Pathogenic Microbial Profile and Antibiotic Resistance Associated with Periodontitis.

ABSTRACT: Phenotyping based on conventional microbiological, physiological, and molecular analysis by using ARDRA technique was developed with the aim to assess the pathogenic microbial load associated with different stages of the periodontal disease. In addition, in the face of the global issue of antimicrobial resistance, the isolated bacterial strains were evaluated for their antibiotic susceptibility profile. The pathogenic bacterial community was predominantly of Gram-negative strains (66.66%). The most common species were Citrobacter freundii, Bacillus sp., Raoutella sp., Klebsiella ozaenae and Pseudomonas sp. However, except for the healthy control group, Staphylococcus spp. was isolated from all stages of periodontitis. Multidrug resistance to beta-lactam antibiotics was observed for Streptococcus pneumoniae, Raoutella sp. and Enterococcus avium. Here, we verify a statistically significant relationship between periodontitis stages and the diversity of the bacterial community. Patients with periodontitis showed a more diverse and numerous bacterial community compared to healthy patients. In this sense, we reinforce that biofilms that harbour multidrug-resistant bacteria are a major concern in relation to restoring patient health. Thus, prophylactic measures for maintaining oral health are still the best option for reduce the risk of disease.

Coping with suboptimal water temperature: modifications in blood parameters, body composition, and postingestive-driven diet selection in Nile tilapia fed two vegetable oil blends.

The world tilapia production faces seasonal variations. However, very few nutritional studies have addressed suboptimal temperature. We evaluated the effect of two temperatures (20 or 30 °C) and two vegetable oil blends (one rich in corn oil (COR) and one rich linseed oil (LIN)) on tilapia growth, body composition, and blood parameters using a 2×2 factorial design with the following treatments: COR-20; LIN-20; COR-30; LIN-30 (Trial 1). In addition, we also evaluated the effect of postingestive signals of dietary oils when the organoleptic properties of diets were isolated (Trial 2). In the Trial 1, 256 fish (15.36 ±â€¯0.14 g) were placed in 16 aquariums and submitted during 30 days to the 2×2 factorial designs: COR-20; LIN-20; COR-30; LIN-30. The temperatures were established in two independent water recirculation systems. In the Trial 2, 96 fish (34.02 ±â€¯0.79 g) were placed in 12 aquariums and subjected to the same experimental design of Trial 1, but to evaluate fish feeding behavior. They were allowed to select the encapsulated diets provided in different feeding halls to evaluate if diet preferences are influenced by postingestive signals. As the Trial 1 results show, diets had no significant effects on growth, dietary protein use, and body centesimal composition, but 30 °C induced the best performance and protein deposition (P < 0.05). LIN-20 showed lower very-low-density lipoprotein and cortisol, but higher high-density lipoprotein (HDL), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and triglycerides (TG) than COR-20 (P < 0.05). COR-30 presented higher HDL, AST, ALT, TG, and cortisol than LIN-30. The fish fed COR showed lower C20:5n-3 (EPA) and higher n-6 than fish fed LIN (P < 0.05). The fish fed LIN had high n-3 highly unsaturated fatty acid. ∑ polyunsaturated fatty acid was higher at 30 °C. Finally, the tilapia in Trial 2 showed clear diet intake regulation and preference for LIN (P < 0.05), regardless of temperature. In short, lipid sources had no influence on tilapia performance; however, temperature affects carcass lipid deposition as well as fatty acids profile. Notably, the preference for linseed oil can suggest nutritional metabolic issues, contributing to animal behavior knowledge.

Prevalence of Malnutrition in Older Hospitalized Cancer Patients: A Multicenter and Multiregional Study.

BACKGROUND: Malnutrition is frequent in older cancer patients, with a prevalence that ranges from 25% to 85%. The aging process is associated with several physiological changes, which may have implications for nutritional status. Screening tools can be useful for identifying malnutrition status among older patients with cancer. METHODS: A hospital-based multicenter cohort study that included 44 institutions in Brazil. The Mini Nutritional Assessment-Short Form (MNA-SF) was administered to 3061 older hospitalized cancer patients within 48 hoursof admission. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to test the sample distribution, considering sex, age range, calf circumference, body mass index, and MNA-SF score and classification. The categorical data were expressed by frequencies (n) and percentages (%)and compared using the chi-square test or Tukey test. RESULTS: According to the results of the MNA-SF, 33.4% of the patients were malnourished, 39.3% were at risk of malnutrition, and 27.3% were classified as having normal nutritional status. Length of hospital stay (in days) was found to be longer for those patients with a poorer nutritional status (malnourished: 7.07±7.58; at risk of malnutrition: 5.45±10.73; normal status: 3.9±5,84; p <0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of malnutrition and nutritional risk is high in older hospitalized cancer patients in all the regions of Brazil and a worse nutritional status is associated with a longer hospital stay. Using a low-cost, effective nutritional screening tool for older cancer patients will enable specialized nutritional interventions and avoid inequities in the quality of cancer care worldwide.

