studAccording to Thereby, when the SJT validity is analyzed in relation to the JP test, considered the gold standard power evaluation, there is a 95% chance that the SJT will present results between 5.2 cm higher to 2.8 cm lower than the results in the JP, and that the average SJT was 1.2 cm higher than the JP jump, representing a mean variation of 6%. We judge that this range of variation is very narrow, and therefore the SJT can be considered a valid alternative to the platform jump test to evaluate explosive strength of the lower limbs in our study population. This is confirmed by the very high intra-class coefficient of correlation found between the two methods.Similarly, there is a 95% chance that, when assessed by the same person, one of the SJTs will be between 3.0 cm higher to 3.4 cm lower than the second SJT, and that when only one test is assessed by different evaluators, the result obtained by the second evaluator will be between 1.1 cm higher to 0.9 cm lower than the result obtained by the first evaluator. These results ascertain that the SJT is also highly reproducible both between different measures with the same evaluator and between different evaluators. This finding is confirmed by the very high intra-class correlation coefficients found between SJT1 and SJT2 results  and between different evaluators in SJT3.The results of this study showed that, for soccer athletes of the sub-15 class, the SJT is as valid as a field test in assessing explosive strength of the lower limbs. Moreover, results showed there were no significant differences with intra- and inter-evaluators, which implies a high correlation and reproducibility among the results of these tests when performed by either a single evaluator or different evaluators. Taking into consideration the importance of explosive strength assessment of soccer players, the SJT can be considered a very useful and valid method for assessing power and jumping ability, especially due to its accessibility and feasibility.


The titles and legends for Figure 2 and the title of Figure 3 are incorrect. The title and legend currently appearing with Figure 2 belong with Figure 3, and the title currently appearing with Figure 3 belongs with Figure 2. The Figure images are in correct order. In addition, the Funding statement is incorrect. The Funding statement should read: "This work was supported by FAPESP , CNPq and CAPES. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript."


Aim. To assess the role of the Th1 and Th2 cellular response in the etiology of endometriosis observed in a rat model, with the use of the RESAN immunomodulator. Materials and Methods. A comparative analysis of cytokines in blood serum typical of Th1 (TNF-α and INF-γ) and Th2  cell response in groups of rats, in which RESAN preparation was used as prophylaxis (Gr. I) or treatment (Gr. II) of endometriosis. Results. The results indicated an increase in the level of cytokines in blood serum typical of Th2 cell response by comparing the second and third stages of the experiment in the second group of rats and a decrease in IL-4 and IL-10 between III and IV stages. There was a significant difference in cytokine levels during the third stage of the experiment by comparing I and II groups of rats. In the III group of rats, levels of IL-10 significantly increased between the II and III stages of the experiment. Conclusion. RESAN preparation shows Th2 cell response, inhibiting the development of endometriosis in a rat model. Due to successful prophylactic action, one may speculate that RESAN vaccine may be effective as a complementary treatment after surgical excision. Endometriosis is defined as a chronic, inflammatory, and estrogen-dependent disease, involving the presence of functioning endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterus. It is a benign disease, but due to the accompanying symptoms and chronic nature, it is a very essential medical, social, and economic problem. According to various statistics, the prevalence of endometriosis is 7–17% among reproductive age women .One of the theories regarding the cause of endometriosis includes immune alterations that fail to identify and destroy tissue that grows outside of the uterus . NumerouThe available pharmaceutical treatment does not provide complete and lasting effect in treatment of endometriosis, and the associated side effects have a significant effect on worsening the quality of life of the treated patients. For this reason, there is constant search for new forms of treatment of endometriosis.For several years, research continues on the RESAN vaccine composed of several components imitating tissue antigens specific for endometrial stroma, fibroids, and the protein CA-125, CA 15-3 (patent no. 5942). Given the results of proving efficacy of RESAN in preventing and possible treatment of endometriosis , the nexThe research material was serum obtained from 58 adult Wistar female rats during the following four stages of the study .The study was conducted after approval by the Regional Animal Research Committee. The experiment was performed in accordance with both Ministry and Higher Education Report of 1959 and the UNESCO Declaration of Animal Rights from the 1978 (Paris) guidelines.Animals were kept in plastic cages on the premises of the Department of Toxicology, University of Medical Sciences, at a constant temperature and humidity; they were fed a constant feeding composition—containing 24% protein. Animals had continuous access to food and drinking water. During subsequent stages of the experiment, blood was collected from the animals' tails in an amount of 2 mL and centrifuged, and the resulting serum was stored at approximately −70°C.n = 24) underwent vaccination with RESAN —half of the dose was given subcutaneously and half intramuscularly into the upper part of the buttock, according to the manufacturer's instructions.During the first (I) phase of the study (prophylaxis), a group of rats (G. domesticus. It contains glycoproteins (fraction a2P), peptides, and carbohydrate fragments imitating more than 40 different tumor antigens .Following, stage II took place 3 months after endometriosis induction was performed in 48 rats . The process took place in a clean but not completely sterile environment, using microsurgical methods (Heinz operating glasses among others). A mid-ventral laparotomy was performed aseptically under pentobarbital anesthesia. After visualization of the right uterine horn, a 3 cm segment of the uterine horn was ligated and excised. The uterus was closed by hemostatic sutures. After immersing the excised horn in the sterile culture medium, the endometrium was detached from the muscular layer. The obtained graft measuring 4 mm × 4 mm was then attached to the parietal peritoneum on the right