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Dois experimentos foram realizados com o objetivo de avaliar diferentes critérios de formulação de rações, baseados em aminoácidos totais e digestíveis, para frangos de corte no período de 1 a 21 dias de idade. As dietas foram formuladas para atender às exigências de metionina, metionina+cistina, lisina e treonina. No primeiro experimento, foram utilizados 800 pintos machos, Hubbard, distribuídos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado com 4 critérios de formulação, para atender às exigências em aminoácidos totais - NRC (1994), Rostagno et al. (1992), Degussa (1997) e AEC (1993), com 4 repetições de 50 aves. No segundo experimento, foram utilizados 600 pintos machos, Cobb, distribuídos em delineamento inteiramente casualizado com 3 critérios de formulação, para atender às exigências em aminoácidos digestíveis - Rostagno et al. (2000), Baker & Han (1994) e Degussa (1997), com 4 repetições de 50 aves. Foram avaliados ganho de peso, consumo de ração e conversão alimentar. Os resultados obtidos demonstraram não haver diferença no desempenho das aves ao serem alimentadas com diferentes critérios de formulação baseados em aminoácidos totais. Ao formular dietas com aminoácidos digestíveis, o padrão estabelecido por Baker & Han (1994) resultaram em melhor desempenho das aves no período avaliado.

A total of 216 Cobb 500 broiler breeder hens were randomly distributed across 2 dietary treatments with 0 or 1% spray-dried plasma (SDP) resulting in 27 replications/treatment and 4 birds/replication. In addition, 36 roosters were divided between the same treatments and housed, in individual pens, being each bird considered a replicate. Experimental diets were fed from 26 wk until 65 wk of age. At 29, 45, and 63 wk of age, broiler breeder hens were inseminated, and eggs were incubated. Three progeny studies were performed and hatched birds were allocated in a randomized 2 × 2 factorial design (maternal diet: with or without inclusion of 1% SDP × progeny diet: with or without the inclusion of 2% SDP from 1 to 7 d of age). After 7 d of age, all birds received the same diet until 42 d. In all trials, birds were challenged with coccidiosis vaccine at 7 d of age. Furthermore, in the second experiment, heat stress was also included for 6 h a day during the whole trial. At 42-days posthatch in the first experiment, greater FI, BW, and BWG in chicks hatched from breeders fed 1% dietary SDP was observed. This effect did not extend to the other hatches. In the second trial, a decreased FCR in broilers fed the control diet from breeder hens fed 1 % of SDP was observed, as well as an interaction between the SDP groups, since broilers supplemented with SDP and originated from breeders fed SDP showed higher BW and BWG in comparison to other groups at 42 d. In the third trial, contrary to what was observed in the first study, SDP supplementation did not affect any of the performance indexes. In the 3 studies, no differences were found in carcass characteristics. SDP did not affect hen BW, egg production, fertility, or hatch of fertile. These results suggest that providing dietary SDP to broilers has some beneficial effects on broiler chickens., (Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Brain structural changes are known to be associated with psychotic symptoms, with worse symptoms consistently associated with brain volume loss in some areas. It is not clear whether volume and symptoms interfere with each other over the course of psychosis. In this paper, we analyse the temporal relationships between psychosis symptom severity and total gray matter volume. We applied a cross-lagged panel model to a public dataset from the NUSDAST cohorts. The subjects were assessed at three-time points: baseline, 24 months, and 48 months. Psychosis symptoms were measured by SANS and SAPS scores. The cohort contained 673 subjects with schizophrenia, healthy subjects and their siblings. There were significant effects of symptom severity on total gray matter volume and vice-versa. The worse the psychotic symptoms, the smaller the total gray volume, and the smaller the volume, the worse the symptomatology. There is a bidirectional temporal relationship between symptoms of psychosis and brain volume., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

The aim of this study was to determine the influence of dietary phytase in breeder hens on yolk nutrients, hatchability, chick quality, and growth rate of their progeny, and their subsequent performance to 42 d post-hatch when fed diets with the same phytase concentrations. Breeder hens ( n = 216) were divided into 3 groups receiving nutrient-adequate diets with reduced calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) (by 0.16% and 0.15%, respectively), supplemented with either 500, 1500, or 4500 FTU/kg phytase from 27 to 50 weeks of age. Eggs were collected at 38 weeks of age and incubated. On the day of hatch, the chick quality and hatchability were determined, and 18 chicks/group were euthanized for yolk sac collection and the determination of inositol and glycerol concentrations. The remaining chicks were divided into three groups, receiving different diets with reduced Ca and P (by 0.16% and 0.15%, respectively), supplemented with 0, 500, or 1500 FTU/kg phytase to 42 d post-hatch. Increasing the phytase concentration in the breeder hen diet linearly ( p < 0.05) increased the number of early embryo deaths and decreased the number of late deaths and pips. The inositol concentration in the yolk sac at day of hatch increased (quadratic; p < 0.05) as the phytase dose increased in the breeder hen diet. The breeder hen diet ( p < 0.05) influenced the body weight (BW), feed intake (FI), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) up to 21 days of age. The supplementation of breeder hen diets with 1500 FTU/kg phytase increased the concentration of sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), manganese (Mn), and zinc (Zn) in the yolk sac. The inclusion of phytase doses up to 4500 FTU/kg appeared to influence embryo mortality, chick feed intake, and BW gain to 21 days and the FCR throughout the entire production phase.

