Rare genetic diseases affecting skeletal development and oral health disparities among children and adolescents: a pathway analysis

Background: To examine the relationships of rare genetic diseases affecting skeletal development, socio-demographic characteristics, and oral health-related behaviours with dental clinical measures in children and adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study paired by age, gender and social class included 61 children and adolescents with Osteogenesis Imperfecta (N=40) or mucopolysaccharidoses (N=21) and those without genetic rare diseases (N=60). Participants were selected at two referral hospitals for rare genetic diseases in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Caregivers completed a questionnaire to obtain age, gender, caregiver’s schooling, social class, patterns of dental attendance and duration of breastfeeding. Oral hygiene, dental caries, dental anomalies and malocclusion were assessed through dental examinations. The relationships between variables were estimated through Pathway analysis using the maximum likelihood method. Results: Rare genetic diseases affecting skeletal development were directly associated with dental caries (β=0.22), dental anomalies (β=0.36) and malocclusion (β=0.29). They were also inversely linked to a preventive pattern of dental attendance (β=-0.25). Rare genetic diseases affecting skeletal development were associated with poor oral hygiene (β=0.28) and shorter breastfeeding duration (β=-0.21). Rare genetic diseases affecting skeletal development were linked indirectly with dental caries, a reduced pattern of dental attendance and poor oral hygiene (β=0.43). Patterns of dental attendance mediated the link between rare genetic diseases affecting skeletal development and malocclusion (β=-0.05). Conclusion: Rare genetic diseases affecting skeletal development were associated with poor oral health. Patterns of dental attendance and poor oral hygiene mediated the link between rare genetic diseases affecting skeletal development and dental clinical measures

TRY plant trait database – enhanced coverage and open access

Plant traits—the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants—determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait‐based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits—almost complete coverage for ‘plant growth form’. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait–environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives

Integrated global assessment of the natural forest carbon potential

Forests are a substantial terrestrial carbon sink, but anthropogenic changes in land use and climate have considerably reduced the scale of this system1. Remote-sensing estimates to quantify carbon losses from global forests2,3,4,5 are characterized by considerable uncertainty and we lack a comprehensive ground-sourced evaluation to benchmark these estimates. Here we combine several ground-sourced6 and satellite-derived approaches2,7,8 to evaluate the scale of the global forest carbon potential outside agricultural and urban lands. Despite regional variation, the predictions demonstrated remarkable consistency at a global scale, with only a 12% difference between the ground-sourced and satellite-derived estimates. At present, global forest carbon storage is markedly under the natural potential, with a total deficit of 226 Gt (model range = 151–363 Gt) in areas with low human footprint. Most (61%, 139 Gt C) of this potential is in areas with existing forests, in which ecosystem protection can allow forests to recover to maturity. The remaining 39% (87 Gt C) of potential lies in regions in which forests have been removed or fragmented. Although forests cannot be a substitute for emissions reductions, our results support the idea2,3,9 that the conservation, restoration and sustainable management of diverse forests offer valuable contributions to meeting global climate and biodiversity targets

Evaluation Of The Nnecdsg Score In A Brazilian Public Hospital [avaliação Do Escore Nnecdsg Em Um Hospital Público Brasileiro]

