Evaluation of diagnostic accuracy and dimensional measurements by using CBCT in mandibular first molars

Background: This study aimed to assess the diagnostic accuracy of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) and quantitatively evaluate the morphology of mandibular first molars using CBCT. Material and Methods: Twenty-four double-rooted mandibular first molars were evaluated by NewTom VGi CBCT. The distance from the furcation and apex to the cementoenamel junction (CEJ), diameter and thickness of canal walls, the buccolingual (BL) to mesiodistal (MD) ratio (ΔD), prevalence of oval canals at different sections and taper of the canals were all determined. In order to assess the diagnostic accuracy of CBCT, distance from the furcation and apex to the CEJ and thickness of canal walls at the CEJ and apex were compared with the gold standard values (caliper and stereomicroscope). Statistical analyses were carried out using intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), paired t-test and repeated measures ANOVA. Results: A high correlation existed between the CBCT and gold standard measurements ( P <0.001). In dimensional measurements, length of mesial root was higher than the distal root and lingual furcation was farther from the CEJ than the buccal furcation ( P <0.001). An important finding of this study was the mesiodistal taper of the mesiobuccal (MB) and mesiolingual (ML) canals; which was equal to 0.02. Conclusions: CBCT has acceptable diagnostic accuracy for measurement of canal wall thickness. Cleaning and shaping of the canals should be performed based on the unique anatomy of the respective canal; which necessitates the use of advanced imaging techniques for thorough assessment of root canal anatomy in a clinical settin

Comparison of CT-Number and Gray Scale Value of Different Dental Materials and Hard Tissues in CT and CBCT

Introduction: Computed tomography (CT) and cone-beam CT (CBCT) are valuable diagnostic aids for many clinical applications. This study was designed to compare the gray scale value (GSV) and Hounsfield unit (HU) of selected dental materials and various hard tissues using CT or CBCT. Methods and Materials: Three samples of all test materials including amalgam (AM), composite resin (CR), glass ionomer (GI), zinc-oxide eugenol (ZOE), calcium-enriched mixture (CEM) cement, AH-26 root canal sealer (AH-26), gutta-percha (GP), Coltosol (Col), Dycal (DL), mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), zinc phosphate (ZP), and polycarbonate cement (PC) were prepared and scanned together with samples of bone, dentin and enamel using two CBCT devices, Scanora 3D (S3D) and NewTom VGi (NTV) and a spiral CT (SCT) scanner (Somatom Emotion 16 multislice spiral CT);. Subsequently, the HU and GSV values were determined and evaluated. The data were analyzed by the Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests. The level of significance was determined at 0.05. Results: There were significant differences among the three different scanners (P&lt;0.05). The differences between HU/GSV values of 12 selected dental materials using NTV was significant (P&lt;0.05) and for S3D and SCT was insignificant (P&gt;0.05). All tested materials showed maximum values in S3D and SCT (3094 and 3071, respectively); however, bone and dentin showed low/medium values (P&lt;0.05). In contrast, the tested materials and tissues showed a range of values in NTV (366 to15383; P&lt;0.05). Conclusion: Scanner system can influence the obtained HU/GSV of dental materials. NTV can discriminate various dental materials, in contrast to S3D/SCT scanners. NTV may be a more useful diagnostic aid for clinical practice

Studying the factors affecting job satisfaction of employees of Semnan health centers

Job satisfaction of employees is one of the most challenging concepts in any organization and is the basis for many of the policies and management strategies to increase productivity and efficiency. It is influenced by many factors including environmental and personal factors, income, nature and social status of the job, organizational prestige, promotion, job security, lack of role ambiguity, and physical job conditions Co-workers. This study was carried out to determine the factors affecting job satisfaction employees of Semnan health center's to meet the challenges and increase efficiency. This is a cross-sectional study carried out in 2013, over 93 employees with a employment history of over 2 years. Method and data collection was through job descriptive inventory (Job Descriptive Index); data was collected and analyzed using SPSS16. The results of questionnaire analysis in seven items regarding job satisfaction, show satisfaction supervision and leadership (77.2%), management policy (77%), job stability (63.4%), environmental conditions (59.6%), cross-relation between Co-workers (58.6%), salary and benefits (53.4%) and opportunities for growth, development and promotion (53.2%). Based on evaluated items, the overall job satisfaction in this study was moderate. Thus, in terms of job satisfaction, it seems that different factors affective in different ratios. Job satisfaction is not only very important by itself, but also important concerning its impact on other aspects of the job attitude. In fact, by increasing job satisfaction, other aspects of job attitudes such as organizational commitment, job involvement and organizational atmosphere can be improved. This point can also be seen in proposed models and research carried out by professionals in this field.

