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Currently, concern about facial attractiveness is increasing, and this fact has led to orthodontics in adult patients being an increasingly demanded treatment, and with it, multi-disciplinary work. When it is caused by a vertical excess of the maxilla, the ideal solution is orthognathic surgery. However, in borderline cases and when the cause is hyperactivity of the upper lip levator muscle complex, alternative conservative solutions can be considered, such as the application of botulinum toxin A (BTX-A). Botulinum toxin is a protein produced by a bacterium and causes a reduction in the force of muscle contraction. The multi-factorial nature of the smile requires an individualized diagnosis in each patient, since there are multiple ways to treat the gummy smile (orthognathic surgery, gingivoplasty, orthodontic intrusion). In recent years, interest has grown in the simplest techniques that allow the patient to quickly return to their usual routine, such as lip replacement. However, this procedure shows recurrences in the first 6–8 post-operative weeks. The main objective of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to analyze the effectiveness of BTX-A in the treatment of gummy smile in the short term, to study its stability, and to evaluate potential complications. A thorough search of the PubMed, Scopus, Embase, Web of Science, and Cochrane databases and a grey literature search were conducted. The inclusion criteria were studies with a sample size greater than or equal to 10 patients with gingival exposure greater than 2 mm in smile, treated with BTX-A infiltration. Those patients whose exclusive etiology of their gummy smile was related to altered passive eruption, gingival thickening, or overeruption of upper incisors were excluded. In the qualitative analysis, the mean pre-treatment gingival exposure ranged between 3.5 and 7.2 mm, reaching a reduction of up to 6 mm after infiltration with botulinum toxin at 12 weeks. Although multiple muscles are involved in the facial expression, the muscles par excellence selected for blockade with BTX-A were levator labii superioris, levator labii superioris ala nasalis, and zygomaticus minor, infiltrating from 1.25 to 7.5 units per side. In the quantitative analysis, the difference in mean reduction between both groups was −2.51 mm at two weeks and −2.24 mm at three months. The benefit of BTX-A in terms of improvement of gummy smile is demonstrated, as a significant reduction in gummy smile is estimated by BTX-A therapy two weeks after its application. Its results gradually decrease over time, however, they stay satisfactory without returning to their initial values after 12 weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let P be a minimal parabolic subgroup of a real reductive Lie group G and H a closed subgroup of G. Then it is proved by Kobayashi and Oshima that the regular representation C ∞ (G / H) contains each irreducible representation of G at most finitely many times if the number of H -orbits on G / P is finite. Moreover, they also proved that the multiplicities are uniformly bounded if the number of H ℂ -orbits on G ℂ / B is finite, where G ℂ , H ℂ are complexifications of G , H , respectively, and B is a Borel subgroup of G ℂ . In this paper, we prove that the multiplicities of the representations of G induced from a parabolic subgroup Q in the regular representation on G / H are uniformly bounded if the number of H ℂ -orbits on G ℂ / Q ℂ is finite. For the proof of this claim, we also show the uniform boundedness of the dimensions of the spaces of group invariant hyperfunctions using the theory of holonomic X -modules. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical theory maintains that ageing evolves via energy trade‐offs between reproduction and survival leading to accumulation of unrepaired cellular damage with age. In contrast, the emerging new theory postulates that ageing evolves because of deleterious late‐life hyper‐function of reproduction‐promoting genes leading to excessive biosynthesis in late‐life. The hyper‐function theory uniquely predicts that optimizing nutrient‐sensing molecular signaling in adulthood can simultaneously postpone ageing and increase Darwinian fitness. Here, we show that reducing evolutionarily conserved insulin/IGF‐1 nutrient‐sensing signaling via daf‐2 RNA interference (RNAi) fulfils this prediction in Caenorhabditis elegans nematodes. Long‐lived daf‐2 RNAi parents showed normal fecundity as self‐fertilizing hermaphrodites and improved late‐life reproduction when mated to males. Remarkably, the offspring of daf‐2 RNAi parents had higher Darwinian fitness across three different genotypes. Thus, reduced nutrient‐sensing signaling in adulthood improves both parental longevity and offspring fitness supporting the emerging view that suboptimal gene expression in late‐life lies at the heart of ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients harboring adrenal tumors are characterized by higher prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) components and a higher incidence of cardiovascular complications, especially in cases of subclinical or overt hormonal hypersecretion. Early detection and referral of those patients in tertiary centers could prevent unfavorable outcomes. In this cross-sectional, retrospective study, we evaluated 111 consecutive patients with adrenal incidentalomas and 14 patients with known hypersecretory adrenal lesions (autonomous cortisol secretion, primary aldosteronism, and pheochromocytoma), who were investigated in our clinic. Based on the different distribution of MetS components in patients with non-functional and functional adrenal lesions we introduced a predictive model of hormonal hypersecretion using those components. We performed multivariate discriminant analysis and compared