A new paradigm in the periodontal disease progression: gingival connective tissue remodeling with simultaneous collagen degradation and fibers thickening.

Bacterial dental plaque is considered to be the main cause of periodontal diseases, but progression of the disease is also related to the host inflammatory response. The earliest affected tissue is the gingiva, but the specific mechanisms involved in the onset of this condition remain unclear. Frequently, collagen degradation is pointed as the main marker of periodontal disease progression, but the organization of the fibers in the gingival tissue is still unknown. The aim of the present study was to investigate the gingival extracellular matrix in a model of ligature-induced periodontal disease. Analysis of the microbiota indicated a progressive increase in the ratio of Gram-negative/Gram-positive microorganisms. There was no difference in the organization of reticulin fibers next to the epithelial basement membrane, whereas the arrangement of collagen fibers in the gingival connective tissue was significantly affected. Animals with inflammation presented a reduction of 35% in the total area occupied by collagen fibers. However, these fibers were thicker and more densely packed. These alterations involve type I, type III and type VI collagens as determined by immunohistochemistry. The results demonstrated the occurrence of marked reorganization of the gingival extracellular matrix in response to the inflammatory process, indicating a new paradigm in the periodontal disease progression: collagen degradation and fibers thickening, simultaneously.

Malnutrition associated with nutrition impact symptoms and localization of the disease: Results of a multicentric research on oncological nutrition.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Malnutrition in cancer is an independent factor associated with negative clinical outcomes. The aim was to evaluate the prevalence and independent risk factors for malnutrition in hospitalized cancer patients using the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA). METHODS: We evaluated 4783 cancer patients, aged ≥20 years, in a hospital-based, multicenter, cross-sectional study. Patients were classified as well-nourished (PG-SGA Stage A), moderate/suspected malnutrition (PG-SGA Stage B), or severely malnourished (PG-SGA Stage C), and provided a score to define required nutritional interventions. Multivariate analysis was composed of the odds ratio (OR) estimated by ordinal polytomous logistic regression. RESULTS: 45.3% were classified as Stage B and 11.8% as Stage C. Moreover, 45.3% of the patients presented a need for nutritional intervention. The variables that presented the highest ORs for Stage B or Stage C were: problems with swallowing (OR 2.8, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.2-3.4, p < 0.001), loss of appetite (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.6-2.3, p < 0.001), vomiting (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.5-2.3, p < 0.001), presence of more than 3 nutrition impact symptoms (OR 8.3, 95% CI 5.8-12, p < 0.001), and cancer site: lung (OR 4.6, 95% CI 3.2-6.6, p < 0.001), upper digestive cancer (OR 3.7, 95% CI 2.7-5.2, p < 0.001), and head and neck cancer (OR 3.7, 95% CI 2.7-5.2, p < 0.001). The score for Worksheet 4 on the PG-SGA had a higher association with malnutrition (OR 7.3, 95% CI 6.6-8.2, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Malnutrition is highly prevalent in cancer patients in Brazil, and is associated with nutritional impact symptoms, cancer site and age ≥65 years.

Enhanced removal of p-nitrophenol from aqueous media by montmorillonite clay modified with a cationic surfactant.

Montmorillonite clay (MC) yields after modification of the interlamellar spacing and the chemical character of its surface by treatment with cetyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) a solid product (MCCTA). This has been used as an adsorbent for the removal of p-nitrophenol (PNP) from aqueous solutions. The MCCTA samples were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), thermogravimetric analysis (TG/DTA), FT-IR spectroscopy, zeta potential measurements, X-ray diffraction (XRD), and specific surface area. Investigations were also carried out to assess how the adsorption of PNP was affected by factors such as contact time, initial PNP concentration, adsorbent dosage and temperature. Of the two models tried the Freundlich isotherm gave a better account of the equilibrium data than did the Langmuir one. The kinetics could be successfully replicated by a pseudo-second order model with an activation energy of 55.0 kJ mol-1, while the thermodynamic parameters indicated an exothermic (ΔadsHo = -15.8 kJ mol-1), non-spontaneous (ΔadsGo = + 3.9-5.9 kJ mol-1) adsorption process. The experimental results showed MCCTA, unlike natural MC, to have a significant adsorption capacity for PNP removal from aqueous media.

