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BACKGROUND: High prevalence rates of peri-implant diseases have been reported; however, the lack of standardization of definition criteria has lead to variations in the observed estimates. In addition, scarce data are available concerning patient and implant related factors associated to peri-implantitis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of peri-implant diseases and their risk indicators at the patient and implant levels. METHODS: One hundred forty-seven patients with 490 dental implants were included. Dental implants were clinically and radiographically evaluated to determine their peri-implant conditions. Patient-related conditions and implant and prosthetic-related factors were recorded. Multivariable Poisson regression was fitted and prevalence ratios (PR) were reported. RESULTS: 85.3% of implants (95%CI 80.2 to 90.4) had mucositis and 9.2% (95%CI 4.7 to 13.7) had peri-implantitis. 80.9% (95%CI 73.8 to 86.8), and 19.1% (95%CI 12.6 to 25.5) of patients had mucositis and peri-implantitis. At the patient level, it was observed an increased probability of peri-implantitis in individuals with pocket depths >/=6 mm (PR = 2.47) and with >/=4 implants (PR = 1.96). Smoking increased the probability of peri-implantitis by three times (PR = 3.49). The final multilevel Poisson regression model at the implant level indicated that platform switching reduced the probability of peri-implantitis (PR = 0.18) and implants in function for >/=5 years increased this probability (PR = 2.11). The final model including patient and implant level indicators demonstrated that higher time of function (PR = 2.76) and smoking (PR = 6.59) were associated with peri-implantitis. CONCLUSION: Peri-implant diseases are highly prevalent in the studied sample, and factors associated with the occurrence of peri-implantitis were presence of pockets >/=6 mm, smoking, time of function, and type of platform.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effects of periodontal treatment on endothelial function in patients with coronary artery disease. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 69 patients with stable coronary disease and severe periodontitis. The test group received nonsurgical periodontal therapy consisting of personalized oral hygiene instructions, subgingival scaling, and root planing per quadrant, whereas the control group received equal treatment after the study period. Endothelial function was assessed by measurement of brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, concentrations of sVCAM-1, sICAM-1, and P-selectin in serum before and 3 months after periodontal therapy. RESULTS: The test group exhibited statistically better periodontal parameters-plaque, probing depth, periodontal attachment loss, and bleeding on probing. No significant improvements were observed in the control (1.37%) and test (1.39%) groups in flow-mediated dilation, with no significant between-group difference. sVCAM-1 concentration increased in the control group (997.6 +/- 384.4-1201.8 +/- 412.5; p = 0.03), whereas in the test group, no significant changes were observed (915.1 +/- 303.8-1050.3 +/- 492.3; p = 0.17), resulting in a significant difference between the two groups (p = 0.04). The same pattern was observed for concentrations of sICAM-1. CONCLUSION: Periodontal treatment did not provide better vasodilation in patients with coronary disease in a short-term follow-up period, although it maintained blood concentrations of markers of vascular inflammation.

The degree to which a group of fossils reflects the original community from which it was derived can be estimated by comparing living communities with locally accumulated dead remains. Such live–dead approaches (LA/DA) can provide important baseline information on the ecological structure of ancient freshwater systems. This study explored variations in composition, richness, evenness and rank-abundance in live and dead mollusk assemblages recovered from the Ibicuí River Basin, southern Brazil. LA/DA was related to topography, river size, and sediment grain size, separated respectively into plain (altitude 0–100 m) versus slope (100–500 m), small versus medium-large stream orders, and gravel versus sand substrate. Positive correlation between LA and DA species composition was significant only in large rivers. Slope areas showed LA/DA species compositions that were significantly different, whereas the communities from sand and gravel substrates were quite similar. Important factors that affected live/dead similarity in the study area included (1) destruction of thin, fragile shells of dead animals by acidic waters that are common in the region, (2) downstream drift of small spherical shells from species common in slope areas, such as Potamolithus sp., and (3) high abundances of invasive species in the local death assemblage, especially in large rivers. High fidelity in large rivers is caused by the presence of favorable habitats for bivalve communities. Coarse sediments are an important driver of macro invertebrate diversity, acting as shell traps that slow the downstream drift of bivalve remains and improve the preservation of fluvial mollusks. The preservation potential of dead assemblages of the Ibicuí River showed that fossil assemblages are useful tools for recognizing ancient riverscapes, such as flat areas with sandy substrates.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the existing evidence supporting or refuting the following questions: (i) Do patients with lower vitamin D levels have higher risk for periodontal disease? (ii) Are periodontal treatment outcomes improved by the adjuvant supplementation of vitamin D or by elevated serum vitamin D levels? MATERIAL AND METHODS: MEDLINE, SCOPUS, EMBASE and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) databases were searched up to September 2017. Studies were included if they had measured serum vitamin D levels or vitamin D intake and any periodontal parameter. RESULTS: Overall, 27 studies were included (13 cross-sectional studies, 6 case-control studies, 5 cohort studies, 2 randomized clinical trials and 1 case series study). Sixty-five percent of the cross-sectional studies reported significant associations between low vitamin D levels and poor periodontal parameters. None of the observational longitudinal studies found that periodontal disease progression could be attributed to lower vitamin D levels. No interventional studies that evaluated the use of vitamin D supplementation as a solely adjuvant to periodontal treatment was found. No meta-analysis was performed due to high variability across studies. CONCLUSION: The data to support or refute the association between vitamin D levels and periodontal disease are inconclusive at the moment. More rigorously designed longitudinal studies with standardized definitions of periodontal disease and vitamin D are necessary.

In the marine realm, the interpretation of taphofacies relies heavily on how oceanographic and sedimentary conditions affect the preservation state of fossils. Several taphonomic variables either covary with depth or are directly influenced by depth. Facies‐level factors rather than broad, basin‐scale parameters influence the taphonomic profile of mollusc death assemblages according to actualistic and experimental evidence. To determine the possible relation between depth and the taphonomic conditions of multiple species of bivalve remains, we used seven samples gathered over a comprehensive bathymetric gradient (from 7 to 150 m below mean sea level; topmost 10‐ to 20‐cm layer, roughly corresponding to the taphonomically active zone). We selected samples from predominantly muddy facies on the southern Brazilian shelf (SBS). The taphonomic damage profile (TDP) was measured using site samples based on a standard taphonomic analysis (categorical scoring system) of shells and fragments larger than 4 mm, to identify site damage patterns. Restricting the sedimentary grain size (samples from fine sediments) enabled the determination of the variation in damage with depth among the samples. Constrained analysis of proximities (CAP) revealed that up to 46{%} of the taphonomic variation observed was related to variation in depth (with approximately 28{%} unexplained by environmental factors). Part of the unexplained fraction was due to the effect of temporal mixing, which is predictable along large‐scale patches but is inversely linked to the TDP. Our results show that taphonomic analysis, considering large spatial scales in recent environments, can explain the variations present in shell beds that formed during distinct time periods of the evolution of a Quaternary sedimentary basin.

This work presents a comparison among three different control strategies for multivariable processes. The techniques were implemented in a pilot plant with coupled control loops, where all steps used to design the controllers were described allowing to establish a trade-off between algorithm complexity, information needed from the process and achieved performance. Two data-driven control techniques are used: multivariable ultimate point method to design a decentralized PID controller and virtual reference feedback tuning to design a centralized PID controller. A mathematical model of the process is obtained and used to design a model-based generalized predictive controller. Experimental results allow us to evaluate the performance achieved for each method, as well as to infer on their advantages and disadvantages.