side of the abdominal wall using 6–0 nylon sutures.The abdominal wall was closed with a 1-0 Vicryl running sutures. As in the previous stage, prior to surgery, 2 mL of blood was collected from all rats, centrifuged, and frozen for further proceedings.In the remaining group of 10 rats , a sham operation was performed. After opening the abdominal wall, section and ligation of the right uterine horn was performed. Next, a 6–0 nylon suture was attached to the same place in the abdominal wall as in the study animals. All the procedures were performed in the exactly the same manner as in the group of rats with transplanted endometrium. The blood was collected analogically from the tail, immediately after anesthesia, before surgery.Three months later, stage III of the study was performed. In all groups relaparotomy was performed, during which possible endometrial foci were identified, describing them in detail, including photographic documentation. Then, excision of the endometriotic foci was performed in groups I and II. Finally, the left uterine horn was excised for parallel investigation. The abdominal wall was closed with 1-0 (Dexon) suture. During all stages of the study, microsurgical techniques were applied. Following, 23 rats from group II were vaccinated with RESAN in the same manner as described in group I. Blood was collected from all animals.n = 5).After three months, during the IV stage of the study, third laparotomy was performed in all animals, during which once again the possible endometriosis foci and adhesions were collected for histological evaluation. Blood was collected from all animals. During this stage, in group I we evaluated only the animals in which we have previously diagnosed features of endometriosis  and the second due to dehiscence and wound infection one day after the first operation (group II).All collected fragments of endometrial implants were fixed, cut on microtome and stained with hematoxylin, and eosin. Histological assessment by light microscopy was performed by the same person in a “blind manner”; that is, the evaluator did not know the result of macroscopic evaluation and did not know which group of rats is derived from. The study looked for the presence of endometrial glands and endometrial stroma components with hemosiderin loaded macrophages. A second assessment was performed by the consulting histologist Figures , and 5.The criteria for the diagnosis of endometriosis by the macroscopic evaluation included the presence of one or more of the following characteristics: the presence of cysts filled with clear fluid and/or the presence of thin adhesion around the implant and/or clearly visible hypervascularisation in the form of foci on the abdominal peritoneum.Uterine fragments obtained during the different stages of experiment were secured for other parallel branches of the experiment.α, and IFN-γ by flow cytometry. The study also evaluated the concentration of rat procalcitonin (PCT) by ELISA.The serum obtained during the subsequent stages of experiment was checked for the concentration of IL-4, IL-6, IL-10, TNF-P = 0.05 value to be significant.For statistical evaluation, we have used nonparametric Mann-Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunn's multiple comparison test, Wilcoxon test, and Friedman test with Dunn's multiple comparisons tests, assuming the The aim of the study is to assess the role of the Th1 and Th2 cellular response in the etiology of endometriosis observed in a rat model, with the use of the RESAN immunomodulator.P < 0.0001). Macroscopic assessment revealed endometriosis in 21.7% and 91.3% (P < 0.0001) of the animals in groups I and II, respectively. These data are shown in During the third stage of the study, positive histologically confirmed endometriosis was found in 4.3% of the animals in groups I and 69.6% in group II (P < 0.01) and statistically significant decrease in IL-4 by comparing the third and fourth stages in group II . During the third part of the experiment, there was a significant difference between IL-4 concentrations in the serum of rats (2.22 ± 3.60 versus 20.81 ± 36.50) in groups I and II, respectively (P = 0.0004) (P = 0.01)  . Analyzi = 0.01) .P < 0.01) and III and IV  stages of experiment. Comparing the second and third stage of the study in the third group of rats, we have also observed a statistically significant increase in IL-10 . Comparing the cytokine levels between groups during the second phase of the experiment, there was a significant difference between groups I and II  and between II and III . The analysis of the level of IL-10 in the third stage of the experiment indicated difference between first and second groups of rats   and II and IV  stages of the experiment. When comparing the levels of IFN-γ between the two groups during the various stages of the study there were no statistically significant differences  . Analyziferences .α in different groups and at different stages of the experiment, there were no statistical differences. Cytokine levels were below the detection level or reached very low values. On the basis of the obtained results we observed that the level of rat procalcitonin did not vary significantly either within the groups of rat, or depending on the phase of the experiment within a group. TNF-α and procalcitonin results are not included; however they can be obtained from the author through e-mail.Comparing the levels of TNF-The aim of this study was to find out what is first—endometriosis or immunological defect? The method used was rat endometriosis with evaluation of concentration and interactions between selected parameters characteristic for different types of immunological response. The research on the development of effective treatment of endometriosis, especially in the immunological aspects, lasted for years—still with unsatisfactory results. This entails making further attempts to develop an effective treatment of this disease. This action requires an appropriate experimental model which will allow proper evaluation of the impact and possible mechanisms of interaction of the investigated preparations and substances. The experimental model of rat endometriosis has been known for many years. Wistar laboratory rat was found to be a convenient pet because of short (4-5-day) and regular cycles, high availability, and relatively low cost of cultivation .α, IL-6, and IL-8 or prostaglandins PGF, PGE [Attempts to evaluate the superiority of chosen cytokines in the development of endometriosis have been undertaken repeatedly. Among the known and studied dysfunctions of the immune system in the course of endometriosis, one has observed reduced NK cell activity in serum and peritoneal fluid , 10 and PGF, PGE .