Education as a Predictor of Chronic Periodontitis: A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis Population-Based Studies

The impact of socioeconomic inequalities on health is well-documented. Despite the links of periodontal disease with cardiovascular diseases, adverse pregnancy outcomes and diabetes, no meta-analysis of socioeconomic variations in periodontal disease exists. This meta-analytic review was conducted to determine the extent to which education attainment influences risk of periodontitis in adults aged 35+ years in the general population.The authors searched studies published until November 2010 using EMBASE and MEDLINE databases. References listed were then scrutinised, our own files were checked, and, finally, we contacted experts in the field. The authors included only general population-based studies conducted in adults aged 35 years and more. All articles were blind reviewed by two investigators. In the case of disagreement, a third investigator arbitrated. Using PRISMA statement, two reviewers independently extracted papers of interest.Relative to the higher education group, people with low education attainment experience a greater risk of periodontitis (OR: 1.86 [1.66–2.10]; p<0.00001). The association was partially attenuated after adjustment for covariates (OR: 1.55 [1.30–1.86]; p<0.00001). Sensitivity analyses showed that methods used to assess periodontitis, definition of cases, study country and categorization of education are largely responsible for the heterogeneity between studies. No significant bias of publication was shown using both the Egger (p = 0.16) and rank correlation tests (p = 0.35).In the studies reviewed, low educational attainment was associated with an increased risk of periodontitis. Although this evidence should be cautiously interpreted due to methodological problems in selected studies, efforts to eliminate educational inequalities in periodontitis should focus on early life interventions

Impact of the energy use of biodegradable waste on CO2 emission reduction

Wzrost zapotrzebowania na surowce energetyczne i wzrost cen paliw kopalnych oraz obawy związane z globalnym ociepleniem wymusiły na krajach Unii Europejskiej większe wykorzystanie alternatywnych źródeł energii w celu zastąpienia paliw konwecjonalnych oraz ograniczenia emisji dwutlenku węgla. Według Deryktywy zwanej 3 razy 20% (2009/28/EC) Polska zobowiązała się do roku 2020 ograniczyć emisji gazów cieplarnianych o 20% (w porównaniu z rokiem 1990). W pracy przedstawiono potencjał energetyczny odpadów biodegradowalnych w województwie śląskim oraz możliwości ich wykorzystania dla zmniejszenia emisji CO2.The constant increase of energy consumption and the global greenhouse effect are the reasons for introducing the policy of replacement of conventional energy sources by renewable energy sources in EU. As a result the Directive known as 3x20 was introduced in 2008. One of possible way of CO2 emission reduction from combustion processes in Poland is thermal utilization of bio-fraction of municipal solid waste and sewage sludge as sources of energy. The potential and possible effect of this process in Silesia region is presented in the paper

End-of-life vehicles recovery and recycling and the route to comply with EU directive targets

In an attempt to reduce waste originating from end-of-life vehicles (ELVs) which is becoming a serious environmental problem, the European Union enforced in 2000 the End-of-Life Vehicles Directive 2000/53/EC. Each European member state has to comply with the achievement of the following recycling and recovery targets: 80% and 85% by 2006 and increasing to 85% and 95%, respectively, by 2015. The required and achieved recovery and recycling targets for ELVs in Poland in 2011 have been discussed and compared. The data shows that the achieved targets of recovery and recycling were about 82% and 80%, respectively. Therefore, the barrier factors affecting management of ELVs have been identified and the route useful to comply ELVs recovery and recycling in Poland and for other developing countries has been presented. The experience shows that this goal could be achieved by energy recovery and materials recycling of automotive shredder residue

An overview of municipal solid waste management in Poland. The current situation, problems and challenges

An overview of municipal solid waste management (MSWM) in Poland has been presented. The processes of waste generation and composition have been described and a comprehensive review of MSWM in Poland has been provided, covering some of the important aspects of waste management, such as the current status of waste collection, transport and disposal in Poland. An additional aim of the present work was to identify the potential barriers and the factors affecting waste management as well as provide recommendations for system improvement in Poland and other similar developing countries. An analysis shows that the state of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Poland is not yet as developed as in many other EU countries. Landfilling is still the predominant method used for the disposal of MSW. Composting and incineration are also used but refer only to a small percentage of the total. According to the latest data (31st December 2014), around 84% of MSW was collected and transported and that ca. 53% was disposed of in landfill, ca. 7% was incinerated at waste-to-energy plants, ca. 11% was treated at organic waste recovery plants and 23% was delivered to sorting. The average generation rate of MSW was 293 kg/capita/year. Generally, recycling in Poland is on the increase, especially concerning easily collectable and recyclable materials such as paper, plastics, glass and metals. Around 37% of MSW collected selectively is recycled

Multi-level nonlinear modeling verification scheme of RC high-rise wall buildings

