Analysis of the stomatognathic system functions and mastication muscles in children affected by molar hypomineralization (MH): a cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: To analyze the functions of the stomatognathic system in children with or without molar-incisor hypomineralization (MIH). METHODS: For this cross-sectional study, 72 children aged 6-12 years were recruited and divided in two groups: with MIH (G1) and without MIH (G2). T-SCAN was used to verify the distribution of occlusal contacts, gnathodynamometer to measure maximum molar bite force, and Iowa Oral Pressure Instrument (IOPI) to assess the strength of facial expression muscles. The t test and paired t test (p ≤ 0.05) were used for statistical comparisons. RESULTS: The molars affected by MIH exhibited lower distribution of occlusal forces (p < 0.001) and lower maximum molar bite force (p < 0.05) compared to the molars in the control group. However, there was no difference between the MIH-affected sides compared to the unaffected side, nor between the molars affected by MIH and their antagonists (p > 0.05). There were no differences in the forces of the facial expression muscles between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that MIH significantly impacts occlusal force distribution and bite force, but not facial expression musculature.

Nutritional and technological potential of chicken feathers for the food industry.

1. The production of chicken meat has resulted in high volumes of byproducts, such as feathers, bones, skin, viscera, and feet. The structure of feathers is one of the most complex among vertebrates, with a central axis and lateral filamentary structures, providing rigidity, lightness, and flexibility. Chicken feathers are composed of proteins, lipids, and water, with the highest protein content, especially keratin, which is responsible for the material's rigidity.2. Industries still make little use of feathers, which are generally intended for the production of flour or organic fertilisers. These are low added value products, and discarded feathers can harm the environment.3. Keratin extraction techniques and resulting protein hydrolysates have been studied in chicken feathers. Acid, alkaline or enzymatic hydrolysis is the most commonly used method for obtaining molecules with functional properties such as antioxidant, antimicrobial, antihypertensive and antidiabetic activity.4. The development of keratin-based biodegradable films represents an area of interest for reducing the economic and environmental impacts caused by inappropriate disposal of feathers.

Reference values for the 1-minute sit-to-stand and 5 times sit-to-stand tests to assess functional capacity: a cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: To establish age-specific and sex-specific reference values and equations for the 1-minute sit-to-stand (1MSTS) and 5 times sit-to-stand (5TSTS) tests for Portuguese adults. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. Descriptive statistics were explored to compute reference values and reference equations were established with a forward stepwise multiple regression. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: 546 adult volunteers without disabilities [age range 18 to 95 years; 58% female] were recruited. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Data on age, sex, height, weight, body mass index (BMI), smoking status and physical activity were collected using a structured questionnaire developed specifically for this study. PROCEDURE: Participants performed three repetitions of the 1MSTS and 5TSTS and the best repetition was used for analysis. RESULTS: Normative values were provided by sex for each age decade. Reference equations were: 1MSTS= 61.53 - (0.34 x age) - (3.57 x sex) - (0.33 x BMI), r2 = 26%; and 5TSTS= 3.89 + (0.10 x age) - (0.96 x physical activity), r2 = 27%. CONCLUSIONS: The proposed reference values and equations will help to interpret the results of functional capacity obtained from healthy or diseased adult populations. CONTRIBUTION OF THE PAPER.

Experimental and Theoretical Study on Electron Ionization and Fragmentation of Propylene Oxide─the First Chiral Molecule Detected in the Interstellar Medium.

Propylene oxide, CH3CHOCH2, is the first chiral molecule detected in space and the third C3 oxide detected toward the Sagittarius B2 (Sgr B2 (N)) molecular cloud, the others being propanal, CH3CH2CHO, and acetone, (CH3)2CO. With homochirality being ubiquitous in the building blocks of living matter, the formation and decay paths of propylene oxide in space are of specific interest. Motivated by the significant role of photo- and secondary electrons in astrochemistry, we have studied electron ionization and fragmentation of propylene oxide. Ion appearance energies are determined and compared to threshold values for the respective processes calculated at the G4MP2 level of theory, and potential reaction pathways are computed at the DFT level of theory. Electron ionization is found to destabilize propylene oxide, leading to barrierless opening of the C1-C2 bond of the epoxy ring, hydrogen transfer, and fragmentation over the methyl vinyl ether or rupture of the C2-O bond of the epoxy ring and fragmentation of the allyl alcohol cation as an intermediate, rather than direct bond ruptures.