γ and TNF-α, and cytokines characteristic for Th2-type responses, such as IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10. It turned out that the group of rats not treated with immunoprophylaxis by RESAN preparation showed clearly stronger tendency to elevated levels of cytokines typical for Th2 cell response. Furthermore, the levels decreased after surgery combined with the therapeutic use of RESAN. This would suggest the positive effects of the treatment applied on the immunomodulatory mechanisms important in the battle against endometriosis. Surprisingly, we found no such relation in terms of effects on cytokines typical for Th1-type responses and thus TNF-α and IFN-γ.Among the evaluated parameters, in our experiment we found cytokines typical for Th1 cell response, that is, IFN-α in peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis stimulate the adhesion and implantation of ectopic endometrial cells to the peritoneal walls [α within each group and at each stage of the experiment. Unfortunately, the vast majority of tests indicated that cytokine levels were below the detection level. Podgaec et al. described analogous results in his study, also finding no statistical difference between the level of this cytokine in the peritoneal fluid and serum among healthy women and women with endometriosis [γ is an important factor which stimulates the adhesion of ectopic endometrial cells to the peritoneum through the stimulation of adhesion molecule ICAM-1 (intercellular adhesion molecule-1) [γ as a factor which reduces the tendency of ectopic endometrial cells to apoptosis, thereby enhancing the ability to experience pathological cells outside the uterine cavity [α and IFN-γ production, thus stopping nearly completely early endometriosis development. It is well known that these early steps are crucial in the entire process.According to the literature, elevated levels of TNF-al walls , 12. Theetriosis . IFN-γ iecule-1) . Nishidae cavity . The resInterleukin-6 (IL-6) is an important regulator of inflammation and immune responses. It is released locally by ectopic endometrial implants as well as newly developed endometrial foci and contributes to neovascularization of the implants of endometriosis. In turn, it stimulates the peritoneal fluid T and B lymphocytes to produce autoantibodies in endometriosis, exacerbating the pathological effects of this condition such as infertility .Significantly lower concentration of IL-6 in the first group of rats after implantation of ectopic endometrium can be explained in two ways. In this group only in one case we have confirmed endometriosis, and IL-6 may be produced locally within foci of endometriosis. On the other hand, probably under the influence of immunomodulating actions of RESAN preparation, there was no pathological, excessive activation of macrophages, which could result in increased production of IL-6 by these cells.α in the induction of mentioned proliferation [Interleukin-4 is released locally and stimulates proliferation of endometriotic tissue, contributing to the formation of adhesions in the course of endometriosis. Moreover, it has a synergistic effect with TNF-feration . These oOur results on IL-10 demonstrate immunomodulatory effects of RESAN preparation on decreasing the cytokine function and thus Th2 cell response. According to Wu and Ho, IL-10 is produced in increased amounts by activated macrophages in peritoneal fluid of patients with endometriosis . It servα level, and thus one of the main factors responsible for the implantation of endometriosis is also likely that other mechanisms have an effect on the etiopathogenesis of this disease.Preliminary results on the effect of RESAN preparation on endometriosis in a rat model appear to be encouraging and certainly mobilize to make further observations. The results regarding the assessment of chosen cytokine concentrations indicate the immunomodulatory effect of this preparation but in the absence of evidence proving the impact of RESAN preparation on TNF-What seems to be the most important results of our studies? For years unanswered question: “what is first?” Immunological status plays a crucial role in endometriosis, thus enabling adhesion and survival of displaced endometrial fragments. Moreover, immunomodulation is effective in endometriosis prophylaxis and may be effective as a complementary treatment after surgical excision.


Investigation of the electron transport and back reaction of the DSCs by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy showed that the spheres had a threefold lower electron recombination rate compared to the conventional TiO2 nanoparticles. In contrast, the effective electron diffusion coefficient, Dn, was not sensitive to the variation of the TiO2 morphology. The TiO2 spheres showed the same Dn as that of the nanoparticles. The influence of TiCl4 post-treatment on the conduction band of the TiO2 spheres and on the kinetics of electron transport and back reactions was also investigated. It was found that the TiCl4 post-treatment caused a downward shift of the TiO2 conduction band edge by 30 meV. Meanwhile, a fourfold increase of the effective electron lifetime of the DSC was also observed after TiCl4 treatment. The synergistic effect of the variation of the TiO2 conduction band and the electron recombination determined the open-circuit voltage of the DSC.An anatase TiO Upon illumination, a photon with high energy (higher than the energy difference between the HOMO and LUMO level of the dye molecule) excites an electron from the ground state of the dye molecule to its excited state. The electron is then injected to the conduction band of the adjacent TiO2 material, owing to a favorable alignment of the energetics. The electron goes through a series of trapping/detrapping process in the TiO2 film before reaching the current collector, which is based on the conductive fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate. Meanwhile, a parallel reaction, which involves transfer of the hole from the oxidized state of the dye (dye+) to the surrounding I− ions of the redox couple of the electrolyte, occurs to regenerate the dye molecule, resulting in the formation of I3− ions. The electrical circuit is completed through transfer of the electron, which arrives at the Pt counter electrode through the external circuit, to the I3− ions of the electrolyte.In the past two decades, dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs) have received substantial attention from both academic and industrial communities as one of the most promising low-cost, high-efficiency third-generation photovoltaic devices –2. A typ2/dye interface and the electron recombination reaction at the TiO2/dye/electrolyte interface are critical because they control both the short-circuit current and open-circuit voltage of the DSC. The surface properties of the