Portland cement versus MTA as a root-end filling material. A pilot study

PURPOSE To assess periradicular lesions clinically and by computed tomography (CT) after endodontic surgery using either Portland cement or mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA) as a root-end filling material.METHODS: Three patients diagnosed with periradicular lesions by cone-beam CT underwent endodontic surgery with root-end filling. Patient A was treated with MTA as the root-end filling material, patient B was treated with Portland cement and patient C had two teeth treated, one with MTA and the other with Portland cement. Six months after surgery, the patients were assessed clinically and by CT scan and the obtained results were compared.RESULTS: Periradicular tissue regeneration was observed in all cases, with no significant differences in bone formation when comparing the use of MTA and Portland cement as root-end filling materials.CONCLUSION: Both mineral trioxide aggregate and Portland cement were successful in the treatment of periradicular lesions.Univ Vale Sapucai UNIVAS, Sci Appl Hlth, Pouso Alegre, MG, BrazilUniv Vale Sapucai, Sci Appl Hlth, Pouso Alegre, MG, BrazilFed Univ São Paulo UNIFESP, Translat Surg Grad Program, Sci Appl Hlth, UNIVAS, Pouso Alegre, MG, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Plast Surg, Dept Surg & Translat Surg Grad Program, São Paulo, BrazilIA CNPq, Med CAPES 3, São Paulo, BrazilFed Univ São Paulo UNIFESP, Translat Surg Grad Program, Sci Appl Hlth, UNIVAS, Pouso Alegre, MG, BrazilUniversidade Federal de São Paulo, Div Plast Surg, Dept Surg & Translat Surg Grad Program, São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Comparison of prophylactic and therapeutic use of short-chain fatty acid enemas in diversion colitis: a study in Wistar rats

OBJECTIVES: To study the effect of short-chain fatty-acids on atrophy and inflammation of excluded colonic segments before and after the development of diversion colitis. INTRODUCTION: Diversion colitis is a chronic inflammatory process affecting the dysfunctional colon, possibly evolving with mucous and blood discharge. The most favored hypotheses to explain its development is short-chain fatty-acid deficiency in the colon lumen. METHODS: Wistar rats were submitted to colostomy with distal colon exclusion. Two control groups (A1 and B1) received rectally administered physiological saline, whereas two experimental groups (A2 and B2) received rectally administered short-chain fatty-acids. The A groups were prophylactically treated (5th to 40th days postoperatively), whereas the B groups were therapeutically treated (after post-operative day 40). The mucosal thickness of the excluded colon was measured histologically. The inflammatory reaction of the mucosal lamina propria and the lymphoid tissue response were quantified through established scores. RESULTS: There was a significant thickness recovery of the colonic mucosa in group B2 animals (p = 0.0001), which also exhibited a significant reduction in the number of eosinophilic polymorphonuclear cells in the lamina propria (p = 0.0126) and in the intestinal lumen (p = 0.0256). Group A2 showed no mucosal thickness recovery and significant increases in the numbers of lymphocytes (p = 0.0006) and eosinophilic polymorphonuclear cells in the lamina propria of the mucosa (p = 0.0022). CONCLUSION: Therapeutic use of short-chain fatty-acids significantly reduced eosinophilic polymorphonuclear cell numbers in the intestinal wall and in the colonic lumen; it also reversed the atrophy of the colonic mucosa. Prophylactic use did not impede the development of mucosal atrophy

An expanded allosteric network in PTP1B by multitemperature crystallography, fragment screening, and covalent tethering

Abstract: Allostery is an inherent feature of proteins, but it remains challenging to reveal the mechanisms by which allosteric signals propagate. A clearer understanding of this intrinsic circuitry would afford new opportunities to modulate protein function. Here, we have identified allosteric sites in protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B (PTP1B) by combining multiple-temperature X-ray crystallography experiments and structure determination from hundreds of individual small- molecule fragment soaks. New modeling approaches reveal ’hidden’ low-occupancy conformational states for protein and ligands. Our results converge on allosteric sites that are conformationally coupled to the active-site WPD loop and are hotspots for fragment binding. Targeting one of these sites with covalently tethered molecules or mutations allosterically inhibits enzyme activity. Overall, this work demonstrates how the ensemble nature of macromolecular structure, revealed here by multitemperature crystallography, can elucidate allosteric mechanisms and open new doors for long-range control of protein function

Linking shifts in bacterial community with changes in dissolved organic matter pool in a tropical lake

Bacterioplankton communities have a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle. Still the interaction between microbial community and dissolved organic matter (DOM) in freshwater ecosystems remains poorly understood. Here, we report results from a 12-day mesocosm study performed in the epilimnion of a tropical lake, in which inorganic nutrients and allochthonous DOM were supplemented under full light and shading. Although the production of autochthonous DOM triggered by nutrient addition was the dominant driver of changes in bacterial community structure, temporal covariations between DOM optical proxies and bacterial community structure revealed a strong influence of community shifts on DOM fate. Community shifts were coupled to a successional stepwise alteration of the DOM pool, with different fractions being selectively consumed by specific taxa Typical freshwater clades as Limnohabitans and Sporichthyaceae were associated with consumption of low molecular weight carbon, whereas Gammaproteobacteria and Flavobacteria utilized higher molecular weight carbon, indicating differences in DOM preference among Glades. Importantly. Verrucomicrobiaceae were important in the turnover of freshly produced autochthonous DOM, ultimately affecting light availability and dissolved organic carbon concentrations. Our findings suggest that taxonomically defined bacterial assemblages play definite roles when influencing DOM fate, either by changing specific fractions of the DOM pool or by regulating light availability and DOC levels. (C) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Ordenamento do Território e Planeamento Ambiental : investigação e prática

A secção Biologia é coordenada pelo Professor Universitário Armindo Rodrigues.O CIGPT fundado pelos Geógrafos Helena Calado e João Porteiro desenvolveu nas duas últimas décadas um esforço considerável na investigação e prática do Ordenamento Territoria

Schistosomiasis Drug Discovery in the Era of Automation and Artificial Intelligence.

