MODELING A COMPUTER APPLICATION FOR MANAGEMENT OF MAINTENANCE ACTIVITIES OF UNPAVED ROADS

ABSTRACTThis study presents a contribution to the modeling of a computer application employing a method of serviceability performance for unpaved roads, aiming the management of maintenance/restoration activities of the primary surface layer. The proposed methodology consisted of field inspections during dry (April to September) and rainy (October to March) periods, during which objective evaluations were performed to survey of defects and their densities and degrees of severity. To aid the functional classification of analyzed road sections and the determination of the defect with major influence on the serviceability of these roads, the method of serviceability performance proposed by Silva (2009)was implemented in the Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) language in Microsoft Excel software. With the use of the computer application proposed it was possible to identify among the defects analyzed in field, through the index of serviceability of the sampling unit per defect type (ISUdef), which one had the greatest influence on determining the relative serviceability index per road section (IST). The results allow us to conclude that the computer application Road achieved satisfactory results, since the objective evaluation criteria applied to road sections denotes consistency regarding their serviceability

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time, and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space. While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes, vast areas of the tropics remain understudied. In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity, but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases. To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge, it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Association Between Osteoporosis And Periodontal Disease [associação Entre Osteoporose E Doença Periodontal Em Mulheres Na Pós-menopausa]

PURPOSE: to verify the association of osteoporosis with periodontal disease. METHODS: the study has included 39 postmenopausal women divided in three groups according to bone mass categories, through evaluation of mineral bone density (MBD), measured by X-ray double emission absorbimetry in the lumbar area (L1-L4): ): normal bone; osteopenia and osteoporosis. In all the participants the Clinical Insertion Level (CIL) index has been determined at the research onset and after one year, by the same examiner. The periodontal situation data have been submitted to statistical analysis with the paired t-Student test. RESULTS: the periodontal exam has shown that postmenopausal women in the osteopenia presented lower CIL at the initial periodontal clinical exam (2.1±1.1 mm), while the ones in the normal bone showed less teeth support tissue loss after one year (3.1±1.6 mm). The statistical analysis has shown that there was no significant difference for the periodontal situation in the normal bone, but there was significant statistical difference for the osteopenia and osteoporosis patients, when CIL values from both evaluation periods were compared. CONCLUSIONS: it is concluded that postmenopausal osteoporosis may be a possible risk factor for periodontal disease.308379383Kanis, J.A., Melton 3rd, L.J., Christiansen, C., Johnston, C.C., Khaltaev, N., The diagnosis of osteoporosis (1994) J Bone Miner Res, 9 (8), pp. 1137-1141Pallos, D., Ceschin, A., Victor, G.A., Bulhões, R.C., Quirino, M.R.S., Menopausa: Fator de risco para doença periodontal? (2006) Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet, 28 (5), pp. 292-297Pardini, D., Terapêutica de reposição hormonal na osteoporose pós-menopausa. (1999) Arq Bras Endocrinol Metab, 43 (6), pp. 428-432Pinto Neto, A.M., Soares, A., Urbanetz, A.A., Souza, A.C.A., Ferrari, A.E.M., Amaral, B., Consenso brasileiro de osteoporose 2002 (2002) Rev Bras Reumatol, 42 (6), pp. 343-354Hildebolt, C.F., Osteoporosis and oral bone loss (1997) Dentomaxillofac Radiol, 26 (1), pp. 3-15Chesnut 3rd, C.H., The relationship between skeletal and oral bone mineral density: An overview (2001) Ann Periodontol, 6 (1), pp. 193-196von Wowern, N., General and oral aspects of osteoporosis: A review (2001) Clin Oral Investig, 5 (2), pp. 71-82Lener, U.H., Inflammation-induced bone remodeling in periodontal disease and the influence of post-menopausal osteoporosis (2006) J Dent Res, 85 (7), pp. 596-607Lerner, U.H., Bone remodeling in post-menopausal osteoporosis (2006) J Dent Res, 85 (7), pp. 584-595Cao, M., Shu, L., Li, J., Su, J., Zhang, W., Wang, Q., The expression of estrogen receptors and the effects of estrogen on human periodontal ligament cells (2007) Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol, 29 (5), pp. 329-335Dervis, E., Oral implications of osteoporosis (2005) Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod, 100 (3), pp. 349-356Elders, P.J., Habets, L.L., Netelenbos, J.C., van der Linden, L.W., van der Stelt, P.F., The relation between periodontitis and systemic bone mass in women between 46 and 55 years of age (1992) J Clin Periodontol, 19 (7), pp. 492-496Weyant, R.J., Pearlstein, M.E., Churak, A.P., Forrest, K., Famili, P., Cauley, J.A., The association between osteopenia and periodontal attachment loss in older women (1999) J Periodontol, 70 (9), pp. 982-991von Wowern, N., Klausen, B., Kollerup, G., Osteoporosis: A risk factor in periodontal disease (1994) J Periodontol, 65 (12), pp. 1134-1138Wactawski-Wende, J., Grossi, S.G., Trevisan, M., Genco, R.J., Tezal, M., Dunford, R.G., The role of osteopenia in oral bone loss and periodontal disease (1996) J Periodontol, 67 (10 SUPPL.), pp. 1076-1084Mohammad, A.R., Bauer, R.L., Yeh, C.K., Spinal bone density and tooth loss in a cohort of postmenopausal women (1997) Int J Prosthodont, 10 (4), pp. 381-385Pilgram, T.K., Hildebolt, C.F., Dotson, M., Cohen, S.C., Hauser, J.F., Kardaris, E., Relationships between clinical attachment level and spine and hip bone mineral density: Data from healthy postmenopausal women (2002) J Periodontol, 73 (11), pp. 298-301Tezal, M., Wactawski-Wende, J., Grossi, S.G., Ho, A.W., Dunford, R., Genco, R.J., The relationship between bone mineral density and periodontitis in postmenopausal women (2000) J Periodontol, 71 (9), pp. 1492-1498Kulikowska-Bielaczyc, E., Gołebiewska, M., Preferansow, E., The relationship between mineral status of the organism and the number of teeth present and periodontal condition in postmenopausal patients (2006) Adv Med Sci, 51 (SUPPL. 1), pp. 130-133Gomes-Filho, I.S., Passos Jde, S., Cruz, S.S., Vianna, M.I., Cerqueira Ede, M., Oliveira, D.C., The association between postmenopausal osteoporosis and periodontal disease (2007) J Periodontol, 78 (9), pp. 1731-1740Burt, B., Research, Science and Therapy Committee of the American Academy of Periodontology. Position paper: Epidemiology of periodontal diseases (2005) J Periodontol, 76 (8), pp. 1406-1419Brennan, R.M., Genco, R.J., Hovey, K.M., Trevisan, M., Wactawski-Wende, J., Clinical attachment loss, systemic bone density, and subgingival calculus in postmenopausal women (2007) J Periodontol, 78 (11), pp. 2104-2111Peruzzo, D.C., Nogueira Filho, G.R., Nociti Junior, F.H., Casati, M.Z., Sallum, E.A., Marcadores, indicadores e fatores de risco da doença periodontal. (2004) Rev Periodontia, 14 (1), pp. 23-29Kuo, L.C., Polson, A.M., Kang, T., Associations between periodontal diseases and systemic diseases: A review of the inter-relationships and interactions with diabetes, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis (2008) Public Health, 122 (4), pp. 417-433Assessment of fracture risk and its application to screening for postmenopausal osteoporosis. Report of a WHO Study Group (1994) World Health Organ Tech Rep Ser, 843, pp. 1-129Glavind, L., Löe, H., Errors in the clinical assessment of periodontal destruction (1967) J Peridontal Res, 2 (3), pp. 180-184Wolff, L., Dahlén, G., Aeppli, D., Bacteria as risk markers for periodontitis (1994) J Periodontol, 65 (5 SUPPL.), pp. 498-510Krejci, C.B., Bissada, N.F., Women's health issues and their relationship to periodontitis (2002) J Am Dent Assoc, 133 (3), pp. 323-329Mohammad, A.R., Brunsvold, M., Bauer, R., The strength of association between systemic postmenopausal osteoporosis and periodontal disease (1996) Int J Prosthodont, 9 (5), pp. 479-483Ronderos, M., Jacobs, D.R., Himes, J.H., Pihlstrom, B.L., Associations of periodontal disease with femoral bone mineral density and estrogen replacement therapy: Cross-sectional evaluation of US adults from NHANES III (2000) J Clin Periodontol, 27 (10), pp. 778-786Mohammad, A.R., Hooper, D.A., Vermilyea, S.G., Mariotti, A., Preshaw, P.M., An investigation of the relationship between systemic bone density and clinical periodontal status in post-menopausal Asian-American women (2003) Int Dent J, 53 (3), pp. 121-12

Bone mineral density and inflammatory bowel disease severity

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is associated with low bone mineral density (BMD). In this study, the association between disease severity and BMD in patients with IBD was evaluated. Associations between BMD and the Montreal classification, disease activity and drug therapy were also tested. A cross-sectional prevalence study with a comparison group was conducted. One hundred and twenty-eight patients were evaluated: 68 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), and 60 with Crohn's disease (CD). The control group consisted of 67 healthy subjects. All patients and controls had BMD measured and in IBD patients, current medications, hospitalization, and disease location, extent and phenotype, according to the Montreal classification, were recorded. Multiple correspondence analysis was applied to evaluate categorical variables. In the CD group, most patients were diagnosed between 17–40 years of age. Ileocolonic and non-stricturing non-penetrating disease were the most frequent disease location and behavior, respectively. In UC patients, extensive colitis was the most frequent disease location. UC and CD patients were more likely to have osteopenia than controls (OR=14.93/OR=24.38, respectively). In the CD group, male patients, perianal disease, penetrating behavior and age at diagnosis >40 years were associated with low BMD. Taking azathioprine and infliximab also seemed to be associated with osteopenia. In the UC group, we observed an association between low BMD and male patients, left colitis, corticosteroid use and hospitalization. Disease activity was not associated with osteopenia or osteoporosis in CD and UC patients. Disease severity seems to be associated with osteopenia in IBD patients