Hidden ecotoxicological dangers: Investigating pathogen circulation and non-toxic risks hazards in a crucial brazilian watershed.

Numerous studies evaluate chemical contaminants released by human activities and their effects on biota and aquatic ecosystems. However, few of these studies address non-toxic agents and their potentially harmful effects, which, in a concealed manner, culminate in an increased ecotoxicological risk for aquatic life and public health. This study investigated the presence of toxic and non-toxic pollutants in one of the main watersheds in Northeast Brazil (Rio São Francisco) and proposed a model of dispersion and transfer of resistance among the analyzed bacteria, also assessing the health risks of individuals and aquatic organisms present there. The results are worrying because although most toxic parameters, including physical-chemical and chromatographic aspects, comply with Brazilian environmental standards, non-toxic (microbiological) parameters do not. This research reveals the circulation of pathogens in several points of this hydrographic basin, highlighting the hidden ecotoxicological potential of an aquatic environment considered unaffected by the usual patterns of toxic parameters.

Effects of triceps surae exercise-induced delayed onset muscle soreness on control of body stability in different postures.

This research aimed to determine whether triceps surae delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) affects stability while performing different postural control tasks requiring upright and landing stabilization. Twenty-four participants who self-reported as healthy were recruited. Pre and 48 h after a protocol to induce DOMS in the triceps surae, participants were evaluated for DOMS perception, pressure pain threshold, and postural control (assessed by the center of pressure, CoP) during different standing and landing stabilization tasks. We found higher DOMS perception and lower pressure pain threshold 48 h after the exercise. Mediolateral CoP displacement was more sensitive to DOMS across different postural tasks, but no effects were found for bilateral standing. The landing time to stabilization elicited high individual variability in the presence of DOMS. Effects of DOMS in the performance of less challenging tasks, such as bipedal standing, were not found. We conclude that DOMS in the triceps surae impairs mediolateral postural control during challenging tasks such as unilateral standing and body forward lean. It highlights the need for caution and individualized approaches when incorporating movements requiring frontal plane control in training and rehabilitation sessions under the presence of DOMS.

A pilot study using hospital surveillance and a birth cohort to investigate enteric pathogens and malnutrition in children, Dili, Timor-Leste.

In low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs), enteric pathogens contribute to child malnutrition, affecting nutrient absorption, inducing inflammation, and causing diarrhoea. This is a substantial problem in LMICs due to high disease burden, poor sanitation and nutritional status, and the cyclical nature of pathogen infection and malnutrition. This relationship remains understudied in Timor-Leste. In our pilot study of enteric pathogens and malnutrition in Dili, Timor-Leste (July 2019-October 2020), we recruited 60 infants in a birth cohort from Hospital Nacional Guido Valadares (HNGV) with up to four home visits. We collected faecal samples and details of demographics, anthropometrics, diet and food practices, and animal husbandry. Additionally, we collected faecal samples, diagnostics, and anthropometrics from 160 children admitted to HNGV with a clinical diagnosis of severe diarrhoea or severe acute malnutrition (SAM). We tested faeces using the BioFire® FilmArray® Gastrointestinal Panel. We detected high prevalence of enteric pathogens in 68.8% (95%CI 60.4-76.2%) of infants at home, 88.6% of SAM cases (95%CI 81.7-93.3%) and 93.8% of severe diarrhoea cases (95%CI 67.7-99.7%). Diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli and Campylobacter spp. were most frequently detected. Pathogen presence did not significantly differ in birth cohort diarrhoeal stool, but hospital data indicated associations between Salmonella and Shigella and diarrhoea. We observed wasting in 18.4% (95%CI 9.2-32.5%) to 30.8% (95%CI 17.5-47.7%) of infants across home visits, 57.9% (95%CI 34.0-78.9%) of severe diarrhoea cases, and 92.5% (95%CI 86.4-96.2%) of SAM cases. We associated bottle feeding with increased odds of pathogen detection when compared with exclusive breastfeeding at home (OR 8.3, 95%CI 1.1-62.7). We detected high prevalence of enteric pathogens and signs of malnutrition in children in Dili. Our pilot is proof of concept for a study to fully explore the risk factors and associations between enteric pathogens and malnutrition in Timor-Leste.

