[Tetany secondary to deficiency rickets].

Hypocalcemia is an uncommon illness in children. In developed countries the incidence of rickets has decreased significantly, although last years this pathology is increasing at the expense of immigration. Its etiology is due to different factors such as low sun exposure, inadequate clothing and bad feeding and excessive contributions in phytates, exclusive breastfeeding and genetic factors.

[Performance improvement project for the introduction of safety devices: interdisciplinary approach and participation of professionals].

Objective: Develop a performance improvement project to introduce safety needle tube holder for venous blood collection after evaluation of the professionals.

Methods: Reach: Costa Ponent Primary Care Direction and the Hospital Viladecans Hospital from Institute Català de la Salut.

Method: Create interdisciplinary group.

Differences between Neandertal and modern human infant and child growth models.

Studying the emergence of distinctive human growth patterns is essential to understanding the evolution of our species. The large number of Neandertal fossils makes this species the best candidate for a comparative study of growth patterns in archaic and modern humans. Here, Neandertal height growth during infancy and early childhood is described using a mathematical model.

Influence of root canal instrumentation and obturation techniques on intra-operative pain during endodontic therapy.

Objective: To analyse the influence of root canal instrumentation and obturation techniques on intra-operative pain experienced by patients during endodontic therapy.

Method And Materials: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in Ponferrada and Sevilla, Spain, including 80 patients (46 men and 34 women), with ages ranged from 10 to 74 years, randomly recruited. Patient gender and age, affected tooth, pulpal diagnosis, periapical status, previous NSAID or antibiotic (AB) treatment, and root canal instrumentation and obturation techniques were recorded.

Tobacco smoking and radiographic periapical status: a retrospective case-control study.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate radiographically the relationship of tobacco smoking and periapical status by using a retrospective case-control study design.

Methods: The records of 79 controls and 79 age- and sex-matched cases were examined. Case was defined as a patient who has at least 1 radiographically detectable periapical lesion in a tooth.

TH-1 and TH-2 cytokines in stable chronic alcoholics.

Unlabelled: In alcoholics, the activation of Kupffer cells by gram negative bacteriae leads to an inflammatory response and cytokine secretion, which in turn activate T-lymphocytes. Possibly, Th-1 lymphocytes are activated first, followed by a Th-2 response. Th-2 cytokines, especially interleukin (IL)-13 (scarcely studied in alcoholics), may be involved in the progression to chronic stages.

Determination of the absolute fluorescence quantum yield of rhodamine 6G with optical and photoacoustic methods--providing the basis for fluorescence quantum yield standards.

To establish the methodical basis for the development and certification of fluorescence quantum yield standards, we determined the fluorescence quantum yield Φ(f) of rhodamine 6G (R6G) with two absolute methods with complementary measurement principles, here optical spectroscopy using an integrating sphere setup and pulsed laser photoacoustic spectroscopy (PAS). For the assessment of aggregation- and reabsorption-induced distortions of measured fluorescence quantum yields and procedures for the reliable consideration of such effects, this systematic comparison was performed in ethanol and in water employing different concentrations of R6G. In addition, the relative and absolute fluorescence quantum yields of these solutions were obtained with a calibrated spectrofluorometer and a commercialized integrating sphere setup.

Postoperative pain after one-visit root-canal treatment on teeth with vital pulps: comparison of three different obturation techniques.

Objectives: To investigate and compare postoperative pain after one-visit root canal treatment (RCT) on teeth with vital pulps using three different obturation techniques.

Study Design: Two hundred and four patients (105 men and 99 women) aged 12 to 77 years were randomly assigned into three treatments groups: cold lateral compaction of gutta-percha (LC), Thermafil technique (TT), and Backfill - Thermafil obturation technique (BT). Postoperative pain was recorded on a visual analogue scale (VAS) of 0 - 10 after 2 and 6 hours, and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 days.

The limitations of scaling laws in the prediction of performance in endurance events.

In the twentieth century, scientists have examined running speed over various distances, analyzing world records and studying the ability of an athlete to sustain a given speed. Assuming that running speed expresses the response of a non-linear multisystemic behavior, the relationship between these two variables (distance vs. velocity) can therefore be evaluated by applying scaling laws that fulfill the key principles of specificity and individuality of each athlete, yet responding to bioenergetic and functional patterns that are well-known to sports physiology.

Clinical measurement of tooth wear: Tooth wear indices.

Attrition, erosion, and abrasion result in alterations to the tooth and manifest as tooth wear. Each classification corresponds to a different process with specific clinical features. Classifications made so far have no accurate prevalence data because the indexes do not necessarily measure a specific etiology, or because the study populations can be diverse in age and characteristics.

Role of glutathione S-transferases in melanoma susceptibility: association with GSTP1 rs1695 polymorphism.

Background: Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 are multifunctional enzymes involved in the detoxification of a wide range of reactive oxygen species produced during melanin synthesis and oxidative stress processes.

