The Evidence of the Rugoscopy Effectiveness as a Human Identification Method in Patients Submitted to Rapid Palatal Expansion

The objective of this study was to demonstrate the effectiveness of rugoscopy as a human identification method, even when the patient is submitted to rapid palatal expansion, which in theory would introduce doubt. With this intent, the Rugoscopic Identity was obtained for each subject using the classification formula proposed by Santos based on the intra-oral casts made before and after treatment from patients who were subjected to palatal expansion. The casts were labeled with the patients' initials and randomly arranged for studying. The palatine rugae kept the same patterns in every case studied. The technical error of the intra-evaluator measurement provided a confidence interval of 95%, making rugoscopy a reliable identification method for patients who were submitted to rapid palatal expansion, because even in the presence of intra-oral changes owing to the use of palatal expanders, the palatine rugae retained the biological and technical requirements for the human identification process. © 2012 American Academy of Forensic Sciences.

Dietary, anthropometric, and biochemical determinants of uric acid in free-living adults

Background: High plasma uric acid (UA) is a prerequisite for gout and is also associated with the metabolic syndrome and its components and consequently risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. Hence, the management of UA serum concentrations would be essential for the treatment and/or prevention of human diseases and, to that end, it is necessary to know what the main factors that control the uricemia increase. The aim of this study was to evaluate the main factors associated with higher uricemia values analyzing diet, body composition and biochemical markers. Methods. 415 both gender individuals aged 21 to 82 years who participated in a lifestyle modification project were studied. Anthropometric evaluation consisted of weight and height measurements with later BMI estimation. Waist circumference was also measured. The muscle mass (Muscle Mass Index - MMI) and fat percentage were measured by bioimpedance. Dietary intake was estimated by 24-hour recalls with later quantification of the servings on the Brazilian food pyramid and the Healthy Eating Index. Uric acid, glucose, triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol, urea, creatinine, gamma-GT, albumin and calcium and HDL-c were quantified in serum by the dry-chemistry method. LDL-c was estimated by the Friedewald equation and ultrasensitive C-reactive protein (CRP) by the immunochemiluminiscence method. Statistical analysis was performed by the SAS software package, version 9.1. Linear regression (odds ratio) was performed with a 95% confidence interval (CI) in order to observe the odds ratio for presenting UA above the last quartile (♂UA > 6.5 mg/dL and ♀ UA > 5 mg/dL). The level of significance adopted was lower than 5%. Results: Individuals with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m§ssup§2§esup§ OR = 2.28(1.13-4.6) and lower MMI OR = 13.4 (5.21-34.56) showed greater chances of high UA levels even after all adjustments (gender, age, CRP, gamma-gt, LDL, creatinine, urea, albumin, HDL-c, TG, arterial hypertension and glucose). As regards biochemical markers, higher triglycerides OR = 2.76 (1.55-4.90), US-CRP OR = 2.77 (1.07-7.21) and urea OR = 2.53 (1.19-5.41) were associated with greater chances of high UA (adjusted for gender, age, BMI, waist circumference, MMI, glomerular filtration rate, and MS). No association was found between diet and UA. Conclusions: The main factors associated with UA increase were altered BMI (overweight and obesity), muscle hypotrophy (MMI), higher levels of urea, triglycerides, and CRP. No dietary components were found among uricemia predictors. © 2013 de Oliveira et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.

Search for pair production of third-generation leptoquarks and top squarks in pp collisions at √s=7 TeV

Results are presented from a search for the pair production of third-generation scalar and vector leptoquarks, as well as for top squarks in R-parity-violating supersymmetric models. In either scenario, the new, heavy particle decays into a τ lepton and a b quark. The search is based on a data sample of pp collisions at √s=7 TeV, which is collected by the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 4.8 fb -1. The number of observed events is found to be in agreement with the standard model prediction, and exclusion limits on mass parameters are obtained at the 95% confidence level. Vector leptoquarks with masses below 760 GeV are excluded and, if the branching fraction of the scalar leptoquark decay to a τ lepton and a b quark is assumed to be unity, third-generation scalar leptoquarks with masses below 525 GeV are ruled out. Top squarks with masses below 453 GeV are excluded for a typical benchmark scenario, and limits on the coupling between the top squark, τ lepton, and b quark, λ333′ are obtained. These results are the most stringent for these scenarios to date. © 2013 CERN.

