Ultrahigh energy cosmic ray air showers probe particle physics at energies beyond the reach of accelerators. Here we introduce a new method to test hadronic interaction models without relying on the ...absolute energy calibration, and apply it to events with primary energy 6-16 EeV (E_{CM}=110-170 TeV), whose longitudinal development and lateral distribution were simultaneously measured by the Pierre Auger Observatory. The average hadronic shower is 1.33±0.16 (1.61±0.21) times larger than predicted using the leading LHC-tuned models EPOS-LHC (QGSJetII-04), with a corresponding excess of muons.
Recently, the erbium-doped:yttrium, aluminum, and garnet (Er:YAG) laser has been used for periodontal therapy. This study compared Er:YAG laser irradiation (100 mJ/pulse, 10 Hz, 12.9 J/cm(2)) with or ...without conventional scaling and root planing (SRP) to SRP only for the treatment of periodontal pockets affected with chronic periodontitis.
Twenty-one subjects with pockets from 5 to 9 mm in non-adjacent sites were studied. In a split-mouth design, each site was randomly allocated to a treatment group: SRP and laser (SRPL), laser only (L), SRP only (SRP), or no treatment (C). The plaque index (PI), gingival index (GI), bleeding on probing (BOP), and interleukin (IL)-1beta levels in crevicular fluid were evaluated at baseline and at 12 and 30 days postoperatively, whereas probing depth (PD), gingival recession (GR), and clinical attachment level (CAL) were evaluated at baseline and 30 days after treatment. A statistical analysis was conducted (P <0.05).
Twelve days postoperatively, the PI decreased for SRPL and SRP groups (P <0.05); the GI increased for L, SRP, and C groups but decreased for the SRPL group (P <0.05); and BOP decreased for SRPL, L, and SRP groups (P <0.01). Thirty days postoperatively, BOP decreased for treated groups and was lower than the C group (P <0.05). PD decreased in treated groups (P <0.001), and differences were found between SRPL and C groups (P <0.05). CAL gain was significant only for the SRP group (P <0.01). GR increased for SRPL and L groups (P <0.05). No difference in IL-1beta was detected among groups and periods.
Er:YAG laser irradiation may be used as an adjunctive aid for the treatment of periodontal pockets, although a significant CAL gain was observed with SRP alone and not with laser treatment.
We measure the energy emitted by extensive air showers in the form of radio emission in the frequency range from 30 to 80 MHz. Exploiting the accurate energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory, we ...obtain a radiation energy of 15.8±0.7(stat)±6.7(syst) MeV for cosmic rays with an energy of 1 EeV arriving perpendicularly to a geomagnetic field of 0.24 G, scaling quadratically with the cosmic-ray energy. A comparison with predictions from state-of-the-art first-principles calculations shows agreement with our measurement. The radiation energy provides direct access to the calorimetric energy in the electromagnetic cascade of extensive air showers. Comparison with our result thus allows the direct calibration of any cosmic-ray radio detector against the well-established energy scale of the Pierre Auger Observatory.
ABSTRACT
Aim To investigate the association between socioeconomic, demographic, behavioral, and reproductive factors and the metabolic syndrome (MS) in climacteric women.
Method This cross-sectional ...study was carried out in a sample of 527 women aged 40-65 years seen at an outpatient menopause and gynecologic surgery clinic in Southern Brazil. MS was defined according to NCEP-ATP III diagnostic criteria. Poisson regression was used to calculate crude and adjusted prevalence ratios and their respective 95% confidence intervals (CI).
Results The prevalence of MS was 54.8% (95% CI 50.6-59.1%), varying with menopausal status (45.7% before menopause, 56.3% in perimenopause, and 57.5% in postmenopausal women). Among the components of MS, hypertension and abdominal obesity were the most prevalent (84.8% and 66.8%, respectively). The prevalence of MS rose with advancing age and increasing parity. Women with low education (years of schooling) showed a higher prevalence of MS compared to those with a high education level (64% vs. 36.8%). Women with early menarche (≤11 years of age) showed an increase of 32% in MS prevalence (95% CI 1.08-1.62) compared to those with a late menarche (≥14 years of age).
Conclusion These findings are relevant to public health, particularly as they show the significance of exposure to long-term, hard-to-reverse effects, such as early menarche and low educational achievement, in the development of metabolic syndrome.
