Distinct responses of Scytonema hyalinum and Leptolyngbya sp. to water availability and biocrust formation.

Soil cyanobacteria are considered pioneer microorganisms in the formation of biocrusts, which, in turn, are recognized as ecosystem engineers in edaphic environments due to their influence on erosion control, nutrient cycling, and water dynamics in the soil. Thus, cyanobacteria have considerable potential for use in the recovery of degraded soil. However, greater knowledge on the ecophysiological characteristics of biocrust-forming cyanobacteria is needed.

Projected changes in ultraviolet index and UV doses over the twenty-first century: impacts of ozone and aerosols from CMIP6.

This study evaluated the health-related weighted ultraviolet radiation (UVR) due to the total ozone content (TOC) and the aerosol optical depth (AOD) changes. Clear-sky Ultraviolet Index (UVI), daily doses, and exposure times for erythema induction (D and T) and vitamin D synthesis (D and T) were computed by a radiative transfer estimator. TOC and AOD data were provided by six Earth System Models (ESMs) from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 (CMIP6).

Mineralogical fingerprint and human health risk from potentially toxic elements of Fe mining tailings from the Fundão dam.

In 2015, >50 million cubic meters of Fe mining tailings were released into the Doce River basin from the Fundão dam, raising the question of its consequences on the affected ecosystems. This study aimed to establish a mineralogical-(geo)chemical association of potentially toxic elements (PTEs) from Fe mining tailings from the Fundão dam, collected seven days after the failure, through a multidisciplinary approach combining assessment of the risk to human health, environmental geochemistry, and mineralogy. Thus, eleven tailings samples were collected with the support of the Brazilian Military Police Fire Department.

A primary oral mucosal melanoma of the hard palate with no recurrence: Report of a 10 years follow-up.

Background: Primary oral mucosal melanoma (OMM) represents an extremely rare and aggressive tumor that arises from malignant transformation and clonal expansion of melanocytes in the oral cavity. The prognosis of patients affected by OMM is quite unfavorable, with survival rates lower than those described for patients with cutaneous melanoma.

Case Report: Here, we report a case of OMM in a 59-year-old Caucasian woman, who was referred for evaluation of a large asymptomatic pigmented lesion on the left side of the hard palate under the removable total denture.

Two-phase orthodontic treatment of two different types of tooth transposition in the same patient.

Orthodontic treatment is thoroughly planned considering the patient's facial and dental characteristics, the main complaint, treatment time and the orthodontist's experience. Transposition is a form of ectopia, in which two adjacent teeth exchange positions in the dental arch. Transposition can be partial or complete.

Sun-induced production of vitamin D throughout 1 year in tropical and subtropical regions: relationship with latitude, cloudiness, UV-B exposure and solar zenith angle.

This study evaluated the differences in vitamin D synthesis in two different latitudes throughout 1 year using an in vitro model, which simulates cutaneous vitamin D photoproduction. Borosilicate ampoules containing 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) were exposed to sunlight hourly throughout the daylight hours, 1 day per month for a year, in Fortaleza (latitude 03° 43' 01" S-LAT3° S) and Sao Paulo (latitude 23° 32' 53" S-LAT23° S). Later, vitamin D and photoisomers of 7-DHC (tachysterol and lumisterol) were measured by a high-performance liquid chromatography system (HPLC).

Seasonal variation of vitamin D among healthy adult men in a subtropical region.

Objective: To evaluate seasonal variation of 25(OH)vitamin D [25(OH)D3] levels, and factors associated with it, in healthy adult men, who exercised outdoors for 50 min., at least twice a week, from 10AM to 4PM, in a Brazilian semitropical region.

Methods: Blood samples were collected at the end of each season for 25(OH)D3, measured by liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry.

Expression of mitochondrial dynamics markers during melanoma progression: Comparative study of head and neck cutaneous and mucosal melanomas.

Background: Head and neck mucosal melanomas (MMs) are rare tumors with adverse outcomes and poorer prognoses than their more common cutaneous counterparts (cutaneous melanomas-CMs). Few studies have compared the expression of mitochondrial dynamic markers in these tumors. This study aimed to assess the correlations of mitochondrial markers with melanoma progression and their potential as predictors of lymph node involvement and distant metastasis.

Cyclic Subclinical Hypercortisolism: A Previously Unidentified Hypersecretory Form of Adrenal Incidentalomas.

Purpose: Most adrenal incidentalomas (AIs) are nonfunctioning adenomas (NFAs), but up to 30% may secrete cortisol autonomously without clinical evidence of Cushing syndrome (CS), which nevertheless may increase cardiovascular mortality. This subclinical hypercortisolism (SCH) is confirmed by cortisol resistance to a dexamethasone suppression test (DST). Cyclic cortisol secretion occurs in classic CS but was not reported in SCH.

Phosphorylated Akt1 expression is associated with poor prognosis in cutaneous, oral and sinonasal melanomas.

Melanomas are highly aggressive tumours derived from melanocytes, which occur most commonly in the skin. Occasionally, these tumours may appear in oral and sinonasal mucous membranes. In this study, we performed a comparative analysis of the Phosphorylated Akt1 (p-Akt1) expression in 144 patients affected by cutaneous (CM), 34 oral cavity (OM), and 31 sinonasal melanomas (SNM).

Prognostic importance of mitochondrial markers in mucosal and cutaneous head and neck melanomas.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is caused by an imbalance in the fission and fusion processes, and it has been implicated in the pathogenesis of several human cancers. However, the role of mitochondrial markers in melanomas still remains poorly understood. In this study, the authors assessed the expression of 3 mitochondrial markers (antimitochondrial, fission protein 1 [FIS1], and mitofusin 2 [MFN2]) in a series of head and neck mucosal and cutaneous melanomas.

