Influência da Diabetes Mellitus na movimentação ortodôntica associada a doença periodontal: avaliação histomorfométrica em ratos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Influência da Diabetes Mellitus na movimentação ortodôntica associada a doença periodontal: avaliação histomorfométrica em ratos

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Eletronarcose no abate de frangos de corte: Iderlipes Luiz Carvalho Bossolani. -

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

Temporal and Spatial Variations of Ions, Isotopes and Agricultural Contaminants in Surface Waters and Groundwater of Nebraska's Rainwater Basin Wetland Region

The wetlands of south-central Nebraska’s Rainwater Basin region are considered of international importance as a habitat for millions of migratory birds, but are being endangered by agricultural practices. The Rainwater Basin extends across 17 counties and covers 4,000 square miles. The purpose of this study was to assemble baseline chemical data for several representative wetlands across the Rainwater Basin region, and determine the use of these chemical data for investigating groundwater recharge. Eight representative wetlands were chosen across the Rainwater Basin to monitor surface and groundwater chemistry. At each site, a shallow well and deep well were installed and sampled once in the summer of 2009 and again in the spring of 2010. Wetland surface water was sampled monthly from April, 2009 to May, 2010. Waters were analyzed for major ions, nutrients, pesticides and oxygen-18 and deuterium isotopes at the University of Nebraska Water Sciences Laboratory. Geochemical analysis of surface waters presents a range of temporal and spatial variations. Wetlands had variable water volumes, isotopic compositions, ion chemistries and agricultural contaminant levels throughout the year and, except for a few trends, theses variations cannot be predicted with certainty year-to-year or wetland-to-wetland. Isotopic compositions showed evaporation was a contributor to water loss, and thus, did impact water chemistry. Surface water nitrate concentrations ranged from <0.10 to 4.04 mg/L. The nitrate levels are much higher in the groundwater, ranging from <0.10 to 18.4 mg/L, and are of concern because they are found above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) of 10 mg/L. Atrazine concentrations in surface waters ranged from <0.05 to 10.3 ppb. Groundwater atrazine concentrations ranged from <0.05 to 0.28 ppb. The high atrazine concentrations in surface waters are of concern as they are above the MCL of 3 ppb, and the highest levels occur during the spring bird migration. Most sampled groundwaters had detectable tritium indicating a mix of modern (<5 to 10 years old) and submodern (older than 1950s) recharge. The groundwater also had differences in chemical and isotope composition, and in some cases, increased nitrate concentrations, between the two sampling periods. Modern groundwater tritium ages and changes in groundwater chemical and isotopic compositions may indicate connections with surface waters in the Rainwater Basin.

Chemical evaluation and thermal behavior of Brazil nut oil obtained by different extraction processes

Brazil nut richness has been widely studied aiming at finding transformation models that increase its yield, keep its quality, reduce costs, and increase its productivity. The objective of this study is to evaluate the spectroscopic profile and the chemical and thermal behavior of Brazil nut oil obtained by different extraction processes. Lipid soxhlet extractions with petroleum ether and hexane, and using hydraulic pressing and supercritical carbon dioxide (CO2) were performed. The physicochemical analyses showed an acidity index with significant differences between the samples obtained by hydraulic pressing and supercritical CO2. The peroxide index presented significant difference for the oil obtained by hydraulic pressing compared to that obtained by the other extraction processes. The fatty acid profiles showed a relevant presence of the omega series (w-3, w-6, and w-9) with significant differences for the extraction processes evaluated. The results of the thermogravimetric and differential analyses did not indicate changes in mass loss and presented predominantly exothermic behavior. The spectroscopic profiles indicate that the extraction processes do not change the spectral profile of the oils. (c) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Tauroursodeoxycholic Acid Affects PPAR gamma and TLR4 in Steatotic Liver Transplantation

