Dental Care for Children with Leukemia: Major Updates

Leukemia is a haematological neoplasm that among 300 children and adolescents in Brazil. Its standard treatment consists of the use of antineoplastic based on chemotherapy or radiotherapy, these recommended therapies can provoke several side effects among them buccal alterations mainly due to the immunosupression picture. In view of the exposed this study has the objective to describe the main updates of the dental care to the child carrier of leukemia by reviewing the literature. Immunosuppression and the very fragility and stage of development of children with leukemia lead to greater vulnerability to all types of opportunistic infections and pathologies resulting from antineoplastic therapy. Currently, modern oncology requires the presence of the dentist in all phases of treatment and even before diagnosis in a sine qua non condition for management, maintenance of oral health and quality of life of the leukemic patient. The dentist besides being part of the cancer team is required both in the in-hospital environment and in daily clinical practice. Currently there is a wide range of resources and medicines to promote a satisfactory handling and quality of life for these patients

The impact of pre-restoration land-use and disturbance on sediment structure, hydrology and the sediment geochemical environment in restored saltmarshes

Saltmarshes are being lost or degraded as a result of human activity resulting in loss of critical ecosystem services including the provision of wild species diversity, water quality regulation and flood regulation. To compensate, saltmarshes are being restored or re-created, usually driven by legislative requirements for increased habitat diversity, flood regulation and sustainable coastal defense. Yet, there is increasing evidence that restoration may not deliver anticipated ecosystem services; this is frequently attributed to poor drainage and sediment anoxia. However, physical sediment characteristics, hydrology and the sediment geochemical environment are rarely examined in restoration schemes, despite such factors being critical for plant succession. This study presents the novel integration of 3D-computed X-ray microtomography to quantify sediment structure and porosity, with water level and geochemical data to understand the impact of pre-restoration land use and disturbance on the structure and functioning of restored saltmarshes. The study combines a broad-scale investigation of physical sediment characteristics in nine de-embanked saltmarshes across SE England, with an intensive study at one site examining water levels, sediment structure and the sediment geochemical environment. De-embankment does not restore the hydrological regime, or the physical/chemical framework in the saltmarshes and evidence of disturbance includes a reduction in microporosity, pore connectivity and water storage capacity, a lack of connectivity between the sub-surface environment and overlying floodwaters, and impeded sub-surface water flow and drainage. This has significant consequences for the sediment geochemical environment. This disturbance is evident for at least two decades following restoration and is likely to be irreversible. It has important implications for plant establishment in particular, ecosystem services including flood regulation, nutrient cycling and wild species diversity and for future restoration design

Medulloblastoma and ependymoma cells display levels of 5-carboxylcytosine and elevated TET1 expression

Background Alteration of DNA methylation (5-methylcytosine, 5mC) patterns represents one of the causes of tumorigenesis and cancer progression. Tet proteins can oxidize 5mC to 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC), 5-formylcytosine and 5-carboxylcytosine (5caC). Although the roles of these oxidised forms of 5mC (oxi-mCs) in cancer pathogenesis are still largely unknown, there are indications that they may be involved in the mechanisms of malignant transformation. Thus, reduction of 5hmC content represents an epigenetic hallmark of human tumours and, according to our recent report; 5caC is enriched in a proportion of breast cancers and gliomas. Nevertheless, the distribution of oxi-mCs in paediatric brain tumours has not been assessed. Findings Here we analyse the global levels and spatial distribution of 5hmC and 5caC in 4 brain tumour cell lines derived from paediatric sonic hedgehog (SHH) pathway activated medulloblastomas (Daoy and UW228-3) and ependymomas (BXD-1425EPN and DKFZEP1NS). We show that, unlike HeLa cells, the paediatric tumour cell lines possess both 5hmC and 5caC at immunochemically detectable levels, and demonstrate that both modifications display high degrees of spatial overlap in the nuclei of medulloblastomas and ependymomas. Moreover, although 5hmC levels are comparable in the 4 brain tumour cell lines, 5caC staining intensities differ dramatically between them with highest levels of this mark in a subpopulation of DKFZ-EP1NS cells. Remarkably, the 5caC enrichment does not correlate with 5hmC levels and is not associated with alterations in Thymine DNA Glycosylase (TDG) expression in SHH medulloblastoma and ependymoma cell lines, but corresponds to elevated levels of TET1 transcript in UW228-3 and DKFZ-EP1NS cells. Conclusions We demonstrate that both 5caC enrichment and elevated TET1 expression are observed in SHH medulloblastomas and ependymomas. Our results suggest that increased Tet-dependent 5mC oxidation may represent one of the epigenetic signatures of cancers with neural stem cell origin and, thus, may contribute to development of novel approaches for diagnosis and therapy of the brain tumours

