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Choroidal osteoma is a rare, benign, osseous choristoma presenting as an orange-yellow, well-defined fundus mass. It presents unilaterally in most cases, has a predilection for the female sex, and favor a juxtapapillary location, becoming clinically manifest when it involves the macula. Almost 60% of eyes with osteoma may suffer significant visual loss. Choroidal osteomas can easily be mistaken for other conditions with similar presentations. We herein report two rare cases presentation of choroidal osteoma: a 74-year-old male with 2-year blurred vision in the right eye (RE) initially misdiagnosed with age-related macular degeneration received intravitreal injections and after a multimodal evaluation, following cataract surgery in RE, confirmed to be choroidal osteoma and a 19-year-old female with a history of choroidal hemangioma presented with blurred vision in her left eye (LE), with examination revealed an irregular orange-yellow lesion along the superotemporal arcade with serous macular detachment, later diagnosed as choroidal osteoma., Competing Interests: The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article., (© 2024 Machado et al.)

The aim is to identify cultural, social and health impacts caused by intimate partner violence (IPV) in homoaffective (MOH) and biaffective (MOB) women. This is an integrative literature review that sought and analyzed studies indexed in the PubMed and Lilacs databases, considering the following languages. The study sought to answer the following research question: "What impacts does IPV bring to MOB and MOH?". Forty two studies were found and after applying the exclusion criteria, 19 went into the final sample. Data were analyzed using the content analysis methodology, Bardin's thematic analysis modality (2009). The full analysis of the articles revealed two categories: 1) Intimate partner violence and sociocultural impacts; and 2) Intimate partner violence and health impacts. The experience of situations of violence in intimate partnerships between homo and/or biaffective women affect their sociocultural and health dimensions, since they are under the bias of double vulnerability: women in homo/biaffective relationships. There is also an invisibility of the phenomenon in health services, since professionals are not trained to address the different sexual orientations among women and even less the situations of violence resulting from these relationships.

The iconic caged shape of fullerenes gives rise to a series of unique chemical and physical properties; hence a deeper understanding of the attractive and repulsive forces between two buckyballs can bring detrimental information about the structural stability of such complexes, providing significant data applicable for several studies. The potential energy curves for the interaction of multiple van der Waals buckyball complexes with increasing mass were theoretically obtained within the DFT framework at ωB97xD/6-31G(d) compound model. These potential energy curves were employed to estimate the spectroscopic constants and the lifetime of the fullerene complexes with the Discrete Variable Representation and with the Dunham approaches. It was revealed that both methods are compatible in determining the rovibrational structure of the dimers and that they are genuinely stable, i.e., long-lived complexes. To further inquire into the nature of such interaction, Bader's QTAIM approach was applied. QTAIM descriptors indicate that the interactions of these closed-shell systems are dominated by weak van der Waals forces. This non-covalent interaction character was confirmed by the RDG analysis scheme. Indirectly, QTAIM also allowed us to confirm the stability of the non-covalent bonded fullerene dimers. Our lifetime calculations have shown that the studied dimers are stable for more than 1 ps, which increases accordingly with the number of carbon atoms.

The Neotropical region hosts 4225 freshwater fish species, ranking first among the world's most diverse regions for freshwater fishes. Our NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set is the first to produce a large-scale Neotropical freshwater fish inventory, covering the entire Neotropical region from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north to the southern limits in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. We compiled 185,787 distribution records, with unique georeferenced coordinates, for the 4225 species, represented by occurrence and abundance data. The number of species for the most numerous orders are as follows: Characiformes (1289), Siluriformes (1384), Cichliformes (354), Cyprinodontiformes (245), and Gymnotiformes (135). The most recorded species was the characid Astyanax fasciatus (4696 records). We registered 116,802 distribution records for native species, compared to 1802 distribution records for nonnative species. The main aim of the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set was to make these occurrence and abundance data accessible for international researchers to develop ecological and macroecological studies, from local to regional scales, with focal fish species, families, or orders. We anticipate that the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set will be valuable for studies on a wide range of ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, fishery pressure, the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation, and the impacts of species invasion and climate change. There are no copyright restrictions on the data, and please cite this data paper when using the data in publications., (© 2022 The Ecological Society of America.)