Compressive strength of dental composites photo-activated with different light tips

The aim of this study was to evaluate the compressive strength of microhybrid (Filtek™ Z250) and nanofilled (Filtek™ Supreme XT) composite resins photo-activated with two different light guide tips, fiber optic and polymer, coupled with one LED. The power density was 653 mW cm -2 when using the fiber optic light tip and 596 mW cm-2 with the polymer. After storage in distilled water at 37 ± 2 °C for seven days, the samples were subjected to mechanical testing of compressive strength in an EMIC universal mechanical testing machine with a load cell of 5 kN and speed of 0.5 mm min-1. The statistical analysis was performed using ANOVA with a confidence interval of 95% and Tamhane's test. The results showed that the mean values of compressive strength were not influenced by the different light tips (p > 0.05). However, a statistical difference was observed (p < 0.001) between the microhybrid composite resin photo-activated with the fiber optic light tip and the nanofilled composite resin. Based on these results, it can be concluded that microhybrid composite resin photo-activated with the fiber optic light tip showed better results than nanofilled, regardless of the tip used, and the type of the light tip did not influence the compressive strength of either composite. Thus, the presented results suggest that both the fiber optic and polymer light guide tips provide adequate compressive strength to be used to make restorations. However, the fiber optic light tip associated with microhybrid composite resin may be an interesting option for restorations mainly in posterior teeth. © 2013 Astro Ltd.

Evaluation of lines of boron, phosphorus and sulfur by high-resolution continuum source flame atomic absorption spectrometry for plant analysis

The wavelength-integrated absorbance (WIA) and summation of absorbance (∑ lines) of different lines were evaluated to enhance sensitivity and determine B, P and S in medicinal plants by HR-CS FAAS. The lowest LOD for B (0.5mgL-1) and P (13.7mgL-1) was obtained by integration of lines 249.773nm (3pixels) and 247.620nm (5pixels), respectively. The ∑ lines for CS at 257.595nm and 257.958nm furnished LOD=30.5mgL-1, ca. 10% lower than the LOD obtained for the WIA using 257.595nm and 5pixels. Data showed the advantage of WIA over ∑ lines to improve sensitivity for all analytes. Under optimized conditions, calibration curves in the 1.0-100mgL-1 B and 50.0-2000mgL-1 P, S ranges were consistently obtained. Results obtained with the HR-CS FAAS method were in agreement at 98% and 95% confidence level with certified values for B and P, respectively. And results for S were in accordance to non-certified values. Concentrations of B, P, and S in 12 medicinal plants analyzed by the proposed method varied within the 19.4-34.5mgkg-1 B, 719-3910mgkg-1 P and 1469-7653mgkg-1 S ranges. © 2012 Elsevier B.V.

Frequency and genetic diversity of the MAT1 locus of Histoplasma capsulatum isolates in Mexico and Brazil

The MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 idiomorphs associated with the MAT1 locus of Histoplasma capsulatum were identified by PCR. A total of 28 fungal isolates, 6 isolates from human clinical samples and 22 isolates from environmental (infected bat and contaminated soil) samples, were studied. Among the 14 isolates from Mexico, 71.4% (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 48.3% to 94.5%) were of the MAT1-2 genotype, whereas 100% of the isolates from Brazil were of the MAT1-1 genotype. Each MAT1 idiomorphic region was sequenced and aligned, using the sequences of the G-217B (+mating type) and G-186AR (-mating type) strains as references. BLASTn analyses of the MAT1-1 and MAT1-2 sequences studied correlated with their respective+ and-mating type genotypes. Trees were generated by the maximum likelihood (ML) method to search for similarity among isolates of each MAT1 idiomorph. All MAT1-1 isolates originated from Brazilian bats formed a well-defined group; three isolates from Mexico, the G-217B strain, and a subgroup encompassing all soil-derived isolates and two clinical isolates from Brazil formed a second group; last, one isolate (EH-696P) from a migratory bat captured in Mexico formed a third group of the MAT1-1 genotype. The MAT1-2 idiomorph formed two groups, one of which included two H. capsulatum isolates from infected bats that were closely related to the G-186AR strain. The other group was formed by two human isolates and six isolates from infected bats. Concatenated ML trees, with internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1) -5.8S-ITS2 and MAT1-1 or MAT1-2 sequences, support the relatedness of MAT1-1 or MAT1-2 isolates. H. capsulatum mating types were associated with the geographical origin of the isolates, and all isolates from Brazil correlated with their environmental sources. © 2013, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Carotid artery atherosclerotic profile as a predictor of the aorta atherosclerotic profile in patients with cerebrovascular events

