Desvio fonológico e alterações práxicas orofaciais e do sistema estomatognático

OBJETIVO: verificar, bem como relacionar entre si, o desempenho de crianças com Desvio Fonológico e com Desenvolvimento Fonológico Típico na avaliação do Sistema Estomatognático e em testes de habilidades práxicas orofaciais avaliando suas habilidades práxicas orofaciais. MÉTODOS: amostra constituiu-se de 50 sujeitos, com idades entre quatro e oito anos, com Desvio Fonológico e com Desenvolvimento Fonológico Típico. Avaliou-se a fonologia por meio do instrumento Avaliação Fonológica da Criança e a gravidade do desvio por meio do Percentual de Consoantes Corretas. Posteriormente, aplicou-se a Avaliação do sistema estomatongático e o The Orofacial Praxis Test, para avaliar as habilidades práxicas orofaciais. Os dados foram tabulados e submetidos a tratamento estatístico, considerando-se p<0,05. RESULTADOS: com relação ao sistema estomatongático, observou-se diferença estatística entre os grupos apenas nas tarefas de assobio, contração e vibração de lábios e de língua, apresentando desempenho inferior as crianças com Desvio Fonológico. O mesmo foi observado quanto à postura de língua na sucção. As médias obtidas nas tarefas de habilidades práxicas orofaciais realizadas após Imitação foram melhores que após Solicitação Verbal, para todas as idades. Ainda, as crianças com menor idade apresentaram mais alterações que as crianças maiores, da mesma forma que as crianças com Desvio Fonológico apresentaram mais dificuldades que aquelas sem alterações de fala. CONCLUSÃO: as crianças com Desvio Fonológico apresentaram mais alterações do sistema estomatognático e das habilidades práxicas orofaciais que aquelas com Desenvolvimento Fonológico Típico, havendo melhora no desempenho com o avanço da idade e encontrando-se estas alterações relacionadas com as alterações de fala

Stroke risk associated with balloon based catheter ablation for atrial fibrillation: Rationale and design of the MACPAF Study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Catheter ablation of the pulmonary veins has become accepted as a standard therapeutic approach for symptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF). However, there is some evidence for an ablation associated (silent) stroke risk, lowering the hope to limit the stroke risk by restoration of rhythm over rate control in AF. The purpose of the prospective randomized single-center study "Mesh Ablator versus Cryoballoon Pulmonary Vein Ablation of Symptomatic Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation" (MACPAF) is to compare the efficacy and safety of two balloon based pulmonary vein ablation systems in patients with symptomatic paroxysmal AF.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>Patients are randomized 1:1 for the Arctic Front^®or the HD Mesh Ablator^®catheter for left atrial catheter ablation (LACA). The predefined endpoints will be assessed by brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), neuro(psycho)logical tests and a subcutaneously implanted reveal recorder for AF detection. According to statistics 108 patients will be enrolled.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>Findings from the MACPAF trial will help to balance the benefits and risks of LACA for symptomatic paroxysmal AF. Using serial brain MRIs might help to identify patients at risk for LACA-associated cerebral thromboembolism. Potential limitations of the study are the single-center design, the existence of a variety of LACA-catheters, the missing placebo-group and the impossibility to assess the primary endpoint in a blinded fashion.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>clinicaltrials.gov NCT01061931</p

Search for new physics with same-sign isolated dilepton events with jets and missing transverse energy

A search for new physics is performed in events with two same-sign isolated leptons, hadronic jets, and missing transverse energy in the final state. The analysis is based on a data sample corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 4.98 inverse femtobarns produced in pp collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 7 TeV collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC. This constitutes a factor of 140 increase in integrated luminosity over previously published results. The observed yields agree with the standard model predictions and thus no evidence for new physics is found. The observations are used to set upper limits on possible new physics contributions and to constrain supersymmetric models. To facilitate the interpretation of the data in a broader range of new physics scenarios, information on the event selection, detector response, and efficiencies is provided.Comment: Published in Physical Review Letter

Compressed representation of a partially defined integer function over multiple arguments

In OLAP (OnLine Analitical Processing) data are analysed in an n-dimensional cube. The cube may be represented as a partially defined function over n arguments. Considering that often the function is not defined everywhere, we ask: is there a known way of representing the function or the points in which it is defined, in a more compact manner than the trivial one

