This
study compares the fluoride release from microlaminated glass ionomer based on glass hybrid technology coated with two different surface coating agents.
A total of 18 samples were divided into ...three groups of six samples each: (1) glass ionomer Equia Forte Fil coated with Equia Forte Coat (Equia+EC), (2) glass ionomer Equia Forte Fil coated with GC Fuji Varnish (Equia+VC) and (3) uncoated glass ionomer Equia Forte (EQUIA cont). Fluoride release was measured using an ion-selective electrode (ORION EA 940) after 24 hours, 4 days, 30 days and 64 days. Repeated measures ANOVA, multiple comparisons, Tukey's test and paired t-test were used to test the differences between the groups.
The differences between the groups and four time points were statistically significant (ANOVA, p<0.0001). Cumulative fluoride ion release after 64 days was 66.01 mg/l, 123.54mg/l and 203.22 mg/l for EQUIA+EC, EQUIA+VC and EQUIA cont, respectively. All the differences were statistically significant except the difference between EQUIA+VC and EQUIA cont after 24 hours.
The amount of released fluoride was significantly lower in the samples coated with nanofilled surface coating agent compared to the samples coated with varnish and uncoated samples.
•Good and responsible management of bathing water quality requires a site-specific approach.•The frequency of bathing water sampling can influence the relevance of bathing water quality ...assessment.•Spatio-temporal variability in the density of fecal indicator bacteria influences the assessment of bathing water quality.•The monitoring of bathing water quality provided for in the current EU Bathing Water Directive should be redefined.
The time and location of sampling as well as the number of samples per season can influence a reliable assessment of bathing water quality. In this study, we investigated the spatio-temporal variation of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) density and the effects of FIB variability and sampling frequency on the assessment of a single sample and the annual and final assessment of coastal bathing water quality. Increasing the number of samples from 10 to 20 per bathing season had a significant impact on bathing water quality assessment at sites where water quality fluctuations had previously been observed, resulting in a change in water quality to a lower category in 36 % of annual and 54 % of final assessments, suggesting that the minimum number of samples per season should be increased at such sites. Increasing the number of samples at sites assessed as excellent over a longer period had no impact on water quality assessment.
Spatial and temporal variations in FIB density were significant at a considerable number of sites both in the single sample assessment and in the annual and final assessment. Bathing water quality was spatially unrepresentative at a quarter of the sites analyzed and temporally unrepresentative at a fifth, as there was at least one additional point with a lower bathing water quality than the official sampling point or the bathing water quality was lower in the afternoon than in the morning.
When revising the current recreational water quality regulations, the impact of sampling frequency of and of spatio-temporal variation of FIB density on the relevance of bathing water quality assessment at sites subjected to pollution needs to be seriously considered.
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The majority of tourists visit Croatia during the summer months, which overlaps with the ragweed pollination season, and this might be the main health issue, which could affect Croatian tourism. ...Therefore, the aim of this research was to perform the preliminary analyses of ragweed pollen seasons in two different Croatian tourist cities—continental Zagreb and Mediterranean Zadar, and to define researched areas according to the allergenic risk assessment. The research was performed during a 10-year period (2008–2017), and aerobiological samplings, as well as qualitative and quantitative analyses, were carried out by standard methodology recommended by EAN/REA. The results showed differences between cities in the seasonal pollen integral (SPIn) and intradiurnal variations index (IDI) of ragweed pollen, and similarities in the features of the main pollen seasons (MPS). The SPIn was higher in the air of Zagreb during the whole studied period; it was on average 2899 pg/m
3
in Zagreb and 579 pg/m
3
in Zadar. The MPS in both cities were similar (from the first half of August until the mid-September) and relatively short, around 40 days. The IDI indicates that
Ambrosia
pollen in Zagreb derives from local sources, whilst in Zadar is probably a result of long-range transport. According to the allergenic risk assessment, Zagreb is placed in the intermediate-risk area and Zadar in the low-risk area. Relatively short exposure times during the summer periods enable both cities to be favourable tourist destinations even during the ragweed seasons, especially Zadar, with its low ragweed pollen concentrations.
CPFE-combined pulmonary fibrosis and emphysema is a new term for a syndrome whose main characteristic is fibrosis in lower pulmonary lobes with simultaneous emphysema in upper pulmonary lobes. CPFE ...patients have well preserved pulmonary test values for unexpectedly long period, but extremely lowered carbon monoxide diffusion capacity and significant arterial hypertension. All CPFE studies indicate that CPFE occurs predominately in older male population. Smoking is considered main cause in developing CPFE. Reduced survival rate is linked with arterial hypertension extent, and mortality rate is greater than that for patients with isolated pulmonary fibrosis or emphysema. This study is focused on characteristics of twelve CPFE patients. This paper describes cases of 12 patients with the syndrome of pulmonary fibrosis associated with emphysema. All patients were male, mean age of 68 years. At the certain period of life they all were smokers, but most of them were also exposed to air pollution due to their profession. Shortness of breath on exertion was present in all patients. All patients had neat pulmonary function tests with significantly reduced diffusing capacity for carbon mon- oxide (average 39%). Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) averaged 56 mmHg (range 25-75 mmHg) was present in 75% of patients. Four patients died during the period of four months, of which three patients had PAH greater than 70 mmHg. The fourth patient died of lung cancer.
