OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of desensitizing toothpastes in reducing post-bleaching tooth sensitivity.
METHODS: A systematic review of randomized clinical trials was conducted based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses checklist. Electronic searches were conducted in the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library and Embase databases, using the following terms: (dentifrices OR toothpaste) AND (sensitive OR sensitivity OR dental sensitivity) AND (dental bleaching OR tooth bleaching OR dental whitening OR tooth whitening).
RESULTS: Five studies involving 387 individuals undergoing in-office or at-home teeth bleaching were reviewed. Desensitizing toothpastes reduced sensitivity effectively after home bleaching with 22% carbamide peroxide and single-session in-office bleaching with 35% hydrogen peroxide. However, they were ineffective for home bleaching with 16% carbamide peroxide and in-office bleaching across two sessions with 35% or 38% hydrogen peroxide.
CONCLUSIONS: Desensitizing toothpastes are effective for home bleaching with high concentration carbamide peroxide and single-session in-office bleaching with highly concentrated hydrogen peroxide, but ineffective for home bleaching with low concentration carbamide peroxide and two-session in-office bleaching with concentrated hydrogen peroxide.

BACKGROUND: Uremic stomatitis is often unfamiliar to healthcare professionals. This study presents five cases of uremic stomatitis, providing a comprehensive analysis of their demographic distribution, clinicopathological features, and management strategies based on existing literature.
METHODS: Data were collected from centers across Brazil, Argentina, Venezuela, and Mexico. Electronic searches were conducted in five databases supplemented by manual scrutiny and gray literature.
RESULTS: The series consisted of three men and two women with a mean age of 40.2 years. Lesions mostly appeared as white plaques, particularly on the tongue (100%). The median blood urea level was 129 mg/dL. Histopathological analysis revealed epithelial changes, including acanthosis and parakeratosis, with ballooned keratinocytes in the suprabasal region. Oral lesions resolved subsequent to hemodialysis in three cases (75%). Thirty-seven studies comprising 52 cases of uremic stomatitis have been described hitherto. Most patients were male (65.4%) with a mean age of 43.6 years. Clinically, grayish-white plaques (37.3%) and ulcers/ulcerations (28.9%) were common, particularly on the tongue (30.9%). Hemodialysis was performed on 27 individuals. The resolution rate of oral lesions was 53.3%.
CONCLUSIONS: Earlier recognition of uremic stomatitis, possibly associated with long-term uremia, holds the potential to improve outcomes for patients with undiagnosed chronic kidney disease.

Urea is also known as carbamide, an inexpensive and eco-friendly additive for starch functionalization. This article reviews the potential role of urea in starch modification, with the prominence of the mechanism of urea action, alterations in the starch structure and functional properties. In addition, current literature conveys the prospective effect of urea in fabricating starch films for food packaging, and the relevant areas that need to be covered in the forthcoming research are specified at the end of the article section. Urea can modify the diverse physico-chemical and functional properties of starch. Starch-based films exhibit pronounced effects on their mechanical and barrier properties upon the incorporation of urea, although this effect strongly depends on the urea content and degree of substitution (DS). Overall, urea holds great potential for use in the starch and bioplastic film industries, as it produces biocompatible derivatives with desirable performance.

BACKGROUND: Differentiating between intrinsic and prerenal acute kidney injury (AKI) presents a challenge. Here, we assessed the performance of the fractional excretion of urea (FEUrea) and compared it to the fractional excretion of sodium (FENa) in distinguishing intrinsic from prerenal AKI.
METHODS: A thorough search was conducted in several databases until January 16, 2024. We included studies evaluating FEUrea, with or without FENa, for differentiating AKI etiologies in adults. We assessed the methodological quality using the QUADAS-2 and QUADAS-C tools. We performed a meta-analysis using the bivariate random effects model, with subgroup analyses to explore the impact of diuretic therapy on FEUrea, and direct statistical comparisons between FEUrea and FENa involving the subgroups with and without diuretics.
RESULTS: We included 11 studies with 1108 hospitalized patients. Among eight studies (915 patients) evaluating FEUrea >35% for distinguishing intrinsic from prerenal AKI, the pooled sensitivity and specificity were 66% (95% CI, 49%-79%) and 75% (95% CI, 60%-85%), respectively. In a subset of six studies (302 patients) comparing FEUrea at 35% to FENa at 1% in patients not receiving diuretics, there were no significant differences in sensitivity (77% versus 89%, P = 0.410) or specificity (80% versus 79%, P = 0.956). In four studies, 244 patients on diuretics, FEUrea demonstrated lower sensitivity (52% versus 92%, P < 0.001) but higher specificity (82% versus 44%, P < 0.001) compared to FENa for the diagnosis of intrinsic AKI.
CONCLUSIONS: FEUrea has limited utility in differentiating intrinsic from prerenal AKI. FEUrea does not provide a superior alternative to FENa, even in patients receiving diuretics.

