OBJECTIVES: To compare the subgingival microbiological outcomes of azithromycin or placebo as adjuncts to scaling and root planing (SRP) in the treatment of aggressive periodontitis (AgP), and to secondarily evaluate the microbiological effect of supragingival scaling in AgP patients. METHODS: Twenty-four AgP subjects 13-26 years of age received a 15-day programme of supragingival scaling (SC) and were then randomly assigned to SRP with systemic azithromycin or placebo. Subgingival samples were taken with sterile paper points at baseline, 15 days after SC, and at 3, 6 and 12 months following SRP. Microbiological analysis was performed by the checkerboard DNA-DNA hybridization. RESULTS: Changes in bacterial levels from baseline to 15 days after SC were similar in the 2 groups. When subjects were analysed as a single group, significant reductions after SC were observed for Actinomyces gerencseriae, Capnocytophaga ochracea, and Treponema denticola. During the 12-month follow-up, levels of most of the bacteria decreased in both groups in a similar pattern. For instance, Actinomyces israelli, Veillonella parvula, Streptococcus gordonii, C. ochracea, Eikenella corrodens, Eubacterium nodatum, Fusobacterium periodonticum and Fusobacterium nucleatum ssp. polymorphum decreased significantly within the groups. CONCLUSIONS: Azithromycin was ineffective in lowering the subgingival levels of important putative periodontal pathogens in young AgP subjects compared to placebo. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Scaling and root planing with adjunctive systemic azithromycin provides little additional benefit compared to placebo in reductions of major subgingival periodontal pathogens.

Birth weight data (22,012 live-births) from a public hospital in Porto Velho (Amazon) was used in multiple statistical models to assess the effects of forest-fire smoke on human reproductive outcome. Mean birth weights for girls (3,139 g) and boys (3,393 g) were considered statistically different (p-value < 2.2e-16). Among all models analyzed, the means were considered statistically different only when treated as a function of month and year (p-value = 0.0989, girls and 0.0079, boys) . The R2 statistics indicate that the regression models considered are able to explain 65 {%} (girls) and 54 {%} (boys) of the variation of the mean birth weight.

AIM: The aim of this 5-years longitudinal study was to investigate the pattern and rate of periodontal attachment loss (PAL) progression in an urban population in South Brazil. METHODS: In 2001, a multistage probability sampling strategy was used to derive a representative sample of 1,465 dentate individuals from Porto Alegre, Brazil. Five years later, 697 dentate individuals (294M/403F, mean age: 37.9 +/- 13.3) were available for follow-up. PAL was assessed by calibrated examiners using a full-mouth protocol. Estimates of proximal PAL progression and standard errors (SE) are reported. RESULTS: Fifty-six per cent (SE: 1.9) and 36% (SE: 1.8) of subjects showed PAL progression >/=3 mm affecting >/=2 and >/=4 teeth respectively. PAL progression >/=3 mm was mostly localized affecting 3.8 (SE: 0.2) teeth and 5.7 (SE: 0.3) sites. Annual PAL progression was, on average, 0.3 mm (SE: 0.01). Significant differences in PAL progression were observed according to age, gender, race and socioeconomic status. PAL progression increased with age reaching the highest progression rate in the 40-49 years cohort, and then decreased in older age groups. PAL progression was consistently higher among males and non-Whites than females and whites. CONCLUSION: A large proportion of this urban Brazilian sample was affected by PAL progression underscoring the need for health promotion initiatives aiming at preventing progression of destructive periodontal disease.

We utilize a kinetic description to study the dispersion relation of Alfvén waves propagating parallelly to the ambient magnetic field in a dusty plasma, taking into account the fluctuation of the charge of the dust particles, which is due to inelastic collisions with electrons and ions. We consider a plasma in which the velocity distribution functions of the plasma particles are modelled as anisotropic kappa distributions, study the dispersion relation for several combinations of the parameters κ∥ and κ⊥, and emphasize the effect of the anisotropy of the distributions on the mode coupling which occurs in a dusty plasma, between waves in the branch of circularly polarized waves and waves in the whistler branch.

PURPOSE: To compare the 12-month radiographic outcomes following the use of azithromycin or placebo as adjuncts to non-surgical periodontal treatment of AgP. METHODS: 17 aggressive periodontitis (AgP) subjects 13-26 years old were randomly assigned to receive scaling and root planing (SRP) with systemic azithromycin or placebo. Standardized radiographs were taken at baseline and 12 months postoperatively. Recall visits consisting of oral prophylaxis and oral hygiene instructions were performed during the 12 months. Digital image subtraction analysis and linear bone measurements were conducted by a blinded and calibrated examiner. Student t-tests were used for within and between-groups comparisons. ANCOVA was applied for between-group comparisons of changes in linear bone level adjusting for baseline values. RESULTS: There were significant gains in linear bone levels in the azithromycin (0.55 +/- 0.10 mm) and placebo (0.42 +/- 0.07 mm) groups between the baseline and 12-month postoperative visits. There were also significant gains in bone density in the two treatment groups. No significant differences were observed between the two treatments in the amount of linear bone gain or bone density during the follow-up period. The use of azithromycin as an adjunct to SRP in the treatment of AgP did not result in significant radiographic bone level changes compared to placebo.

Buscando apresentar uma interpretação para EN I 4 1095a31-b13, este artigo defende que a digressão nela feita por Aristóteles pretende caracterizar a investigação recém iniciada como promissora, opondo-a, ainda que não explicitamente, ao modo rígido socrático-platônico de fazer Ética ou Política. Para tanto, propõe-se uma interpretação pouco usual do termo que (hoti) como o princípio buscado e não como ponto de partida da investigação. Recusa-se igualmente ver na passagem mencionada uma referência ao modo ou etapas de aquisição de virtude moral ou prudência (phronesis), mas de um corpo preciso de conhecimento ou ciência, a Ética ou Política.