Trace mineral minerals Zn, Cu, and Mn play important roles in breeder production and progeny performance. The objective of this study was to determine maternal supplementation of trace mineral minerals on breeder production and progeny growth and development. A total of 540 broiler breeders, Cobb 500 (Slow feathering; 0-66 weeks old) were assigned to one of three treatment groups with the same basal diet and three different supplemental trace minerals: ITM-inorganic trace minerals in sulfates: 100, 16, and 100 ppm of Zn, Cu, and Mn respectively; MMHAC -mineral methionine hydroxy analog chelate: 50, 8, and 50 ppm of bis-chelated MINTREX ® Zn, Cu and Mn (Novus International, Inc.), and TMAAC - trace minerals amino acid complex: 50, 8, and 50 ppm of Zn, Cu, and Mn. At 28 weeks of age, eggs from breeder treatments were hatched for progeny trial, 10 pens with 6 males and 6 female birds per pen were fed a common diet with ITM for 45 days. Breeder production, egg quality, progeny growth performance, mRNA expression of gut health associated genes in breeder and progeny chicks were measured. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA; means were separated by Fisher's protected LSD test. A p -Value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically different and 0.1 was considered numerical trend. Breeders on ITM treatment had higher ( p < 0.05) body weight (BW), weight gain and lower ( p < 0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR) from 0 to 10 weeks, when compared to birds fed MMHAC. MMHAC significantly improved egg mass by 3 g ( p < 0.05) and FCR by 34 points (0.05 < p < 0.1) throughout the reproductive period (26-66 weeks) in comparison to ITM. MMHAC improved ( p < 0.01) egg yolk color versus (vs.) ITM and TMAAC in all periods, except 28 weeks, increased ( p < 0.01) eggshell thickness and resistance vs. TMAAC at 58 weeks, and reduced ( p < 0.05) jejunal NF-κB gene expression vs. TMAAC at 24 weeks. There was a significant reduction in tibial dry matter weight, Seedor index and resistance for the breeders that received MMHAC and/or TMAAC when compared to ITM at 18 weeks. Lower seedor index but numerically wider tibial circumference was seen in hens fed MMHAC at 24 weeks, and wider tibial circumference but lower tibial resistance in hens fed TMAAC at 66 weeks. Maternal supplementation of MMHAC in breeder hens increased ( p < 0.0001) BW vs. ITM and TMAAC at hatching, reduced ( p < 0.05) feed intake vs. ITM at d14 and d28, and improved ( p < 0.01) FCR and performance index vs. TMAAC at d28, reduced ( p < 0.01) NF-κB gene expression and increased ( p < 0.05) A20 gene expression vs. TMAAC on d0 and vs. ITM on d14, reduced ( p < 0.05) TLR2 gene expression vs. ITM on d0 and vs. TMAAC on d14, increased ( p < 0.05) MUC2 gene expression vs. both ITM and TMAAC on d45 in progeny jejunum. Overall, these results suggest that supplementation with lower levels of MHA-chelated trace minerals improved breeder production and egg quality and reduced breeder jejunal inflammation while maintaining tibial development in comparison to those receiving higher inorganic mineral supplementation, and it also carried over the benefits to progeny with better growth performance, less jejunal inflammation and better innate immune response and gut barrier function in comparison to ITM and/or TMAAC., Competing Interests: JC, RA, DT, MV-A and DH were employed by Novus International Inc. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 de Arruda Roque, Chen, Araujo, Murcio, de Souza Leite, Dias Tanaka, Granghelli, Pelissari, Bueno Carvalho, Torres, Vázquez‐Añón, Hancock, Soares da Silva Araujo and Araujo.)

