Rugoscopy in human identification: a study in a sample of twins

Palatal rugae patterns can be useful for forensic identification purposes. However, some doubts persist in concerning the pattern singularity in twins. The purpose of this study was to assess palatal rugae pattern singularity in a sample of twins. To do this, the palatal rugae patterns of 19 pairs of monozygotic twins and 47 pairs of dizygotic twins were studied. Our results showed that in monozygotic twins, no statistical significant differences were found, either in the form or number of palatal rugae. However, in dizygotic twins, differences were found in the number or shape of all palatal rugae (except for the shape of the first two right ones), suggesting that the palatal rugae pattern can be useful for identification purposes of dizygotic, but not of monozygotic, twins.Generation XXI was funded by Programa Operacional de Saúde (Regional Department of Ministry of Health). It has support from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.An individual grant to Braga S (SFRH/BD/120500/2016) by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) is gratefully acknowledged.This work was financed by FEDER (Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional) funds through the COMPETE 2020 – Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior in the framework of the project PTDC/MEC-MCI/29777/2017/POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029777

Modulation of humoral immune response to oral BCG vaccination by Mycobacterium bovis BCG Moreau Rio de Janeiro (RDJ) in healthy adults

BACKGROUND: Oral administration of BCG was the route initially used by Calmette and Guérin, but was replaced by intradermal administration in virtually all countries after the Lubeck accident. However, Brazil continued to administer oral BCG Moreau RDJ, which was maintained until the mid-1970s when it was substituted by the intradermal route. Although BCG vaccination has been used in humans since 1921, little is known of the induced immune response. The aim of this study was to analyse immunological responses after oral vaccination with M. bovis BCG Moreau RDJ. METHODS: This study in healthy volunteers has measured cellular and humoral aspects of the immunological response to oral M. bovis BCG Moreau RDJ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. T-cell trafficking and Th(1 )and Th(2 )cytokine responses are described, as well as isotype-specific antibody production using novel techniques. RESULTS: Oral immunisation has no adverse effects. We have shown that there are cellular and humoral immunological responses after oral immunisation. Oral revaccination does not induce a positive skin test in responsive individuals and multiple booster orally was able to induce modulation in humoral immunological responses (switch from IgG to IgA) in previously immunised subjects and incapable of inducing tolerance. In contrast, the cellular immune response does not differ between vaccinated individuals with positive and negative skin test reactions. CONCLUSION: All subjects, including those who did not respond to the skin test at study commencement, were capable of mounting humoral and cellular immune response to the antigens tested

Análise de experimento fatorial desbalanceado nos ambientes SAS e R.

O trabalho apresenta e discuti um exemplo de análise de dados desbalanceados oriundos de um experimento para avaliar o efeito combinado das concentrações de CO2 e de cobre sobre parâmetros bioquímicos e defesas antioxidantes do peixe pacu, Piaractus mesopotamicus, que é uma das principais espécies cultivadas no Brasil

Damage detection and quantification using transmissibility

Structures experience various types of loads along their lifetime, which can be either static or dynamic and may be associated to phenomena of corrosion and chemical attack, among others. As a consequence, different types of structural damage can be produced; the deteriorated structure may have its capacity affected, leading to excessive vibration problems or even possible failure. It is very important to develop methods that are able to simultaneously detect the existence of damage and to quantify its extent. In this paper the authors propose a method to detect and quantify structural damage, using response transmissibilities measured along the structure. Some numerical simulations are presented and a comparison is made with results using frequency response functions. Experimental tests are also undertaken to validate the proposed technique. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Study of the effect of chronic kidney disease on urea and ammonia levels in saliva using a sequential injection system with potentiometric detection

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Oral Colonization of Staphylococcus Species in a Peritoneal Dialysis Population: A Possible Reservoir for PD-Related Infections?

Peritoneal dialysis-related infections are important morbidity/mortality causes, being staphylococci the most prevalent agents. Since Staphylococcus aureus nasopharynx carriage is a known risk factor for PD infections and the oral cavity is a starting point for systemic diseases development, we aimed at comparing the oral staphylococci colonization between PD patients and controls and studying the association with PD-related infections. Saliva samples were plated in Mannitol salt, and isolates were identified by DnaJ gene sequencing. Staphylococci PD-related infections were recorded throughout the 4-year period following sample collection. Staphylococcus colonization was present in >90% of the samples from both groups (a total of nine species identified). PD patients presented less diversity and less prevalence of multispecies Staphylococcus colonization. Although all patients presenting Staphylococcus epidermidis PD-related infections were also colonized in the oral cavity by the same agent, only 1 out of 7 patients with ESI caused by S. aureus presented S. aureus oral colonization. Staphylococci are highly prevalent in the oral cavity of both groups, although PD patients presented less species diversity. The association between oral Staphylococcus carriage and PD-related infections was present for S. epidermidis but was almost inexistent for S. aureus, so, further studies are still necessary to evaluate the infectious potential of oral Staphylococcus carriage in PD.The authors thank the nurse Maria João Sousa, Department of Nephrology, São João Hospital Center, EPE, for helping in sample collection and Joana Sousa from the Faculty of Dental Medicine for helping with the oral evaluation. Liliana Simões-Silva was supported by SFRH/BD/84837/2012 and Isabel Soares-Silva was supported by SFRH/BPD/101016/2014 from FCT/QREN-POPH/FSE. +is work was financed by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) funds through the COMPETE 2020-Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020; by Portuguese funds through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT)/Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação, in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029777); by the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000012, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF); and by IJUP Projects, University of Porto

Characterization of the oral fungal microbiota in smokers and non-smokers

This study aimed to assess the effect of smoking on the biodiversity of the oral fungal microbiota of healthy young subjects, using an improved culture method that assesses both total and pathogenic viable fungi. Forty individuals (20 smokers and 20 non‐smokers) were selected. All individuals presented fungal growth (100% for molds and 92.5% for yeasts), a prevalence higher than previously reported. The most commonly occurring molds were Penicillium sp., Aspergillus sp., and Cladosporium sp. Smokers presented significantly higher levels of yeasts and pathogenic molds than did non‐smokers. No differences in fungal prevalence and diversity were observed in smokers and non‐smokers following a 30‐wk observation period. In conclusion, tobacco smoking may alter the oral mycobiota and facilitate colonization of the oral cavity with yeasts and pathogenic molds. The effect of chronic fungal colonization on the oral health of tobacco smokers cannot be neglected

Raoultella ornithinolytica: an opportunistic pathogen in the oral cavity of chronic kidney disease patients

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