Abuse liability of intra-nasal midazolam in inhaled-cocaine abusers

Intra-nasally instilled benzodiazepines have been proposed for acute anxiety episodes. However, routes with faster absorption may increase abuse liability. This study compared abuse liability of intra-nasal midazolam between subjects with a history of intra-nasal drug abuse and non-psychiatric subjects on a single-blind randomized controlled trial. Thirty-one inhaled-cocaine abusers and 34 normal volunteers received either 1 mg intra-nasal midazolam or active placebo. Visual analogue scales assessing desire to repeat the experience (ER) and Experience Liking (EL) assessed abuse liability. Profile analysis for repeated measures showed a significant effect of time over ER (F-[5,F-57]=3.311, p=0.011) and EL (F-[5,F-57]=3.947, p=0.004), diagnostic group (cocaine abusers scoring higher on both - F-[5,F-57]=5.229, p=0.026; F-[5,F-57]=4.946, p=0.030), regardless of the administered substance. It is concluded that the intra-nasal route does not seem to pose risks for non-psychiatric individuals, but it may represent a risk in itself for subjects with a history of drug abuse through this path. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. and ECNP. All rights reserved.

Antibody Response from Whole-Cell Pertussis Vaccine Immunized Brazilian Children against Different Strains of Bordetella pertussis

Bordetella pertussis is a gram-negative bacillus that causes the highly contagious disease known as pertussis or whooping cough. Antibody response in children may vary depending on the vaccination schedule and the product used. In this study, we have analyzed the antibody response of cellular pertussis vaccinated children against B. pertussis strains and their virulence factors, such as pertussis toxin, pertactin, and filamentous hemagglutinin. After the completion of the immunization process, according to the Brazilian vaccination program, children serum samples were collected at different periods of time, and tested for the presence of specific antibodies and antigenic cross-reactivity. Results obtained show that children immunized with three doses of the Brazilian whole-cell pertussis vaccine present high levels of serum antibodies capable of recognizing the majority of the components present in vaccinal and non-vaccinal B. pertussis strains and their virulence factors for at least 2 years after the completion of the immunization procedure.

A general hazard model for lifetime data in the presence of cure rate

Historically, the cure rate model has been used for modeling time-to-event data within which a significant proportion of patients are assumed to be cured of illnesses, including breast cancer, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, leukemia, prostate cancer, melanoma, and head and neck cancer. Perhaps the most popular type of cure rate model is the mixture model introduced by Berkson and Gage [1]. In this model, it is assumed that a certain proportion of the patients are cured, in the sense that they do not present the event of interest during a long period of time and can found to be immune to the cause of failure under study. In this paper, we propose a general hazard model which accommodates comprehensive families of cure rate models as particular cases, including the model proposed by Berkson and Gage. The maximum-likelihood-estimation procedure is discussed. A simulation study analyzes the coverage probabilities of the asymptotic confidence intervals for the parameters. A real data set on children exposed to HIV by vertical transmission illustrates the methodology.

Evaluation of ductus venosus and inferior vena cava by using multiple Doppler ultrasound parameters in healthy fetuses

The objective of this study was to describe multiple Doppler ultrasound parameters of ductus venosus and inferior vena cava in fetuses at gestational ages ranging from 22 to 38 weeks. In this prospective observational study, Doppler ultrasound exams were performed in 45 healthy fetuses at 22, 26, 34, and 38 weeks. Maximum venous velocity, minimum venous velocity, venous pulsatility index, and venous acceleration time (VAT) (defined as the time between minimum and maximum venous velocity) were evaluated at those gestational periods. Increase in the velocities and decrease in the pulsatility index were observed in these vessels throughout gestational age. The VAT increased with gestational age. The VAT, a Doppler parameter still not described elsewhere, increased during pregnancy could be related to a longer period of time needed to fill the atrium in bigger hearts. In this study, we provide reference values for VAT in healthy fetuses.