predictive results with conventional multiple logistic regression analysis. Diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, impaired fasting glucose, hypertension, body mass index, HDL-cholesterol levels, triglyceride levels, drug treatment for lipid disorder (statins, fenofibrate, and fish oils, alone or in combination), and maximal adrenal lesion diameter were used as discriminating covariates. Multivariate discriminant function exhibited a sensitivity of 77.27 % and specificity of 73.08 % in predicting adrenal hormonal hypersecretion. Receiver operating characteristic curve of discriminant predictive function had an area under the curve value of 0.785, S.E. 0.04. Logistic function delivered comparable results. MetS components exhibit a good predictive feature of hormonal hypersecretion in patients with adrenal tumors. Predictive functions may help in the search for an easy and generally available algorithm to validly predict the functional activity of adrenal masses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let D'L∞(R2n) and A'L∞(R2n) be the spaces of bounded distributions and bounded hyperfunctions respectively. In this paper we consider the Ulam's stability of the sine-cosine functional equation u ...T - u ⊗ v + v ⊗ u ∈ D'L∞(R2n) [resp. A'L∞(R2n)], where u, v are Gelfand hyperfunctions, T : R2n → Rn such that T(x, y) = x - y for all x, y ∈ Rn, and ... ⊗ denote pullback and tensor product of generalized functions respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose an application of hyperfunction theory to numerical integration. Hyperfunction theory is a generalized version of function theory where functions with singularities such as poles, discontinuities and delta impulses are expressed in terms of complex analytic functions. This feature of hyperfunction theory allows us to construct a numerical integration method for analytic functions. Theoretical error estimates show that our method converges geometrically, and numerical examples show that our method is very efficient especially for integrals with strong end-point singularities. In addition, we present an automatic integration method based on our hyperfunction method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Let $G$ be a commutative group and $\mathbb{C}$ the field of complex numbers, $\mathbb{R}^{+}$ the set of positive real numbers and $f,g,h,k:G\times \mathbb{R}^{+}\rightarrow \mathbb{C}$. In this paper, we first consider the Levi-Civitá functional inequality $$\begin{eqnarray}\displaystyle f(x+y,t+s)-g(x,t)h(y,s)-k(y,s)\leq {\rm\Phi}(t,s),\quad x,y\in G,t,s>0, & & \displaystyle \nonumber\end{eqnarray}$$ where ${\rm\Phi}:\mathbb{R}^{+}\times \mathbb{R}^{+}\rightarrow \mathbb{R}^{+}$ is a symmetric decreasing function in the sense that ${\rm\Phi}(t_{2},s_{2})\leq {\rm\Phi}(t_{1},s_{1})$ for all $0

Botox has been primarily used in cosmetic treatment for lines and wrinkles on the face, but the botulinum toxin that Botox is derived from has a long history of medically therapeutic uses. For nearly 13 years, until the introduction of Botox Cosmetic in 2002, the only FDAapproved uses of Botox were for crossed eyes (strabismus) and abnormal muscle spasms of the eyelids (blepharospasm). Since then botulinum A, and the seven other forms of the botulinum toxin, have been continuously researched and tested. Botox is a neurotoxin derived from bacterium clostridium botulinm. The toxin inhibits the release of acetylcholine (ACH), a neurotransmitter responsible for the activation of muscle contraction and glandular secretion, and its administration results in reduction of tone in the injected muscle. The use of Botox is a minimally invasive procedure and is showing quite promising results in management of muscle-generated dental diseases like Temporomandibular disorders, bruxism, clenching, masseter hypertrophy and used to treat functional or esthetic dental conditions like deep nasolabial folds, radial lip lines, high lip line and black triangles between teeth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We find upper and lower bounds of the multiplicities of irreducible admissible representations π of a semisimple Lie group G occurring in the induced representations from irreducible representations τ of a closed subgroup H. As corollaries, we establish geometric criteria for finiteness of the dimension of (induction) and of (restriction) by means of the real flag variety , and discover that uniform boundedness property of these multiplicities is independent of real forms and characterized by means of the complex flag variety. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: The present study aimed to vocally assess a group of rock singers who use growl voice and reinforced falsetto. Method: A group of 21 rock singers and a control group of 18 pop singers were included. Singing and speaking voice was assessed through acoustic, perceptual, functional and laryngoscopic analysis. Results: No significant differences were observed between groups in most of the analyses. Acoustic and perceptual analysis of the experimental group demonstrated normality of speaking voice. Endoscopic evaluation showed that most rock singers presented during singing voice a high vertical laryngeal position, pharyngeal compression and laryngeal supraglottic compression. Supraglottic activity during speaking voice tasks was also observed. However, overall vocal fold integrity was demonstrated in most of the participants. Slightly abnormal observations were demonstrated in few of them. Singing voice handicap index revealed that the most affected variable was the physical sphere, followed by the social and emotional spheres. Conclusions: Although growl voice and reinforced falsetto represent laryngeal and pharyngeal hyperfunctional activity, they did not seem to contribute to the presence of any major vocal fold disorder in