Determinants of Bacteriophage 933W Repressor DNA Binding Specificity

We reported previously that 933W repressor apparently does not cooperatively bind to adjacent sites on DNA and that the relative affinities of 933W repressor for its operators differ significantly from that of any other lambdoid bacteriophage. These findings indicate that the operational details of the lysis-lysogeny switch of bacteriophage 933W are unique among lambdoid bacteriophages. Since the functioning of the lysis-lysogeny switch in 933W bacteriophage uniquely and solely depends on the order of preference of 933W repressor for its operators, we examined the details of how 933W repressor recognizes its DNA sites. To identify the specificity determinants, we first created a molecular model of the 933W repressor-DNA complex and tested the predicted protein-DNA interactions. These results of these studies provide a picture of how 933W repressor recognizes its DNA sites. We also show that, opposite of what is normally observed for lambdoid phages, 933W operator sequences have evolved in such a way that the presence of the most commonly found base sequences at particular operator positions serves to decrease, rather than increase, the affinity of the protein for the site. This finding cautions against assuming that a consensus sequence derived from sequence analysis defines the optimal, highest affinity DNA binding site for a protein

The effect of soy isoflavone on bone mineral density in postmenopausal Taiwanese women with bone loss: a 2-year randomized double-blind placebo-controlled study

[[abstract]]The treatment of 300-mg/day isoflavones (aglycone equivalents) (172.5 mg genistein+127.5 mg daidzein) for 2 years failed to prevent lumbar spine and total proximal femur bone mineral density (BMD) from declining as compared with the placebo group in a randomized, double-blind, two-arm designed study enrolling 431 postmenopausal women 45–65 years old. Introduction This study evaluated the effects of soy isoflavones on bone metabolism in postmenopausal women. Methods Four hundred and thirty-one women, aged 45–65 years, orally consumed 300-mg/day isoflavones (aglycone equivalents) or a placebo for 2 years in a parallel group, randomized, double-blind, two-armstudy. Each participant also ingested 600 mg of calcium and 125 IU of vitamin D3 per day. The BMD of the lumbar spine and total proximal femur were measured using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at baseline and every half-year thereafter. Serum bone-specific alkaline phosphatase, urinary N-telopeptide of type 1 collagen/creatinine, and other safety assessments were examined regularly. Results Two hundred out of 217 subjects in the isoflavone group and 199 out of 214 cases in placebo group completed the treatment. Serum concentrations of isoflavone metabolites, genistein and daidzein, of the intervention group were remarkably elevated following intake of isoflavones (p< 0.001). However, differences in the mean percentage changes of BMD throughout the treatment period were not statistically significant (lumbar spine, p=0.42; total femur, p=0.39) between the isoflavone and placebo groups, according to the generalized estimating equation (GEE) method. A significant time trend of bone loss was observed at both sites as assessed by the GEE method following repeated measurement of BMD (p<0.001). Differences in bone marker levels were not significant between the two treatment groups

Dystropathology increases energy expenditure and protein turnover in the mdx mouse model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy

The skeletal muscles in Duchenne muscular dystrophy and the mdx mouse model lack functional dystrophin and undergo repeated bouts of necrosis, regeneration, and growth. These processes have a high metabolic cost. However, the consequences for whole body energy and protein metabolism, and on the dietary requirements for these macronutrients at different stages of the disease, are not well-understood. This study used juvenile (4- to 5- wk-old) and adult (12- to 14-wk-old) male dystrophic C57BL/10ScSn-mdx/J and age-matched C57BL/10ScSn/J control male mice to measure total and resting energy expenditure, food intake, spontaneous activity, body composition, whole body protein turnover, and muscle protein synthesis rates. In juvenile mdx mice that have extensive muscle damage, energy expenditure, muscle protein synthesis, and whole body protein turnover rates were higher than in age-matched controls. Adaptations in food intake and decreased activity were insufficient to meet the increased energy and protein needs of juvenile mdx mice and resulted in stunted growth. In (non-growing) adult mdx mice with less severe dystropathology, energy expenditure, muscle protein synthesis, and whole body protein turnover rates were also higher than in age-matched controls. Food intake was sufficient to meet their protein and energy needs, but insufficient to result in fat deposition. These data show that dystropathology impacts the protein and energy needs of mdx mice and that tailored dietary interventions are necessary to redress this imbalance. If not met, the resultant imbalance blunts growth, and may limit the benefits of therapies designed to protect and repair dystrophic muscles

