The Activity of the Antioxidant Defense System of the Weed Species Senna obtusifolia L. and its Resistance to Allelochemical Stress.

Senna obtusifolia L., a common weed in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world, is able to germinate under adverse environmental conditions, suggesting that this species has efficient stress-adaptation strategies. The aims of the present work were to examine the energy metabolism and the antioxidant defense system of the Senna obtusifolia L. during seed germination and initial growth, and the responses to allelochemical-induced stress. Respiratory activity, the activities of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT),guaicol peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), glutathione reductase (GR), lipoxygenase (LOX) and the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSSG and GSH) were measured. Shortly after seed imbibition, mitochondrial respiratory activity was active and the presence of SOD, CAT, GR and LOX activity in embryos, along with significant KCN-insensitive respiration, indicated that the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is initiated as soon as mitochondrial respiration resumes. Among the fourteen allelochemicals assayed, only coumarin significantly supressed the growth of S. obtusifolia seedlings. Although coumarin reduced the activities of CAT, POD and APX, the GSH, GSSG and MDA levels were not altered. Alpha-pinene, quercetin and ferulic acid did not modify the activity of the antioxidant enzymes or the contents of GSH, GSSH and MDA. Thus the antioxidant defense system of S. obstusifolia may be effective in counteracting the harmful effects of ROS generated during seed germination and initial growth in the presence of toxic allelochemicals.

Dental anomalies in syndromes displaying hypertrichosis in the clinical spectrum.

Hypertrichosis and dental anomalies may occur alone or in combination in the spectrum of many syndromes. To identify genetic entities characterized by hypertrichosis and dental anomalies, a search was performed in the Mendelian Inheritance in Man database with the terms "hypertrichosis" or "hirsutism" and "tooth" or "dental abnormalities." Nondependent androgen metabolism disturbances were classified as hypertrichosis. Genetic entities with hypertrichosis and dental anomalies were included in the study. Additional searches were performed in the PubMed and Orphanet databases, when necessary, in order to include data from scientific articles. An integrative analysis of the genes associated with the identified syndromes was conducted using STRING to characterize biological processes, pathways, and interactive networks. The p-values were subjected to the false discovery rate for the correction of multiple tests. Thirty-nine syndromes were identified, and dental agenesis was the most frequent dental anomaly present in 41.02% (n = 16) of the syndromes. Causative genes were identified in 33 out of 39 genetic syndromes. Among them, 39 genes were identified, and 38 were analyzed by STRING, which showed 148 biological processes and three pathways that were statistically significant. The most significant biological processes were the disassembly of the nucleosome (GO:0006337, p = 1.09e-06), chromosomal organization (GO:0051276, p = 1.09e-06) and remodeling of the chromatin (GO: 0006338, p = 7.86e-06), and the pathways were hepatocellular carcinoma (hsa05225, p = 5.77e-05), thermogenesis (hsa04714, p = 0.00019), and cell cycle (hsa04110, p = 0.0433). Our results showed that the identification of hypertrichosis and dental anomalies may raise the suspicion of one of the thirty-nine syndromes with both phenotypes.

Scientific production of Brazilian researchers focusing on oral surgery, oral medicine, and oral pathology.

We analyzed the distribution characteristics of the scientific production of Brazilian dentistry researchers of the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. The Lattes curriculum data of 211 researchers from Oral Pathology, Oral Surgery, and Oral Medicine fields were included (2018-2020). Over their academic career, 39 researchers published 7,555 papers (average, 175 articles/researcher); 3,876/7,555 papers were indexed in the Web of Science. During 2018-2020, 1,440/7,555 (19%) papers were published. Brazilian dental researchers contribute significantly to international research by participating in scientific journals' editorial boards, evaluating research promotion agencies, training researchers, and contributing to scientific and technological development.

Public oral health services: impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The aim of this study was to describe the oral health services offered by the Unified Health System in the northern macro-region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study. Data collection took place between August and September 2020 through the completion of online questionnaires by oral health managers in the northern municipalities of Minas Gerais and by consultation of information available in the Special Epidemiological Bulletin Coronavirus North Macro-region n° 14. After collection, data were transferred to SPSS® (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for Windows, version 24.0). Analyses were performed using frequency, mean, standard deviation and percentages. It was found that all included municipalities suspended elective treatments and maintained emergency dental care at all levels of care. In 62.5% of municipalities there were oral health professionals contaminated by COVID-19. Oral health teams implemented specific interventions to address the pandemic,with the most frequent being tele-orientation (74.7%), use of sanitary barriers (72%), and telemonitoring (68%). At the beginning of the pandemic, 62.5% of municipalities lacked personal protective equipment. Comsidering these results, it was found that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the supply of dental services in northern Minas Gerais due to the suspension of elective care, contamination of professionals, lack of personal protective equipment, and development of new interventions. Thus, oral health teams had to adapt to new contexts of health interventionsto face COVID-19 and maintain dental care services.

