Serious games vs. traditional tutorials in the pandemic: a randomised controlled trial.

Background And Aim: The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the transition to online medical education. This study evaluated the efficacy of online case-based tutorials using a serious game tutorial [PlayMed™ (PM)], as compared to a traditional slideshow tutorial (TT).

Methods: We performed a prospective, mixed-methods, randomised controlled trial on undergraduate medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic, from May 2020 to January 2021.

Physico-Chemical Characterizations of Composited Calcium-Ortho-Phosphate Porous Particles and Their Controlled Release Behavior of Clindamycin Phosphate and Amikacin Sulfate.

The porous particles prepared from composited calcium-ortho-phosphate (biphasic), Thai silk fibroin, gelatin, and alginate, with an organic to inorganic component ratio of 15.5:84.5, were tested for their abilities to control the release of the commercialized antibiotic solutions, clindamycin phosphate (CDP) and amikacin sulfate (AMK).

Validation of Clinical Protocol of Astigmatism Induction in Pseudophakic Patients.

Purpose: Validate a novel approach for assessing residual astigmatism's impact on visual acuity in pseudophakic patients using defocus curves and spherical equivalent compensation.

Materials And Methods: Thirteen patients over 40 with cataracts and normal ophthalmological examinations were enrolled in a prospective, non-randomized cohort study. The defocus curve method was employed, wherein visual acuity was measured with spherical lenses ranging from -2.

Brain and behavioural anomalies caused by haploinsufficiency are corrected by vitamin B12.

The brain-related phenotypes observed in 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (DS) patients are highly variable, and their origin is poorly understood. Changes in brain metabolism might contribute to these phenotypes, as many of the deleted genes are involved in metabolic processes, but this is unknown.

An overview of soil and plant assessment for predicting site quality and recovery strategies of one the largest tailings dam failures worldwide.

Brazil's Fundão dam collapse is one of the world's largest disasters of tailing dam failures. Previous research has evaluated toxic metals and non-metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, As, Hg) in the same soil samples used in this study, and results have indicated that only Fe and Mn concentrations increased above the original baseline (Melo et al., 2023).

Discovery of bioactive peptides as therapeutic agents for skin wound repair.

Short sequences of amino acids called peptides have a wide range of biological functions and the potential to treat a number of diseases. Bioactive peptides can be derived from different sources, including marine organisms, and synthetic design, making them versatile candidates for production of therapeutic agents. Their therapeutic effects span across areas such as antimicrobial activity, cells proliferation and migration, synthesis of collagen, and more.

Biomechanical considerations of chemical structure and biosafety of current ceramic biomaterials for dentistry: review and outlook of the current state of the art.

Biomaterial refers to any material, non-pharmaceutical or combination of substances of synthetic or natural origin used for any period independently or as part of a system for the purpose of healing, assisting the growth or replacement of tissues, organs or functions of the body. It is an unsustainable material that interacts with biological systems. Before being produced a biomaterial goes through a sequence of steps, which includes: 1) the definition of the problem that the material will be called to solve (treatment, replacement of the instrument, aesthetic reasons); 2) design of the device, composition and control of materials (mechanical properties, toxicity, biological response, corrosion resistance, interaction with proteins, cells and tissues), manufacture, sterilization and standardization; 3) control of the device (in experimental animals, in vitro) clinical studies, studies; and 4) monitor its long-term use in vivo, in vitro and in patients.

Factors Associated with Poor Sleep Quality in Postpartum Women: A Crossectional Study.

 This study aimed to analyze the factors associated with poor sleep quality in women in the postpartum period who were assisted in a municipality in central Brazil.  This is a cross-sectional study (  = 400) conducted virtually from 2020 to 2021. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, self-perceived sleep, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) were assessed.

Silk Fibroin Film Decorated with Ultralow FeCo Content by Sputtering Deposition Results in a Flexible and Robust Biomaterial for Magnetic Actuation.

Magnetically responsive soft biomaterials are at the forefront of bioengineering and biorobotics. We have created a magnetic hybrid material by coupling silk fibroin─i.e.

HIV-Infected Individuals Do Not Present Significant Differences regarding Periodontal Status: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: To evaluate, through a systematic literature review, whether periodontal status in HIV-infected individuals is different from those non-HIV-infected.

Materials And Methods: A systematic search for published observational studies within six electronic databases and grey literature was conducted, PROSPERO database number CRD42020160062. Results from studies reporting clinical periodontal parameters: probing pocket depth, bleeding on probing, clinical attachment level, plaque index, and gingival index, in HIV- and non-HIV-infected individuals were reviewed.

Polymeric Microbubble Shell Engineering: Microporosity as a Key Factor to Enhance Ultrasound Imaging and Drug Delivery Performance.

Microbubbles (MB) are widely used as contrast agents for ultrasound (US) imaging and US-enhanced drug delivery. Polymeric MB are highly suitable for these applications because of their acoustic responsiveness, high drug loading capability, and ease of surface functionalization. While many studies have focused on using polymeric MB for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes, relatively little attention has thus far been paid to improving their inherent imaging and drug delivery features.

Oral T-cell-rich large B-cell lymphoma in a horse.

Lymphoma is the most common tumor of hematopoietic origin in horses. The course of the disease and clinical signs vary greatly, depending on tumor location and extent. The aim of this report is to describe the occurrence of T-cell-rich oral large B-cell lymphoma with marked local infiltration in a 25-year-old Crioula mare.

Motor innervation directs the correct development of the mouse sympathetic nervous system.

