Impact of malocclusion, tooth loss and oral hygiene habits on quality of life in orthodontic patients: A cross-sectional study

We aimed to assess the impact of malocclusion on oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) in a sample composed of adolescents, younger adults and adults seeking orthodontic treatment. Participants were consecutively enrolled from January 2019 to March 2020. The oral health impact profile (OHIP-14) was used to measure the OHRQoL. The index of complexity, outcome and need (ICON) was used to assess malocclusion. Sociodemographic, medical, and clinical questionnaires were recorded. Statistical analyses were performed according as a function of sex and age range (15–30 or >30 years old). Linear and logistic regression models were applied to assess the association between OHIP-14 total score, malocclusion, and other relevant confounding variables. In a final sample of 93 participants (60 females and 33 males, aged 15 to 60 years), men reported significantly better OHRQoL (p = 0.005). Participants aged 30 years or older reported significantly worse OHRQoL (p = 0.042). OHIP-14 was significantly correlated with age (¿ = 0.259, p < 0.05) and the number of missing teeth (¿ = 0.369, p < 0.001). Multivariable regression showed OHIP-14 being associated with the number of missing teeth (B = 1.48, SE = 0.57, p < 0.05) and the presence of missing teeth (B = 1.38, SE = 0.65, p < 0.05). Malocclusion showed no association with OHRQoL. Age and the number of missing teeth may be key factors on self-perceived OHRQoL in adult patients seeking orthodontic treatment

The Influence of Thermal Comfort on the Quality of Life of Nursing Home Residents

Thermal comfort (TC) parameters were measured in 130 rooms from nursing homes (NH), following ISO 7730:2005 in order to evaluate the influence of winter season TC indices on quality of life (QoL) in older individuals. Mean radiant temperature (mrT), predicted mean vote (PMV) and predicted percent of dissatisfied people (PPD) indices, and the respective measurement uncertainties were calculated using Monte Carlo Method. The WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire was conducted from September 2012 to April 2013, during the winter season TC sampling campaign. Winter PMV and PPD indices showed significant differences between seasons in median values for comfort. There were also significant differences between seasons for air temperature, air velocity, mrT, and relative humidity. The winter PMV index displayed a “slightly cool” [≤−1] to “cool” [≤−2] in thermal sensation scale [−3 to 3]. PPD index reflected this discomfort as evidenced by a high rate of predicted dissatisfied occupants (64%). The influence of winter season TC on older individual QoL results demonstrated that values of PMV above −0.7 had higher mean score of QoL (coefficient estimate: 11.13 units) compared with values of PMV below −0.7. These findings are of relevance to public health and may be useful for understanding NH indoor environment variables thus implementing preventive policies in terms of standards and guidelines for these susceptible populations.This work was supported by GERIA Project (www.geria.webnode.com): PTDC/SAU-SAP/116563/2010 and a PhD Grant (SFRH/BD/72399/2010) from Foundation for Science and Technology (Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia - FCT) through Operational Competitiveness Programme (COMPETE) as part of the National Strategic Reference Framework. SB work was supported by a grant funded by AIRC (Associazione Italiana per la Ricerca sul Cancro)

Structural effects induced by dialysis-based purification of carbon nanomaterials

Dialysis plays a crucial role in the purification of nanomaterials but its impact on the structural properties of carbon nanomaterials was never investigated. Herein, a carbon-based nanomaterial generated electrochemically in potassium phosphate buffer, was characterized before and after dialysis against pure water. It is shown that dialysis affects the size of the carbon domains, structural organization, surface functionalization, oxidation degree of carbon, and grade of amorphicity. Accordingly, dialysis drives the nanomaterial organization from discrete roundish carbon domains, with sizes ranging from 70 to 160 nm, towards linear stacking structures of small nanoparticles (<15 ​nm). In parallel, alcohol and ether (epoxide) surface groups evolve into more oxidized carbon groups (e.g., ketone and ester groups). Investigation of the as-prepared nanomaterial by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) revealed a resonance signal consistent with carbon-oxygen centred radicals. Additionally, this study brings to light the selective affinity of the carbon nanomaterial under study to capture Na+ ions, a property greatly enhanced by the dialysis process, and its high ability to trap oxygen, particularly before dialysis. These findings open new perspectives for the application of carbon-based nanomaterials and raise awareness of the importance of structural changes that can occur during the purification of carbon-based nanomaterials

Frequency and genotypic distribution of GB virus C (GBV-C) among Colombian population with Hepatitis B (HBV) or Hepatitis C (HCV) infection