Potential link between SARS-CoV-2 and Kawasaki disease: importance of dentists for the diagnosis.

Kawasaki disease (KD) is a vasculitis with predilection for coronary arteries. Due to a lack of reliable confirmatory laboratory tests, the diagnosis of KD is based on a characteristic pattern of clinical findings that appear in a typical temporal sequence. The diagnostic criteria have been periodically modified and the American Heart Association has proposed the most recent guidelines for its diagnosis. However, patients may have incomplete or atypical forms of KD and diagnosis can often be difficult. Because oropharyngeal manifestations are a common and important feature for diagnosing KD and recent studies have hypothesized a possible association between KD and the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), in this review we highlight the importance of dentists in the diagnosis of KD and its potential association with SARS-CoV-2.

Management of the N0 neck in moderately advanced squamous carcinoma of the larynx.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the oncological efficacy of selective neck dissection (SND) in patients with T3-4 N0 laryngeal squamous carcinoma. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 327 patients underwent 654 neck dissections; each side of the neck was individually evaluated. RESULTS: Three percent of patients who had SND developed regional recurrence (RR) in comparison with 11.7 percent of patients who underwent modified radical neck dissection (MRND) (P=0.005). Only 3 (0.9%) patients developed RR outside the field of SND. The presence of extracapsular extension (P=0.002) in node-positive (pN+) group and of microvascular invasion (P=0.007), together with the type of neck dissection (ND) (P=0.0003) in node-negative (pN0) group had statistical impact on RR. The development of RR significantly affected disease-specific survival (P=0.0001). Equivalent rates of RR were found in pN+ (2.6%) or pN0 (3.2%) patients treated with SND (P=0.98) as well as in pN+ patients who underwent SND (2.6%) or MRND (4.7%) (P=0.85). CONCLUSION: This study confirmed the adequacy of SND as a satisfactory staging and therapeutic procedure, and suggests its use in the treatment of limited node-positive (N+) neck.

Dental anomalies in syndromes displaying hypertrichosis in the clinical spectrum

Abstract Hypertrichosis and dental anomalies may occur alone or in combination in the spectrum of many syndromes. To identify genetic entities characterized by hypertrichosis and dental anomalies, a search was performed in the Mendelian Inheritance in Man database with the terms "hypertrichosis" or "hirsutism" and "tooth" or "dental abnormalities." Nondependent androgen metabolism disturbances were classified as hypertrichosis. Genetic entities with hypertrichosis and dental anomalies were included in the study. Additional searches were performed in the PubMed and Orphanet databases, when necessary, in order to include data from scientific articles. An integrative analysis of the genes associated with the identified syndromes was conducted using STRING to characterize biological processes, pathways, and interactive networks. The p-values were subjected to the false discovery rate for the correction of multiple tests. Thirty-nine syndromes were identified, and dental agenesis was the most frequent dental anomaly present in 41.02% (n = 16) of the syndromes. Causative genes were identified in 33 out of 39 genetic syndromes. Among them, 39 genes were identified, and 38 were analyzed by STRING, which showed 148 biological processes and three pathways that were statistically significant. The most significant biological processes were the disassembly of the nucleosome (GO:0006337, p = 1.09e-06), chromosomal organization (GO:0051276, p = 1.09e-06) and remodeling of the chromatin (GO: 0006338, p = 7.86e-06), and the pathways were hepatocellular carcinoma (hsa05225, p = 5.77e-05), thermogenesis (hsa04714, p = 0.00019), and cell cycle (hsa04110, p = 0.0433). Our results showed that the identification of hypertrichosis and dental anomalies may raise the suspicion of one of the thirty-nine syndromes with both phenotypes.

