This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Objectives Supraglottic stenosis is a rare type of laryngeal stenosis that is caused by congenital laryngotracheal anomalies, iatrogenic instrumentation injuries, autoimmune disorders, infection, irradiation, chemical or thermal burns, and external blunt or penetrating trauma. The author presents his experience on nine patients using this new endoscopic surgical technique for treatment of supraglottic stenosis. Study design Individual retrospective cohort study, tertiary referral center, university hospital. Methods All cases of supraglottic laryngeal stenosis treated during a 10-year period at a tertiary academic medical center were reviewed. Nine patients with supraglottic stenosis treated with endoscopic uni- or bilateral z-plasty technique were determined and presented. The etiology of stenosis was iatrogenic surgical trauma in seven patients, laryngeal fracture in one patient, and systemic lupus erythematosus in the other patient. Main outcome measures were respiratory function test results, absence of dyspnea on exertion, and decannulation if tracheotomy was present preoperatively. Results Seven patients with tracheotomy were decannulated 1 month after surgery. All nine patients had adequate airway and were dyspnea-free. Their preop respiratory function test results improved significantly postoperatively (P less then .05). Conclusion For supraglottic stenosis endoscopic surgery using mucosal flaps in the form of z-plasty should be considered within the available surgical techniques. Although this type of surgery is highly successful, it is technically difficult to apply. Level of evidence 4 Laryngoscope, 2020.Background Since the outbreak of 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) pneumonia, many patients with underlying disease, such as interstitial lung disease (ILD), were admitted to Tongji hospital in Wuhan, China. To date, no data have ever been reported to reflect the clinical features of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) among these patients with pre-existing ILD. Methods We analyzed the incidence and severity of COVID-19 patients with ILD among 3201 COVID-19 inpatients, and compared two independent cohorts of COVID-19 patients with pre-existing ILD (n=28) and non-ILD COVID-19 patients (n=130). read more Results Among those 3201 COVID-19 inpatients, 28 of whom were COVID-19 with ILD (0.88%). Fever was the predominant symptom both in COVID-19 with ILD (81.54%) and non-ILD COVID-19 patients (72.22%). However, COVID-19 patients with ILD were more likely to have cough, sputum, fatigue, dyspnea, and diarrhea. Very significantly higher number of neutrophils, monocytes, IL-8, IL-10, IL-1β and D-Dimer was characterized in COVID-19 with ILD as compared to those of non-ILD COVID-19 patients. Furthermore, logistic regression models showed neutrophils counts, pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL6, IL1β, IL2R), and coagulation dysfunction biomarkers (D-Dimer, PT, Fbg) were significantly associated with the poor clinical outcomes of COVID-19. Conclusion ILD patients could be less vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2. However, ILD patients tend to severity condition after being infected with SARS-CoV-2. The prognosis of COVID-19 patients with per-existing ILD is significantly worse than that of non-ILD patients. And more, aggravated inflammatory responses and coagulation dysfunction appear to be the critical mechanisms in the COVID-19 patients with ILD. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Background There is a sparsity of data describing the periodontal microbiome in elderly individuals. We analyzed the association of subgingival bacterial profiles and clinical periodontal status in a cohort of participants in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project (WHICAP). Methods Dentate individuals underwent a full-mouth periodontal examination at 6 sites/tooth. Up to four subgingival plaque samples per person, each obtained from the mesio-lingual site of the most posterior tooth in each quadrant, were harvested and pooled. Periodontal status was classified according to the Centers for Disease Control/American Academy of Periodontology (CDC/AAP) criteria as well as based on the percentage of teeth/person with pockets ≥4 mm deep. Bacterial DNA was isolated and was processed and analyzed using Human Oral Microbe Identification using Next Generation Sequencing (HOMINGS). Differential abundance across the periodontal phenotypes was calculated using the R package DESeq2. α- and β-diversity metrics were calculated using DADA2-based clustering. Results The mean age of the 739 participants was 74.5 years, and 32% were male. Several taxa including Sneathia amnii-like sp., Peptoniphilaceae [G-1] bacterium HMT 113, Porphyromonas gingivalis, Fretibacterium fastidiosum, Filifactor alocis and Saccharibacteria (TM7) [G-1] bacterium HMT 346 were more abundant with increasing severity of periodontitis. In contrast, species such as Veillonella parvula, Veillonella dispar, Rothia dentocariosa and Lautropia mirabilis were more abundant in health. Microbial diversity increased in parallel with the severity and extent of periodontitis. Conclusions The observed subgingival bacterial patterns in these elderly individuals corroborated corresponding findings in younger cohorts and were consistent with the concept that periodontitis is associated with perturbations in the resident microbiome. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.Background Resistant starch (RS) has health benefits and can be used as a functional ingredient in various food products. Kansas hard red winter (HRW) wheat is conventionally used for bread making attributed to its strong gluten. To develop Asian white salted noodles with a high RS content, HRW wheat flour was partially replaced with cross-linked phosphorylated RS4 wheat starch. Vital wheat gluten or wheat protein isolate was added to compensate the textural changes due to the addition of RS. Results The maximum levels of RS4 starch to replace HRW wheat flour was 40%. The substitution of 10-40 parts of RS4 for flour did not change hardness in cooked noodles; but it did reduce their extensibility, cohesiveness, and springiness, which was probably due to non-swelling properties of RS4. At 40 parts of RS4 replacement, supplementation of 2-8 parts of vital wheat gluten or wheat protein isolate in the composite flour notably enhanced hardness and extensibility of cooked noodles, whereas cohesiveness and springiness were minimally affected.