LEVEL OF EVIDENCE IV, therapeutic cohort study.

Non-vital tooth discoloration is a common condition in dental practice. The aim of this in vitro study was to evaluate the efficacy of intracoronal bleaching treatments of non-vital teeth either activated or not by Er,CrYSGG laser (2780 nm) operating at 1.25 or 2.5 W.

Twenty four human canines were artificially stained after implementation of root canal treatment. Subsequently, the teeth were randomly divided into three groups (n = 8) Group 1 (control) received intracoronal bleaching treatment with a bleaching gel containing 35 % hydrogen peroxide for 40 min, Group 2 received the same treatment assisted with Er,CrYSGG laser (2780 nm) operating at 1.25 W average power for 30 s and Group 3 received the same treatment with Group 2, but the average power was adjusted to 2.5 W. The bleaching treatments repeated after one week. Spectrophotometric analysis of tooth color change (ΔE) was implemented 7 days after both bleaching sessions.

The results of two-way ANOVA revealed that there was a tendency of no significant difference in color change between the three experimental groups (p = 0.063). However, the between-group comparisons showed that laser 2.5 W group had significantly higher ΔE than the control group after the first bleaching session. Moreover, a significant interaction between bleaching treatment and number of applications was detected (p = 0.026).

Er,CrYSGG laser irradiation significantly increased ΔE only after the first bleaching session when operating at 2.5 W. After the second bleaching session ΔE was not different compared to the control group, irrespectively of the laser power settings.

Er,CrYSGG laser irradiation significantly increased ΔE only after the first bleaching session when operating at 2.5 W. After the second bleaching session ΔE was not different compared to the control group, irrespectively of the laser power settings.Spectral diagnostic screening for sickle cell disease was carried out on volunteer blood samples (N = 100). The samples were subjected to different diagnostic methods including conventional complete blood count (CBC), hemoglobin electrophoresis (HBE) and spectral diagnosis. For the spectral diagnostic method, we discriminated three different characteristic spectral features. In total, 15 samples were sickle cell trait (SCT), 34 samples were sickle cell disease (SCD), and the rest of the samples (N = 51) were normal controls. The spectral discrimination of the three different sets of samples was distinguished on the quantification of fluorescent biomolecules such as tyrosine, tryptophan, NADH, FAD, and porphyrins. The results were compared with the conventional standard CBC and capillary electrophoresis findings. The spectral diagnosis method exhibited a sensitivity and specificity greater than 90 % for the tested samples. This technique requires only 5 mL blood samples, has an analysis time of 20 min, exhibits high accuracy and may be used in small clinics in remote villages.Antimicrobial Photodynamic Therapy (A-PDT) is a modern and non-invasive therapeutic modality. Nanostructures like the polymeric nanocapsules (NC) has proved to be a system that has enormous potential to improve current antimicrobial therapeutic practice. NC of Zinc phenyl-thio-phthalocyanine and Amphotericin B association (NC/ZnS4Pc + AMB) built with poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) 5050 using the preformed polymer interfacial deposition method were developed at a 0.05 mg mL- 1 theoretical concentration to improve antifungal activity with two actives association and assistance from PDTa. It showed an average particle diameter of 253.8 ± 17.3, an average polydispersity index of 0.36 ± 0.01, and a negative Zeta potential average of -31.03 ± 5.54 for 158 days. UV-vis absorption and emission spectroscopy analyses did not show changes in photophysical properties in the steady-state of NC/ZnS4Pc + AMB counterparts free ZnS4Pc. The encapsulation percentage of actives was 89.24 % and 7.40 % for ZnS4Pc and AMB, respectively. Cell viability assay using NIH/3T3 ATCC® CRL-1658 ™ cells line showed no cytotoxicity for the concentrations tested. A1210477 The photodynamic activity assay using NC/ZnS4Pc + AMB diluted showed fungal toxicity against Candida albicans yeast with energetic fluences of 12 J.cm-2 and 25 J.cm-2 by a decrease in cell viability. The MFC assay demonstrated a fungistatic activity for the conditions employed in the PDTa assay. The results show that NC/ZnS4Pc + AMB is a promising nanomaterial for antimicrobial inactivation using PDT.

Simulation-based education (SBE) has demonstrated its acceptability and effectiveness in improving ultrasound training. Because of the high cost of its implementation (investment in equipment and supervision), a pragmatic assessment of the transfer of skills learned in SBE to clinical practice and the identification of its optimal scheduling conditions have been requested to optimize its input.

To quantify the long-term impact of simulation-based education (SBE) on the adequate performance of ultrasound fetal biometry measurements (I). The secondary objective was to identify the temporal patterns that enhanced SBE input in learning (II).

Trainees were arbitrarily assigned to a 6-month course in obstetric ultrasound with or without an SBE workshop. In the SBE group, the workshop was implemented ‘before’ or at an ‘early’ or a ‘late-stage’ of the course. Those who did not receive SBE were the control group. The ultrasound skills of all trainees were prospectively collected, evaluated by calculating the delfrom SBE training, although the qualitative assessment confirmed SBE helped to raise the minimal level within a group when embedded in an ‘early’ stage of a practical course.

The quantitative assessment does not support the existence of long-term benefits from SBE training, although the qualitative assessment confirmed SBE helped to raise the minimal level within a group when embedded in an ‘early’ stage of a practical course.Protein phosphorylation is a well-established post-translational mechanism that regulates protein functions and metabolic pathways. It is known that several plant mitochondrial proteins are phosphorylated in a reversible manner. However, the identities of the protein kinases/phosphatases involved in this mechanism and their roles in the regulation of the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle remain unclear. In this study, we isolated and characterized plants lacking two mitochondrially targeted phosphatases (Sal2 and PP2c63) along with pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase (PDK). Protein-protein interaction analysis, quantitative phosphoproteomics, and enzymatic analyses revealed that PDK specifically regulates pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDC), while PP2c63 nonspecifically regulates PDC. When recombinant PP2c63 and Sal2 proteins were added to mitochondria isolated from mutant plants, protein-protein interaction and enzymatic analyses showed that PP2c63 directly phosphorylates and modulates the activity of PDC, while Sal2 only indirectly affects TCA cycle enzymes.