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of a phytogenic compound for pigs in the growing and finishing phases as a possible substitute for ractopamine. A total of 140 pigs with an average initial weight of 48.8 kg ± 5.9 kg were used, distributed in a randomized block design, in a 3 × 2 factorial scheme (control diet (CONT), diet with inclusion of 2.5 kg per ton of a phytogenic compound (PC), and diet with 10 ppm of ractopamine (RAC), and two sexes: gilts and barrows), distributed in eight pens per treatment. The performance parameters were measured, and, at the end of the experimental period, the animals were slaughtered for carcass characteristics and pork quality analysis. The animals consuming RAC showed a better feed conversion, 4% improvement in relation to the group with the PC (p < 0.05). For daily weight gain, the animals supplemented with the PC showed 4.46% lower gain compared to RAC, and 3% greater gain compared to the CONT (p < 0.05). The animals that consumed the PC showed 5.6% lower shear force of the pork (p < 0.05) in relation to the CONT group and 29% lower in relation to the RAC group. The TBARS value presented a significant difference (p < 0.05), the CONTT group was 29% higher than the RAC, and the PC was 15.5% higher than the RAC. For chroma, the pork of the RAC group was 14% lower than the CONTT group and 10.3% less than the PC. There was no significant difference for the carcass parameters. It was concluded that the pigs in the ractopamine group presented the best performance; however, the phytogenic compound can be used against ractopamine’s restriction because it improves daily weight gain and promotes a softer and less pale meat when compared with ractopamine., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Bearing in mind that universal access to sanitation services is one of the objectives of the Brazilian Plan for Basic Sanitation and one of the sustainable development goals (SDG), this research sought to evaluate the coverage of supply and of the quality of water distributed in Brazil in 2019. Data from the National Sanitation Information System (SNIS) and Water Quality for Human Consumption Surveillance Information System (Sisagua) databases were evaluated. It was found that 82% of the population has access to Water Supply Systems (WSS), this percentage only being lower in the North (58%) and Northeast (74%) regions. Most of the population is served by WSS; however, in the North region, 6.6% of the population is served by WSS and 7.2% by Collective Alternative Solution (CAS) without treatment. For the Total Coliforms parameter, 21.9% of CAS samples from the North region were outside the potability standard, while for the residual disinfectant agent, 40.6% of WSS from the Northeast region was outside this standard (with 19% of the samples having a concentration of the disinfectant agent above 5.0 mg/L, and 81% of the samples presenting concentration lower than 0.2 mg/L. The conclusion drawn is that part of the population may be vulnerable to water quality-related risks.

Objective: To assess a large set of metadata made public by the Brazilian Ministry of Health on older subjects who visited outpatient mental health services in Brazil from 2008 to 2012., Methods: We extracted data from the Brazilian Unified Health System Information Technology Department (Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde, DATASUS), then calculated rates of visits per population in each of the five regions of Brazil, using census data for each year. Finally, logistic regressions were performed with depressive disorders or dementias as dependent variables, controlled by age and year of visit, stratified by region., Results: Mood disorders were the leading reason for visits to outpatient mental health services by older adults, followed by delusional disorders. The calculated rates were lower than the known prevalence of depressive disorders and dementias, but the regressions revealed typical patterns. Males were less likely to present with a depressive disorder, while older subjects were more likely to present with depression and dementia., Conclusions: Publicly available data from DATASUS may not enable inferences about the prevalence of mental disorders in elders, but inferential analyses match what is known about these conditions. This approach is supplemental to other more common ones and is of special importance for policymakers and health system managers.

Background: Neck circumference (NC), an indirect measure of upper-body subcutaneous adipose tissue, has been pointed out as an independent predictor of cardiometabolic diseases., Objectives: To assess the association between NC and 10-year cardiovascular risk in men and in women., Methods: Cross-sectional analysis of 13,920 participants of the (baseline) Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). The association between NC (used as continuous variable and grouped into quartiles) and the 10-year cardiovascular risk was estimated by the Framingham Global Risk Score and analyzed by generalized linear models after adjustments for sociodemographic characteristics, health behaviors, body mass index and waist circumference. The significance level adopted was 5%., Results: Mean NC was 39.5 cm (SD± 3.6) in men and 34.0 cm (SD±2.9) in women. After adjustments, a one-centimeter increase in NC was associated with an increment of 3% (95%CI1.02-1.03) and 5% (95% 1.04-1.05) in the arithmetic mean of the 10-year CVD risk in men and women, respectively. Men and women in the last quartile showed an increment of 18% (95%CI 1.13-1.24) and 35% (95%CI 1.28-1.43), respectively in the arithmetic mean of the 10-year CVD risk, after adjustments., Conclusions: We found a positive, independent association between NC and the 10-year cardiovascular disease risk. NC may contribute to the prediction of cardiovascular risk, over and above traditional anthropometric measures.

