Intake of dairy foods and oral health: review of epidemiological data

Introduction: The relationship between diet and oral health is intriguing. Various components of milk have been suggested to be protective against oral health problems, although specific mechanisms linking dairy components to the pathogenesis of certain diseases are still unclear. Purpose: To provide an overview of the associations between intake of milk and dairy products and dental plaque, periodontal disease and tooth loss based on currently available literature. Methods: We performed a review of relevant literature with critical appraisal of those human epidemiological studies evaluating the association between intake of milk or dairy products and periodontal disease, plaque score or tooth loss among adults and elderly. Results: Nine studies were included in the review, eight of which were cross-sectional and only one applied a longitudinal design. None of the studies included institutionalised participants. Overall, reported studies suggested an inverse association between dairy intake and plaque score and periodontal disease. Results related to tooth loss were inclusive. Conclusion: The methodological quality of reviewed studies was moderate to low with only one longitudinal design. Therefore, well-designed, confounding-controlled, longitudinal studies are warranted to be able to conclude on the potential protective effect of dairy intake on periodontal disease, dental plaque and tooth loss

Biomimetic Strategy To Reversibly Trigger Functionality of Catalytic Nanocompartments by the Insertion of pH-Responsive Biovalves

We describe an innovative strategy to generate catalytic compartments with triggered functionality at the nanoscale level by combining pH-reversible biovalves and enzyme-loaded synthetic compartments. The biovalve has been engineered by the attachment of stimuli-responsive peptides to a genetically modified channel porin, enabling a reversible change of the molecular flow through the pores of the porin in response to a pH change in the local environment. The biovalve functionality triggers the reaction inside the cavity of the enzyme-loaded compartments by switching the in situ activity of the enzymes on/off based on a reversible change of the permeability of the membrane, which blocks or allows the passage of substrates and products. The complex functionality of our catalytic compartments is based on the preservation of the integrity of the compartments to protect encapsulated enzymes. An increase of the in situ activity compared to that of the free enzyme and a reversible on/off switch of the activity upon the presence of a specific stimulus is achieved. This strategy provides straightforward solutions for the development of catalytic nanocompartments efficiently producing desired molecules in a controlled, stimuli-responsive manner with high potential in areas, such as medicine, analytical chemistry, and catalysis

The influence of tobacco exposure in color vision

Cigarette has about four thousand types of substances and its consumption is a risk factor for a variety of diseases, including neuro-ophthalmic disorders. This is a literature survey about the influence of smoking on color vision. Review of literature based in the Google Scholar research platforms, Scielo, Science Direct and the Bank of Dissertations and Theses of CAPES. Smoking articles, smoking, smoking and color vision and color vision in articles titles were adopted for inclusion criteria. Thus, 31 of which were sealed. In addition to cognitive changes, chronic use of tobacco can cause damage to retinal cells, impairing color vision, changes in tear protein patterns, adverse effects on the precorneal tear film and ocular surface. Metabolism is indirectly affected by means of the reduction of plasma levels of antioxidants and increasing the production of free radicals that impair eye health and blood flow in the ocular choroid. The chronic consumption of cigarettes causes changes in color vision / discrimination and such analysis alerts the harmful effects caused by the substances that compose it. In addition, psychophysical vision examination can be used as a screening test for intoxication processes that may be occurring in the subject

Aproveitamento dos resíduos gerados pela produção de framboesa em substrato para incorporação no solo: um caso de estudo em economia circular

O crescimento da área de produção de framboesa em hidroponia no Sul de Portugal tem contribuído para o aumento da quantidade resíduos vegetais resultantes do sistema de produção. Devido ao elevado volume de resíduos gerado, estes acumulam-se, criando um problema de gestão dos resíduos aos agricultores. Atualmente, a legislação nacional recomenda aos agricultores a reciclagem ou reutilização dos substratos, incentivando para a economia circular. Este estudo teve por objectivo avaliar o efeito de diferentes substratos, à base de resíduos da cultura da framboesa, incorporados no solo, na evolução temporal de algumas características químicas do solo (teor de matéria orgânica, pH, azoto total, fósforo, potássio, ferro, zinco, manganês, cobre). Seleccionou-se a cultura da alface, de ar livre, na qual se avaliaram o diâmetro do repolho e o peso fresco à colheita em dois ensaios correspondentes a dois ciclos produtivos. Testaram-se três tratamentos: S50 – substrato constituído por mistura em partes iguais de resíduos de fibra de coco e de canas de framboesa; S100 – substrato constituído por resíduos de fibra de coco; S0 – sem substrato. O pH, o fósforo e o potássio do solo diminuíram em todos os tratamentos, enquanto o azoto total aumentou. No segundo ensaio, o teor de matéria orgânica e o teor em ferro aumentaram. Os teores de matéria orgânica foram superiores no tratamento S50. O tratamento S100 apresentou maior teor em cobre. As alfaces apresentaram peso significativamente superior no tratamento S50 do primeiro ensaio. Embora sem resultados estatisticamente significativos, os tratamentos com substrato apresentaram valores superiores de diâmetro, em ambos os ensaios, e de maior peso, no segundo ensaio. Estes resultados apontam para a viabilidade da utilização dos resíduos da cultura da framboesa como substrato, contribuindo para a implementação de estratégias de economia circular no sistema produtivo, como a extensão do ciclo de vida ou a valorização destes resíduos

