Objectives This split‐mouth, double‐blind, randomized clinical trial evaluated the 1‐year bleaching efficacy produced by two hydrogen peroxide gels with different pHs. Materials and Methods Twenty‐eight patients were divided into two groups corresponding to two different products: Pola Office (pH = 2.0/SDI) and Pola Office Plus (pH = 7.0/SDI). The treatment was assessed during and after the bleaching procedure up to 12 months post‐treatment. The assessment consisted of two bleaching scales shade guide units (ΔSGU) and spectrophotometric device (ΔE, ΔE00, and Whiteness Index) of both maxillary quadrants. Results for ΔSGUs in both scales and ΔE00 and Whiteness Index were compared using Mann Whitney test and ΔE measurements through the t‐Student test for paired samples in each evaluation time. The color rebound (1‐ vs 12‐month postbleaching data) was evaluated with Wilcoxon test (alpha = .05). Results During the different times of evaluation, the color variation was similar for both products (P > .05), both for subjective (ΔSGUs) and objective assessments (ΔE, ΔE00, and Whiteness Index). Also, both products showed a slight rebound after 12‐month postbleaching (P > .05). Conclusions Concerning the stability of color, in‐office dental whitening with two hydrogen peroxide gels of different pHs produced similar results, with no significant of regression, for 12 months postwhitening. Clinical Significance Bleaching using a neutral (pH = 7.0) in‐office gel demonstrated similar stability and rebound effect than an acidic one (pH = 2.0).

Monitoring long-term forest dynamics is essential for assessing human-induced land-cover changes, and related studies are often based on the multi-decadal Landsat archive. However, in areas such as the Tropical Andes, scarce data and the resulting poor signal-to-noise ratio in time series data render the implementation of automated time-series analysis algorithms difficult. The aim of this research was to investigate a novel approach that combines image compositing, multi-sensor data fusion, and postclassification change detection that is applicable in data-scarce regions of the Tropical Andes, exemplified for a case study in Ecuador. We derived biennial deforestation and reforestation patterns for the period from 1992 to 2014, achieving accuracies of 82 ± 3% for deforestation and 71 ± 3% for reforestation mapping. Our research demonstrated that an adapted methodology allowed us to derive the forest dynamics from the Landsat time series, despite the abundant regional data gaps in the archive, namely across the Tropical Andes. This study, therefore, presented a novel methodology in support of monitoring long-term forest dynamics in areas with limited historical data availability.

Habitat loss and fragmentation caused by deforestation are important anthropogenic drivers of changes in biodiversity in the Amazon rainforest, and has reached its highest rate in recent decades. However, the magnitude and direction of the effects on species composition and distribution have yet to be fully understood. We evaluated the responses of four taxonomic groups − birds, amphibians, orchid bees, and dung beetles - to habitat loss and fragmentation at both species and assemblage level in the northern Ecuadorian Amazon. We sampled fifteen 250-m long plots in terra-firme forest remnants. We calculated one landscape fragmentation index (fragindex), which considers the proportion of continuous forest cover, edge density and isolation in the landscape, and nine landscape configuration metrics. Logistic regression models and multivariate regression trees were used to analyze species and assemblage responses. Our results revealed that over 80% of birds, amphibians or orchid-bee species, and 60% of dung beetles were negatively affected by habitat loss and fragmentation. Species composition of all taxonomic groups was significantly affected by differences in forest cover and connectivity. Less than 5% of all species were restricted to landscapes with fragindex values higher than 40%. Landscape metrics related to the shape and area of forest patches determined the magnitude and direction of the effect on species responses. Therefore, changes in the landscape configuration of Ecuadorian Amazonia should be minimized to diminish the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation on species occurrence and assemblage composition.

Green bottle flies (Diptera, Calliphoridae, Luciliinae) comprise a diverse and cosmopolitan taxon, known from at least 1,500 species. They have become crucial elements in forensic investigations, as they spend part of their life cycle in decaying remains. Here, we review the distribution of eleven Luciliinae species in Ecuador: the monotypic Blepharicnema and ten Lucilia species. We identified specimens using morphological characters. Additionally, we DNA barcoded 43 specimens from three species using 658bp segments of the standard Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) mitochondrial gen. Molecular and morphological identifications presented high correspondence, suggesting COI barcodes are an efficient tool for the identification of these three green bottle flies species. Geographical records are biased towards the northern Andean region, particularly near to large urban settlements. We remark the value to applied forensic research of continuous sampling of necrophagous flies under a variety of habitats and crime conditions.