Antibacterial Effect of Nano-based Intra-canal Medicaments against Enterococcus Faecalis

Intracanal medicaments have been thought as an important step in killing the bacteria in root canals. The application of nanoparticles in the medication applied between visits was supposed to improve its antibacterial effect. With the introduction of nanotechnology in dentistry, intracanal medicaments could become more effective against bacteria. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the antibacterial efficacy of silver nanoparticles incorporated with Calcium hydroxide and Nano Chitosan intracanal medicaments against Enterococcus faecalis biofilms formed on root dentin. Materials and methods: 40 extracted human single rooted permanent teeth were selected; samples were randomly divided into three equal experimental groups eight samples each according to the intracanal medicament used. Group 1 (n=8) Calcium hydroxide with nano silver intracanal medicament was used, group 2 (n=8) Nano chitosan intracanal medicament was used, group 3 (n=8) Nano conventional Calcium hydroxide intracanal medicament was used and two control groups eight samples each (n=8). After inoculation with Enterococcus Faecalis, teeth were injected different intracanal medicaments for 7 days then evaluation of dead and live bacteria percentage was done using Confocal LASER Microscope. Results: Reduction of Enterococcus faecalis mean percentages were significantly higher in groups 1 and 2 than group 3 regardless the root level and different root regions except the coronal region. Conclusion: Nano silver and nano Chitosan provide promising antibacterial effect which was proved by Confocal LASER Microscop

Whole-body diffusion-weighted imaging with background body signal suppression and quantitative apparent diffusion coefficient in the detection, staging, and grading of non-Hodgkin lymphoma

Purpose: Assess reproducibility of detection, staging, and grading of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) using wholebody diffusion-weighted imaging with background body signal suppression (WB-DWIBS). Material and methods: Thirty NHL patients underwent WB-DWIBS, divided into 2 groups according to staging and grading. Image analysis and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) measurement of the largest lymph node in each group were performed by 2 observers. Inter-observer agreement was performed. Results: Overall inter-observer agreement for detection of NHL was excellent (k = 0.843; 92.05%) with excellent inter-observer agreement of nodal disease (cervical, thoracic and abdominal) (k = 0.783, 0.769, and 0.856; 96.67%, 90.0%, and 93.3% respectively), extra-nodal disease (k = 1; 100%), and splenic involvement (k = 0.67; 83.3%). The overall inter-observer agreement of DWIBS in staging of NHL was excellent (k = 0.90; 94.9%) with excellent inter-observer agreement for stage I (k = 0.93; 96.4%), stage II (k = 0.90; 94.8%), stage III (k = 0.89; 94.6%), and stage IV (k = 0.88; 94.0%). There was significant difference between ADC in stage I, II (0.77 ± 0.13, 0.85 ± 0.09 × 10-3 mm2/s), and stage III, IV (0.63 ± 0.08, 0.64 ± 0.11 × 10-3 mm2 /s, p < 0.002, < 0.001). Interclass correlation showed almost perfect agreement for ADC measurement in staging and grading groups (r = 0.96 and r = 0.85, respectively, p < 0.001). There was significant difference between ADC in aggressive lymphoma (0.65 ± 0.1, 0.67 ± 0.13 × 10-3 mm2/s) and indolent lymphoma (0.76 ± 0.14, 0.84 ± 0.09 × 10-3 mm2/s, p < 0.028, < 0.001). Conclusion: DWIBS is reproducible for detection and staging of nodal and extra-nodal involvement in patients with NHL. ADC can quantitatively participate in the staging and grading of NHL

The Role of Medical Image Modalities and AI in the Early Detection, Diagnosis and Grading of Retinal Diseases: A Survey.

Traditional dilated ophthalmoscopy can reveal diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration (AMD), diabetic retinopathy (DR), diabetic macular edema (DME), retinal tear, epiretinal membrane, macular hole, retinal detachment, retinitis pigmentosa, retinal vein occlusion (RVO), and retinal artery occlusion (RAO). Among these diseases, AMD and DR are the major causes of progressive vision loss, while the latter is recognized as a world-wide epidemic. Advances in retinal imaging have improved the diagnosis and management of DR and AMD. In this review article, we focus on the variable imaging modalities for accurate diagnosis, early detection, and staging of both AMD and DR. In addition, the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in providing automated detection, diagnosis, and staging of these diseases will be surveyed. Furthermore, current works are summarized and discussed. Finally, projected future trends are outlined. The work done on this survey indicates the effective role of AI in the early detection, diagnosis, and staging of DR and/or AMD. In the future, more AI solutions will be presented that hold promise for clinical applications

