Using Hemostatic Agents During Orthodontic Bonding: An In Vitro Study

Objective:The aim of this in vitro study was to compare the effect of a traditional hemostatic agent on the shear bond strength (SBS) of conventional and self-etching bonding systems to find an efficient procedure for orthodontic bonding.Material and Methods:Extracted human premolars (n=108) were divided into 6 equal groups. Conventional light cure primer was used in groups 1, 2, and 3. Acid etching and primer were applied directly in group 1. Enamel surfaces were covered with a Ankaferd Blood Stopper (ABS), which was used as a hemostatic agent in groups 2 and 3. Orthophosphoric acid was applied on ABS-covered enamel in group 2. Before the acid was applied, the enamel surface was cleaned with wet surgical gauze in group 3. A self-etching primer was used in groups 4, 5, and 6. Similar to the first 3 groups, primer was applied on the enamel surface in group 4. Samples were covered with ABS before the primer was applied in groups 4 and 5. The ABS residue was cleaned with gauze before primer application in group 6. The samples were debonded using a universal testing machine. In addition, SBS and residual adhesive were evaluated.Results:Samples contaminated with hemostatic agent and bonded with the self-etching primer without cleaning the hemostatic agent showed significantly lower SBS (p,0.05). Cleaning the ABS on the enamel surfaces increased the bonding strength of self-etching primers. Groups 5 and 6 showed significantly lower ARI scores (p,0.05).Conclusion:Before bonding orthodontic attachments with conventional and light-cure primers, ABS can be safely used. However, using self-etch primers directly on the ABS-applied enamel surface should be avoided. (Turkish J Orthod 2015;28:38– 43

Assessment of the Confidence of the Adhesive Remnant Index Score With Different Methods

Objective:The purpose of this in vitro study was to investigate the reliability of the adhesive remnant index (ARI) score system with different assessment methods and to test the compatibility of the estimators.Materials and Methods:Sixty-eight human premolars were used in this study. The premolar brackets (SmartClip, 3M Unitek, Monrovia, CA, USA) were bonded with a light cure adhesive (Transbond XT, 3M Unitek). Brackets were debonded using a Lloyd LRX testing machine (Lloyd Instruments Plc., Fareham, Hampshire, UK). Special image analysis software with ×20 magnification and naked-eye assessment methods were used to evaluate the adhesive remnant. Four different investigators scored the same samples according to a 4-point scale. The Kendall rank correlation coefficient was used to test the reliability of the estimator's scores. The Friedman test, followed by the Wilcoxon signed-ranks test, was used to investigate significant differences in the ARI scores between the different assessment methodsResults:The Kendall rank correlation coefficients revealed no significant difference between the scores assigned by the investigators in this study. However, the ARI scores were significantly different when the special image analysis program was used (p < 0.05).Conclusion:The reliability of the ARI scores increased when quantitative measurement methods were used

Core/shell nanomaterials in photovoltaics

Hybrid materials consist of inorganic nanoparticles embedded in polymer matrices. An advantage of these materials is to combine the unique properties of one or more kinds of inorganic nanoparticles with the film forming properties of polymers. Most of the polymers can be processed from solution at room temperature enabling the manufacturing of large area, flexible and light weight devices. To exploit the full potential for the technological applications of the nanocrystalline materials, it is very important to endow them with good processing attributes. The surface of the inorganic cluster can be modified during the synthesis by organic surfactants. The surfactant can alter the dispersion characteristic of the particles by initiating attractive forces with the polymer chains, in which the particles should be homogenously arranged. In this review, we present wet chemical methods for the synthesis of nanoparticles, which have been used as photovoltaic materials in polymer blends. The photovoltaic performance of various inorganic/organic hybrid solar cells, prepared via spin-coating will be the focus of this contribution

The Role of the Urine Dipstick Test in the Detection of Abnormal Proteinuria Using Different Cut-off Levels in Hypertensive Pregnancies

Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the diagnostic accuracy of different urine dipstick protein threshold levels in predicting the presence of abnormal proteinuria in pregnant women with hypertension.Material and Methods: A total of 326 singleton pregnant women who underwent 501 urine protein tests and who had suspected preeclampsia were included in this retrospective study. Patient data was taken including medical and obstetric history. The results of dipstick urinalysis and concurrent 24-hour urine protein excretion measurements were compared to determine the accuracy of urinalysis.Results: A dipstick result of 1+ was found to be the best cut-off to predict 500 mg of protein excretion per day, with sensitivity and specificity of 62.09% and 88.97%, respectively. A 2+ proteinuria dipstick cut-off had high specificity and positive predictive value (PPV) (99.05% and 98.84%, respectively) for the prediction of 300 mg of protein excretion per day; this cut-off had low sensitivity (21.46%). A cut-off of 1+ also provided satisfactory specificity and PPV (91.43% and 94.48%, respectively) for the detection of 300 mg of protein excretion per day, but sensitivity was compromised (38.89%). Among 301 patients with negative dipstick results, 212 had a 24-hour urine protein extraction greater than 300 mg, with a false negative rate of 70.43%.Conclusion: The results suggest that the urine protein dipstick measurement has limited quantitative ability for the prediction of abnormal proteinuria. Additionally, the use of 500 mg 24-hours protein excretion as a cut-off value for abnormal proteinuria may provide useful data

Water soluble poly(1-vinyl-1,2,4-triazole) as novel dielectric layer for organic field effect transistors

Water soluble poly(1-vinyl-1,2,4-triazole) (PVT) as a novel dielectric layer for organic field effect transistor is studied. Dielectric spectroscopy characterization reveals it has low leakage current and rather high breakdown voltage. Both n-channel and p-channel organic field effect transistors are fabricated using pentacene and fullerene as active layers. Both devices show device performances with lack of hysteresis, very low threshold voltages and high on/off ratios. Excellent film formation property is utilized to make AlO(x) and thin PVT bilayer in order to decrease the operating voltage of the devices. All solution processed ambipolar device is fabricated with simple spin coating steps using poly(2-methoxy-5-(2-ethyl-hexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevinylene) (MEH-PPV) end capped with polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) as active layer. Our investigations show that PVT can be a very promising dielectric for organic field effect transistors.AMBIPOL (P20724-N20)

PISA 2009 preliminary report, Turkey

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The effect of body mass index on location of recurrence and survival in early-stage colorectal cancer

Introduction: Obesity has become one of the major public health problems in many countries. Controversial results were reported in publications on the relationship between obesity and mortality in patients diagnosed with colorectal cancer (CRC) and that receive curative treatment. In this study, we evaluated the effects of body mass index (BMI) on the location of recurrence and disease-free survival (DFS) in patients with early-stage CRC. Materials and Methods: Patients that were followed up and treated in the Department of Medical Oncology between 1999 and 2016 were retrospectively included in the study. Patients with operated Stage I, II, and III CRC were included in the study. Patients were divided into three groups based on their BMI (kg/m2) of below 25, between 25 and 30, and above 30. Results: A total of 950 patients, of which 527 (55.5%) were male and 423 (44.5%) were female, were included in the study. The median age of the patients was 56 years. Of the patients, 408 (42.4%) had BMI of 30. Local recurrence rate was significantly higher in the group with BMI >= 30 compared to the other groups (P = 30 (P = 0.02) and that difference was more evidently observed in Stage III (P = 0.02). There was no statistically significant difference of overall survival in the BMI groups (P = 0.87). In multivariate analysis, the BMI >= 30 (hazard ratio [HR], 1.49, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-2.17), rectal tumor (HR, 1.70, 95% CI, 1.15-2.51), Stage III (HR, 3.91, 95% CI, 1.86-8.25), number of positive lymph nodes (HR, 1.05, 95% CI, 1.03-1.07), and R1 resection (HR, 3.47, 95% CI, 1.71-7.05) were identified as independent risk factors negatively affecting DFS. Conclusion: In this study, we observed that the high BMI increased the risk of recurrence, especially in Stage III CRC patients, and that the recurrence frequently occurred locally