Post-harvest quality of melon accessions subjected to salinity.

The objective was to evaluate the behavior of melon genotypes (Cucumis melo L.) in the physical, chemical and biochemical quality of melon fruits as a function of electrical conductivity irrigation water levels (ECw). The experimental design adopted was randomized blocks in a 5 x 3 factorial scheme with five replications. The first factor was represented by five salinity levels (0.5, 1.5, 3.0, 4.5, and 6.0 dS m-1) and the second factor by accessions A35, and A24, and the hybrid Sancho. The physical, chemical and biochemical variables showed a reduction in production, with smaller fruits, with less weight, smaller cavity, with increased pulp thickness for Sancho. Vitamin C and yellow flavonoids increased indicating antioxidant power against ROS. The genotypes showed similar post-harvest behavior, however, the hybrid Sancho stood out over the others, possibly because it is an improved material. Accession A24 presented physiological and biochemical responses that classify it as intolerant.

Spatial analysis of the risk for canine visceral leishmaniasis in an urban area in the State of Sergipe.

Visceral Leishmaniasis is included among the neglected tropical diseases, being directly related to conditions of social vulnerability, in urban environments, dogs act as important reservoirs. The aim of the study was to evaluate the distribution of dogs, related risk factors and identify of volatile organic compounds from infected dogs. Peripheral blood samples from 72 dogs were collected for detection using the ELISA test, in addition to hair samples for analysis by GC-MS. Of the evaluated dogs, 13 (18.05%/72) were reactive for canine VL, seven in Aracaju and six in Propriá. Factors related to vegetation, age, place where the dog stays and free access to the street, were associated with a greater chance of the dog becoming infected. Fifty-three compounds were identified from ten canine hair samples, among which 2-butoxyethanol, benzaldehyde, decane, 2-phenylacetaldehyde, nonan-1-ol, 2-phenoxyethanol, nonanoic acid, 8-heptadecene and eicosane were found in seropositive dogs for leishmaniasis. The guardian's posture has been increasingly important, requiring more attention to the dog's health and actions aimed at environmental management in an attempt to reduce cases of canine VL in the state. Even though the identified VOCs have not been associated with leishmanial infection, it is of great use for understanding canine hair substances.

Effect of cationic surfactant on the physicochemical and antibacterial properties of colloidal systems (emulsions and microemulsions).

Colloidal systems have been used to encapsulate, protect and release essential oils in mouthwashes. In this study, we investigated the effect of cetylpyridinium chloride (CPC) on the physicochemical properties and antimicrobial activity of oil-in-water colloidal systems containing tea tree oil (TTO) and the nonionic surfactant polysorbate 80. Our main aim was to evaluate whether CPC could improve the antimicrobial activity of TTO, since this activity is impaired when this essential oil is encapsulated with polysorbate 80. These systems were prepared with different amounts of TTO (0-0.5% w/w) and CPC (0-0.5% w/w), at a final concentration of 2% (w/w) polysorbate 80. Dynamic light scattering (DLS) results revealed the formation of oil-swollen micelles and oil droplets as a function of TTO concentration. Increases in CPC concentrations led to a reduction of around 88% in the mean diameter of oil-swollen micelles. Although this variation was of only 20% for the oil droplets, the samples appearance changed from turbid to transparent. The surface charge of colloidal structures was also markedly affected by the CPC as demonstrated by the transition in zeta potential from slightly negative to highly positive values. Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) studies showed that this transition is followed by significant increases in the fluidity of surfactant monolayer of both colloidal structures. The antimicrobial activity of colloidal systems was tested against a Gram-negative (Escherichia coli) and Gram-positive (Staphylococcus aureaus) bacteria. Our results revealed that the inhibition of bacterial growth is observed for the same CPC concentration (0.05% w/w for E. coli and 0.3% w/w for S. aureus) regardless of TTO content. These findings suggest that TTO may not act as an active ingredient in polysorbate 80 containing mouthwashes.

