Race for Applicable Antimicrobial Dental Implant Surfaces to Fight Biofilm-Related Disease: Advancing in Laboratorial Studies vs Stagnation in Clinical Application.

Across years, potential strategies to fight peri-implantitis have been notoriously explored through the antimicrobial coating implant surfaces capable of interfering with the bacterial adhesion process. However, although experimental studies have significantly advanced, no product has been marketed so far. For science to reach the society, the commercialization of research outcomes is necessary to provide real advancement in the biomedical field. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the challenges involved in the development of antimicrobial dental implant surfaces to fight peri-implantitis, through a systematic search. Research articles reporting antimicrobial dental implant surfaces were identified by searching PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, Embase, and System of Information on Grey Literature in Europe, between 2008 and 2020. A total of 1778 studies were included for quality assessment and the review. An impressive number of 1655 articles (93,1%) comprised in vitro studies, whereas 123 articles refer to in vivo investigations. From those 123, 102 refer to animal studies and only 21 articles were published on the clinical performance of antibacterial dental implant surfaces. The purpose of animal studies is to test how safe and effective new treatments are before they are tested in people. Therefore, the discrepancy between the number of published studies clearly reveals that preclinical investigations still come up against several challenges to overcome before moving forward to a clinical setting. Additionally, researchers need to recognize that the complex journey from lab to market requires more than a great idea and resources to develop a commercial invention; research teams must possess the skills necessary to commercialize an invention.

Industry support for dental implant research: A metatrend study of industry partnership in the development of new technologies.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM: Industry needs scientific knowledge to develop new products and services, and their financial support to dental implant researchers translates into commercial products. Therefore, identifying the relevant factors for a successful industry partnership is important. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to provide a 20-year bibliometric overview of industry-sponsored studies in implant dentistry to identify possible factors involved in industry partnership motivations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A hand search of 6 of the most established journals in the implant dentistry field was performed for articles published in 1999, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019. Information regarding the continent of origin of the corresponding author, interinstitute collaboration, type and topic of research, and the h-index of the corresponding author was recorded for each included article. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to determine statistical relationship between industry support and exploratory factors (α=.05). RESULTS: A 6% increase in the chance of industry investment was observed over the years (odds ratio [OD]=1.06; P<.001). Studies from North America (OD=4.87; P<.001) and Europe (OD=3.13; P<.001) were more likely to receive industry funding. Data also revealed a direct relationship between the increasing number of institutions involved in the study and the probability of industry funding (OD=1.21; P<.001). Animal studies (OD=2.26; P<.001) about surgical procedures and prosthodontic topics (OD=1.40; P=.044) stood out for having greater industry support. Researchers with an h-index between 31 and 40 were more likely to receive industry financial support (OD=2.46; P=.001). CONCLUSIONS: Industry support for dental implant research was closely aligned with the continent of origin, interinstitute collaboration, type and topic of research, and the h-index of the corresponding author.

The conservation of native priority medicinal plants in a Caatinga area in Ceará, northeastern Brazil

ABSTRACT Much of the Brazilian semiarid region faces a considerable process of degradation of natural resources, and ethnobotanical studies have collaborated with important information about the use and traditional knowledge, serving as a tool to design conservation strategies of native plant species. Thus, this study aimed to determine medicinal species meriting conservation priorities in a "Caatinga" area in the northeastern of Brazilian territory. The ethnobotanical data were collected through semi-structured interviews with key subjects selected through the "snowball" technique. The availability and species conservation priority was verified by relative density, risk of collection, local use and use of diversity in the forest fragment sampled. It was recorded 42 native medicinal plants and conservation priority score was calculated for seven species, including Mimosa tenuiflora, Hymenaea courbaril, Ximenia americana and Amburana cearensis need immediate conservation and attention, since their collection does not occur in a sustainable way. In order to ensure the perpetuation of the species and the sustainability of traditional therapeutic practice there needs to be a development of conservation practices of caatinga remaining to better conserve the species of the biome.

The conservation of native priority medicinal plants in a Caatinga area in Ceará, northeastern Brazil.

Much of the Brazilian semiarid region faces a considerable process of degradation of natural resources, and ethnobotanical studies have collaborated with important information about the use and traditional knowledge, serving as a tool to design conservation strategies of native plant species. Thus, this study aimed to determine medicinal species meriting conservation priorities in a "Caatinga" area in the northeastern of Brazilian territory. The ethnobotanical data were collected through semi-structured interviews with key subjects selected through the "snowball" technique. The availability and species conservation priority was verified by relative density, risk of collection, local use and use of diversity in the forest fragment sampled. It was recorded 42 native medicinal plants and conservation priority score was calculated for seven species, including Mimosa tenuiflora, Hymenaea courbaril, Ximenia americana and Amburana cearensis need immediate conservation and attention, since their collection does not occur in a sustainable way. In order to ensure the perpetuation of the species and the sustainability of traditional therapeutic practice there needs to be a development of conservation practices of caatinga remaining to better conserve the species of the biome.

