Effects of consumption of contaminated feed with 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) on the rat tibia: analysis by Raman spectroscopy and mechanical properties

Lasers in Medical Science - Studies reported the harmful effects of 2,4-D on body tissues, provoking changes in the anatomy and physiology of the kidneys, liver, and testicles. Thus, the objective...     

Recipient hypertonic saline infusion prevents cardiac allograft dysfunction

Objective

Hypertonic saline (HTS) has potent immune and vascular effects. We assessed recipient pretreatment with HTS on allograft function in a porcine model of heart transplantation and hypothesized that HTS infusion would limit endothelial and left ventricular (LV) dysfunction following transplantation.

The marks of gunshot wounds to the face

IntroductionThis article deals with the occurrence of health problems due to gunshot wounds to the face among military police officers, in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro, who were submitted to surgery at the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Traumatology Clinic of Hospital Central da Polícia Militar.ObjectiveTo identify the profile of patients submitted to surgery as a result of gunshot wounds, the anatomical distribution of maxillofacial fractures, the identified sequelae and complications, the health specialties involved in the rehabilitation of these patients, and to discuss the social, emotional and work performance-related effects of work among these subjects.MethodsA retrospective epidemiological study was carried out based on secondary data from military police officers who were submitted to surgery at Hospital Central da Polícia Militar due to gunshot wounds from June 2003 to December 2017.ResultsDuring the study period, 778 surgeries were performed in the operating room by the Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and Traumatology service at Hospital Central da Polícia Militar, 186 of which were due to gunshot wounds (23.9%). All patients were males and the mean age 34.7 years. Bone segment loss was the most common sequela. Facial esthetic impairment and reports of insomnia were the most often identified late consequences of impact on health and social life. Regarding the occupational impacts of the sustained injury, the mean time away from work due to medical leave for the treatment of maxillofacial injuries was 11.7 months.ConclusionThe treatment of gunshot wounds patients with facial injuries requires multiple surgical interventions and their rehabilitation requires the involvement of different health specialties. Further studies are needed to qualitatively analyze the impact of this type of facial trauma on the patients' lives and their social consequences.     

Pathways in the association between sugar sweetened beverages and child asthma traits in the 2nd year of life: Findings from the BRISA cohort

Studies on the exposure of children to sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) at an early age may contribute to better understand the common causes and the temporal order of the relationships between obesity and asthma in early childhood. The objective of this study was to estimate the association between SSB and child asthma traits in the 2nd year of life, modeling direct and indirect pathways mediated by the highest BMI-z of the child and allergic inflammation. Data from the BRISA cohort, São Luís-MA, Brazil (n = 1140), were obtained from the baseline and from the follow-up performed at the 2nd year of life. The main explanatory variable was the calories from added sugars in SSBs as a percentage of the total daily energy intake. The outcome child asthma traits was a latent variable deduced from four indicators: medical diagnosis of asthma, wheezing, emergency visit due to intense wheezing, and medical diagnosis of rhinitis. A high percentage of daily calories from sugars added to SSBs was directly associated with higher values of child asthma traits (standardized coefficient (SC = 0.073; P = .030)). High levels of eosinophils were also directly associated with child asthma traits (SC = 0.118; P = .049). No mediation pathways were observed via greater BMI-z or eosinophil counts. Therefore, early exposure of children to SSB may contribute to increased risk of childhood asthma, preceding the link between sugar consumption and overweight/obesity, not yet evident in children in the first 2 years of life.     

Derivation of Power M-Mode Transcranial Doppler Criteria for Angiographic Proven MCA Occlusion

BACKGROUND: Stringent transcranial Doppler (TCD) criteria for diagnosing occlusion are needed for more reliable TCD performance at bedside in the acute stroke setting. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: At three academic stroke centers, we performed TCD examination for patients with symptoms of cerebral ischemia who underwent digital subtraction angiography (DSA). We used a standard insonation protocol with power M-mode Doppler (PMD) TCD (TCD 100 M, Spencer Technologies Inc., Seattle, WA). We collected mean flow velocity (MFV), pulsatility indices (PI), and power M-mode resistance signature (absent, high, or low) in symptomatic middle (MCA), anterior (ACA), posterior (PCA), and in affected (a), ipsilateral (i), and contralateral (c-lat) cerebral arteries. Ratios of aMCA/c-lat MCA, aMCA/iACA, and aMCA/iPCA MFV were subsequently calculated. PMD-TCD flow findings were evaluated with a receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis for angiographically proven MCA occlusion. RESULTS: We studied 120 patients with acute cerebral ischemia with PMD-TCD examinations prior to or immediately after DSA. Lower aMCA velocities pointed to higher probability of occlusion (P= .055). The aMCA/iPCA MFV ratio was superior to the aMCA/iACA ratio and strongly predictive of occlusion at a threshold ratio of 0.5 (RR 2.31 CI(95) 2.13-2.51). High resistance or absent M-mode flow signatures in the proximal MCA were present in 87% of M1 and M2 MCA occlusions (probability 87%). In the presence of a low-resistance PMD signature, obtaining the aMCA/iPCA MFV ratio <0.5 increases probability of occlusion to 87%. Normal MFV ratios and low-resistance M-mode signatures are highly predictive of a negative angiogram for MCA occlusion. CONCLUSION: In acute cerebral ischemia, reliable criteria for proximal MCA occlusion have been developed based on combination of MFV ratios and M-mode flow resistance signatures. Validation of these criteria will require multicenter studies.