Aim
To investigate the effect of chronic alcohol consumption on apical periodontitis in rats.
Methodology
Thirty‐two male Wistar rats were arranged into four groups: Control (C): without apical ...periodontitis and nonalcoholic diet; (AL): without apical periodontitis and alcoholic diet; (AP): with apical periodontitis and nonalcoholic diet; and (AP + AL): with apical periodontitis and alcoholic diet. The alcoholic solution at 20% was given to the AL and AP + AL groups as the sole source of hydration throughout the experiment. AP was induced in the mandibular left first molars at the end of the 4th week. Weight changes and the amount of solid and liquid foods were recorded for 8 weeks. At the end, the animals were euthanized and the jaws removed followed by histological processing for histopathological and RANKL, OPG, TRAP and HIF‐1α analyses. The Mann–Whitney test was used for nonparametric data, and anova followed by the Tukey test was performed for parametric data, with P < 0.05.
Results
Animals that received the alcoholic diet had a lower weight gain than the other groups (P < 0.05). Control and AL groups did not have an inflammatory response in the periapical tissues. The median score of inflammatory infiltrate was significantly higher in the AP + AL group (2.5) compared to the AP group (1.5; P < 0.05). In the same comparison, AP + AL was associated with score 3 for RANKL and HIF‐1α versus score 2 for AP group (P < 0.05). Moreover, the values for TRAP were 3.88 ± 0.70 cells mm−1 for the AP + AL group and 2.43 ± 0.94 cells mm−1 for the AP group (P < 0.05).
Conclusion
In rats, an alcoholic diet had a significant effect on the severity of apical periodontitis, exacerbating the inflammatory response and osteoclastogenesis.
In cases of tooth avulsion, in which the neurovascular bundle responsible for nourishing the dental pulp is break, endodontic treatment is necessary before proceeding with tooth replantation. In this ...process, various substances have been tested in combination with calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 in an attempt to improve its effectiveness. This study aimed to examine the effects of using a mixture of Ca(OH)2 and 10% propolis, with subsequent application of ultrasonic treatment, on the delayed replantation of teeth in rats.
Twenty-four rats underwent a surgical procedure to extract the upper right incisor, leaving it on a surface to dry for one hour. The pulp and periodontal ligament were removed and the teeth were submerged in a 2% sodium fluoride acidulated phosphate solution. The canals were dehydrated using paper cones and the teeth were divided into four groups, according to the type of intracanal dressing: Ca(OH)2 group, Ca(OH)2 group with ultrasonic agitation, Ca(OH)2 and propolis group, Ca(OH)2 and propolis group with ultrasonic agitation. The root canals were irrigated with saline solution and the teeth were reimplanted. Sixty days after reimplantation, the animals were euthanized.
With regard to the presence of acute and chronic inflammatory infiltrate in the periodontal ligament, there was no statistically significant difference among some of the groups. Root resorption was identified in all groups, and there was no significant difference between them.
It is concluded that the application of intracanal dressing containing Ca(OH)2 associated with 10% propolis, followed by ultrasonic agitation, did not prove to be more effective than the use of Ca(OH)2 alone in the repair process in the delayed replantation of rat teeth.
Tooth replantation, Calcium hydroxide, Propolis, Ultrasound, Intracanal dressing.
Urban Resilience (UR) enables cities and communities to optimally withstand disruptions and recover to their pre-disruption state. There is an increasing number of interdisciplinary studies focusing ...on conceptual frameworks and/or tools seeking to enable more efficient decision-making processes that lead to higher levels of UR. This paper presents a systematic review of 68 Scopus-indexed journal papers published between 2011 and 2022 that focus on UR. The papers covered in this study fit three categories: literature reviews, conceptual models, and analytical models. The results of the review show that the major areas of discussion in UR publications include climate change, disaster risk assessment and management, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), urban and transportation infrastructure, decision making and disaster management, community and disaster resilience, and green infrastructure and sustainable development. The main research gaps identified include: a lack of a common resilience definition and multidisciplinary analysis, a need for a unified scalable and adoptable UR model, margin for an increased application of GIS-based multidimensional tools, stochastic analysis of virtual cities, and scenario simulations to support decision making processes. The systematic literature review undertaken in this paper suggests that these identified gaps can be addressed with the aid of asset and disaster risk management methods combined with GIS-based decision-making tools towards significantly improving UR.