Schizophrenia is a highly heterogeneous disorder, not only in its phenomenology but in its clinical course. This limits the usefulness of the diagnosis as a basis for both research and clinical management. Methods of reducing this heterogeneity may inform the diagnostic classification. With this in mind, we performed k-means clustering with symptom and cognitive measures to generate groups in a machine-driven way. We found that our data was best organised in three clusters: high cognitive performance, high positive symptomatology, low positive symptomatology. We hypothesized that these clusters represented biological categories, which we tested by comparing these groups in terms of brain volumetric information. We included all the groups in an ANCOVA analysis with post hoc tests, where brain volume areas were modelled as dependent variables, controlling for age and estimated intracranial volume. We found six brain volumes significantly differed between the clusters: left caudate, left cuneus, left lateral occipital, left inferior temporal, right lateral, and right pars opercularis. The k-means clustering provides a way of subtyping schizophrenia which appears to have a biological basis, though one that requires both replication and confirmation of its clinical significance., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest Authors report no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Homeobox genes function as master regulatory transcription factors during development, and their expression is often altered in cancer. The HOX gene family was initially studied intensively to understand how the expression of each gene was involved in forming axial patterns and shaping the body plan during embryogenesis. More recent investigations have discovered that HOX genes can also play an important role in cancer. The literature has shown that the expression of HOX genes may be increased or decreased in different tumors and that these alterations may differ depending on the specific HOX gene involved and the type of cancer being investigated. New studies are also emerging, showing the critical role of some members of the HOX gene family in tumor progression and variation in clinical response. However, there has been limited systematic evaluation of the various contributions of each member of the HOX gene family in the pathways that drive the common phenotypic changes (or "hallmarks") and that underlie the transformation of normal cells to cancer cells. In this review, we investigate the context of the engagement of HOX gene targets and their downstream pathways in the acquisition of competence of tumor cells to undergo malignant transformation and tumor progression. We also summarize published findings on the involvement of HOX genes in carcinogenesis and use bioinformatics methods to examine how their downstream targets and pathways are involved in each hallmark of the cancer phenotype.

Background: The Hereditary Breast and Ovarian Cancer Syndrome (HBOC) occurs in families with a history of breast/ovarian cancer, presenting an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern. BRCA1 and BRCA2 are high penetrance genes associated with an increased risk of up to 20-fold for breast and ovarian cancer. However, only 20-30% of HBOC cases present pathogenic variants in those genes, and other DNA repair genes have emerged as increasing the risk for HBOC. In Brazil, variants in ATM, ATR, CHEK2, MLH1, MSH2, MSH6, POLQ, PTEN, and TP53 genes have been reported in up to 7.35% of the studied cases. Here we screened and characterized variants in 21 DNA repair genes in HBOC patients., Methods: We systematically analyzed 708 amplicons encompassing the coding and flanking regions of 21 genes related to DNA repair pathways (ABRAXAS1, ATM, ATR, BARD1, BRCA1, BRCA2, BRIP1, CDH1, CHEK2, MLH1, MRE11, MSH2, MSH6, NBN, PALB2, PMS2, PTEN, RAD50, RAD51, TP53 and UIMC1). A total of 95 individuals with HBOC syndrome clinical suspicion in Southeast Brazil were sequenced, and 25 samples were evaluated for insertions/deletions in BRCA1/BRCA2 genes. Identified variants were assessed in terms of population allele frequency and their functional effects were predicted through in silico algorithms., Results: We identified 80 variants in 19 genes. About 23.4% of the patients presented pathogenic variants in BRCA1, BRCA2 and TP53, a frequency higher than that identified among previous studies in Brazil. We identified a novel variant in ATR, which was predicted as pathogenic by in silico tools. The association analysis revealed 13 missense variants in ABRAXAS1, BARD1, BRCA2, CHEK2, CDH1, MLH1, PALB2, and PMS2 genes, as significantly associated with increased risk to HBOC, and the patients carrying those variants did not present large insertions or deletions in BRCA1/BRCA2 genes., Conclusions: This study embodies the third report of a multi-gene analysis in the Brazilian population, and addresses the first report of many germline variants associated with HBOC in Brazil. Although further functional analyses are necessary to better characterize the contribution of those variants to the phenotype, these findings would improve the risk estimation and clinical follow-up of patients with HBOC clinical suspicion.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of the dietary supplementation of canthaxanthin and cholecalciferol (25OHD3) to broiler breeders and their progenies on their performance. Eighty 25-wk-old Cobb 500 broiler breeders were distributed according to a completely randomized design in 2 experimental treatments, with 10 replicates of 4 birds each. The treatments consisted of the supplementation or not of a corn-soybean meal diet with canthaxanthin + 25OHD3 to broiler breeders fed from 25 to 62 wk of age. Egg production, fertility, hatchability, hatchability of fertile eggs, embryonic mortality, and egg specific gravity were evaluated. Breeders were inseminated at 35, 45, and 62 wk of age, the eggs were incubated, and the performance of the progenies was evaluated. From the progeny of each breeder age, 300 male chicks were distributed according to a completely randomized design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement (chicks from breeders supplemented or not with canthaxanthin + 25OHD3 and chicks supplemented or not with canthaxanthin + 25OHD3), totaling 4 treatments with 5 replicates of 15 birds each. Canthaxanthin + 25OHD3 were supplied to the chicks until 21 D of age. The combination of canthaxanthin and 25OHD3, containing 69 mg of 25OHD3 and 6 g of canthaxanthin, was supplemented at 1 kg/t of feed. Breeders supplemented with canthaxanthin + 25OHD3 showed higher egg production, total hatchability, hatchability of fertile eggs, and lower early embryo mortality compared with those fed the control diet. Broilers from breeders fed canthaxanthin + 25OHD3 and supplemented with this additive up to 21 D of age presented a better feed conversion ratio and higher carcass and breast yields than those derived from nonsupplemented breeders., (© 2019 Poultry Science Association Inc.)

