Adv Exp Med Biol
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The oral microbiota represents an important part of the human microbiota, and includes several hundred to several thousand diverse species. It is a normal part of the oral cavity and has an important function to protect against colonization of extrinsic bacteria which could affect systemic health. On the other hand, the most common oral diseases caries, gingivitis and periodontitis are based on microorganisms. ⋯ On any non-shedding surfaces of the oral cavity dental plaque starts to form, which meets all criteria for a microbial biofilm and is subject to the so-called succession. When the sensitive ecosystem turns out of balance - either by overload or weak immune system - it becomes a challenge for local or systemic health. Therefore, the most common strategy and the golden standard for the prevention of caries, gingivitis and periodontitis is the mechanical removal of this biofilms from teeth, restorations or dental prosthesis by regular toothbrushing.
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Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a widely used noninvasive method for measuring human brain activation based on the cerebral haemodynamic response. However, systemic changes can influence the signal's parameters. Our study aimed to investigate the relationships between NIRS signals and skin blood flow (SBF) or blood pressure during dynamic movement. ⋯ The correlation coefficients for O2Hb and MAP during warm-up, 30 % VO2peak, and 50 % VO2peak were 0.725 (P < 0.01), 0.472 (P < 0.01), and 0.939 (P < 0.01), respectively. Changes in the state of the cardiovascular system influenced O2Hb signals positively during low and moderate-intensity exercise, whereas a negative relationship was observed during high-intensity exercise. These results suggest that the relationship between the O2Hb signal and systemic changes is affected by exercise intensity.
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Fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is a rather straightforward therapy that manipulates the human gastrointestinal (GI) microbiota, by which a healthy donor microbiota is transferred into an existing but disturbed microbial ecosystem. This is a natural process that occurs already at birth; infants are rapidly colonized by a specific microbial community, the composition of which strongly depends on the mode of delivery and which therefore most likely originates from the mother (Palmer et al. 2007; Tannock et al. 1990). Since this early life microbial community already contains most, if not all, of the predominantly anaerobic microbes that are only found in the GI tract, it is reasonable to assume that early life colonization is the ultimate natural fecal transplantation.
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An increasing number of web resources are available for aiding in proteomics research. Databases contain repositories of proteins and associated information. ⋯ This chapter contains a selection of web sites useful for proteomics analyses but is by no means comprehensive. Using a search engine such as Google is the easiest way to find the sites using the name given below.
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The first step in identifying proteins from mass spectrometry based shotgun proteomics data is to infer peptides from tandem mass spectra, a task generally achieved using database search engines. In this chapter, the basic principles of database search engines are introduced with a focus on open source software, and the use of database search engines is demonstrated using the freely available SearchGUI interface. This chapter also discusses how to tackle general issues related to sequence database searching and shows how to minimize their impact.