Development of an intraoral device for social inclusion of a physically disabled patient

The aim of this study is to describe the use of an intraoral assistive technology for a patient with idiopathic generalized muscular dystonia, presenting temporomandibular disorder and severe anterior tooth mobility and diastema. A multidisciplinary team developed an intraoral device to provide typing and painting functions, and promote relaxation of masticatory muscles without compromising the teeth and supporting tissue structures. The occlusal splint associated with the device promoted muscle relaxation and relief of the signs and symptoms of temporomandibular dysfunction, in this case with generalized muscle dystonia, allowing typing and painting with her mouth without causing tooth mobility or occlusal alteration. This intraoral device has low cost, easy adaptation and was efficient in TMD symptoms. Furthermore, the patient returned to her rehabilitation allowing performance of her duties without compromising dental structures, facilitating the social and the digital inclusion.     

Phthalimido-thiazole as privileged scaffold: activity against immature and adult worms of Schistosoma mansoni

Parasitology Research - Phthalimide, 1,3-thiazole, and thiazolidinone cores are considered privileged scaffolds and represent an attractive starting point to design new bioactive compounds for...     

Norwegian scabies mimicking rupioid psoriasis

Norwegian scabies is a highly contagious skin infestation caused by an ectoparasite, Scarcoptes scabiei var. Hominis, which mainly affects immunosuppressed individuals. Clinically, it may simulate various dermatoses such as psoriasis, Darier''s disease, seborrheic dermatitis, among others. This is a case report of a 33-year-old woman, immunocompetent, diagnosed with generalized anxiety disorder (cancer phobia), who had erythematous, well-defined plaques, covered with rupioid crusts, on her neck, axillary folds, breast, periumbilical region, groin area, besides upper back and elbows, mimicking an extremely rare variant of psoriasis, denominated rupioid psoriasis.     

Osteomuscular symptoms on motorcycles in the city of Rio Branco,Acre, Brazil,West Amazon

Musculoskeletal disorders gradually affect workers in different parts of the world, compromising their occupational health and quality of life. Professionals exposed to these symptoms include the motorcycle taxi driver, whose pain is due to the overuse of the musculoskeletal system and little time to recover it.To identify the prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in motorcycle taxi drivers in the city of Rio Branco, Acre, Brazil, West Amazon.Cross-sectional study, involving 296 motorcycle taxi drivers in the city of Rio Branco-Acre, Brazil, male, from December 2016 to February 2017. The Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire was used to collect information related to symptoms (pain, discomfort, or numbness) in the last 7 days of work. For the exclusion criteria were, being female; not reside outside the city of Rio Branco, Acre; having less than 3 months of work activity; not be carrying out their work activities at the time of application of the protocol; be limited by clinical or physical issues at the time of application of the protocol. The data obtained in the questionnaire were entered into the Epidata program (Epidata Association, Odense, Denmark) and then transferred to the STATA 10 statistical program (Stata Corp., College Station), for categorization and statistical analysis.The study population is over 36 years old; most reported having a partner and a higher education level. The average daily working hours of the participants were 12 hours, with the majority working over 12 hours daily. Most of the epidemiological variables factors were associated with musculoskeletal pain when the prevalence and prevalence ratio analyzes were performed. Higher prevalence of musculoskeletal symptoms in the lumbar region is with 17.9%. In the lower limbs, the most affected joint was the ankle (5.7%), followed by the hip (5.07%) and knee (5.07%), respectively. Insomnia was present in 55.35% and self-reported headache in 49.4% of participants.The musculoskeletal disorders generated by the daily service of motorcycle taxi drivers are directly affecting the quality of life of these professionals.     

Enhancement of chemotactic factor-stimulated neutrophil oxidative metabolism by leukotriene B4

Leukotriene B4 (LTB4) is a potent primary stimulator of neutrophil chemotaxis, aggregation, and degranulation and induces superoxide production at higher concentrations. In order to determine whether LTB4 modulates neutrophil responses to oxidative stimuli, human neutrophils (PMNs) were incubated with LTB4 prior to stimulation with f-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP, 10(-7) mol/L), opsonized zymosan (OZ, 250 micrograms/mL), or phorbol myristate acetate (PMA, 32 nmol/L). Superoxide (O2-) production by stimulated PMNs was assessed by the superoxide dismutase-inhibitable reduction of cytochrome c. LTB4 alone did not stimulate O2- production in concentrations below 10(-7) mol/L and had no effect on the O2- assay. In the concentration range of 10(-12) to 10(-8) mol/L, LTB4 did not alter O2- release induced by OZ or PMA. In contrast, LTB4-treated cells demonstrated enhanced O2- production following exposure to fMLP, and in the presence of 10 nmol/LLTB4, generated 180% +/- 41% of O-2 quantities produced by control cells (n = 23). Enhancement was LTB4 dose-dependent, was maximal in the range of 1 to 10 nmol/L LTB4, was not reversed by removal of the lipid from the medium prior to fMLP stimulation, and was not dependent on the presence of Ca++ or Mg++ in the suspending medium. Chemiluminescence of fMLP-stimulated neutrophils was increased to 323% of controls in neutrophils preincubated with 10 nmol/L LTB4. Unlike augmentation of oxidative responses to fMLP seen with other degranulating stimuli, enhancement by LTB4 was not correlated with an increase in 3H-fMLP receptor binding. These results indicate that, in addition to its primary effects on neutrophil function, LTB4 modulates PMN oxidative responses to the chemotactic peptide and, thus, may amplify the release of oxygen metabolites at inflammatory foci.     

Physical and functional interactions between Stat5 and the tyrosine- phosphorylated receptors for erythropoietin and interleukin-3

Erythropoietin (Epo) and interleukin-3 (IL-3) stimulate activation of the Jak2 tyrosine kinase and induce tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of Stat5. In the present study, we have shown that Epo or IL- 3 stimulation induces binding of Stat5 to the tyrosine-phosphorylated Epo receptor (EpoR) or IL-3 receptor beta subunit (betaIL3), respectively, in IL-3-dependent 32D cells expressing the EpoR. The binding of Stat5 to these cytokine receptors was shown to be rapid and transient, occurring within 1 minute of stimulation of cells and significantly decreasing after 5 minutes of cell treatment. In vivo binding experiments in COS cells showed that binding of Stat5 to the EpoR was mediated through the Stat5 Src homology 2 (SH2) domain. In vitro binding studies further showed that Stat5, but not other Stats examined, bound specifically to tyrosine-phosphorylated recombinant EpoR fusion proteins. In these in vivo and in vitro binding studies, Stat5 bound, albeit to a lesser degree, to truncated EpoR mutants in which all the intracellular tyrosines except Y-343 were removed. Furthermore, EpoR-derived synthetic phosphotyrosine peptides corresponding to Y-343, Y-401, Y-431, and Y-479 inhibited the in vitro binding of Stat5. When expressed in 32D cells, a mutant EpoR in which all the intracellular tyrosines were removed by carboxy-terminal truncation showed a significantly impaired ability to induce tyrosine phosphorylation of Stat5, particularly at low concentrations of Epo, but exhibited an increased sensitivity to Epo for growth signaling as compared with the wild-type EpoR. These results indicate that Stat5 specifically and transiently binds to the EpoR through the interaction between the Stat5 SH2 domain and specific phosphorylated tyrosines, including Y-343, in the EpoR cytoplasmic domain. It was implied that betaIL3 may also have similar Stat5 docking sites. The Stat5 docking sites in the EpoR were shown to facilitate specific activation of Stat5, which, however, may not be required for the EpoR-mediated growth signaling.