Brief cognitive assessment instruments in schizophrenia and bipolar patients, and healthy control subjects: A comparison study between the Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool for Schizophrenia (B-CATS) and the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP)

Cognitive impairment in schizophrenia and psychosis is ubiquitous and acknowledged as a core feature of clinical expression, pathophysiology, and prediction of functioning. However, assessment of cognitive functioning is excessively time-consuming in routine practice, and brief cognitive instruments specific to psychosis would be of value. Two screening tools have recently been created to address this issue, i.e., the Brief Cognitive Assessment Tool for Schizophrenia (B-CATS) and the Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP). The aim of this research was to examine the comparative validity of these two brief instruments in relation to a global cognitive score. 161 patients with p…

Analysis of Multipactor Effect in a Partially Dielectric-Loaded Rectangular Waveguide

This paper 1 presents a study of the multipactor 2 effect in a partially dielectric-loaded rectangular waveguide. 3 To obtain the simulations presented in this paper, a detailed 4 analysis of the dynamics of the electron inside this waveguide 5 has been performed, taking into account the radio frequency 6 electromagnetic fields propagating in the waveguide and the dc 7 electric field that appears because of the charging of the dielectric 8 layer. This electrostatic field is obtained by computing the electric 9 potential produced by an arbitrary charge distribution on the 10 dielectric layer in a dielectric-loaded waveguide. The electron 11 trajectory is then found by numerically solving the…

Calculation of the electrostatic field in a dielectric-loaded waveguide due to an arbitrary charge distribution on the dielectric layer

The goal of this paper is to study the electrostatic field due to an arbitrary charge distribution on a dielectric layer in a dielectric-loaded rectangular waveguide. In order to obtain this electrostatic field, the potential due to a point charge on the dielectric layer is solved in advance. The high computational complexity of this problem requires the use of different numerical integration techniques (e.g., Filon, Gauss-Kronrod, Lobatto, …) and interpolation methods. Using the principle of superposition, the potential due to an arbitrary charge distribution on a dielectric layer is obtained by adding the individual contribution of each point charge. Finally, a numerical differentiation o…

Periodontitis, blood lipids and lipoproteins

Periodontitis, one of the most common chronic infections in adults, is characterized by the accumulation of dental plaque and infection by gram-negative pathogens bacteria, which further lead to the destruction of periodontal tissues. A relationship between chronic periodontitis and abnormalities in lipid and/or lipoprotein metabolism is not well understood yet. Periodontitis is associated with elevated pro-atherogenic plasma-lipids, including small dense LDL, while oxidized LDL may act as inflammatory stimulant in periodontitis. Periodontal pathogens may directly modify lipoprotein, including protective characteristics of HDL and contribute to development of metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diab…

Periodontitis and mechanisms of cardiometabolic risk: Novel insights and future perspectives

Periodontitis is an infectious and inflammatory disease of the tooth-supporting tissues caused by the accumulation of subgingival plaque and the action of specific periodontopathogenic bacteria. Periodontitis has been associated with cardiovascular diseases and considered a cardiovascular risk factor. Several mechanisms have been proposed to explain this association, such as the infection of atherosclerotic plaques by periodontal pathogens, the pro-atherogenic effect on the lipid profile, the systemic dissemination of pro-inflammatory mediators or the contribution to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Periodontal treatment has also been related to improvement in cardiometabolic risk variables, and o…

Association between COX-2 rs 6681231 genotype and interleukin-6 in periodontal connective tissue. A pilot study.

[Objectives] The aim of this pilot study was to investigate associations between IL-6 and COX-2 expression in gingival biopsies and both clinical diagnosis and genotypes in the IL-6 and COX-2 genes. [Design] A case-control study included 41 gingival biopsies obtained from Caucasian patients grouped according to clinical diagnosis of gingival health (n = 10), gingivitis (n = 15) or chronic periodontitis (n = 16). Immunohistochemistry analyses were performed to determine COX-2 expression in lamina propria, IL-6 expression in lamina propria and gingival epithelium and level of inflammatory cell infiltrate. Individual DNA was extracted and genotyped by real-time PCR for IL6 SNPs rs 2069827 and …

Editorial Commentary on “The role of periodontal microorganisms in the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction. From PCR techniques to microbiome sequencing”

Heat-shock protein 60 kDa and atherogenic dyslipidemia in patients with untreated mild periodontitis: a pilot study

