Influence of Diabetes on Implant Failure and Peri-Implant Diseases: A Retrospective Study

Diabetes is an important modifying factor of periodontitis, but its association with peri-implant diseases has not been fully explored and the existing literature reports controversial results. The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate the influence of diabetes on peri-implantitis and implant failure. Smoking status, history of periodontal disease, presence of diabetes, diabetes type, therapy and glycaemia levels were collected in a total of 204 subjects treated with 929 implants, with a mean follow-up time of 5.7 \ub1 3.82 years after loading. Odds ratio (OR) for diabetes as a direct cause of peri-implantitis and implant failure were calculated, adjusted for smoking status and history of periodontitis. Nineteen patients were diabetic and most of them presented a good control of the disease at the time of surgery. The overall patient-level prevalence of peri-implantitis was 11.3%. Among diabetic patients, one developed peri-implantitis, whereas one experienced multiple implant failures. The calculated ORs, adjusted for smoking status and periodontitis, were not statistically significant. The results revealed no association between diabetes and peri-implantitis or implant failure coherently with the existing scientific literature. The actual influence of hyperglycemia on implant failure is still uncertain and new studies with larger cohorts of patients are needed

Sugarcane cultivars present differential susceptibility to herbicides ametryn and trifloxysulfuron-sodium.

Weed management in Brazilian sugarcane fields is accomplished mainly with herbicides. These chemical products may negatively impact sugarcane growth and development. Therefore, we aimed this study to evaluate the influence of the selective herbicides ametryn, trifloxysulfurom-sodium and its commercially available mixture on the growth of sugarcane cultivars. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse condition in a completely randomized design, using a 3×3×4 factorial scheme with four replications. Factor A comprised sugarcane cultivars (SP80-1816, RB855113 and RB867515); factor B herbicides ametryn (Metrimex®), trifloxysulfuron-sodium (Envoke®) and its mixture (Krismat®), and factor C the doses (0.0, 0.5x, 1.0x and 3.0x the label dose), where 1.0x dose= 2,000gha-1 for ametryn; 22.5gha-1 for trifloxysulfuron-sodium and 1, 463+37.0gha-1 for the mixture. Crop toxicity was assessed 28 days after herbicide application and traits such as plant height, number of leaves per plant, stalk diameter, leaf area index, specific leaf area and crop growth rate were assessed 80 days after crop emergence. The results showed that trifloxysulfuron-sodium causes lower impact on all variables; therefore, being more selective to all cultivars. The label dose (1.0x), equivalent to 2,000 gha-1 of ametryn and 22.5 gha-1 of trifloxysulfuron- sodium is considered as a threshold between deficient weed control (in lower doses) and excessive crop toxicity (in higher doses). RB867515 and RB855113, respectively, were the most and least tolerant cultivars to both herbicides. In highly infested planting fields, farmers usually prefer to grow the most tolerant sugarcane cultivar when applying ametryn or trifloxysulfurom sodium

Hybrid fibroin/polyurethane small-diameter vascular grafts: from fabrication to in vivo preliminary assessment

To address the need of alternatives to autologous vessels for small-calibre vascular applications (e.g. cardiac surgery), a bio-hybrid semi-degradable material composed of silk fibroin (SF) and polyurethane (Silkothane (R)) was herein used to fabricate very small-calibre grafts (o(in) = 1.5 mm) via electrospinning. Bio-hybrid grafts were in vitro characterized in terms of morphology and mechanical behaviour, and compared to similar grafts of pure SF. Similarly, two native vessels from a rodent model (abdominal aorta and vena cava) were harvested and characterized. Preliminary implants were performed on Lewis rats to confirm the suitability of Silkothane (R) grafts for small-calibre applications, specifically as aortic insertion and femoral shunt. The manufacturing process generated pliable grafts consisting of a randomized fibrous mesh and exhibiting similar geometrical features to rat aortas. Both Silkothane (R) and pure SF grafts showed radial compliances in the range from 1.37 +/- 0.86 to 1.88 +/- 1.01% 10(-2) mmHg(-1), lower than that of native vessels. The Silkothane (R) small-calibre devices were also implanted in rats demonstrating to be adequate for vascular applications; all the treated rats survived the surgery for three months after implantation, and 16 rats out of 17 (94%) still showed blood flow inside the graft at sacrifice. The obtained results lay the basis for a deeper investigation of the interaction between the Silkothane (R) graft and the implant site, which may deal with further analysis on the potentialities in terms of degradability and tissue formation, on longer time-points

Weed management in raw sugarcane

Nos ?ltimos anos, o processo de colheita da cana-de-a??car vem sendo modificado, passando da tradicional queima do canavial para a colheita da cana-crua, seja por imposi??es da legisla??o ou conscientiza??o ambiental e tamb?m por press?es da sociedade. A ado??o desse novo sistema de colheita da cana-de-a??car tem resultado em importantes modifica??es nas t?cnicas de cultivo, como o uso de maiores espa?amentos entre as linhas e a deposi??o de palha ? superf?cie do solo, as quais influenciam diretamente a ocorr?ncia e o manejo de plantas daninhas e a fertilidade dos solos. Mudan?as da flora t?m sido observadas em ?reas cultivadas com a cana-crua em consequ?ncia do favorecimento de esp?cies com maior capacidade de germina??o sob espessa cobertura de palha, em compara??o com outras que t?m a germina??o impedida por a??o f?sica ou alelop?tica da palhada. Al?m disso, herbicidas utilizados em pr?-emerg?ncia nessa cultura t?m apresentado redu??es na sua efic?cia, pelo fato de que grande parte deles fica retida na palha e n?o atinge o solo na concentra??o necess?ria para o controle das plantas daninhas. Nesta revis?o foram descritos os principais resultados envolvendo a pesquisa relacionada ao manejo de plantas daninhas em ?reas com cana-crua, com o objetivo de disponibilizar informa??es aos pesquisadores para implementar t?cnicas e pesquisas no desenvolvimento do manejo integrado de comunidades infestantes na cultura da cana-de-a??car. Os resultados mostram que h? possibilidade de redu??o da depend?ncia do uso de herbicidas e melhoria real da qualidade dos solos como consequ?ncia do maior ac?mulo da palha oriunda da colheita da cana-de-a??car.Funda??o de Amparo ? Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG)Empresa de Pesquisa Agropecu?ria de Minas Gerais (EPAMIG)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cient?fico e Tecnol?gico (CNPq)Coordena??o de Aperfei?oamento de Pessoal de N?vel Superior (CAPES)In the last years, the sugarcane harvesting process has undergone changes imposed by law, environmental awareness or social pressure, leading to the exclusion of the traditional slash and burn before harvesting and inclusion of crude sugarcane harvest. This process is denominated crude harvesting. The adoption of this new harvesting system promoted alterations in the entire sugarcane tillage system, including wider row spacing and the formation of a mulching layer due to the deposition of sugarcane residues on the soil surface. This new crop management system affects directly the weed dynamics in these areas and soil fertility as well. Weed shifting has been observed, producing weed species with higher germination and emergence capacity under a thicker straw layer, compared to those unable to germinate due to the physical or allellopathic action of the straw. In addition, pre-emergence herbicides are usually less efficient under this system due to their retention in the straw, not reaching the soil in sufficient concentrations to promote weed control. In this literature review, the major results involving weed management in crude sugarcane areas are described to provide information to researchers, extension workers, and farmers on how to improve sugarcane integrated weed management, mainly under this new harvesting process. The results show that reduction of herbicide dependence is feasible, leading to improved soil quality in these fields