The effect of vitamin D and/or Calcium supplementation on periodontitis

Objective: To perform a systematic review and assess whether the use of vitamin D and calcium supplements can benefit the prevention of periodontitis and tooth loss among adults and elderly. Method: Research of MEDLINE, LILACS, Cochrane Library, Scopus and ClinicalTrials.gov and reference lists of relevant papers to identify experimental and observational studies on the effect of vitamin D and/or calcium supplementation on clinical parameters of periodontitis. Primary outcomes were clinical attachment loss (CAL), probing depth (PD) and tooth loss. Results: Four studies were included. Meta-analysis across studies showed a standardized mean difference (SMD) of –0.194 (95% CI: –0.777 to 0.389) and –0.168 (95% CI: –0.736 to 0.400) for CAL and PD, respectively. Conclusion: Vitamin D and calcium supplementation seem to have some beneficial effect on clinical parameters of periodontitis as a complementary therapy. However, these findings need to be confirmed before being used in clinical practice

Evaluation of effect of a vitamin-based barrier cream on the clinical severity of actinic cheilitis : a preliminary study

Actinic Cheilitis (AC) is a pathological condition of the labial mucosa considered potentially malignant. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of treatment of AC with daily use of a vitamin-based barrier cream. For this clinical study, 36 participants with lower-lip AC were recruited from three oral medicine services. At baseline, participants were evaluated by clinical examination and clinical severity of AC was classified as grade I to IV. All participants were dispensed a tube of a barrier cream containing vitamins A, D, E and ZnO to apply once nightly for 90 consecutive days. Monthly follow-up was performed to reclassify AC clinial severity. The primary outcome of interest was clinical remission of AC at 90-day follow-up compared to baseline. Progressive remission of AC lesions was observed as early as the first month and throughout the assessment period (p = 0.000). The 3-month period was insufficient for remission of lesions, especially among male participants (p = 0.002) and with a longer sun exposure in years (p = 0.007). Daily use of the vitamin-based barrier cream had a promissing positive impact on the severity of actinic cheilitis. However, a 90-day course of treatment was not sufficient to achieve lesions remission. The findings of this study suggest a promising new avenue for the treatment of lower-lip AC

Infrared Video Thermometry Guidance for Surgical Correction of Chylothorax in Dogs

Background: Macroscopic identification of the extravasation site of chyle in patients with chylothorax is a major challenge. Current forms of identification are invasive and/or expose patients to radiation, as in computerized tomography and radiography. A prototype device that uses infrared video thermometry images to detect temperature increments of 0.1ºC has been developed. This device can process and show real-time images or video on a monitor during surgeries. Therefore, the aim of this work was to report the first successful case in which this innovative device was tested in the transoperative period to identify the thoracic duct and its tributaries in a chylothorax surgery performed in a dog.Case: A 2-year-old male dog of the Shiba Inu breed was presented to the veterinary hospital with exercise intolerance, cough, emaciation, and no history of trauma. Clinical examination was performed along with complete blood count, biochemical analysis, and thoracic radiography. The patient exhibited dyspnea and had diminished breath sounds on chest auscultation. Radiographic images revealed moderate pleural effusion. The dog was anesthetized and submitted to thoracotomy, which enabled visualization of a chylous effusion. A sample of the effusion was collected for cytological and biochemical analyses. Subsequently, pericardiectomy was carried out, and identification of the thoracic duct and its tributaries was guided by an innovative device that generates infrared video thermometry images in real time. The extravasation site of the chylewas visualized on the images shown on a monitor. Consequently, after ligation of the tributary vessel, interruption of chyle overflow could be noticed on the monitor. Thoracotomy was routinely closed, and a drain was placed through an intercostal space after incision. Thirty days after the surgery, the dog exhibited no signs of recurrence. Cytological and biochemical analyses of the effusion revealed an abnormal transudate that had a density of 1,030 g/cm3, alkaline pH, predominance of neutrophils and lymphocytes, and high levels of proteins, triglycerides and cholesterol. These results indicated that the effusion analyzed was chyle.Discussion: Macroscopic aspects of an effusion alone should not be used to make a definitive diagnosis; cytological, physical, and biochemical evaluations are indispensable. The specimen analyzed had a higher concentration of triglycerides than blood, and its cholesterol concentration was lower than that found in blood. Findings like these have already been reported as indicative of chylous effusion. Thoracic duct ligation is the most used technique for correction of chylothorax, and is the technique with better outcomes. Thermometry has already been used for clinical examination in several diseases. However, the innovative device used in this study has the advantage of being noninvasive, and was able to guide the surgeon during the surgery to locate the thoracic duct and precisely identify the tributary lymphatic vessel responsible for the chylous effusion. The physical space occupied by the device did not disturb the surgical team since a small infrared image generator was placed one meter above the patient to take high definition images of the entire animal in the evaluation field. The thermometry device was very useful, non-invasive, and precise to differentiate thoracic structures and to identify the siteof extravasation of chyle. It also allowed a more interactive and precise surgical approach by the surgical team, which was essential to the success of the surgery.Keywords: chyle extravasation, infrared diagnosis, surgery, thorax