Energy-dependent patterns in the arrival directions of cosmic rays are searched for using data of the Pierre Auger Observatory. We investigate local regions around the highest-energy cosmic rays with
...E
≥
6
×
10
19
eV by analyzing cosmic rays with energies above
E
≥
5
×
10
18
eV arriving within an angular separation of approximately 15
∘
. We characterize the energy distributions inside these regions by two independent methods, one searching for angular dependence of energy-energy correlations and one searching for collimation of energy along the local system of principal axes of the energy distribution. No significant patterns are found with this analysis. The comparison of these measurements with astrophysical scenarios can therefore be used to obtain constraints on related model parameters such as strength of cosmic-ray deflection and density of point sources.
Earlier studies have shown an association between obesity and periodontitis, which is mediated by cytokine production. The aim of this study is to assess the role of obesity as a modifying factor on ...periodontal clinical parameters and on circulating proinflammatory cytokine levels in subjects undergoing non-surgical periodontal treatment.
Twenty-seven obese subjects and 25 normal-weight subjects were enrolled in this study. Subjects in both groups had generalized chronic periodontitis. The periodontal parameters measured before and 3 months after non-surgical periodontal therapy were: visible plaque index, bleeding gingival index, bleeding on probing, probing depth, and clinical attachment level. In addition, subjects underwent anthropometric measurements and serum analyses of fasting glucose, glycated hemoglobin, interleukin-1β, interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α, and interferon-γ.
Periodontal therapy significantly decreased visible plaque index, bleeding gingival index, bleeding on probing, probing depth of 4 to 6 mm, probing depth ≥7 mm, clinical attachment level of 4 to 6 mm, and clinical attachment level ≥7 mm in both groups (P ≤0.05). Circulating proinflammatory cytokines significantly decreased in obese and normal-weight subjects after periodontal treatment (P ≤0.05). However, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α levels remained higher in obese subjects 3 months after treatment (P ≤0.05).
Obesity does not seem to play a negative role by interfering in the improvement of the periodontal clinical response or decreasing circulating proinflammatory cytokine levels after periodontal treatment.
Background and Objective
Antimicrobial therapy can suppress periodontal pathogens and increase the effectiveness of conventional mechanical treatment. The aim of this study was to assess bone loss ...and the immune inflammatory response of rats under the influence of two photosensitizing agents (MB and TBO) at two different concentrations in antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT), used as an adjuvant therapy in the treatment of periodontitis.
Material and Methods
Periodontitis was induced in the mandibular first molars of 162 rats. The animals were divided into nine groups: G1 – scaling and root planing (SRP); G2 – SRP plus 100 μg/mL of methylene blue (MB); G3 – SRP plus 10 mg/mL of MB; G4 – SRP plus 100 μg/mL of toluidine blue (TBO); G5 – SRP plus 10 mg/mL of TBO; G6 – SRP plus 100 μg/mL of MB and laser; G7 – SRP plus 10 mg/mL of MB and laser; G8 – SRP plus 100 μg/mL of TBO and laser; and G9 – SRP plus 10 mg/mL of TBO and laser. Six animals from each group were euthanized 7, 15, or 30 d after treatment. Bone loss (BL) in the furcation region was evaluated using histomorphometric and immunohistochemical analyses to detect the receptor activator of nuclear factor‐Κappa B ligand (RANKL), osteoprotegerin (OPG) and tartrate‐resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP).
Results
There was significantly less BL in animals treated with aPDT using low concentrations of MB and TBO at 7, 15 and 30 d. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed decreased RANKL and increased OPG in the aPDT groups and decreased TRAP‐positive cells in G6 and G8.
Conclusions
aPDT, using low concentrations of MB and TBO, was the most effective adjuvant therapy to SRP, acting indirectly as a downregulator of the molecular mechanisms that control bone resorption in periodontitis.
Background
Peyronie's Disease (PD) is a connective tissue disorder that affects the tunica albuginea (TA) of the penis causing curvature and erectile dysfunction. The pathophysiology is not well ...understood and, for this reason, treatment options are limited.
Objective
The aim of the present study is to analyze and compare whether single or multiple instillations of plasma in the TA of rats is capable of triggering macroscopic, histopathological, and molecular changes consistent with PD.
Material/methods
Fifty male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Group 1: a single instillation of plasma in the TA; Group 2: a single instillation of distilled water in the TA; Group 3: four instillations of plasma in the TA (1x per week); and Group 4: four instillations of distilled water in the TA (1× per week). Forty‐five days after the last instillation a manual inspection of the corpus cavernosum, a penile erection test and a penectomy were performed to obtain material for histopathological and molecular analysis.
