Cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) referrals in paediatric patients: A 24-month retrospective study in two radiological centers in Campinas, Brazil.

PURPOSE: To evaluate the CBCT referrals in paediatric patients over a 24-month period. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in two radiological centers in Campinas, Brazil. Patients were divided into three age groups: G1: age under 10 years, G2: age between 10 and 12 years, and G3: age over 12 years. The following data were collected: patients' age and sex, localisation, reasons for referral and dental specialty responsible for the request of CBCT exams. RESULTS: Data from 367 patients were assessed. CBCT was used more frequently in the Group 3 (58.9%). There was significant association between the region of the exam and age group (P < 0.05), with a higher percentage of exams in the maxilla for the age over 12 years (35.6%) than that of up to 10 years (50.9%) and between 10 and 12 years (51.1%). Alterations were observed in 79.3% of the exams and 47.4% showed impacted teeth with significant association with the increase in age group (P < 0.05). Of the total number of exams, (55.3%) were requested in Orthodontics followed by Oral Surgery (30.0%) and Paediatric Dentistry (9.5%). CONCLUSIONS: It can be concluded that CBCT exams were indicated frequently for the age over 12 years. The presence of impacted teeth represented the main reason for referrals and Orthodontics was the dental specialty that indicated CBCT with higher frequency.

Bioactive amines and microbiological quality in pasteurized and refrigerated liquid whole egg.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the correlation between the levels of bioactive amines and the microbiological quality of liquid pasteurized egg stored under refrigeration. Pasteurized whole egg liquid was obtained from 2 types of different raw materials, fresh eggs, and commercial fertile eggs. They were stored under refrigeration over a period of 21 d. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized split plot, with the plots being the 2 types of liquid pasteurized egg, and the subplots being the 4 storage periods (1, 7, 14, and 21 d). The storage period did not contribute to the increase (P > 0.05) of contamination by mesophilic aerobic microorganisms and total coliforms in commercial liquid pasteurized egg. However, for fertile eggs, the storage period led to an increase (P < 0.05) in the numbers of microorganisms. Levels of the amines putrescine, cadaverine, and tyramine were detected only in fertile liquid pasteurized egg, and the storage period contributed to the increase (P < 0.05) in the levels of these amines. There was a high correlation between total coliform most probable number and cadaverine levels, and a moderate correlation between the numbers of aerobic mesophilic microorganisms and tyramine levels. It was concluded that the most contaminated liquid pasteurized eggs were the fertile liquid pasteurized eggs and this caused the highest levels of bioactive amines in them compared with all the eggs that had been subjected to pasteurization and refrigerated storage.

Influência do período de armazenamento na qualidade do ovo integral pasteurizado refrigerado / Influence of storage period on refrigerated pasteurized whole egg quality

Avaliaram-se o pH e a qualidade microbiológica de ovos integrais pasteurizados refrigerados obtidos de dois tipos de matéria-prima: o ovo in natura (comercial ) e o ovo galado (ovo fértil). Os tratamentos foram dispostos no delineamento inteiramente ao acaso, em parcelas subdivididas, sendo na parcela dois tipos de ovos integrais pasteurizados, o comercial e o galado, e na subparcela quatro períodos de estocagem sob temperatura de refrigeração, um, sete, 14 e 21 dias. Não foi observada a presença de Salmonella spp. em nenhuma amostra analisada, e para os ovos comerciais, o período de estocagem não contribuiu para o aumento (P>0,05) da contaminação por mesófilos aeróbios, coliformes a 35ºC, Staphylococcus spp. e bolores e leveduras. Para as amostras de ovos galados, o período de armazenamento influenciou no aumento (P<0,05) da contagem de mesófilos aeróbios, coliformes a 35ºC, bolores e leveduras, e Staphylococcus spp. Os valores de pH aumentaram durante os primeiros dias do armazenamento e depois voltaram a diminuir. Concluiu-se que os ovos integrais galados pasteurizados apresentam pior qualidade em relação aos ovos integrais comerciais pasteurizados, e que o período de validade sob refrigeração desses tipos de ovos poderia ser de sete e 14 dias, respectivamente.

The pH and microbiological quality of refrigerated pasteurized whole eggs at 4ºC obtained from two types of raw materials, in nature (commercial) egg and the fertile egg were evaluated. The treatments were arranged in a completely randomized split plot design, the two types of pasteurized whole eggs (commercial and fertile) were alloted to the plots and four periods of storage under refrigeration (one, seven, 14 and 21 days) to the split plot. The presence of Salmonella spp. was not observed in the samples and the commercial pasteurized whole egg storage period did not contribute to the increase (P>0.05) in mesophilic aerobic coliforms at 35ºC, Staphylococcus spp and mold and yeast contamination. For samples of fertile pasteurized whole eggs, the storage period influenced the increased (P<0.05) count of mesophilic aerobic, coliforms at 35ºC, mold and yeast and Staphylococcus spp. The pH values rose during the first days of storage and then decreased again. It was concluded that fertile pasteurized whole eggs have lower quality than the commercial pasteurized whole eggs, and that the shelf life of these could be seven and 14 days, respectively.