TiO2 material play an important role in both processes. The process of electron injection in DSCs is controlled by the energy difference between the conduction band of the TiO2 material and the LUMO level of the dye, and the process of electron recombination is mainly dominated by the interaction between the electron at the surface of TiO2 and I3− ions in the electrolyte. Generally, the TiO2 used in DSCs is based on the anatase phase with the [101] facet exposed, due to the robust stability of this surface compared to other crystal facets [2 lie in the order of [001] (0.90 J/m2) > [100] (0.53 J/m2) > [101] (0.44 J/m2) , which is normally unstable due to a higher surface energy, can now be made [2 material with a large percentage of [001] high-energy surface has shown superior performance in applications such as water splitting and lithium-ion batteries [− centers compared to the [101] surface, which contains more Ti3+ centers  0.3 J/m2 >  be made . In pracatteries –8. Furth [001] 0.0 J/m2 > 2 are expected to have a profound effect on the chemicophysical processes in DSCs as well. Fan et al. reported that the [001] surface can absorb more dye molecules compared to the [101] surface [2 [001] facet on the kinetics of electron transfer and back reaction has not been reported. A deep understanding of the role of the TiO2 [001] facet in these key processes of electron transport and recombination of DSCs is of great importance for both practical applications and basic research.The different surface properties of the [001] and 101] facets of TiO1 facets 2 spheres with a hierarchical structure consisting of ultrathin nanosheets with 100% of the [001] facet exposed were synthesized and applied in dye-sensitized solar cells (DSCs). The photovoltaic performance of the DSCs with different concentrations of the hierarchically structured TiO2 spheres was evaluated. The kinetics of electron transport and back reaction of the DSCs with the spheres were investigated by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy. In addition, the effect of treatment by an aqueous solution of TiCl4 on the performance of the DSCs with the TiO2 spheres was discussed.In this work, anatase TiO2 spheres of the nanosheets were synthesized by following the method originally reported by Chen et al.  surface exposed  facet, but clarification of this issue requires further investigation. As a consequence, the electron diffusion length, Ln, which depends on both the τn and Dn by , is up to 1.6-fold higher for the nanosheet-based TiO2 spheres compared to that of the nanoparticles (Ln of the DSC based on the nanoparticles is only around 16 μm (2 film (13 μm). A previous study has shown that the Ln of a DSC needs to be at least three times the thickness of the TiO2 film in order to collect most of the photogenerated electrons  facet can absorb more dye than the [101] facet. Nazeeruddin et al. confirmed that the dye molecule is adsorbed on TiO2 particles mainly through the carboxylic acid group (–COOH) [2 and the downward shift of the Ec. The more dye molecules are adsorbed on the TiO2 film, the more downward shift is expected for the Ec.As shown in  (–COOH) , leading2 mesoporous films with TiCl4 aqueous solution has been extensively employed to improve the performance of DSCs. In most cases, it is found that the Jsc of the DSC is enhanced, while the Voc is reduced after the TiCl4 treatment of the film. O’Regan et al. found that TiCl4 treatment caused 80 meV downward shift of the TiO2 conduction band, resulting in an increased driving force for the electron-injection process. They reported that the enhanced Jsc was owing to an improved electron-injection efficiency of the DSC [4 solution treatment on the Ec of the TiO2-spheres-based film and on the kinetics of electron transport and back reaction of the corresponding DSCs is investigated.The strategy of treating TiO the DSC –22. In t4 treatment, as a function of the voltage. It is found that, at a constant charge density, the voltage of the cell with TiCl4 treatment is lower than that of the DSC without the treatment. The maximum difference in voltage between the cells is around 30 mV. Provided that the distribution profile of the charge density is the same for the TiO2 film with and without TiCl4 treatment, the reduced potential of the DSC with TiCl4 treatment means that the TiCl4 treatment caused a downward shift of the TiO2 conduction band by 30 meV, which may decrease the maximum voltage the DSC can achieve. This observation is in good agreement with the results reported by O’Regan et al. [Voc of the cell with TiCl4 treatment is actually 20 mV higher than the DSC without the treatment, as shown in 4 treatment.n et al. . Howevern as a function of capacitance density of the DSC with and without TiCl4 treatment. It is found that τn is enhanced by a factor of 3.8 after TiCl4 treatment. In contrast, Dn of the DSCs is relatively unchanged with the TiCl4 treatment  of the TiO2 conduction band and a fourfold increase of the τn, whereas the Dn of the cell was not significantly affected by the TiCl4 treatment.This work also investigated the influence of treatment with TiCl


AIDS is an acquired syndrome of immunity damage caused by body immunity damaging virus. As our population is young and consciousness raising has an essential role in prevention of a disease and also the young people are the main victims of it, so it is necessary to determine student’s knowledge and attitude as a symbol of young population to understand their ability in campaign against the AIDS and distinguish appropriate educational programs.This semi experimental study was performed on 150 engineering students of Islamic Azad University of Zanjan Branch. Samples were chosen by random systematic method. The data collection tool was a questionnaire concluding three parts of demographic characteristics, knowledge level, and attitude questions. After performing the pre-test, the educational program was held during three weeks and then the post–test was held. The data was analyzed by SPSS software and the scores which were achieved by samples before and after the educational program were compared using t-test and paired t-test.This study showed that 64/6 % were male and 36/4 were female. The knowledge rate of the students about risk factors of the disease before and after intervention were 16/03 2/04 and 18/02 1/44 respectively. The mean and standard deviation of attitude score of the students also increased from 90/16 10/6 to 96/60 10/33 after the education.Findings of this research show the positive effects of education on knowledge and attitude of the students, and providing education and appropriate background in educational environment seems necessary for employing effective behaviors. Keywords: AIDS, Attitude, Education, knowledge.


The Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) plays an important role in the human immune system. The MHC is involved in the antigen presentation system assisting T cells to identify foreign or pathogenic proteins. However, an MHC molecule binding a self-peptide may incorrectly trigger an immune response and cause an autoimmune disease, such as multiple sclerosis. Understanding the molecular mechanism of this process will greatly assist in determining the aetiology of various diseases and in the design of effective drugs. In the present study, we have used the Fresno semi-empirical scoring function and modify the approach to the prediction of peptide-MHC binding by using open-source and public domain software. We apply the method to HLA class II alleles DR15, DR1, and DR4, and the HLA class I allele HLA A2. Our analysis shows that using a large set of binding data and multiple crystal structures improves the predictive capability of the method. The performance of the method is also shown to be correlated to the structural similarity of the crystal structures used. We have exposed some of the obstacles faced by structure-based prediction methods and proposed possible solutions to those obstacles. It is envisaged that these obstacles need to be addressed before the performance of structure-based methods can be on par with the sequence-based methods. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a neurological disease characterised by inflammation and demyelination in the central nervous system. MS is regarded as an autoimmune disease by many researchers Currently, there are three schools of MHC-peptide binding prediction methods based on the information and approach used in the prediction: sequence-motif (PSSM-) based, artificial intelligence- (AI-) based, and structure-based. The first two schools examine the patterns exhibited by the sequences of binding peptides, whereas structure-based methods study the relationship between the binding affinities and the structures of MHC-peptide complexes.Early work on peptides that bind to MHC molecules observed patterns in the peptide sequences. Systemic analyses of the effects of amino acids on the peptide binding affinities provide the basis for position-specific scoring matrices to predict binding affinity In addition to sequence information, structure-based methods also incorporate additional structural information from experimental crystal structures of MHC-peptide complexes Much effort has been put into developing sequence-based methods, which have shown considerable performance et al.et al. to study peptide binding to MHC class I and II alleles in order to improve the computational prediction of peptide binding to DRB1*1501.Despite considerable research into the development of computational techniques for determining peptide binding to the MHC and successful predictions for some alleles, the performance of various binding prediction algorithms for MHC class II alleles, including DRB1*1501, is still relatively poor. Previously, Rognan et al.In this study, we adapted the semi-empirical method for predicting peptide binding affinity for MHC class I molecules originally proposed by Rognan et al.et al. and our analysis. In each case, our prediction more accurately estimates the experimental free energy of binding. The cross-validation correlation score, 2q, was excellent at 0.971 and the standard error of prediction, pressS, was appropriately low at 0.727. In comparison, Rognan et al. achieved a 2q value of 0.895 and a pressS value of 3.448. Thus, we established that our approach, using open source equivalents and our own PERL implementation of the Fresno scoring function, performs better than the original implementation.The open source adaptation of the protocol was tested using the original five HLA-A0201 (A2) structures (the Madden structures) used by Rognan et al., we were able to show that our open source adaptation of the method reproduces the results of the original analysis, thus validating our adaptation. In fact, our approach generates slightly more accurate predictions than the original method.Validation of our open source adaption of the method is crucial to ensure the integrity of our PERL implementation of the technique and the alternate use of open source applications. By repeating the analysis of Rognan Having validated the prediction method, we applied the procedure to the prediction of the free energy of peptide binding in HLA-DRB1*1501 (DR15). The HLA-DR15 allele of the MHC is a major genetic risk factor for MS. Our aim here was to use the method developed and validated above to predict peptide binding in this allele as a step to understanding the role this allele plays in the pathogenesis of MS.There are only two experimentally determined structures for HLA-DR15: 1YMM and 1BX2. 1YMM was chosen as a reference structure as it was the most recently published crystal structure. The AntiJen database contains 188 entries of peptides with peptide binding data for HLA-DR15. Of these, only twenty peptides were fourteen amino acids in length as required to match the length of the peptide in the 1YMM reference structure. These peptides are shown in 2q value for the analysis was 0.243 and pressS was 6.429 confirming the prediction method was unable to accurately reproduce binding free energies for peptides in HLA-DR15.Each peptide was modelled in the binding groove of the MHC molecule and the resulting structure used to determine the terms of Fresno scoring function (equation 2). The resulting equations for all twenty peptides were then subjected to the statistical analysis to determine the regression coefficients. These regression coefficients are then used to predict the theoretical binding free energy for each peptide for comparison with the experimental data. After the cross-validation analysis, the To confirm this result was not due to an anomaly with the 1YMM structure, we also repeated the analysis with the 1BX2 structure. Similar results were obtained (data not shown).et al. with the class I A*0201 allele, was not seen when working with the class II DRB1*1501 allele. This prompted us to a detailed examination of the Rognan et al. scoring function and its applications to assess the efficacy of the method in different circumstances.Thus, the success of the scoring function in reproducing, and slightly improving, the results of Rognan One possible explanation for the failure to adequately predict binding free energies in HLA-DR15 compared to the success in predictions with HLA-A2 may relate to class II MHC molecules requiring a larger set of binding data to better predict peptide binding. However, as noted above, only twenty peptides of appropriate size are contained in the AntiJen database for HLA-DR2.In order to test this hypothesis, we considered HLA-DRB1*0101 (DR1) and HLA-DRB1*0401 (DR4): the two most studied class II alleles. Multiple PDB entries can be found for both HLA-DR1 and HLA-DR4 alleles. The most recently published structures with the best resolution were used as reference structures (1FTY and 1J8H). Both these alleles have more peptides with experimental binding data in the AntiJen database than HLA-DR15 with 74 peptides from 11 studies meeting the selection criteria for