Evaluation of platelet count by automatic blood counter QBC Vet Autoread (R) compared with blood smear estimative and count by hemocytometer

The platelet blood count in laboratorial routine provides to the clinician important information about the hemostasis of the patient. There are many techniques described, however the gold standard techniques realized in hemocytometer spent a lot of time, making this technique impracticable in great routines. This research had the intent to evaluate if the automatic veterinary blood counter QBC Vet Autoread (R), whose results get five minutes to be ready, is capable to offer a trustworthy platelet count number. To this end, were evaluated the correlations among three different forms of platelets count in dogs: count in automatic blood counter QBC Vet Autoread (R), estimative in blood smear and the gold standard method by manual count in hemocytometer. The viability and confidence use of automatic blood counters of the medicine veterinary routine. Seventeen dogs were chosen randomly way, in the medical and surgical routine of HOVET-USP. The analysis revel high correlation between the hemocytometer and the estimative in blood smear (r=0,875) and between the hemocytometer and automatic blood count by QBC Vet Autoread (R) (r=0,939). Conclude that the platelet blood cont by QBC Vet Autoread (R), in addition to be fast, it`s more truthful when compared with estimative in blood smear, although the latter one also had elevated correlation. However, morphological analysis through the smears cannot be dismissed because none of the other two techniques evaluated have the ability to assess platelet morphological changes.

Epidemiological survey and molecular characterization of avian infectious bronchitis virus in Brazil between 2003 and 2009

As part of an epidemiological study of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV) in Brazil, 252 samples from IBV-suspect flocks were tested and the IBV-positive samples were analysed by sequencing of hypervariable regions 1 and 2 of the S1 gene. A high prevalence of IBV variants was found and the sequence analysis of 41 samples revealed a high molecular similarity among the Brazilian isolates (from 90.2 to 100% and from 85.3 to 100% nucleotide and amino acid identity, respectively). The Brazilian isolates showed low genetic relationship with Massachusetts (63.4 to 70.7%), European (45.9 to 75.6%), American (49.3 to 76.4%) and other reference serotypes (67.5 to 78.8%). The Brazilian isolates branched into one unique cluster, separate from the reference serotypes used for infectious bronchitis control in other countries. The variants analysed in this work had a high similarity with all previously published Brazilian IBV isolates, suggesting the presence and high prevalence of a unique or predominant genotype circulating in Brazil. In addition, the virus neutralization test showed that the three Brazilian isolates analysed in the present study are antigenically related to one another but are different from the Massachusetts serotype. The present study shows that IBVs of a unique genotype can be associated with different clinical diseases, and that low genetic variation was detected in this genotype over a long period of time. The molecular characterization of the Brazilian variants isolated from 2003 to 2009 from different geographic regions of the country shows that only one predominant genotype is widespread in the Brazilian territory, denominated in this study as BR-I genotype.

HOME RANGE AND SPATIAL ORGANIZATION OF MANED WOLVES IN THE BRAZILIAN GRASSLANDS

The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is the largest canid in South America, weighing up to 30 kg, and exhibits an omnivorous diet based on fruits and small vertebrates. Maned wolves are considered to live in monogamous pairs defending a common territory, with mates living a largely solitary life, but these conclusions come from few studies with small samples. We captured maned wolves in Emas National Park, central Brazil, and monitored their use of space using radiotelemetry. Home-range size and overlap of 45 adults, and interactions between members of 5 pairs, were investigated. Home-range sizes of resident adults averaged 80.18 km(2) using the fixed kernel with 95% of the locations, and averaged 13.78 km(2) with 50% of the locations. Overlap of 95% ranges between male-male, female-female, or mixed dyads was similar, approximately 0.20, whereas 50% ranges of maned wolves showed less overlap overall but more tolerance for overlap with the opposite sex. Members of a pair were located alone more often than together, and even when located simultaneously maintained a mean distance of >0.5 km apart, independent of time of day. Results are in agreement with a spatial organization based on monogamous mating pairs with little intrapair sociality, but the latter needs to be investigated in more detail.

