Patient characteristics differently affect early cup and stem loosening in THA: a case-control study on 7,535 patients

We postulated that certain patient characteristics have different effects on early THA component loosening. With two matched case-control studies we assessed 3,028 cups and 5,224 stems. Loosening was defined using signs of mechanical component failure on routine follow-up radiographs or revision for aseptic loosening. Women and men had similar cup-loosening odds, but women had lower odds for stem loosening (p < 0.0001). Odds for cup loosening decreased by 2.1% per additional year of age (p = 0.0004), those for stem loosening by 2.4% (p < 0.0001). Each additional kilogram of weight decreased cup loosening odds by 1.3% (p = 0.0051). Each additional unit of BMI increased stem loosening odds (p = 0.0109). Charnley classes B and C were protective factors against loosening of both components. There were no risk differences for the various main diagnoses. Certain patient characteristics differently affected early cup and stem loosening, although some characteristics had the same protective or harmful effect on component surviva

WHO ARE THE STUDENTS OF THE DENTISTRY PROGRAM AT ULBRA IN CANOAS, RS, WHAT THEY THINK AND WHAT THEY EXPECT OF THE JOB MARKET: A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY

Dentistry programs should prepare professionals with a generalist profile, having biological, scientific, technical, social and humanistic training. They should be trained for the reality of the job market and to practice Dentistry in both public and private settings, in order to provide leadership in the community in which they are placed. Objective: This study aims to analyze the socio-demographic profile, satisfaction with the program, self-evaluation of academic performance and expectations of the job market of students entering and exiting the Dentistry program of ULBRA/Canoas. Methodology: This is an observational, cross-sectional study conducted using a questionnaire with different questions for students entering and exiting the program in 2015. A questionnaire was developed with both open and closed objective, multiple-choice questions. It was given to 71 (86.5%) students enrolled in the program. Results: Most of the subjects are female, single, childless and between the ages of 17 and 36 years. Most chose Dentistry as a profession because they always liked or were interested in the health field. It was observed that the exiting students worked more in the areas of General Dentistry (90.4%) and Periodontics (77.0%) during their academic time, and intended to work in private practice (49.0%) and in the Unified Health System (65.0%). Conclusion: It was concluded that the profile of the entering and the exiting students is diverse, also that the students perceive that the greatest difficulty in the practice of Dentistry is the insertion and saturation of the job market

Energy Embodiment in Brazilian Agriculture: An Overview of 23 Crops

The amount of energy required to produce a commodity or to supply a service varies from one production system to another and consequently giving rise to differing levels of environmental efficiency. Moreover, since energy prices have been continuously increasing over time, this energy amount may be a factor that has economic worth. Biomass production has a variety of end-products such as food, energy, and fiber; thus, taking into account the similarity in end-product of different crops (e.g.: sunflower, peanuts, or soybean for oil) it is possible to evaluate which crops require less energy per functional unit, such as starch, oil, and protein. This information can be used in decision-making about policies for food safety or bioenergy. In this study, 23 crops were evaluated allowing for a comparison in terms of energy embodied per functional unit. Crops were grouped as follows: starch, oil, horticultural, perennial and fiber, to provide for a deeper analysis of alternatives for the groups, and subsidize further studies comparing conventional and alternative production systems such as organic or genetically modified organisms, in terms of energy. The best energy balance observed was whole sugarcane (juice, bagasse and straw) with a surplus of 268 GJ ha−1 yr−1; palm shows the highest energy return on investment with a ratio of approximately 30:1. For carbohydrates and protein production, cassava and soybean, respectively, emerged as the crops offering the greatest energy savings in the production of these functional foods