HLA-DR1 and 58 usable peptides from the same study for HLA-DR4.2q and pressS values for HLA-DR1 were 0.275 and 7.795 respectively. The calculated 2q and pressS values for HLA-DR4 were 0.283 and 6.390. Thus, using larger peptide binding data reference sets results in a modest improvement in both the cross-validation correlation score and the standard error of prediction to DR-15. However, the former remains low, and the latter high, indicating that the predictive capacity of the method remains poor. This suggests that while the quantity of peptide binding data does have an impact on the predictive ability of the scoring function, it is not the primary factor.The calculated et al. was developed and tested on MHC class I, and allele A*0201 in particular. It is possible that the more open topology of the MHC class II structure means the approach is not suitable, at least in its current form, for class II molecules. To explore this possibility, we attempted to duplicate our experiments above, but with class I molecules, and the A*0201 allele in particular.Another possible factor affecting the prediction may be the class of MHC molecule used as the reference structure. The original method of Rognan As a reference structure, we chose 2GTW for the HLA-A2 allele 2q and pressS values using the structure 2GTW were 0.01974 and 6.037. Thus, even using a class I structure, with a large set of peptide binding data, the technique does not achieve good predictive capability. To confirm this, we repeated the experiment using one of the five Madden structures as a reference. Since the peptide in the structure 1HHH is longer (decamer) than the other structures (nonamers), the 1HHH data was incorporated in two ways. The peptide of 1HHH was either truncated at the N-terminal or the C-terminal of the peptide in order to fit into the other structures with nonamers, or the peptide was excluded from the analysis completely. The MHC structure of 1HHH structure was not used at all, since peptides from the other structures will not fit. The procedure was repeated for each of the four structures .The calculated i.e. only four peptides were used as input data), 1HHG, 1HHI, and 1HHJ returned low 2q values suggesting no predictive capability for the technique. The 2q and pressS values for 1HHK, however, were significantly better at 0.7897 and 1.75, although still not nearly as good as the values seen in the validation study. When the peptide from 1HHH was used, none of the reference structures was able to return a good result.When the peptide from 1HHH was not used  showed improvement over the best of the previous analyses using a single reference structure  and nearly half of the combinations (37 combinations) achieved a 2q value greater than 0.5  indicates perfect correlation in the same (or opposite) direction. A value of 0 indicates no correlation.To examine the potential impact of different structural characteristics on the predictive performance, we explored the correlation between ructures . The fir2q values and the RMSD scores shows an intermediate correlation between average RMSD score and 2q value with a small average RMSD between the structures giving rise to a high q2 value, and thus better predictive performance for the approach  were also obtained from the PDB A list of experimentally determined structures of the MHC-peptide complex for alleles HLA-A*0201, HLA-DRB1*0101, HLA-DRB1*0401, and HLA-DRB1*1501  were colEach crystal structure gives the positional information of the atoms of the MHC molecule and a peptide of particular sequence bound to the MHC molecule. In order to study the binding affinity of other peptides, the structure of a new peptide, bound to the same MHC molecule, is determined from the existing structure by using the same positions for the backbone atoms and rebuilding the side chains in the context of the MHC molecule. In the present study, the side chain rebuilding was performed using SCWRL 4 50): the concentration of inhibitor required to halve the level of binding of the substrate to the enzyme in a competitive assay. The free energy of binding can be calculated from the experimental temperature in Kelvin (T), the IC50 value, and the gas constant (R) according to equation 1.When the concentration of the binding peptide is sufficiently low, the dissociation constant can be represented by the inhibitory concentration , the interactions between lipophilic atoms in the MHC molecule and the peptide (LIPO), and the unfavourable interactions between polar and lipophilic atoms (BP). The rotational term (ROT) estimates the loss of energy due to the freezing of the rotatable bonds of the peptide upon binding. Lastly, the desolvation term (DESOLV) considers the energies required to solvate the MHC molecule, the peptide, and the MHC-peptide complex. The equations and related details for calculating each term are given in Rognan et al. The only difference being the atomic radii and the charges. Atomic radii and charges used in this study were taken from PARSE The HB, LIPO, ROT, and BP terms were calculated using an adaptation of the Fresno scoring function developed in PERL. If the reference PDB file contained a bound T-cell receptor, this part of the file was removed prior to the analysis. The DESOLV term for all peptides was estimated using the DelPhi program R and the pls package 2q) and standard error of prediction (pressS) were calculated from leave-one-out cross-validation using the built-in functions (R2 and RMSEP) from the pls package. 2q estimates the accuracy of the model and pressS estimates the error rate of the prediction. Thus a good prediction model should have 2q close to 1 and a low pressS value.The values of all terms and the experimental free energy are used in a partial least square analysis using 2q values and the RMSD scores were analysed using Spearman's rank correlation in R. Correlation between the 2q values and the average resolution of structures, obtained from the PDB structure files, was calculated similarly.The difference between protein structures was calculated in terms of root mean square deviation (RMSD) scores. Structures were superimposed and the RMSD values were calculated using the Discovery Studio Visualizer 3.0 by Accelrys. Correlation between the


