The SCIg daily cost in the initial phase was higher for health insurance than hospital-based IVIg was, but the additional costs were compensated during the maintenance phase (from week 28). The professional costs associated with the switch were not fully covered by the insurance and were borne by the pharmacist and the nurse.
 
  SCIg for CIDP patients reinforced by an interprofessional drug therapy management programme may be a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to IVIg in the Swiss system context. From an economic perspective, this therapy alternative should be more widely supported by healthcare systems and proposed to eligible patients by professionals.
 SCIg for CIDP patients reinforced by an interprofessional drug therapy management programme may be a cost-effective and sustainable alternative to IVIg in the Swiss system context. From an economic perspective, this therapy alternative should be more widely supported by healthcare systems and proposed to eligible patients by professionals.[This corrects the article DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0209162.].There has been an increase in the usage of heat-not-burn (HNB) cigarette products. However, their effects on alveolar epithelial cells (AECs) remain unknown. AECs are the target cells of conventional cigarette smoking-related respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and lung cancer whose pathogenesis involves oxidative stress. In this study, primary rat AECs were isolated, cultured and stimulated by HNB cigarette smoke extract (CSE). Our data indicate that rat AECs exposed to HNB CSE induced oxidative stress response genes (e.g. Hmox-1, Gsta1, Gsta3 and Nqo1). We also compared the oxidative stress response between two different types of AECs, alveolar type I-like (ATI-like) cells and type II (ATII) cells, and between two different types of cigarette, HNB cigarettes and conventional cigarettes. The expressions of Gsta1, Gsta3 and Nqo1 were higher in ATII cells than ATI-like cells in response to HNB and conventional cigarettes, but there was no significant difference in their expression levels between HNB cigarette and conventional cigarette. Taken together, our results suggest that HNB cigarettes have the similar potential as conventional cigarette products to induce oxidative stress response in AECs.Hyposalivation is an important problem in elders and could interfere with several oral functions and microbial ecology. While the number of independent elders who retain more natural teeth increases worldwide, few studies examined hyposalivation in this population. Thus, this study aims to examine relationships between hyposalivation, oral health conditions and oral Candida colonization in independent dentate elders and evaluate factors associated with salivary flow and Candida carriage. We conducted a cross-sectional study in fifty-three dentate elders (≥65 years old with at least 4 pairs of posterior occlusal contacts) with no, or well-controlled, systemic conditions. Participants were interviewed for medical history, subjective dry mouth symptoms, oral hygiene practices and denture information. Unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow rates, objective dry mouth signs, gingival, tongue-coating, and root-caries indices were recorded. Stimulated saliva was cultured on Sabouraud-dextrose agar for Candida counts. Candida species were identified using chromogenic Candida agar and polymerase chain reaction. Statistical significance level was set at p less then 0.05. The results showed that hyposalivation was associated with higher gingival and tongue-coating indices (p = 0.003 and 0.015, respectively), but not root-caries index. Hyposalivation was also associated with higher prevalence of oral Candida colonization (p = 0.010; adjusted OR = 4.36, 95% confidence interval = 1.29-14.72). These two indices and Candida load were negatively correlated with unstimulated and stimulated salivary flow rates. Interestingly, non-albicans Candida species were more prevalent in denture wearers (p = 0.017). Hence, hyposalivation is a risk factor for poorer oral health and oral Candida colonization in independent dentate elders. Because of its potential adverse effects on oral and systemic health, hyposalivation should be carefully monitored in elders.Natural elicitors derived from pathogenic microorganisms represent an ecologic strategy to achieve resistance in plants against diseases. Glucosylceramides (GlcCer) are classified as neutral glycosphingolipids. GlcCer were isolated and purified from Fusarium oxysporum mycelium. F.  https://www.selleckchem.com/CDK.html  oxysporum is a plant pathogenic fungus, abundant in soil and causing severe losses in economically important crops such as corn, tobacco, banana, cotton and passion fruit. In this study we evaluate the capacity of GlcCer in inducing resistance in N. tabacum cv Xanthi plants against Tobacco mosaic virus (TMV). Spraying tobacco plants with GlcCer before virus infection reduced the incidence of necrotic lesions caused by TMV. In addition, plants already infected with the virus showed a reduction in hypersensitive response (HR) lesions after GlcCer treatment, suggesting an antiviral effect of GlcCer. Our investigations showed that GlcCer stimulates the early accumulation of H2O2 and superoxide radicals. In addition, the expression of PR-1 (pathogenesis-related 1, with suggested antifungal action), PR-2 (β-1,3-glucanase), PR-3 (Chitinase), PR-5 (Osmotin), PAL (Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase), LOX (Lipoxygenase) and POX (Peroxidase) genes was highly induced after treatment of tobacco plants with GlcCer and induction levels remained high throughout a period of 6 to 120 hours. Our experiments demonstrate that GlcCer induces resistance in tobacco plants against infection by TMV.[This corrects the article DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0236453.].
  The aim of this study is to explore patients' experiences with community-based care programmes (CCPs) and develop dimensions of patient experience salient to community-based care in Singapore. Most countries like Singapore are transforming its healthcare system from a hospital-centric model to a person-centered community-based care model to better manage the increasing chronic disease burden resulting from an ageing population. It is thus critical to understand the impact of hospital to community transitions from the patients' perspective. The exploration of patient experience will guide the development of an instrument for the evaluation of CCPs for quality improvement purposes.
 
  A qualitative exploratory study was conducted where face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted using a purposive sampling method with patients enrolled in CCPs. In total, 64 participants aged between 41 to 94 years were recruited. A deductive framework was developed using the Picker Patient Experience instrument to guide our analysis.