Oral Health, Dental Care and Nutritional Habits of Children with Cerebral Palsy during Conductive Education.

OBJECTIVE: Regarding the 2011 census in Hungary, the number of children with movement deficiences can be around 7,000. These children with special health care needs are considered to be a vulnerable group even from a dental point of view. In our dental program, we gain comprehensive information about patients' oral health, health behavior, and monitor dental care. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 199 children went through a full pediatric dental examination, children with cerebral palsy were categorized into five different levels (GMFCS) and children without motor disfunction into two groups. We analyzed the df-t and DMF-T values. Oral hygiene routine, dental care, gingivitis, demographic characteristics, nutritional habits odds ratio to df-t and DMF-T were surveyed. RESULTS: The mean df-t and DMF-T was 1.87 and 1.15 out of a total of 199, and the group that scored worse was the GMFCS II. The mean RI (restorative index) was 18.12% and 27% for decidous and permanent teeth, respectively. The prevalence of gingivitis was 66.7%. CONCLUSION: The results of our research point to the fact that children with cerebral palsy have difficulties in developing and maintaining proper oral health due to their disadvantages and therefore require special care and attention.

Functional Expression and Characterization of Plant ABC Transporters in Xenopus laevis Oocytes for Transport Engineering Purposes.

Transport engineering in bioengineering is aimed at efficient export of the final product to reduce toxicity and feedback inhibition and to increase yield. The ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters with their highly diverse substrate specificity and role in cellular efflux are potentially suitable in transport engineering approaches, although their size and high number of introns make them notoriously difficult to clone. Here, we report a novel in planta "exon engineering" strategy for cloning of full-length coding sequence of ABC transporters followed by methods for biochemical characterization of ABC exporters in Xenopus oocytes. Although the Xenopus oocyte expression system is particularly suitable for expression of membrane proteins and powerful in screening for novel transporter activity, only few examples of successful expression of ABC transporter has been reported. This raises the question whether the oocytes system is suitable to express and characterize ABC transporters. Thus we have selected AtABCG25, previously characterized in insect cells as the exporter of commercially valuable abscisic acid-as case study for optimizing of characterization in Xenopus oocytes. The tools provided will hopefully contribute to more successful transport engineering in synthetic biology.

Atmospheric flux, transport and mass balance of (210)Pb and (137)Cs radiotracers in different regions of Romania.

This study focuses on the determination of (210)Pb and (137)Cs fluxes from different areas in Transylvania, Romania and on the determination of transport and mass balance within the lacustrine system of Red Lake. In order to achieve this, samples were taken from six different locations (Bihor County area, Ighiel area, Red Lake area, Mluha Peatbog, Mohos Peatbog and Zanoaga Rosie Peat bog in the Semenic Mountains) throughout Romania, these being compared to the values of the Danube Delta area. The activity concentrations of the soil samples were measured by gamma spectrometry (HPGe detector) for both (210)Pbtotal, (210)Pbsup ((226)Ra) and (137)Cs, while peat samples were measured by both alpha ((210)Po) spectrometry (PIPS detectors) as well. The mean value for the (210)Pb flux was measured in the Danube Delta region (42±8Bqm(-2) yr(-1)), while the highest was measured in the Semenic Peatbog (227±54Bqm(-2) yr(-1)); the average being 132±8Bqm(-2) yr(-1). In case of (137)Cs the mean was 298±3Bqm(-2) yr(-1), maximum being 1683±15Bqm(-2) yr(-1) in case of Ighiel area and minimum being 32±1Bqm(-2) yr(-1) in the Danube Delta region. In case of the Red Lake, from the total inventory of 410±23Bqm(-2) yr(-1) in the sediments, the loss by outflows is 100±12Bqm(-2) yr(-1), the catchment to lake transfer factor being 0.84%.

Al(OH)3 facilitated synthesis of water-soluble, magnetic, radiolabelled and fluorescent hydroxyapatite nanoparticles.

Magnetic and fluorescent hydroxyapatite nanoparticles were synthesised using Al(OH)3-stabilised MnFe2O4 or Fe3O4 nanoparticles as precursors. They were readily and efficiently radiolabelled with (18)F. Bisphosphonate polyethylene glycol polymers were utilised to endow the nanoparticles with excellent colloidal stability in water and to incorporate cyclam for high affinity labelling with (64)Cu.

Quantitative assessment of cumulative damage from repetitive exposures to suberythemogenic doses of UVA in human skin.

Daily exposures to relatively small suberythemogenic fluences of UVA (50-200 kJ/m2) for 8 days resulted in cumulative morphological skin alterations indicative of early tissue injury. Histologically, irradiated skin revealed epidermal hyperplasia, inflammation and deposition of lysozyme along the dermal elastic fiber network. Sunburn cells were also present within the epidermis. These changes were quantified by image analysis and were found to be related to the cumulative UVA fluence. A long UVA waveband (UVAI, 340-400 nm) was as effective as a broad UVA band (320-400 nm), suggesting that these changes are induced by longer UVA wavelengths.

Cumulative effects from repeated exposures to suberythemal doses of UVB and UVA in human skin.

