Association between treated/untreated traumatic dental injuries and impact on quality of life of Brazilian schoolchildren

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Traumatic dental injury (TDI) could have physical and psychosocial consequences for children. Thus, it is important to measure the impact of TDI on the quality of life of children (QoL). The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between treated/untreated TDI and the impact on the quality of life of 11-to-14-year-old Brazilian schoolchildren.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 1612 male and female schoolchildren aged 11 to 14 years attending public and private elementary schools in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. A multi-stage sampling technique was adopted to select the children. Three calibrated examiners used the Andreasen classification for the diagnosis of TDI. Oral health-related quality of life was assessed using the Brazilian version of the Child Perceptions Questionnaire (CPQ_11-14) <b>- </b>Impact Short Form (ISF:16), composed of 16 items and self-administered by all children. Other oral conditions (dental caries and malocclusion) and the Social Vulnerability Index were determined and used as controlling variables.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Two hundred nineteen children were diagnosed with untreated TDI and 64 were diagnosed with treated TDI. There were no statistically significant associations between untreated or treated TDI and overall CPQ_11-14(Fisher = 0.368 and Fisher = 0.610, respectively). Children with an untreated TDI were 1.4-fold (95% CI = 1.1-2.1) more likely to report impact on the item "avoided smiling/laughing" than those without TDI, whereas children with a treated TDI were twofold (95% CI = 1.1-3.5) more likely to report impact on the item "other children asked questions" than those without TDI.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Neither treated nor untreated TDI was associated with oral symptoms, functional limitations or emotional wellbeing. However, children with a TDI in the anterior teeth experienced a negative impact on social wellbeing, mainly with regard to avoiding smiling or laughing and being concerned about what other people may think or say.</p

Do Flavonoids from Durum Wheat Contribute to Its Bioactive Properties? A Prospective Study

A clear gap with respect to the potential biological properties of wheat flavonoids exists in the available literature. This information is crucial for breeding programs aiming to produce new varieties presenting improved health benefits. Accordingly, advanced breeding lines of whole durum wheat were evaluated in this contribution. The highest recovery of phenolics was achieved using aqueous acetone (50:50, v/v), as verified by multi-response optimization, thus showing that phenolics could be largely underestimated by employing an inappropriate extraction. The concentration of derivatives of apigenin, the main phenolics present, ranged from 63.5 to 80.7%, as evaluated by LC&ndash;ESI-QTOF-MS. Phenolics from the breeding line 98 exhibited the highest ability in scavenging peroxyl radicals, reducing power as well as in terms of inhibition of pancreatic lipase activity, a key enzyme regulating the absorption of triacylglycerols. In contrast, none of the samples exhibited a significant anti-diabetic potential. Despite their high concentration compared to that of phenolic acids, results of this work do not support a significant antioxidant and pancreatic lipase inhibitory effect of durum wheat flavonoids. Therefore, breeding programs and animal and/or human trials related to the effect of durum wheat flavonoids on oxidative stress and absorption of triacylglycerols are discouraged at this point

Interaction between peripheral blood mononuclear cells and Trypanosoma cruzi-infected adipocytes: implications for treatment failure and induction of immunomodulatory mechanisms in adipose tissue

Background/IntroductionAdipose tissue (AT) has been highlighted as a promising reservoir of infection for viruses, bacteria and parasites. Among them is Trypanosoma cruzi, which causes Chagas disease. The recommended treatment for the disease in Brazil is Benznidazole (BZ). However, its efficacy may vary according to the stage of the disease, geographical origin, age, immune background of the host and sensitivity of the strains to the drug. In this context, AT may act as an ally for the parasite survival and persistence in the host and a barrier for BZ action. Therefore, we investigated the immunomodulation of T. cruzi-infected human AT in the presence of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) where BZ treatment was added.MethodsWe performed indirect cultivation between T. cruzi-infected adipocytes, PBMC and the addition of BZ. After 72h of treatment, the supernatant was collected for cytokine, chemokine and adipokine assay. Infected adipocytes were removed to quantify T. cruzi DNA, and PBMC were removed for immunophenotyping.ResultsOur findings showed elevated secretion of interleukin (IL)-6, IL-2 and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1/CCL2) in the AT+PBMC condition compared to the other controls. In contrast, there was a decrease in tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and IL-8/CXCL-8 in the groups with AT. We also found high adipsin secretion in PBMC+AT+T compared to the treated condition (PBMC+AT+T+BZ). Likewise, the expression of CD80+ and HLA-DR+ in CD14+ cells decreased in the presence of T. cruzi.DiscussionThus, our findings indicate that AT promotes up-regulation of inflammatory products such as IL-6, IL-2, and MCP-1/CCL2. However, adipogenic inducers may have triggered the downregulation of TNF and IL-8/CXCL8 through the peroxisome proliferator agonist gamma (PPAR-g) or receptor expression. On the other hand, the administration of BZ only managed to reduce inflammation in the microenvironment by decreasing adipsin in the infected culture conditions. Therefore, given the findings, we can see that AT is an ally of the parasite in evading the host‘s immune response and the pharmacological action of BZ

GHEP-ISFG proficiency test 2011: Paper challenge on evaluation of mitochondrial DNA results

