Clinical Evidence of the Efficacy of a Mouthwash Containing Propolis for the Control of Plaque and Gingivitis: A Phase II Study

The aim of this study was to evidence the clinical efficacy of an alcohol-free mouthwash containing 5.0% (W/V) Brazilian green propolis (MGP 5%) for the control of plaque and gingivitis. Twenty five subjects, men and women aging between 18 and 60 years old (35 ± 9), were included in a clinical trials phase II study who had a minimum of 20 sound natural teeth, a mean plaque index of at least 1.5 (PI), and a mean gingival index of at least 1.0 (GI). They were instructed to rinse with 10 mL of mouthwash test for 1 minute, immediately after brushing in the morning and at night. After 45 and 90 days using mouthwash, the results showed a significant reduction in plaque and in gingival index when compared to samples obtained in baseline. These reductions were at 24% and 40%, respectively (P < .5). There were no important side effects in soft and hard tissues of the mouth. In this study, the MGP 5% showed evidence of its efficacy in reducing PI and GI. However, it is necessary to perform a clinical trial, double-blind, randomized to validate such effectiveness

Medication-Related Osteonecrosis of the Jaw and Low-Level Laser Therapy as Adjuvant Treatment: A Case Report

Introduction: Medication-related osteonecrosis of the jaw (MRONJ) occurs by the use of a drug that has osteonecrosis as one of its side effects.Case Report: We describe a case of a 48-year-old oncological patient who had brain and bone metastasis due to breast cancer and was medicated with bisphosphonates (BPs). She presented cavities, and after an incorrect exodontia, the lesion evolved into jaw osteonecrosis. Then she did a sequestrectomy and was treated using laser therapy. Radiological and clinical features are also described.Conclusion: In a case like this, we notice how necessary is a complete evaluation of the oncological patient before some procedures and laser therapy as an effective ally in the management

Clinical Evidence of the Efficacy of a Mouthwash Containing Propolis for the Control of Plaque and Gingivitis: A Phase II Study

The aim of this study was to evidence the clinical efficacy of an alcohol-free mouthwash containing 5.0% (W/V) Brazilian green propolis (MGP 5%) for the control of plaque and gingivitis. Twenty five subjects, men and women aging between 18 and 60 years old (35 ± 9), were included in a clinical trials phase II study who had a minimum of 20 sound natural teeth, a mean plaque index of at least 1.5 (PI), and a mean gingival index of at least 1.0 (GI). They were instructed to rinse with 10 mL of mouthwash test for 1 minute, immediately after brushing in the morning and at night. After 45 and 90 days using mouthwash, the results showed a significant reduction in plaque and in gingival index when compared to samples obtained in baseline. These reductions were at 24% and 40%, respectively (P &lt; .5). There were no important side effects in soft and hard tissues of the mouth. In this study, the MGP 5% showed evidence of its efficacy in reducing PI and GI. However, it is necessary to perform a clinical trial, double-blind, randomized to validate such effectiveness