The importance of the cellular stress response in the pathogenesis and treatment of type 2 diabetes

Organisms have evolved to survive rigorous environments and are not prepared to thrive in a world of caloric excess and sedentary behavior. A realization that physical exercise (or lack of it) plays a pivotal role in both the pathogenesis and therapy of type 2 diabetes mellitus (t2DM) has led to the provocative concept of therapeutic exercise mimetics. A decade ago, we attempted to simulate the beneficial effects of exercise by treating t2DM patients with 3 weeks of daily hyperthermia, induced by hot tub immersion. The short-term intervention had remarkable success, with a 1 % drop in HbA1, a trend toward weight loss, and improvement in diabetic neuropathic symptoms. An explanation for the beneficial effects of exercise and hyperthermia centers upon their ability to induce the cellular stress response (the heat shock response) and restore cellular homeostasis. Impaired stress response precedes major metabolic defects associated with t2DM and may be a near seminal event in the pathogenesis of the disease, tipping the balance from health into disease. Heat shock protein inducers share metabolic pathways associated with exercise with activation of AMPK, PGC1-a, and sirtuins. Diabetic therapies that induce the stress response, whether via heat, bioactive compounds, or genetic manipulation, improve or prevent all of the morbidities and comorbidities associated with the disease. The agents reduce insulin resistance, inflammatory cytokines, visceral adiposity, and body weight while increasing mitochondrial activity, normalizing membrane structure and lipid composition, and preserving organ function. Therapies restoring the stress response can re-tip the balance from disease into health and address the multifaceted defects associated with the disease

Next generation sequencing analysis of nine Corynebacterium ulcerans isolates reveals zoonotic transmission and a novel putative diphtheria toxin-encoding pathogenicity island

Background: Toxigenic Corynebacterium ulcerans can cause a diphtheria-like illness in humans and have been found in domestic animals, which were suspected to serve as reservoirs for a zoonotic transmission. Additionally, toxigenic C. ulcerans were reported to take over the leading role in causing diphtheria in the last years in many industrialized countries. Methods: To gain deeper insights into the tox gene locus and to understand the transmission pathway in detail, we analyzed nine isolates derived from human patients and their domestic animals applying next generation sequencing and comparative genomics. Results: We provide molecular evidence for zoonotic transmission of C. ulcerans in four cases and demonstrate the superior resolution of next generation sequencing compared to multi-locus sequence typing for epidemiologic research. Additionally, we provide evidence that the virulence of C. ulcerans can change rapidly by acquisition of novel virulence genes. This mechanism is exemplified by an isolate which acquired a prophage not present in the corresponding isolate from the domestic animal. This prophage contains a putative novel virulence factor, which shares high identity with the RhuM virulence factor from Salmonella enterica but which is unknown in Corynebacteria so far. Furthermore, we identified a putative pathogenicity island for C. ulcerans bearing a diphtheria toxin gene. Conclusion: The novel putative diphtheria toxin pathogenicity island could provide a new and alternative pathway for Corynebacteria to acquire a functional diphtheria toxin-encoding gene by horizontal gene transfer, distinct from the previously well characterized phage infection model. The novel transmission pathway might explain the unexpectedly high number of toxigenic C. ulcerans

Distinct contributions of extrastriate body area and temporoparietal junction in perceiving one's own and others' body.

The right temporoparietal cortex plays a critical role in body representation. Here, we applied repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) over right extrastriate body area (EBA) and temporoparietal junction (TPJ) to investigate their causative roles in perceptual representations of one's own and others' body. Healthy women adjusted size-distorted pictures of their own body or of the body of another person according to how they perceived the body (subjective task) or how others perceived it (intersubjective task). In keeping with previous reports, at baseline, we found an overall underestimation of body size. Crucially, EBA-rTMS increased the underestimation bias when participants adjusted the images according to how others perceived their own or the other woman's body, suggesting a specific role of EBA in allocentric body representations. Conversely, TPJ-rTMS increased the underestimation bias when participants adjusted the body of another person, either a familiar other or a close friend, in both subjective and intersubjective tasks, suggesting an involvement of TPJ in representing others' bodies. These effects were body-specific, since no TMS-induced modulation was observed when participants judged a familiar object. The results suggest that right EBA and TPJ play active and complementary roles in the complex interaction between the perceptions of one's own and other people's body