Accuracy of magnetic resonance studies in the detection of chondral and labral lesions in femoroacetabular impingement : systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Several types of Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are commonly used in imaging of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), however till now there are no clear protocols and recommendations for each type. The aim of this meta-analysis is to detect the accuracy of conventional magnetic resonance imaging (cMRI), direct magnetic resonance arthrography (dMRA) and indirect magnetic resonance arthrography (iMRA) in the diagnosis of chondral and labral lesions in femoroacetabular impingement (FAI). Methods: A literature search was finalized on the 17th of May 2016 to collect all studies identifying the accuracy of cMRI, dMRA and iMRA in diagnosing chondral and labral lesions associated with FAI using surgical results (arthroscopic or open) as a reference test. Pooled sensitivity and specificity with 95% confidence intervals using a random-effects meta-analysis for MRI, dMRA and iMRA were calculated also area under receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was retrieved whenever possible where AUC is equivocal to diagnostic accuracy. Results: The search yielded 192 publications which were reviewed according inclusion and exclusion criteria then 21 studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria for the qualitative analysis with a total number of 828 cases, lastly 12 studies were included in the quantitative meta-analysis. Meta-analysis showed that as regard labral lesions the pooled sensitivity, specificity and AUC for cMRI were 0.864, 0.833 and 0.88 and for dMRA were 0.91, 0.58 and 0.92. While in chondral lesions the pooled sensitivity, specificity and AUC for cMRI were 0.76, 0.72 and 0.75 and for dMRA were 0.75, 0.79 and 0.83, while for iMRA were sensitivity of 0.722 and specificity of 0.917. Conclusions: The present meta-analysis showed that the diagnostic test accuracy was superior for dMRA when compared with cMRI for detection of labral and chondral lesions. The diagnostic test accuracy was superior for labral lesions when compared with chondral lesions in both cMRI and dMRA. Promising results are obtained concerning iMRA but further studies still needed to fully assess its diagnostic accuracy

Apical transportation associated with ProTaper® Universal F1, F2 and F3 instruments in curved canals prepared by undergraduate students

Objective: This study evaluated apical transportation associated with ProTaper® Universal F1, F2 and F3 rotary files in curved canals prepared by undergraduate students. Material and Methods: Twenty mesial roots of mandibular molars with curvatures ranging between 25° and 35° were selected. Mesiobuccal canals were instrumented by twenty students with the ProTaper® system (Dentsply-Maillefer, Ballaigues, Switzerland) according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Pre-flaring was performed with S1 and SX files. A #15 K-file was inserted into the root canal up to the working length (WL), and an initial digital radiograph was taken in a buccolingual direction (baseline). Afterwards, the S1, S2, F1, F2, and F3 files were employed up to the WL. Other radiographies were taken in the same orientation of the baseline after the use of the F1, F2, and F3 files, with each file inserted into the root canal. The radiographic images were overlapped, and the Image J software was used to measure the distance between the rotary files’ ends and the #15 K-file’s end, characterizing the apical transportation. Data were analyzed by Repeated Measure ANOVA and by the SNK post hoc test (P<0.05). Results: It was verified that file size affected apical transportation significantly (P<0.001). The F3 file showed higher apical transportation than F1 and F2, while between these last files there was no difference. Conclusion: The undergraduate students produced lower apical transportation in curved canals when they did not use the F3 rotary file

Improvement of Radio Frequency Identification Security Using New Hybrid Advanced Encryption Standard Substitution Box by Chaotic Maps

Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology is widely utilized by businesses, organizations and wireless communication systems. RFID technology is secured using different ways of data encryption, e.g., Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). The Substitution Box (S-Box) is the core of AES. In this paper, a new algorithm is proposed to generate a modified S-Box with new keys, specifically a key and plaintext-dependent S-Box using an improved RC4 encryption algorithm with Logistic Chaotic Maps (LCM). The strength of the proposed S-Box is tested throughout the paper, and compared against the state-of-the-art S-Box implementations, namely, the static S-Box, dynamic S-box, KSA and PRGA S-Box, and RC4 S-Boxes with Henon chaotic maps. The comparison between the state-of-the-art S-Boxes and the proposed S-Box demonstrates that the use of the Logistic Chaotic Map increases the security of the S-Box and makes the differential and linear cryptography more sturdy. In particular, using the strict avalanche test, we demonstrate that the proposed S-Box improves the security by achieving a cipher text bit-flip ratio of 0.4765, which is closer to 0.5 (where half the bits are flipped), while maintaining a minimum elapsed time of 19 milliseconds for encryption and decryption