Efficacy of High Dose Vitamin C, Melatonin and Zinc in Iranian Patients with Acute Respiratory Syndrome due to Coronavirus Infection: A Pilot Randomized Trial

INTRODUCTION: Our aim was to investigate the efficacy of vitamin C, melatonin, and zinc in patients with severe Covid-19. METHODS:&nbsp; Twenty-one adult patients were randomized 1:1 to standard care alone or standard care plus IV vitamin C (2 g, q6hr), oral melatonin (6 mg, q6hr), and oral zinc sulfate (50 mg, q6hr) for 10 days. Patients were monitored for changes in hypoxemia and inflammatory markers. RESULTS: Both treatment modalities were effective to improve PaO2/FiO2 and oxygen saturation. However, there were no significant differences between 2 groups (P &gt; 0.05). There were reductions in CRP, ESR, and LDH levels in both study groups, although not significant. No significant difference was noted in length of ICU stay between 2 groups (P = 0.3). CONCLUSION: Our study suggests that addition of vitamin C, melatonin, and zinc to standard care is not associated with considerable improvement in patients with severe Covid-19.&nbsp

Factors Affecting Academic Failure In Region II Medical Universities Students

Academic failure is an important issue in medical students which, if not controlled, will cause a drop in the academic level of physicians and paramedics in the coming years. Therefore, identification of factors affecting academic failure can influence the future planning of universities and reduce those factors and help effectiveness and flourishing of these students. This study aimed to investigate the factors influencing academic failure in medical universities' students in the region II of country Which and its results can be applicable to Whole country. This study is a case-control study including all students with academic failure in the academic year 2009 in Semnan, Mashhad, Gorgan, Shahroud, Sabzevar, Gonabad and Bojnoord Universities of Medical Sciences (Probation, increased educational semesters, failure in comprehensive medical tests).Data on students with academic failure and other students was collected and analysed using SPSS software by chi-square test at 5% significance level. The prevalence of academic failure in men was higher than women (N=571 , 5.33%). There was a significant difference between two groups in terms of gender, type of university, degree and entry quota (P &lt;0.05). Given the significant differences in some demographic and educational characteristics between students with and without academic failure, special attention and planning in this area are necessary

The Relationship between Types of Delivery and Methods of Anesthesia with Occurrence of Jaundice in Term Neonates

Background Because of severe adverse effects of hyperbilirubinemia on newborns central nervous system diagnosis of its risk factors before delivery can prevent these effects.  This study aimed to determine the relationship between types of delivery with jaundice during the first week of life in Term neonates. Materials and Methods In this retrospective study, all term neonates born in Amiralmoemenin Hospital, Semnan, Iran, in 2016 were included into the study. Required data were collected including age, weight, type of delivery, gender, incidence of non-pathological jaundice and type of anesthesia in cesarean delivery using data recorded in the labor ward, hospital archives, and medical records of infants and recorded in a researcher made questionnaire. Results: Mean age of neonates was 40 ± 2 weeks and their mean weight was 3100 ± 200 grams. Among them, 48.8% of neonates with normal delivery and 49.1% of neonates with cesarean delivery were girls. Both groups did not have a significant difference in term of age, weight and gender (P > 0.05). In girls, there was no significant difference between type of delivery and hospitalization due to icterus (P=0.56). As the same in boys there was no significant difference between type of delivery and hospitalization due to icterus (P=0.059). Also, there was no difference in all neonates regardless of their sexuality, between type of delivery and hospitalization due to icterus (P=0.078). In cesarean delivery there was no significant difference in icterus severity between general and epidural anesthesia (P= 0.21). Conclusion The results indicate that cesarean delivery was not a risk factor for hospitalization due to icterus during first week after delivery. Further studies are recommended to confirm our results

Highly Conserve Sequences in Envelope, Nucleoprotein and RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase of SARS-CoV-2 in Nasopharyngeal Samples of the COVID-19 Patients; a Diagnostic Target for Further Studies

Background: The etiological agent of COVID-19 is SARS-CoV-2. Conversional molecular methods used for detection of virus in COVID-19 infected patient. This study aimed to investigate the presence of escape mutations from molecular detection on SARS-CoV-2 targeted genes, which indicates importance of mutations in false negative PCR test results in detection of virus in clinical specimens of patients with COVID-19. Material and Method: The 20 nasopharyngeal swabs samples collected from COVID-19 confirmed patients. The SARS-CoV-2 E, nsp12 and N genetic regions Amplified by RT-PCR assay. PCR products sequenced using the Sanger sequencing method and Multiple sequence alignment for the assessment of the polymorphism and mutations preformed using MEGA X software and Maximum likelihood method for the phylogenetic assessment. Result: Among all COVID-19 cases 60% and 40% were male and female, respectively. The MSA showed high conservation between all of the evaluated samples and VOCs in all N, E and nsp12 genes. Also, the phylogenetic evaluation by Maximum likelihood method reported high similarity between all SARS-CoV-2 sequenced samples, VOCs and Wuhan reference sequence in evaluated region. Conclusion: Our study results approved the relatively conserved suitability of the E, N and RdRp-gene regions without any diversity, therefore, making them perfect candidates for first-line screening