Flexed elbow, abducted shoulder, forearm supinated (FABS) reconstruction from three-dimensional elbow MRI: diagnostic performance assessment in biceps head anatomy and pathology.

AIM: To determine inter-reader analysis and diagnostic performance on digitally reconstructed virtual flexed, abducted, supinated (FABS) imaging from three-dimensional (3D) isotropic elbow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Six musculoskeletal radiologists independently evaluated elbow MRI images with virtual FABS reconstructions, blinded to clinical findings and final diagnoses. Each radiologist recorded a binary result as to whether the tendon was intact and if both heads were visible, along with a categorical value to the type of tear and extent of retraction in centimetres where applicable. Kappa and interclass correlation (ICC) were reported with 95% confidence intervals. Areas under the receiver operating curve (AUC) were reported. RESULTS: FABS reconstructions were obtained successfully in all 48 cases. With respect to tendon intactness, visibility of both heads, and type of tear, the Kappa values were 0.66 (0.53-0.78), 0.24 (0.12-0.37), and 0.55 (0.43-0.66), respectively. For the extent of retraction, the ICC was 0.85 (0.79-0.91) when including the tendons with and without retraction and 0.78 (0.61-0.91) when only including tendons with retraction. For tear versus no tear, AUC values were 0.82 (0.74-0.89) to 0.96 (0.91-1.01). CONCLUSION: Digital reconstruction of FABS positioning is feasible and allows good assessment of individual tendon head tears and retraction with high diagnostic performance.

Evaluating total nitrogen and phosphorous concentrations in a watershed impacted by diverse anthropic activities in a developing country.

This research aims to identify critical contamination points by nutrients, their possible origin (point and nonpoint sources), their spatial distribution, and possible attenuation by natural and anthropogenic processes. The study area is the Velhas River Basin, located in the Southeast Region of Brazil (17.0°-20.5° S; 43.5°-45.0°W). A historical series of water quality monitoring, land cover map, demographic and agricultural censuses, sewage treatment diagnostics, and local hydrographic networks were used to achieve the objectives. In addition, the regions were divided into incremental areas, enabling individualized analyses of each sub-basin. Descriptive statistics, seasonality, categorized data tests, agglomerative hierarchical cluster analysis, and principal component analysis were used. There was a significant contribution of nutrients in the most important urban agglomeration of the basin, resulting in peak concentrations measured at that place. Although the values were reduced by the mouth (650 km), the percentage of legislation violations remained high. The effects of punctual contamination were intensified by the low percentage of treated sewage in the basin, the absence of adequate treatment technologies to remove nutrients, and the disorderly urbanization. Furthermore, it was estimated that the nutrient load from animal husbandry is approximately 75% of the load from domestic effluents due to the high number of cattle in the basin and the low percentage of forests.

Interactions between pea protein and gellan gum for the development of plant-based structures.

Plant-based analogs have been developed to mimic foods from animal sources by using ingredients from vegetable sources. Among the strategies to produce plant-based structures is the gelation of mixtures between plant proteins and polysaccharides. In this study, our aim was to investigate gels of pea proteins and gellan gum with high protein concentration and the addition of salt (potassium and sodium chloride). In the first step, a qualitative mapping was performed to select pea protein and gellan gum concentrations to produce self-sustainable gels. After that, the effect of salt addition was investigated for the formulations containing 10-15 % (wt) pea protein and 0.5-1 % (wt) gellan gum. The results showed that the gels containing potassium ions were more rigid and less deformable, with lesser water loss by syneresis. The morphological analysis showed a spatial exclusion of pea protein from the gel network mainly structured by the gellan gum. While potassium ions led to a more compact network, calcium ions promoted higher pores in the structure. Depending on the composition, the mechanical properties of gels were similar to some products from animal sources. So, the information obtained from these gels can be applied to the structuring of formulations in the development of plant-based analogs.

Gas exchange and osmotic adjustment in cotton cultivars subjected to severe salt stress.