POTENCIAL TERAPÊUTICO DE CÉLULAS-TRONCO NA REGENERAÇÃO DE TECIDOS OCULARES

Degenerative eye diseases represent a significant challenge to global visual health, impacting on the quality of life of those affected. This summary reviews scientific evidence exploring the therapeutic potential of stem cells in the regeneration of ocular tissues. To carry out the integrative review on the therapeutic potential of stem cells in the regeneration of ocular tissues, a systematic search was conducted in scientific databases, including PubMed, Scopus and Scielo. The inclusion criteria were studies published between 2014 and 2024, addressing relevant advances in the field. The descriptors used included induced pluripotent stem cells, stem cell transplantation, cell differentiation, visual acuity, regenerative medicine. The initial selection resulted in a list of potential articles, which were assessed for their relevance to the proposed topic. In this way, we sought to cover a wide range of therapeutic approaches, from bioengineering to the clinical application of stem cells in ophthalmology. The studies addressed various therapeutic fronts, from the creation of bioengineered retinal pigment epithelium monolayers for dry macular degeneration to the characterization and transplantation of photoreceptors isolated from retinal organoids. Mandai et al. (2017) brought promising prospects by using autologous induced stem cells for macular degeneration, while Garber (2015) highlighted ethical challenges in conducting clinical trials. Ben M'Barek et al. (2016) proposed a stem cell-based therapy for retinal diseases, and Gagliardi et al. (2018) presented the characterization of CD73-positive photoreceptors. Safety was addressed by Satarian et al. (2017) in a study of intravitreal injection of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells. Song et al. (2015) provided preliminary results on the treatment of macular degeneration with retinal pigment epithelium cells derived from embryonic stem cells. The results highlight promising advances in ocular stem cell therapy, indicating potential for ocular tissue regeneration. However, ethical and practical challenges must be considered during the clinical translation of these innovative therapies. This summary provides a comprehensive overview of the current state of research in this dynamic field, emphasizing the continued importance of these studies for advancing therapeutic options in ophthalmology.Doenças oculares degenerativas representam um desafio significativo para a saúde visual global, impactando a qualidade de vida dos afetados. Este resumo revisita evidências científicas que exploram o potencial terapêutico das células-tronco na regeneração de tecidos oculares. Para realizar a revisão integrativa sobre o potencial terapêutico de células-tronco na regeneração de tecidos oculares, foi conduzida uma busca sistemática em bases de dados científicas, incluindo PubMed, Scopus e Scielo. Os critérios de inclusão foram estudos publicados entre 2014 e 2024, abordando avanços relevantes no campo. Os descritores utilizados incluíram células-tronco pluripotentes induzidas, transplante de células-tronco, diferenciação celular, acuidade visual, medicina regenerativa. A seleção inicial resultou em uma lista de potenciais artigos, que foram avaliados quanto à relevância para o tema proposto. Dessa forma, buscou-se abranger uma ampla gama de abordagens terapêuticas, desde bioengenharia até a aplicação clínica de células-tronco na oftalmologia. Os estudos abordaram diversas frentes terapêuticas, desde a criação de monocamadas de epitélio pigmentar da retina bioengenheiradas para a degeneração macular seca até a caracterização e transplante de fotorreceptores isolados de organoides de retina. Mandai et al. (2017) trouxe perspectivas promissoras ao utilizar células-tronco induzidas autólogas para degeneração macular, enquanto Garber (2015) destacou desafios éticos na condução de ensaios clínicos. Ben M'Barek et al. (2016) propôs uma terapia baseada em células-tronco para doenças retinianas, e Gagliardi et al. (2018) apresentou a caracterização de fotorreceptores positivos para CD73. A segurança foi abordada por Satarian et al. (2017) em um estudo de injeção intravítrea de células-tronco mesenquimais da medula óssea. Song et al. (2015) forneceu resultados preliminares sobre o tratamento da degeneração macular com células de epitélio pigmentar da retina derivadas de células-tronco embrionárias. Os resultados destacam avanços promissores na terapia com células-tronco ocular, indicando potencial para a regeneração de tecidos oculares. Contudo, desafios éticos e práticos devem ser considerados durante a tradução clínica dessas terapias inovadoras. Este resumo oferece uma visão abrangente do estado atual da pesquisa nesse campo dinâmico, enfatizando a importância contínua desses estudos para o avanço das opções terapêuticas em oftalmologia. &nbsp; &nbsp

Dectin-2 is a Syk-coupled pattern recognition receptor crucial for Th17 responses to fungal infection