Numerous steatotic livers are discarded for transplantation because of their poor tolerance to ischemia-reperfusion (I/R). We examined whether tauroursodeoxycholic acid (TUDCA), a known inhibitor of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress, protects steatotic and nonsteatotic liver grafts preserved during 6 h in University of Wisconsin (UW) solution and transplanted. The protective mechanisms of TUDCA were also examined. Neither unfolded protein response (UPR) induction nor ER stress was evidenced in steatotic and nonsteatotic liver grafts after 6 h in UW preservation solution. TUDCA only protected steatotic livers grafts and did so through a mechanism independent of ER stress. It reduced proliferator-activated receptor-gamma(PPAR gamma) and damage. When PPAR gamma was activated, TUDCA did not reduce damage. TUDCA, which inhibited PPAR gamma, and the PPAR gamma antagonist treatment up-regulated toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4), specifically the TIR domain-containing adaptor inducing IFN beta (TRIF) pathway. TLR4 agonist treatment reduced damage in steatotic liver grafts. When TLR4 action was inhibited, PPAR gamma antagonists did not protect steatotic liver grafts. In conclusion, TUDCA reduced PPAR gamma and this in turn up-regulated the TLR4 pathway, thus protecting steatotic liver grafts. TLR4 activating-based strategies could reduce the inherent risk of steatotic liver failure after transplantation.

Bamboo overabundance alters forest structure and dynamics in the Atlantic Forest hotspot

With fast growth rates and clonal reproduction, bamboos can rapidly invade forest areas, drastically changing their original structure. In the Brazilian Atlantic Forest, where recent mapping efforts have shown that woody bamboos dominate large areas, the present study assessed the differences in soil and vegetation between plots dominated (>90% of bamboo coverage) and not dominated (<10% of coverage) by the native Guadua tagoara. Surface soil was physically and chemically analyzed, and trees at three size classes (seedling, sapling, and adult) were counted, identified and measured. New inventories were conducted to assess recruitment, mortality, and damage rates. Bamboo plots had more fertile soils (higher bases saturation and lower potential acidity) due to the preferential occurrence of G. tagoara on more clayey soils. Bamboo-dominated plots had lower density of adult trees (diameter >5 cm) and lower species density. In addition, overall tree diameter distribution was very different between environments, with bamboo plots having greater concentration of small-sized trees. Such differences are probably related to the general tendency of higher mortality, recruitment, and damage rates in bamboo plots. Greater physical (wind and bamboo-induced damages) and physiological stress (heat and light) in bamboo plots are probable causes of bamboo-dominated plots being more dynamic. Finally, we discuss the differences between Atlantic and Amazonian Guadua-dominated forests, causes, and possible consequences of bamboo overabundance to the Atlantic Forest conservation. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of Gastric Bypass Surgery in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes and Only Mild Obesity

OBJECTIVE-Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB) ameliorates type 2 diabetes in severely obese patients through mechanisms beyond just weight loss, and it may benefit less obese diabetic patients. We determined the long-term impact of RYGB on patients with diabetes and only class 1 obesity. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS-Sixty-six consecutively selected diabetic patients with BMI 30-35 kg/m(2) underwent RYGB in a tertiary-care hospital and were prospectively studied for up to 6 years (median 5 years [range 1-6]), with 100% follow-up. Main outcome measures were safety and the percentage of patients experiencing diabetes remission (HbA(1c) <6.5% without diabetes medication). RESULTS-Participants had severe, longstanding diabetes, with disease duration 12.5 +/- 7.4 years and HbA(1c) 9.7 +/- 1.5%, despite insulin and/or oral diabetes medication usage in everyone. For up to 6 years following RYGB, durable diabetes remission occurred in 88% of cases, with glycemic improvement in 11%. Mean HbA(1c) fell from 9.7 +/- 1.5 to 5.9 +/- 0.1% (P < 0.001), despite diabetes medication cessation in the majority. Weight loss failed to correlate with several measures of improved glucose homeostasis, consistent with weight-independent antidiabetes mechanisms of RYGB. C-peptide responses to glucose increased substantially, suggesting improved beta-cell function. There was no mortality, major surgical morbidity, or excessive weight loss. Hypertension and dyslipidemia also improved, yielding 50-84% reductions in predicted 10-year cardiovascular disease risks of fatal and nonfatal coronary heart disease and stroke. CONCLUSIONS-This is the largest, longest-term study examining RYGB for diabetic patients without severe obesity. RYGB safely and effectively ameliorated diabetes and associated comorbidities, reducing cardiovascular risk, in patients with a BMI of only 30-35 kg/m(2).