Daily Maximum Erythemal Dose Rates in the Tropics.

The maximum erythemal dose rate (EDR ) at the Earth's surface tends to occur at local noon. However, clouds can make the timing of EDR significantly away from local noon. In fact, EDR and its time of occurrence depend mainly on the solar zenith angle at noon (SZA ), site's altitude, the total ozone column (TOC), cloud cover, cloud genera and aerosols.

Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement: The Experience of One Brazilian Health Care Center.

Objective: Transcatheter aortic valve replacement has been an alternative to invasive treatment for symptomatic severe aortic stenosis in high risk patients. The primary endpoint was 30-day and 1-year mortality from any cause. Secondary endpoints were to compare the clinical and echocardiographic variation pre-and post- transcatheter aortic valve replacement, and the occurrence of complications throughout a 4-year follow-up period.

A Semiempirical Approach to the Determination of Daily Erythemal Doses.

The maintenance of ground-based instruments to measure the incidence of ultraviolet radiation (UVR) from the Sun demands strict and well-developed procedures. A piece of equipment can be out of service for a couple of weeks or months for calibration, repair or even the improvement of the facilities where it has been set up. However, the replacement of an instrument in such circumstances can be logistically and financially prohibitive.

Hodgkin lymphoma diagnosed during dental treatment: the importance of neck palpation.

Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a malignant lymphoproliferative disease that originates from alterations in germinal center B cells. HL generally affects cervical and supraclavicular nodes, and the most common clinical presentation is adenopathy. It can be symptomatic and detected by the patient or asymptomatic and identified during a physical examination.

Self-Assembly of Thermoresponsive Recombinant Silk-Elastinlike Nanogels.

Recombinant silk-elastinlike protein polymers (SELPs) combine the biocompatibility and thermoresponsiveness of human tropoelastin with the strength of silk. Direct control over structure of these monodisperse polymers allows for precise correlation of structure with function. This work describes the fabrication of the first SELP nanogels and evaluation of their physicochemical properties and thermoresponsiveness.

Pedogenetic processes in anthrosols with pretic horizon (Amazonian Dark Earth) in Central Amazon, Brazil.

Anthrosols known as Amazonian Dark Earth (ADE) have borne witness to the intensification of sedentary patterns and the demographic increase in Central Amazon. As a result, a recurring pattern has been observed of mounds with ADE arising from domestic activities and the disposal of waste. The objective of this research was to demonstrate the relationship of these anthropic activities with pedogenetic formation processes of ADE in the municipality of Iranduba, Brazil.

Cribriform adenocarcinoma of the soft palate with multiple lymph node metastasis and long-term follow-up.

Introduction: Cribriform adenocarcinoma of the tongue and minor salivary glands (CATMSG) is a recently described entity, with most cases previously published as polymorphous low-grade adenocarcinoma (PLGA). Typical cases share some main characteristics, such as oral sites (mainly tongue), regional lymph node metastasis, and morphology resembling solid and follicular variants of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

Objective: To present a CATMSG and emphasize the importance of reclassifying PLGAs with unusual behavior.

Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma of the minor salivary glands: a case report and review of the literature.

Epithelial-myoepithelial carcinoma (EMC) is a rare tumor, especially in the minor salivary glands. This case report describes a 40-year-old man who presented with an EMC on the palate. Histologically, the tumor was characterized by a biphasic structure consisting of duct-lining cuboidal cells in the inner layer and clear myoepithelial cells in the outer layer.

Solar ultraviolet radiation: properties, characteristics and amounts observed in Brazil and South America.

The beneficial and harmful effects of human exposure to solar ultraviolet radiation (UV-R) are topics that arouse great interest not only among physicians and scientists, but also the general public and the media. Currently, discussions on vitamin D synthesis (beneficial effect) are confronted with the high and growing number of new cases of non-melanoma skin cancer and other diseases of the skin and eyes (harmful effect) diagnosed each year in Brazil. However, the lack of scientific knowledge on the UV-R in Brazil and South America leads to adoption of protective measures based on studies conducted in Europe and USA, where the amounts of UV-R available at surface and the sun-exposure habits and characteristics of the population are significantly different from those observed in Brazil.

Brazilian consensus on photoprotection.

Brazil is a country of continental dimensions with a large heterogeneity of climates and massive mixing of the population. Almost the entire national territory is located between the Equator and the Tropic of Capricorn, and the Earth axial tilt to the south certainly makes Brazil one of the countries of the world with greater extent of land in proximity to the sun. The Brazilian coastline, where most of its population lives, is more than 8,500 km long.

[Oral N-acetylcysteine in the treatment of Raynaud's phenomenon secondary to systemic sclerosis: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial].

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) orally on digital microcirculation blood flow in patients with Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) secondary to systemic sclerosis (SSc).

Methods: This was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in which 42 patients with SSc received oral NAC at a dose of 600mg tid (21 patients, mean age 45.6±9.

Seasonal variation in the serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels of young and elderly active and inactive adults in São Paulo, Brazil: The São PAulo Vitamin D Evaluation Study (SPADES).

Objective: To evaluate the 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentrations in individuals in the city of São Paulo belonging to different age groups and exhibiting specific behavioral characteristics and to correlate the 25(OH)D concentration with the level of UV radiation (UVR).

Patients And Methods: A total of 591 individuals were included, distributed as follows: 177 were living in institutions (NURSING, 76.2 ± 9.