Long-term surveillance of invasive pneumococcal disease: The impact of 10-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine in the metropolitan region of Salvador, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: In 2010, Brazil introduced the ten-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV10) in the national infant immunization program. Limited data on the long-term impact of PCV10 are available from lower-middle-income settings. We examined invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) in Salvador, Bahia, over 11 years. METHODS: Prospective laboratory-based surveillance for IPD was carried out in 9 hospitals in the metropolitan region of Salvador from 2008 to 2018. IPD was defined as Streptococcus pneumoniae cultured from a normally sterile site. Serotype was determined by multiplex polymerase chain reaction and/or Quellung reaction. Incidence rates per 100,000 inhabitants were calculated for overall, vaccine-type, and non-vaccine-type IPD using census data as the denominator. Incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated to compare rates during the early (2010-2012), intermediate (2013-2015), and late (2016-2018) post-PCV10 periods in comparison to the pre-PCV10 period (2008-2009). RESULTS: Pre-PCV10, overall IPD incidence among all ages was 2.48/100,000. After PCV10 introduction, incidence initially increased (early post-PCV10 IRR 3.80, 95% CI 1.18-1.99) and then declined to 0.38/100,000 late post-PCV10 (IRR 0.15; 95% CI 0.09-0.26). The greatest reductions in the late post-PCV10 period were observed in children aged ≤2 years, with no cases (IRR not calculated) and those ≥60 years (IRR 0.11, 95% CI 0.03-0.48). Late post-PCV10, significant reductions were observed for both PCV10 serotypes (IRR 0.02; 95% CI 0.0-0.15) and non-PCV10 serotypes (IRR 0.27; 95%CI 0.14-0.53). Non-PCV10 serotypes 15B, 12F, 3, 17F, and 19A became predominant late post-PCV10 without a significant increase in serotype-specific IPD incidence compared to pre-PCV10. CONCLUSION: Significant declines in IPD, including among adults not eligible for vaccination, suggest direct and indirect protection up to nine years after PCV10 introduction, without evidence of significant replacement disease. Continued surveillance is needed to monitor changes in non-vaccine serotypes and inform decisions about introducing higher valent PCVs.

The Brazilian Toxoplasma gondii strain BRI caused greater inflammation and impairment in anxiogenic behavior in mice, which was reverted by rosuvastatin treatment.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of rosuvastatin treatment on anxiety-related behavior and short- and long-term memory impairment in mice infected with acute RH and BRI strains of Toxoplasma gondii. Balb/C mice were infected intraperitoneally and after 2 h, oral treatment with rosuvastatin (40 mg/kg/day) was initiated for 4 days. Behaviors related to anxiety and locomotion were evaluated in the open field (OF), and short- and long-term memory through the novel object recognition test (NOR). At the end of the experiments, peritoneal fluid, brain, liver, and lung were collected for T. gondii DNA quantification and histopathological analysis. Infection with BRI strain reduced the dwell time and central locomotion in the OF (p < 0.05), indicating anxiogenic type behavior, while treatment with rosuvastatin reversed this response (p < 0.05). RH strain infection did not alter any behavior in the OF (p > 0.05) and both strains impaired short- and long-term memory (NOR test), but with no significant treatment effect (p > 0.05). The BRI strain was shown to be more damaging in relation to anxiogenic type behavior when compared to the RH strain (p < 0.05), whereas rosuvastatin reduced this damaging effect in BRI. The treatment reduced the parasite load in the peritoneal lavage, liver, and lung of animals infected with both acute strains; however, it significantly (p < 0.05) attenuated the inflammatory process only in BRI-infected and treated animals, showing that non-archetypal genotypes are more damaging in rodents. This suggests that rosuvastatin may be a drug with great therapeutic potential against T. gondii mainly to reduce damage from virulent strains.

Public engagement with genomics.

As detailed in its flagship report, Genome UK, the UK government recognises the vital role that broad public engagement across whole populations plays in the field of genomics. However, there is limited evidence about how to do this at scale. Most public audiences do not feel actively connected to science, are oftenunsure of the relevance to their lives and rarely talk to their family and friends about; we term this dis-connection a 'disengaged public audience'. We use a narrative review to explore: (i) UK attitudes towards genetics and genomics and what may influence reluctance to engage with these topics; (ii) innovative public engagement approaches that have been used to bring diverse public audiences into conversations about the technology. Whilst we have found some novel engagement methods that have used participatory arts, film, social media and deliberative methods, there is no clear agreement on best practice. We did not find a consistently used, evidence-based strategy for delivering public engagement about genomics across diverse and broad populations, nor a specific method that is known to encourage engagement from groups that have historically felt (in terms of perception) and been (in reality) excluded from genomic research. We argue there is a need for well-defined, tailor-made engagement strategies that clearly articulate the audience, the purpose and the proposed impact of the engagement intervention. This needs to be coupled with robust evaluation frameworks to build the evidence-base for population-level engagement strategies.

Using social media and personality traits to assess software developers' emotional polarity.