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>GB virus C (GBV-C) is an enveloped positive-sense ssRNA virus belonging to the <it>Flaviviridae </it>family. Studies on the genetic variability of the GBV-C reveals the existence of six genotypes: genotype 1 predominates in West Africa, genotype 2 in Europe and America, genotype 3 in Asia, genotype 4 in Southwest Asia, genotype 5 in South Africa and genotype 6 in Indonesia. The aim of this study was to determine the frequency and genotypic distribution of GBV-C in the Colombian population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Two groups were analyzed: i) 408 Colombian blood donors infected with HCV (n = 250) and HBV (n = 158) from Bogotá and ii) 99 indigenous people with HBV infection from Leticia, Amazonas. A fragment of 344 bp from the 5' untranslated region (5' UTR) was amplified by nested RT PCR. Viral sequences were genotyped by phylogenetic analysis using reference sequences from each genotype obtained from GenBank (n = 160). Bayesian phylogenetic analyses were conducted using Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) approach to obtain the MCC tree using BEAST v.1.5.3.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Among blood donors, from 158 HBsAg positive samples, eight 5.06% (n = 8) were positive for GBV-C and from 250 anti-HCV positive samples, 3.2%(n = 8) were positive for GBV-C. Also, 7.7% (n = 7) GBV-C positive samples were found among indigenous people from Leticia. A phylogenetic analysis revealed the presence of the following GBV-C genotypes among blood donors: 2a (41.6%), 1 (33.3%), 3 (16.6%) and 2b (8.3%). All genotype 1 sequences were found in co-infection with HBV and 4/5 sequences genotype 2a were found in co-infection with HCV. All sequences from indigenous people from Leticia were classified as genotype 3. The presence of GBV-C infection was not correlated with the sex (p = 0.43), age (p = 0.38) or origin (p = 0.17).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>It was found a high frequency of GBV-C genotype 1 and 2 in blood donors. The presence of genotype 3 in indigenous population was previously reported from Santa Marta region in Colombia and in native people from Venezuela and Bolivia. This fact may be correlated to the ancient movements of Asian people to South America a long time ago.</p

Toothache and associated factors in Brazilian adults: a cross-sectional population-based study

Extent: 8p.Background: Toothache is a dental public health problem and one of the predictors of dental attendance and it is strongly associated with the life quality of individuals. In spite of this, there are few population-based epidemiological studies on this theme. Objective: To estimate the prevalence of toothache and associated factors in adults of Lages, Southern Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study was carried out in a sample of 2,022 adults aged 20 to 59 years living in the urban area of a medium sized city in Southern Brazil. A questionnaire including socioeconomic, demographic, smoking, alcohol, and use of dental service variables was applied at adults household. Toothache occurred six months previous of the interview was considered the outcome. Poisson regression analyses were performed following a theoretical hierarchical framework. All analysis was adjusted by the sample design effect. Results: The response rate was 98.6%. The prevalence of toothache was 18.0% (95% CI 16.0; 20.1). The following variables were associated with toothache after adjustment: female (PR = 1.3 95% CI 1.3; 2.0), black skin colour vs. whites (PR = 1.5 95% CI 1.1, 1.9), low per capita income (PR = 1.7 95% CI 1.2, 2.3), smokers (PR = 1.5 95% CI 1.2, 1.9) and those who reported alcohol problems (PR = 1.4 95% CI 1.1; 1.9). To be 40 years of age (PR = 0.5 95% CI 0.4, 0.7) and use dental service in the last year (RR = 0.5 95% CI 0.4, 0.6) were protective factors for toothache. Conclusion: The prevalence of toothache in adults of Lages can be considered a major problem of dental public health.Mirian Kuhnen, Marco A Peres, Anelise V Masiero and Karen G Pere

Infective endocarditis in intravenous drug abusers: an update

Infective endocarditis despite advances in diagnosis remains a common cause of hospitalization, with high morbidity and mortality rates. Through literature review it is possible to conclude that polymicrobial endocarditis occurs mainly in intravenous drug abusers with predominance in the right side of the heart, often with tricuspid valve involvement. This fact can be associated with the type of drug used by the patients; therefore, knowledge of the patient's history is critical for adjustment of the therapy. It is also important to emphasize that the most common combinations of organisms in polymicrobial infective endocarditis are: Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumonia and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as mixed cultures of Candida spp. and bacteria. A better understanding of the epidemiology and associated risk factors are required in order to develop an efficient therapy, although PE studies are difficult to perform due to the rarity of cases and lack of prospective cohorts.This work was supported by Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) through the grants SFRH/BPD/47693/2008, SFRH/BPD/20987/2004 and SFRH/BPD/72632/2010 attributed to Claudia Sousa, Claudia Botelho and Diana Rodrigues, respectively