Background: and Purpose Undiagnosed atrial fibrillation (AF) is a major risk factor for stroke that can go unnoticed in individuals with embolic stroke of undetermined source (ESUS) or cryptogenic stroke (CS). Early detection is critical for stroke prognosis and secondary prevention. This study aimed to determine if blood biomarkers of myocardial stress can accurately predict AF in patients with ESUS/CS, which would allow the identification of those who would benefit from closer monitoring. Methods: In February 2023 we performed a systematic date-unrestricted search of three databases for studies on patients with ESUS/CS who were subsequently diagnosed with AF. We examined the relationships between AF and serum myocardial stress markers such as brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), N-terminal-pro-BNP (NT-proBNP), midregional proatrial natriuretic peptide, and troponin. Results: Among the 1,527 studies reviewed, 23 eligible studies involving 6,212 participants, including 864 with AF, were analyzed. A meta-analysis of 9 studies indicated that they demonstrated a clear association between higher NT-proBNP levels and an increased risk of AF, with adjusted and raw data indicating 3.06- and 9.03-fold higher AF risks, respectively. Lower NT-proBNP levels had a pooled negative predictive value of 91.7%, indicating the potential to rule out AF with an 8% false-negative rate. Conclusions Further research is required to fully determine the potential of biomarkers for AF detection after stroke, as results from previous studies lack homogeneity. However, lower NTproBNP levels have potential in ruling out AF in patients with ESUS/CS. Combining them with other relevant biomarkers may enhance the precision of identifying patients who will not benefit from extended monitoring, which would optimize resource allocation and patient care.

This study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to evaluate the effects of the btulinum toxin-A (BT-A) in patiets with mood disorders. PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library and LILACS were searched without restrictions up to July 2022. The PICOS strategy was used for the selection of studies and risk-of-bias assessment was performed using Cochrane’s tool for RCTs. RCTs were included if they compared BT-A treatment on facial muscles in patients with mood disorders to placebo. After assessment of the full texts, seven studies were selected. Five studies had low risk of bias for the generation of random sequence and blinding of participants and professional domains. A total of four studies showed a low risk of bias for the allocation concealment and blinding of the evaluation of the domain results. The domain of selective reports showed a low risk of bias in all included studies. However, four studies presented a high risk of bias for the domain of other biases. The meta-analysis was based on the mean difference or standardized mean difference between the BT-A and placebo groups for each selected trial and revealed that the BT-A group showed a significant improvement in the symptoms of depression when compared to placebo. This study revealed that the BT-A application into mimic muscles of the upper third of the face improves the mood disorders, but it was not possible to guarantee whether the aesthetic benefits can contribute to reducing the severity of the depressive state.

OBJECTIVEThis paper aims to evaluate the genotoxicity in peripheral blood lymphocytes of rats after exposure to sunlight at different time points of day in a tropical region of Brazil (5 degrees S, 42 degrees W).

MATERIALS AND METHODSThirty Wistar-Hannover rats, three months old, were randomly divided into three groups of 10 animals each: Group I [control, without exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation], Group II (exposed to sunlight during 08:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.), and Group III (exposed to sunlight during 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m.). After a week of exposure, peripheral blood samples were taken from the tail of these animals to prepare smears on two slides per animal. In 24 h after exposure to sunlight in Group III, a new collection was obtained to observe the repair activity. The alkaline comet assay was used in this study to evaluate the genotoxic activity of sunlight (P < 0.05).

RESULTSThere was no statistical difference between Group I and II (P = 0.672). On the other hand, the exposure to sunlight in Group III showed genotoxic action in comparison to the other groups (P < 0.0001). Also, there was no significant repair in Group III R (P = 0.407).

CONCLUSIONThis study has shown a genotoxic potential of sunlight (UVA-B) in lymphocytes of mammals from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 a.m., due to a higher intensity of UV in this tropical region.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the durability and retention of 4 types of attachments placed over computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) titanium bars when subjected to different pH conditions. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Four commercially available attachments were investigated: Hader Yellow, Hader Red, Ackerman Gold and Ackerman Stainless Steel. These attachments and Ackerman CAD/CAM titanium bars were placed in 2 vessels containing different artificial saliva solutions (pH 7/pH 4) at 37degrees C for one month to simulate corrosion conditions, and they were then subjected to mechanical testing (5400 cycles of insertion and removal). RESULTS: The results revealed that there were significant differences in the average values of insertion/removal force due to the pH (F (1, 24)=9.207, P<.05) and the type of attachment (F (3, 24)=11.742, P<.05). CONCLUSION: More acidic pH values were found to have a negative influence on the retention capacity of the attachments.
Corrosion ; Dental Implants ; Denture, Overlay ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration* ; Saliva* ; Saliva, Artificial ; Stainless Steel ; Titanium

PURPOSE: This study evaluated the dimensional stability of a complete-arch prosthesis processed by conventional method in water bath or microwave energy and polymerized by two different curing cycles.
Acrylic Resins ; Baths ; Dental Occlusion ; Dentures ; Methods ; Microwaves ; Polymerization ; Polymers ; Prostheses and Implants ; Vertical Dimension ; Water

