Increased whitening efficacy and reduced cytotoxicity are achieved by the chemical activation of a highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide bleaching gel

Objective: This study was designed for the chemical activation of a 35% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) bleaching gel to increase its whitening effectiveness and reduce its toxicity. Methodology: First, the bleaching gel - associated or not with ferrous sulfate (FS), manganese chloride (MC), peroxidase (PR), or catalase (CT) - was applied (3x 15 min) to enamel/dentin discs adapted to artificial pulp chambers. Then, odontoblast-like MDPC-23 cells were exposed for 1 h to the extracts (culture medium + components released from the product), for the assessment of viability (MTT assay) and oxidative stress (H2DCFDA). Residual H2O2 and bleaching effectiveness (DE) were also evaluated. Data were analyzed with one-way ANOVA complemented with Tukey’s test (n=8. p<0.05).Results: All chemically activated groups minimized MDPC-23 oxidative stress generation; however, significantly higher cell viability was detected for MC, PR, and CT than for plain 35% H2O2 gel. Nevertheless, FS, MC, PR, and CT reduced the amount of residual H2O2 and increased bleaching effectiveness.Conclusion: Chemical activation of 35% H2O2 gel with MC, PR, and CT minimized residual H2O2 and pulp cell toxicity; but PR duplicated the whitening potential of the bleaching gel after a single 45-minute session

Doença de Chagas na Amazônia Ocidental Brasileira: panorama epidemiológico no período de 2007 a 2018

Introduction: Chagas disease (CD) is a disease caused by the protozoan flagellates of the Kinetoplastid order Trypanosoma cruzi. Approximately 8,000,000 people are infected worldwide, mainly in Latin America, causing disabilities and more than 10,000 deaths per year. Objective: This study aimed to describe the epidemiological panorama of CD in the Western Brazilian Amazon from 2007 to 2018. Methods: In this ecological study, secondary data regarding the confirmed cases of T. cruzi infection in the states of Acre, Amazonas, Rondônia, and Roraima were collected from the Single Health System Notification Information System of the Department of Informatics of the Single Health System and were analyzed. The data were used to characterize the epidemiological profile of T. cruzi infection and to determine the frequency of infection in Western Amazonia. Results: A total of 184 cases of CD were reported in Western Amazonia, and the highest number of cases was reported in the states of Amazonas and Acre. Conclusion: The epidemiological panorama of the Western Brazilian Amazon from 2007 to 2018 includes a greater number of cases of T. cruzi infection in men aged 20–39 years and those living in rural areas. Oral transmission was prevalent in the region during the study, and the highest number of cases was reported in the months of April and December. Epidemiological data are an important resource for understanding the dynamics of CD and the main aspects related to the health-disease process.Introdução: A doença de Chagas (DC) é uma enfermidade causada pelo protozoário flagelado da ordem Kinetoplastida denominado Trypanosoma cruzi. Estima-se que oito milhões de pessoas estejam infectadas em todo o mundo, principalmente na América Latina, causando incapacidades e mais de dez mil mortes por ano. Objetivo: Descrever o panorama epidemiológico da doença de Chagas na Amazônia Ocidental brasileira no período de 2007 a 2018. Método: Trata-se de um estudo ecológico e com coleta e análise de dados referentes aos casos confirmados de infecção por T. cruzi nos estados do Acre, Amazonas, Rondônia e Roraima, por meio de fontes secundárias oriundos do Sistema de Informação de Agravos de Notificação do Sistema Único de Saúde (SINAN) do Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde (DATASUS). Os dados foram utilizados para caracterizar o perfil epidemiológico dos infectados por T. cruzi e determinar a frequência da infecção na Amazônia Ocidental. Resultados: Houve a notificação de 184 casos de doença de Chagas na Amazônia Ocidental com mais registros nos estados do Amazonas e Acre. Conclusão: O panorama epidemiológico da Amazônia Ocidental Brasileira no período de 2007 a 2018, compreende uma maior quantidade de casos em indivíduos do sexo masculino, na faixa etária dos 20-39 anos, e provenientes de zona rural.  A forma de contágio prevalente na região durante o estudo foi a oral e a maior sazonalidade compreendeu os meses de abril e dezembro. Dados epidemiológicos são um importante recurso para a compreensão da dinâmica da DC e os principais aspectos relacionados no processo saúde-doença.