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by trematode worms of the genus Schistosoma and affects over 200 million people worldwide. The control and treatment of this neglected tropical disease is based on a single drug, praziquantel, which raises concerns about the development of drug resistance. This, and the lack of efficacy of praziquantel against juvenile worms, highlights the urgency for new antischistosomal therapies. In this review we focus on innovative approaches to the identification of antischistosomal drug candidates, including the use of automated assays, fragment-based screening, computer-aided and artificial intelligence-based computational methods. We highlight the current developments that may contribute to optimizing research outputs and lead to more effective drugs for this highly prevalent disease, in a more cost-effective drug discovery endeavor

A Metodologia Sequência Fedathi no processo de formação docente, de ensino e de aprendizagem da matemática: Uma revisão integrativa/ Fedathi Sequence methodology in the teaching, teaching and teaching learning process: An integrative review

Na busca por sanar dificuldades na aprendizagem dos alunos, muitos professores vêm incorporando em suas práticas novas metodologias de ensino. Com efeito, a Sequência Fedhathi - SF tem se apresentado como uma boa opção metodológica. Neste contexto, este trabalho tem o objetivo de investigar a utilização da metodologia SF no âmbito da formação docente, do ensino e da aprendizagem de matemática. Para tanto, foi realizado um estudo de revisão integrativa da literatura, sendo selecionados e analisados oito artigos relacionados a esta temática. A busca pelos artigos aconteceu nas bases de dados: Scielo, Periódicos Capes e Google Scholar. Entre os critérios adotados para a escolha dos artigos destaca-se o seu relacionamento com o objetivo desta pesquisa. Como resultados identificamos a utilização da SF em diversas situações e contextos, tais como: uma proposta metodológica aplicada ao ensino superior no conteúdo de Álgebra Linear e do Cálculo; (2) Como metodologia aplicada ao ensino e a aprendizagem da matemática na educação básica; e (3) No processo de formação docente, com destaque à mudança de postura do professor. A partir das pesquisas investigadas concluímos que a SF proporciona, no professor, uma ação reflexiva sobre a sua prática e, por conseguinte, a melhoria da sua metodologia de ensino, levando seus alunos a uma aprendizagem mais eficiente

Chagas Cardiomyopathy Manifestations and Trypanosoma cruzi Genotypes Circulating in Chronic Chagasic Patients

Chagas disease caused by Trypanosoma cruzi is a complex disease that is endemic and an important problem in public health in Latin America. The T. cruzi parasite is classified into six discrete taxonomic units (DTUs) based on the recently proposed nomenclature (TcI, TcII, TcIII, TcIV, TcV and TcVI). The discovery of genetic variability within TcI showed the presence of five genotypes (Ia, Ib, Ic, Id and Ie) related to the transmission cycle of Chagas disease. In Colombia, TcI is more prevalent but TcII has also been reported, as has mixed infection by both TcI and TcII in the same Chagasic patient. The objectives of this study were to determine the T. cruzi DTUs that are circulating in Colombian chronic Chagasic patients and to obtain more information about the molecular epidemiology of Chagas disease in Colombia. We also assessed the presence of electrocardiographic, radiologic and echocardiographic abnormalities with the purpose of correlating T. cruzi genetic variability and cardiac disease. Molecular characterization was performed in Colombian adult chronic Chagasic patients based on the intergenic region of the mini-exon gene, the 24Sα and 18S regions of rDNA and the variable region of satellite DNA, whereby the presence of T.cruzi I, II, III and IV was detected. In our population, mixed infections also occurred, with TcI-TcII, TcI-TcIII and TcI-TcIV, as well as the existence of the TcI genotypes showing the presence of genotypes Ia and Id. Patients infected with TcI demonstrated a higher prevalence of cardiac alterations than those infected with TcII. These results corroborate the predominance of TcI in Colombia and show the first report of TcIII and TcIV in Colombian Chagasic patients. Findings also indicate that Chagas cardiomyopathy manifestations are more correlated with TcI than with TcII in Colombia

Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia (ABC Cardiol) and the new classification Qualis of Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

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NURE: An ERC project to study nuclear reactions for neutrinoless double beta decay

Neutrinoless double beta decay (0νββ) is considered the best potential resource to access the absolute neutrino mass scale. Moreover, if observed, it will signal that neutrinos are their own anti-particles (Majorana particles). Presently, this physics case is one of the most important research “beyond Standard Model” and might guide the way towards a Grand Unified Theory of fundamental interactions. Since the 0νββ decay process involves nuclei, its analysis necessarily implies nuclear structure issues. In the NURE project, supported by a Starting Grant of the European Research Council (ERC), nuclear reactions of double charge-exchange (DCE) are used as a tool to extract information on the 0νββ Nuclear Matrix Elements. In DCE reactions and ββ decay indeed the initial and final nuclear states are the same and the transition operators have similar structure. Thus the measurement of the DCE absolute cross-sections can give crucial information on ββ matrix elements. In a wider view, the NUMEN international collaboration plans a major upgrade of the INFN-LNS facilities in the next years in order to increase the experimental production of nuclei of at least two orders of magnitude, thus making feasible a systematic study of all the cases of interest as candidates for 0νββ