Conservation of wild food plants from wood uses: evidence supporting the protection hypothesis in Northeastern Brazil.

BACKGROUND: The interplay between different uses of woody plants remains underexplored, obscuring our understanding of how a plant's value for one purpose might shield it from other, more harmful uses. This study examines the protection hypothesis by determining if food uses can protect woody plants (trees and shrubs) from wood uses. We approached the hypothesis from two distinct possibilities: (1) the protective effect is proportional to the intensity of a species' use for food purposes, and (2) the protective effect only targets key species for food purposes. METHODS: The research was conducted in a rural community within "Restinga" vegetation in Northeast Brazil. To identify important food species for both consumption and income (key species) and the collection areas where they naturally occur, we conducted participatory workshops. We then carried out a floristic survey in these areas to identify woody species that coexist with the key species. Voucher specimens were used to create a field herbarium, which, along with photographs served as visual stimuli during the checklist interviews. The interviewees used a five-point Likert scale to evaluate the species in terms of perceived wood quality, perceived availability, and use for food and wood purposes. To test our hypothesis, we used Cumulative Link Mixed Models (CLMMs), with the wood use as the response variable, food use, perceived availability and perceived quality as the explanatory variables and the interviewee as a random effect. We performed the same model replacing food use for key species food use (a binary variable that had value 1 when the information concerned a key species with actual food use, and value 0 when the information did not concern a key species or concerned a key species that was not used for food purposes). RESULTS: Consistent with our hypothesis, we identified a protective effect of food use on wood use. However, this effect is not directly proportional to the species' food use, but is confined to plants with considerable domestic food importance. Perceived availability and quality emerged as notable predictors for wood uses. CONCLUSION: We advocate for biocultural conservation strategies that enhance the food value of plants for their safeguarding, coupled with measures for non-edible woody species under higher use-pressure.

Oral rehabilitation with removable partial denture in a patient undergoing partial maxillectomy: a case report / Reabilitação oral com prótese parcial removível em paciente submetido a maxilectomia parcial: relato de caso

ABSTRACT The Removable Partial Denture stands as an effective rehabilitation choice for patients who have undergone partial maxillectomy surgery due to maxillary tumors, involving the partial surgical removal of the maxillary bone. Removable partial denture are meticulously designed to restore masticatory, phonetic, and aesthetic functions, thereby contributing significantly to enhancing self-esteem and aiding patients in resuming social activities. During the patient's history-taking phase, it is of paramount importance to assess the patient's overall health, psychological state, expectations, and limitations. Ensuring regular follow-ups is imperative to prevent complications and to guarantee the durability of the prosthesis. Prosthetic planning constitutes a critical phase and can pose challenges, especially in achieving proper retention, stability, and suitable supports. Factors such as the defect size, the number of remaining teeth, and the amount of remaining bone structures can influence the treatment prognosis. It is crucial to emphasize that lack of adequate planning can lead to rehabilitation failures, resulting in discomfort, compromised functionality, and even potential harm to the patient's health. In this context, this study aims to present a successful clinical case of a patient who underwent partial maxillectomy and was rehabilitated through a Removable Partial Denture fixed with clasps on the entire left upper hemi-arch. This case vividly illustrates the importance of a personalized approach to prosthetic rehabilitation in patients with partial maxillectomy, taking into account the specificities of each case and highlighting the necessity of interdisciplinary collaboration to achieve satisfactory outcomes.

RESUMO A prótese parcial removível é uma opção eficaz de reabilitação para pacientes que passaram por cirurgia de maxilectomia parcial em decorrência de tumores maxilares, ou seja, remoção cirúrgica parcial do osso maxilar. A prótese parcial removível deve ser projetada para recuperar as funções mastigatória, fonética e estética, contribuindo assim na melhoria da autoestima e ajudando o paciente a retornar às atividades sociais. Durante a anamnese, é de grande importância verificar o estado geral e psicológico do paciente, suas expectativas e limitações, garantir o acompanhamento frequente para evitar complicações e garantir a durabilidade da prótese. O planejamento protético é uma etapa crítica e pode apresentar desafios, especialmente na obtenção de retenção, estabilidade e suportes adequados. Fatores como o tamanho do defeito, o número de dentes remanescentes e a quantidade de estruturas ósseas remanescentes podem interferir no prognóstico do tratamento. É importante ressaltar que a falta de planejamento pode levar a falhas na reabilitação, resultando em desconforto, má funcionalidade e até mesmo danos à saúde do paciente. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho tem como objetivo apresentar um caso clínico de sucesso de uma paciente que foi submetida a uma maxilectomia parcial e reabilitada por meio de uma prótese parcial removível fixada por grampos em todo o hemiarco superior esquerdo. Este caso ilustra a importância de uma abordagem personalizada para a reabilitação protética em pacientes com maxilectomia parcial, considerando as particularidades de cada caso e a colaboração interdisciplinar para a obtenção de resultados satisfatórios.

Lifestyle Intervention in Reducing Cardiometabolic Risk Factors in Students with Dyslipidemia and Abdominal Obesity: A Randomized Study

Abstract Background The long incubation periods of cardiovascular diseases offer opportunities for controlling risk factors. In addition, preventive interventions in childhood are more likely to succeed because lifestyle habits become ingrained as they are repeated. Objective To investigate the effects of recreational physical activities, in combination or not with a qualitative nutritional counseling, in cardiometabolic risk factors of students with dyslipidemia and abdominal obesity. Methods Students (8-14 years old) were randomly divided into three groups (n=23 each): i ) Control; ii ) PANC, students undergoing Physical Activity and Nutritional Counseling, and iii ) PA, students submitted to Physical Activity, only. Blood samples (12-h fasting) were collected for biochemical analysis and anthropometric markers were also assessed. Two-Way RM-ANOVA and Holm-Sidak's test, and Friedman ANOVA on Ranks and Dunn's test were applied. P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Effect sizes were evaluated by Hedges' g and Cliff's δ for normal and non-Gaussian data, respectively. Results Compared to the control group and to baseline values, both interventions caused significant average reductions in total cholesterol (11%; p <0.001), LDL-c (19%; p=0.002), and non-HDL-c (19%; p=0.003). Furthermore, students in the PANC group also experienced a significant decrease in body fat compared to baseline (p=0.005) and to control (5.2%; g=0.541). Conclusions The proposed strategies were effective to reduce cardiometabolic risk factors in children and adolescents. The low cost of these interventions allows the implementation of health care programs in schools to improve the students' quality of life.