Although human factors (e.g., cognitive functions, behaviors and skills, human error models, etc.) are key elements to improve software development productivity and quality, the role of software developers' emotions and their personality traits in software engineering still needs to be studied. A major difficulty is in assessing developers' emotions, leading to the classic problem of having difficulties understanding what cannot be easily measured. Existing approaches to infer emotions, such as facial expressions, self-assessed surveys, and biometric sensors, imply considerable intrusiveness on developers and tend to be used only during normal working periods. This article proposes to assess the feasibility of using social media posts (e.g., developers' posts on Twitter) to accurately determine the polarity of emotions of software developers over extended periods in a non-intrusive manner, allowing the identification of potentially abnormal periods of negative or positive sentiments of developers that may affect software development productivity or software quality. Our results suggested that Twitter data can serve as a valid source for accurately inferring the polarity of emotions. We evaluated 31 combinations of unsupervised lexicon-based techniques using a dataset with 79,029 public posts from Twitter from sixteen software developers, achieving a macro F1-Score of 0.745 and 76.8% of accuracy with the ensemble comprised of SentiStrength, Sentilex-PT, and LIWC2015_PT lexicons. Among other results, we found a statistically significant difference in tweets' polarities posted during working and non-working periods for 31.25% of the participants, suggesting that emotional polarity monitoring outside working hours could also be relevant. We also assessed the Big Five personality traits of the developers and preliminarily used them to ponder the polarities inferences. In this context, Openness, Conscientiousness, and Extraversion were frequently related to neutral and positive posts, while Neuroticism is associated with negative posts. Our results show that the proposed approach is accurate enough to constitute a simple and non-intrusive alternative to existing methods. Tools using this approach can be applied in real software development environments to support software team workers in making decisions to improve the software development process.

Evaluation of phenotypical and genotypical methods for the identification and typing of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolated from a pharmaceutical facility.

AIMS: Evaluate methods for identification and typing of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolated from a pharmaceutical facility. METHODS AND RESULTS: From 270 S. maltophilia strains identified by VITEK®2, 40 were selected and submitted to MALDI TOF-MS, 16S and 23S rRNA gene analysis, enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-polymerase chain reaction (ERIC-PCR), and an antimicrobial susceptibility profile. 16S rRNA sequencing was able to identify 39 (97.5%) strains as Stenotrophomonas spp. and one (2.5%) as Luteimonas huabeiensis. MALDI TOF-MS identified 37 (92.5%) strains as S. maltophilia, and three (7.5%) were not identified. PCR targeting 23S rRNA yielded a positive result for 39 (97.5%) strains. However, after sequencing, two strains were identified as Stenotrophomonas rhizophila, showing false-positive results. The confirmed S. maltophilia strains (n = 37) showed 35 distinct ERIC-PCR profiles and exhibited sensitivity to minocycline and levofloxacin, and six (16.3%) showed intermediate resistance to sulfamethoxazole-trimethoprim. CONCLUSION: Matrix-assisted laser desorption lonization-time of flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) was a satisfactory methodology for the identification of S. maltophilia, but expansion of the database is necessary for the identification of other species. 16S rDNA sequencing showed low resolution for Stenotrophomonas species differentiation. PCR targeting 23S rRNA could not differentiate S. maltophilia from S. rhizophila. ERIC-PCR was shown to be a useful tool for the microbial source tracking of S. maltophilia.

Is teledentistry effective to monitor the evolution of orthodontic treatment? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

INTRODUCTION: With the advent of COVID-19, teledentistry and remote monitoring have become an imminent reality that allows orthodontists to monitor orthodontic treatment through virtual checkups, which complement in-office appointments. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of using teledentistry in monitoring the evolution of orthodontic treatment. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Searches were performed in on-line databases. PECO strategy focused on comparing orthodontic patients exposed and not exposed to teledentistry. Searches and data extraction followed PRISMA guidelines. The assessment of the risk of bias and the certainty of the evidence was performed using the ROBINS-I and GRADE tools, respectively. A meta-analysis was also performed. RESULTS: Out of 1,178 records found, 4 met the criteria and were included in the qualitative analysis. The risk of bias for follow-up assesment in aligner treatment was low to moderate; while for interceptive treatment, it was high. Studies are favorable to the use of teledentistry. The meta-analysis was performed with aligners studies only, due to heterogeneity. The certainty of the evidence was considered very low. CONCLUSION: With very low certainty of evidence, teledentistry using Dental Monitoring® software is effective as an aid in monitoring the evolution of interceptive orthodontic treatment (high risk of bias) and, especially, treatment performed with aligners (low to moderate risk of bias). The meta-analysis evidenced a reduction in the number of face-to-face appointments (mean difference = -2.75[-3.95, -1.55]; I2=41%; p<0.00001) and the time for starting refinement (mean difference = -1.21[-2.35, -0.08]; I2=49%; p=0.04). Additional randomized studies evaluating corrective orthodontic treatment with brackets and wires are welcome.

