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Background: Boron is an element commonly found in nature. The main boron source for organisms is through food and drinking water. In recent years, it is suggested that the “boron-rich diet” can affect human health positively. However, more detailed studies are needed. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effect of increased dietary boron intake on some biochemical parameters in humans. Material and methods: Thirteen healthy women consumed diets containing 10 mg more boron than their routine diet for one month. This boron intake was provided with the increase of boron-rich foods such as dried fruits, avocado, and nuts in the diet. Some biochemical and hematologic parameters were determined in blood, urine and saliva samples taken before and after a boron-rich diet. Results: Serum, salivary, and urine boron concentrations increased 1.3, 1.7, 6.0 fold, respectively. The most significant clinically change was found in the lipid profile. Serum total, LDL, VLDL cholesterol, and triglyceride levels decreased significantly. Body weight, body fat weight, and Body Mass Index also decreased. Significant changes in serum TSH and salivary buffering capacity were also found. Conclusion: Increasing the intake of boron through dietary means might contribute to beneficial effects on lipid metabolism, obesity, and thyroid metabolism; salivary boron may reflect serum boron; and boron may be used as a cariostatic agent in dentistry. An increased intake of other dietary factors such as fiber, potassium, iron, vitamin A, and vitamin E in the boron-rich foods might have been responsible of the effects described. To our knowledge, this study is the first clinical study in which dietary boron intake is increased via foods. © 2019 Elsevier GmbH SAG-C-YLP-070317-0092 This work was supported by the Marmara University Scientific Research Project Commission [grant number SAG-C-YLP-070317-0092 ].

Background: The oral cavity can be an extra-gastric reservoir for Helicobacter pylori (H.pylori). This can play a role in the pathogenesis of halitosis, glossitis, recurrent aphthous stomatitis, and dental caries. The present study was conducted to detect the presence of H.pylori within the dental biofilm and in saliva samples collected from children suffering from dyspepsia and children without any gastrointestinal complaints. Associations with gastric infection, halitosis, and some oral parameters were also evaluated. Methods: Seventy children (aged between 5-16) with dyspepsia were selected for the study group and control group composed of 30 healthy children without dyspepsia were also included in the study. After detailed oral and clinical examinations for oral parameters, saliva, and supragingival dental biofilm samples were collected for 16S rRNA and 23S rRNA genes detection by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The presence of gastric H.pylori was evaluated in endoscopic biopsy specimens histopathologically. Halitosis was evaluated by benzoyl-DL-arginine-naphthylamid (BANA) test. Salivary S.mutans and Lactobacilli sp. counts were also carried out by commercial kits. Results: H.pylori was histopathologically detected amongst 83% of the children with the dyspeptic condition. The detection rate of this bacteria in dental biofilm and saliva samples and halitosis were found relatively higher in the dyspeptic children rather than the control group (p0.05). In the gastric H.pylori positive group with dyspepsia, DMFT/S and dmft/s numbers and plaque indices were found higher than the control group (p0.05). Comparing to those with negative for both genes, in children whose dental biofilm and saliva samples were positive for both 16S rRNA and 23S rRNA genes, significantly higher results for halitosis, and DMFS numbers and significantly lower results for dmfs numbers and pH values were found (p

Based on the observation that sports teams rely on colored jerseys to define group membership, we examined how grouping by similarity affected observers’ abilities to track a “ball” target passed between 20 colored circle “players” divided into two color “teams” of 10 players or five color teams of four players each. Observers were more accurate and exerted less effort (indexed by pupil diameter) when their task was to count the number of times any player gained possession of the ball versus when they had to count only the possessions by a given color team, especially when counting the possessions of one team when players were grouped into fewer teams of more individual members each. Overall, results confirm previous reports of costs for segregating a larger set into smaller sub-sets and suggest that grouping by similarity facilitates processing at the set level.