Salinity is harmful to crops when the concentration of soluble salts overcomes the salinity threshold of the crop, causing osmotic stress and limitations in plant growth. In this scenario, adopting tolerant cultivars is the most adequate strategy to minimize agricultural losses. However, the inheritance of tolerance depends on the genotype. From this perspective, this study assessed the tolerance to severe salt stress in 11 cotton cultivars based on gas exchange parameters and the free proline content. The cultivars were grown in a greenhouse and subjected to 34 days of saline irrigation (10 dS m-1), starting 45 days after seedling emergence (B1 phase). Plant growth was monitored weekly until the end of the salt stress period. The treatments consisted of a combination of two factors: eleven cultivars associated with two electrical conductivity levels of irrigation water (ECw: 0.3 and 10.0 dS m-1). The experimental design was in randomized blocks in a 11 × 2 factorial arrangement with three replications (66 plots), with the experimental unit consisting of one plant per plot. Salinity impacted plant growth, being reflected on the gas exchange and free proline data of most cultivars. However, BRS 286, FMT 705, BRS 416, and BRS Acácia, and CNPA 7MH withstood the effects of stress and osmotically adjusted to the salt stress conditions, thus minimizing the damage to growth. Those cultivars are the most indicated for improvement programs aiming at tolerance to salt stress based on the results found in this research.

A Case Report on Pseudo-Internuclear Ophthalmoplegia: A Rare Manifestation of Myasthenia Gravis.

A 41-year-old male with recently diagnosed diabetes mellitus type 2 presented with drooping of the left eyelid with double vision and was found to have an adduction deficit in the left eye and nystagmus in the abducting right eye during conjugated gaze: a left-sided internuclear ophthalmoplegia (INO). A medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) lesion was excluded exhaustively with brain imaging. The possibility of a pseudo-INO was considered. The autoantibody profile demonstrated positivity to acetylcholine receptor (AChR) antibody. Repetitive nerve stimulation (RNS) and electromyography (EMG) were unremarkable. An acetylcholinesterase inhibitor trial showed a significant improvement in the ocular symptoms. Hence, the diagnosis of ocular myasthenia was confirmed. There was no evidence of a thymic hyperplasia. Herein, we discuss pseudo-INO being an atypical presentation of myasthenia gravis (MG), emphasizing the importance of having a strong suspicion despite unremarkable test results.

A deep learning system for detection of early Barrett's neoplasia: a model development and validation study.

BACKGROUND: Computer-aided detection (CADe) systems could assist endoscopists in detecting early neoplasia in Barrett's oesophagus, which could be difficult to detect in endoscopic images. The aim of this study was to develop, test, and benchmark a CADe system for early neoplasia in Barrett's oesophagus. METHODS: The CADe system was first pretrained with ImageNet followed by domain-specific pretraining with GastroNet. We trained the CADe system on a dataset of 14 046 images (2506 patients) of confirmed Barrett's oesophagus neoplasia and non-dysplastic Barrett's oesophagus from 15 centres. Neoplasia was delineated by 14 Barrett's oesophagus experts for all datasets. We tested the performance of the CADe system on two independent test sets. The all-comers test set comprised 327 (73 patients) non-dysplastic Barrett's oesophagus images, 82 (46 patients) neoplastic images, 180 (66 of the same patients) non-dysplastic Barrett's oesophagus videos, and 71 (45 of the same patients) neoplastic videos. The benchmarking test set comprised 100 (50 patients) neoplastic images, 300 (125 patients) non-dysplastic images, 47 (47 of the same patients) neoplastic videos, and 141 (82 of the same patients) non-dysplastic videos, and was enriched with subtle neoplasia cases. The benchmarking test set was evaluated by 112 endoscopists from six countries (first without CADe and, after 6 weeks, with CADe) and by 28 external international Barrett's oesophagus experts. The primary outcome was the sensitivity of Barrett's neoplasia detection by general endoscopists without CADe assistance versus with CADe assistance on the benchmarking test set. We compared sensitivity using a mixed-effects logistic regression model with conditional odds ratios (ORs; likelihood profile 95% CIs). FINDINGS: Sensitivity for neoplasia detection among endoscopists increased from 74% to 88% with CADe assistance (OR 2·04; 95% CI 1·73-2·42; p<0·0001 for images and from 67% to 79% [2·35; 1·90-2·94; p<0·0001] for video) without compromising specificity (from 89% to 90% [1·07; 0·96-1·19; p=0·20] for images and from 96% to 94% [0·94; 0·79-1·11; ] for video; p=0·46). In the all-comers test set, CADe detected neoplastic lesions in 95% (88-98) of images and 97% (90-99) of videos. In the benchmarking test set, the CADe system was superior to endoscopists in detecting neoplasia (90% vs 74% [OR 3·75; 95% CI 1·93-8·05; p=0·0002] for images and 91% vs 67% [11·68; 3·85-47·53; p<0·0001] for video) and non-inferior to Barrett's oesophagus experts (90% vs 87% [OR 1·74; 95% CI 0·83-3·65] for images and 91% vs 86% [2·94; 0·99-11·40] for video). INTERPRETATION: CADe outperformed endoscopists in detecting Barrett's oesophagus neoplasia and, when used as an assistive tool, it improved their detection rate. CADe detected virtually all neoplasia in a test set of consecutive cases. FUNDING: Olympus.