The global increase in drug consumption exposes the growing need to develop new systems for the detection, capture, and treatment of bioactive molecules. Carbamazepine is one instance of such contaminants at the top of the ranking commonly found in sewage treatment systems. This work, therefore, presents a theoretical study of fullerene C 60 and its derivatives with substitutional doping with B, Al, Ga, Si, Ge, N and P, for the detection and capture of carbamazepine is aqueous medium. Solvation effects were included by means of the Polarizable Continuum Solvent method. The results indicate that doped fullerenes are sensitive for the detection of carbamazepine both in gaseous and aquatic environments. Investigation on the intermolecular interactions between the drug and the fullerene molecule were carried out, allowing the characterization of the interactions responsible for stabilizing the adsorption of carbamazepine to the fullerenes. The theoretical survey revealed that fullerenes doped with Al, Ga, Si and Ge chemically adsorb carbamazepine whereas for the case of fullerenes doped with other heteroatoms physisorption is responsible for the molecular recognition. Relying on DFT calculations, the fullerene derivatives C 59 Al, C 59 Si and C 59 Ga are the most suitable to act both as a sensor and to uptake carbamazepine in aquatic environments., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

In this work, a theoretical investigation of the effects caused by the doping of C 20 with silicon (Si) atom as well as the adsorption of CO, CO 2 and N 2 gases to C 20 and C 19 Si fullerenes was carried out. In concordance with previous studies, it was found that the choice of the doping site can control the structural, electronic, and energetic characteristics of the C 19 Si system. The ability of C 20 and C 19 Si to adsorb CO, CO 2 and N 2 gas molecules was evaluated. In order to modulate the process of adsorption of these chemical species to C 19 Si, an externally oriented electric field was included in the theoretical calculations. It was observed that C 19 Si is highly selective with respect to CO adsorption. Upon the increase of the electric field intensity the adsorption energy was magnified correspondingly and that the interaction between CO and C 19 Si changes in nature from a physical adsorption to a partial covalent character interaction.

The occurrence of the species of the genus Brycon (Characiformes: Bryconidae) in Esprito Santo State is herein reviewed. Brycon opalinus, a species formerly known only from the upper rio Paraba do Sul and upper rio Doce basins, is recorded for the first time in the rio Itapemirim, an independent coastal basin in southern Esprito Santo State, Brazil. With the records of B. opalinus, four Brycon species are now known from Esprito Santo State: B. insignis in the rio Itabapoana basin, on the boundary between Rio de Janeiro and Esprito Santo, B. opalinus in the rio Itapemirim basin, B. dulcis in the rio Doce basin, and B. ferox in the rio Barra Seca, rio Itanas and the rio So Mateus basins. Additionally worth highlighting is that several fisherman and local inhabitants report the occurrence Brycon vermelha in the rio Cotax, a tributary of the rio So Mateus in Esprito Santo and Minas Gerais states, although there are no preserved specimens of B. vermelha from river basins other than the rio Mucuri, in Minas Gerais state.

The scope of this article is to identify intersections between gender socialization and intimate partner violence against women. It involves qualitative research in the mold of the topical life story. The study included 16 women who filed a police report in a Police Station for the Defense of Women in a city in the interior of São Paulo. For the interviews a semi-structured script that examined women from their childhood memories, family dynamics, relationship/marriage and post-marriage/marriage family dynamics was used. The patriarchal system as a societal order underpinned the socialization of these women who, because of the father's domination relations (patriarchy) and guided by the mother's model of submission, sought freedom in marriage/early unions with partners who repeated paternal behavior. Such family contexts may have influenced them in choosing potential aggressors. The results revealed that gender socialization reinforces gender inequalities and influences the behavior of men and women, thus pointing out the importance of highlighting this problem in different areas, especially in primary health care services, as a way to prevent intimate partner violence against women.

