Treatment and posttreatment effects induced by the Forsus appliance: A controlled clinical study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate treatment and posttreatment dentoskeletal effects induced by the Forsus device (FRD) in growing patients with Class II malocclusion in a retrospective controlled clinical study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Thirty-six Class II patients (mean [SD] age 12.3 [1.2] years) were treated consecutively with the FRD protocol and compared with a sample of 20 subjects with untreated Class II malocclusion (mean [SD] age 12.2 [0.9] years). Lateral cephalograms were taken at the beginning of treatment, at the end of comprehensive treatment (after 2.3 ± 0.4 years), and at a postretention period (after 2.3 ± 1.1 years from the end of comprehensive treatment). Statistical comparisons were carried out with the unpaired t-test and Benjamini-Hochberg correction (P < .05). RESULTS: After comprehensive treatment, the FRD sample showed a significant restriction of the sagittal maxillary growth together with a significant correction in overjet, overbite, and molar relationship. During the overall observation interval, the FRD group exhibited no significant sagittal or vertical skeletal changes, while significant improvements were recorded in overjet (−3.8 mm), overbite (−1.5 mm), and molar relationship (+3.7 mm). CONCLUSION: The FRD protocol was effective in correcting Class II malocclusion mainly at the dentoalveolar level when evaluated 2 years after the end of comprehensive treatment

Maternal ethnobotanical knowledge is associated with multiple measures of child health in the Bolivian Amazon

Premi a l'excel·lència investigadora. Àmbit de les Ciències Socials. 2008Culture is a critical determinant of human behavior and health, and the intergenerational transmission of knowledge regarding the use of available plant resources has historically been an essential function of culture. Local ethnobotanical knowledge is important for health and nutrition, particularly in rural low-resource settings, but cultural and economic transitions associated with globalization threaten such knowledge. This prospective study investigates the association between parental ethnobotanical knowledge and child health among the Tsimane', a horticulturalist and foraging society in Amazonian Bolivia. Anthropometric data and capillary blood samples were collected from 330 Tsimane' 2- to 10-year-olds, and mothers and fathers were interviewed to assess ethnobotanical knowledge and skills. Comprehensive measures of parental schooling, acculturation, and economic activities were also collected. Dependent variables included three measures of child health: (i) C-reactive protein, assayed in whole-blood spots as an indicator of immunostimulation; (ii) skinfold thickness, to estimate subcutaneous fat stores necessary to fuel growth and immune function; and (iii) height-for-age, to assess growth stunting. Each child health measure was associated with maternal ethnobotanical knowledge, independent of a wide range of potentially confounding variables. Each standard deviation of maternal ethnobotanical knowledge increased the likelihood of good child health by a factor of >1.5. Like many populations around the world, the Tsimane' are increasingly facing the challenges and opportunities of globalization. These results underscore the importance of local cultural factors to child health and document a potential cost if ethnobotanical knowledge is lost

Ovarian response and embryo production in llamas treated with equine chorionic gonadotropin alone or with a progestin-releasing vaginal sponge at the time of follicular wave emergence

The objective of the study was to compare the ovulatory response and embryo production in llamas (Lama glama) treated with a single dose of equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) alone or combined with intravaginal medroxyprogesterone acetate (MPA) at the time of follicular wave emergence. Llamas with a growing follicle ≥7 mm in diameter were assigned to one of the following groups: (1) Control (n = 28): Nonstimulated llamas were mated and embryos were collected 7 d after mating. (2) eCG (n = 32): Llamas were given 5 mg luteinizing hormone (LH) (Day 0) to induce ovulation, 1000 IU eCG on Day 2, a luteolytic dose of prostaglandin F2α on Day 6, mating on Day 7, and embryo collection on Day 14. (3) eCG+MPA (n = 34): Llamas were treated as those in the eCG group, but a sponge containing 60 mg MPA was placed intravaginally from Days 2 to 6. Llamas that did not respond to synchronization or superstimulation were excluded, leaving data from n = 26, 26, and 27 in the control, eCG, and eCG+MPA groups, respectively, for statistical analysis. The mean (±SD) number of follicles &gt; 7 mm at the time of mating was greatest in the eCG group, intermediate in the eCG+MPA group, and lowest in the control group (16.6 ± 5.3, 12.9 ± 3.7, and 1.0 ± 0.0, respectively, P &lt; 0.001). The number of corpora lutea was similar between eCG and eCG+MPA groups (10.1 ± 2.9 and 8.6 ± 3.7, respectively); both were higher (P &lt; 0.001) than in controls (0.9 ± 0.3). The number of embryos did not differ significantly between the eCG and eCG+MPA groups (4.8 ± 2.8 and 3.5 ± 3.0, respectively), but both were higher (P &lt; 0.001) than in the controls (0.7 ± 0.4). In conclusion, eCG, with or without MPA effectively induced a superovulatory response and multiple embryo production in llamas. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Clinical effects of different prescriptions on the inclination of maxillary and mandibular incisors by using passive self-ligating brackets

Controlling the incisal inclination is fundamental in orthodontics. However, the relationship between the inclination prescription and its clinical outcome is not obvious, and the incisal inclination changes generated by different bracket prescriptions were investigated