暂无摘要。

Parkinson\'s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor and non-motor symptoms, including hallucinations. The use of antipsychotic medications is a common strategy to manage hallucinations associated with Parkinson\'s disease psychosis (PDP). However, careful consideration is necessary when selecting the most appropriate drug due to the potential risks associated with the available treatment options. Atypical antipsychotics (AAPs), such as Pimavanserin and Clozapine, have effectively controlled PDP symptoms. On the contrary, the support for utilizing quetiapine is not as substantial as other antipsychotics because research studies specifically investigating its application are still emerging and relatively recent. The broad mechanisms of action of AAPs, involving dopamine and serotonin receptors, provide improved outcomes and fewer side effects than typical antipsychotics. Conversely, other antipsychotics, including risperidone, olanzapine, aripiprazole, ziprasidone, and lurasidone, have been found to worsen motor symptoms and are generally not recommended for PDP. While AAPs offer favorable benefits, they are associated with specific adverse effects. Extrapyramidal symptoms, somnolence, hypotension, constipation, and cognitive impairment are commonly observed with AAP use. Clozapine, in particular, carries a risk of agranulocytosis, necessitating close monitoring of blood counts. Pimavanserin, a selective serotonin inverse agonist, avoids receptor-related side effects but has been linked to corrected QT (QTc) interval prolongation, while quetiapine has been reported to be associated with an increased risk of mortality. This review aims to analyze the benefits, risks, and mechanisms of action of antipsychotic medications to assist clinicians in making informed decisions and enhance patient care.

OBJECTIVE: To assess color change efficacy and the adverse effects of varied over-the-counter (OTC) bleaching protocols.
METHODS: The study included randomized clinical trials evaluating color changes from OTC bleaching agents. Nine databases were searched, including the partial capture of the grey literature. The RoB2 tool analyzed the individual risk of bias in the studies. Frequentist network meta-analyses compared treatments through common comparators (∆Eab* and ∆SGU color changes, and tooth sensitivity), integrating direct and indirect estimates and using the mean and risk differences as effect measures with respective 95% confidence intervals. The GRADE approach assessed the certainty of the evidence.
RESULTS: Overall, 37 remaining studies constituted the qualitative analysis, and ten composed the meta-analyses. The total sample included 1,932 individuals. ∆Eab* was significantly higher in groups 6% hydrogen peroxide (HP) strips (≥ 14 h). ∆SGU was significantly higher in groups at-home 10% carbamide peroxide (CP) (≥ 14 h), followed by 6% HP strips (≥ 14 h) and 3% HP strips (≥ 14 h). At-home 10% CP (7-13 h) and placebo showed lower risks of tooth sensitivity without significant differences between these treatments.
CONCLUSIONS: Considering the low level of evidence, OTC products presented satisfactory short-term effects on tooth bleaching compared to the placebo, with little to no impact on dentin hypersensitivity and gingival irritation.
CONCLUSIONS: OTC products are proving to be practical alternatives for tooth whitening. However, patients should be advised about the possible risks of carrying out such procedures without professional supervision.