A CLÍNICA DE ENFERMAGEM EM SAÚDE MENTAL

Com as mudanças propostas pela reforma psiquiátrica, a enfermagem foi direcionada para uma nova prática quese distancia da institucionalização e da assistência manicomial predominante no modelo anterior de assistênciaem saúde mental, mas essas mudanças no campo da atuação, por sua vez, convocam o enfermeiro a rever afundamentação teórica de sua prática, de forma a favorecer a consolidação de suas ações já modificadas presentesnos serviços substitutivos ao hospital psiquiátrico, como os Centros de Atenção Psicossocial (CAPS). O estudoobjetivou analisar a prática clínica de enfermagem em saúde mental, identificando as bases teóricas que fundamentamsuas ações. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza qualitativa, que utilizou como instrumento de coleta de dados a entrevista com 14 enfermeiros dos CAPS em Fortaleza, Ceará. A análise dos dados coletados permitiu perceber-se que a enfermagem é requisitada a desenvolver uma atuação clínica que se dá de formas variadas, evidenciando diversos enfoques do cuidado. Constatou-se que muitos enfermeiros que participaram da pesquisa ainda não haviam consolidado o real sentido da escuta em sua prática; muitos entendempor escuta o diálogo, escutar as queixas patológicas, estratégia de acolhimento ou mesmo escutar as solicitaçõespara posterior resolução de queixas; o relacionamento terapêutico também sofre distorção em seu significado, aoser compreendido como uma forma amigável de relação com os pacientes. Quanto à consulta, também se percebeua falta de entendimento, ao ser confundida com triagem ou apenas avaliação, não obstante ter-se constatado quetambém há enfermeiros que a utilizam como espaço de intervenção. Concluiu-se que a enfermagem busca novasformas de fazer clínica em saúde mental, embora encontre dificuldades para construir uma concepção de clínicaque transponha a doença e enfoque os sujeitos

Effects of environmental exposure to tobacco on modulation of color vision

The chronic use of cigarettes causes toxic and oxidative effects on the visual system, which can cause changes in color vision. Although there are studies on the harmful effects of tobacco in active smokers, the literature on secondhand/passive smokers (or environmental tobacco smoke) is still scarce. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the ability of color vision in active and passive smokers. This is a cross-sectional observational study in which 103 individuals were divided pseudorandomly into 3 groups: control group (CG) n = 44 individuals (72 eyes), with a mean age of 28.65 ± 7.90; group of passive smokers (GPS) n = 28 (56 eyes), mean age 28.74 ± 9.42; group of active smokers (GAS) n = 31 (60 eyes), mean age 34.91 ± 11.30. The psychophysical evaluation of color vision was performed using the Ishihara pseudoisochromatic plates, the computer program of the Freiburg Visual Acuity & Contrast Test, version 3.7, and the desaturated Lanthony D15 ordering test. The results indicate that there was no correlation in GAS and GPS with age, time of exposure to tobacco and daily consumption. It was observed that both GAS and GPS showed changes in visual acuity (P <0.05), and only GPS showed changes in color vision (P <0.05); GFP showed a deficit in visual acuity and worse color vision when compared to GAS (P <0.05). These results are discussed in relation to the biochemical and pathophysiological effects that exposure to cigarettes may have on the visual system, which would explain the functional changes observed. We conclude that passive and active smokers have impaired color vision and that the psychophysical methods used in this study are effective for the subclinical tracking of changes in color vision