Objective: To compare the observed incidence of mediastinitis and strokes versus the expected incidence according to the NNECDSG score (Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group) in a population submitted to coronary artery bypass graft surgery. Methods: A retrospective consultation was made of medical records of all patients submitted to isolated CABG from January 1st, 2000 to December 31st, 2004, at the Cardiac Surgery Service of the Triângulo Mineiro Federal University (UFTM). Data regarding the incidences of observed mediastinitis and strokes and those estimated by the NNECDSG score were submitted to the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test. A comparison was achieved using the paired Student t test, with the level of significance determined as p=0.05. Results: A group of 230 patients were analyzed, including 144 (62.60%) men and 86 (37.39%) women. Sixty-one (26.52%) presented with diabetes, 30 (13.04%) with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 23 (10%) had peripheral vascular disease (PVD). Emergency surgery occurred in 34 (14.78 %) cases. In 37 (16.08%) patients an ejection fraction (EF) of less than 40% was identified. Mediastinitis occurred in 12 (5.21%) patients and despite the greater general incidence in the sample studied, no statistical significance was found. Strokes occurred in 12 patients (5.21%) and in spite of the higher mean percentage incidence of observed strokes for all scores, a level of statistical significance was not found. Conclusions: Although the incidences of mediastinitis and strokes were greater in the population studied, these values showed no statistical significance, confirming the score recommended by the NNECDSG as a safe and efficient method for predicting postoperative mediastinitis and strokes in patients submitted to coronary artery bypass grafting surgery in the UFTM.222212217Roques, F., Nashef, S.A., Michel, P., Gauducheau, E., de Vincentiis, C., Baudet, E., Risk factors and outcome in European cardiac surgery: Analysis of the EuroSCORE multinational database of 19030 patients (1999) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 15 (6), pp. 816-822Feier, F.H., Sant'anna, R.T., Garcia, E., De Bacco, F.W., Pereira, E., Santos, M.F., Modificações no perfil do paciente submetido à operação de revascularização do miocárdio. (2005) Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc, 20 (3), pp. 317-322O'Connor, G.T., Plume, S.K., Olmstead, E.M., Coffin, L.H., Morton, J.R., Maloney, C.T., A regional prospective study of in-hospital mortality associated with coronary artery bypass grafting. The Northern New England Cardiovascular Disease Study Group (1991) JAMA, 266 (6), pp. 803-809Kurki, T.S., Kataja, M., Preoperative prediction of postoperative morbidity in coronary artery bypass grafting (1996) Ann Thorac Surg, 61 (6), pp. 1740-1745Parsonnet, V., Dean, D., Bernstein, A.D., A method of uniform stratification of risk for evaluating the results of surgery in acquired adult heart disease (1989) Circulation, 79 (6 PART 2), pp. I3-12Edwards, F.H., Grover, F.L., Shroyer, A.L., Schwartz, M., Bero, J., The Society of Thoracic Surgeons National Cardiac Surgery Database: Current risk assessment (1997) Ann Thorac Surg, 63 (3), pp. 903-908Shroyer, A.L., Plomodon, M.E., Grover, F.L., Edwards, F.H., The 1996 coronary artery bypass risk model: The Society of Thoracic Surgeons Adult Cardiac National Database (1999) Ann Thorac Surg, 67 (4), pp. 1205-1208Higgins, T.L., Estafanous, F.G., Loop, F.D., Beck, G.J., Blum, J.M., Paranandi, L., Stratification of morbidity and mortality outcome by preoperative risk factors in coronary artery bypass patients.A clinical severity score (1992) JAMA, 267 (17), pp. 2344-2348Parsonnet, V., Bernstein, A.D., Gera, M., Clinical usefulness of risk-stratified outcome analysis in cardiac surgery in New Jersey (1996) Ann Thorac Surg, 61 (2 SUPPL.), pp. S8-S11Roques, F., Gabrielle, F., Michel, P., De Vincentiis, C., David, M., Baudet, E., Quality of care in adult heart surgery: Proposal for a self-assessment approach based on a French multicenter study (1995) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 9 (8), pp. 433-439Syed, A.U., Fawzy, H., Farag, A., Nemlander, A., Predictive value of EuroSCORE and Parsonnet scoring in Saudi population (2004) Heart Lung Circ, 13 (4), pp. 384-388Nashef, S.A., Carey, F., Silcock, M.M., Oommen, P.K., Levy, R.D., Jones, M.T., Risk stratification for open heart surgery: Trial of the Parsonnet system in a British hospital (1992) BMJ, 305 (6861), pp. 1066-1067Pons, J.M., Granados, A., Espinas, J.A., Borras, J.M., Martin, I., Moreno, V., Assessing open heart surgery mortality in Catalonia (Spain) through a predictive risk model (1997) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 11 (3), pp. 415-423Roques, F., Nashef, S.A., Michel, P., Pinna Pintor, P., David, M., Baudet, E., Does EuroSCORE work in individual European countries? (2000) Eur J Cardiothorac Surg, 18 (1), pp. 27-30Kurki, T.S., Kataja, M., Preoperative prediction of postoperative morbidity in coronary artery bypass grafting (1996) Ann Thorac Surg, 61 (6), pp. 1740-1745Abboud, C.S., Wey, S.B., Baltar, V.T., Risk factors for mediastinitis after cardiac surgery (2004) Ann Thorac Surg, 77 (2), pp. 676-683Fowler, V.G., O'Brien, S.M., Muhlbaier, L.H., Corey, R.G., Ferguson, T.B., Peterson, E.D., Clinical predictors of major infections after cardiac surgery (2005) Circulation, 112 (9 SUPPL.), pp. I358-I365Guaragna, J.C., Facchi, L.M., Baião, C.G., Cruz, I.B.M., Bodanese, L.C., Albuquerque, L., Preditores de mediastinite em cirurgia cardíaca. (2004) Rev Bras Cir Cardiovasc, 19 (2), pp. 165-170Stamou, S.C., Stroke and encephalopathy after cardiac surgery: The search for the holy grail (2006) Stroke, 37 (2), pp. 284-285McKhann, G.M., Grega, M.A., Borowicz, L.M., Baumgartner, W.A., Selnes, O.A., Stroke and encephalopathy after cardiac surgery: An update (2006) Stroke, 37 (2), pp. 562-57

Effect of β-mercaptoetanol and cysteine on post-thawing quality and oxidative activity of ram sperm and on the viability of vitrified sheep embryos

