Phonemic fluency in Portuguese-speaking subjects in Brazil: ranking of letters

Phonological verbal fluency studies in English most commonly employ the letters F-A-S as stimuli. We assessed the production of words with these and 14 other letters in Portuguese-speaking healthy subjects (n = 74). The letters F-A-S were ranked among the easiest to produce words in one minute, which is consistent with the findings of studies with English-speaking subjects. There were differences in the overall ranking of letters depending on whether the total word number or the latency between words were considered. Our findings provide a databank of phonological verbal fluency performance using different stimuli in Portuguese, and demonstrate that the ranking of the letters F-A-S is comparable between the English and Portuguese languages in terms of the level of difficulty to produce words, when the task is used in its traditional format.     

Long-term oral treatment with BAY 41-2272 ameliorates impaired corpus cavernosum relaxations in a nitric oxide-deficient rat model

Study Type – Therapy (case control)
Level of Evidence 3b What’s known on the subject? and What does the study add? Erectile dysfunction is defined as the persistent inability to achieve and/or maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. Nitric oxide (NO) is the main transmitter released from nitrergic nerves and endothelial cells involved in the erectile erection. NO activates the soluble guanylyl cyclase (sGC) in cavernosal smooth muscle to generate cyclic GMP (cGMP) that in turn promotes relaxation and penile erection. Erectile dysfunction genesis can be attributed to a variety of factors such as stress, ageing, drugs, and certain pathological conditions including arterial hypertension, atherosclerosis, dyslipidemia and diabetes mellitus. Inhibitors of phosphodiesterase‐5 (PDE5) like sildenafil (viagra^TM), vardenafil (levitra^TM) and tadalafil (cialis^TM) remain the main oral therapy for erectile dysfunction. These compounds inhibit the cGMP hydrolysis thereby preserving cGMP thus causing an enhancement of corporeal smooth muscle relaxation. The existence of a new NO‐independent regulatory site on sGC has been described. BAY 41‐2272 is a novel compound that generates significant amounts of cGMP by stimulating the sGC in the absence of NO. Compound BAY 41‐2272 also synergize with endogenous NO producing higher cGMP‐dependent cell responses. Using a model of chronic NO deficiency in rats to produce erectile dysfunction, we show that long‐term oral treatment of with BAY 41‐2272 prevents the erectile dysfunction in the NO‐deficient rats. Therefore, this compound may have great therapeutic potential to erectile dysfunction treatment.

OBJECTIVE

? To investigate the potential beneficial effects of 4‐week oral treatment with 5‐cyclopropyl‐2‐[1‐(2‐fluoro‐benzyl)‐1Hpyrazolo[3,4‐b]pyridin‐3‐yl]‐pyrimidin‐4‐ylamine (BAY 41‐2272), a nitric oxide (NO)‐independent soluble guanylate cyclase activator, on impaired rat corpus cavernosum relaxations in NO‐deficient rats.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

? Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Control, N (G)‐nitro‐L‐ arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME; 20 mg/rat/day), BAY 41‐2272 (20 mg/kg/day) and L‐NAME + BAY 41‐2272. ? Rats were treated with L‐NAME concomitantly with BAY 41‐2272 for 4 weeks. ? Concentration–response curves to acetylcholine (ACh) and sodium nitroprusside (SNP), along with the nitrergic relaxations (1–32 Hz) were obtained in rat corpus cavernosum (RaCC). ? The RaCC contractile responses to the α₁‐adrenoceptor agonist phenylephrine (PE) were obtained.

RESULTS

? Acetylcholine (0.01–1000 µmol/L) produced concentration‐dependent relaxing responses in RaCC that were significantly enhanced (P < 0.05) in BAY 41‐2272‐treated rats. ? The ACh‐induced relaxations were largely reduced in L‐NAME‐treated rats, and co‐treatment with BAY 41‐2272 failed to significantly modify these impaired relaxations. ? The SNP‐induced relaxations were modified neither by L‐NAME nor by co‐treatment with BAY 41‐2272. ? The nitrergic relaxations were significantly amplified in BAY 41‐2272‐treated rats (at 16 and 32 Hz). A significant reduction in the nitrergic relaxations was observed in L‐NAME‐treated rats, an effect largely restored by co‐treatment with BAY 41‐2272. ? The contractile RaCC responses produced by PE (0.001–100 µmol/L) were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in L‐NAME‐treated rats, and co‐treatment of L‐NAME with BAY 41‐2272 nearly restored these enhanced contractile responses.

CONCLUSION

? Four‐week therapy with BAY 41‐2272 prevents the impaired corpus cavernosum relaxations of rats treated chronically with L‐NAME, indicating that accumulation of cyclic guanosine monophosphate into erectile tissue counteracts the NO deficiency.     