Identification of predictors of cardiovascular risk can help in the prevention of pathologic episodes and the management of patients at all stages of illness. Here, we investigated the relationships between serum levels of Hsp60 and dyslipidemia in patients with periodontitis by performing a cross-sectional study of 22 patients with mild periodontitis without any prior treatment for it (i.e., drug naive) and 22 healthy controls, matched for age and body mass index (BMI). All subjects were evaluated for periodontal status, gingival inflammation, and oral hygiene. Levels of circulating Hsp60, C-reactive protein (CRP), and plasma lipids were measured, and small, dense low-density lipoproteins …

Managing the Systemic Impact of Periodontitis

Periodontitis is a microbially driven host-mediated disease that leads to loss of periodontal attachment and bone. It is associated with elevation of systemic inflammatory markers and with the presence of systemic co-morbidities. Furthermore, periodontal treatment leads to a 24–48 h-long acute local and systemic inflammatory response. This systemic response might increase the burden of patients with compromised medical history and/or uncontrolled systemic diseases. The correlation between periodontitis and systemic diseases, the impact of periodontitis on the quality of life and public health, the effects of periodontal treatment on systemic health and disease, and the available methods to …

Effects of essential oils and selected compounds from Lamiaceae family as adjutants on the treatment of subjects with periodontitis and cardiovascular risk

Essential oils from different plant species were found to contain different compounds exhibiting anti-inflammatory effects with the potential to be a valid alternative to conventional chemotherapy that is limited in long-term use due to its serious side effects. Generally, the first mechanism by which an organism counteracts injurious stimuli is inflammation, which is considered a part of the innate immune system. Periodontitis is an infectious and inflammatory disease caused by a dysbiosis in the subgingival microbiome that triggers an exacerbated immune response of the host. The immune–inflammatory component leads to the destruction of gingival and alveolar bone tissue. The main anti-infl…

A New Multipactor Effect Model for Dielectric-Loaded Rectangular Waveguides

Multipactor is an electron discharge that may appear in particle accelerators and microwave devices such as filters, multiplexers, and RF satellite payloads in satellite on-board equipment under vacuum conditions. When some resonance conditions are satisfied, secondary electrons get synchronized with the RF fields, and the electron population inside the device grows exponentially leading to a multipactor discharge. This multipactor discharge has some negative effects that degrade the device performance: increase of signal noise and reflected power, heating of the device walls, outgassing, detuning of resonant cavities, and even the partial or total destruction of the component. The main aim…

The screen for cognitive impairment in psychiatry: diagnostic-specific standardization in psychiatric ill patients

Abstract Background The Screen for Cognitive Impairment in Psychiatry (SCIP) is a simple and easy to administer scale developed for screening cognitive deficits. This study presents the diagnostic-specific standardization data for this scale in a sample of schizophrenia and bipolar I disorder patients. Methods Patients between 18 and 55 years who are in a stable phase of the disease, diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, schizophreniform disorder, or bipolar I disorder were enrolled in this study. Results The SCIP-S was administered to 514 patients (57.9% male), divided into two age groups (18–39 and 40–55 years) and two educational level groups (less than and secondary or…

A New Comorbidity in Periodontitis: Fusobacterium nucleatum and Colorectal Cancer

There is very recent and strong evidence relating Fusobacterium nucleatum to colorectal cancer. In this narrative review, we update the knowledge about gingival dysbiosis and the characteristics of Fusobacterium nucleatum as one of the main bacteria related to periodontitis. We provide data on microbiome, epidemiology, risk factors, prognosis, and treatment of colorectal cancer, one of the most frequent tumours diagnosed and whose incidence increases every year. We describe, from its recent origin, the relationship between this bacterium and this type of cancer and the knowledge and emerging mechanisms that scientific evidence reveals in an updated way. A diagram provided synthesizes the pa…

Association of simvastatin and hyperlipidemia with periodontal status and bone metabolism markers.

Background: The objective of this study is to determine whether simvastatin consumption and hyperlipidemia are associated with a worse periodontal condition and specific bone activity biomarkers. Methods: This cross-sectional and analytic study includes 73 patients divided into three groups: 1) simvastatin-treated patients with hyperlipidemia (n = 29); 2) patients with hyperlipidemia treated by diet alone (n = 28); and 3) normolipidemic patients (controls, n = 16). The periodontal clinical variables of all participants were gathered, a blood sample was drawn from each to determine the lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein, and high-density lipoprotein), se…