Patients' expectations and satisfaction of complete denture therapy and correlation with locus of control

P>Considering the importance of patients' satisfaction with complete denture therapy and the influence of psychosocial aspects and expectations regarding satisfaction with their dentures, the present study aimed to test for a correlation between locus of control profiles and expectations before and satisfaction after complete denture therapy. Sixty-four patients rated their expectations for aesthetic and functional results of complete denture therapy on a 10-cm visual analogue scale (VAS), using scores from 0 (worst results) to 10 (best results). A similar questionnaire was used regarding satisfaction after final denture adjustments. Patients also answered a locus of control questionnaire in the initial interview. anova and a chi-squared test were used to test for correlations among ratings, patient gender and locus of control profiles. The significance level adopted was 0 center dot 05. The expectation ratings before treatment were significantly lower than the post-treatment completion ratings, both for aesthetics (P < 0 center dot 001) and function (P = 0 center dot 004). There was no correlation between locus of control profiles and patients' ratings or between gender and VAS scores. No correlation was found between locus of control profiles and scores for expectations before and satisfaction after complete dentures.

Near-infrared Raman spectroscopy to detect anti-Toxoplasma gondii antibody in blood sera of domestic cats: quantitative analysis based on partial least-squares multivariate statistics

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

Partial purification and characterization of lysine-ketoglutarate reductase in normal and opaque-2 maize endosperms

Lysine-ketoglutaratc reductase catalyzes the first step of lysine catabolism in maize (Zea mays L.) endosperm. The enzyme condenses L-lysine and α-ketoglutarate into saccharopine using NADPH as cofactor. It is endosperm-specific and has a temporal pattern of activity, increasing with the onset of kernel development, reaching a peak 20 to 25 days after pollination, and thereafter decreasing as the kernel approaches maturity. The enzyme was extracted from the developing maize endosperm and partially purified by ammonium-sulfate precipitation, anion-exchange chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, and affinity chromatography on Blue-Sepharose CL-6B. The preparation obtained from affinity chromatography was enriched 275-fold and had a specific activity of 411 nanomoles per minute per milligram protein. The native and denaturated enzyme is a 140 kilodalton protein as determined by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The enzyme showed specificity for its substrates and was not inhibited by either aminoethyl-cysteine or glutamate. Steady-state product-inhibition studies revealed that saccharopine was a noncompetitive inhibitor with respect to α-ketoglutarate and a competitive inhibitor with respect to lysine. This is suggestive of a rapid equilibriumordered binding mechanism with a binding order of lysine, α-ketoglutarate, NADPH. The enzyme activity was investigated in two maize inbred lines with homozygous normal and opaque-2 endosperms. The pattern of lysine-ketoglutarate reductase activity is coordinated with the rate of zein accumulation during endosperm development. A coordinated regulation of enzyme activity and zein accumulation was observed in the opaque-2 endosperm as the activity and zein levels were two to three times lower than in the normal endosperm. Enzyme extracted from L1038 normal and opaque-2 20 days after pollination was partially purified by DEAE-cellulose chromatography. Both genotypes showed a similar elution pattern with a single activity peak eluted at approximately 0.2 molar KCL. The molecular weight and physical properties of the normal and opaque-2 enzymes were essentially the same. We suggest that the Opaque-2 gene, which is a transactivator of the 22 kilodalton zein genes, may be involved in the regulation of the lysine-ketoglutarate reductase gene in maize endosperm. In addition, the decreased reductase activity caused by the opaque-2 mutation may explain, at least in part, the elevated concentration of lysine found in the opaque-2 endosperm.

Constraints on spin-3/2 and excited spin-1/2 fermions coming from the leptonic Z0-partial width

We consider effective interactions among excited spin-1/2 and spin-3/2 leptons with the usual ones. Assuming that these new leptons are lighter than the Z0, we study the constraints on their masses and compositeness scale coming from the leptonic Z0 partial width.

Mechanism of phase formation in Pb(ZrxTi1-x)O3 synthesized by a partial oxalate method

The phase formation mechanism, as well as the morphotropic phase boundary, of lead zirconate titanate (PZT) processed by a partial oxalate method was investigated by simultaneous thermal analysis (TG-DTA) and by qualitative and quantitative X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results show that the ZrxTi1-xO2 (ZT) phase reacts with PbO forming the PZT phase without intermediate phases. XRD analysis showed the coexistence of rhombohedral and tetragonal phases for 0.47 ≤ x ≤ 0.55 with the phase boundary composition for x = 0.51. For low calcination temperatures, preferential formation of the PZT rhombohedral phase was observed. A model for phase formation of PZT by the partial oxalate method is proposed based on the existence of two interfaces of reaction (PbO-PZT and PZT-ZT) and diffusion of cations.