Partner violence perpetration and victimization and HIV risk behaviors in St. Petersburg, Russia

Whether intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration and victimization are associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) risk behaviors is seldom investigated in Russia. The present study hypothesized that patients from a sexually transmitted infection center in Russia who perpetrated IPV or were victims of IPV would be more likely to have HIV risk behaviors including injection drug use, multiple partners, and inconsistent condom use than those who were not involved with IPV. We used a self-administered questionnaire to collect information from 381 patients on demographics, health status, injection drug use, sexual behaviors, and violence involving sexual partners between 2008 and 2009. After including sociodemographics, lifetime IPV perpetration was significantly associated with having had multiple sexual partners among male patients (odds ratio [OR] = 2.61, p < .05). IPV victimization was significantly associated with injection drug use among male and female patients (OR = 5.22, p < .05) and with inconsistent condom use among female patients (OR = 8.93, p < .05). IPV perpetration and victimization were common among male and female study participants and were associated with greater HIV risk behaviors. HIV prevention programs in Russia should address the risks associated with IPV among people at risk for HIV.     

The challenges of treating a fused tooth

This paper describes and discusses the multidisciplinary treatment involving a permanent maxillary lateral incisor fused to a supernumerary tooth, both presenting pulp necrosis and periapical lesion. A 15-year-old male patient sought treatment complaining of pain, swelling and mobility on the maxillary right lateral incisor. After clinical and radiographic examination, root canal preparation was performed according to the crown-down technique and a calcium hydroxide dressing was placed for 15 days. The patient returned and the definitive endodontic filling was done with thermomechanical compaction of gutta-percha and sealer. After 18 months, clinical and radiographic examinations were carried out and no pain or swelling was reported. Two years after endodontic treatment, the patient returned for periodontal and cosmetic treatments. Nine months later, a cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) revealed that the previously detected periodontal defect and periapical lesion were persistent. Apical endodontic surgery was indicated. The supernumerary tooth was removed, the communicating distal surface was filled and the surgical site received bioactive glass and demineralized bovine organic bone. The pathological tissue was submitted to histopathological examination and the diagnosis was periapical cyst. One year after the apical endodontic surgery, CBCT showed bone formation at maxillary lateral incisor apical area. Two years after the surgery, the restoration was replaced due to aesthetic reasons and periapical radiograph showed success after 5 years of treatment. A correct diagnosis and establishment of an adequate treatment plan resulted in a successful management of the case.     

Treatment of heterotopic caesarean scar pregnancy complicated with post termination increase in size of residual mass and morbidly adherent placenta

We report a case of a secundipara with heterotopic cesarean scar pregnancy (HCSP) treated with potassium chloride injection into the ectopic embryo followed by sac aspiration. The remaining “mass” increased in size threefold and was surrounded by a rich vascular network. An arteriovenous malformation was suspected; however, appropriate treatment was precluded because of the viability of the ectopic gestation. Sonographic examination revealed a morbidly adherent placenta, and attempt to resect the mass laparoscopically was complicated by bleeding that required hysterectomy. This case illustrates a complication of the intervention performed to preserve the intrauterine gestation in case of HCSP. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 46 :227–230, 2018     

Ventricular remodeling in growing rats with experimental diabetes: The impact of swimming training

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is associated with cardiac muscle remodeling, resulting in myocardial dysfunction, whereas exercise training (ET) is a useful nonpharmacological strategy for the therapy of cardiac diseases. This study tested the effects of low-intensity swimming-training on the structural remodeling of the left ventricle (LV) in growing rats with unmanaged experimental diabetes. Thirty-day-old male Wistar rats were divided into four groups (n = 5/group): sedentary-control (SC), exercised-control (EC), sedentary-diabetic (SD), and exercised-diabetic (ED). Swimming-training rats exercised 5 days/week, 90 min/day, with a load of 5% BW during 8 weeks. Sections of LV were stained with Periodic acid-Schiff, Sirius Red, and Gomori's reticulin. Seven days and 8 weeks after streptozotocin (STZ) induction (60 mg kg⁻¹ BW), blood glucose (BG) in the diabetic groups (SD = 581.40 ± 40.48; ED = 558.00 ± 48.89) was greater (p < 0.05) than in their controls (SC = 88.80 ± 21.70; EC = 85.60 ± 11.55). Swimming-training reduced BG by 23 mg/dL in the diabetics (p > 0.05). The LV of diabetic rats had increased interstitial collagen and reticular fibers on the extracellular matrix and presented glycogen accumulation. More importantly, all these adverse tissue changes induced by STZ were attenuated by ET. Together, these findings support the idea of a beneficial role of exercise in the LV remodeling in rats with unmanaged type-1 diabetes mellitus.