Results
It was observed that 31.25% of the rats that received repeated instillations of plasma presented penile curvature according to the erection test, while none of the rats from the control group or group with one instillation of plasma presented curvature. In the animals that received four instillations of plasma, the following differences were observed in relation to the control group: increase in fibrosis and the deposition of collagen I. The protein expression of heparanase (HPSE) and TGF‐β increased in the groups that received a single or four instillations of plasma, and the protein expression of heparanase‐2 (HPSE‐2), metalloproteinases (MMP‐2, MMP‐9) and metalloproteinase inhibitor (TIMP‐2) showed an increase in the group that received four instillations of plasma. There was a significant increase in the gene expression of HPSE, MMP‐9, and TGF‐β in the group that received four instillations of plasma. In the analysis of the glycosaminoglycans, an increase was observed in the secretion of galactosaminoglycans chondroitin sulfate and dermatan sulfate (CS/DS) in the group that received four instillations of plasma.
Discussion
Previous studies have demonstrated increased protein expression. of HPSE, MMP‐9 and TGF‐β with instillation of blood in the TA; however, there was no increase in gene expression. In the present study, the increase in the expression of TGF‐β with plasma instillations, proved to be more reliable. The two models with plasma (one or four instillations) demonstrated significant histopathological and molecular changes when compared to the control group. However, only in the group with four plasma instillations there was a macroscopic change. The idea is that repeatedly extravasation of TGF‐β present in plasma of predisposed individuals acts as a trigger for the development and maintenance of changes in the extracellular matrix that perpetuate an anomalous inflammatory process present in PD.
Conclusion
The present study shows that the repeated instillation of plasma is a low cost in vivo model for the study of PD.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of active oxygen-releasing gel as an adjuvant, with and without antimicrobial photodynamic therapy (aPDT), in the treatment of residual pockets in ...periodontal patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM2).
Patients with residual pockets with probing depth (PD) ≥4 mm and bleeding on probing (BOP) were divided into the following groups: SI (n = 17)-subgingival instrumentation in a single session; BM (n = 17)-SI followed by local application of active oxygen-releasing gel inside the periodontal pocket for 3 min; BM + aPDT (n = 17)-SI followed by application of BM for 3 min and pocket irrigation with methylene blue, and 660-nm diode laser irradiation at 100 mW for 50 s. The periodontal clinical parameters, serum levels of glycated hemoglobin, and immunological analysis of crevicular fluid were evaluated. All data were submitted to statistical analysis (α = 5%).
A significant reduction in BOP was verified at 90 and 180 days in the BM + aPDT group. The percentage of sites with PD ≥ 4 mm was significantly reduced at 90 days in BM + aPDT and BM, whereas after 180 days only BM showed a significant reduction. In the BM + aPDT group, there was a significant reduction in tumor necrosis factor α levels at 90 days. There were no differences between the treatments.
The use of adjuvant active oxygen-releasing gel, with or without aPDT, resulted in the same clinical benefits as SI in the treatment of residual pockets in poorly controlled DM2 patients.
HIV-1 has diversified into several subtypes and recombinant forms that are heterogeneously spread around the world. Understanding the distribution of viral variants and their temporal dynamics can ...help to design vaccines and monitor changes in viral transmission patterns. Brazil has one of the largest HIV-1 epidemics in the western-world and the molecular features of the virus circulating in the country are still not completely known. Over 50,000 partial HIV-1 genomes sampled between 2008 and 2017 by the Brazilian genotyping network (RENAGENO) were analyzed. Sequences were filtered by quality, duplicate sequences per patient were removed and subtyping was performed with online tools and molecular phylogeny. Association between patients' demographic data and subtypes were performed by calculating the relative risk in a multinomial analysis and trends in subtype prevalence were tested by Pearson correlation. HIV-1B was found to be the most prevalent subtype throughout the country except in the south, where HIV-1C prevails. An increasing trend in the proportion of HIV-1C and F1 was observed in several regions of the country, while HIV-1B tended to decrease. Men and highly educated individuals were more frequently infected by HIV-1B and non-B variants were more prevalent among women with lower education. Our results suggest that socio-demographic factors partially segregate HIV-1 diversity in Brazil while shaping viral transmission networks. Historical events could explain a preferential circulation of HIV-1B among men who have sex with men (MSM) and non-B variants among heterosexual individuals. In view of an increasing male/female ratio of AIDS cases in Brazil in the last 10-15 years, the decrease of HIV-1B prevalence is surprising and suggests a greater penetrance of non-B subtypes in MSM transmission chains.
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