Scientific production of Brazilian researchers focusing on oral surgery, oral medicine, and oral pathology

Abstract We analyzed the distribution characteristics of the scientific production of Brazilian dentistry researchers of the Brazilian National Council for Scientific and Technological Development. The Lattes curriculum data of 211 researchers from Oral Pathology, Oral Surgery, and Oral Medicine fields were included (2018-2020). Over their academic career, 39 researchers published 7,555 papers (average, 175 articles/researcher); 3,876/7,555 papers were indexed in the Web of Science. During 2018-2020, 1,440/7,555 (19%) papers were published. Brazilian dental researchers contribute significantly to international research by participating in scientific journals' editorial boards, evaluating research promotion agencies, training researchers, and contributing to scientific and technological development.

Public oral health services: impacts caused by the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract: The aim of this study was to describe the oral health services offered by the Unified Health System in the northern macro-region of Minas Gerais, Brazil, during the COVID-19 pandemic. This was an observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study. Data collection took place between August and September 2020 through the completion of online questionnaires by oral health managers in the northern municipalities of Minas Gerais and by consultation of information available in the Special Epidemiological Bulletin Coronavirus North Macro-region n° 14. After collection, data were transferred to SPSS® (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences for Windows, version 24.0). Analyses were performed using frequency, mean, standard deviation and percentages. It was found that all included municipalities suspended elective treatments and maintained emergency dental care at all levels of care. In 62.5% of municipalities there were oral health professionals contaminated by COVID-19. Oral health teams implemented specific interventions to address the pandemic,with the most frequent being tele-orientation (74.7%), use of sanitary barriers (72%), and telemonitoring (68%). At the beginning of the pandemic, 62.5% of municipalities lacked personal protective equipment. Comsidering these results, it was found that the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the supply of dental services in northern Minas Gerais due to the suspension of elective care, contamination of professionals, lack of personal protective equipment, and development of new interventions. Thus, oral health teams had to adapt to new contexts of health interventionsto face COVID-19 and maintain dental care services.

Clinical prognostic factors in malignant parotid gland tumors.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the factors in parotid malignant epithelial tumors influencing recurrences and disease-specific survival. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the files of 150 patients treated at our institution, from 1974 to 1998. Twenty-four patients were not treated by surgery and were excluded from this study. The remaining 126 patients were treated with surgery and 74 patients had postoperative radiotherapy. Thirty-three patients were treated with parotidectomy plus neck dissection. Neck lymph node metastasis was found in 22 patients, 5 patients had occult neck metastasis, and 4 periparotid lymph nodes metastasis. The mean age was 49 years old. According to the UICC/1997 TNM Classification, 49 patients were stage I, 27 stage II, 22 stage III, and 28 stage IV. The influence of selected factors on the 10 year disease-specific survival was analyzed using the Kaplan-Meier actuarial method and the log-rank test. RESULTS: Forty patients had mucoepidermoid carcinoma, 18 patients adenocarcinoma NOS, 18 patients acinic cell carcinoma, 15 patients adenoid cystic carcinoma, 11 patients malignant mixed tumor, 11 patients salivary duct carcinoma, and 13 patients other pathology. Twenty-five patients had recurrences: 17 had local recurrences, 4 patients had neck recurrences, and 4 were loco-regional recurrences. Five factors influenced negatively the prognosis: 1) T stage (p.00001), 2) grade (p.00001), 3) + lymph nodes (p.0007), 4) facial nerve dysfunction (p.0001), and 5) age (p.004). Patients with high-grade tumors and high-stage tumors had the worst prognosis according to the multivariate analysis. The 10-year disease-specific survival was 97% for stage I, 81% for stage II, 56% for stage III, and 20% for stage IV. CONCLUSION: The grade of the tumor and stage were the most important prognostic factor. EBM RATING: C.

