Rapid palatal expansion: a comparison of two appliances

This study analyzed occlusal radiographs to compare the transverse changes produced in patients treated with rapid maxillary expansion using two types of appliances. The sample consisted of 31 children aged 7 to 10.6 years, of both genders, with posterior cross-bite. Fifteen children were treated with a tooth-borne expander and 16 were treated with a tooth-tissue-borne expander. Occlusal radiographs obtained at treatment onset and at the end of the retention period were digitized. The following variables were measured: intermolar distance (IMD), interapical distance (IApD), interbase distance (IBaD) and interarm distance (IArD). The results revealed increases in all measurements in both groups after rapid maxillary expansion. Comparison between groups revealed that the increases were greater in patients treated with the tooth-borne expander, except for the IArD measurement, which presented the same increase in both groups. Even though the IMD measurements differed between expanders, they were proportional to the activation of the appliances (IBaD). The increase in the IApD measurement was proportionally greater in the group treated with the tooth-borne expander (0.7:1.0) than in that treated with the tooth-tissue-borne expander (0.4:1.0). It was concluded that both appliances had similar effects, although the tooth-tissue-borne expander produced a lesser opening at the apical region of the incisors.

Effect of periodontal treatment on metabolic control, systemic inflammation and cytokines in patients with type 2 diabetes

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Effect of reline material and denture base surface treatment on the impact strength of a denture base acrylic resin

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Critical points in logistic growth curves and treatment comparisons

Several biological phenomena have a behavior over time mathematically characterized by a strong increasing function in the early stages of development, then by a less pronounced growth, sometimes showing stability. The separation between these phases is very important to the researcher, since the maintenance of a less productive phase results in uneconomical activity. In this report we present methods of determining critical points in logistic functions that separate the early stages of growth from the asymptotic phase, with the aim of establishing a stopping critical point in the growth and on this basis determine differences in treatments. The logistic growth model is fitted to experimental data of imbibition of arariba seeds (Centrolobium tomentosum). To determine stopping critical points the following methods were used: i) accelerating growth function, ii) tangent at the inflection point, iii) segmented regression; iv) modified segmented regression; v) non-significant difference; and vi) non-significant difference by simulation. The analysis of variance of the abscissas and ordinates of the breakpoints was performed with the objective of comparing treatments and methods used to determine the critical points. The methods of segmented regression and of the tangent at the inflection point lead to early stopping points, in comparison with other methods, with proportions ordinate/asymptote lower than 0.90. The non-significant difference method by simulation had higher values of abscissas for stopping point, with an average proportion ordinate/asymptote equal to 0.986. An intermediate proportion of 0.908 was observed for the acceleration function method.

Comparison of the susceptibility of Santa Ines and Ile de France ewes to nematode parasitism around parturition and during lactation

Breeds of sheep with resistance to nematode infection often display a reduced periparturient rise (PPR) in faecal egg counts (FEC) when compared with susceptible sheep. This trial was carried out to compare the resistance of Santa Ines, an indigenous Brazilian breed of sheep, and Ile de France ewes to natural infections by gastrointestinal nematodes, especially in the periparturient period. Twelve Santa lnes and 10 Ile de France ewes were estrus synchronized and then mated (December 2001). Lambing occurred from 30 April to 19 June 2002 and the lambs were weaned at 60 days of age. Faecal egg counts, packed cell volume (PCV), total plasma protein levels and peripheral eosinophils counts were determined from November 2001 to September 2002. To prevent deaths, individual treatment with anthelmintics was provided to ewes with FEC higher than 4000 eggs per gram (EPG) or with PCV lower than 21%. The percentage of Santa Ines ewes treated with anthelmintics was lower than that of Ile de France sheep. Eight of the 10 Ile de France ewes were treated, with one of them requiring four treatments, one requiring three treatments, and two requiring two treatments. The remaining four received a single treatment. In contrast, only 5 of the 12 Santa lnes ewes required treatment and for each this was done only once. The mean values of PCV were in the normal range in the Santa Ines ewes. In contrast, mean PCVs of Ile de France ewes reached a low of 24.5% in the second month after lambing and were significantly lower than Santa Ines 1 month before lambing (P < 0.05) and 2 months after lambing (P < 0.07). The mean plasma protein level was significantly lower in the Ile de France ewes in the second month after lambing (P < 0.01) coinciding with a reduction in PCV. The ewes of both breeds had high mean numbers of eosinophils in blood, which increased even further post-weaning when a marked reduction in FEC occurred. Haemonchus larvae were the most numerous genus in faecal cultures for both breeds followed by Trichostrongylus, Oesophagostomum and Cooperia. A periparturient rise in FEC was observed in both breeds. However, Santa Ines ewes showed a higher capacity to support the infection in an environment contaminated with large number of infective larvae of gastrointestinal nematodes. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Influence of light intensity and salt-treatment on mode of photosynthesis and enzymes of the antioxidative response system of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum

The metabolic switch From C-3-photosynthesis to crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM),and the antioxidative response of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. plants cultured under severe salt stress and high light intensities, and a combination of booth stress conditions, were studied. High light conditions led to a more rapid CAM induction than salinity. The induction time was still shortened when both stress factors were combined. A main pattern observed in CAM plants was a decrease in mitochondrial Mn-superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity during the day. The activities of the chloroplastic Fe-SOD and cytosolic CuZn-SOD were increased due to salt treatment after a lag phase, while catalase activity was decreased. Combination of salt and light stress did not lead to a higher SOD activity as found after application of one stress factor alone, indicating that there is a threshold level of the oxidative stress response. The fact that salt-stressed plants grown under high light conditions showed permanent photoinhibition and lost the ability for nocturnal malate storage after 9 d of treatment indicate serious malfunction of metabolism, leading to accelerated senescence. Comparison of CuZn-SOD activity with CuZn-SOD protein amount, which was determined immunologically, indicates that the activity of the enzyme is at least partially post-translationally regulated.