Innate immune cells detect pathogens via pattern recognition receptors (PRRs), which signal for initiation of immune responses to infection. Studies with Dectin-1, a PRR for fungi, have defined a novel innate signaling pathway involving Syk kinase and the adaptor CARD9, which is critical for inducing Th17 responses to fungal infection. We show that another C-type lectin, Dectin-2, also signals via Syk and CARD9, and contributes to dendritic cell (DC) activation by fungal particles. Unlike Dectin-1, Dectin-2 couples to Syk indirectly, through association with the FcRγ chain. In a model of Candida albicans infection, blockade of Dectin-2 did not affect innate immune resistance but abrogated Candida-specific T cell production of IL-17 and, in combination with the absence of Dectin-1, decreased Th1 responses to the organism. Thus, Dectin-2 constitutes a major fungal PRR that can couple to the Syk–CARD9 innate signaling pathway to activate DCs and regulate adaptive immune responses to fungal infection

Análise da eficácia do uso terapêutico da trimetazidina nas principais síndromes coronarianas agudas

A injúria de reperfusão, ou isquemia, é um mecanismo fisiopatológico que ocorre nas etiopatogenias do miocárdio, como na angina instável. Assim, são utilizados fármacos adjuvantes citoprotetores, como a trimetazidina (TMZ), que visam à diminuição do tempo de hospitalização e melhora na função cardíaca com ação profilática contra essa lesão. No entanto, apesar dos seus potenciais benefícios no tratamento da síndrome coronariana aguda, ainda não está clara a sua eficácia em relação a outras terapias disponíveis. Nesse sentido, o objetivo do estudo é analisar a eficácia do uso terapêutico da trimetazidina nas principais síndromes coronarianas agudas. Foi realizada uma revisão sistemática usando as bases de dados PubMed, Cochrane Library e Embase. Um total de 3 estudos foi incluído na análise. Os resultados mostraram que a terapia com trimetazidina reduziu significativamente a incidência de eventos cardíacos adversos maiores (ECAM) (OR = 0,33, IC 95% 0,15-0,75, p = 0,007), menor dano miocárdico (p &lt; 0,05) e fração de ejeção ventricular esquerda mais elevada e menos eventos adversos em comparação com o grupo placebo (p &lt; 0,05). Não foram observadas diferenças significativas entre os grupos de trimetazidina e controle em termos de mortalidade por todas as causas, mortalidade cardiovascular ou incidência de eventos adversos. Os resultados deste estudo sugerem que a terapia adjuvante com trimetazidina pode melhorar os resultados clínicos e a função cardíaca em pacientes com IAM sem aumentar o risco de eventos adversos. No entanto, são necessários mais ensaios clínicos randomizados em larga escala para confirmar esses resultados e determinar a duração e dose ideais da terapia com trimetazidina nessa população de pacientes

Zika Virus: What Have We Learnt Since the Start of the Recent Epidemic?

Zika is a viral disease transmitted mainly by mosquitoes of the genus Aedes. In recent years, it has expanded geographically, changing from an endemic mosquito-borne disease across equatorial Asia and Africa, to an epidemic disease causing large outbreaks in several areas of the world. With the recent Zika virus (ZIKV) outbreaks in the Americas, the disease has become a focus of attention of public health agencies and of the international research community, especially due to an association with neurological disorders in adults and to the severe neurological and ophthalmological abnormalities found in fetuses and newborns of mothers exposed to ZIKV during pregnancy. A large number of studies have been published in the last 3 years, revealing the structure of the virus, how it is transmitted and how it affects human cells. Many different animal models have been developed, which recapitulate several features of ZIKV disease and its neurological consequences. Moreover, several vaccine candidates are now in active preclinical development, and three of them have already entered phase I clinical trials. Likewise, many different compounds targeting viral and cellular components are being tested in in vitro and in experimental animal models. This review aims to discuss the current state of this rapidly growing literature from a multidisciplinary perspective, as well as to present an overview of the public health response to Zika and of the perspectives for the prevention and treatment of this disease

Measurement of the ratios of branching fractions R(D∗)\mathcal{R}(D^{*}) and R(D0)\mathcal{R}(D^{0})