Self-correction of posterior crossbite in childhood: a systematic review of long-term follow-up studies.

BACKGROUND: The concept that posterior crossbite is not self-correcting has been controversial in the literature. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the incidence of self-correction of crossbite in different stages of dentition in childhood. SEARCH METHODS AND SELECTION CRITERIA: A bibliographic search using the acronym PECOS was performed in five databases and in partial grey literature. Studies evaluating children with posterior crossbite in the deciduous or mixed dentition at initial examination and followed for at least 3 years were included. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: The data extraction of the studies included presents information on authorship, clinical characteristics, main results, and conclusions. The risk of bias in the studies was evaluated through the Joanna Briggs Institute tool. The certainty of the evidence was assessed using the GRADE tool. RESULTS: Among the 3045 references identified, seven cohort studies met the eligibility criteria. The studies evaluated patients in transition from deciduous to mixed, mixed to permanent, and deciduous to mixed dentition. Two studies had a low risk of bias, three had a moderate risk, and two had a high risk of bias. The results showed posterior crossbite self-correction frequencies ranging from 12.2 to 77.1% during the transition from primary to mixed dentition, approximately 16% from mixed to permanent dentition, and a range from 20 to 82.8% from deciduous to permanent dentition. The level of certainty of the evidence generated ranged from very low to moderate. LIMITATIONS: The observational design of the studies, without adequate control for confounding factors, and non-classification of the samples considering the types or the severity of the posterior crossbite. CONCLUSION: The self-correction of posterior crossbite in childhood is possible. However, the results of this research do not allow to affirm how often the self-correction of posterior crossbite can occur. New studies that assess factors associated with the occurrence of self-correction of this malocclusion, including oral habits, may increase the certainty of the evidence. REGISTRATION: PROSPERO CRD42022311935.

Evidence for Epistatic Interaction between HLA-G and LILRB1 in the Pathogenesis of Nonsegmental Vitiligo.

Vitiligo is the most frequent cause of depigmentation worldwide. Genetic association studies have discovered about 50 loci associated with disease, many with immunological functions. Among them is HLA-G, which modulates immunity by interacting with specific inhibitory receptors, mainly LILRB1 and LILRB2. Here we investigated the LILRB1 and LILRB2 association with vitiligo risk and evaluated the possible role of interactions between HLA-G and its receptors in this pathogenesis. We tested the association of the polymorphisms of HLA-G, LILRB1, and LILRB2 with vitiligo using logistic regression along with adjustment by ancestry. Further, methods based on the multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) approach (MDR v.3.0.2, GMDR v.0.9, and MB-MDR) were used to detect potential epistatic interactions between polymorphisms from the three genes. An interaction involving rs9380142 and rs2114511 polymorphisms was identified by all methods used. The polymorphism rs9380142 is an HLA-G 3'UTR variant (+3187) with a well-established role in mRNA stability. The polymorphism rs2114511 is located in the exonic region of LILRB1. Although no association involving this SNP has been reported, ChIP-Seq experiments have identified this position as an EBF1 binding site. These results highlight the role of an epistatic interaction between HLA-G and LILRB1 in vitiligo pathogenesis.

Yeast-fermented cassava as a protein source in cattle feed: systematic review and meta-analysis.

The present study evaluated the effect of the inclusion of cassava fermented with Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeasts on performance, feed intake, nutrient digestibility, rumen microorganisms and ruminal fermentation of cattle through a systematic review and meta-analysis. The effects of yeast-fermented cassava (YFC) in the diet of cattle were evaluated using the mean difference as a measure of the effect size, considering a confidence interval of 95%. Subgroup and meta-regression analysis were performed to investigate the origin of heterogeneity. The database included eight experiments. Three studies were related to dairy heifers, three related to dairy cow and the remaining two studies were associated to beef heifers. The inclusion of YFC in the bovine diet increased the dry matter intake %BW (P < 0.01) and nutrient digestibility (P < 0.05). We observed an increase in mean ruminal pH (P < 0.01), volatile fatty acid (P < 0.01) and propionic acid concentration (P < 0.01). There was a significant increase in the population of bacteria (P < 0.01) and fungi (P < 0.01), and a reduction in the protozoan count in the rumen fluid (P < 0.01) in the animals fed with YFC. Lactating cows fed YFC produced 1.02 kg/day more (P < 0.01) milk than non-supplemented cows. In addition, there was an increase of 7.4% in the fat (P = 0.03), 6.3% in the protein (P < 0.01) and 2.8% in lactose (P = 0.02) of milk of cows supplemented with YFC. The results of the present meta-analysis showed that the total or partial inclusion of YFC in cattle concentrate improves fermentation and rumen efficiency, dry matter intake, nutrient digestibility, milk yield, and milk composition.