Northern peatlands store globally-important amounts of carbon in the form of partly decomposed plant detritus. Drying associated with climate and land-use change may lead to increased fire frequency ...and severity in peatlands and the rapid loss of carbon to the atmosphere. However, our understanding of the patterns and drivers of peatland burning on an appropriate decadal to millennial timescale relies heavily on individual site-based reconstructions. For the first time, we synthesise peatland macrocharcoal records from across North America, Europe, and Patagonia to reveal regional variation in peatland burning during the Holocene. We used an existing database of proximal sedimentary charcoal to represent regional burning trends in the wider landscape for each region. Long-term trends in peatland burning appear to be largely climate driven, with human activities likely having an increasing influence in the late Holocene. Warmer conditions during the Holocene Thermal Maximum (∼9–6 cal. ka BP) were associated with greater peatland burning in North America's Atlantic coast, southern Scandinavia and the Baltics, and Patagonia. Since the Little Ice Age, peatland burning has declined across North America and in some areas of Europe. This decline is mirrored by a decrease in wider landscape burning in some, but not all sub-regions, linked to fire-suppression policies, and landscape fragmentation caused by agricultural expansion. Peatlands demonstrate lower susceptibility to burning than the wider landscape in several instances, probably because of autogenic processes that maintain high levels of near-surface wetness even during drought. Nonetheless, widespread drying and degradation of peatlands, particularly in Europe, has likely increased their vulnerability to burning in recent centuries. Consequently, peatland restoration efforts are important to mitigate the risk of peatland fire under a changing climate. Finally, we make recommendations for future research to improve our understanding of the controls on peatland fires.
•We reconstruct peatland burning trends at mid-to high-latitudes for the Holocene.•Variation in climate, human activity and peatland processes influences burning.•Peatlands demonstrate lower susceptibility to burning than the wider landscape.•We outline the steps needed to better understand the drivers of peatland fire.
The aim of this study was to evaluate the usefulness of a short form of the WHOQOL questionnaire, the WHOQOL-BREF, which consists of 24 questions, in evaluating quality of life (QOL) in sarcoidosis ...patients. A group of 97 sarcoidosis patients and a matched group of 97 healthy controls took part in the study. Their QOL was examined by means of the WHOQOL-BREF, and the respiratory functions were measured in sarcoidosis patients. The WHOQOL-BREF revealed significantly poorer QOL of sarcoidosis patients in the domains of Physical and Psychological Health in comparison to healthy controls. In contrast, sarcoidosis patients perceived their QOL significantly better than healthy controls in the domains of Social Relations and Environment. Differences between sarcoidosis patients and healthy controls were found in several items from the WHOQOL-BREF and some of them were modified by gender. However, the WHOQOL-BREF did not prove to be a sensitive measure of fatigue, which is the most common symptom in sarcoidosis patients.
Svrha rada: Ovo istrazivanje in vitro usporeduje otpustanje fluora iz mikrolaminiranog staklenog ionomera temeljenog na stakleno-hibridnoj tehnologiji premazanog dvama razlicitim premazima. ...Materijali i postupci: Ukupno 18 uzoraka podijeljeno je u skupine po sest uzoraka: (1) stakleni ionomer Equia Forte Fil premazan Equia Forte Coatom (Equia + EC), (2) stakleni ionomer Equia Forte Fil premazan GC Fuji Varnishem (Equia + VC) i (3) nepremazani stakleni ionomer Equia Forte (EQUIA kont). Otpustanje fluora mjereno je fluor-selektivnom elektrodom (ORION EA 940) nakon 24 sata, 4 dana, 30 dana i 64 dana. ANOVA, Tukeyjev test multiplih usporedbi i paired t-test koristeni su u testiranju razlika medu skupinama. Rezultati: Statisticki znacajne bile su razlike medu skupinama i cetirima tockama u vremenu (ANOVA, p < 0,0001). Kumulativno otpustanje iona fluora nakon 64 dana bilo je redom 66,01 mg/l, 123,54 mg/l i 203,22 mg/l za EQUIA + EC, EQUIA + VC i EQUIA kont. Sve su razlike bile statisticki znacajno razlicite, osim one izmedu EQUIA + VC i EQUIA kont. nakon 24 sata. Zakljucci: Kolicina otpustenog fluora bila je znacajno manja u uzorcima premazanima nanopunjenim premazom u usporedbi s onima premazanima varnishem i bez premaza. Kljucne rijeci stomatoloski materijali; fluoridi; staklenoionomerni cementi; nanocestice; lak Objective: This in vitro study compares the fluoride release from microlaminated glass ionomer based on glass hybrid technology coated with two different surface coating agents. Materials and Methods: A total of 18 samples were divided into three groups of six samples each: (1) glass ionomer Equia Forte Fil coated with Equia Forte Coat (Equia+EC), (2) glass ionomer Equia Forte Fil coated with GC Fuji Varnish (Equia+VC) and (3) uncoated glass ionomer Equia Forte (EQUIA cont). Fluoride release was measured using an ion-selective electrode (ORION EA 940) after 24 hours, 4 days, 30 days and 64 days. Repeated measures ANOVA, multiple comparisons, Tukey's test and paired t-test were used to test the differences between the groups. Results: The differences between the groups and four time points were statistically significant (ANOVA, p<0.0001). Cumulative fluoride ion release after 64 days was 66.01 mg/l, 123.54mg/l and 203.22 mg/l for EQUIA+EC, EQUIA+VC and EQUIA cont, respectively. All the differences were statistically significant except the difference between EQUIA+VC and EQUIA cont after 24 hours. Conclusions: The amount of released fluoride was significantly lower in the samples coated with nanofilled surface coating agent compared to the samples coated with varnish and uncoated samples. Key words Dental Materials; Fluorides; Glass Ionomer Cements; Nanoparticles; Varnish