Oral Health Behaviors in a Sample of Portuguese Adolescents: An Educational Issue

Introduction: Oral health education is an important issue that should be given to children and adolescents, allowing the acquisition of correct oral health behaviors. The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of oral health behaviors among a sample of portuguese adolescents and verify the association with socio-demographic factors, in order to analyze the main needs related with oral health education to improve oral health status among adolescents. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed with a sample of 447 adolescents aged 12 to 19 years old, attending a public school in Sátão, Portugal. A self-administered questionnaire was applied questioning about socio-demographic factors and oral health behaviors to each adolescent in the classroom. Prevalence was expressed in proportions and crude odds ratio (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) were used to measure the strength of association between oral health behaviors and socio-demographic factors. Results: The prevalence of tooth brushing (twice-a-day or more) was 90.6%. Five point eight percent of adolescents reported daily flossing, more frequent among female gender (female, OR = 2.03, 95% CI = (1.35 to 3.05)) and adolescents older than 15 years (>15 years, OR = 1.90, 95% CI = (1.24 to 2.92)). Sixty-seven percent had at least one dental appointment in the previous twelve months. The prevalence of dental appointments was associated with the father’s professional situation (unemployed, OR = 0.33, 95% CI = (0.17 to 0.65)) and crowding index (>1, OR = 0.4, 95% CI = (0.16 to 0.98)). Thirty-two point nine percent of adolescents referred having at least one episode of dental pain during their lives. Conclusion: Considering the results of the present study that show the need of improvement of some aspects related with oral health among adolescents, oral health community programs and primary preventive strategies, such as improvement of oral health education in schools should be considered in order to reduce the risk level of oral diseases and develop better oral health behaviors.

G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1(GPER) activation triggers different signaling pathways on neurons and astrocytes

Estradiol (E2) is the most potent and prevalent form of estrogen, a well-known hormone that regulates multiple tissues and functions in humans. In the brain, E2 regulates processes as diverse as learning, memory, cognition, mood, as well as neurodevelopment and neurodegeneration. The actions of E2 are mediated by classical estrogen receptors (ERs;α and β), and by the G protein-coupled estrogen receptor 1 (GPER or GPR30)(Prossnitz and Arterburn, 2015). Classical ER are predominantly present in the nucleus and cytoplasm, with less than 2% present on the plasma membrane, and mediate genomic cellular effects that occur in the time frame of hours to days (Prossnitz and Arterburn, 2015).

Bioactive compounds of red grapes from Dao region(Portugal):Evaluation of phenolic and organic profile

Objective:To improve the knowledge on the metabolite profile of five red grapes from D?o region(Portugal),concerning to the phenolic characteristics(coloured and non-coloured phenolics) and organic acid composition.Methods:Five red grapes collected from D?o region were studied.The profiles of phenolic compounds and organic acids were estimated by high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection and high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detector,respectively.Results:Totally 24 phenolic compounds were identified,and distributed by several classes:8 anthocyanins,1 hydroxybenzoic acid,4 hydroxycinnamic acids,1 stilbene,4flavan-3-ols,6 flavonols.Additionally,10 organic acids were detected in all samples.Total contents of each phenolic class and organic acids amounts varied significantly among the different grape cultivars investigated.The principal components analysis differentiates the Touriga Nacional from the other varieties due to their high contents in anthocyanins,non-coloured phenolics and organic acids.Touriga Nacional is an important red grape cultivar,highly esteemed in D?o region for its ability to produce high quality wines.Conclusions:The results suggest that the red grapes from D?o region present a good composition in bioactive compounds,being important for the production of wines with superior quality.

Regulation mechanisms of endocrine disruptors on vasodilation andvasoconstriction: Insights from ex vivo models

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The knowledge andunderstanding of CVD are based on the study of vascular physiology and how the smooth muscle cells and tissuesperform their different functions. Exposure to endocrine disruptors (EDCs), such as phytoestrogens, polycyclicaromatic hydrocarbons, flame retardants, plasticizers, pesticides, and cosmetics, is an integral and fundamental part ofhuman exposure. Humans are exposed to EDCs by multiple pathways including air, food, water, and consumerproducts. However, this exposure can lead to several adverse effects on human health, including on the cardiovascular(CV) system. The negative impact that EDC toxicity has on human CV health is a serious problem that must not beoverlooked. In this point of view, we proposed the use of the human umbilical artery as a human model to study thedirect effects of EDCs on the vascular level. Several works where these cells were directly exposed to EDC’s werepresented to highlight this well-established model as a great strategy to be used. In the future, we emphasize the needto continue to carry out different investigations using HUA to unveil and understand the vascular toxicity of EDCsand improve human CV health.