Do Adult Attachment Style or Personality Mediate the Relationship Between Childhood Maltreatment and Late-Life Depression in Poor Communities?

OBJECTIVE: Childhood maltreatment is associated with late-life depression. Preliminary evidence indicates that personality characteristics, in particular neuroticism and extroversion, and an anxious attachment style mediate this association. The objective is to evaluate 3 models, in which personality and attachment are considered mediators between childhood maltreatment and late-life depression in a socioeconomically disadvantaged Brazilian population. METHODS: This study included participants (n = 260) from socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods of Porto Alegre, Brazil, who completed measures of childhood maltreatment (Childhood Trauma Questionnaire - CTQ), personality characteristics (NEO-Five Factor Inventory), attachment styles (Relationship Scales Questionnaire), and geriatric depression (Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview-Plus). General multiple and sequential mediation analyses were used to test for possible associations. RESULTS: Attachment anxiety but not attachment avoidance is a mediator between childhood maltreatment and geriatric depression. Neuroticism is a full mediator. At that, attachment anxiety was found to be a predictor of neuroticism. Finally, sequential mediation analysis shows a path from childhood maltreatment to geriatric depression through attachment anxiety and neuroticism. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest a pathway from childhood maltreatment to anxious attachment, which in turn predicts higher neuroticism that itself may favor late-life depression. This hypothesis could have implications for older adults living in low socioeconomic settings in that treating the high-risk group of maltreated children may help prevent late-life depression.

Resveratrol has its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory protective mechanisms decreased in aging.

In the elderly, there is an increase in oxidative and inflammatory activity. Resveratrol (RSV) is a polyphenol that has several proven biological activities, such as antioxidant and anti-inflammatory. Thus, the aim of our study was to verify the possible antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of RSV on human mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from donors aged between 40 and 59 and 60-80 years old. For this, 6-8 patients were selected by age group. Cells were isolated and divided into 4 groups: Control (C), RSV only, H2O2 (to induce an oxidizing environment - C+) and H2O2+RSV. The quantification of reactive nitrogen species (NO and ONOO-), as well as pro and anti-inflammatory cytokines (TNFα, IL-6 and IL-10) was performed. Pearson's correlation and comparison between groups were performed (p<0.05). Our results showed a greater role of RSV in the middle-aged compared to the elderly group, in relation to the balance of NO/ONOO- and the levels of cytokines IL-6 and TNFα. It was also possible to observe an improvement in the anti-inflammatory profile in both age groups, but more effective in the cells in the middle-aged group. Thus, we could observe that RSV has better activity in the reduction of important biomarkers of oxidation and inflammation.

Uso da fotografia em pesquisas com crianças e adolescentes com condições crônicas: revisão integrativa / Uso de la fotografía en estudios con infantes y adolescentes con condiciones crónicas: revisión integradora / Use of photography in research with children and adolescents with chronic conditions: an integrative review

Resumo Objetivo Identificar estudos que utilizaram as técnicas de Foto-Elicitação e Photovoice como estratégia para coleta de dados com crianças e adolescentes com condições crônicas. Métodos Revisão integrativa da literatura, efetuada nas bases de dados Web of Science, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO e LILACS, com busca de artigos publicados em inglês, português e espanhol, entre os anos 2010 e 2021. As buscas foram conduzidas entre os meses de fevereiro e abril de 2022. Os dados foram analisados de forma descritiva e organizados em categorias. Resultados Foram incluídos 28 artigos e, a partir do processo analítico, construíram-se as seguintes categorias: 1 - Vantagens do uso da Foto-Elicitação e do Photovoice; e 2 - Desafios no uso dessas técnicas. Conclusão A literatura é convergente ao considerar que a abordagem visual se configura como uma ferramenta facilitadora da comunicação das experiências de crianças e adolescentes com condições crônicas, ainda que possa apresentar alguns desafios na sua aplicabilidade.

