Developmental anatomy of Cyperus laxus (non-Nranz) and Fimbristylis dichotoma (Kranz) (Cyperaceae, Poales) and tissue continuity

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Connective tissue graft plus resin-modified glass ionomer restoration for the treatment of gingival recession associated with non-carious cervical lesions: Microbiological and immunological results

Objectives: It was previously reported the clinical results of placing subgingival resin-modified glass ionomer restoration for treatment of gingival recession associated with non-carious cervical lesions. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of this treatment on the subgingival biofilm and gingival crevicular fluid (GCF) inflammatory markers. Materials and methods: Thirty-four patients presenting the combined defect were selected. The defects were treated with either connective tissue graft plus modified glass ionomer restoration (CTG+R) or with connective tissue graft only (CTG). Evaluation included bleeding on probing and probing depth, 5 different bacteria targets in the subgingival plaque assessed at baseline, 45, and 180 days post treatments, and 9 inflammatory mediators were also assessed in the GCF. Results: The levels of each target bacterium were similar during the entire period of evaluation (p > 0. 05), both within and between groups. The highest levels among the studied species were observed for the bacterium associated with periodontal health. Additionally, the levels of all cyto/chemokines analyzed were not statistically different between groups (p > 0. 05). Conclusion: Within the limits of the present study, it can be concluded that the presence of subgingival restoration may not interfere with the subgingival microflora and with GCF inflammatory markers analyzed. Clinical relevance: This approach usually leads to the placement of a subgingival restoration. There is a lack of information about the microbiological and immunological effects of this procedure. The results suggest that this combined approach may be considered as a treatment option for the lesion included in this study. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

Randomized controlled clinical trial evaluating connective tissue graft plus resin-modified glass ionomer restoration for the treatment of gingival recession associated with non-carious cervical lesion: 2-year follow-up

Background: The aim of this clinical study is to evaluate the 2-year term results of gingival recession (GR) associated with non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) treated by connective tissue graft (CTG) alone or in combination with a resin-modified glass ionomer restoration (CTG+R). Methods: Thirty-six patients with Miller Class I buccal GR associated with NCCLs completed the follow-up. The defects were randomly assigned to receive either CTG or CTG+R. Bleeding on probing (BOP), probing depth (PD), relative GR, clinical attachment level (CAL), and cervical lesion height coverage were measured at baseline, 6 months, 1 year, and 2 years after treatment. Results: Both groups showed statistically significant gains in CAL and soft-tissue coverage. The differences between groups were not statistically significant in BOP, PD, relative GR, or CAL after 2 years. Cervical lesion height coverage was 79.31% ± 18.51% for CTG and 71.95% ± 13.25% for CTG+R (P >0.05). Estimated root coverage was 91.56% ± 11.74% for CTG and 93.29% ± 7.97% for CTG+R (P ≥0.05). Conclusions: Within the limits of the present study, it can be concluded that both procedures provide comparable soft tissue coverage after 2 years of follow-up.

Non-destructive equations to estimate the leaf area of Styrax pohlii and Styrax ferrugineus

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Non-destructive linear model for leaf area estimation in Vernonia ferruginea Less

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Musculoskeletal tissue regeneration by human non-embryonic stem cells

The aim of this thesis was to investigate the regenerative potential of alternative sources of stem cells, derived from human dental pulp (hDPSCs) and amniotic fluid (hAFSCs) and, specifically, to evaluate their capability to be committed towards osteogenic and myogenic lineages, for the eventual applicability of these stem cells to translational strategies in regenerative medicine of bone and skeletal muscle tissues. The in vitro bone production by stem cells may represent a radical breakthrough in the treatment of pathologies and traumas characterized by critical bone mass defects, with no medical or surgical solution. Human DPSCs and AFSCs were seeded and pre-differentiated on different scaffolds to test their capability to subsequently reach the osteogenic differentiation in vivo, in order to recover critical size bone defects. Fibroin scaffold resulted to be the best scaffold promoting mature bone formation and defect correction when combined to both hDPSCs and hAFSCs. This study also described a culture condition that might allow human DPSCs to be used for human cell therapy in compliance with good manufacturing practices (GMPs): the use of human serum (HS) promoted the expansion and the osteogenic differentiation of hDPSCs in vitro and, furthermore, allowed pre-differentiated hDPSCs to regenerate critical size bone defects in vivo. This thesis also showed that hDPSCs and hAFSCs can be differentiated towards the myogenic lineage in vitro, either when co-cultured with murine myoblasts and when differentiated alone after DNA demethylation treatment. Interestingly, when injected into dystrophic muscles of SCID/mdx mice - animal model of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) - hDPSCs and hAFSCs pre-differentiated after demethylating treatment were able to regenerate the skeletal muscle tissue and, particularly, to restore dystrophin expression. These observations suggest that human DPSCs and AFSCs might be eventually applied to translational strategies, in order to enhance the repair of injured skeletal muscles in DMD patients.

Clinical Outcomes Following Treatment of Non-contained Intrabony Defects with Enamel Matrix Derivative (EMD) or Guided Tissue Regeneration (GTR). A 12-month Randomized Controlled Clinical trial

The purpose of this study is to compare the healing of deep, non-contained intrabony defects (i.e., with a ?80% 1-wall component and a residual 2- to 3-wall component in the most apical part) treated with either an enamel matrix derivative (EMD) or guided tissue regeneration (GTR) after 12 months.

