A comparative evaluation of the efficacy of manual, magnetostrictive and piezoelectric ultrasonic instruments: an in vitro profilometric and SEM study

OBJECTIVES: The debridement of diseased root surface is usually performed by mechanical scaling and root planing using manual and power driven instruments. Many new designs in ultrasonic powered scaling tips have been developed. However, their effectiveness as compared to manual curettes has always been debatable. Thus, the objective of this in vitro study was to comparatively evaluate the efficacy of manual, magnetostrictive and piezoelectric ultrasonic instrumentation on periodontally involved extracted teeth using profilometer and scanning electron microscope (SEM). MATERIAL AND METHODS: 30 periodontally involved extracted human teeth were divided into 3 groups. The teeth were instrumented with hand and ultrasonic instruments resembling clinical application. In Group A all teeth were scaled with a new universal hand curette (Hu Friedy Gracey After Five Vision curette; Hu Friedy, Chicago, USA). In Group B Cavitron(TM) FSI - SLI(TM) ultrasonic device with focused spray slimline inserts (Dentsply International Inc., York, PA, USA) were used. In Group C teeth were scaled with an EMS piezoelectric ultrasonic device with prototype modified PS inserts. The surfaces were analyzed by a Precision profilometer to measure the surface roughness (Ra value in µm) consecutively before and after the instrumentation. The samples were examined under SEM at magnifications ranging from 17x to 300x and 600x. RESULTS: The mean Ra values (µm) before and after instrumentation in all the three groups A, B and C were tabulated. After statistically analyzing the data, no significant difference was observed in the three experimental groups. Though there was a decrease in the percentage reduction of Ra values consecutively from group A to C. CONCLUSION: Within the limits of the present study, given that the manual, magnetostrictive and piezoelectric ultrasonic instruments produce the same surface roughness, it can be concluded that their efficacy for creating a biologically compatible surface of periodontally diseased teeth is similar

Desenvolvimento de um sistema triplex em PCR em tempo real para quantificação de DNA humano em amostras forenses

O DNA extraído a partir de amostras forenses se encontra com frequência em estado de degradação, o que afeta a análise de maneira signifi cativa. Além disso, tais amostras são comumente contaminadas com micro-organismos, de forma que o DNA extraído poderá conter grandes quantidades de material genético não-humano, levando a um valor superestimado da concentração do DNA pelo método padrão de absorbância no UV a 260 nm. A quantifi cação por PCR em tempo real tem sido aplicada para a quantifi cação de DNA humano em amostras forenses e alguns kits para esse propósito são atualmente comercializados. Nós descrevemos o desenvolvimento de um sistema para quantifi cação de DNA humano baseado na utilização de PCR em tempo real para amplifi car de forma específi ca, e no mesmo tubo, sequências presentes nos cromossomos autossômico e Y humanos. A metodologia utiliza “quenchers” BHQ ligados covalentemente a um oligonucleotídeo genérico (antiprimer), capaz de parear com os primers fl uorescentes livres de cada um dos alvos e inibir suas fl uorescências. A fl uorescência aumenta à medida que os produtos são amplifi cados, possibilitando a captação do sinal pelo equipamento. O sistema também possui um controle interno constituído por uma sequência de DNA sintético, com objetivo principal de indicar a presença de inibidores da reação no material genético extraído. Nós demonstramos que o triplex em questão é uma importante ferramenta para análises forenses, pois permite saber sobre a quantidade e a qualidade do DNA humano existente em uma dada amostra antes que o mesmo seja empregado nos onerosos sistemas de identifi cação humana, tais como análises de STRs, SNPs e DIPs.It is usual for the human DNA samples encountered in forensic casework to be variably degraded, thus signifi cantly affecting downstream analysis. Furthermore these samples are commonly contaminated with micro-organisms, so that total DNA extraction from the samples will contain variable amounts of non-human DNA, thus diffi culting the quantifi cation of the human DNA component by standard UV absorbance at 260 nm. It has become almost routine to quantify the human DNA component of forensic DNA extractions by using realtime PCR (qPCR) and commercially sold kits are presently available for this. We describe the development and use of a single-tube triplex qPCR assay for quantifying human DNA in extracted forensic samples prior to amplifi cation of STR loci. Two nuclear loci are targeted, one being autosomal and the other situated on the Y chromosome. The third target is a synthetic oligonucleotide which is present during amplifi cation and which acts as an internal control for amplifi cation inhibition. Three different common fl uorophores are used and the chemistry is based on a quencher molecule linked to an antiprimer which suppresses fl uorescence until the generation of suffi cient amplicon during amplifi cation overcomes the quenching. The amplicon sizes are approximately 80 bp. Signal generation is monitored in a qPCR instrument in the presence of a passive reference dye. We demonstrate that the qPCR triplex in question is an important tool for our forensic analyses, because it allows us to obtain information concerning the quantity and quality of the human DNA in our extracted samples, prior to using the costly human identifi cation reagents, such as in the analysis of STRs, SNPs and DIPs

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AS AN ANTECEDENT OF TURNOVER INTENTION: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS ON FACULTY MEMBERS

ABSTRACT Emotional Intelligence plays a critical role among faculty members, as they are associated with shaping futures of students and there is a high component of human contact. The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of Antecedents of emotional intelligence of faculty members on turnover intention in various technical educational institutes of India. A 23-item instrument was generated using Bar-On model of EI following a critical review of the literature. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation was used to determine construct validity and Cronbach's coefficient alpha to determine the scale internal consistency. Data were collected through structured questionnaires using convenience sampling technique. Regression analysis was used to determine the causal relationship between the antecedents of emotional intelligence and turnover intention. The result of this empirical investigation demonstrates that emotional intelligence has a significant impact on turnover intention of faculty members. Among five antecedents of emotional intelligence, general mood has an inverse significant impact on turnover intention. The results will help management of technical educational institutes to realize human capabilities and the way to improve them by paying more attention on psychological issues. The research results are further used for designing the continuous training strategies which shall be implemented on faculty members in order to acquire the emotional intelligence competence