Earthquake-resistant reinforced concrete (RC) high-rise wall buildings are designed and detailed to respond well beyond the elastic range under the expected earthquake ground motions. However, despite their considerable section depth, in terms of analysis, RC walls are still often treated as linear elements, ignoring the effect of deformation compatibility. Due to the limited number of available comprehensive experimental studies on RC structural wall systems subjected to cycling loading, few in-depth analytical verification studies have been conducted. Motivated by the increasing need for more accurate seismic risk assessment of high-rise buildings in multi-scenario seismic regions, a multi-level nonlinear modeling verification scheme is presented in this paper to investigate two different nonlinear modeling techniques for shear walls (2- and 4-noded fiber-based elements). The investigated modeling approaches and their key parameters are verified against the results of Phase I of uniaxial shaking table specimen tests (performed at the University of California, San Diego) on a seven-story full-scale RC shear wall structure under base excitations representing four earthquake records of increasing intensities. Three numerical models are created using two different tools (ZEUS-NL and PERFORM-3D). The results obtained from the numerical models are compared with the experimental results both on global and local response levels (top displacement, interstory drift, story shear force, story bending moment, period elongation and rebar tensile strain). The study reveals the superior performance of 4-noded fiber-based wall/shell element modeling approach in accounting for the 3D effects of deformation compatibility between lateral and gravity-force-resisting systems. The study also highlights the sensitivity of attained results to the stiffnesses assigned to the rigid links and 3D joints required to connect the shear walls to neighboring elements when a 2-noded element is used

Analysis of physicochemical and fertilizing properties of selected group of municipal solid waste and compost for utilization as a base for desert land

Cywilizacja stale się rozwija, a wraz z nią wzrasta ilość wytwarzanych odpadów komunalnych. Wzrost gospodarczy i bogacenie się społeczeństwa jest wprost proporcjonalne do ilości powstających odpadów komunalnych. Odpady te nie powinny być traktowane jako bezużyteczne frakcje ale źródło surowców do recyklingu czy też wykorzystane do innych metod odzysku odpadów. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań wybranych właściwości fizykochemicznych i nawozowych biodegradowalnych frakcji odpadów komunalnych a mianowicie: tekstyliów pochodzenia naturalnego, papieru i tektury pod kątem możliwości ich wykorzystania jako podłoża do adaptacji roślin na terenach zdegradowanych czy pustynnych.With continuous economic development, rapid urbanization and industrialization, the amount of generated municipal solid waste, is growing year by year. Due the fact that paper and cardboard are one of the main compositional categories of municipal solid waste, the work was aimed to assess physicochemical and fertilizing properties of paper and cardboard for utilization as a base for desert land. Additionally, in this work we assess physicochemical and fertilizing properties of natural textile to determine their possible use natural textile

Application of post-filtered diatomaceous earth from brewing industry in composting

Research has been conducted on composting of diatomaceous earth after beer filtration and selectively collected organic waste. The content of post-filtered diatomaceous earth (PFDE) in experimental composts was 10, 30 and 50 wt. %. During composting, the temperature of the compost heaps was measured as a parameter characterizing the intensity of biochemical changes. The model of dependence of temperature on the composting time was used to compare the temperatures in all experimental mixtures which revealed that the composting in all mixtures was on a similar level. In mature composts, bacteria of Salmonella group and parasites of alimentary canal were not isolated. The content of organic substance on the level above 30% in dry mass and the content of fertilizer parameters (N, P, K) presents the possibility of using composts as organic fertilizers. Micro-plot field experiments were conducted in order to verify the influence of produced compost on the size and quality of plant yield. Vegetable plants were tested in two vegetative seasons in two doses (40 t/ha and 60t/ha) of each compost. Depending on the plant species, the compost containing 30 wt.% or 50 wt. % of diatomaceous earth after beer filtration turned out to be the best one

SYNERGISTIC EFFECT OF SPERM FILTRATION TECHNIQUES AND ANTIOXIDANTS ADDED TO EXTENDER OF IRAQI BUFFALO SEMEN

This study investigated the synergistic effect of glass wool and sephadex sperm filtration techniques on improving the low semen quality of buffalo bulls with or without antioxidants. Semen was collected for 14 weeks, evaluated weekly, and divided into 12 groups. Good and low semen have extended using a Tris extender. Good semen quality is divided into three groups [S1: Tris extender; S2: Tris + vitamins E (2 mM) and C (5 mM); S3: Tris + glutamine (20 mM) and arginine (1 mM)]. Low semen quality was divided into three main groups and subdivided into three sub-groups (S4; Tris extender; S5: Tris +vitamins E (2 mM) and C (5 mM); S6: Tris + glutamine (20 mM) and arginine (1 mM)). In the 2nd and 3rd main groups, glass wool and sephadex techniques are used with or without adding vitamins (E+C) and amino acids (Glutamine and arginine) and subdivided into three sub-groups with each technique, referred to as S7–S9 for glass wool and S10–S12 for sephadex techniques. Improving (P<0.01) motility, normal morphology, acrosome, and plasma membrane integrity and reducing total sperm abnormalities of low semen quality were noticed using sephadex with or without adding vitamins or amino acids post-cryopreservation. In conclusion, the sephadex technique removed immotile sperm, dead, abnormal, and good sperm harvested by this technique, which in turn may reflect positively on improving the pregnancy rate