Background: The goal of this study was to screen point mutations and deletions in APC and MUTYH genes in patients suspected of familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) in a Brazilian cohort., Methods: We used high-resolution melting, Sanger direct sequencing and multiplex ligation-dependent probe association (MLPA) assays to identify point mutations, and large genomic variations within the coding regions of APC and MUTYH genes., Results: We identified 19 causative mutations in 40 Brazilian patients from 20 different families. Four novel mutations were identified in the APC gene and two in the MUTYH gene. We also found a high intra- and inter-familial diversity regarding extracolonic manifestations, and gastric polyps were the most common manifestation found in our cohort., Conclusion: We believe that the FAP mutational spectrum can be population-specific and screening FAP patients in different populations can improve pre-clinical diagnosis and improve clinical conduct.

Mitochondria are central key players in cell metabolism, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) instability has been linked to metabolic changes that contribute to tumorigenesis and to increased expression of pro-tumorigenic genes. Here, we use melanoma cell lines and metastatic melanoma tumors to evaluate the effect of mtDNA alterations and the expression of the mtDNA packaging factor, TFAM, on energetic metabolism and pro-tumorigenic nuclear gene expression changes. We report a positive correlation between mtDNA copy number, glucose consumption, and ATP production in melanoma cell lines. Gene expression analysis reveals a down-regulation of glycolytic enzymes in cell lines and an up-regulation of amino acid metabolism enzymes in melanoma tumors, suggesting that TFAM may shift melanoma fuel utilization from glycolysis towards amino acid metabolism, especially glutamine. Indeed, proliferation assays reveal that TFAM-down melanoma cell lines display a growth arrest in glutamine-free media, emphasizing that these cells rely more on glutamine metabolism than glycolysis. Finally, our data indicate that TFAM correlates to VEGF expression and may contribute to tumorigenesis by triggering a more invasive gene expression signature. Our findings contribute to the understanding of how TFAM affects melanoma cell metabolism, and they provide new insight into the mechanisms by which TFAM and mtDNA copy number influence melanoma tumorigenesis.

The capability to dynamically control the nonlinear refractive index of plasmonic suspensions may enable innovative nonlinear sensing and signaling nanotechnologies. Here, we experimentally determine the effective nonlinear refractive index for gold nanorods suspended in an index matching oil aligned using electric fields, demonstrating an approach to modulate the nonlinear optical properties of the suspension. The nonlinear optical experiments were carried out using a Hartmann-Shack wavefront aberrometer in a collimated beam configuration with a high repetition rate femtosecond laser. The suspensions were probed at 800 nm, overlapping with the long-axis absorption peak of the nanorods. We find that the effective nonlinear refractive index of the gold nanorods suspension depends linearly on the orientational order parameter, S, which can be understood by a thermally induced nonlinear response. We also show the magnitude of the nonlinear response can be varied by ∼ 60%.

Penile cancer is a rare neoplasm that seems to be linked to socio-economic differences. Mitochondrial genome alterations are common in many tumors types and are reported as regulating oxidative metabolism and impacting tumorigenesis. In this study, we evaluate for the first time the mitochondrial genome in penile carcinoma (PeCa), aiming to evaluate heteroplasmy, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutational load and mtDNA content in Penile tumors. Using next generation sequencing (NGS), we sequenced the mitochondrial genome of 13 penile tumors and 12 non-neoplastic tissue samples, which allowed us to identify mtDNA variants and heteroplasmy. We further evaluated variant's pathogenicity using Mutpred predictive software and calculated mtDNA content using quantitative PCR. Mitochondrial genome sequencing revealed an increase number of non-synonymous variants in the tumor tissue, along with higher frequency of heteroplasmy and mtDNA depletion in penile tumors, suggesting an increased mitochondrial instability in penile tumors. We also described a list of mitochondrial variants found in penile tumor and normal tissue, including five novel variants found in the tumoral tissue. Our results showed an increased mitochondrial genome instability in penile tumors. We also suggest that mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNAcn) and mtDNA variants may act together to imbalance mitochondrial function in PeCa. The better understanding of mitochondrial biology can bring new insights on mechanisms and open a new field for therapy in PeCa.

