Biomaterials for bone regeneration: an orthopedic and dentistry overview

Because bone-associated diseases are increasing, a variety of tissue engineering approaches with bone regeneration purposes have been proposed over the last years. Bone tissue provides a number of important physiological and structural functions in the human body, being essential for hematopoietic maintenance and for providing support and protection of vital organs. Therefore, efforts to develop the ideal scaffold which is able to guide the bone regeneration processes is a relevant target for tissue engineering researchers. Several techniques have been used for scaffolding approaches, such as diverse types of biomaterials. On the other hand, metallic biomaterials are widely used as support devices in dentistry and orthopedics, constituting an important complement for the scaffolds. Hence, the aim of this review is to provide an overview of the degradable biomaterials and metal biomaterials proposed for bone regeneration in the orthopedic and dentistry fields in the last years.

Uso de redes neurais artificais na predição de valores genéticos para peso aos 205 dias em bovinos da raça Tabapuã / Use of artificial neural networks in breeding values prediction for weight at 205 days in Tabapuã beef cattle

Dados de 19240 animais Tabapuã, provenientes de 152 fazendas localizadas em diversos estados brasileiros, nascidos entre 1976 e 1995, foram utilizados para predição do valor genético do peso aos 205 dias de idade (VG_P205) por meio de redes neurais artificiais (RNAs) e usando o algoritmo LM - Levenberg Marquardt - para treinamento dos dados de entrada. Por se tratar de rede com aprendizado supervisionado, foram utilizados, como saída desejada, os valores genéticos preditos pelo BLUP para a característica P205. Os valores genéticos do P205 obtidos pela RNA e os preditos pelo BLUP foram altamente correlacionados. A ordenação dos valores genéticos do P205 oriundos das RNAs e os valores preditos pelo BLUP (VG_P205_RNA) sugeriram que houve variação na classificação dos animais, indicando riscos no uso de RNAs para avaliação genética dessa característica. Inserções de novos animais necessitam de novo treinamento dos dados, sempre dependentes do BLUP.

Data from 19,240 Tabapuã animals from 152 farms located in different states of Brazil, born from 1976 to 1995, were used to predict the genetic value of body weight at 205 days of age (BV_P205) of Tabapuã beef cattle using Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) and LM algorithm - Levenberg Marquardt training for data entry. Due to the use of networks with supervised learning, the predicted breeding values for P205 from BLUP were used as desired output. The breeding values for P205 obtained from RNA and those predicted by BLUP were highly correlated. The ranked breeding values for body weight at 205 days through RNA and those predicted by BLUP (VG_P205_RNA) showed a variation in the classification of animals indicating risks in the use of ANNs procedure for genetic evaluation of this trait. Insertions of new animals require new training data always dependent on BLUP.

Lipodistrofia generalizada congênita: correlação com leptina e outros aspectos bioquímicos / Generalized congenital lipodystrophy: correlation with leptin and other biochemical parameters

PURPOSE: To correlate serum leptin and insulin levels, and the glucosic profile of 21 patients shared in diabetics and non diabetics with Congenital Generalized Lipodystrophy (CGL). METHODS: In a prospective study, were dosed serum leptin level with radioimmunoassay technique, fasting plasma glucose through of the glucoseoxidase-peroxidase reaction, the hemoglobin glycate using the technique microchromatography for ionic exchange resin and insulin through immunoassay system. The fructosamine concentration serum was determinated for reduction nitroblue tetrazolium method. The Student's test was used to compare results between the groups and the correlation [quot ]r[quot ] coefficient to analise the relation among the several variants studied, with significant level of 5% (p < 0.05). All the statistical procedures were performed using the Excel by Microsoft and the Statistic program for Windows by StatSoft, Inc. version 5.1 edition 97. RESULTS: Leptin decreased on the most patients, showing no statistically significant difference between the groups. Also there wasn't difference statistically significant (p = 0.9542) of the insulin's value between diabetics and non diabetics. CONCLUSION: The hyperinsulinism and the hypoleptinemia occurred independently of diabetes in the CGL's patients and this can be due to the natural history of disease, in which the raise insulin levels precede the initial diabetes mellitus and the low leptin levels were related to the lipoatrophy.

Increased fetal hemoglobin levels in patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV1/2)

Fetal hemoglobin was measured in HIV1/2 patients under treatment with combined therapy (zidovudine and a protease inhibitor). A total of 143 patients and 103 normal individuals were investigated by the quantitative method of Betke and the semi-quantitative acid elution method of Kleihauer. In the normal person, hemoglobin F makes up less than 1 percent and an increase higher than 1.5 percent was observed in 21.4 percent of HIV patients by the method of Betke and in 24.8 percent of HIV-infected patients by the method of Kleihauer. The quantitative biochemical method of Betke showed that the populations were significantly different (two-tailed Mann-Whitney test). The reason for this hemoglobin F increase might be ascribed to the effect of zidovudine or to direct viral action on gamma chain expression. The finding of a higher F cell frequency indicated by the method of Kleihauer rather suggests that there is an increased F cell clone proliferation rather than an increase in hemoglobin F level in every cell

Psiquiatria e historia: as condicoes brasileiras. / Psychiatry and history: the Brazilian conditions

O autor comenta a continuidade, atraves da Historia, de uma pratica psiquiatrica no Brasil, sem compromisso com a literatura e com a dignidade humana, ou seja, com a legitima condicao de saude mental