Effects of water flow on ablation rate and morphological changes in human enamel and dentin after Er:YAG laser irradiation

Purpose: To investigate the laboratory effect of Er:YAG laser on ablation rate and morphological changes in human enamel and dentin with varying water flow. Methods: 23 human third molars were sectioned in mesio-distal and buccal-lingual directions. The slabs were flattened and weighted on an analytical laboratory balance (control). A 4-mm(2) area was demarcated and the samples were randomly assigned into three groups according to water flow employed during the laser irradiation (1.0, 1.5, and 2.0 mL/minute). An Er:YAG laser was used to ablate enamel (80.22-J/cm(2), 300 mJ/4Hz) and dentin (96.26-J/cm(2), 250 mJ/4Hz). After irradiation, the samples were immersed in distilled water for 1 hour and then weighted again. The final mass was obtained and laser-irradiated substrate mass loss was calculated by the difference between the initial and final mass. Afterwards, specimens were prepared for SEM. Results: Data were submitted to ANOVA and Tukey's test (P< 0.05). It was observed that the 2.0 mL/minute resulted in a higher mass loss, 1.0 mL/minute showed a lower mass loss, and 1.5 mL/minute demonstrated intermediate results (P< 0.05). The increase of water flow promoted less melting areas and cracks. Furthermore, dentin was more ablated than enamel. It may be concluded that the water flow of Er:YAG laser and the substrates affected the ablation rate. Among the tested parameters, 2.0 mL/minute improved the ability of ablation in enamel and dentin, with less morphologic surface alteration. (Am J Dent 20 12;25:332-336).

MMP3 and TIMP1 variants contribute to chronic periodontitis and may be implicated in disease progression

Aim Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) play a key role in the tissue destruction characteristic of chronic periodontitis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of MMP and TIMP polymorphisms with chronic periodontitis in two populations. Material and Methods A total of 34 polymorphisms spanning 12 MMP and 2 TIMP genes were genotyped in 401 individuals from Brazil (99 cases with chronic periodontitis and 302 controls), and 274 individuals from the US (70 cases and 204 controls). Individuals were considered cases if presenting at least three teeth exhibiting sites of clinical attachment loss =5 mm in two different quadrants. Controls were characterized by absence of clinical attachment loss and no sites with probing depth >3 mm. MMP3 and TIMP1 mRNA expression was evaluated in healthy and diseased periodontal tissues. Results TIMP1 showed association with chronic periodontitis in the Brazilian population (for rs5906435, p = 0.0004), whereas MMP3 showed association in the US population (for rs679620, p = 0.0003; and rs650108, p = 0.002) and in the Brazilian population (for rs639752, p = 0.005). MMP3 and TIMP1 mRNA expression was significantly higher in diseased tissues when compared to control tissues. Conclusions Our results further support a role for variations in MMP3 in chronic periodontitis and report a novel association with TIMP1. These genes may be considered additional candidate genes for chronic periodontitis.

Synthesis Methodology Applied to a Tunable Patch Filter With Independent Frequency and Bandwidth Control

A new methodology for the synthesis of tunable patch filters is presented. The methodology helps the designer to perform a theoretical analysis of the filter through a coupling matrix that includes the effect of the tuning elements used to tune the filter. This general methodology accounts for any tuning parameter desired and was applied to the design of a tunable dual-mode patch filter with independent control of center frequency and bandwidth (BW). The bandpass filter uses a single triangular resonator with two etched slots that split the fundamental degenerate modes and form the filter passband. Varactor diodes assembled across the slots are used to vary the frequency of each degenerate fundamental mode independently, which is feasible due to the nature of the coupling scheme of the filter. The varactor diode model used in simulations, their assembling, the dc bias configuration, and measured results are presented. The theory results are compared to the simulations and to measurements showing a very good agreement and validating the proposed methodology. The fabricated filter presents an elliptic response with 20% of center frequency tuning range around 3.2 GHz and a fractional BW variation from 4% to 12% with low insertion loss and high power handling with a 1-dB compression point higher than +14.5 dB.