The ratios of branching fractions $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})\equiv\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(\bar{B}\to D^{*}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})\equiv\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\tau^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\tau})/\mathcal{B}(B^{-}\to D^{0}\mu^{-}\bar{\nu}_{\mu})$ are measured, assuming isospin symmetry, using a sample of proton-proton collision data corresponding to 3.0 fb${ }^{-1}$ of integrated luminosity recorded by the LHCb experiment during 2011 and 2012. The tau lepton is identified in the decay mode $\tau^{-}\to\mu^{-}\nu_{\tau}\bar{\nu}_{\mu}$. The measured values are $\mathcal{R}(D^{*})=0.281\pm0.018\pm0.024$ and $\mathcal{R}(D^{0})=0.441\pm0.060\pm0.066$, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The correlation between these measurements is $\rho=-0.43$. Results are consistent with the current average of these quantities and are at a combined 1.9 standard deviations from the predictions based on lepton flavor universality in the Standard Model.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-039.html (LHCb public pages

Multidifferential study of identified charged hadron distributions in ZZ-tagged jets in proton-proton collisions at s=\sqrt{s}=13 TeV

Jet fragmentation functions are measured for the first time in proton-proton collisions for charged pions, kaons, and protons within jets recoiling against a $Z$ boson. The charged-hadron distributions are studied longitudinally and transversely to the jet direction for jets with transverse momentum 20 $< p_{\textrm{T}} < 100$ GeV and in the pseudorapidity range $2.5 < \eta < 4$. The data sample was collected with the LHCb experiment at a center-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 1.64 fb$^{-1}$. Triple differential distributions as a function of the hadron longitudinal momentum fraction, hadron transverse momentum, and jet transverse momentum are also measured for the first time. This helps constrain transverse-momentum-dependent fragmentation functions. Differences in the shapes and magnitudes of the measured distributions for the different hadron species provide insights into the hadronization process for jets predominantly initiated by light quarks.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-013.html (LHCb public pages

Study of the B−→Λc+Λˉc−K−B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-} decay

The decay $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ is studied in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5 $\mathrm{fb}^{-1}$ collected by the LHCb experiment. In the $\Lambda_{c}^+ K^{-}$ system, the $\Xi_{c}(2930)^{0}$ state observed at the BaBar and Belle experiments is resolved into two narrower states, $\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}$ and $\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}$, whose masses and widths are measured to be $$m(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = 2924.5 \pm 0.4 \pm 1.1 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ m(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = 2938.5 \pm 0.9 \pm 2.3 \,\mathrm{MeV}, \\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2923)^{0}) = \phantom{000}4.8 \pm 0.9 \pm 1.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},\\ \Gamma(\Xi_{c}(2939)^{0}) = \phantom{00}11.0 \pm 1.9 \pm 7.5 \,\mathrm{MeV},$$ where the first uncertainties are statistical and the second systematic. The results are consistent with a previous LHCb measurement using a prompt $\Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ sample. Evidence of a new $\Xi_{c}(2880)^{0}$ state is found with a local significance of $3.8\,\sigma$, whose mass and width are measured to be $2881.8 \pm 3.1 \pm 8.5\,\mathrm{MeV}$ and $12.4 \pm 5.3 \pm 5.8 \,\mathrm{MeV}$, respectively. In addition, evidence of a new decay mode $\Xi_{c}(2790)^{0} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} K^{-}$ is found with a significance of $3.7\,\sigma$. The relative branching fraction of $B^{-} \to \Lambda_{c}^{+} \bar{\Lambda}_{c}^{-} K^{-}$ with respect to the $B^{-} \to D^{+} D^{-} K^{-}$ decay is measured to be $2.36 \pm 0.11 \pm 0.22 \pm 0.25$, where the first uncertainty is statistical, the second systematic and the third originates from the branching fractions of charm hadron decays.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2022-028.html (LHCb public pages