Efficacy of bioactive compounds and their association with different cowpea cultivars against their major stored pest.

BACKGROUND: Stored grain insects are controlled with fumigant insecticides which can select resistant insect populations and cause environmental and applicator contamination. Thus, resistant cultivars and chemical constituents of essential oils are an alternative to the almost exclusive use of these insecticides. The effects of the combination of cowpea cultivars Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp. with chemical constituents of essential oils against Callosobruchus maculatus were determined. Four cowpea cultivars: BRS Tracuateua, BR 17 Gurgueia, Epace 10 and Sempre Verde (insect rearing) untreated were used in the experiments and combined with chemical constituents of essential oil: eugenol, geraniol and trans-anethole. The biological parameters observed were: total egg number and eggs per grain, egg viability (%), insects emerged and insects per grain, immature stage viability (%), instantaneous rate of growth (ri), insect dry weight (mg), grain weight loss (%) and egg-adult period. RESULTS: When comparing all biological parameters, the cultivars BRS Tracuateua and BR 17 Gurgueia were harmful to C. maculatus. In the toxicity tests, the results showed that LC30 and LC50 of the chemical constituents ranged from 54.77 to 103.48 ppm and 60.99 to 125.18 ppm, respectively. In most of the biological parameters, LC50 had adverse effects significantly higher than LC30 and BR 17 Gurgueia treated were harmful to C. maculatus. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the findings showed that BR 17 Gurgueia combined with eugenol and geraniol more significantly affected the biological parameters of C. maculatus than when associated with trans-anethole, reducing egg number, insects emerged and egg viability. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Development of a subset of ICNP Nursing Diagnoses for the promotion of self-care in people with diabetes mellitus: a multi-center observational study.

INTRODUCTION: Self-care is a key for people with diabetes mellitus (DM) to avoid severe complications and to maintain quality of life. Person-centered and accurate nursing care plans can help nurses to deliver effective self-care promotion interventions. Few studies focused on nursing diagnoses that are specific for diabetes self-care education, and none of them used the International Classification for Nursing Practice (ICNP). International Catalogues of ICNP nursing diagnoses are missing in this field. AIMS: To identify the ICNP nursing diagnoses that are useful to promote self-care in people with DM; to describe the prevalence of ICNP nursing diagnoses in self-care of people with DM. METHODS: A subset of 55 ICNP nursing diagnoses was developed based on the Middle Range Theory of Self-care of Chronic Illness, and most recent diabetes clinical guidelines. Then, the subset was tested through a multicenter cross-sectional design involving a consecutive sample of 170 adults with confirmed diagnosis of Type 1 or Type 2 DM. Data were collected by medical records, physical examinations and semi-structured interviews. RESULTS: 1343 nursing diagnoses were identified, with an average of 8 nursing diagnoses per patient. The 100% of the nursing diagnoses were described using the pre-developed subset. Overall, the five prevalent nursing diagnoses were: Body weight problem (56.4%), Non adherence to immunization regime (53.5%), Conflicting attitude toward dietary regime (41.7%), Impaired weight monitoring (39.4%), and Lack of knowledge about blood glucose diagnostic test result (32.3%). Nursing diagnoses by self-care maintenance, monitoring and management were also described. CONCLUSIONS: A huge amount of nursing diagnoses was identified suggesting the need of intensive education. Clinicians and administrators can use this subset to improve the accuracy of the documentation of diabetes care. In Public Health, the subset can be used to assess the cost-effectiveness of diabetes healthcare services. Future research is needed to assess the effectiveness of this subset in settings that are different from the one where it was developed. Finally, this subset could be a starting point to develop and International ICNP Catalogue for diabetes care.

Ultrasound transmission gel as a bolus device for skin irradiation of irregular surfaces: technical note.

PURPOSE: This paper describes an uncommon radiation treatment of the external ear, with ultrasound (US) transmission gel used as bolus device to compensate for the irregularity of the target surface. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Postoperative radiotherapy for cutaneous carcinoma was performed with a single high-energy electron beam directed over the ear auricle. Due to the irregular surface of the target, a "missing tissue" compensator was employed. Daily, after patient positioning, the concha was filled and flattened with US gel, and a dose of 54 Gy in 27 fractions was delivered. RESULTS: Water equivalence of the gel was verified by comparing the gel's computed tomography (CT) number [Hounsfield units (HU)] and density with the corresponding values for water and another commercial bolus device. Whereas ultrasound gel and water had comparable values (HU: 0; density 1 g/cm(3) for both), the corresponding values for the commercial device were slightly higher (HU: 80; density 1.02 g/cm(3)). CONCLUSIONS: Ultrasound gel proved to be an easy, fast and cheap compensating tool. Its water equivalence allows it to be used as an alternative to water, though easier to position and with lower risk of displacement. Thus, it is recommendable as a practical tool for most irregular sites. Further investigations are warranted to validate this solution in more complex irradiation techniques.

