Sterilization, Disinfection and Associated Corrosion in Orthodontics

Sterilization and disinfection are the two integral processes for maintaining asepsis. A cut or puncture wound provides a patent pathway for infection. Any blood observed in the mouth or in an impression would increase the risk of infection. Orthodontists have the second highest incidence of Hepatitis B among dental professionals. Thus, proper steps in sterilization in compliance with the ADA or CDC guidelines should be followed. Various methods of sterilization and disinfection in orthodontic practice have been vividly enumerated. Use of masks, gloves, protective eye wear and reusable or disposable gowns or laboratory coats should be brought into day to day practice in order to avoid cross contamination. Surfaces that cannot be sterilized should be effectively disinfected with any of the available means. A common problem arising with these methods is the associated corrosion. The corrosion resistance of orthodontic grade steel is directly proportional to its chromium content and inversely proportional to its carbon content. Recommendations by the instrument manufacturers must be followed in order to reduce any unwanted corrosion of the orthodontic instruments from steam autoclaving. A thorough understanding of application of sterilization along with properly followed techniques will ensure safety from deadly organisms along with appropriate care of the delicate instruments

PrePro2004: a data model with pre and post-processor for HEC-HMS

This thesis presents the design concepts and development of an interface (Pre- Pro2004) utilizing geodatabases for the Hydrologic Modeling System (HMS) of the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC). HMS is a rainfall-runoff model which supports lumped-parameter as well as distributed-parameter based modeling. PrePro2004 uses the spatial-analysis as well as data handling capabilities of ArcGIS. The spatial data are processed to create input files for HMS. These input files and the output from HMS are stored in two geodatabases which were developed using data model concepts. The tools are provided to reproduce an HMS model from the data inside these geodatabases. The interface is developed based on the DataCentric approach which brings different hydrologic and hydraulic models together. This approach aims to attain a long-term goal of utilizing the same data for different hydrologic or hydraulic models with additional model specific requirements. Two case studies are presented to show the applications of the tools developed. The first case study details the creation of HMS input files for Salado Creek watershed with Digital Elevation Model as input. It includes the importation of an existing HMS model for Salado Creek watershed as Appendix C. The second case study details the creation of HMS input files for the Bull Creek watershed, with land use and soil type data as inputs. It describes the capabilities of tools developed in detail

Fast point pattern matching by heuristic and stochastic optimization techniques

This work is concerned with one of the methodologies used in the final stages of machine vision: the matching of model point patterns to observed point patterns. Conventional search methods not only fail to arrive at the optimal match, but are also computationally expensive and time consuming. To arrive at the optimal pattern match, stochastic and heuristic optimization as the search technique, exploiting Simulated Annealing (SA), Evolutionary Programming (EP) and Mean Field Annealing (MFA), are explored in detail. A comparison of results obtained using SA versus hill-climbing and exhaustive search techniques, and results of EP are presented. The relative effectiveness of these optimizing search algorithms over other conventional algorithms will be demonstrated. Finally, the limitations of MFA are discussed

Testing of semiconductor-based adsorption modified photosensitive (SAMP) sensor for response to toluene

The response of semiconductor-based adsorption modified photosensitive sensor is based on the dye-enhanced photoconductivity of a CdS semiconducting film. The change in this photoconductivity is brought about when organic molecules are sorbed onto the dye-coated surface. The response is related to the overlap in the infrared spectrum of the dye with that of the analyte. This research was carried out to study the response of the sensor to a typical hydrocarbon, toluene. The sensor was tested for its response to concentrations of toluene ranging from 2.6 ppm to 200 PPM in nitrogen. The sensor was tested under non-flow conditions and in the absence of oxygen and water vapor. Under these conditions, the Rhodamine B dye coated sensor was found to respond to changes in toluene concentration. The photoresistance of the sensor decreased as the concentration of toluene increased. The sensor showed high changes in photoresistance for lower toluene concentrations. Also, the rate of change of photoresistance was higher for higher concentrations of toluene. The sensor itself was very stable to long exposures to light but showed poor desorption characteristics. The sensor had to be flushed with nitrogen for extended periods to ensure complete desorption of adsorbed toluene. This study forms the basis of future testing to be performed under more practical conditions, in the presence of water vapor and oxygen