CT perfusion in evaluation of post therapy cervical lymphoma

Objective: Compare CT perfusion between responders and non-responders in patients with residual cervical nodes after lymphoma treatment. Subjects and methods: Twenty-seven patients with treated pathologically proved lymphoma were included in this prospective study, divided into two groups: responders (n. 15) and non-responders to treatment (n. 12). Blood flow (BF), blood volume (BV), mean transit time (MTT) and permeability (PS) were determined using CT perfusion. Lymph nodes sizes were measured (short axis). Results: BF, BV and PS were significantly higher in non-responders group [93.3 (65.3–111) ml/min/100 g, 6.3 (5.2–8) ml/100 g and 18.9 (14.5–25.1) ml/min/100 g respectively] as compared to responders group [54 (43.8–77.5) ml/min/100 g, 4.1 (2.2–4.8) ml/100 g and 9.4 (7.5–14.5) ml/min/100 g respectively], [p 0.019, 0.004 and 0.004 respectively]. MTT had a trend to be low in non-responders group, but did not reach statistical significance (p 0.305). Cutoff value for BF, BV and PS was 59.5 ml/min/100 g, 3.6 ml/100 g and 11.1 ml/min/100 g respectively, 92% sensitivity for the three parameters and specificity 67%, 47% and 73% respectively. Lymph node sizes had no relation to the perfusion parameter values. Conclusion: CT perfusion is a functional imaging tool with promising results in differentiating between responders and non-responders in treated lymphoma patients, using BF, BV and PS

The Effect of Different Formulations of Calcium Hydroxide on Healing of Intentionally Induced Periapical Lesions in Dogs

The aim of the present work is to study the effect of different formulations of Ca (OH)2 on healing of induced periapical lesions in dog. A total of 96 teeth with intentionally induced periapical lesions were classified according to the observation period into three groups; I, II and III (2 dogs each). Each group was subdivided into four subgroups (8 teeth each) namely; A, B, C and D which were dressed with Ca(OH)2 with saline, Ca(OH)2 with chlrohexidine, Ca(OH)2 with iodoform and control respectively. Histopathological findings showed that the apical and periapical repair were better in subgroup A than in other subgroups in all groups. Total inflammatory cell count was significantly different between the four subgroups in group I. In both groups II and III, there was no significant difference between subgroups B and C. In conclusion, the use of saline as a vehicle for Ca (OH)2 has a favorable action on periapical tissue healing in endodontically treated dogs

Assessment of Efficacy of Photoactivated Disinfection Versus Calcium Hydroxide Disinfection in Regeneration of Immature Infected Teeth - A comparative in vivo study.

Aim: To study the effectiveness of photo activated disinfection (PAD) Disinfection Versus Calcium Hydroxide Disinfection in Regeneration of Immature Infected Teeth. Material and Methods:30 patients with immature, single rooted teeth appearing with or without signs and/or symptoms of periapical pathology were involved in the study. Cases were classified into three groups according to the disinfection protocol, ten patients each group (n=10). Group I: Calcium hydroxide (Ca (OH)) was injected in the canal after drying the canal with sterile paper points. Group II: Photosensitizers (Azulenocyanine) was inserted in the canals and agitated in the canal, then activated with diode laser 940 nm used in cycles 4 x 2mm/sec for disinfection of canal. Group III: Photosensitizers (Azulenocyanine) was inserted in the canals and agitated in the canal, then activated with diode laser 940 nm used in cycles 4 x 2mm/sec for disinfection of canal then calcium hydroxide (Ca (OH)) is injected in the canal after drying the canal with sterile paper points. Results: Overall results of our study, there was a significant difference (p\u3e0.05) between the three groups, where group III “calcium hydroxide and diode laser” showed higher significant values than the other two groups. Conclusion: PAD can be used as an adjunctive procedure in disinfection of immature necrotic teeth