our subjects. Nevertheless, we cannot rule out the possibility that more evident vocal fold disorders could be found in singers who use these techniques more often and during a longer period of time. © 2014 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of senescence (aging) is predominantly determined by the action of wild-type genes. For most organisms, this does not reflect any adaptive function that senescence serves, but rather evolutionary effects of declining selection against genes with deleterious effects later in life. To understand aging requires an account of how evolutionary mechanisms give rise to pathogenic gene action and late-life disease, that integrates evolutionary (ultimate) and mechanistic (proximate) causes into a single explanation. A well-supported evolutionary explanation by G.C. Williams argues that senescence can evolve due to pleiotropic effects of alleles with antagonistic effects on fitness and late-life health (antagonistic pleiotropy, AP). What has remained unclear is how gene action gives rise to late-life disease pathophysiology. One ultimate-proximate account is T.B.L. Kirkwood's disposable soma theory. Based on the hypothesis that stochastic molecular damage causes senescence, this reasons that aging is coupled to reproductive fitness due to preferential investment of resources into reproduction, rather than somatic maintenance. An alternative and more recent ultimate-proximate theory argues that aging is largely caused by programmatic, developmental-type mechanisms. Here ideas about AP and programmatic aging are reviewed, particularly those of M.V. Blagosklonny (the hyperfunction theory) and J.P. de Magalhães (the developmental theory), and their capacity to make sense of diverse experimental findings is assessed. • Evolutionary (ultimate) and mechanistic (proximate) factors together cause aging. • The disposable soma theory is one integrated ultimate/proximate account of aging. • Recently new ultimate/proximate theories of aging have emerged. • They view programmatic mechanisms as more important to aging than damage. • Here the hyperfunction, developmental and ontogenetic theories are reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discovering the biological basis of aging is one of the greatest remaining challenges for science. Work on the biology of aging has discovered a range of interventions and pathways that control aging rate. A picture is emerging of a signaling network that is sensitive to nutritional status and that controls growth, stress resistance, and aging. This network includes the insulin/IGF-1 and target of rapamycin (TOR) pathways and likely mediates the effects of dietary restriction on aging. Yet the biological processes upon which these pathways act to control life span remain unclear. A long-standing guiding assumption about aging is that it is caused by wear and tear, particularly dam-age at the molecular level. One view is that reactive oxygen species (ROS), including free radicals, generated as by-products of cellular metabolism, are a major contributor to this damage. Yet many recent tests of the oxidative damage theory have come up negative. Such tests have opened an exciting new phase in biogerontology in which fundamental assumptions about aging are being reexamined and revolutionary concepts are emerging. Among these concepts is the hyperfunction theory, which postulates that processes contributing to growth and reproduction run on in later life, leading to hypertrophic and hyperplastic pathologies. Here we reexamine central concepts about the nature of aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Context: While clinical successes and descriptions have been reported in a few texts, no data exist to define the utility of flow phonation to improve voice quality in patients with laryngeal hyperfunction. Aims: To provide pilot data regarding the utility of three exercises (gargling, cup bubble blowing, and stretch-and-flow) to improve phonatory airflow during voicing in patients with laryngeal hyperfunction. Settings and Design: Outpatient Voice and Swallowing Center in a University Medical Center. Materials and Methods: Participants received five treatment sessions and were evaluated prior to treatment and after each session using a Phonatory Aerodynamic System to measure airflow during voicing tasks. Noise-to-harmonic ratio and perceptual voice measures were also obtained, as was self-perception of voice handicap. Statistical Analysis Used: Repeated All increased airflow and decreased laryngeal airway resistance over five sessions. Measures Analysis of Variance. Results: Six participants completed the protocol. All participants decreased self-perception of voice handicap and improved on noise-to-harmonic ratio and perceptual ratings of vocal quality. Conclusions: Data derived on a small sample of patients in an exploratory investigation suggest further research into the use of these three exercises to improve airflow with voicing and improve vocal quality in patients with laryngeal hyperfunction is warranted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New C. elegans studies imply that lipases and lipid desaturases can mediate signaling effects on aging. But why might fat homeostasis be critical to aging? Could problems with fat handling compromise health in nematodes as they do in mammals? The study of signaling pathways that control longevity could provide the key to one of the great unsolved mysteries of biology: the mechanism of aging. But as our view of the regulatory pathways that control aging grows ever clearer, the nature of aging itself has, if anything, grown more obscure. In particular, focused investigations of the oxidative damage theory have raised questions about an old assumption: that a fundamental cause of aging is accumulation of molecular damage. Could fat dyshomeostasis instead