The GHEP-ISFG Working Group performed a collaborative exercise to monitor the current practice of mitochondrial (mt)DNA reporting. The participating laboratories were invited to evaluate a hypothetical case example and assess the statistical significance of a match between the haplotypes of a case (hair) sample and a suspect. A total of 31 forensic laboratories participated of which all but one used the EMPOP database. Nevertheless, we observed a tenfold range of reported LR values (32–333.4), which was mainly due to the selection of different reference datasets in EMPOP but also due to different applied formulae. The results suggest the need for more standardization as well as additional research to harmonize the reporting of mtDNA evidence.Fil: Prieto, L.. Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Policiales. Comisarıía General de Policía Científica; EspañaFil: Alves, Cíntia. Universidad de Porto; PortugalFil: Zimmermann, B.. Universidad de Innsbruck; AustriaFil: Tagliabracci, A.. Università Politecnica delle Marche. Dipartimento Scienze Biomediche e Sanità Pubblica, Medicina Legale; ItaliaFil: Prieto, V.. Instituto Nacional de Toxicología y Ciencias Forenses; EspañaFil: Montesino, M.. Instituto Universitario de Investigación en Ciencias Policiales. Comisarıía General de Policía Científica; EspañaFil: Whitte, M. R.. Genomic Engenharia Molecular; BrasilFil: Anjos, M. J.. National Institute of Legal Medicine; PortugalFil: Cardoso, S.. Universidad del País Vasco; EspañaFil: Heinrichs, B.. Instituto Nacional de Toxicología y Ciencias Forenses; EspañaFil: Hernandez, A.. Instituto Nacional de Toxicología y Ciencias Forenses; EspañaFil: Lopez Parra, A. M.. Universidad Complutense de Madrid; EspañaFil: Sala, Adriana Andrea. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Farmacia y Bioquímica. Servicio de Huellas Digitales Genéticas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Saragoni, V. G.. Legal Medicine Service. Forensic Genetics Unit; ChileFil: Burgos G.. Red Cross. Molecular Genetics Laboratory; EcuadorFil: Marino, Miguel Eduardo. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Ciencias Médicas. Laboratorio de Análisis de ADN; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Paredes, M.. Instituto Nacional de Toxicología y Ciencias Forenses; EspañaFil: Mora Torres, C. A.. Instituto Nacional de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses; ColombiaFil: Angulo, R.. Poder Judicial. Departamento de Ciencias Forenses; Costa RicaFil: Chemale, G.. Federal Police. National Institute of Criminalistics. Forensic Genetics Laboratory; BrasilFil: Vullo, Carlos. Equipo Argentino de Antropología Forense; Argentina. Laboratorio de Inmunogenética y Diagnóstico Molecular; ArgentinaFil: Sánchez Simón, M.. Citogen. Centro de Análisis Genéticos; EspañaFil: Comas, D.. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; España. Universitat Pompeu Fabra; España. Instituto de Biología Evolutiva; EspañaFil: Puente, J.. LabGenetics; EspañaFil: López Cubría, C. M.. Guardia Civil. Departamento de Biología. Servicio de Criminalística; EspañaFil: Modesti, Nidia Maria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Provincia de Córdoba. Poder Judicial; ArgentinaFil: Aler, M.. Institute of Legal Medicine of Valencia; EspañaFil: Merigioli, S.. Universidad de Porto; PortugalFil: Betancor, E.. Universidad de Innsbruck; AustriaFil: Pedrosa, D.. Nasersa; EspañaFil: Plaza, G.. Neodiagnóstica; EspañaFil: Masciovecchio, M. V.. IACA Laboratories; ArgentinaFil: Schneider, P. M.. Universitat Zu Köln; AlemaniaFil: Parson, Walther. Universidad de Innsbruck; Austri

Implementation of a Brazilian Cardioprotective Nutritional (BALANCE) Program for improvement on quality of diet and secondary prevention of cardiovascular events: A randomized, multicenter trial

Background: Appropriate dietary recommendations represent a key part of secondary prevention in cardiovascular disease (CVD). We evaluated the effectiveness of the implementation of a nutritional program on quality of diet, cardiovascular events, and death in patients with established CVD. Methods: In this open-label, multicenter trial conducted in 35 sites in Brazil, we randomly assigned (1:1) patients aged 45 years or older to receive either the BALANCE Program (experimental group) or conventional nutrition advice (control group). The BALANCE Program included a unique nutritional education strategy to implement recommendations from guidelines, adapted to the use of affordable and regional foods. Adherence to diet was evaluated by the modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index. The primary end point was a composite of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction, stroke, myocardial revascularization, amputation, or hospitalization for unstable angina. Secondary end points included biochemical and anthropometric data, and blood pressure levels. Results: From March 5, 2013, to Abril 7, 2015, a total of 2534 eligible patients were randomly assigned to either the BALANCE Program group (n = 1,266) or the control group (n = 1,268) and were followed up for a median of 3.5 years. In total, 235 (9.3%) participants had been lost to follow-up. After 3 years of follow-up, mean modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index (scale 0-70) was only slightly higher in the BALANCE group versus the control group (26.2 ± 8.4 vs 24.7 ± 8.6, P <.01), mainly due to a 0.5-serving/d greater intake of fruits and of vegetables in the BALANCE group. Primary end point events occurred in 236 participants (18.8%) in the BALANCE group and in 207 participants (16.4%) in the control group (hazard ratio, 1.15; 95% CI 0.95-1.38; P =.15). Secondary end points did not differ between groups after follow-up. Conclusions: The BALANCE Program only slightly improved adherence to a healthy diet in patients with established CVD and had no significant effect on the incidence of cardiovascular events or death. © 2019 The Author