The objective of this study was to assess the association of untreated traumatic dental injuries (TDI) with individual-, sociodemographic- and school-related factors among 12-year-old schoolchildren in Midwest Brazil. This cross-sectional study was carried out in 2010 in the city of Goiania, Brazil. A random sample of 2075 schoolchildren was examined and interviewed. Untreated TDI in the permanent incisors was assessed using the methodology of the Brazilian National Oral Health Survey. Rao-Scott test and multinomial logistic regression were used to analyze the associations between independent variables and three categories of TDI, using a hierarchical method. Independent variables were children’s sex, self rated color/race and size of incisal overjet, their mother’s level of schooling, and the schools’ type and geographic location. The prevalence of trauma was 17.3% (CI 95% = 15.2–19.4); enamel fractures were the most common TDI (13.1%). In the adjusted model, a higher chance of having two or more teeth with TDI was found among boys, those whose mothers had lowest level of schooling, and those attending schools located in health districts with lower socioeconomic indicators. It was concluded that the prevalence of TDI was low and that it was associated with individual factors as well as the school environments. Full article

Venomous animals use their venoms as tools for defense or predation. These venoms are complex mixtures, mainly enriched of proteic toxins or peptides with several, and different, biological activities. In general, spider venom is rich in biologically active molecules that are useful in experimental protocols for pharmacology, biochemistry, cell biology and immunology, as well as putative tools for biotechnology and industries. Spider venoms have recently garnered much attention from several research groups worldwide. Brown spider (Loxosceles genus) venom is enriched in low molecular mass proteins (5–40 kDa). Although their venom is produced in minute volumes (a few microliters), and contain only tens of micrograms of protein, the use of techniques based on molecular biology and proteomic analysis has afforded rational projects in the area and permitted the discovery and identification of a great number of novel toxins. The brown spider phospholipase-D family is undoubtedly the most investigated and characterized, although other important toxins, such as low molecular mass insecticidal peptides, metalloproteases and hyaluronidases have also been identified and featured in literature. The molecular pathways of the action of these toxins have been reported and brought new insights in the field of biotechnology. Herein, we shall see how recent reports describing discoveries in the area of brown spider venom have expanded biotechnological uses of molecules identified in these venoms, with special emphasis on the construction of a cDNA library for venom glands, transcriptome analysis, proteomic projects, recombinant expression of different proteic toxins, and finally structural descriptions based on crystallography of toxins. Full article