Impaired microvascular endothelial function may be implicated in the etiology of cognitive decline. Yet, current data on this association are inconsistent. Our objective is to investigate the relation of microvascular endothelial function to cognitive performance in the ELSA-Brasil cohort study. A total of 1521 participants from ELSA-Brasil free of dementia underwent peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) to quantify microvascular endothelial function (PAT-ratio and mean baseline pulse amplitude (BPA)) and cognitive tests that covered the domains of memory, verbal fluency, and executive function at baseline. Cognitive tests in participants aged 55 years old and above were repeated during the second examination (mean follow-up: 3.5 (0.3) years). Linear regression and generalized linear models were used to evaluate the association between endothelial function, global cognitive performance, and performance on specific cognitive domains. In unadjusted cross-sectional analyses, we found that BPA and PAT-ratio were associated with worse global cognitive performance (mean difference for BPA: -0.07, 95% CI: -0.11; -0.03, p<0.01; mean difference for PAT-ratio: 0.11, 95% CI: 0.01; 0.20, p=0.02), worse performance on learning, recall, and word recognition tests (BPA: -0.87, 95% CI: -1.21; -0.52, p<0.01; PAT-ratio: 1.58, 95% CI: 0.80; 2.36, p<0.01), and only BPA was associated with worse performance in verbal fluency tests (-0.70, 95% CI: -1.19; -0.21, p<0.01). Adjustments for age, sex, and level of education rendered the associations statistically non-significant. Longitudinally, there was no association between microvascular endothelial and cognitive functions. The associations between microvascular endothelial function and cognition are explained by age, sex, and educational level. Measures of microvascular endothelial function may be of limited value with regard to preclinical cognitive deficits.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare different high-resolution cone-beam computed tomographic (CBCT) imaging protocols in the diagnosis of incomplete root fractures of endodontically treated teeth., Methods: Twenty single-rooted human teeth were endodontically treated, and an incomplete root fracture was induced. The teeth were scanned with the CBCT unit PreXion 3D (Teracom, San Mateo, CA) operating at 2 different protocols: high resolution/standard (HI-STD) (19 seconds and 512 basis images) and high resolution/high density (HI-HI) (37 seconds and 1024 basis images). Three oral radiologists evaluated all images using multiplanar reconstructions. The diagnostic tests and the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve were calculated., Results: The HI-STD and HI-HI protocols presented an accuracy of 0.90 and 0.93, respectively, and both protocols had a sensitivity of 0.97. The HI-HI protocol showed a higher positive predictive value and slightly higher areas under the ROC curve., Conclusions: Both high-resolution imaging protocols presented high accuracy in the detection of incomplete root fracture of endodontically teeth. Thus, the HI-STD protocol should be indicated this reduces the radiation dose., (Copyright © 2017 American Association of Endodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Paracoccidioidomycosis (PCM) is a systemic granulomatous disease caused by Paracoccidioides brasiliensis or P. lutzii . It is a neglected tropical infectious disease that poses a major public health burden in endemic areas of Latin America. Mucosae of the upper digestive and respiratory tracts are commonly involved and many patients have disease at multiple mucosal sites, with or without lung involvement. Mucosal PCM presenting as solitary true vocal fold disease is relatively rare. We present the case of a 67-year-old Brazilian forest guard who presented with a 6-month history of hoarseness and globus pharyngeus due to a solitary left true vocal fold infiltration and vegetation diagnosed as PCM. Silent pulmonary disease was also present. A laryngoscopy video is offered as supplemental material to this report. He completely remitted after surgical removal and amphotericin B deoxycholate treatment.

Objective: This paper aims to analyse in a philosophically informed way the recent National Institute of Mental Health proposal for the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework., Conclusion: Current classification systems have helped unify psychiatry and the conditions that it is most concerned with. However, by relying too much on syndromes and symptoms, they too often do not define stable constructs. As a result, inclusions and removals from the manuals are not always backed by sound reasons. The RDoC framework is an important move towards ameliorating matters. This paper argues that it improves the current situation by re-referencing constructs to physical properties (biomarkers for disorders, for example), by allowing theoretical levels within the framework, and by treating psychiatry as a special case of the cognitive sciences., (© The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2016.)

Mitochondrial dysfunction is regarded as a hallmark of cancer progression. In the current study, we evaluated mitochondrial genome instability and copy number in colorectal cancer using Next Generation Sequencing approach and qPCR, respectively. The results revealed higher levels of heteroplasmy and depletion of the relative mtDNA copy number in colorectal adenocarcinoma. Adenocarcinoma samples also presented an increased number of mutations in nuclear genes encoding proteins which functions are related with mitochondria fusion, fission and localization. Moreover, we found a set of mitochondrial and nuclear genes, which cooperate in the same mitochondrial function simultaneously mutated in adenocarcinoma. In summary, these results support an important role for mitochondrial function and genomic instability in colorectal tumorigenesis.