The sympathetic nervous system controls bodily functions including vascular tone, cardiac rhythm, and the "fight-or-flight response". Sympathetic chain ganglia develop in parallel with preganglionic motor nerves extending from the neural tube, raising the question of whether axon targeting contributes to sympathetic chain formation. Using nerve-selective genetic ablations and lineage tracing in mouse, we reveal that motor nerve-associated Schwann cell precursors (SCPs) contribute sympathetic neurons and satellite glia after the initial seeding of sympathetic ganglia by neural crest.

Factors related to early weaning in babies born at term in a public maternity.

Purpose: to analyze how socioeconomic, pregnancy and childbirth factors relate to the feeding situation in the sixth month of life of full-term babies.

Methods: longitudinal observational study, with 98 mothers of full-term babies. Data collection was structured by capturing information regarding the clinical history and moment of birth in the babies' medical records, followed by the application of two questionnaires to the postpartum women, with questions regarding sociodemographic data, pre- and post-pregnancy data and the baby's nutrition.

Maternal perception of factors that interfere with breastfeeding of preterm newborns.

Purpose: to verify the association between the perception of mothers of premature infants regarding the features that may interfere with breastfeeding and the mother's socioeconomic data, pregnancy and the baby's clinical data.

Methods: observational, descriptive and analytical quali-quantitative cross-sectional study. One hundred and fourteen mothers of premature infants were included and data were collected through questionnaires, applied at hospital discharge, and analysis of medical records.

Dynamics of Fe, Mn, and potentially harmful elements under reducing conditions in iron ore tailings after dam collapse in the Doce River basin-Brazil: flooded and non-flooded rice cultivations.

Potentially harmful element (PHE) bioavailability is important to environmental contamination and must be checked under several soil conditions. This study aimed to assess Fe, Mn, and PHE uptake by rice (Oryza sativa) grown on flooded and non-flooded Fe tailings collected from the Doce River basin after its collapse in Brazil. After 65 days of sowing, shoots and roots were harvested to determine PHE concentrations.

Antibacterial properties of photo-crosslinked chitosan/methacrylated hyaluronic acid nanoparticles loaded with bacitracin.

The current treatments for wounds often fail to induce adequate healing, leaving wounds vulnerable to persistent infections and development of drug-resistant microbial biofilms. New natural-derived nanoparticles were studied to impair bacteria colonization and hinder the formation of biofilms in wounds. The nanoparticles were fabricated through polyelectrolyte complexation of chitosan (CS, polycation) and hyaluronic acid (HA, polyanion).

The role of coronary artery reimplantation for anomalous right coronary artery originating from the opposite sinus of Valsalva: preliminary outcomes and insights from a Latin American country.

Despite promising results, reimplantation appears to have fallen into oblivion among the multiple possible approaches for repairing anomalous coronary arteries. We describe the outcomes of 12 patients with an anomalous right coronary artery originating from the opposite sinus of Valsalva with an interarterial course who were surgically treated with this technique between 2018 and 2023 in 2 institutions in Bogota, Colombia. We provide preliminary evidence of the value reimplantation as a more than suitable technique, particularly in resource-constrained settings.

A New Methodology for Evaluating the Potential Impact of Residual Refractive Astigmatism in Pseudophakic Patients.

Purpose: To validate a new methodology to evaluate the impact of astigmatism in pseudophakia using an astigmatic defocus curve.

Setting: Hospital Oftalmológico de Brasilia, Brazil.

Design: Non-randomized cohort study.

Integration of line-field confocal optical coherence tomography and in situ microenvironmental mapping to investigate the living microenvironment of reconstructed human skin and melanoma models.

Background: In tissue engineering, real-time monitoring of tumors and of the dynamics of the microenvironment within in vitro models has traditionally been hindered by the need to harvest the cultures to obtain material to analyze. Line-field confocal optical coherence tomography (LC-OCT) has proven to be useful in evaluating in vivo skin conditions, including melanoma, by capturing dynamic, three-dimensional (3D) information without the need for invasive procedures, such as biopsies. Additionally, the M-Duo Technology® developed by IMcoMET presents a unique opportunity for continuous in situ biomarker sampling, providing insights into local cellular behavior and interactions.

Demystifying group-4 polyolefin hydrogenolysis catalysis. Gaseous propane hydrogenolysis mechanism over the same catalysts.

A kinetic/mechanistic investigation of gaseous propane hydrogenolysis over the single-site heterogeneous polyolefin depolymerization catalysts AlS/ZrNp and AlS/HfNp (AlS = sulfated alumina, Np = neopentyl), is use to probe intrinsic catalyst properties without the complexities introduced by time- and viscosity-dependent polymer medium effects. In a polymer-free automated plug-flow catalytic reactor, propane hydrogenolysis turnover frequencies approach 3,000 h at 150 °C. Both catalysts exhibit approximately linear relationships between rate and [H] at substoichiometric [H] with rate law orders of 0.

Sequential Infiltration Synthesis of AlO in PMMA Thin Films: Temperature Investigation by Operando Spectroscopic Ellipsometry.

Sequential infiltration synthesis (SIS) is a scalable and valuable technique for the synthesis of organic-inorganic materials with several potential applications at the industrial level. Despite the increasing interest for this technique, a clear picture of the fundamental physicochemical phenomena governing the SIS process is still missing. In this work, infiltration of AlO into thin poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films using trimethyl aluminum (TMA) and HO as precursors is investigated by operando dynamic spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) analysis.