be critical? [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim was to investigate how female patients with vocal nodules use their voices when trying to make themselves heard over background noise. Ten patients with bilateral vocal fold nodules and 23 female controls were recorded reading a text in four conditions, one without noise and three with noise from cafés/pubs, played over loudspeakers at 69, 77 and 85 dBA. The noise was separated from the voice signal using a high-resolution channel estimation technique. Both patients and controls increased voice sound pressure level (SPL), fundamental frequency (F0), subglottal pressure (Ps) and their subjective ratings of strain significantly as a main effect of the increased background noise. The patients used significantly higher Ps in all four conditions. Despite this they did not differ significantly from the controls in voice SPL, F0 or perceived strain. It was concluded that speaking in background noise is a risk factor for vocal loading. Vocal loading tests in clinical settings are important and further development of assessment methods is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A few clinical investigations of children's voices have suggested a relation between voice deviation and oral motor and sensory dysfunction. This motivated the present retrospective study of the occurrence of voice disorders in a group of children with oral motor problems. A further aim was to evaluate the effect of an oral motor and articulatory treatment programme upon voice function in this patient group. Subjects were 38 children with oral motor deficits who had received and finished therapy at the clinic. The recordings of a picture naming task, before onset of therapy and at therapy ending, were selected. The voices were presented in random order on a test tape and perceptually evaluated by an expert panel of speech pathologists. Eleven perceptual parameters were selected, based on previous investigations of children's voices. Ten of these parameters were represented by a 100 mm visual analogue scale. Register was represented by a categorical scale with the options chest, falsetto, and child voice register. The results were compared with previous investigations of child voice function. Results indicated: 1) The occurrence of voice disorders in the present group of children with oral motor difficulties was somewhat lower than in children with normal articulation. 2) Oral motor treatment also influenced and improved the perceptual impression of voice quality in this group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we study microlocal regularity of hyperfunctions defining in this context a class of generalized FBI transforms first introduced for distributions by Berhanu and Hounie. Using a microlocal decomposition of a hyperfunction and the generalized FBI transforms we were able to characterize the wave-front set of hyperfunctions according to several types of regularity. The microlocal decomposition allowed us to recover and generalize both classical and recent results and, in particular, we proved for differential operators with real-analytic coefficients that if the elliptic regularity theorem regarding any reasonable regularity holds for distributions, then it is automatically true for hyperfunctions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose a numerical method for calculating Fourier transforms based on hyperfunction theory, a theory of generalized functions based on complex function theory. In the proposed method, we first obtain analytic functions giving the desired Fourier transform as a hyperfunction, and, then, we compute the Fourier transform by using continued fractions to determine the analytic continuation of these analytic functions onto the real axis. Using the proposed method, we can evaluate Fourier transforms that are difficult to evaluate using the conventional numerical integration rules. In addition, we can use the proposed method to evaluate Fourier transforms of hyperfunctions. Numerical examples show the efficiency of the presented method compared to previous methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnONPs) have been widely used in food storage containers and food additives in daily life. However, the impact of oral intake of ZnONPs on nervous system is extremely limited, especially on children and adolescents. In this study, four weeks old mice were treated with either vehicle or ZnONPs suspension solution at 26 mg/kg by intragastric administration for 30 days. Our results demonstrated that oral ZnONPs exposure could induce pathological changes in gut and abnormal excitement of enteric neurons. Interestingly, we found that ZnONPs caused enhancement of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) in gut by activation of its biosynthesis, transport and receptors, and subsequently resulting in increased level of 5-HT in brain via gut-brain communication by blood. Our data also showed that there were no apparent changes on the expressions of interleukin (Il)-6 , Il-1β , C–C motif chemokine ligand 2 (Ccl2), tumor necrosis factor (Tnf) in gut and zinc chelator Mt2 in gut and cortex. Meanwhile, no significant changes were observed on the expressions of tryptophan hydroxylase type 1, 5-HT receptor 3A (Htr3a) and Htr4 in hippocampus and cortex. Our study indicate that oral ZnONPs exposure causes hyperfunction of 5-HT in gut in young mice which may further spread to brain via gut-brain communication. • ZnONPs caused pathological changes and impaired endothelial tight junctions in gut. • ZnONPs caused abnormal excitement of enteric neurons and enhancement of 5-HT in gut. • ZnONPs caused activation of biosynthesis, transport and receptors of 5-HT in gut. • ZnONPs caused enhancement of 5-HT in brain via gut-brain communication by blood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]