Microleakage of adhesively bonded cervical amalgam restorations.

Purpose: To evaluate dye penetration in adhesively bonded cervical amalgam restorations.

Materials And Methods: The specimens were randomly divided into four groups and the adhesives Prime & Bond 2.1, Prime & Bond 2.

Central 5-HT(3) receptors and water intake in rats.

In the present paper, we studied in rats the effect of third ventricle administration of m-chlorophenylbiguanide hydrochloride (1-(3-chlorophenyl)biguanide (m-CPBG), a selective 5-HT(3) agonist, on water intake induced by three different physiological stimuli: water deprivation, acute salt load and hypovolemia. Central acute m-CPBG injections in the doses of 80 and 160 nmol significantly reduced water intake elicited by an acute salt load. Third ventricle injections of m-CPBG in the dose of 160 nmol significantly inhibited water intake in hypovolemic animals, whereas third ventricle injections of m-CPBG in a higher dose (320 nmol) were necessary to decrease water intake in water-deprived rats.

Infestin, a thrombin inhibitor presents in Triatoma infestans midgut, a Chagas' disease vector: gene cloning, expression and characterization of the inhibitor.

This work describes the purification, gene cloning and expression of infestin, a thrombin inhibitor from midguts of Triatoma infestans. Infestin is located in the midgut and its purification was performed by anion-exchange and affinity chromatographies. The N-terminal sequence and the sequence of tryptic peptides were determined.

[In vitro evaluation of antibacterial substances produced by bacteria isolated from different marine organisms].

Bacteria from several groups of marine organisms were isolated and, using direct antibiograms, identified those that produce antibacterial substances, using a human pathogenic strain of Staphylococcus aureus ATCC6538 as revealing microorganism. Bacteria which produce substances that inhibited S. aureus growth were identified through morphological, physiological and biochemical tests.

Removal of dystroglycan causes severe muscular dystrophy in zebrafish embryos.

Muscular dystrophy is frequently caused by disruption of the dystrophin-glycoprotein complex (DGC), which links muscle cells to the extracellular matrix. Dystroglycan, a central component of the DGC, serves as a laminin receptor via its extracellular alpha subunit, and interacts with dystrophin (and thus the actin cytoskeleton) through its integral membrane beta subunit. We have removed the function of dystroglycan in zebrafish embryos.

Central administration of mCPP, a serotonin 5-HT(2B/2C) agonist, decreases water intake in rats.

In the present study, we investigated in rats the effect of third ventricle injections of 1-(3-chlorophenyl)piperazine (mCPP), a 5-HT(2) receptor agonist, on water intake induced by three different physiological stimuli: fluid deprivation, acute salt load and hypovolemia. Injections of mCPP in the doses of 80 and 160 nmol/rat were able to decrease water intake in all three conditions studied. Third ventricle injections of mCPP (160 nmol/rat) were no longer able to diminish water intake in the groups of rats pretreated with central injections of an equimolar amount of (+)-cis-4,5,7a,8,9,10,11,11a-octahydro-7H-10-methylindolo[1,7-bc][2,6]-naphthyridine (SDZ SER 082), a selective 5-HT(2B/2C) antagonist.

Epidemiological and nutritional transition in Mexico: rapid increase of non-communicable chronic diseases and obesity.

Objective: The objective of this paper is to characterise the epidemiological and nutritional transition and their determinants in Mexico.

Design: Age-adjusted standardised mortality rates (SMRs) due to acute myocardial infarction (AMI), diabetes mellitus and hypertension were calculated for 1980-1998. Changes in the prevalences of overweight and obesity in women and children and of dietary intake from 1988 to 1999 were also used in the analysis.

Effect of co-culture of porcine sperm and oocytes with porcine oviductal epithelial cells on in vitro fertilization.

This study was designed to determine the effect of co-culture with porcine oviductal epithelial cell (POEC) monolayers on in vitro fertilization of pig oocytes. The in vitro penetrability of mature (experiment 1) or immature (experiment 2) oocytes was studied in presence or absence of POEC during IVF with fresh semen. In experiment 3, boar and POEC effects were analyzed but in this case with frozen-thawed spermatozoa.

Chemical variability in the essential oil of Hyptis suaveolens.

The essential oils of Hyptis suaveolens plants collected from 11 localities of the Brazilian Cerrado region were investigated by GC-MS. Sabinene, limonene, biclyclogermacrene, beta-phellandrene and 1,8-cineole were the principal constituents. The results were submitted to principal component and chemometric cluster analysis which allowed three groups of essential oils to be distinguished with respect to the content of p-mentha-2,4(8)-diene, limonene/beta-phellandrene/gamma-terpinene and germacrene D/bicyclogermacrene.

Effects of maturational stage, cumulus cells and coincubation of mature and immature cumulus-oocyte complexes on in vitro penetrability of porcine oocytes.