[Non-cognitive symptoms and psychopharmacological treatment in demented nursing home residents]. / Nicht-kognitive Symptome und psychopharmakologische Behandlung bei demenzkranken Heimbewohnern.

Dementias, in particular Alzheimer's disease (AD), are the main reason for availing of nursing home care. In the course of the illness, the clinical picture is affected by cognitive decline and by other psychopathological, "non-cognitive" symptoms such as apathy, depression, delusions or agitation. Little attention has been paid to these symptoms, although they lead to an increase in strain on the patients and their relatives as well as complications in nursing care. Psychopathological symptoms were evaluated by using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory in 145 nursing home residents (age: 85 +/- 7 years, duration of stay: 35 +/- 48 months); the majority of them with moderate to severe dementia (GDS: 5 +/- 2; MMSE: 11 +/- 9). In addition, the Apathy Evaluation Scale was applied. To meet potential regional effects, residents were recruited in nursing homes in the areas around Heidelberg as well as Munster. 87% of the participants showed psychopathological symptoms of an at least moderate degree, depressive mood (52%), apathy (41%) and agitation (38%) being most frequent. General condition, nutritional status and care status were evaluated as 'good', likewise general health care. In contrast, only 27% were treated by psychiatrists. 70% received psychopharmacological treatment, mostly sedatives (44%), while antidementive drugs were used only in 11%. The findings underline the need of further information and advanced training.

[Persons with dementia in individual everyday situations. First results of an intervention study]. / Demenzkranke Menschen in individuell bedeutsamen Alltagssituationen : Erste Ergebnisse eines Projekts zur Förderung der Lebensqualität durch Schaffung positiver Anregungsmöglichkeiten.

First outcomes of a current intervention study focussing on emotions of nursing home residents with mild, moderate and severe dementia are discussed in the present contribution. The aim of the study was to prove the effect from an individual approach in the care of people with dementia. By promoting individual everyday situations for each resident, positive emotions should be stimulated and individual well-being should be improved. Findings show the possibility to gain such individual everyday-situations for people with mild, moderate and severe dementia, which stimulate positive reactions and may be integrated into the care process. Of particular importance are those positive situations which focus on the communication between nurses and residents or in which the residents receive personal attention from nurses.

Reduction of gingival recession following orthodontic intrusion in periodontally compromised patients.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the role of orthodontic intrusion and alignment in the reduction of gingival recession (REC) around maxillary incisors of adult periodontal patients. Design - Prospective clinical study. SETTING AND SAMPLE POPULATION: Twenty-eight consecutively treated adult patients, suffering from severe chronic periodontitis and with one upper central incisor extruded and infrabony defect on its mesial site. All patients were seen in a private practice in Turin, Italy. At baseline, all patients presented with REC on the buccal and mesial aspects of the treated teeth. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: For each patient probing pocket depth (PPD) and REC were assessed at baseline, at the end of treatment and 1-year after the end of treatment. REC was also evaluated independently in patients with narrow (NPB) or wide periodontal biotype (WPB). All parameters showed improvement between initial and final measurements statistically, and showed no changes between final and follow-up measurements. Mean mesial PPD decrease was 4.29 mm, with a residual PPD of 2.50 mm. Mean REC reduction was 0.96 mm on the buccal sites and 1.71 mm on the mesial. No statistical difference was recorded on REC values between groups NPB and WPB. CONCLUSION: The presented clinical protocol resulted in improvement of all parameters examined. At the end of orthodontic treatment a predictable reduction of REC was reported, both in patients with thin or wide gingiva.

[Situations of emotional significance in residents suffering from dementia]. / Emotional bedeutsame Situationen im Alltag demenzkranker Heimbewohner.

An advanced stage of dementia implies a loss of the ability to express emotions verbally. However, this does not mean that these patients do not feel emotions anymore. Analyses of nonverbal behaviour are the only way to realise the aim of assessing emotional states in people suffering from severe dementia. In the present study, we tried to identify characteristic situations which are regularly accompanied by positive or negative emotions. Such situations should be described by members of the institutional staff. Moreover, patients' nonverbal behaviour was analysed with psychological instruments developed for analyses of mimic expressions of emotion (FACS, EMFACS). Twenty-nine female residents of nursing homes suffering from moderate or severe dementia participated in the study. Nearly all of them were perceived to show different emotional states by the staff. Most emotions seemed to occur regularly in specific situations. Measures of FACS and AMFACS suggest that predictions of the staff are highly valid. Analyses of situations which were said to be accompanied by positive emotions showed that the respective situations are often created by the residents themselves. This finding implies that even an advanced stage of dementia does not necessarily prevent people from leading a self-determined life. Concentrated and individualised attention enables the staff to shape positive emotions in residents suffering from moderate or severe dementia.