Model for energy analysis of Miscanthus production and transportation

A computational tool is developed for the estimation of the energy requirements of Miscanthus x giganteus on individual fields that includes a detailed analysis and account of the involved in-field and transport operations. The tool takes into account all the individual involved in-field and transport operations and provides a detailed analysis on the energy requirements of the components that contribute to the energy input. A basic scenario was implemented to demonstrate the capabilities of the tool. Specifically, the variability of the energy requirements as a function of field area and field-storage distance changes was shown. The field-storage distance highly affects the energy requirements resulting in a variation in the efficiency if energy (output/input ratio) from 15.8 up to 23.7 for the targeted cases. Not only the field-distance highly affects the energy requirements but also the biomass transportation system. Based on the presented example, different transportation systems adhering to the same configuration of the production system creates variation in the efficiency of energy (EoE) between 12.9 and 17.5. The presented tool provides individualized results that can be used for the processes of designing or evaluating a specific production system since the outcomes are not based on average norms

Gastrointestinal helminths in calves and cows in an organic milk production system

The main aim of this study was to determine the distribution of populations of gastrointestinal helminths in lactating crossbred cows and calves during the grazing season in an organic milk production system. In addition, the potential importance of the peripartum in relation to the parasite load was examined. Between January 2007 and December 2008, parasitological fecal examinations were performed on cattle belonging to the Integrated Animal Production Program of Embrapa Agrobiology. The cows' parasite load remained low during the study period, and there were no statistical differences (p > 0.05) in comparisons between the seasons. The average egg count showed a positive correlation (0.80) with the peripartum, such that egg elimination per gram (p < 0.05) was higher during the week of labor than during the pre and postpartum periods. Calves showed low parasite loads, with significantly higher egg elimination (p < 0.05) during the winter. The study indicated that infection with gastrointestinal helminths was not a limiting factor for milk production in the organic system. Specifically, it was concluded that the nematode load can be maintained at moderate levels throughout the production system, even in the absence of anthelmintic treatment

Resposta fisiológica de ovinos da raça Santa Inês alimentados com diferentes níveis de farelo de manga em substituição ao milho.

O experimento foi delineado para avaliar o efeito da substituição do milho por farelo de manga e medir os efeitos das condições climáticas ao longo do dia sobre os parâmetros fisiológicos: temperatura retal (TR), temperatura Superficial (TS) e freqüência respiratória (FR), em ovinos da raça Santa Inês, criados em confinamento em clima semi-árido. Ovinos machos castrados (n = 16) foram submetidos a quatro dietas com diferentes níveis de substituição do milho por farelo de manga. A TR, TS e FR foram medidas a cada hora durante dois períodos de 24 horas. Adotou-se o delineamento de blocos casualizados, com quatro repetições, em esquema fatorial 4 x 12 (níveis de inclusão de farelo de manga x horários de avaliação dos parâmetros fisiológicos). Não foi observado influência da dieta na TR, TS e FR dos ovinos, entretanto observou-se a influência das condições climáticas

In vitro characterization of physico-chemical properties, cytotoxicity, bioactivity of urea-crosslinked hyaluronic acid and sodium ascorbyl phosphate nasal powder formulation

An innovative lyophilized dry powder formulation consisting of urea-crosslinked hyaluronic acid (HA-CL) and sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) – LYO HA-CL – SAP- was prepared and characterized in vitro for physico-chemical and biological properties. The aim was to understand if LYO HA-CL – SAP could be used as adjuvant treatment for nasal inflammatory diseases. LYO HA-CL – SAP was suitable for nasal delivery and showed to be not toxic on human nasal septum carcinoma-derived cells (RPMI 2650 cells) at the investigated concentrations. It displayed porous, polygonal particles with unimodal, narrow size distribution, mean geometric diameter of 328.3 ± 27.5 µm, that is appropriate for nasal deposition with no respirable fraction and 88.7% of particles with aerodynamic diameter &gt;14.1 µm. Additionally, the formulation showed wound healing ability on RPMI 2650 cells, and reduced interleukin-8 (IL-8) level in primary nasal epithelial cells pre-induced with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Transport study across RPMI 2650 cells showed that HA-CL could act not only as carrier for SAP and active ingredient itself, but potentially also as mucoadhesive agent. In conclusion, these results suggest that HA-CL and SAP had anti-inflammatory activity and acted in combination to accelerate wound healing. Therefore, LYO HA-CL – SAP could be a potential adjuvant in nasal anti-inflammatory formulations