Background: This systematic review aimed to explore the potential influence of genetic factors on the symptoms of peripartum depression and to critically analyze the methodologies employed by the examined studies., Methods: A systematic review of the literature indexed prior to July 2014 identified 200 articles. After applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 39 papers were included., Results: The papers predominantly featured a molecular genetic approach (n=35), and the majority examined polymorphisms (n=27). Most studies used samples of Caucasians living in high income countries. The results suggest that the influence of genetic factors become more consistent when methodological variations among the studies are considered. Environmental stressors are also important variables that influence the relationship between genetic factors and peripartum depressive states. In addition, differences in the influence of genetic factors were observed depending upon the precise time point during pregnancy or the postpartum period that was examined in the studies. The late stages of pregnancy and the early postpartum period were times of greater genetic vulnerability., Limitations: This study was limited by the small number of papers reviewed and by the lack of information regarding whether the effects of genetics on peripartum depression are specific to certain ethnicities and/or stressors., Conclusions: Genetic studies of perinatal depression reinforce a pathophysiological role of the hormonal changes inherent in the childbirth period. However, the distinction between depressive episodes that begin during pregnancy from those that begin during the postpartum period can still be useful to improve our understanding of the physiopathology of depressive disorders., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The current concept for effective and efficient treatment of skeletal Class II malocclusion prescribes that interceptive approach should be delivered during the pubertal growth stage. However, psychosocial issues and a greater risk of dental trauma are also factors that should be addressed when considering early Class II therapy. This paper reports a case of a patient that sought orthodontic treatment due to aesthetic discomfort with the incisors' protrusion. Two previous treatments failed because patient's collaboration with removable appliances was inadequate. Given his history of no collaboration and because the patient was in the prepubertal stage, it was decided to try a different approach in the third attempt of treatment. Traumatic injury protective devices were used during the prepubertal stage and followed by Herbst appliance and fixed multibrackets therapy during the pubertal stage, resulting in an adequate outcome and long-term stability.

Thermochemical and kinetics of sequential hydrogen abstraction reactions from hydrazine by nitrogen atoms were studied. The dehydrogenation was divided in three steps, N2H4 + N, N2H3 + N, and N2H2 + N. The thermal rate constants were calculated within the framework of canonical variational theory, with zero and small curvature multidimensional tunnelling corrections. The reaction paths were computed with the BB1K/aug-cc-pVTZ method and the thermochemical properties were improved with the CCSD(T)/CBS//BB1K/aug-cc-pVTZ approach. The first dehydrogenation step presents the lowest rate constants, equal to 1.22 × 10(-20) cm(3) molecule(-1) s(-1) at 298 K.

Effects of dietary methionine (Met) on pectoralis muscle development and the effect that Met as a nutritional substrate has on protein expression of skeletal muscle cells of pectoralis muscle of chickens were evaluated in this study. Broiler chickens received a common pretest diet up to 21 d of age and were subsequently fed either a low (LM) or high Met (HM) diet (0.41 vs. 0.51% of diet) from 21 to 42 d of age. Dietary deficiency was shown in vivo judging by the depression in breast meat weight and yield when broilers were fed the LM diet. Global protein expression was analyzed by quantitative high-performance liquid chromatography nanospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Up- and downregulated proteins were analyzed via Ingenuity Pathways Analysis to identify the metabolic pathways affected. Four canonical pathways related to muscle development were identified as being differentially regulated between LM- and HM-fed chickens. These pathways included the citrate cycle and calcium, actin cytoskeleton, and clathrin-mediated endocytosis signaling. The HM diet may have allowed for increased muscle growth by an increased availability of nutrients to muscle cells. Although the Met supplementation was associated with enhanced breast muscle growth, contraction fiber concentrations in muscles decreased and were associated with a lower calcium transportation rate and sensitivity and with a lower energy supply. It is further suggested that increased muscle protein deposition, that was induced by Met supplementation, may have been largely due to sarcoplasmic rather myofibrillar hypertrophy.

Background: Estrogen promotes the growth of thyroid cells. Therefore, we analyzed the influence of estrogen and selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs) on the expression of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and nitric oxide synthase III (NOS III) in the thyroid gland of ovariectomized (Ovx) rats., Methods: Wistar rats were divided into five groups, and bilateral ovariectomies were performed, except on the Sham-operated controls (Sham). Rats were grouped as follows: Sham; Ovx; and Ovx rats treated with daily subcutaneous injections of estradiol benzoate 3.5 microg/kg, tamoxifen 2.5 mg/kg, or raloxifene 2.5 mg/kg for 50 consecutive days. Control animals received vehicle (propyleneglycol), and at the end of the treatment, rats were sacrificed. The thyroid glands were excised, weighed, and processed for analysis of the expression of VEGF or NOS III by immunohistochemistry. The mean vascular areas were evaluated by immunodetection of alpha-smooth muscle actin., Results: Thyroid weight and mean vascular area were lower in Ovx as compared with Sham, Ovx + estradiol benzoate, Ovx + Tam, or Ovx + Ral (p < 0.01). VEGF (p < 0.01) and NOS III expressions (p < 0.05) were significantly lower in the Ovx group, as compared with Sham, Ovx + estradiol benzoate, Ovx + Tam, and Ovx + Ral. Immunoreactivity for both VEGF and NOS III was mainly detected in the cytoplasm of the follicular epithelial cells., Conclusions: Our data suggest that estrogen and SERMs regulate the thyroid gland vascularization and that tamoxifen and raloxifene behave like estrogen does. Estrogen and SERMs upregulate VEGF and NOS III in such a way as to reverse the effects detected on the thyroid microvasculature of the Ovx rats.