Background: It is well known that the presence of atheroma of the thoracic aorta is a risk factor for cerebrovascular events. We sought to evaluate whether the presence and the morphology of atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery detected by duplex ultrasonography is associated with disease in the proximal aorta visualized by transesophageal echocardiogram in patients with a cerebrovascular event. Methods: We carried out a cross-sectional prospective study including 147 consecutive patients with prior stroke or transient ischemic attack (TIA). Neurological evaluations were performed by an expert neurologist using clinical and tomographic diagnostic criteria including the definition of etiology and whether the patient suffered from stroke or TIA. Transthoracic and transesophageal echocardiograms and carotid artery duplex ultrasonography were performed by the same examiner. Patients with and without plaque in the carotid artery were compared using Student's t test or the χ2 test. Regression analysis was used to determine whether the presence of plaque in the carotid artery was predictive of the presence of plaque in the proximal aorta and to analyze the relationship between the echogenicity of carotid and aortic plaques. The significance level was set at p < 0.05. Results: All 147 patients (95 men) were included in the analysis. Patients' ages ranged from 23 to 85 years (65 ± 12.4 years). Most of the patients (58.5%) were Caucasian, while 41.5% were African-Brazilian. Arterial hypertension, diabetes and tobacco use were more frequent among patients with atherosclerotic plaque in the aorta. A normal carotid intima-media thickness halved the risk of atherosclerotic plaque in the aorta [odds ratio (OR) 0.46, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.23-0.91; p = 0.026]. The presence of carotid plaque increased the risk of aortic plaque by 70-fold (OR 73.2, 95% CI 25.6-2,018.6; p < 0.001) in univariate analysis. The absence of atherosclerotic plaque in the carotid artery reduced the risk of plaque in the aorta to almost 0 (OR 0.014, 95% CI 0.004-0.041; p < 0.001). Considering the 86 patients with both aortic and carotid plaques, the presence of hypoechoic plaque in the carotid artery was a predictor of hypoechoic plaque in the aorta (OR 10.1, 95% CI 3.3-31.2; p < 0.001). Conclusions: The carotid artery atherosclerotic profile defined by ultrasonography is a strong predictor of the atherosclerotic profile of the proximal aorta. This should be taken into consideration before referring patients with acute cerebrovascular events for transesophageal echocardiogram. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Measurement of the Bs0→μ+μ- branching fraction and search for B0→μ+μ- with the CMS experiment

Results are presented from a search for the rare decays Bs0→μ+μ- and B0→μ+μ - in pp collisions at √s=7 and 8 TeV, with data samples corresponding to integrated luminosities of 5 and 20 fb-1, respectively, collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. An unbinned maximum-likelihood fit to the dimuon invariant mass distribution gives a branching fraction B(Bs0→μ+μ-)=(3.0-0.9+1.0) ×10-9, where the uncertainty includes both statistical and systematic contributions. An excess of Bs0→μ+μ- events with respect to background is observed with a significance of 4.3 standard deviations. For the decay B0→μ+μ- an upper limit of B(B0→μ+μ-)<1.1×10 -9 at the 95% confidence level is determined. Both results are in agreement with the expectations from the standard model. © 2013 CERN. Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the.

The impact of hydrofluoric acid etching followed by unfilled resin on the biaxial strength of a glass-ceramic

Objectives: To evaluate the null hypotheses that hydrofluoric (HF) acid etching time would neither decrease the biaxial flexural strength of a glass-based veneering ceramic nor enhance it after silane and unfilled resin (UR) applications. Methods: Disc-shaped IPS e.max ZirPress specimens were allocated into 12 groups: G1-control (no-etching), G2-30 s, G3-60 s, G4-90 s, G5-120 s, G6-60 s + 60 s. Groups (G7-G12) were treated in the same fashion as G1-G6, but followed by silane and UR applications. Surface morphology and roughness (Ra and Rq) of the ceramics were assessed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and profilometry, respectively. Flexural strength was determined by biaxial testing. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA and the Sidak test (α = 0.05). Weibull statistics were estimated and finite element analysis (FEA) was carried out to verify the stress concentration end areas of fracture. Results: The interaction (etching time vs. surface treatment) was significant for Ra (p = 0.008) and Rq (0.0075). Resin-treated groups presented significantly lower Ra and Rq than non-treated groups, except for the 60 s group (p < 0.005). SEM revealed that etching affected the ceramic microstructure and that the UR was able to penetrate into the irregularities. A significant effect of etching time (p = 0.029) on flexural strength was seen. G7-G12 presented higher strength than G1-G6 (p < 0.0001). None of experimental groups failed to show 95% confidence intervals of σ 0 and m overlapped. FEA showed lower stress concentration after resin treatment. Significance: HF acid etching time did not show a damaging effect on the ceramic flexural strength. Moreover, the flexural strength could be enhanced after UR treatment. © 2013 Academy of Dental Materials.

