A protocol for developing reporting guidelines for laboratory studies in endodontology

Laboratory‐based research studies are the most common form of research endeavour and make up the majority of manuscripts that are submitted for publication in the field of Endodontology. The scientific information derived from laboratory studies can be used to design a wide range of subsequent studies and clinical trials and may have translational potential to benefit clinical practice. Unfortunately, the majority of laboratory‐based articles submitted for publication fail the peer‐review step, because unacceptable flaws or substantial limitations are identified. Even when apparently well‐conducted laboratory‐based articles are peer‐reviewed, they can often require substantial corrections prior to the publication. It is apparent that some authors and reviewers may lack the training and experience to have developed a systematic approach to evaluate the quality of laboratory studies. Occasionally, even accepted manuscripts contain limitations that may compromise interpretation of data. To help authors avoid manuscript rejection and correction pitfalls, and to aid editors/reviewers to evaluate manuscripts systematically, the purpose of this project is to establish and publish quality guidelines for authors to report laboratory studies in the field of Endodontology so that the highest standards are achieved. The new guidelines will be named–‘Preferred Reporting Items for Laboratory studies in Endodontology’ (PRILE). A steering committee was assembled by the project leads to develop the guidelines through a five‐phase consensus process. The committee will identify new items as well as review and adapt items from existing guidelines. The items forming the draft guidelines will be reviewed and refined by a PRILE Delphi Group (PDG). The items will be evaluated by the PDG on a nine‐point Likert scale for relevance and inclusion. The agreed items will then be discussed by a PRILE face‐to‐face consensus meeting group (PFCMG) formed by 20 individuals to further refine the guidelines. This will be subject to final approval by the steering committee. The approved PRILE guidelines will be disseminated through publication in relevant journals, presented at congresses/meetings, and be freely available on a dedicated website. Feedback and comments will be solicited from researchers, editors and peer reviewers, who are invited to contact the steering committee with comments to help them update the guidelines periodically

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

One- versus two-visit endodontic treatment of teeth with apical periodontitis: A histobacteriologic study

Introduction: This study analyzed the in vivo microbiological status of the root canal systems of mesial roots of mandibular molars with primary apical periodontitis after 1- or 2-visit endodontic treatment. Methods: Mesial root canals were instrumented by using either a combination of K3 and LightSpeed instruments (mesiobuccal canals) or the ProTaper system (mesiolingual canals), with 5% NaOCl irrigation. Patency files were used. Smear layer was removed, and a final rinse with 5 mL of 2% chlorhexidine was performed. In the 2-visit group (7 roots, 14 canals), canals were medicated with calcium hydroxide for 1 week and then obturated by using the continuous wave of compaction technique. In the 1-visit group (6 roots, 12 canals), canals were immediately obturated after chemomechanical procedures. Teeth were extracted 1 week after root canal instrumentation and processed for histobacteriologic analysis. Results: In the 1-visit group, no case was completely free of bacteria; residual bacteria occurred in the main root canal (5 of 6 cases), isthmus (5 of 6), apical ramifications (4 of 6), and dentinal tubules (5 of 6). In the 2-visit group, 2 cases were rendered bacteria-free; residual bacteria were found in the main canal only in 2 cases (none of them with persistent dentinal tubule infection), in the isthmus (4 of 7 cases), and in ramifications (2 of 7). The 2 instrumentation techniques performed similarly. When filling material was observed in ramifications, it was usually intermixed with necrotic tissue, debris, and bacteria. Conclusions: The 2-visit protocol by using an interappointment medication with calcium hydroxide resulted in improved microbiological status of the root canal system when compared with the 1-visit protocol. Residual bacteria were more frequent and abundant in ramifications, isthmuses, and dentinal tubules when root canals were treated without an interappointment medication. Apical ramifications and isthmuses were never completely filled. The use of an antibacterial interappointment agent is necessary to maximize bacterial reduction before filling. � 2012 American Association of Endodontists

Altura materna e peso da criança ao nascer Maternal height and birth weight

Numa população de 498 gestantes sadias matriculadas no Centro de Saúde Geraldo Paula Souza, foi estudada a relação entre a altura materna e o peso da criança ao nascer, segundo a técnica de análise de regressão múltipla, tipo "stepwise", utilizando-se o subprograma "regression", componente do sistema "Statistical Package for Social Sciences" - SPSS. Essa técnica permite isolar o efeito de cada fator ajustado para a presença dos efeitos de outros fatores. O peso da criança ao nascer mostrou-se associado à idade gestacional, peso médio da gestante no 3.&deg; trimestre da gravidez e ao sexo do recém-nascido, a um nível de significância de 5%. Idade materna, peso médio da gestante no 2.&deg; trimestre da gravidez, altura materna e ordem de nascimento do recém-nascido não se mostraram associados com o peso ao nascer, ao citado nível de significância.<br>The relationship between maternal height and birth weight was studied using a multiple regression approach with a "stepwise" solution. In the final stage of that procedure no correlation was found between maternal height and birth weight given the regression on gestational age, maternal weight, sex and birth order of the fetus