Hybrid Electric Power Systems In Remote Arctic Villages: Economic And Environmental Analysis For Monitoring, Optimization, And Control

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2006The need for energy-efficient and reliable electric power in remote arctic communities of Alaska is a driving force for research in this work. Increasing oil prices, high transportation costs for fuels, and new environmental standards have forced many utilities to explore hybrid energy systems in an attempt to reduce the cost of electricity (COE). This research involves the development of a stand-alone hybrid power system model using MATLABRTM SimulinkRTM for synthesizing the power system data and performing the economic and environmental analysis of remote arctic power systems. The hybrid model consists of diesel electric generators (DEGs), a battery bank, a photovoltaic (PV) array, and wind turbine generators (WTGs). The economic part of the model is used to study the sensitivity analysis of fuel cost and the investment rate on the COE, the life cycle cost (LCC) of the system, and the payback time of the system. The environmental part of the model calculates the level of various pollutants including carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), and the particulate matter (PM10). The environmental analyses part of the model also calculates the avoided cost of various pollutants. The developed model was used to study the economics and environmental impacts of a stand-alone DEG system installed at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Energy Center, the wind-diesel-battery hybrid power system installed at Wales Village, Alaska, and the PV-diesel-battery hybrid power system installed at Lime Village, Alaska. The model was also used to predict the performance of a designed PV-wind-diesel-battery system for Kongiganak Village. The results obtained from the SimulinkRTM model were in close agreement with those predicted by the Hybrid Optimization Model for Electric Renewables (HOMER) software developed at National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Study of menstrual disorders and its correlation with BMI in adolescents

Background: Due to change in lifestyle, habits, diet, the prevalence of obesity has increased. Excess weight and obesity are associated with irregular menstrual cycles, which reduce fertility and increase hormone-sensitive cancers. Obesity is considered to cause abnormality of sex steroid hormone balance. Irregular menstruation is more frequently observed in women who became obese during puberty than in those who were obese during infancy. Obesity has a strong association with infertility and menstrual irregularities. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at Durgapur (West Bengal), where total 600 adolescent girls aged 12-17 years from DAV Model School, Durgapur and GMPS High School, Durgapur were selected. Results: Out of total 600 girls, 119 girls (19.8%) had BMI<18.5 kg/m2, 357 girls (59.5%) had BMI between 18.5-24.99 kg/m2 and 124 girls (20.7%) had BMI>25 kg/m2. Only 68 girls (57.1%) with less BMI, 205 girls (57.4%) with normal BMI and 62 girls (50%) with BMI>25 kg/m2 had dysmenorrhoea. Only 19 girls (16%) with less BMI, 46 girls (12.9%) with normal BMI and only 15 girls (12.1%) with higher BMI had menorrhagia. Only 4 girls (3.4%) with less BMI, 14 girls (3.9%) with normal BMI and 12 girls (9.7%) with high BMI had hypomenorrhoea. Only 10 girls (8.4%) with less BMI, 37 girls (10.4%) with normal BMI and only 28 girls (22.5%) with high BMI had irregular cycles. Only 5 girls (4.2%) with less BMI, 12 girls (3.4%) with normal BMI and only 11 girls (8.9%) with high BMI had oligomenorrhoea. Only 2 girls (1.7%) with less BMI, 3 girls (0.8%) with normal BMI and only 4 girls (3.2%) with higher BMI had polymenorrhoea. Only 43 underweight girls (36.1%), 166 girls (46.5%) with normal BMI and 68 girls (54.8%) with higher BMI had premenstrual symptoms. Conclusions: Mean BMI was found 21.6±3.64 kg/m2. High BMI girls had more oligomenorrhoea, hypomenorrhoea, irregular menstrual cycles, polymenorrhoea, premenstrual symptoms and less dysmenorrhea and menorrhagia comparatively to normal BMI girls and underweight girls.

