Proximal caries lesion detection in primary teeth: does this justify the association of diagnostic methods?

The aim of this clinical study was to evaluate and compare the performance of visual exam with use of the Nyvad criteria (visual examination - (VE)), interproximal radiography (BW), laser fluorescence device (DIAGNOdent Pen-DDPen), and their association in the diagnosis of proximal lesions in primary teeth. For this purpose, 45 children (n = 59 surfaces) of both sexes, aged between 5 and 9 years were selected, who presented healthy primary molars or primary molars with signs suggestive of the presence of caries lesions. The surfaces were clinically evaluated and coded according to the Nyvad criteria and immediately afterwards with the DDPen. Radiographic exam was performed only on the surfaces coded with Nyvad scores 2, 3, 5, or 6. Active caries lesions and/or those with discontinuous surfaces were restored, considering the depth of lesion as reference standard. Sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, and area under ROC curve were calculated for each technique and its associations. Visual exam with Nyvad criteria presented the highest specificity, accuracy, and area under ROC curve values. The DDPen presented the highest sensitivity values. Association with one or more methods resulted in an increase in specificity. The performance of visual, radiographic, and DDpen exams and their associations were good; however, the clinical examination with the Nyvad criteria was sufficient for the diagnosis of interproximal lesions in primary teeth.

Medium effects in the pion-pole mechanism [gamma gamma ->pi(0)->nu(R)(nu)over-bar(L)(nu(L)(nu)over-bar(R))] of neutron star cooling

Nuclear medium effects in the neutrino cooling of neutron stars through the reaction channel γγ→π0 →ν Rν̄L(νLν̄R) are incorporated. Throughout the paper we discuss different possibilities of right-handed neutrinos, massive left-handed neutrinos, and standard massless left-handed neutrinos (reaction is then allowed only with medium modified vertices). It is demonstrated that multiparticle effects suppress the rate of this reaction channel in the dense hadron matter by 6-7 orders of magnitude that does not allow to decrease existing experimental upper limit on the corresponding π0νν̄ coupling. Other possibilities of the manifestation of the given reaction channel in different physical situations, e.g., in the quark color superconducting cores of the most massive neutron stars, are also discussed. We demonstrate that in the color-flavor-locked superconducting phase for temperatures T≲ 0.1-10 MeV (depending on the effective pion mass and the decay width) the process is feasibly the most efficient neutrino cooling process, although the absolute value of the reaction rate is rather small.

Association of dietary patterns with metabolic syndrome components in low-income, free-living Brazilian adults

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Association of fat intake and socioeconomic status on anthropometric measurements of adults

We aimed to identify the influence of dietary fat profile on body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference (WC) in a middleclass general population sample. A cross-sectional study of 448 adults aged 35-85 years was carried out from January 2004 to December 2007. Patients were divided in two groups according to family income: Group 1 (G1) with higher income, and Group 2 (G2) with lower income. Demographic and socioeconomic status were identified, along with anthropometric data, health eating index (HEI) and dietary profile. The groups were similar with respect to gender, age, BMI and WC. HEI was higher in G1 due to a higher intake of protein (+12.8%), dairy products (p<0.001), higher intake of vegetables (p<0.01), fruit (p<0.001), and less dietary fat (-9.8%). The main contribution of fats was saturated fat for G1 (+5.0%) and polyunsaturated fat for G2 (+14.4%). Besides differences in socioeconomic status the groups had similar BMI and abdominal fatness. Only differences in fat profile were correlated with the anthropometric measures mostly explained by the lower vegetable oil intake in higher income participants.

Association of student position in classroom and school performance

We analyzed whether the position of students in classroom is correlated with academic performance, and which factors might be involved. The sample consisted of 16 classrooms in a school year bimester, each one with around 30 students. Each student's position was registered in classroom maps and the reasons for the students' seat choice were gathered by a questionnaire. School performance and classroom absences of each student were collected directly from the teachers' register notebook. We found that better performances of students at school correlate with lower percentages of absence and choices of seating positions closer to the board. Moreover, the main reason to sit in a front position was motivation for learning. We suggest that school performance is associated to students’ position in the classroom because both are affected by the student motivation for learning. As a consequence, changing students' position in the classroom without increasing their motivation is not likely to improve school performance.

A metalloproteomics study on the association of mercury with breast milk in samples from lactating women in the Amazon region of Brazil

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

AAUW- Rock Hill Chapter Records (American Association of University Women) - Accession 13

The AAUW- Rock Hill Chapter Records consists of minutes, membership lists, correspondence, newspaper clippings, financial statements, constitutions and by-laws and branch reports of the chapter’s presidents and committee chairmen to the national office, extending from 1925 to 1985.