Evaluation of tip and torque on virtual study models: a validation study

Background: The objectives of this study were to develop and validate a novel analysis protocol to measure linear and angular measurements of tip and torque of each tooth in the dental arches of virtual study models. Methods: Maxillary and mandibular dental casts of 25 subjects with a full permanent dentition were scanned using a three-dimensional model scanner. Sixty points per arch were digitized on each model, five points on each tooth. A custom analysis to measure linear distances and angles of tip and torque was developed using a new reference plane passing as a best-fit among all of the lingual gingival points, with the intermolar lingual distance set as the reference X-axis. The linear distances measured included buccal, lingual, and centroid transverse widths at the level of canines, premolars, and molars as well as arch depth and arch perimeter. Results: There was no systematic error associated with the methodology used. Intraclass correlation coefficient values were higher than 0.70 on every measure. The average random error in the maxilla was 1.5\ub0 \ub1 0.4\ub0 for torque, 1.8\ub0 \ub1 0.5\ub0 for tip, and 0.4 \ub1 0.2 mm for linear measurements. The average random error in the mandible was 1.2\ub0 \ub1 0.3\ub0 for torque, 2.0\ub0 \ub1 0.8\ub0 for tip, and 0.1 \ub1 0.1 mm for the linear measurements. Conclusions: A custom digital analysis protocol to measure traditional linear measurements as well as tip and torque angulation on virtual dental casts was presented. This validation study demonstrated that the digital analysis used in this study has adequate reproducibility, providing additional information and more accurate intra-arch measurements for clinical diagnosis and dentofacial research

Nou mètode per avaluar la importància social de les plantes

El valor econòmic d'una planta no té perquè ser el mateix que el seu valor cultural. Es més, poden ser força diferents. Un grup d'investigadors ha establert un nou mètode que permet mesurar aquesta rellevància des de tres vessants: cultural, pràctica i econòmica i l'ha aplicat en un estudi realitzat a un grup indígena de l'Amazònia boliviana.El valor económico de una planta no tiene porqué ser el mismo que suvalor cultural. De hecho, pueden ser bastante diferentes. Un grupo deinvestigadores ha establecido un nuevo método que permite medir estarelevancia desde tres vertientes: cultural, práctica y económica y lo haaplicado en un estudio realizado entre un grupo indígena de laAmazonia boliviana

Cash Cropping, Farm Technologies, and Deforestation: What are the Connections? A Model with Empirical Data from the Bolivian Amazon

Research suggests that cash cropping is positively associated with deforestation. We use three-year data (2000-2002, inclusive) from 493 households to estimate the association between cash cropping rice and deforestation. Doubling the area sown with rice is associated with a 26-30 percent increase in the area of forest cleared during the next cropping season. We simulate the changes in rice cultivation to reach a daily income level of $1/person from cash cropping rice. We find that within 10 years: (1) the amount of deforestation would triple, (2) work requirements would exceed household's labor availability, and (3) fallows duration would decrease two-fold. To avoid the increase of deforestation from cash cropping requires increasing productivity, diversification of income sources, or both

Cash cropping, farm technologies, and deforestation: What are the connections?. Tsimane' Amazonian Panel Study Working Paper # 18, Dec-2005

Research suggests that cash-cropping is associated with deforestation. We use three-year data (2000-2002) from 493 households to estimate the association between cash-cropping rice and deforestation. Doubling the area sown with rice is associated with a 26-30% increase of the area of forest cleared next cropping season. We simulate the changes required to reach 1US$/person/day income with cash from rice. We find that within 10 years 1) deforestation would triple, 2) work requirements would exceed household’s labor availability, and 3) fallows duration would decrease two-fold. Avoiding growing deforestation due to cash-cropping by smallholders requires increasing productivity, diversification of income sources, or both

The Uneven Reach of Decentralization: A Case Study among Indigenous Peoples in the Bolivian Amazon

Decentralization reforms aim at strengthening democracy by promoting political participation among citizens. Research shows (1) that information is a prerequisite for political participation and (2) that people face different private costs in acquiring information. Here we combine the two lines of research and ask: what private costs hamper the acquisition of information on decentralization? For the analysis, we use data from an indigenous population of lowland Bolivia. We surveyed 319 Tsimane’ adults in 12 villages. We found that nine years after the passage of the decentralization laws, knowledge about those reforms had only partially reached the Tsimane’. People who live closer to municipal towns, had more schooling, and participated in the market economy were more aware of decentralization. Political authorities trying to spread the potential benefits of decentralization should address the structural limitations of the dissemination of political knowledge

Evaluating indices of traditional ecological knowledge: a methodological contribution

BACKGROUND: New quantitative methods to collect and analyze data have produced novel findings in ethnobiology. A common application of quantitative methods in ethnobiology is to assess the traditional ecological knowledge of individuals. Few studies have addressed reliability of indices of traditional ecological knowledge constructed with different quantitative methods. METHODS: We assessed the associations among eight indices of traditional ecological knowledge from data collected from 650 native Amazonians. We computed Spearman correlations, Chronbach's alpha, and principal components factor analysis for the eight indices. RESULTS: We found that indices derived from different raw data were weakly correlated (rho<0.5), whereas indices derived from the same raw data were highly correlated (rho>0.5; p < 0.001). We also found a relatively high internal consistency across data from the eight indices (Chronbach's alpha = 0.78). Last, results from a principal components factor analysis of the eight indices suggest that the eight indices were positively related, although the association was low when considering only the first factor. CONCLUSION: A possible explanation for the relatively low correlation between indices derived from different raw data, but relatively high internal consistency of the eight indices is that the methods capture different aspects of an individual's traditional ecological knowledge. To develop a reliable measure of traditional ecological knowledge, researchers should collect raw data using a variety of methods and then generate an aggregated measure that contains data from the various components of traditional ecological knowledge. Failure to do this will hinder cross-cultural comparisons