In an effort to exert more precise control over structural features of supramolecules, a series of giant concentric hexagons were assembled as discrete structures using tetratopic terpyridine (tpy) ligands. In preparation of tetratopic ligand, pyrylium and pyridinium salts chemistry significantly facilitated synthesis. The key compounds were obtained by condensation reactions of pyrylium salts with corresponding primary amine derivatives in good yields. These discrete metallo-supramolecular concentric hexagons were fully characterized by NMR, ESI-MS, TWIM-MS, and TEM, establishing their hexagon-in-hexagon architectures. The combination of different tetratopic ligands also assembled hybrid concentric hexagons with increasing diversity and complexity. Furthermore, these concentric hexagon supramolecules with precisely controlled shapes and sizes were utilized as building blocks to hierarchically self-assemble supramolecular metal-organic nanoribbons (SMON) at solid-liquid interfaces. Ambient STM imaging showed the formation of long 1D SMON rather than 2D assembly on the basal plane of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) surface after simple dropcasting of the solution of preassembled concentric hexagons onto a freshly cleaved surface of HOPG. This wet chemical method based on self-assembly may offer simple, economical, and scalable routes to deliver complex materials.

Objective To assess the prevalence of symptoms of temporomandibular disorder (TMD) and parafunctional habits as well as to investigate their association with age, gender, and number of missing teeth. Methods This retrospective study is based on 4204 randomly selected patients who were examined to determine their symptoms of TMD, such as clicking, difficulty chewing, difficulty opening/closing, as well self-reported joint pain and parafunctional habits. Results Clenching/grinding was reported by 26.5% of the examined population, clicking by 14.8%, and difficulty chewing and closing by 3.6%. Significant associations between the number of missing teeth with clenching/grinding (p = 0.05) and difficulty chewing (p < 0.001) were detected. Age and gender showed significant effects on the examined parameters (p < 0.05). Discussion Understanding the TMD subjective symptoms in relation to age, gender, and tooth loss would be of great value for treatment planning and could provide other perspectives to establish preventive measures.

Self-reported periodontal screening questions as well as demographic characteristics, smoking, and systemic medical conditions were significant predictors of periodontal disease, and they could be used as valid, economic, and practical measures.

Background: Dengue (DEN) is an infectious disease caused by the DEN virus (DENV), which belongs to the Flavivirus genus in the family Flaviviridae. It has a (+) sense RNA genome and is mainly transmitted to humans by the vector mosquito Aedes aegypti. Dengue fever (DF) and dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) are caused by one of four closely related virus serotypes (DENV-1, DENV-2, DENV-3 and DENV-4). Epidemiological and evolutionary studies have indicated that host and viral factors are involved in determining disease outcome and have proved the importance of viral genotype in causing severe epidemics. Host immune status and mosquito vectorial capacity are also important influences on the severity of infection. Therefore, an understanding of the relationship between virus variants with altered amino acids and high pathogenicity will provide more information on the molecular epidemiology of DEN. Accordingly, knowledge of the DENV serotypes and genotypes circulating in the latest DEN outbreaks around the world, including Mexico, will contribute to understanding DEN infections.

BackgroundDengue (DEN) is a serious cause of mortality and morbidity in the world including Mexico, where the infection is endemic. One of the states with the highest rate of dengue cases is Oaxaca. The cause of DEN is a positive-sense RNA virus, the dengue virus (DENV) that evolves rapidly increasing its variability due to the absence of a repair mechanism that leads to approximately one mutational event per genome replication; which results in enhancement of viral adaptation, including the escape from host immune responses. Additionally, recombination may play a role in driving the evolution of DENV, which may potentially affect virulence and cause host tropism changes. Recombination in DENV has not been described in Mexican strains, neither has been described the relevance in virus evolution in an endemic state such as Oaxaca where the four serotypes of DENV are circulating.ResultsTo study whether there are isolates from Oaxaca having recombination, we obtained the sequence of 6 different isolates of DENV-2 Asian/American genotype from the outbreak 2005-6, one clone of the C(91)-prM-E-NS1(2400) structural genes, and 10 clones of the E gene from the isolate MEX_OAX_1656_05. Evidence of recombination was found by using different methods along with two softwares: RDP3 and GARD. The Oaxaca MEX_OAX_1656_05 and MEX_OAX_1038_05 isolates sequenced in this study were recombinant viruses that incorporate the genome sequence from the Cosmopolitan genotype. Furthermore, the clone of the E gene namely MEX_OAX_165607_05 from this study was also recombinant, incorporating genome sequence from the American genotype.ConclusionsThis is the first report of recombination in DENV-2 in Mexico. Given such a recombinant activity new genomic combinations were produced, this could play a significant role in the DENV evolution and must be considered as a potentially important mechanism generating genetic variation in this virus with serious implications for the vaccines and drugs formulation as occurs for other viruses like poliovirus, influenza and HIV.