Differential expression of the bone and the liver tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase isoforms in brain tissues

The enzyme tissue non-specific alkaline phosphatase (TNAP) belongs to the ectophosphatase family. It is present in large amounts in bone in which it plays a role in mineralization but little is known about its function in other tissues. Arguments are accumulating for its involvement in the brain, in particular in view of the neurological symptoms accompanying human TNAP deficiencies. We have previously shown, by histochemistry, alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity in monkey brain vessels and parenchyma in which AP exhibits specific patterns. Here, we clearly attribute this activity to TNAP expression rather than to other APs in primates (human and marmoset) and in rodents (rat and mouse). We have not found any brain-specific transcripts but our data demonstrate that neuronal and endothelial cells exclusively express the bone TNAP transcript in all species tested, except in mouse neurons in which liver TNAP transcripts have also been detected. Moreover, we highlight the developmental regulation of TNAP expression; this also acts during neuronal differentiation. Our study should help to characterize the regulation of the expression of this ectophosphatase in various cell types of the central nervous system.

Evaluation of texture features in hepatic tissue characterization from non-enhanced CT images

Aim of this paper is to evaluate the diagnostic contribution of various types of texture features in discrimination of hepatic tissue in abdominal non-enhanced Computed Tomography (CT) images. Regions of Interest (ROIs) corresponding to the classes: normal liver, cyst, hemangioma, and hepatocellular carcinoma were drawn by an experienced radiologist. For each ROI, five distinct sets of texture features are extracted using First Order Statistics (FOS), Spatial Gray Level Dependence Matrix (SGLDM), Gray Level Difference Method (GLDM), Laws' Texture Energy Measures (TEM), and Fractal Dimension Measurements (FDM). In order to evaluate the ability of the texture features to discriminate the various types of hepatic tissue, each set of texture features, or its reduced version after genetic algorithm based feature selection, was fed to a feed-forward Neural Network (NN) classifier. For each NN, the area under Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves (Az) was calculated for all one-vs-all discriminations of hepatic tissue. Additionally, the total Az for the multi-class discrimination task was estimated. The results show that features derived from FOS perform better than other texture features (total Az: 0.802+/-0.083) in the discrimination of hepatic tissue.

Metabolomic tissue signature in human non-alcoholic fatty liver disease identifies protective candidate metabolites

Background Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is the most common chronic liver disorder in industrialized countries, yet its pathophysiology is incompletely understood. Small-molecule metabolite screens may offer new insights into disease mechanisms and reveal new treatment targets. Methods Discovery (N = 33) and replication (N = 66) of liver biopsies spanning the range from normal liver histology to non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) were ascertained ensuring rapid freezing under 30 s in patients. 252 metabolites were assessed using GC/MS. Replicated metabolites were evaluated in a murine high-fat diet model of NAFLD. Results In a two-stage metabolic screening, hydroquinone (HQ, pcombined = 3.0 × 10−4) and nicotinic acid (NA, pcombined = 3.9 × 10−9) were inversely correlated with histological NAFLD severity. A murine high-fat diet model of NAFLD demonstrated a protective effect of these two substances against NAFLD: Supplementation with 1% HQ reduced only liver steatosis, whereas 0.6% NA reduced both liver fat content and serum transaminase levels and induced a complex regulatory network of genes linked to NALFD pathogenesis in a global expression pathway analysis. Human nutritional intake of NA equivalent was also consistent with a protective effect of NA against NASH progression. Conclusion This first small-molecular screen of human liver tissue identified two replicated protective metabolites. Either the use of NA or targeting its regulatory pathways might be explored to treat or prevent human NAFLD.

Genome instability quantified in constitutive tissues as well as putatively stable tumor tissue in hereditary non -polyposis colon cancer patients by small pool PCR

Microsatellite instability (MSI) is a hallmark of the mutator phenotype associated with Hereditary Non-Polyposis Colon Cancer (HNPCC). The MSI-High (MSI-H) HNPCC population has been well characterized, but the microsatellite low and stable (MSI-L/MSS) HNPCC population is much less understood. We hypothesize there are significant levels of MSI in HNPCC DNA classified as MSI-L/MSS, but no single variant allele makes up a sufficient population in the tumor DNA to be detected by standard analysis. Finding variants would suggest there is a mutator phenotype for the MSI-L/MSS HNPCC population that is distinct from the MSI-H HNPCC populations. This study quantified and compared MSI in HNPCC patients previously shown to be MSI-H, MSI-L/MSS and an MSI-H older, sporadic colorectal cancer patient. Small-pool Polymerase Chain Reactions (SP-PCRs) were conducted where the DNAs from each sample and controls are diluted into multiple pools, each containing approximately single genome equivalents. At least 100 alleles/sample were studied at six microsatellite loci. Mutant fragments were identified, quantified, and compared using Poisson statistics. Most of the variants were small deletions or insertions, with more mutants being deletions, as has been previously described in yeast and transgenic mice. SP-PCR, where most of the pools contained only 3 or less fragments, enabled identification of variants too infrequent to be detected by large pool PCR. Mutant fragments in positive control MSI-H tumor samples ranged from 0.26 to 0.68 in at least 4 of the 6 loci tested and were consistent with their MSI-H status. In the so called MSS tumors and constitutive tissues (normal colon tissue, and PBLs) of all the HNPCC patients, low, but significant levels of MSI were seen in at least two of the loci studied. This phenomenon was not seen in the sporadic MSI constitutive tissues nor the normal controls and suggests haploinsufficiency, gain-of-function, or a dominant/negative basis of the instability in HNPCC patients carrying germline mutations for tumor suppressor genes. A different frequency and spectrum of mutant fragments suggests a different genetic basis (other than a major mutation in MLH1 or MSH2) for disease in MSI-L and MSS HNPCC patients. ^

Caputo Derivatives in Viscoelasticity: A Non-Linear Finite-Deformation Theory for Tissue

Mathematics Subject Classification: 26A33, 74B20, 74D10, 74L15