Qualidade Vida do Idoso Institucionalizados / Quality of Life of Institutionalized Elderly

O processo de envelhecimento da sociedade a nível mundial apresenta consequências e repercussões em todos os domínios da vida quotidiana. Este envelhecimento tem um impacto direto nas relações no seio familiar, na equidade intergeracional, no estilo de vida, na união familiar e apresenta, cada vez mais, repercussões no plano económico, no plano da saúde e por conseguinte no plano político. A qualidade de vida tem um significado que abrange e reflete o conhecimento, a experiência e os valores que o indivíduo adquire ao longo da sua vida. Na velhice, a qualidade de vida é avaliada de forma multidimensional, relacionada com critérios sociais e normativos, bem com intrapessoais, e que dizem respeito às relações atuais, passadas e prospetivas, entre o idoso, muitas vezes institucionalizado e o meio que o rodeia. A presente investigação teve como principal objetivo determinar a perceção que os idosos institucionalizados têm da sua qualidade de vida. Trata-se de um estudo de natureza quantitativa, não experimental, transversal e descritivo-correlacional, em que a amostra foi constituída por 90 idosos institucionalizados no concelho da Guarda. Para a recolha dos dados, utilizou-se um formulário de caraterização sociodemográfica, o Índice de Barthel e a Escala WHOQOL ­ Bref. Com o presente estudo, pudemos constatar que os idosos percecionam melhor qualidade de vida no Domínio Social, seguindo-se o Domínio Ambiental, o Domínio Psicológico e por último o Domínio Físico. Como fatores determinantes da qualidade de vida dos idosos, identificámos a idade, o género, as habilitações literárias, a iniciativa da institucionalização, o tempo de institucionalização, o facto de receber visitas e o nível de independência que estes apresentam. Para aumentar a qualidade de vida do idoso institucionalizado é essencial, o bem estar fisico, psicológico e social. Assim, as instituições devem encarar o idoso como ser único, abordando-o de forma individual, permitindo que este se adapte à instituição nos seus timings e assim possa viver com qualidade de vida; a promoção da participação da família nas diferentes fases do processo de adaptação à institucionalização e a criação de programas e atividades para os idosos institucionalizados, de forma a manter a saúde, a independência, a autonomia, a auto-estima e por conseguinte, a qualidade de vida.

The process of aging in modern societies all over the world presents consequences and repercussions in all plans of everyday life. Aging has a direct impact in relationships within families, in intergenerational equity, in the way of life, in familiar ties. It also has more and more reflections on economical, health and political fields. The quality in ways of living has a meaning which reflects the knowledge, the experience and the values acquired along a life time. In old age, wellbeing is evaluated in a multidimensional way related to social, normative and interpersonal criteria, concerning present, past and prospective relationships between the old person ­ commonly institutionalized ­ and his/her background. The main target of this work is to determine the perception institutionalized elderly have of their own quality of life. It conveys a quantitative non-experimental transversal and descriptive correlational study, within a sample of 90 institutionalized old people in the region of Guarda. It was used a formulary of socio demographic characteristics ­ Barthel indices and WHOQOL scale - BREF. So, it was showed that old people have a better perception of their wellbeing in the social domain, followed by the background, the psychological and finally the physical one. As determinant factors of wellbeing, they were identified age, gender, academic degree, initiative and time of institutionalization, visitors and independency level. To increase quality of life among institutionalized old people, physical, psychological and social wellbeing is needed. Thus, institutions should face each old person as a unique being, approaching him/her in an individual way, allowing him/her to adapt the institution in his/her own timing, so that each of them could live with the desired quality of life. In the same way, promoting families´ participation in the different steps of adaptation to the institution as well as the creation of programmes and activities for institutionalized elderly should be achieved to keep their health, independence, autonomy, self-esteem and, therefore, quality of life.

Prevalence of anaemia and associated factors among children below five years of age in Cape Verde, West Africa.

This study estimated the prevalence of anaemia and associated factors in a probability sample of 993 chil- dren aged 6-59 months in Cape Verde, West Africa. Odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were estimated from a hierarchical model for multiple analysis to assess the association between anaemia and explanatory variables. The prevalence of anaemia was 51.8% (95% CI 47.7-55.8). Children who resided within poor household conditions (OR 1.99; 95% CI 1.06-3.71) were below 24 months of age (OR 3.23; 95% CI 2.03-5.15) and recently experienced diarrhoea (OR 1.58; 95% CI 0.99-2.50) were at high risk of anaemia. Anaemia should be considered a serious public-health concern in Cape Verde, mainly for chil- dren below 24 months. Further, special consideration should be given to children who have experienced recent diarrhoea and belong to families residing in poor household conditions.

Computer-assisted strategies for substance abuse prevention: opportunities and barriers.

This article presents an analysis of the potential role that computer-assisted strategies could play in substance abuse prevention efforts in the future. Four primary areas are addressed. First, substance abuse prevention is discussed within the context of adolescent development. Second, computer-assisted instruction (CAI) is defined in terms of the opportunities it represents for substance abuse prevention. Third, a variety of barriers are described that must be addressed if the potential of CAI for enhancing substance abuse prevention efforts is ever to be realized. Finally, recommendations are made for coordinating research and development efforts, now and in the future, so that the potential of new technology for improving substance abuse prevention efforts will be adequately evaluated.