Pineocitoma causando Hidrocefalia: Pineocytoma causing Hydrocephalus

Introdução: O Pineocitoma é um tumor do sistema nervoso central de caráter benigno. Esse tipo histológico é infrequente correspondendo menos de 1% dos tumores intracranianos. A clínica apresenta desde hipertensão intracraniana até compressão de estruturas nervosas, associado a uma altíssima taxa de morbidade e mortalidade. Apresentação do caso: Paciente com 23anos, sexo feminino, procurou serviço de emergência médica referindo cefaleia intensa de escala de dor 8/10, sem fatores precipitantes e sem melhora com uso de analgésicos ou anti-inflamatório, negou comorbidades e uso de medicações contínuas. Apresenta-se com muita dor, administrando medicação endovenosa para melhorar os sintomas. Foi solicitada uma Tomografia de crânio que evidenciou uma lesão sugestiva de meningioma, paciente foi internada e conduzida para cirurgia para retirada da lesão a qual foi constatada no histopatológico que se tratava de um Pineocitoma. Discussão: o diagnóstico é baseado na clínica, exames de neuroimagem, marcadores tumorais no líquor cefalorraquidiano, o histopatológico já é um exame definitivo, com a tomografia computadorizada de crânio é possível visualizar, massa com contorno bem delimitado, em torno de 3 cm de diâmetro, sendo possível encontrar hidrocefalia associada. O tratamento padrão ouro é ressecção cirúrgica completa, associando a radioterapia e quimioterapia. Conclusão: o tratamento mostra resultado de cura, visto que o Pineocitoma raramente evolui para metástase, resultando em um bom prognóstico devido a evolução tecnológica em tratamento e métodos diagnósticos

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear un derstanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5–7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8–11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world’s most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepre sented in biodiversity databases.13–15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may elim inate pieces of the Amazon’s biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological com munities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple or ganism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region’s vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most ne glected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lostinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ATLANTIC EPIPHYTES: a data set of vascular and non-vascular epiphyte plants and lichens from the Atlantic Forest

Epiphytes are hyper-diverse and one of the frequently undervalued life forms in plant surveys and biodiversity inventories. Epiphytes of the Atlantic Forest, one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, have high endemism and radiated recently in the Pliocene. We aimed to (1) compile an extensive Atlantic Forest data set on vascular, non-vascular plants (including hemiepiphytes), and lichen epiphyte species occurrence and abundance; (2) describe the epiphyte distribution in the Atlantic Forest, in order to indicate future sampling efforts. Our work presents the first epiphyte data set with information on abundance and occurrence of epiphyte phorophyte species. All data compiled here come from three main sources provided by the authors: published sources (comprising peer-reviewed articles, books, and theses), unpublished data, and herbarium data. We compiled a data set composed of 2,095 species, from 89,270 holo/hemiepiphyte records, in the Atlantic Forest of Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay, recorded from 1824 to early 2018. Most of the records were from qualitative data (occurrence only, 88%), well distributed throughout the Atlantic Forest. For quantitative records, the most common sampling method was individual trees (71%), followed by plot sampling (19%), and transect sampling (10%). Angiosperms (81%) were the most frequently registered group, and Bromeliaceae and Orchidaceae were the families with the greatest number of records (27,272 and 21,945, respectively). Ferns and Lycophytes presented fewer records than Angiosperms, and Polypodiaceae were the most recorded family, and more concentrated in the Southern and Southeastern regions. Data on non-vascular plants and lichens were scarce, with a few disjunct records concentrated in the Northeastern region of the Atlantic Forest. For all non-vascular plant records, Lejeuneaceae, a family of liverworts, was the most recorded family. We hope that our effort to organize scattered epiphyte data help advance the knowledge of epiphyte ecology, as well as our understanding of macroecological and biogeographical patterns in the Atlantic Forest. No copyright restrictions are associated with the data set. Please cite this Ecology Data Paper if the data are used in publication and teaching events. © 2019 The Authors. Ecology © 2019 The Ecological Society of Americ