This network meta-analysis assessed the efficacy, tolerability, and acceptability of second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs) for Parkinson\'s disease psychosis (PDP).
We searched PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, and ClinicalTrials.gov for randomized controlled trials investigating SGAs for PDP up to October 26, 2023.
We included 16 trials (N = 1252) investigating clozapine, melperone, olanzapine, pimavanserin, quetiapine, ulotaront, and placebo. In comparisons between SGAs and placebo, the findings were: i) Standardized mean differences, 95% confidence intervals (SMDs, 95%CIs), for psychotic-symptom reduction revealed the first rank of clozapine (-1.31, -1.73 to -0.89), the second rank of pimavanserin, with significant inferiority of quetiapine (SMD = 0.47, 0.02 to 0.92); ii) Mean differences (MDs, 95%CIs) for abnormal movement, as assessed by the Unified Parkinson\'s Disease Rating Scale - Part III, indicated that clozapine had the least motor side effects (-0.92, -2.75 to 0.91); iii) Risk ratios (RRs, 95% CIs) for adverse-effect dropout rates were lowest for melperone (1.02, 0.20 to 5.24); and iv) RRs (95% CIs) for all-cause dropout rates were lowest for clozapine (0.73, 0.42 to 1.25).
For patients with PDP, clozapine may substantially reduce psychotic symptoms with minimal abnormal movement, high acceptability, and moderate overall tolerability. Pimavanserin, not quetiapine, could be an alternative.

Proteins are large biomolecules with a specific structure that is composed of one or more long amino acid chains. Correct protein structures are directly linked to their correct function, and many environmental factors can have either positive or negative effects on this structure. Thus, there is a clear need for methods enabling the study of proteins, their correct folding, and components affecting protein stability. There is a significant number of label-free methods to study protein stability. In this review, we provide a general overview of these methods, but the main focus is on fluorescence-based low-instrument and -expertise-demand techniques. Different aspects related to thermal shift assays (TSAs), also called differential scanning fluorimetry (DSF) or ThermoFluor, are introduced and compared to isothermal chemical denaturation (ICD). Finally, we discuss the challenges and comparative aspects related to these methods, as well as future opportunities and assay development directions.

UNASSIGNED: Residual kidney function (RKF) impacts patients\' survival rate and quality of life when undergoing peritoneal dialysis (PD). This meta-analysis was conducted to systematically identify risk and protective factors associated with RKF decline and loss.
UNASSIGNED: We searched three English and one Chinese databases from inception to January 31, 2023, for cohort and cross-sectional studies exploring factors associated with RKF decline or loss. The random effects model was employed to aggregate risk estimates and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) from multivariate analysis. Sensitivity and subgroup analyses were performed to explore the heterogeneity among the studies.
UNASSIGNED: Twenty-seven studies comprising 13549 individuals and 14 factors were included in the meta-analysis. Based on the meta-analysis results, risk factors involving male gender (hazard ratio (HR) 1.689, 95%CI 1.385-2.061), greater body mass index (BMI) (odds ratio (OR) 1.081, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.029-1.135), higher systolic blood pressure (SBP) (HR 1.014, 95%CI 1.005-1.024), diabetes mellitus (DM) (HRRKF loss 1.873, 95%CI 1.475-2.378), DM (ORRKF decline 1.906, 95%CI 1.262-2.879), peritonitis (relative ratio (RR) 2.291, 95%CI 1.633-3.213), proteinuria (OR 1.223, 95%CI 1.117-1.338), and elevated serum phosphorus (RR 2.655, 95%CI 1.679-4.201) significantly contributed to the risk of RKF decline and loss in PD patients. Conversely, older age (HR 0.968, 95%CI 0.956-0.981), higher serum albumin (OR 0.834, 95%CI 0.720-0.966), weekly Kt/V urea (HR 0.414, 95%CI 0.248-0.690), baseline urine volume (UV) (HR 0.791, 95%CI 0.639-0.979), baseline RKF (HR 0.795, 95%CI 0.739-0.857) exhibited protective effects. However, diuretics use, automatic peritoneal dialysis (APD) modality and baseline RKF did not significantly impact RKF decline.
UNASSIGNED: Patients with male gender, greater BMI, higher SBP, DM, peritonitis, proteinuria, and elevated serum phosphorus might have a higher risk of RKF decline and loss. In contrast, older age, higher serum albumin, weekly Kt/V urea, baseline UV, and baseline RKF might protect against RKF deterioration.