ConectAR: Collaborative network of patients with asthma and carers actively involved in health research: a protocol for patient and public involvement.

Summary: Background. Patients and Public Involvement in every stage of the patient-centered health research cycle is the key to the development of innovative solutions with an impact on patients' care. Methods. This protocol describes the development of ConectAR, a network to promote the involvement of patients with asthma and their carers in the health research cycle. Results. This protocol comprehends 4 tasks: 1) define the mission, vision, governance and activities of the network through focus groups; 2) establish the communication strategy and tools; 3) test the feasibility of the network in a Delphi study on the research priorities for asthma in Portugal; 4) coordination and dissemination activities. Conclusions. This network will improve research by ensuring that patients and carers have an active role in the co-creation of impactful solutions for asthma.

Use of the metal artefact reduction tool in the identification of fractured endodontic instruments in cone-beam computed tomography.

AIM: To evaluate the influence of the metal artefact reduction (MAR) tool in the diagnosis of fractured instruments in root canals of extracted mandibular molars, with or without root canal fillings. METHODOLOGY: The root canals of 31 mandibular molars were divided into four groups: (i) the control group, without root fillings; (ii) the fracture group, without fillings and with fractured files; (iii) the fill group, with root filling; and (iv) the fill/fracture group, root filled and with fractured files. The following instruments were used as fractured endodontic instruments: stainless steel hand files, NiTi reciprocating files and NiTi rotary files. Each tooth was inserted in a dry mandible to obtain cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) images using a CBCT OP300 3D Maxio (Instrumentarium Dental, Tuusula, Finland) and Picasso Trio (Vatech, Hwaseong, Republic of Korea), with and without application of the MAR tool. All images were evaluated by three radiologists for the presence or absence of fractured files on a 5-point scale. The diagnostic accuracy (area under ROC curve) was calculated. Image noise was measured in regions of trabecular and cortical bone and soft tissue. The comparison between the ROC curve values with the MAR tool enabled or disabled was performed using a t-test. A t-test was also employed for comparing image noise when the MAR tool was enabled and disabled. The significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: The use of the MAR tool did not influence the diagnostic accuracy for identifying fractured endodontic instruments in root canals with and without fillings in both CBCT systems (P > 0.05), nor did it influence the image noise (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The MAR tool on these two devices did not increase the detection of fractured endodontic instruments and did not reduce image noise using extracted mandibular molars. Therefore, the MAR tool is not recommended for evaluation of fractured endodontic instruments in teeth with and without root fillings in mandibular molars.

Evaluation of volume of the sphenoid sinus according to sex, facial type, skeletal class, and presence of a septum: a cone-beam computed tomographic study.

We have used cone-beam computed tomographic (CT) images to retrospectivelyevaluate the influence of sex, skeletal class, facial type, and the presence of septa on the volume of the sphenoid sinus in 172 images from 85 men (mean (SD) age 28 (2) years) and 87 women (mean (SD) age 30 (1) years). Skeletal class and facial type were calculated for each patient from multiplanar reconstructions using NemoCeph® software. Volumetric analysis of the sphenoid sinus was made with the help of the ITK-SNAP® 3.4.0 segmentation software, while the presence or absence of septa in the sphenoid sinus was evaluated with the Carestream 3D Imaging® software 3.4.3. We analysed the results using two-way ANOVA, Student's independent sample t test, and Fisher's exact test, as appropriate, and probabilities of <0.05 were accepted as significant. Sex (p=0.0946), facial type (p=0.790), and skeletal class (p=0.120) had no significant influence on the volume of the sphenoid sinus, and nor did the volumes of the right and left sphenoid sinuses (p=0.0923), or the presence of a septum within the sinus (p=0.330) in its volume.

[Perceptions of the effects of shift work on health and social life of nursing employees in a university hospital of Sao Paulo State]. / Percepção dos efeitos do trabalho em turnos sobre a saúde e a vida social em funcionários da enfermagem em um hospital universitário do Estado de São Paulo.

There is a relationship between shift work and the beginning of organized life. Health services require shift work to keep activities running twenty-four hours a day. This study thus aimed to identify nursing staff shift work systems in a university hospital, evaluate health workers' perceptions of the possible effects of shift work on their health and social life, and assess workers' participation in preparing nursing schedules. In terms of materials and methods, this was an exploratory and descriptive study with a sample of 348 nursing staff members, using an appropriate questionnaire. Most were married women under 40 with at least one child, working on rotating shifts with more than fifteen-days frequency of rotation, and with neurological, psychological, gastrointestinal, and cardiovascular health complaints. They also reported relational problems on the job. Most of the nursing staff played a minor role in preparing nursing schedules.

Effect of bovicin HC5 on growth and spore germination of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis isolated from spoiled mango pulp.

AIMS: To use bovicin HC5 to inhibit predominant bacteria isolated from spoiled mango pulp. METHODS AND RESULTS: Bovicin HC5 and nisin were added to brain heart infusion (BHI) medium (40-160 AU ml(-1)) or mango pulp (100 AU ml(-1)) and the growth of Bacillus cereus and Bacillus thuringiensis was monitored. Cultures treated with bovicin HC5 or nisin showed longer lag phases and grew slower in BHI medium. Bovicin HC5 and nisin were bactericidal and showed higher activity in mango pulp at acidic pH values. To determine the effect on spore germination and D values, mango pulp containing bovicin HC5 was inoculated with 10(6) and 10(9) spores per ml(-1), respectively, from each strain tested. Bovicin HC5 reduced the outgrowth of spores from B. cereus and B. thuringiensis, but thermal sensitivity was not affected. CONCLUSIONS: Bovicin HC5 was bactericidal against B. cereus and B. thuringiensis isolated from spoiled mango pulp. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Bacillus cereus and B. thuringiensis had not been previously isolated from spoiled mango pulp and bovicin HC5 has the potential to inhibit such bacteria in fruit pulps.