Leggere e scrivere organizzazioni: umanesimo, estetica e conoscenze manageriali

“Leggere e scrivere organizzazioni” considera l’alfabetizzazione non solo nel significato letterale, ma come abilità simbolica che differenzia gli esseri umani da altri animali. “Leggere e scrivere organizzazioni” si rivolge a studenti (specie della Laurea Magistrale e di Dottorato) di Organizzazione delle Risorse Umane, di Comportamento Organizzativo e, in generale, di Economia e management. “Leggere e scrivere organizzazioni” cattura l’interesse di studiosi, manager e professionisti d’impresa (quelli colti) che vogliano soffermarsi a riflettere su quel che vivono ogni giorno, uscendo dalla pressione del quotidiano. “Leggere e scrivere organizzazioni” tornerà molto utile a quanti vogliano scorgere – attraverso gli occhi dell’altro – una nuova prospettiva sui modi in cui si formano i saperi manageriali, lontano dalle urgenze quotidiane, che scippano tempo e spazio al gusto dell’approfondimento. Il lettore scoprirà che studiare le organizzazioni come campi simbolici significa considerare le “organizzazioni come testi” da leggere ed interpretare, alla stregua di qualunque altro testo. Il lettore scoprirà la grande attenzione che gli Studi Organizzativi rivolgono alle discipline umanistiche, secondo un approccio di critical management. E capirà come “leggere” le organizzazioni (come studiarle), ma anche come “scriverle” (come costruirle o farle sviluppare). Il lettore potrà superare l’ingenuità degli slogan tipici di certa comunicazione aziendalese, grazie alla propria capacità di “interpretare”: estetica, umanesimo e conoscenze manageriali sono le parole-chiave del sottotitolo di questa piccola antologia che consentono di accedere ad un modo di fare management education con un approccio non dogmatico, guidato da solide tradizioni millenarie, nel solco del migliore pensiero critical

Heterotrophic fixation of CO2 in soil

The occurrence of heterotrophic CO2 fixation by soil microorganisms was tested in several mineral soils differing in pH and two artificial soils (a mixture of silica sand, alfalfa powder, and nutrient medium inoculated with a soil suspension). Soils were incubated at ambient (~0.05 vol%) and elevated (~5 vol%) CO2 concentrations under aerobic conditions for up to 21 days. CO2 fixation was detected using either a technique for determining the natural abundance of 13C or by measuring the distribution of labeled 14C-CO2 in soil and bacteria. The effects of elevated CO2 on microbial biomass (direct counts, chloroform fumigation extraction method), composition of microbial community (phospholipid fatty acids), microbial activity (respiration, dehydrogenase activity), and turnover rate were also measured. Heterotrophic CO2 fixation was proven in all soils under study, being higher in neutral soils. The main portion of the fixed CO2 (98–99%) was found in extracellular metabolites while only ~1% CO2 was incorporated into microbial cells. High CO2 concentration always induced an increase in microbial activity, changes in the composition of the microbial community, and a decrease in microbial turnover. The results suggest that heterotrophic CO2 fixation could be a widespread process in soils