ABSTRACT The effects of β-mercaptoethanol (BME) and cysteine on the viability and oxidative activity of ram sperm after thawing and on development in vitro and viability of vitrified sheep embryos were evaluated. Ejaculates from four rams were pooled and extended, composing six treatments: no antioxidants; 2mM BME; 5mM BME; 2mM BME and 5mM cysteine; 5mM BME and 5mM cysteine; and 5mM cysteine. Sperm motility, membrane and acrosome integrity, mitochondrial functionality, production of reactive oxygen species and total antioxidant capacity were similar across treatments (P>0.05). A medium with no antioxidant presented cleavage and blastocyst development rates (60.3% and 33.6%, respectively) similar (P>0.05) to those of a medium with 50μM BME and 600μM cysteine (64.3% and 36.6%, respectively). Post-thawing viability of vitrified embryos was similar between media (P>0.05). Cysteine and BME had no influence on the post-thawing viability and oxidative activity of ram sperm and on the viability of vitrified sheep embryos

Identification and reconstruction of low-energy electrons in the ProtoDUNE-SP detector

Measurements of electrons from νe interactions are crucial for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) neutrino oscillation program, as well as searches for physics beyond the standard model, supernova neutrino detection, and solar neutrino measurements. This article describes the selection and reconstruction of low-energy (Michel) electrons in the ProtoDUNE-SP detector. ProtoDUNE-SP is one of the prototypes for the DUNE far detector, built and operated at CERN as a charged particle test beam experiment. A sample of low-energy electrons produced by the decay of cosmic muons is selected with a purity of 95%. This sample is used to calibrate the low-energy electron energy scale with two techniques. An electron energy calibration based on a cosmic ray muon sample uses calibration constants derived from measured and simulated cosmic ray muon events. Another calibration technique makes use of the theoretically well-understood Michel electron energy spectrum to convert reconstructed charge to electron energy. In addition, the effects of detector response to low-energy electron energy scale and its resolution including readout electronics threshold effects are quantified. Finally, the relation between the theoretical and reconstructed low-energy electron energy spectrum is derived and the energy resolution is characterized. The low-energy electron selection presented here accounts for about 75% of the total electron deposited energy. After the addition of missing energy using a Monte Carlo simulation, the energy resolution improves from about 40% to 25% at 50 MeV. These results are used to validate the expected capabilities of the DUNE far detector to reconstruct low-energy electrons

Identification and reconstruction of low-energy electrons in the ProtoDUNE-SP detector

Measurements of electrons from νe interactions are crucial for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) neutrino oscillation program, as well as searches for physics beyond the standard model, supernova neutrino detection, and solar neutrino measurements. This article describes the selection and reconstruction of low-energy (Michel) electrons in the ProtoDUNE-SP detector. ProtoDUNE-SP is one of the prototypes for the DUNE far detector, built and operated at CERN as a charged particle test beam experiment. A sample of low-energy electrons produced by the decay of cosmic muons is selected with a purity of 95%. This sample is used to calibrate the low-energy electron energy scale with two techniques. An electron energy calibration based on a cosmic ray muon sample uses calibration constants derived from measured and simulated cosmic ray muon events. Another calibration technique makes use of the theoretically well-understood Michel electron energy spectrum to convert reconstructed charge to electron energy. In addition, the effects of detector response to low-energy electron energy scale and its resolution including readout electronics threshold effects are quantified. Finally, the relation between the theoretical and reconstructed low-energy electron energy spectrum is derived and the energy resolution is characterized. The low-energy electron selection presented here accounts for about 75% of the total electron deposited energy. After the addition of missing energy using a Monte Carlo simulation, the energy resolution improves from about 40% to 25% at 50 MeV. These results are used to validate the expected capabilities of the DUNE far detector to reconstruct low-energy electrons

Identification and reconstruction of low-energy electrons in the ProtoDUNE-SP detector

Measurements of electrons from νe interactions are crucial for the Deep Underground Neutrino Experiment (DUNE) neutrino oscillation program, as well as searches for physics beyond the standard model, supernova neutrino detection, and solar neutrino measurements. This article describes the selection and reconstruction of low-energy (Michel) electrons in the ProtoDUNE-SP detector. ProtoDUNE-SP is one of the prototypes for the DUNE far detector, built and operated at CERN as a charged particle test beam experiment. A sample of low-energy electrons produced by the decay of cosmic muons is selected with a purity of 95%. This sample is used to calibrate the low-energy electron energy scale with two techniques. An electron energy calibration based on a cosmic ray muon sample uses calibration constants derived from measured and simulated cosmic ray muon events. Another calibration technique makes use of the theoretically well-understood Michel electron energy spectrum to convert reconstructed charge to electron energy. In addition, the effects of detector response to low-energy electron energy scale and its resolution including readout electronics threshold effects are quantified. Finally, the relation between the theoretical and reconstructed low-energy electron energy spectrum is derived and the energy resolution is characterized. The low-energy electron selection presented here accounts for about 75% of the total electron deposited energy. After the addition of missing energy using a Monte Carlo simulation, the energy resolution improves from about 40% to 25% at 50 MeV. These results are used to validate the expected capabilities of the DUNE far detector to reconstruct low-energy electrons