Removal of methylene blue from aqueous solution by peat.

In this study, the removal of methylene blue (MB) from aqueous solution by peat was analyzed. The peat was collected from a peatland at Arroio do Silva Beach, in Santa Catarina state, in the south of Brazil. Adsorption was conducted using varied initial concentrations of the MB solutions and three different temperatures (35, 45 and 60 degrees C). An adsorption time of around 4.5h was sufficient to reach the equilibrium for all temperatures, in the concentration range studied. Percentage removal was greater for diluted solutions, but the absolute amount of MB adsorbed by the peat at equilibrium increased with an increase of the initial concentration, corroborating the efficacy of the material as an adsorbent. Temperature influenced slightly the reaction, which was endothermic. Results indicated a multi-layered process and the data were analyzed considering pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion approaches. The latter two mechanisms seem to be significant in the rate-controlling step.

Performance of turkey poults fed different doses of aflatoxins in the diet.

This work was conduced to determine the performance parameters of initial-phase turkey poults fed 7 different doses of aflatoxins in the diet. Three hundred thirty-six 1-d-old male turkey poults were used in this research. Turkeys were divided into 7 treatments according to aflatoxin doses (T1 = control; T2 = 20 ppb aflatoxins; T3 = 50 ppb; T4 = 100 ppb; T5 = 200 ppb; T6 = 500 ppb; T7 = 1,000 ppb). Birds were killed in 2 periods: half of them after 21 d of experiment and the remaining birds after 42 d of experiment. In both periods, the evaluated parameters were as follows: feed consumption, BW, relative weights of organs (liver, gizzard, heart, and bursa of Fabricius) and meat (breast and thighs), and clinical biochemistry parameters (total plasmatic proteins, albumin, uric acid, cholesterol, alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase). At 21 d of experiment, both feed consumption and BW were significantly affected by the aflatoxins present in the diet. Nevertheless, gizzard relative weight, total plasmatic proteins, and cholesterol levels were also affected. At the 42-d evaluation, besides feed consumption and BW, gizzard and liver relative weights and cholesterol levels were also affected by the presence of aflatoxins in the diet. Turkey poults are very sensitive to aflatoxin poisoning, because they are at least 3 to 6 times more sensitive to these contaminants than broilers.

Diastolic dysfunction as a predictor of weaning failure: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: Weaning failure and prolonged mechanical ventilation are associated with increased morbidity, cost of care, and high mortality rates. In the last few years, cardiac performance has been recognized as a common etiology of weaning failure, and growing evidence suggests that left ventricular diastolic dysfunction is a key factor that determines weaning outcomes. Therefore, we performed a systematic review and a meta-analysis to evaluate whether diastolic dysfunction in the critically ill patient subjected to mechanical ventilation is an independent predictor of weaning failure. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, LILACS, Google Scholar, and ClinicalTrials.gov from inception to September 2014, along with conferences proceeding from January 2005 through September 2014, and included Observational Studies and Randomized Clinical Trials evaluating predictors of weaning failure. RESULTS: Ten studies were included in the systematic review; and 7, in the meta-analysis (6 observational studies and 1 randomized controlled trial). Patients who developed weaning failure had a higher E/e' ratio when compared with those who did not (mean difference, 2.65; 95% confidence interval, 0.52-4.79; P= .01); however, there was no difference in the E/A ratio (mean difference, 0.07; 95% confidence interval, -0.04 to 0.18; P= .22). Both the E/e' and E/A ratios were associated with weaning-induced pulmonary edema at the end of a spontaneous breathing trial. CONCLUSION: A higher E/e' ratio is significantly associated with weaning failure, although a high heterogeneity of diastolic dysfunction criteria and different clinical scenarios limit additional conclusions linking diastolic dysfunction with weaning failure.

Seasonal variability of the essential oil of Hesperozygis ringens (Benth.) Epling.