Resumen Objetivo Identificar estudios que utilizaron las técnicas de foto-elicitación y fotovoz como estrategia de recopilación de datos con infantes y adolescentes con condiciones crónicas. Métodos Revisión integradora de la literatura, realizada en las bases de datos Web of Science, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO y LILACS, con búsqueda de artículos publicados en inglés, portugués y español, entre los años 2010 y 2021. Las búsquedas se llevaron a cabo entre los meses de febrero y abril de 2022. Los datos se analizaron de forma descriptiva y se organizaron en categorías. Resultados Se incluyeron 28 artículos y, a partir del proceso analítico, se crearon las siguientes categorías: 1) Ventajas del uso de la foto-elicitación y de la fotovoz, 2) Desafíos del uso de estas técnicas. Conclusión La literatura es convergente al considerar que el enfoque visual se presenta como una herramienta facilitadora de la comunicación de las experiencias de infantes y adolescentes con condiciones crónicas, aunque puede presentar algunos desafíos para su aplicabilidad.

Abstract Objective To identify studies that used Photo-Elicitation and Photovoice techniques as a strategy for data collection with children and adolescents with chronic conditions. Methods This is an integrative literature review, carried out in the Web of Science, CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and LILACS databases, with a search for articles published in English, Portuguese and Spanish, between 2010 and 2021. The searches were conducted between February and April 2022. Data were analyzed descriptively and organized into categories. Results A total of 28 articles were included and, based on the analytical process, the following categories were constructed: Advantages of using Photo-Elicitation and Photovoice; and Challenges in using these techniques. Conclusion The literature is converging when considering that the visual approach is configured as a tool that facilitates the communication of the experiences of children and adolescents with chronic conditions, although it may present some challenges in its applicability.

Associação entre dietas vegetarianas e sintomas de depressão em indivíduos de Pernambuco / Association between vegetarian diets and depressive symptoms in individuals in Pernambuco / Asociación entre dietas vegetarianas y síntomas de depresión en individuos de Pernambuco

Objetivo: avaliar sintomas depressivos em pacientes vegetarianos e onívoros de Pernambuco (Brasil). Método: A coleta de dados foi realizada por meio de questionário online autoaplicável, contendo a Escala de Rastreamento Populacional para Depressão do Centro de Estudos Epidemiológicos (CES-D). O instrumento é composto por 20 questões, cujas respostas ajudam a detectar sintomas de depressão em populações adultas. Para análise dos dados, foram utilizados média e desvio padrão, e valores de p e teste de Student Um total de 106 indivíduos responderam o questionário, sendo destes 53 onívoros e 53 vegetarianos. Resultados: ambos os grupos, onívoros e vegetarianos, apresentaram um score aumentado para depressão (acima de 16 pontos). Estes escores não diferem de acordo com estilo de dieta, não havendo diferença estatística entre os grupos. Não houve associação entre dietas vegetarianas e sintomas depressivos, pelo menos no aspecto clínico e com a escala escolhida. Conclusão: ressalta-se a importância de avaliar o aumento dos escores em ambos os grupos. Mais estudos são necessários para elucidar esses mecanismos

Objective: to evaluate depressive symptoms in vegetarian and omnivorous patients from Pernambuco (Brazil). Method: Data collection was performed using a selfadministered online questionnaire, containing the Population Tracking Scale for Depression at the Center for Epidemiological Studies (CES-D). The instrument consists of 20 questions, whose answers help to detect symptoms of depression in adult populations. For data analysis, mean and standard deviation were used, and values of p and Student test A total of 106 individuals answered the questionnaire, of which 53 were omnivorous and 53 were vegetarians. Results: both groups, omnivorous and vegetarian, had an increased score for depression (above 16 points). These scores do not differ according to diet style, with no statistical difference between groups. There was no association between vegetarian diets and depressive symptoms, at least in the clinical aspect and with the chosen scale. Conclusion: we highlight the importance of assessing the increase in scores in both groups. Further studies are needed to elucidate these mechanisms

Objetivo: evaluar los síntomas depresivos en pacientes vegetarianos y omnívoros de Pernambuco (Brasil). Método: La recolección de datos se realizó a través de un cuestionario en línea autoadministrado que contenía la Escala de Cribado Poblacional para la Depresión del Centro de Estudios Epidemiológicos (CES-D). El instrumento consta de 20 preguntas, cuyas respuestas ayudan a detectar síntomas de depresión en poblaciones adultas. Para el análisis de los datos, se utilizó la media y la desviación estándar, y los valores de p y de las pruebas de los estudiantes Un total de 106 individuos respondieron al cuestionario, de los cuales 53 omnívoros y 53 vegetarianos. Resultados: tanto los grupos omnívoros como los vegetarianos presentaron una mayor puntuación para la depresión (por encima de 16 puntos). Estas puntuaciones no difieren según el estilo de dieta, y no hay diferencia estadística entre los grupos. No hubo asociación entre las dietas vegetarianas y los síntomas depresivos, al menos en el aspecto clínico y con la escala elegida. Conclusión: se enfatiza la importancia de evaluar el aumento de puntajes en ambos grupos. Se necesitan más estudios para dilucidar estos mecanismos.

