Investigation of the effect of curcumin on cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and apoptosis on breast cancer cells

OBJECTIVE: In many preclinical studies, curcumin has been anticarcinogenic in several cancer types. In line with these findings, this research aims to investigate the effects of curcumin on cytotoxicity, mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP), glutathione (GSH), intracellular reactive oxygen species generation (iROS), apoptosis, and DNA damage in breast cancer cell lines. MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, the cytotoxic effect of curcumin concentrations (5-100 µM) on human mammary gland cancer cell lines (MCF7 and MDA MB231), mammary gland breast/epithelium healthy cell line (184A1) was determined by the colorimetric MTT assay, and the genotoxic effect was determined by alkaline single gel electrophoresis (Comet Assay) method. Its apoptotic effect was determined by the Acridine Orange/Ethidium Bromide (AO/EB) method. In addition, intracellular ROS (iROS) and mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) levels were measured with the fluorometric method, and glutathione (GSH) levels were measured with the luminometric method. RESULTS: Our study demonstrated that treated curcumin concentrations significantly decreased cell viability, GSH, and MMP levels and increased ROS, apoptosis, and DNA damage in MCF7 and MDA MB231 and 184A1 cells in a dose-dependent manner (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The findings confirmed that curcumin cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and apoptosis in mammary gland cancer cells induce increased intracellular ROS and decrease GSH and MMP. Therefore, it was concluded that curcumin has anticancer activity, which is highly potentially an anticancer drug

Evaluation of Threshold Values for Root Canal Filling Voids in Micro-CT and Nano-CT Images

While several materials and techniques have been used to assess the quality of root canal fillings in micro-CT images, the lack of standardization in scanning protocols has produced conflicting results. Hence, the aim of this study was to determine a cutoff voxel size value for the assessment of root canal filling voids in micro-CT and nano-CT images. Twenty freshly extracted mandibular central incisors were used. Root canals were prepared with nickel titanium files to an ISO size 40/0.06 taper and then filled with a single cone (40/0.06 taper) and AH Plus sealer. The teeth were scanned with different voxel sizes with either micro-CT (5.2, 8.1, 11.2, and 16.73 μm) or nano-CT (1.5 and 5.0 μm) equipment. Images were reconstructed and analyzed with the NRecon and CTAn software. Void proportion and void volume were calculated for each tooth in the apical, middle, and coronal thirds of the root canal. Kruskal-Wallis and post hoc Mann–Whitney U tests were performed with a significance level of 5%. In micro-CT images, significantly different results were detected among the tested voxel sizes for void proportion and void volume, whereas no such differences were found in nano-CT images (p&gt;0.05). Micro-CT images showed higher void numbers over the entire root length, with statistically significant differences between the voxel size of 16.73 μm and the other sizes (p&lt;0.05). The values of the different nano-CT voxel sizes did not significantly differ from those of the micro-CT (5.2, 8.1, and 11.2 μm), except for the voxel size of 16.73 μm (p&lt;0.05). All tested voxel sizes enabled the detection of root canal filling voids except for the voxel size of 16.73 μm. Bearing in mind the limitations of this study, it seems that a voxel size of 11.2 μm can be used as a reliable cutoff value for the assessment of root canal filling voids in micro-CT imaging.Publisher's Versio

Impact of Virtual Reality Simulation in Endodontics on the Learning Experiences of Undergraduate Dental Students

Abstract: We aimed to evaluate the impact of Virtual Reality Dental Simulators (VRDS) on preclinical training in endodontics for undergraduate dental students. Purposive sampling technique was used to target undergraduate dental students at two dental schools: in Qatar and Turkey. After training on endodontic access cavity preparation on upper anterior teeth using acrylic teeth on dental mannequins and virtual reality haptic dental simulator, a questionnaire based on a combination of open- and closed-ended items was distributed to the participants. The sample included 60 dental undergraduate students. The participants reported positive experiences with VRDS and 76% considered it to be helpful in improving their fine motor skills. Endodontic access cavity preparation on VRDS was perceived to be similar to natural and acrylic teeth by 73.34% and 53% of participants, respectively. Overall, 85% of participants supported the use of VRDS training to supplement conventional training on dental mannequins but also recommended the need for improvements in VRDS training in endodontics. The findings of this study underscore the benefits of VRDS in endodontics. Future research involving larger samples from multiple institutions may help to optimize VRDS in undergraduate dental education

Root Canal Anatomy of Maxillary and Mandibular Teeth

It is a common knowledge that a comprehensive understanding of the complexity of the internal anatomy of teeth is imperative to ensure successful root canal treatment. The significance of canal anatomy has been emphasized by studies demonstrating that variations in canal geometry before cleaning, shaping, and obturation procedures had a greater effect on the outcome than the techniques themselves. In recent years, significant technological advances for imaging teeth, such as CBCT and micro-CT, respectively, have been introduced. Their noninvasive nature allows to perform in vivo anatomical studies using large populations to address the influence of several variables such as ethnicity, aging, gender, and others, on the root canal anatomy, as well as to evaluate, quantitatively and/or qualitatively, specific and fine anatomical features of a tooth group. The purpose of this chapter is to summarize the morphological aspects of the root canal anatomy published in the literature of all groups of teeth and illustrate with three-dimensional images acquired from micro-CT technology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Doctoral Recitals

Recital presented at the UNT College of Music Recital Hall in partial fulfillment of the Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree