Attitudes scale toward cancer-related cognitive changes - an initial Colombian validation.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to develop an initial valid tool to measure attitudes toward cancer-related cognitive changes. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: After revising the literature, three main dimensions were hypothesized. Eight judges were contacted to obtain content validity evidence. A robust Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was performed via a parallel analysis with an Unweighted Least Squares (ULS) estimator and polychoric correlations. The results were crossed with sociodemographic variables to find possible statistical differences and estimate the size effect. Analysis was performed in the software Factor and the statistical package R. RESULTS: A sample of 374 participants was obtained, involving oncology patients, their caregivers, and people from the general community. A statistical fit was found in two dimensions: Awareness and Judgments [root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.042, standardized root mean square residual (SRMR) = 0.02, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.99, Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.98] with a moderate correlation between them (r = 0.612). Optimal reliability indices were obtained for the total scale and its dimensions. No real statistical difference was found between sociodemographic variables; the interpretation norms were established via the quartiles. CONCLUSIONS: The first attempt to measure the construct of interest was developed with two primary validity evidence based on the content and its internal structure. This instrument could help strengthen the prevention of cancer-related cognitive changes. More research is needed to adhere more valid evidence to the scale.

Use of Diode Laser for Lip Repositioning, Evolution of the Conventional Technique. A Case Report.

INTRODUCTION: LipStaT® lip repositioning surgery using a diode laser for the management of gummy smiles offers promising and consistent long-term results. OBJECTIVE: To describe the technique through a clinical case, including its indications, preoperative evaluation, surgical approach, and recommendations after the intervention. CASE REPORT: A 29-year-old woman with excessive gingival display (EGD) of 4 mm when smiling; the LipStaT® technique was performed with a 940 nm diode laser to remove a strip of mucosa by ablating the epithelial tissue, and thus, achieve aesthetic, harmonic and functional results. The inflammation and postoperative pain were treated with the diode laser assisted lymphatic drainage technique. After follow-up, a satisfactory tissue response was observed, and no pain or inflammation was reported. CONCLUSION: The use of a 940 nm diode laser proved to be an effective treatment option for patients with a gummy smile, allowing control of intraoperative bleeding and improvement of the healing process obtaining predictable long-term results.

Antioxidant effect of phenolic compounds (PC) at different concentrations in IEC-6 cells: A spectroscopic analysis.

Phenolic compounds (PC) have been proposed as natural antioxidant agents that protect cells against oxidative stress-related diseases. Nonetheless, their low bioavailability forecasts controversy about mechanisms on their in vivo scavenging activity against reactive oxygen species (ROS). It has been proposed that PC reduce directly ROS concentration. An alternative or complementary action of PC could be the activation of the cell's antioxidant pathway, involving the regulation of gene expression, like that initiated by the Nrf2 transcription factor. To date there is not enough experimental data to support or discard this possibility. In the present study, we evaluated the use of several PC to prevent peroxidation of macromolecules and to elicit the activation of the Nrf2 transcription factor in H2O2-stresed IEC-6 enterocytic cell line. Synchrotron microspectroscopy demonstrated that PC compounds protected proteins, lipids and nucleic acids against oxidation induced by H2O2. Immunofluorescence results showed that treatment with quercetin (Qc), catechin (Cat) and capsaicin (Cap) induced the translocation of Nrf2 into the nucleus, at the same level as did H2O2 treatment, thus mimicking the action of the endogenous cell response to peroxidation. Even though the detailed mechanism still needs to be elucidated, we demonstrated the activation of Nrf2 by PCs in response to oxidative stress.

Corrigendum to "Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Deep Brain Stimulation in Patients with Parkinson's Disease and Performance in Evaluation Tests for Executive Brain Functions".

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1155/2017/9641392.].

Meta-Analysis of the Relationship between Deep Brain Stimulation in Patients with Parkinson's Disease and Performance in Evaluation Tests for Executive Brain Functions.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative condition, which compromises the motor functions and causes the alteration of some executive brain functions. The presence of changes in cognitive symptoms in PD could be due to the procedure of deep brain stimulation (DBS). We searched in several databases for studies that compared performance in executive function tests before and after the DBS procedure in PE and then performed a meta-analysis. After the initial search, there were 15 articles that specifically evaluated the functions of verbal fluency, working memory, cognitive flexibility, abstract thinking, and inhibition. It was found that there were differences in the evaluation of the cognitive functions in terms of the protocols, which generated heterogeneity in the results of the meta-analysis. Likewise, a tendency to diminish functions like verbal fluency and inhibition was found, being this consistent with similar studies. In the other functions evaluated, no difference was found between pre- and postsurgery scores. Monitoring of this type of function is recommended after the procedure.

Effect of Dialyzable Leukocyte Extract on chronic cervicitis in patients with HPV infection.

The objective of the study was to assess the clinical, histopathological and immunochemical changes induced by dialyzable leukocyte extract (DLE) treatment in patients with chronic cervicitis associated to HPV infection. Fifty-four female Mexican patients diagnosed with chronic cervicitis, cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia grade 1 (CIN 1) and HPV infection were divided into two groups: patients treated with placebo and patients treated with DLE. Clinical and colposcopy evaluations were performed before and after treatments. Cervix biopsies were obtained to analyze histopathological features and to determine the local immunological changes by immunohistochemistry analyses. Placebo-treated patients showed no significant changes in the evaluated parameters. Interestingly, in DLE-treated patients, clinical manifestations of cervicitis diminished and 89% of them remitted the colposcopic lesions. Histological analyses of biopsies from DLE-treated patients showed a decreasing leukocyte infiltrate. Immunochemical analyses showed an increased expression of TGF-ß, while expression of IFN-γ, PCNA, and IL-32 decreased. Our results suggest that DLE can stimulate innate immunity of cervical mucosae, diminishing chronic cervicitis in HPV-infected patients. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Register ISRCTN16429164 Abbreviations: HPV = Human Papilloma Virus; DLE = Dialyzable leukocyte extract.

Oxidant/antioxidant effects of chronic exposure to predator odor in prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hypothalamus.

The incidence of anxiety-related diseases is increasing these days, hence there is a need to understand the mechanisms that underlie its nature and consequences. It is known that limbic structures, mainly the prefrontal cortex and amygdala, are involved in the processing of anxiety, and that projections from prefrontal cortex and amygdala can induce activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis with consequent cardiovascular changes, increase in oxygen consumption, and ROS production. The compensatory reaction can include increased antioxidant enzymes activities, overexpression of antioxidant enzymes, and genetic shifts that could include the activation of antioxidant genes. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the oxidant/antioxidant effect that chronic anxiogenic stress exposure can have in prefrontal cortex, amygdala, and hypothalamus by exposition to predator odor. Results showed (a) sensitization of the HPA axis response, (b) an enzymatic phase 1 and 2 antioxidant response to oxidative stress in amygdala, (c) an antioxidant stability without elevation of oxidative markers in prefrontal cortex, (d) an elevation in phase 1 antioxidant response in hypothalamus. Chronic exposure to predator odor has an impact in the metabolic REDOX state in amygdala, prefrontal cortex, and hypothalamus, with oxidative stress being prevalent in amygdala as this is the principal structure responsible for the management of anxiety.

Drift across the Atlantic: genetic differentiation and population structure in Brazilian and Portuguese native goat breeds.

Brazilian goat breeds are believed to derive mainly from animals brought by Portuguese settlers since the 16th century. We used microsatellite markers in a sample of 436 animals to study genetic variability and differentiation of the six Portuguese (PT) and six Brazilian (BR) goat breeds currently recognized in the two countries. These breeds were also compared with an outgroup represented by a sample of Alpine (ALP) goats. The effective number of alleles and allelic richness were slightly higher in PT than in BR breeds. The global F(ST) was nearly 0.11 when PT and BR breeds were considered, with a mean pairwise F(ST) of about 0.03 among PT breeds, 0.07 among BR breeds and 0.15 between PT and BR breeds. The dendrogram illustrating relationships between populations and the correspondence analysis indicate the existence of two very distinct clusters, corresponding to the countries of origin of the breeds studied, which are nearly equidistant from the Alpine outgroup. The analysis with structure confirmed the separation between PT and BR breeds but suggests that some BR breeds, especially Graúna and Canindé, may share a common ancestry with PT breeds. The divergence observed between PT and BR breeds may result from founder effects and genetic drift but could also reflect the introduction in Brazil of goats originating from other regions, e.g., West Africa.

[Screening of scoliosis in a school population of 8 to 12 years in the province of Granada (Spain)]. / Cribado de la escoliosis en una población escolar de 8 a 12 años de la provincia de Granada.

The scoliosis is a disease that affects the three-dimensional shape of the spine, which may occur at any stage of life but mainly arises from 10 years of age, and it is everyone's job (doctors, physiotherapists and teachers) responsible for managing the schoolchild to detect this spinal deformity. Therefore, we included a number of objectives in our study; first to detect the spinal disorder (scoliosis) in the school population from 8 to 12 years of Granada province; to establish the relationships between age groups and gender in people with scoliosis in the province of Granada; and finally to determine whether the occurrence of such changes have a greater impact on certain geographical areas in Granada province. Thus, this is a descriptive and cross-sectional study of a school population (n=2,956) in the province of Granada analyzed the positive clinical signs using the Adams Test on individuals with scoliosis. Of the 16 % (n=472) of schoolchildren who had scoliosis, 57.6 % (n=272) were male. The distribution of children from 8 to 12 years is fairly homogeneous with no differences seen (p=0.62) and highlight areas of higher incidence of scoliosis in zone 5 (Alpujarra-Valle of Lecrín). We conclude that there are no significant differences in scoliosis as regards age group (8 to 12 years), but there is an increasing trend towards the male gender. Differences can also be observed in the seven areas of study defined by work, environmental, genetic and consanguinity factors.

17Beta-estradiol increases intracellular calcium concentration through a short-term and nongenomic mechanism in rat vascular endothelium in culture.

17Beta-estradiol (E2) plays an important role in Ca2+ fluxes in several cell types. It has been proposed that some of its effects are of nongenomic origin E2 at vascular smooth muscle level can block calcium entry through L-type calcium channels, this mechanism cannot include vascular endothelial cells (VECs), in which increases in the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) are necessary to NO synthesis. We used male rat aorta ECs in culture loaded with fura-2 and a fluorescence imaging system to evaluate the short-term effects of E2 on [Ca2+]i kinetics. We explored the participation of the intracellular steroid receptor on the effects induced by E2, using tamoxifen (1 microM) and ICI 182,780 (10 microM). Our results showed that E2 (like bradykinin) induced an increase in [Ca2+]i. Such agonist-like effects showed a biphasic curve behavior. The 17beta-estradiol effects were not modified by the presence of the intracellular estradiol-receptor antagonist tamoxifen, but it is blocked in the presence of the ICI 182,780. The 17beta-estradiol effects were obtained even with restriction of steroid-free diffusion into cells (17beta-estradiol-bovine serum albumin). Phospholipase Cbeta activity is involved in these effects, because U-73122, a PLCbeta inhibitor, blocked E2 effects. All E2 effects were of rapid onset (milliseconds), exerted at the membrane level, and of rapid offset. We conclude that estradiol can influence the endothelium physiologic responses through effects of nongenomic origin.