Is teledentistry effective to monitor the evolution of orthodontic treatment? A systematic review and meta-analysis

ABSTRACT Introduction: With the advent of COVID-19, teledentistry and remote monitoring have become an imminent reality that allows orthodontists to monitor orthodontic treatment through virtual checkups, which complement in-office appointments. Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of using teledentistry in monitoring the evolution of orthodontic treatment. Material and Methods: Searches were performed in on-line databases. PECO strategy focused on comparing orthodontic patients exposed and not exposed to teledentistry. Searches and data extraction followed PRISMA guidelines. The assessment of the risk of bias and the certainty of the evidence was performed using the ROBINS-I and GRADE tools, respectively. A meta-analysis was also performed. Results: Out of 1,178 records found, 4 met the criteria and were included in the qualitative analysis. The risk of bias for follow-up assesment in aligner treatment was low to moderate; while for interceptive treatment, it was high. Studies are favorable to the use of teledentistry. The meta-analysis was performed with aligners studies only, due to heterogeneity. The certainty of the evidence was considered very low. Conclusion: With very low certainty of evidence, teledentistry using Dental Monitoring® software is effective as an aid in monitoring the evolution of interceptive orthodontic treatment (high risk of bias) and, especially, treatment performed with aligners (low to moderate risk of bias). The meta-analysis evidenced a reduction in the number of face-to-face appointments (mean difference = −2.75[−3.95, -1.55]; I2=41%; p<0.00001) and the time for starting refinement (mean difference = −1.21[−2.35, -0.08]; I2=49%; p=0.04). Additional randomized studies evaluating corrective orthodontic treatment with brackets and wires are welcome.

RESUMO Introdução: Com o advento da COVID-19, a teleodontologia e o monitoramento remoto tornaram-se uma realidade iminente, permitindo ao ortodontista acompanhar o tratamento ortodôntico por meio de checkups virtuais, que complementam as consultas presenciais. Objetivo: Avaliar a eficácia do uso da teleodontologia no acompanhamento da evolução do tratamento ortodôntico. Material e Métodos: Buscas foram realizadas em bases de dados on-line. A estratégia PECO focou na comparação de pacientes ortodônticos expostos e não expostos à teleodontologia. As buscas e a extração dos dados seguiram a metodologia PRISMA. A avaliação do risco de viés e da certeza da evidência foi realizada com as ferramentas ROBINS-I e GRADE, respectivamente. Uma metanálise também foi realizada. Resultados: Dos 1.178 estudos encontrados, 4 atenderam aos critérios e foram incluídos na análise qualitativa. O risco de viés para a avaliação do acompanhamento de tratamentos com alinhadores foi baixo a moderado; enquanto para o tratamento interceptativo, foi alto. Os estudos são favoráveis ao uso da teleodontologia. A meta-análise foi realizada apenas com estudos de alinhadores, devido à heterogeneidade. A certeza da evidência foi considerada muito baixa. Conclusão: Com muito baixo nível de certeza da evidência, a teleodontologia utilizando o software Dental Monitoring® é eficaz para auxiliar no acompanhamento da evolução do tratamento ortodôntico interceptativo (alto risco de viés) e, principalmente, do tratamento realizado com alinhadores (risco de viés baixo a moderado). A metanálise evidenciou redução no número de atendimentos presenciais (diferença média = −2,75[−3,95, -1,55]; I2=41%; p<0,00001) e no tempo para início do refinamento (diferença média = −1,21[−2,35, -0,08]; I2=49%; p=0,04). Estudos randomizados adicionais avaliando o tratamento ortodôntico corretivo com braquetes e fios são bem-vindos.

Kaurenoic acid nanocarriers regulates cytokine production and inhibit breast cancer cell migration.

