Maxillary Sinus Augmentation with Xenogenic Collagen-Retained Heterologous Cortico-Cancellous Bone: A 3-Year Follow-Up Randomized Controlled Trial.

Sinus augmentation procedures have become a valuable solution for patients with posterior maxillary edentulism. The objective of this study was to explore the efficacy and safety of porcine xenograft with collagen supplementation as a potential alternative to autologous bone grafts in lateral sinus augmentation over a three-year follow-up period. Twelve patients, each with bilateral posterior maxillary edentulism, were enrolled and randomly allocated to receive either a porcine xenograft or an autologous graft.

Maxilla Reconstruction with Xenograft Blocks to Allow Implant Rehabilitation: A Case Report.

Reducing patient morbidity is one of the challenging goals of proper surgical techniques. The rehabilitation success begins with a good surgical plan. Scientifically proven biomaterials are excellent options to overcome the lack of autologous bone for maxillary reconstructions.

A Randomized Clinical Trial Comparing Implants Placed in Two Different Biomaterials Used for Maxillary Sinus Augmentation.

The objective of this study was to compare marginal bone loss, surgical and clinical complications, and dental implant survival rate in bilateral maxillary sinus augmented by autologous or porcine xenograft. A randomized controlled clinical trial using split-mouth design enrolled 12 consent adult patients (59.7 ± 8.

Association between respiratory hospital admissions and air quality in Portugal: A count time series approach.

Although regulatory improvements for air quality in the European Union have been made, air pollution is still a pressing problem and, its impact on health, both mortality and morbidity, is a topic of intense research nowadays. The main goal of this work is to assess the impact of the exposure to air pollutants on the number of daily hospital admissions due to respiratory causes in 58 spatial locations of Portugal mainland, during the period 2005-2017. To this end, INteger Generalised AutoRegressive Conditional Heteroskedastic (INGARCH)-based models are extensively used.

Advantages of Porcine Xenograft over Autograft in Sinus Lift: A Randomised Clinical Trial.

This study aimed to compare the performance of intra-oral autologous bone grafts versus porcine xenografts in a two-step lateral window sinus lift. This split-mouth randomised controlled trial sequentially enrolled 12 patients with a 6-month follow-up. For each patient, a simultaneous randomised bilateral maxillary sinus lift was performed and filled with autologous bone from the mandible (control) or a porcine xenograft (test).

Effect of Hemodynamic Changes in Plasma Propofol Concentrations Associated with Knee-Chest Position in Spinal Surgery: A Prospective Study.

Background: Anesthesia induction and maintenance with propofol can be guided by target-controlled infusion (TCI) systems using pharmacokinetic (Pk) models. Physiological variables, such as changes in cardiac output (CO), can influence propofol pharmacokinetics. Knee-chest (KC) surgical positioning can result in CO changes.

Propofol TCI Reductions Do Not Attenuate Significant Falls in Cardiac Output Associated With Anesthesia Induction and Knee-Chest Positioning in Spinal Surgery.

Background: Induction of anesthesia and the knee-chest position are associated with hemodynamic changes that may impact patient outcomes. The aim of this study was to assess whether planned reductions in target-controlled infusion propofol concentrations attenuate the hemodynamic changes associated with anesthesia induction and knee-chest position.

Materilas And Methods: A total of 20 patients scheduled for elective lumbar spinal surgery in the knee-chest position were included.

Impact of pH on the high-pressure inactivation of microbial transglutaminase.

Microbial transglutaminase (MTG) is an enzyme largely used in the food industry, mainly to improve food texture. However, many globular proteins show low susceptibility to the action of this enzyme. High-pressure processing (HPP), being able to change protein conformation, may be a useful tool to increase the accessibility of globular proteins to the action of MTG.

Sex estimation using the mandibular canine index components.

The mandibular canine index (MCI) has been described as a suitable methodology for sex estimation in forensic scenarios but there are contradictory reports about its accuracy. Moreover, the two mandibular canine teeth must be available, which is not always a viable option. The aim of this study was to strip the MCI by analyzing the MCI itself and its components, in order to optimize its use for sex estimation.

The applications of regenerative medicine in sinus lift procedures: A systematic review.

Background: Findings in regenerative medicine applied to the sinus lift procedures.

Purpose: Evaluate the effectiveness of regenerative medicine in sinus lift.