This study was developed to evaluate the effect of seasonality on the yield and chemical composition of the essential oil (EO) of Hesperozygis ringens (Benth.) Epling, a native species from the Brazilian Pampa. Leaves were collected from four specimens of a single population in each of the four seasons for a year and were extracted in triplicate by hydro-distillation for 2 hours. The yield of EO (% w/w) was calculated on fresh weight basis (FWB), and the 16 oil samples were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography with flame ionization detector (GC-FID). Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) were used as statistical tools to evaluate differences in chemical composition. The highest yields were obtained in autumn, spring and summer (2.32-4.38%), while the lowest yields were detected in winter, ranging from 1.15 to 1.91%. Oxygenated monoterpenoids were the predominant class of chemical constituents in the EO obtained in all seasons, showing the highest contents in autumn and summer, and pulegone was identified as a major compound, whose contents varied between 54.13 and 81.17%. The EO samples were divided into three chemical groups by HCA and PCA and were assigned to the same group, except for the three samples gathered in winter. The results showed a seasonal influence on the yield and chemical composition of the EO.

Inhibition of protein kinases prevents lymphocyte activation by Schistosoma mansoni antigens and reduces in vitro [correction of in vivo] granuloma reaction.

T-cell activation is regulated by signal transduction events initiated by protein kinases. The role of different protein kinases during stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from chronic intestinal schistosomiasis patients was evaluated using specific inhibitors of protein kinases. We have assayed their ability to interfere with cell proliferation, in vitro granuloma reaction and calcium mobilization. Taken together, our results suggest that Schistosoma mansoni antigen activation of PBMC involves protein kinases. The results observed could be important in the understanding of the mechanism involved in the immunomodulation of schistosomiasis.

Signal transduction events in human peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated by Schistosoma mansoni antigens.

Activation of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) is a common step of T cell stimulation. However, the relationship between PTKs and activation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from intestinal chronic schistosomiasis patients has not been explored yet. In this study, we investigated the participation of Lck and ZAP-70 protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs), as well as PLC-gamma1 and Shc proteins in PBMC activation by Schistosoma mansoni antigens. PBMC were stimulated with SEA (soluble egg antigen) or SWAP (soluble worm preparation), lysed, precipitated with specific antibodies and the level of tyrosine phosphorylation evaluated. Our results show that Lck and Shc were phosphorylated upon stimulation of the cells with SWAP, as well as with SEA. However, the phosphorylation level was more pronounced in SWAP than in SEA-stimulated cells. Phosphorylation of ZAP-70 was observed only in SWAP stimulated cells. Additionally, PLC-gamma1 phosphorylation was not observed in PBMC stimulated with SEA. Together, these results indicate that SEA and SWAP induce PBMC proliferation through distinct intracellular signaling pathways. Moreover, the weaker response of PBMC to SEA compared to SWAP stimulation suggests down-regulation of cells from intestinal chronic schistosomiasis patients to SEA, which may occur during immunomodulation to S. mansoni response.

Robotic automated clean-up for detection of fumonisins B1 and B2 in corn and corn-based feed by high-performance liquid chromatography.

A high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system with fluorescence detection and an automated on-line solid-phase extraction procedure for fumonisins B1 and B2 in corn and corn-based products is described. Different amounts of strong anion-exchange, C18 and end-capped C18 (C(18 ec)) silicas were tested for sample clean-up. Various HPLC parameters were analyzed. The best methodology was found to be extraction with acetonitrile-water and clean up on C(18 ec) disposable extraction cartridges. The system has the advantage of running in an unattended mode of operation and allows processing of 40 samples without system refuel, performing clean-up, o-phthaldialdehyde derivatization, injection and fumonisin detection by fluorescence detection linked to a computer integrator for automated data processing. Recoveries were performed with corn and corn-based feed samples (n=3) spiked with 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, 5.0 and 10 microg/g. Average recoveries for corn and corn-based feed were, respectively, 92.6 and 88.3% with relative standard deviations (RSDs) of 5.04 and 6.22%, for fumonisin B1 and 91.2 and 89.0% with RSDs of 5.84 and 7.88% for fumonisin B2. Detection limits (S/N=3) for corn and corn-based feed were approximately 0.03 microg/g for fumonisin B1 and 0.05 microg/g for fumonisin B2

Human peripheral blood mononuclear cells stimulated by Schistosoma mansoni antigens: association between protein tyrosine kinases, mitogen-activated protein kinases and cytokine production.