BACKGROUND: The skin is repeatedly exposed to solar UV radiation. Long-term photodamage is a consequence of cumulative UV radiation injury. Hence an examination of the repetitive effects of UV exposure is more likely to yield clues to the early alterations that lead to photoaged skin than a single exposure. OBJECTIVE: We examined the effects of repetitive low-dose UV irradiation on human skin with the aim of identifying UVA-induced effects that may have a different wavelength dependence than acute erythema. METHODS: Areas on the lower part of the back were each exposed to a suberythemal dose (0.5 minimal erythema dose [MED]) of solar simulated radiation (290 to 400 nm) and of UVA (320 to 400 nm) once daily, 5 days a week, for 28 doses. One site was also treated daily with a sunscreen having a sun protection factor of 22 and then exposed to 11 MEDs of solar simulated radiation for the same duration. Epidermal and dermal changes were analyzed and quantified by histochemical stains in combination with computer-assisted image analysis of tissue sections. RESULTS: At equal 0.5 MED doses, UVA induced greater cumulative changes than solar simulated radiation, as assessed by development of a greater cumulative erythema response in the first week of treatment, the presence of epidermal hyperplasia and stratum corneum thickening, depletion of Langerhans cells, dermal inflammatory infiltrates, and deposition of lysozyme on elastin fibers. These changes were not prevented by the sunscreen. A single short-term dose of UVA did not elicit these changes. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that UVA may contribute significantly to long-term actinic damage and that the spectral dependence for cumulative damage does not parallel the action spectrum for acute injury (erythema) in human beings.

Comparative efficacy of sunscreen reapplication regimens in children exposed to ambient sunlight.

Undercompliance with sunscreen reapplication recommendations is a probable factor in suboptimal childhood ultraviolet radiation (UVR) protection. However, improving on the ability of sunscreens to absorb UVR without requiring frequent reapplication is difficult because the models most frequently used to develop and evaluate photoprotectants have only a limited ability to incorporate behavioral and environmental variables that are primarily responsible for loss of sunscreen efficacy. Hence, the objective of the present work was to develop a method to evaluate the efficacy of various regimens of sunscreen reapplication in children, under conditions of unrestricted behavior and exposure to ambient sunlight. Ninety-eight children, ages 7-12, Fitzpatrick skin types I-III, were divided between two study groups. The majority were types I-II, and all types were approximately equally represented between the groups. The children received single or multiple applications of a sun protection factor 25 sunscreen to preassigned lateral halves of the body and engaged in unrestricted activities throughout a 6- (group I) or 8-h (group II) period of sun exposure at a seaside location. The end measurement for these studies was incidence and severity of erythema 18 to 22 h after peak UV exposure. The results obtained showed that 1 or 4 sunscreen applications yielded comparable erythema protection after a 6-hour sun exposure, totaling 13 minimal erythema doses (MED). However, after an 8-h, 21 MED exposure, incidence and severity of erythema was greater at body sites treated with 1 compared with 5 sunscreen applications.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

An ultraviolet radiation action spectrum for immediate pigment darkening.

The wavelength dependence for immediate pigment darkening (IPD) was investigated by exposing the midback skin of volunteers to a series of incremental fluences of narrow waveband radiation isolated by band-pass filters in the 310-400 nm region. The threshold IPD fluence for each waveband was determined by visual assessment of the skin responses immediately after each exposure. The action spectrum, constructed from the mean threshold fluences, was broad and extended from 320 nm to 400 nm with a peak at around 340 nm. No IPD could be evoked at 310 nm, even after erythemogenic fluences. The spectrum was similar in each of the three skin types investigated (III, IV, V). The broad nature of the action spectrum within the UVA region suggests that IPD may serve as an alternative endpoint for measuring photoprotection against these wavelengths.

DNA methylation and differentiation of human keratinocytes.

DNA methylation is a postreplicative modification thought to play a role in gene transcription in eucaryotes. Differences in the amount of 5-methylcytosine as a function of age and differentiation state have been reported. DNA isolated from human skin keratinocytes was analyzed for its 5-methylcytosine content. The 5-methylcytosine in DNA from neonatal and adult human keratinocytes was found to vary as a function of differentiation state. Differentiation of keratinocytes in vitro was promoted using a simple method where keratinocytes were plated directly onto the plastic surface of a culture flask, grown to confluence, and placed on a rocking culture platform that cyclically exposed the cells to air 50% of the time. Terminal differentiation was evident after approximately three weeks in culture. The 5-methylcytosine content of the DNA from differentiated human keratinocytes was 1.4%, whereas that of undifferentiated human keratinocytes was 3.1%. No difference in the 5-methylcytosine content of DNA as a function of the age of the donor was found.

High performance liquid chromatographic method for simultaneous determination of residual benomyl and methyl 2-benzimidazole carbamate on apple foliage without cleanup.

A simple HPLC method has been developed to individually determine residues of benomyl and MBC on apple leaves without cleanup. Sample leaves in a Mason jar are freeze-dried and tumbled for extraction in CHCl3 containing 5000 microgram n-propyl isocyanate/mL at 1 degree C. n-Butyl isocyanate is added to the extract of 5000 microgram/mL, and 20 microL of the mixture is injected into the HPLC system. A brownlee LiChrosorb silica gel column with a guard column is operated with a mixed mobile phase of chloroform--hexane (4 + 1) saturated with water. MBC, present as a degradation compound of benomyl, is identified as methyl 1 - (n - propylcarbamoyl) - 2 - benzimidazole carbamate (MBC-n-PIC derivative). At 280 nm, both benomyl and MBC-n-PIC can be detected with a UV detector at a level of 0.2 ppm in apple leaves.