The aim was to assess the association between the organizational quality of children's healthcare in primary care services and variables in the management context. An evaluative survey in 151 primary care services in 40 municipalities (counties) in the interior of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, answered the QualiAB in 2014. Services were scored according to 41 children's health indicators which comprised quality groups distributed by quartiles and were associated with 17 management indicators. The following were not associated with the quality groups: participation in the More Doctors Program/Provab-Médico (p = 0.102), availability of social services (p = 0.315), and high-risk pregnancy (p = 0.814). The association was significant for all the others. Although for some variables, groups G1 and G2 were similar to the more polar groups (G0 and G3), the latter showed differences in all the variables. The services belonging to the group considered as having the best quality (G3) were mostly organized in the Family Health Unit/Mixed model (p = 0.018), administered under outsourced management (p < 0.001), regularly supplied prenatal care (p < 0.001), had a general practitioner or family physician available on a 24/7 basis (p = 0.009), and had a support network consisting mainly of CAPSi and CAPSAd III and children's health services (p < 0.001). They also reported holding weekly team meetings (p < 0.001), studying cases of spontaneous demand (p < 0.001), and changing the management and organization of care based on the evaluative process (p = 0.004). In conclusion, organizational quality does not depend only on practices by health professionals, but also on administrators' decisions.

Violence is a challenge for health services in Brazil, especially within primary care. This study analyses national publications on violence and Primary Health Care. An integrative literature review was conducted resulting in a final sample of 18 articles. The most predominant theme was violence against women (nine articles), followed by violence against children and adolescents (four articles), and violence against the elderly (three articles). The population group that accounted for the least number of publications was men, with two articles. The studies show the invisibility of violence in primary healthcare services in Brazil and the need to reorganize the work process beyond a complaint-based approach towards a sociocultural approach based on intersectorality. Comprehensiveness and intersectorality are essential elements of an effective violence care network.

The study analyzes the differences among cases of violence against women registered in police reports (PR) at the Women's Protection Police Station (WPPS) during regular working hours, and those registered during after-hours, in a medium-sized city in the inland state of São Paulo, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study based on data from PRs registered for one year (2013/2014). PRs were differentiated by period of registration, at regular working hours and after-hours (dependent variable). A chi-square test was used to compare groups. In total, 440 PRs were registered, 373 during regular working hours, and 67 during after-hours. Cases of violence registered during after-hours evidenced more significant threats to women's integrity, as shown by the higher number of cases of perpetrators' flagrante delicto, requests for protective measures and greater severity of assaults, such as bruises, need for hospitalization and referral to forensic medicine (IML), which characterize the greater severity of occurrences when WPPS are closed. Thus, women lack a specialized reception service and a full guarantee of rights in periods of highest risk and vulnerability.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of comprehensive care for older adults in primary care services in the Brazilian Unified Health System in the state of São Paulo, Brazil., Methods: A total of 157 primary care services from five health regions in midwestern São Paulo responded, from October to December 2014, the pre-validated 2014 questionnaire for primary care services assessment and monitoring. We selected 155 questions, based on national policies and guidelines on this theme. The responses indicate the service performance in older adults' care, clustered into three areas of analysis: health care for active and healthy aging (45 indicators, d1), chronic noncommunicable diseases care (89 indicators, d2), and support network in aging care (21 indicators, d3). Performance was measured by the sum of positive (value 1) or negative (value 0) responses for each indicator. Services were clustered according to k-means of the performance scores of each domain. After weighting the domains (Z tests), we estimated the associations between the scores of each domain and independent management variables (typology, planning and evaluation of services), with simple and multiple linear regression., Results: Chronic noncommunicable diseases care (d2) showed, for all clusters, better average performance (55.7) than domains d1 (35.4) and d3 (39.2). Service performance in the general area of planning and evaluation associates with the performance of older adults' care., Conclusions: The evaluated services had incipient implementation of comprehensive care for older adults. The evaluation framework can contribute to processes to improve the quality of primary health care.