Objectives: Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in GSTP1 and copy number variants in GSTM1 and GSTT1 may be candidate low-penetrance variants with a role in susceptibility to malignant melanoma (MM).

Methods: In this case-control study, 562 Spanish patients with sporadic MM and 338 cancer-free control subjects were included, and the role of polymorphisms in these GST genes was investigated.

Frequency and distribution of root-filled teeth and apical periodontitis in an adult population of Barcelona, Spain.

Aim:  To determine the prevalence of apical periodontitis (AP) and the frequency of root canal treatment in a sample of Spanish adults.

Design:  A descriptive cross-sectional study.

Setting:  Barcelona, Spain.

External apical root resorption in maxillary root-filled incisors after orthodontic treatment: a split-mouth design study.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare, in a split mouth design, the external apical root resorption (EARR) associated with orthodontic treatment in root-filled maxillary incisors and their contralateral teeth with vital pulps.

Methodology: The study sample consisted of 38 patients (14 males and 24 females), who had one root-filled incisor before completion of multiband/bracket orthodontic therapy for at least 1 year. For each patient, digital panoramic radiographs taken before and after orthodontic treatment were used to determine the root resortion and the proportion of external root resorption (PRR), defined as the ratio between the root resorption in the endodontically treated incisor and that in its contralateral incisor with a vital pulp.

Diabetes mellitus, periapical inflammation and endodontic treatment outcome.

The possible connection between chronic oral inflammatory processes, such as apical periodontitis and periodontal disease (PD), and systemic health is one of the most interesting aspects faced by the medical and dental scientific community. Chronic apical periodontitis shares important characteristics with PD: 1) both are chronic infections of the oral cavity, 2) the Gram-negative anaerobic microbiota found in both diseases is comparable, and 3) in both infectious processes increased local levels of inflammatory mediators may have an impact on systemic levels. One of the systemic disorders linked to PD is diabetes mellitus (DM); is therefore plausible to assume that chronic apical periodontitis and endodontic treatment are also associated with DM.

Specialization in plant-hummingbird networks is associated with species richness, contemporary precipitation and quaternary climate-change velocity.

Large-scale geographical patterns of biotic specialization and the underlying drivers are poorly understood, but it is widely believed that climate plays an important role in determining specialization. As climate-driven range dynamics should diminish local adaptations and favor generalization, one hypothesis is that contemporary biotic specialization is determined by the degree of past climatic instability, primarily Quaternary climate-change velocity. Other prominent hypotheses predict that either contemporary climate or species richness affect biotic specialization.

Ciliate metallothioneins: unique microbial eukaryotic heavy-metal-binder molecules.

This article represents an updated review of ciliate metallothioneins (Tetrahymena species) including a comparative analysis with regard to well-known metallothioneins (MTs) from other organisms and discussion of their exclusive features. It opens with an introduction to ciliates, summarizing the main characteristics of these eukaryotic microorganisms and their use as cellular models to study metallothioneins and metal-eukaryotic cell interactions. It has been experimentally proved that at least three different metal resistance mechanisms exist in ciliates, of which bioaccumulation is the most studied.

Levosimendan: molecular mechanisms and clinical implications: consensus of experts on the mechanisms of action of levosimendan.

The molecular background of the Ca(2+)-sensitizing effect of levosimendan relates to its specific interaction with the Ca(2+)-sensor troponin C molecule in the cardiac myofilaments. Over the years, significant preclinical and clinical evidence has accumulated and revealed a variety of beneficial pleiotropic effects of levosimendan and of its long-lived metabolite, OR-1896. First of all, activation of ATP-sensitive sarcolemmal K(+) channels of smooth muscle cells appears as a powerful vasodilator mechanism.

Prognostic value of changes in lean and fat mass in alcoholics.

Background & Aims: The prognostic value of nutritional status and/or lean and fat mass assessed by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) has been widely analyzed, in both alcoholics and non-alcoholics. However, the prognostic value of changes in fat and lean mass over time in alcoholics has scarcely been studied, nor has the effect of alcohol abstinence on these changes.

Methods: From an initial cohort of 113 alcoholic patients, 70 prospectively underwent two DEXA assessments six months apart.

Genetic polymorphisms in DNA repair and oxidative stress pathways associated with malignant melanoma susceptibility.

Background: Base excision repair (BER) and nucleotide excision repair (NER) pathways eliminate a wide variety of DNA damage, including UV photoproducts. The ability of each individual to repair DNA damage following different causes might explain at least in part the variability in cancer susceptibility. Moreover, inflammatory response to UV exposure may further contribute to skin carcinogenesis by oxidative stress mechanisms.

Interleukin-15 and other myokines in chronic alcoholics.

Aims: Interleukin (IL)-15 is highly expressed in skeletal muscle, where it exerts anabolic effects, increasing protein content in muscle fibres and promoting muscle growth. Alcoholics frequently suffer myopathy. Therefore, we analyse the behaviour of IL-15 (and other myokines, such as IL-6, IL-8 and tumour necrosis factor α (TNF-α)) in alcoholics.