Influence of Final Rinse Technique on Ability of Ethylenediaminetetraacetic Acid of Removing Smear Layer

Introduction: There is ongoing debate regarding the ideal sequence, volume, and concentration of irrigants, length of time for irrigation, and irrigation technique to achieve debridement of the root canal system. The aim of this study was to verify the impact of the final rinse technique on smear layer removal ability of 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). Methods: Sixteen single-rooted human teeth were instrumented and divided into 2 groups at the final rinse step according to the following final rinse techniques used: continuous rinse group, continuous rinse with EDTA during 3 minutes, and rinse and soaking group, rinse with 1 mL of EDTA, soaking of the canal for 2 minutes and 30 seconds, and rinse completion with the remaining 4 mL for 30 seconds. The specimens were split lengthwise and observed under scanning electron microscope. Results: Data were analyzed with Kruskal-Wallis and Dunn tests. The continuous rinse group presented more debris-free surfaces when compared with the rinse and soaking group (P <. 01). When the root canal areas were compared within the groups, no statistical differences were found (P > .05). Conclusions: It can be concluded that a continuous rinse with 5 mL of EDTA for 3 minutes can more efficiently remove the smear layer from root canal walls. (J Endod 2010;36:512-514)

Characterization of dimethacrylate polymeric networks: A study of the crosslinked structure formed by monomers used in dental composites

The resin phase of dental composites is mainly composed of combinations of dimethacrylate comonomers, with final polymeric network structure defined by monomer type/reactivity and degree of conversion. This fundamental study evaluates how increasing concentrations of the flexible triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) influences void formation in bisphenol A diglycidyl dimethacrylate (BisGMA) co-polymerizations and correlates this aspect of network structure with reaction kinetic parameters and macroscopic volumetric shrinkage. Photopolymerization kinetics was followed in real-time by a near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopic technique, viscosity was assessed with a viscometer, volumetric shrinkage was followed with a linometer, free volume formation was determined by positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) and the sol-gel composition was determined by extraction with dichloromethane followed by (1)H NMR analysis. Results show that, as expected, volumetric shrinkage increases with TEGDMA concentration and monomer conversion. Extraction/(1)H NMR studies show increasing participation of the more flexible TEGDMA towards the limiting stages of conversion/crosslinking development. As the conversion progresses, either based on longer irradiation times or greater TEGDMA concentrations, the network becomes more dense, which is evidenced by the decrease in free volume and weight loss after extraction in these situations. For the same composition (BisGMA/TEGDMA 60-40 mol%) light-cured for increasing periods of time (from 10 to 600 s), free volume decreased and volumetric shrinkage increased, in a linear relationship with conversion. However, the correlation between free volume and macroscopic volumetric shrinkage was shown to be rather complex for variable compositions exposed for the same time (600 s). The addition of TEGDMA decreases free-volume up to 40 mol% (due to increased conversion), but above that concentration, in spite of the increase in conversion/crosslinking, free volume pore size increases due to the high concentration of the more flexible monomer. In those cases, the increase in volumetric shrinkage was due to higher functional group concentration, in spite of the greater free volume. Therefore, through the application of the PALS model, this study elucidates the network formation in dimethacrylates commonly used in dental materials. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Solubility study of phytochemical cross-linking agents on dentin stiffness