The role of forceps in current obstetrics: a retrospective study

Background: Forceps has been an integral part of the obstetrician’s armamentarium. Obstetric forceps was designed to assist extraction of the fetal head and thereby accomplish the delivery of the fetus. In this present day when there is universal concern regarding the alarming rise of cesarean section rates, a better understanding of this instrument will help the patient as well as the obstetrician. Methods: This was a retrospective observational study done over a two-year period. Cases were enrolled in the study after satisfying the inclusion and exclusion criteria. All data compared in terms of age, parity, gestational age, indications, maternal and neonatal outcome. Results: A total of 1150 antenatal cases were delivered out of which 42 cases were delivered by outlet forceps. Incidence of outlet forceps was 3.75%. Mean baby birth weight was 3.07 kg. No maternal mortality and morbidity recorded. Conclusions: Obstetric forceps have a significant place in modern obstetrics as it is a lifesaving procedure for mother and fetus in many situations

Structural Changes and Ferroelectric Properties of BiFeO₃-PbTiO₃ Thin Films Grown via a Chemical Multilayer Deposition Method

Thin films of (1-x)BiFeO3-xPbTiO3 (BF-xPT) with x ~ 0.60 were fabricated on Pt/Si substrates by chemical solution deposition of precursor BF and PT layers alternately in three different multilayer configurations. These multilayer deposited precursor films upon annealing at 700{\deg}C in nitrogen show pure perovskite phase formation. In contrast to the equilibrium tetragonal structure for the overall molar composition of BF:PT::40:60, we find monoclinic structured BF-xPT phase of MA type. Piezo-force microscopy confirmed ferroelectric switching in the films and revealed different normal and lateral domain distributions in the samples. Room temperature electrical measurements show good quality ferroelectric hysteresis loops with remanent polarization, Pr, of up to 18 {\mu}C/cm2 and leakage currents as low as 10-7 A/cm2.Comment: 14 Pages and 6 figure

Enabling Knowledge Sharing Through Intrinsic Motivation And Perceived IT Support

Knowledge is currently viewed as a key organizational resource to gain and sustain competitive advantage. Having the right knowledge at the right time to take effective action has become ever more critical for organizations. A key aspect of achieving this is by promoting conditions that enable organizational members to share their knowledge in the most effective manner. This research investigates the impact of knowledge workers’ intrinsic motivation and their perceived usefulness of information technology support on knowledge sharing. The proposed model is tested using data from a sample of 252 knowledge workers in manufacturing and related industries. Results support proposed hypotheses suggesting that knowledge workers intrinsic motivation and perception of usefulness of information technology support positively affects knowledge sharing. Intrinsic motivation also affects knowledge sharing indirectly by enhancing knowledge workers’ perception of information technology they use to share knowledge. This research underscores the importance of individual characteristics such as motivation and employee perception in sharing knowledge

PrePro2004: a data model with pre and post-processor for HEC-HMS

This thesis presents the design concepts and development of an interface (Pre- Pro2004) utilizing geodatabases for the Hydrologic Modeling System (HMS) of the Hydrologic Engineering Center (HEC). HMS is a rainfall-runoff model which supports lumped-parameter as well as distributed-parameter based modeling. PrePro2004 uses the spatial-analysis as well as data handling capabilities of ArcGIS. The spatial data are processed to create input files for HMS. These input files and the output from HMS are stored in two geodatabases which were developed using data model concepts. The tools are provided to reproduce an HMS model from the data inside these geodatabases. The interface is developed based on the DataCentric approach which brings different hydrologic and hydraulic models together. This approach aims to attain a long-term goal of utilizing the same data for different hydrologic or hydraulic models with additional model specific requirements. Two case studies are presented to show the applications of the tools developed. The first case study details the creation of HMS input files for Salado Creek watershed with Digital Elevation Model as input. It includes the importation of an existing HMS model for Salado Creek watershed as Appendix C. The second case study details the creation of HMS input files for the Bull Creek watershed, with land use and soil type data as inputs. It describes the capabilities of tools developed in detail