Breast cancer is the type of cancer with the highest incidence in women around the world. Noteworthy, the triple-negative subtype affects 20% of the patients while presenting the highest death rate among subtypes. This is due to its aggressive phenotype and the capability of invading other tissues. In general, tumor-associated macrophages (TAM) and other immune cells, are responsible for maintaining a favorable tumor microenvironment for inflammation and metastasis by secreting several mediators such as pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α, chemokines like CCL2, and other proteins, as metalloproteinases of matrix (MMP). On the other hand, immunomodulatory agents can interfere in the immune response of TAM and change the disease prognosis. In this work, we prepared nanostructured lipid carriers containing kaurenoic acid (NLC-KA) to evaluate the effect on cytokine production in vitro of bone marrow-derived macrophages (BMDM) and the migratory process of 4 T1 breast cancer cells. NLC-KA prepared from a blend of natural lipids was shown to have approximately 90 nm in diameter with low polydispersity index. To test the effect on cytokine production in vitro in NLC-KA treated BMDM, ELISA assay was performed and pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-1ß, IL-6, and TNF-α were quantified. The formulation reduced the secretion of IL-1ß and TNF-α cytokines while presenting no hemolytic activity. Noteworthy, an anti-migratory effect in 4 T1 breast cancer cells treated with NLC-KA was observed in scratch assays. Further, MMP9 and CCL2 gene expressions in both BMDM and 4 T1 treated cells confirmed that the mechanism of inhibition of migration is related to the blockade of this pathway by KA. Finally, cell invasion assays confirmed that NLC-KA treatment resulted in less invasiveness of 4 T1 cells than control, and it is independent of CCL2 stimulus or BMDM direct stimulus. Ultimately, NLC-KA was able to regulate the cytokine production in vitro and reduce the migration of 4 T1 breast cancer cells by decreasing MMP9 gene expression.

Molecular Dereplication and In Vitro and In Silico Pharmacological Evaluation of Coriandrum sativum against Neuroblastoma Cells.

The aim of this study was to investigate the cytotoxic activity of the Coriandrum sativum (C. sativum) ethanolic extract (CSEE) in neuroblastoma cells, chemically characterize the compounds present in the CSEE, and predict the molecular interactions and properties of ADME. Thus, after obtaining the CSEE and performing its chemical characterization through dereplication methods using UPLC/DAD-ESI/HRMS/MS, PM6 methods and the SwissADME drug design platform were used in order to predict molecular interactions and ADME properties. The CSEE was tested for 24 h in neuroblastoma cells to the establishment of the IC50 dose. Then, the cell death was evaluated, using annexin-PI, as well as the activity of the effector caspase 3, and the protein and mRNA levels of Bax and Bcl-2 were analyzed by ELISA and RT-PCR, respectively. By UHPLC/DAD/HRMS-MS/MS analysis, the CSEE showed a high content of isocoumarins-dihydrocoriandrin, coriandrin, and coriandrones A and B, as well as nitrogenated compounds (adenine, adenosine, and tryptophan). Flavonoids (apigenin, hyperoside, and rutin), phospholipids (PAF C-16 and LysoPC (16:0)), and acylglicerol were also identified in lower amount as important compounds with antioxidant activity. The in silico approach results showed that the compounds 1 to 6, which are found mostly in the C. sativum extract, obey the "Five Rules" of Lipinski, suggesting a good pharmacokinetic activity of these compounds when administered orally. The IC50 dose of CSEE (20 µg/mL) inhibited cell proliferation and promoted cell death by the accumulation of cleaved caspase-3 and the externalization of phosphatidylserine. Furthermore, CSEE decreased Bcl-2 and increased Bax, both protein and mRNA levels, suggesting an apoptotic mechanism. CSEE presents cytotoxic effects, promoting cell death. In addition to the promising results predicted through the in silico approach for all compounds, the compound 6 showed the best results in relation to stability due to its GAP value.

The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on total treatment time of fixed appliances.

BACKGROUND: Several aspects of the orthodontic routine seem to have been affected since the emergence of SARS-CoV-2. We aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the duration of fixed orthodontic treatment. METHODS: This retrospective study evaluated consecutive cases of patients undergoing fixed orthodontic treatment that completed treatment before (n = 37) or during (n = 26) the COVID-19 pandemic. The impact of the pandemic on treatment time was adjusted for the patient's initial age, sex, number of debonds/breakages, number of missing teeth, initial PAR (Peer Assessment Rating) index (T0) and operator (n = 2), through multiple linear regression. The impact generated by months of treatment conducted during the pandemic period was also examined. Seven poorly finished cases were previously excluded, including five finished during the pandemic. RESULTS: Although the number of absences/missed appointments of patients treated during the pandemic was four months more than those treated in the previous period (p < 0.001), there was no significant effect of the pandemic on total orthodontic treatment time for both operators. There was also an effect of operator (ß = 10.42, p < 0.001) and gender, which was lower in females (ß = 4.77, p = 0.03), on treatment time (R2 = 0.27). The other variables showed no significant association (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: The COVID-19 pandemic did not have a significant effect on total orthodontic treatment time, although a greater number of absences/missed appointments were observed.