The alveolar surfactant, which composition consists of a unique and complex mixture of lipids and proteins, has immunomodulatory action. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of exogenous surfactant on pulmonary inflammatory response in mice exposed to cigarette smoke (CS). Twenty-four mice C57BL/6 were divided into four groups: control group exposed to ambient air (CG); surfactant treated group (SG); CS exposed group (CSG) and CS exposed group treated with surfactant (CSSG). For five days, CSG and CSSG were exposed to 12 commercial cigarettes/day and SG and CSSG received the surfactant by intranasal instillation. At the end of the experiment, the animals were euthanatized for the collection of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and lungs. The total number of leukocytes in BALF increased in CSG compared to CG, however, there was a decrease in CSSG compared to CSG. There was an increase in lipid peroxidation in SG and CSG compared to CG while there was a decrease in CSSG compared to CSG. Regarding the antioxidant enzymes, the catalase (CAT) activity increased in all groups compared to CG and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity decreased in CSG compared to the CG and SG. There was an increase in TNF in SG, CSG and CSSG compared to CG. There was an increase in IL-17 in CSSG compared to CG. There was an increase in CCL5 in SG and CSSG compared to CG. Therefore, our results demonstrated that the administration of exogenous surfactant was able to decrease the oxidative processes in the lungs of mice induced by short-term exposure to CS., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to evaluate the extrapulmonary effects of exposure to cigarette smoke (CS) through the analysis of blood components and histopathological examinations of the trachea and diaphragm muscle (DM) in C57BL/6 mice. Thirty-six animals were exposed to six cigarettes per day for 5 days. The mice were divided into a control group (CG) and groups exposed to CS for 1 (CS1D), 2 (CS2D), 3 (CS3D), 4 (CS4D), and 5 (CS5D) days. The trachea, DM, and blood were collected for morphometric and biochemical analyses. In comparison with the CG, CS4D and CS5D mice showed an increased influx of inflammatory cells into the DM and trachea. Increased glycogen deposits in the tracheal tissue of CS3D mice were observed, compared with that in CG, CS1D, and CS2D mice. In the blood serum, the number of inflammatory cells and the concentration of cholesterol increased in CS1D mice, compared with the CG. Alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels were elevated in CS5D mice, compared with those in CS3D and CS4D mice. Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels were elevated in CS3D and CS5D mice, compared with those in the CG. Urea levels were significantly increased in CS5D mice, compared with CS1D mice. Our results showed extrapulmonary effects of short-term exposure to CS in adult mice.

Twenty-eight Fischer male rats were divided into four groups: control group (CG), exposed to the ambient air, and groups exposed to formaldehyde (FA) at concentrations of 1% (FA1%), 5% (FA5%) and 10% (FA10%). Kidney function was assessed by dosage of uric acid, creatinine and urea. Morphometry was performed on the thickness of the lumen of Bowman's capsule and diameter of the lumen of the renal tubules. We evaluated the redox imbalance through the catalase and superoxide dismutase activity as well as oxidative damage by lipid peroxidation. Inflammatory chemokines CCL2, CCL3 and CCL5 were analyzed by enzyme immunoassays. There was an increase in the concentration of urea in FA10% compared with CG and FA1%. The levels of creatinine, renal lumen and lipid peroxidation increased in all FA-treated groups compared with CG. The concentration of uric acid in FA10% was lower compared with all other groups. There was an increase in the space of Bowman's capsule in FA5% and FA10% compared with CG and FA1%. However, the superoxide dismutase activity was higher in FA5% compared with other groups while CCL5 was higher in FA1% compared with CG. The exposure to formaldehyde in a short period of time leads to changes in the kidney function, inflammation and morphology, as well as promoted the increase of superoxide dismutase activity and oxidative damage., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier GmbH. All rights reserved.)

A supermolecular approach combined with an iterative electrostatic scheme was employed to investigate the nonlinear optical properties of the hybrid L-arginine phosphate monohydrate crystal, the procedure being aided by DFT calculations. The supermolecular scheme basically treated the molecules surrounding the unit cell as point charges; this approximation results in rapid convergence, making it a feasible method. DFT functionals of different flavors were considered: B3LYP, B2PLYP, CAM-B3LYP, ωB97, and M06HF, utilizing the 6-311 + G(d) basis set. All functionals gave sufficiently accurate values for the dipole moment (μ) with respect to the experimental value 32(2) D. For the average linear polarizability ([Formula: see text]) and the total first hyperpolarizability (β tot ), good agreement was observed between the DFT-calculated values and MP2-derived results reported in the literature. For the second hyperpolarizability, both static and dynamic regimes were considered. The point-charge embedding approach led to an attenuation of the second hyperpolarizability γ for all frequencies considered. Excitations of γ were not observed for frequencies smaller than 0.1 a.u. For the second hyperpolarizability (both static and dynamic), computational results showed that L-arginine phosphate monohydrate exhibits a large nonlinear optical effect, which implies the occurrence of microscopic third-order NLO behavior.