Intrusion of migrated incisors with infrabony defects in adult periodontal patients.

This report describes the orthodontic treatment of 10 adult patients who had severe periodontal disease, with migration and radiological evidence of an infrabony defect on a maxillary central incisor. Orthodontic tooth movement, using light and continuous forces, was initiated 7 to 10 days after periodontal surgical therapy. Mean orthodontic treatment time was 10 months. Before surgery and at the end of orthodontic treatment, the following parameters were registered clinically and with standardized intraoral radiographs: probing depth, clinical crown length, marginal bone level, bone defect radiological dimension, and root length. Comparison of pre- and posttreatment values showed a statistically significant improvement for all parameters without a remarkable decrease of root length. The mean residual probing depth was 2.80 mm, and the mean intrusion of the incisors was 2.05 mm. Moreover, radiographs showed a reduction of the infrabony defects. These results show the efficacy of a combined orthodontic-periodontal approach. Intrusive movement, after proper periodontal surgical therapy, can positively modify both the alveolar bone and the soft periodontal tissues.

Promoter-specific involvement of the FixJ receiver domain in transcriptional activation.

The "two-component" FixLJ system activates nitrogen fixation genes via nifA and fixK in Sinorhizobium meliloti. Like other response regulators, the FixJ protein can be decomposed into an N-terminal phosphorylatable "receiver" domain FixJN and a C-terminal transcriptional activator domain FixJC. The FixJN receiver domain was known to regulate activity of FixJC negatively at the nifA promoter. Here we show a different situation at the fixK promoter where FixJN also contributes positively to transcriptional activation. This promoter-specific effect was mapped by alanine-scanning mutagenesis to the beta2 strand of the receiver domain. This interaction with FixJN is required for the recruitment of RNA polymerase at the fixK promoter by phosphorylated FixJ. Altogether the FixJ receiver domain appears to carry at least four functions, some of which can be separated by mutation: (1) autophosphorylation; (2) inhibition of FixJC; (3) dimerization; (4) transcriptional activation at pfixK. This example illustrates the formidable functional plasticity of receiver domains.

Bodily tooth movement through the maxillary sinus with implant anchorage for single tooth replacement.

Movement of teeth through anatomic limitations, such as the maxillary sinus, can be a reliable therapeutic protocol if suitable force systems are used. We report here the outcome of a treatment based on this concept. The patient exhibited pneumatization of the maxillary sinus resulting from earlier extractions. She was treated using an endosseous implant inserted in the retromolar region to serve as orthodontic anchorage and a T-loop appliance fabricated from TMA wire to bodily move an upper second premolar through the sinus. After 6 months, at the end of the displacement, a titanium implant was inserted in the alveolus of the moved tooth and a single crown restoration was placed. The premolar moved through the sinus maintaining its support apparatus and bone. At the end of treatment the implant used for anchorage was still osseointegrated.

Crystal structure of the CheA histidine phosphotransfer domain that mediates response regulator phosphorylation in bacterial chemotaxis.

The x-ray crystal structure of the P1 or H domain of the Salmonella CheA protein has been solved at 2.1-A resolution. The structure is composed of an up-down up-down four-helix bundle that is typical of histidine phosphotransfer or HPt domains such as Escherichia coli ArcB(C) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae Ypd1. Loop regions and additional structural features distinguish all three proteins. The CheA domain has an additional C-terminal helix that lies over the surface formed by the C and D helices. The phosphoaccepting His-48 is located at a solvent-exposed position in the middle of the B helix where it is surrounded by several residues that are characteristic of other HPt domains. Mutagenesis studies indicate that conserved glutamate and lysine residues that are part of a hydrogen-bond network with His-48 are essential for the ATP-dependent phosphorylation reaction but not for the phosphotransfer reaction with CheY. These results suggest that the CheA-P1 domain may serve as a good model for understanding the general function of HPt domains in complex two-component phosphorelay systems.

Signal transduction: response regulators on and off.

High resolution structures of the active phosphorylated forms of two-component response regulators have recently been reported. The results provide a basis for understanding how metabolic energy is coupled to signal transduction in cellular regulatory networks.

Orthodontic treatment in periodontally compromised patients: 12-year report.