The applicability of the "surprise question" as a prognostic tool in patients with severe chronic comorbidities in a university teaching outpatient setting.

BACKGROUND: Life expectancy in recent decades has increased the prevalence of chronic diseases in the population, requiring an approach to new health topics, such as discussions on quality of life and expectations about death and dying. The concept of advance directives (ADs) gives individuals the opportunity to make known their decisions about the treatments they would like to receive at the end of life. Despite the recognition of relevance in clinical practice, the applicability of the concept presents challenges, including establishing the appropriate prognosis for each patient and the ideal time to approach the patient. Some prognostic tools were developed, such as the surprise question (SQ): "Would you be surprised if your patient died in 12 months?", which is used in some clinical settings to predict patient deaths and to make decisions regarding ADs. The main objective of the present study was to evaluate the behavior of second-year resident physicians (PGY-2) when the SQ was applied. METHOD: In our observational study, from July 1, 2016, to February 28, 2017, (PGY-2) in the Internal Medicine Residency Program (IMRP) applied SQ to all patients with multiple and varied chronic no communicable comorbidities, who were followed up at the general medicine outpatient clinic (GMOC) of a tertiary university hospital in São Paulo- Brazil. The frequency of the outcome (death or non-death within 12 months) was analyzed by correlating it with the clinical data (impact of the studied variables). RESULTS: Eight hundred forty patients entered the study. Fitfty-two of them (6.2%) died within one year. PGY-2 predicted that two hundred and fourteen patients (25.5% of total) would die within a year (answer No to SQ), of which, 32 (14.9%) did so. The correct residents' prognosis for the subgroup of 626 patients (answer "Yes" to SQ) was NPV = 96.8% (CI = 95.4%-98.2%) and PPV = 14.9% (CI 10.1%-19, 6%). Answering "Yes" to SQ correlated negatively to addressing AD while the outcomes death and the answer No to SQ were positively correlated, according to the number of comorbidities. CONCLUSION: The SQ, in addition to care, contributed to health education, communication and care planning shared by the doctor and patient.

Calcium pyruvate in the attenuation of the water deficit on the agro-industrial quality of ratoon sugarcane.

Sugarcane is one of the largest agricultural commodities when considering the export volume and the number of jobs generated. Sugarcane production in the Brazilian Northeast region is generally low due to several factors, including the irregular rainfall distribution, which highlights the importance of studies aimed at mitigating the deleterious effects of water stress. In this scenario, this study aimed to evaluate calcium pyruvate as a water deficit attenuator on the agro-industrial quality of sugarcane in the second cycle of cultivation. The experiment was conducted out under greenhouse conditions of the Federal University of Campina Grande, where five sugarcane commercial genotypes tested (G1- RB863129, G2- RB92579, G3- RB962962, G4- RB021754, and G5- RB041443) and three irrigation management strategies (E1- full irrigation, E2- water deficit with application of 30 mM of calcium pyruvate, and E3- water deficit without calcium pyruvate application), distributed in randomized blocks in 5 × 3 factorial arrangement with three replications. The RB021754 genotype under water deficit and without foliar application of calcium pyruvate increased the fiber content (13.2%) and the sugarcane moist cake weight (143.5 g). The effects of water deficit in sugarcane genotypes are attenuated by the exogenous application of 30 mM of calcium pyruvate, with benefits on the polarized sucrose content, apparent sucrose content of the juice, soluble solids content, purity, corrected cane POL, total recoverable sugars, and stem mass in relation to plants under water deficit without calcium pyruvate application.