Estimating the extent of spatial association of Mycobacterium bovis infection in badgers in Ireland

Mycobacterium bovis infects the wildlife species badgers Meles meles who are linked with the spread of the associated disease tuberculosis (TB) in cattle. Control of livestock infections depends in part on the spatial and social structure of the wildlife host. Here we describe spatial association of M. bovis infection in a badger population using data from the first year of the Four Area Project in Ireland. Using second-order intensity functions, we show there is strong evidence of clustering of TB cases in each the four areas, i.e. a global tendency for infected cases to occur near other infected cases. Using estimated intensity functions, we identify locations where particular strains of TB cluster. Generalized linear geostatistical models are used to assess the practical range at which spatial correlation occurs and is found to exceed 6 in all areas. The study is of relevance concerning the scale of localized badger culling in the control of the disease in cattle.

Association of Borrelia garinii and B. valaisiana with Songbirds in Slovakia

In Europe, 6 of the 11 genospecies of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato are prevalent in questing Ixodes ricinus ticks. In most parts of Central Europe, B. afzelii, B. garinii, and B. valaisiana are the most frequent species, whereas B. burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. bissettii, and B. lusitaniae are rare. Previously, it has been shown that B. afzelii is associated with European rodents. Therefore, the aim of this study was to identify reservoir hosts of B. garinii and B. valaisiana in Slovakia. Songbirds were captured in a woodland near Bratislava and investigated for engorged ticks. Questing I. ricinus ticks were collected in the same region. Both tick pools were analyzed for spirochete infections by PCR, followed by DNA-DNA hybridization and, for a subsample, by nucleotide sequencing. Three of the 17 captured songbird species were infested with spirochete-infected ticks. Spirochetes in ticks that had fed on birds were genotyped as B. garinii and B. valaisiana, whereas questing ticks were infected with B. afzelii, B. garinii, and B. valaisiana. Furthermore, identical ospA alleles of B. garinii were found in ticks that had fed on the birds and in questing ticks. The data show that songbirds are reservoir hosts of B. garinii and B. valaisiana but not of B. afzelii. This and previous studies confirm that B. burgdorferi sensu lato is host associated and that this bacterial species complex contains different ecotypes.

Nebraska Association of County Extension Board Annual Meeting

Thank you for inviting me to be here today. I truly appreciate this opportunity to visit with you. I've been asked to tell you about some of the recent successes of the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, to talk about opportunities for the Institute in Nebraska's future, and to talk, also, about extension's role in that.

BENTHIC MACROFAUNA STRUCTURE IN THE NORTHEAST AREA OF TODOS OS SANTOS BAY, BAHIA STATE, BRAZIL: PATTERNS OF SPATIAL AND SEASONAL DISTRIBUTION

Structure of intertidal and subtidal benthic macrofauna in the northeastern region of Todos os Santos Bay (TSB), northeast Brazil, was investigated during a period of two years. Relationships with environmental parameters were studied through uni- and multivariate statistical analyses, and the main distributional patterns shown to be especially related to sediment type and content of organic fractions (Carbon, Nitrogen, Phosphorus), on both temporal and spatial scales. Polychaete annelids accounted for more than 70% of the total fauna and showed low densities, species richness and diversity, except for the area situated on the reef banks. These banks constitute a peculiar environment in relation to the rest of the region by having coarse sediments poor in organic matter and rich in biodetritic carbonates besides an abundant and diverse fauna. The intertidal region and the shallower area nearer to the oil refinery RLAM, with sediments composed mainly of fine sand, seem to constitute an unstable system with few highly dominant species, such as Armandia polyophthalma and Laeonereis acuta. In the other regions of TSB, where muddy bottoms predominated, densities and diversity were low, especially in the stations near the refinery. Here the lowest values of the biological indicators occurred together with the highest organic compound content. In addition, the nearest sites (stations 4 and 7) were sometimes azoic. The adjacent Caboto, considered as a control area at first, presented low density but intermediate values of species diversity, which indicates a less disturbed environment in relation to the pelitic infralittoral in front of the refinery. The results of the ordination analyses evidenced five homogeneous groups of stations (intertidal; reef banks; pelitic infralittoral; mixed sediments; Caboto) with different specific patterns, a fact which seems to be mainly related to granulometry and chemical sediment characteristics.