Wild plants and the food-medicine continuum-an ethnobotanical survey in Chapada Diamantina (Northeastern Brazil).

BACKGROUND: Ethnobotanical research has demonstrated that several wild food plants (WFP) are used for medicinal purposes. Therefore, in addition to constituting an important source of nutrients, WFP can be used to help treat and avoid health problems. This study sought to characterize the traditional use of plants considered simultaneously as food and medicine by local specialists in the community of Caeté-Açu, which borders Chapada Diamantina National Park (NE Brazil). We also sought to identify the variables that influence the species' cultural importance. METHODS: We selected local specialists based on a snowball sample and used a free-listing technique to register the wild plants they knew that are both edible and medicinal. Then, we asked the specialists to rank each plant component cited according to the following attributes: (1) ease of acquisition, (2) taste, (3) smell, (4) nutritional value, and (5) medicinal value. We used multiple regression to determine the variables that influence the cultural salience. RESULTS: The most culturally salient species was Anredera cordifolia (Ten.) Steenis. The main medicinal effects associated with this species were related to body strengthening, intestinal regulation, and stomach issues. The most salient used species were those that were easiest to acquire and had the highest perceived nutritional values. CONCLUSION: It is likely that the sociocultural backgrounds of the respondents (elders, former miners, or descendants of miners) and the historical importance of wild food plants to local diets increased the predictive power of the perceived nutritional importance and ease of acquisition of these plants.

Avaliação da qualidade de saneantes clandestinos comercializados em Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais / Assessment of the quality of unlicensed home-made sanitizing products sold in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais

Os saneantes representam uma variedade de agentes de limpeza, incluindo os desinfetantes. Os saneantes clandestinos não passam por nenhum tipo de avaliação quanto à eficácia e possíveis contaminações, portanto o consumidor não tem segurança ao utilizá-lo. Este trabalho teve por objetivo analisar amostras de saneantes clandestinos comercializadas quanto aos parâmetros de rotulagem, qualidade microbiológica e físico-química e a avaliação da eficácia. A contagem de micro-organismos e a pesquisa de patógenos foram determinadas conforme indicado na Farmacopéia Brasileira. A avaliação da eficácia das amostras foi realizada pela determinação da atividade antimicrobiana de produtos desinfetantes por meio da redução da carga microbiana frente a micro-organismos patogênicos. 91% das amostras apresentaram rótulos em desacordo com a Legislação. O teste de Capacidade Inibitória indicou que, para inibir possíveis contaminações, os saneantes clandestinos possuem maior quantidade de princípio ativo do que o indicado nos rótulos e do que o determinado pela Legislação. Além disso, nove amostras apresentaram como princípio ativo o formaldeído, conservante banido das formulações de desinfetantes. Nove amostras apresentaram contaminação por bactérias e/ou fungos. O teste de eficácia indicou que aproximadamente 50% das amostras não foram eficazes contra micro-organismos testados e que não houve redução da carga microbiana nos tempos testados. As amostras analisadas podem oferecer riscos aos consumidores e fabricantes, uma vez que os resultados indicaram que o processo de produção não segue as Boas Práticas de Fabricação, além de serem importantes para reafirmar as ações preventivas, na conscientização dos fabricantes e consumidores pela busca de produtos de qualidade.

The term sanitizer includes a variety of cleaning agents, including disinfectants. Unlicensed home-made sanitizing products do not undergo any kind of quality control to attest to their effectiveness and lack of contamination, so do not ensure consumer safety. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze samples of clandestine home-made sanitizers sold in the local market, to check microbiological and physicochemical quality and labeling and assess their effectiveness. Total viable counts of microorganisms and pathogens were determined as indicated in the Brazilian Pharmacopoeia. Effectiveness was assessed by challenging the product with pathogenic microorganisms and antimicrobialactivity was determined by the reduction of the bacterial load. Results showed that 91% of the samples had labels violating current legislation. The analysis indicated that, to guarantee inhibitory capacity, home-made sanitizers had a higher level of active ingredient than indicated on their labels and than allowed by legislation. In addition, nine samples had formaldehyde as the active ingredient, a preservative banned as a component of disinfectants. Nine samples were contaminated by bacteria and/or fungi. The antimicrobial challenge test showed that approximately 50% of the samples were ineffective against the microorganisms tested, with no reduction in the microbial load. The present study points to home-made sanitizers as risks to consumers and manufacturers. Results indicate that the production process does not follow Good Manufacturing Practice, hence they are very significant in reaffirming preventive practices and making manufacturers and consumers aware of the need to seek products of certified quality.

Estudo para determinaçäo da forma dos arcos de nivelamento pelo método de Andrade / Study to determine the arch form using Andrade's method

A forma dos arcos construídos com fios metálicos usados nas várias fases dos tratamentos ortodônticos, säo determinados pelos diagramas de contorneamento. O método Andrade permite a obtençäo do diagrama individualizado, usando-se a telerradiografia em norma lateral. O diagrama individualizado poderá ser usado também como auxiliar do plano de tratamento