Different immobilized derivatives of two lipases were tested as catalysts of the synthesis of ethyl esters of omega-3 fatty acids during the ethanolysis of sardine oil in solvent-free systems at 25 °C. Lipases from Thermomyces lanuginosus (TLL) and Lecitase Ultra (a phospholipase with lipolytic activity) were studied. Lipases were adsorbed on hydrophobic Sepabeads C18 through the open active center and on an anion-exchanger Duolite with the active center exposed to the reaction medium. TLL-Sepabeads derivatives exhibit a high activity of 9 UI/mg of immobilized enzyme, and they are 20-fold more active than TLL-Duolite derivatives and almost 1000-fold more active than Lipozyme TL IM (the commercial derivative from Novozymes). Lecitase-Sepabeads exhibit a high selectivity for the synthesis of the ethyl ester of EPA that is 43-fold faster than the synthesis of the ethyl ester of DHA.

This work demonstrates the successful modification of screen-printed electrodes using functionalized titanate nanowires for producing a peroxide biosensor. Titanate nanowires were synthesized by the hydrothermal method and characterized using physico-chemical techniques. The surface of the nanowires was modified with (3-aminopropyl)trimethoxysilane and glutaraldehyde to immobilize horseradish peroxidase through covalent bound, obtaining a surface coverage of 1.62mg of enzyme/m 2 . The surface of screen-printed carbon electrodes was modified with peroxidase-containing nanowires. Cyclic voltammetry and chronoamperometry were employed to study the electrochemical properties of the nanostructured electrode. A low hydrogen peroxide reduction potential around -0.98V (vs Ag, pH7.0) was observed, with linear response in the range of 40 to 560μmolL -1 , detection limit of 10.7μmolL -1 and good stability. Reproducibility relative standard deviation was as low as 4.7%. For repeatability, deviation was 3.3%., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects all age groups, and its prevalence has increased during recent years. CKD is divided into six stages, according to the renal function of patients: 1. Normal renal function without kidney damage; 2. Kidney damage with normal renal function; 3. Mild renal insufficiency; 4. Moderate renal insufficiency or lab tests failure; 5. Severe renal insufficiency or clinical failure; 6. End stage of chronic renal failure., Objective: This study was intended to assess renal function in elderly patients and identifying the presence of factors associated with those changes., Methods: A cross-sectional population-based study was performed. Elderly patients were surveyed between September 2010 and May 2011. Kidney function was assessed by determining of serum creatinine, and estimation of the glomerular filtration rate by the CKD-EPI equation., Results: In all, 822 elderly were surveyed; 61.6% were women; 92.2% were Caucasian; and most (61.0%) were aged between 60 and 69 years. With regard to the glomerular filtration rate, 26.2% had a normal rate; 60.2% showed a slight decrease; 13.0% a moderate decrease; 0.5% severe kidney function decline; and 0.1% extreme fall. Increasing age was associated with kidney damage by decreased glomerular filtration rate (p < 0.001). In addition, obesity, hypertension and smoking were factors independently associated with reduced glomerular filtration rates., Conclusion: This study found that the great majority of the surveyed elderly had some mild kidney damage, and 13.6% showed moderate to severe dysfunction.