Association of single nucleotide polymorphisms in the bovine leptin and leptin receptor genes with growth and ultrasound carcass traits in Nellore cattle

Given the important role of leptin in metabolism, we looked for a possible association of leptin and leptin receptor polymorphisms with carcass and growth traits in Nellore cattle. We examined associations of leptin and leptin receptor SNPs with ultrasound carcass (longissimus dorsi muscle area (ribeye area), backfat thickness and rump fat thickness and growth traits (weaning weight adjusted to 210 days of age, yearling weight adjusted to 550 days of age, weight gain of weaning to yearling and scrotal circumference adjusted to 550 days of age) of 2162 Bos primigenius indicus (Nellore) animals. Allele and genotypic frequencies were calculated for each marker. Allele substitution, additive and dominance effects of the polymorphisms were also evaluated. Some alleles of the molecular markers had low frequencies, lower than 1%, in the sample analyzed, although the same polymorphisms described for B. p. taurus cattle were found. Due to very low allelic frequencies, the E2JW, A59V and UASMS2 markers were not included in the analysis, because they were almost fixed. E2FB was found to be significantly associated with weight gain, ribeye area and backfat thickness. The promoter region markers, C963T and UASMS1, were also found to be significantly associated with ribeye area. T945M was significantly associated with weight gain. We conclude that the leptin and receptor gene markers would be useful for marker-assisted selection.

Association of arterial events with the coexistence of metabolic syndrome and primary antiphospholipid syndrome

Objective Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is highly prevalent in rheumatic diseases and is recognized as a new independent cardiovascular risk factor. This study was undertaken to determine the clinical significance of MetS in patients with primary antiphospholipid syndrome (APS). Methods Seventy-one primary APS patients and 73 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included. Serum samples were tested for lipid profile, Lp(a), glucose, insulin, thyroid-stimulating hormone, free T4, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein level, and uric acid. MetS was defined by the International Diabetes Federation criteria, and insulin resistance was established using the homeostasis model assessment index. Results The prevalence of MetS was 33.8%, and further comparison between primary APS patients with and without MetS revealed that the former had a higher frequency of arterial events (79.2% versus 42.6%; P = 0.003), angina (29.2% versus 2.1%; P = 0.002), and positive lupus anticoagulant antibody (95.8% versus 76.6%; P = 0.049). In addition, primary APS patients with MetS, as expected, had a higher prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors. On multivariate analysis, only MetS was independently associated with arterial events in primary APS. Conclusion Coexistence of primary APS and MetS seems to identify a subgroup of patients with higher risk of arterial events, suggesting that MetS may aggravate existing endothelial abnormalities of primary APS.

Identifying regulational alterations in gene regulatory networks by state space representation of vector autoregressive models and variational annealing

Background: In the analysis of effects by cell treatment such as drug dosing, identifying changes on gene network structures between normal and treated cells is a key task. A possible way for identifying the changes is to compare structures of networks estimated from data on normal and treated cells separately. However, this approach usually fails to estimate accurate gene networks due to the limited length of time series data and measurement noise. Thus, approaches that identify changes on regulations by using time series data on both conditions in an efficient manner are demanded. Methods: We propose a new statistical approach that is based on the state space representation of the vector autoregressive model and estimates gene networks on two different conditions in order to identify changes on regulations between the conditions. In the mathematical model of our approach, hidden binary variables are newly introduced to indicate the presence of regulations on each condition. The use of the hidden binary variables enables an efficient data usage; data on both conditions are used for commonly existing regulations, while for condition specific regulations corresponding data are only applied. Also, the similarity of networks on two conditions is automatically considered from the design of the potential function for the hidden binary variables. For the estimation of the hidden binary variables, we derive a new variational annealing method that searches the configuration of the binary variables maximizing the marginal likelihood. Results: For the performance evaluation, we use time series data from two topologically similar synthetic networks, and confirm that our proposed approach estimates commonly existing regulations as well as changes on regulations with higher coverage and precision than other existing approaches in almost all the experimental settings. For a real data application, our proposed approach is applied to time series data from normal Human lung cells and Human lung cells treated by stimulating EGF-receptors and dosing an anticancer drug termed Gefitinib. In the treated lung cells, a cancer cell condition is simulated by the stimulation of EGF-receptors, but the effect would be counteracted due to the selective inhibition of EGF-receptors by Gefitinib. However, gene expression profiles are actually different between the conditions, and the genes related to the identified changes are considered as possible off-targets of Gefitinib. Conclusions: From the synthetically generated time series data, our proposed approach can identify changes on regulations more accurately than existing methods. By applying the proposed approach to the time series data on normal and treated Human lung cells, candidates of off-target genes of Gefitinib are found. According to the published clinical information, one of the genes can be related to a factor of interstitial pneumonia, which is known as a side effect of Gefitinib.