Objectives: The effects of interactions between cross-linking proanthocyanidins (PA) in polar solvents and type-I collagen of demineralized dentin were investigated. Methods: Three PA-rich extracts, two from grape seed (GSEP and GSES) and one from cocoa (COE), were dissolved (water, ethanol:water and acetone:water) and analyzed for their ability to increase the modulus of elasticity of demineralized dentin. Sound dentin beams (0.5 mm x 1.7 mm x 7 mm) were fully demineralized and divided into 12 groups according to the type of cross-linking agent and solvents used. Specimens were immersed in the respective solutions and tested at baseline, 10, 30, 60, 120 and 240 min. Results: The elastic modulus (EM) of dentin was significantly increased by the PA treatment regardless of time (p < 0.05 for all times). The extracts showed different solubility in different solvents. GSEP showed the highest increase in EM when diluted in distilled water and acetone at all exposure times. Both GSEs showed superior results when diluted in distilled water and after 4 h of treatment, while COE produced strongest enhancement when dissolved in ethanol:water. Conclusions: The results indicates that herbal extraction process and other pharmacognostic parameters have an important influence on extract solubility as well as constitution and, consequently, on the PA-dentin matrix interaction. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Influence of leucite content on slow crack growth of dental porcelains

Objectives. To determine the stress corrosion susceptibility coefficient, n, of seven dental porcelains (A: Ceramco I; B: Ceramco-II; C: Ceramco-III; D: d.Sign; E: Cerabien; F: Vitadur-Alpha; and G: Ultropaline) after aging in air or artificial saliva, and correlate results with leucite content (LC). Methods. Bars were fired according to manufacturers` instructions and polished before induction of cracks by a Vickers indenter (19.6 N, 20 s). Four specimens were stored in air/room temperature, and three in saliva/37 degrees C. Five indentations were made per specimen and crack lengths measured at the following times: similar to 0; 1; 3; 10; 30; 100; 300; 1000 and 3000 h. The stress corrosion coefficient n was calculated by linear regression analysis after plotting crack length as a function of time, considering that the slope of the curve was (2/(3n + 2)]. Microstructural analysis was performed to determine LC. Results. LC of the porcelains were 22% (A and B); 6% (C); 15% (D); 0% (E and F); and 13% (G). Except for porcelains A and D, all materials showed a decrease in their n values when stored in artificial saliva. However, the decrease was more pronounced for porcelains B, F, and G. Ranking of materials varied according to storage media (in air, porcelain G showed higher n compared to A, while in saliva both showed similar coefficients). No correlation was found between n values and LC in air or saliva. Significance. Storage media influenced the n value obtained for most of the materials. LC did not affect resistance to slow crack growth regardless of the test environment. (c) 2008 Academy of Dental Materials. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Comparison of GPX with or without solvent and hand files in removing filling materials from root canals-An ex vivo study

Objective. The aim of this study was to compare GPX instruments and hand files for gutta-percha removal. Study design. Fifty maxillary central incisors with a single straight canal were instrumented and filled. The teeth were divided into 5 groups of 10 specimens each, according to the gutta-percha removal techniques: group 1: GPX (21-mm-long teeth); group 2: GPX and xylol as solvent (21-mm-long teeth); group 3: GPX (25-mm-long teeth); group 4: GPX and xylol as solvent (25-mm-long teeth); and group 5: hand files and xylol as solvent. The amount of time for gutta-percha removal and the number of fractured instruments were evaluated. Radiographs were taken, and the teeth were grooved longitudinally and split. The area of residual debris was measured using Sigma Scan software. Results. The time for filling material removal was significantly shorter when GPX was used (P < .05). Overall, hand files and solvent produced fewer remnants of filling materials (P < .05). In the GPX 25 mm-long teeth group, the filling material was not removed in the apical third. Conclusions. Under the experimental conditions, the GPX instruments proved to be faster than hand instruments in removing root filling materials; however, hand instruments left a smaller amount of residual filling materials on the canal walls. The GPX instruments did not pull the gutta-percha beyond its tip. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2010; 110: 675-680)

Efficacy of Profile .04 taper series 29 in removing filling materials during root canal retreatment-an in vitro study