This work describes the therapeutic protocol of combined orthodontic-periodontal treatment and evaluates the effectiveness of surgical and nonsurgical periodontal therapy in the maintenance of a healthy periodontal status after the orthodontic treatment. Surgical periodontal treatment was performed in 267 patients affected by severe periodontal disease, and 128 patients had nonsurgical treatment. For each patient the mean value of probing depth (mPPD) and the rate of positive bleeding on probing (%BoP) of the teeth involved in the orthodontic movement were registered before the start of the periodontal treatment, at the end of the orthodontic treatment, and 2, 4, 6, 10, and 12 years after the end of the orthodontic treatment. Comparison between pretreatment and posttreatment values and between pretreatment and follow-up values showed a decrease in mPPD and %BoP that was of statistical significance. The difference between posttreatment and follow-up values was not statistically significant. These results suggest that orthodontic treatment is no longer a contraindication in the therapy of severe adult periodontitis. In these cases orthodontics improve the possibilities of saving and restoring a deteriorated dentition.

Resin-bonded fixed partial dentures and splints in periodontally compromised patients: a 10-year follow-up.

In the present study, 139 periodontally compromised patients received a complete periodontal treatment; in 104 cases this was followed by orthodontic treatment. At the end of the entire therapy, a total of 150 Maryland restorations (69 resin-bonded fixed partial dentures and 81 resin-bonded splints) was placed and then followed for a period of up to 10 years (mean 6.7 y). Thirteen fixed partial dentures and 16 splints failed during the observation period; the 10-year cumulative survival rate from lifetable analysis was 76.2% (70.6% for fixed partial dentures and 80.7% for splints).

Phosphorylation-induced dimerization of the FixJ receiver domain.

The 'two-component' transcriptional activator FixJ controls nitrogen fixation in Sinorhizobium meliloti. Phosphorylation of FixJ induces its dimerization, as evidenced by gel permeation chromatography and equilibrium sedimentation analysis. Phosphorylation-induced dimerization is an intrinsic property of the isolated receiver domain FixJN. Accordingly, chemical phosphorylation of both FixJ and FixJN are second-order reactions with respect to protein concentration. However, the second-order phosphorylation constant is 44-fold higher for FixJN than for FixJ. Therefore, the C-terminal transcriptional activator domain FixJC inhibits the chemical phosphorylation of the receiver domain FixJN. Conversely, FixJN has been shown previously to inhibit FixJC activity approximately 40-fold, reflecting the interaction between FixJN and FixJC. Therefore, we propose that modulation of FixJ activity involves both its dimerization and the disruption of the interface between FixJN and FixJC, resulting in the opening of the protein structure. Alanine scanning mutagenesis of FixJN indicated that the FixJ approximately P dimerization interface involves Val-91 and Lys-95 in helix alpha4. Dimerization was required for high-affinity binding to fixK promoter DNA.

Kinetics of CheY phosphorylation by small molecule phosphodonors.

The chemotaxis response regulator CheY can acquire phosphoryl groups either from its associated autophosphorylating protein kinase, CheA, or from small phosphodonor molecules such as acetyl phosphate. We report a stopped-flow kinetic analysis of CheY phosphorylation by acetyl phosphate. The results show that CheY has a very low affinity for this phosphodonor (K(s)&z.Gt;0.1 M), consistent with the conclusion that, whereas CheY provides catalytic functions for the phosphotransfer reaction, the CheA kinase may act simply to increase the effective phosphodonor concentration at the CheY active site.

A receptor scaffold mediates stimulus-response coupling in bacterial chemotaxis.

The mechanism of stimulus-response coupling in bacterial chemotaxis has emerged as a paradigm for understanding general features of intracellular signal transduction both in bacterial and eukaryotic cells. Until recently it was thought that the mechanism involved reversible stochastic interactions between dimeric receptors freely diffusing in the cytoplasmic membrane and several soluble signal transduction proteins within the cytoplasm. Recent results have shown that this view is an oversimplification. The receptors and most of the signal transduction proteins are organized together in a higher ordered structure at one pole of the bacterial cell. The scaffolding network within this structure appears to be composed of C-terminal alpha-helical extensions of the membrane chemoreceptor proteins held together in a lattice by tandem SH3-like domains. Results suggest that stimuli are detected through the perturbations they induce in scaffolding architecture.

Intramolecular signal transduction within the FixJ transcriptional activator: in vitro evidence for the inhibitory effect of the phosphorylatable regulatory domain.

FixJ is a phosphorylatable 'response regulator' controlling the transcription of the key nitrogen fixation genes nifA and fixK in Rhizobium meliloti. Sequence and genetic analyses indicated that FixJ comprises an N-terminal phosphorylatable regulatory domain, FixJN, and a C-terminal transcriptional activator domain, FixJC. We have now overexpressed and purified the FixJC protein and show that it is fully active in an in vitro transcription system with purified RNA polymerase. FixJC appeared to act synergistically with RNA polymerase at the nifA promoter. Furthermore FixJC was more active in vitro than the full-length dephosphorylated FixJ protein. Therefore activity of FixJC is inhibited by FixJN within the FixJ protein. This inhibition is relieved by phosphorylation of FixJN. Such a negative mode of intramolecular signal transduction may be generalizable to other response regulators.