Descriptive Analysis Of The Masticatory And Salivary Functions And Gustatory Sensitivity In Healthy Children

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)The objective of this study is to better understand salivary and masticatory characteristics, this study evaluated the relationship among salivary parameters, bite force (BF), masticatory performance (MP) and gustatory sensitivity in healthy children. The secondary outcome was to evaluate possible gender differences.Materials and methods: One hundred and sixteen eutrophic subjects aged 7-11 years old were evaluated, caries-free and with no definite need of orthodontic treatment. Salivary flow rate and pH, total protein (TP), alpha-amylase (AMY), calcium (CA) and phosphate (PHO) concentrations were determined in stimulated (SS) and unstimulated saliva (US). BF and MP were evaluated using digital gnathodynamometer and fractional sieving method, respectively. Gustatory sensitivity was determined by detecting the four primary tastes (sweet, salty, sour and bitter) in three different concentrations. Data were evaluated using descriptive statistics, Mann-Whitney/t-test, Spearman correlation and multiple regression analysis, considering =0.05.Results: Significant positive correlation between taste and age was observed. CA and PHO concentrations correlated negatively with salivary flow and pH; sweet taste scores correlated with AMY concentrations and bitter taste sensitivity correlated with US flow rate (p<0.05). No significant difference between genders in salivary, masticatory characteristics and gustatory sensitivity was observed. The regression analysis showed a weak relationship between the distribution of chewed particles among the different sieves and BF.Conclusions: The concentration of some analytes was influenced by salivary flow and pH. Age, saliva flow and AMY concentrations influenced gustatory sensitivity. In addition, salivary, masticatory and taste characteristics did not differ between genders, and only a weak relation between MP and BF was observed.746443448State of Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, Brazil) [2011/21952-4, 2012/04492-2]Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Evaluation of masticatory parameters in overweight and obese children

Mastication is an essential function that prepares the food for swallowing and digestion and may be related to nutritional status. Thus, the aims of this study were to evaluate the masticatory parameters in overweight and obese children and the relation between bite force and anthropometric evaluation, food consistency, breast/bottle-feeding, and occlusion. The sample consisted of 204 children of both genders, age range 8-10 years, divided into normal weight, overweight, and obese. Unilateral bite force was measured using a digital gnatodynamometer with 10mm force fork. Anthropometric and nutritional evaluation involved the measurements of body mass index and skeletal muscle mass using bioelectric impedance analysis. Occlusion was evaluated as regards orthodontic treatment need and food consistency was analysed using a structured questionnaire. In addition, the time of breast- and bottle-feeding was investigated. The results were submitted to chi-square and correlation tests, analysis of variance, and multiple linear regression to determine the relation between bite force and the independent variables under study (alpha = 0.05). Statistical analysis showed that the time of breast- and bottle-feeding and food consistency did not differ among groups. The regression model showed that body mass index, orthodontic treatment need, and body skeletal muscle mass contributed significantly to the variation in bite force. Breast- and bottle-feeding behaviour and food consistency did not differ in normal-weight, overweight, and obese children. However, bite force was dependent on body skeletal muscle mass, body mass index, and orthodontic treatment need384393397FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP2011/15621-5; 2012/04492-

Malva sylvestris derivatives as inhibitors of HIV-1 BaL infection

The emphasis of the present study is to evaluate a natural product and the potential microbicide activity using a dual chamber infection method. Malva sylvestris extracts and fractions were screened for anti-HIV activity by measuring the virus-antibody neutralization. Plant extracts with strong antiviral activity working in nanomolar or picomolar range can be used to enhance the activity of synthetic compounds and work as anti-HIV agents. The aqueous fraction (AF) of M. sylvestris demonstrated antiviral activity in a model with epithelial and blood cell lines. The AF showed an effective antiviral potential on the TZM-bl cells with reduction scores higher than 60% of infectivity. Quantification of p24 in the supernatant of the co-culture model demonstrated a reduction in the number of viral particles after AF treatment (p < 0.05). Cytokines were quantified and all signaling inflammatory markers; IL1-alpha, IL-beta, IL-6, IL-8 and GM-CSF (p < 0.05) were modulated by positive control and AF treatments. In particular, IL-6 had lower levels of expression in Malva groups when compared to the Zidovudine positive control group. Natural occurring derivatives of M. sylvestris demonstrated to work inhibiting reverse transcriptase enzyme action. M. sylvestris contains highly potential anti-HIV-1 BaL components and may be considered a potential source for new formulations in the development of topical microbicidesFUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO - FAPESP2011/23980-5NIHUnited States Department of Health & Human ServicesNational Institutes of Health (NIH) - USA [UNC/CFAR P30AI50410]; FAPESPFundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo (FAPESP) [2011/23980-5

Lack of agreement between objective and subjective measures in the evaluation of masticatory function: A preliminary study

The evaluation of mastication is important to understand the masticatory behavior and diagnose feeding difficulties. The objective of this preliminary study was to verify if there is agreement between objective and subjective validated methods of chewing evaluation in a convenience sample which consisted of 32 adolescents (mean 15.5 years), complete permanent dentition and free of tooth decay. The Quality of Masticatory Function Questionnaire with the Food-Mastication, Habits, Meat, Fruit and Vegetables domains was used in the subjective evaluation. The objective aspects consisted of maximum bite force (BF) and masticatory performance (MP) by mastication of cubes of test-material and sieving to determine the median particle size (X-50) and distribution in the sieves ("b"), and by the colorimetric method using colorchangeable chewing gum. Data were submitted to exploratory analysis, normality test and correlation tests (Pearson/Spearman). The correlation between BF and X-50 (r = -0.43p = 0.02) and between BF and MP chewing gum. (r = 0.53p = 0.002) was significant with large effect size. The MP evaluated by chewing gum correlated with X-50 (r = 0.34p = 0.055), but not with "b" (r = -0.06p = 0.73), while "b" correlated only with X-50 (r = 0.52, p = 0.002). No significant correlation was observed between the objective measures and the total score of the subjective evaluationonly a negative correlation was observed between "b" and Meat domain (r = 0.40p = 0.023). The objective methods showed moderate correlation with each other and no agreement between the objective and subjective methods was observed in this sample of healthy adolescents, emphasizing the importance of both aspects in the evaluation of masticatory function.State of Sao Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP, SP, Brazil)Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Dept Pediat Dent, Campinas, SP, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Pharmaceut Sci, Sao Paulo, BrazilFed Univ Lavras UFLA, Dept Hlth Sci, Lavras, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Speech Therapy, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Pharmaceut Sci, Sao Paulo, BrazilUniv Fed Sao Paulo UNIFESP, Dept Speech Therapy, Sao Paulo, BrazilFAPESP: 2014/24804-4Web of Scienc