Objective. The aim of this study was to compare Profile .04 taper series 29 instruments and hand files for gutta-percha removal. Study design. Twenty maxillary central incisors with a single straight canal were instrumented and filled. The teeth were divided into 2 groups of 10 specimens each, according to gutta-percha removal techniques: Group 1- Profile series 29 and Group 2- hand files and solvent. The amount of time for gutta-percha removal and the number of fractured instruments were evaluated. Radiographs were taken and the teeth were grooved longitudinally and split. The area of residual debris was measured using computer software. Results. The time for filling material removal was significantly shorter when Profile series 29 was used (P = .00). Regarding cleanliness, there were no statistical differences in the teeth halves evaluations (P = .05). Hand instruments cleaned the canals significantly better than Profiles, in the radiographic analysis considering the whole canal. Overall, the radiographic analysis showed a smaller percentage of residual debris than the teeth halves analysis. Conclusion. The Profile series 29 instruments proved to be faster than hand instruments in removing root filling materials; however, hand instruments yielded better root canal cleanliness. Some residual debris was not visualized by radiographs. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2009; 108: e46-e50)

Prolactin differentially modulates the macrophage activity of lactating rats: possible role of reproductive experience

Reproductive experience (i.e., pregnancy and lactation) induces physiological changes in mammals. We recently showed that a previous reproductive experience can modulate the activity of dopaminergic hypothalamic systems while decreasing serum prolactin (PRL) levels and oxidative burst activity in peritoneal macrophages. Dopamine receptor antagonists increase serum PRL levels, and both PRL and dopamine receptors might be involved in the modulation of macrophage activity, providing a means of communication between the nervous and immune systems. The present study evaluated the in vitro effects of PRL and the dopamine receptor 02 antagonist domperidone (DOMP) on the peritoneal activity of macrophages from primiparous and multiparous female rats during lactation. Oxidative bursts and phagocytosis in peritoneal macrophages were evaluated by flow cytometry. Primiparous and multiparous Wistar rats, during the period of lactation (i.e., days 5-7 after parturition) were used. Samples of peritoneal fluid from these rats were first incubated with PRL (10 and 100 nM) for different periods of time. The same procedure was repeated to evaluate the effects of DOMP (10 and 100 nM). Our results showed that macrophages from multiparous rats respond more effectively to in vitro incubation with PRL, especially with regard to oxidative bursts and the percentage of phagocytosis. Additionally, these effects were more pronounced after 30 min of incubation. These data suggest that reproductive experience is associated with a reduction in serum PRL levels, and cells in experienced female animals, including their macrophages, become more sensitive to the effects of PRL (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

An evaluation of the changes in malocclusion index scores over a 25-year period

Background: The measured values of specific traits of occlusion may be subject to significant change due to growth and maturation of the dentofacial structures. Some traits may show improvement while others may show deterioration. Rarely is there an opportunity to examine a sample of occlusions 25 years after the acquisition of the original set of records. This study examines the changes in traits of occlusion in a sample of 46 subjects who were originally examined between 1971-1973 and for whom records were again obtained in 1998. Methods: The 46 patients were a sub-group of a previously selected randomised school-based sample and study models obtained in 1971-1973 were still available. New models for each patient were obtained in 1998. Of the 46 subjects, only eight had received orthodontic treatment. Results: Assessments of the changes in specific traits were made using the methods proposed in the Harry L Draker, California Modification (HLD Cal Mod) index. This simple index was chosen because the main component traits were well defined and, when analysed separately, reflected changes with time. The total index score gave a broad indication of the global changes in the individual's occlusion. The five basic traits of the HLD index include overjet, overbite, openbite, mandibular protrusion and labio-lingual spread. Three additional traits (ectopic eruption, anterior crowding and posterior crossbite) are used in the HLD Cal Mod index. These traits provided a useful reflection of occlusal changes with time. Measurements were made with reference to specifications and the details outlined in the HLD Cal Mod protocol. The results revealed an increase in total index scores over time with a significant increase in lower labio-lingual spread associated with an increased score in anterior crowding. Overjet and overbite, however, displayed a significant decrease with time. Conclusions: These findings are in keeping with previous studies and highlight the importance of time as a significant issue in the assessment of occlusion.