Qualidade de ovos comerciais submetidos a diferentes condições de armazenamento / Quality of commercial eggs submitted to different storage conditions

Verificou-se a qualidade interna de 1440 ovos de consumo, provenientes de galinhas de linhagem comercial. O delineamento foi inteiramente ao acaso, em arranjo fatorial 2x2x15, com duas diferentes idades das galinhas (33 e 60 semanas), duas condições de armazenamento (ambiente e refrigerado) e 15 períodos de estocagem (um, dois, três, quatro, cinco, seis, sete, oito, nove, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14 e 15 dias). Os parâmetros de qualidade dos ovos avaliados foram Unidades Haugh (UH), pH do albúmen (pH), sólidos totais do albúmen (STA) e da gema (STG), e peso e porcentagem de albúmen, gema e casca. Foi observada diminuição da qualidade interna dos ovos durante o armazenamento. Os ovos produzidos por poedeiras velhas e armazenados em temperatura ambiente apresentaram os piores resultados de UH. O pH do albúmen aumentou no decorrer do armazenamento independentemente da idade da ave e da temperatura de estocagem, e os valores de STA aumentaram com o armazenamento em temperatura ambiente. Concluiu-se que a idade da ave, a temperatura e o tempo de armazenamento dos ovos exercem influência sobre os parâmetros de qualidade do ovo.

Physical-chemical egg qualities of 1440 egg from commercial layer hens of different ages (30 and 60-week-old) submitted to storage under room temperature or refrigeration conditions were evaluated according to the following traits: Haugh Unities (UH); pH of albumen (pH); total solids of albumen and yolk; and weight and percentage of albumen, yolk, and shell. Decrease of inner quality of the evaluated eggs was observed during the experiment, mainly eggs from old-layers, which presented the worst values of AA and HU when stored at room temperature. It was concluded that age, temperature and time of storage of eggs influenced egg quality.

Role of European mitochondrial DNA haplogroups in the prevalence of hip osteoarthritis in Galicia, Northern Spain.

OBJECTIVE: To analyse the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups of patients with hip osteoarthritis (OA) and those of healthy controls in a Spanish population. METHODS: mtDNA haplogroups were assigned to 550 cases of hip OA and 505 clinically asymptomatic controls. Sets of controls with healthy knees and hips (n = 179) and patients with knee and/or hip OA (n = 977) were also analysed in a multivariate analysis after adjusting for sex, age and smoking. RESULTS: Individuals carrying haplogroup J showed a significantly decreased risk of developing hip OA (OR 0.661; 95% CI 0.440 to 0.993; p = 0.045). In addition to haplogroup J, smoking protected against the development of hip OA (OR 0.543; 95% CI 0.311 to 0.946; p = 0.031). However, no relationship was found between rheumatoid arthritis and mtDNA haplogroups. CONCLUSION: The results of this study support the hypothesis that the mtDNA haplogroups have a role in the complex osteoarthritic process.

Influence of variants of Fc gamma receptors IIA and IIIA on the American College of Rheumatology and European League Against Rheumatism responses to anti-tumour necrosis factor alpha therapy in rheumatoid arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: Fc gamma receptor (Fc gammaR) polymorphism influences the affinity of the receptor for Ig, which may, in turn, affect the efficacy of Ig-based therapies. The relationship between functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the FCGR2A and FCGR3A genes and the response to anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF)alpha therapy (infliximab) in patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was assessed. METHODS: A total of 91 patients with RA (89% female; 76.7% rheumatoid factor (RF) positive) starting therapy with infliximab were evaluated at 0, 6 and 30 weeks using the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) and European League Against Rheumatism (EULAR) response criteria and the 28-joint Disease Activity Score (DAS28) was evaluated using three parameters, including C-reactive protein (CRP) (DAS28 3v-CRP) changes during the follow-up. Genotyping of FCGR2A-R131H and FCGR3A-F158V polymorphisms was performed by allele-specific PCR and PCR sequence-based typing, respectively. The chi(2) and Fisher exact tests were used to show differences in the outcome variables, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) to analyse the evolution of DAS28 3v-CRP. A generalised linear models multivariable analysis was also performed. RESULTS: At week 6 of follow-up, the proportion of patients achieving 50% improvement as per ACR criteria (ACR50) and EULAR good responses were significantly higher among homozygotes of the low affinity FCGR3A allele (FF: 24.1% and VV-VF:2.2%; p = 0.003 and FF: 44.8% and VV-VF: 22.9%; p = 0.040, respectively). At week 30, homozygotes of the low affinity FCGR2A allele had a better ACR20 response (RR: 60% and HH-RH: 33.3%; p = 0.035). Changes in DAS28 3v-CRP during follow-up were consistent with those observed in ACR and EULAR responses. CONCLUSIONS: The response to anti-TNFalpha treatment with infliximab in patients with RA is influenced by the FCGR2A and FCGR3A genotypes. This effect is observed at different times in the follow-up (6 and 30 weeks, respectively) indicating the dynamic nature of the Fc gammaR versus Ig interaction.