Prognostic factors and outcome for nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Nasopharyngeal cancer (NPC) is a distinct form of cancer of the upper respiratory or digestive tract in which the epidemiologic features, origin, histopathologic types, treatment, and prognosis are different from those associated with other malignant neoplasms of this anatomical area. Recent publications have demonstrated the advantage of aggressive multimodality treatment for advanced NPC. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the results of standardized treatment of NPC during 11 years and to identify pertinent factors for clinical outcome. METHODS: Between January 1, 1989, and December 31, 2000, 173 patients with newly diagnosed NPC were treated at Instituto Nacional de Cancer. Clinical records and radiographic studies of the patients were retrospectively reviewed. Documented data of the initial presenting symptoms, head and neck examination, radiotherapy protocols, chemotherapy regimens, and surgical technique were analyzed. To determine important prognostic factors, we correlated survival rates with age, clinical stage, tumor extent, histopathological type, and therapeutic approach. The major end point used for assessment was relapse-free survival. Survival curves were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier product-limit method. Multivariate analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon signed rank and Cox proportional hazards regression tests. RESULTS: Most patients (88.5%) had locoregional advanced disease, mostly (53.4%) of the nonkeratinizing subtype. Forty-seven percent of patients had clinical cervical nodal metastases at first consultation. Gross extension of the primary tumor involving the facial bones and skull base was observed in 39.3% and 20.8%, respectively. Just under 75% of patients were treated with radiotherapy (median dose, 6600 cGy), and 25.4% underwent concomitant chemoradiotherapy with adjuvant chemotherapy (cisplatin plus 5-fluorouracil) (median dose, 6800 cGy). The 5-year disease-specific survival for the 173 patients was 32.3%. The disease-specific survival for the radiotherapy group was 22.5%, compared with 61.4% for the chemoradiotherapy plus adjuvant chemotherapy group (P =.004). Factors associated with adverse outcomes were age older than 40 years at treatment (P =.001), advanced TNM stage (P =.002), skull base invasion (P =.004), and facial bone invasion (P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: Compared with radiotherapy alone, concomitant chemoradiotherapy with adjuvant chemotherapy improved the treatment outcome of patients with NPC treated in our institution. Advanced age, local extension, and stage of the disease adversely affected the prognosis in our patients. Compared with reirradiation, salvage brachytherapy and radical neck dissection for local and regional residual or recurrent NPC were associated with increased rates of locoregional control and survival.

Reduction in Renal Specimen After Laparoscopic Radical Nephrectomy: A Histopathologic Analysis.

Abstract Background and Purpose: There is no consensus on the most appropriate way to extract the kidney after laparoscopy. A previous study evaluated the reduction in total kidney volume and incision size (40%) after perfusion with a 5% hypertonic solution in a porcine model. The purpose of the current study was to compare the histopathologic renal tumor diagnosis before and after this perfusion. Furthermore, fluid drained from the renal vein was analyzed for the presence of neoplastic cells. Materials and Methods: After radical nephrectomy, specimens of 21 cases of renal tumors were studied. A small piece of the tumor was removed and fixed in formaldehyde. After that, 500 mL of a 5% NaCL solution was infused through the renal artery. The first 10 mL drained from the vein was collected and sent for cytologic study. The specimens and the fragment were analyzed. The parameters studied were histologic subtypes, Fuhrman grade, necrosis, and microvascular invasion. Results: Clear-cell renal carcinoma was found in 81% of the cases. Two cases of chromophobic renal carcinoma, one case of papillary tumor, and one case of oncocytoma were found. There were no differences in histologic subtypes, Fuhrman grade, necrosis, and microvascular invasion before and after perfusion in most of the cases. All cytologic analysis of drained liquid from the renal vein was negative for neoplastic cells. Conclusions: Renal perfusion with 5% NaCL solution after laparoscopic radical nephrectomy did not interfere with the histopathologic and cytologic characteristics of the kidney. In addition, all samples from the liquid drained from the renal vein were negative for neoplastic cells. These findings suggest that renal shrinkage with hypertonic saline after laparoscopic radical nephrectomy is feasible and might be useful for patients with kidney cancer. Validation of our results as well as their impact on clinical outcomes is warranted.

Segmental multicystic dysplastic kidney: a rare situation.

Segmental multicystic dysplastic kidney is a rare subtype, found in only about 4% of children diagnosed with MCDK. To the best of our knowledge, we describe the 36th reported case of segmental multicystic kidney disease.

Sublingual gland tumors: clinical, pathologic, and therapeutic analysis of 13 patients treated in a single institution.

BACKGROUND: Sublingual gland tumors are rare, although frequently malignant. This study describes the clinicopathologic features and treatment results and reviews the literature. METHODS: Thirteen cases treated between 1996 and 2007 were reviewed with interest on clinical, pathologic, and therapeutic information. Survival data were calculated by the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS: Malignancies represented 92.3% of cases. Adenoid cystic carcinoma was the most common malignant type (66.7%). Most patients (83.3%) presented in advanced pathologic TNM stages (III or IV). All cases underwent surgical treatment. Neck dissection was performed in 69.2% with no metastases detected. Ten patients (83.3%) had adjuvant radiotherapy. Distant metastases occurred in 3 patients (25%). The 5-year overall and disease-free survival rates were 78.7% and 87.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Tumors of the sublingual gland are rare and are usually malignant. Radical surgery and adjuvant radiotherapy seems to offer adequate local and regional control. Unlike distant failure, local recurrence and regional metastases are not common.