The aim of this study was to analyze the changes in complements C3 and C4 and C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and to evaluate the role of these indices in the differential diagnosis of SLE and RA. The first 347 patients with SLE, 382 patients with RA and 66 patients with erythema nodosum were selected for the measurement of complement and CRP levels in the serum, the erythema nodosum patients were the control group. The roles of the complements and CRP in the differential diagnosis and disease activity evaluation of SLE and RA were analyzed with SPSS 13.0. Complement C3 and C4 levels were significantly reduced in patients with SLE compared with those in the control group. However, in RA patients, the CRP level was increased. In addition, the levels of complements C3 and C4 in patients with SLE were much lower than those in patients with RA and the level of CRP in RA patients was much higher than that in patients with SLE. The reduction of complement C3 levels in SLE patients, and increase of CRP and complement C4 in patients with RA were associated with a higher risk of joint pain, butterfly rash and oral ulcer. These results show that the disease activity of SLE was negatively correlated with complement C3 and C4, and the disease activity of RA was positively correlated with CRP. With the increase in disease activity, the levels of complements C3 and C4 in patients with SLE were gradually reduced and the level of CRP in patients with RA was increased. There were distinctive differences in the levels of complements C3 and C4 and CRP between SLE and RA patients. The differences are useful in disease activity evaluation and the differential diagnosis of the two diseases that have similar symptoms. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are systemic autoimmune diseases that may attack the body’s cells and tissues, resulting in inflammation and tissue damage. The development processes and mechanisms of SLE and RA are not well established. Due to the similarity of symptoms ,2, the dCertain differences in the pathogenesis, clinical symptoms and autoantibody changes between SLE and RA have been observed . These iA total of 347 SLE patients and 382 RA patients were randomly selected from the individuals treated in The Second Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University  between 2009 and 2012. All patients provided informed consent and conformed with the American College of Rheumatology 1990 criteria for the classification of systemic lupus erythematosus ,7. The set al (The assessments of SLE disease activity were performed with the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index (SLEDAI) rating system. According to the criteria of Gladman et al , the ratet al , which hThe serum samples were collected from the patients. C3, C4 and CRP were measured by latex-enhanced nephelometriy using high-sensitivity assays on the Behring analyzer . The concentration of CRP was normally below 5 mg/l. The normal ranges of complements C3 and C4 were 0.9–1.8 g/l and 0.1–0.4 g/l, respectively.Using SPSS 13.0 , the differences in the levels of complements C3 and C4 and CRP among the groups were compared with a Student’s t-test. The correlation of disease activity with C3, C4 and CRP was analyzed by linear correlation analysis. The data are presented as the mean ± SD. P<0.05 was considered to indicate a statistically significant result.From the clinical data and titers of serum markers, we observed that the levels of complements C3 and C4 in patients with SLE were lower than those of normal individuals and patients with RA P<0.05; . The CRPThe clinical data of controls, SLE and RA patients were collected, including gender, age, disease duration, DAS28 rating, SLEDAI rating, complement C3, complement C4 and CRP . CompariThe SLE and RA patients were grouped as slight, moderate and severe according to the disease activity. The correlations of disease activity and changes in serum markers were analyzed. The results showed that complement C3 and C4 titers were negatively correlated with SLE disease activity (correlation coefficient r=−0.535 and −0.397 for C3 and C4, respectively, P<0.05; Changes in serum markers were analyzed in SLE and RA patients according to the symptoms of different stages . A higheLupus and rheumatoid arthritis are typical autoimmune disorders. Since 80% of SLE and RA patients have fever and fatigue during the early stages, it is difficult to distinguish between these two disorders . PreviouThe results showed that in the early stage of SLE and RA there were no clear differences in the titers of C3, C4 or CRP. However, in the middle and late stages, complement C3 and C4 levels were significantly reduced in SLE patients and CRP levels were increased in RA patients. This suggests that complements C3 and C4 and CRP are of no significance in the differential diagnosis of SLE and RA in the early stages. This may be associated with the slight inflammation at the beginning of these diseases. However, in the middle and late stages, there were significant reductions of complement C3 and C4 levels, but not of the CRP level in SLE patients. By contrast, in RA patients the CRP level was markedly reduced and no changes were observed in complement C3 and C4 levels. The different pathogenesis of SLE and RA may be due to the differences in serum markers, although inflammation is a common complication of SLE and RA. For example, in SLE patients, reduction of complement levels may be induced by the increase of kidney discharge and immune complex deposition while in RA patients, the CRP level was gradually increased and positively associated with the inflammation. These changes were in accordance with previous findings .A previous study showed that complements C3 and C4 were reduced in Caucasian individuals with the disease activity of RA . HoweverThe majority of patients with SLE and RA display fever and fatigue symptoms during the early stages of the disease. With the progress of the disease, patients present with joint pain and butterfly rash. Finally, microcirculation disorders and oral ulcers appear . On the Although there are certain differences in the roles of complements C3 and C4 and CRP in the differential diagnosis of SLE and RA ,22, our


The purpose of this longitudinal study was to establish an equation to predict incremental mandibular length on the basis of the analysis of the cervical vertebrae on a single cephalometric radiograph and to compare the predictive accuracy with the method by Mito et al.Data consist of a group of 33 Iranian girls, 9 to 11 years old with two lateral cephalometric radiographs taken at a 24-month interval. For each individual, on the lateral cephalometric radiographs, points and lines for the description of the morphologic characteristics of the third and fourth cervical vertebral bodies were traced and measured. The real mandibular length increment (MLI) in this period was determined by the difference between the second (24 months) and first (baseline) radiographs: MLI = Ar-Pog (second) − Ar-Pog (first). An equation was determined to calculate mandibular length increments on the basis of the measurements in the third and fourth cervical vertebral bodies. The predictive accuracy was assessed using multiple regression analysis.R2 for this equation was 54.9% which is a reliable value for evaluating prediction accuracy .The average error between the predicted increment and the actual increment was 0.149 mm for our method and 5.87 mm for the method by Mito et al.The adjusted R2 and (2) fewer independent variables. In our subjects, the prediction accuracy was lower when using Mito et al.'s method, which could be due to genetic and environmental factors and selected age range.There are two items that contributed to easier and better prediction accuracy in our equation: (1) higher These results indicate that cervical vertebral measurements, obtained in lateral cephalograms, are able to predict properly the mandibular growth potential. The prediction of mandibular growth potential (GP) provides valuable information for treatment planning and evaluating occlusal stability after treatment . One of In the past 3 decades, the issue of the correlation between the cervical vertebral maturation (CVM) and mandibular growth has received an increasing attention. The CVM method has proved to be an effective and reliable clinical method for the assessment of mandibular skeletal maturation in growing children .According to the results of several clinical studies, the greatest response to functional jaw orthopedics occurs during circumpubertal growth period when mandibular growth is at its peak -11. TherMito et al.  developeThe purpose of this longitudinal study was to establish a simple method of mandibular length prediction using a regression equation on the basis of cervical vertebrae in Iranian girls and to compare the predictive accuracy with the method of Mito et al. .The sample analyzed in this longitudinal study consisted of 33 Iranian girls, 9 to 11 years old with two lateral cephalometric radiographs taken at a 24-month interval. The children were selected from the patient files of the Orthodontics Department, School of Dentistry, at the Qazvin University of Medical Sciences, Iran, based on the growth study of Qazvin City population. Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this case report and accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the Editor-in-Chief of this journal. Ethical committee of Qazvin University of Medical Sciences approved the ethical concerns of this study. The samples were selected according to the following criteria:(a) Angle's Class I molar and canine relationship(b) Reasonably well-aligned arches with no vertical and horizontal dental discrepancy(c) No systemic disease that could affect general development(d) No history of any orthodontic treatment(e) Pleasant soft tissue profile(f) Cervical vertebral maturation stage (CVMS) I or CVMS IIThe CVM stages were considered according to the definition by Baccetti et al. . All theOn the lateral cephalometric radiographs, the following points and lines for the description of the morphologic characteristics of the cervical vertebral bodies Figure  were tra•C3up, C3ua: the most superior points of the posterior and anterior borders of the body of C3, respectively.•C3lp, C3la: the most posterior and the most anterior points on the lower border of the body of C3, respectively.•C4up, C4ua: the most superior points of the posterior and anterior borders of the body of C4, respectively.•C4lp, C4la: the most posterior and the most anterior points on the lower border of the body of C4, respectively.•AH3, AH4 : the distance between C3ua and C3la and the distance between C4ua and C4la, respectively.•PH3, PH4 : the distance between C3up and C3lp and the distance between C4up and C4lp, respectively.•AP3, AP4 : the distance between C3la and C3lp and the distance between C4la and C4lp, respectively .For each individual, the distance between articulare and pogonion (Ar-Pog) was assessed on both radiographs, and the mandibular length increment (MLI) in this period was determined by the difference between the second (24 months) and first (baseline) radiographs:MLI = Ar-Pog (second) − Ar-Pog (first).The data obtained from all 66 cephalograms were analyzed by statistical package SPSS  using multiple regression analysis. In this analysis, the values of the MLI were the dependent variables, and the values of the cervical vertebrae at the first radiographs were the independent variables. The selections of the independent variables were performed using the stepwise method. Jackknife procedure was used to assess the cross-validation of our model.t test.To determine the measurement errors, 10 subjects were selected randomly, and cephalometric radiographs of each stage  were traced and measured 10 days later. The reliability of the measurements was evaluated using paired samples R2 from the regression was used as a criterion to predict accuracy. The proposed formula by Mito et al. . The value of this error was 3.72 mm for our method and 7.53 for MM. Moreover, paired samples t test showed a statistically significant difference between our method and MM (P < 0.001 for both errors). So, the accuracy of our method indicated significant differences in comparison with MM.Table Growth modification treatments require information on the growth potential. The orthodontist should be aware whether growth is happening and how much of the remaining incremental growth should be expected . MoreoveAs indicated by the results of several studies ,4,7-12, In this study, only girls were examined because of sex-dependent differences with regard to the timing of morphological changes in cervical vertebral bodies . A groupP < 0.001) with MLI. The variability of the dependent variable, which is defined by R2, was 57.7% and adjusted R2 was 54.9%. According to the statistical rule, the number of samples must be at least twice as many as the number of independent variables [R2 and adjusted R2 values truly represents the actual population.A stepwise regression analysis was used in this research to define prediction models that could be used to forecast individual future growth changes of the mandible. The stepwise method was used to select the explanatory variables. As the result of the statistical analysis on the present sample, two independent variables (AP3 and PH4) were significantly selected amongst variables studied in order to explain the dependent variable MLI by MLI = 76.21-3.145(AP3) − 2.677(PH4). AP3 and PH4 showed significant statistical correlation . The reasons for the differences between their results and the present study can be racial factors in addition to the limited age range in our study. Furthermore, subjects in their study include both Class I and Class II subjects.Chen et al. , reporteThe longitudinal nature of this study allows determination of the prediction accuracy of our equation by best means. So, the actual growth can be determined individually in all subjects. As reported in several studies ,8,10,11,The formula obtained from this study can be easily adopted in the daily clinical practice as shown in Figures We compared the predictive accuracy of our equation with the method of Mito et al. , which i1. The formula presented by Mito et al.  was desi2. The subjects consisted of a wider range in Mito et al.'s study   The unknown amount of late postadolescent growthb) Although few but there were statistically significant differences between orthodontic patients and those with a normal occlusion (such as our samples) in terms of growth.c) Data of both genders should not be combined when the aim is to present mean ages.d) Furthermore, the samples analyzed by Fudalej and Bollen  were in According to the longitudinal survey of Ball et al. , the mosIn the current study, there are few limitations regarding age and gender of samples used as well as their ethnicity that is limited to Iranian girls. These limitations can be addressed in future studies.In this study, we established a new equation to predict mandibular growth and compared it with Mito et al.'s method . The equThe authors declare that they have no competing interests.MM and MN were responsible for acquisition of Data. AAB was responsible for the statistical analyses. HR and HR were responsible for conception and design of the study, interpretation of data and drafting the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.