Introduction: Few Latin American studies have assessed the prevalence of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in elderly individuals, in whom the highest rates are expected. We aimed to investigate the prevalence of and factors associated with HCV infection in elderly residents in the municipality of Tubarão, Santa Catarina., Methods: This cross-sectional study included 820 individuals (aged ≥ 60 years) who were selected by simple random sampling. The presence of anti-HCV antibodies was tested by chemiluminescence, and HCV RNA detection was performed for the anti-HCV-reactive subjects. Those individuals who were anti-HCV reactive but had undetectable HCV RNA levels were tested using a third-generation recombinant immunoblot assay. The variables were compared using the chi-squared test or Fisher's exact test, and those variables with p < 0.05 were included in the logistic regression model., Results: The mean patient age was 68.6 years (SD 7.0 years); 39% were men, and 92% were Caucasian. Eighteen subjects were anti-HCV positive. Among these individuals, 4 were characterized as false-positives, leaving 14 (1.7%) individuals with confirmed infections for analysis. HCV infection was associated with an age older than 65 years, households with 3 or more residents and the previous transfusion of blood products. In the logistic regression analysis, the following variables were independently associated with HCV infection: households with 3 or more residents (OR 7.9, 95% CI 1.7-35.9, p = 0.008) and previous blood transfusion (OR 6.2, 95% CI 2.1-18.6, p = 0.001)., Conclusions: The HCV prevalence in the elderly population in the municipality of Tubarão was higher than that found in previous studies of blood donors in the same region. Although exposure to contaminated blood products remained important, other transmission routes, such as household transmission, could play a role in HCV infection.

Background: Given the long term exposure to risk factors, it is likely that older adults exhibit the highest proportions of HBV serological markers. Nevertheless, there are few methodologically adequate studies in Brazil evaluating the prevalence and risk factors for HBV infection in individuals aged 60 years or more., Objectives: To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with HBV infection in elderly residents in the city of Tubarão/SC., Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study included 820 individuals (≥ 60 years) selected by simple random sampling. The variables were compared by chi-square test or Fisher's exact test and those with P < 0.200 were included in the regression model., Results: The mean age of patients was 68.6 ± 7.0 years, 39% were men and 92% Caucasian. Five subjects (0.6%) presented with positive HBsAg and 124 (15.1%) were anti-HBc reactive. Bivariate analysis showed that the presence of anti-HBc was associated with age ≥ 67 years, ≤ 4 years of schooling, acupuncture therapy and lower proportion of subjects exposed to invasive procedures. In multivariate analysis, the following variables remained independently associated with HBV infection: male gender, marital status, ≤ 4 years of schooling and acupuncture., Conclusions: The prevalence of anti-HBc among the elderly in the city of Tubarão was higher than in previous studies evaluating blood donors in the same region. Despite the association of previous HBV infection and factors indirectly related to sexual risk behaviors, the results suggest the involvement of invasive therapeutic procedures in the HBV transmission chain.

The main goal of this paper is to present the rovibrational energies and spectroscopic constants of the Cl(2) molecular system in the relativistic states [Formula: see text], A':(1)2( u ), A:(1)1( u ), [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. More precisely, we have evaluated the Cl(2) ω ( e ), ω ( e ) x ( e ), ω ( e ) y ( e ), α ( e ), γ ( e ) and B ( e ) rovibrational spectroscopic constants using two different procedures. The first was obtained by combining the rovibrational energies, calculated through solving Schrödinger's nuclear equation and the diatomic rovibrational energy equation. The second was obtained by using the Dunham method. The calculated properties are in good agreement with available experimental data.

Improvements in strength and setting time of Portland cements (PC) are needed to enhance their performance as endodontic and load bearing materials. This study sought to enhance the compressive strength and setting time of a PC by adding one of the following additives: 20% and 30% poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA), 20% and 30% irregular and spherical amalgam alloys, and 10% CaCl(2). The control consisted of unreinforced PC specimens. Setting time was determined using a Gillmore apparatus according to standardized methods while compressive strength was measured using a universal testing machine after 21 hours or 60 days of water storage. Data were analyzed by ANOVA, Tukey and Games-Howell tests (alpha = 5%). All additives significantly decreased both initial and final setting times as compared with the PC-control (p < .05). 30% PMMA and 30% irregular alloy had the lowest values of initial setting time. 30% irregular alloy also produced the lowest values of final setting time while 30% spherical alloy yielded the highest (p < .05). No differences were detected between the compressive strength values of 21 hours and 60 days. While 10% CaCl(2), 20% and 30% PMMA produced values significantly lower than the PC-control, 30% spherical alloy significantly improved the compressive strength of the reinforced PC (p < .05). In summary, all additives significantly reduced the setting time and 30% spherical amalgam alloy yielded a significant increase in compressive strength for the tested PC, which might represent an improved composition for PCs to expand their use as endodontic and potentially load bearing materials.