MIF induces osteoclast differentiation and contributes to progression of periodontal disease in mice

Periodontal disease (PD) is a chronic inflammatory and alveolar bone destructive disease triggered by microorganisms from the oral biofilm. Oral inoculation of mice with the periodontopathogen Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) induces marked alveolar bone loss and local production of inflammatory mediators, including Macrophage Migration Inhibitory Factor (MW). The role of MW for alveolar bone resorption during PD is not known. In the present study, experimental PD was induced in BALB/c wild-type mice (WT) and MW knockout mice (MIF-/-) through oral inoculation of Aa. Despite enhanced number of bacteria, MIF-/- mice had reduced infiltration of TRAP-positive cells and reduced alveolar bone loss. This was associated with decreased neutrophil accumulation and increased levels of IL-10 in periodontal tissues. TNF-alpha production was similar in both groups. In vitro, LPS from Aa enhanced osteoclastic activity in a MIF-dependent manner. In conclusion, MIF has role in controlling bacterial growth in the context of PD but contributes more significantly to the progression of bone loss during PD by directly affecting differentiation and activity of osteoclasts. (C) 2011 Institut Pasteur. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Quality of life in elderly adults before and after hearing aid fitting

Presbycusis is a common disorder in the elderly, which causes hearing loss and may contribute to the development of some psychiatric disorders, leading to isolation clue to communication difficulties in the social environment. Objective: To identify through the WHOQOL (World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire), the quality of life of hearing impaired individuals before and after hearing aid fittings. Method: We had 30 individuals with hearing loss, all over 60 years of age - patients from a Speech Therapy Clinic. The patients answered the WHOQOL questions without the use of hearing aids; and after the effective use of a sound amplification device for a period of three months they answered it again. The WHOQOL - Bref consists of 26 questions, two general quality-of-life questions and 24 associated with four aspects: physical, psychological, environmental and social relations. Results: There was a significant improvement in quality of life in general, as far as leisure activities were concerned, there were no major changes regarding the frequency of negative feelings; even after the hearing aid fitting, the patients continue to have such feelings. Conclusion: The use of hearing aids favored the overall quality of life of the individuals evaluated.

A new damage model for composite laminates

Aircraft composite structures must have high stiffness and strength with low weight, which can guarantee the increase of the pay-load for airplanes without losing airworthiness. However, the mechanical behavior of composite laminates is very complex due the inherent anisotropy and heterogeneity. Many researchers have developed different failure progressive analyses and damage models in order to predict the complex failure mechanisms. This work presents a damage model and progressive failure analysis that requires simple experimental tests and that achieves good accuracy. Firstly, the paper explains damage initiation and propagation criteria and a procedure to identify the material parameters. In the second stage, the model was implemented as a UMAT (User Material Subroutine), which is linked to finite element software, ABAQUS (TM), in order to predict the composite structures behavior. Afterwards, some case studies, mainly off-axis coupons under tensile or compression loads, with different types of stacking sequence were analyzed using the proposed material model. Finally, the computational results were compared to the experimental results, verifying the capability of the damage model in order to predict the composite structure behavior. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Drug-targeting in combined cancer chemotherapy: tumor growth inhibition in mice by association of paclitaxel and etoposide with a cholesterol-rich nanoemulsion

Lipid nanoemulsions (LDE) may be used as carriers of paclitaxel (PTX) and etoposide (ETP) to decrease toxicity and increase the therapeutic action of those drugs. The current study investigates the combined chemotherapy with PTX and ETP associated with LDE. Four groups of 10-20 B16F10 melanoma-bearing mice were treated with LDE-PTX and LDE-ETP in combination (LDE-PTX + ETP), commercial PTX and ETP in combination (PTX + ETP), single LDE-PTX, and single LDE-ETP. PTX and ETX doses were 9 mu mol/kg administered in three intraperitoneal injections on three alternate days. In two control groups mice were treated with saline solution or LDE alone. Tumor growth, metastasis presence, cell-cycle distribution, blood cell counts and histological data were analyzed. Toxicity of all treatments was evaluated in mice without tumors. Tumor growth inhibition was similarly strong in all treatment groups. However, there was a greater reduction in the number of animals bearing metastases in the LDE-PTX + ETP group (30 %) in comparison to the PTX + ETP group (82 %, p < 0.05). Reduction of cellular density, blood vessels and increase of collagen fibers in tumor tissues were observed in the LDE-PTX + ETP group but not in the PTX + ETP group, and in both groups reduced melanoma-related anemia and thrombocytosis were observed. Flow cytometric analysis suggested that LDE-PTX + ETP exhibited greater selectivity to neoplastic cells than PTX-ETP, showing arrest (65 %) in the G(2)/M phase of the cell cycle (p < 0.001). Toxicity manifested by weight loss and myelosuppression was markedly milder in the LDE-PTX + ETP than in the PTX + ETP group. LDE-PTX + ETP combined drug-targeting therapy showed markedly superior anti-cancer properties and reduced toxicity compared to PTX + ETP.