High­magnesium waters and soils: Emerging environmental and food security constraints.

Food insecurity and declining availability of freshwater and new productive land in water-scarce areas and countries necessitate effective use of marginal-quality waters and underperforming soils. High­magnesium waters and soils are emerging examples of water quality deterioration and land degradation leading to environmental and food security constraints in several irrigation schemes. A ratio of magnesium-to-calcium > 1 in irrigation waters and an exchangeable magnesium percentage > 25% in soils are considered high enough to result in soil degradation and impact crop yields negatively. These soil and water resources occur in the Aral Sea Basin in Central Asian countries, the Cauca River Valley in Colombia, the Central Plateau Basin in Iran, the Indus Basin in Pakistan, the Indo-Gangetic Plains in India, the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia, and the Coastal Mountain Range in California, among others. With limited and scattered information, their occurrence remains hidden or unnoticed in many cases due to the lack of criteria in water quality assessment and soil classification systems. Managing high­magnesium waters and soils requires a source of calcium to mitigate magnesium effects, in addition to an effective drainage system for safe disposal of excess magnesium salts. There is a need to put high­magnesium waters and soils on the public policy agenda. Pertinent policies can catalyze stakeholders' involvement in supporting water and land quality monitoring systems and introducing innovative financial mechanisms to facilitate provision of calcium-supplying amendments in affected areas. Equally important would be strengthening institutional and professionals' capacity, enhancing institutional collaboration, encouraging private sector involvement in at-risk areas, and engaging local communities and farmers. These efforts will support the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda. Eradicating extreme poverty and meeting the Sustainable Development Goals in water-scarce areas without adequately addressing underperforming land and water resources is highly unlikely.

1-Year clinical study of indirect resin composite restorations luted with a self-adhesive resin cement: effect of enamel etching

In vitro studies have recommended enamel-etching before luting indirect restorations with self-adhesive resin cement. However, there is no scientific proof that this procedure has any clinical relevance. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of enamel-etching on the marginal quality of indirect composite resin restorations (inlay/onlay) using the self-adhesive cement RelyX Unicem clicker. Forty-two posterior teeth were selected from 25 patients that presented one or two teeth with large restorations in need of replacement. All teeth were prepared by the same operator and impressed with polyvinylsiloxane material. The composite resin restorations were built over plaster casts using the incremental technique with a LED device for light-curing the increments. The inlays/onlays were cemented according to one of the following protocols: 1. Etched group (ETR) - selective enamel phosphoric-acid etching + RelyX Unicem clicker; 2. Non-etched group (NER) - RelyX Unicem clicker alone. Each surface was light-cured for 60 s. Recalls occurred after 1 week (baseline), 6 and 12 months when the teeth were evaluated according to previously established scores (modified USPHS criteria). The clinical analysis showed little or no visible changes in the marginal quality after 1 year, even though a probe could detect all the restorations margins. Statistical analysis (Fisher’s exact test, p<0.05) detected no differences between the groups after 12 months. No restorations failed and no secondary caries were found. Enamel acid etching had no clinical relevance on the marginal quality of indirect composite resin restorations luted with RelyX Unicem clicker after 1 year of follow up.

Estudos in vitro têm recomendado condicionamento ácido do esmalte antes da cimentação de restaurações indiretas com cimento resinoso autoadesivo. Entretanto, não há nenhuma prova científica de que este procedimento tenha relevância clínica. Assim, o objetivo deste estudo foi avaliar o efeito do condicionamento ácido do esmalte na qualidade marginal de restaurações indiretas de resina composta (inlay/onlay) usando o cimento autoadesivo RelyX Unicem clicker. Quarenta e dois dentes posteriores foram selecionados de 25 pacientes com 1 ou 2 restaurações amplas com necessidade de substituição. Todos os dentes foram preparados pelo mesmo operador e impressos com material à base de polivilsiloxano. As restaurações de resina composta foram construídas sobre troquel de gesso usando a técnica de colocação em camadas e polimerizadas usando aparelho de luz emitida por diodo (LED). Osinlays/onlays foram cimentados de acordo com um dos protocolos: 1. Grupo condicionado (ETR)- condicionamento seletivo do esmalte com ácido fosfórico + cimentação com RelyX Unicem clicker; 2. Grupo não condicionado (NER)- cimentação com RelyX Unicem clicker somente. Cada superfície foi fotoativada por 60 s. Os retornos para acompanhamento foram feitos após 1 semana (baseline), 6 e 12 meses onde os dentes foram avaliados de acordo com critérios previamente estabelecidos (USPHS Modificado). A análise clínica mostrou pouca ou nenhuma alteração visível na qualidade marginal após 1 ano, porém uma sonda clínica pode detectar todas as margens restauradoras. A análise estatística (Teste exato de Fisher, p<0,05) não detectou diferença entre os grupos após 12 meses. Nenhuma restauração falhou e nenhuma cárie secundária foi encontrada. O condicionamento ácido do esmalte não teve relevância clínica na qualidade marginal de restaurações indiretas de resina composta cimentadas com RelyX Unicem clicker após 1 ano de acompanhamento.