• Parasites, Hosts and Diseases
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• 제55권3호
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• pp.337-340
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• 2017

Leishmaniasis is a neglected and endemic disease that affects poorest population mainly in developing countries. A lack of adequate and definitive chemotherapeutic agents to fight against this infection has led to the investigation of numerous compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate in vitro activity of boldine against Leishmania amazonensis murine cell infection. Boldine ((S)-2,9-dihydroxy-1,10-dimethoxy-aporphine) is an aporphine alkaloid found abundantly in the leaves/bark of boldo (Peumus boldus Molina), a widely distributed tree native to Chile. The in vitro system consisted of murine macrophage infection with amastigotes of L. amazonensis treated with different concentrations from 50 to $600{\mu}g/ml$ of boldine for 24 hr. Intracellular parasite destruction was assessed by morphological examination and boldine cytotoxicity to macrophages was tested by the MTT viability assay. When cells were treated with $100{\mu}g/ml$ of boldine the reduction of parasite infection was 81% compared with untreated cultures cells. Interestingly, boldine-treatment caused a concentration-dependent decrease of macrophage infection that culminated with 96% of reduction when cells were submitted to $600{\mu}g/ml$ of boldine. Cell cultures exposed to $100{\mu}g/ml$ of boldine and $300{\mu}g/ml$ of $Glucantime^{(R)}$ during 24 hr showed a significant reduction of 50% in parasitized cells compared with cell cultures exposed just to $Glucantime^{(R)}$. The study showed that treatment with boldine produces a better effect than treatment with the reference antimonial drug, glucantime, in L. amazonensis infected macrophage. Our results suggest that boldine is a potentially useful agent for the treatment of leishmaniasis.

• Safety and Health at Work
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.445-451
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• 2019

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and incidence of accidents with biological material, the level of knowledge, and compliance to standard precautions (SPs) among dentists, physicians, nurses, and dental and medical students. Methods: A closed cohort study with a prospective and retrospective component was conducted between August 2014 and September 2015. The participants were contacted in two moments during the follow-up period, during which a structured questionnaire divided into six sections was used; the interviews were conducted during the follow-up period (Month 6) and at the end of the observation period (Month 12). Results: The global prevalence of accidents in the previous 12 months was 10.2%, with a difference between professionals and students (13.0% vs. 5.1%, respectively; p < 0.003). The incidence rate was 6.49 per 100 person/year, with difference between the groups (6.09 per 100 person/year in professionals and 7.26 per 100 person/year in students), type of specialization (hazard ratio, 3.27), and hours worked per week (hazard ratio, 2.27). The mean of compliance to SP was 31.99 (±3.85) points, with a median of 33 (30, 35) points against the expected 27.75 points. Adherence to SP was associated with the accident report (p < 0.020). Conclusion: We conclude that the proportion/incidence rate of accidents with biological material was high in relation to that in the literature, being higher in professionals and especially among physicians. The levels of knowledge and adherence to SP were good, with the best found in dentists and dental students.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제11권5호
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• pp.812-818
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• 2001

Alginate and alginate-derived oligomannuronate enhanced penicillin production in shake flask and fermentor cultures of Penicillium chrysogenum Wis 54-1255 (containing a single copy of the penicillin gene cluster) and in the high producter strain P. chrysogenum AS-P-99 (containing multiple copies of the penicillin gene cluster). Alginate was not used as a single carbon source by P. chryogenum. The stimulatory effect on penicillin production was observed in a defined medium and, to a lower extent, in a complex production medium containing corn steep liquor. Alginate-supplemented cells showed higher transcript levels of the three penicillin biosynthetic genes, pcbAB, pcbC, and penDE, than cells grown in the absence of alginate. The promoters of the pcbAB, pcbC, and penDE genes were coupled to the reporter lacZ gene and introduced as monocopy constructions in P. chrysogenum Wis 54-1225 npe10 by targeted integration in the pyrG locus; the reporter ${\beta}$-galactosidase activity expressed from the three promoters was stimulated by alginate added to the culture medium of the transformants. These results indicate that the stimulation of penicillin production by alginate was derived from an increase in the transcriptional activity of the penicillin biosynthesis genes. The induction by alginate of the transcription of the three penicillin biosynthetic genes is good example of the coordinated induction of secondary metabolism genes by elicitors of plant (or microbial) origin.