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time,1,2 and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space.3,4 While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes,5,6,7 vast areas of the tropics remain understudied.8,9,10,11 In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity,12 but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases.13,14,15 To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications16,17 may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge,18,19 it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Indirect cytocompatibility of a low-concentrated hydrogen peroxide bleaching gel to odontoblast-like cells

Aim To assess the initial cytotoxicity and the late phenotype marker expression of odontoblast-like cells (MDPC-23) subjected to less aggressive in-office bleaching therapies. Methodology A 17.5% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) gel was applied for 45, 15 or 5 min to enamel/dentine discs adapted to trans-wells positioned over cultured MDPC-23 cells. No treatment was performed on the negative control. Immediately after bleaching, the cell viability, gene expression of inflammatory mediators and quantification of H2O2 diffusion were evaluated. The ALP activity, DSPP and DMP-1 gene expression and mineralized nodule deposition (MND) were assessed at 7, 14 or 21 days post-bleaching and analysed statistically with Mann–Whitney U-tests (α = 5%). Results H2O2 diffusion, proportional to treatment time, was observed in all bleached groups. Reductions of approximately 31%, 21% and 13% in cell viability were observed for the 45-, 15- and 5-min groups, respectively. This reduction was significant (P < 0.05) for the 45- and 15-min groups, which also presented significant (P < 0.05) over-expression of inflammatory mediators. The 45-min group was associated with significant (P < 0.05) reductions in DMP-1/DSPP expression at all periods, relative to control. The ALP activity and MND were reduced only in initial periods. The 15-min group had less intense reduction of all markers, with no difference to control at 21 days. Conclusions The 17.5% H2O2 applied to tooth specimens for 5 min caused no alteration in the odontoblast-like cells. When this gel was applied for 45 or 15 min, a slight cytotoxicity, associated with alterations in phenotypic markers, was observed. However, cells were able to recover their functions up to 21 days post-bleaching

Avaliação do autocuidado em pacientes portadores do pé diabético

Introdução: O diabetes mellitus é uma doença de etiologia múltipla, decorrente da falta e/ou incapacidade da insulina. Atinge populações em todas as camadas socioeconômicas, com elevadas incidência e taxa de morbimortalidade. As complicações dessa enfermidade comprometem a produtividade e a qualidade de vida e influenciam na sobrevida dos portadores. A neuropatia periférica é a mais frequente e muito associada ao desenvolvimento do pé diabético. Estima-se que de 10 a 25% dos diabéticos desenvolverão lesões em membros inferiores em algum ponto de suas vidas, podendo ocasionar infecções, amputação do membro ou até a morte. Objetivo: Investigar o conhecimento do paciente diabético tipo 2 em relação ao autocuidado dos pés, sua prática e os fatores que impedem ou dificultam sua realização. Método: Foi aplicado o Questionário do Autocuidado do Paciente Diabético em 100 pacientes diabéticos tipo 2 que frequentavam uma policlínica municipal. Os dados foram analisados por meio de frequência numérica e percentual e comparados com a literatura. Resultados: Os pacientes entrevistados possuíam algum grau de conhecimento a respeito do autocuidado, variando de acordo com o grau de escolaridade principalmente. Conclusões: É necessária a manutenção do fornecimento de informações pelos profissionais da saúde de forma constante e repetitiva, sempre respeitando o grau de escolaridade do paciente

Short-Finned Pilot Whale Strandings Associated with Pilot Whale Morbillivirus, Brazil

Cetacean morbillivirus (CeMV) causes illness and death in cetaceans worldwide; the CeMV strains circulating in the Southern Hemisphere are poorly known. We detected a pilot whale CeMV strain in 3 short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) stranded in Brazil during July–October 2020. Our results confirm this virus circulates in this species