Effect of maintenance therapy with or without the use of chlorhexidine in teeth restored with composite resin in patients with diabetes mellitus

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of maintenance therapy with or without the use of 0.12% chlorhexidine in the periodontal tissues of patients with diabetes mellitus who had carious lesions restored with composed resin. Twenty patients were selected, all of whom had diabetes mellitus in addition to carious cervical lesions in previously treated teeth. After 90 days, improvement in plaque and gingival indices and probing depth were noticed among patients in the group that received 0.12% chlorhexidine.

The use of NaOCl in combination with CHX produces cytotoxic product

Objectives: The combination of sodium hypochlorite (NaOCl) and chlorhexidine (CHX) yields a precipitate potentially toxic (PPT). The aim of this study was to evaluate the tissue response to implanted polyethylene tubes filled with PPT-soaked fibrin sponge. Methods: Forty rats received four polyethylene tubes each; each tube was filled with fibrin sponge soaked by 2.5 % NaOCl, 2.0 % CHX, PPT (2.5 % NaOCl plus 2.0 % CHX), or not soaked (control). The observation time points were 7, 15, 30, 60, and 90 days. At each time point, eight animals were killed, and the tubes and surrounding tissues were removed, fixed, and prepared for light microscopic analysis by performing glycol methacrylate embedding, serial cutting into 3-μm sections, and hematoxylin-eosin staining. Qualitative and quantitative evaluations of the reactions were performed. Results were statistically analyzed by Kruskal-Wallis test (p < 0.05). Results: All chemical solutions caused moderate reactions at 7 days. On day 30, PPT group was more cytotoxic than the control group and the CHX group (p < 0.05). On days 15 and 60, PPT group was more cytotoxic than the control group (p < 0.05). On day 90, there was no statistically significant difference between the different groups. Conclusion: PPT is more cytotoxic than NaOCl and CHX alone, particularly in the short term. Clinical significance: Protocols which suggest the use of CHX and NaOCl must be revised because this mixture produces cytotoxic product. © 2013 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

Implications of the use of sorghum in broiler production

This study aimed at evaluating total or partial replacement of corn by sorghum in broiler diets and at estimating the effect of the pigment supplementation on broiler performance, carcass and cuts yield, and possible breast and leg pigmentation. We used 1680 one-d-old Ross® 308 broilers. Birds were sexed and distributed according to a completely randomized design (2 x 3 + 1). Treatments consisted of a control diet based on corn and diets with two levels corn replacement by sorghum (50 and 100%) and three pigments levels, with four replicates of 60 birds per treatment. There was no effect (p > 0.05) of the dietary replacement of corn by sorghum on performance, carcass and parts yield, and no changes in breast and leg meat pH (p >0.05). Meat redness (a*), yellowness (b*) and luminosity (L*) increased (p < 0.05) as pigment inclusion levels increased. It was concluded that the use of sorghum instead of corn did not affect broiler performance or carcass and cuts yield. When adequate pigments were used, meat color significantly improved.

The use of diplopods in soil ecotoxicology - A review

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

Risk factors that may signify a propensity to the use of drugs in students at a public university

Introduction: We sought to evaluate the risk factors that may increase the propensity to use licit and illicit drugs among students at a public university. Methods: The project involved students (n = 268) enrolled in the first and fourth years of courses in the areas of the social and biological sciences at a public university. Data collection was conducted by means of self-administered, semistructured questionnaires, based on such standardized assessment instruments as Audit, Assist, Cage and Duse. Collected data were analyzed quantitatively by calculating the percentages and evaluating the data in terms of categories of risk, classifying them by age, gender, religion, schooling, use (before or after entering university) and contexts of use. By means of this survey the researchers were able to correlate the use of drugs to the risk factors that might increase the students’ propensity to use these substances. Results: The results revealed a high proportion of current drug-using students, but showed no significant differences between the first and fourth year students as regards contexts of use. However, 67% of students regarded the university environment as encouraging the use of drugs. Students pointed to such major risk factors as friends’ and fellow-students’ influence, university parties, excessive curiosity and desire to experiment. Conclusion: Due to the high rate of drug use among university students, by the determination of the risk factors related to the university environment and also knowing that the process of addiction is one of growing chemical dependence, the importance of the development and implementation of public health policies at all levels, especially in terms of approaches and specific interventions addressing this population, should be noted.

Operational and environmental assessment on the use of charcoal in iron ore sinter production

A study was carried out into the use of charcoal as a supplementary fuel in the iron-ore sintering process. The primary fuel was coke breeze and anthracite with 0, 10, 25, 50 and 100% replacement of the energy input with charcoal to produce sinter. This was achieved by considering the carbon content of each fuel and its corresponding participation on fuel blending, in order to have the same carbon input in each test run. An extensive analysis of the environmental impact was carried out regarding the atmospheric pollutants characterization (dust, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, methane, total hydrocarbons, and dioxins and furans). Experimental results indicate that fuel blending where 50% of the heat input was provided by charcoal may be comparable with those using 100% coke, under normal sintering conditions, and may result in a 50% reduction on greenhouse gas emission. It was also observed that while dust, methane and hydrocarbons emissions increased, the total dioxins and furans, expressed as polychlorinated dibenzodioxins/furans, decreased approximately 50% when compared with operation with 100% coke.

Use of gibberellin in floriculture

This review aimed to show the use of gibberellin in floriculture. In this context, it should be noted that the benefit of the activity of the gibberellins has brought major advances in the field of physiology. Its use is one of the most important tools for the development of agriculture. Thus, the study concluded that the use of gibberellins has been increasingly used by producers and is also a vast important subject that may help in increasing the production of flowers if the farms are dedicated to this purpose.

The Digital Divide in the University: The Appropriation of ICT in Higher Education Students from Bogota, Colombia

The growth and integration of ICTs in the global economy have created conditions that profoundly affect our society, dividing communities between those who effectively appropriate these resources and those who do not, what is called the digital divide. This exploratory study seeks to propose and validate ways of assessing this phenomenon in higher education, from the construction of a model and a comprehensive methodology that value contextual conditions, in addition to measuring access factors and motivation for use, that have been employed in previous research. To obtain indications about the behavior of this phenomenon, we developed research with students from three universities in Bogota, administering 566 surveys in four phases that would test the variables proposed in the model. The results show that the variables of the model link causally, with the strongest relations between education, attitude towards ICTs and ICT application. Although students have good access to ICTs and high levels of education, no strong relationship was found in regards to perceived impact on production. This may be explained by a superficial appropriation of ICT, due to a context that is alien to its conditions of origin (industrialism, innovation), poor quality of education and economies not centered around R&D.

Current attitudes regarding the use of perioperative analgesics in dogs and cats by Brazilian veterinarians

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