• Journal of Information Display
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• 제10권4호
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• pp.149-157
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• 2009

Reported herein is the architecture for a nonvolatile n-type memory paper field-effect transistor. The device was built via the hybrid integration of natural cellulose fibers (pine and eucalyptus fibers embedded in resin with ionic additives), which act simultaneously as substrate and gate dielectric, using passive and active semiconductors, respectively, as well as amorphous indium zinc and gallium indium zinc oxides for the gate electrode and channel layer, respectively. This was complemented by the use of continuous patterned metal layers as source/drain electrodes.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• 제44권6호
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• pp.274-279
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• 2014

Purpose: To evaluate whether the levels of immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibody to Tanerella forsythia are associated with periodontal status. Methods: Patients with a diagnosis of chronic periodontitis were considered candidates for the study; thus 80 chronic periodontitis patients and 28 healthy persons (control group) were invited to participate in this investigation. The presence of T. forsythia was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis using primers designed to target the respective 16S rRNA gene sequences. Peripheral blood was collected from each subject to identify the IgG1 and IgG2 serum antibodies against T. forsythia. All microbiological and immunological laboratory processes were completed blindly, without awareness of the clinical status of the study patients or of the periodontal sites tested. Results: The bivariate analysis showed that lower mean levels of clinical attachment level (CAL) and probing depth were found in the presence of the IgG1 antibody titers against whole-cell T. forsythia; however, only the difference in CAL was statistically significant. In the presence of the IgG2 antibody titers against whole-cell T. forsythia, the periodontal parameters evaluated were higher but they did not show statistical differences, except for plaque. The unadjusted linear regression model showed that the IgG1 antibody against whole-cell T. forsythia in periodontitis patients was associated with a lower mean CAL (${\beta}=-0.654$; 95% confidence interval [CI], -1.27 to -0.28; P<0.05). This statistically significant association remained after adjusting for possible confounders (${\beta}=-0.655$; 95% CI, -1.28 to -0.29; P<0.05). On the other hand, smoking was a statistically significant risk factor in the model (${\beta}=0.704$; 95% CI, 0.24 to 1.38; P<0.05). Conclusions: Significantly lower mean levels of CAL were shown in the presence of the IgG1 antibody titers against whole-cell T. forsythia in periodontitis patients. Thus, the results of this study suggest that IgG1 antibody to T. forsythia may have been a protective factor from periodontitis in this sample.

• Journal of Periodontal and Implant Science
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• 제45권1호
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• pp.14-22
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• 2015

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare serum amyloid A (SAA) protein levels with high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels as markers of systemic inflammation in patients with chronic periodontitis. The association of serum titers of antibodies to periodontal microbiota and SAA/hs-CRP levels in periodontitis patients was also studied. Methods: A total of 110 individuals were included in this study. Patients were assessed for levels of hs-CRP and SAA. Nonfasting blood samples were collected from participants at the time of clinical examination. The diagnosis of adipose tissue disorders was made according to previously defined criteria. To determine SAA levels, a sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was utilized. Paper points were transferred to a sterile tube to obtain a pool of samples for polymerase chain reaction processing and the identification of Porphyromonas gingivalis, Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans, and Tannerella forsythia. The serum level of IgG1 and IgG2 antibodies to P. gingivalis, A. actinomycetemcomitans, and T. forsythia was also determined. Results: SAA and hs-CRP levels were higher in periodontitis patients than in controls (P<0.05). In bivariate analysis, high levels of hs-CRP (>3 mg/L) and SAA (>10 mg/L) were significantly associated with chronic periodontitis (P=0.004). The Spearman correlation analysis between acute-phase proteins showed that SAA positively correlated with hs-CRP (r=0.218, P=0.02). In the adjusted model, chronic periodontitis was associated with high levels of SAA (odds ratio [OR], 5.5; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.6-18.2; P=0.005) and elevated hs-CRP levels (OR, 6.1, 95% CI, 1.6-23.6; P=0.008). Increased levels of serum IgG2 antibodies to P. gingivalis were associated with high levels of SAA (OR, 3.6; 95% CI, 1.4-8.5; P=0.005) and high concentrations of hs-CRP (OR, 4.3; 95% CI, 1.9-9.8; P<0.001). Conclusions: SAA and hs-CRP concentrations in patients with chronic periodontitis are comparably elevated. High serum titers of antibodies to P. gingivalis and the presence of periodontal disease are independently related to high SAA and hs-CRP levels.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.28.1-28.13
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• 2020

