Fluorescence of a Natural Fluorophore as a Key to Improve Fingerprint Contrast Image.

The optical and morphological properties of resveratrol were investigated. This nontoxic fluorescent natural material, emitting in the visible blue light, was used as an optical marker, enabling the enhancement of the image contrast coming from relief pictures marked on challenging surfaces. By applying appropriated imaging softwares, this marker was verified to be very useful in the latent fingerprint recognition deposited on different wood surface types, mainly those with high level of roughness, where conventional forensic materials do not allow effective fingerprint image visualization.

Generation of a bioengineered autologous bone substitute for palate repair: an in vivo study in laboratory animals.

We carried out an in vivo study to evaluate the potential usefulness of a novel bioengineered bone substitute for the repair of palate defects in laboratory rabbits, using tissue-engineering methods. Our results showed that the use of a bioengineered bone substitute was associated with more symmetrical palate growth as compared to the controls, and the length and height of the palate were very similar on both sides of the palate, with differences from negative controls 4 months after artificial bone grafting for bone length. The histological analysis revealed that the regenerated bone was well organized and expressed osteocalcin. In contrast, bone corresponding to control animals without tissue grafting was immature, with areas of osteoid tissue and remodelling, as determined by MMP-14 expression. These results suggest that bone substitutes may be a useful strategy to induce the formation of a well-structured palate bone, which could prevent the growth alterations found in cleft palate patients. This opens a door to a future clinical application of these bone substitutes. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Identification of histological patterns in clinically affected and unaffected palm regions in dupuytren's disease.

Dupuytren's disease is a fibro-proliferative disease characterized by a disorder of the extracellular matrix (ECM) and high myofibroblast proliferation. However, studies failed to determine if the whole palm fascia is affected by the disease. The objective of this study was to analyze several components of the extracellular matrix of three types of tissues-Dupuytren's diseased contracture cords (DDC), palmar fascia clinically unaffected by Dupuytren's disease contracture (NPF), and normal forehand fascia (NFF). Histological analysis, quantification of cells recultured from each type of tissue, mRNA microarrays and immunohistochemistry for smooth muscle actin (SMA), fibrillar ECM components and non-fibrillar ECM components were carried out. The results showed that DDC samples had abundant fibrosis with reticular fibers and few elastic fibers, high cell proliferation and myofibroblasts, laminin and glycoproteins, whereas NFF did not show any of these findings. Interestingly, NPF tissues had more cells showing myofibroblasts differentiation and more collagen and reticular fibers, laminin and glycoproteins than NFF, although at lower level than DDC, with similar elastic fibers than DDC. Immunohistochemical expression of decorin was high in DDC, whereas versican was highly expressed NFF, with no differences for aggrecan. Cluster analysis revealed that the global expression profile of NPF was very similar to DDC, and reculturing methods showed that cells corresponding to DDC tissues proliferated more actively than NPF, and NPF more actively than NFF. All these results suggest that NPF tissues may be affected, and that a modification of the therapeutic approach used for the treatment of Dupuytren's disease should be considered.

Epithelial and stromal developmental patterns in a novel substitute of the human skin generated with fibrin-agarose biomaterials.

Development of human skin substitutes by tissue engineering may offer new therapeutic alternatives to the use of autologous tissue grafts. For that reason, it is necessary to investigate and develop new biocompatible biomaterials that support the generation of a proper human skin construct. In this study, we generated a novel model of bioengineered human skin substitute using human cells obtained from skin biopsies and fibrin-agarose biomaterials and we evaluated this model both at the ex vivo and the in vivo levels. Once the dermal fibroblasts and the epithelial keratinocytes were isolated and expanded in culture, we used fibrin-agarose scaffolds for the development of a full-thickness human skin construct, which was evaluated after 1, 2, 3 and 4 weeks of development ex vivo. The skin substitutes were then grafted onto immune-deficient nude mice and analyzed at days 10, 20, 30 and 40 postimplantation using transmission electron microscopy, histochemistry and immunofluorescence. The results demonstrated that the fibrin-agarose artificial skin had adequate biocompatibility and proper biomechanical properties. A proper development of both the bioengineered dermis and epidermis was found after 30 days in vivo, although the tissues kept ex vivo and those implanted in the animal model for 10 or 20 days showed lower levels of differentiation. In summary, our model of fibrin-agarose skin equivalent was able to reproduce the structure and histological architecture of the native human skin, especially after long-term in vivo implantation, suggesting that these tissues could reproduce the native skin.

Avaliação do grau de abertura bucal e dor pós-operatória após a remoção de terceiros molares inferiores retidos / Evaluation of the degree of mouth opening and postoperative pain after removal of impacted lower third molars

Dor e trismo podem revelar-se como complicações pós-operatórias comuns advindas da cirurgia de remoção de terceiros molares inferiores. A pesquisa teve como objetivo principal avaliar o grau de abertura bucal e dor pós-operatória em pacientes submetidos à remoção de terceiros molares inferiores em uma Clínica de Cirurgia Buco-Dental de Adultos (CBDA), no Centro Especializado em Odontologia û Centro, Fortaleza, em 2004. Os dados foram coletados mediante três instrumentos de pesquisa e analisados estatisticamente. Dentre os resultados mais relevantes, destacamos a presença de vários graus de limitação de abertura de boca e dor pós-operatória. Ainda, pudemos concluir que a sintomatologia dolorosa pós-operatória tem um caráter subjetivo; contudo há necessidade de ampliarmos o estudo para este adquirir validade externa.