Objective: To examine acid production of caries-associated strains of oral microorganisms and salivary microorganisms from sugar and sugar substitutes. Methods:Standard and clinical strains of Streptococcus mutans (S. mutans), Lactobacillus casei (L. casei) and Candida albicans were incubated in peptone-yeast-extract media containing 1% test sugar (sucrose, glucose, fructose) or sugar substitutes (xylitol, sorbitol, trehalulose and palatinose) at 37 ℃in 5% CO2 for 24-48 h. The pH of each culture was measured and microbial growth was determined as optical density at 660 nm. Paraffin-stimulated saliva collected from high caries-risk persons were added to media containing 10%test sugar or sugar substitutes. The pH of medium was measured at each time interval from 0-90 minutes. Results:All types of sugar and trehalulose could be fermented by all test microorganisms in pH lower than 5.5 except sucrose by standard strain of L. casei. All sugar and sugar substitutes supported growth of all organisms except xylitol for S. mutans. In the fermentation assay by salivary microorganisms, all sugar could be utilized and produced pH< 5.5 within 10 minutes of incubation and the pH drop was prolonged to until 90 minutes. Conversely, xylitol and palatinose were not fermented by microorganisms in saliva. Conclusions:All test microorganisms could ferment sucrose, glucose, fructose and trehalulose to pH lower than 5.5. Sugar alcohols and palatinose were not utilized well by organisms and may be used as sugar substitutes to reduce dental caries incidence. However, further studies particularly clinical investigations are required to evaluate the cariogenicity of these sugar substitutes.

Background: The identification of idiopathic inflammatory myopathies (IIMs) requires a comprehensive analysis involving clinical manifestations and histological findings. This study aims to provide insights into the histopathological and immunohistochemical aspects of IIMs. Methods: This retrospective case series involved 56 patients diagnosed with IIMs at the Department of Pathology, University of Medicine and Pharmacy at Ho Chi Minh City, from 2019 to 2023. The histology and immunohistochemical expression of HLA-ABC, HLA-DR, C5b-9, Mx1/2/3, and p62 were detected. Results: We examined six categories of inflammatory myopathy, including immunemediated necrotizing myopathy (58.9%), dermatomyositis (DM; 23.2%), overlap myositis (8.9%), antisynthetase syndrome (5.4%), inclusion body myositis (IBM; 1.8%), and polymyositis (1.8%). The average age of the patients was 49.7 ± 16.1 years, with a female-to-male ratio of 3:1. Inflammatory cell infiltration in the endomysium was present in 62.5% of cases, perifascicular atrophy was found in 17.8%, and fiber necrosis was observed in 42 cases (75.0%). Rimmed vacuoles were present in 100% of cases in the IBM group. Immunohistochemistry showed the following positivity rates: HLA-ABC (89.2%), HLA-DR (19.6%), C5b-9 (57.1%), and Mx1/2/3 (10.7%). Mx1/2/3 expression was high in DM cases. p62 vacuole deposits were noted in the IBM case. The combination of membrane attack complex and major histocompatibility complex I helped detect IIMs in 96% of cases. Conclusions The diagnosis of IIMs and their subtypes should be based on clinical features and histopathological characteristics. Immunohistochemistry plays a crucial role in the diagnosis and differentiation of these subgroups.