Materials And Methods: An extensive search for manuscripts were performed by using different combinations of keywords and MeSH terms (Pub-med; Embase; Scopus; Web of Science Core Collection; Medline; Current Contents Connect; Derwent Innovations Index; Scielo Citation Index; Cochrane library).

Survival Rate of Dental Implants in Patients with History of Periodontal Disease: A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Purpose: To evaluate the differences between the survival rates of implants placed in patients with no history of periodontal disease (NP) and in patients with a history of chronic periodontal disease (CP).

Materials And Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in which all consenting patients treated with dental implants in a private clinic in Oporto, Portugal, from November 2, 2002 through February 11, 2011 were included. All patients were treated consecutively by the same experimental operator.

Wavelets-based clustering of air quality monitoring sites.

This paper aims at providing a variance/covariance profile of a set of 36 monitoring stations measuring ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) hourly concentrations, collected over the period 2005-2013, in Portugal mainland. The resulting individual profiles are embedded in a wavelet decomposition-based clustering algorithm in order to identify groups of stations exhibiting similar profiles. The results of the cluster analysis identify three groups of stations, namely urban, suburban/urban/rural, and a third group containing all but one rural stations.

Spontaneous baroreceptor reflex sensitivity for risk stratification of heart failure patients: optimal cut-off and age effects.

Baroreceptor reflex sensitivity (BRS) is an important prognostic factor because a reduced BRS has been associated with an adverse cardiovascular outcome. The threshold for a 'reduced' BRS was established by the ATRAMI study at BRS <3 ms/mmHg in patients with a previous myocardial infarction, and has been shown to improve risk assessment in many other cardiac dysfunctions. The successful application of this cut-off to other populations suggests that it may reflect an inherent property of baroreflex functioning, so our goal is to investigate whether it represents a 'natural' partition of BRS values.

A new approach to sex estimation using the mandibular canine index.

Rao et al.'s mandibular canine index (MCI) is a simple odontometric method which uses the mandibular canine as the key to sex estimation. This index is defined as the ratio between the right canine mesiodistal dimension and the mandibular canine arch width.

Mathematical biomarkers for the autonomic regulation of cardiovascular system.

Heart rate and blood pressure are the most important vital signs in diagnosing disease. Both heart rate and blood pressure are characterized by a high degree of short term variability from moment to moment, medium term over the normal day and night as well as in the very long term over months to years. The study of new mathematical algorithms to evaluate the variability of these cardiovascular parameters has a high potential in the development of new methods for early detection of cardiovascular disease, to establish differential diagnosis with possible therapeutic consequences.

Exploring the use of fuzzy logic models to describe the relation between SBP and RR values.

In this work, fuzzy logic based models are used to describe the relation between systolic blood pressure (SBP) and tachogram (RR) values as a function of the SBP level. The applicability of these methods is tested using real data in Lying (L) and Standing (S) conditions and generated surrogate data. The results indicate that fuzzy models exhibit a similar performance in both conditions, and their performance is significantly higher with real data than with surrogate data.

EMG contributes to improve Cerebral State Index modeling in dogs anesthesia.

Cerebral State Index (CSI) is a measure of depth of anesthesia (DoA) developed for humans, which is traditionally modeled with the Hill equation and the propofol effect-site concentration (Ce). The CSI has been studied in dogs and showed several limitations related to the interpretation of EEG data. Nevertheless, the CSI has a lot of potential for DoA monitoring in dogs, it just needs to be adjusted for this species.

Factors influencing differences between invasive and spontaneous baroreflex estimates: distinct methods or different data?

Currently invasive BRS estimates are obtained with drug-induced data assuming a sigmoidal SBP-RR relationship, while spontaneous BRS estimates are obtained with non-sigmoidal estimators. In particular, the events (sequences) technique provides a spontaneous BRS estimate based on baroreflex events, BEs (baroreflex sequences, BSs). In this work, BRS estimates are compared considering that can be obtained with different estimators and evaluated in different conditions.

QT variability and HRV interactions in ECG: quantification and reliability.

In this paper, a dynamic linear approach was used over QT and RR series measured by an automatic delineator, to explore the interactions between QT interval variability (QTV) and heart rate variability (HRV). A low-order linear autoregressive model allowed to separate and quantify the QTV fractions correlated and not correlated with HRV, estimating their power spectral density measures. Simulated series and artificial ECG signals were used to assess the performance of the methods, considering a respiratory-like electrical axis rotation effect and noise contamination with a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) from 30 to 10 dB.