Purpose: Using images in the facial image comparison process poses a challenge for forensic experts due to limitations such as the presence of facial expressions. The aims of this study were to analyze how morphometric changes in the face during a spontaneous smile influence the facial image comparison process and to evaluate the reproducibility of measurements obtained by digital stereophotogrammetry in these situations. Materials and Methods: Three examiners used digital stereophotogrammetry to obtain 3-dimensional images of the faces of 10 female participants (aged between 23 and 45 years). Photographs of the participants' faces were captured with their faces at rest (group 1) and with a spontaneous smile (group 2), resulting in a total of 60 3-dimensional images. The digital stereophotogrammetry device obtained the images with a 3.5-ms capture time, which prevented undesirable movements of the participants. Linear measurements between facial landmarks were made, in units of millimeters, and the data were subjected to multivariate and univariate statistical analyses using Pirouette ® version 4.5 (InfoMetrix Inc., Woodinville, WA, USA) and Microsoft Excel® (Microsoft Corp., Redmond, WA, USA), respectively. Results: The measurements that most strongly influenced the separation of the groups were related to the labial/buccal region. In general, the data showed low standard deviations, which differed by less than 10% from the measured mean values, demonstrating that the digital stereophotogrammetry technique was reproducible. Conclusion The impact of spontaneous smiles on the facial image comparison process should be considered, and digital stereophotogrammetry provided good reproducibility.

A non-ambulatory dog with tetraparesis following a pain episode that had evolved over 2 months was submitted for medical treatment and diagnosed with intervertebral disk disease at C3-C4 and dorsal extradural compression at C1-C2 and C3-C4 using myelography and computed tomography. The dog experienced ambulation recovery after 15 days of treatment with only electroacupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine, with marked improvement occurring after only 10 treatments. Six months of followup demonstrated that the dog was stable and had no recurrence of symptoms. Therefore, it was concluded that the combination of electroacupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine was responsible for motor rehabilitation.
Animals ; Cervical Vertebrae/*pathology ; Dog Diseases/*drug therapy/*therapy ; Dogs ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/*therapeutic use ; Electroacupuncture/methods/*veterinary ; *Intervertebral Disk ; Myelography/veterinary ; Spinal Cord Compression/radiography/therapy/*veterinary ; Spinal Diseases/drug therapy/therapy/*veterinary ; Treatment Outcome

PURPOSE: This in vitro study investigated and compared the durability and retention of three types of attachments. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Three commercially available attachments were investigated: Clix(R), Dalbo-Plus(R) and Locator(R). In total, 72 samples of these attachments were placed in the acrylic resin forms and subjected to mechanical testing (5400 cycles of insertion and removal) over the respective ball or Locator abutments immersed in artificial saliva at pH 7 and 37degrees C. The abutments were placed at angulations of 0degrees, 10degrees and 20degrees. The retention force was recorded at the beginning and after 540, 1080, 2160, 3240, 4320 and 5400 insertion-removal cycles. RESULTS: The results revealed that there were significant differences in the average values of the insertion/removal force due to angulation (F (2.48) = 343619, P<.05) and the type of attachment (F (7.48) = 23.220, P<.05). CONCLUSION: Greater angulation of the abutments was found to influence the retention capacity of the attachments, and the fatigue test simulating 5 years of denture insertion and removal did not produce wear in the metal abutments.
Dental Implants ; Denture, Overlay* ; Dentures ; Fatigue ; Hydrogen-Ion Concentration ; Saliva, Artificial

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-etching on the bond strength of silorane-based composite specific adhesive system to dentin. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty human molars were randomly divided into 5 groups according to the different bonding strategies. For teeth restored with silorane-based composite (Filtek Silorane, 3M ESPE), the specific self-etching adhesive system (Adhesive System P90, 3M ESPE) was used with and without pre-etching (Pre-etching/Silorane and Silorane groups). Teeth restored with methacrylate based-composite (Filtek Z250, 3M ESPE) were hybridized with the two-step self-etching system (Clearfil SE Bond, Kuraray), with and without pre-etching (Pre-etching/Methacrylate and Methacrylate groups), or three-step adhesive system (Adper Scotchbond Multi-Purpose, 3M ESPE) (Three-step/Methacrylate group) (n = 6). The restored teeth were sectioned into stick-shaped test specimens (1.0 x 1.0 mm), and coupled to a universal test machine (0.5 mm/min) to perform microtensile testing. RESULTS: Pre-etching/Methacrylate group presented the highest bond strength values, with significant difference from Silorane and Three-step/Methacrylate groups (p < 0.05). However, it was not significantly different from Preetching/Silorane and Methacrylate groups. CONCLUSIONS: Pre-etching increased bond strength of silorane-based composite specific adhesive system to dentin.
Adhesives* ; Dentin ; Humans ; Molar ; Silorane Resins ; Tooth

Kidneys are sensitive to disturbances in oxygen homeostasis. Hypoxia and activation of the hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF) pathway alter the expression of genes involved in the metabolism of renal and immune cells, interfering with their functioning. Whether the transcriptional activity of HIF protects the kidneys or participates in the pathogenesis of renal diseases is unclear. Several studies have indicated that HIF signaling promotes fibrosis in experimental models of kidney disease. Other reports showed a protective effect of HIF activation on kidney inflammation and injury. In addition to the direct effect of HIF on the kidneys, experimental evidence indicates that HIF-mediated metabolic shift activates inflammatory cells, supporting the HIF cascade as a link between lung or gut damage and worsening of renal disease. Although hypoxia and HIF activation are present in several scenarios of renal diseases, further investigations are needed to clarify whether interfering with the HIF pathway is beneficial in different pathological contexts.