Chylothorax as a complication of the surgical treatment of thoracic outlet syndrome is a quite rare event. We report a case of right-sided chylothorax and present a brief review on the treatment of postoperative chylothorax.

We aimed to analyze the effects of raloxifene and estrogen on thyroid gland morphology of ovariectomized rats. Raloxifene treatment led to effects similar to those of estrogen on thyroid glands from ovariectomized rats, so that both were able to normalize the changes detected after ovariectomy.

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the action of the conjugated equine estrogens and tamoxifen on the morphology of thyroid gland in ovariectomized (OVx) rats., Methods: Conjugated equine estrogens (CEE), clinically used as estrogen therapy, is a complex formulation containing multiple estrogens that decrease menopausal symptoms. Thirty ovariectomized rats were randomly divided into 3 treatment groups: GI, vehicle (propylene glycol); GII, CEE 200 microg/kg per day; and GIII, tamoxifen 1 mg/kg per day. Another group of 10 rats with intact ovaries (GIV) was included, treated with the vehicle, and sacrificed during estrous. All animals were treated by gavage for 50 days, after which they were sacrificed. Blood samples were collected, and the thyroid was removed for morphological analysis and PCNA evaluation through immunohistochemical study., Results: The thyroid follicular cell height was increased in animals treated with CEE (14.90 +/- 0.20 microm), with TAM (14.90 +/- 0.10 microm), and in rats with intact ovaries (15.10 +/- 0.50 microm) in comparison to that of the vehicle group (9.90 +/- 0.20 microm) (P < 0.001). The follicular area was larger in the CEE (2,225 +/- 51 microm2) and TAM (2,127 +/- 67 microm2) groups compared to that of the vehicle group (5,016 +/- 53 microm2). The levels of T4 and T3 in rats treated with CEE, with Tamoxifen and in rats with intact ovaries, were higher than those those in the vehicle group (P < 0.001). The PCNA index in the vehicle group was lower than in other groups., Conclusion: Our data suggest that estrogen and tamoxifen administration has a proliferative effect on the thyroid.

Despite numerous studies on women's cardiac health throughout the past decade, the number of female deaths caused by cardiovascular disease still rises and remains the leading cause of death in women in most areas of the world. Novel studies have demonstrated that cardiovascular disease, and more specifically coronary artery disease presentations in women, are different than those in men. In addition, pathology and pathophysiology of the disease present significant gender differences, which leads to difficulties concerning diagnosis, treatment and outcome of the female population. The reason for this disparity is all steps for female cardiovascular disease evaluation, treatment and prevention are not well elucidated; and an area for future research. This review brings together the most recent studies published in the field of coronary artery disease in women and points out new directions for future investigation on some of the important issues.

Purpose: Long-term therapy of haematology patients has been facilitated by permanent indwelling central venous catheters. We performed a retrospective study to compare the problems occurring with a externalized catheter (Hickman) versus a totally implanted port catheter., Patients and Methods: A total of 171 catheters were placed to 139 haematological patients, 77 patients with Hickman catheters and 94 with totally implanted port catheters. We review our experience in order to identify factors associated with complications., Results: Pneumothorax occurred in one of 171 of the percutaneously placed devices. Other early complications were hematoma 13, and catheter migration out of the vascular tree 8. Late complications included malposition (5.8%), thrombosis (2.9%), septic thrombosis (1.7%) and most notably infection (38.5%). 62 of 77 patients with Hickman catheters developed catheter-related infection (hazard rate infection 7.1/1000 days) compared with 53 of 94 patients with implanted port catheters (hazard rate infection 1.5/1000 days, p < 0.001). Most of infections that occurred were caused by gram-positive organisms but the gram-negative organisms infections resulted in a significantly higher rate of treatment failure and recurrence. A total of 72 catheters were removed of the central line: 36 for infection., Conclusion: We found a significantly increased incidence of catheter-related infection in patients with Hickman catheters. We also observed that the use of intravenous antibiotic prophylaxis prior to catheter insertion did not appear to be beneficial and thrombocytopenia at this moment was a factor in the development of hematoma. The infections due to coagulase-positive staphylococci can be treated successfully without removal of the catheters. However in catheter-related bacteremia due gram-negative organisms there is a chance that the bacteremia will recur if the catheter is not removed.