A bio-psycho-social approach to acute hypertensive disease in pregnancy

In this paper, the approach to the genesis of the acute hypertension of pregnancy, uses a conceptual and methodological perspective adjusted to its multifactorial nature; a set of questions with epidemiologic focus is proposed, in order to vinculate psychosocial factors with the biologic processes characteristic of this health problem.     

Tissue Engineered Cartilage Integration to Live and Devitalized Cartilage: A Study by Reflectance Mode Confocal Microscopy and Standard Histology

This study investigated the in vivo formation of engineering cartilage within living or devitalized cartilage discs using reflectance mode confocal microscopy and conventional light microscopy. Pig articular chondrocytes were suspended in fibrin glue and placed between two cartilage discs. Four experimental groups were prepared: in groups 1 and 2, the cell-hydrogel composite was placed between two live or between two devitalized cartilage discs, respectively; in groups 3 and 4, acellular fibrin glue was placed between two live or between two devitalized cartilage discs, respectively. Samples were implanted in the back of nude mice and analyzed after 2, 5, and 8 weeks. Results showed that engineered cartilage seems to grow more homogenously when the cell-seeded gel was placed between devitalized cartilages than when it was placed between live cartilage matrices. Confocal microscopy provides valuable information on the integration of tissue-engineered cartilage with native tissue and could be useful for nondestructive imaging in vivo.     

Inhibitory Effects of Incomplete Freund's Adjuvant on Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis

Freund's incomplete adjuvant (IFA), an aqueous/oil emulsion that is widely used in combination with antigenic proteins and peptides to induce tolerance, is considered to be immunologically inert. However, sporadic reports indicate that IFA may itself have inhibitory properties on induction of adjuvant induced arthritis and spontaneous diabetes. In the current study, the effects of IFA/saline were evaluated on the induction of experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) in three different strains of mice. IFA/saline given i.p. in two doses of >100 &#117 &#119 l 10 &#117 days apart were found to inhibit EAE induction to varying degrees in all three strains of mice in a dose dependent fashion. The IFA/saline injections inhibited both mitogen and antigen-induced T cell proliferation, induced elevated secretion of IFN- &#110 and IL-10 by neuroantigen specific T cells, and reduced expression of cytokines, chemokines, and chemokine receptors of CNS-infiltrating mononuclear cells. These data demonstrate for the first time a direct inhibitory effect of IFA/saline on EAE, and re-emphasize the need to properly control experiments using IFA to induce antigen-specific tolerance.     

Esthetic considerations for the treatment of the edentulous maxilla based on current informatic alternatives: a case report

This report presents a protocol used to transfer the virtual treatment plan data to the surgical and prosthetic reality and its clinical application, bone site augmentation with computer-custom milled bovine bone graft blocks to their ideal architecture form, implant insertion based on image-guided stent fabrication, and the restorative manufacturing process through computed tomography-based software programs and navigation systems and the computer-aided design and manufacturing techniques for the treatment of the edentulous maxilla.     

Degree of conversion of nanofilled and microhybrid composite resins photo-activated by different generations of LEDs

Objective

This study aimed at evaluating the degree of conversion (DC) of four composite resins, being one nanofilled and 3 microhybrid resins, photo-activated with second- and third-generation light-emitting diodes (LEDs).

Material and methods

Filtek^TM Z350 nanofilled composite resins and Amelogen^® Plus, Vit-l-escence^TM and Opallis microhybrid resins were photo-activated with two second-generation LEDs (Radii-cal and Elipar Free Light^TM 2) and one third-generation LED (Ultra-Lume LED 5) by continuous light mode, and a quartz halogen-tungsten bulb (QHT, control). After 24 h of storage, the samples were pulverized into fine powder and 5 mg of each material were mixed with 100 mg of potassium bromide (KBr). After homogenization, they were pressed, which resulted in a pellet that was evaluated using an infrared spectromer (Nexus 470, Thermo Nicolet) equipped with TGS detector using diffuse reflectance (32 scans, resolution of 4 cm^-1) coupled to a computer. The percentage of unreacted carbon-carbon double bonds (% C=C) was determined from the ratio of absorbance intensities of aliphatic C=C (peak at 1637 cm-1) against internal standard before and after curing of the specimen: aromatic C-C (peak at 1610 cm-1).

Results

The ANOVA showed a significant effect on the interaction between the light-curing units (LCUs) and the composite resins (p<0.001). The Tukey''s test showed that the nanofilled resin (Filtek^TM Z350) and Opallis when photo-activated by the halogen lamp (QTH) had the lowest DC compared with the other microhybrid composite resins. The DC of the nanofilled resin (Filtek^TM Z350) was also lower using LEDs. The highest degrees of conversion were obtained using the third-generation LED and one of second-generation LEDs (Elipar Free Light^TM 2).

Conclusions

The nanofilled resin showed the lowest DC, and the Vit-l-escence^TM microhybrid composite resin showed the highest DC. Among the LCUs, it was not possible to establish an order, even though the second-generation LED Radii-cal provided the lowest DC.