Objectives: To evaluate the outcome of in vitro studies comparing the effectiveness of QMix irrigant in removing the smear layer in the root canal system compared with other irrigants. Materials and Methods: The research question was developed by using Population, Intervention, Comparison, Outcome and Study design framework. Literature search was performed using 3 electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, and EBSCOhost until October 2019. Two reviewers were independently involved in the selection of the articles and data extraction process. Risk of bias of the studies was independently appraised using revised Cochrane Risk of Bias tool (RoB 2.0) based on 5 domains. Results: Thirteen studies fulfilled the selection criteria. The overall risk of bias was moderate. QMix was found to have better smear layer removal ability than mixture of tetracycline isonomer, an acid and a detergent (MTAD), sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl), and phytic acid. The efficacy was less effective than 7% maleic acid and 10% citric acid. No conclusive results could be drawn between QMix and 17% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid due to conflicting results. QMix was more effective when used for 3 minutes than 1 minute. Conclusions: QMix has better smear layer removal ability compared to MTAD, NaOCl, Tubulicid Plus, and Phytic acid. In order to remove the smear layer more effectively with QMix, it is recommended to use it for a longer duration.

• Restorative Dentistry and Endodontics
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.31.1-31.20
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• 2020

Matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are enzymes that can degrade collagen in hybrid layer and reduce the longevity of adhesive restorations. As scientific understanding of the MMPs has advanced, useful strategies focusing on preventing these enzymes' actions by MMP inhibitors have quickly developed in many medical fields. However, in restorative dentistry, it is still not well established. This paper is an overview of the strategies to inhibit MMPs that can achieve a long-lasting material-tooth adhesion. Literature search was performed comprehensively using the electronic databases: PubMed, ScienceDirect and Scopus including articles from May 2007 to December 2019 and the main search terms were "matrix metalloproteinases", "collagen", and "dentin" and "hybrid layer". MMPs typical structure consists of several distinct domains. MMP inhibitors can be divided into 2 main groups: synthetic (synthetic-peptides, non-peptide molecules and compounds, tetracyclines, metallic ions, and others) and natural bioactive inhibitors mainly flavonoids. Selective inhibitors of MMPs promise to be the future for specific targeting of preventing dentin proteolysis. The knowledge about MMPs functionality should be considered to synthesize drugs capable to efficiently and selectively block MMPs chemical routes targeting their inactivation in order to overcome the current limitations of the therapeutic use of MMPs inhibitors, i.e., easy clinical application and long-lasting effect.

• The Plant Pathology Journal
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• 제36권6호
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• pp.600-607
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• 2020

Phytophthora capsici Leonian is a major pathogen of pepper worldwide and few resistance sources to this pathogen have been identified so far. The goals of this study were to identify new sources of resistance against P. capsici in Capsicum landraces and analyze the relationship between the resistance indicator of plant symptoms and some plant phenotype parameters of plant height, stem width, leaf length and leaf width. Thirty-two landraces of pepper were collected from fourteen states in Mexico. From each population, 36 plants were inoculated with 10,000 zoospores of P. capsici under controlled conditions. This experiment was repeated twice. Out of the 32 landraces, six showed high level of resistance, four showed intermediate resistance and five showed low level of resistance when compared with the susceptible control 'Bravo' and the resistant control 'CM334', indicating that these landraces are promising novel sources of resistance to P. capsici. There was no correlation between the symptoms and plant phenotype parameters. However, these parameters were not affected in the group classified as highly resistant, indicating that P. capsici does not affect the growing of these resistant pepper landraces. The other resistant groups were significantly affected in a differently manner regarding their phenotype, indicating that this pathogen reduce their growth in different ways. This study reports novel resistance sources with great potential that could be used in breeding programs to develop new pepper cultivars with durable resistance to P. capsici.

• Journal of Information Science Theory and Practice
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• 제8권1호
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• pp.56-67
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• 2020

Over the years, cultural mapping methods have been used in several applications and contexts, for diverse cultural assets and to create new conditions for the development of local and regional resources. These methods were inspired by the development of big urban centres and regions, which have been the great engine of cultural mapping growth. The main objectives of the present paper are to provide a literature review on cultural mapping methodologies and to develop exploratory research on crowdsource tools on creative tourism which were applied to one Portuguese municipality in 2017. The research was supported by the implementation and integration of geographic information systems (GIS) and web mapping, which will become part of the solution for the growth of less developed territories and to make more interactive tourist activities. Web mapping's contribution to enhance crowd participation was measured via analysis of 12 digital photos shared through crowdsourcing. The originality of this research lies in the attempt to develop a new model for creative tourism, trying to extend the implementation of Web Mapping crowdsourcing to deprived low density territories. Results show how public participation can be amplified for the tourism market by crowdsourcing tools. These tools look very promising since they can help several members of the public at different ages to contribute to territorial knowledge, engage in activities, and collaborate through digital tools. It is a step to fulfil the lack of studies in this subject and it contributes to the way we think about future studies.