Abstract This study examined the electrical activity of the superior (SO) and inferior (IO) orbicularis oculi muscles before and after installing ocular prostheses in patients who had undergone ...unilateral enucleation. Twelve volunteers requiring prostheses were selected. Their electrical activity was monitored at rest and during normal opening and closing of the eyelids, rapid opening and closing of the eyelids, and squeezing. Data were recorded before and 7, 30, and 60 days after the ocular prosthesis was installed. Two-way analysis of variance was performed to verify whether there were any significant differences between the muscles and periods, and means were compared by Tukey–Kramer honestly significant difference (HSD) tests ( P < 0.05). Results from the initial period differed significantly from those after prosthesis installation in all clinical situations. The SO had significantly higher electrical activity levels than the IO in all clinical situations but squeezing. The authors observed the same values during the initial period for the condition of rest (SO 8.42/IO 5.93) and the highest values for the condition of squeezing after 60 days (SO 131.50/IO 117.12). Rehabilitative treatment promoted an increase in the electrical activity of the orbicularis oculi muscles, restoring part of the muscle tone and motor function to muscles of the affected area.
(−)-Hinokinin, a dibenzylbutyrolactone lignan, exhibits significant trypanocidal activity both
in vitro and
in vivo, and was obtained by partial synthesis from (−)-cubebin isolated from the dry seeds ...of
Piper cubeba. Considering the good trypanocidal activity of (−)-hinokinin, as well as its potential for the development of new drugs, it is extremely important to evaluate its possible mutagenic activity to allow its safe use in humans. In the present study, we evaluated the antimutagenic effect of (−)-hinokinin on the chromosome damage induced by the chemotherapeutic agent doxorubicin (DXR). The test system employed was the analysis of micronucleated polychromatic erythrocytes in peripheral blood of Wistar rats. Additionally, the antioxidant activity of (−)-hinokinin was evaluated in
in vitro experiments by measuring the production of hydrogen peroxide and other peroxides. Our results showed that animals treated with different doses of (−)-hinokinin (10, 20, and 40
mg/kg
b.w.) exhibited micronucleated cell frequencies similar to that of the negative control. In addition, treatment with combinations of (−)-hinokinin and DXR resulted in lower micronucleated cell frequencies than those observed for animals treated with DXR alone. The present study shows that (−)-hinokinin not only has no genotoxic effect, but is also effective in reducing the chromosome damage induced by DXR. (−)-Hinokinin exerted a significant antioxidant effect on parasite mitochondria in the protocol used, which might be one possible mechanism by which this compound may exert a protective effect on the chromosome damage induced by the free radicals generated by DXR.
The development of complex and large 3D vascularized tissue constructs remains the major goal of tissue engineering and regenerative medicine (TERM). To date, several strategies have been proposed to ...build functional and perfusable vascular networks in 3D tissue-engineered constructs to ensure the long-term cell survival and the functionality of the assembled tissues after implantation. However, none of them have been entirely successful in attaining a fully functional vascular network. Herein, we report an alternative approach to bioengineer 3D vascularized constructs by embedding bioinstructive 3D multilayered microchannels, developed by combining 3D printing with the layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly technology, in photopolymerizable hydrogels. Alginate (ALG) was chosen as the ink to produce customizable 3D sacrificial microstructures owing to its biocompatibility and structural similarity to the extracellular matrices of native tissues. ALG structures were further LbL coated with bioinstructive chitosan and arginine–glycine–aspartic acid-coupled ALG multilayers, embedded in shear-thinning photocrosslinkable xanthan gum hydrogels and exposed to a calcium-chelating solution to form perfusable multilayered microchannels, mimicking the biological barriers, such as the basement membrane, in which the endothelial cells were seeded, denoting an enhanced cell adhesion. The 3D constructs hold great promise for engineering a wide array of large-scale 3D vascularized tissue constructs for modular TERM strategies.
Efficient heat generation by plasmon-resonant gold nanoparticles, together with their biocompatibility and high specificity of biomolecular recognition, opens new possibilities for applications in ...biomedical applications. In this work, we present an improved method of monitoring surface temperature changes subjected to external stimulation by dynamic IR thermography. The method is based on the careful analysis of an IR image sequence recorded before, during, and after the stimulation that allows one to select areas with significant temperature variation and evaluate temporal behavior of the surface temperature. The method was applied for the experimental study on the photothermal effect in a gold hydrosol containing hollow gold nanoparticles heated with laser beam. Under these conditions, it was seen that the surface temperature of the gold hydrosol (measured with a FLIR SC655 InfraRed Camera, resolution 640 × 480 pixels) under the laser beam gradually increases and reaches a saturation level. It was shown that the developed method is capable of producing a quantitative analysis of the changes in the surface temperature distribution of the gold hydrosol, as well as characterizing the photothermal properties of the nanoparticles.