Enriched environment contributes to recovery of visual acuity and increases perineuronal nets in monocular-deprived animals

ABSTRACT The aim of the present study was to analyze the influence of enriched environment on the distribution of perineuronal nets (PNNs) using a stereogically based unbiased protocol and visual acuity in adult Swiss albino mice that underwent monocular deprivation during the critical period of postnatal development. Eight female Swiss albino mice were monocular deprived were removed and cut at 70 µm thickness in a vibratome and processed for lectin histochemical staining with Wisteria floribunda agglutinin (WFA). Architectonic limits of area 17 were conspicuously defined by WFA histochemical staining, and the optical fractionator stereological method was applied to estimate the total number of PNNs in the supragranular, granular, and infragranular layers. All groups were compared using Student's t-test at a 95% confidence level. Comparative analysis of the average PNN estimations revealed that the EE group had higher PNNs in the supragranular layer (2726.33 ± 405.416, mean ± standard deviation) compared with the SE group (1543.535 ± 260.686; Student's t-test, p = .0495). No differences were found in the other layers. Visual acuity was significantly lower in the SE group (0.55 cycles/degree) than in the EE group (1.06 cycles/degree). Our results suggest that the integrity of the specialized extracellular matrix PNNs of the supragranular layer may be essential for normal visual acuity development.

Square-wave voltammetric determination of rutin in pharmaceutical formulations using a carbon composite electrode modified with copper (II) phosphate immobilized in polyester resin

Descreve-se um eletrodo de carbono modificado com fosfato de cobre (II) imobilizado em uma resina de poliéster (Cu₃(PO₄)₂-Poly) para a determinação de rutina em amostras farmacêuticas por voltametria de onda quadrada. O eletrodo modificado permite a determinação de rutina em potencial (0.20 V vs Ag / AgCl (3,0 mol L^-1 KCl)) menor que o observado em um eletrodo não modificado. Verificou-se que a corrente de pico foi linear com a concentração de rutina na faixa de 9,9 × 10^-8 a 2,5 × 10^-6 mol L^-1, com um limite de detecção de 1,2 × 10^-8 mol L^-1. A resposta do eletrodo foi estável, sem variação significativa dentro de várias horas de operação contínua. A morfologia da superfície do eletrodo modificado foi caracterizada por microscopia eletrônica de varredura (MEV) e pelo sistema de energia dispersiva de raios-X (EDX). Os resultados obtidos foram precisos e exatos. Ademais, estes resultados estão de acordo com aqueles obtidos pelo método cromatográfico a um nível de confiança de 95%.

Oral live attenuated human rotavirus vaccine (RotarixTM) offers sustained high protection against severe G9P[8] rotavirus gastroenteritis during the first two years of life in Brazilian children

In a large Phase III trial conducted in 10 Latin American countries, the safety and efficacy of the live attenuated monovalent rotavirus vaccine RIX4414 was evaluated in 15,183 healthy infants followed up during the first two years of life. Belém was the only site in Brazil included in this multicentre trial. The study in Belém included a subset of 653 infants who were followed up until 24 months of age for protection against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis. These subjects were randomly assigned in a 1:1 ratio to receive two doses of vaccine (n = 328) or two doses of placebo (n = 325) at approximately two and four months of age. Of the 653 enrolled infants, 23 dropped out during the study period. For the combined two-year period, the efficacy of RIX4414 was 72.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) 37.5-89.1%] against severe rotavirus-related gastroenteritis, reaching a protection rate of 81.8% (95% CI 36.4-96.6%) against circulating wild-type G9 rotavirus strains. It is concluded that two doses of RIX4414 are highly efficacious against severe rotavirus gastroenteritis in Belém during the first two years of life and provide high protection against the worldwide emergence and spread of G9P[8] strains.

Prevalence of Diabetes and Diabetic Retinopathy in a Brazilian Population

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

Measurement of the ZZ production cross section and search for anomalous couplings in 2l2l' final states in pp collisions at root s=7 TeV

A measurement is presented of the ZZ production cross section in the ZZ -> 2l2l' decay mode with l = e, mu and l' = e, mu, tau in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV with the CMS experiment at the LHC. Results are based on data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb(-1). The measured cross section sigma(pp -> ZZ) = 6.24(-080)(+0.86) (stat.)(-0.32)(+0.41) (syst.) +/- 0.14 (lumi.) pb is consistent with the standard model predictions. The following limits on ZZZ and ZZ-gamma anomalous trilinear gauge couplings are set at 95% confidence level: -0.011 < f(4)(Z) < 0.012, -0.012 < f(5)(Z) < 0.012, -0.013 < f(4)(gamma) < 0.015, and -0.014 < f(5)(gamma) < 0.014.

Measurement of the properties of a Higgs boson in the four-lepton final state

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)