Oxidative stress markers and apoptosis in the prostate of diabetic rats and the influence of vitamin C treatment

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Healing process after surgical treatment with scalpel, electrocautery and laser radiation: histomorphologic and histomorphometric analysis

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Comparison of the photodynamic fungicidal efficacy of methylene blue, toluidine blue, malachite green and low-power laser irradiation alone against Candida albicans

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Effect of dental surface treatment with Nd:YAG and Er:YAG lasers on bond strength of resin composite to recently bleached enamel

The aim of this work is to evaluate the effect of surface treatment with Er:YAG and Nd:YAG lasers on resin composite bond strength to recently bleached enamel. In this study, 120 bovine incisors were distributed into two groups: group C: without bleaching treatment; group B: bleached with 35% hydrogen peroxide. Each group was divided into three subgroups: subgroup N: without laser treatment; subgroup Nd: irradiation with Nd:YAG laser; subgroup Er: irradiation with Er:YAG laser. The adhesive system (Adper Single Bond 2) was then applied and composite buildups were constructed with Filtek Supreme composite. The teeth were sectioned to obtain enamel-resin sticks (1 x 1 mm) and submitted to microtensile bond testing. The data were statistically analyzed by the ANOVA and Tukey tests. The bond strength values in the bleached control group (5.57 MPa) presented a significant difference in comparison to the group bleached and irradiated with Er:YAG laser (13.18 MPa) or Nd:YAG (25.67 MPa). The non-bleached control group presented mean values of 30.92 MPa, with statistical difference of all the others groups. The use of Nd:YAG and Er:YAG lasers on bleached specimens was able to improve the bond strengths of them.

Comparison of crystallinity between natural hydroxyapatite and synthetic cp-Ti /HA coatings

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

Photodegradation of the pharmaceuticals amoxicillin, bezafibrate and paracetamol by the photo-Fenton process - Application to sewage treatment plant effluent

Photodegradation of the pharmaceuticals amoxicillin (AMX), bezafibrate (BZF) and paracetamol (PCT) in aqueous solutions via the photo-Fenton process was investigated under black-light and solar irradiation. The influences of iron source, initial H2O2 concentration and matrix (distilled water and sewage treatment plant effluent) on degradation efficiency were discussed in detail. The results showed that (i) the degradation of the drugs was favored in the presence of potassium ferrioxalate (FeOx) in comparison to Fe(NO3)(3): (ii) the increase of the H2O2 concentration improved the efficiency of AMX and BZF oxidation; however, the same was not observed for PCT: (iii) the influence of the matrix was observed for the degradation of BZF and PCT: (iv) under solar irradiation, the oxidation of the BZF and PCT is faster than under black-light irradiation. All these pharmaceuticals can be efficiently degraded employing the process evaluated. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Comparison of oxidation efficiency of disperse dyes by chemical and photoelectrocatalytic chlorination and removal of mutagenic activity

Degradation of Disperse Orange 1, Disperse Red 1 and Disperse Red 13 dyes has been performed using electrochemical oxidation on Pt electrode, chemical chlorination and photoelectrochemical oxidation on Ti/TiO(2) thin film electrodes in NaCl or Na(2)SO(4) medium. 100% discoloration was obtained for all tested methods after 1 h of treatment. Faster color removal was obtained by photoelectrocatalytic oxidation in 0.1 mol L(-1) NaCl pH 4.0 under UV light and an applied potential of +1.0V (vs SCE reference electrode), which indicates also values around 60% of TOC removal. The conventional chlorination method and electrochemical oxidation on Pt electrode resulted in negligible reduction of TOC removal. All dyes showed positive mutagenic activity in the Salmonella/microsome assay with the strain TA98 in the absence and presence of S9 (exogenous metabolic activation). Nevertheless, there is complete reduction of the mutagenic activity after 1 h of photoelectrocatalytic oxidation, suggesting that this process would be good option to remove disperse azo dyes from aqueous media. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A comparison of one versus two appointment endodontic therapy in dogs' teeth with apical periodontitis

This study was conducted to observe the healing process in dogs' teeth with apical periodontitis after root canal treatment in one or two appointments. Premolars and anterior dogs' teeth had their root canals opened to the oral environment for 6 months before being treated. After root canal negotiation they were filled by the lateral condensation technique with gutta-percha points and Sealapex in one appointment or after a dressing with calcium hydroxide for 7 and 15 days. Six months after the treatment the animals were killed and the tissues prepared for histomorphological analysis. Scores attributed to the different histomorphological events were submitted to statistical analysis, which resulted in ranking the experimental groups from the best to the worst in the following way: (a) calcium hydroxide 14 days; (b) calcium hydroxide 7 days; and (c) one appointment. It was concluded that the use of a calcium hydroxide dressing helps to achieve better results (p < 0.01) than the treatment in one appointment.

Comparison of hexamethyidisilazane and critical point drying treatments for SEM analysis of anaerobic biofilms and granular sludge

We present a fast procedure for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis in which hexamethyldisilazane (HMDS) solvent, instead of the critical point drying, is used to remove liquids from a microbiological specimen. The results indicate that the HMDS solvent is suitable for drying samples of anaerobic cells for examination by SEM and does not cause cell structure disruption.