Unlocking the molecular realm: advanced approaches for identifying clinically and environmentally relevant bacteria.

Rapid, effective, and specific identification of clinical and environmental bacterial pathogens is of major importance for their control. Traditionally, bacteria have been identified by phenotypic methods based on morphological, biochemical, and metabolic properties. While these methods are very useful in clinical practice, they have limitations including a poor ability to differentiate within and between species and time-consuming workflows. Newly developed molecular methods can greatly improve the accuracy of taxonomic characterization, identifying specific strains of medical or environmental importance. However, due to high costs and the need for trained professionals, these methods are not yet routine in diagnostic laboratories. Thus, disseminating knowledge on advances in molecular identification techniques is pivotal to make these methodologies accessible. The objective of this work was to review and discuss current molecular techniques for bacteria identification aiming to track and monitor microbial agents in clinical and environmental samples.

A Case Report of Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy With Dengue.

A 74-year-old woman with well-controlled hypertension and dyslipidemia with acute fever was diagnosed with dengue infection. She had non-anginal central chest pain which was associated with ST elevation and T inversions in V1 to V6 with prolonged QT interval. Her high-sensitivity troponin was elevated. There was echocardiographic evidence of severe left ventricular dysfunction (ejection fraction 35%; Simpson method) with apical ballooning suggestive of takotsubo cardiomyopathy. No left ventricular basal hyperkinesia was noted. The patient was managed as per the national dengue guidelines of Sri Lanka. Her cardiac condition was managed conservatively. She did not experience dengue complications such as dengue shock syndrome or dengue hemorrhagic fever or pulmonary edema secondary to severe LV dysfunction. The clinical symptoms and echocardiographic findings of takotsubo cardiomyopathy resolved parallel to dengue fever.

Brain glucose hypometabolism and hippocampal inflammation in Goto-Kakizaki rats.

Brain glucose hypometabolism and neuroinflammation are early pathogenic manifestations in neurological disorders. Neuroinflammation may also disrupt leptin signaling, an adipokine that centrally regulates appetite and energy balance by acting on the hypothalamus and exerting neuroprotection in the hippocampus. The Goto-Kakizaki (GK) rat is a non-obese type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) animal model used to investigate diabetes-associated molecular mechanisms without obesity jeopardizing effects. Wistar and GK rats received the maintenance adult rodent diet. Also, an additional control group of Wistar rats received a high-fat and high-sugar diet (HFHS) provided by free consumption of condensed milk. All diets and water were provided ad libitum for eight weeks. Brain glucose uptake was evaluated by 2-deoxy-2-[fluorine-18] fluoro-D-glucose under basal (saline administration) or stimulated (CL316,243, a selective ß3-AR agonist) conditions. The animals were fasted for 10-12 h, anesthetized, and euthanized. The brain was quickly dissected, and the hippocampal area was sectioned and stored at -80°C in different tubes for protein and RNA analyses on the same animal. GK rats exhibited attenuated brain glucose uptake compared to Wistar animals and the HFHS group under basal conditions. Also, the hippocampus of GK rats displayed upregulated leptin receptor, IL-1ß, and IL-6 gene expression and IL-1ß and the subunit of the transcription factor NF-κB (p-p65) protein expression. No significant alterations were detected in the hippocampus of HFHS rats. Our data indicated that a genetic predisposition to T2DM has significant brain deteriorating features, including brain glucose hypometabolism, neuroinflammation, and leptin signaling disruption in the hippocampal area.