This study introduces the Risk-Informed Asset-Centric (RIACT) process, a novel approach aimed at enhancing the safety and resilience of urban infrastructures against natural and man-made disasters. ...The RIACT method stands out for its comprehensive analysis of potential disruptions to urban areas, encompassing their susceptibility to disasters, vulnerability factors, and recovery capabilities. This study’s primary focus is on Portugal’s 308 municipalities, assessing their preparedness and ability to recover from earthquake events. Methodologically, the study involved employing geographic information system (GIS) mapping to evaluate earthquake risks, combining data on regional risk areas, demographic and economic profiles, and resilience capacities. This approach provides a detailed understanding of each municipality’s strengths and areas in need of improvement, encouraging a collaborative framework for sharing and implementing best practices. The results reveal significant variations in earthquake resilience across different regions, highlighting the need for tailored resilience strategies. Conclusively, the RIACT method not only enhances the resilience of individual municipalities but also contributes to a broader national strategy for urban resilience, offering valuable insights for effective disaster risk management and recovery planning.
Climate change threatens urban areas globally. Enhancing resilience is crucial, yet the comprehensive clustering of practical climate adaptation measures for use in construction industry ...decision-making is notably absent. This study investigates and categorizes various climate adaptation measures, justifying each through a lens of risk management, asset management, and previous scientific work. It takes advantage of the innovative digital platform Netobra, which offers an ecosystem for the construction industry, to provide real-world, practical implications of these measures. Informed by the Urban Resilience Evaluation System, ISO 31000 (risk management), and ISO 55000 (asset management), the study sets out to demonstrate the value of these measures in bolstering urban resilience and improving decision-making in the construction industry. Moreover, the study integrates a hotspot detection mechanism for areas at high risk of climate impacts, using multicriteria decision analysis (MCDA)—analytic hierarchy process (AHP) mapping on Netobra. These identified hotspots and corresponding climate adaptation measures will further be incorporated into a Risk-Informed Asset-Centric (RIACT) process, providing valuable insights for climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies in urban development. Through its in-depth analysis, the study aims to contribute to the understanding of how diverse climate adaptation measures can be practically applied in various sectors, thereby enhancing urban resilience and effective risk and asset management.
The heterogeneity of ejaculate indicates that fertility is still variable among bulls and that more stringent evaluation methods are needed to identify the ejaculates suitable for AI.
To identify and ...characterize the sperm subpopulations (SP) in thawed semen doses of Nelore and Angus bulls and to evaluate the influence of these sperm subpopulations on pregnancy rate in cows submitted to fixed-time AI (FTAI).
A dose of post-thawed semen from each bull (n=18; consisting of Angus n = 9 and Nelore n = 9) was analyzed for: sperm kinetics; morphology and plasma membrane integrity; and the determination of the sperm subpopulations. Differences between the groups were estimated with the t-test considering a significance level of <5%.
There was no influence between breeding bulls for sperm morphology, plasma membrane integrity, and pregnancy rate (P > 0.05). Regarding the kinetic parameters evaluated by the CASA system, Nelore had greater values, for cells with slow velocity (Angus: 16.4 %; Nelore: 21.7%; P = 0.028). In contrast, ANGUS bulls had more static cells (Angus: 27.2%; Nelore: 9.3%; P = 0.048). Based on CASA system data and clustering procedures, four sperm subpopulations were statistically established. In Angus bulls, a higher level of fast and nonlinear spermatozoa were found in SP3 (33.3%), followed by SP1 (32.7%%) with fast and progressive spermatozoa. Whereas, SP1 of Nelore bulls had 33.8% fast and progressive spermatozoa, followed by 32.2% of SP3 with fast and nonlinear spermatozoa.
Both breeds of bulls presented similar proportions of sperm SP. Consequently, no influence on the pregnancy rates was shown in cows submitted to the IATF programs on a large scale. doi.org/10.54680/fr22310110312.
Aim
The aim of the present study was to evaluate apical periodontitis (AP) development in rats under a chronic alcohol diet by calcium, phosphorus, and alkaline phosphatase blood levels in addition ...to histological and radiographic analyses.
Methods
Thirty‐two rats were arranged into four groups: (a) group 1: without apical periodontitis and on a regular diet; (b) group 2: AP and on a regular diet; (c) group 3: alcoholic diet without apical periodontitis; and (d) group 4: alcoholic diet and apical periodontitis. Alcoholic solution at 20% was given throughout the 8‐week experiment. AP was induced in the first molars at the end of the 7th week. At the end, the animals were anesthetized for blood collection, followed by euthanasia, and jaws were removed for digital radiography and histological processing. The level of significance was 5%.
Results
Calcium levels remained constant in all groups (P > 0.05). Group 4 showed a higher phosphorous level than group 2 (P < 0.05). The alkaline phosphatase activity was higher in group 3 compared with group 1 (P < 0.05). Three animals in group 4 exhibited a severe inflammatory reaction, whereas the animals in group 2 did not demonstrate any reaction (P < 0.05). The lowest value of radiographic density was given by group 4 (P < 0.05).
Conclusions
Chronic alcohol consumption increased serum phosphorus and decreased bone density in the periapical region, favoring AP development.