The in vitro penetrability of porcine oocytes is conditioned by several factors, some of which remain unclear. Knowledge of the different effects of the cellular components involved in penetrability would no doubt serve to simplify laboratory IVF methods. This study was designed to evaluate the effects of the following factors on penetrability: oocyte maturational stage, the presence of isolated or oocyte-attached cumulus cells, and coincubation of in vitro-matured and immature oocytes.

Age-associated risk of cancer among individuals with N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2) mutations and mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes.

Mutations in N-acetyltransferase 2 (NAT2), a highly polymorphic enzyme involved in the metabolism of xenobiotics and carcinogens, may affect risk for colorectal cancer (CRC), especially among individuals with germ-line mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes. We determined the NAT2 genotypes and allele frequencies for 86 individuals with CRC who had mutations in hMLH1, hMSH2, or hPMS1. No significant difference in time to onset was observed between rapid (NAT2*4) and slow (NAT2*5, NAT2*6, and NAT2*7) acetylators.

Purification and characterization of a trypsin-like enzyme with fibrinolytic activity present in the abdomen of horn fly, Haematobia irritans irritans (Diptera: Muscidae).

This work describes the purification and characterization of a trypsin-like enzyme with fibrinolytic activity present in the abdomen of Haematobia irritans irritans (Diptera: Muscidae). The enzyme was purified using a one-step process, consisting of affinity chromatography on SBTI-Sepharose. The purified protease showed one major active proteinase band on reverse zymography with 0.

Vaginal misoprostol in the management of first-trimester missed abortions.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a regimen of vaginal misoprostol in causing the complete expulsion of first-trimester missed abortions, or alternatively dilating the cervix for surgical evacuation.

Method: Seventy-four women with a transvaginal ultrasound diagnosis of a first-trimester missed abortion and no more than slight vaginal bleeding were consecutively enrolled. Misoprostol (600 microg) was administered vaginally and repeated 4 h later if necessary.

To be or not to be in the nucleolus.

Compartmentalization has long been known to have a key role in regulation of cellular processes. By keeping enzymes and regulatory complexes in compartments where the delivery of substrate or exit of product is controlled, competing reactions can occur simultaneously in different parts of the cell. Moreover, spatial confinement facilitates the working of molecules participating in reaction chains and is crucial for coupling unfavourable with energetically favourable chemical reactions.

Maturation, fertilization and complete development of porcine oocytes matured under different systems.

This study was designed 1) to determine the effectiveness of 2 in vitro maturation systems commonly employed to produce nuclear and cytoplasmically mature pig oocytes, 2) to assess the effects of boar, sperm concentration and maturation system on oocyte penetrability and male pronucleus formation and 3) to determine the ability of the in vitro matured oocytes to be fertilized in vivo by artificial insemination (AI) of sows. The differences examined between the 2 maturation systems included the culture medium (Waymouth vs TCM199), hormones, additives, culture conditions (static vs gentle agitation) presence or absence of porcine follicular fluid (PFF) and presence or absence of follicular shells. The results showed that nuclear maturation rate was similar in both systems (83.

[Cytologic aspects of intracranial and spinal canal tumors].

We present the cytologic aspects of 137 tumors operated by neurosurgeons, including 12 astrocytomas, 4 anaplastic astrocytomas, 26 glioblastomas, 7 oligodendrogliomas, 5 medulloblastomas, 8 schwannomas, 17 meningiomas, 13 pituitary adenomas, 20 metastatic tumors and 18 assorted tumors and nonneoplastic lesions. We have also analysed cytologically samples of normal nervous tissue obtained from autopsies, aiming at its recognition and distinction from the neoplastic tissue in biopsies. The tumors were analysed in smears which were subsequently compared with the histological sections.

[Value of the smear in the peroperative diagnosis of tumors removed in neurosurgeries].

The smear technique has been used for rapid diagnosis of tumors removed in neurosurgeries in many neuropathological centers. In order to assess the diagnostic accuracy of this technique, we examined 137 smears and made a cytohistological correlation. Our cases include 12 astrocytomas, 4 anaplastic astrocytomas, 26 glioblastomas, 7 oligodendrogliomas, 5 medulloblastomas, 8 schwannomas, 17 meningiomas, 13 pituitary adenomas, 20 metastatic tumors and 18 assorted tumors and non neoplastic lesions.

Evaluation of the routine use of the nasogastric tube in digestive operation by a prospective controlled study.

This prospective, randomized controlled trial was undertaken to evaluate the effect of tube decompression of the stomach after surgical procedure on the digestive tract. One hundred and nine patients were randomly allocated to postoperative treatment with (57 patients) or without (52 patients) nasogastric tubes. No significant differences were found between the two groups in the duration of hospitalization, time to begin peroral fluid intake, occurrence of hiccups, vomiting, nausea, parotiditis, nasal septum necrosis, anastomotic leak and wound dehiscence.