Concerning schistosomiasis, little is known about the intracellular signaling response of human peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) to Schistosoma mansoni antigens. To understand the critical role of protein tyrosine kinases (PTKs) in PBMC activation by S. mansoni antigens, we investigated how inhibition of PTKs by genistein, a tyrosine kinase inhibitor, affects proliferation, cytokine production and activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs). Our studies showed that PTKs have an important role in proliferation of PBMC from chronic schistosomiasis patients as cells stimulated with S. mansoni soluble antigens in the presence of genistein had an impaired proliferation. In contrast, PTK inhibition failed to cause any effect on MAPKs activity. We also evaluated the cytokine production for interleukin (IL)-2, interferon gamma (IFN-gamma), and IL-10 in culture supernatants of PBMC treated with or without PTKs inhibitor. Our results show that PBMC from chronic patients produced a high amount of IL-10 when stimulated with soluble egg antigen preparation (SEA), however, the amount produced of IL-2 and IFN-gamma was not significant. In the presence of PTKs inhibitor only the production of IL-10 was decreased. The findings suggest that PTKs are involved on signal transduction pathway for PBMC activation, but may not be an absolute requirement for all signaling responses to S. mansoni antigens.

Kink dynamics in a topological straight phi4 lattice.

Recently proposed was a discretization for nonlinear Klein-Gordon field theories in which the resulting lattice preserves the topological (Bogomol'nyi) lower bound on the kink energy and, as a consequence, has no Peierls-Nabarro barrier even for large spatial discretizations (h approximately 1.0). It was then suggested that these "topological discrete systems" are a natural choice for the numerical study of continuum kink dynamics. Giving particular emphasis to the straight phi(4) theory, we numerically investigate kink-antikink scattering and breather formation in these topological lattices. Our results indicate that, even though these systems are quite accurate for studying free kinks in coarse lattices, for legitimate dynamical kink problems the accuracy is rather restricted to fine lattices (h approximately 0.1). We suggest that this fact is related to the breaking of the Bogomol'nyi bound during the kink-antikink interaction, where the field profile loses its static property as required by the Bogomol'nyi argument. We conclude, therefore, that these lattices are not suitable for the study of more general kink dynamics, since a standard discretization is simpler and has effectively the same accuracy for such resolutions.

[Giant intracavitary thrombi secondary to a heparin-induced thrombocytopenia-thrombosis syndrome]. / Trombos gigantes intracavitarios secundarios a un "síndrome de trombocitopenia-trombosis inducido por heparina".

The secondary thrombocytopenia to heparin is not infrequently seen; nevertheless, the heparin-induced thrombocytopenia-thrombosis is much less frequent and associated to high mortality. We show one heparin induced thrombocytopenia-thrombosis syndrome with developed thrombi in the cardiac cavities. Its physiopathologic mechanism was reviewed, the importance of clinic suspicion in the presence of: thrombi in a rather unusual place, thrombi resistant to the common anticoagulant therapy, thrombosis repetition or thrombosis in a person with anticoagulant therapy by heparin. The complexity of its treatment, as well as the transesophageal echocardiography utility in diagnostics of thrombus on cardiac cavities, and its relationship with the reaction to the treatment, is discussed.

Comparative study of experimentally induced and post-mortem pink teeth.

Forty-eight pink teeth from eight male cadavers, all dying from unnatural causes were studied for the pink tooth phenomenon. Perfusion with whole and lysed blood, at different temperatures was carried out, followed by longitudinal sectioning for histological observation. Another 30 unblemished human teeth were used to reproduce the phenomenon in vitro to help clarify its pathogenesis.

[Coronary ectasis: another form of atherosclerosis]. / La ectasia coronaria: otra forma de aterosclerosis.

In a review of 3,693 coronary angiographies carried out in our department for suspected coronary artery disease we evaluated the 69 patients (1.86%) in whom lesions of coronary ectasia were found. Most of them (n = 51) had associated stenotic lesions and only 18 patients had isolated ectasia. The most common localization of the 96 ectasia lesions found in these patients was the right coronary artery, followed by the left anterior descending and, finally, the circumflex coronary artery. The ectasia lesions were classified according to the morphological classification proposed by Ducceschi in the following types: I) fusiform; II) saccular; III) spherical; IV) linear or diffuse, and V) mixed. Most lesions in our series were diffuse. Regarding clinical features, significant differences were found in the higher incidence of atypical angina presentation in those patients with isolated ectasia lesions.

[Dog bite accidents in childhood]. / Acidentes de mordeduras de cães na infância.

The incidence of dog bites injuries among children aged 0 to 15 years seen at CSE D. Pedro I health center in Ribeirão Preto, Brazil, in the period of 1993 to 1997, was studied. The results show that there is a need to develop and implement educational and preventive programs about the risks and severity of accidents occurred while in contact with dogs.