Nondestructive application of laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy for quantitative analyses of phenolic compounds in strawberry fruits (Fragaria x ananassa).

Laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (LIFS) was nondestructively applied on strawberries (EX = 337 nm, EM = 400-820 nm) to test the feasibility of quantitatively determining native phenolic compounds in strawberries. Eighteen phenolic compounds were identified in fruit skin by UV and MS spectroscopy and quantitatively determined by use of rp-HPLC for separation and diode-array or chemical reaction detection. Partial least-squares calibration models were built for single phenolic compounds by means of nondestructively recorded fluorescence spectra in the blue-green wavelength range using different data preprocessing methods. The direct orthogonal signal correction resulted in r (2) = 0.99 and rmsep < 8% for p-coumaroyl-glucose, and r (2) = 0.99 and rmsep < 24% for cinnamoyl-glucose. In comparison, the correction of the fluorescence spectral data with simultaneously recorded reflectance spectra did not further improve the calibration models. Results show the potential of LIFS for a rapid and nondestructive assessment of contents of p-coumaroyl-glucose and cinnamoyl-glucose in strawberry fruits.

Opposed independent effects and epistasis in the complex association of IRF5 to SLE.

Genetic variation in the interferon regulatory factor 5 (IRF5) gene affects systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility. However, association is complex and incompletely defined. We obtained fourteen European sample collections with a total of 1383 SLE patients and 1614 controls to better define the role of the different IRF5 variants. Eleven polymorphisms were studied, including nine tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and two extra functional polymorphisms. Two tag SNPs showed independent and opposed associations: susceptibility (rs10488631, P<10(-17)) and protection (rs729302, P<10(-6)). Haplotype analyses showed that the susceptibility haplotype, identified by the minor allele of rs10488631, can be due to epistasis between three IRF5 functional polymorphisms. These polymorphisms determine increased mRNA expression, a splice variant with a different exon 1 and a longer proline-rich region in exon 6. This result is striking as none of the three polymorphisms had an independent effect on their own. Protection was independent of these polymorphisms and seemed to reside in the 5' side of the gene. In conclusion, our results help to understand the role of the IRF5 locus in SLE susceptibility by clearly separating protection from susceptibility as caused by independent polymorphisms. In addition, we have found evidence for epistasis between known functional polymorphisms for the susceptibility effect.

Peridomestic structure, farming activity and triatomine infestation.

The role of peridomestic structure and farming activity on triatomine infestation was studied on two vector species of Chagas disease (Triatoma pseudomaculata and T. brasiliensis) in Bahia State, northeastern Brazil. A randomly selected population issued from 136 farms was divided into four categories according to the householder activity. At regional scale, the dwellings of farmers working on degraded land of irrigated farms are less exposed to T. pseudomaculata infestation. At premises scale, the farmers and casual workers, who have smaller peridomiciles and less cattle, are also less exposed to T. pseudomaculata. The association of T. brosiliensis with the most mobile populations (casual workers and young breeders) suggests a passive transport of this competitive species. Finally, the retired farmers that own large premises and cattle, but have more sedentary behavior, are the most exposed to T. pseudomaculata infestation.

Effect of training mode and calcium intake on bone mineral density in female master cyclist, runners, and non-athletes.

The focus of this prospective, observational study was to determine the effect of sport-specific training and calcium intake on bone mineral density (BMD) in female master cyclists, runners and non-athletes. Thirty women (12 cyclists, 9 runners, 9 controls), mean age of 49.6 +/- 7.9 years, were assessed at baseline and 18 months for calcium intake (4-day records), current exercise activity (recall questionnaire), and BMD of the lumbar spine and hip (DXA). A three (cyclists, runners, controls) by two (0 and 18 months) repeated measures ANOVA demonstrated a significant interaction effect of sport and time at the femoral neck (p <.04). Tukey post hoc analysis indicated that the BMD of the femur was maintained in cyclists and runners but declined in controls (p <.05). A significant time effect was noted in BMD at the lumbar spine (p <. 001) and the trochanter (p <.003). BMD of the lumbar spine was maintained in runners but declined in cyclists (p <.007) and in controls (p <.03), while trochanteric BMD declined in all groups (p <.01). No significant interaction effect of sport and dietary calcium intake was noted for BMD at any site.

DNA content, karyotypes, and chromosomal location of 18S-5.8S-28S ribosomal loci in some species of bivalve molluscs from the Pacific Canadian coast.

The DNA content of 10 species of bivalve molluscs from British Columbia coast was determined by image analysis, and the karyotypes of the horse clam Tressus capax, the bent-nose macoma Macoma nasuta, and the nuttall's mahogany clam Nuttallia nuttallii are described here for the first time. We also have analyzed the location of rDNA loci using a 28S-5.8S-18S probe in four of these species: Mytilus californianus, M. trossulus, Macoma nasuta and N. nuttallii. Results obtained report new data about cytogenetic characteristics of bivalve molluscs.