Different ceramic surface cleaning methods have been suggested after the acid conditioning. The aim was to evaluate the effect of different protocols used to remove the remaining hydrofluoric acid on ...the shear bond strength (SBS) between lithium disilicate and resin cement.
Forty-four specimens of lithium disilicate (IPS e.max Press) were divided in 4 groups (n=11): group C (control, no treatment); group HF+S (5% hydrofluoric acid + silane); group HF+US+S (5% hydrofluoric acid + ultrasound cleaning + silane); group HF+PH+S (5% hydrofluoric acid + 37% phosphoric acid + silane). Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) were performed to characterize the surface morphology. The SBS test was performed on the resin/ceramic interface, and the failure mode was characterized. SBS values were submitted to 1-way ANOVA and the Tukey test (α=.05). The relation between surface treatment and failure modes was analyzed using the chi-squared test (α=.05).
The surface treatment type interfered in the shear strength (
<.001) and higher SBS values were observed for the groups HF+US+S (17.87 MPa) and HF+PH+S (16.37 MPa). The surface treatment did not influence the failure mode (
=.713). No fluorsilicate salts were observed after ultrasound cleaning.
The utilization of ultrasound cleaning was an effective procedure to remove remaining fluorsilicate salts, promoting the highest SBS values.
Bond strength, ceramics, fluorsilicate, lithium disilicate, resin cement.
Purpose
Evaluate the percentage of patients with prostate cancer treated with luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone analogues (LHRHa) that develop castration resistance after a follow-up period of ...3 years. The secondary objective is to evaluate the variables potentially related to the progression to castration resistant prostate cancer (CRPC).
Methods
A post-authorization, nation-wide, multicenter, prospective, observational, and longitudinal study that included 416 patients treated with LHRHa between 2012 and 2017 is presented. Patients were followed for 3 years or until development of CRPC, thus completing a per-protocol population of 350 patients. A Cox regression analysis was carried out to evaluate factors involved in progression to CRPC.
Results
After 3 years of treatment with LHRHa 18.2% of patients developed CRPC. In contrast, in the subgroup analysis, 39.6% of the metastatic patients developed CRPC, compared with 8.8% of the non-metastatic patients. The patients with the highest risk of developing CRPC were those with a nadir prostate-specific antigen (PSA) > 2 ng/ml (HR 21.6; 95% CI 11.7–39.8;
p
< 0.001) and those receiving concomitant medication, most commonly bicalutamide (HR 1.8; 95% CI 1–3.1,
p
= 0.0431).
Conclusions
The proportion of metastatic patients developing CRPC after 3 years of treatment with LHRHa is consistent with what has been previously described in the literature. In addition, this study provides new findings on CRPC in non-metastatic patients. Concomitant medication and nadir PSA are statistically significant predictive factors for the time to diagnosis of CRPC, the nadir PSA being the strongest predictor.
The aim of this study was to develop and characterise a new plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) film for improving shear bond strength (SBS) between yttria-stabilised tetragonal ...zirconia (Y-TZP) and veneering ceramic. In total, 192 Y-TZP samples (13 × 5.4 × 5 mm) were divided into 6 groups: control – no treatment (C), airborne-particle abrasion with 27 μm aluminum oxide particles (Al27), 110 μm aluminum oxide particles (Al110), and 250 μm aluminum oxide particles (Al250), application of liner for zirconia (L) and the PECVD film application (P). The Y-TZP surface was characterised by means of Scanning Electronic Microscopy (SEM), Energy-dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), surface profilometry and surface-free energy (SFE). SBS between Y-TZP and veneering ceramic was tested before and after thermocycling (20,000 cycles of 5 and 55 °C), and failure mode was also evaluated. Data were analysed by ANOVA and Tukey's HSD test (α = 0.05). Data analysis showed that PECVD film had no effect on surface roughness of Y-TZP (p > 0.05 vs control), whilst the other groups presented higher roughness values (p < 0.05). All treatments increased SFE, except the Al27 group. The highest SBS was presented by the P group (p < 0.05), and values were similar to those of the Al27 group (p = 0.107). Mixed failures were prevalent in all groups, and premature failures were found only in Al groups after thermocycling. Whilst PECVD treatment did not affect Y-TZP surface roughness, high SBS between Y-TZP and the veneering layer was observed. Therefore, PECVD treatment is a promising alternative to improve the performance of bi-layer zirconia-based restorations.
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•The Y-TZP and veneering ceramic interface is a critical aspect of layered zirconia restorations.•There is no definitive Y-TZP surface protocol to improve the bond strength between zirconia and veneering ceramic.•A new Y-TZP surface treatment is proposed.•PECVD is a promising Y-TZP surface treatment.•PECVD can improve bond strength without degradation of the Y-TZP surface.
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